Nigeria Content Online

Nigeria will
develop more rapidly if our leaders appoint the right people to
political offices, a former presidential aspirant and leader of mega
party, Pat Utomi said yesterday in Lagos.

Receiving an award
of excellence from the Igbo Studies Association of the United States of
America in his office yesterday, Mr. Utomi recalled how late president
Umar Yar’Adua shunned his advice to appoint credible and resourceful
people into his cabinet.

“He actually asked
me to send him a list of such people. I did, but nothing happened when
he reshuffled his cabinet,” he said. “Let me tell you a private
conversation that I had with President Yar’Adua in March last year. He
invited me to come and give my input, my advice on certain things and I
basically said to him, you know, what you need is to find seven to ten
capable people who have commitment. They are not hungry, they are not
looking to award contract, they just want a place in history.

People who have knowledge, they have a sense of service and they are passionate about the area you assigned them.

“Give them the
critical drivers ministry, then you can give whatever’s remaining to
the PDP. And let the world know that this seven to ten people have your
ears and that you are supportive of the thrust of their activities and
this country will be transformed in a few short years.”

Mr. Utomi charged
political office holders in the country to see the opportunity to serve
as sacred means towards the achievement of a future for the country.
According to him, Nigeria has relegated its brightest to the background
and installed the greedy ones at its helms.

Wanted INEC chairman

Mr. Utomi also
said that though appointing an INEC chairman is almost like appointing
any political office holder, two important things should be considered.
“If you have capacity, character, then with a job like INEC, you need
distance to the contesting force,” he said. “When there has not been
enough distance, then you take somebody who is close to AC or you take
somebody who is close to PDP. Even if the person does a good job there
would be the appearance of closeness and that is enough to create a
lot.”

He said there is
nothing more important than a sense of where you are going. “You have a
sense of where you are going and you then find the most capable people
relative to the sense of where you are going. The truth of the matter
is that they will keep a chord that will lead to rapid transformation.”

The representative
of the Igbo Studies Association, Williams Obiozor, an assistant
Professor at the University of Bloomsburg, said Mr. Utomi has
consistently partaken in the activities of Nigerians in Diaspora and
has remained a source of inspiration to members of the group.

“We brought the
award to Nigeria for him because he could not wait to receive his
plaque after he delivered a lecture during our last annual conference
in United States,” he said.

Former
commissioners of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)
have a case to answer over financial misappropriation and abuse of
office, an Abuja High Court has ruled.

The seven former
commissioners: Ransome Owan, Abdul-Rahman Ado, Onwuameze Iloeje,
Muhammed Alimi-Rasaq, Muhammed Baba Gana Bunu, Abimbola Odubiyi, and
Grace Eyoma are facing an 85-count charge of criminal conspiracy,
breach of trust, and inflation of salaries and allowances to the tune
of three billion naira.

Counsel to two of
the accused persons, Tunji Abayomi, on Friday, February 12, 2010, had
filed an application seeking to quash the charges before the accused
took their plea. Mr. Abayomi argued that the charges were based on the
penal code, which the EFCC was not legally permitted to do; and that
the EFCC commenced its investigations based on a frivolous and forged
petition by a non-existent person called Mohammed Abimbola Iloeje.

The High Court
judge, Salisu Garba, in dismissing the application yesterday, ruled
that the EFCC, based on Section 7(2) of the EFCC Act, can prosecute
financial crimes using any Nigerian law, and that the EFCC could
investigate any crime based on an anonymous petition, or on no petition
at all.

Reacting to the
ruling, the representative of Godwin Obla, counsel to the EFCC, stated
that “we are pleased with the ruling; we believe that we have a case.
At least let the case go on, let the judge determine the matter either
for or against.”

Mr. Garba, after
consultation between the various counsels, adjourned the case to July
14, 2010, when the accused would take their plea as to whether they are
guilty of the charges or not.

The seven
commissioners were suspended from office by late President Umaru
Yar’Adua, based on the recommendations of the EFCC and Lanre Babalola,
the former Minister of Power.

