Nigeria Content Online

The head of Benin’s
parliament has rejected a request by lawmakers to impeach President
Boni Yayi, saying they failed to follow procedures.

Mathurin Coffi
Nago, president of the national assembly, said on Friday that the
lawmakers had not followed the correct procedures, so their request had
been rejected. It was not clear if they would re-launch their request.

Lawmakers had been
trying to impeach Yayi over his alleged involvement in a scheme, which
swindled thousands of Beninois of their savings and has already led to
the sacking of a minister and large-scale street protests.

Yayi’s spokesman had previously denied the president’s involvement in the case.

So far, lawmakers,
who have about 50 signatures from the 83-seat parliament, have fallen
short of a two-thirds majority needed to summon the president for trial
for treason and perjury.

The members of
parliament accuse Yayi of hosting officials from ICC Services. The firm
is accused of stealing some 100 billion CFA francs in deposits after
promising returns of 20-50 percent.

Search for money

Last month, more than 100,00 people took to the streets demanding that the government help them get their money back.

ICC Services
officials have been put under house arrest and Mr Yayi sacked his
interior minister in July, accusing him of being directly involved in
the scam.

IHS Global Insight
senior Africa analyst, Kissy Agyemen-Togobo, said Benin, a stable
sliver of land between Nigeria and Togo, risked political turbulence
over the scandal. He warned that the current spat was on a much larger
scale than standoffs over wages seen recently in Benin.

“With elections
looming in 2011, domestic pressure on Boni (Yayi) is expected to rise
to unprecedented levels,” Agyemen-Togobo added.

Yayi was elected in 2006 and has taken steps to liberalise the
economy. He has also been popular with members of the international
community.

The Federal Airport
Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on Sunday allayed fears over possible shut
down of Port Harcourt International Airport due to issues of power
disruption.

This is coming
after last week’s report of threats by the Power Holding Company of
Nigeria (PHCN), Port Harcourt Distribution Zone, to disconnect the
airport’s power supply by Tuesday due to the management’s inability to
pay its electricity bill amounting to N7.4 million since June 2008 till
May 2010.

Richard
Aiseubeogun, managing director of the authority, said his management
has put in place measures to resolve the differences between the
authority and the power holding company, adding that this may involve
the reconciliation of accounts between the two organisations at the
regional level.

The authority’s
boss expressed concern over the huge amount, insisting that it is high
time that airlines, concessionaires and other users of the authority’s
facilities pay up the debts they owe FAAN.

“It is lamentable
that the authority pays an average of N60 million monthly on
electricity bill just for the Lagos airport alone. The authority also
consumes an average of N16 million monthly on diesel for the generators
at the Lagos airport and about N30 million monthly at the Abuja
airport,” he said in a statement.

“What it pays to
sustain constant power supply at the other 19 airports could better be
imagined. So, FAAN demands the money owed is now to maintain excellent
service delivery and meet its overhead costs.”

Reducing debt Akin
Olukunle, General Manager, public relations, for FAAN, said that as
part of measures to curb the growing debt profile, a new credit policy
and procedures manual was unveiled recently and is applicable to all
customers of the authority nationwide.

The authority,
however, assured that it is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of
Aviation to ensure that all ongoing projects designed to transform the
Port Harcourt International airport is completed before the end of the
year, especially the perimeter fence and the roads.

“Only recently, two fire trucks were sent to the airport, a
development which enhanced the capacity of fire cover at the airport,”
said Mr Olukunle.

Domestic air
travellers in the country on Sunday expressed varied concerns following
the mishap involving Aero contractors aircraft which crash landed in
Jos airport last Saturday.

The incident which
saw the Boeing 737-500 aircraft having its two nose tyres punctured on
landing on the runway of the airport due to hazardous weather, has
instilled fear in some passengers, while most travellers see the
development as normal.

“That occurrence is
regular when it comes to flying it will not stop me from flying. But it
is quite impressive to know that we have experienced pilots that can
land aircraft with flat tyres,” said Ebube Geoffrey, a passenger at the
Murtala Mohammed Airport 2 (MMA2).

Mr. Geoffrey,
however, called on the relevant authorities to fix the aircraft should
there be equipment failure resulting from the incident.

“The airline in
question has not had any crash, if I’m correct, so I don’t think this
should be big deal; but that does not mean they should use a faulty
plane to carry loyal customers like us,” he said.

Another traveller,
who gave her name as Sandra, said it is frightening to hear of
incidents involving aircraft, adding that though there was no casualty
in the recent happening, airline operators should endeavour to use
standard parts on their aeroplanes.

