Nigeria Content Online

The
Ondo State government is partnering with private investors within and
outside Nigeria to boost socio-economic developments in the state, the
state Governor, Olusegun Mimiko, said yesterday while speaking to
aviation correspondents at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport,
Lagos, on arrival from the United States of America.

Mr Mimiko disclosed
that the state government is focusing on Ore, a commercial city in the
southern part of the state, for industrial, agricultural and general
business activities. He said that his business trip to the United
States has provided an investment window for the state to commence
power generation and fertiliser plants at Ore, as a result of the oil
and gas resources in that region of the state. “We are positioning Ore
as an industrial hub for the state; and we are trying to take gas to
the industrial park in Ore, which will have its own multipliers effect
in power generation, and in terms of trying to put a fertilizer plant
in Ore,” he said.

Public partnership

Admitting that the
state is scouting for investors, Mr. Mimiko disclosed that his team had
mutual discussions with investors from the United States. “We are
looking for investors, as well as talking to people, and may I let you
know that we had a fruitful discussion on investment opportunities for
the state in many areas of development,” he said.

“These are the areas
we want to focus attention, we hope that out of this will come the
needed investment, especially in the area of tourism, in agro
processing, and in the oil and gas sector.” On how to secure funds for
the project, the governor disclosed that all of the ventures are to be
undertaken by public private partnership. “Every project that I have
spoken about is driven by the public private partnership model,” he
said. “Some of them we are providing the equity funding with our
partners, but for most of them in terms of management, technical know
how and equity we are bringing in partners.”

Prominent
indigenes of Ogun State, where Dimeji Bankole, the speaker of the House
of Representatives hails from, say they are “solidly behind” him as he
faces corruption allegations and a house beset by crisis. In a letter
addressed to Mr. Bankole, the Abeokuta club, which has as members, top
scholars, politicians and traditional chiefs from the area, said its
members have followed developments in the House of Representatives
where the speaker is accused of corruption, and promised him of its
members’ support.

“I write to let you
know that the entire membership of our club is solidly behind you in
the ongoing controversy in the House of Representatives,” reads the
letter, signed by the group’s acting president, Afolabi Soyode, who is
the former Vice Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun state.
“We are following very closely the development, and how, in particular,
the majority of members, with you leading, have tried to show that
minority rule through force, violence and coercion should not be the
order of the day in our democracy.”

‘Remain steadfast’

The group’s grand
patron is the Alake of Egbaland, and has former president, Olusegun
Obasanjo; former Head of Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan,
and former first republic premier of the Western region, Moses
Majekodunmi, as its vice patrons. Mr. Obasanjo, who met a week ago with
the House speaker at the Lagos International airport, later denied
media reports that the two discussed issues related to the
controversies in the house where 11 members were suspended for calling
for the removal of Mr. Bankole over corruption allegations.

The letter, dated June 25, 2010, was dispatched to Mr. Bankole by
the Abeokuta Club few days after the violent session of the house
during which the members were suspended and later dragged out with
clothes torn. Some of the suspended lawmakers, last Friday, instituted
a legal challenge of the House decision, and have asked to be
reinstated. The club advised Mr. Bankole to be “steadfast” and assured
him of its members’ “prayers and best wishes.” “We hope at the end of
the day that the investigations would demonstrate that you are a man of
integrity in whom all Nigerians can be justifiably proud,” the letter
concluded.

U.S. President
Barack Obama is thinking about jobs: looking for jobs for more than 14
million Americans and protecting the jobs of Washington lawmakers at
the same time.

“To every American who is looking for work I promise you we’re going to keep on doing everything we can,” he said.

“I will do
everything in my power to help our economy create jobs and opportunity
for all people.” The United States elects a president every four years,
but schedules congressional elections on two-year cycles. So just as
the president settles into the Oval Office, he has to lead his party in
another round of campaigning mid-way through his term.

Those ‘midterms’
are coming up on November 2 and they will be a preoccupation for
American politics for the next four months. Obama was out this week
looking for support in two western states and he has more campaign
travel coming.

Usually, the party
that controls the White House and Congress expects a protest vote to
push back against it in the midterms. Many Democrats fear serious
losses this year, because polls suggest voters are so angry.

The most recent
CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found that 73 percent of
respondents think things are going badly in America – nearly three
times as many as respondents who said things are going well.

Democrats believe
the country’s 9.5 percent unemployment rate is partly to blame. If
Obama could lower that number, a lot of Democrats think it would help.