Farida Waziri, the
EFCC chairman, had written to then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan and
Mr. Babalola that “on 2nd of June 2008, one Mohammed Abimbola Iloeje on
behalf of some concerned staff of NERC, petitioned the EFCC over the
financial misconduct of the chairman and commissioners of the Nigeria
Electricity Regulatory Commission.”

NEXT on Sunday, in an earlier edition, detailed how the control of
the N32 billion, released by the Federal Government as part of the
subsidy for the multiyear tariff order (MYTO) to subsidise electricity
tariff for Nigerians, caused a disagreement between the commissioners
and Mr. Babalola, leading to their investigation and subsequent
prosecution.

The intrigue
surrounding the relationship between Cross River State governor, Liyel
Imoke, and his predecessor, Donald Duke, deepened by another layer
early this week when the two men showed up together Monday evening at
the birthday bash of the state chairman of the PDP, Ekpo Okon.

Messrs Imoke and
Duke sat together at the foyer of the Calabar Cultural Centre and were
seen giggling from ear to ear occasionally, to the consternation of
other guests. The friendly disposition seemingly put paid to early
speculations of bad blood between the two men.

The much-trumpeted
break up of their political alliance is evident in Mr. Duke’s recent
defection from the PDP and his alleged behind-the-scene efforts to
torpedo the PDP-led state government.

Last weekend’s
attempt by the police to stop the inauguration of the Calabar Women and
Children Hospital [CWCH] built by Duke’s wife, Onari, following a court
order granted by a High Court in Akamkpa Local Government Area of the
state, was seen as another instance of this disagreement. Mr. Duke went
away with the police to explain that the court was issued by another
judicial division and therefore, not enforceable.

The policemen sent
to enforce the court order took him away to the state police
headquarter to explain things to their superior officers. Mr. Duke
explained that the hospital, situated within the premises of the
defunct National Republican Convention [NRC] office in Calabar, was
built with donor funds and that the NRC building was duly leased by his
wife for 25 years.

The chief press
secretary to Mr. Imoke, Patrick Ugbe, in a rejoinder to media reports
linking the state government to the police action, said Mr. Ebri, who
got the order, is a private person not sponsored by the state
government, and advised that government should be left out of the
matter.

But in a statement
emailed to some journalists in Calabar through his media aide, Mr. Duke
blamed his present travails on the state government of which, he said,
wanted to obliterate his achievements and blight his political
relevance.

“It would be
recalled that Governor Imoke recently cancelled the conferment of an
honorary doctorate degree by the state university [CRUTECH] on his
predecessor, Donald Duke, further deepening the already frosty
relationship between them,” the statement said, in parts.

“The cancellation
has been perceived as a product of envy and pettiness and has since
sent tongues wagging within the political circles and fuelling
speculations of a possible show down between the duo and their
supporters in the near future,” the statement read.

Political threat

“But those familiar
with the development point at the political undercurrents which
underline Imoke’s pronouncement. The current administration in the
state sees Duke as a formidable political threat whose legacies stand
him on a formidable stead, around whom the opposition can rally against
Imoke’s second term bid.

“It was gathered
that Duke’s recent resignation from the PDP took the party by surprise
and drew the angst of its hierarchy, which quickly responded with a
damning condemnation of their erstwhile leader, describing him as an
ingrate.

“The calculations
within the state are that if the state government should allow Duke to
be honoured with a degree by CRUTECH in the state, it would further
bolster his popularity and portray the state government as unpopular
and weak.

“In addition, the
state government is believed to be afraid that Duke may provide an
alternative platform for the gathering mass of dissenters and
especially majority of the members of the State House of Asssembly, who
are peeved by the rudderless direction and lack of inclusiveness by the
Imoke administration…

“But regardless of
this apparent hounding by the current administration, Duke wishes it
nothing less than goodwill because their progress and success would
translate to the people of the state and the country in general,” the
statement read.

Last Saturday, the
former governor told some journalists in his house that he was yet to
pitch tent with any political party, and denied reports linking him
with the Labour Party [LP].

