I have learned from Asian Human Rights Commission of your decision to take over the prosecution of a Private Plaint filed in the Magistrate’s Court of Panadura, without the consent of the Complainant of the said case, upon an application and representations made by and on behalf of the Accused who is a Superintendent of Police. The case bears No. 92368 (Private Plaint)
The decision of the Attorney General was communicated to Court by the Senior State Counsel who appeared in Court on December 15, 2011, in the case referred to.
The accused in this case is Lesly Hamilton Gregory Cooray who was the Superintendent of Police for Panadura area, at the time that the alleged incident took place. The Complainant is M. Nishantha Fernando Jayawardena.
By this decision you will be protecting an accused charged before a court of law. This is very opposite to what an Attorney General who exercises the public prosecutors role is suppose to do. This is dangerous to the nation as it undermines the rule of law. Your role is to protect the rule of law and not to undermine it. Thus this is gross abuse of your powers. The AG’s power to exercise nolle proseque ( Not to prosecute), should not be so trivially used in violation of the principle of equality before law.
We do not know whether this is done due to political pressure or on your own initiative. Whatever, be the reason there is no excuse for threatening the rule of law in this manner.
Besides, you are depriving a citizen a right to a remedy. That is the worst that can be done to a victim of crime. Sri Lankan Government is duty bound to provide all citizens remedy for the crimes they suffer. This also an international obligation under Article 2 of Civil and Political Rights Covenant, ICCPR.
In recent times former AG’s have abused their powers and there is on going public criticism on that score. Your action will further bring bad image to the institution you are heading.
We urge you to review your illegal and wrong decision in this case. And withdraw your takeover of this prosecution with the view to withdraw it and thus help an accused who is charged in a court of law. By withdrawing this decision your will assist in rebuilding much damaged national stability and also respect the rights of a citizen to pursue justice, which is been so badly sabotaged.
For further details please read the AHRC statement
Re: Iran: Summons of Dr. Mohammad Maleki to serve a one-year prison term Dear Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
I have been informed by Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), regarding the following situation in Iran.
New information:
I hav been informed by the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI) of the summons of Dr. MohammadMaleki to serve a one-year prison term.
According to the information received, on January 23, 2012, Dr. Mohammad Maleki, founding member of the Iranian Association for the Defence of Liberty and Human Rights (IADLHR)[1], was summoned to Evin prison to serve a one-year prison term (See background information) and was given three days to go to prison. He stands a high risk of arrest at any time.
I condemn the judicial harassment of Dr. Mohammad Maleki since it seems to merely aim at sanctioning his human rights activities and expresses its deep concern about the ongoing attempts to hinder the peaceful activities of human rights defenders in Iran.
Backgroundinformation:
Dr. Maleki spent five years in prison from July 1981 to August 1986 as a result of his strong objection to the closure of universities. He was also arrested on March 12, 2001 and spent more than six months in solitary confinement without trial.
On August 22, 2009, Dr. Mohammad Maleki was again arrested after the presidential election for having boycotted the 2009 presidential election and protesting the post-election abuses and spent more than six months in detention in Evin prison before being released on bail in March 2010. He was then accused of contacts with opposition groups. During his detention, he was hospitalised several times owing to a heart attack and other physical problems including prostate cancer. He was also reportedly denied access to an adequate treatment[2].
His trial, which was initially scheduled at Branch 28 of the Islamic Revolution Court for July 27, 2011, was then re-scheduled to July 30, 2011 due to the refusal of the accused to attend the trial[3]. Dr Maleki then attended the court, but refused to defend himself and said he would not appeal the sentence, because he considered the court of first instance to be illegal. He had initially faced the charge of “moharebeh” (fighting God), “insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamanei” (the incumbent leader) but was finally sentenced on the charge of “propaganda against the system.”
In September 2011, he wrote a brief report to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishmenton the tortures he had suffered during his prison terms and was subsequently interrogated and received a notice banning him from travelling abroad.
Actions requested:
i. Please guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Dr. Mohammad Maleki as well as that of all human rights defenders and their families in Iran;
ii. Put an end to any kind of harassment – including at the judicial level – against Dr. Mohammad Maleki and more generally against all human rights defenders in Iran.
iii. I urge you to conform in any circumstances with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, in particular:
– its article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”;
– its article 5.b, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels, (…) to form, join and participate in non-governmental organizations, associations or groups”;
– its article 12.2 which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
iv. More generally ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Iran.
Thank you for taking into consideration our concerns and recommendations.
Sincerely yours,
William Nicholas Gomes
William’s Desk
wwww.williamgomes.org
Cc:
· Leader of the Islamic Republic, His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader, Shahid Keshvardoost St., Jomhuri Eslami Ave., Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 649, + 98 21 649 / 21 774 2228, E-Mail: [email protected]
· Head of the Judiciary, His Excellency Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, Ministry of Justice, c/o Public relations Office, Number 4, 2 Azizi Street, Vali Asr Ave., above Pasteur Street intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: +98 21 879 6671 / +98 21 3 311 6567, Email: [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]
· Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: +98-21-66743149, Email: [email protected]
· H.E. Mr. Seyed Mohammad Reza Sajjadi, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Chemin du Petit-Saconnex 28, 1209 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7330203, Email: [email protected]
· Embassy of Iran in Brussels, 15 a avenue Franklin Roosevelt, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762 39 15. Email: [email protected]
A leading member of the Alliance For Accountable Governance (AFAG) and a member of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) communication team, Mr. John Kumah has stated that Professor Mills must step down as President before the December 2012 general elections.
In an interview with the Front Page, he said Prof. Mills has disappointed Ghanaians by saying that he did not know anything about the payment of the judgment debt to Mr. Alfred Abgesi Woyome which has become the issue of the day. He explained that the amount that was doled out to Mr. Woyome alone can improve the lives of Ghanaians in terms of good roads, good drinking water, schools, health-care and other basic amenities.
A fire-brand in the NPP communication team, John Kumah elaborated that as at now, Mr. Woyome has not being able to prove to the world that he had a contract with the previous government and so he deserved that kind of money, yet the NDC and Prof. Mills see nothing wrong with it and allowed those who connived with Mr. Woyome to go scot free.
He said, “once his ministers are disappointed and are now resigning from their positions, it goes to indicate the fact that, President Mills himself must also resign because he has disappointed Ghanaians”.
Mr. Kumah told this papers that AFAG will never allow the gargantuan crime which the former Attorney General (A-G) Mr. Martin Amidu alleged is going on will never be allowed to be swept under the carpet by the Prof. Mills-Ahwoi-Mahama administration.
The AFAG leading member noted that they will use the rule of law to let truth the come out even if not under this government. “We are sure Ghanaians have seen the difference between the NPP government and the NDC government and by the grace of God NPP will come back to power to correct all the mistakes of this NDC ‘sie me preko’ administration”, he concluded.
On Nigeria Police and other security agencies By Samuel Noah Oluwafemi Thursday, January 26, 2012
Late Ojukwu
There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.- Albert Einstein. Albert Einstein; an all-time inscrutable scholar, in the context of my thought summarized this article in the fore-going witty axiom. Nigeria, like so many other countries within the Africa region seems to be fulfilling a part of this truism while other rational countries are on the other divide.
In advanced climes where everything works without agitation or demand from the populace, citizens have been relieved of the burden of having to call on God to solve all their problems including those He has already delegated. For example, citizens do not have to trust God for basic amenities that should define the existence of humans in the first place.
The opposite, however, holds true for Nigeria. We have to pray and ask God just about anything ranging from putting roof over our heads, to putting food on our tables, and providing clothes for us to put on. We also trust Him to be our security personnel – I only wonder how much we will be willing to pay Him for all these services at the end of the month, if He were to charge us or remove subsidy from them. Amusingly, we now even pray for him to turn water into petrol after he has given us the resource in large quantity!
While the developed climes have used their ingenuity to better the living condition of the larger percentage of the populace, ours have been the opposite. While citizens in economies that have applied the principles of love, integrity and trust are enjoying the eventual benefits, Nigerians often will have to seek God’s face for miracles in order to ave such benefits. Therefore, as the great scientist puts it, there are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle – just in the case of access to basic amenities by most people in developed world. The other is as though everything is a miracle – obviously this resonates with our condition in Nigeria.
One of such conditions we obviously live in today is in the area of safety. Safety in this context is not restricted to the recent threat from Boko Haram but most importantly, this has to do with those who are paid to defend and ensure we are secured. An average Nigerian now trusts a vigilante over men of the Nigerian Police Force. The reason, however, is not far-fetched as police and some other security agencies have proven anti-people in critical moments when Nigerians are in dire need of their services.
Each time I read in the dailies of how Nigerians are killed over discomfited arguments with our national security operatives, I get disturbed. Within October 2011 to January 2012 alone, over five Nigerians have been buried from the killings of trigger-happy Nigerian policemen. On Sunday 16th October 2011 for example, Victor Emmanuel, 20years, was guned down while coming from Church on the account of challenging a police request of some sort in Bayelsa State. Most gruesome of the story is the killing of this 20-year-old right before Mrs. Victor Grace, the mother; a woman who has for 20 good years nurtured the young man.
As it is our culture to respond to issues while the memory is still fresh, House of Representative adopting a motion sponsored by Honorable Warman Ogoriba (PDP, Bayelsa), mandated its committees on Police, Human Rights and Justice to investigate the matter and report back in two weeks. That was in October 2011. We hope a report has been submitted and not just submitted, but the appropriate action taken against the culprit. I am sure most Nigerians will want to know what the current development about the case is.
Between that incident in October last year and January 2012, many other inhumane acts have been committed by the men of the Nigeria Police. Report has it that from January 1 to January 14 alone, not less than 4 people have been confirmed dead through the bullets of our supposed security custodians. Ademola Aderinto, 25, on the 9th of January 2012, though not part of the protest for the fuel subsidy removal, but playing football with friends in the Agege area of Lagos, was reported to have been shot and consequently died in his own pool of blood!
What is the worth of a Nigerian life to a Nigerian police? It was confirmed that another of those shot at the same venue as Ademola later died in the hospital that same day and others sustained several degrees of injuries. The police officials at the nearest station which happens to be the division in which the concerned culprit is attached even refused giving out a police report in order for hospital to treat the others who were also wounded until a reporter intervened.
While we wait on the House of Reps on their enquiry into the killing of Victor Emmanuel, we also hope Lagos State commissioner of Police will ensure that justice is done to the killer of Ademola and others who have been fell by the bullets of our security personnel. Above all, we hope the Inspector General of Police and other security chiefs will find lasting solution to this. I sincerely hope that one day; Nigerians will not need a miracle in order to enjoy the benefits of the Nigeria police and other security agencies.
Adaptations…a mirror on Nigeria By THERESA ONWUGHALU Thursday, January 26, 2012
With his eyes set on nation building, John Oyewole Adenle who teaches art at the Federal College of Education, Osiele Abeokuta, recently showcased 35 plastic sculptural pieces tagged Adaptations. Though his first solo exhibition, Adenle has participated in several group exhibitions over the years. He is currently a doctoral student for his PhD. in Art Therapy at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He explained how he was inspired by Igbaro and Raqib Basorun’s works.
Expectedly, the exhibition held at Yusuf Grillo Art Gallery, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Yaba, Lagos, attracted other notable artists and art lovers. Some of the works include Ori-yeye-ni-mogun, Unequally-yoked, Kokoro to n jefo, Hydra-headed and Reverse. Ori-yeye-ni-mogun, which is made of plastics and fibre glass, is the first work carried out by Adenle in the progression of his experimentation with plastics. It depicts the plight of the downtrodden in society. The work literarily shows how hundreds of innocent masses suffer for offences not committed by them.
The mixed media work, National Cake, is symbolic of the reckless way the revenue of the country is being shared at the centre especially by the National Assembly. Apart from legislating outrageous increases of their salaries and wages, they share and eat allocations meant for their constituencies without giving back to the electorates. They have not only caused political decadency but have also made democracy to be expensive at the expense of economic development.
The artwork reveals the scrambling at the centre for national cake and the hunger and starvation represented by the dry bones at the four corners of the work. The thirty-six assembled bottles symbolize the lawmakers from the thirty-six states of the federation and they are united in their unwholesome politics of eating the nation to the bone marrow.
