Daily Archives: November 5, 2013

Nigeria: Impunity Has Come Full Circle – Eze

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The National Publicist of the New Peoples Democratic Party, (nPDP) Mr. Chukwuemeka Eze, in this interview with Nwaorgu Faustinus, says Impunity has come full circle under the current administration; Jonathan administration is intolerant of opposing views

Excerpt:

What is your faction, the New PDP protesting for?

I will rather use the word ‘demand’ instead of protest. The demands of the Alhaji Baraje led Peoples Democratic Party are actually based on the need to observe internal democracy or the democratisation of our great party, to allow due process and democratic norms to prevail in PDP as earlier envisioned and envisaged by the founding fathers of the party. In addition, as I said in a different place, we want a stop to the draconian and undemocratic tendencies of the present leadership of the party whereby a cabal controls the affairs of the party to the detriment of the majority members of the party.

Based on this, we are asking for the reversal of some of the undemocratic acts and actions so far taken by the party. They include the reversal of the unjust suspension of Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State; acceptance of Governor Amaechi as the  authentic Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum after he was duly elected by the majority votes of the governors, defeating his opponent, Governor David Jang of Plateau State, with 19 votes against Jang’s 16. We are also asking that the impunity in the Adamawa State chapter of the party, where Tukur has set up a parallel state exco contrary to all known norms of the party must be stopped, among others.

Can you throw light on the issue of harassment of your group by the agents of government?

It is very unfortunate that our people could be made to go through all sorts of harassment and embarrassment under a democratic set-up, which reminds us of the days of Abacha, where the constitutional and fundamental human rights of Nigerians were trampled upon.

For instance, contrary to the provisions of Chapter IV Sections 42, 43 and 44 of the Constitution, which guarantee our right as Nigerians to acquire and own property in any part of the country, our national secretariat and most of our state secretariats have been sealed off by the Police on the orders of those in power. This is despite the fact that we still have a court case against Bamanga Tukur and his National Working Committee.

Remember two weeks ago, the Federal Capital Territory Administration in its act to curry favour just to please President Jonathan singled out and sealed our national secretariat for demolition on the preposterous justification that it was formerly approved as a residential home. If your memory serves well, you will recall that the said property was used as the secretariat of the National Democratic Party (NDP), before New PDP acquired it – and the same FCTA kept mute! At that time, the FCTA did not realise that it violated land use, but it now wants to demolish the building in a hurry simply because the authorities perceive the new owner (New PDP) to be anti-government! What is more, the Adamawa State lodge, also in Abuja, which we were using as temporary national secretariat, has also been sealed off on the flimsy excuse that the area is not for commercial activities.

Just two days ago, our G7 governors meeting was invaded by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Asokoro Police Unit, CSP Nnanna Ama. Ama ordered the meeting to be stopped, threatening to mobilize troops to abort it if his order was not obeyed. For a DPO to be sent not only to disrupt meeting of governors duly elected by Nigerians, but to also arrest them if they fail to heed his counsel is a sign that these people can decide to disrupt the association of any group of Nigerians at any time knowing that such an act is a breach of the constitution of our country. Impunity has come full circle.

The use of anti-graft agencies to hound our members is no longer news. Timipre Sylva, the former Governor of Bayelsa State, and Senator Bukola Saraki are two foremost examples.

On its part, the Nigeria Police, which has woefully failed to find a solution to the menace of Boko Haram, kidnapping, assassination and other criminal acts ravaging the country, has been given a fresh mandate to frame up our members and term them criminals in order to keep them at bay. The experiment has already started in Bayelsa, the home state of President Jonathan, where 85 per cent of the citizens have indicated interest to work against his second term ambition due to the total neglect of the state and the entire Niger Delta region by the present administration.

The Bayelsa State Police Command in its press release dated October 4, 2013 and signed by the Police Relations Officer, DSP Akhigwe Alex, on behalf of the State Police Commissioner, said, ‘Bayelsa State Command wishes to inform the general public that as a result of complaints from well-meaning citizens of Bayelsa State most of which borders on criminality against one Richard Poekene Kpodo, a high powered investigation committee headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police in-charge of Central Instigation Department has been set up to look into the various crimes allegedly committed by him and members of his syndicates.”

What is Richard Kpodo’s crime?

