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At least nine
pro-Palestine activists were killed when Israeli marines stormed a
Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza on Monday, triggering a diplomatic
crisis and an emergency session of the UN Security Council.

European nations,
as well as the United Nations and Turkey, voiced shock and outrage at
the incident. Boarding from dinghies and rappelling from helicopters,
naval commandos stopped six ships, 700 people and 10,000 tons of
supplies from reaching the Islamist-run Palestinian enclave; but a
bloody miscalculation left Israel isolated and condemned.

Once-close Muslim
ally Turkey accused it of “terrorism” in international waters. The UN
Security Council met for an emergency session. The European Union, a
key aid donor to Palestinians, demanded an independent inquiry and an
end to the Gaza embargo.

Israel’s most
powerful friend, the United States, was more cautious; but President
Barack Obama said he wanted the full facts soon and regretted the loss
of life. However, New York rights group, Human Rights Watch noted that
the incident, in which dozens of activists and several Israeli
commandos were also reportedly wounded, raises grave concerns about
possible unlawful and excessive use of lethal force.

Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu voiced regret as he cut short a visit to Canada and
rang President Obama to call off a White House meeting that had been
planned for Tuesday. “They were mobbed, they were clubbed, they were
beaten, stabbed, there was even a report of gunfire. And our soldiers
had to defend themselves,” he said.

“What Israel has committed on board the Freedom Flotilla was a massacre,” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said.

Paintball attack

Military
night-vision video showed commandos being winched down, only to be
surrounded. Some Israeli commentators asked why commanders put troops
into a position where they were cornered. An Israeli minister admitted
plans to maintain the blockade on Hamas while avoiding an international
incident had backfired in spectacular fashion.

One marine told
reporters his squad went in with anti-riot paintball guns but, fearing
for their lives, resorted to using normal pistols or leapt overboard.
In military footage, a commando fired a paintball at a man who seemed
to be clubbing an Israeli. Other video showed a commando fire a pistol,
two-handed.

“We were prepared to face human rights activists and we found people who came for war,” the marine told reporters.

Turkish anger

The bloodshed
sparked street protests and government ire in Turkey, long Israel’s
lone Muslim ally in the region. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, whose
Islamist views and outreach to Iran and other Israeli enemies are
blamed by many in Israel for souring relations, said before cutting
short a trip to Chile: “This action, totally contrary to the principles
of international law, is inhumane state terrorism.”

Ankara also
cancelled joint military exercises and recalled its ambassador. Israel
told tourists in Turkey to stay indoors and dismissed any accusations
that it had broken international law by boarding foreign ships far
beyond its territorial waters. Israeli forces were on high alert but
aside from scattered scuffles, there was little trouble with
Palestinian protesters.

Demonstrations in Europe included Paris, Stockholm, Rome, and
Athens. The Arab League condemned what it called a “terrorist act.”
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called it “inhuman.” A senior UN
official responsible for the aid on which Gaza depends said: “Such
tragedies are entirely avoidable if Israel heeds the repeated calls of
the international community to end its counterproductive and
unacceptable blockade of Gaza.”

REUTERS

Q:You of
course met with President Jonathan Goodluck-what assurances did you
receive from him with regard to the fight against corruption, electoral
reforms and energy.

A: With the
president we spoke mostly about the issues with to concern to our
working group. The energy is another working group and we will begin
discussions in June in Washington DC. the President demonstrated not
only full commitment to addressing these issues but also a great degree
of knowledge about the complexities of carrying them out. He did not
simplify it nor did he say this was easy to carry on. His words and
emphasis were based on all the different pieces that have to be
addressed. We believe that the leadership is in place and we are very
happy to be partners in that leadership in order to make this election
happen.

Q:Presently
the country is about to have a new chairman for INEC. What kind of
person will the United states like to see appointed by the Nigerian
President going by the fact there has been a lot of complaints over the
work of the previous Chairman, Maurice Iwu.

A:We will like to
see someone that can help highlight the I (independent) in INEC. And
someone who is credible and responsible with a level of commitment to
carry out electoral reform in the way that the President has outlined
it and the way in which we will like to see it move forward. We have
every confidence that the leadership of INEC will be able to take this
organization forward in carrying out a fair and transparent election

Q:From the
Executive to the Parliament and the even the Nigerian Public the debate
about electoral reforms arising from the Uwais report has raged. What
is your position on this and do you think the report should be adopted
in its entirety.