He promised to
contest the 2011 presidential election, but added that he was taking
his time to know which party to align with, as he was being courted by
several political parties across the country.

A Nigerian student
in the UK, being pushed to get the high examination grades required to
enter Oxbridge Universities, protested that all her subject teachers at
school were graduates of Oxford and Cambridge.

“What is the point
of working so hard to get there if you are only going to be a teacher?”
she said. At first, the adult relating the story to me agreed with the
teenager that ending up as a teacher after working so hard, and having
one’s parents pay so much to send their child to one of the premier
universities in the world, was a failure.

The same theme is
echoed in the 2009 film, “an education” where the lead character’s
education is salvaged by a female teacher whom she had previously
sneered at for her lack of ambition and achievement after being one of
the first set of women to attend university.

However, isn’t the
point that it should be our brightest minds who train, educate, advise
and groom our citizens and leaders? Would you choose an unintelligent
teacher to help your child pass his or her exams?

The real tragedy is
that we are the ones who have decided that it is ok if the people who
rule us did not work hard for good grades at school, have never held
down a real job or run a business successfully.

Reading extracts
from Plato’s ‘The Republic’ and Khaldun’s ‘The Muqaddimah’ about how
their societies selected their leaders and the criteria for
appointment, I was struck by how truly backward we are. By backward, I
mean we are doing things backwards instead of forwards. We are
regressing instead of progressing.

Plato is a Greek
Philosopher who lived in 400 BC (before Christ). Khaldun is a Tunisian
historian who wrote mostly in the late 1300s. In their days, only the
brightest minds, with a source of income could be leaders. Plato picked
men who could observe the world as philosophers do, analyse it and plan
how to flourish within it as spiritual, rational and physical beings.

For Khaldun,
leaders had to be members of the aristocracy, men of virtue, religion,
education, liberality, bravery and nobility. In addition, he had to be
just, and not compete with his citizens in farming or trade.

The brightest
brains, of whom we have plenty in Nigeria, have also made some
decisions for themselves. They have decided that they are not eligible
to rule because they do not want to steal or keep company with thieves.
They have decided to make their fortunes in business, eke a basic
living in academics or else emigrate to a society where the
appreciation for the value the brightest brains can bring already
exists.

Of course, there is
the odd exception who decides to do the right thing; but because we
don’t like the package the message comes in, we just humour them, hail
them and pass them by on the well travelled road to destruction,
despair and oblivion.

Others say that
calls for the brightest brains are just calls for the “elite” to take
power. I beg to disagree. If there is one thing you can say about
Nigeria it is that our elite are not a fixed demographic group.
Membership of a social class changes as your circumstances change, and
there is opportunity for everyone in their individual efforts.

Memo to the bright

What people
confuse with the elite are the privileged. But many people from
privileged homes are not members of any elite groups other than the
social recreational clubs their parents and grandparents formed. So
this is not about the elite. This is about having real criteria for our
leaders and rulers, and grooming them through our best teachers and
advisers.

Dear ‘brightest
brains’, show us that you also have common sense and logic. Prove to us
that the people who invested their time, love and money in your care
and training to make a leader out of you did not waste their time.

For goodness sake,
for God’s sake, for your sake, step up to be identified, elected and
appointed to rule us. Step forward to challenge and prevent the
ineligible from leading us. Step out from the tiny haven of calm and
productivity that you have created as your world, and fight to expand
it to benefit more people, and then step back to find and drag out
other bright minds to join you in creating a critical mass that can
make positive change happen.

Dear ‘not so
bright minds’ but right-thinking people, you know who should really be
in leadership positions. Prod them, disturb them, encourage them, support them, protect them, and guide them to lead us right.

Lastly, is this a sensible society where our teachers, who work in
hot, ill-equipped and over-populated classrooms earn N1 million a year
if they are lucky; and where our senators who sit in air conditioned
rooms to pass only one new law per session, earn N300 million per annum?

