NIGERIA: ‘Government Not Interfering in Osun CAN’

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Read Time:3 Minute, 58 Second

Osun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Sunday Akere, in an interview with journalists, addressed issues on the Christian-Muslim rift in the state. Yinka Kolawole was there. Excerpts:

Leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria has accused the present government of plans to Islamize the state. Is there any such thing?

There is no crisis between the government of the State of Osun led by Governor Rauf Aregbesola and the Christian Association of Nigeria, Osun State branch. We have been having meetings with the leadership of CAN, on the issue of hijab, and the crisis being fomented by some Muslims in some public schools in the state. The position of the Christians is that they will not allow hijab. The argument has been on between the government and the CAN all along.

In December 2012, government distributed 750,000 school uniforms to students in all public schools in the state, we never distributed hijab to anybody, and so if when we were distributing the uniforms, we distributed hijab, somebody can now say the government is forcing hijab on them.

All schools in the state became public schools since 1975, during the regime of Jemibewon, when the government took them over, whether it is Muslim, Christian or community-oriented; they are all public schools, hence they become government schools, and the issues have been cleared. There are guidelines formulated by the Ministry of Education and passed to all the schools. In it, they have specified the conduct of students on what they should do and what they should not do and till date, we have never haltered any part of these guidelines.

Muslims and Christians met November last year under a body NIREC; were they able to resolve the issue?
I know part of their resolution was that nobody should force anybody to use anything or not to use it. They recognised which schools belong to the Christians and those that belong to the Muslims and the need for each of them to respect individual’s faith. I know that as they are in court now, they will tender the resolution which all of them signed as part of evidences in court.

The CAN leadership in Osun is riddled with crisis and it is alleged that some of the leaders have been pocketed by government. Is government meddling in CAN affairs?

Government has no business with religion. The only way we can interfere is when we see that something has to be done for the sake of peace.  We were never part of the people that elected Aladeseye and we can never pocket anybody.

Recently, the PDP accused the administration of non-performance and that it has begun to map out strategy to ease out the Governor in next election. Are you worried as a government?

There is a Yoruba saying that translates as ‘one’s enemy can never kill a fat grasshopper’, but for 90 months, the PDP were here and they could not show the people of Osun what they did. In 28 months of Aregbesola’s administration, we have virtually turned the whole state to a construction site. We know that the PDP cannot say that we are not working. A blind man knows that Osun is working.

A PDP governorship aspirant recently challenged your government to point to a completed mega-school project, isn’t that serious?
When we came on board in November 2010, we started with a total overhaul of the education system. We started it with the reduction of fees paid by students in our tertiary institutions, we also introduced some incentives for teachers, and we also embarked on the construction of mega schools.

Even if you did not see all, I am sure you saw the one at Alekuwodo, Osogbo which is the middle school, we’ve completed that, and the movement of pupils to the place was put on hold because of the recapitulation of schools which we had sometime ago. By September, hopefully, we know students will move there.

This year alone we want to construct 170 of the mega schools. When you get to Isale Osun, you will see that we are constructing one. Another one is at Oke Baale, it is all over the state, name it, Ejigbo, Ila-Orangun, Ife, Ikirun, Ilesa, everywhere, we are building 170 of such this year, 100 junior schools, 50 middle schools, and 20 high schools. And we know that by the time we finish, they will see the marked difference. If the PDP or whoever, is saying that there are no real development in Osun, the problem with them is that they don’t live here; they spend all their time in Abuja.

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.
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Salami: Nigeria’ll Remain Unsafe with Centralised Policing

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Read Time:7 Minute, 40 Second

Fourth Republic Senator, Adebayo Ayoade Salami, who represented Osun Central Senatorial district at the National Assembly, spoke to Yinka Kolawole on life after office, the political situation in Osun State and the growing insecurity in Nigeria. Excerpts:

How do you rate the present administration in Osun State?
The greatest gift you can give to any human is hope. When a human does not have hope, his situation is worthless. What this government has given to the people of Osun is hope in all ramifications. I was amazed by the O’YES programme. I am sure those drawing that scheme did not know what N20, 000 entails; it was when they want to implement it that they will know that it is daunting because, I know by the time they came up with 20,000, they would have thought they would train them before they were deployed.

There is no facility in Nigeria that can train 20,000 in a single place. Then there was the idea of training them in the three senatorial districts and they again found out that there was also no facility to train 8,000 in a district and that would have been why they came down to the local government level. Though they call what they are being given stipend but multiply that by 10,000 Naira that is N200million injected directly into the economy of the state.

With the idea of Osun Rural Agricultural Empowerment Programme, I have seen millionaires being made. The school system has changed for good. In terms of provision of grant to schools, it has increased from what it used to be. An average Osun indigene now knows that to walk is an exercise to healthy living. These and many more are things that are being inculcated into the lives of people and it has become a way of life.

Considering the spate of insecurity in this country, especially the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram sect and kidnapping, how do you score the federal government?

One of the things the government should be concerned about is the security of life and property. All other things come after, but these Boko Haram and militancy that you are talking about emanate from poverty. I am sorry to say that if you have a wrong leader at the helm of affairs for eight years in a state, the effect will not be during the period of those eight years, it will be after.

Without mentioning names, that was what happened in Borno State and the spiral effect is all over the country today. I want you to go and look at Borno State just for 20 years, a government came in Borno for 8 years doing nothing and what you have has affected the whole country. It first started in Borno and then Yobe. Yobe was created from Borno. Later it was in Gombe. So long as you have one central police, Nigerians cannot be protected. The question I ask is, ‘because states are going to misuse the police, should we jeopardise the security of 150 millions of Nigerians?’ However Jonathan tries, but as long as we continue to do it this way, you cannot achieve.

Recently, Senator Iyiola Omisore, accused the state government of propaganda and frivolity: do you agree?
The O’yes, O’reap, O’yes tech, O’school, O’meal are propaganda? Not only that, the walk to live itself is propaganda? This government did something and people never commented about it which is creating an identity for the state. This is the foremost programme I have seen in Aregbesola’s administration. That is one legacy he will be leaving behind. He has been able to register it in the minds of people that good virtue matters a lot. “Ipinle Omoluabi” that is what we are in Osun now.

It is possible for another administration to come after 30 years and say ‘this programme, I am not doing it again’. But can he say we should not be “Ipinle Omoluabi´ again? What does he want to call us? Honestly, I am not one of the people that will praise-sing Rauf Aregbesola if he was not doing well.

I will not only criticise him. I will walk up to him and tell him he has not done well. The truth is Osun is no more for grabs for anybody who doesn’t have what it takes anymore because the strides we have recorded in this state, no Osun person will want to reverse our trend. Honestly, Rauf is doing well in all ramifications.

As an accountant, don’t you think that the governor should prioritise his projects?
What is going on in Osun is what you call financial re-engineering. In a lay man’s language, it means I want to do N4billion project that will take the contractor 4 years to complete and I then say before I can start the project I have to get the N4billion; the contractor is not going to take the total sum from me at once. What should matter to is cash flow. At the time 100million is given to that contractor, when money is required we will still be able to provide for the contractor. The idea of paying huge money is outdated.

That is why I said Aregbesola is doing things outside the box because new trend and vision requires new reasoning. If they are not opening up these roads, if they are not doing all these projects, these areas will be impassable in another year. I don’t know if you remember what traffic used to be in those days in Lagos? Population is increasing and there is no infrastructure to match it. We are going to be in a chaos. The infrastructure is already needed.

The idea that they are opening up so many roads is not even there. The idea that he has dabbled to so many projects is not a new concept in finance. What they should be working on is the cash flow. And let me tell you, I have seen an administration in this state that was very prudent with resources; the resources they left, another administration came and squandered it without anything to show for it. If the economy is opened up drastically, your Internally Generated Revenue will increase, people will pay taxes and all other thing will just follow.

You have been relatively silent on national issues after you left the National Assembly in 2003, why is that?
I don’t want to believe that I have been so silent. I have been associating with political parties and I have always been playing my part in whatever association that I find myself. I am in a position to thank God that my vision for the State of Osun has materialised at the end of the day. So you cannot call that silence at all. I have come to realise that the best to happen to each state is to emerge from decadence, by then Nigeria will be a better place.

When we went to the National Assembly in 1999, we went with so much hope that it was a new beginning after the Abacha regime; Nigerians had so much hope that we were having a new start and that things would change, but at the end of the day, we discovered that not much had been achieved. So, I came to the conclusion that things are not done the way we practice the democracy that we copied. I now have new focus and my new focus is Osun.

Specifically, what were some of the hopes dashed in 1999?
Everybody thought we were going to practice true federalism, and when you talk about true federalism, you are talking about optimising individualism in each Nigerian in their respective places, and you are talking about moving away from the unitary system of government. The problem with us today is that we are neither practising federalism nor unitary system of government. What does the centre represent? The centre represents aggregation of the states.