The piece, Unequally-yoked, is a fabricated plastics which depicts how Nigeria exists only as a geographical entity. It is now clear that Nigeria, a nation so complex in nature and culture ought not to have been amalgamated together as one. This fact has also led to civil war and in recently, led to fight for resource control, sectional militancy and tribalism. The plastic arrangement of the artwork outlines the map of Nigeria showing jumbled components that are forcefully joined in a marriage of inconvenience. The colours of the component plastics are in sharp contrast against one another. The black background also signified uncertainty that has already enveloped the nation and how it challenges national unity. The spotted red plastic at the Delta area of the country may as well translate to the fact that our oil may be our time bomb if no discussion is facilitated at a national conference table.
Kokoro to n jefo is made of both wood and plastics. It is a prefix of a Yoruba proverb that translates as: ‘The insect that infests a vegetable resides in its stems’. The insects or cankerworms that milk the national resources are not ghosts, they reside among the people. The work shows a design replicating the effects of ants’ infestation on wood. These people are the politicians and leaders who are merely interested in what they can benefit from. One may also be surprised that the corruption at the surface may be a child’s play compared to the internal invasion already caused by the ‘pests’. This work warns of the imminent explosion if the system is not fumigated with truth, probity and uprightness.
Hydra-headed is a plastic work that depicts the nature of Nigeria’s multiple problems. Each national problem is hydra-headed as the works reveals. This means each big problem has smaller ones. The work is a monster-like figure with multiple heads. Each head can be interpreted as representing each problem including insecurity, power failure, corruption, religious conflict, tribal war and sectional militancy among others. Reverse, another plastic work, explains the paradox of our growth and development, which is a mirage says the artist “We think we are moving forward yet in the reverse. We move one step forward and two steps backwards.” As much as the artist wishes to see Nigeria moving forward, he keeps seeing an inverted image that is bemused by roughness, coarseness and stone-heartedness.
Adeola M. Balogun, curator of the exhibition said the exploration of plastics both in two and three dimensional formats reveal a passionate experimentalist and environmentali0st in Adenle, while Dr. Kunle Filani, the Provost, Federal College of Education, Abeokuta, , described Adenle as creatively curious, versatile and experimentally restless. Also Odubiyi James Abiodun, Head, Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Federal College of Education, Osiele Abeokuta, said “Form this collection, we are brought into the world of Adenle as a passionate sculpture who expresses his talent through works of art. Apart from his duty as an academic, he has established himself as a frontline artist whose works and wealth of experience would inspire younger artists.”
Mr. Kehinde Adepegba, Art and Industrial Design Department, Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, noted that Adenle is one of those artists who are deeply touched by the new spectacle of socio-political debacle in Nigeria after 51 years of independence. “Through Adaptations, Adenle has expressed his innermost contemplation about the socio-political state of the nation. He does not only projects the problems for all to see but also offers solution in works titled: Angelic Visit and Voyage,” Adepegba said. Meanwhile, Kenny Badary, Chairman, Society of Nigerian Artists, (SOVA) Ogun State Chapter said the initiative by John Oyewole Adenle is highly commendable as has reduced disposable needs and costs.
Group applauds installation of Uwazuruike as Igbo leader By PHILIP NWOSU Thursday, January 26, 2012
The National Union of True Igbo Movement (NUTIM) has called for support for the leader of Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, following his installation as the new Igbo leader. National President of NUTIM, Dr. Samfo Nwankwo said Uwazuruike deserve the honour as “he has consistently fought for Ndigbo in the same manner our late leader, Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu did.”
Nwankwo, who spoke to newsmen in Owerri criticized Ohanaeze Ndigbo for dissociating itself from the title bestowed on Uwazuruike and described the action as the product of envy.“Leadership is earned. To our objective assessment, Uwazuruike has earned his leadership of Ndigbo just as our late father, Dim Ojukwu did,” the NUTIM boss submitted.
He said unlike the current leadership of Ohanaeze, Uwazuruike had laid down his life severally for the survival of Ndigbo in Nigeria. According to him, “there is no prison in Nigeria Uwazuruike has not been a guest. Was it because he stole? No! He has been suffering deprivations because of Ndigbo. Those who criticize him are known to be carrying their CVs from office to office groveling before men of power for their selfish aggrandizement.” He noted that those opposing Uwazuruike also opposed Ojukwu for the reason that while the two leaders stood for the masses, the others ‘stood for their pockets’.
Nwankwo described Ohanaeze as a group that had lost relevance and should be disbanded, saying that the executive was no longer connected to the people.“Without equivocation, it was only during the tenure of Justice Ozo Ozubu that Ohanaeze represented the interest of Ndigbo. After that golden era, what we have are people chasing appointments and contracts,” he lamented. He said it was unfortunate that while Arewa and Afenifere were defending the rights of Hausa and Yoruba people, Ohanaeze was acting like a servant to any government in power.
He was happy that with the assumption of office of Uwazuruike as the new Igbo leader, no government and ethnic group would take Igbos for granted again. “After the burial of our great leader no other person or group would speak on behalf of Ndigbo except Chief Uwazuruike,” he said. He said NUTIM members across Igboland would soon pay a solidarity visit to Uwazuruike to urge him to continue to make sacrifices for the wellbeing of Ndigbo.
According to him, “after the burial of Dim Ojukwu, we shall mobilize to formally pledge our loyalty and cooperation with Chief Uwazuruike so that together, we shall protect Ndigbo.”
NAF/Barakallahu land dispute: Military clears air From ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE, Kaduna Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has expressed dismay over allegation by the host community, Barakallahu, of forced eviction and demolition of the community’s houses and destruction of farmlands around the Base in Kaduna.
This is coming on the heels of Monday morning’s demonstration by hundreds of women who took over the major Kaduna-Zaria Expressway protesting against their forced eviction by the NAF from their ancestral home at a village behind Barakallahu, near Rigachikun, a satellite town in Kaduna. The women were challenging NAF authority who had already mobilised workers to the site to build perimeter fence around the occupied community’s residences, farmlands and graveyards.
Meanwhile, in an interactive forum with newsmen at the Air Force Base in Kaduna yesterday, the Commander of 335 Base Service Group, Air Commodore Musbau Soladoye said NAF was not a tyrant organisation and had no intention to destroy anybody’s structure. He wondered why the complaint by the community, which, according to him, had enjoyed cordial relationship with NAF for decades, even after earlier extensive discussions with leadership of the host community over the issue.
“We rely on those people for the maintenance of security and they have been our neighbours with many of their children who grew up with us. I want to believe that people are inciting the residents against the Air Force because those people thrive on making trouble and causing public unrest,” Soladoye opined.
He, however, lamented that the community had continued to encroach on the NAF territory, saying “that is why the government and the traditional institutions in the state, in their continued resolve towards finding a lasting solution to the problem, convened a meeting with representatives of government, representatives of the Emir of Zazzau, Dr. Shehu Idris and the three leaders of Barakallahu, including the disputed leader of Ungwan Waziri, Samaila Waziri, in my office on Monday where an agreement was reached.”
According to the commander, “it was agreed that the demarcation exercise should continue and to stop demarcation up to places we do not have residential buildings. The meeting also resolved that the leadership of Barakallahu would be held responsible for any security breach in the area because they have been adequately consulted and what the NAF is doing is in line with what the government has put in place. The fourth agreement is that we are doing the demarcation in line with 2008 government agreement.”
Boko Haram: FEC seeks divine intervention From JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, Abuja Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) opened yesterday with prayers for divine intervention in the activities of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram. The council specifically prayed God not only to expose and disgrace the perpetrators of the dastardly act but to grant the nation peace and President Goodluck Jonathan the wisdom to govern at this time.
At the end of its meeting the FEC approved the procurement of two 45 seater fast-moving Passenger Ferries (Catamaran) by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to improve water transportation in the country. The procurement, awarded in favour of Messrs Karflex Fisheries Limited, will cost the government N168.45 million, inclusive of taxes with a delivery period of six months.
Addressing State House correspondents, the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, alongside his colleagues in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Sen. Bala Mohammed, Science and Technology, Professor Ita Ewa, Transport, Umar Idris and Interior Abba Morro, said “the provision of the ferries will promote waterways transportation, boost economic activities and reduce pressure on other modes such as road transportation.
“The project will directly create 23 job opportunities for professionals and non-professionals during the operation of the ferries while many job opportunities will be created indirectly when the ferries are fully operational”. “Council took a major step to make operational the lower River Niger which dredging has been completed. As you all known since the 1960s, every administration in Nigeria had planned to dredge the lower Niger to faciltate the movement of goods and persons through the lower Niger up to the north of the country. But this plans had remained in the pipeline until the advent of the Yar’Adua/Goodluck Administration.
The contract for the dredging of the Niger was awarded under the Yar’Aduna administration. In the last two years, the dredging of the Niger has been completed. What is going on right now is the maintenance dredging. Also the inner waterway ports have been virtually completed, some are set for commissioning.
“So in order not to allow the Niger to remain fallow after dredging, Council approved the purchase of two fast moving ferries to ply the Niger right from Ontisha-Warri-Lokoja, carrying passengers. These farries would be jointly managed by government and the private sector and part of government efforts to bring down the cost of transportation in the country. Only two weeks ago, the President launched a mass transist project involves the supply of long buses at free interest rate. He had also hinted the utilization of the use of waterways to bring down the closet of transportation.
“The capacity of the ferries is 45 seater the cost of N168.4 million.
Make 2nd Niger Bridge our first palliative, JDPC tells Jonathan From ALOYSIUS ATTAH, Onitsha Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Onitsha Catholic Archdiocese, has appealed to the Federal Government to muster courage and construct the Second Niger Bridge from the proceeds of the oil subsidy removal.
Making the call in Onitsha, the Archdiocesan JDPC Coordinator, Rev. Martin Onukuba, said the reactions of angry Nigerians on the subsidy removal policy of the government was as a result of the betrayal of trust by successive governments in Nigeria in the provision of basic infrastructure and making life meaningful for the citizens He also regretted that the construction of the Second Nigeria Bridge had been a campaign gimmick by political office holders in the past while the present Niger Bridge had been over burdened. He therefore called on Mr. President to build and consolidate trust among Nigerians by taking firm decisions and matching words with action.
“The much talked about Second Nigeria Bridge has been a recurring issue for so many years and we don’t know whom to trust again. The most scandalous in the whole thing was the revelation that the contract was never signed in the first place even when a former president once came to flag off the project. This has been a promise and since we’ve heard it over and over again, we urge the government to now actualize the project. Let this be our first benefit from the Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment Programme. “While we appreciate government’s plan to bring back railways, we also should think about this bridge first because if this is done, the people of South-east and Nigerians will give more support to government programmes.”
Also reflecting on the lessons learnt from the protest over subsidy removal, the cleric said it had shown that Nigerians were now more conscious of their rights and the power of their voices in a democracy. He, therefore, advised political office holders to perform because their mandate renewal during elections henceforth would be determined by their output while in office.
Tribute to Ojukwu By Felix Elemchukwu Onuoha Thursday, January 26, 2012
Late Ojukwu
Historically, the world, at one time or the other, receives from God, as gifts, talented great men and women destined to render critical services to man. The births and lives of these men and women are severally shrouded by mysteries and their bodies spiritually fortified to carry out difficult divine tasks. Their coming into the world usually provokes both Satan and man to challenge their mission.
They come in different forms with different messages; suffer great oppositions, rejections and confrontations. They preach and do not less of their vocations, and in turn are hated. Although many of them died half their journeys, their missions had never been uncompleted. Many are of lowly birth while few are of noble birth, but both show resemblance of greatness in contrast.
Like dispersal seeds, they are scatted across the world to places of their divine mandates as liberators, reformists, redeemers, leaders, scientists etc according to God’s divine will for man. It was for this same reason that General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was sent to the Igbos in Nigeria to defend and liberate them from extinction. Born on the 4th November, 1933, into the family of Sir Philip Odumegwu Ojukwu, the first Nigerian millionaire, from Nnewi in Anambra State of Nigeria, he had his early education in Nigeria, Britain and after graduation, joined the Nigeria army against his wealthy father’s will.
When he joined the army, no one knew why and what God wanted to do with him for his great race, until 1966. A nobleman of great affluence, but yet humbler than most men. To me, he was one of the amazing men ever lived. A man who laid his life and wealth to save his entire race from programmed decimation.
He was a genius in many areas than most men, and was also an astonishing soldier and leader. His prognostications were thirty years ahead of their time. His speeches were awe-inspiring and his remarkable ideas depicted great mind at work. His talent was amazing such as his drive was phenomenal. A man so fashioned by God and lavishly supplied with such influence and grace, charisma and ability that wherever he went or turned, each of his actions was so divine that he left behind all other men and clearly made himself known as a genius endowed by God to achieve a divine mandate for his race.
