Nigeria Content Online

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has donated N10 million to victims of the recent flood in Jigawa State.

While presenting
the cheque to the state’s governor, Sule Lamido, Mr Atiku expressed his
concern over the plight of the flood victims, saying “the donation was
only a token to assist in alleviating the sufferings of the victims”.
The governor, in response, thanked the presidential aspirant for his
kindness and generosity.

Atiku thereafter addressed party supporters at Jigawa Hotels and
held series of meetings with possible delegates to the upcoming party
presidential primaries, where he described himself as a democrat, a
dogged fighter for justice and equity, an experienced administrator and
a great mobilizer of human and material resources.

Barely two weeks
after the introduction of thorough screening of motorists and air
travellers by security operatives along roads two kilometres away from
the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, the safety
exercise has been terminated.

The increased
security, which came as a fallout of the October 1 twin bombings in
Abuja, and was aimed at curtailing the influx of people into the
airport, resulted to series of complaints by passengers and airport
users following the high vehicular traffic it caused on the roads
during the period.

“They (security
operatives) have stopped screening us and our passengers for some time
now, and it is surprising because we thought it was going to last,”
said a cab driver at the airport, who simply gave his name as Anthony.
Explaining that the situation caused travellers and commuters untold
hardship following the traffic jam that resulted from the development,
Mr Anthony said that activities along the road has so far return to
normal. “Some of us almost increased our transport fare, because we
burn a lot of fuel on the holdup, but you can see that everything is
now okay and there is no more holdup as we use to experience that
time,” he said.

High security alert

Anosike Bright, a
passenger at the airport, argued that the recent terror scare in Abuja
must have led to the disappearance of the officers. “May be they
(security operatives) have all relocated to Abuja because of last
week’s threat to bomb the capital again by militants,” he said.
However, Akin Olukunle, the spokesperson for the Federal Airports
Authority, said that the security checks have not ceased, but refused
to comment on why the officers are no longer seen on roads leading to
the airport.

NEXT, last week,
reported that security operatives, including the Nigerian Air Force,
Police Anti-Bomb Squad, Immigration, Civil Defence Corps, and Aviation
Security were all stationed on roads at about two kilometres away from
the international terminal, where they enforce screening on both
commercial and private motorists using the airport.

Richard Aiseubeogun, the Managing Director of the airports
authority, had earlier urged the public to assist the agency in its
fight for a safe and secured airport, adding that with respect to the
prolonged traffic, passengers should endeavour to leave for the airport
early. “We want to advise members of the local communities and all
stakeholders to report any strange or unusual activities within the
airport environment to security agencies nationwide,” he said. “We
appeal to all airport road users to cooperate with the officials
involved in the screening exercises, to ensure smooth facilitation, and
undue delays.”

Environmentalist
and special adviser to the President on Research, documentation and
Strategy, Oronto Douglas has been named among the 20 most influential
writers, thinkers, and activists in the world.

Mr Douglas was
listed in a recent book “Political Awakenings: Conversations with
History” by Harry Kreiser the Executive Director of the Institute of
International Studies, University of California. Mr Douglas was
selected with 19 others, from 485 interviews of people which the book
described as “distinguished men and women who by the power of their
intellect and strength of character shape the world.” Mr Douglas made
the Science, Food and The Environment: Movement for Justice category
which comprised select individuals that have challenged corporate power
which seeks to disproportionately reap the benefits of science and
technology to the detriment of the society.

The other two other
individuals listed in the same category with Mr Douglas are Michael
Pollan who has in the past 20 years written books and articles about
places where the human and natural world intersect, and Eva Harris, a
molecular biologist, who implements a program to distribute DNA
technology to third world clinics to fight diseases.

Reacting to this
listing, Mr Douglas stated, “I am motivated essentially by the fact
that every human being ought to make a contribution towards human
progress. We are not just on this planet to eat, sleep, and then we
die. I think we came because we have a contribution to make.

“My little
contribution in the area of environmental human rights is to further
the whole debate about our progress.” Douglas is co-founder of
Nigeria’s foremost environmental advocacy group, Environmental Rights
Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN). He served as one of the
lawyers on the defence team for the Ogoni leader, Ken Saro Wiwa, who
was executed by late Head of State, Sani Abacha.

He is also the author of several works, including the groundbreaking
Where Vultures Feast: Shell, Human Rights, Oil in the Niger Delta,
which he coauthored with another activist, Ike Okonta.

Muhammed Saad
Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto; and Babatunde Fashola, the Lagos
State Governor, on Sunday, at the Murtala Muhammed International
Airport, advised Islamic pilgrims travelling for the 2010 Hajj to be
good citizens of Nigeria at the programme.

