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At the funeral,
last year, of a friend in his forties who died from ill-health, one of
his mourners noted in an aside to his circle of friends, the ‘awon
boys,’ that “hmmm, spousal support, o wa important!” They listened and
nodded but did not give it much thought.

The man was divorced. “Eh hen? So?”

The man was living alone. “What is so hard about that?”

The man did not look after himself. “He is in good company!”

Yet, over the course of the year, the term ‘spousal support’ has been brought to my notice again and again.

For lawyers,
spousal support is court-ordered support from one partner to the other
during a separation or after a divorce. Although the mourner was a
lawyer, it was evident he was not referring to the law. At heart, he
meant the care given by one spouse to another. He meant the
demonstration of concern during times of tribulation and anxiety. He
meant the vigilance of a partner when they notice small signs that all
may not be well. He meant insistence and harassment to see a doctor
about little symptoms like that persistent headache, or prolonged
fatigue. He meant that pep talk to lift the spirits of a dejected or
beaten down companion. He meant that listening ear and wise voice to
give advice and suggestions when prospects are looking bleak. He meant
the cheerleader who gives the player the courage to take bold steps and
take calculated risks, confident that there is someone who ‘has their
back’. He meant the person that you can break down crying with and who
will never refer to it again or treat you disrespectfully as a result.
He meant spousal support.

Thinking about it,
it seems like common sense and very logical. Yet, many of us lack it
and many of us fail to give it. We receive ‘spousal support’ as
children from our parents. As teenagers, we get it from our best
friends. As adults, the source can be from family members, mentors,
close colleagues, business partners and associates in general; or from
that family doctor who has known you since you were small and calls
periodically to check up on you. We like to name it ‘human feeling.’
Yes, those fortunate amongst us have received a form of it all our
lives; but how many of us are conscious of giving that emotional
support and succour to others in turn.

A listening ear

In our traditional
cultures, elderly people refer to living alone without ‘spousal support
‘as living ‘like a witch’ whom everyone avoids in fear for their
wellbeing! It is all right to live alone by choice for independence,
self-suffiency, and privacy; but it is not okay to live alone because
there is no one who cares enough about you to either stay with you, or
to invite you to stay with them. Our late friend fell into that
category. How did it happen? If this support is so crucial at the level
of couples, imagine the impact of the lack of it on a group, and even
wider to a network, a party, a people, a nation.

How do we show that
we care about the welfare of others, for our circle, for our network,
and the welfare of the state? Do we even show care for the state in the
spirit of spousal support? How have we demonstrated concern during
times of tribulation and national anxiety? Are we vigilant – looking
out for the small signs that all may not be well? Are we insistent on
seeking solutions to identified ills? From reports of progress in the
court, of seemingly clear cut cases of corruption that start off well
and trickle to nothing. I think we do well in giving ourselves pep
talks to lift our spirits. We invest a lot in items and events to make
us feel good about ourselves.

The presidential advisory committee seems like a good source of a
listening ear and wise voice to the president, if it is able to play
that role; but do governors and councilmen have similar people or
bodies to give them advice to the benefit of our lives and in the
interests of our nation? We have cheerleaders galore to urge each other
to take extravagant steps and make big promises that mostly do not pan
out. And when the chips are down, or the political appointment is over,
who ‘has our back.’ Former politicians are the first to tell you that
it is really lonely out there. Everyone disappears. We need to give
each other spousal support so that we do not die unnecessarily when a
little intervention, a little attention, and a little care can keep us
alive on the way to recovery.

Former governor of
Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, said that the Action Congress
(AC) is working assiduously to unseat the ruling Peoples’ Democratic
Party (PDP), come 2011 general elections.

Mr. Tinubu, one of
the prominent personnel of the Action Congress, while speaking to
aviation correspondents at the presidential wing of the Murtala
Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, on issues affecting the new voter
register, declared that his party will not pardon the excesses of any
political platform that tries to jeopardise the peaceful conduct of the
polls.

“As for May 29, we
are in a hurry to send away PDP. But if they have to still do their
mosquito style of election, then we will resist. We will do everything
possible to strengthen the path of democracy in this country,” he said.