Once a president emerges, he is the president of Nigeria, and he is not the president of any political party. If you want to construct a road in Osun for example, all the federal government needs do is to agree on the design and other structures and channel down the money to the state concerned instead of giving in to a consultant from another state. If Nigeria continues with the way we are going, we may be far from achieving what we desire.

These are some of the reasons why I refocused and pray that Osun will get out of the doldrums and I am now happy for the leader that God has given to this state. My belief is that if you want to actualise any serious vision, you have to do it outside the box. I call it working outside the box; you call it an unusual government. But with the trend that I am seeing in Osun now, we will soon get there.

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.
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Fayose: Only Internal Democracy Can Return PDP to South-west

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Read Time:16 Minute, 23 Second

Former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose speaks on the circumstances of his exit from office in October 2006, his plans to return to the Ado-Ekiti Government House in next year’s governorship election in the state, and the limits of the opposition in the country, in this interview with Vincent Obia. Excerpts

Considering the controversial manner you exited the political stage in 2006, following your impeachment, what makes you confident that you can still return to the Ekiti State governorship seat?
There is nothing wrong with a man falling because the journey of life is about ups and downs. But there is a lot wrong with the man that falls and remains in a fallen state. A man must rise and continue to struggle. I fell, I don’t care what led to it and who were behind what happened, but what is important is that I have to rise and I will continue to struggle until I get to my destination. Whatever happened during the last seven years is instructive; it’s an experience that I cannot forget. For some people, Fayose did this and that, it’s okay.

To other people, Fayose was oppressed. Whether I was oppressed or it was my fault, that is in the past.

Why do you think the same Ekiti people who removed you as governor on October 16, 2006 would accept you in next year’s election?
May I say that the people of Ekiti State had no hand in my departure from Government House. That was why my impeachment was based on falsehood. And up till today, my name in Ekiti State has remained an issue nobody can pretend does not exist. Like one of the presidents of America who fought and fought at different stages of his ambition until the 13th time that he became the president of America, I will rise again and be restored. If Nebuchadnezzar can be restored from becoming an animal, from a kingly position, mine will not be an exception. I will be restored to my position. I will come back with a bang, with a surprise. Nobody gave me a chance in 2003, but it happened. Then I didn’t have a godfather, I didn’t have all the big names behind me. God made a way where there was no way, and He will make a way again.

 Don’t you see your case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission as a drawback?
May I explain that a man is adjudged innocent until otherwise proven by a competent court of law. Ladoja was in an EFCC case when he contested under Accord Party in Oyo State. The Action Congress of Nigeria candidate, Abubakar Audu, was in an EFCC case in 2010 when he contested against the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Idris, in Kogi State. As I speak, so many people are facing trial. On the international scene, the president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, was facing charges at the Internal Criminal Court when he contested the presidency and won. That is to prove that it was an allegation by his enemies, not by his own people.

So, these ones are propaganda that cannot stand the test of time. I have been out of government for seven years. Some people say I have a murder case, but I have not appeared before any court for murder. It is only a political tool in the hands of my enemies. Why they are saying all these is that they know I am a strong character. I’m a force, so they would be looking for everything to stop me, blackmail me or pervert the possibility of my return. I can’t be bothered by that.

But considering the tide of progressivism in the South-west currently, do you think your party, PDP, has a strong chance?
Most of the opposition parties are made up of hypocrites. What they preach is not what they do. How can ACN come back to say somebody is in EFCC court when Abubakar Audu was in EFCC and they presented him in 2010? And when you are in court facing a charge, does it mean you cannot be absolved? Have they judged me? They are afraid of me, pure and simple. What God will do He will do. If you look at the case of the South African President Jacob Zuma, he was in court, accused of abuse office as party leader, when he won election. Those looking for ways to stop me are wasting their time. They are not God.

How would you react to media reports alleging that you have a hand in the recent upsurge of violence in Ekiti State?
They cannot say that. I was the one that accused ACN over the killing in Erijiyan-Ekiti. They are blackmailers. Everybody knows they operate by propaganda. Some people want to come to PDP, how can we go and unleash terror on them?

You see, when you dig a pit for your enemy, you must be careful so that you don’t fall into it. Since ACN came to power, the opposition has had no respite. If you are popular, you are the one in government, you have money, you have resources, how would you go and start shooting. People want to come to PDP and the next thing is to go and shoot them. They shy away from reality. So the police investigation must show the truth. We want to see how the police want to avert the truth here.

What is the update on this murder?
I heard that they referred the matter to the federal DPP (Director of Public Prosecution). To do what? It is the court that has the right to remand anybody accused of murder and at the end of the day, the DPP will take the file and take a position. Let me summarise by saying that I have never being in violence, I will never be in violence.

You said there was an incident at  your office in Ado-Ekiti today (April 23)?
Up till this morning (April 23), the ACN is operating as if they are a
military regime. They went to my office this morning and pulled down all the pictures on the wall, because they said they didn’t want anybody to see the picture of the opposition parties because of the burial of the deputy governor. How long can they sustain that? There was no symbol of any party. This kind of thing is strange for a party that managed to get to government the way they got there. You must be magnanimous when you are leading; the era of violence is gone. Even if you say Fayose is violent, must you toe my path? Besides, nobody can say I got involved in violence apart from them.

What were some of the major policy goals you would say you were poised to achieve in office in 2006 that your sudden exit from power prevented you from attaining?
Nigerians would tell you that of all the South-west governors in my time I performed. I opened up Ekiti. I was popularly known as the architect of modern Ekiti. The reality is that the journey was ongoing. A lot of things that were supposed to be consolidated were not consolidated. Besides, I am entitled to two terms by the constitution of Nigeria. There is a lot to do in Ekiti and I’m convinced I have what it takes to complete the assignment. I used to pay salaries on the 22nd of the month. I left over N10.4 billion in the coffers of Ekiti State, aside all I did. And the infrastructural development is what all of them are repairing. Up till today, Fayemi has not built a new road. He is only repairing all that I have done, at every exorbitant prices. Recently, they went to review a road project by about N4 billion. It’s amazing. You would do less than one kilometre of road for N1 billion. We are not in Niger Delta.

But were you really frugal as a governor?
When I was governor, when Oni was governor, none of us borrowed money. I spent three and a half years, Oni spent three and a half years, that is seven years. Fayemi has spent about two and a half years now, Adebayo spent four years, the two of them borrowed money. The financial situation of the state now is very serious. Fayemi is not in terms with the teachers, civil servants, local government workers. I want to see how he will come back, the magic that will bring him back.
The issue of money distribution at the polling booth will not happen.

That is going to be an isolated election. The whole world will be in Ekiti, like Ondo State. So let me say clearly that I have a constitutional right to contest. I will exercise it. They should be patient. All the stumbling blocks they want to put on the way, they should continue. But they will meet God in front.

What are the things you would do differently from the current government in the state if elected?
I cannot come to the newspaper and begin to talk about them. What if my opponents begin to implement them? I can’t come to the newspaper and be giving them ideas to run government. It’s obvious that Fayemi was not prepared for this job. If you were prepared for the job, you would not have unrest with the teachers, local government workers, etc. I have told the local government workers, teachers, civil servants, anybody removed from office illegally will be restored by my administration, the PDP administration that will come after Fayemi.

There seems to be a mysterious convergence of Important political dates in Ekiti State since you left.
Let me give you an insight into the historic dates that have shown indication of my return to office. I left office – I ran away – October 15, 2006. I was removed by the House of Assembly against laid down regulations on October 16, 2006. Oni was removed October 15, 2010 – exactly four years after, despite all the interregnums. It was exactly four years when Salami salamalised Oni. Fayemi took over October 15, 2010, which means the day I ran away will bring to an end every government in Ekiti, because it was the day I ran away that exactly four years after Oni left. The date I was forcefully removed in 2006, October 15, was the day Fayemi was sworn in, in 2010. So my exit and the coming of the new government will continue to be historic in Ekiti State.
On October 15, 2014, Fayemi would depart. October 16, 2014, I would form a new government in Ekiti State, by the grace of God. I want to say clearly that these things don’t happen by accident. They are historic values nobody can deny.

How would you describe your relationship with the grassroots in Ekiti State?
These things are not about policy statements, they are about your relationship with the grassroots. Even when you do a good road, for instance, if you don’t have a good relationship with the grassroots, they won’t appreciate it. They will tell you they cannot eat coal tar.
It is when they love you that they would regard for what you are doing. Most of these governors, especially Fayemi, are governors in heaven, Ekiti people are on earth. They have no relationship with the people. These are God-given values in me. I am osokomole, I am the man loved by the common people of Ekiti State. That was why when they accused Uhuru Kenyatta of all the crimes under heaven, the people of his country spoke to the world, this is our man. Ekiti will speak again eight years after and say, Fayose is our man.