A: We believe what
is important is for the country to make decisions- for the national
assembly and the other institutions that are in place to take on the
decisions that together will enable the 2011 elections to be fair,
credible and transparent. We have made recommendations in that regard
and we believe it is important for those recommendations to be
seriously considered. No question that time is running short and that a
great work still needs to be done.

Q:Are you
very optimistic that the 2011 elections in Nigeria will be fair and
credible and what is the basis for that optimism if there is any.

A:You are saying
that we are optimistic. I like to tell you that in the last two days we
have had very good discussions, very promising discussions of the
Bi-National Commission. They have demonstrated a very good deal of
commitment on the part of the Nigerian government and I dont mean just
in words, but very clear actions are being taken in order to move
forward all the pieces that have to fit together to make sure credible
elections are held. We believe the leadership is in place. And the real
desire on the part of Nigeria to be able to carry out an election that
not only the Nigerian people but the world can see is free and fair.

We believe that
there is a great deal of effort being made to improve the institutions
ensure institutions that contribute to credible elections including
INEC. We will be able to provide technical assistance and training to
make this process move forward. The work of this bi-national commission
is a very strong signal of the work that is being done and the reason
for our optimism as we move forward.

Q:You
harped on the importance of the fight against corruption and you the
need for the EFCC to step up to the plate. US Secretary of state
Senator Hillary Clinton also a few months back harped on the same
issue-going forward in what ways will the US partner with the EFCC to
ensure the necessary work is done in terms of high profile corruption
convictions.

A: We will continue
working with EFCC. We will work closely also in looking at legislation
and the mechanisms that will ensure that high level corrupt criminals
are brought to justice. We believe that this is an area that a great
deal of work is needed. Transparency International continues to rate
Nigerian close to the bottom. And I would like to echo Secretary
Clinton’s urging that a great deal of work still needs to be done. The
United States is ready to help but it is really Nigerians and the
Nigerian institutions that will have to turn things around.

Q:Media reports have it that the US President will soon visit Nigeria. how soon will this happen and can you confirm.

A: You said media
reports (laughter)-You know how those are. I can’t confirm. The
president has no such trip planned at this time. So, I am not open to
say anything more specific than that. There is no such plan at this
time.

For full interview please tune to NN24. DSTV Channel 414.

Oluwadare Adepoju
Adesina the Deji of Akure land, on Sunday evening physically assaulted
one of his wives in a free for all in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Oba Adesina, accompanied by his latest wife, Remi Adesina, descended on Olori Bolanle Adesina and inflicted injuries on her.

NEXT gathered that
Olori Bolanle had been ordered out of the palace by the monarch,
following a slight disagreement between the two. The traditional ruler
then invaded the private residence of Olori Bolanle with stern looking
people suspected to be thugs, who gave the hapless woman a thorough
beating.

The incident was
said to have happened around 5.30pm on Sunday when the the Oba, along
with Remi, stormed the residence of the second ‘Olori’ located on 141,
Hospital Road Akure, in an SUV and Toyota starlet.

On sighting the Oba
and his wife, Olori Bolanle sneaked into her room and asked the people
around to tell them she was not around.

But when they could
not see her, the monarch allegedly ordered the stern looking youth that
accompanied him to destroy the building.

NEXT further learnt
that it was at this stage that Bolanle came out of hiding and
challenged the people on the reason why they invaded her house. This
was said to have infuriated Oba Adesina, who directed that a hot
substance should be poured on her.

It was at this
point the younger brother of Olori Bolanle and some passers-by
descended on the Nissan Pathfinder brought to the scene by Oba Adesina.
The vehicle, marked “Deji of Akure”, was seriously damaged by irate
youth, who vowed to deal with him seriously.

In an attempt to
escape being dealt with by the people of the area, the Oba fell into
the drainage along the road and his cap allegedly fell off his head. It
took the quick intervention of the police from the state command to
save him from being lynched by the irate mob.

‘God saved me’

While narrating her ordeal, Olori Bolanle said it was God who saved her life from death.

“I had to block my
face because they wanted to pour the substance on me to deface me. But,
I was lucky to have blocked it with my two hands,” she said.

“Despite the fact
that I was forced out of the palace without the opportunity to take my
belongings, Oba Adesina still came to my house to fight me for unjust
cause. When I noticed that there was nothing I could do, I had to call
the police who responded swiftly to my distress call. It took the
intervention of the police to put the situation under control.” Olori
Bolanle urged security operatives to beef up security around her so
that the monarch would not be able to take her life.

Efforts to speak
with the Akure traditional ruler proved abortive, as he refused to
comment on the issue when contacted on his cell phone.

