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As we approached a dubious police post, the conductor sighed.

“Should I give them, or do you prefer to do it yourself?” he asked the driver.

“Relax,” said the driver.

Something about the
word worried the conductor – enough to make him bring his head back
into the bus. He searched the driver’s face and did not seem to like
what he saw. “Look, just give them their 50 naira,” he said a little
urgently. “They will only waste our time otherwise.”

“I say leave them
to me,” said the driver, “No be everything be money.” The conductor’s
mouth opened but no words came out, so he closed it again.

The police officer
approached the conductor with a broad smile. The conductor nodded
towards the driver and the policeman stopped smiling and stopped
walking.

“How far?” asked
the driver jocularly. “See, we just start work now-now. This na our
first trip today. Make I go come back. I go see you later.”

He started to drive
away when the policeman suddenly screamed, “Stop him! Stop him!” and
another officer materialised from nowhere and placed his body in front
of our vehicle.

“Park,” he barked, gun raised. There was a collective groan in the bus.

“Just give am
money, make we go,” said a woman behind the driver. But it was too
late. The police officers had remembered their duty.

“Driver, come open your boot,” said one. The driver tried to placate him, gone was the braggadocio.

“Officer,” he said, “Come. Look. See my hand.” The police officers refused to “see”.

“My friend, will you come down?!” shouted the other one. “Who be your mate? You think say na play we come play here?”

The driver turned
off the ignition. The school boy sitting beside me who had been
listening to music on his phone and nodding to the beat, removed his
earphones. “Wazup?” he asked no one in particular and as no one paid
him any heed, he returned to his music.

“The driver was too
stubborn,” said a frail-looking man with a feathery voice. “The
conductor told him what to do but he wanted to show sense. Na God know
when we go leave here today.”

The driver glared
at him and got out of the bus, accosted by the police officers who
followed him to the boot. We could hear him pleading, but they were
adamant.

“When somebody wan
help una, una no dey know,” sneered one of the cops. Inside the bus,
the conductor shook his head, still amazed at the attitude of his
driver.

“Now they will not take anything less than N200,” he said sadly.

For a while we
continued to hear the conversation: the driver’s voice falling as the
policemen raised theirs. The boot was never opened. There was a lull
and the driver came back in, muttering about people who like to reap
where they did not sow.

“Na today you know
that one?” said one of the men sitting in front. “You should have just
given him the money as usual instead of wasting our time.”

At that point, the
driver could not take it any longer. “Was it his money?” he asked.
“‘Give him money, give him money’. You give me money to keep for him?
Nonsense.”

“Driver, I beg let’s go,” said somebody at the back. “We have already wasted enough time here.”

The driver hissed
and drove on. After a while, the conductor asked, gently in Yoruba,
“How much did they collect eventually then?”

The driver took his
time changing gears, and then replied: “Those thieves collected 200
naira. But it will never again be well with them or with their
children’s children. The bastards.”

The boy with the earphones took them out and looked at me.

“That’s 100 percent increase,” he said. Of course, I didn’t know what he was talking about.

“What is 100 percent?” I asked him.

“I heard everything,” he replied. “Instead of 50 naira, he ended up paying 200.”

I looked at him. “So you think that is 100 percent?”

He looked a bit confused and put his earphones back in. Standards have indeed gone south.

Thousands of angry Egyptians defied a curfew on Saturday for the second day
in a row and stayed on the streets to push their demand that President Hosni
Mubarak resign.

The army had warned that anyone who remained on the streets after 4 p.m.
(1400 GMT) would be in danger, but as the deadline passed, protests continued
in central Cairo and the port city of Alexandria, witnesses said.

Soldiers took no immediate action. They seemed relaxed and some protesters
chatted with troops mounted on armoured vehicles, the witnesses said.

On the fifth day of unprecedented protests against Mubarak’s 30-year-rule,
it looked increasingly as if the army held the key to the nation’s future.

The president ordered troops and tanks into Cairo and other cities overnight
and imposed a curfew in a bid to quell unrest in which dozens of people were
killed.