At a time, you seemed to be close to ACN and you were even alleged to have campaigned for them during the last rerun governorship election. At what point did your relationship with the party strain?
I didn’t work for ACN, I want to say it again. Like every other people that were aggrieved in PDP. I was aggrieved the way I was treated. I went to Vincent Ogbulafor (then PDP national chairman) several times, when I came back, to correct all these imbalances. When all my vehicles were seized by Segun Oni. I fought PDP, that is a statement of fact, I’m not denying it. It is public knowledge. And I’m saying it again, PDP has been saying repeatedly they would do a transparent primary. If they don’t do a transparent primary, they would be in crisis. I want to be quoted. Anybody asking for justice and fairness is asking for the obvious. I am asking that PDP must do a transparent primary, if I lose, I take it. If they lose, they must take it. But anything shut of transparent primary in Ekiti State, they should forget the whole exercise.

So you believe you have a good chance, despite the dazzling array of personalities that seem set to throw their hats into the ring.
A man that must come to equity must have clean hands. There must be internal democracy. Anyone who would give the ticket to one man would have to go to Julius Berger to hire trucks to carry the people that would vote for them. I don’t want to be their consensus candidate; I want to be elected by the Ekiti people in the primary. If I drag all these aspirants to the primary, they would know they have an uphill task. I am saying expressly that I will defeat all of them. There are about 16 aspirants at the moment. I am working with the anticipation that all the other 15 would coalesce against me. I am not being funny here. I am saying the only means through which PDP can come back in Ekiti and the South-west is transparent primary without interference from anybody. All these peace meetings we are holding around would be unnecessary when we are transparent. The moment you don’t want to be transparent, I will not agree, I, Ayo Fayose, will not agree. I beg PDP, they should refrain from tampering with due process. The panel they would send to Ekiti must not only be transparent, but must be seen to be transparent. I am not asking for favour, I am not saying they should impose me. I want a transparent primary. I want to bring these small people contesting against me and defeat them in public.

Do you trust the current reconciliation effort by PDP in the South-west to calm most aggrieved persons in the zone down?
For Ekiti, there is nothing to reconcile. The issue here is that a gubernatorial interest has entered our case. Our election is one year away. Some people are looking for peace but they are not on ground.
They are weekend politicians. They live in Abuja and Lagos; they would come now and say the party is not being run well. They are wasting their time. I am not against a peaceful resolution of the issues but that does not mean I will go and call cow Mr. Cow because we want peace with cow. We must all go and earn the confidence of the people and demonstrate it in an open election. Any semblance of imposition will be resisted. You cannot ask for peace when you hide justice.
Nobody is going to stay in Abuja and tell us who would be our governor.

How is your relationship with your former deputy, Biodun Olujinmi, and former President Olusegun Obasanjo?

Obasanjo is our father; I’ve gone to visit him. I wrote to him, he replied me and I went to visit him. Nobody would wish us to be fighting forever. Obasanjo is a father-figure. We had our differences, there is no denying that. The reality is that if we all love this party, we must set aside our differences. The journey to the restoration of PDP lies in our hands. I don’t see Obasanjo as a man who does not want PDP to survive. He might be aggrieved in some areas, but he is our father. I’m sure Baba would not want to be part of any imposition in Ekiti State. Even if that had happened in the past, I’m sure he wouldn’t want that now.
As for my former deputy, Olujinmi, I’m her boss. I remain her boss. If Olujinmi considers me as her benefactor, all well and good, if she doesn’t see me as such, God will reward me. I know that for every journey in life, we have to work together to achieve our common goal. I have nothing against her.

What is your assessment of the opposition merger arrangement?
It is a waste of time. But INEC must delete their identity now. These are strange bedfellows. I know with time some of the characters there would want to be overbearing and at the end of the day, we shall see.
Nobody is going to stop Buhari from contesting, he will insist on contesting. Let us see how they would solve all that. Even if they don’t fight, the three merging parties have altogether 10 states, plus one of APGA’s two states, that is 11. Take away 11 from 36, you have 25.
Even those governors threatening they want to defect, let them defect. We defected before and we came back. It is difficult to take PDP out of governance at the federal level. The only figure in the north that makes a difference is Buhari. Besides, if you leave PDP today, it would not be easy for you to take all your supporters away. So their calculation will never work. To me, it doesn’t matter the issues with PDP today, they are still better. If PDP presents anybody it will still win.

Why do you think Nigeria does not have opposition parties strong enough to defeat the ruling party?
It is not about strong opposition. Nigerians have an attitude problem. People are blaming government, they are blaming leaders, but it is the kind of leadership the followers want that they get. The average Nigerian believes in being settled. You say a governor is corrupt, the same governor if you request money and he doesn’t give you, you will be abusing him. If the press write and you don’t give them money, there is problem. They will destroy you. Even the National Assembly, when the president wants to do well, they will hold him to ransom because of selfish interests. How many politicians are buying off judges to get favourable judgement? Is it Jonathan that is telling big men to misbehave? Don’t blame Jonathan for anything. No Nigerian president can do any magic. The institutions are so corrupt that they must be settled financially for the president to move forward his policies.

But is it not the responsibility of the leader to correct the anomalies in the institutions?
Even if a president in Nigeria wants to correct, the other institutions will hold him to ransom. Will he kill himself?

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.
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NIGERIA: I can’t abandon the suffering of my people – Evah

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Read Time:10 Minute, 7 Second

Comrade Joseph Evah is the national coordinator, Ijaw Monitoring Group (IMG) and former Publicity Secretary, Ijaw National Congress (INC).In this encounter, he speaks on topical issues of presidential pardon granted  Bayelsa Governor, Alamieyeseigha and  issues of  recovered loot from public servants. Excerpt.

How are you coping with the pressure of activism?

Despite the fact that the highest concentration of Niger Delta people outside our region is Lagos and South-West because of commercial activities and as former federal capital, the pressure is terrible. Some people still travel down from Niger Delta to Lagos to seek for my help. You can see the crowd in my office. I told them I’m also a beggar like them but they didn’t understand me.

They said I can easily see the President or Governors but I just look at them and laugh. We had the case of a breast cancer woman and I struggled to send her to India but because I could not sponsor her second trip to India, she died. I have this case of a Niger Delta University student now suffering from kidney problem. The parents came to my office to cry. I asked various groups to contribute money for his treatment but it was not enough even after I gave the parents money.

So I gave the parents a letter to take him to see the chairman of Sagbama Local Government for assistance since that is the parents’ Local Government but on getting there, they drove the parents away. The boy is out of School for over a year now. As I speak to you now, another Bayelsa woman is in LUTH on admission with breast cancer. The husband comes here to beg everyday. I try my best for them but my best is useless because of the kind of health crisis she is facing.

This office is just like  my house. It isalso like a police station where everybody comes to lay complaints. When I have cases that involve infringement on human rights, I send them to lawyers like Festus Keyamo who handles them without collecting any money from me. Despite the frustrations, I can’t abandon the suffering of my people.

I feel their pains. I enjoy giving hope to people and because I’m in the media, television and radio talking for the silent majority, any problem they have,  their neighbours will just tell them, go and see the Niger Delta activist Comrade Joseph Evah and your problem will be solved.

That is my cross but thank God the masses appreciate my efforts. That is why I’m the only Niger Delta activist today that can mobilize over 5,000 people within 24 hours because I have the structures on ground and the hell I face today is how to maintain these structures. These structures are also in the Niger Delta region and the greatest gift I got from my mentors, Gani Fawehinmi and Femi Falana was the capacity to put smile on the faces of the masses.

How did you feel as one those who witnessed the exhuming of your hero Isaac Boro’s remains from Lagos Ikoyi cemetery back to Ijaw land two weeks ago?

This initiative by Governor Dickson of Bayelsa State is our pride. In fact, this uncommon achievement of Dickson will be recorded in the Guinness Book of Records in this century. He should use the same visionary steps to change the face of Bayelsa State and the Ijaw nation for progress. He should use the occasion of the exhuming of Boro’s body to withdraw his case against those who protested graduate unemployment from the law court and present those who participated in the protest the Ijaw national medal.

The protest was not against him but a wake-up call on all our politicians in Ijaw-speaking states and Abuja to present the time-bomb of unemployment in the Niger Delta region. I was the first to compile five volumes of the “Niger Delta Bible of unemployment” with over 8,000 CVs of graduates since 2008.

So, I have the facts about the agony in our home land. Since Bayelsa symbolizes the Jerusalem of all the Ijaws on earth,he should be prepared to carry the cross of the whole Ijaw nation.

During the Alamieyeseigha saga, you played a prominent role. What was your interest?

Nigeria is a funny country. Instead of people asking for the where-about of the alleged recovered loots of Alamieyesiegha, they are talking about the disadvantages of state pardon. Did you know that EFCC told us that over 50 billion naira was recovered from Alamieyesgha but where is the money? Nobody is asking EFCC to display the money or return such money to Bayelsa State.