Oba Oluwadare Adepoju Adesina was on Novemeber 8, 2009 declared
unworthy of the throne and his seat vacant, by the kingmakers in Akure.
He was subsequently barred from the palace. Oba Adesina was also
accused of not completing the traditional rites four years after he
assumed the throne. It took the intervention of the state governor,
Olusegun Mimiko, before the kingmakers could revert their earlier
decision.

Mathew Kukah, a
Catholic priest, has urged Nigerians to be ready to embrace the wind of
change that is blowing across the country’s political firmament.

Mr Kukah, the Vicar
General of the Kaduna Archdiocese of the Catholic Church said during a
sermon in Abuja that Nigerians should see the Goodluck Jonathan
presidency as a clear indication that God is ready to change the
country’s political equation for good.

During the service
held in honour of Ojo Maduekwe, former foreign affairs minister, Mr
Maduekwe, rededicated the rest of his life to the service of the prison
ministry in the country.

“Sometimes God is
ready to do something when Nigerians are not. At other times, Nigerians
are ready when God is not. But now it is clear God is ready to change
Nigeria for good. But it depends on what Nigerians want,” Mr .Kukah
said.

“What God has done
for Nigeria has never been done in any other democracy in the world. A
situation where one man has become deputy governor and governor of a
state, vice president, acting president of Nigeria, and now president,
without standing for any election, is neither ordinary good luck nor
mere coincidence.

“Goodluck Jonathan
has never stood for any election into any of the offices he has
occupied. He has never spent any money to campaign to be voted for in
any election. Nobody has ever cast any vote for him in any election.
Yet, he has become the president of Nigeria without spending any money.

“My argument is
that God is ready to do a new thing for Nigeria. God went to the Niger
Delta region, where they say there is lot of kidnapping, hostage taking
and other vices that give the country a bad image, and picked Jonathan
to take over the presidency, against all expectations. One does not
need to be happy or accept (it), but it has happened,” he said.

According to Kukah,
the coming of “the Goodluck effect” has also brought with it the
“collateral benefit” now being enjoyed by the people of Kaduna State,
who, he said, were not only having a Christian as governor of the state
for the first time, but also its indigene as vice president of Nigeria.

Giving back

The erstwhile
National Secretary and member, Board of Trustees of Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), Maduekwe, said he was grateful to God for sustaining him
throughout the difficult years in his political career, which saw him
occupying various top positions.

He said his
decision to invest the remaining part of his life in the ministry of
those who have found themselves behind bars is his own modest way of
giving back to God in appreciation of His favour to him politically.

“When I told my
father, who was a committed reverend minister of the Presbyterian
Church, that I was going into politics, he did not support the idea
initially. But when I explained to him that I was going in to render
service to the people, he changed his mind and gave me his blessings.
That blessing is what has made it possible for me to have this record
of over 11 years in service,” he said.

Though he said the father did not live long enough to see him make a
success of his dream career, he not only wants to erect a befitting
structure to his memory, but also to go into a ministry that would show
how grateful he is to God.

The National Institute for Cultural Orientation
(NICO) has concluded arrangements to document cultural festivals in the
southwest states, in order to boost tourism potentials, the Executive
Secretary of the Institute, Barclays Ayakoroma, said in Akure at the
weekend.

Mr Ayakoroma, who disclosed this at a two-day
training workshop organised by the Ondo State Ministry of Culture and
Tourism, appealed to governors in the south west states to support the
documentation of various cultural festivals in their states.

Ayakoroma said the cultural sector was one of the
misunderstood sectors in the country, stressing that policy makers and
top government officials see it as basically for the entertainment of
dignitaries at various state functions.

He noted that there was the need to correct the
erroneous perceptions that the cultural sector was only meant for
entertaining purposes.

The government official added that the Institute has started running
full-time certificate and post graduate diploma in Nigeria cultural
studies, with the ultimate aim of professionalising the Nigerian
cultural sector.

The Credible
Leadership Forum has condemned the rotational presidency system
practiced by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) saying it is
undemocratic and unconstitutional.

Ahmed Abdullahi,
the chairman of the group, said in Abuja yesterday that it is a
“democratic anathema” for anybody or group of people or a political
party to suggest that a qualified adult is not free to exercise his
constitutional right to seek election, based on his state of origin or
geopolitical zone.

Mr Abdullahi argued
that, with regards to the on-going debate about Goodluck Jonathan’s
chances in 2011, the president “as a Nigerian adult, is
constitutionally empowered to vote and be voted for.