The Igbos saw great passion in Gen. Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who demonstrated great practical love for them which has never been sufficiently noticed and praised. And I hope that this would be done at his burial and thereafter. A man endowed with inestimable grace and infinite wisdom in every action and capacity so fit and so vast that wherever his mind turned to difficult tasks, he resolved them completely with ease. His nobility and affluence joined with proficiency, and sincere spirit and bravery were steadily stately and liberal.
His fame and name spread so widely that the least of his race holds him in a high esteem even onto his death and thereafter. To the Igbos, he seemed indispensable. To others that are not Igbos, his death has brought an end to his uncompleted divine mandate. But like Moses, the God that anointed him will choose his own Aaron to complete his mission.
This great man, a sage and warrior, is dead at a time we need him most. His death is painfully obvious and lamentable. Yet, he has done his best. As a soldier, he rose above others. As a leader of Biafra, he was a hero. And if he had been a businessman, he would have been a guru. If he had been an engineer, optician, an architect, a manufacturer or studied science, he would have been a master. If he had studied mathematics, he would have been greater than the great Prof. Chike Obi. As a historian, he was admired by his peers and protégés and all professionals that have deliberated on his life.
A Renaissance and Universal man; the Ikemba Nnewi, Eze di Ora mma of Igboland and Eze Igbo gburugburu (The grand commander of Igbo race). Ikemba, who will speak for us again? Or whose face would be as beard or as fierce as yours in tackling Igbo matters again? If you have not died, your words and warnings would have jittered the spineless boko haramists and their sponsors to a stop. If you were alive, the Igbos killed in Madalla, Niger State, and other parts of Northern Nigerian by Boko Haram would have received much government attention and caused more street protests than the fuel subsidy withdraw.
From the foregoing, it is not mistaken if the Igbos and the world revere and idolize him. As we mourn him, we should reflect on the man ‘Emeka Ojukwu’, what he represented, stood for, his believes and what he preached. We should also reflect on his life, ideas and exploits. It is hoped that in doing so, his death and burial would unravel the untold truth about this great son of Ndigbo and offer other Nigerians a new vista to see and say the truth no matter which section of Nigeria a person comes from. What Ojukwu felt, what he taught and what he did were all the same. His silence worried his foes and portends difficult riddles. Before now, you, Ojukwu, were like an iceberg that there is much more to you than meet the eye. Except for the Igbos, only about 15 percent of you were noticeable. Your real Emeka Ojukwu and your character was below, shrouded. That was why many Nigerians knew you not and misunderstood you.
Ikemba, your vociferous stance on Igbo issues, fierce eyes and formidable face combine with compelling and flawless pronouncements on Igbo positions in Nigeria and beyond would certainly be missed. On the other hand, the Igbos should not only give him the best state burial, but immortalize him much that generations yet unborn would see and say, ‘a shepherd and warrior has once been born unto the Igbos. They should also make the 26th of November of every year, a public holiday to commemorate his death.
A documentary on him (both in print (books) and electronic (video) should be made for our children to read and emulate his sterling quality and selfless life. His dream(s) should be kept alive. The Igbos, wherever they may be, should close their businesses and offices and accord this great son of ours the last respect come March 4,2012, he would be buried. For to whom more is given, much is expected. Ikemba, we love you, but God loves you most. Adieu, our beloved brother and leader!.
Jonathan fires IGP, Abubakar steps in On January 26, 2012 ·
By Clifford Ndujihe, Kingsley Omonobi & Daniel Idonor LAGOS — EMBATTLED Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr. Hafiz Ringim has been fired by President Goodluck Jonathan.
The former police boss, who is due for retirement in March is to proceed on terminal leave with effect from yesterday, January 25, 2012, according to a statement by President Jonathan’s Media Spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati.
In his stead, the President approved the appointment of Mr. Mohammed Dikko. Abubakar as Acting Inspector General of Police “as a first step towards the comprehensive reorganization and repositioning of the Nigeria Police Force.”
Before his elevation as IGP, Abubakar was Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 12 Headquarters in Bauchi. Born on May 5, 1958, Mr. Abubakar enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force on July 30, 1979.
RINGIM: Fired and ABUBAKAR: Ready to serve
To pave the way for Abubakar, six Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIG) were retired with immediate effect. The retired DIGs are Mrs. Ivy Uche Okoronkwo, DIG POL 2i/c Force Headquarters, Abuja; Mr. Azubuko J. Udah, DIG Administration (“A” Dept); Mr. Sardauna Abubukar, DIG Training (“E” Dept.); Mr. Audu Abubakar, DIG Operations (“B” Dept); Mr. Saleh Abubakar, DIG Works (“C” Dept.) and Mr. Mohammed A. Yesufu, DIG Planning and Info-Tech (“F” Dept.).
The President also established a Special Committee headed by the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Mr. Parry Osayande to oversee the urgent reorganization of the Nigeria Police Force.
President sets up panel
Other members of the nine-man panel are: Mr. Casimir T. Akagbosu, AIG (rtd.); Mr. Bashir A. Albasu, AIG (rtd.); Major Gen. S.N. Chikwe ( rtd), Prof. S.D. Mukoro, Dr. Fabian Ajogwu (SAN), Aisha Larai Tukur, Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, SSO, Office of the SGF, who will serve as the secretary to the committee.
Specifically, the panel was charged to:
*To identify the challenges and factors militating against effective performance in the Nigeria Police Force and make recommendations for addressing the challenges.
*To examine the scope and standard of training and other personnel development activities in the Police to determine their adequacy or otherwise.
*To determine the general and specific causes of the collapse of public confidence in the police and recommend ways of restoring public trust in the institution.
*To examine records of performance of Officers and Men of the Nigeria Police Force with a view to identifying those that can no longer fit into the system due to declining productivity, age, indiscipline, corruption and/or disloyalty;
*To make any other recommendations for the improvement of the Nigeria Police Force.
The committee’s recommendations shall be implemented along with those by previous committees set up by Government on the reform of the Nigeria Police Force.
Ringim’s rigorous tenure
Since his appointment as the 15th IGP on September 8, 2010, Ringim faced stiff challenges, with little or no success. His biggest problem was the dreaded Boko haram Islamic Sect, whose murderous activities have claimed over 1000 persons since 2009. Ceaselessly, Boko Haram attacked police stations including Police Headquarters, Abuja, Army barracks, churches and markets, etc at will even after giving notices.
Ringim’s lacklustre tenure in tackling Boko Haram’s terrorist activities was worsened by the escape of Boko Haram kingpin, Alhaji Kabiru Umar, alias Sokoto, from Police custody last week. President Jonathan had handed him a 24-hour ultimatum to produce Umar or be sacked. He could not produce the escapee.
And matters were worsened with the series of bomb blasts and gun duel in Kano since last Friday, which has claimed over 211 persons including security agents.
President Jonathan who was billed to attend a World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday had to cancel the trip at the last minute to conclude serial security briefings to allegedly shop for Ringim’s successor.
Some Boko Haram attacks and mayhem under Ringim
Some of the prominent icidences of attack under the tenure of former IG, Hafiz Ringim included:
* December 2010: At least 80 people were killed in the Dec. 24, 2010 bombings as well as in clashes two days later between Muslim and Christian youths in Jos.
* January 2011: Human Rights Watch said more than 200 people were killed in violence over preceding month, with many hacked to death or burnt alive in attacks on villages, and reprisal killings in Plateau State.
* August -September 2011: At least 70 people were killed in clashes in central Plateau State since beginning of August. Cycle of violence started when Christian youths attacked Muslims as they gathered to celebrate end of Ramadan in Jos.
* Nov. 2011: At least 90 people killed in Northeast city of Damaturu when Boko Haram bombed churches, mosques and police stations.
* December 2011: 44 persons were killed on Christmas day in Madalla when Boko Haram bombed a Catholic church.
* January 5, 2012: Sect killed 8 at Deeper Life Church, Gombe:
January 5 and 6 2012: Boko Haram unleashed a wave of bloody attacks killing 28 people and wounding many others in Gombe and Mubi, Adamawa State.
* January 20: Bomb attacks and gun battles in, Kano, killed 186 people.
Freidrich Nietzsche wrote: ‘What really raises one’s indignation against suffering is not suffering intrinsically, but the senselessness of suffering’ Sadly, this is the reality of many Africans. The continent is strangulated not only by the reality of her present circumstances but by the absence of role models and good leadership. The need to correct this inadequacy is the purpose of The Foundation for African Leadership in Business (ALB).
The Foundation for African Leadership in Business (ALB) creates business leaders by ensuring that the need of promising students to fund their management education is met. The Foundation also uses business as a platform to raise leaders committed to the more important project of building up Africa and Africans.
Why Africa? Despite being credited as the cradle of civilization, and also being the 2nd most populated and the most natural resource-rich continent on the planet, Africa’s claim of the world’s wealth in terms of GDP is a paltry 2%. This is clearly reflected in the number of African students that pursue advanced courses in management in comparison to students from other continents. The founding members of the foundation, who are four MBA graduates from three continents, chose to focus on Africa because “Africa needs it more”.
Only with the active participation of Africans can Africa be developed in a consistent and sustainable way. This is why the core of the ALB Foundation is to push to the forefront not only Africans who show the requisite acumen for business management, but those who have a commitment to return to Africa with their newly acquired perspectives. Congratulations to the lucky recipients of the 2011 ALB scholarship, Andrew Tarawali from Sierra Leone and Funmilayo Odushola from Nigeria.
Peace process, protection focus of JSR Gambari’s visit to Darfur’s regions
EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, January 26, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Listening to the concerns of local stakeholders across Darfur and engaging them in the peace process was the focus of African Union – United Nations Joint Special Representative (JSR) Ibrahim Gambari over the past week.
The JSR, who travelled to localities in North, Central and South Darfur, from 19 to 23 January 2012, met with traditional leaders, representatives of internally displaced persons (IDPs), and local authorities.
The aim of the visits was to reaffirm UNAMID’s continued commitment to implement its core mandate and support for the peace process. The JSR received comments from the local population about their priorities, especially in the areas of security; provision of health and education facilities; means of livelihood; and, recovery and development.
On the first of his visits, JSR Gambari met with the leadership of the Kassab and Fataborno IDP camps in Kutum, North Darfur. Notable among the primary concerns of the residents were the cases of rape in and around the camp. In addressing the issue, the JSR vowed that he would raise the matter with the local authorities and that troops would be instructed to increase the number of night patrols.
In the new state of Central Darfur, the UNAMID chief interacted with IDP leaders along the Zalingei corridor. He held discussions with the combined representatives of Hassa Hissa and Hamediya camps. Most notably the youths, focussed largely on the need to bring the non-signatories on-board to join the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) and the need to address their specific concerns.
Finally in Greida, the JSR interacted with the residents of Donki Abyei camp, where he stressed that security would remain UNAMID’s highest priority, noting that the Mission would continue to maintain a robust posture in protecting civilians. He emphasized that the DDPD would be a step in the right direction and that he would use his position as acting Joint Chief Mediator to encourage others to join in the move for peace.
In addition to meeting with IDPs, the JSR made use of his visits by holding constructive meetings with local authorities and civil society representatives. Several commissioners expressed appreciation to UNAMID and noted the need to implement more developmental projects in the area.
The overriding theme for the JSR’s visits was to convey the need for peace in Darfur. “This is a cooperative effort. It’s about making peace for the good of all. This is the only way forward,” Mr. Gambari said in summing up the visits.
SOURCE
United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
BISSAU, Guinea Bissau, January 26, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ — An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Mr. Paulo Drummond visited Guinea-Bissau during January 18-24, 2012. The mission met with Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior, Minister of Finance José Mario Vaz, Minister of Economy Helena Embaló, as well as development partners. At the conclusion of the visit, the mission issued the following statement.
“The mission welcomes the authorities’ renewed commitment to the economic program supported by the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement. The mission is also encouraged by the prospects of r support to the government by the international community. The country is now preparing for presidential and legislative elections this year. Economic stability and development will hinge on a peaceful transition in the period ahead.
“Economic performance has been satisfactory. Preliminary data through December 2011 suggests the government’s economic program is on track. Economic reforms have continued to advance in the areas of public financial management, tax administration, and debt management. The full unification of the government payroll system is now expected to be completed in the coming months, rounding up a long process of reform that should serve the country well.
