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Three arrested as hoodlums attack policeman in Ogun

Nurudeen AKEWUSHOLA
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Three arrested as hoodlums attack policeman in Ogun

THREE suspects have been arrested for allegedly attempting to kill a policeman and setting a towing vehicle ablaze at an accident scene in Ogun State.

The incident occurred on Saturday, December 31, when the suspects – Olayiwola Basiru, Bamimore Isiaka and Soliu – allegedly attempted to kill the policeman and burn the police towing vehicle.

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In a statement released on Monday, January 2, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said a police sergeant attached to the Traffic Section of the Owode Egba Divisional Headquarters, Akinpelu Sunday, was detailed to rescue the victims and recover the vehicles involved and move them to the station.

According to Oyeyemi, the hoodlums wanted to set the vehicle ablaze so as to prevent investigation into the cause of the accident.

He said the suspects attacked the policeman and the towing vehicle driver with a sledgehammer, stick and other dangerous weapons in order to prevent them from taking one of the vehicles involved to the station for further investigation.

“The policeman and the towing vehicle driver managed to escape from the scene and ran to the station with varying degrees of injuries,” he added.

“The Divisional Police Officer, Owode Egba division, CSP Olasunkanmi Popoola, when hinted, led his men to the place where he met the suspects who had already poured petrol on the towing vehicle and were about setting it ablaze after removing the cash sum of N520,000 belonging to the vehicle driver.

“Three among the hoodlums were arrested, while others escaped but the remaining petrol was recovered from them.”

The PPRO said the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, has ordered that those who escaped must be hunted down and brought to book.

Amosun’s model schools, structurally defective, conceived for cheap popularity – Ogun govt

Ijeoma OPARA
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Amosun’s model schools, structurally defective, conceived for cheap popularity – Ogun govt

THE Ogun State government has described model schools begun by the former governor Ibikunle Amosun, yet to be completed over 10 years later, as a wasteful venture conceived to deceive the public.

Kunle Somorin, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the state governor Dapo Abiodun, made the claim in a statement released on Monday, January 1.

The statement was released response to a report by The ICIR on the abandoned projects.

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Noting that the schools were abandoned by Amosun’s administration, not the present government, Somorin said the buildings were structurally flawed.

“The flag-off for the construction began with the foundation laying ceremony of Ogun State Model Secondary School, Ilaro. This was done by former Governor Amosun during an occasion to mark his first anniversary as governor. Unfortunately, that same school that was the starting point like other projects has remained ground-breaking but uncommissioned.

“The Olu of Ilaro and Paramount Ruler of Ilaro, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle said so, and that so-called pioneer model school has also been declared ‘structurally defective’ by a Committee headed by a former President Nigerian Society of Engineers, Adekunle Mokunolu, that reviewed projects done between 2009 and 2019 in Ogun State,” he noted.

Stating that the buildings were intended to be white elephant projects from the start, the CPS said the funds used for the construction should have been channelled towards renovating other dilapidated schools in the state.

The ICIR reported that the model schools in Ogun State, a N27 billion project, have remained incomplete and become dilapidated, over ten years after they were commenced.

The structures, said to have cost more than N1 billion naira each, have become hiding places for criminals, while existing schools lack basic amenities.

The ICIR reached out to the state’s Commissioner of Education Abayomi Arigbagbu who said the buildings were not completed by the previous government, and had outstanding debts which the present administration could not clear.

Somorin reiterated this in his statement on Monday, adding that some local governments did not benefit from the project.

“Up till today, only the Akin Ogunpola College remains the only one of the proposed model schools used for academic activities. After the summer camp, the school admitted pupils for the 2017 and 2018 academic sessions.

“But in 2019, due to dwindling enrolment and the fact that it was a fee-paying secondary school that charged higher than even most private schools in the State, the government had to shut down the school that negates our free education policy.

“To say the least, the model schools project was conceived with the intention for cheap political populism. It was conceived in deceit and hatched with the intention to swindle the public.,” he said.

Although most of the schools are already dilapidated and overgrown by weed, Somorin said the buildings would not be left to waste. He noted that they will be used for other purposes.

WikkiTimes offers Umaru Pate Accountability Reporting Fellowship

Blessing OTOIBHI
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WikkiTimes offers Umaru Pate Accountability Reporting Fellowship

WIKKITIMES, an investigative and data journalism outlet, is inviting applications for its Umaru Pate Accountability Reporting Fellowship.

The program, which is named after Professor Umaru Pate, the Vice Chancellor of Federal University Kashere, will be offering six months paid internship to young graduates in investigative, data, and fact-checking journalism.

The fellowship aims to train young graduates in Accountability Journalism

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of Journalism, the fellowship will be launched on 4th January 2023 to mark the professor’s 59th birthdate.

Commenting on the fellowship, WikkiTimes’ publisher, Haruna Mohammed Salisu, said: “Umaru Pate is one of Nigeria’s finest media scholars who has mentored and selflessly supported hundreds of journalists in Nigeria and beyond. He has tutored media scholars and has been at the forefront in advancing the frontiers of media scholarship.