Expressing his
support for a new voter register, the former governor disclosed that
Nigeria will only hold credible elections with the new register in
place, as he describes the old register as faulty and unrealistic.

“I don’t think we
can conclude that we will not have free and fair elections yet, but I
agree hundred percent that we must have a fresh voters register. A new
registry of voters that will produce reliable, very viable and
biometrically compliant voters register that will eliminate all
duplications, and all irregularities.

“This is the way to
start the beginning of the next fifty years, after the first fifty
years of Nigeria’s independence,” he said.

Mr. Tinubu
maintained that it will be a huge disgrace should Nigeria fail to
conduct smooth elections, and that the entire components of the former
registry is corrupt, as he added that the former chairman of the
Independent and National Electoral Commission (INEC), Maurice Iwu,
reproduced the old voter register.

“It will be a
shameful thing to have all the professionals and the competent and
capable human resources that we have in this country if we cannot do
that (peaceful elections) for our nation. Otherwise, it will be a
disaster.

“There is no way
they can patch up what is now on ground, for you cannot plant a mango
and expect to reap corn, there is no way. Once the foundation is bad,
the entire structure will collapse. So, this voter register that they
think they will panelbeat is a record that is irreparable,” he said.

Explaining that the
current registry is impracticable, the AC stakeholder argued that the
Attahiru Jega’s administration in the electoral commission should be
given the right to have a new voter register, as he further indicted
the ex-boss of the commission.

“The software that
associated with it (current voter register) was pirated by Iwu’s
administration, let him sue me. I know the address of the Canadian
company; they didn’t pay for the software licence.

“That is why it is unworkable. You can’t panelbeat this management
to produce a reliable voter register, otherwise it’s garbage in garbage
out, from chaos to crisis and to more catastrophic consequences,” he
said.

Senators have
called for the creation of one more state in the South East region, as
well the appointment of one more Supreme Court judge to balance the
nation’s federalism.

The senators made
the call on Wednesday while confirming the newly appointed justices of
the Supreme Court. The appointment of Bode Rhodes-Vivour and Suleiman
Galadima as Justices of the Supreme Court bring the number of judges at
the Supreme Court to 17, however, the senators argued that the South
East and North East region of the country were not adequately
represented in the appointments. Ayogu Eze (PDP Enugu state) argued
that the regional imbalance in the appointment reflects the
marginalization South East region and the need for a new state in the
region to balance national representation. “Currently, the South East
region has five states while the rest regions have six each; there is
need for balance in these areas,” he said.

Ike Ekweremadu, the
deputy senate president also expressed surprise, saying that he is
“worried that we have two Supreme Court Justices.” He however claimed
that “there is every need for balance across the geopolitical zones.”
Arguing in the same line, Smart Adeyemi (PDP Kogi state) and Chairman
of the senate committee on federal character, said it was imperative
the lawmakers considers the creation of one more state in the South
East region to balance the principle of federal character.

Responsive representatives’

Confirming the
determination of the senate to embark on state creation, David Mark,
the Senate President, told a group campaigning for the creation of
Hadejia State that following the successful completion and passage into
law of some amended sections of the 1999 Constitution, the National
Assembly is now poised for creation of more states. Mr Mark, while
receiving the delegates, said the state creation exercise is paramount
in response to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians. “As elected
representatives of the people, we carry the burden of the people and we
respond in a manner that would meet their yearnings and aspirations,”
he said.

According to Mr Mark, the senate shall consider every state creation
request on its merit and it must include but not limited to economic
and political viability of the proposed state. He expressed optimism
that creation of more states would bring government nearer to the
people and usher in an era of even development and healthy competition
between and among the federating states.

The Ogun State Police Command yesterday
announced a major breakthrough in crime fighting with the recovery of
heavy artillery, which includes rocket launchers and a number of
dynamites from armed robbers, as well as the arrest of two members of
the gang.

The bandits were said to have arrived
Abeokuta last Tuesday to rob some banks in the town, after their failed
attempt in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, where they had earlier killed
three policemen.

