Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has sent to the Senate for approval an initial list of 34 ministers for his new government since taking office last month, the senate chief said Tuesday.
Senate President David Mark read out the list to members of the upper house of parliament who resumed sitting on Tuesday after a three-week recess.
The nominees will have to appear in person before the Senate for interviews. It was not immediately clear when the vetting exercise would kick off.
Thirteen of the proposed ministers are from Jonathan’s last cabinet and include the ex-finance minister Olusegun Aganga, a financial expert who was formerly a managing director of European-based investment bank Goldman Sachs.
There are reports that Jonathan is also planning to bring into his government the current World Bank managing director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She was a finance minister under former president Olusegun Obasanjo. But her name was not on the initial list submitted to the Senate.
The former petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, made it back on the list Jonathan plans to appoint.
Jonathan will only assign ministerial portfolios after the Senate has approved the nominees.
This would be Jonathan’s first cabinet since he assumed office on May 29 for a full four-year term following April elections deemed as the fairest vote that Nigeria has organised since independence in 1960.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The Police clashing with Soldiers along Lagos busy road.
A Lance Corporal, the man at the centre of the clash between soldiers and policemen on Ikorodu road today, preventing policemen from towing his vehicle.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
“You have trusted me with your mandate, and I will never, never let you down.†This statement well couched and crafted in neo-liberal framework is Jonathan’s response to the anguish and pains that stared at him on the 29th May 2011 inauguration at Eagles Square, Abuja.
Today the definition of neo-liberalism has been so broadened to include the entire gamut of human endeavour. However in terms of the scope of international relations and foreign interventionism, the centrality of the Westphalia state and its interests are still the subject and primary unit of analysis, but they must all be positivist and State-related.
It is this positivist attitude of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan that has attracted him to majority of Nigerian voters.
It is an incontestable fact that President Jonathan exudes hope, confidence and an unquenchable resolve that it is still possible to salvage this country from the dark and dangerous precipice on which it is hanging precariously.
Apart from the days of Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria has never been blessed with a humane president who is not thinking of becoming the wealthiest man in the world.
Majority of Nigerian’s believe in Jonathan’s precedence and profile because he has assured us that he is one of us and that he will not let us down. And the president knows that the onus is on him to prove the veracity of this statement.
Nigerians are very excited and expectant of president Goodluck Jonathan’s 5-point agenda but most analysts believe that giving power a (electricity) topmost priority will put the icing on the nations cake.
Power generation and distribution is Nigeria’s Achilles hill. It is the only single infrastructure that can turn Nigeria around; its domino effect on all the other sectors of the Nigerian economy is capable of revolutionizing our standard of living and catapulting Nigeria into the comity of the world’s economically advanced countries.
For instance South Africa for which Nigeria spend billions of hard earned dollars to free from apartheid, today is the greatest economy in Africa and one of the fastest growing among the economies of the world.
Today South Africa is a member of BRICS, an economic union of developing and developed nations comprising of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. South Africa has successfully recolonized Nigeria and imposed her economic hegemony on her. It is a well known fact that South Africa has dominated in the economic spheres of banking, supermarkets, communication, capital investment here on Nigerian soil.
The “south African miracle†is predicated on its power generation and distribution of 50,000 megawatts for its almost 50 million people. Even “small†Ghana with a population of 23.9 million people has generated about 2000 megawatts of electricity while Nigeria is fluctuating between 2500 – 3000 mws
The United Nations Development report of 2009 rated Chiles (a South American country) as highly competitive in terms of quality of life, political stability, globalization economic freedom, low perception of corruption, a comparatively low poverty rate. In the same year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also ranked Chile very high in freedom of the press, human development, democratic development, the regions highest GDP and also a high degree of income inequality.
The miracles of these developing nations are within our grasp if we pursue an over ambitions power generation of at least 20,000mws. This is possible if we are determined to do so.
I am sure President Goodluck Jonathan, who was the chairman of the committee on the Nigerian Integrated Power Project (NIPP) under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later doubled as the nation’s power minister when he became President after Yar’Adua’s painful demise, can manage this unenviable challenge in our power sector. Vice President Namadi Sambo who was NIPP’s Vice Chairman will also come in handy here.
Nigeria should use these 4 years of national transformation to perfect a brand that is uniquely Nigerian for export to the whole world including the industrialized worlds and the super powers of America, China and Russia.
Chile after 17 years of Augusto Pinochet’s’ neo-liberal regime, was able to patent and export the Chilean Pension Model to the communist party of China and has been invoked as a model by economic reformers in Boris Yeltsin’s Russia and to almost all of Eastern Europe.
Nigeria has the potential to even exceed Chile, Singapore and even Japan in global industrialization and trade. Copper accounts for 40% of Chile’s external trade and she is the world greatest producer.
Nigeria, if we put our power acts right, can beat national and international expectations in all spheres of development and this will have a trickle-down effect on all the other 5 agenda of Economy, Infrastructure, Education, Agriculture and the development of the Niger Delta.
