Nigeria Content Online

The hope of Ibrahim Babangida, former Nigerian military ruler, or any other military general, to get the support of former president Olusegun Obasanjo for the 2011 presidential elections was dashed in far away United States of America last Thursday, April 29th in Washington DC.

The salvo was fired by Mr. Obasanjo himself at the ‘Dialogue on Nigeria’ forum hosted by the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation’ where he declared that it is now time for the younger generation to take charge of the leadership of the country.”The generation before mine fought for and got independence for Nigeria. My own generation fought for unity and stability to keep Nigeria one. It is now left for generation after ours to move the country forward.

All of us who fought for the stability and unity of the country must now give the next generation a chance to take over the leadership of Nigeria,” Mr. Obasanjo stated.As part of his campaign to seek support for his presidential ambition, Mr. Babangida, who ruled Nigeria between 1985 and 1993, had visited Mr. Obasanjo at his residence in Ogun State on April 1, to seek the latter’s support.

Other presidential candidates that Mr. Obasanjo’s statement refers are Muhammad Buhari, former military head of state; and Aliyu Gusau, the current National Security Adviser.

Mr. Obasanjo also used the opportunity to condemn the statement credited to Mr. Babangida that Nigerian youth were not ready for political leadership.”It is wrong for my generation to say the youth are not ready to take over the leadership of the country,” said Mr. Obasanjo.

Not all Nigerians are corrupt

While speaking on corruption, Mr. Obasanjo, who is alleged to be a major beneficiary of the $180million Halliburton bribe stated that “people are saying that the Nigerian police is corrupt but it is the same police force that produced (former anti corruption czar) Nuhu Ribadu.

So it is a challenge for us to always find the right people among us and thrust them with the leadership of our country.”The former President, who appointed Maurice Iwu, the man who conducted the 2007 general elections widely believed to be the worst in Nigerian history, also spoke on electoral reforms.”What is most important for electoral reform is for politicians to reform themselves,” he said. “But in Nigeria, even if Jesus comes to conduct election, it would still be condemned.”

Other prominent speakers at the event included Mr. Ribadu and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, managing director of the World Bank, and former finance minister.Johnny Carson, the US assistant secretary of state for Africa stated at the event that “Nigeria is very important for the US and the world and that is why it is one of the three countries we have bi-national commissions. We are serious about partnering Nigeria and maintaining cordial relations.”

The Chairman of EFCC, Farida Waziri, has advised leaders of northern Nigeria to develop the region or forget about the future.

Mrs Waziri, who made the call in Kaduna at the
10th anniversary of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), told the leaders to
stop claiming astuteness in national politics if they failed to improve
the fortunes of the region.

She advised the people of the area to emulate and
practice the humility, comportment, understanding, tolerance and
accommodation principles of the late Premier of the Northern region and
Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, to regain their leadership role.

“Arewa of today is torn apart by religious and
tribal conflicts, which threaten to destroy any semblance of an economy
it may have,’’ Mrs. Waziri lamented.

She reminded them that the late Aminu Kano
regarded wastage of public funds as a treason, urging governors and
local government council chairmen to stop running their offices from
hotels and support the crusade against corruption as she also advised
the ACF to support the cause of the Niger Delta region to reciprocate
an age-long political alliance.

“Arewa must not only lead in the vanguard against
corruption but must be visibly seen to be doing it. “What we fail to
realise is that Arewa has failed to fight corruption and as a result,
it is becoming politically and economically irrelevant,’’ she said.

While soliciting for support from all Nigerians, the EFCC chairman
described corruption as the biggest killer disease in the country,
explaining that funds meant for development purposes were diverted into
private pockets.

Reasons for supporting Jonathan

Why are we supporting Jonathan? We
are supporting him because he is young, he is honest and he is sincere.
He is a good listener, a loyal servant, a committed follower and a
great leader. We want someone that can take Nigeria forward,
irrespective of the region he or she comes from. If we have a leader
that has been able to track the problems of Nigeria like he has done so
far, such a person deserves our support. Jonathan has a good vision for
Nigeria. if he can lead us like he has done in the last two months,
then he deserves our support in the north.