He has suddenly become a criminal by joining and becoming the state Chairman of the Baraje-led faction of the PDP in Bayelsa. Curiously, his present hunters have conveniently forgotten that this was the same man who was in the forefront of the Campaign Team of President Jonathan in 2011. His state secretary, Sidi D. Godwill, was the zonal youth leader of PDP. These two, together with all other key members of the Baraje-led PDP, can no longer visit Bayelsa State just because of politics!

This ruthless trampling on our fundamental human rights leaves no one in doubt that the Jonathan administration is intolerant of opposing views. Nigerians can now see what we meant when we said these people are no democrats. They are intent on turning our country into a banana republic where the rights of Nigerians no longer count. Nigerians should prepare for the worst because today it is New PDP, tomorrow it would certainly be somebody else.

Will your faction join APC?

The fact remains that we are today the most beautiful bride in Nigerian politics. We hold the key to Aso Rock come 2015, so if every political group wants to associate with us knowing very well that we would determine who stays in Aso Rock come 2015, so be it. Joining APC or we forming our own party depends on the outcome of our meeting with President Jonathan on our demands.

I am not saying anything new but merely repeating the recent assertion of Governor Babangida Aliyu, that the outcome of discussions between our Progressive Governors known as G7 and President Jonathan holds the key to our next move. The governor said, “There is no way you can wake up and say you are pulling out when you are already negotiating. You cannot pull out at this moment. The time for decision to be taken will be when we have concluded discussion with the President.”

What is your grouse against Jonathan?

We have nothing against President Jonathan as a person because he is a good man surrounded by wolves. Once he toes the path of democracy and have respect for rule of law, I will swim with him but if he continues turning a blind eye to the impunities being committed against the Rivers State people and the government, I can’t be part of his actions

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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Beyond Oduah-gate By Okey Ndibe

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For all of two weeks, Nigerians have been riveted by the disheartening revelation that Aviation Minister Stella Oduah approved the purchase of two bullet-proof BMW cars at the cost of $1.6 million.

Once SaharaReporters broke the story, we were treated to a predictable game of fibs and obfuscations. First breath: an aviation official denied the report. Second breath: the minister’s spokesman admitted the purchase. He then defended it on the ground that the minister needed the cars to protect her from faceless threats to her life. Third breath: Yet another official said the cars were actually bought for the use of foreign aviation dignitaries on official visits to Nigeria. Fourth breath: Ms. Oduah, appearing last week before a committee of the House of Representatives, disavowed her spokesman’s account of events.

If the varied accounts had any characteristic in common, it was this: each narrator seemed to speak before thinking. If there was a common impression, it was of a desperate bunch trying hard – but failing mightily – to defend a transaction that’s simply impossible to justify.

If Ms. Oduah were an official in a country where ill-thought actions have chastening consequences, she would long have handed in her letter of resignation. Instead, she’s extremely lucky to be a Nigerian, a space where anything-goes is the going style.

Nigerians can’t stand the small crook, won’t forgive the petty thief. If a wretched, starving fellow is spied picking somebody’s pocket for a hundred naira for a meal, you can count on any Nigerian mob to deliver a sentence of death. And that sentence is instantly executed, no appeals for mercy from the hapless thief entertained. But let a Nigerian public official – a governor, say –steal billions of naira of public funds, and the same mob becomes amazingly dovish. Some will rise to the thieving governor’s defense because he’s a “son/daughter of the soil,” a fellow “tribesman/woman.” Some will put much store by the fact that s/he worships in the same church or mosque. Some will declare that the Bible warns, let s/he who is without sin throw the first stone. Some will ask whether you expected a person who had sugar sprinkled on her/his tongue to spit it.

Nigeria is a paradox. It metes out instant capital punishment on pickpockets. Yet, it is the perfect kingdom for the big, bold, audacious embezzler or squanderer. It’s a country where ethics is frequently asked to surrender to ethnicity, principle must cower before sectarian claims, and where institutions are made to shudder in the presence of personalities, the merest achievement of public officials is inflated beyond belief. It is, above all, a country where nothing is ever any body’s fault. In Nigeria, the buck never stops at anybody’s desk; like the Energizer bunny, the buck must keep on going.

Ms. Oduah has benefited from the strange confection of Ethics Nigeriana. Many (I’d even hazard, most) Igbo saw that what the Aviation Minister did was plain wrong – no ifs or buts. But some Igbo groups and individuals rushed to her side, proclaiming her a target of ethnic bigots. Their line of argument, whether deployed by the Efik, the Hausa, the Yoruba, or the Igbo, is exasperating. How does being Igbo lessen the awfulness and scandal of a minister’s decision to buy two BMW cars at a price tag of $1.6 million?

