President Goodluck Jonathan I Dey Laugh O

President Goodluck Jonathan, you dey make me laugh o.

You see your wayoway politics.

Sylva is a drowning man – Alaibe

•Alaibe

Sylva is a drowning man – Alaibe

Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Bayelsa State, Timi Alaibe, regarded as the biggest threat to Governor Timipre Sylva’s second term bid, spoke with some journalists in Abuja during the week on his tenure as Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chief Executive Officer of the Amnesty Programme. Deputy Editor, SAM AKPE, was there. Excerpts…


In the last one year or so, you have been busy helping the Federal Government implement the Amnesty programme for ex-militants in the Niger Delta. What is your candid assessment of the programme? Put differently, would you say the problem of militancy has been solved in the Niger Delta?

You have asked a very direct question and I shall attempt to give you a direct answer. Over all, the Amnesty programme has been a resounding success. I make bold to assert that the programme will go down in history as the sincerest effort by the Federal Government to address the Niger Delta question. You would recall that the late President Umaru Yar’Adua had on June 25, 2009, proclaimed a 60-day unconditional amnesty period for militants in the Niger Delta, as a step towards resolving the protracted insecurity in the region. The terms of the amnesty included the willingness and readiness of militants to surrender their arms, and unconditionally renounce militancy and sign an undertaking to this effect. In return, the government pledged its commitment to institute programmes to assist their disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and provision of re-integration assistance to the ex-militants. In other words, the programme was structured to have three broad components. One, a security component dealing with the disarmament and demobilization of the various militant groups in the Niger Delta; two, an economic component with commitment to provide access to re-integration opportunities for the ex-militants; and three, to promote the economic development of the Niger Delta. Flowing from this, we proceeded to execute what has become, perhaps, the most successful disarmament exercise in the history of DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and Re-integration) in Africa. By October 2009, (some) 20,192 ex-militants had willingly disarmed, turned in huge cache of arms and ammunition to security agencies and got enrolled in the programme. Going back to your question, I insist that the Amnesty programme has been a resounding success. Where we are currently would be better appreciated when viewed from the pedestal of where we were prior to the amnesty proclamation.

Can you explain that?

Let me take you down memory lane. By January 2009, militancy in the Niger Delta had virtually crippled Nigeria’s economy. Investment inflow to the upstream sub-sector of the oil industry had dwindled remarkably. Exasperated foreign investors had begun re-directing their investments to Angola and Ghana as preferred destinations over Nigeria. At that point, Angola surpassed Nigeria as Africa’s highest crude oil producer. This dwindling investment in the critical oil and gas sector threatened Nigeria’s capacity to grow its crude oil reserves as planned.
Like you may well know, Nigeria targeted 40 billion barrels proven reserves by end of 2010. Clearly, insecurity in the Niger Delta was identified as key reason investors were leaving for more stable business opportunities in Africa. For example, due to militant activities in the Niger Delta, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) by early 2009 had declared force majure on its operations, which caused a drop in its production capacity from one million bpd to about 250,000 bpd. ExxonMobil also experienced increased insurgent activities in its Nigerian operations. Sabotage, oil siphoning rackets and kidnappings of oil workers by suspected militants further threatened the operations of the oil companies and exerted immense pressure on the Nigerian economy. Worse still, citing insecurity, union officials all too often called strikes to protest insecure working environment. It got to a point where Nigeria’s export dwindled to as low as 700,000 bpd, compared with a targeted 2.2 million bpd for the first quarter of 2009. In 2008 alone, it was estimated that Nigeria lost over N3 trillion as a result of militancy in the Niger Delta.

So what has happened since the commencement of the programme implementation, especially in the oil sector?

Shortly after the October 4, 2009, deadline for Niger Delta militants to accept Federal Government’s amnesty offer expired, the government and other stakeholders began counting the positive results from the exercise. With peace restored in the Niger Delta, oil companies and associated companies re-opened shut-in wells; Nigeria’s oil production increased from 700,000 bpd to 2.3 mbpd; construction of East-West Road resumed; kidnapping in the core Niger Delta states drastically reduced; oil bunkering reduced; crime rate declined; signs that the process would succeed accelerated economic development across the nation. With cessation of hostilities, government began giving assurances that Nigeria can once again fill its OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) quota and be trusted by major consumer nations to meet its contractual obligations; Nigeria LNG’s reputation as a reliable supplier of LNG cargoes was restored; with renewed confidence in the international oil market, Nigeria began to exercise more influence in the supply and pricing of oil and, of course, repairs of oil and gas infrastructure damaged during the unfortunate era of militant agitation speedily commenced, while contractors handling development projects also were given lee-way to fast-track their efforts to assure the ex-militants of government’s determination to ensure sustainable development in the Niger Delta. Finally on this matter, let me clarify that while it is true that the late Yar’Adua initiated the Amnesty programme, it is important to place on record that when it seemed that the programme was floundering, it was President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan that revved it up, gave it fresh impetus and provided all that was needed to attain the success that we are talking about today.

So in what state was the Amnesty programme before you resigned in December 2010?

Yes, as at December 2010, (some) 12,917 ex-militants had undertaken non-violence transformational training at the Demobilization Camp we sited at Obubra, Cross River State. For this demobilization exercise in the camp, we engaged experts from Nigeria, South Africa and the United States of America. The transformational/reorientation activities in the camp are tailored to extinguish the belief of the ex-militants in violence and provide them a more powerful alternative – non-violence. In camp, they are taught to promote non-violent method in bringing about a better Niger Delta. The concept of non-violence is a method that is non-aggressive physically but dynamically aggressive spiritually. We inculcate in the ex-militants the fact that non-violence is for the courageous; that only cowards utilise violence as a means of conflict resolution; that the non-violent resister is just as opposed to the evil that he is standing against as the violent resister, but he resists without violence. In the non-violent approach, the attack is directed against the forces of evil, rather than persons who are caught in those forces. It uses the power of love. It is based on the conviction and belief from the long tradition of our Christian faith that the Almighty God is on the side of truth and justice. It is this deep faith in the future that makes the non-violent person to accept suffering without retaliation. The camp also provides career guidance designed to assist ex-militants determine their career aspirations going forward in terms of education, vocational and entrepreneurial skills. After the non-violence training and career classification in the camp, the ex-militants are placed in skills acquisition or training centres, both in Nigeria and offshore. As at December 2010, a total of 4,759 ex-militants who had passed through the non-violence training programme had been assigned to 57 skills acquisition/training centres in 13 states of the federation, while the 2,618 had been slated for training offshore. Indeed, just before my exit, we had sent 38 of them to South Africa. Another 200 delegates, as we now call them, are ready to leave for Ghana for vocational training. The overall re-integration agenda is to groom these ex-militants to become key players in the emerging economies of the Niger Delta – be it in construction, oil and gas, railways, tourism etc. Luckily, the Local Content Act and the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) currently in the works in the National Assembly support this aspiration to get transformed and properly skilled ex-militants play key roles in the nation’s oil and gas industry. The final objective, of course, will be to get the trained ex-militants gainfully employed.