The traumatised wife of the Deji of
Akure, Olori Bolanle Adesina, has urged the Ondo State governor,
Olusegun Mimiko, to instruct the state commissioner of police to order
a full scale investigation into the attack on her person by her
husband.

Mrs. Adesina, in a petition via her
counsel, Ibraheem Aganum and Co., appealed to Mr. Mimiko to use his
office to ensure that justice is done. The Akure queen said the
petition became imperative in order to make sure that the case is not
swept under the carpet.

Copies of the petition were also sent
to the state deputy governor, Ali Olanusi; top government
functionaries; the Deji in Council; the Nigeria Union of Journalists,
Ondo State chapter; the state police commissioner; and the director of
State Security Services.

The petitioner pointed out that the matter was beyond a domestic affair, as claimed in some quarters.

The petition reads, in part: “We want
to state categorically and unequivocally, with great emphasis, that the
public opprobrium has subject our client to great psychological trauma,
pains, and financial loss.

“We demand justice of our client, as
the matter is beyond a domestic affair. We want to urge his Excellency
to use your good office to instruct the police to order a full scale
investigation into the matter, without fear or favour.

“We most humbly submit, in strong and
clear terms, that the paramount ruler’s act is contrary to royal native
norms, values, and traditional dictates. The king’s action is criminal
in nature, which attracts sanction under the criminal code.”

The petition pointed out that Mrs.
Adesina was presently receiving medical attention for chemical burns
and other injuries she sustained during the attack on her at the
Federal Medical Centre, Owo, after the initial first aid treatment she
got at the Ondo State Specialist Hospital, Akure.

The petitioner also frowned at the way
the Olori was sent packing from the palace, eight months ago, for
flimsy excuses from the monarch without recourse to due native
processes of banishing an Olori from the Deji’s palace, as stipulated
by the traditions of Akure.

Mrs. Adesina, yesterday, in a telephone
interview with NEXT, revealed that she was transferred from the State
Specialist Hospital, Akure, to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, for
security reasons.

She said she had to be moved to Owo,
her hometown, to prevent an alleged plan by Oba Adesina to send
hoodlums to attack her at the Akure hospital, aside from her
deteriorating state of health resulting from the battering she received
from her husband.

Women groups protest

Meanwhile, women under the auspices of
National Council of Women Societies, Ondo State chapter, yesterday
staged a peaceful protest in Akure to register their discontentment
against the attitude of the Akure monarch.

The women, who described the action of
Oba Adesina as uncivilised, also condemned the assault meted on Mrs.
Adesina. They asked security operatives to get to the root of the
matter.

The state president of the association,
Iyabo Akinlagbe, said rather than subject a woman to that kind of
punishment, any man who does not want his wife again has the right to
seek a lawful means of addressing the matter.

Mrs. Akinagbe, who said the society
would fight the matter to a logical conclusion, said “if we cannot
fight it at the state level, we will go to the national; if we cannot
finish it at the national level, we will go to the international level,
since the NCWS has international affliation.”

The NCWS said the group would pay advocacy visit to the Council of Obas and the governor’s wife on the matter.

“A leader ought to be disciplined in
the community. Anybody that is not disciplined is not fit to be a
leader. We do not want men to kill us naturally.

“The Bible even says if you do not want
your wife again you have the right to divorce her, instead of
destroying her flesh”, she said.

Similarly, the Ondo State chapter of
the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), said the action
of the monarch was disgraceful and should be condemned by all women.

A man suspected to
be a member of the alleged Boko Haram group that unleashed mayhem on
Kano in July 2009, has been set free, after the prosecution withdrew
charges preferred against him on technical grounds.

Abdulrahman
Dayyabu, who was standing trial before a Magistrate Court on a six
count charge of criminal conspiracy, inciting public disturbance,
joining unlawful assembly, armed with deadly weapon, and causing hurt
to public servant, regained his freedom after almost a year in
detention.

State prosecuting
counsel from the Kano State Ministry of Justice, Yakubu Sule, urged the
court to release the accused and remove his name from the charge sheet.