Every inch of Nigeria is bereft of basic facilities. For the vast majority of Nigerians, life is hardly livable. Only recently was the country’s minimum wage raised to N18,000 (about $112) per month. That’s $112 per month to spend on rent, clothing, kerosene/firewood, food, transportation, school fees, healthcare, (tanker-borne) water, (non-existent) electricity, and so on. The federal and state governments were dragged, kicking and screeching, to assent to that minimum. Today, many Nigerian workers are still paid much less than that miserable minimum. Forgive me, but I don’t see how the millions of hapless Igbo are helped by Ms. Oduah’s approval of vulgar sums for bullet-proof cars.  

This is not to deny the existence, persistence and power of the ethnic factor. There’s no question that some of the minister’s harshest critics would shed their indignation and sing a different tune were she a member of their ethnic bracket. But that fact, I think, does not validate the use of ethnicity to defend impunity. Instead, it offers a challenge as well as an opportunity for the emergence of a cross-ethnic coalition of enlightened citizens. Such citizens ought to be courageous enough to reject the invocation of ethnicity in defense of nonsense.

In 2007, many commentators went after Patricia Etteh, then Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, for spending N600 million of public funds on renovating her official residence and her deputy’s. In one piece titled, “A female speaker’s manly vices,” I argued that Ms. Etteh deserved to be banished from her office. I wrote: “She has displayed a quality of arrogance and insensitivity to the national mood that is difficult to stomach from an occupant of her exalted position. In a season of national misery and disquiet, she has proved herself an insouciant fan of revelry, self-aggrandizement and squandermania.”

The title of my piece was provoked, in part, by some misguided apologists who sought to defend the speaker on grounds of gender. Others still raised the ethnic defense. But both the gender and ethnic apologia were hollow in her case. They have no traction in Ms. Oduah’s case, either.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s response to the Oduah scandal was to – in effect – refuse to address it. He achieved his evasion by setting up a panel to look into the matter and report back in two weeks. Is there any information of consequence that the president doesn’t already have? Nobody, least of all Ms. Oduah, has denied that an aviation agency doled out $1.6 million for two cars. That’s a grave enough misjudgment for the minister to merit being fired. The US, Britain, Germany, Norway, France, China, and Canada have lots more money than Nigeria. Yet, it’s a safe bet that no aviation authority in any of those countries would survive the scandal of doling out $1.6 million on two cars! I’d like to know whether Ms. Oduah and Nigeria’s aviation “dignitaries” are driven around in $800,000 bullet-proof BMWs when they visit other (wealthier) nations.

If President Jonathan needs a panel and two weeks to figure out how to respond to the Aviation scandal, then how much time – and how many panels – would he require in order to tackle his country’s ever-worsening climate of insecurity, its education crises, scary healthcare system, horrible roads, and the tattered state of its infrastructure?

It’s a mistake to assume that the president wanted a panel that would exhume the facts to guide his action. No, Mr. Jonathan was merely playing according to the rule book of our mess of a country. One of the rules is to shield, protect and immunize loyal “steakholders” like the Aviation Minister from the consequences of their actions and inactions. The presidential panel’s real, if unstated, mandate is to lull outraged Nigerians to sleep. If it can, the panel must induce us to forget that our “Honorable Minister” blew $1.6 million of our scarce funds on two cars. Once we forget, the president will be able to do what he really wants to do – nothing!

Some of Ms. Oduah’s defenders have pointed to the extensive renovation she initiated at various Nigerian airports. The facts are there, undeniable. But Nigeria is a nation of at least 120 million people – perhaps as many as 170 million. Surely, the president can find another minister from that population capable of continuing – and even expanding – the airport renovation projects. To argue that Ms. Oduah and she alone can oversee that job is to fall back on the Nigerian cult of the individual. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo used that canard when he made a thinly disguised bid to alter Nigeria’s constitution in order to perpetuate himself in office. His shameless acolytes argued, “If Obasanjo is not president, who can do the job?” It was an insulting, brainless question to pose in a country that brims with talent, even if the best of them are carefully, deliberately excluded from the pool. And there was the irony that the question was being posed by the surrogates of a man as ethically wretched, mischievous and bereft of a modern outlook as Mr. Obasanjo.

