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President Goodluck
Jonathan did not jump into a hasty conclusion when he declared that the
members of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)
were not responsible for the October 1 bomb blast in Abuja.

His campaign
outfit, Goodluck/Sambo Campaign organization, made this affirmation in
a statement sent to media organisations last night.

The organisation,
in the statement signed by its spokesperson, Sully Abu, said the
president merely wanted to reassure Nigerians that the perpetrators
would be found.

“For those who
insist that there was a rush to judgment on the part of the President
on this matter, it bears restating that what he sought to do was to
reassure Nigerians that the perpetrators will be found, a process which
could be hampered by a rather casual attribution of the violence to
MEND,” the group said.

“As President and
Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, it is his bounden duty to speak
out in times of danger in order to reassure the populace of the
government’s commitment to their safety and wellbeing. This is the
practice wherever you have a responsible government that is committed
to the welfare of its people.”

No absolution for MEND

The organisation
explained that during his visit to the National Hospital to commiserate
with victims of the bombing, the president said the terrorist act
should not merely be ascribed to MEND and that nobody should use the
name of any organisation to cover up a heinous crime. It added that “
He (president) was not absolving MEND or any other group of blame or
culpability.” It recalled that the first time the president spoke on
the bombings was at the ECOWAS parliament in Abuja, adding that he had
pointed out that a heinous crime had been committed against the country
and innocent lives had been lost.

“He thus considered
it a gratuitous insult for anyone to claim that it was done by MEND, or
had anything to do with the Niger Delta. This is even more so, he said,
since government was in touch with the leadership of MEND (all of whom
had renounced violence), and they all agree that the organisation had
nothing to do with the blasts.

“The President
sought to put the correct emphasis on the urgent need to get to the
bottom of that sordid act of terror and to unearth the perpetrators,
because after all, anyone can hide under the umbrella of MEND or any
other organisation or body for that matter to cover up acts of
malfeasance.”

Stating that it
stands by Mr Jonathan, the organisation also urged him not to be swayed
by the protests in certain quarters, allegedly orchestrated to divert
and confuse the real issue.

The organization
also said that it is high time Nigeria did away with the rather lazy
approach of explaining away criminal activity by blaming armed robbers
or assassins as if such categorization takes away from the severity of
the offence.

“Such an approach
has somehow affected the investigation of some high profile murders
committed in this country in recent memory including the murder of such
prominent citizens as the late Dele Giwa, Alfred Rewane, Bola Ige,
Marshal Harry and A. K. Dikibo, amongst others,” it noted.

Okah allegations

The president’s
campaign organisation also criticised Henry Okah over his allegation
that the Presidency asked him to implicate the north and insisted that
the MEND chief must be brought to justice if he is found guilty.

“No amount of
obfuscation and diversionary tactics,” it said “will prevent the full
investigation of that crime against our fatherland on October 1.”

Meanwhile, a
faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) has warned that
the country could slide into a failed state if nothing is done to
strengthen its unity.

The national chairman of the faction, Victor Umeh, gave the warning while speaking with newsmen in Abuja on the bomb attack.

He described as
“unnecessary” the killing of Nigerians during the independence
celebration going by the level of pain and poverty in the country.

“There is no
justification for such criminal act. If we begin to kill ourselves, we
open ourselves into a collapse state. We should not import terrorism
into Nigeria,” Mr Umeh said.

“The Federal Government should not gamble with this, if they have
some information, it should be use to apprehend those behind the acts,
I don’t see how somebody who wants to serve Nigeria should be
desperate, nobody takes leadership by force, it is only the military
that takes leadership by force, and it is no more fashionable across
the world.”

On the same day that Nigeria celebrated its 50th Independence Anniversary, the iconic time travel film ‘Back to the Future’ was re-released in the UK to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

The film is about a
teenager who accidentally goes 35 years back in time, using a time
machine constructed by an eccentric scientist. He meets his parents as
they are about to embark on their lives together and he inadvertently
disrupts the course their lives would ordinarily have taken, risking
that his parents will not marry and that he himself will not be born.
He has to repair the damage to history and to his own future that his
actions have caused and find his way back to the future within a week.