Republicans see a
much darker picture of the national mood. They believe that the
economy, the oil spill disaster off the U.S. coast and a host of other
concerns as well have convinced Americans that their government is
failing.

“Americans don’t see an economy in recovery,” said Republican Congressman Kevin Brady of Texas.

“They see a White
House seemingly incapable of protecting our beaches or getting people
back to work.” President Obama has a just a few months left to spur job
creation in time to have an impact on the midterms. Once they’re past,

candidates for the presidency will begin organising their campaigns
for the election in 2012. It will be Obama’s own job that will be at
stake.

Senator Smart Adeyemi, (PDP-Kogi), has
said that the presidential system of government as being practiced in
Nigeria is a huge waste of resources in the face of glaring poverty
among majority of Nigerians.

Mr. Adeyemi, Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs, on
Sunday in Abuja, said “the presidential system of government is good
for a diverse nation like Nigeria. But the way we run it, a
full-fledged presidential system is too expensive and I see it as a
waste. I see it as breeding a lot of social problems.”

“Today in this country, a lot of people have taken politics as a
profession which shouldn’t be. And because I believe that politics
means service to the people, to me therefore, the present bi-cameral
practice of presidential system is too expensive and I do not support
the situation where politicians are far more comfortable than the
people who voted them into office. Today, you have a situation where
the people are getting poorer and you have a system in place that is
breeding corruption,” he added.

The Abia State
Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Emeka Nwachukwu, has
denied alleged leadership crisis in the state chapter leading to the
emergence of two factions. Mr. Nwachukwu told journalists, in Umuahia,
that there were no factions of the party in the state and that the
leadership was not in doubt.

He said that the party could have its
problems at the national level, but that the leadership of the party,
which, he said, had maintained and funded for six years was
incontestable at the moment. He, however, said that the achievements of
the party in luring the state Governor, Theodore Orji, to its fold was
greater than any personal interests, adding that as the leader of the
party in the state, “(Mr) Orji will take his time to restructure it to
suit his purpose.”

Wale Ojo-Lanre, the
Chief Press Secretary to the governor, in a statement on Sunday, said
the awards were for the 2008/2009 academic year; and awarded through
the state scholarship programme initiated by Governor Segun Oni in
2008. Mr. Ojo-Lanre said 14 students, who undertook doctorate degrees
in universities abroad, got N1.5 million each; while 88 students, who
went for the same programme in Nigeria, received N750,000 each.

He said
N500, 000 and N200, 000 each was given to 47 students who undertook
Master degrees abroad, and 131 in Nigeria, respectively, while 282
Senior Secondary School students received N30, 000 each and 86
physically challenged students got N100, 000 each as scholarships.

Livinus Nwambe,
Secretary ANPP National Convention Committee, said in Abuja that the
contribution made by INEC toward the party state congress across the 36
states as well as the FCT was “highly commendable and impressive.”

He
also stated that such effort was a renewal of hope to Nigerians who
were looking forward to the delivery of “free and fair election” in
2011. Equally, he said that ANPP reposed its confidence in the
commission led by Attahiru Jega, “It is a new INEC entirely,” he said.
“ANPP is ready to credibly and transparently position itself to match
the new INEC in the process of discharging commendable electioneering
in Nigeria.” Mr. Nwambe also stated that all necessary logistics needed
for the party’s convention had been adequately provided ahead of the
exercise. The convention is schedule to hold on Saturday, July 17 at
Eagle Square in Abuja.

Political leaders
in Argungu Local Government Area of Kebbi State have decried the level
of acrimony and political thuggery by party supporters in the area.
Some politicians, including the Peoples Democratic Party Chairman in
the area, Musa Dakwaya, warned aspirants and their supporters to
exhibit restraint in the quest for victory during the 2011 general
elections.

He advised politicians to shun violence and thuggery while
campaigning for support, adding that guidelines for campaigns and
elections required to be followed strictly. The Sole Administrator of
the Area, Salisu Ahmed, also expressed dismay over the activities of
some supporters of aspirants, saying that those who disrupted public
peace would be prosecuted.

Mr. Kumo told ANPP
delegates in Gombe, on Saturday, that he wanted to concentrate fully on
his gubernatorial campaign activities. “I will resign my position as
the national secretary in one or two weeks to enable me to face the
challenges ahead,” he said.

The scribe said time was of essence and
advised all those nurturing political ambitions to declare their
intention in earnest. “I am strongly advising those who intend to
contest political positions in Gombe State to declare their intention
publicly because time is running out. For me, I will return to Gombe
after the national convention and launch my campaign activities,” he
said.