Is it not ironical that you are talking so eloquently about the restoration of peace in the Niger Delta while it is on record that a bomb goes off almost every day in your home state, Bayelsa, which is one of the Niger Delta states? In fact, it is even believed that the spate of violence in Bayelsa is threatening your campaign to become the next governor of the state.

Let’s get one fact clear here; the administrative rot in Bayelsa is not a reflection of the success or otherwise of the Amnesty programme. The violence in Bayelsa is politically-driven; the bombings and incessant attacks are induced and sponsored by the state government. Let me pointedly discuss this matter. There is simply no government in place in the State. There is no focused leadership. What you see is an illusion of a presence of a government. After almost four years in the saddle, the so-called incumbent governor has absolutely nothing to campaign with: no programmes, no projects; absolutely nothing, other than the deception that you see on the front pages of some newspapers that he calls his ‘strides.’ What strides? The so-called ‘strides’ have become a butt of joke, even among children. Imagine a state governor listing, as part of his achievements in four years, the fumigation of Okolobiri Hospital! Or is it the huge fraud of unseen and unknown ‘concrete roads and foot-bridges’ he has been listing as part of his ‘strides’? A state government receiving derivation income in billions of naira every month is priding itself as constructing foot-bridges and fumigating a hospital at this time and age. Then, what would the local government do? He is just wasting Bayelsa money to embarrass himself on the front pages of newspapers. Because he has achieved nothing in four years, he has nothing to campaign with; absolutely nothing to tell the electorate, so he is determined to stop other aspirants from campaigning. Can you imagine the governor of a state sponsoring violence disrupt the campaign rallies of other candidates, and at the same time shamelessly accusing the opponents of being afraid to campaign? We will not be cowed; we will not succumb to these dastardly antics of a rejected and drowning man. So, do not use the Bayelsa situation to judge the Niger Delta region. When last did you hear that a bomb went off in other Niger Delta states? By the grace of God, Bayelsa will turn a new page on May 29 this year. To further underscore the failings of the current government in Bayelsa, baseline statistics during the disarmament phase of the Amnesty programme, indicated that Bayelsa has the highest number of militant camps in the Niger Delta. These are patriotic youths of this country who, in the absence of care, resorted to militancy and other forms of self help. Over 9,000 youths of Bayelsa origin are currently enrolled in both phases of the Amnesty programme, the highest number from any state. This throws up the nature of the challenge of unemployed youths in the state because the number mentioned here does not even include those who are not in the Amnesty programme. The current government, meanwhile, has no plans or programmes for the huge population of the unemployed in the state. It got its priorities wrong, or how would it budget N1 billion in 2011 to construct golf course in the state. Golf course for who? Should this be a priority at this time? That man has no vision, even for himself. God will deliver Bayelsa from him.

In a recent interview, Sylva boasted that you are not known in Bayelsa State; that claims in certain quarters that the president backs you are false. The governor even lampooned you as a political ant and that the Labour Party in Bayelsa is nothing but a political graveyard of sorts?

I find it rather time-wasting joining issues with Sylva. I did not read this interview you are talking about, but my associates and aides drew my attention to it and excerpts were actually brought to me. The truth is that the man is simply scared. He knows that the game is up. Bayelsans desperately seek a fresh and better start. Typical of all drowning persons, he is seeking to cling to anything to stay afloat. He has resorted to name-calling and utter falsehood. But I think we should discuss issues and not nonentities. Overcoming the daunting, albeit embarrassing, challenges Bayelsa faces today requires a new vision. Bayelsans are determined, more than ever before, to move forward together, for the challenges we face are bigger than party and politics. It is not about LP, PDP or any other party. Sylva’s government has no sense of direction. Look at all the governors in the South South, from Rivers to Delta to Akwa Ibom to Edo to Cross River; they are opening up roads, building over-head bridges, hospitals, introducing and sustaining quality free education and healthcare projects, empowering their people. Sylva is busy advertising his failure in the media. Do you know how much he spends a week advertising those failures on the pages of newspapers? Add this to the regime of indebtedness he has thrown the state into. The governor should please tell the Bayelsa people the specific development projects that accounted for about N100 billion debt profile he has accumulated for the state. He should be worried about mismanaging the financial and general goodwill of Bayelsa people. Bayelsans are much more concerned about rescuing the state from his mediocre administration. A political party is a mere platform to contest elections. When elected, it is your duty to provide leadership. When you achieve results, nobody cares about your party platform. Sylva has every reason to fret; his cup is full. He is going. He is simply seeking to obfuscate the facts of the politics in Bayelsa today. All Bayelsans support President Jonathan. Indeed, I chose the LP because I support Jonathan. LP is not fielding a presidential candidate in the April elections. Therefore, Jonathan is my presidential candidate. He is the candidate of all well-meaning Nigerians and, by the grace of God, he will emerge resoundingly victorious in the presidential election. So, the current governor of Bayelsa has no escape route. He cannot blackmail Bayelsans to re-elect him, to reward him for crass ineptitude, simply because he is of the same party with the president. No, no it will not happen; our situation is peculiar and urgent; the collective mission of Bayelsa people is to, first and foremost, rescue our state from the grips of failure.

In a publication, you were quoted as saying you left PDP to embarrass the president.

I’m sure the president himself must have laughed when he read that because he knows the truth. I have been told that Sylva is using that as a campaign issue. The man is recklessly desperate. I really don’t think I need to comment on this because when my attention was drawn to that false and manipulated report, I quickly issued a corrigendum which was well-published by the same paper the following day. That cancelled the previous publication. My relationship with the president is well-known. It is unthinkable that I would say such a thing. When I wanted to leave the PDP for obvious reasons, as a mark of respect, I informed the president and other senior party leaders. Permit me not to disclose the details of our discussions. I acted based on the advice of the political leaders of Bayelsa. I left PDP to seek a neutral platform for the actualisation of the peoples’ vision. With our deep knowledge of the delegate system of voting in the primaries of the PDP whereby a sitting governor decides who should vote, we knew clearly that Sylva would rig the process to his advantage. I am in LP to fulfil the aspiration of overwhelming majority of Bayelsans who desperately desire that the state be rescued from the claws of its current clueless leadership. Never in my life would I contemplate embarrassing the man who gave me the opportunity to implement a programme that has turned around the economy of Nigeria by bringing peace to the Niger Delta.

Are you saying that your aspiration under LP enjoys the support of the president?

My brother, for about one year, I worked very closely and directly with His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, as his Special Adviser on Niger Delta. He is a man intensely focused on success; he abhors embarrassing situations, hates failures and loves peace and peaceful environment. I am contesting to be governor of Bayelsa to lead others to free the president and all Bayelsans from the embarrassment that the current state government has become. Do you remember that when the president visited Bayelsa, Sylva was booed and stoned by the people, in the presence of the president of this country? Nothing could have been more embarrassing. He was stoned, booed and insulted. I don’t have any iota of doubt in my mind that Mr. President wants his state to be better governed, developed, peaceful and habitable. I can assure you that from May 29 this year, President Jonathan will be spending his weekends in the new Bayelsa of our dream.