As I reflect on the
flavour of the past week and Nigeria’s independence 50 years ago, it
seems very apt that the film’s re-release coincided with our
celebrations. I have read newspaper articles about how the founding
fathers of our nation got it wrong, and did not foresee the fault lines
in the nation they put together.

Other articles
blame the ‘state of the nation’ on divergence from the original plan
these same founding fathers put in place for our nation-building.

Then, there are the
parallels. October 1, 50 yearsago marked the culmination of the
struggle for independence from external governance that our thinkers
and workers felt was exploitative, repressive and unjust. Now, we are
witnessing internal struggles for autonomy from a centralized
government.

Over the past week,
we have been taken back to the past through photographs of 60s fashion
and screening of newsreel and documentaries from that time. In a
country where it is easy to feel that we have no documented history, it
has been wonderful to read and see historical references to what life
was like in 1960.

It made me proud to
learn that Independence Building was designed by a Nigerian architect
and president of the Nigerian Institute of Architects from 1968-1970
-Augustine Akhuemokhan Egbor.

I enjoyed the
chronicle in the newspaper of Nigeria’s romance with musical genres in
every decade since the 60s. We really had excellent musicians and great
music, and now that spirit is captured on Broadway and in a West End
Theatre with the truly excellent and invigorating Fela! Musical. Our
magazines have featured the fashionable knee-high style of wearing
traditional dress for the ladies, and men’s dapper dressing reminiscent
of Malcolm X with short afro hair styles with side partings, sharp
suits and traditional ethnic wear.

It has felt like a
period of renaissance. Like a time when we have the chance once again
to re-invent ourselves to a time before the schism and deprivation of
the civil war; to a time when positive change rather than destructive
division may emerge from the storm of competing interests and positions
brewing in our Local, State and National Assemblies.

It has felt like a
point from which we may be able to depart from the rigid roles that
seem imposed on the south south, the northwest, the east, the south
west, the middle belt and the north east; when we can leave the past
where it is and only carry the learnings from it into our newly
envisioned future as a true federation with national representation
that takes us forward instead of holding us back.

The world is
watching Even though we have so much to celebrate as a people, there is
not much in our everyday lives to celebrate as a nation; and nothing
spectacular or inspirational to show for the billions spent on marking
the event during an economic downturn when the fortunate are under
pressure to make a living, and the unfortunate are struggling to find
something to eat. Even so, all the elements that were present at our
founding are back again – back from the past for us to take into our
future.

We have proud,
young, educated and patriotic Nigerians ready to serve our nation. A
resurging focus on pride in the armed services and on efficient service
in our ministries is evident. Flourishing music, dance, fashion,
creative arts and crafts and pride in vocations. Nigerians excelling
around the world. A country opening up to investment, investing in mass
infrastructure, new technologies, new ventures and new development
partners.

Opportunities for export of proudly-made-in-Nigeria products and the expansion of our enterprises across the world.

We are also once
more the cynosure of the world and not just for negative things. The
world is watching. We have had 50 years to stretch, grow, learn painful
lessons, and indulge in vices until we are sick. The early stages of
cancerous growths have been identified. Are we going to swallow bitter
medicine, and suffer them to be cut out before they permanently embed
the tentacles that have been spread? Or are we going to ‘go out with a
bang’; decide that we are doomed anyway and gorge ourselves
irresponsibly until the choice is taken from our hands.

I can see the
future in the back of my eyes where it has retreated to as the years
passed. It is a beautiful, orderly, free, safe, and prosperous tropical
nation with people who laugh a lot, live large, and who celebrate
life’s little joys and mourn its small sorrows together in harmony.
Let’s work to bring that future back. We will all be the better for it.