In an effort to appease the protesters, he dismissed his cabinet and said he
would listen to demands for reform.

The protesters, many of them young urban poor or students, are enraged over
endemic poverty, corruption and unemployment as well as the lack of democracy
in the most populous Arab nation. They pledged to press on with protests until
Mubarak quits.

The unrest, which follows the overthrow of Tunisian strongman Zine
al-Abidine Ben Ali two weeks ago in a popular uprising, has sent shock waves
through the Middle East, where other autocratic rulers may face similar
challenges.

Several thousand people flocked to central Cairo’s Tahrir Square on
Saturday, waving Egyptian flags and pumping their arms in the air in unison.
“The people demand the president be put on trial,” they chanted.

Troops made no attempt to break up the
demonstration and protesters encouraged them to support their cause.

The scene contrasted with Friday, when police fired teargas and rubber
bullets and protesters hurled stones in running battles.

While the police are generally feared as an instrument of repression, the
army is seen as a national institution.

Army is key

One Middle East expert, Rosemary Hollis, of London’s City University, told
Reuters the army had to decide whether it stood with Mubarak or the people.

“It’s one of those moments where as with the fall of communism in
Eastern Europe they can come down to individual lieutenants and soldiers to
decide whether they fire on the crowd or not.”

In Alexandria, police used teargas and live ammunition against demonstrators
earlier on Saturday.

Al Jazeera TV reported police opened fire on protesters trying to storm the
Interior Ministry in Cairo, killing three, but the report could not be
confirmed.

According to a Reuters tally, at least 74 people have been killed during the
week although there was no official figure. Medical sources said at least 1,030
people were injured in Cairo.

Government buildings, including the ruling
party headquarters, still blazed on Saturday morning after being set alight by
demonstrators who targeted symbols of Mubarak’s rule

As well as Cairo and Alexandria, clashes have also occurred in Suez, site of
the strategically important canal.

“We are not demanding a change of cabinet, we want them all to leave,
Mubarak before anyone else,” said Saad Mohammed, a 45-year-old welder in
Tahrir Square.

Mubarak, a key U.S. ally, has held power since the 1981 assassination of President
Anwar Sadat by Islamist soldiers and his government still rules with emergency
laws.

He promised to address Egyptians’ grievances in a television address on
Friday but made clear he intended to stay in power.

So far, the protest movement seems to have no clear leader or organisation
even if Mubarak did wish to open a dialogue.

Prominent activist Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Laureate for his work
with the U.N. nuclear agency, returned to Egypt from Europe to join the
protests. But many Egyptians feel he has not spent enough time in the country.

In an interview with France 24 television, ElBaradei said Mubarak should
step down and begin a transition of power.

“There is a consensus in Egypt in every part of society that this is a
regime that is a dictatorship, that has failed to deliver on economic, social,
and political fronts,” he said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist
opposition group, has also stayed in the background, although several of its
senior officials have been rounded up. The government has accused it of
planning to exploit the protests.

The deployment of army troops to back up the police showed that Mubarak
still has the support of the military, the country’s most powerful force. But
any change of sentiment among the generals could seal his fate.

Mocking Mubarak

Protesters in Tahrir Square mocked Mubarak’s sacking of his cabinet as an
empty gesture.

Mahmoud Mohammed Imam, a 26-year-old taxi-driver, said: “All he said
was empty promises and lies. He appointed a new government of thieves, one
thief goes and one thief comes to loot the country.”

“This is the revolution of the people who are hungry, this is the
revolution of the people who have no money against those with a lot of
money.”

The final straw appeared to be the prospect of elections due to be held in
September. Until now few had doubted that Mubarak would remain in control or
bring in a successor in the shape of his 47-year-old son Gamal.

It also poses a dilemma for the United States. Mubarak, 82, has been a close
ally of Washington and beneficiary of U.S. aid for decades, justifying his
autocratic rule in part by citing a danger of Islamist militancy.

Egypt plays an important role in Middle East peacemaking and was the first
Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel.