“Inspired by his continuous service to humanity, we are kick-starting a graduate fellowship program where we intend to train graduates who have a demonstrable interest in Acccountability Journalism. For us at WikkiTimes, there is no better way to celebrate Professor Pate than to launch this kind of program; because we believe that doing so will advance the very principles and values Professor Pate stood for years.”

The publisher added that in the first year of the fellowship, WikkiTimes will recruit six graduates in total, who have completed the compulsory one-year national service. They will be mentored by experienced data journalists and fact-checkers for six months.

“The idea is to help the fellows access the best mentoring opportunities to enable them to hold power to account — in line with the creeds for which Professor Pate stands throughout his career,” Haruna added.

Borrowing money isn’t always a bad thing – misconceptions about debt

Editorial
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Borrowing money isn’t always a bad thing – misconceptions about debt

By Bomikazi Zeka, University of Canberra

Debt, in some form or another, is part of our financial profiles whether we like it or not. And it can be a useful way to build wealth if it is managed carefully and wisely.

For example, you may borrow money from the bank to buy an asset – a resource of economic value that generates income from its productive use. Investment property is an example.

So investing in an income-producing property can be a good idea.

If you are already in the property market, the home equity you’ve accumulated – the share of the property value that’s yours – can help you buy a second property. This time, you may not need a deposit as big as the initial investment.

In the event that the rental market is booming and your tenants pay you more than what you repay on the loan, municipal rates and property manager fees, then the wealth-building machine will start to run itself.

But debt makes many people uncomfortable.

In South Africa, a person earning R20,000 a month commits on average 63% of their salary to repaying unsecured debt – such as credit cards, personal loans, overdrafts or “buy now, pay later” facilities. As a general guideline, it’s suggested that no more than 40% of your income should be used to service debt.

Financial anxiety has its roots in some misconceptions. The main one is that all debt is bad. This isn’t true. Prudent borrowing to buy an asset can help build wealth in the medium to long term. So fears about debt need to be weighed against a broader understanding of wealth accumulation. Well-managed debt can play a role in that process.

Here are the four biggest misconceptions about debt. Recognising them will help you develop a more nuanced approach to debt.

The misconceptions

All debt is bad debt.

Indeed, debt is a problem when you can no longer manage it and it starts to manage you. One of the simplest ways to tell whether debt is working for you or against you is through “leveraging”. This refers to the use of debt to acquire an asset that is worth more than the value of the debt. It’s also known as positive or favourable leveraging.

People who take out unsecured loans are leveraging unfavourably when the debt is driven by consumption. Often there’s nothing to show for what you’ve spent. Unsecured loans also tend to charge higher interest rates to compensate for the lack of collateral.

Only financially reckless people are in debt.

This is the next misconception. Second to unsecured loans, most South African consumer debt portfolios are taken up by home loans. The most realistic way to gain entry into the housing market is through a mortgage. You’re doing the right thing if your mortgage is paid off within a reasonable time. This will mean that, in the long term, the value of the property will surpass the home loan amount that was taken out to buy the property in the first place.

But there are two misconceptions related specifically to mortgages.

After you’ve paid the mortgage deposit, you won’t have other fees to pay.

This isn’t correct. Banks charge a fee to open and close a home loan account. There can also be a penalty when a home loan is repaid prematurely. So be sure to read the fine print about discharge fees or closing costs.

If you stick to the repayment amount for your mortgage, you’ll be able to repay the loan quickly.

This isn’t true – even if interest rates fall and your mortgage repayments decline, your home loan is most likely tied to a loan term of 20 to 30 years. Many banks will quote a monthly mortgage repayment amount that seems affordable at face value but is in fact based on a 20-year term period.

Banks are businesses and it works in their favour if you take longer to repay your mortgage because that translates into more interest repayments. The longer the duration of the home loan, the more interest you pay, the more profit they make.

If it takes over 20 years to repay a bond, it’s often the case that the value of the interest repayments exceeds the initial loan amount.

Home loan calculators are a useful tool that can help you assess how much you could afford to repay on a home loan depending on the deposit saved, if interest rates change and how long it will take you to repay the mortgage with topped-up contributions.

It is essential to have a goal for when you’d like to finish paying off your mortgage and a plan in place to achieve this goal. If you don’t do this you could become a mortgage prisoner.

Keeping your eye on the prize

As we’re about to conclude the year and enter the festive season, it’s a good time to remember your financial goals and not let your guard down by unconsciously swiping or tapping that credit card.

“Janu-worry” is around the corner, and so is the financial anxiety that comes with it. But it need not be the case. Debt can either be the cure or the cause of your financial position. Reconsider spending patterns that prompt you to use your credit card. Too much debt over short periods is an irregular spending pattern that is a warning sign.

There’s no harm in buying what you can afford or staying in your financial lane if the alternative forces you to sacrifice your hard-earned income on servicing consumption-driven debt.

For better or worse, debt is a part of our financial portfolios. But the road to financial empowerment is not always easy – financial planning can help you keep your eye on the prize.The Conversation

Bomikazi Zeka, Assistant Professor in Finance and Financial Planning, University of Canberra

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

How COVID-19 fund transformed Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Kware into providing general services

Marcus FATUNMOLE
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How COVID-19 fund transformed Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Kware into providing general services

THE Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Kware, (FNPHK) Sokoto State, is set to provide general health services after procuring state-of-the-art equipment with the COVID-19 Intervention Fund.