Late
last month, a young lady, identified only as Zainab, headed for a spot
where hard drugs are sold on Aminu Kano Crescent in Wuse II, a district
in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. At the spot, which also
doubles as a petrol station, Zainab sold a BlackBerry phone, worth at
least N60,000, for N2,000. She was in need of a quick fix and with
N2,000, Zainab could buy about 0.25grammes, a little more than a pinch,
of cocaine. There are many of such markets in Abuja and Zainab is just
one of the growing population of young Nigerians who are addicted to
cocaine.

Latest statistics from the United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) show that between 2004 and now, Nigerian
nationals have not only become involved in the international illicit
drug trade but that there has been a rapid rise in the use of drugs,
especially cocaine. The UNODC believes that the increase is directly
linked to the high level of corruption in the country.

Becoming a major player

It has now been established that Nigeria is an
active player in the $6.8billion West- African cocaine market. The
country serves as a major route through which cocaine is trafficked
from Columbia, the main hub of cocaine production, to the 4.5 million
users in Europe.

Nigeria is also considered an active retailer as well as a small scale importer of the illicit drug.

The West-African market began blooming from 2004
as drug dealers in Columbia sought for safer routes to move illicit
substances to a budding market in Europe. With US authorities coming
down hard on the largest drug market in the world, the North American
drug market, West Africa, with its numerous sea ports and weak law
enforcement, quickly became a thriving alternate route to move cocaine
to the European market.

“Shipments to Africa, mostly West Africa gained in
importance between 2004 and 2007, resulting in the emergence of two key
trans-shipment hubs…one centered in the Bight of Benin, which spans
from Ghana to Nigeria,” the 2010 World Drug Report from the UNODC
states.

The Nigerian traffickers

Although insufficient and unreliable data make it
impossible to correctly analyse the trend in the Nigerian drug market,
indicators, such as seizures at the airports and borders show that
Nigerians are increasingly becoming key players in the delivery of
illicit drugs, especially cocaine, to the European market.

In April 2010, at least 21 persons were arrested
at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, by officials of
the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in relation with
cocaine trafficking. The agency also says that it has seized about 71kg
of cocaine, worth over N600 million, at the airport in the first
quarter of 2010.

This is indicative of a surge in cocaine
trafficking to mainly European countries from Nigeria. A staff of Arik
Air, a Nigerian carrier which also flies international routes,
confirmed to NEXT that a large number of Nigerians caught for drug
peddling were mostly headed to Europe.

“Most of them are usually going to London or to Italy,” our source, who sought anonymity, said.

In international circles, an increasing number of
Nigerian citizens are being arrested for trafficking cocaine into or
within European countries. UNODC reports that 2009 data from the
various countries show about 700 Nigerians were arrested in four
European countries: Spain, Italy, France, and Germany, for cocaine
trafficking.

Cocaine and crime

According to the NDLEA and the UNODC, cocaine peddling and abuse have become a major source of finance for criminal groups.

“Cocaine trafficking is also linked to corruption.
Trafficking in cocaine both thrives on corruption and breeds
corruption… [the] high levels of corruption in a number of West
African countries have certainly been a facilitating factor for the
establishment of cocaine transit traffic via this region,” the 2010
World Drug Report states.

The NDLEA concurs, adding that even small vices are fostered by drug abuse.

“We have always said it that you cannot divorce
drugs from crime. Prostitutes, hired assassins, armed robbers rely on
these drugs to get the high required to get them through their evil
activities.

“Some of them use cocaine but most of them use
cannabis which is more readily available in Nigeria,” Mitchel Ofoyeju,
the spokesperson of the agency, said in a telephone interview with
NEXT.

Mr. Ofoyeju spoke from a cannabis farm in Akure, where the agency was carrying out a destruction of the farm over the weekend.

On the measures the agency is taking to fight the
growing menace of drug trafficking and use, Mr. Ofoyeju said, “We have
a command in all the states of the federation including the FCT. They
regularly carry out surveillance and raid operations in the states. For
cocaine, we conduct raid of the premises used for re-packaging the
substance before exportation or we intercept them at the airports or
the borders,” he added.

He, however, conceded that the lack of data has hampered the activities of the agency, especially as regards drug use.

“People don’t come forward until they have serious problems so it is
very difficult to collect such data,” Mr. Ofoyeju said, but added that
the agency is partnering with state governments for a more effective
fight against drug abuse.