There’s a good chance that Ms. Oduah will keep her cabinet post, but that outcome would be for all the wrong reasons. It won’t be because she’s a superb performer, or that it made sense to fork over $1.6 million for two cars, or that the purchase met the smell test. It will be because she happens to operate in a country where ethnicity trumps ethics, loyalty to the oga at the top supersedes loyalty to the collectivity, and expediency has far more muscle than adherence to sound principles.

Please follow me on twitter @ okeyndibe

(okeyndibe@gmail.com)

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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Anambra: Catholic Priest Denies Inviting Obi To Uke Adoration Centre

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Obi made a surprise and unscheduled visit  to Holy Ghost Adoration Ministries with his entourage, says  the proprietor of Holy Ghost Adoration Ministries, Rev Father Emanuel Obinma aka Ebube Monso.

Gov. Obi had in his broadcast claimed to have been invited by the Reverend father, but the spiritually gifted clergy confided in a close friend and worshipper in the church that what Obi is broadcasting to the state in not correct, as he did not invite him, but could not have asked him to leave once he had come.

Our source states:  ‘Rev. Obinma as visibly angry, based on the false claim by the governor in a state-wide broadcast, which gives the impression that our church is being mixed up with politics.’

‘Well, we do not ask people to leave when they come here, We open our hands to receive all, because that is the nature of soul-winning, but to say that we  sent a written invitation to him ( Gov Obi) to attend our vigil on November 1, 2013 is to say the least worrisome’  Rev Obinma was quoted as saying. According to our very reliable source, the catholic priest is yet to make up his mind whether to join issues publicly with Gov. Obi  but is very resolute about  straightening the records on the issue of a written invitation  to the governor’.

Gov Obi had attended a night vigil in the Adoration Centre at 2.00am last Saturday along with Candidate of APGA in November 16 governorship polls, Mr Wilie Obiano, National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh,Director General of Willie Obiano Campaign Organisation, Chief Joe-Martins Uzodike, also the Commissioner for Information,Mr Oke Udeh erstwhile Deputy  Governor who betrayed Dr Chris Ngige in office as a governor, and one Ifeanyi Ibezi, a native of Abatete, among others.

There attempt to speak to the crowd and convince them to vote for Obiano failed, as the people initially protested the mix-up of worship with politics. However, when Obi insisted on having his way, the crowd burst into a song, rendering praises to Senator Dr Chris Ngige, Obi’s political rival and candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC),  a development which angered  Obi.

Peter Obi at the Adoration Grounds

It took the intervention of Rev Fr Obinma for Obi to speak at all to the people, who became uncontrollable again when the governor asked them to vote for Obiano who was beside him in the uniformed delegation.

Obiano has since denied attending the vigil with Governor Obi, while Obi’s broadcast to the state carefully omitted the name of the faltering candidate of Obi’s political party.

 

Controversy has ensued over the actual time of departure of the governor from the venue, and how it relates to the stampede which eventually recorded  a death casualty of 61 persons as the governor claims to have left at 3.00am ,while eye-witnesses say the governor and his entourage  were in Uke ill the adoration closed at 5.20 am.

‘Look, telling you the story as someone who was there, forget all you hear those who felt angered by the governors intrusive presence simply hauled sachet water and other things at him ,leading to the decision of his security  details to shoot into the air and release some canisters of tear gas, which created panick and a stampede in which many were trampled on’  Mr Moses Agwude said, adding ‘Anything  else you hear is simply politics  and propaganda’.

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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U.S. Ariel Castro’s first victim hung on wall ‘like a fish’

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Two months after Ariel Castro hanged himself in prison, the first of his three kidnap victims has offered graphic details of the torture and abuse she suffered during the 11 years he held her captive in his Cleveland home.
 
In the most startling revelation released in advance, 32-year-old Michelle Knight told TV psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw of being "tied up like a fish" with orange extension cord and being hung on a bedroom wall "like an ornament."
 
"That's the only way I can describe it," she said, using her hands to draw a picture in the air of being suspended by "my feet, my neck and by the arms" for days at a time — with no food or water or being allowed to use the bathroom.
 
Knight's interview will air Tuesday and Wednesday. TV networks were interviewing McGraw and showing clips Monday.
 
"I said, 'please don't do this to me'," Knight said in another clip shown Monday night on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360. "He said, 'I can't take you back.'"
 
She also said Castro "was obsessed with prostitutes and also he thought I was a 13-year-old prostitute. When he found out my real age, he got mad."
 
Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus escaped May 6. Castro pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison, but he was found dead in his cell Sept. 3.
 