U.S. President Barack Obama said he had
spoken to Mubarak shortly after his speech on Friday and urged him to make good
on his promises of reform. U.S. officials made clear that $1.5 billion in aid
was at stake.

The European Union and other foreign governments appealed to Mubarak to show
restraint and listen to the demands of the people but stopped short of
suggesting he should quit. Saudi Arabia’s King Abdallah expressed his support
for him.

Britain, Germany and other countries advised their nationals against travel
to the main cities hit, a development that would harm Egypt’s tourist industry,
a mainstay of the economy.

Banks will be shut on Sunday as “a precaution”, Central Bank
Governor Hisham Ramez told Reuters.

The stock market, whose benchmark index tumbled 16 percent in two days, will
also be closed on Sunday. The Egyptian pound fell to six-year lows.

REUTERS

As part of measures
aimed at enhancing the level of security across airports in the
country, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, on Thursday, announced
the restriction of non-travellers within and around airports.

The directive,
which is a fallout of Wednesdcay’s rumoured bomb scare at the Murtala
Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, was made public by the director
general of the authority, Harold Demuren, at the agency’s headquarters
in Lagos. According to Mr Demuren, the directive was in accordance with
Part 17, Regulation 83 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations, and
Section 13.7 of the National Civil Aviation Security Programme. “I
hereby direct that the following additional security measures should be
implemented immediately in order to forestall any threats and incidents
at the nation’s airports: Use of hand-held metal detector and explosive
detection system at the airport entrances and gates; restriction, as
much as possible, the movement of non-travelling public around and
within the terminal building; and adequate advanced information
concerning inbound cargoes meant for the nation’s airports must be
received prior to the arrival of the cargo,” he said.

Russia’s experience

The speculations of
a possible bomb explosion at the Lagos international airport followed
the recent bomb blast at Moscow airport that led to the demise of 35
persons. The rumour at the Lagos airport prompted airports users and
passengers to become suspicious of one another at the airport on
Wednesday. “In addition, passengers should be informed that they may
experience possible delay as they pass through our security checks and
are, therefore, advised to arrive at the airport at least three hours
before their flights,” said Mr Demuren. “This directive shall take
effect from 27th January 2011 and shall be in force until further
notice.”

Early this month, the Nigerian Police and other law enforcement
agents at the airport swung into action by effecting stringent security
checks on motorists moving in and out of the airport. Days later, the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority carried out a security meeting with
various organisations and intelligence outfits in a bid to ensure
safety across Nigerian airports. The screening and security meetings
were as a result of the bombings recorded across Nigeria and
preparations for the forthcoming general elections.

Pope Benedict XVI
has advised the Nigerian government to take decisive steps to stop the
human carnage and violence in Jos, Plateau State.

He made the call
through his Apostolic Nuncio, Augustine Kasujja, a reverend, yesterday,
when he visited the Senate president, David Mark, in Abuja.

Mr. Kasujja said
that “the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, is worried about the
incessant killings in Jos and wants the crisis put to an end.”

He also expressed
the Pope’s request that Nigeria should consider sending an envoy to the
Vatican saying, “Nigeria is too big not to have an Ambassador in the
Vatican.”

Under consideration

Mr. Mark promised that the country would consider the Pope’s request to deploy an ambassador to the Vatican City, Rome.

At the moment,
Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain oversees the affairs of the mission in
the Vatican. However, the Senate president said sending an ambassador
to Rome would facilitate and improve the bilateral relationship between
both countries.

He reiterated that Nigeria is a secular state where freedom of worship is encouraged.

“We practice
freedom of worship in Nigeria. There is no extremism. We inter marry
across religious lines and we live in harmony between and among
religious groups. That is why Nigeria is a unique country in Africa,”
he said.

Mr. Kasujja also
counselled that Nigeria should conduct its affairs in a manner that
would engender peace, progress and unity among the people. The
Apostolic Nuncio, however, expressed optimism that Nigeria has the
abundant human and economic potentials to lead Africa out of the
economic doldrums.