Sylva calls you a political ant.

Let’s discuss issues. Leave Sylva and his ranting alone. He is not worth any decent discussion. I’m not into name-calling. If I were a political ant in Bayelsa, why is he panicky? Why is he sending people to attack opponents everywhere they go to? Why is he running an illegal security outfit called Famutangbe (meaning ‘kill and throw away’ in Izon language)? This is the extent Governor Sylva loathes our people; maintaining a security outfit with a name reminiscent of a declaration of violence against the same people he swore to protect. Why would a governor set up a killer squad under the guise of maintaining peace and security in the state? The same squad supervises the pulling down of billboards of political opponents of the governor without anybody calling it to order. Look, let’s get serious: Bayelsans know me like the back of their hands. All my working life, I have done all I can, all that was within my powers, to bring development to the state. Today, a substantial chunk of the development projects in our state is attributable to my previous service in various spheres, including my service in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). I am talking of infrastructure and mega developmental projects, particularly roads and bridges construction, shoreline protection, reclamation and canalisation. The excerpts of his interview that I saw, he was talking of uncompleted NDDC projects; what is that supposed to mean? Has NDDC folded up? So, simply because some NDDC projects are on-going or pending in Bayelsa, Timi Alaibe, who left there some years ago, should be blamed? Governors of other Niger Delta states are busy piling pressure on the NDDC to initiate projects or complete on-going projects in their states. Sylva obviously hates NDDC projects because they remind him of Alaibe. That’s pettiness! He spoke also of the Niger Delta Masterplan, which he said we executed at the cost of N25 billion or N45 billion. You can imagine a governor descending to the level of peddling rumours for lack of what to do. For the avoidance of doubt, the masterplan did not cost this amount. Unknown to people, the two lead consultants to the master plan (GTZ International/Wilbahi Engineering Consortium and Norman and Dawbarn Consortium) were companies sponsored and led by two prominent Ijaw personalities; both of them incidentally from Governor Sylva’s senatorial district. More interesting is the fact that Governor Sylva’s company, Sylvasky Nigeria Limited, led the group that provided sector consultancy on tourism. If the project cost the amount he has announced, then NDDC must have paid the money to the lead consultants and himself. I am waiting for him to publish his facts. He is a confused man. Like I said, Bayelsans know me; I have always given the state and indeed the entire Niger Delta region my best and my all. As the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, I worked round-the-clock and even took risks to rid our state and other states in the Niger Delta of militancy. I am proud to say that today we have paved the way for a better future for these our brothers and sisters who are currently in first-class skills acquisition centres across the country and abroad. As governor of Bayelsa State, I shall, by the grace of God, do much more. We will invest in major critical infrastructure that will involve the construction of roads and bridges that will open up our land-locked communities, villages and towns. We shall reclaim lands from the sea, rivers as well as creeks and protect our shores. We shall diversify the economy of Bayelsa to empower our people and create job opportunities.

President Jonathan, Invasion of High Court in Anambra

President Jonathan, the recent invasion of a sacred place like the Courthouse require your direct response

Sir, you and members of your executive council, the ministers in particular probably heard of the recent invasion by some offenders who stormed a High Court of Justice in an area of Anambra State, Nigeria.

Sir, as you know the court is one of the most sacred sites among public institutions where ordinary people, and persons of means go to in search of justice, protection or freedom.

In a society that deems itself as an emerging democracy , there is a deep , long and principled tradition of viewing the judiciary and its courts as sacred grounds of judgment which requires utmost protection at every second, minute, and hour.
Yet, this court in question at a time when it was in session would become adulterated by these invaders who picketed the court grounds and openly removed case files , court documents and even vandalized, as well as remove the presiding judge’s personal and official effects as well as other essentials.

Sir, it was also reported that the presiding judge’s panic call to the police received no immediate response, and worst of all, was the report that the invaders acted in the presence of the police, and that the police let go one of the invaders who had been held by a court staff.

Sir, you will agree that this is a disturbing trend as the courthouse terror, violence or thievery frightens not just the justices, judges and magistrates but the faith of the people in the courts become almost erased.
Sir, this puts the country’s already shaky democracy on delicate ground which is further compounded by the current scary political atmosphere across various regions in the nation.

Sir, you and your executive council must save the people from this type of public barbarity, and you Sir should come out publicly and for many very good reasons, personally condemn these heinous acts and assure the protection of the Court officials and documents. Please do this for God’s sake.

Sir, you must push hard against all forms of judicial-laced barbaric or evil inflicts on our young democracy. Doing this head on, through loud voice and outcry will send words of defeat against those that terrorize the courts. Also, potential invaders of the courts will learn a hard lesson, and outrageous acts from bad police officers will be stifled.

Sir, while you have not openly and vigorously supported a state police system which this writer and many others have called for , it is time for you to use executive order to put in place an exclusive body of court police and security agents around the courts and those that serve in the judiciary.

~ By John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D , DABPS, FACFE, is a Forensic/Clinical Psychologist and an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Science, North Campus, Broward College, Coconut Creek, Florida. joshodi@broward.edu

2011 Presidency: What If The Contest Begins With A Wrestling Match Between Jonathan And Ribadu In Public, Then The Debates?

Nuhu Ribadu

2011 Presidency: What If The Contest Begins With A Wrestling Match
Between Jonathan And Ribadu In Public, Then The Debates?


In recent times the life blood of politics and elections in Nigeria has become openly physical, partly because of the unusual power struggle between politicians.These types of fights amongst political aspirants or leaders in the country will be surpassed by a new one as we are about to see now and this recommended fight will be between Jonathan
and Ribadu.


Goodluck Jonathan


Jonathan and Ribadu will be drawn to a wrestle under a written consent, and the fight must be fully expected by Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora.

We all know the grim nature of Nigerian problems at this time, as well as the struggles that continue to confront the people.

In particular, we now know a system of free and fair election is a major problem in Nigeria, as Attahiru Jega and INEC recently experienced with the text case of Delta’s recent gubernatorial election, however, that should not stop us from trying to make it better.

We will all admit that in a complex society like Nigeria with its numerous social, political, institutional and infrastructural problems, there is need for a leader who is both physically and intellectually strong. Brothers and Sisters, what better way to show one’s physical strength than through a show of manliness and a feat of strength which could only come through a flesh and blood type of fight such as an all-out wrestling between J and R.

The wrestling match should be a onetime fight in a major public ground, and while the nation expects both a winner and a loser out of the fight, the goal of the mêlée should not be about the destruction or disqualification of an opponent as they must both be ready for the series of intellectual debates that will follow.

Again, they should fight first and let’s see who will recover fully as that will be one indication of a show of persistence, and vigor which will be required as they vie for the control of the presidency. It takes energy to fully face the tide of debates, especially when the debates must shift across the federal capital, different states, and rural areas. No excuses, as the people across the country deserve such
openness.

