Nigeria Content Online

Following the
recent appointment of new General Officers Commanding the various
Divisions of the Army, the new General Officer Commanding 81 Division,
Nigerian Army, Kenneth Minimah has assumed command.

Mr Minimah, a
Brigadier General, was born on July 27, 1959, at Minimah in Opobo
Kingdom in Rivers State, and joined the cadet training in 1979 as a
member of 25 Regular Course. He was commissioned on December 18, 1981,
into the great Infantry corps.

Mr Minimah has
attended 13 courses, including the 81mm Mortar, Jungle Warfare and
Combat Survival, Young Officers Course Infantry, Basic Airborne Course,
Advanced Airborne Course, Junior and Senior Division Staff Courses, the
National War College. He has held several appointments, including
Commanding Officer, 149 Infantry Battalion, Directing Staff, Armed
Forces Command and Staff College and Colonel Administration, 82
Division Nigerian Army. Outside Nigeria, Mr Minimah was the Commanding
Officer, Nigeria Battalion 2, United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone,
Commandant Depot Nigerian Army. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History
and International Studies and Masters in Strategic Studies and is a
recipient of the Forces Service Star, Meritorious Service Star,
Distinguished Service Star, the passed staff college dagger and fellow
of the war college.

Notable amongst his
achievements with the Nigerian army is the first Nigerian Armed Forces
officer of the rank of Brigadier General to jump from the aircraft as a
highly respected Jump Master. He has commanded the Infantry Battalion
in peace, for peacekeeping and in war.

He is happily married to Mrs Felly Minimah and has two sons and a daughter.

Nigeria’s problems
after 50 years of nationhood rest on failure of the leadership, the
Itsekure of Benin Kingdom, Nosakhare Itsekure, has said.

The chief, who
spoke in Benin City, said apart from the late Murtala Mohammed, who was
murdered in 1976, Nigerian leaders have failed in taking the country to
the pinnacle of its dreams.

He said the only
thing to celebrate as the country marks 50 years of independence is the
fact the country has remained one indivisible entity despite its myriad
of maladministration, leadership recklessness and political corruption.

Mr. Itsekure,
renowned for his outspokenness and struggles during the days of the
military juntas, said both military and political leaders have looted
the country dry.

He noted that the
country as it is today was not the dream of its founding fathers,
regretting that democracy has been hijacked by selfish politicians who
see politics and governance as a means of acquiring wealth

He lambasted the
political class and the parties for lacking ideology on how to move the
country forward as practiced in developed countries.

The only way
forward, he said, is for the youth of the country to take their own
destiny into their hands by insisting on accountability and
transparency in government.

Governors’ messages

Meanwhile, the
governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has congratulated the people
of the state and other Nigerians on the occasion of the nation’s
anniversary, saying the people should focus on the positives rather
than lament the failures of the past.

“On the occasion of
the 50th anniversary of the attainment of Independence by Nigeria, I
join the good people of Edo State and other Nigerians to celebrate this
milestone in the annals of the nation,” he said.

“Despite the
seeming challenges facing the nation, there is a lot to celebrate as
the country remains one indivisible entity despite having passed
through many trials, including a civil war. While there is no doubt
that the nation could have developed far better that it is now, I urge
the good people of Nigeria to focus on the positives as the challenges
facing the nation are surmountable.”

Ogun State
governor, Gbenga Daniel, asked Nigerians to count their blessings,
recommit themselves to national development, set new goals and work to
actualize the immense potentials of the nation.

In a press
statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, Mr Daniel said despite
the failures of the past and the challenges of the present, Nigeria
remains one indivisible nation with promising prospects, stressing
further that the fact that democracy has endured for 11 unbroken years
was another sign of progress and a reason to celebrate fifty years of
nationhood and thank God for his mercies.

Ondo State indigenes, including the state governor,
Olusegun Mimiko, have called on Nigerians to remain focused as the
nation celebrates its 50th independence anniversary.

Mr Mimiko, in his goodwill message, noted that though
the promise of independence has not been fully realized, this should
not be allowed to diminish the value of freedom and the significance of
becoming a sovereign nation.

The governor’s message which was released by his
spokesperson, Kolawole Olabisi, described Nigeria as a great nation
with great potential.

He said rather than engage in recrimination over our
misses and woes, today’s celebration of Nigeria’s golden Jubilee should
be a forceful reminder of the promises yet to be fulfilled and of
dreams yet to be attained.

He said the attainment of that is the task that must
be done to take the nation to the heights desired for her by her
founding fathers.