Worried by the poor medical attention
given to prison inmates, a youth corps member presently serving in Ondo
State, Babatunde Ogundare, has constructed a model medical clinic where
inmates serving various jail terms at the Olokuta Maximum Prison, Akure
can be treated. The 12-bed clinic has two toilets, a consulting room,
doctor’s office, pharmacist’s office and a store, and is expected to be
a lifeline for prisoners at the Olokuta Maximum Prison which is
presently overcrowded.

While speaking at the commissioning
yesterday, Mr Babatunde, a lawyer serving with Homni Outlook, a partner
with MTN, said the clinic was built at a cost of about N2.9 million as
a Community Development Service project.

He said he was moved to build the
clinic when he discovered that the Medium security prison, which was
built to house 160 inmates, have been jampacked with about 560. Mr
Babatunde said the situation at the prison spurred him to build the
clinic to ensure that inmates have access to good medical facilities,
adding that the project was realised with the help of people who share
his vision.

“The foundation of this clinic was laid
on the 29th June, 2010 with 400 blocks. The take off cash was a
donation from a co-sponsor who shared this vision,” he said. “Since
government alone cannot do it, it is the collective duty of Nigerians
to rise up and do things that will transform Nigeria to a better place.
I discovered that the Olokuta maximum prison is over crowded, the
prisoners will be exposed to different kinds of diseases, hence the
need to give them hospital where they can be treated”.

He urged the state government to ensure
that the clinic is well equipped as its own contribution to the
project. “There were a lot of discouragement, disappointment and
unforeseen circumstances that has to do with cash, also the limited
time frame for my service year, but with the grace of God Almighty, the
clinic is a reality today,” he said.

Positive youth

The Deputy Comptroller of Nigeria
Prisons Service, Benjamin Bogunjoko tasked Nigerian youth to channel
their brains toward things that will bring rapid development to their
various communities and the nation at large.

“It is lamentable that most youths had
channeled their brains towards unprofitable and wasteful ventures like
cultism, kidnapping and other socio vices which had continued to affect
the nation’s development,” he said. He urged the youth to think less of
what the country can do for them and focus on what they can do for the
nation.

Mr Bogunjoko said the gesture was
unprecedented in the history of the country, saying the clinic will not
only improve the health of the inmates but also serve as a way of
treating inmates who fall sick while serving their jail terms.

“This is not a small achievement; it is a big one that must be
commended in all spheres. The young boy has done his part which I think
it will go down in the history of the Nigerian prison service,” he
said. The Ondo State coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps,
Jaiye Ojumu appealed to the state’s indigenes to always come to the aid
of corps members who want to embark on similar venture. He said it is
lamentable that notable indigenes of the state do not help corps
members doing community development service.

The seven newly appointed Deputy Inspector Generals
of Police were inaugurated yesterday in Abuja, amidst a frank admission
by the chairman of Police Service Commission (PSC), Parry Osayande,
that he almost quit the police force.

Mr. Osayande, while decorating the seven DIGs, charged the officers “to see the new promotions as an act of God.”

He further urged the new leadership of the Force to
understand that “only the President has the power to appoint people he
can work with effectively and, therefore, they should work as a team
during their tenure.”

The former police officer said he almost resigned his
appointment two months ago due to “certain issues”, but was vague about
his reasons.

“It’s due to certain things,” he said. “I was trying
to exercise my fundamental human right of freedom of movement and
association. Nothing more or less.”

The acting Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim,
had earlier told the new management of the Force to prepare for the
great task ahead of them so that what happened to their predecessors
would not repeat itself during their tenure.

“We are aware of the circumstances that brought us to
the fore today. I urged you all in the new management not to behave
like in the past, so that we will not fail,” Mr. Ringim said.

New offices

Immediately after their decorations, the DIGs were
assigned offices. Ivy Okoronkwo, from Abia State, made history by
becoming the first female Deputy to the IGP in the history of Nigeria
Police.