In some of these places, there will be rough roads, heat from generators, poor air conditioning, damaged areas and other bad positions which are not unusual to average Nigerians. Both J and R must be psychologically ready to fight through these commonplace hassles and hazards as they set out to debate for the presidency.

Through this all-new way of rolling out national debate in front of the people, everyone can quickly ascertain which one of these front-runners has the energy to bear the desperation and pressure carried by many in the country on a daily basis.

During the debates, we will witness the intellectual rigor of J and R, and determine who is the intellectual lightweight or intellectual heavyweight? Unlike anything else, there will be no room for a draw in the fight as the citizens will be looking for a clear winner or loser in the daylight brawl as well as debates. We know they will argue about economic, education, healthcare, security and other institutional reforms, but first we must determine who among them has the fighting spirit and competitive power to handle an irregular nation like Nigeria.

The nation is in need for a non-violent and institutional revolution, and one of them must unleash the physical and intellectual energies that will be needed to clean the country, and guide the hopes and needs of the people.The problems of challenging the results of the fight, and any of the pre-April debates will be unnecessary as everything will be in the public sphere followed by instant judgment. The results will be more credible and transparent unlike the actual April election which as will all know could be mired in fraud.

Nigerians live in an extraordinary time, and it is now up to Attahiru Jega to set the date for the all-out wrestle and the subsequent debates. But to ensure the democratic process, let the likes of Jonathan, Ribadu, Buhari, Shekarau, Utomi and others join in the April Presidential election with the hope that INEC will work towards
ensuring a minimal atmosphere of impartiality as no election is perfect.

Again, before anything else, let the apparent two popular politicians, Jonathan and Ribadu take the lead through push-downs and takedowns within a contest that is certainly more of a perfect match, then Jega can take it from that point. Best of wishes to the people.


~ By John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D , DABPS, FACFE, is a Forensic/ClinicalPsychologist and an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Science, North Campus, Broward College, Coconut Creek, Florida. joshodi@broward.edu

Presidential Primary is the celebration of Jonathan and the humiliation of Atiku

A happy President Goodluck Jonathan

The presidential primary of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was the celebration of the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and the humiliation of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Jonathan won the presidential primary on Thursday January 13, 2010, in the Federal Capital of Abuja by a landslide as he thoroughly defeated his two opponents Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president of the most populous country in Africa and Mrs. Sarah Jibril. Mr. Jonathan had 2,736 votes compared to Abubakar's 805. Mrs. Jibril had only a single vote.


Alhaji Atiku Abubakar

Mr. Jonathan as the presidential candidate of the PDP will now confront more formidable opponents from the opposing parties in the April presidential elections.
"He has not prepared himself to govern. He found himself accidentally as a president, and power being what it is, insists on continuing to govern," Abubakar said last Wednesday, but the majority of the delegates seemed to have ignored his criticisms and overwhelmingly rejected him.

To All The Ignorant Political Sycophants Of President Goodluck Jonathan

Please, read the following article and honestly say if your idol is worthy of your support.

A Budget of Consolidated Poverty

~ By Education Rights Campaign


ON Wednesday December 15, 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan presented the 2011 appropriation bill to the joint session of the National Assembly. Speaking on the bill which was glowingly labeled 'a budget of fiscal consolidation, inclusive economic growth and employment generation', President Jonathan expressed optimism that the 2011 budget would make Nigeria one of the 20 most advanced economies by year 2020.


Against the calls of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Staff Unions like the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) as well as the numerous protests, demonstrations and agitations by stakeholders in the education sector for the government to increase funding to education up to UNESCO recommended standard of 26% as a step towards the provision of a free and functional education at all levels, President Jonathan and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) have prepared a budget that totally relegates education to the background while allocating a larger unmerited chunk to the Presidency and the National Assembly.

According to the 2011 appropriation bill of about N4.226 trillion, only a meager sum of N35 billion is being proposed for capital projects in the education sector. This compared to huge sums of N39 billion proposed for the Presidency and over N350 billion for the National Assembly is an absolute rip-off of Nigerians! Allocation for refreshment and meals alone for the office of the president is a scandalous N312 million! Similarly, about N12 million has been allocated for refreshment and meals for the Senate and N47 million for honorarium and sitting allowance. Their House of Representatives counterparts will get about N8.1 million and N55 million respectively for refreshment and meals, honorarium and sitting allowance! This is aside the jumbo salary packages for members of the executive and legislative arms of governance. Meanwhile, this heartless sharing of the collective resources of Nigerians by a few capitalist ruling class is taking place without regard for the worsening state of public education and the fate of over 12 million Nigerian children who are out of school.

The ERC considers the 2011 appropriation as a breach of the October 2009 FG-ASUU agreement and the recent judgment of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice sitting in Abuja which upheld the right of every Nigerian child to free and compulsory education. The breach of the judgment of the ECOWAS Court of justice is all the more scandalous considering the fact that President Jonathan is the Chairman of the ECOWAS. It is an embarrassment that Nigeria which wants to be seen as the giant of Africa is failing to implement the court judgment of ECOWAS – a regional body whose chairman happens to be the President of Nigeria. We ask: How effective and respected will ECOWAS be in the eyes of the world and in the West African sub-region when its Chairman flagrantly disobeys the judgment of its court?

To us in the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), the 2011 appropriation bill is nothing but a budget of consolidated poverty. Contrary to President Jonathan false assurances, it will not make Nigeria one of the 20 most advanced economies by year 2020. Instead this budget will make Nigeria a country with one of the worst education sectors, a country with one of the highest numbers of illiterate youths, the largest rate of school drop-outs and unemployable young graduates, the lowest in Human Capital Development and the highest in brain drain by the year 2020. This is because the amount allocated to education is too minute to resolve the massive infrastructural deficit with which the Nation's education sector is currently bedeviled and the amount allocated are usually looted by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.

We therefore call on the National Assembly to debate this budget proposal with the intention of doing a service to the Nation's youths who are desirous of a free, functional and accessible education by increasing allocation to education up to 26 per cent of the total budget as recommended by UNESCO. Unless this is done, the ERC will continue to reject this appropriation bill and we shall mobilize Nigerian students and youths to reject it not only with words but also with political actions.

Already the state of education in Nigeria has gone from bad to worse as the year 2010 witnessed a meteoric rise in fees in tertiary institutions across the country. Describing the terrible conditions in our education sector, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has observed that, 'Due to poor funding of education, education at all levels suffers from low academic standards; lacks requisite teachers; both in sufficient quantity and quality. Even the few qualified teachers available are not sufficiently motivated in terms of remuneration or conducive operating environment to maximize their output into the education system. Schools are over-populated and classrooms are over-crowded, facilities are inadequate and over-stressed, library shelves are empty and covered with cobwebs, while laboratories lack up-to-date equipment'. Equally, no Nigerian University can be found among the first 5000 in the world and the first 50 in Africa and over 12 million children of school age are out of school. Last year, there were 98 per cent and 74 per cent mass failure in the 2009 National Examination Council (NECO) November/December SSCE examination and 2010 May/June WAEC examination respectively!