Calling on the
pilgrims to pray for the country at the ceremony, the sultan advised
the pilgrims to strictly observe the religious obligations attributed
to the Hajj operations, adding that they should desist from any form of
business activity being undertaken by some during the exercise. “We
want you to cooperate with the Saudi Arabia authorities and shun any
act that is bad,” he said. “Also hajj is a religious obligation and not
an avenue to go shopping. Whatever you want to buy in Saudi Arabia can
be bought in Nigeria at a better quality, so save your funds.”

Mr Fashola implored
the pilgrims to pray for the 36 states in the country, especially at a
time when the country is warming up for its general elections. He also
commended Mr Abubakar for his agitation for cooperation and religious
tolerance among inhabitants of Nigeria.

Muniru Bankole, the
Managing Director of Med View Airlines, one of the carriers airlifting
the pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, promised that the travellers will not be
left stranded at the end of the pilgrimage. “You can see that the
pilgrims have been checked in,” he said. “We are operating with three
aircraft. As I am talking to you, one is in Ilorin which will airlift
those from Ekiti and Ondo States, and we have one in Maiduguri to carry
pilgrims from Yobe. We are operating 18 flights, so, we hope to finish
latest November 2, 2010.”

Pilgrims heading for Saudi Arabia form Nigeria for the 2010 Hajj are 95,000.

Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on NITEL/M-Tel restructuring and minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu, has hinted that the 30-month labour crisis in the state-owned telecommunication companies, NITEL and M-Tel, has been resolved.

Proposals and recommendations of the task force were approved during a meeting with executives of the labour unions in the two companies and the task force, in the minister’s office in Abuja, at the weekend.

Emmanuel Aziken, spokesperson for the labour minister, quoted Mr Wogu as saying that under the approved recommendation by the federal government, N51.6 billion is to be applied in settling the exit package due to permanent and casual staff of the two companies.

“I am gladdened that this issue is now coming to a terminal point and it is time for all stakeholders in NITEL/M-Tel to forge forward with their lives and their careers. I salute the perseverance of all staff involved and the stoicism with which they have carried on these past two years,” Mr Wogu said.

“The quick resolution of this matter is a reflection of the commitment of the present administration to the welfare of Nigerian workers. On my part, the strong backing I received from the highest quarters of government in carrying out the assignment made the assignment of the PTF very fruitful.”

Resolution after pickets

The meeting with the labour unions followed earlier picketing of the minister’s office on the eve of the nation’s 50th independence anniversary, by aggrieved staff of the two unions.

Mr Wogu, in meetings with the staff on September 29, 2010, promised to convey the government’s response on their lingering concerns, on October 12. The promise to them helped to calm the restive workers who were otherwise set to carry their protest to the Independence Day anniversary grounds.

The recommendation of the task force provides that “all staff be exited and paid off their entitlements. Critical staff to facilitate a smooth handover to a core investor will be immediately re-engaged such that the wage bill will not exceed 10 per cent of the current wage bill.

Furthermore, security of facilities will be outsourced, with existing security personnel being absorbed so that a vacuum is not created.”

Following an attack
by suspected armed robbers on the Ondo State School of Midwifery,
Akure, students of the institution have boycotted their classrooms in
protest against insecurity on their campus.

Some armed robbers
had invaded the school last week and injured three female students. The
about five robbers inflicted machete wounds on the students’ heads
while trying to rob them of their possessions.

The robbers were
said to have gained entry into the school premises through a collapsed
fence around 2.15am last Tuesday, making away with items such mobile
phones, cash and jewellery.

Some of the
students who spoke with NEXT said that no student will enter the
classroom until something was done to enhance the security of their
lives, and the issue of social amenities that are lacking in the
institution is addressed.

Repeat offenders

They complained
about constant total blackouts as a result of the irregular power
supply from the Power Holdings Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

“We are tired of
the management of this school. We don’t know what they are using our
money for and we pay heavily,” one of the students said. “Yet, see what
we are passing through. This is not the first time robbers will be
invading us. Last time they came, after robbing us of our money, they
also raped some of the students. This is unfair.”

Spokesman of the
State Police Command, Adeniran Aremu, said the police received the
distress call from the students rather too late. “As part of the
complementary efforts to civilian security guards manning the school,
police patrol will be extended into their campus to ensure their safety
at night,” he said.

Mr Aremu said, as
part of the measures to ensure that the lives of the students of the
school are protected, the command has advised the management of the
school to re-build the collapsed fence through which the hoodlums
gained entry into the hostel.

“We gave the distress calls numbers of the command, control room and
my number to the students, so that we can respond to them whenever the
men of the underworld came calling,” he said.