Azubuko John Udah, also from Abia, takes charge of
the administration department. Ganiyu Dawodu, a Lagos indigene, heads
investigations. Sardauna Abubakar of Sokoto State is to take charge of
the E department, training; Audu Abubakar from Kebbi State will be in
charge of the B department, operations.

Others include Saleh Abubakar, Bauchi State, who will
be in charge of the C department, works; and Mohammed A. Yesufu, Delta
State, will occupy the office of F department, planning, research, and
statistics of the Force.

Mrs. Okoronkwo, who responded on behalf of the newly
decorated officers, thanked the Federal Government for giving them the
opportunity to serve in the present capacity and pledged their loyalty
to government and the new IGP.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
has embarked on the process of enlightening politicians who may want to
win elections at all cost, its chairman, Attahiru Jega, said yesterday
in Abuja.

Mr. Jega spoke at a lecture titled,
‘Elections and Democracy in Africa: Restoring Nigerian Leadership,’
organised by the United States Embassy.

Responding to concerns raised by some
Nigerians about the 2011 elections, the INEC boss said the commission
has been engaging politicians in discussions to intimate them on the
provisions of the electoral laws, so as to bring civility into the
process of political contestation.

Mr. Jega regretted that the political
terrain has been tainted with the desperation to win elections, but
insisted that it has to change if the nation must have credible polls
next year.

“In this engagement, the underlying
point is bringing civility into the process of political contestation
and campaign, and I think the parties are responding,” he said.

“The terrain has been infused with the
mindset of do-or-die attitude. But it has to change. It is something
that is deep-rooted and so it will take time to change,” he added.

Mr. Jega said that the commission is re-orientating politicians “for them to have the right mindset to accept defeat.”

On the voters register, the INEC
chairman said it was one of the reasons the commission asked for time,
and assured that the commission would satisfy the needs and aspiration
of Nigerians. He explained that so many flaws were discovered in the
previous register, hence it demanded for more time so as to have
credible polls.

“We are working hard now to have a new
voter register. We are going to satisfy the needs and aspirations of
Nigerians. It is a bit slow, but it is going on. The thing is to get it
right,” he stated.

Mr. Jega said the commission is
prepared to collaborate with youth groups in the country that have the
agenda of change, but admitted that it is facing the challenge of
identifying the genuine ones.

According to him, some of the groups
are being misdirected and, therefore, cannot fit into the commission’s
agenda to bring about credible elections in the country.

Repeat June 12

Earlier in his lecture, Richard Joseph,
a professor of International History and Politics at the Northwestern
University in the United States, said the bomb attempt by a Nigerian,
Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, last December, and last Friday’s incident
have implications for the political security of Nigeria.

He noted that something must give way
in order to sustain democracy in the country, just as he asked
politicians to do away with pursuing electoral victory at all cost.

Mr. Joseph said Nigeria could embark on
the journey of claiming democracy, mandate protection, and enthronement
of accountability, adding “we cannot run away from what happened on
June 12, 1993.”

While praising the leadership qualities
of the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, the professor said the
2011 polls should be used to repeat the credible election of 1993.

Following the
October 1st bombing in Abuja, and subsequent bomb threats in the Three
Arms Zone of the Federal Capital Territory, the National Assembly
management has heightened its security check.

The security checks
and restrictions commenced on Monday, as shuttle buses were barred from
the Assembly premises. The acting deputy clerk in the National
Assembly, Olumuyiwa Adejokun, confirmed the new security measures,
saying he was informed that the Assembly is one of the targets for the
bombers.

Mr. Adejokun said
the decision to stop the shuttle buses from coming in was to control
the inflow of visitors into the Assembly. Other measures which the
management has planned to deploy include restriction of visitors’
movement and a log to monitor the frequency of visits to every office.

Henceforth,
visitors would not be allowed to drive their cars into the premises
too. “They will park outside,” Mr. Adejokun said.