“Politically, a lot of people from
the north have ruled this country before now and they were not able to
achieve anything by the time they left office. So, why must we give
them our support again this time around? We have been taken for granted
for too long.

Financial sustenance of the campaign

Financially, we the leaders of the
movement are the ones supporting our project. We simply task ourselves
for this particular project. Nobody is supporting or sponsoring us. It
is the almighty Allah God that supports us. If there is anybody doing
so, let the person come out now and tell Nigerians he or she is the one
sponsoring us.

Never met Jonathan or Ibori

We have never met Jonathan. He
does not know us. We do not have anything to do with Ibori or any other
person. We only see them in the papers or in the television. What we
are doing is in the interest of Nigeria.

Focus of the campaign

Our aim is to achieve a positive
change of leadership for good governance in Nigeria. Even if it is not
Goodluck Jonathan at the end of the day, we want to help to enthrone a
leader that will touch the lives of the common man in our country. We
intend to sustain our campaign with different plans and actions. But
for now, we are limiting our activities so as not to heat up the
political atmosphere.” Finally, we are seriously praying for our dear
President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, to achieve a quick recovery from the
illness that struck him so that he could come back to his office and
continue to lead our country. Also, we are praying that God almighty
should bring peace and unity to the country, particularly Jos.”

Former
governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, has called on the country’s
acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, abolish the current voters’
register, describing it as a “fraud.”

Mr. Tinubu, who spoke to journalists at the
presidential wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA) on his way to
Benin, Edo State yesterday, argued that the integrity of the voters’
registry has been tarnished.

“Where is the integrity of the voters registry? The
register is a fraud,” he said. “I am going to address it clearly today
and I am going to write a petition to the acting president. If he wants
this country to move forward, you have to scrap the voters register.”

The former governor disclosed that the country needs
to start afresh, adding that the data base housing the registry itself
is a fraud.

“I am going now to Edo State to campaign for the
integrity of our election, because the future of our country is the
stability of democracy, We depend on it,” he said.

“If we now procure it through the court, we will not
establish coalition of democracy for electoral reforms, and would not
be moving around the country to sensitize the general public on the
need for one man, one vote based upon reliable verifiable data of
registered voters.”

On Iwu’s Sack

Reacting to yesterday’s sack of Maurice Iwu, as
chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mr. Tinubu
said that the move by the acting president was a step in the right
direction, stressing that whoever takes over the job should be
thoroughly scrutinized.

“That is just the beginning of the response to our
cry,” he said. “He (Mr. Jonathan) has to clean these people,” he said.
“There is another man that Iwu would handover to, what has he been
contaminated with?”

The former governor also called on the acting president to suspend all contracts signed by the sacked INEC chairman.

“There are various contracts that Iwu had embarked upon to rush
through before he leaves, they (Presidency) should suspend all those
contracts,” he said.

BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, a non-profit and
non-religious organisation, has acknowledged the role of a credible
media in the realisation of its mission of promoting and protecting
women’s human rights.

The organisation, which aims at making “women’s human
rights become an integral part of everyday life”, expressed this during
a courtesy visit to NEXT Newspaper yesterday.

The delegation comprised the organisation’s Executive
Director, Sindi Medar-Gould; the Administrative Manager, Ngozi
Nwosu-Juba; Documentalist, Linda Aina; and Sunday Idowu, an intern
attached to the organisation.

“We know that without credible media we would not be
able to talk about democracy, anti-corruption, human rights; and when I
say human rights, I include women’s human rights”, said Ms. Medar-Gould.

While explaining that the reason for the visit is to
strengthen her organisation’s relationship with the media, Ms.
Medar-Gould regretted that most times the media does not feel
appreciated for its contribution to the promotion of human rights
issues and its assistance to non-governmental organisations.

BAOBAB explained that as part of its resolve to build
an enduring relationship with the media, it has decided to visit NEXT
Newspaper because it believes that its vision of building an equitable
society aligns with theirs.