The facility is one of the federal government’s hospitals that shared 35 billion COVID-19 intervention funds donated by private organisations and well-meaning individuals in Nigeria at the peak of the pandemic in 2020 to support the nation’s health system and make it better combat the virus. 

The FNPHK started as a mental home in 1988. The Federal Government took over the facility in 1996 and converted it into a neuropsychiatric hospital.

The hospital has since specialised in providing services for mental-related conditions for patients in Nigeria, Niger and other neighbouring countries. In 2019, the hospital cared for nearly 90,000 patients.

The FNPHK is one of Nigeria’s eight federal neuropsychiatric hospitals, out of which three are in the North.

Some of the management Staff of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State.<br />Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole
Some of the management Staff of the Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State.
Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

Medical Director of the hospital, Shehu Sale, a doctor, said the equipment the hospital procured with the COVID-19 fund and other infrastructures it acquired with its budgets from the Federal Government in the past few years had positioned the institution to expand its services beyond psychiatric care.

The hospital’s services now include dialysis, accident and emergency, cardiology, maternity, eye care, dental, gynaecological and other general services.

The COVID-19 Intervention Fund

The world responded to the devastations accompanying COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021 with different measures. While morbidity and mortality from the disease soared globally, well-meaning Nigerians rose to support the nation’s health systems to combat the virus through the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), otherwise known as the COVID-19 fund.

Dr Shehu Sale (R) walks in front of the molecular laboratory building at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

As of June 2020, 181 corporate organisations and individuals had contributed N30.2 billion to the fund.

At the end of the year, the government had spent over N35 billion from the donation, distributing a large chunk of it to 37 federal hospitals.

Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware’s share of the fund

A document obtained by The ICIR from the Accountant-General’s office in Abuja showed that the FNPHK got N1.078 billion from the CAVOVID money.

But the hospital’s medical director told this newspaper that the facility received less than a billion Naira.

Details of COVID-19 fund allocation to the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto

Head of Procurement at the hospital, Ibrahim Nazir, also confirmed to The ICIR that the hospital got N948.1 million from the fund.

Role of the Bureau of Public Procurement in managing the CACOVID donations

The Public Procurement Act 2007 recommends competitive and open bidding for public contracts. The Act, however, has a caveat for emergency procurement during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Federal Government expected all the fund beneficiaries to log the details of their procurements in the Nigerian Open Contracting Portal (NOCOPO).

The NOCOPO is a creation of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to foster the National Action Plan of the Open Government Partnership.

The digital X-ray Machine at the Isolation section of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

Some hospitals, ministries and agencies that received the COCAVID fund published details of what they got on the NOCOPO website. Others failed to do so, including the FNPHK.

Beneficiaries were to provide information on how they spent the money. The information includes project title, contractor, contract sum, completion period, project status and items they procured.

The ICIR reports that failure to upload the details, otherwise known as the procurement plan, is a contravention of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) Act and undermines its transparency initiatives for governance.

Equipment purchased with the fund

The ICIR visited the hospital in October and met the newly-built molecular laboratory, intensive care unit (ICU) and isolation centre built with the CACOVID fund.

-86 refrigerator at the molecular laboratory of Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

The ICIR’s visit to the hospital was part of its verification of the equipment purchased with the CACOVID fund by federal hospitals.

The visit followed similar verifications at the Federal Medical Centres, Jalingo and Makurdi, Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), the Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital Yola, Adamawa State, and Gashua town, Yobe State, and other places. 

Sale and his management team conducted The ICIR around the sections of the hospital housing the equipment bought with the CACOVID fund. They are the molecular laboratory, isolation ward and intensive care unit.

This reporter also saw the hospital’s newly-built Accident and Emergency (A&E) and the Regional Women and Children Drug-Dependent Treatment Centre all equipped.

Molecular Laboratory

Some of the devices at the molecular laboratory are: -86 C refrigerator, autoclave, blood box biosafety cabinet, extraction machines (manual and automated) including refrigerators for keeping reagents, minus 40-degree fridge, real-time PCR machine, life river (used for amplification), bio-safety cabinet and shaker. There is a big generator to supply power, and solar power panels and their batteries.

A master mix at the molecular laboratory of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

There are also VITEK 2 Compact (automated media machine), monitor, Number One Plus Two Automated Incubator, microscopes, Selectra, Skyla, mini vidas and centrifuge.

Others are: water purification system, refrigerator, UPS, analyzer, electrophoresis, automated coagulometer, microscopes, microhematocrit centrifuge, mixer, and blood bank refrigerator.

Idris Muhammed, a Visiting Pathologist, Simon Isezuo, a Professor of Medicine and Cardiology from Usman Danfodiyo University, the Head of the Department of Clinical Services in the hospital, Adebayo Adebisi, a psychiatric doctor, and Roseline Eruwa, Head of the facility’s Medical Microbiology were among the experts who lauded the CACOVID fund donors and the Federal Government for supporting the facility. 

An autoclave at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

In addition to treating COVID-19, they said the hospital would use the equipment to manage other infectious diseases and for research and training.