The just concluded 2011 elections largely exhibited Jonathan’s neo-liberalism. All over the world elections have caused major dislocations in civil societies and also in the civil-military equilibrium. The just concluded elections are so far Africa’s freest and fairest and this was as a result of the impeccable sincerity of President Goodluck Jonathan who bluntly refused to interfere with the impeachable honesty of the Professor Attahiru Jega led Independent National Electoral Commission.
The greatest test of any nation’s democratic experiment is the freeness and fairness of its elections. The integrity of many African elections have been at best questionable. The examples abound all over in Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya and most recently in Cote d’’ Voire. Democracy is dealt an excruciating blow when elections are fraudulent and in all such countries democracy is on trial until the trend is reversed. The ripple effect of rigged and fraudulent elections on democracy are innumerable and calamitous.
President Goodluck Jonathan wished it, planned it and executed a virtually free and fair election through the uncompromising Victorian discipline of Professor Jega’s consortium of Nigerian Professors.
President Goodluck Jonathan has also assured us of a free Judiciary and a free press both of which he has honoured.
The freedom of the Judiciary was amply demonstrated when most of the long pending gubernatorial cases were won by opposition parties immediately on the confirmation of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as Nigeria’s executive President on the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2010. And characteristically President Jonathan congratulated them all.
Of course the Nigerian Press even before the recent signing of the FO1 bill has remained very free under President Goodluck Jonathan as it was with his former boss President Umaru Yar’Adua.
The greatest show of tolerance and magnanimity was displayed during the election of the speaker of the House of Representatives in Abuja.
For the first time in the history of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), party representatives rebelled against party instructions and teamed up with the opposition to produce a rebel as the Nations Speaker of the house of Representative.
Most people believe that this was an affront on the President but so far the President has taken it in his stride and forgiven the rebellious speaker and his other officers. Accepting this rebellion and flagrant display of party indiscipline with equanimity is a rare trait of brinkmanship rarely displayed by Nigerian Presidents. Even though it was a big blow to the Presidents personal ego and authority, he took the punch in his stride.
We hope that all Nigerians will emulate the Presidents’ humility and forgiving spirit as displayed during the house of representative Crisis.
All other opposition parties must also accept the President Olive branch which he waved to them in a recent meeting in Abuja. Winning elections is no more a do or die affair in Nigeria – a la President Goodluck Jonathan.
In a recent press conference in Benghazi – Libya, Senator John McCain bluntly refused to criticise President Barack Obama over America’s actions and inactions in Libya. John McCain displayed a superior political maturity tapping from his repertoire of so many years of Washington DC experience. Some of our brutish and brusque Presidential candidates would have displayed so much ignorance under the same circumstance by condemning the incumbent President as a result of indiscipline and a weakness in personality trait.
President Goodluck Jonathan should concentrate on building Democratic Institutions rather than the Nigerian political culture of consolidating party structures. Parties are to some extent ephemeral in nature but all over the world democracy has come to stay. Even communist countries are in the race for globalization and international free trade.
The Tambuwal / Ihedioha case has shown that not all party “faithful†are faithful and disciplined. President Goodluck Jonathan should source his cabinet and team from patriotic and competent Nigerians across party lines and from any part of the country.
The President’s emphasis on education Agriculture, the economy, infrastructure and the Niger Delta development is highly commendable and if religiously executed, will surely lead us to reap the intrinsic dividends of democracy.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
PRESIDENT Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan was formally sworn in as President on May 29, 2011. He is legally expected to exercise presidential powers from that day till May 29, 2011. As an incumbent,
who assumed office following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, the 2011 election was his first contest for the office of president in Nigeria. Until now, he was the inheritor of the joint mandate which he shared with the late President Yar’ Adua in 2007. Fortunately for him, the mandate he has just received derives from an election that is easily the most credible presidential election since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999. This means that he enjoys a legitimacy that towers above that of his predecessors. But to whom much is given much is expected. President Jonathan must handle this mandate with utmost sense of responsibility and consciousness of the privilege given to him to insert his footprints in the sands of time.
RIGHT from the time he assumed office as acting President, Jonathan has not failed to show Nigerians that he has a sense of priority. Indeed, this became clear in his famous interview with Christiane Amanpour of the Cable News Network (CNN) during his visit to the United States. In that interview, he emphasised that his government will concentrate on ensuring free, fair and credible elections, developing the power sector, especially electricity and rejuvenating the anti-corruption war. In the build up to the election campaign for the office of president, he further produced a road map for the power sector, a blueprint for the gas sector and a renewed commitment to rail transportation, and employment generation. It is expected that this list will continue to grow.
JONATHAN must give priority to security. This is because the maintenance of law, order and security is the essential function of the state. Indeed, the failure of government to guarantee the safety and security of life and property is the most visible evidence of state failure. In the particular situation of Nigeria, the post-election violence that witnessed the death of 10 youth corps members on election duties, shows the great challenges ahead. Economic activities cannot take place in an insecure environment.