These statistics to us are enough frightening signals and warnings for any serious government to begin to address these problems by improving funding of the education sector. Actually to begin to turn around this dismal fortune of the education sector, government will have to invest massively in funding the education sector by providing facilities like adequate lecture theatres, hostel facilities, ICT facilities, equipped laboratories and libraries, enhancement of wages and working conditions of staff in order to attract the best brain to the teaching profession at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education.

Also the products of the investment- the students – upon graduation have to be provided with jobs so they can give back to the economy. In that case, government have to invest massively in industrial and agricultural development, which will ensure the transformation of Nigeria to a producing economy while guaranteeing jobs for all graduates of tertiary institutions. For optimum utilization of the resources invested to be achieved and to discourage corruption at all levels, schools must be democratically managed by workers/experts and the communities.

However, none of these will be achieved unless the government jettisons all IMF/World Bank-inspired neo-liberal policies of privatization and place the commanding heights of the economy under public ownership and management. Only this can ensure the full mobilization of the huge amount of money needed by government to invest in education, job creation and social services.

However instead of government taking the issues in this direction, all key economic policies of Jonathan's administration especially those canvassed in the 2011 appropriation bill pander towards reducing government role in funding of social services while prioritizing the sale of education, health, roads and infrastructures to profit-seeking private sector in the name of privatization, Public Private Partnership (PPP) and commercialization. The net effect of these misguided neo-liberal policies of the Jonathan administration is that things will continue to get worse in the coming period. If government continues these ruinous neo-liberal policies of education under funding, indeed by year 2020 public education will have collapsed thus turning the current and future generations of Nigerian youths into criminals, love-peddlers and destitute.

Demands:
• We call on the National Assembly to increase allocation to education in the 2011 appropriation bill up to 26 per cent of the budget otherwise the ERC will not hesitate to lead Nigerian students and youths on a protest march to the National Assembly.

• Immediate setting up of budget monitoring committees by Governing Councils of all Universities in accordance with 2009 FG-ASUU agreement. These budget monitoring committees must comprise elected representatives of students and staff unions with the sole purpose of monitoring government allocations to tertiary institutions and ensuring judicious use of resources.

• Downward review of the salaries and allowances of public office holders, payment of living wage to workers and placement of all public office holders on the same wage of civil servants and professional workers.

• Cancellation of the illegal and unconstitutional practice of constituency projects of members of the National Assembly. Projects are the duties of the executive arm of government.

• Payment of N40,000 Cost of Study Allowance (COSA) to students of tertiary institutions to offset the cost of books, accommodation, transportation etc.

• Reversal of all fee increments especially the atrocious fee increases at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). We call on the Vice Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) to immediately reverse the proposed increase of acceptance fee for fresh students from N2,000 to N20,000 and introduction of a health insurance fee of N1,600 or face mass protest and demonstrations of students.

• Public ownership of the commanding heights of the economy under the control and management of the working people.

• Hassan Soweto (National Co-ordinator) and Chinedu Bosah (National Secretary) sent this piece on behalf of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC).

http://nigerianewsdaily.com/categoryblog/13144-erc-a-budget-of-consolidated-poverty.html

President Goodluck Jonathan has failed

President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria


If the incompetent administration of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) has failed woefully to protect the lives and properties of innocent citizens of Nigeria, then we must get rid of the PDP and their corrupt leaders.

Our people are under the siege of rampaging ethno-religious fanatics of the lunatic fringe in the northern states, incessant kidnappings and robberies in the southern eastern and south southern states and political mayhem and assassinations in the southwestern states.

The apologies and regrets of the government in power are not what we need to address the appalling state of insecurity in Nigeria, but a pragmatic and systemic solution to guarantee the safety of precious lives and invaluable properties in Nigeria.

Have anyone read Dear Karl Maier, This House Has Not Yet Fallen?

Let us stop wasting our time and lives debating over their incompetent presidential candidates.

President Goodluck Jonathan has failed to prove that he is a good commander-in-chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Only idiots and fools will vote for him.

Releases displayed in EST time
Jan 11, 2011 NIGERIA:
07:02	Nigeria / Un journaliste américano-nigérian interpellé à l'aéroport de Lagos, ses passeports confisqués pendant deux jours
07:00	Nigeria / US-Nigerian journalist arrested at Lagos airport, passports confiscated for two days
05:00	GBGC Strengthens Team to Meet Gambling's Pace of Change SUDAN Jan 11, 2011 16:53 Sudan on its Way Towards a Successful Referendum 16:20 AJC Hails South Sudan Referendum 11:00 Triple Points for Travelers with Choice Hotels this Season 03:00 Swap Your Travelcard for the Adventure of a Lifetime Jan 10, 2011 07:38 Statement by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on the eve of Southern Sudan's Referendum on self-determination, 9-15 January 2011 07:30 EAC referendum observer mission in Southern Sudan 07:28 Darfur / UNAMID Daily Media Brief 07:26 Joint Statement of the International referendum observation missions in the Sudan 07:19 Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Sudan / Start of the Southern Sudan referendum 07:13 Secretary Clinton on Start of Southern Sudan Referendum 07:11 Ambassador Rice on Start of Voting in Southern Sudan 07:07 President Obama on Start of Voting in Southern Sudan Jan 9, 2011 11:02 Sudan Honors its Commitment: Historic Referendum on Schedule Jan 7, 2011 12:08 Italian Foreign Minister Frattini meets with his Sudanese counterpart Ali Ahmed Kharti. 11:42 MTV Joins with George Clooney, Google, the United Nations and Others to Help Deter War in Sudan 08:20 UN Security Council Press Statement on Southern Sudan Referendum 08:09 Rwanda / Prosecutor requests 33 and 12 years in jail for two women journalists 07:01 Near-verbatim Transcript of the Press Conference by Mr. David Gressly the Regional Coordinator for Southern Sudan 06:54 USA / Media Note on Special Envoy Gration's Travel to Sudan 06:47 Communiqué by the Afro Arab Ministerial Committee on Darfur AFRICA Jan 11, 2011 23:00 Economic Freedom Advanced in 2010 17:42 One Year Later: Plan International USA's Stepped Up Relief Operations in Haiti Continue to Make Progress 16:20 Trey Songz, Ne-yo, Yolanda Adams, Keyshia Cole, Lalah Hathaway and More to Deliver Thrilling Performances at BET HONORS 2011 16:20 AJC Hails South Sudan Referendum 15:20 Michelin Challenge Design Celebrates Ten Years and Announces the 2012 Design Theme 13:02 Deepak Chandnani Promoted to Obopay Global CEO 11:30 SHL and PreVisor Merge to Create Global Leader in Talent Management 11:29 International Paper Announces Increase in Quarterly Dividend 10:33 The Tarifa African Film Festival chooses the African Press Organization (APO) as media partner 10:00 BBDO Worldwide is the Most Awarded Agency Network Across All Media Categories and Disciplines for the 4th Year in a Row
Jan 10, 2011
08:30	CGI wins US$9.48 million task order from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs
Jan 7, 2011
06:57	Cote d'Ivoire / Point de presse hebdomadaire de l'ONUCI
06:46	UN Urges Clean-up Following Acute Lead Poisoning in Nigeria
Jan 5, 2011
14:15	Maurel & Prom: 'Point sur la production au Nig?ria et sur l'appr?ciation du champ OMOC-Nord au Gabon'

Guns and Bombs Defining Nigerian Elections

President Goodluck Jonathan

Jonathan: No one wished this will be the case, Guns and Bombs Defining Nigerian Elections, so get outside help now

Sir, as a Philosopher first and a politician second, it must cause some suffering in your mind as to how the first week of 2011 elections has become marked with hate and violence at this initial stage. It is not April yet?