The Senate
president pledged that Nigeria will continue to play a leading role in
Africa. He added that President Goodluck Jonathan, as chairman of the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is leading the
efforts towards finding a solution to the political impasse in Cote d’
Ivoire.

Concurrent envoy

However, the
spokesperson for the foreign affairs ministry, Tony Ozonwobu, confirmed
to NEXT that the nation’s envoy in Spain is concurrently accredited to
the Vatican.

He noted that “it
is not for any other reason than the diplomatic distinction between the
resident ambassador to Italy and the Vatican, which is a different
state within the same state of Italy. The ambassador to Italy has his
own remit which is the Republic of Italy, while the envoy to Spain is
the one concurrently accredited to the Vatican.”

“When a diplomat is
accredited to a state, whether resident or not is of no consequence;
our ties and diplomatic relations are still engaging,” Mr. Ozonwobu
said.

He stated that he was yet to get the message from the Pope and declined to comment any further.

On what benefit
this relation will have for Nigeria, Gabriel Osu, the director of
social communication with the Archdiocese of Lagos, stated that
establishing the new embassy will save cost for Nigeria.

“It will in effect be easier and smoother for us to run our diplomatic relationship with the Vatican at a lesser cost.”

Monsignor Osu
wondered why the nation’s embassy in Spain is the embassy overseeing
relations with the Vatican while there is a resident ambassador in
Rome. He noted that most Arab countries all have their embassies in the
Vatican.

On how the Vatican
can help deal with religious crises, Mr. Osu stated that it “can only
appeal to the moral conscience and persuasions to the leaders of the
country who have refused to take decisive actions on the lingering
crises, particularly the one in Plateau State.”

Abdulfattah Adeyemi, an Abuja based Islamic scholar, welcomes the idea of sending an ambassador to the Vatican.

“It is part of
where Christians go to for pilgrimage; it will be a very good thing
that there should be a Nigerian ambassador there.”

He appealed to the
government to go out of the box in selecting the envoy, saying that
whoever should represent Nigeria in the Vatican should be someone who
can represent all sects of Christians, and the entire country’s image
with sound administrative qualities.

He also supported
the Pope’s call for a decisive action on Jos. He said the crises is a
national issue which cannot wait and that it should be handled with the
same manner the Niger Delta issue was resolved.

Four people have
been killed while several residential houses and places of worship were
burnt down in a fresh crisis that occurred yesterday in Tafawa Balewa
local government area of Bauchi State.

State Police
Commissioner, Mohammed AbdulKadir Indabawa, who confirmed the incidence
yesterday while answering questions from newsmen in his office in
Bauchi, said, “from the report we received, four people have been
killed and my unit commander recovered two of the corpses, we are
searching for the remaining corpses and several houses and places of
worship were burnt down by the rioters and the situation was brought
under control” Mr Indabawa further said “we have deployed adequate
mobile policemen to restore law and order we received reinforcement
from Gombe and Kano and we have curtailed the situation even though we
cordoned the area in order to prevent spill over of the crisis to other
parts of the state” He said they were on the way to visit the scene of
the incident together with other security operatives to ascertain the
situation. In his account of the incident, Police Public Relations
Officer, Mohammed Barau said the problem started last Wednesday at a
snooker joint, “because of snooker game, there was disagreement between
two persons which was resolved amicably unfortunately, there was a
spill over of the crisis yesterday, Thursday in the morning, we had to
deploy adequate security which brought the situation under control.” He
said.

A member
representing Lere Bula from Tafawa Balewa Local Government at the
Bauchi State House of Assembly Aminu Tukur commended the security
operatives for their effort in curtailing the crisis and advised them
to do more because the fracas is spilling to Fulani herdsmen in the
bush. “We have spoken to the securities they responded in good time to
control the situation”, he said.

Mr Tukur said he
cannot give the casualty figures at the moment but said he has received
a report that there are several displaced people in Gital and Bununu
villages.