While positing that the nation must be re-tooled to
take its pride of place among the comity of nations, Mr Mimiko said for
Nigeria to be given its dues, its leaders must ensure that credible
election hold next year.

“As we celebrate our nation’s golden Jubilee, there
is no doubt that our nation is today faced with a number of daunting
challenges, but in the face of all these challenges, our resolve and
abiding faith must remain unshaken,” he said. “These challenges, to my
mind, should however be taken as ample opportunities waiting to be
translated into stepping stones to an assured destiny of peace,
progress, and prosperity for our common posterity if we all remain
focused and do our bit.”

Tackle the problems

Human rights activist and lawyer, Tunji Abayomi, said
the celebration should serve as an opportunity to ponder how to save
the nation from the multifarious problems which has relegated it among
its peers.

“The nation has gone through a lot of difficulties
basically, the failure of leadership. In reality, the nation should not
be where it is today. Social infrastructure, the well being of the
people have been treated with levity and disdain,” he said.

“If you assess where the nation is today, you are
bound to say that the nation has failed. There is no good road, no
access to health and water, unemployment is on the increase, and
kidnapping is the order of the day and corruption is the highest common
factor.” Mr Abayomi noted that the only way the nation can be freed
from the shackles of poverty and maladministration is to ensure that
people with the genuine interest of the nation at heart are given the
chance to rule.

Leader of the Yoruba Socio Cultural Group, Afenifere, Rueben
Fasoranti blamed the nation’s woes on corruption in high places and
poor administration.

As Nigeria commemorates its 50th
anniversary today, the governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, on
Thursday assured citizens that there is a future for the nation.

Calling on Nigerians to let go of the
failures from the last 50 years, and look forward to a greater nation,
the governor said that people should be more concerned on how to place
the country in a much better pedestal.

“There is life, there is hope and I
believe that what lies ahead of us really, is more important than what
we have to put behind us,” said Mr Fashola at the presidential wing of
the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos while speaking to
correspondents.

“I think we should focus more in engaging with the present and the future rather than mourning the past.”

The Lagos State helmsman said that
residents of the city should be expectant of the dividends of democracy
come the next 50 years, adding that the economy of Lagos will receive a
positive boost.

“Expect improved quality service
delivery, safer city state, good quality of life, better life
expectancy for the citizenry, and better opportunity for prosperity in
all sectors of the economy,” he said.

Why there is a slow down

Asked what could be responsible for the
sudden slowdown in his government’s performance in recent times, Mr
Fashola argued that his administration has not relented in its work,
adding that climatic constraints have affected workflow drastically.

“The pace of work has not slowed down.
Traditionally, you must understand that we want to maximise every
distraction that we had. The weather has not helped and, therefore,
there is going to be a lot of waste. Road construction particularly is
a very technical thing that requires asphalt, bitumen to be heated up
and applied on the surface,” he said.

“Once you have bad weather, when the
road has even been prepared for laying of bitumen, you have to stop,
lose all the materials to the rain. Note that you already have labour
on site and you have to pay them even though they can’t work.”

He explained that embarking on
aggressive infrastructural development during the season tends to waste
resources and that as soon as the State government gets a sound weather
forecast it will commence work.

“It is not that the work can’t be done, but it comes with a lot of
waste and therefore we are hoping that the weather forecaster that we
have now will be able to announce accurately and therefore, we will be
able to do more with the little that we have,” he said.

Pope Benedict XVI
has congratulated Goodluck Jonathan, the federal government and all
Nigerians on the occasion of our country’s 50th Independence
Anniversary celebrations.

A personal
congratulatory message from the Pope was delivered to Mr Jonathan on
Thursday at the Presidential Villa, by the Pope’s special envoy and
personal representative, Cardinal Peter Turson. In the message to the
president, Pope Benedict conveyed his “prayerful wishes for the
continued well-being, growth and prosperity of Nigeria and its
citizens”.

Responding, Mr
Jonathan asked the Cardinal to convey the appreciation of the
government and people of Nigeria to the Pope. He said that Nigerians
appreciated the Holy Father’s prayers and will continue to have good
relations with the Vatican.

Also today at the
Presidential Villa, Mr Jonathan received the Chinese Minister of
Industry and Information, Li Yizhong, who is representing his country’s
President, Hu Jintao at the celebrations.

Alao Akala, the
Governor of Oyo State, on Wednesday, advocated for community policing
as an efficient means to curbing the incidence of kidnapping
experienced in some parts of the country.