With the new
arrangement, non driving staff and visitors would trek about 500 metres
from the gate to their various offices. However, Mr. Adejokun said the
measures are in the best interest of everybody.

“For the safety of every human being communing in here, we need to do this,” he said.

He also stated that
some strategic offices in the Assembly complex would henceforth be
closed to the public, including restriction on the use of personal
laptops to access the free Internet facilities provided by the
management.

National issue

Meanwhile, the
Senate will, today, deliberate a motion on the October 1st bomb blast.
The debate will be led by Anthony Manzo, of the People’s Democratic
Party, Taraba State, drawing the attention of the Senate to the
incident, which he described as a national embarrassment, for necessary
legislative action.

The Senate is
expected to come up with resolutions condemning the act and to urge the
government to tackle the rise in insecurity in the country. It might
also hasten the passage of an anti terrorism bill, which is currently
before the legislators.

The blasts, which
the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, allegedly
claimed responsibility for, have been roundly condemned by Nigerians
and the international community.

The area where the bombs went off, about some hundreds of metres to
the Eagle Square, has been cordoned off since the incident occurred.

Some of the
international journalists drinking at the hotels in Abuja were knocked
off their bar stools when they heard the announcement that the First
Lady of the world’s 6th largest oil and gas producer was donating bags
of rice, not for the millions displaced by floods in Jigawa or Cross
River, but to anybody that cared in the capital city, Abuja.

Nigerian colleagues
helped out with explanations – it was to mark the 50th anniversary of
Nigeria’s independence. Why did the present from Mrs. Patience Jonathan
cause a stir, or commotion, the foreigners drilled deeper. But, they
did not get satisfactory answers to their questions.

Food donations by
royalty and the rich are made globally to refugees and populations in
disaster areas as an ameliorative expedient. In Nigeria, the poor are
often fed by the rich, especially during festive occasions.

Rice is presently
expensive in Nigeria. The country is not one of the leading global
producers, but a net importer of the commodity, despite the existence
of a Cereals Research Institute of Nigeria, CRIN, the West African Rice
Development Agency, WARDA, and the International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture, IITA.

A third and
neglected factor in that “bags-of-rice,” debate, is the decency or
decorum of the idea and distribution process. Nigerians relish in
throwing money at beggars from the windows of their massive cars, which
is demeaning and in some way, a form of self-abuse, not self-esteem.

First of all, Mrs.
Jonathan must be congratulated for confirming to the world at Nigeria’s
golden jubilee that the country is stunted in econimic growth, despite
its oil wealth. She has definitely taken cognisance of the fact that
fish catches at her home-town, Okrika, are no longer what they used to
be. Finfish landings are drastically reduced by post-harvest losses,
thanks to poor refrigeration from regular power cuts. Levels of
pollution through industrial and domestic waste in shellfish, shrimps,
oysters, and periwinkles have increased.

Instantaneous pity
and generosity are common with women, but should the Jonathans return
to Aso Rock next year, the First Lady will have enough time to study
the causes of poverty in Nigeria. Patience Jonathan’s charity and
kindness are meant well, but must be planned for effectiveness. It is a
problem also faced by international aid organisations. Administrative
overheads of aid assistance often overshoot the actual poverty
alleviation on ground.

Open the door

Mrs. Jonathan may
perhaps then initiate the adequate funding of rural development, food
security initiatives, agricultural research and environmental
management in Nigeria.

Our development is
erroneously skewed in favour of urban areas. If 70 percent of Nigerians
are rural dwellers mostly living on below a dollar a day, is that not
where food aid should be directed, and not at the Blackberry-carrying
city people in Abuja?

The villagers that
provide the bulk of our grains, tubers, vegetables, and fruits are
dying of malnutrition, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. We take their statistics,
receive international donor assistance on their behalf, and then spend
the money buying project vehicles, installing air conditioners and
computers in the city, and paying a horde of incompetent consultants.

Poverty will never
vanish through hurling rice bags at people. The successful democracies
on earth are based on a free market economy backed by institutional
pluralism. Within this structure, opportunities are created for people
to feed themselves.