After the bedroom torture, Castro took Knight, who was 21 at the time, to his basement, which McGraw described on NBC's Today show as "just nasty — it's filthy, it's cold, it's dark." There, he chained Knight to a pole and put a motorcycle helmet over her head, closing the visor and leaving her.
 
Knight said that she couldn't lie down because the chain around her neck and waist was too short, so she would just eventually pass out.
 
Knight said in the promotional preview that she was "the most hated one."
 
She was Castro's only victim for almost a year.
 
"He said, 'When I get two other girls in the house I'll let you go,'" she told McGraw.
 
Castro then imprisoned Berry and DeJesus, and the trio were sexually, physically and emotionally abused for 10 more years until Berry pushed out a door and yelled for help.
 
In their interview, McGraw said Knight told him she had "one beacon" of hope — her 2½-year-old son, who is now 13.
 
"She said, 'I have to live for him. And I'm fighting to stay alive for him.'"

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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Snowden justifies NSA leaks in manifesto

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The German magazine Der Spiegel published an open letter it says was written by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, in which Snowden said calls for changes in surveillance programs justify his decision to leak classified information.
 
"Citizens have to fight against the suppression of information about affairs of essential importance for the public," Snowden said in the piece titled "A Manifesto for the Truth," according to a translation by Reuters. "Those who speak the truth are not committing a crime.
 
"Instead of causing damage, the usefulness of the new public knowledge for society is now clear because reforms to politics, supervision and laws are being suggested," he wrote.
 
Snowden calls the U.S. and British intelligence agencies the "worst offenders," but adds, "we cannot forget that mass surveillance is a global problem and needs a global solution," according to a CNN translation.
 
"The world has learned a lot in a short amount of time about irresponsibly operated security agencies and, at times, criminal surveillance programs," he wrote.
 
Der Spiegel claims the letter was written Friday in Moscow.
 
Snowden's "manifesto" follows his request for clemency to the U.S. government for his actions, made public in a letter released Friday after being delivered to a German politician.
 
The Obama administration made it clear it has no intention of being lenient with Snowden.
 
"Mr. Snowden violated U.S. law," White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday.
 
"He should return to the U.S. and face justice," Pfeiffer said, adding when pressed that no offers for clemency were being discussed.
 
Contributing: Associated Press
 

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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Tragic Consequence of Religiosity and Politics

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The deaths caused by a stampede during a visit by the All Progressives Grand Alliance to the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry in Anambra State resulted from the unfortunate mix of religiosity and politics, writes Ojo M. Maduekwe
 
In a corruption ridden country like Nigeria, two institutions stand poles apart, at least to some people. While most of the politicians in Nigeria, if not all, are considered corrupt, the religious leaders on the other hand still remain largely regarded as incorruptible by a vast majority of their adherents. A summary of the comparison is that of black versus white.
 
This contrast of both institutions is why some people are quick to voice their opinion regarding any form of mingling between clerics and politicians. What does God have to do with politics many had sometimes asked? Perhaps, with no biblical passage to argue both for and against, it may rather be a difficult question. But the question of what politicians have to do with God is not.
 
Politics, people say is a game of numbers and in a religiously addictive country like Nigeria, the influential clerics who enjoy a cult following have the numbers in multitudes and to their advantage. The average politician being who he is gets easily drawn towards the clerics with the greatest number of worshippers and with an overbearing influence on their congregation. This is not limited to a class of officer seekers.
 
With the clerics on their side, politicians have the congregation; and with the congregation, an increase in votes when counted. The sad incidence that occurred at the weekend in Uke, Idemili North Council Area of Anambra State, were over 25 people were reportedly stampeded to death and scores of others injured, has once again made the question of the relationship between politics and religion a relevant topic for discussion.
 
Media reports had it that the state governor, Peter Obi, in the company of 10 others including the APGA National Chairman, Chief Victor Umeh and the APGA governorship candidate, Chief Willie Obiano, had arrived the church premises for a night vigil. The APGA team was said to have left the church premises at 3:30am before the close of the crusade at about 5:08am before the stampede happened. There are conflicting accounts as to what actually caused the stampede.
            
According to a THISDAY report, “Eyewitnesses said trouble started shortly after the event when the congregation was leaving as a group of people started shouting ‘Fire, Fire, Fire’, which immediately sent people scampering for safety. Some, however, believed the commotion was deliberately organised by some people who felt Governor Obi was still at the crusade, even though he had already left the venue quietly.”
 