“BAOBAB regards NEXT as an unbiased media
organisation and regards your reporting strategy as an asset for
achieving your vision. In the course of our work, we have partnered
with NEXT because of your dedication to, and passion for the
development of our country, Nigeria. During this period, we found your
organisation a dependable ally and strong pillar of support”, said the
organisation in a written statement.

Answering questions from NEXT reporters on why the
organisation has remained silent on the alleged marriage of a thirteen
year old Egyptian girl by the former governor of Zamfara State, Sanni
Yerima, Ms. Medar-Gould explained that her organisation is still
investigating the case. And until the fact of the issue are determined,
BAOBAB will choose to remain silent on the issue.

“BAOBAB is an organisation that deals in fact and we
need to investigate. We need to know what the facts truly are. For one
thing, we don’t want to slander anybody. We are aware of what is
supposed to have taken place. He is said to have married a young girl,
I don’t think anybody has seen her. Is it thirteen or thirty? Nobody
knows. And so BAOBAB cannot come out and start condemning somebody
based on hearsay. Rumours are not facts. So, we are investigating. We
are utilising our network and relationship in Egypt; we also have an
outreach team in Zamfara State. But I can say generally, BAOBAB is
against the exploitation of young girls in all ramifications.”

BAOBAB was founded in 1996 by a group of activists in response to
the injustice perpetrated against women under the guise of religion,
culture, and tradition. The organisation has fourteen volunteer
outreach teams in five geo-political zones and its inventions on women
issue have been felt in twenty-four states of the federation.

The federal government will, before the
end of this year, establish two software development centres to boost
local capacity in software development, the Director General of
National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA), Cloepas
Angaye, said yesterday while briefing newsmen on the upcoming eNigeria
Summit scheduled to hold next month.

Mr. Angaye said this has become
necessary considering the role ICTs are expected to play in
transforming the Nigeria’s economy, hence the need to boost local
capacity in the sector.

“Nigeria has software companies, most
of them are not regulated, most of them are not well tested or
patronized. So most Nigerian software products are taken out of
Nigeria, made to look foreign and brought back because they are not
recognized,” he said.

He said the federal government was
trying to map out an economic development path similar to what is going
on India, where they have nine software development centres.

“We will recall that India has the
largest knowledge-based economy in which they transport IT to both
developing and developed countries . So this year we will virtually
implement IT development centres,” he said.

The IT boss also said that the first
phase of the project will take off this year and that facilities are in
place to make them operational.

“There will be software centres to take
off. Money is ready and people are applying for the project in response
to our advertisement,” he said, adding that the centre is open to all
interested Nigerians to participate as long as they have successfully
undergone the screening and selection exercise to be conducted by NITDA.

Insecure cyberspace

A lot of IT-based activities will take
place at the centre, all geared towards teaching the participants how
to develop software.

“These software centres will consist of
Software Testing,” he said. “We have to test them, make sure they are
of international standard. Today software testing is not done in
Nigeria. Another component will be software research and development.
We will physically produce soft wares. There is also component for
trainings. That is the only we can provide the IT to drive our
economy,” Mr Angaye said.

He further explained that insecure
cyberspace discourage investors in the IT sector in Nigeria but
explained that cybercrime and eTransaction bills currently at the
National Assembly, when approved will address the security question.

Mr. Angaye also revealed that the eNigeria summit was an annual
event sponsored by NITDA, in collaboration with the stakeholders. This
year’s event has its theme, ‘ICT for Development.’

The House of
Representatives has moved closer to a constitutional amendment that
will grant full judicial powers to the National Industrial Court,
allowing a second reading of a bill that wants the court listed in the
constitution.

Previous
legislations, which began with military decrees, made the court, as an
arbiter of labour disputes in the country, to be a subordinate of the
High Court, lawmakers said.

When listed in
section 6 of the 1999 constitution, the court will operate
independently, drawing its funding separately and attending as a
superior court of record, they said.

“This amendment is
simple, it is straightforward, and in the spirit of what we have done
with constitutional amendment, I urge that we re-establish this court,”
said Aminu Tambuwwal, the House Deputy Leader.