Obasanjo told us that over N800 billion was recovered from Abacha loot. Where is the money? We need such money to repair our universities and colleges but as we speak, Nigerians are not asking about Abacha’s alleged stolen money or Alamieyeseigha’s alleged loot.

In fact, I saved Alamieyeseigha from untimely death. I read some claims that Yar’ Adua loved Alamieyeseigha so much that when he was deported from Dubai hospital, the late President called the former Bayelsa State Governor and after sending his Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to visit Alamieyeseigha, he concluded the arrangement to set him free after agreement on plea- bargain.

That is a naked lie and a lie against the late President Yar Adua .I started the process that made Yar Adua to ask  Jonathan to visit Alamieyeseigha in EFCC detention and the government started the process for his release. It is only in a country like Nigeria  that people can even lie against the dead for cheap politics.

What happened at that time?

When Alamieyeseigha’s trouble started in London, he was facing health crisis and he escaped from London to Nigeria where Obasanjo captured him like a prisoner of war.

The problem of Alamieyeseigha continued throughout Obasanjo’s period and Yar Adua  inherited the problem and along the line, Alamieyeseigha was granted permission to go for medical treatment abroad by the court and while undergoing treatment in Dubai hospital, the EFCC deported him without due process.

The former Governor- General of Ijaw nation was deported without allowing him to complete his medical treatment. It was shocking and sad. My revelation about Alamieyeseigha’s condition embarrassed the Federal Government and the international community and it created tension in the Niger Delta region.

What was your actual role in all these?

I was driving along the third main land bridge when I received a call from Ambassador Godknows Igali, former Nigerian Ambassador to Sweden and the current permanent secretary Ministry of power.You know Dr.Godknows Igali was the secretary of Bayelsa State government under Dr.Goodluck Jonathan when he was Bayelsa State Governor. So, when I received the phone call, I parked my car on the bridge and he told me that Alamieyeseigha was in danger and the only person that can save him was myself.

So, I reminded him that Alamieyeseigha was in hospital in Dubai and I’m not a medical doctor. He replied that Alamieyeseigha was deported back to the country secretly and was being detained at EFCC Awolowo Road,Lagos detention centre and the only person who could bring his condition to public notice is somebody who is  without fear as myself.

So I asked Dr. Igali, what about Alamieyeseigha’s business friends and his former arrogant commissioners and special advisers and his arrogant security aides who banned me from entering Yenagoa Government House for over three years because they said I abused Obasanjo over fuel increase but Dr. Igali started begging me. He begged me in the name of God and the Ijaw nation.

He said, he had consulted widely and everybody agreed that it was only Joseph Evah that could handle that because I was able to face Abacha and military rule; that everybody is hiding from EFCC trouble. I abandoned where I was going and returned to the office to fine tune my strategy and arrange a world press conference. Nigerians were shocked that Alamieyeseigha who was supposed to be receiving treatment abroad was deported without completing his treatment.

So prior to the alarm you raised, Yar Adua did not make any effort to arrange plea bargain for Alamieyeseigha?

No way, you see, I received several threat phone calls on my life because of the alarm I raised over him to the extent that I could not sleep in my house. So, having received all these threats, to imagine somebody just sitting down somewhere to cook falsehood is painful. There was nothing like personal relationship between Yar Adua and Alamieyeseigha that set him free. Even the title the Emir of Kastina gave him when he was in power did not do the magic.

It was the alarm I raised that made Yar Adua soft- pedal and bring up the idea of plea bargin because I stated how Alamieyeseigha would be eliminated. You can check Daily Sun Newspaper, Thursday July 19th 2007 cover story and Vanguard Newspaper July 19th 2007 cover page story, among other newspapers. I stated that I had evidence that Alamieyeseigha would be poisoned to death and that he was chained him to the wall like an animal in detention.

The EFCC addressed a press in Abuja to counter me and abused me and I engaged them  in a media war that lasted for weeks. The late Yar Adua sent Jonathan to visit Alamieyeseigha on Saturday 22nd of July and the press reported the meeting. Alamieyeseigha’s lawyer Mr.Mike Ozekhome spoke on the alarm I raised on the 24th of July papers.In fact, the press also reported that the EFCC demanded that the Vice-President should come and see that they did not chain Alamieyeseigha to the wall as alleged by me. So, if Yar Adua so loved Alamieyeseigha, why was he deported secretly and the Presidency kept quiet until I risked  my life to raised alarm prompting  the then Vice-President to visit his former boss.

Alamieyeseigha’s plea bargain kicked-off on the 26th of July 2007 and was reported in the media on Saturday 28th of July because the conclusion of plea bargain ended very late on Thursday July 26th for the press to carry the full story  the next day. From the day, I raised the alarm to the time he was released from prison sentence, to the time he returned again to Dubai for further medical treatment as a free man, I was updating the press and the Ijaw nation. All these are facts in the libraries of media houses as well as my archives.

How will you react to  Senator Waku blasting Chief E.K Clark in a national newspaper of April 12th 2013? People are surprised that Clark did not reply him?

Who is Senator Waku to deserve Chief Clark reply? It is an insult to expect our national leader to join issues with Waku. Chief Clark can only argue with Senator Waku’s father on one  condition, that is, if Waku’s father is equally the leader of his region with intimidating credentials like Chief E.K. Clark has been in the development of Nigeria since post independent era. How can the living oracle of Niger Delta argue with just anybody? It is a taboo in African tradition and Custom.

Did you read where Senator Waku said some of Chief Clark’s arguments are based on primitive tendencies?

It is very clear that Waku didn’t know what he was saying. When General Gowon appointed Chief Clark to manage Information in this country, where was the father of Senator Waku in Nigeria history?  Is it the grandson of such people today calling those who first come in contact with civilization primitive? He doesn’t know anything.

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.
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NIGERIA: Jonathan can do better – Ogunewe

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Read Time:3 Minute, 28 Second

In this interview, former member of the House of Representatives, Honourable Independence Ogunnewe speaks on some of the dominant issues in the nation’s polity including amnesty for Boko Haram, the presidential pardon for the former governor of Bayelsa state among other national issues. Excerpts:

What is your assessment of the administration?
President Goodluck Jonathan is doing his best only that a whole lot of Nigerians believe he could still do better. All over the country, infrastructure decay is still staring us in the face, our educational system is not so impressive; the state of security is something that one would love to see more action, even though the character and dynamics of the present security challenge is one that no person would have eliminated in one fell swoop.

What is your take on the pardon granted former Governor Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa State?

Here is one person who was charged, convicted and sentenced and part of his loot, if not all was recovered. He also served prison term. In the old testament of the Bible, one of the conditions for granting pardon is confession of sin and if possible restituting for the extent to which you trespassed. In the case of Alamaseigha, he was not just convicted but he also went to jail which means he paid the price for his crime.

He also restituted because they collected back from him what they said he stole. n that light, you can say that scripturally and spiritually he is qualified for pardon, more so that he has conducted himself in such a dignified manner that even the government had to rely on his extensive reach to get the militants to be off the creek.

If somebody went to jail for committing a sin, they collected everything from him and he still came out to work for the interest of that state by being part of amnesty deals that got the militants to drop their arms then why wouldn’t he be pardoned? These are some of the salient issues which the emotions of today have made it difficult for people to appreciate.

I would also say that as a democrat and a firm believer in the constitution, I would want the constitution to be the winner for it. In granting this man pardon, does the president have the powers to do that? The answer is yes, because the constitution gives him such powers. In the exercise of that power, did the constitution qualify how it will be used? The answer is no. It is a discretionary thing. He decides who he wants to grant the pardon. The constitution made a demi-god out of the president as regards the granting of amnesty.

Nobody can question his discretion. Nigerians who have been criticizing the president should take an introspective and deep analysis of the issues involved because emotions cannot take them far.  If the president feels that it serves the overriding public interest to grant amnesty to Alamieyeseigha, then he is supported by the constitution.

Are you also supportive of the amnesty to the members of Boko Haram?
Anybody who is opposed to granting of Amnesty to Boko Haram is an enemy of the state because if amnesty is the only thing that can guarantee peace, then they should be granted amnesty. My only concern is that you must know who you want to grant amnesty to. I support amnesty but you must know who you want to grant amnesty.

This is because you need to discuss with leaders of the group on what to agree on for amnesty and who to call when there is a breach. When Amnesty was granted to the leaders of the militants in the Niger Delta, their leaders were known and they were the ones who were interfacing between the federal government and the other ranks.

If Amnesty will solve the problems of insecurity in the north, I support it.  The sultan has a duty to work hard to unveil the identity of members of the Boko Haram. Members of the Boko Haram have to show themselves and get this amnesty things wrapped up.