In another account, a source had told THISDAY that the crowd outside the church had started shouting ‘Onwa’, a word meaning ‘Light’ and used to refer to Senator Chris Ngige of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In reaction, it was said that the security men on the ground approached the direction the shout was coming from. In the course of doing so, a gunshot was allegedly fired into the air which caused the people to run in different direction.
 
Also, the large turnout of people to the church is part of what’s been said to have led to the large number of deaths recorded. “The number of crusaders, according to sources, got to around 100,000 because the day was the All Saints’ Day and the first day of the month which so many people usually take advantage of to pray for the new month,” THISDAY earlier reported.
 
Normally it is said that the church auditorium has a capacity to take 5,000 people. There were those who said that the large turnout of people, which was both a mix of worshippers and party supporters, was because Governor Peter Obi decided to seize the opportunity to campaign for Obiano. This, it is expected, the governor might later debunk as untrue.
 
The news of the stampede was quick to travel round the country, thanks to the quick reporting of the online news and blogs. Soon, several reactions from indigenes of the state, Nigerians outside and politicians in the state would later trail the incidence. One of the first politicians to react was Governor Obi who pledged to set up a panel of enquiry “to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the incident.”
 
According to a THISDAY report, following the devastating development, Obi immediately cancelled all his engagements, including a campaign kick-off at Nsugbe, live radio programme at Silverbird, kick-off of road projects, inspection of the on-going shopping mall at Onitsha and the on-going stadium at Awka, the state capital.
 
“The governor was the first person to visit the Adoration Ground with security agents immediately he got wind of the stampede,” the report said. Also to visit the scene of the accident were two Deputy Inspectors-General of Police visiting the state, P. I Leha and Kachi Udeogu, accompanied by the state’s Commissioner of Police, Bala Nassarawa.
 
At the venue of the incident, Obi, while speaking with journalists said he had attended the vigil on the invitation of the Reverend Father in charge, Reverend Obimma. He went ahead to give a first-hand account of what transpired at the venue before the stampede occurred.
 
“I noticed something unusual; when I wanted to speak, a group of people started shouting somebody's name. I had to curtail them and said we are here to worship. I was here with a team of about ten people. I have my immediate senior sister who is a reverend sister. At the time I left everything was normal, there was no incident,” Obi said.
 
Asked whether if he thought it was started by fire, he responded saying, “I don't think there was fire. I have always said that people should try and live a decent life, do things properly. I have been to other crusade before. I stay up to five hours. That was how long I stayed at this one before I left. If people have started shouting fire, where is the fire? People had done similar thing before (at Adoration Ground in Enugu) and people lost their lives. We can't continue like this. It's unfair.”
 
However, the claim by Governor Obi that he left the church premises hours before the stampede happened have been faulted by some people who would rather attribute the cause of the stampede to his entourage. They disagreed, saying there was no way he and his entourage would have left without the crowd noticing. They wondered how come the crowd would remain hours after he had left.
 
Some stakeholders in the state argued that the above statement where Obi said he heard some group of people shouting someone’s name, if placed in contrast with the second account of what possibly could have caused the stampede, may give an insight to the truthfulness of either of the story. The second account had attributed the stampede to the shout of ‘Onwa’ by some people which led to an alleged gunshot from a security agent.
 
Also some stakeholders wondered why there were no crowd control measures for such a mammoth gathering. Others went to the extent of questioning why the governor would take his campaign to a church auditorium that could barely accommodate 5,000 people and not to an open field.
 
In a bid to absolve the police of any blame, Udeogu said, “There was no security measure that was neglected. From what I heard, the incident took place when people were going away. Normally if you want to secure a place, you secure the perimeters of the worship centre but you can't police the road. Initially, I thought it was a cathedral with limited access to exit if there was an emergency, but you can see from here that if there was an emergency, people would melt away; there is no restraint here.”
 
Many others on the opposing side of the argument said it was not the size of the venue that was the problem but that the security agencies failed to handle and control the teeming crowd of worshippers and supporters. Citing the testimony of the police, they said the venue was not limited in entrance to prevent easy flow of people in the cause of a commotion.
 
Also reacting, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 16 Anambra gubernatorial election, Comrade Tony Nwoye, called on other political party aspirants not to politicise the stampede. In an interview with THISDAY, he said the incidence called for a sober reflection, mourning and condolence with the victim’s family.
 