Showing the recovered artillery and the
arrested suspects to journalists at the Eleweran Police headquarters in
Abeokuta, commissioner of police, Musa Daura, said the command acted on
information about the plot of the bandits.

He said he deployed his men to the
front gate of the police headquarters, where the bandits were to pass
through to the town, adding that the hoodlums, on sighting the
policemen, immediately opened fire.

“It was at this stage my men engaged
the bandits in a shootout, which lasted for over 20 minutes, and the
superior firework of the command forced the gang to abandon their
vehicle and ran into various directions into the bush at a nearby
village.”

From all over

The commissioner said the police arrested two of the seven suspects and recovered their operational vehicle, a Hyundai Elantra.

Items recovered from the vehicle and
shown to journalists included one military multi-purpose machine gun
number KN 276, two military rocket launchers, four dynamites, three
strands of explosive cords, 115 magazines painted military colour fully
loaded with 30 rounds of live ammunitions each, and a Mazda bus
snatched by the bandits to escape from the scene of the shootout.

One of the robbery suspects, Obinna
Ajah, confessed to the crime. He said his gang members converged in
Ibadan, on Monday night, to carry out the bank robbery operations,
which eventually failed. He said it was as a result of the failed
operations in Ibadan that the gang resolved to visit Abeokuta, before
luck ran against them.

“When we arrived Abeokuta, we noticed
the presence of policemen who already mounted road block for us, so we
opened fire, which the police also returned in force. We had to run
into the bush where I was later arrested,” Mr. Obinna said.

The suspect said the gang, numbering
about fifteen, came from Lagos, Ebonyi, Abeokuta, and Ibadan for the
operations after contacting themselves through telephones.

Happy Daniel

Ogun State governor, Gbenga Daniel, who
came to see the volume of the recovered artillery and the suspects
while being paraded said, “what we saw here today looks like a joke,
but it is something very big. Capturing them is just one issue, but the
amount of sophisticated weapons which you have all seen is something
that is very scary. It’s also something that we have not witnessed in
this state.”

He congratulated the police for overpowering the bandits. Mr. Daura
assured journalists that the runaway members of the gang will soon be
arrested.

The owners of the popular musical,
‘Fela! on Broadway’, were shocked on Tuesday night when Nobel Laureate,
Wole Soyinka, suddenly slipped away, ignoring the elaborate birthday
reception organised for him in New York.

Mr. Soyinka was at the Eugene O’Neill
Theatre venue in midtown New York to see, for the first time, the
highly entertaining musical woven around the life and music of his
cousin, the late Afrobeat musician and activist, Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

Apparently unaware of the Nobel
Laureate’s dislike for any outward celebration of his birthday, the
show owners had ordered a rectangular gorgeous birthday cake, which
they planned to present to the professor on stage at the end of the
performance.

Food, drinks, and tables were also
reserved at the next-door Serafina Hotel, where the 76-year-old writer
was to be hosted to a reception.

But somehow, Mr. Soyinka got wind of the plan, and he sneaked out of the “shrine”, just as the cast was taking their bows.

Unaware that the Nobel Laureate had
left the venue, the talented Sahr Ngaujah, who acted Fela, grabbed the
microphone and announced to the audience,

“This is a very special night for us
because we are visited today by Fela’s cousin, the great Nobel
Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka. Today also happens to be his
birthday.”

Ngaujah had hardly finished when two
female members of the cast appeared onstage with a rectangular
white-red-blue birthday cake.

The audience clapped and buzzed with
expectation, hoping that the professor would move onstage to make a
brief remark and cut the cake.

But Mr. Soyinka was long gone and the
audience, which had a good number of Nigerians, and scores of
journalists, were disappointed. A birthday song was, nonetheless, sung
for him.

Honour for organisers

Okey Ndibe, a professor of Literature
at Trinity College, who saw Mr. Soyinka hurrying out of the theatre and
waving down a taxi, said the Nobel Laureate told him that he did not
want the performance to be about him, but about Fela.

“He said he did not want to grant
interviews or be celebrated,” Mr. Ndibe explained to Stephen Hendel,
lead producer of the play.