“The IMF will continue to play its role as a partner of Guinea-Bissau. Decisive implementation of the ECF-supported program will put public finances on a stronger footing, can help catalyze much-needed budget support, and should pave the way for sustainable growth. A mission will return to Bissau in the Spring to assess the economic situation and conduct the fourth review under the ECF.”
Leaders: Some don’t have ‘em By Uche Atuma Thursday, January 26, 2012
It is a well-known fact that government, and indeed governance exists to serve the general mass of those associated under it – at least that is the picture in most sane societies. Little wonder why Thomas Jefferson asserted that “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Succint, but quite instructive. Government come in different forms.
But, it has been proven the world over that the best means of governing a people is by creating a pedestal which anchors the institution and tenets of governance on the sacrosanctity of the will of the governed. This is democracy! And it is the practice in most civilised nations. Fortunately for us as a people, this is what we have also elected to adopt as a style of governance.
Albeit, ours has been anything but rosy. And we have been sailing in this rickety ship in our turbulent waters – somewhat – since our democratic adventure commenced some twelve years ago. Unfortunately, however, what we have here, willy-nilly – with the benefit hindsight – has fallen short of what obtains in organised societies. Peradventure, ours is far from ‘participatory democracy’ The tenets of participatory democracy presupposes that governance is balanced on a scale of leadership and, by implication, followership.
Even a cursory analysis of the term leadership purveys an apparently resplendent revelation of the fact that it is neither dictatorial nor hegemonic. Infact, its outpouring should elicit humility, with an appreciable measure of docility to its followership. With every sense of responsibility, it is pertinent to postulate that this has been alien to us here. Prior to this time – the last couple of days that is – the country had been grappling with myriads of socio-economic, nay political maladies, chief of which has been the security threats posed by a diminutive group of ‘faceless’ religious sect – Boko Haram.
Alas! Then came the ‘killer-punch’ to send an already staggering populace to the canvas; the subsidy on premium motor spirit (pms) or fuel was removed on the first day of the new year. With the announcement and immediate implementation of this quasi insidious policy came its attendant outcry, which, consequently heralded all manner of debates, postulations, calculations and what have you. The resultant upheavals and protests were somewhat tumultuous, thus over-heating an already tensed polity.
Expectedly, quite a handful of government officials came out strongly in defence of this policy and to advocate its perceived merits and advantages. All sorts of figures and statistics were bandied around by these exponents to wheedle and whip Nigerians into line. Now, having listened and digested most of the debates and sweet speeches for and against the removal of the subsidy on fuel, some deductions easily spring up, chief of which is that a large percentage of Nigerians are not really aversed to the new policy. However, the crux of the matter was the seemingly insensitivity of their ‘leaders’ to their pains hitherto the new arrangement; and government’s inability to carry them along. Rightly so!
The events of the last few days should act as a pointer to those in various positions of authority that Nigerians have woken up to their responsibilities. They no longer wish to be mere docile followers. They now realise that they are stakeholders in this project called Nigeria. They have chosen to be on the qui vive!
OTTAWA, Canada, January 26, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement on recent developments in Egypt:
“Canada welcomes the long-awaited announcement of the release of Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil.
“Statements such as the ones he posted online last year are part of everyday discourse in functioning democracies.
“Social media users like Mr. Nabil played an important role—at great personal risk—in Egypt’s revolution of last year. His release is an encouraging sign as Egypt continues on its path toward democracy.
“Canada continues to support the ongoing democratic transition in Egypt, and urges those writing the country’s new constitution to safeguard the principles of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law for all Egyptians.”
Widow bemoans husband’s gruesome murder by land speculators …A day after son dreamt about his death By CHIOMA IGBOKWE Thursday, January 26, 2012
The year, 2011, meant different things to different people and families. For Mrs. Martins, it was a year she would not forget in a hurry. It marked the beginning of psychological torture, arising from the gruesome murder of her husband. The mother of six had bidden her husband, Dele Martins, goodbye on June 14, 2011, as he left for the site in Ogijo, Ogun State, where he worked as a bricklayer, unknown to her that she was bidding him a final farewell.
Immediately after Dele and his colleagues started work, some hoodlums invaded the area, wielding dangerous weapons such as cutlasses, broken bottles and guns, shooting sporadically as they ordered all the workers to lie faced down. Not done with the harassment, it was gathered that the hoodlums shot some of the workers at close range. Unfortunately, Dele was one of them. He was shot in the chest. The victim could not make it, as he died before reaching the hospital. Another colleague of his, Oluwa Abbey, who was also shot in the chest, died later.
Meanwhile, back home, Mrs. Martins had prepared meal for her husband, awaiting his arrival only to be informed of his tragic death. The widow, who spoke to Crimewatch lamented: “His death has left me shattered. I have been battling with how to cope with raising our six children alone. Though we were not rich, at least, he was able to put food on our table and paid the children’s school fees. He was a faithful husband and loving father.” “If I had listened to one of our children, perhaps, this would not have befallen us. Our son told me he had a dream, a day before the incident, where some people invaded the site where his father was working. I just prayed, believing it would not happen.”
Cuddling her one-year old son, who was just three months when his father died, the woman moaned: “At least, I would have persuaded him to stay at home that day. Rather, what I got later was the news of his death. But for the assistance from the owner of the site, my children would have died of hunger. My last child was barely three months old when the incident happened. The most annoying part of it is the failure of the authorities concerned to bring my husband’s killers to book. His assailants are walking freely. I am, therefore, calling on the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, to use his good offices to bring the killers to book, even though it would not bring back the dead.”
Mrs. Martins is not alone in her grief. At least, the aged mother of the second victim, Abbey, a security man attached to the site, has also cried her heart out, demanding that justice be done. The woman wondered why none of the suspects had been arrested and brought to justice six months after the dastardly act. Crimewatch gathered that the former Ogun State Police Commissioner, Mr. Musa Daura, was petitioned by the Kew Metal Works, which hired the services of the deceased, mentioning some names as alleged perpetrators of the dastardly act. Not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation, the company again petitioned the Inspector General of Police, and alleged that there were attempts by policemen from Zone-2 to compromise the investigation.
Narrating the root cause of what led to the death of the men, the Managing Director of Kew Metal Works, Mr. Gbenga Erogbogbo, recalled how his father bought over one hundred acres of land, part of which was used to site his factory. He disclosed that in 2004, some people started encroaching on the land, as the factory was temporarily closed down. “My father approached the elders, who are referred to as Omonile to stop the encroachment. There was no move to stop the encroachment and we headed for the court, where we got an injunction, restraining anybody from working or building on the land. Unfortunately, in 2008, my father died and the encroachment resumed, with the hope that there was no one to continue the fight.
After our father’s death, the family decided to fence the land but there was resistance, as trespassers and the Omonile came to stop us from carrying on with the fencing,” he disclosed. Not wanting to take laws into his hands, Gbenga said he reported the matter at the Ogun State Criminal Investigation Department, Elewe Eran. It was the Command that advised them to take the matter to court. The court, he further stated, gave them a go-ahead to fence the land, pending when they would be ready to start building on it. However, the matter turned bloody when on June 14, 2011, some hoodlums on motorcycles stormed the site while workers were still reporting for duty.
They forced them to lie down and shot them on the chest at close range. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) personally rushed the injured persons to the hospital. “One of them (Dele Martins) died before reaching the hospital while the second one, Oluwa Shina Abbey, died minutes after reaching Real Hope Hospital, Ita-oluwo. We identified the principal suspects and the police refused to arrest them. Instead, they have been using policemen from Zone-2 to harass us. One of them even boasted that he had IGP’s support since they were friends.”
When it looked like the IGP’s office was the last resort, Gbenga said they took the matter to Force Headquarters, Abuja, where the IGP’s monitoring unit, investigated and found out that murder was actually committed. It was also discovered that there were plots to cover up the crime.
Arrests were made and the suspects detained till December 22, 2011, when an order came that they be released. This confirmed their initial boast that they can easily have their way. To further confirm our suspicion, one of the suspects called on phone, threatening to deal with us. We do not want the murder to be swept under the carpet or for them to come and continue to intimidate us,” Gbenga said.
Many analysts and critiques in Ghana have questioned the possible criteria and standard used by His Excellency the President of Ghana, John Evans Atta Mills in choosing his gov’t ministers, DCEs and board of directors, resulting to this embarrassing gov’t performance and high turnover of gov’t appointees.
So far, as it can be recalled, 19 Ministers of state including their deputies have been dismissed, and more than 35 High Ranking Appointees including DCEs, MCEs and Directors have also been sacked, with many of them accused of corruption and other serious crimes committed against the people of Ghana which are incompatible with acceptable standards expected of Ministers of state and Gov’t Appointees, but none of these officials has been apprehended, prosecuted or asked to face the law.
Some Senior Analysts have said “It is not enough for the President to only relieve people from their post, especially when they’re fired because of fraudulent acts, corruption allegations or causing a willful lost to the nation”. Others have also questioned the competency and proficiency of the President who made the selections for all these people listed below, just for them to be sacked within this short period (3-yrs). “Have they been fired recklessly or due diligence have been followed, although, the Ghana constitution gives the President ultimate right to hire and fire as he wishes, but at least, common sense should always be the watch word when selecting and firing people.
1. Alhaji Mubarak Muntaka, the Indiscretion Minister for Youth and sport was sacked due to misappropriation of tax payer’s money with his girl friend, chopping chinchinkah and buying Pampas (diapers).
2. Mr. Stephen S. Nanyina, Northern Regional Minister was sack as a result of financial misappropriation.
3. ALBERT ABONGO, Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing was sacked when it was alleged that the 12-member government delegation that signed the STX housing deal on behalf of the country in 2009 were bribed with US$2,600 by the STX Korean company.
4. Dr. George Sipa-Adjah Yankey, Minister of Health was sacked for their alleged involvement in the Mabey and Johnson scandal.
5. Mr. Mahmood Khalid – Upper West Regional Minister was sacked as a result of corruption allegations and some protracted disagreements with the Upper West Regional Executives of the NDC.
6. Mr. Seidu Amadu, Minister of State at the Presidency was sacked for their alleged involvement in the Mabey and Johnson scandal.
7. Mr. Moses Asaga, The Minister-designated for Water Resources, Works and Housing, had his nomination withdrawn even before appearing for vetting following his involvement in the ex-gratia controversy without the consent of the presidency when he was asked to take temporary responsibility of the Ministry of Finance.
8. Kofi Opoku Manu, Ashanti Regional Minister was dismissed as a result of his irresponsible remarks against the NPP, urging the supporters of the ruling party NDC not to hesitate to deliver resounding slaps to their political opponents who taunt them.
9. Cletus Apul Avoka, Minister for Interior and MP for Zebilla was removed after The New Patriotic Party (NPP) called on President J.E.A. Mills to re-assign Mr. Avoka from the Ministry of the Interior and National Security, in the interest of the nation as far Bawku crises was concerned.
10. Abdul Rashid Pelpuo, Minister for Youth and Sports, was unjustifiably fired and was replaced by Akua Sena Dansua.
11. Dr. Kwabena Donkor, former Deputy Energy Minister was sacked due to serious corruption allegation at TOR and the high level incompetency displayed.
12. The Bonking ambassador, Mr. Samuel Kofi Dadey, the Ghana’s Ambassador to Brazil was sacked for bonking his Nigerian secretary, a married woman four-rounds-four-times, according to the lady.
13. Abdul Rashid Pelpuo, former Minister for Youth and Sports, was unjustifiably sacked and replaced by Akua Sena Dansua.
14. Mrs. Zita Okai Quaye – Minister for Information and the Tourism minister was sacked as a result of incompetency, inexperience and chosen to give birth in USA.
15. Mr. Tetteh Enyoh, Minister for Education, was sacked out of incompetency and inability to resolve the strike embarked on by the university lecturers.
16. Gideon Quarcoo, Deputy Minister for Communication, a victim of foot-soldiers’ agitation.
17. Betty Bosomtwe-Sam, Deputy Minister for Western Region, another victim of foot-soldiers’ agitation
18. Mr. Martin Amidu was relieved from his post as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice by Prez JEA Mills due to his behaviour described as incompatible with acceptable standards expected of Ministers and Appointees of President Mills whilst fighting to recover fraudulent money paid to Alfred Agbesi Woyome.
19. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, The former Attorney-General and Minister for Education, sacked from government over her handling of the payment of over GH¢58 million to the businessman and financier of the ruling party, Alfred Woyome, whilst she was the Attorney General.