The campaign for labour

Justice Reform, an
NGO, called the passage a “fundamental milestone.” “We are glad with
the speed the House of Representatives have responded to the inclusion
of the National Industrial Court into the constitution,” said Enobong
Etteh, the group’s coordinator. “We are very impressed with the speedy
passage.”

The court was
created through military decree 47 of 1992 to serve to adjudicate on
labour disputes between employees and employers. The legislation was
left out of the 1999 constitution, making it inferior to High Courts,
the lawmakers said.

The former National
Assembly attempted reversing that with an Act of 2006 which was this
year rejected by the Supreme Court in a case involving the Electricity
Employee union.

The nation’s
highest court said in February 2010, that the National Assembly Act is
inferior to the provisions of the constitution, as such the court
cannot operate independently since it is not named with other courts in
section 6 of the constitution.

Senate support

The new bill, which
is promulgated as an amendment of the constitution, will have to amend
at least 13 sections of the constitution to successfully retain the
court there.

The ongoing
constitution amendment by the National Assembly gives financial
autonomy to federal bodies and the courts listed in the constitution.

“Because of
amendments on the fiscal autonomy for INEC and judiciary which empower
funds from the consolidated revenue to be paid directly to the National
Judicial Council, the NJC has no right to give a kobo to the NIC if it
is not listed in the constitution,” said Bala Na’alla.

The decision will become lawful after a concurrence by the Senate and at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly.

Nigeria is to
review its defence policy in order to have a clear cut direction on the
operation of its Armed Forces, especially outside the country, the
Minister of Defence, Adetokunbo Kayode, said in Abuja on Thursday.

Mr. Kayode also said the Armed Forces have come under pressure for undertaking to assist in maintaining internal security.

He spoke at a
meeting with the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, chaired
by Wole Oke. The minister was accompanied by the minister of state,
Murtala Shehu Yar’Adua, and other senior officials of the ministry to
his maiden meeting with the committee.

Responding to a
question by a member of the committee, Umar Bature, who also chairs the
foreign committee of the Lower Chamber, the minister said Nigeria is
known for its peace-keeping efforts all over the world, and that if the
country’s defence policy is reformed, it would know where the Armed
Forces would be deployed to.

Mr. Kayode told the
lawmakers committee that the last defence policy was formulated in
2006, and that the ministry recognises that such policies should be
updated every five years to conform to meet current challenges, not
only in the country, but also across the world.

Hands on leadership

Mr. Kayode said the
Armed Forces have been assisting in maintaining internal security in
the country, but quickly added that this has put a lot of pressure on
them, especially in the area of funding. Presently, he added, the Armed
Forces have developed a joint working operation in 24 states, including
Jos in Plateau State, and the Niger Delta region.

The minister assured the lawmakers that the ministry under him would partner with legislature to reposition the military.

Earlier, Mr. Oke,
the committee chairman, urged the minister to work in harmony with the
committee. He also said a bill which seeks to exit the country’s Armed
Forces from the pension scheme is currently before the House, stressing
that the Armed Forces of other nations have since disengaged from such
scheme.

The lawmaker also
asked the minister to look at the 2010 Budget, which was assented to
recently by the acting president and ensure that projects proposed for
the ministry are executed.

Also speaking, a
member of the committee, Chinedu Eluemuno (PDP, Anambra), asked Mr.
Kayode to “be in charge of the details of everything that happens in
the ministry so that tomorrow you can give account of the happenings
there.”

The lawmaker
recounted how the former defence minister, Godwin Abbe, could not
provide the committee with satisfactory explanation on who deployed
soldiers to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, to receive President
Umaru Yar’Adua from Saudi Arabia last month.

The House of
Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise has recommended the
revocation, within six months, of the sale of some houses belonging to
the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) which were illegally sold by the
Federal Capital Territory Administration. It also asked the federal
government to provide a special grants of ₦100 billion to the Nigeria
Customs Service (NSC) to strengthen its operations.

These are some of the recommendations made by the committee in a report presented to the House in plenary yesterday.