“Goodluck Jonathan
has as much right to run for presidency in 2011 as the Nigerian voters
reserve the voting right to either vote him in or refrain from it,” Mr
Abdulahi said.

“Rotational presidency is not democratic. It is the arrangement of PDP,” he added.

Arguing along the
same lines, Nimi-Bariagha Amange (PDP Bayelsa State), a senator
representing the president’s home state, said that President Jonathan
was free to run for the presidency in the 2011 general polls.

Zoning is “unconstitutional”

Mr Amange, who
spoke to journalists at the Bridge Builders Forum, in Abuja, said that
the zoning formula adopted by the PDP is “unconstitutional and
undemocratic.” He added that zoning is also not recognized in the PDP
constitution.

“The constitution
is quite clear,” he said. “The constitution has never restricted
Nigerians to give vote to one particular area, person or religion.
People are confusing zoning with rotation. Zoning is like what we have
in the constitution, that is section 14 (2), federal character.
Permanent Secretaries are zoned, ministers are zoned.”

He said that Mr Jonathan has the constitutional right, like every other Nigerian, to seek election to any office in the land.

“The rotation is
that, if a president finishes his tenure, then the next president will
come from another area. That is the rotation we are talking about. Now,
Yar’Adua unfortunately did not finish his tenure and Goodluck is going
to finish his tenure. After that, since Yar’Adua is not here to take
his second term, automatically the north-west has completed its tenure.
That is what it means. So it should go to another area that has not
produced president before. That is the rotation that we are talking
about.

“Zoning is that immediately a president is elected, the other
positions are zoned. The vice president will not come from the same
zone with him, the Senate President will not come from the same zone
with him, and the Speaker will not come from the same zone with him.
That is zoning arrangement,” he added.

Emmanuel Iheanacho,
the Minister of Interior, has said that Public Private Partnership
(PPP) is a vital instrument in the quest to reposition the Fire Service
that will meet the standard required in the 21st century.

In a statement by
Timothy Oyedeji, Assistant Director in charge of press, Mr. Iheanacho
admitted that the government and the private sector cannot afford to
sit back and watch the inadequacies in the service, while assets that
citizens have acquired over the years are gutted by fire.

The Ministry of
Interior, through the Federal Fire Service, is already partnering with
the National Assembly in the proposed amendment of the Act that will
give the service regulatory and associate responsibilities, while
actual fire fighting operations are brought closer to the citizenry
through municipal involvement.

Earlier, the leader
of the Lagos Millennium Group, Taiwo Taiwo, informed the minister that
her non-governmental organisation was poised to partner with the
ministry on plans to upgrade Ajele Fire Station, Lagos, as it would
build a state of the art fire fighting structure, in line with
international best practice.

Mrs. Taiwo further said her group, through a Public Private
Partnership (PPP) initiative, has secured a $2 million dollars grant
from Shell for the Ajele Fire Service. She assured that the target of
the group was to change the face of public infrastructure, as it has an
agenda of what it wants Lagos to be.

The federal
government has set up an administrative panel to review last Thursday’s
labour crisis at the federal ministry of interior.

The federation’s
Head of Service, Stephen Oronsaye, disclosed over the weekend that
President Goodluck Jonathan has given his approval for the constitution
of a three-man administrative panel to look into the crisis that led to
the disruption of activities at the ministry.

The three-man
committee will be headed by Tunji Olagunju, a senior special assistant
to the President Jonathan on NEPAD. Titilayo Iroche, a former permanent
secretary and currently a commissioner in the National Salaries and
Wages Commission and Isa Bello Sali, a permanent secretary in the power
ministry are the other two members of the panel.

The committee has two weeks to complete the assignment.

Two committees

However, the
minister of interior, Emmanuel Iheanacho, had also set up a committee
to look into the issue after a meeting with union leaders shortly after
the staff protest of Thursday.

A press statement
from the ministry of interior, shortly after the protest, said the
interior ministry boss had began settling the crisis generated by the
staff protest.

According to the
statement, signed by Timothy Oyedeji, the ministry’s spokesperson, the
minister set up the committee to investigate the workers’ demands.

The minister’s
committee comprised of management staff, representatives of the four
protesting unions and a member of the Senior Civil Service Association
of Nigeria.

“To underscore the
importance of providing prompt response to all issues raised by the
unions, the minister has also directed that the committee starts work
‘that day’ Thursday 27th May 2010,” the statement reads, in part.