Other High Ranking Appointees Sacked within three years.
1. The almighty Carl-Wilson, former chairman of the Confiscated Vehicles and Assets Committee (CVAC), was sacked for corruption, impunity and stealing cars at Tema Port / Harbour, cars belonging to innocent Ghanaian.
2. Dr. Ampofo, Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) boss was sacked for incompetency and corruption.
3. In Dec 2011, Anthony Gyampo, Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) fired. Reason unknown till date.
4. Dr sekou Nkrumah – National Youth coordinator was sacked as a result of his level of incompetence and non-performance found to be serious, and moreover, as he was quoted in Africawatch Magazine to have said that “President Mills lacks Vision, charisma, dynamism, strong-mind and clear direction for the country.
5. In December 2011, Prez Mills Dissolved Electricity Company Ghana (ECG) Board, appointed new board. Reason unknown till date.
6. Nee Agiri Barnor, Acting Director of the Information Services Department (ISD), was sacked following (¢1.69billion) GH¢169,000.00 hampers’ scandal involving Presidential Aide Stanlislav Xoese Dogbe.
7. Ms. Elizabeth Adjei – Director of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), the first woman to head the Internal Security Organisation was mysteriously sacked, reason unknown till now.
8. Afrifa Yamoah Ponko, Ashanti Regional Manager of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was asked to “proceed on a very long leave” for allegedly involved in an office sex (bonking office girls) scandal.
9. In January 2011, President John Mills dismissed 13 – DCE/MCEs in a day across the country. The M/DCEs were in the Ashanti, Central, Eastern and Brong Ahafo regions. Eastern Region tops the list with five dismissals. The Reasons for the dismissal still unknown.
10. In March 2011, Prez John Atta Mills dismissed five Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs). The casualties included the MCE of the Secondi/Takoradi, Mr. Kobina Pra Annan and the MCE of the Hohoe Municipal Assembly, Mr. Victor Herman Condobrey. The others were Mr. Joseph Jone Amoah – Ahanta West District Assembly, Mr. Moses Kofi Armah – Bibiani/Anhwiaso/Bekwai District Assembly and Mr. Victor Nyianyi Kablan of the Jomoro District Assembly.
Fellow Ghanaians; it is evidently clear that Prez Mills has not been fit for any purpose to be given a second chance as a president of Ghana. The NDC gov’t has really disappointed the people of Ghana and we all need to continue scrutinizing and interrogate penetratingly, every single promise by Prez Mills, before and now, and his recent utterances on Woyomegate saga, his lack of alacrity to fight corruption and the huge loans contracted with no national interventional program introduced, just to help you make the right choice on December 7th general elections.
Corporate governance involves established internal control systems for identifying, managing and monitoring risk. Corporate governance is a system by which companies are directed and controlled. Corporate governance can also mean a set of arrangements in place to make a company accountable to its stakeholders. In the current dispensation, good corporate governance is not only a statutory requirement but a necessity to attract investors. It needs to be in place to assure investors that potential risks facing the company are under control. Departments like internal audit control are located in the company to check compliance with internal standards and standards set by regulatory bodies. I believe most listed companies have these units but how autonomous is that function? Who do they report to? What happens to their findings? Are there personnel in this function with the requisite skills to detect such fraudulent activities? This article seeks to discuss the history and the need for corporate governance and its contribution to a sound financial performance. This article would make reference to certain listed companies on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
Corporate governance cannot be talked of without mentioning the relationship between Directors, Management, Company Secretary, Auditors, Shareholders and other stakeholders. The Enron scandal in the late 2000s is a clear example of how financial irregularities perpetrated by key management personnel have brought the issue of corporate governance into the global business frontier. Fraud by the directors of many UK companies in the early 1980s as well as the late 2000s in the US caused many companies to collapse and rendered many people unemployed. Fraud of this technical nature by directors causes people to lose confidence in financial reporting and auditing. This subsequently has an adverse effect on investment. The popular credit crunch was caused by some of these fraudulent activities that are difficult to detect by even the regulatory bodies of these advanced markets.
The issue of corporate governance has received serious attention because of the big corporate scandals involving the abuse of power by directors or even criminal allegations by corporate officers. The need to strengthen corporate governance has now become a fundamental requirement for growth if foreign or local investment needs to go up. This is because, research has proved that sound corporate governance promotes economic development. The UK government as well as the US government has come up with the Combine Code and the Sarbanes-Oxley Acts of 2002 that apply to companies that list on their respective stock exchanges. These governance codes did not just come in a vacuum -it came as a result of combined efforts of both the market regulators and the professional accounting bodies. In the case of the UK, the Financial Reporting Council, the London Stock Exchange and the accountancy profession set up a committee known as the Cadbury Committee whose main aim was to raise the standard of corporate governance and the level of confidence in reporting and auditing. So much emphasis is placed on financial reporting because most of the corporate scandals are financial in nature and auditors who have the capacity to detect them also get corrupted by the perpetrators of such crimes.
Auditors have the responsibility of ensuring that account prepared by a company gives a true and fair view of the company’s financial position. Shareholders do not have access to the books of accounts as auditors do. The onus now lies on them to ensure that they act in the best interest of the shareholders that appoint them by continuously holding integrity in high esteem. Investor considers what a company’s books reflect before making informed decisions. If company auditors are negligent make reckless remarks when it is actually not the case that could cause financial losses to individual investors as well as established funds that invest in shares of such company.
Almost all the companies on any stock exchange were once private before going public. Mostly, private companies do not have the system in place for good corporate governance because they regulate themselves and have fewer stakeholders that they are accountable to. In the recent dawn of the Ghana Stock Exchange requesting for blue chip SME’s to apply and get on the second list, the earlier these SME’s get acquainted with corporate governance issues the better for them. This is because there are enormous benefits accruing to companies that list on the stock market. They have access to capital for expansion, get noticed by both local and foreign investors and receive a much better credibility that can enable them win contracts which they will otherwise not win given their prior status.
How Private Companies are before going public?
No stringent disclosure of financials- Private companies is not required to publish account by any regulatory body.
Management style of private companies would definitely be different even as they are likely to go for can long term goals once the few stakeholders involved are comfortable. Most often, private companies are managed by their owners/ founders or people they have employed to manage the business for them. It so happens that these employees turn to rely mostly on their employer for instructions as to what to do next. This can stifle initiative creation and promote unnecessary reliance on employer for approval for things that can easily be done without bureaucracies.
Management preparing towards listing
For a company that is preparing itself to list on the exchange, its paramount responsibility would be to consider itself as a listed company and try to meet the entire membership requirement set by the exchange. They can do this by setting up an internal control department that would help them in the transition period to meet compliance standards that would in turn qualify them later.
Listing requirements: To meet the listing requirements, the company must ensure it meets the capital and financial requirement, technology and expertise required. These include audited financial statements for three years and the need for a company secretary that would file returns, take minutes at board meetings and countersign documents with the company’s seal. New listings on stock exchanges imply that the services of lawyers, underwriters or lead brokers, auditors, registrar and services of financial valuers be sought. The cost of printing prospectuses and other PR and marketing costs are also something to scare the company concerned. It also implies that the company in question is ready to pay all the listing fees and comply with the entire listing requirement spelt out by Securities and Exchange Commission, the Ghana Stock Exchange, the Registrar of Companies and even Bank of Ghana (where applicable).
Staying listed: It is not enough for a company to work hard and get listed on the stock exchange. It requires responsibility on the part of its directors and management to ensure that it continually trades as a listed company. Company secretaries are crucial to good company governance hence the need for a company secretary.
When a company finally gets listed it must comply with all the membership requirements in the Ghana Stock Exchange rule book. The rules set by the GSE and SEC is to protect the interest of both the investing public and the listed companies. It requires that the company must publish its account periodically (mostly quarterly).
When a company gets listed it has a wider scope of shareholders to manage and hence the need for statutory publication. Listed companies must publish account in a well circulated news paper; this is aimed at informing the investing public of the company’s financial performance. It is also required to print and circulate annual reports to all shareholders. I must also organize Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meeting when there is a pressing issue to address. The cost involved in staying listed is enormous as it entails statutory fees, stationery cost, printing, postage, transport and press releases, among others.
Role of management and / Board of Directors
Board of directors are appointed to act on behalf of the shareholders to run the day to day affairs of the business. The board also appoints management to run the company.
A board’s main purpose is to ensure the company’s continuous prosperity by directing the company’s affairs, whilst meeting the appropriate interests of its shareholders and relevant stakeholders.
? The board must simultaneously be entrepreneurial and drive the business forward but devoid of negligence and excessive risk taking.
? The board should be adequately knowledgeable about the core business of the company and to be answerable for its actions. This does not mean that they should over influence management of the company.
? The board must be sensitive to the pressures of short-term issues and yet be informed about broader, long-term trends.
? The board must be knowledgeable about local issues and the competitive landscape they are operating.
? The board is expected to be focused upon the commercial needs of its business while acting responsibly towards its employees, business partners and society as a whole.
Relationship between share price and corporate governance
Stock prices reflect the value of a stock at a given point in time. Investor perception about a company can adversely or favorably affect stock price. If stock prices are high, it gives investors value. Management would equally benefit if they have incentives or bonuses tied to the performance of the company’s share price. The company would as well benefits if they are seeking extra funding through right issue for example. If companies do not manage their relationship with investors, they have to do damage control after that has affected their stock price adversely on the stock market.
Cost management determines profit and dividend- if the company is able to manage its cost effectively and make informed investments, at the end of the financial year, its profits would increase, some portion ploughed back into the business and the rest paid out as dividend to shareholders. Cost can be effectively managed if the right corporate governance is in place to reduce fraud and wastage through negligence.
Corporate governance issues on the GSE.
GCB and SCB saga: Both Ghana Commercial Bank and the Standard Chartered Bank are stocks listed on the GSE. Over the past few months, these two companies have lost so much value of the market as a result of the issues relating to how their staffs concerns were not satisfactorily addressed. One of the duties of the board of directors is to meet the appropriate interests of its shareholders and relevant stakeholders. Staffs are also stakeholders whose concerns must be adequately addressed. If these people are not satisfied, it can adversely affect output and hence profit or fallen share prices. A similar case happened when some minority shareholder of CAL Bank felt the board members were not working in the best interest of the shareholders. During that period, the stock price was fluctuating.
Surprisingly most of the listed stocks on the GSE are government divestitures. They are GCB, PBC, SIC, CPC and others. Most of these companies are characterized by government interference which may have some adverse implication of good corporate governance. However, government divestitures that fall within the category of financial institutions are quite autonomous when it comes to certain decisions. Even though government interference is minimal, once the government appoints the board of directors for these companies, they still have some influence on the governance of these companies.
It is therefore fair to say that good corporate governance is key to attraction of local and foreign investors, as well as increasing profits and its positive effects on stock price. The issue of corporate governance should be taken seriously by private companies who are planning to go public as well are companies that are already public. It should also be the joint efforts of all industries stakeholders as well as the regulators. The UK came up with the Combine Code as a result of combined efforts of both the market regulators and the professional accounting bodies. Ghana can do likewise by coming up with a corporate governance code that will apply to all listed companies. This is important because one big corporate scandal can cause high levels of unemployment and even reduce GDP to a larger extent. Hope you remember the Enron scandal and its effect on the whole world. Where ever you work, do not wait to witness any bigger corporate scandal, may be this time round it may be your job or that remittance you are expecting from abroad that will suffer as a result.
The Woyome crisis has taught us two lessons: (1) high level corruption is alive and well at the highest level of the Government; (2) We do not have the capacity to investigate and prosecute high level government officials who engage in brazen, blatant and gargantuan crimes against the Republic.
Without solving the second problem, the first problem will compound. Thus, it is the second problem that should be the focus of governance students as we move forward.
On paper, we have many state funded investigative bodies: BNI, EOCO, CID, CHRAJ. The law gives these bodies unfettered powers to investigate crimes against the Republic. In reality, these bodies are essentially toothless when it comes to investigating members of the executive.
With the exception of CHRAJ, the other three are led by political appointees. Indeed, the BNI, EOCO and CID have always acted as if they were an appendage of the executive and a tool for the President, rather than a well-functioning, independent investigative body. How else can one explain why Amina and Dakwa become issues for the BNI while Woyome, Mould, Oduro, Agya Atta and Duffuor are not on BNI’s radar screen?