The House had, in
September 2008, mandated the committee chaired by Yakubu Dogara (PDP,
Bauchi) to conduct investigations into the Nigeria Customs Service
(NSC) for poor performance. The resolution was sequel to a motion
brought by Muhammed Sani Abdu (PDP, Bauchi) and 18 others, calling for
an investigation into the collapse of the Marine Unit of the NCS, which
they claimed had led to poor performance of its statutory duties and
functions.

The committee noted
in the report that our government was short-changed to the tune of
₦233.48 million in the process of selling the houses located in Maitama
and Wuse Districts of the Federal Capital Territory because they were
grossly undervalued by the committee that sold them to satisfy vested
interests.

It also noted that
“the houses were not strictu-sensu government properties, having been
acquired with bonuses earned by the services which was supposed to be
paid directly to officers and men of the service”. According to the
committee, neither the FCTA not its committee on sale of government
houses proved its legal or equitable title to the houses that it
purportedly sold, adding, “Failure of the FCTA and its committee to
establish any form of title over the houses meant that neither could
have lawfully disposed of the said houses.

“The sale of NCS
houses be revoked and NCS management repossessed within six months of
the adoption of this report,” the committee concluded.

Increase their funding

The committee noted
that, as the highest revenue agency in the country, the ₦100 billion
grant would go a long way in improving the condition of service of the
NCS so that its staff could be more effective in revenue generation and
other operations.

It recalled that,
like the Nigerian Police Force which got ₦300 billion, the money would
enable the NCS to complete all abandoned projects in several parts of
the country, as well as border posts across our nation.

The grant, the
committee added, would also enable the NCS to provide modern offices
and conducive working environments for its staff, procure modern combat
tools, including sea-going vessels, and aircraft which are no existent
at present, but are absolutely necessary for its operations.

Committee recommendations

It also recommended
five per cent for the Free On Board (FOB), as against the current seven
per cent cost of collection which the NCS enjoys, and the five per cent
FOB be expended by the service directly after appropriation by the
National Assembly.

The committee also
recommended that the government should review the welfare package of
NCS staff in line with those of the NNPC, which is similar to the NCS
in its duty of collecting revenue for our nation.

It also said that
in order for the NCS to attract and keep some of the best brains in its
employ who would help build the institution from within to a world
class status, there should be a consolidated salary structure to bring
it at par with other institutions.

The committee
recommended that the government should improve the criteria for future
appointments of Comptroller-General of NCS by incorporating broad-based
stakeholders consultations, and that such officers should come from
within the service, having not less than five years to retirement.

It said that non-staff of the NCS, no matter their experiences and requisite qualification, be excluded from the process.

The Kano State
chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said yesterday it has
received defectors from the ruling All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and
other opposition parties in the state numbering 5, 985.

Addressing party
supporters in Sumaila Local Government of the state, the state chairman
of the party, Faruq Iya, said most of the defectors were from the
ruling party in the state.

“Majority of the
decampees are from the ANPP and the rest of them are from other
opposition parties in the state,” said Mr Iya. “Despite the fact that
Sumaila is a PDP base, the number of the defectors we are receiving is
overwhelming.” Mr. Iya said his executive has been receiving defectors
across the state in every local government they visit.

In his remark at
the rally, the former governor of the state, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso,
said the number of defectors they received at the rally was a testimony
that the party had a promising future.

“We are marvelled
at this massive turnout. This shows that PDP will win all elections in
Sumaila. People of Sumaila know what PDP did to them, that is why their
loyalty to PDP is unwavering,” he said.

Moving like a gale

Former minister of commerce, Ahmed Garba Bichi, described the movement of the PDP in Kano State as a gale.

“PDP in Kano today
is more like a gale which clears supporters of the ruling party and
other opposition parties,” said the former minister.

Mr. Bichi, who was
the 2007 gubernatorial candidate of PDP in the state, therefore
expressed the party’s optimism to capture the state in the forthcoming
general elections.

“We are very optimistic that we will recapture Kano. We are only waiting for the time,” he said.

Sule Hayin Gada,
who spoke on behalf of the defectors, said his colleagues were moving
to the PDP because they were not satisfied with the ANPP-led
administration in the state.