“Though I
air-travel often, flying to Abuja this evening seems a bit scary to me,
after hearing about the effect of bad weather in Jos yesterday,” she
said. “I hope airlines use new equipment on these aircraft, and the
regulatory agencies mandate them to do so for safety reasons.”

Unshaken Aero

The airline, in a
statement after the incident, promised that the aircraft will commence
flight after thorough checks by its engineers.

“All the passengers
on board were safely disembarked from the aircraft. Aero has promptly
dispatched engineers to the airport to fix the tyres while it awaits
officials of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA to inspect the
aircraft before returning it to flight,” it said, adding “the Boeing
737-500 aircraft recently returned from a C-Check abroad.” Meanwhile,
the Jos airport has been shut down to flight operations, as no airline
went to the Plateau State capital yesterday.

A source at Aero
Contractors, who pleaded anonymity disclosed that the aircraft is yet
to be cleared from the runway due to the ongoing investigation into the
incident.

“We did not and will not fly to Jos today (Sunday) for the airstrip is currently closed,” the sources said.

Akin Olukunle,
general manager, public affairs for the Federal Airports Authority of
Nigeria (FAAN) confirmed that the airport is currently closed to flight
operations, and to be reopened after the investigation is concluded.

“The shut down was due to the incident of Saturday. Normal
operations will start when complete research is carried out,” he said.

Yetunde Adekoje’s mother last
Thursday called her with a warning that she should return home when the
election starts. The woman told her daughter, a member of the National
Youth Service Corps serving in Borno State, that she just heard on the
radio that INEC would rely on the corps for the conduct of the election.

Mrs Adekoje, a divorcee selling
kerosene at Sango market, Ibadan, said no parent who witnessed what
happened during the 2007 elections in Ibadan would allow their child to
be exposed to such.

“How much money would they give
them that will be equal to their lives? Since her father abandoned me,
I sponsored her through schools with my little proceeds from the
kerosene business,” she said in Yoruba. “I know how I slept on empty
stomach to make sure I paid her school fees. So, they should please
help me, let me eat the fruits of my labour.” Attahiru Jega, the
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), last
week met with the Director-General of the NYSC, Maharazu Tsiga during
which he announced a partnership with NYSC in conduct of compiling a
new voters register and conduct of next year’s election.

He said Nigerians desired free,
fair and credible elections. “But you know that for us to succeed, we
need credible partners and there is no doubt that the NYSC has been a
credible partner to INEC,” he said. “I, therefore, use this opportunity
to inform you of our desire to recruit all our ad-hoc staff for the
purpose of the voters’ registration exercise as well as the 2011
elections from the NYSC.” Mr Tsiga appealled to INEC to provide
security operatives for corps members engaged in electoral activities.
He also identified non-payment of corps members’ honorarium and
conveying corps members to their duty posts, as part of challenges over
the years.

Security of corps members

“Among all the experiences we have
had, the one that comes up most and is so important to us and parents,
is the security of corps members,” Mr Tsiga said. “It is our wish that
we will broaden frontiers of co-operation by exploring possibilities,
including training of corps members on election duties during our
orientation course.” Some groups also warned the Independent National
Electoral Commission not to base its plan on total reliance on members
of the National Youth Service Corps, alleging that some of them already
have political inclinations from their days in the universities.

Femi Oluokun, the coordinator of
Elect Force Mission, a religious group that has mobilized Nigerian
youths for humanitarian and Christian religious services since 2007,
said: “thinking that they are the last hope amounts to digging a
dangerous pit. Some of them can do anything for money.” He however said
the NYSC authority can also help to coordinate the corps members better
rather than handing them completely to the community where they could
be exposed to manipulation.

“We have heard of corpers being
killed in many parts of the country, especially when they are opened to
ethnic or religious differences of their environment, so it will take a
serious work by the police to guarantee their safety. Also, some of
them do not understand the languages of the people they are working
with. I am afraid, using them as ad-hoc staff will open them to
intimidation,” he said.

During last year’s Ekiti State
re-run election, one of our correspondents observed a female corps
member burst into tears when sporadic gunshots rent the air during the
voting process. Reports from other polling stations during the same
election had it that two male corps members were manhandled by
suspected thugs. Till date, the police has not brought anybody to
justice for the attack.

Politicised students

The Human Rights Watch Report of
the 2007 election, “Nigeria-Criminal Politics-Violence, “Godfathers”
and Corruption in Nigeria,’ also stated how politicians use students,
mostly members of student gangs, to perpetrates evil acts during
elections and campaigns.