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.
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NIGERIA: ‘I thought I was going to die’ – Nike Osinowo

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Read Time:14 Minute, 14 Second

A TWO-hour encounter, last week, with socialite, entrepreneur, role-model and former Miss Nigeria, Chief Adenike Oshinowo, rekindled memories of Nigeria’s first celebrity fitness video ,“Nike Oshinowo:  Fit, Forty and Fabulous”, which she packaged.

Delectable and delightful, the former beauty queen, now 47, still radiates an aura of self-assurance, wittiness, vigor and vivacity that women several years younger would die for.

Decisively and convincingly, she speaks about her long-term association with endometriosis – a disorder that occurs when the endometrium (cells lining the uterus) grow in other areas of the body, causing excruciating pain.

Medical experts identify endometriosis as a significant factor in unexplained female infertility, chronic pelvic pain, and other gynaecological problems.

Oshinowo holds her audience spellbound with the story of her personal experience with this disorder during her reproductive years. One thing is certain; her relentless campaign against the pain of endometriosis is no fluke.

The goal, she points out, is to let women who feel the pain and trauma of this female health disorder know that they are not alone. From her perspective as someone with long-term experience of the malady, she puts a face to the disorder.

It is a deep, soul-searching account of an epic phase of her existence.

Excerpts:

I have lived with endometriosis since the age of 13.  I was sent to boarding school in England when I was seven. I went to prep school. It was during the first few days in secondary school that I began my periods (menstrual). They called the ambulance and I was hospitalized for 10 days because the pain started and wouldn’t stop.

I thought I was going to die, the first two days, I was in the infirmary with the matron and she kept saying, ‘O Adenike! We understand that you miss home, we understand that it’s a rite of passage, we understand it is difficult for you, we understand that every girl must go through it, but just bear it’.
I’m telling this story because it happened in England and, supposedly, the white people, who knew best, yet had no idea what was wrong with me. Every female student they had dealt with had had a normal period and coped with it, so they could not understand why I was dramatizing. They thought I just wanted attention. The pain was so intense I passed out. They called the ambulance and I was hospitalized. The challenge was now to get me to stop bleeding.

Challenge

Living with endometriosis is a challenge. When you see your doctor, your doctor just tries to treat the symptoms and assumes the pain revolves around your menstrual cycle. But this is not so. This pain affects every single aspect of your life.

I, as Nike Oshinowo, have never had an examination without my period, I have never traveled without my period. There are so many things I have never done without my period. When I am very happy my period comes. When I’m depressed, my period is there. I learned to just cope with it.

I love the quote that women wear their pain like stilettos. That is what I have been doing.

At 40

Until I turned 40, Nigerians didn’t know I suffered from endometriosis .When I turned 40, I granted an interview and Nigerians understood why I never drank alcohol. You cannot be on medication and take alcohol. It was finally understood why I was so clean cut and into healthy living.

At last it was understood why if I come to your party, at 8pm I had to go home to bed and to take my pain killers; because when you live with endometriosis, you live with pain. I have a library in my home. It is a library about pain. I have so many books on pain cure.

Ignorance

It is extraordinary the effect that endometriosis has on your life especially if you are ignorant. Ignorance is of two types – knowingly or unknowingly. My mother, unknowingly, was ignorant, because nobody had educated her about endometriosis.

She had two daughters, one didn’t suffer every month, the other did, but my mother didn’t bother about it. She just figured the one that suffered would grow out of it, especially since the doctors just recommended pain killers.

Pain

I talk about this pain, now, so that mothers, when their young daughters are starting their periods for the first time, and it is traumatic, they will go and sit with the doctors, ask questions and have it checked out.

Mine was left so late in life in spite of the fact that I grew up in England. It was frightening. I wish I had someone to blame, I wish I could blame the doctors. I have had so many surgeries I have lost count. I remember when Michael Jackson died and they talked about a drug he had been taking and I exclaimed –’ oh yes, I have taken that drug!’ You try everything to make the pain go away, so all I know is that I would not want a child of mine to suffer endometriosis. No. The only way to make sure that does not happen is to educate as many as I can.

Understanding

Everyone understands what cancer is. People know how to check for breast cancer, and are aware that, for cervical cancer, you do a pap smear. But endometriosis is not that easy. There are symptoms mothers and fathers, nurses and aunts and other caregivers can watch out for so that there would be no needless suffering like I had. I am living with endometriosis. I was born with it and there is no cure.  Hopefully by the time I have menopause it will be better because once you stop menstruating, everything is over. Hopefully!

Have a baby

One ignorant doctor told me to try to have a baby because once you have a baby, the pain would all go away. I thought to myself that if I had a gun I would have shot that doctor, and I would have been locked away and there would be no one to give me pain killers. The reason for that relief generally is that when you are pregnant, you don’t have periods and a long gap of not menstruating actually abates the symptoms of endometriosis.

Challenge

But the challenge is the pregnancy.How do I get pregnant to get to that stage? It was wonderful meeting Dr. Abayomi Ajayi (of Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos), who is so passionate and knows so much about the disease, in spite of the fact that he is a man and he is so willing to share his knowledge. Whatever I can do to stop a girl of 12, 13 or 14 not to suffer the pain of endometriosis, until she experiences menopause, I am willing to do. I’m working for endometriosis.

Menopause

I’m 47, and I’m looking forward to

menopause. Menopause is slowly creeping up on me. People like us look forward to it because it gives us a breather. I have finally learned how to cope with the pain, how to live with endometriosis, and to manage the disease. It takes up a huge amount of my time and life.  One pastor once said to me that I have to reject it.

He told me not to say “my endometriosis” but to refer to it just as a disease because it is, really, a disease. He said I must reject it.  Well, I rejected it, but it didn’t go away. It is still here and I’m learning to cope with it. I hope those coming after me won’t have to cope the way I am. I expect they will have more relief because they would have been educated.

Symptoms

The number one symptom is severe pain, pain that you cannot imagine. That pain during periods is known as dysmenorrhea. A lot of people confuse dysmenorrhea with endometriosis. Dysmenorrhea could be a symptom of lots of things, but anyone experiencing painful periods should see a doctor.

Unfortunately, endometriosis cannot be diagnosed without putting you to sleep and doing a laparoscopy to see what is going on. There are many well equipped clinics around and it is easy to diagnose because our doctors are so well versed in laparotomy. It is not normal to have pain during periods.

Sister

When my sister started her periods,I was ready to help her. We are a close knit family. We love each other. She started in the evening and I thought to myself, this girl smiling doesn’t know what is coming. I thought everyone suffered like that, that every woman suffered like I suffered. I didn’t know it could be different for other women.  But, she had dinner and went to sleep. I could never eat. Sleep?

Forget it. Pain killers were my best friend. I simply knocked myself out, but couldn’t afford to sleep carelessly. I stayed up all night so that I could be a good sister when the pain came, to tell her I had the medicine and that she wasn’t going to die. But, nothing! She woke up in the morning, still nothing. By the third day, I was so envious about my sister. In fact, my first experience of envy was towards my own sister because she had pain-free periods. Till today I do not understand why.

Why me?

There is this thing about endometriosis

that it is a disease not truly understood because we haven’t done enough research. Where does it come from? How you get it is still not thoroughly understood because enough awareness has not been created. Unlike HIV/AIDS and cancer, a few years ago, there was no hope for a cure but now there is more awareness and people do not die of these disorders as before. But it is not the same about endometriosis.

This makes me wonder. Is it because it is a female thing? Is it because I’m a woman, considered a 2nd class citizen in the world?  Must I suffer because I’m a woman? You wonder and ponder over these things. I need answers to these questions. Why do I have it and my sister doesn’t? Is it hereditary? Someone should tell me. If I give birth to a girl, would she have endometriosis? This is why we need serious awareness.

My sister doesn’t have this disorder. My mother doesn’t have it, but then, I look at my mother’s siblings and I discovered I have a sister that doesn’t have a child. I wonder if she suffered from endometriosis. I have a distant male cousin that doesn’t have a child. Does it also affect boys? There are so many unanswered questions. If I lock you up in a room for a month, you won’t finish answering my questions. I have so many questions. We live in a country in which we believe in symptoms more than the causes.

No to sex

Women with endometriosis do not want to have sex because it’s painful. It is very, very painful. So you do not want to have intercourse once and it is painful, you’ll not want to go there. It’s not something you are going to look forward to. I have read books on this. And even when you try to forget the fact that you do not want to, half the time you are bleeding. You are either bleeding, or you do not want.

So, on the average, my friends’ periods last about 5 days, mine, if I’m lucky, lasts 7-10 days and if I’m super, duper lucky, lasts less than seven days; if I have eaten what I should, and exercised constantly, it’s not so bad. Exercise works. If you look at a girl’s menstrual cycle, 26-27 days, remove the 10 days she’s been menstruating and remove the days she doesn’t want, when she has pre-menstrual tension.