29 arrested in Jos

Also, yesterday,
the Military Task Force in Jos asserts that twenty-nine people have
been arrested last night in Dorowa Village in Barkin Ladi Local
Government Area of Plateau State. A woman, her daughter and one aged
man were all killed by the invaders.

Among those
arrested is a Fulani Police officer serving in Abuja. They were all
said to be in possession of several weapons and petrol.

An Abuja High
Court, will on February 23, hear a preliminary objections file by Nasir
El Rufai and two others,seeking to quash allegation of fraudulent
allocation of land, during his tenure as minister of the Federal
Capital Territory Abuja.

Sadiq Umar, the
presiding Judge, yesterday adjourned hearing till February 23 to hear
the objections filed by Mr El Rufai contesting the charges.

It would be
recalled that a Federal High Court in Abuja last year threw out a suit
filed against former minister, over allegations of fraudulent
allocation of land.

The presiding judge
that threw out the suit, Adamu Bello,said that the charges had no legal
basis, having been filed under the Independent Corrupt Practices and
Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Act of 2000, a law that has
since been repealed. The judge quashed the charges and discharged Mr El
Rufai.

The decision is in
line with Mr El-Rufai’s defence. His counsel, Akin Olujimi, in a
preliminary objection, had said that because the law under which Mr
El-Rufai was charged was repealed in 2003, the federal court lacked the
jurisdiction to try the matter.“The prosecution acknowledges that the
charges stand on nothing,” said Mr Olujimi. “The effect of a repealed
law is that it is a nullity, and no charges founded on it can stand.”
In his defence, the former minister had also told the court that it
lacked the power to try him over allegations of abuse of office as
minister. He said that the proper court to try him was the Abuja High
Court.

Mr El-Rufai and two
others were accused by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of
illegally allocating land in the FCT to friends and relatives, some of
whom included: Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, the daughter of former president
Olusegun Obasanjo. The other accused persons are Altine Jubrin, former
director general of the Abuja Geographical Information System, and
Ismail Iro, former general manager of the agency. All three men pleaded
not guilty.

The Federal
Government responded to the dismissal of the charges by filing fresh
charges at the Abuja High Court. At yesterday sitting,the prosecution
raised the matter of the absence of the accused persons.The defence
countered that their presence was not necessary since the validity of
the charges was at issue. The court ruled that the court needed to
first establish its jurisdiction and the competence of the charges.

The court decided to consolidate all the applications filed by the parties.

Chidinma Abamen, a
nursing mother, said she was rudely awakened from sleep on Tuesday
morning by two young girls who usually sold yams and plantain to her in
the evenings. “I was surprised to see them at my doorstep early in the
morning,” she said. “They usually sell to me only in the evenings but
because they can’t go to school, they have to hawk to support their
parents.”

Mrs Abamen added
that seeing the children hawking when they should be in school is
disturbing, and would adversely affect their studies when they resume.
“I feel bad about it because I am a mother myself and it’s unfair for a
child to be doing this when he or she should be learning,” she said.
“The break has gone for too long and if it doesn’t stop soon, it would
affect the children badly. Some of them have even started forgetting
their books.”

Child hawkers increase

In the past three
weeks, the streets of Lagos have been filled with an increased number
of children being used in different kinds of labour; a situation which
has become worrisome to residents. The compulsory closure of primary
and secondary schools in the country by the federal government for the
period of the ongoing voter registration has resulted in more children,
especially among the low-income group, being pushed to the streets to
earn an income for their parents and keep them busy.

Consequently, this
has exposed them to crime, accidents and other vices. While some
private schools have begun to ignore the federal government’s directive
and have started opening their doors to their pupils, students of
public schools are left with no options. Most of them, therefore,
contribute the majority of child hawkers in Lagos streets.

Keeping them engaged

A vegetable trader
at Obalende Market, who identified herself as Mrs Mogaji, said she was
forced to bring her two daughters, students of Aunty Ayo Girls
Secondary School, to the market with her everyday to assist her in
attending to her customers. “I’m not happy that they are at home but
they have to support the family so they must work,” she said.