The group says it interviewed more
than 20 current and former members of such gangs and ordinary criminal
gangs not associated with cult organizations that had been recruited by
politicians, either during the 2003 elections or in the run-up to the
2007 polls in Oyo, Anambra and Rivers States.

“Many spoke candidly about being
paid to target the political opponents of their sponsors or to attack
and intimidate ordinary voters,” the report states.

Buhari Abiodun, a lecturer at the
Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State, said the impact of politics on
the campuses is even more tense than what happens outside the campuses.

“In the school here, we have
witnessed students raping colleagues in the name of taking vengeance
after losing an election,” he said.

“We have heard of students burning
the properties of political aspirants because of their opposition to
his style of campaign. So, how do I now blame parents that are saying
their children should not be part of the INEC job. Life is more sacred
than sacrificing it for an election that might end up not making any
meaning to them.” Recently, the leadership of the National Association
of Nigerian Students (NANS) said it would use its huge population to
return Goodluck Jonathan to power in 2011. Jude Imagwe, president of
the association, recently led the inauguration of campus clubs in
support of Jonathan’s candidacy for the election.

“We have already spotted our
candidate; efforts are on to convince him to step out in a grand style
and grab our collective mandate. We must choose a man that is a youth
in heart, by action and who is prepared to offer 26 per cent budget
allocation to the education sector,” he said.

It really is
difficult sometimes when we pay attention to issues that would have
been insignificant. This is not because they are not important, but
because we should have been so used to doing them that the entire world
would be saying “it is their culture” or “that is how they behave”.

Unfortunately, what
the world refers to as our culture is heart rendering. This includes:
corruption, 419 and Italian prostitution, amongst other vices. I have
three sisters and I remember my mother telling them, “Please, close
your legs; sit like a woman” or “If you don’t want to come to the
kitchen, your husband will get satisfaction in another woman’s
kitchen”, “A dirty woman must definitely drive her husband out of the
house” and so on.

This is our culture
and they form part of what I looked out for in my wife, guided by these
noble lines from the Bible: “a wife of noble character who can find,
she is worth more than rubies.” So I can confidently say it is the
culture of women the world over. It is the way God created women, to be
in charge of the home, to be virtuous women, wives and mothers.

Unfortunately, a
lot of our girls these days do not mirror the above noble qualities and
a friend of mine, who is yet to be married, said, “Men, there are no
wives around anymore, only girlfriends” while trying to explain away
his unmarried state. Another jokingly said, “Senator Yerima could not
find virgins in Nigeria anymore, that is why he went to Egypt”.

Well, I had to
quickly point to him that, in spite of the gloomy picture, there are
still women of noble character around. But I must confess, they may go
into extinction if we do not make deliberate efforts to retrace our
steps; we are not Americans.

A lot of women and
to my amazement, some men inclusive, are “taking Panadol for another
man’s headache” with this women liberation and girl power programmes.
Liberate the women from where or whom?

For Christ’s sake,
a woman is a woman and a man is a man. You cannot undo what God has
done. Some women have neglected their duties, pursued careers, selling
themselves in the process to different men and now end up buying one
lazy, shameless boy and really wed and weld him down. The boy is not
able to play the role of the man because he is not the bread winner. He
now, in turn, engages in extra-marital activities. He now satisfies
himself with other young girls outside and the vicious circle continues
– he does not stay at home, to avoid being hen-pecked; the wife too is
busy trying to maintain her status. With house helps, DSTV, Internet
and wild friends, our children are becoming American-Nigerians, a
confused race, lacking proper home training.

One woman, however,
provided a counterpoint recently, while I was trying to ginger her to
donate during a launching programme after a man had donated. I reminded
the audience that “what a man can do, a woman can do better.” But when
she took the microphone, she said she was taught that “what a man can
do, a woman should not bother”. I treat my wife like a queen because
she treats me as a king and we are teaching our children exactly these
same attributes. Girls should be trained to be wives and mothers, while
the boys should be disciplined into responsible fathers.

I remember a lecturer discussing a book where one author insisted
that if you buy a ball for your male child, buy a ball for the female
too and that if you asked the girls to join their mothers in the
kitchen, do the same to the boys. The teacher ended her lecture that
day with these very wise saying to the ladies in the class: “if you
want to pass this course, give me back exactly what you have in this
book. But if you want to maintain, retain and sustain your homes,
please do not follow these oyibo people.”