The freed man, in
company of other suspected persons, were on trial before a Magistrate
Court. They are accused of having allegedly acted contrary to sections
of the Penal Code law, alleging that they injured five police officers
in Wudil local government area in Kano State.

The presiding
magistrate, Sani Ismail, advised the freed suspect, Mr. Dayyabu, to
refrain from any unlawful act, adding that the best way to live in a
multi economic, political, and religious complex society like Nigeria
is to respect the views of others, devoid of infringements on the other
from all ends.

Consolidate charges

In his prayers
before Magistrate Courts 10 and 24, the state counsel said, “Pursuant
to the jurisdiction of this court, following the advice from the office
of the Attorney General in the Kano State Ministry of Justice, cases
against the accused person have been consolidated, the two FIR have
been directed by the office of the Chief Registrar, High Court of
Justice to the Chief Magistrate Court 8.”

Chief Magistrate
Court 24 and 10 separately ruled that the accused Boko Haram suspects,
and documents related to their trial before both courts, be transferred
with immediate effect to Chief Magistrate Court 8, presided over by
chief Magistrate Ismail.

Ruling on the new
charge sheet, on which all those arrested in connection with Boko Haram
saga in the state were arraigned before his court, Mr. Ismail ordered
that the accused persons remain in prison custody, while adjourning the
matter to June 10 for mention.

The new charge
sheet stated that the twenty six accused persons connived with Salihu
Al-Jasawi, who is at large, in inciting public disturbances.

in Wudil local government area of the state.

“You attacked Wudil
divisional police station, you were found in possession of some
chemical substance used in making explosive, cutlass, bow and arrows,”
said the charges read to the accused persons.

The federal government on Wednesday described reports that it is planning to sack 50,000 workers as mere speculation.

Emmanuel Aziken, a
special assistant to the minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka
Wogu, said in a statement released in Abuja that the clarification was
necessary in order to dispel rumours making the rounds that the Federal
Government would sack the workers as part of its civil service reform.

“The federal
government would not, with one hand give to the populace and take same
with another hand,” he said. “President Goodluck Jonathan has, in
various ways, demonstrated his sincere empathy with Nigerian workers
both physically and otherwise. The latest of such his gestures was his
quick approval of the recommendations to bridge the disparity in the
salary scheme of the core civil service.

It is, as such, out
of place for him to go against his track record of proclivity to the
interests of Nigerian workers by approving the plans to unduly retrench
workers. The ministry, however, restate its commitment to actively
promoting employment of more citizens either in the public service or
in the empowerment of business entrepreneurs. As such, I want to
emphatically declare that there is no such proposal to retrench civil
servants for whatever purpose.”

The report quoted sources from the office of the Head of Civil
Service of the Federation, Stephen Oronsaye, as saying that he issued a
circular to compile the data of the affected staff and that he had also
inaugurated a committee to advise him on how to reposition the
Executive Officer cadre in the Federal Civil Service as part of efforts
to reinvigorate the service for effective performance and efficient
service delivery.

Virgin Nigeria Airways said it was changing its name to Air Nigeria Development Limited to make it fully indigenous.

The airline, which
is now to be called Air Nigeria, was in September last year renamed
Nigerian Eagle Airlines by the then chief executive officer, Dapo
Olumide.

Jimoh Ibrahim,
group managing director of the carrier said at the airlines head office
in Lagos that this recent name change was effected sequel to the
resolution of the board on May 14, and that the name has been approved
by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and registered with a
certificate number RC501975.

Image of the nation

In April, Mr. Ibrahim had hinted at a name change saying that the carrier’s new name will reflect the image of the nation.

“If I buy any
foreign company, I change the name to reflect Nigeria even if Virgin
gives me their name for free of charge I will change the name.”

It would be
recalled that Virgin Nigeria, which was launched amid great pomp in
2005, last year changed its name to Nigerian Eagle Airlines after
cutting ties with its founder – Virgin Atlantic Limited.