Before the hospital got the equipment, patients and staff travelled to distant places such as Irrua in Edo State to test blood samples.

According to Isezuo, the hospital can now handle any cardiological-related ailment because of its equipment acquired with the CACOVID fund.

A -40 degree refrigerator for keeping reagents at the molecular laboratory of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

He spoke glowingly of the intervention, stressing that the fund helped the hospital have more buildings and equipment to compete with its contemporaries globally.

Isolation Ward

The hospital has two wards as its isolation—one for suspected cases and the other for confirmed cases.

Every bed has ancillary devices, including a C-PAC machine, a nebulizer (for patients with acute respiratory distress), defibrillators, ultrasound machines, oxygen concentrators, and autoclave machines, among other devices.

Ten-bedded ICU 

There are ten beds, a generator, an intercom for communication, a digital x-ray machine, closed-circuit Television (CCCT) camera for monitoring patients at the ICU. 

Some of the equipment at the ICU Ward of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

Every bed has a monitor and vertical bedhead. “There advantage of this vertical bedhead is that there is a computer system in the nursing station. The nurse doesn’t need to come to the bedside to monitor the patient’s blood pressure, other vital sounds, or respiratory rate. You have the patients on the bed, and all the equipment are connected to them, sending the information to the central system. 

“Even if you have one nurse that is seated there, she’s monitoring ten patients at the same time. The nurse will immediately come to see the bedside whenever there is any red flag. What we have here is a fully digital ICU. That means you don’t need to go to the bedside and take vital signs. We monitor them remotely. Each bed has ancillary equipment comprising a ventilator, suction machine, ECG machine, and oxygen concentrator. There is also a syringe pump. The vertical bedhead has an oxygen pipe supplied to it. There are also ventilators in the ICU”, Idris Muhammed, a Visiting Pathologist from Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, said. 

The ramp at the Isolation and ICU section of the ICU Building of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

The building has a ramp for patients’ easy movement into the facility.

The hospital can use the ramp to take patients from the isolation room to avoid contact with the other persons at the facility, and there are three entrances to the building.

COVID-19 equipment, a blessing to hospital – Medical Director

The medical director said only a few hospitals in Nigeria had the kind of equipment that now exist in the facility before the emergence of COVID-19.

Ward for confirmed cases of infectious diseases at the Isolation Ward of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

“We thank the Federal Government. We thank President Muhammadu Buhari for this giant intervention. Though these were procured to fight COVID, they will be instrumental in tackling other conditions.

“With the COVID intervention and other equipment that we have purchased, we are set to provide eye services, dental care, gynaecological and general medical conditions.

“You can see that we’ve already completed the building and equipping of our state-of-the-art Accident and Emergency, which will make the hospital provide general care you can have in other hospitals. We have theatres and laboratories, with many beds for patients before they are moved to the general wards.

Blood box biosafety cabinet at the molecular laboratory of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

“So, the hospital is providing general care. It is no longer just a psychiatric hospital. By the time the services fully take off, psychiatric care will be just a branch of services in the hospital.”

Giving insight into why the hospital’s services expanded, Sale explained that the Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital in Sokoto was being overstretched, and more people were coming from Niger and other parts of Nigeria to seek care at the FNPHK.

He revealed that one-third of people getting care at the facility were from Niger Republic.

How brain drain hits hospital

The FNPHK has its share in the brain drain hitting the Nigerian health sector.

The manual and automated extraction machines at the molecular laboratory of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

Several reports, including The ICIR’s, show how medical practitioners leave Nigeria in drove yearly. 

Sale said the hospital recently lost two consultants, a couple of nurses and people from other professions to brain drain. 

The hospital hires about 17 visiting consultants to fill the vacuum created by the brain drain. 

Another view of the ICU showing infusion and syringe pumps and monitors at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

“They are people from different specialities who come from different parts of the country.

“We also have visiting nurses with different expertise. We are pushing for the replacement of staff that have exited. Once we do that, the number of staff will increase. They will be able to cater for the teeming number of patients at the hospital.”

The contracts details

The hospital awarded the contract for procuring and installing ten-bedded intensive care unit equipment and reagents to Sudabelt Medical Co Ltd at 308,084,000,00. The procurement was to be delivered within 56 days.

Idris Muhammed, a Visiting Pathologist, and Simon Isezuo, a professor, at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole
Idris Muhammed, a Visiting Pathologist, and Simon Isezuo, a professor, at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

Ceword Int’l Resource got the contract for procuring and installing the isolation centre’s equipment and reagent for 84,939,678.92. The procurement had 56 days delivery target.

 The hospital awarded the contract for constructing an isolation centre and intensive care unit (ICU) to Akoon Multi Services Ltd for 59,999,956.48. They were to be completed within 180 days.

DCL Laboratory Ltd got the contract for procuring and installing molecular biology equipment, reagents and other molecular laboratory equipment for 300,848,654,00. The company was to deliver the equipment within 56 days.

The contract for the construction of the molecular laboratory was awarded to Horkey International Services Ltd for 44,794,083,63. The project had a delivery deadline of 100 days.