No one will deny the possibility that the pockets of violence opened across the country could be a metaphor of what is to come, in a few months. Sir, this is the truth and of course it hurts to see how things could turn out moving forward. Sir the news is not good to your ears—a stabbing, a near lynching, home-based killing, a bomb here and there, and individuals openly parading the voting areas with guns, shooting at random, leaving the election and law enforcement workers to run for their lives.

Sir, this ominous atmosphere is certainly not what you wished as a philosopher, as a lecturer, and certainly not in your capacity as a President. Sir, for many observers including this writer, a Clinical psychologist of the human mind, the guess is that you are not a politician in the cut-throat Nigerian or “Niger” sense, but as fate, destiny or accident would have it, you in IT and so it is.

Sir, time is short. It is your obligation to do something now. Thank God for the security outfit around you and that is how it should be as the leader of society in political and social distress, at least for now.

The recent words from the nation’s election chief, Attahiru Jega must trouble your soul, your mind and possibly give you chills; it certainly could especially for a man like you with a face known for its ‘heavy’ look. Here are some of the terrifying Jega-ian words—ballot box snatching by way of violence occurred in some areas. Sir think of that market woman, that young man or elderly and aging male voting for the first time , only to be scared off by the sounds of gun shots, who will he report to?. Even if he or she goes into a police station where the station officer is sitting and writing with the aid of a lamp, a touch light or candle, what will come out of such report is at best nothing—this much you must admit is the reality.

Sir, certainly you have made it clear you want to rule the country in the next four years and like other presidential, gubernatorial and other political contestants would like to win in any way you can, but you are currently the Nation’s ruler, so that average voter needs you now more than ever!

Here is what you could do right away but you should do it differently, not with the country’s law enforcement workers as a number of them are psychically or materially unable to resist bribery, at least by your own admission.
To fully provide a sense of safety and security for the average voters in the next few months, outsource a certain quantity of the security body to foreigners, as it is proper under international law for you to protect the voting citizenry from a society fraught with violence from armed thugs, gun gang affiliates and corrupt armed officials.

A quick way to bring security to a supposed free state like Nigeria is bring in private security firms from the western world and many of these armed and highly professional and no nonsense agencies are owned by Diaporan Nigerians who also has cultural awareness of their native society. This will be the logical strategy and if you can get extra security forces from President Obama who also knows of the African reality and the deteriorating security atmosphere all the better.

Sir, this move is only to oppose and prevent a wider degree of victimization in the next few months, and thereafter end the contract. Sir, you are an Executive President and in cases like this where the county is almost facing constitutional crisis—political assassinations, beating or killing of election officers, and the destruction of election boxes as well as an all-out open terror on the average citizen then the use of your executive order superimposes every other authority. Good luck.

~ By John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D , DABPS, FACFE, is a Forensic/Clinical
Psychologist and an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Behavioral
Science, North Campus, Broward College, Coconut Creek, Florida.
joshodi@broward.edu


Related Links:

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Barack Obama

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

Professor Attahiru Muhammadu Jega

ECOWAS Give a Final Warning to Mr. Laurent Gbabgo

Laurent Gbagbo

26 Dec 2010 15:30 Africa/Lagos



Cote d'Ivoire / ECOWAS give a final warning to Mr. Laurent Gbabgo

ABUJA, December 26, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Following a press statement isssued by ECOWAS on 20th December, 2010 which urges Mr. Laurent Gbagbo, the former President of Cote D'Ivoire to hand over power to Mr. Allassan Outarra, a request which Mr. Gbagbo has refused to adhere to caused ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to convene an extra-ordinary meeting in Abuja, Nigeria to find ways by which Mr. Gbagbo can be forced out of office.


11 Heads of State assembled in Abuja on Friday on the invitation of the Chairman of ECOWAS, H.E Goodluck Egbele Jonathan and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Victor Gbeho to give a final warning to Mr. Laurent Gbabgo with the firm position that if Mr. Gbagbo continues to hold on to power illegally, ECOWAS will have no choice but to remove him forcefully, in an effort to allow the winner of the elections Mr.Allassan Outarra to assume office.


Sierra Leone's delegation to the Abuja extra-ordinary meeting on Cote D'Ivoire was led by President Ernest Bai Koroma and was accompanied by the Foreign Minister, Mr. J.B Dauda and the Information and Communication Minister, I.B Kargbo.


The Christmas eve meeting on Cote D'Ivoire was treated by the Heads of State seriously, because according to the Chairman Mr. Goodluck Jonathan, the international community expects ECOWAS to provide leadership in resolving the political impasse in Cote D'Ivoire.


The ECOWAS Heads of State believe that it is unacceptable for a country within the sub region to be ruled by two Presidents and two Prime Ministers.The same ECOWAS Authority also believes that Mr. Laaurent Gbagbo lost the elections and should therefore allow Mr. Allassan Outarra to take over power.


the United Nations Secuirty Council earlier in a Press Statement of 20th December, 2010 condemned in the strongest possible terms President Laurent Gbagbo's attempt to usurp the will of the people and undermine the integrity of the electoral process and any progress in the peace process in Cote D'Ivoire.


The Chairman of the African Union on 6th December, 2010 circulated a Press Release from the African Union to support the United Nations by suspending the participation of Cote D'Ivoire from all African Union activities untill the democratically elected President, Allassan Outarra effectively assume State Power.


Although Mr. Laurent Gbagbo still attempts to perform Presidential duties by usurping the State radio and television, bribing the military to support him and import mercenaries into Cote D'Ivoire to help him stay in office, the international community including ECOWAS believes that he should not continue to stay in office which lead to the imposition of sanctions and travel ban on him and his close allies.


The Heads of State of ECOWAS at their meeting in Abuja on Friday said that Mr. Gbagbo be given one final chance to make up his mind to vacate office.


In the spirit of brotherliness in Africa, three Presidents have been nominated by their colleagues to confront Mr. Gbagbo in Abidjan to encourage him to leave office without delay. The three Presidents can fly back with Mr. Gbagbo, as all ECOWAS countries are prepared to grant him assylum.


Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma who played a pivotal role in the discussions supports the ECOWAS,United Nations and Europpean Union positions that Mr. Laurent Gbagbo should hand over power to the man who actually won the elections, Mr. Allassan Outarra.



Source: Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

President Goodluck Jonathan is going to Bring Back the Book

Photo Credit: Puku

President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, today launches the transformational "Bring Back the Book" literary campaign to revive a reading culture among Nigerian youths and he is also presenting his own book "My Friends and I: Conversations on Policy and Governance via Facebook". The venue is the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotel, Lagos.




"The time has come when educational opportunities must be for all; when knowledge must be promoted over the mad rush for materialism. Book culture, if properly put in place, will help promote a new Nigeria," said Mr. Oronto Douglas, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Research, Documentation and Strategy. "Four months after, the interactions with Nigerians on Facebook were turned into a book containing reactions and suggestions on issues of governance. The President joined Facebook not to belong but for the desire to engage, communicate and learn from Nigerians. In fact, the idea of government and governance being impenetrable and sacred should be smashed as government belongs to the people," he added.

Oronto Douglas: The Strategist Behind The President

Oronto Douglas

The Strategist Behind The President

Oronto Natei Douglas, 45, is a leading human rights attorney in Nigeria. Fifteen years ago, he served as one of the lawyers on the defense team for the celebrated Ogoni leader, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed by military fiat on November 10, 1995. Douglas co-founded Africa's foremost environmental movement, the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria, and has served on the board of several non-profit organizations within and outside the country. He remains the first Niger Delta activist to have been hosted at the White House by a serving American President in the heydays of President Bill Clinton. Douglas is a Fellow of the George Bell Institute, England, and the International Forum on Globalization, USA. He has presented papers in over 200 international conferences and has visited over 50 countries to speak on human rights and the environment. With his friend, Ike Okonta, he co-authored Where Vultures Feast, the ground-breaking study on Shell and human rights violation in the Niger Delta. Oronto Douglas is the Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Research & Documentation. He spoke to Nengi Josef Ilagha recently, in London.

Q. To begin with, could you be so kind as to recap your involvement with the struggle of the Niger Delta minorities in the past decade?

A. Well, my involvement with the Izon movement goes back to my days at the university. I was the national mobilization officer of the National Union of Izon-Ibe Students under Cassidy Okilolo who was then President. Within this period, I was also involved in clan activities. I was involved in the movement for reparation to Ogbia, and I was a key player in the Nembe-Ibe Students Union. The Izon nation is a constellation of beautiful stars, otherwise known as clans, and all these stars have their unique potentialities that help to make the Izon nation great. There was the need to awaken, inspire and encourage these clans to stand and build the Izon nation so that the Izon nation can build Nigeria. That was the foundational dream.
We went on to a broader movement, Chikoko, founded in 1997. We realized that our first duty was to awaken the Niger Delta. There was the need to wake up the Urhobos, Isokos, Ishekiris, Ijaw, Efik, Anang and so on -- to wake them up beyond rivalry, beyond individual nation identities, to bring them all together under an umbrella. Now, the best place to start would be home. So we sat down with other patriots and agreed that the Ijaw question needed to be brought to national and global consciousness in a very focused and intellectual way. There was the need to articulate our grievances and views to the rest of the world, so that justice can be brought to bear on what has been happening to us these past many decades. That platform was actualized on December 11, 1998 in Kaiama.

Q. What is your assessment of the struggle so far?

A. I believe that we have achieved the first three cardinal objectives of the struggle. First, we have raised the consciousness of our people, and located that consciousness within a national and global compass. We have also achieved the second leg of the struggle which is the cohesiveness of the Ijaw nation. We have to speak as one. The foundation of the Ijaw National Congress, INC, in 1994, as a cohesive collective of all the Ijaws irrespective of clan, was a major stepping stone. But it needed to be galvanized by a youth arm, as exemplified by the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, to help push the Ijaw agenda onto the global stage. The third objective was to convince Nigerians that there was a problem in the Niger Delta that needed to be addressed. Ken Saro-Wiwa and Ledum Mittee helped to raise Ogoni issues to global awareness and appreciation. But when the Ijaws and other surrounding nations added their voices, it became clear that something needed to be addressed urgently. Three issues are yet to be achieved. One, the question of self determination. Two, resource control. And three, the question of environmental justice. These matters are still pending and they call for urgent attention.

Q. How can these outstanding issues be settled?

A. A number of paradigms have been thrown into the struggle. The paradigm of violence, for instance, was not in the equation. But if violence is not checked through dialogue, it is likely to stall the process of Nigeria’s advancement to the top twenty most prosperous and most advanced nations of the world. Fortunately for Nigerians, the blueprint of amnesty was accepted and is being implemented, in spite of occasional hitches. A second option that was also thrown into the equation was the still small voice of people who contend that what is needed is a region that would be self-sustaining in a way that is close to true federalism. The third reason it has not happened is that the elite of the Niger Delta are yet to understand the gravity of the problem in their region.

In 1895, if you recall, King Frederick William Koko rallied the Nembe people and demanded that the Queen of England and the Royal Niger Company be not masters in the oil trade by cutting them off and expecting the Nembe to eat mud, which is what the British wanted to subject the Nembe people to. King Koko stood up to say no to oppression, no to injustice, no to economic and imperial subjugation. That objection has reverberated into the present and will resound into the future. What happened in 1895 is happening today. The dramatis personae have changed. Where you had the British, you now have the elite of Nigeria. Where you had palm oil, you now have crude oil. And where you had the transnational company and the machinery of governance as represented by the Royal Niger Company, you now have Royal Dutch Shell. It is something our people need to understand, that nothing has changed.

Q. Let’s look at the resort to violence. Until the amnesty initiative came along, no one knew anything about the range and caliber of ammunition that was under cover in the Niger Delta. What’s your assessment of the amnesty programme so far?

A. The amnesty idea came from the people and was courageously embraced by President Yar’Adua. Make no mistake about it. The programme was designed and articulated by the people of the Niger Delta, embraced by the militants and the Federal Government which was bold enough to announce and implement it. This is the true story. If the people had not articulated it themselves, they would not have accepted it. You know the Ijaw. Nobody pushes them around. Nobody imposes anything on them. Nobody can enslave them. Nobody can destroy them, except they want to destroy themselves. So, the gospel of amnesty was generated by the communities and peoples of the Niger Delta, and accepted by Yar’Adua. Credit must go to Yar’Adaua on that score. Now, what progress have we made? The very acceptance of the amnesty was a victory, a glaring and decisive moment in history. There is no struggle in history of this sort where the people themselves broker the idea of peace and reconciliation. It has never happened.

That historic momentum need not be stalled. The second element of progress is the understanding that after the battle, people need to sit down and dialogue, to move the process of peace and development forward. A very powerful message thus goes out to say dialogue is the best in every situation, and this is directed at the present and future generations. The third progress report is the challenge of development itself. How do we re-integrate? How do we move forward? Our people and comrades in the creeks have to come back to normal life. The process of re-integration and regeneration is a major challenge. If we don’t manage it well, it could further compound an already precarious situation. We have to handle it very delicately and sustain the peace.