When every part of you is sore, on those days, you are not going to want, and even on the remaining five or so days that you are ‘OK, you are not going to want to have intercourse because it is going to be painful. You just don’t want to. So you cannot have a proper relationship with a man.

Pain: Between menses and endometriosis

Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference, that is why it is necessary to do tests. If all these symptoms are on, it is not the one you take analgesics.

The pain from intercourse occurs when there is the presence of endometrium. If diagnosed early and you interrupt the sequence, other things may not follow, can advise appropriately, infertility may follow, or told to have baby quickly, donor, or give appropriate advise.

See the doctor

If you have a daughter with pain, she would talk because she would think she is dying. I thought I was dying because I was ignorant. Go with her to see a doctor when there is pain. There are different tests. Doctors test with their hands, then they use the scan. I did that. The important thing is that when something goes wrong, pain is not normal, something is wrong, not to decide what to do, but, as a good mother, you take her to the hospital.

Breaking the silence

Endometriosis is as old as day but women do not talk, because they are embarrassed to talk about anything down there. What a woman is going to tell you is that she doesn’t like to sleep with her husband? To get a woman to start talking to you about her periods, even that will make you to be seen as a loudmouth. Even talking about her periods, it  is not easy to get a woman to start talking about it. But doctors are able to pick it up because they are infertile.

Women are expected to have children in these parts and, if they are incapable of that, they have to find out why.  Then they go to the doctor who traces it to endometriosis. Ultimately infertility would arise and they have to go to a fertility doctor.

Face of endometriosis

The face of endometriosis isn’t particularly glamorous. Even me, with my independent view, my laid-back attitude, it’s not easy. When I thought about it, I have a mother and family. I know what happened when I turned 40 and I talked about my endometriosis. I got thinking and I almost put it off. But I said no, this is time for action, we can’t keep postponing it. If they had postponed the research and awareness campaigns  into HIV/AIDS or cancer, there wouldn’t have been the breakthroughs we have today.

Knowledge is power, information is king

How do you get people to talk? It is awareness, awareness, awareness. The more I talk about it, no matter how embarrassing the more awareness I’m creating. Talking about it is embarrassing; I’m not immune to embarrassment, by the way. Before coming here, I took my shame, locked it up and put the key in my bag and said I would face you and tell the truth the way it is.

Endometriosis, a disease

A disease is something that is not supposed to be there, and that is what endometriosis is. You are not supposed to have endometrial tissue in your abdomen. Surgery removes it, but the moment you menstruate, the pain comes back.
My understanding is that I have a uterus, every woman does. Something lines it. Just like when you want to bake, you line your pan with baking paper.

That baking paper or lining is the endomentrial tissues. But mine isn’t just confined to my uterus. It’s in my fallopian tube, it’s everywhere. Everywhere this tissue is, when you menstruate, that tissue will be doing the same thing. And you feel pain. Anywhere that tissue is, it behaves as if it is in the uterus.

The purpose of menstruation is to shed the lining and come out. I know someone who has endometrial tissue in her gut. Even in the brain. When you menstruate, it also menstruates and you feel pain there. Menstruation is made to shed and come out.

I have traced it back to the Old Testament. The woman that wouldn’t stop bleeding and you wonder why?  So it has been since the beginning.

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.
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NIGERIA: It’s now one-man-no vote for Oshiomhole – Dan Orbih

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Read Time:9 Minute, 22 Second

For Chief Dan Osi Orbih, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Edo State, it has been more than ten years of steadfast opposition to the authorities in Edo State. The election of his onetime childhood friend, Adams Oshiomhole as governor should have translated into a time of cosy comfort in the corridors of power, but not for Orbih. A scion of one of the state’s leading political families, Orbih continues to abide in the trenches in pursuit of the “good governance,” he claims has eluded Edo State since 1999 even when his own PDP governed the state.

Orbih, however, asserts that he is leading a new PDP which he claims has been purged of its bad elements who according to him, are the strongmen of the Oshiomhole administration. In two interview sessions with Vanguard in Benin-City, Orbih raises issues on the style, structure and sins of the present administration in Edo State, saying that apperance is deceptive. Excerpts:

You put in much during the last gubernatorial election, but could not win one local government. Are you not disappointed?

Well the election has come and gone, but for us in the party, we have put behind all that transpired during the election. We are looking forward to building a stronger platform for future elections. If you do remember, immediately after the election, I did come out with a statement that every genuine member of our party in the state worked hard enough to secure victory for our party at the election. But unfortunately, while our party worked and abided by the principle of one man- one vote, our main opponent engaged in intimidation. They obstructed voter’s registration by going to demonstrate in front of the INEC office, climbed a table, and just for that reason, INEC denied eligible voters in Edo state the opportunity to register and to vote at that election. By that action alone in our last record, over 300,000 people were denied the opportunity to be registered to vote in that election.

Voters’ registration
Just for the simple reason that Adams Oshiomhole was complaining that he was not going to allow voter’s registration, because he was scared that PDP will have an edge if that exercise was allowed to take place. I am fully aware that those who were denied the right to vote at the election, some of them have taken their cases to court; because the time has come when people should at least challenge some of these issues. From what I can see today, it has become an idea that is growing, that for any election to be seen as free and fair and credible, all you need to do is to make PDP lose an election, every person will start clapping for you, that you have conducted a free and fair election.

Is that not a reflection of the performance of the PDP administration at the federal level?
Not necessarily so, that is a different ball game.

Are you saying you lost the election because Oshiomhole intimidated INEC to stop voter’s registration?
Well, in a football match, when a team loses a match; sometimes it could be as a result of bad officiating, sometimes a player will be off-side, and the referee, you cannot expect him to see everything, he probably will not see that the player was off-side at the time the ball got in.

Why then did you decide not to contest the result?
Our decision, not to contest the result at the tribunal was taken after wide consultation with the leadership of the party, both in and outside the state.

Does that include the presidency?
In an outside the state, I said leadership consultation. The presidency may be part of the wider spectrum of party leadership.

Did the president tell you not to appeal it?
I did not have any discussion with the president.

What about Chief Anenih? Did he tell you not to appeal?
(cuts in) I said there was wide consultation with the leadership of the party.

Including with Chief Tony Anenih?
At the highest level, we had wide consultations both at the national and state levels.

Some said that even nature welcomed Oshiomhole’s victory given the rainfall that swept through Benin the day the result was announced?

Again, you see, I’m not a footballer, neither have I played in a competitive football. You will agree with me, even after a football match, whoever wins will celebrate.  If PDP was declared as the winner of that election, I can assure you there would have been greater celebration than what you saw that day. So it’s like a football match, any team that’s declared the winner of a match will certainly celebrate.

There have been reports of a division between the party leadership and your gubernatorial candidate over his decision to contest the result. How true is that?

The party is an umbrella and an institution. It is expected that every member of the party must submit to the party. There is a difference between working to realize personal interest and party’s interest. The moment you start giving the impression that in driving your personal ambition, you are ready to destroy the party as an institution; the party will certainly call you to order. The party took a position; it is for journalists to find out why the person still went to court despite the party’s position.

You complain about Oshiomhole but we had your PDP before in power and they were not able to do the roads and schools Oshiomhole is putting in place now?

We are having a new phase of PDP with men of character and sincerity of purpose who are focused. No matter how long it will take, we will get there and PDP will be back in power.

But is it not the same PDP platform that didn’t allow Igbinendion to work?
…Cuts in) Which platform? Is it not the same PDP that you have in Akwa Ibom where you have an Akpabio who has done so well for all to see? Is it not the same PDP that you have Uduaghan, our neighbour  here who is performing in terms of positive programmes? Is it not the same PDP that you have Liyel Imoke? Or is Amaechi not part of the PDP family? All these are PDP governors? Don’t forget that even the great Shakespeare said the fault is not in our stars but in ourselves. So, those who have failed should know why they failed, they should not blame it on the party.

So, how do you asses four years of Oshiomhole’s government?
I can tell you quite frankly that four years of Oshiomhole have been four years of propaganda. Four years of noise making with very little to show the good people of Edo State.

Economic indices
I find it extremely difficult why the comparison of Oshiomhole’s four years or so called performance is always  with that of Lucky Igbinendion, a man who left office, far, far before Oshiomhole came to office. I will like to see a situation where you comparing four years of Oshiomhole with four years of Akpabio, Uduaghan, Fashola, Amaechi and other governors who are in government at the same time with Oshiomhole.

When you want to compare a government, don’t compare it with an era where the economic indices are not the same. So, let us start looking at Oshiomhole side by side with other governors who are in government at the same time with him. It is not a mark of statesmanship for men to look at those they perceive to have failed, because he is the one who keeps referring to his friend’s time in government as a failure. Why can he not compare himself with those who are succeeding in other states?