One of the refrigerators for reagents at the molecular laboratory of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware, Sokoto State. Photo credit: The ICIR/Marcus Fatunmole

De Roox Precious Services Nigeria Ltd got the contract to procure personal protective equipment at 53,547,170,00.

Similarly, the contract for another tranche of procurement of personal protective was awarded to Health Matrix Nigeria Ltd for 95,982,250.00, with a delivery deadline fixed for 56 days.

‘Awa Lokan’: Obasanjo propounds new slogan for Nigerian youths

Sinafi OMANGA
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‘Awa Lokan’: Obasanjo propounds new slogan for Nigerian youths

AHEAD of the 2023 general elections, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged Nigerian youths to shun the “mindset of Emi Lokan”.

The Yoruba expression which means “my turn” drew controversy after the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu used it to demand votes from party members in Abeokuta last year.

Obasanjo said: “Emi Lokan (My turn) and ‘I have paid my dues’ are one and the same thing and are wrong attitude and mentality for the leadership of Nigeria now.”

In an open letter endorsing the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi on Sunday, January 1, Obasanjo urged Nigerians, especially the youths, to instead embrace a new slogan – “Awa Lokan”, which means “our turn”.

“Youth of Nigeria, your time has come, and it is now and please grasp it. If not now, it will be never. I appeal to you to turn the tide on its head and march forward chanting ‘Awa Lokan’ (Our turn) not with a sense of entitlement, but with a demonstrable ideological commitment to unity and transformation of Nigeria,” the former President said.

Read the letter here 

While stating that none of the presidential candidate is “perfect”, Obasanjo said he preferred Obi because “he has an edge”.

“Needless to say that he has a young and able running mate with clean track record of achievement both in public and private life”, the former President added.

He advised Nigerians against electing other candidates because “they cannot form the new pedestal to reinvent and to invest in a new Nigeria based on an All-Nigeria Government for the liberation and restoration of Nigeria”.

Meanwhile, Tinubu and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar speaking through their campaign spokespersons have dismissed Obi’s endorsement by Obasanjo.

They maintained respectively that the former President was entitled to his opinion and only expressing “wishful thinking”.

New Year Message: Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso canvass votes, Tinubu harps on peace

Marcus FATUNMOLE
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New Year Message: Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso canvass votes, Tinubu harps on peace

LEADING presidential candidates for the 2023 election have welcomed Nigerians into the election year.

In New Year messages published on their Facebook pages, the politicians felicitated Nigerians. They also prayed for a better Nigeria.

The Labour Party (LP) flagbearer Peter Obi called on Nigerians to unite in the journey of salvaging the nation from corruption, insecurity and unproductivity. 

He said the new year would determine the direction the nation heads.

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“This nation cannot continue in its all-round retrogressive movement in the coming years, as that will result in its total collapse. 

“2023 is an existential year in the history of our nation. It is a year we all must unite against the continued abuse of our nation’s democracy and economy.”

The former Anambra State governor said the power was in the citizens’ hands to take back their nation and make it work through their choices at the polls.

He urged the citizens to hold him accountable to his words, adding that his commitment to securing the country, unifying it and moving it from consumption to production remained unchanged.

“I call on Nigerians to hold me accountable to my promises for a better nation when I am elected. I have made a pact with Nigerians, and I will not leave any of my promises unfulfilled. Nigerians can hold me accountable by my words of promise.

“I wish Nigerians a very productive 2023 and urge everyone to remain law-abiding while contributing to the growth and development of the nation.”

In his message, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar said he was inspired by the need to provide leadership that would propel the nation to greater heights to overcome its challenges.

The former Vice President expressed his willingness to “recover and rebuild a united, strong and prosperous Nigeria”.

“I thank God for His infinite mercies, and I congratulate all Nigerians for surviving the harrowing experience imposed on our people for over seven years. Do not despair. Hope is on the horizon. PDP shall make things right again,” he added.

Similarly, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso felicitated the citizens for witnessing the new year.

In a video, he said the previous year brought many challenges to Nigerians, including insecurity, economic hardship and poor infrastructure.  

He prayed that the new year would be better than the past years.

While appealing for votes, he urged Nigerians to support all the stakeholders in the forthcoming election. 

The former Kano State governor also called on the Federal Government and other stakeholders to ensure a free, fair and credible election. 

Meanwhile, the flagbearer for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) harped on the imperative of peace in making Nigeria great.

“Last year, I identified, as one of our major problems, a lack of peace and an absence of unity. In this new year, let us set aside discord and put away our differences. Let us, instead, chart a course of progress and development for our great nation through constructive discourse and the intellectual exchange of ideas.

“As we go into 2023, let us remember at all times to live in peace. Let us look beyond ethnic, tribal and religious differences and remember that we are one people, united under one flag.”

While wishing Nigerians a happy and prosperous new year, the former Lagos State governor urged all to unite and work for the country’s best destiny.

The presidential and National Assembly polls will hold on February 25.

The presidential election winner takes over from President Muhammadu Buhari, who leaves office on May 29 after serving his constitutionally-permissible two terms of four years apiece.

Buhari was elected President in 2015 after defeating the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in a historic and unprecedented manner. Buhari was re-elected for another and final four-year term in 2019.