“I send my condolence to the victim’s families. This is really very distressing news for me and, for the state, a sad incidence because the loss of a life is bad. Now we are talking of over 25 lives which I must say is both saddening and disheartening. I urge other political players in the state to respect those who died and not play politics with what has happened.
 
“As a state we should go into a reflective mood on what is important in government and seek for ways to always better the lot of the ordinary people whom have called us to serve. Anyone who seeks to politicise this stampede for the purpose of making cheap political points; any votes gotten on this premise would be blood vote,” Nwoye said.
 
A large number of state stakeholders were in agreement that it is time both religious leaders and politicians realise how their mingling affects their congregation and supporters and opined that election campaigns be taken outside the church premises into a secular place like an open field so as to prevent what happened from repeating itself.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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Anyanwu: FG Not Serious about Fighting Piracy, Oil Theft

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The Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy, Senator Chris Anyanwu, has blamed the lack of seriousness on the part of federal government in fighting piracy and oil theft as result of poor funding of the Nigerian Navy, particularly the capital projects.
Anyanwu stated this yesterday during the visit of the Senate Committee on Navy to discuss the implementation of the 2013 appropriation budget by the armed service.
Speaking on behalf of the committee, she commended the budget performance of the Navy for the year but decried the inadequate release of funds for the capital projects.
 
According to her, the approximate sum of N8 billion being released out of the total sum of N14 billion, representing 55.8 per cent of the capital budget is far below the average figures for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
She said: “We have just gone through the budget performance for the year 2013. And we have been fully briefed by the Chief of Naval Staff and his men and we are very pleased to hear that quite a bit  of progress has been made. He has explained that there is an area of great concern to us and that is the area of capital projects where the budget releases fall far short of what we know to be the average in both the armed forces and in the MDAs.
 
“The capital released so far amounts to only 55.8 percent of what they need. And that is not even enough to deal with one of the major capital items, the funding of the Off-Shore Patrol Vessels (OPVs). We are very unhappy about it. And we want the Ministry of Finance to ensure that our obligation to the clients with regard to this OPVs are met because if we fail in the payment schedule then it lead us to failure in terms of the project.
 
“We are not also very happy that major areas like the development of the jetties and purchase of a helicopter which was in fact put in the budget as a replacement of the one that crashed has left a vacuum in the operations last year.”
Anyanwu said it was hypocritical on the part of the federal government to complain of the failure to tackle piracy and oil theft, while denying Navy the needed fund to procure the required instruments to do the job.
She warned that if the trends continues it could amount to limiting the capacity of the Nigerian Navy to function or putting them out of work altogether.
 
According to her, “it doesn't make sense to constantly complaining about the failure of the Navy to avert the massive theft of our oil resources when in fact you (federal government) are shooting them in the foot.
“You are arm stringing them, you are not giving them the resources, you are not funding their projects. If they don't have the vessels, they can't work on water, if they don't have the money to even put fuel in existing vessels, they cannot do miracles. So we have to see the ripple effect of the tardiness in releasing their funds. What it comes up to is that at the end of the day you are making it impossible for them to do the work, and there is no need complaining. So, this is what it is.”
 
“… I really don't understand what is going on. Every time all I get is that navy is not doing this, navy is not fighting piracy, navy is not fighting oil theft, and we are losing enormous resources through this means and yet navy is like tied down, you are not releasing funds to accelerate the acquisition of the right platforms, you are not doing that.
“You have released only 55.8 per cent of capital and you have also made them miss the milestone in payment for the largest vessel that they are buying, which is the one that can go far into the sea and if we miss it, what will ensue is that all the money that they pay before may just go down the drain and we don't want failed projects like that,” she warned.
 
“So, I think that it is an emergency, in fact I am alarmed by what I understand may happen, this week or next week, the president is going to be presenting the 2014 budget. I am alarmed by what is going to happen because of this projects are not funded in 2013 and then they are not funded in 2014, then we might as well forget everything about the Navy. I don’t know if they want to have a navy because if we cannot fund those capital projects, then navy cannot function.”
Earlier, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral Dele Ezeoba, who commended the Senate Committee for the oversight visit, said the interaction was helpful in addressing the needs of the Navy.
 
In the same vein, the Naval Chief of Policy and Plans, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogbor, called on the federal government to effect the release the outstanding sum of N6 billion needed to execute some of the capital projects like the acquisition of two OPVs (N10 billion), development of jetties (N1.9billion), purchase of ship spare parts (N116million), helicopter spare parts (N292 million), procurement of Augista Helicopter (N1 billion), and kitting of naval personnel (N226 million).
Ogbor, who noted that the implementation of the 2013 budget had been successful in the overhead and personnel expenditure, said: “However little has been done in the critical area of capital projects.”