CHRAJ’s commissioners are beyond the reach of the Presidential manipulations, at least in the short term. However, CHRAJ has been essentially declawed by the Supreme Court because of a curious ruling that it cannot sua sponte investigate allegations of corruption.
But even if all these investigative bodies were functional, a far cry from reality, their work product means very little unless the product can be acted upon by a cadre of independent and sharp prosecutors.
Alas, no prosecutions of gargantuan crimes can proceed without the approval of the Attorney General, who serves at the pleasure of the President. As Amidu teaches us, any Attorney General who dares raise questions about the President’s complicity in a gargantuan crime is not likely to survive.
Clearly, politics in Ghana is now a for-profit industry and the most lucrative, do-nothing enterprise. This is a far cry from what public service should be ? the sacrifice of the opportunity for private wealth to provide service to the Republic!
Where do we go from here:
1. We need to create an office of a Special Prosecutor. These prosecutors will be appointed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to prosecute any matters relating to top level officials. These prosecutors could be current prosecutors or other lawyers from private practice, hired for the special and limited purpose of prosecuting charges laid out by a grand jury (see below). In the discharge of these duties, the Special Prosecutor shall not be answerable to the Attorney General (AG) and it will be an offense for the AG to interfere, impede, disturb or otherwise affect or attempt to affect the work of the Special Prosecutor.
2. The DPP should have the power to convene a grand jury to investigate any allegations of crimes committed by top level officials. The grand jury findings should be made public. Where the grand jury recommends prosecution, a Special Prosecutor must be named by the DPP in no more than 2 weeks from when the grand jury report is out.
3. Special Fast track Corruption Courts should be established for the prosecution of public officials, who must be required to serve the maximum sentence, if found guilty, without any possibility of a pardon.
4. We must get serious about Asset Declaration. All public officials must not only declare their assets within the statutory period but the declaration should be available on the internet and accessible by the citizenry to allow the citizens to perform their accountability functions.
5. The Freedom of Information Act must be passed immediately. Corruption thrives in darkness, as we have learnt from Woyome.
6. The compensation package (salaries, allowances, ex gratia, etc) must be made public and accessible.
7. The compensation package of elected officials must be set by statute. For instance, a law could be passed which says all MPs will be paid X cedis. Then this salary should be allowed to grow (or shrink) by indexing it to inflation, cost of living, or even changes in the packages of others.
8. Strict campaign finance laws must be passed and enforced. Among others, there must be a ceiling on how much candidates can spend on campaigns.
9. It should be an offense to bribe voters or seek to influence the vote of citizens, during a primary or general election, through monetary or other inducements.
10. The Attorney General must be quarantined in any and all causes involving members of her political party. That is, if X, a political aficionado of PPP sues the Republic, the Republic must be represented by career lawyers in the AG’s office and the AG and her deputies must not have any involvement in the cause.
Democracy is meaningful when citizens have confidence in the organs of the Republic and believe that all persons are equal before the law. Nobody in Ghana believes that politicians are accountable. We put the Republic at great peril if we do not redress this glaring and gargantuan anomaly!
Alfred Agbsi Woyome has become a well-known name on the lips of many people across the streets and in many households in Ghana over the last two months. My grand mother asked me rhetorically if Mr. Woyome was able to have a sound sleep. I told her he brought this to himself. He bit off more than he can chew. Let us not forget last year, on Citi FM he attacked the integrity of Hon. Kennedy Agyapong and he admonished the security apparatus to arrest Mr. Agyapong. Subsequently, Mr. Agyapong on Adom FM also attacked the integrity of him and quoted portions of the Auditor General’s report to substantiate his points.
This 580 billion old Ghana cedis doled out to Mr. Woyome per the 2010 Auditor General’s report would not have gained the same magnitude in the media if it went through the normal rituals on the Public Account Committee (PAC) in parliament. All other judgment debts should also be scrutinized thoroughly and those found culpable should be made to refund our moneys and if possible appropriate criminal charges should also be preferred against the culprits. A lot have been said on this Woyome saga and I would not want to bore my readers. I will look at the Atta Wayo saga on three cardinal points; Corruption, Governance and Integrity.
Corruption: Woyome, which many people mistakenly pronounce as “Wayome” and its saga thereof has become a cancerous cell in the flesh of the ruling NDC. The colossal amount of moneys doled out to Mr. Woyome, Water Ville Company and other judgment debts captured in the Auditor General’s report and the complexities involved smells of conspiracy and gross corruption.
Last year, December 22, I heard David Annan, a solicitor for Mr. Woyome say on Radio Ghana that the NPP is a looting brigade. And that President Kufuor and his cohorts abrogated Woyome’s contract because it was getting to election 2008. They (NPP) thought Mr. Woyome would use the money in financing the NDC campaign. When asked about the contract Mr. Woyome had with President Kufuor’s administration he resorted to the agreement between the erstwhile government and Water Ville Company. His client, Mr. Woyome on Peace FM’s morning show said categorically he had no contract with President Kufuor’s government. I still cannot understand the negligence and irresponsible manner the government has handed this matter. For the Auditor General he should bow down his head in shame for his unnecessary “busy-body U-turn” press statement.
Governance: The Woyome saga has exposed the bad governance in this current administration. Whilst President Mills requested for a report during his vacation in New York, the deputy Chief of Staff, Alex Segbefia was defending Mr. Woyome on a national radio. Benjamin Akyena Brentuo, a special assistant to the deputy Chief of Staff was also acting as a media liaison officer to Mr. Woyome. Now, President Mills comes back to Ghana from his long trip and has asked the Economic and Organized Crimes Office (EOCO) to institute a fact finding into the Woyome saga. EOCO has also said they are interested in crimes and are not a fact finding body. The deputy Attorney-General, Ebo Barton Oduro also said on Joy FM the state has a bad case hence, they did not enter defense in court to challenge Mr. Woyome. I have catalogued these few events to show how insensitive the government has been with respect to this saga. Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu’s resignation has even been long overdue and many appointees connected to these losses of moneys should be fired.
It was pathetic when I heard a group called “Concern Members of the NDC” on various radio stations spew out ignorance. They are either misinformed or/and they deliberately want to be mischievous. They claim President Kufuor, Mr. Yaw Osafo Marfo, Hon. O.B. Amoah and others should be arrested and dragged before EOCO. Are they not aware Mr. Osafo Marfo and the others have gone to court to challenge the jurisdiction of EOCO to interrogate them? Until the court gives it verdict nobody can arrest them. They have also argued the 25 member committee (13 MPs from the majority and 12 MPs from the minority) of the PAC have the exclusive right to interrogate them in connection with the findings of the Auditor General’s report. And the sittings of the PAC would be broadcast on television and radio for the ordinary Ghanaian to know what actually happened.
I think Mr. Martin Amidu has done well by amending the earlier writ. But he should have resigned after releasing his explosive statement on Thursday, January 12 before his sack. As usual because of the incompetence and unnecessary faux-pas by this government, they have given an ambiguous reason in relieving Mr. Amidu of his post. Was it necessary at all? Because of insincerity and dishonesty on the path of government in this Woyome saga, we are told Mr. Amidu was fired because of misconduct in a meeting presided by President Mills. The said meeting was held on Friday, 13 January and later Daily Graphic reported that its sources at the castle told the paper Mr. Amidu pleaded for lenience. This has not been challenged by the presidency so far. On Thursday, 19 January, a statement was released and signed by the Chief of Staff, Mr. Martey Newman that’s says Mr. Amidu has been fired because of misconduct. What confusion!
Indiscipline which the NDC want Ghanaians to see as democracy, lack of coherence and hands off leadership in government is shameful to say the least. An independent investigation should be constituted to bring to light the allegations made by Mr. Amidu. If the former Attorney-General and former running mate to then candidate Mills, Mr. Amidu alleges his life is in danger under the Presidency of Prof. Mills, are the rest of us safe? He should also come out with the name of his former colleague minister who wanted to conceal a gargantuan crime against the state.
Integrity: President Mills’ intergrity has been fractured by this Woyome saga. I am yet to come to terms with what President Mills meant by, he was unaware of the money given to Mr. Woyome. Interestingly, our President says his target is not Mr. Woyome and that he is not about to embarrass the recipients of judgment debts. He is interested in how the liabilities came about. Is it that President Mills is not in charge or/and he is condoning broad daylight corruption? Both sides of the coin are not in the interest of Ghana. Sincerely, I see no reason why Mr. Woyome and Water Ville Company should not be target for a criminal investigation aside the civil matter in court. Mr. President, you have the opportunity to redeem yourself and the government from this Woyome scandal. Ghanaians and the international communities are watching keenly to unfolding events.
And to those defending the indefensible, there is a saying that “If a hooligan isn’t repulsive to you, it’s easy to tell that you are one yourself; admire a robber, and then you may be a crook”
The future of this country belongs to we the youth and if we are endearing this high economic hardship meted to us, why should the tax payers money be given to some few individuals for no work done? The dishonesty that shrouds these colossal amounts of moneys given to selected individuals is heart breaking. And, we the youth especially have the power to send this government to opposition for a more responsible government to reclaim what belongs to us and also to put this country on the right pedestal.
Ghanaians are well-noted for our fanatic religiosity which makes it easy for us to adopt this ‘fama nyame’ attitude even in the face of clear bullying by plain-faced cowards and fictitious pious people. With this typical Ghanaian religiousity, we have often been hoodwinked by extremely hungry hyenas that come to us in sheep-clothes. These people present themselves as true embodiment of character of the almighty God only to lead us astray and into the abyss. In recent times, there have been numerous cases of ‘men of God’ going on rampage and sexually abusing married women, young girls, and in some cases, complete infants who have absolutely nothing sexually attractive about them. These despicable cases of sexual abuse by these pastoral charlatans have been possible, largely on the account that, the average Ghanaian married woman will be prepared to forego the needs of her husband under the instruction of her so-called pastor.
A married woman who probably has not undertaken her domestic assignment required of her as a wife, will hurriedly rush to deliverance service by a new ‘prophet’ in town. Some of them get so engrossed in such practices to the extent where the survivals of their very marriage lives begin to suffer. And when this happens, the old lady sitting her somewhere and minding her own business then becomes the obvious target of senseless witchcraft accusations. Such accusations have also resulted in completely innocent aged people being tortured, with some of them, often murdered.
Abusing God’s name
These unfortunate incidents are taking place in our nation just because some extremely wicked people who know absolutely nothing about the gospel of Christ, have realized that the average Ghanaian will quickly swallow, hook-line-and-sinker, even cow-dung only if it is presented in the form of the gospel. As a result, these ‘men of God’ invest heavy resources in securing airtime on Radio/TV and only thing they do with these airtimes is to simply invite people into their churches by announcing their phone numbers on air and giving directions to their locations.
On air, these so-called men of God will extol their personal healing prowess and how they can bring instant relief to every troubled soul. Some of them will claim they have been to Israel and are back with special anointing oil mixed with special herbs plugged from trees planted on the grave of Jesus Christ!!Some of them even go to the extent of claiming that their special healing anointing-oil was squeezed out of olive trees planted on the exact location where Joseph(the father of Jesus Christ) met and proposed marriage to the virgin Mary(the mother of Christ).
Such embellished lies, in the final analysis, do have some effect on some gullible individuals in our society who then end up falling pray to these wolfs!!As a matter of fact, some men too, in their attempt to travel abroad in order to change their economic circumstances, have fallen prey to these charlatans when they are duped of hard-earned resources that could have rather been put into a useful venture here at home.
In the end, these evil men of Satan masquerading as pious men of God, end up destroying once peaceful homes, turn bosom friends into bitter foes, thriving entrepreneurs into abject paupers, stable minds into sad illusions, perfect dreams/visions into mirage and self-confidence into self-pity. Unfortunatlety,evil practices of these ‘men of God’ are being replicated, on a rather massive scale, by some individuals within our political class who go about shouting on roof-tops, their self-acclaimed piety, ‘asomdweeheneship’ and Christian divinity.
The people of this nation went to the polls in 2008 to elect a president to lead us. A little over 50% of the voting population voted for Atta-Mills, based on what he and members of his party told the people of this nation. Ghanaians were made to accept the argument that the NPP administration had come to worsen their economic woes and for their human dignity to be restored, it was incumbent on the citizenry to massively vote against the NPP.
The people of this nation were told that they were being governed by evil people who had no sympathy for the down-trodden and also had no fear of God in them. As a result, a man born of a woman and is therefore susceptible to every fallibility under the sun, was consciously packaged and presented to the people of this nation, as someone who had just descended from heaven with no blemish. The great deception of 2008 And just like how these fake pastors ply their trade, the people of Ghana were deceived into believing that someone with the qualities akin to that of apostle Paul, had been discovered after painstaking search in the holy land of Christ’s ancesstory and carefully transplanted here in our land.