Prior to the name
change on September 17, last year, British billionaire and chairman of
Virgin Atlantic disclosed that the founding company of Virgin Nigeria
was looking forward to selling its 49 per cent stake in the carrier,
for which it paid about $25m in 2005.

Meanwhile, Mr.
Ibrahim said that the first branded aircraft in the new name will
arrive Nigeria before the end of next week from France, while the
remaining aircraft follow shortly after.

Assuring customers
that the on-going turnaround will be concluded within a short time, the
carrier’s managing director disclosed that by October 1, a minimum of
ten aircraft will be launched at a time by the company.

“We are expecting ten aircraft before October to boost our operations and increase our destinations,” he said.

Mr. Ibrahim further
assured his workforce that no employee will be laid off as a result of
the on-going turnaround, stressing that since the nation’s flag carrier
was acquired in April, no worker has been fired.

“If anyone is incompetent, we will make him competent,” he said.

The House of
Representatives, yesterday, rejected moves to investigate the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for disbursing N500 billion to airlines without
seeking approval of the lawmakers.

Femi Gbajabiamila
(AC, Lagos) had sought to move a motion of urgent of public importance
for the next legislative chamber to investigate the disbursement.

“In the last to
three months, CBN has released subsidy of N500 billion to private
airlines. I feel this is a matter we should discuss dispassionately. We
should guard jealously the powers of the institution,” he told the
House.

Mr. Gbajabiamila
noted that, last year, the CBN “in its wisdom and unilaterally gave out
N600 billion to some ailing banks in violation of the law of the land.”

He said in order to assert its legislative powers, the House should look into the matter.

However, when the deputy speaker, who presided at the session, put it to vote, members voted against it.

An Oyo State High
Court has fixed June 28 for adoption of addresses and replies to
addresses by lawyers to parties in a legal suit between Rashidi Ladoja,
former Oyo State governor, and a 5-man Judicial Commission of Enquiry
set up by the state government.

The judge, Waheed Olaifa gave the order on Wednesday after listening to arguments from lawyers in the suit.

The judge, at the
last session on the case, had ordered the counsel to prepare their
written addresses for submission on Wednesday, June 2.

But only Lasun
Sanusi (SAN), Mr Ladoja’s lead counsel was able to submit his own
address yesterday, while representative of Lateef Fagbemi (SAN)
chambers, who is advocating for the judicial commission and Governor
Alao-Akala, in the matter, could not complete his presentation.

The court also
directed Mr. Sanusi to file his reply to the defendants address within
72 hours and prepare for the adoption on the fixed date.

Mr Alao-Akala had
last year set up a judicial commission of enquiry to probe the last six
months of his predecessor but Mr Ladoja dragged the commission before
the court asking for an order to restrict it from sitting.

Mr. Sanusi explained that he was asking for a restraining order against the commission because its constitution was illegal.

The former governor joined the state governor and his attorney-general and commissioner for justice in the suit.

Mr Ladoja, in his
motion on notice, prayed the court to stop the panel from ‘probing or
investigating or trying any part of the tenure pending the
determination of the substantive motion’.

Singled for probe

He also asked the
court to restrict the panel members from ‘acting or further acting in
pursuance of their inauguration as Judicial Commission of Enquiry to
probe part of the tenure’ pending the time of determination of the
substantive motion.

Among his prayers,
was also that the governor and the state Attorney-General and
commissioner for justice be stopped from mobilizing the panel or
facilitating its sitting before the substantive motion is determined.

In the original
suit, the former governor prays the court to declare the inauguration
of a panel of enquiry to probe a potion of his tenure illegal.

According to him,
setting up of the panel of enquiry to probe a portion of his
administration is not only discriminatory and against the provisions of
the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999, but the
public property and fund (Investigation and Recovery) Panel law of Oyo
State Cap 138 of Oyo state 1996, upon which the commission was
inaugurated, was inconsistent with the 1999 constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.

He argued further
that singling him out for probe without Mr Alao-Akala, who was the
deputy-governor during the period under probe,

is illegal, and then asked the court to declare the setting up of the commission null and void.