Q. You are credited as being the brain behind the landmark publication “100 Reasons Why We Must Control Our Resources.” Do those reasons still obtain, or have more been added to them?

A. We are credited, not I am credited. Take note of that. I may have been instrumental to the document in question but I don’t want to take the full credit alone. We worked as a team, as a collective. And let me say that the reasons we gave have not been addressed. They are reasons that demand immediate attention. But when you work in a system that has variegated and multiple issues, you tend to say your yacht must come first, and that’s what the Niger Delta people must insist on, and rightly so. The 100 reasons articulated there are reasons that all minority ethnic nationalities can identify with, even though the document was issued as an Ijaw manifesto for progress. It was a follow-up to the Kaiama Declaration, a back-up campaign to give the propagators, the articulators, and the advocates of the movement enough material to enable them evangelize. That is one document that Nigeria, Africa and humanity cannot ignore, now and in a hundred years hence. So long as the issues of Ijaw land and the Niger Delta, the denial of their land, their right to clean air, so long as these issues are yet to be addressed in the sanctuary of intellectuals and decision makers in government, we cannot claim to have made much progress.

Q. In the view of some analysts, the INC has been comatose, not as effective as the youth wing. What do you think of the purported disparity in performance and popularity between both bodies?

A. I do not agree that the two bodies are different. The IYC is the youth wing of the INC, although they emerged under different circumstances. But the overall goal is the same, and they are together. If you take Britain as an example, the Churchill era is different from that of Harold Wilson, different from Tony Blair, different from Gordon Brown, different from David Cameron. But Britain remains the same. The leadership of the INC may have applied different strategies over time, but the same overall goal of self-determination, of resource control, of the progress and development of our land and people, is kept in focus. Let me tell you something. My dad is about 83 years old. The way he will articulate the issues of the Niger Delta may not be the same way you will do. He will probably be calm, wise and diplomatic. You and I will be more fiery, more aggressive. But that is not to say we don’t believe in the same cause. The INC and IYC are like that. One is calm, gentle and wise. The other is vibrant, fiery and pushful. It is important that we do not create disparity between these two bodies for the benefit of the Ijaw nation.

Q. As a social activist currently serving in government, one who is in the picture of things at a close range, what are the future prospects for our nation?

A. I am hopeful that Nigeria will remain united and in pursuit of a common destiny. But what we need to get right is the basis of our union, and we need to establish this through a bold, brave, all-inclusive article of the union that will be called the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a document that will inspire hope and ensure that the bounties of Nigeria are for one and all, and not just a few. Once we get that right, nothing will stop Nigeria from ruling the world. Nigeria has the capacity of great elasticity to withstand any threat.

Q. For the first time in 50 years, a minority element from the south of Nigeria is at the helm of affairs in our nation. How does that strike you?

A. It goes to show that there is a spirit of never die in Nigeria, a spirit of endurance and bravery, a spirit of excellence. The point is that President Goodluck Jonathan who hails from Oloibiri where oil was found, and schooled there; who governed Bayelsa and worked before that as an environmental director at OMPADEC, now NDDC, did not desire to be President. Fate and the goodwill of Nigerians, and above all the almighty God, took him from that swamp land to make him President of Nigeria. Clearly, God is sending a message to us. That message is for the good of the Nigerian people. The true and final story of the Goodluck presidency is yet to be told. Once it is told, Nigerians will say thank God.

Q. How much is expected of President Jonathan? What should be his focus in the next few months?

A. He has articulated what he wants to achieve, and I totally agree with him. He is focusing on three key issues. One, delivering on credible elections so as to guarantee qualitative leadership. Two, ensuring peace and stability in the Niger Delta. And three, ensuring constant electricity supply in our country. On a broad scale, you can guess what the absence of power has done to the march to industrialization in our country. He has already demonstrated unrivalled excellence with regard to the matter of credible elections on three occasions. The Edo State House of Assembly elections are a good example. PDP’s honour was at stake. Yet ACN won, and the world hailed because Jonathan insisted on credible elections. Governor Oshiomole flew to Abuja to thank Mr President for standing on the path of patriotism and truth to guarantee credible elections.

In the Anambra gubernatorial elections, President Jonathan insisted on fairness, that he would not tolerate any form of rigging or violence or abridging the fundamental rights of the Anambra electorate to vote and be voted for. Peter Obi won in the end. Nigerians applauded. It was one big leap for democracy. These are milestones to show that he’s on the path to the ideal of conducting free and fair elections that will give our nation a better political character in the eyes of the world.

President Jonathan is a man of peace. He believes that justice must be done to the people of the Niger Delta. He has demonstrated commitment to peace in the Niger Delta, not through violence, not through brigandage, but through sheer political, diplomatic brinkmanship, sheer deployment of that calm, honest nature that he is endowed with. He also takes seriously the security of lives and property in the country in the on-going process of restoration. The Goodluck Jonathan I know is not a man of vengeance who goes after people who wrong him or trespass against the nation. He is a selfless leader that Nigerians can trust.

Q. What should be the focus of a President with a virgin mandate who hails from the south, come 2011, with specific regard to the Niger Delta, in order to achieve credibility?

A. What the peoples of the Niger Delta want to enjoy is what God has given to them, to see these resources translate to development. The poor state of our villages is obvious. Mud houses, zinc houses. Darkness everywhere. No roads. Coloured water. The dream of Mr President is to see that there is a significant departure from the culture of want and deprivation, a major shift in policy at the central level, and a drastic shift in attitude at the communal and state levels that will enable our people to enjoy the fruits of their endurance.

It may take time for our roads to be constructed, time to transform the environment. It may take time to construct bridges from one community to another. But it will not take time to ensure that every citizen cultivates hope, their fundamental rights respected, and to see food on their tables. If at the local government level, the chairman and councilors are accountable for the resources at their disposal, and if the same obtains at the state and federal levels, that will help a lot. If my community, Okoroba, were to receive N100 million from compensation, and we fail to deploy that fortune to durable purposes, then we can only be said to have contributed to the underdevelopment of Okoroba.

In most local government councils, unfortunately, the income is shared rather than applied to useful economic purposes. A percentage should go to education, a percentage to infrastructure, a percentage to health. That is how it should be. But they prefer to share the money amongst themselves, what they call “kill and divide.” Of course, that doesn’t help anybody. The responsibility is both at the individual and national levels. No one is excluded from taking responsibility for the infrastructural growth of the community. It is a collective effort. We have a duty to insist that justice be done to the land and peoples of the Niger Delta. It is a historic responsibility that we cannot shy away from. We have to confront it and defeat it.

About the Author:

His Royal Majesty Nengi Josef Ilagha Mingi XII, is the Amanyanabo of Nembe Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

Also recommended: Epistle to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Matters

Click here for more published works of the author.





© 2010 - Nengi Josef Ilagha Mingi XII. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be copied or reproduced in any format or medium without the prior permission of the author and copyright owner(s).