It is still unclear
how the two committees will function together or whether one of the
committees would be disbanded for the other.

Protesting workers
had, on Thursday, locked up the ministry and disrupted government
activities over what they said was the failure of the ministry’s
Permanent Secretary, Dere Awosika, to meet their welfare demands.

The staff, made up of four amalgamated unions, said they were
protesting poor staff welfare, staff stagnation at a particular rank
and skill rustiness due to lack of relevant training.

Seven states in
northern Nigeria are at risk of lack of access to food and other basic
needs, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said at the
weekend.

This is coming on
the heels of an earlier warning by the agency of impending food and
nutrition crisis nationwide, with a call for urgent action to prevent
an emergency and a possible disaster .

Addressing
journalists at the weekend, the Director-General of the Agency,
Mohammed Audu- Bida, said statistics from its recent nationwide
research on food security show that the National Strategic Grains
Reserves is at the point of depletion, with only 105,000 metric tonnes
left. This is about 65,000 metric tonnes short of the expected target.

According to Mr.
Audu-Bida, the deteriorating food security conditions among pastoral
households and increased malnutrition among children in pastoral areas
are a worry to the agency.

He blamed the malnutrition on reduced food intake, especially of milk which was the major local source of protein .

He said the extreme
northern part of the country remains the greatest concern for food
insecurity, due to poor local production and competition with export to
Niger Republic.

The official said
the situation was made worse by severe shortfall in households basic
food requirements, resulting in significantly increased rates of acute
malnutrition and gradual destitution.

The seven states at greatest risk, according to the agency, are Kebbi, Jigawa, Yobe, Zamfara, Taraba, Borno and Sokoto.

Mr Audu-Bida,
however, said that even the southern states are not totally free from
the challenge, as poor households are facing rising food insecurity
occasioned by seasonal decline in food supplies as the peak of the
hunger season approaches.

He further lamented that malnutrition is killing many children in Nigeria.

“Vitamin A deficiency increase substantially the risk of dying from
the listed conditions as malaria, neonatal, pneumonia, measles,” he
said.

A Kaduna-based
civil society organisation, the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, has
enumerated 90 reasons why it thinks President Goodluck Jonathan must
not run in the 2011 generals elections.

The group, in a
statement signed by its president, Shehu Sanni, asked Mr Jonathan to
respect and maintain the zoning system of the ruling People’s
Democratic Party (PDP) because his political career has benefited from
zoning.

“Jonathan emerged
as acting president and president as a product of zoning,” stated the
group. The organisation also stated that key political offices in the
country, such as the senate president, speaker of the House of
Representative, secretary to the government of the Federation and vice
president are not occupied “by merit but by zoning.”

It also noted that
professional bodies in the nation, such as the Nigerian Bar
Association, Trade Union Congress, Nigerian Medical Association,
Academic Staff Union of Universities, amongst many others, “share
positions” and “observe zoning.”

Zoning for fair play

When asked if one
of reasons on the list, which states that a “Northerner will not accept
a Southern Nigerian cancelling zoning” is not inciting, Mr Sanni
declared: “The biggest incitement is the cancellation of the zoning
arrangement. If a northern president cancels the zoning system, will
the people of the south agree?,” adding that his clamour for the
respect of zoning, which is a party affair, does not make him partisan.

“Zoning is a party
arrangement, but the president the party is producing is going to be
the president of Nigeria, and nota president of PDP,” he said, “Those
speaking out against zoning today lost their voices when Obasanjo
muzzled out Odili in favour of Umaru.”

On the
constitutionality of the zoning system, the activist questioned why the
new occupant of the office of the vice-president was zoned, and not
picked at random or merit.

“The constitution
did not approve of zoning the vice-presidency, but why are we zoning
the vice presidency and agree to unconstitutionally zone the office?,”
he said. “There is nothing like merit in our electoral politics,
because corrupt people can also contest and win elections. All the
ex-governors and even serving senators undergoing trial in the courts
for corruption have contested and won elections.”

The group had
warned that without zoning, only the Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo can
produce a president because of their numerical strength. Also included
in the list to the president are series of warnings on why the zoning
structure might sustain the unity of the country.

“Zoning came as a
result of the quest for ‘power shift,’ zoning is the answer to
sectional domination, zoning ends ethnic hegemony, zoning enables all
sections to produce a president, zoning ends the tyranny of the
majority,” stated the group.

The group urged Mr
Jonathan to conduct “a free, fair and credible election and hand over
power to a Nigerian of northern extraction whose tenure will end by
2015. And become an international statesman.”