GIVEN the high levels of poverty, the prevalence of youth unemployment and poor capacity utilisation of industry, Jonathan must adopt a strategic approach to dealing with the country’s developmental challenges. While focusing on the low hanging fruits in order to hit the road running and taking adequate advantage of his honeymoon period, he must lay a solid foundation for future growth and development. He must therefore prioritize his programme and ensure a systemic sequence of intervention that will yield maximum positive effect.
JONATHAN must focus on the power sector. This means that this sector be given high priority. It has a great and immeasurable multiplier effect on the economy. Ensuring adequate and constant power supply will have direct effect on the productivity of the many small scale industries and individual craftsmen on the streets whose productivity and income has been bridged by electricity outages. It is not news that craftsmen and artisans have abandoned their trade to become Okada riders because of the sheer challenge of surviving on such trade. Furthermore, ensuring adequate and constant electricity supply will help revitalise manufacturing. Shortage of electricity has meant that industrial organisations have had to rely on diesel-run generators to sustain production. The cost of production has become so high that it has undermined the country’s competitiveness. Many industries have had to relocate to neighbouring Ghana in search of a better business environment. Thus, the achievement of adequate and constant electricity supply is a sine qua non for rapid industrial growth and employment generation.
THE second critical and strategic focus of the government should be infrastructure, especially transportation infrastructure. In this regard, road transport is very critical because of the poor state of existing roads. But what is called for is a strategic focus on road, rail and water transport as complementary means of moving goods and passengers. The government must in the long term modernise the rail system. This is the only way to ensure that roads are not easily overwhelmed and destroyed by big trucks and trailers that are the dominant means of transporting goods across the country today. The government needs to also promote the use of water transport wherever possible. It can do this effectively working with the relevant state governments.
ANY investment in infrastructure cannot be meaningful if rampant corruption is not curbed. Several studies have shown that Nigeria gets 40 per cent value for its investments in infrastructure. These means a large chunk of the money allocated to develop infrastructure has ended in private pockets. If the goals of infrastructural development are to be realised, then the government’s anti-corruption campaign must proceed in earnest and with good results. The problem with corruption is that it prevents policy inculcation and erodes the legitimacy of government. Once projects are not carried, technology adoption and transfer cannot happen. Contracts are done in a substandard manner if they are done at all. This means the country loses both the opportunity to learn by doing and are deprived of the facilities that are left undone. Government cannot effectively respond to the welfare of the mass of citizens if corruption persists at current levels. The growth that Nigeria has experienced since the return to democratic rule has not translated into reduced poverty levels because of the unsustainable levels of corruption.
THE third and final important strategic focus should be education. These must be better funded by working with the other tiers of government. The educational policy and practice must be fine-tuned to ensure that both the philosophy and curriculum of education directly relate to the economy and society. There must be emphasis on innovation and connection with industry. Indeed tertiary education must be redesigned to feed industry. Here, the Federal Government needs to facilitate linkages and provide mechanisms for the use of research from the universities by government and the private sector. This is the only way we can utilise our educational system to drive development and solve social problems.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
BEIJING (AP)  China rolled out the red carpet Wednesday for a state visit by Sudan’s president, who is wanted on an international warrant that accuses him of war crimes.
President Omar al-Bashir was visiting China, a major trading partner and investor in his country, just days before southern Sudan becomes independent and with the warrant from the International Criminal Court hanging over his head.
Al-Bashir was greeted by President Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of the People and given an honor guard reception.
Hu said he was very happy to see al-Bashir in Beijing.
“I believe that this visit will definitely have great significance for the consolidation and development of traditionally friendly relations between China and Sudan,” Hu said. “I am willing to have thorough exchanges with you on our developing relations and other shared issues.”
Al-Bashir thanked his hosts for his “warm welcome and treatment.”
Their talks are expected to focus on challenges in the African nation ahead of south Sudan’s independence July 9.
Violence has escalated in areas contested by the north and soon-to-be-independent south, and China has said its wants both sides to peacefully settle the disputes.
South Sudan’s declaration of independence next month will be the culmination of a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war that killed more than 2 million people.
The violence also resulted in the war crimes charges against al-Bashir, the first against a sitting head of state until similar charges this week against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who is accused him of crimes against humanity for killing civilians who rose up against his rule.
China is not a member of the court, based in The Hague, Netherlands, and has said the charges accusing al-Bashir of orchestrating atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur could cause further instability in the region.
China has major oil investments in Sudan and has long had close ties with the leaders of the north. It has been courting support in the oil-producing south.
Several agreements are expected to be signed while al-Bashir is in Beijing. The China National Petroleum Corp., which signed a 20-year, multibillion-dollar development deal with Sudan in June 2007, signed an agreement Tuesday with the Sudan government to boost cooperation. A company statement did not give details.
Al-Bashir’s arrival in China was delayed a day after still not fully explained confusion over a flight plan.
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Sudan News Agency that al-Bashir’s plane had been instructed to change its route while flying over Turkmenistan but was unable to do so, and instead returned to Tehran.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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