Sola Ajagbe, a
12-year-old boy, said he goes to his uncle’s workshop everyday to learn
how to fix deflated and spoilt tyres. He said his parents forced him to
learn the work early in the year when they found out about the extended
break. “My uncle is a vulcanizer, so I go to his place to learn work
everyday,” he said. “I want to go back to school. I don’t like the
work.”

Onyebuchi Iheama, a
Junior Secondary 2 student of Aguda Grammar School, Surulere, explains
her daily routine. “I start in the morning around 8 O’clock and I will
be selling,” he said. “When the sun comes out, I will go and rest and I
will continue again around 4 when the sun has gone down. The lesson is
too expensive and my parents cannot pay for it so I’ve not been reading
since we closed school last year.”

Too long for the kids

A mathematics
teacher of a public secondary school in Lagos, who did not want to be
named, complained that it would be difficult to bring the students back
on track in their studies when the schools resume.

“By the time we
resume, it would be so difficult to teach those students,” he said.
“Ordinarily, they play a lot during the holidays, and it takes time for
them to settle back to their studies. But this time around, it’s more
than holidays. Most of them would have forgotten what they learnt last
year and it is not good for them at all. We don’t need this kind of
backwardness in our educational system. The government should call the
students back to school.”

Also, Gabriel Ogunrinde, a father of two, expressed his fears that
if the voter registration exercise is extended, the students would be
at home for a much longer period. “So many people are agitating for an
increase in the voter registration exercise for obvious reasons,” he
said. “I agree with them but I hope this doesn’t mean the students
would still remain at home.”

The Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill
Akpabio, on Thursday, said that the first primary election, which he
won as the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) in the state was annulled by the national leadership of the party
because some aspirants were given late clearance to contest.

Mr Akpabio stated this while speaking with journalists at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja.

The ruling party had two weeks ago cancelled the state governorship primaries held on January 9 and ordered a re-run.

“The first primaries we did on the
9th. Some people complained that they were given late clearance. The
Primaries was on the 9th of January and some people were given late
clearance as late as 11pm on the 8th of January and when they came, the
panel did not allow them to take part so the party felt that to ensure
fairness and equity, there was need to annul the entire exercise and
order for a rerun and that was what they did and so we went for a rerun
on the 15th,” he said.

“ And you need to understand the fact
that the case that somebody talked about came up for a mention for the
first time on Monday this week. So there was no injunction; there was
nothing like that; it is just a rumour and people like to peddle
rumours in order to create anxiety in the public.” Mr Akpabio assured
that he is ready to reconcile with those who contested against him in
the primary election. According to him, he is already talking to some
of them so as to join him to move the state forward.

“My doors are open,” he said. “I don’t
want to call them opponents. I would like to call them my colleagues.
They are my fellow party men; the doors are open, I’ve already started
talking with them, I discuss with them on phone. I’ve met with one of
them for about two three hours so we are discussing. Everybody that
wants to join me in moving the state forward why not? We are to take
the state to the next level and it is better to do it in unity. I
believe strongly that everything will be alright in few days.” Mr
Akpabio said the PDP will win all the elections in Akwa Ibom State not
only because the party is popular but also because his administration
has performed in the last three years.

He said, “I reassure the Party that
Akwa-Ibom will return 100 percent for the party. If you look around the
entire country, it is important for you to come to Akwa-Ibom and see
what the PDP government has been able to do in the last three and half
years of my stewardship and so we are not going into election with
empty hands; we are going into election with a record of performance; a
record of very credible, feasible infrastructure for you to see.

When you come there the story is totally different and I think there
is a lot to be learnt from Akwa-Ibom State. So the PDP is safe in
Akwa-Ibom.” He concluded.

As part of measures
aimed at enhancing the level of security across airports in the
country, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, on Thursday, announced
the restriction of non-travellers within and around airports.