They said this super-pious being was going to deliver us from all our socio-economic woes. We were also promised of a paradise-like Ghana where corruption, immorality, hunger, homelessness, sickness and ‘pocketisis’ (empty pockets) shall be a thing of the past. We were also to have government officials who hate 4-WD vehicles, multi-billion dollar mansions, juiciest contracts et all. Bachelors and spinsters who were finding it almost impossible to secure marriage partners due to lack of resources, brought about by joblessness, were promised of a ‘better Ghana’ where every indi vidual was guaranteed a beautiful/handsome bride/bride-groom respectively.
And with such juicy promise of a land where there is plenty of milk and honey, and that poverty and squalor were going to be a thing of the past for every Ghanaian so we could simply lie in bed for honey to be dripping, constantly, into our mouths, you can certainly bank your hopes on being swarmed by eagerly expectant legion. The NDC, in addition to this wicked deception, employed other ‘bugabuga’ tactics as banishing NPP polling agents from their Volta Region stronghold and invasion of EC with murder weapons. In the end, the results went in their favour.But just like these fake pastors, the NDC, after deceiving the people with sweet promises to vote for them, have ended up duping them of the little resources they had, by way of imposition of wicked taxes, high fuel prices, astronomic road tolls, exorbitant food prices and so on. Novelties vrs empty promises The little line of social nets as NHIS,MMT,LEAP,school feeding programme, antenatal care and so on, have all been allowed to collapse by people who presented themselves as saviours but have turned out to be just like these ‘men of God’ who go about defrauding people. As a result of current joblessness, inspite of ‘creation’ of multi-billion job placements as announced by ‘pikin na boloo’ Ablakwah, existing marriages are collapsing like packs of cards. Unmarried young-women promised of blissful matrimonies, by the NDC, are fast going down the menopausal hill while the young-men are fast losing their testicular-virility with its resultant fading libido.
The streets of our nation’s major cities and towns that were to be transformed into the likes of Paris and Geneva, within a period of one-hundred days, are now sanctuaries of decaying mountainous filth. Fatalistic cholera disease has now become the lot of the already suffering Ghanaian.
The gold-paved roads of a promised paradise where we were all to be walking hand-in-hand in perfect love and happiness have now been turned into grounds of mass murder through horrific road accidents. Our modest places of work and humble abodes have come under mysterious hellish infernos. Poverty-induced Suicides and stress related spousal butchering have become the order of the day. Lately, the greatest of all abomination in the sight of God, which is homosexualism, as our Asante folks will fittingly put it; ‘ate atesei wo Ghana’. Appointees of the current administration are going on rampage with guns at the heads of young-women and subjecting them to ferocious bouts of sexual abuse.HIV-carrying managers of state institutions are demanding sex from job-seeking young female graduates and infecting some of them in the process.
What the current Mills-Mahama administration has done, and continues to do to the people of this nation, is flawlessly akin to activities of these fake pastors who are wreaking havoc in homes, inflicting pain on people and shattering hopes of already hopeless citizenry.
And inspite of all these, the president still goes about proclaiming that God is the president of this grand deception that has landed us in the current mess we find ourselves in as a people. The question then is: will God, in His infinite wisdom, preside over such downright chaos and grand deception? Oh, what a sacrilegious hypocrisy!!!
Generational Thinkers, is a group made up of ambitious and inspirational young men and women. The group which has a prime objective of ensuring an egalitarian method of compensation, where there will be equity, peace, tranquility, justice and fairness in all spheres of the governing dispensation of this nation.
It is very unfortunate that from the beginning of the fourth republic, we have never been enthused about the way and manner in which our dear country has been run by our politicians.
We have monitored and delved into the historical development of our dear country and if something drastic is not done to rescue the country from our greedy politicians from further deepening the woes of the country by their corrupt act of governance, this country will soon find itself in a shamble beyond repairs as we indicated in our previous press release.
We made it clear in our previous release that, we were going to embark on a ‘SPIRITUAL NATIONWIDE MARCH’ to express our displeasure with our current order, but after a series of consultation with our forefathers, we have been alerted that they are livid at the way the resources and the taxes are been used. They have stated that we should stop paying taxes in this country until the authorities in charge stop using the monies paid as tax to pay their political party financiers, buying medals to award themselves, channeling those resources in an unproductive venture and a lot more.
Our call to Ghanaians not to pay tax is simply due to lack of trust in the authorities of this country for consistently misusing public funds. We have realized that both the NPP and NDC who have been in charge of Ghana since 1992 are likeminded. When it is time for them to take decisions that will benefit members of their party, they hasten; just take a look at the WOYOME SAGA. On the contrary, when it comes to developmental issues, they take piecemeal approach and adopt tactics that has lead to the current kwashiorkor nature of Ghana. They have no love, vision or plan for the development of Ghana. The earlier we all stopped their source of income the best.
We are therefore calling on all Ghanaians irrespective of where they are, what they do and where they work to stop paying tax in order to bring the authorities to order. We wish to invite all well-meaning Ghanaians who have the interest of the country at heart to join in this positive defiance.
“Per the standards set for Ghanaians in 1979, most of Prof. Mills’ appointees should be led to Teshie shooting range this afternoon.”
This was a comment posted on my facebook wall by one Fusieni Issah of SIC Financial Services Limited in reaction to Hon. Betty Mould-Iddrisu’s resignation. Such benighted commentary from a seemingly educated Ghanaian saddens my heart.
The people of Ghana have a right to feel outraged by the loss of public funds through negligence on the part of politicians and civil servants. The expression of anger over the judgment debt paid to Mr. Alfred Woyome is therefore rightly placed. However, it is very important we are guided by the principle of legal right and democracy.
Democracy is so much more than going to the polls and having elections. The building blocks of a democratic society, among other components include the principle of legal right. It is only the courts, which are vested with the authority to pronounce guilt on anyone, and if we truly want our country to stand out as a shining example of the rule of law, if we want outsiders to look at our country with reverence and respect, we ought to submit to the courts instead of trials in the courts of public opinion.
It is hard not to notice the personal attacks on Betty. These attacks are not only unfair; they are a prelude to a subversion of justice. The case is under investigation, she has stepped aside as a measure of goodwill and that is good news.
Whether she was pushed out or she jumped is immaterial. We should focus on getting to the heart of the issue; we should be encouraging people to cooperate with EOCO, and not crucifixion on the basis of suspicion of negligence. Her decision to resign is commendable and does her more good than harm. It is in the government’s best interest. If a government gets attacked incessantly over a controversy involving one of its members, the best thing such a member could do is to put country and government over personal interest by stepping aside and that is exactly what Betty has done. If the people feel she has done anything wrong, let judgment take its course in the courts and not the media. Betty Mould has endeared herself as the woman who put down her job to save her government from being distracted.
In the continent of Africa and the little space that God has given to us called Ghana, there are some issues which make you wonder whether the Good Lord did us a big disfavour by giving us an insight to the written language “education”. To exacerbate our problems the ‘devil” added politics into the potent mixture of greed, incompetence and poverty stricken Africa. For example, every issue in contemporary Ghana is seen within the context of NDC or NPP. A time will come when even the food that we eat will be a determining factor in our political allegiance.
It is a bloody shame- we have lost the ability to debate, analyse, convince and use data and statistics to argue our point. Just last week a young gentleman was jailed 2 years for stealing 2 fowls in our NPP and NDC country by a learned Judge. Two days ago a young lady from the Volta Region lost her life due to her inability to pay for the cost of blood. These are not phantom stories, they are not numbers, they are real people, citizens of Ghana and they all have families.
What angers most ordinary Ghanaians is the sheer hypocrisy and “joined-up” economic crimes being committed by the educated elite on the majority impoverished souls. Bear in mind, the Arab Spring Awakening was begun by a small petty trader in Tunisia who set himself alight. Why? “his small kiosk” his only means of earning peanuts was going to be demolished
What has got my back up? As reported in the news, the Supreme Court (SC) has directed its registrar to serve hearing notices on Okudzeto Ablakwa and Emmanuel Omane Boamah in the case in which the two are challenging Hon Jake’s right to purchase a Government bungalow he occupied as a Minister of State. The two were seeking a declaration that by virtue of Articles 20(5), 23, 257, 258,284 and 296 of the 1992 Constitution, the Government was obliged to retain and continue to use in the public interest the property in dispute.
Folks you know what, our most learned Judges and brightest legal brains decided to adjourn the case sine die. For Heaven’s Sake “Learned Judges”, do not confuse us mere mortals with big legal jargons. Haba! Do we need the Supreme Court to decide on this issue? The Former Minster of Housing, Lands Commissioner and all those involved in this shameful and disgraceful sale of this property must bow down their heads in shame.
The patience of most Ghanaians is fast running out! Many Ghanaians live in abject poverty, suffer daily treatment of poverty psychosis, are hounded out of their shed in the name of the law, and are sick and tired of our elected politicians, educated ones, opinion leaders using Articles and legal procedures to confuse them.
Even my “uneducated” aunties at Nkawie knows that the palace built by the late chief of Nkawie belongs to the whole village and is meant as a living quarters for the current chief- and cannot be sold to any ex-Chief. What about our Learned Judges?
Haba, Haba, Haba! Why, Why, Why- awurade yesu hun ye mobo. Just let us assume that
Alasdair Darling, the former Finance Minister in the Labour Government decided to purchase
his official residence, No 11 Downing Street after leaving office – what would have been the
reaction? Folks are you aware that the first Chancellor to occupy No 11, was Lord
Henry Petty in 1828 and it still serves as the residence of the current Chancellor George
Osborne.
Hon Jake, Please return this property and stop contesting this case- you will and must not be
Ghana’s ace BBC news anchor, Komla Dumor, makes another jump not only to the top but a platform that uplifts the pride of Ghana. Komla Dumor, the only West African presenter on BBC World News, keeps soaring as he makes an intriguing breakthrough in broadcast journalism.
He commenced his journalism career at Joy Fm as a traffic watch reporter revealing the challenges people encounter on the road. His firm control over the foreign dialect, English, and perfect description of the traffic situations confronting the nation pulled to his side many admirers.
Komla Dumor made his mark after the departure of Tommy Annan-Forson who was then the host of the Super Morning Show on Joy Fm. After Tommy¹s departure,he assumed the role of the Super Morning Show host, re-branded it and became a suitable replacement. In a later time, he had become the focus of many Ghanaians as during his reign on radio in Ghana, he was unmatchable.
He became the mouthpiece for the voiceless in the country and trumpeted the interest of the masses for prompt response. Vendors, Taxi drivers, hawkers and several Ghanaians took their turns to make their voices heard. Komla did what many could not do by attacking the controversies of life and ensuring the underprivileged are well catered for.
His diligence and determination won him the Best Journalist of the Year award in 2003, conferred on him by the Ghana Journalist Association.
His achievements within the media fraternity could not have been more honorable without projecting his dream beyond the shores of Ghana. The climax of his hard work saw him become the only West African presenter with the African Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
In September 1, 2008, he was promoted from the African Service to the World Service of the corporation. With this promotion, he was on his way to reaching millions of people in the world. He has today made himself and the nation proud as the first Ghanaian and African to hop to such stage on BBC.
He has interviewed legendary personalities on the world map and Wednesday, January 25, 2012 is no exception as he hosted one of Microsoft¹s giants, Bill Gates, on various BBC screens across the world.
The 56 billion dollar face of Microsoft, Bill Gates, not only a powerful personality but also the second richest man in the world, was interviewed by Ghana¹s pride Komla Dumor today. The interview centered on a variety of issues basically a reaction to earlier speech by US President Barak Obama who called for an imposition of higher taxes on the wealthy.
The world-class interview today can go into the history of Ghana as the first Ghanaian journalist to host the most wanted Microsoft giant in the world. Komla Dumor has indeed lifted the flag of Ghana high and indeed, Ghana is the gateway to Africa.
Mass transit programme will reduce transportation cost -Aganga From WALTER UKAEGBU, Abuja Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has said that Federal Government’s Mass Transit Programme would reduce the cost of transportation across the country. Speaking during the flagging off of the operations of the mass transit buses in Abuja, Aganga said the Federal Government was committed to ensuring the successful implementation of the policy.