“He said it is a great play, but that
he would come back unannounced to watch the play again and meet the
cast,” Mr. Ndibe said.

Publisher of SaharaReporters.com, a
popular online news website, Omoyele Sowore, who drove Soyinka from his
hotel to the play, also explained that the professor had an early
flight for South Africa on Wednesday and could therefore not wait for
his birthday song.

Mr. Hendel said although the professor
did not wait for the reception, his presence at the “shrine” to watch
the play was an enough honour for him and his team.

“We have so much respect for Professor Wole Soyinka,” he said. “For
us to have one of the greatest men of the world come to see the show is
a great honour for us. It is a thrill for everyone,” he said.

Visibly angry ex-militants, protesting the shabby
handling of the post-amnesty programme, stormed the Nigeria Union of
Journalists (NUJ) Press Center in Warri, Delta State, yesterday,
causing pandemonium among the residents and passers-by in the area.

The ex-militants, who came in large numbers, blocked
all entrance to the Marine Quarters, where the press center is located,
causing road users and residents to scamper to safety, just as
motorists make a detour to other routes.

Carrying various placards, they threatened to go back
to the creeks as from August 5th, 2010, if their demands were not met
by the Federal Government.

The over 200 former warlords and their boys, led by
‘Generals’ Augustine Oges and Kingsley Muturu, among others, invaded
the No. 12, Gbiaye Street, temporary abode of the Warri Correspondent
Chapel of the NUJ, at about 4.30pm in a violent protest that lasted for
close to two hours.

Traffic was held up for several hours in the area as
the ex-militants mounted several barricades on the strategic road that
leads to Okumagba Avenue and other parts of the Oil City.

The protesters, who gave the Federal Government a
7-day ultimatum, which expires on the 5th of August, 2010, said the
federal government must set the machinery in motion to rehabilitate
their members or else they would return to the creeks.

They vowed to make the region ungovernable for the
various state governors and the Federal Government if their members are
not documented and engaged in the ongoing programmes.

Second phase of protest

Mr. Oges and other protesters told journalists that
despite the protest they held in Abuja, nothing has changed, and warned
that yesterday’s protest at the Press Centre was a follow-up to the one
held earlier this month in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

He said President Goodluck Jonathan’s promise that a
second phase of documentation would be carried out to take care of them
and their members was yet to be fulfilled, and therefore, they could no
longer guarantee holding back their foot soldiers.

He denied media reports that they had apologised to the special adviser to the president on amnesty, Timi Alaibe.

“It is not true that we have apologised to Mr.
Alaibe. That report is completely untrue because we know that some boys
were given money to go back and make that apology. The situation is
still as it is and this (Warri Protest) is the next phase of our
action,” he said.

“We dropped our arms since October last year, but
nothing has happened to us since then. Hence, we stormed Abuja in July
7 to demand for proper documentation of our members who are yet to be
documented.

“Time is running out, and we do not want Timi to
handle the second phase of the amnesty. The president should allow
another competent Nigerian to handle this crucial phase of the amnesty.
Timi has paid some boys to come and apologise to him over the protest
to Abuja.

“We do not want him again, and we are appealing to the president to
beware for him not to rock the boat of his administration. We are
giving the president from now till August 5 to address our issue,
otherwise, we will go back to the creeks and make this country
ungovernable. Enough is enough,” he threatened.

The senate, on Wednesday, delayed the approval of the
N236.58 billion 2010 budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission
(NDDC) for lack of details and bogus overhead cost.

The NDDC budget, which has an allocation of N12.84
billion for personnel and overhead cost, also had an allocation of N226
billion for capital budget. However, the senators criticised the budget
for lacking detailed projects in which the capital budget was to be
applied on.

In a bid to pass the budget expeditiously, even
though the budget is coming late, the senate has asked the chairman of
the senate committee on NDDC, responsible for the budget, to submit all
the details of the budget to the senate by Thursday for possible
consideration and approval.

Beyond Thursday, the senate will embark on a two
months vacation, and the promoters of the budget fear the commission
will be stranded if the senate does not approve the budget before going
on vacation.