Mr. Akala, who
spoke to correspondents at the Murtala Mohammed Airport 2 (MMA2),
Lagos, on his way from Abuja, stated that with the system security
operatives will get to know the culprits perpetuating the heinous
crime, adding that state governments should employ the services of
community policing. “They (state governments involved) should just try
to make sure that they get to know themselves very well and they should
involve community policing. Community policing is very important for
with it you will be able to identify when who is doing what,” he said.

The governor, an
ex-police officer, said that the kidnap of one of his aides gave him
insight on how to handle the culprits, adding that though he paid the
kidnappers, he would have caught the perpetrators if there was
community policing. “Okay I got this experience from my own adviser
that was kidnapped, because I paid out something for it,” he said. When
asked how much he paid, Mr. Akala said “N6 million.”

Why the kidnappers escaped

“I wouldn’t have
paid with my experience as a police officer, but the person they used
her account, the woman was begging me that if I don’t allow them to
cash that money they will kill her; that is why I now did it, because I
would have gotten them,” he said.

The governor said
that the kidnappers used another victim’s account to get the funds,
otherwise they would have been trapped. “But they were, you know they
used another kidnapped woman’s account to collect that money from me.
So from my experience I know that when you have this community
policing, it will be very effective and you will be able to capture all
of them,” he said.

The governor, however, insisted that kidnappers cannot thrive in his
state, as he promised residents of Oyo State that his government is
doing everything possible to ensure top security of lives and
properties. “It is a pity that this is happening in our country; it
will never spread to my state because we know ourselves,” he said,
adding “before you can kidnap you must know the terrain of where you
want to kidnap very well. It is not possible for them to kidnap in my
state because we don’t have kidnappers in our state.”

The Bayelsa State
governor, Timipre Sylva, nearly assaulted a journalist yesterday for
asking him a question he considered embarrassing.

Mr Sylva, who was
at the Peoples Democratic Party national secretariat, Abuja, to submit
his nominations form, was asked by Nigerian Observer reporter, Mike
Odiakose, why he was accompanied by praise-singers from the northern
part of the country rather than supporters from his state, suggesting
that he is not accepted by his people.

“Your Excellency,
we are noticing something unusual here today,” Mr Odiakose said. “When
governors come to submit their forms, their indigenes in Abuja come to
welcome them. But the people we are seeing here are Hausa boys. Does
this not raise questions about your acceptability by the people of
Bayelsa State?”

The governor pointed his finger at the reporter. “How did you know that these boys are Hausa boys?” Mr Sylva asked.

“We have already
interacted with them when we saw them before you drove in,” the
reporter replied. “That is mischievous, that is mischievous, that is
mischievous,” the governor said. “Who are you? Who sent you?”

Suddenly, the
governor’s security aides descended on the reporter, dragged him while
another one snatched the reporter’s mobile phone with which he was
recording.

Defending their aide

Other reporters
that went to their colleague’s aid were also attacked, before one of
them successfully retrieved the phone from the security aide.

Last year, another
member of the Abuja Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Akin
Orimolade of National Life, was allegedly abducted by Mr Sylva’s aides
and taken to Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

It took the intervention of the NUJ before Mr Orimolade could regain his freedom

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday formally launched the N50 commemorative note and the non circulating coins.

The new note is
expected to exist side by side with the old while the coins will be
used as souvenirs during the 50th independence anniversary.

The launching,
which was done during yesterday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC)
meeting, which lasted for just about 48minutes, was part of the
activities to celebrate the country’s 50th Independence Anniversary.

Modifications

Speaking at the
occasion, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi, stated that the new note which is designed to commemorate the
country’s 50th anniversary is similar to the circulating N50 note.

The only
difference, he noted is the addition of the 50th anniversary logo, a
gold iridescent band, and a goodwill message written in varnish.

“The new note which
is the same design as the circulating N50 bears slight modifications in
the form of an addition of the 50th anniversary logo, a gold iridescent
ban and a goodwill message written in varnish” he said.

He added that “the
new note will circulate side by side with the existing N50 polymer
notes. While some of the commemorative coins are produced in 22 carat
gold, others are gold plated silver”.

Mr. Sanusi also announced that the bank is redesigning the bank notes to reduce costs and enhance security.

Speaking on the
history of the notes, the CBN governor said since July 1, 1959 when the
first Nigerian currency denominated in one pound, ten shillings and
five shillings was introduced, it had undergone various transformations
as the CBN evolved.

Former Vice
President, Atiku Abubakar, appears unrelenting in his call for the
return of power to north, as he declared yesterday that Nigerians
should not support Goodluck Jonathan because of his decision to contest
next year’s election against the wish of some politicians from the
north.