The ICIR reported the President’s last New Year message on Saturday, December 31.

Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi worthless – Onanuga

Ijeoma OPARA
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Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi worthless – Onanuga

THE Director of Media and Publicity of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) Bayo Onanuga has described former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as a political paperweight.

Onanuga said this in a statement released after Obasanjo endorsed Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi, on Sunday, January 1.

According to him, the endorsement will not make any difference in the forthcoming elections.

Onanuga said APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu will not lose sleep over Obasanjo’s decision to back Obi.

“We make bold to say that our party and candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will not lose sleep over Obasanjo’s move, as Obasanjo is notorious for always opposing progressive political forces, as he did against MKO Abiola in 1993.

“The endorsement is actually worthless because the former President does not possess any political goodwill or leverage anywhere in Nigeria to make anyone win a Councillorship election, let alone win a Presidential election. He is a political paperweight. He is also not a democrat anyone should be proud to be associated with.”

Onanuga noted that although Obasanjo had attempted to force his candidates into elective offices during his tenure as President, he would be unable to deliver his polling unit in Ogun State to the Labour Party.

“We take particular notice of the part of the endorsement statement where Chief Obasanjo said none of the presidential candidates is a saint. We want to state here that Chief Obasanjo is not a good judge of character. He is a man who considers only himself as the all-knowing saint in Nigeria.

“Over the years, Chief Obasanjo has also convinced himself that integrity, honesty and all good virtues begin and end with him,” Onanuga noted.

Obasanjo had, in a New Year message to Nigerians on Sunday, endorsed Obi as his preferred presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections.

Obasanjo noted that Obi has an edge over other candidates and pointed out that the responsibilities of a President were too vigorous for candidates over 70 years of age.

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, some of the leading presidential candidates have held meetings with Obasanjo.

APC candidate, Bola Tinubu, visited him at his Abeokuta residence in August 2022.

After the meeting, reports emerged that Obasanjo had endorsed Tinubu. Obasanjo, however, debunked the claims.

2023: Full Text of Obasanjo’s Letter to Nigerians

Editorial
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2023: Full Text of Obasanjo’s Letter to Nigerians

DEAR Compatriots and Friends,

MY APPEAL TO ALL NIGERIANS PARTICULARLY YOUNG NIGERIANS

Happy New Year! May all our national calamities disappear this year.

I am constrained to write this letter to all Nigerians especially young Nigerians, friends of Nigeria globally as well as our development partners because of the gravity, responsibility and implications of the collective decision Nigerians, both young and old, will be making within the next two months.

The last seven and a half years have no doubt been eventful and stressful years for many Nigerians. We have moved from frying pan to fire and from mountain top to the valley.

Our leaders have done their best, but their best had turned out to be not the best for Nigeria and Nigerians at home and abroad. For most Nigerians, it was hell on earth.

Those of us who are alive should thank God for His mercies, brace ourselves for the remaining few months of this administration and pray and work very hard for an immediate better future – future of liberation, restoration and great hope and expectation.

We have had campaigners going up and down the country feeding us with what they mean and what they do not mean, what they understand and what they do not fully understand, what is possible and what is not possible, what is realistic and what is unrealistic, what is true and what is untrue. I believe that we need not be confused nor be gullible. Let us be cautious, not to be fooled again.

I have interacted with the major contestants and I find it interesting that, in one form or the other, each of them claims to want to do what I did during my Presidency and to take Nigeria back to where it was at the height of my Presidency and immediately after. I was pained that most of them do not realise that the Nigeria of today had been dragged down well below Nigeria of the beginning of my Presidency in June 1999.

Although at that time, Nigeria was in very bad shape and was tottering on the verge of collapse and break-up.

Even then, Nigeria was not faced with the level of pervasive and mind-numbing insecurity, rudderless leadership, buoyed by mismanagement of diversity and pervasive corruption, bad economic policies resulting in extremes of poverty and massive unemployment and galloping inflation.

For these reasons, I kept pointing out to them that the instruments used in 1999 to 2007 and methodology used will grossly be inadequate for the perilous situation we now find ourselves.

Without prejudice but with greatest respect to each individual with utmost regard for the best for Nigeria and all Nigerians and from my personal experience, all the major contestants claim to be my mentees. I will not deny such positions since I have worked with all of them directly and indirectly in government.

I have come to realise a number of factors in character, attributes and attitude that are necessary in the job of directing the affairs of Nigeria successfully and at a time like this. These characteristics or attributes are many but let us be mindful of some key ones together.

From interaction and experience, and as mentees as most of them claim, I will, without prejudice, fear or ill-will, make bold to say that there are four major factors to watch out for in a leader you will consider to hoist on yourself and on the rest of Nigerians in the coming election and they are what I call TVCP: Track record of ability and performance; Vision that is authentic, honest and realistic; Character and attributes of a lady and a gentleman who are children of God and obedient to God; and Physical and mental capability with soundness of mind as it is a very taxing and tasking assignment at the best of times and more so it is at the most difficult time that we are.

Let me say straight away that ‘Emi Lokan’ (My turn) and ‘I have paid my dues’ are one and the same thing and are wrong attitude and mentality for the leadership of Nigeria now.