“We are actually hard pressed – two wrongs cannot
make a right – let us get the details tomorrow and see whether we can
pass it,” the senate president, David Mark, told the NDDC committee
chairman, James Manager (PDP, Delta State).

The decision of the senate to reconsider the budget
with its full details was reached after a heated debate in which some
senators unsuccessfully called for a piecemeal approval of the budget,
while some of the senators from the Niger Delta region called for the
approval of the budget without the details.

According to Mr. Manager, the NDDC committee has all
the details sent to it by the presidency and will tender them on
Thursday. He, however, notified the senate that NDDC is notorious for
submitting budget proposals late.

“If the next year budget does not come by September
this year, they should forget it. We won’t be taking their budgets
outside September anymore,” the senate president said.

The NDDC act stipulates that they submit their next annual budgets before the end of September of the current fiscal year.

Bogus Overhead

Although the budget has a total of N12.84 billion
proposed to be spent on overhead and personnel, the senators criticised
it saying it is bogus.

The senators criticised some allocations in which some offices proposed to spend up to half a billion naira on personnel alone.

“The overhead cost is completely overboard,” Lee
Maeba (PDP Rivers State), said. The budget contains provisions like
N529.26 million for personnel and overhead cost for the managing
director’s office, N456.8 million for the corporate affairs office,
N330.38 million for the directorate of legal services, and N676.3
million for the directorate of planning, research, statistics, and MIS.

The budget also includes an allocation of N90 million for condolences and marriages.

“There is too much money for personnel and overhead cost.” Ahmed
Lawan said. “Are we trying to settle some cabal in Port Harcourt or are
we trying to build infrastructure in the region?” Mr. Lawan queried.

The Senate yesterday confirmed the appointment of two more
national electoral commissioners for the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC).

The two, Mohammed Ahmed Wali from Sokoto State and Christopher
Okubai Iyimoga, from Nasarawa State, were appointed by President Goodluck
Jonathan to replace Abdulahi Bangudu Mamman and Mohammed Zakki Anka, who were
dropped for allegedly being members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party.

Mr Mamman, a retired military general, is a member of the Board
of Trustees of the PDP; and Mohammed Zakki Anka is an ambassador who contested
for the governorship of Zamfara State in 1999.

Their confirmation brings the number of the commission’s
national commissioners confirmed by the senate this year to eleven, including
the chairman.

Tuesday’s confirmation followed a brief screening exercise at
the senate, where the commissioners answered questions regarding their abilities
and credibility.

Mr. Wali and Mr. Iyimoga, both lecturers, promised to utilise
their experiences in the public service over the years to ensure the delivery
of free, fair and credible election in 2011. They accepted to work as a team
with the other commissioners.

“I would like to advise them that what this country wants is a
free, fair and credible election,” the senate president, David Mark, said after
the confirmation. “I advise them to join their colleagues in ensuring that they
do that.”

Firm against bribery

Other national electoral commissioners who were screened before
Mr. Wali and Mr. Iyimoga all promised to cooperate with the chairman and one
another to make the next general elections the freest and most credible
election in the history of Nigeria.

Mr. Iyimoga also promised to offer his intelligence as a
journalist to improve publicity and voter education in the forth coming
elections. He said he has an idea to use local musicians, folk musicians and
the multimedia to conduct an extensive voter education.

Like Atahiru Jega, his boss, Mr. Iyimoga assured the senate he
would not “collapse” if presented with huge sums as bribe.

Mr. Wali, a political science lecturer with Usman Danfodio University,
Sokoto also promised to stand firm in the face of bribery attempts.

The Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday apologised
to journalists in Edo State over the brutal attack on the Edo State
correspondent of The Nation, Otabor Friday, when he received a beating from
suspected thugs during last Saturday’s by-election into the state house of
assembly in Ovia North-East constituency II.

Mr. Otabor was attacked by thugs while attempting to take shots
of hundreds of persons casting their votes at Igo Primary School polling
station, even when they were told by the electoral officer that they were not
registered in the place.