“This was a man
who sat at a PDP caucus meeting where a vote was taken over the
presidency and he voted for the zoning motion and has subsequently
developed amnesia,” Mr Abubakar said in a statement yesterday. “Given
this antecedent, does anyone think that candidate Jonathan will
recognize term limits in the probable assumption that Nigerians entrust
him with the responsibility of leading them?”

The former Vice
President’s statement was in reference to a caucus meeting of the PDP
held in December 2002, where leaders of the party met and agreed that
the PDP rotates the presidency between the Northern and Southern part
of Nigeria every eight years.

NEXT had
previously reported how 51 leaders of the PDP, including Mr Jonathan
who was then the deputy governor of Bayelsa State; Mr Abubakar and
former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, met in December 2002 and agreed
that power be rotated between the north and southern part of Nigeria
every eight years.

The resolution of
that meeting was however criticised by some members of the party, who
claimed that the meeting was held to satisfy the political ambition of
Mr Abubakar.

“It was a
political gimmick, an understanding to get a soft landing for Atiku,
who felt that he should have been given the opportunity to contest (in
2003), so that he can be the party’s candidate in 2007,” said Bernard
Mikko, a former PDP member of the House of Representatives.

Blame the president

Mr Abubakar also
blamed the presidency for the disruption of the summit organised by
some politicians from the south-eastern part of the country recently.

“This government
by denials will not, by any standard, help the course of Nigeria’s
development and the confidence of its people. The Commissioner of
Police in Imo State takes orders from the Inspector General of Police,
who in turn reports to the president,” he said.

“But when a
Commander-in-chief fails to take responsibility for a clampdown on a
legitimate gathering, denies knowledge of it and fails to hold anyone
responsible, it becomes difficult to trust that leadership.”

Workers of the Nigerian
Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) on Wednesday in Lagos said the best
way to find a resolution to the non-payment of their 30 months arrears
of salaries is to cut off all forms of communications come October 1.

Kenndy Ndubuisi, the Lagos co-ordinator
of Concerned NITEL workers, one of the groups fighting for the
aggrieved workers, said the might be forced to shut down the nation’s
international telecommunications gateway, Sat-3.

“It is now 30 months we have not been
paid salary,” he said. “We got the information from the Bureau of
Public Enterprises (BPE) that they have handed recommendation of the
committee on our salary arrears to the presidency. It is more than a
month they submitted that recommendation to the presidency ,which noted
that workers should be paid their entitlement and be sent off, but yet
we have not heard from government.

“The SAT-3 is a NITEL installation; we
have seen that the federal government only listens to militancy and
violence. That is why we are going to shut down SAT-3 that would make
them pay us. As we saw, the workers of Power Holding Company of Nigeria
(PHCN) did that just recently. They shut down their stations for just
two days and the government hurried to paid them.” Mr Ndubuisi said the
shutdown of SAT-3 would attract government’s attention and force it to
pay their arrears immediately.

“We would shut down all forms of
communication signals in the country. Some people do not even know that
NITEL is working; all form of communications signals pass through
NITEL, like internet connection, mobile phones, radio signals, etc,” he
said “We have told the government earlier that if nothing is done, we
would make sure that this country does not celebrate October 1. So, all
form of communication would be shut, the operations of NITEL reside in
Lagos. While those in Abuja are trying to talk to government to be
reasonable but if that fail the workers in Lagos would shut down SAT-3.
The government has never been reasonable because they have being owing
us for 30 months arrears and government is paying salaries to the
militants around the country.”

Waiting for Information

The spokesperson of
NITEL, Sule Shehu however explained that the workers are waiting to
hear from the Minister of Labour, in Abuja in order to resolve the
settlement of their arrears.

“Some workers are
in a meeting with Minister of Labour, Chukwuemeka Wogu. They started
the meeting around 4pm while the rest of us are waiting outside the
office to hear the outcome of the meeting,” he said.

“Last week, a group
of NITEL workers came and invaded the BPE in Abuja and they spoke with
the BPE and threatened that if by this week the government does not
make a categorical statement about our condition, they are going to
disrupt the Independence anniversary.

“The workers have sacked their union leaders, so the minister is
meeting with the Concern NITEL Staff Union.” In 2008, leading to the
mismanagement of NITEL, the federal government revoked the sale of
NITEL to Transcorp and set up the national carrier for privatization
process. Government has said to settle all outstanding arrears of the
workers from the proceeds of the sale of NITEL.