They cannot form the new pedestal to reinvent and to invest in a new Nigeria based on an All-Nigeria Government for the liberation and restoration of Nigeria. Such a government must have representation from all sectors of our national life – public, private, civil society, professional, labour, employers, and the diaspora. The solution should be in ‘we’ and ‘us’ and not in ‘me’ and ‘I’.

Mind you, I reiterate that no human being is an angel let alone a Messiah, but there are elements of these attributes and on comparative basis and by measure of what we know of, and what some of us have experienced from the front-runners, we must assess judiciously and choose wisely.

If anybody claims he or she has anything to the contrary, it will be up to him or her to prove to us.

I pray not to be proved right again in the bad sense but rather to be proved right in the positive and glorious sense of Nigeria becoming what God had created it to be – a land of plenty and prosperity united for common purpose of inclusive society, common security, shared prosperity, equity, egalitarianism, justice, and equal stake in the Project Nigeria with leadership role of Nigeria for the black race and fair share of global division of labour.

One ridiculous point that has been touted to justify unjustifiable appointments and selections is ‘competence’. In truth and in reality, genuine competence can be found in any region or section of Nigeria through track record and performance if only people will honestly and sincerely look hard for people with such attainment and attribute.

Most of us in good conscience can testify to competence when we see any anywhere. What is masqueraded as ‘competence’ is self-interest and nepotism.

We have a unique opportunity to correct ourselves by ourselves for the good of ourselves. Those who are preaching division, segregation, separation, and want to use diversity for their own self and selfish interest are enemies of the nation, no matter what else they may disguisedly profess or proclaim.

The Challenge Is For Nigerian Youth:

If we fall prey again, we will have ourselves to blame and no one can say how many more knocks Nigeria can take before it tips over. To be forewarned is to be fore-armed.

Future is not emotion. I challenge the youth to arise. Let nobody pull wool over your eyes to divide you and/or segregate you to make you underlings. Nigerian youth, wherever they come from, North or South, East or West need education which is now denied to over 20 million children; Nigerian youth also need skills, empowerment, employment, reasonably good living conditions, welfare and well-being.

My dear young men and women, you must come together and bring about a truly meaningful change in your lives. If you fail, you have no one else to blame. Your present and future are in your hands to make or to mar. The future of Nigeria is in the same manner in your hands and literally so. If for any reason you fail to redeem yourself and your country, you will have lost the opportunity for good and you will have no one to blame but yourselves and posterity will not forgive you. Get up, get together, get going and get us to where we should be. And you, the youth, it is your time and your turn. ‘Eyin Lokan’ (Your turn).

The power to change is in your hands. Your future, my future, the future of grandchildren and great grandchildren is in your hands. Politics and elections are numbers game. You have the numbers, get up, stand up and make your numbers count.

Let me say it again, loud and clear, Nigeria has no business with insecurity, poverty, insurgency, banditry, unemployment, hunger, debt, division and disunity. We are in these situations because advertently or inadvertently, our leaders have made the choices. They have done the best they could do. Let them take their rest deservedly or not and let them enjoy their retirement as Septuagenarians or older.

I became Head of State at 39 and at 42, I had retired into the farm. When it was considered necessary, I was drafted back into active political life after twenty years of interregnum. I came back at 62 and by 70, I was on my way out. Others like General Gowon and Enahoro became national leaders at 33 and 27 respectively and General Gowon at the helms of leadership of Nigeria at the highest level. The vigour, energy, agility, dynamism and outreach that the job of leadership of Nigeria requires at the very top may not be provided as a septuagenarian or older. I know that from personal experience. And it is glaring out of our current experiences.

Otherwise, we will be fed with, “The President says” and we will neither see nor hear him directly as we should. Yes, for some, age and physical and mental disposition are not in tandem.

But where and when they are with obvious evidence, they must be taken into account for purpose of reality. And yet it is a job in our present situation where the team leader or captain of the team should be up and doing, outgoing inside and outside and speaking to the nation on almost daily basis visibly and as much as possible interactively and meeting his colleagues all over the world on behalf of Nigeria.

Youth of Nigeria, your time has come, and it is now and please grasp it. If not now, it will be never. I appeal to you to turn the tide on its head and march forward chanting ‘Awa Lokan’ (Our turn) not with a sense of entitlement, but with a demonstrable ideological commitment to unity and transformation of Nigeria.

Leave The Past, Face The Future:

Can we let the past go? I appeal to the young Nigerians to stop inheriting other people’s prejudices and enemies. Make your own friends and stop inheriting your father’s enemies.

Let’s stop criminalising and demonising one another on the basis of the civil war on which we are all wrong. And let’s praise and thank God for preserving the oneness of Nigeria.

The Scripture says that if God would take account of all our wrongdoings, nobody would be able to stand before Him. While not suffering from amnesia, let us stop still fighting and reacting to the civil war in our hearts, minds, heads and our attitude acrimoniously.

Let’s stop living on our different wrongs or mistakes of the past: treasonable felony, Tiv riot and its handling, first military coup and its aftermath, second military coup, araba, pogrom and the civil war, all in the 1960s. And more recently OPC, Egbesu, MASSOB, IPOB, Boko Haram and banditry. No region can claim to be innocent or to be saintly. And no justification will suffice. In our respective individual or regional positions, we have done right and we have done wrong. It is therefore not right for any of us to be sanctimonious to see ourselves as saints and the rest as devils incarnate.