It is only when we start doing that that we can actually know whether he is doing well or not. There are people who will say one thing and do the opposite. We have seen the complaints from members of ACN and it is not a question of one man one vote, it is now one man, no vote. What they did was at complete variance with the provisions of the electoral law for the conduct of local government elections in Edo State.

There were no primaries conducted by ACN, they just sat down and wrote the names of people who will stand for the election in the various wards and local governments. So, my happiness is that today in Edo State, people actually know who is a godfather, people know those who are the very opposite of what they claim to be and within a very short time, we now know who is the devil and who is the saint. He is doing worse things now that he is in government. It’s been quite interesting and I believe that few years from now, people will have a completely different view of what they thought he stood for.

But have you not seen the roads, schools and other things done by the government?
You know Governor Uduaghan said that the decision for the Good Governance team to go round was taken at the Council of States but Oshiomhole refused and the reason he refused is because he has nothing to show. They wanted to come and see whether all the things that they have been reading in the press whether they were true. That was the day of reckoning. Airport road, it has taken him more than 5 years and he has not completed it and people make noise that he is doing roads. Which road? It takes a man more than 5 years to complete a 6.7 kilometer road?  Look at the Central Hospital in Benin.

This job was left at the mercy of a quantity surveyor and the contractor which made the job to be riddled with poor supervision and the contractor in order to maximise profit erected a very poor foundation. The resultant effect was the collapse of the building while undergoing construction. It has since been discovered that the consultant architect, wrote letters to the government complaining and insisting on the need for proper supervision of that project saying that it was a disaster waiting to happen if government was not prepared to take immediate action to ensure that the job was properly supervised by competent people.

However, government did nothing about it and the result was that the building collapsed killing innocent people and today, the government is faced with the option of pulling down the entire structure and in the alternative erecting columns that will support the existing structure. Either of these options will double the original cost price. This is one of many examples of what is going on in Edo State. I challenge the government to come out with a white paper on the findings of the committee that was set up to look into the collapse of the building!

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.
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NIGERIA: Our challenges in water transportation can be solved by Government – Ganiyu

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Read Time:5 Minute, 9 Second

One of the major stakeholders in the water transportation and recreation business in Lagos State is Ganiyu Sekoni Balogun, popularly called Tarzan the Boat man.  In this chat Ganiyu shares his views on water transportation in Lagos state, the challenges facing practitioners among other issues. Excerpts:

On how he got into the boat business, Ganiyu Balogun said; “I got into the boat business because my father used to work for the Nigerian Army and he lived in Tarkwa Bay and there was no other way of getting there without travelling by boat, so that means everyday movement to Lagos must be by boat. “Going to school was at the island, Tarkwa Bay, but any time we were leaving the island, it has to be by boat and my father had one and since then, I fell in love with water-related businesses.”

Growing up on the Island of Tarkwa Bay probably formed his love for the water, but his venturing into the business of ferrying people could be traced to his father and a chance meeting with a white man called Hammond. “Through the help of God and my father, when I finished my early school, I met a white man called Mr. Hammond who worked as an insurance broker. There was a time he came to Tarkwa Bay but unfortunately missed his boat back to Lagos.

I had to assist him to get another boat to take him to town. “I paid for the boat that took him to town, so he asked me to come to his office for the money I paid and on getting there, he asked me what I was doing and I told him I just finished school and not doing anything at the time. He asked if I would not mind driving him around. “Since I love machines, I told him yes and started driving him around, but my father was not happy about that at all.

He did not want me to be a driver and since my father had a lot of machines parked in the house, whenever I closed from driving Mr. Hammond, I will go back home to start working on those engines. He added; “Weekends that I don’t drive Mr. Hammond, I assist my father to drive his boats for commercial purposes. From there, with the assistance of the man (Mr. Percy) that took over from Mr. Hammond, I was able to buy a boat. I refunded the money before Percy left.

“From there, I got more boats from where I was operating at the Federal Palace Hotel and then moved to Marina and from there to Eleke Crescent. That was how I grew the business. Balogun revealed that from the savings he made from working and the loan he got from Mr. Percy, he was able to buy a boat.

“My salary then was less than N500, but the total money, I can’t remember, but the loan from Mr. Percy was about N1000.  I paid back that amount. There was an American diplomat that I used to work on his boat, he assisted just like other friends, but the major help was from my father as he was into the business too.”

Challenges:Having spent  years ferrying people, goods and cars on Lagos waterways, Balogun said the major challenge facing the water transportation business today has to do with the dirty nature of our waterways. “In fact, our waterways are now dirtier than before as there was control.

In the past, you could not throw things in the water, but the control is gone. If you look around, you can see many of our engines parked up because of the debris on waterways. He added that fuelling the boat engines is another major challenge. “You need fuel stations on the waterways from where you can buy fuel for the boats, but they are not there yet.

“Government policies at times are at variance with what the operators need, there are some overzealous government officials too who use the name of government to create obstacles for the business. Most of the challenges in this business are government-related.

I am a contented person by nature, and I am not the type that wants to take from the government without giving back to same government.” Balogun revealed that sometime in 2006, he was invited along with other stakeholders in the sector by the government as well as those interested in water transport business in the state.

“They said they wanted the support of the stakeholders as many Nigerians had not seen the brighter side of the investment in the sector. “Many people are scared of water and so will not want to invest in the sector; my company took up the challenge and took up many of the routes that were not run then.

Asiwaju Tinubu had the foresight by asking that jetties be built in many places. “We took over four of the jetties, the government then felt the development of the waterways will reduce traffic on our roads and it did, as many people parked their cars to take boats.  Today, there are more commercial boats operating on Lagos. Speaking on the profitability of the business, he said it is profitable for those who have the passion.

“As it is not a business you go into if you want quick money, if you are just interested in the business because of the profit, you might not get it right.  You need the passion, because it is not like buying and selling, here we are talking of transportation business.

Balogun, who built barges that can ferry cars on Lagos waterways, said; “In this business, you invest millions or billions which you don’t expect to recoup in a year Unlike trading where you buy a good today for N10 and sell tomorrow for N20, in water transport, you invest a huge amount of money in and you need to wait for the investment even before talking about profit.”

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.
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NIGERIA: I don’t joke with sex – Toyin-Kehinde

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Read Time:11 Minute, 49 Second

Convener, All Ladies Affairs, Business and Career Forum, Dr. Shade Toyin-Kehinde, speaks on challenges married women face in balancing their homes and careers in this interview with Bosede Olusola-Obasa

How true is the saying that it takes a tough woman to break even in the business world?

It takes an ordinary woman to achieve the unachievable in whatever industry. But the difference between her and other ordinary women is that she is one backed by God and her spouse. It actually takes vision to excel. She is a focused woman, who brings business before pleasure. She is shrewd and organised. She pays herself rather than touch her capital. She lives within her means, she respects the core principles of business excellence and above all, she is socially responsible to her immediate environment and beyond. For instance, we give revolving loans to poor widows for business and take them through skills acquisition. I encourage women to go all out; there is no limitation at all.
But people say that women are the worst bosses to have?

That is a wrong notion. Women have this milk of kindness which comes to play from time to time. Men who complain about female bosses are perhaps those who want to take undue advantage of a prevailing situation. They feel they can get away with about anything; that is where the woman’s ‘hardness’ shows up. She puts her feet down and gets the results she set out to get. Some men think that the average woman doesn’t understand the game in the corporate world or that she is dull.

Is it ideal for women to resign to look after their homes?

If there is an agreement between her and her spouse, well. But I will not advise a woman to take that step; at the same time, I won’t say that a woman should disobey her husband. But I would plead with such men to note that her being employed may soon pay off. When perhaps the burden of running the home becomes too heavy on the man and it may be too late for the woman to return to the corporate world, she has become rusty – he has rendered her inadequate and handicapped in that area. That can eventually create tension at home. He starts putting up acts that show the woman that she is too domestic. I encourage that men who insist that their wives stay at home should pay her monthly as if she is going to the office. The amount should be close to what she was earning in her last job. For the woman, she should do things that will multiple that income and save for the rainy days. Engage in something profitable that still gives you good time for keeping the home. Frankly, these are days when it requires both spouses to work to keep the home running, especially when the children get to higher institutions and bills are rising. So people should look into tomorrow and empower their wives financially. In the real sense of the word, I don’t think there are still full-time housewives in Nigeria today. You don’t have to abandon your home to work, spend time with your family members and build healthy family units.

You are a career woman, how often do you cook?