“If you look at the transportation cost, it has four major areas, which are: maintenance cost, financing cost, overhead cost, fuel cost and. However, the only part that was affected by the removal of the fuel subsidy was the fuel cost. If you look at the cost and the contribution to the total cost, fuel contributes about 26 per cent of the total cost of transportation fare. “Assuming you were buying PMS at N141, the maximum increase in transport fare should not have exceeded 30 per cent for PMS driven vehicles.
For diesel-powered vehicles, it shouldn’t affect transportation fare significantly because there was no increase in the price of diesel. But the experience was that transport fare went up significantly. We then computed the impact of the access to the mass transit-revolving loan at zero percent. If you compare that to getting a commercial loan of about 18-21 per cent, that immediately brings the price down. And when we computed it, the price is supposed to be the same or lower than the pre-removal of subsidy, which was what the president directed us to work towards.
Aganga noted that, owing to incentives provided by the Federal Government to transport operators, they (transport operators) had agreed to reduce the cost of transportation by at least 20 per cent. “I am delighted that the NURTW, NARTO and other transporters agreed that if we are able to make that loan available to them on those terms, they will charge 20 per cent less than what they charged before subsidy was removed.
Unfortunately, we were able to put it to work immediately because of the strike. But I am delighted to say that few days ago, the scheme started operating in Abuja. And the routes we went to, pre-subsidy removal they were charging N100 for that route but post subsidy removal they were charging between N150 and N200.
A talk about the bad effects of corruption on our people, country and continent will be a mere waste of breath. Everyone knows how this menace has eaten us up, barely putting our development, both national and individual on a halt. It is therefore heartbreaking to know that people supposed to put up a fierce fight against it rather shamelessly defend same.
I have little time to waste on the Woyomegate saga. But I can’t ignore the dismissal of Hon Martin Amidu under such bizarre circumstances. It still baffles me that president Mills came on Radio Gold to defend his friends associated to this gargantuan crime of looting the state of close to a trillion cedis. It touched my spine that words like “I am not here to disgrace the beneficiaries of the judgement debt” could emanate from the very mouth of our head of state. What is even more surprising is that, three days after the Ex Attorney General(Hon Martin Amidu) had initiated the process of trailing the “gargantuan Criminals” and to use his position as the state attorney to prosecute them for the crimes against the country, President Mills saw it fit to dismiss him.
I can’t stop thinking of the big blow this has done to our fight against corruption. I am not Mr Amidu’s fan but anybody who takes the step Mr Amidu took in circling the Robbers of our land will sure be a hero to me. Instead of gaining support and strengthening, he has rather been thrown together with his ideals of integrity and patriotism into the cold.
Apart from the president not giving any tangible reason for chasing the sincerely nationalistic minded man from office, his(the president’s) remaining integrity when it comes to fighting corruption has been washed away by the flimsy and shallow excuse that Mr Amidu’s behavior is not up to the standard of a minister of state. His defense of Mutaka and the dismissal of those who blew the whistle on the former Youth and Sports Minister coupled with the surprising transfer of the TOR whistle blowers had successfully portrayed the president as one who was in accord with those found culpable for corrupt practices. This latest development relating to his once running mate shows he is not only in accord with such corrupt officials but actually teams up with them to defend the evil they do against this state.
For the first time I have been courageous to say without doubt that all the atrocities the lieutenants of President Mills are committing are with his blessings. He has in dismissing Mr Amidu showed that he will defend those who will do anything at all to the state whilst pretending to be obedient to him. If you are the type of Sekou Nkrumah who will see the wrong and point it out or like Martin Amidu who will be prepared to bring the criminals in his government to book, you cannot work with him. Be a Rawlings and point to his mistakes and you will be called a “dog”.
A clear show of the presidents disapproval of the bold initiative of Hon Martin Amidu is his appointment of EOCO to handle a case which is obviously outside of their jurisdiction whilst the then Attorney general who has the constitution authority to prosecute such cases was ignored. Because long before now, as Mr Amidu said in his press statement, his work was a threat to President Mills’ corrupt cronies and his favorite “rented publishers”.
If president Mills had any trust in him what could have prompted referring this case to EOCO when it is clearly within the jurisdiction of the attorney generals office? The worst show by any Ghanaian head of state in his stance against corruption is that of President John Evans Atta Mills in the Woyomegate saga and the dismissal of Hon Martin Amidu. And the entire administration and it’s “mouths pieces” are supporting this bad stand nationwide and defending corruption together with their leader without any shame.
Work grounded in Chevron as Ijaw women lock out workers From EMMANUEL OGOIGBE, Warri Thursday, January 26, 2012
Activities were grounded at Chevron yesterday in Warri, Delta State as scores of Ijaw women locked out workers of the multibillion naira company in protest against alleged marginalization and inhuman treatment. The protesters from Kolu Ama clan, in Bayelsa State said the American oil giant since 1953 had made life miserable for the oil bearing community and vowed not to leave the office premises until the misdeed against them was addressed.
The protesters, who were half-naked carried placards with the inscriptions, ‘Chevron must go, we don’t need your food’, ‘since 1953 Chevron has been operating in the area there is no visible progress, no meaningful development’, we want World Heath Organization to come to our aid.’ Others inscription were “we are suffering, we have no potable water, no light, many lives have been lost as a result of Chevron’s insensitivity to our plight”, we are fed up with the divide and rule tactics of Chevron.”
Speaking, the leader of the group, Mrs. Epowotei Edi, told newsmen that they decided to take the action because Chevron had refused to listen to their complaints.“We are not leaving this premises until our issue is solved. Chevron has been operating in our area since 1953 and there is nothing to show that Kolu-Ama is an oil producing area,” said the leader, who is also the wife of Kolu-Ama King community.
“Most pathetic is that Chevron used dynamite while prospecting for oil but after five days, angry wave took over the whole area and devastated the community and it’s source of livelihood,” she said bitterly. According to her, each time there was oil spill, Chevron in its deceitful manner would bring food only without adequate compensation, lamenting that recently there was gas explosion in the area, which destroyed the community source of livelihood, yet Chevron was trying to cover-up the massive spillage.
Corruption is tearing Nigeria down –Opadokun By CHINELO OBOGO Thursday, January 26, 2012
• Opadokun
Former secretary of Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Ayo Opadokun has described government’s fight against corruption as insincere. In an interview with CHINELO OBOGO, he speaks on the fight against the menace and other national issues. Government’s fight against corruption
Honestly, the Federal Government is only pretending to be fighting corruption but in their hearts, there is nothing to show that they are serious about it. To the extent that the major personalities that are supposed to be fighting corruption are neck deep in it. When you have an attorney-general that has a unique profile of dubious style, they will not be able to do anything about corruption.
On the executive side of the government, you will know that they are not interested. There is a litany of cases of corruption that the Nigerian media has published and laid out, yet the government has done nothing about it. For instance, the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria set up by government to make power generation, transmission and supply easier, especially in the big states…the chairman of the Power Committee in the House of Representatives went and collaborated with the officials of that organisation and awarded contracts worth over N5 billion in a disorganised manner, not following any procedure. That matter was charged to court to fulfil all righteousness. So, who are they fooling? The level of corruption in Nigeria is tearing us down and the perpetrators are not willing to give up.
For instance, the success of the Aladja Steel Company for some time now has been frustrated by our executive from becoming useful and productive. Right from the time of Obasanjo, the executive gives out that organisation to private ventures in a very tattered Memorandum of Understanding and agreement, not knowing that when the people get there, they continue to steal the assets of the organisation and this has gone on more than five times. That place is now a shadow of itself. I continually ask myself why this country remains comatose when we have a legislature that is supposed to be doing the checks and balancing, ensuring that the executive performs to the dictates of the law.
They will budget for some activities within a year and you will find out that five years later, that thing for which they budgeted money has not been done, yet nobody is doing anything about it. Under our constitution, the legislature has what is called ‘oversight function’ of their various committees. But why is it that nothing has happened, and no one has been brought to book? It is because, the parliamentarians themselves as a corporate body and many of its members are neck deep in corruption. That is why those over inflated contracts cannot even be located.
Maybe the small group of the present lawmakers that are articulate will be able to raise their voices against the evil regime that is prevailing in our land, but these people are only in the minority. So the executive is totally bereft of sanity and the parliamentarians are worse off because they compromise themselves a lot. From the media reports that we have been getting, what they do is that they go to a ministry or parastatal and they force them to come and defend their budgets before their committees. This action is very wrong, and it ought not to be so, because they are not supposed to rewrite the budget that was sent by the executive. But that is what they normally do now. After they inflate it, they ask for their own share.
Democracy vs. the military regime It is painful to compare the military to democracy because they are poles apart. The best of the military should not even be compared to our democracy. When people compare former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure as a military president and his tenure as a civilian president, I will say that there were some factors that were at play that made it look like he performed better as a military president. As a military president, he was actually not in charge, because there were people in there like the former Chief of Staff, Theophilus Danjuma who could call him to order if he tries to roughshod anyone.
He was not the most loved as the military head of state; it was because of the discretion of Gen. Danjuma who insisted that since Murtala has died, the next most senior was Obasanjo and he should take over. There was a lot of pressure on Danjuma to take over but being a decent man, he rejected the offer and instead supported Obasanjo to emerge as the Head of State. However, what we are supposed to have now is a democracy, but what we have is a decadent situation. Honestly, any decent person can achieve and perform excellently well in this system if he has the political will to do so. There is substantial evidence to show that after Obasanjo retired as a military Head of State, he felt very bad that there was not enough money to do what he wanted to do.
But the thing with Obasanjo is that if you help him, he will pay you back in betrayal. He will do everything to make you feel sorry for yourself. During his time, he knew that a lot of corrupt activities were going on at the state and the national level but he did not do anything about it unless the fellow involved raised a political opposition against him. Some of the things that are traceable to him now ought not to have happened. For instance, before the end of 2004, Obasanjo knew how wicked James Ibori was in the manner by which he was handling everything about the affairs of Delta State. They had it on good authority, lots of evidence on how he was changing naira into hard currencies.
He decided to be so friendly with Obasanjo so much so that if Obasanjo wanted anything, Ibori will use the state’s money and get it for him. That is why he provided so much money to run Yar’adua’s presidential elections and that was why he and his friends were able to execute a lot of things during Yar’adua’s tenure. Another instance is that of his private Doctor friend, Dr. Makonjuola whom he made permanent secretary of Ministry of Defence. There was a time when over N400 million was traced to Makonjuola’s account. They allowed him to be taken before the court and that ended the matter.
Anyone that is willing to reduce corruption to the barest minimum, can handle corruption..there was this research by the Economic intelligence Bureau that said that from the time of Obasanjo till now, Nigeria has earned over N233 billion dollars..where is the evidence? Where was the money spent? What we have is the total collapse of our economy and infrastructure? Many people have died because they could not afford drugs worth N1000 but when our supposed leaders are sick, some of them are even flown with air ambulances abroad to receive treatment. When we talk of education, in the last four to five years, less than 20 per cent of our students are able to pass Mathematics and English successfully. What kind of society is that? Their own children are abroad so they do not care about you or I. The succeeding governments in Nigeria are not ready to fight corruptiuon, they just mouth it and this amounts to mere rhetoric.
The Judiciary I base my premise on one perspective and that is, when you have leaders who have the political will to do what is right, they can do anything because they control the political equation. They decide who emerges as the Judge. Higher benches in Nigeria are now on the basis of loyalty to government for all time. So the judiciary has corrupted and perverted itself. The perverted minds that have occupied the highest offices of our land have deliberately conspired to pervert justice. Those in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and other privileged positions now depend on whom you know.
That is why most of those who could not succeed in private practice are the ones in the High Courts. Like the former Chief Justice of Lagos who during the time of Babangida as President said that he was the almighty, so he issued a decree that no one should challenge him. That is why we had a situation some months back where the National Judicial Council that is supposed to be the greatest promoter and defender of the rule of Law decided to ignore it and become a judge in its own court. It was the same Ibrahim Auta that gave the infamous judgement that led to the killing of Ken Sarowiwa and the Ogoni nine
This system is so perverted. So for one to perform successfully, the person has to be a self-contented person who is not ready to acquire wealth indiscrimately.
RINGIM: Fired and ABUBAKAR: Ready to serve
The Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has said that Federal Government’s Mass Transit Programme would reduce the cost of transportation across the country. Speaking during the flagging off of the operations of the mass transit buses in Abuja, Aganga said the Federal Government was committed to ensuring the successful implementation of the policy.