Just let us agree to move forward together in mutual forgiveness, one accord, inclusive society, equality and equity. Together and without bias and discrimination, fear or favour, we can have Nigeria of one nation in diversity, in truth and in practice. Let us honour, cherish, respect and even celebrate our diversity which is the basis of our potential greatness and strength.

If we will only continue to harp on wrongs done by each of us individually or collectively, we will never be able to stand together. If we will continue with wide brush to paint a national or sub-national group as bad and never to be trusted with leadership because of past error or mistakes that some of them were responsible for and treat their offspring as inheritors, it will amount to great injustice that will surely lead to no peace, no security and no stability for development and progress.

First, no group is faultless; second, for the greatness of the whole, we need one another as constituents of the whole; third, we cannot be talking and working for Africa’s integration and for Nigeria’s disintegration at the same time. Why for instance should I be stigmatized or despised because of my place of origin, place of birth or where I come from? Where I was born, by whom I was born and when I was born were not choices made by me. They were choices and prerogatives of God.

Any antagonism against me on that basis is unfair and is tantamount to fighting against God, the Creator. Such derogatory attitude and mindset do not build any human institution let alone a nation. While not forgetting the past, let us put the past behind us for it not to continue to mar our present and our future and that of the coming generation. We must rise above primordial animalistic instincts and behaviour. Yes, we are human and higher than animals in the wild. Let us develop national ethos and national characteristics that can take us collectively to the promised.

My dear young men and women, let me assure you that there are only two tribes of people in Nigeria a tribe of good people and a tribe of bad people. You are either a good Nigerian of Igbo extraction, Kanuri extraction, etc, or a bad Nigerian of Yoruba extraction, Ijaw extraction etc.

I will at this juncture want to commend the politicians as they have generally been reasonably civil in their campaigns without making politics as a call to war against opponents.

Genuine and fair competition conveys greater legitimacy in any political rivalry or competition. A situation where people in authority and power assume such positions through foul and despicable means and continue to espouse and act in ways that only engender conflict or war by subverting legitimacy of power and authority does not augur well for the polity and as such, the moral foundation of the government and the society will be terribly weakened.

May God help, save, protect and sustain Nigeria for all Nigerians, for Africa and for the human race. We can only continue to play politics of ethnicity, religion, region and money bags at the peril of our country and to self-destruction. We need selfless, courageous, honest, patriotic, in short, outstanding leadership with character and fear of God beyond what we have had in recent past.

None of the contestants is a saint but when one compares their character, antecedent, their understanding, knowledge, discipline and vitality that they can bring to bear and the great efforts required to stay focused on the job particularly looking at where the country is today and with the experience on the job that I personally had, Peter Obi as a mentee has an edge.  Others like all of us have what they can contribute to the new dispensation to liberation, restoration and salvaging of Nigeria collectively.

One other important point to make about Peter is that he is a needle with thread attached to it from North and South and he may not get lost.  In other words, he has people who can pull his ears, if and when necessary.

Needless to say that he has a young and able running mate with clean track record of achievement both in public and private life.

  • Olusegun Obasanjo is a former president of Nigeria. This is his 2023 New Year message. 

2023: Obasanjo endorses Peter Obi for presidency

Ijeoma OPARA
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2023: Obasanjo endorses Peter Obi for presidency

FORMER Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has endorsed the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi for presidency in 2023.

Obasanjo disclosed his position on the 2023 presidential election in his New Year Message to Nigerians on Sunday, January 1.

The former President described the past seven and a half years under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government as stressful and eventful.

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Urging Nigerians to be cautious while electing a new leader Obasanjo stated that his choice of a preferred candidate was based on previous relationships with the major contestants for the 2023 presidential election.

“We need selfless, courageous, honest, patriotic, in short, outstanding leadership with character and fear of God beyond what we have had in recent past.

“None of the contestants is a saint but when one compares their character, antecedent, their understanding, knowledge, discipline and vitality that they can bring to bear and the great efforts required to stay focused on the job particularly looking at where the country is today and with the experience on the job that I personally had, Peter Obi as a mentee has an edge,” he noted.

The ex-President challenged Nigerian youths to ignore divisive antics employed by politicians. He also noted that the job of a President was too vigorous for aged candidates.

“The vigour, energy, agility, dynamism and outreach that the job of leadership of Nigeria requires at the very top may not be provided as a septuagenarian or older. I know that from personal experience. And it is glaring out of our current experiences. Otherwise, we will be fed with, ‘The President says,’ and we will neither see nor hear him directly as we should.

“I challenge the youth to arise. Let nobody pull wool over your eyes to divide you and/or segregate you to make you underlings. Nigerian youth, wherever they come from, North or South, East or West, need education which is now denied to over 20 million children; Nigerian youth also need skills, empowerment, employment, reasonably good living conditions, welfare and well-being,” Obasanjo noted.

He also pointed out that challenges plaguing the country, including poverty, unemployment and insurgency, resulted from actions of elected leaders.

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