Mr. Oshiomhole yesterday promised to get to the root of the
incident and ensure that those responsible were fished out.

“I am really sorry for what happened. We will ensure that we get
to the root of the matter to know what actually happened, because we have a
responsibility to protect the media. We need the media to ensure that we have
credible election in this country, and that is what I am committed to in this
state and beyond,” he said.

He also called for the compilation of a genuine voters register before next
elections, saying that “the foundation of credible election is in a credible
voters register, which we must ensure we get before the election.”

Security operatives at the governor’s office, Calabar had to
quickly intervene to prevent a catastrophe when ex-militants, fresh from a
two-week rehabilitation training at Obubra, Cross River State, stormed the
complex to protest the non-payment of their salaries for two months.

Members of the disbanded Bakassi Freedom Fighters, who dominated
the protest, said they were also at the state house to show their displeasure
at the failure of the Cross River State government to release the allowance of
N1 million previously approved for them. This amount was to be given only to
former militants who hail from the state.

On sighting the approach of these former warlords, a combined
team of policemen and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps [NSCDC]
officials quickly bolted the main entrance to the office, keeping away all
visitors. This caused a scene at the gate as guests who were already in were
barred from going out. The most senior police officer at the gate managed after
a long while to turn back the protesting men, who insisted on seeing the
governor, Liyel Imoke, to report their plight after graduating from the
training 12 days ago. The police officer took them away from the office to
listen to their grievances.

Midway into their discussions with the police, the special
adviser to the state government on security, Bassey Okim arrived and the leader
of the protesting team, Livinus Awudu told him of their complaints. Each former
militant receives N65,000 monthly.

They also said they needed to know when they will commence
vocational training as promised by the government, suggesting that it begins
without further delay.

Mr Awudu claimed that an army officer with the 13 Amphibious
Brigade, simply identified as Bello, has been sitting on the N1 million
approved for them by Mr Imoke. He claimed that each time they asked for the
money, Bello told them to be patient as payment was being processed.

“How long will it take Bello to pay us? We know ourselves. We
are 400 from Cross River State and he has our names and the necessary
documentation about us. What again does he want? We have been hanging in
Calabar since returning from the training at Obubra to receive this N1 million.
Let Imoke call him to order”, he said.

Mr Awudu said his group had exhausted the out-of-pocket expenses
they got at the rehabilitation camp and now faced hard times in Calabar. He
claimed that by last Sunday, all their money was finished and they had not
eaten since then.

Training for second batch

Another ex-militant, Kucky Bonus, told Mr. Okim that if nothing
positive was done about their plight, they will have no alternative than to
return to the creeks in Bakassi peninsula to fend for themselves as some
persons were out to feed fat on them.

“Look at me, I have a wife and three children. How do I take
care of them? Do they want me to go and steal? We have embraced this amnesty
but some persons are just using us to make money for themselves. President
Goodluck Jonathan is not aware of what we are going through at the rehabilitation
camp. He should call Timi Alaibe to order,” he said.

“We have no problem with Mr. Okim. He has been so caring so far.
The problem we have is with those

from Abuja who do not care about us. If the federal government
does not wade in, this amnesty will succeed only on paper. How come they are
owing us two months salary? Some persons somewhere are using us to make money
for themselves.”

Following the pestering, Mr. Okim pacified the men with N10,000,
pleading that they don’t take laws into their hands as he was going to Abuja
this week for a meeting with Mr. Alaibe where he would table their complaints.
He said government, having successfully completed the two-weeks rehabilitation
programme, cannot disappoint them now and assured them that the vocational
training will commence soon.

In the presence of the protesters, Mr. Okim called Bello on the phone to
tell him of the anger of the ex-militants; whereupon Bello ask them to meet him
in his office for discussion. Once through with Mr Okim, they left to meet
Bello as directed.

Meanwhile, the second batch of
ex-militants have commenced rehabilitation training in Obubra.

This batch is a mixture of male and female ex-militants. The training was
suspended for over a week to make for the construction of a concrete block
perimeter fence round the NYSC permanent orientation camp now being used to
rehabilitate the former creek boys ahead of skills acquisition training.