The directive,
which is a fallout of Wednesdcay’s rumoured bomb scare at the Murtala
Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, was made public by the director
general of the authority, Harold Demuren, at the agency’s headquarters
in Lagos. According to Mr Demuren, the directive was in accordance with
Part 17, Regulation 83 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations, and
Section 13.7 of the National Civil Aviation Security Programme. “I
hereby direct that the following additional security measures should be
implemented immediately in order to forestall any threats and incidents
at the nation’s airports: Use of hand-held metal detector and explosive
detection system at the airport entrances and gates; restriction, as
much as possible, the movement of non-travelling public around and
within the terminal building; and adequate advanced information
concerning inbound cargoes meant for the nation’s airports must be
received prior to the arrival of the cargo,” he said.

Russia’s experience

The speculations of
a possible bomb explosion at the Lagos international airport followed
the recent bomb blast at Moscow airport that led to the demise of 35
persons. The rumour at the Lagos airport prompted airports users and
passengers to become suspicious of one another at the airport on
Wednesday. “In addition, passengers should be informed that they may
experience possible delay as they pass through our security checks and
are, therefore, advised to arrive at the airport at least three hours
before their flights,” said Mr Demuren. “This directive shall take
effect from 27th January 2011 and shall be in force until further
notice.”

Early this month, the Nigerian Police and other law enforcement
agents at the airport swung into action by effecting stringent security
checks on motorists moving in and out of the airport. Days later, the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority carried out a security meeting with
various organisations and intelligence outfits in a bid to ensure
safety across Nigerian airports. The screening and security meetings
were as a result of the bombings recorded across Nigeria and
preparations for the forthcoming general elections.

The federal
government may soon give more security responsibilities to private
security companies in the country by divesting from the policing of
certain cities so as to allow for effective policing of the country.
The National Security Adviser, Andrew Azazi, a retired General, said
this at a one-day security summit organised by J.K. Randle Professional
Services, in collaboration with the office of the national security
adviser.

The summit, held at
the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, has as its theme,
“Security and Risk Management on Land, in the Air and at Sea.” It was
aimed at addressing the concerns and challenges regarding security of
lives and properties and investment. Mr Azazi said some cities can
employ private security companies to collaborate effectively with the
police in checking crime wave in the cities. “Private security should
be organised in big cities like we have in Durban South Africa,” he
said. “We can encourage that while we work on our police to effectively
collaborate with the police and also help in checking crimes.”

Real causes of insecurity

The national
security adviser also emphasized the need for government to address the
fundamentals of governance, stating that poverty, unemployment and
corruption are indices that impede security of lives and property in
the country. “Security is the relative absence of fear and national
security is the defence of the nation,” he said. “And for us to have
effective security, to me, is for us to begin to look at the quality of
lives in an environment which is now more important than the invasion
from other countries. Whatever it takes to make the human lives better
and progressive is security. National security involves planning and
the vision 2010 is a blue print that if adopted would help us because
it contains the ingredients of progress and should be implemented.”

The security chief
called for a collective effort toward security for the nation, adding
that security challenges have ethical, traditional, religious
colourations and they are taking dangerous trends like the Boko Haram
sect and the new trend in bombing. “For security to be addressed issues
like poverty, corruption, unemployment and other elements of governance
should be looked at,” he said.

Way forward

“Concerning the
October 1st bombing in Abuja, we have arrested some suspects and they
are being prosecuted,” he said. “We are on the trail of those behind
the Jos and the Mogadishu Barrack bombings. There is need for a
national database, and our SIM card registration, the voters’
registration and other registrations in the country can be integrated
into a national database; from my office we will begin to do something
about it.”

Fola Arthur Worrey, the Managing Director of the Lagos State
Security Trust Fund, advised that the police be properly funded, adding
that political responsibility for security of lives and property lies
with the president. “We must identify who the constitution says is
responsible for the security of lives and property and we must use the
ballot boxes to check them,” he said. “There is need for effective
policing all the time and we must move away from reactionary policing
to effective everyday policing of life and property. Since most states
now bear the burden of security in their states, more allocation for
the police in the federal government budget and the constitution should
be amended so that the state and local government have more money to
invest in security so to further localise the process.”