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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Buhari, APC Cancel Visit to Rivers

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The  chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, APC Monday shelved their planned visit to Rivers State to woo  Governor Chibuike Amaechi into their fold.
 
Port Harcourt was to be the fifth state to be visited by the APC stalwarts since last Tuesday when they converged in Sokoto and subsequently passed through Kano, Jigawa and Adamawa states where they met with the state governors and sought their conversion.
 
 
Although it is not clear why the high profile meeting was cancelled at the last minute, THISDAY gathered that it may not be unconnected with the    disruption of the G7 governors meeting by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Nnanna Ama of the Asokoro police station.
 
Details to follow

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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You’re a Disappointment to Our Party, Fayemi Replies Bamidele

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Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has described the estranged House of Representatives member, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, as a disappointment to the state while functioning as the leader of the state caucus in the National Assembly.
The governor, in a letter addressed to Bamidele dated October 28, which he personally signed, acknowledged the receipt of the lawmaker's resignation as the Caucus Leader in the House, but also noted that the resignation was belated.
Bamidele, who had been at loggerheads with Fayemi, had written a letter to the governor about two weeks ago intimating him of his decision to resign as the Leader of the Ekiti State Caucus in the House.
 
But while responding, Fayemi noted that prior to the resignation, the leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC) was aware that Bamidele's colleagues in the National Assembly had replaced him for not performing his duties effectively.
"The APC had already received a prior information that your colleagues in the House of Representatives had replaced you with Hon. Robinson Ajiboye as the Ekiti Caucus Leader, due to your failure to provide honourable and unifying leadership in promoting the interest of Ekiti Kete in the National Assembly.
 
"Clearly, you did not fit the role and failed woefully. Your uncanny parochialism and separatism runs afoul of the spirit of collectivism which we Ekiti are known for, and you have turned out to be a huge disappointment to the party leadership and stakeholders who reposed their confidence in you by nominating you to such high office," Fayemi stated.
He added that as the Ekiti Caucus Leader in the House of Representatives, Bamidele was expected to play a crucial role demanding humility, sincerity of purpose and selflessness for common good, but that instead, the lawmaker had employed the platform to "brazenly pursue personal vandetta, sought to balkanise our compact family of progressives unified in one great party – the APC and undermine the authority of our great national leader whom we revere and hold in very high esteem."
Against this background, Fayemi said the concern expressed by Bamidele in his letter, which dwelt on the state of the state, was his personal opinion that are not factual.

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Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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EVIL: Check Out Nigeria’s Ritual Market (PHOTO)

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Such things are very scary also you have to try your best to avoid anything that will make you do your shopping here, this world is really deep, you have to be careful.
 
Relics of normal life in time past are much sought after in sacrificial preparations. Some of these objects and materials, to the uninitiated, are very hard to come by. To the uninitiated, seeing a tortoise could probably be at the zoo, but for those who indulge in sacrificial practices, they know where exactly to go, they know the right market and they know the right people to call on.
 
The traditional Oliha and Ekiosa markets in Benin City are the right places to go if one needs those rare animals, native chalks, coins and several other materials which have spent over two hundred years. Feathers of rare birds like ostrich, sparrow and even vulture, all of which have different connotations, as investigations revealed, you can get in these markets also.
 
The practice continues among Binis, according to a resident. “The practice is still very relevant here, basically, because we love our tradition which includes sacrifices”, he boasted. There was a time Bishop Margaret Idahosa of Church of God Mission was asked to comment on the proliferation of churches in Benin City, and she said, “Is it not better we have that than the usual sacrifices we see in the streets?”
 
At the Kemwinkemwin line of Oliha market, 76-year-old Madam Christianah Oliha explained some of the materials to Sunday Vanguard: “What I am holding now are the Azáolokun, Adá and the Ebèn, used for worshipping Olokun. This one is Uleko, someone that has had his bath with juju is the one that wears it. I have taken that bath, so I am free to wear it.
 
“This business has been good for me. It has improved the life of my children, it has given me all I require in life. People started the business before most of us, our mothers were in this market before they died but today it is our turn. I have spent over 15 years in the business”. 

About Post Author

Anthony-Claret Ifeanyi Onwutalobi

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.
ionyclaret@gmail.com
https://www.codewit.com
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