James Brown used to sing, “I don’t want nobody to give me nothing. Open up the door, I’ll take it myself.”

Last week’s bomb
blast in Abuja has taught residents of the Federal Capital Territory
(FCT) to learn to take extra security measures by sleeping with one eye
wide open, such that they would not hesitate to push the panic button
at the slight suspicion of any threat to their safety.

Yesterday, there
was massive panic around the vicinity of the NNPC Towers, the
headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, following
rumours of a bomb scare within the imposing edifice, located along the
ever-busy Herbert Macaulay Way, in the Central Business District of the
city.

Most commercial
vehicle operators and other motorists who saw a huge build-up of
vehicles and human traffic around the NNPC building went to town with
the information that the masterminds of last Friday’s bomb blast had,
perhaps, relocated their trade to the building.

According to the
rumour, work had been forced to hastily close for the day, while staff
were being hurriedly evacuated as a result of the “incident.”

Majority of the
people around the vicinity of the building did not wait to confirm the
veracity of the speculation, as they made frantic turns in the opposite
direction in the bid to escape.

Security drill it was

Words spread fast,
as the whole town was engulfed in palpable panic, with some people who
may not have gone near the area telling others they met heading in the
direction of the NNPC building to make a detour to other places.

But NNPC’s
spokesperson, Levi Ajuonuma, in a terse response to NEXT inquiries,
asked members of the public to disregard the rumour for what it is.

“Please, disregard
such rumour. We did a simple routine security drill and people see it
as a bomb threat,” Mr. Ajuonuma said in a text message.

NEXT gathered that,
as part of the need to prevent a repeat of last week’s ugly incident,
most key government establishments and organisations have taken extra
precaution by carrying out various measures to update their security
systems, to prepare them for any posssibility, including a bomb
incident.

It was learnt that
as part of its security precaution, the security department of the
corporation had organised a programme to reinforce its security system
to ascertain safety of staff and members of the public.

Part of the measures, NEXT learnt, was to ensure that all vehicles
attempting to enter the premises were subjected to a thorough extra
security checks, an exercise that caused a long traffic snarl around
the entrance of the headquarters building.

President Goodluck
Jonathan’s administration came under severe fire yesterday after two
groups accused his government of bullying and victimisation in an
effort to destabilise his political opponents.

The Ibrahim
Babangida campaign organisation said they will remain resolute and firm
in the face of what they described as “executive brutality and
intimidation” from the presidency.

The Northern
Political Leaders Forum, known as the G-15, yesterday, asked President
Jonathan to resign, in the wake of the October 1st bombings.

Following the
arrest of its coordinator on Monday, the Ibrahim Babangida campaign
organisation also said they remain resolute and firm in the face of
“executive brutality and intimidation” from the presidency.

The group called a
press conference in Abuja, yesterday, to address the allegations
leveled against Raymond Dokpesi, who was briefly arrested by the SSS on
allegations of complicity in the twin bombings.

The deputy
coordinator of the team, Kanti Bello, said the only reason why Mr.
Dokpesi is being hunted is because he rejected the appointment as
director general of the President Goodluck Jonathan campaign
organisation.

“In rejecting the
appointment, Dokpesi informed the world of his belief in the zoning
arrangement of the PDP, where the presidency stays in the north,” Mr.
Bello said.

Resign now

The northern
group, in a statement signed by Adamu Ciroma, also called Mr. Dokpesi’s
arrest a “desperate attempt to validate President Jonathan’s hasty
investigations and prove his predetermined theory right.”

The lengthy
statement rounded off by denouncing Mr. Jonathan’s administration,
saying he was “incapable of leading the nation fairly and that he is
desperate enough to want to hang mass murder around the neck of unnamed
Northerners to achieve his second term.”

The group said Mr. Jonathan should, therefore, resign or face possible impeachment proceedings in the National Assembly.