Oh, I go to the kitchen everyday to cook. I celebrated my 20th wedding anniversary in February and for those 20 years, I have not had any other person cook for my husband or children. That is not because I can’t afford a house maid, but because I believe in managing my kitchen personally. I cook every day, breakfast, lunch, dinner. As a matter of fact, I have a day in the week dedicated to the kitchen. On that day, I overhaul my freezer; check my fridge to see what I need to restock. I do it on my own. Even as a banker, I did that in a way that it did not affect my job. I did it at the weekends. Currently, my weekends are the busiest, so I chose a day in the week when my schedule enables me to do so. I stay in the kitchen and fix as many things as possible such that I realise that I am good to go for the rest of the week. I can cook anything without visiting the market. I do that weekly. And I do another monthly overhaul of the freezer. The monthly schedule helps me stock the freezer with meat of all kinds of things in large quantities. My husband can call for any kind of meal and you are sure I have it. Many women need to be tutored in this area. Don’t leave your responsibility to the housemaid, nannies, grandma. It is easier for me now because I could do it as a banker. Those days, I did my large cooking at the weekend; packed them in plastic packs. It is not every day that people love to eat foods stored in the fridge, so sometimes on my way from work, I park my car and do some shopping. A woman should never be tired of the kitchen.

Which part of your house are you fond of?

Wow, wow, I am most fond of my bedroom.

Why?

That is where I enjoy the best fellowship that gives me the tonic to keep going. That is where I meet with a man to whom I can pour all my heart. That is where I get the best counsel, encouragement and prayer. I attach the most importance to my bedroom and of course I don’t joke with my sex life – it is an integral part of the fellowship that I am talking about. I know that marital bliss cannot be without sex. I tell business and career women not to joke with their sex life; and I practice what I preach.

As a banker, how receptive were you to sex?

Oh, let me set the records strait; I am busier now than when I was a banker; as a counsellor, pastor and one in a social responsibility sector. Then, as a banker, I had resumption and closing time, and when I had to call it a day and go home. But now, I could get calls at 3am on my duty as a pastor. Sometimes, I am at my desk here in the office till midnight, attending meetings. Sometimes, because of my busy schedule, I don’t have good sleep for three consecutive days. If I could manage my sex life then, it should be difficult now; but no, it is not. I have set things right. I tell married women at all kinds of fora that it is better not to marry than come into it and claim to be tied and unable to enjoy sex – you are courting trouble. There are so many mistresses out there willing to give it to your husband. Let me share a personal secret: when you are tired, that is the time to have sex. It will cool you down, that is the design of sex. It puts your body back when it is about to give way. That is the best sleeping pill – the right sex, with the right man – your husband. When you feel really tired, have a good shower, relax in your bed beside your husband, let him rub your back, you rub his and before you know it, you are there and you will feel really refreshed. I have practised it and I know it. It also cements relationships and settles quarrels.

Are you saying that in 20 years you have never said no to your husband?

Hmmm, there has been no time that my no was outright. I have had to say no only to find out that I have yielded. Before I had this understanding, I, like other women, had the erroneous belief that sex further drains you when you are already tired. I have since learned not to say no; it doesn’t mean that I have sex every day. But on whatever platform I stand to teach around the world, I do say that for a healthy marriage, that a couple should not have any week without sex. When I see couples who quarrel on every little issue, I find out how their sexual life is; then I discover that they have not been there for two weeks, one month, two months. So not a week without sex please.

You talk as if it is automatic?

Well, there are factors that aid good sex. There shouldn’t be pressure. Some African men love to leave the roof burning and pretend nothing is happening. He knows the bills have not been paid, yet he wants to sleep with his wife whose mind is naturally on the unpaid bills. The woman is not in the right frame of mind for sex. So it is easy for her to say, ‘don’t touch me; let’s talk about the bills instead.’ If the man is not ready to talk about it, they stay off sex for as long as the issue is unresolved. This is for the men, ‘it is not the time that you want to go to bed with your wife that you remember your wife exists. Pay the bills; make life comfortable for your wife.’ That is why I can’t say no to my husband. He makes life comfortable for me, he doesn’t give me a headache about bills being paid, he pays attention to every detail and makes sure they are fixed, he gives me hope. In such a man, I can relax; he doesn’t wait till bedtime to tell me he loves me. Even in the midst of his schedule as prayer director of Lagos Chapter, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, among others, he still minds little details. He calls just to say, ‘I love you’; he knows I love ice cream and he buys it often. There is nothing he can’t do to help me, especially when I get home late at night – in the kitchen, in the shower, in the bedroom, we help each other. When a man is as good as that, he will enjoy his wife in every sense of the word. Some men say their wives don’t help them meet needs at home, but they don’t open up to their wives. I spoke to a widow who said she didn’t know her husband’s office address while he was alive.

How do you cope with office romance, sharing the same office apartment with your husband?

It is not affecting our work; rather, it helps us to work better. When we are at work, we should be focused. Office romance doesn’t have to be physical today. Social media has made the world absolutely without barriers and borders, but work hours should be given to working.

What can’t you resist?

The cry of a widow. I can give everything that I have to them. I love to look good but I don’t spend too much on those. I have carried this heart and commitment so hard that my children are also following me in it. I have had to sell off some expensive things I have to meet needs of the widow, missionaries and the less-privileged.

Your forum deals with issues about women balancing the demands of their homes and careers. Can you tell us more about it?

It is a forum where we spur women to become the best that they can be in their respective fields and endeavours and in turn, impact their world positively. I have come to discover that women have a lot to offer their homes, immediate environments, countries and the world. There is no limit to getting this done except in the African setting where their roles are played down. It is also interesting to note that apart from being looked down on by the public and the men, some women look down on themselves. Our role is to help such women in all sectors to get rid of that grasshopper mentality. That is the focus of the Business and Career Forum, which hosts women from all walks of life yearly. This year’s event comes up on March 9. The forum is hosted in March deliberately in commemoration of the International Day of Women.

What are the limitations women face?

From counselling, I realise that women set no-go areas for themselves. There is the phobia that the core business sectors cannot be taken over by women. The average woman with her level of education would rather run a massive departmental store, deal in jewellery or other accessories than think of going into manufacturing, for instance. And the men are not helping matters, because when they see a woman who dares to come close to the places otherwise thought to be the preserve of men, they are jolted. They put up an attitude that says, “We’ll rather have your husband here.” But I ask, “If a man falls into a river and the only person around to throw him a life jacket is a woman, will he prefer to die than take it from her?” The interesting point to add is that women who have dared to go there, excelled. Some women have the challenge of husbands who cannot bear to have them in public light. But that shouldn’t be, provided it doesn’t reduce commitment to the home front. So the women only need to be encouraged to strike a balance. Another challenge is that women can be impediments in the track of fellow women. Such attitudes should stop; we should be willing to serve as ladders for other women to rise.

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.
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NIGERIA: We’ll support NIMASA to achieve its goals – Kefas

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Read Time:3 Minute, 1 Second

THE Federal Government through the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar last month inaugurated  the boards of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) where Chief Tony Anenih and Lt Col Agbu Kefas were appointed to chair the boards of NPA and NIMASA respectively.

In this interview with SWEETCRUDE, Lt Col Agbu Kefas told Godwin Oritse that he was ready to assist NIMASA to achieve its objectives in the area of maritime security and safety.

Excerpts

Congratulations on your appointment

Thank you very much

What is your vision for NIMASA

Already, the management has a vision , we will not change the vision because it is a positive one. What we will do is to support the current management in whatever way we can to ensure that the purpose for which the agency was set is achieved.

So what we are going to do as board or team is to give them all the necessary support to re-energize them and encourage them to achieve that goal.

There is this talk in the military circle that you were dismissed from the Nigerian Army  because of your involvement with some militants in the Niger Delta area and after a lot of pressure your dismissal was converted to retirement, how would you react to this?

Which quarter of the military? The records are there to show, I retired meritoriously and it was voluntary  and if you look around you can see a lot of military officers both serving and retired.They came in recognition of the appointment and to celebrate with me.

So, if I was dismissed, nobody will be here so you do not need any rumor and the records are there and they are very straight.  And you can see, do I look like some body that was dismissed? Most of the Senators you see here, came because of me, that is because I am a true Nigerian and it cuts across the entire country.

There is also this anxiety in the Military because they cannot understand why and how a Lt Col will be presiding over meetings where Generals and Rear Admirals are seated. What is your take on this?

My brother, during the military era, who were the military administrators I mean the Governors, what were their ranks ? I am a very senior officer in the military because from the rank of a major, you are a senior officer. If the President did not deem it fit to appoint me, it means I was never qualified in the first place.

Even you as a young man, are you not happy for me that a young man like yourself is getting appointed to this kind of office ?  To see a young man like you being appointed to head  the board of NIMASA means that there is hope for this country.

Let’s be positive and work together to make this country great, let us not work on rumor.

Between the time you were appointed and now, you must have taken some notes,  more so that you have watched NIMASA from afar , what would you want to quickly address ?

First and foremost, when you get to a place, there must be attitudinal change, you have to create awareness, make people to be positive minded in their jobs, you have to make sure that they are committed. What we intend to do is to bring everybody together and drive the agency together, it is a team work. When we start working as team, we can now begin to address issues together.

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.
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