solomon2day - Page 25 of 25

She developed an interest in building self-esteem for women-Lydia Busingye

By solomon2day
On 09/09/2019
Comments (0)
In Special Report

Lydia Busingye is a young woman who was kidnapped and subjected to sexual abuse at the age of thirteen. This tragedy left her with feelings of resentment, self-blame, low self-worth and confidence. As a result she felt discouraged to pursue her dreams of becoming a confident and effective leader someday.

Over the years that she struggled with her experience, Lydia found inspiration to regain her confidence and self-worth by having successful women role models such as Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, the late Minister Aloisea Inyumba, Joyce Meyer and Oprah Winfrey. Their life stories and achievements motivated Lydia to use the negative experiences from her childhood to rebuild her strength and encourage other women and girls to do the same.

She developed an interest in building self-esteem for women and girls through restoring hope, dreams and fighting against sexual and gender based violence (SGBV). Lydia’s passion for women and girls issues encouraged her to look for opportunities that empowered her and other women in various ways.

Lydia describes the Rwanda Women Leadership Institute (RWLI) as one such opportunity that has empowered her to be the woman she is today. As a woman who once dreamt of becoming a leader, she commends the program for reigniting her dream through its training in leadership skills.

One of her most important lessons from the program is from an African proverb that was shared during the training; “if you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together.” According to Lydia, the proverb, reinforces “the importance of working together and supporting one another as women in pursuing our dreams,” and the capacity women have to be leaders that can contribute to meaningful change and development in society. She also learnt the importance of self-love, care, protection/safety of women and girls in any environment.

As a RWLI alumni, Lydia has used both personal and professional platforms to share information on women’s key role in decision making, transformational leadership and SGBV. She hopes that in sharing with other women and girls, she can help them protect themselves and address issues of abuse as well as motivate them to be agents of change in their respective communities. Lydia describes RWLI as a programme that has given her the right tools to achieve her dreams; “I am now dreaming to be a woman of integrity, a role model, a source of health and wealth in my country and worldwide.”
RWLI represents one of the projects implemented by Rwanda Women’s Network (RWN) in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion to empower Rwandan women from all walks of life. The institute’s objectives compliment various national and global campaigns that promote women’s rights and gender parity; such as the Rwanda’s national theme for International Women’s Day; “Preserving the Dignity Regained.”
Rwanda is commended globally for its gender sensitive policies and the highest Parliamentarian representation of women (64%) in the world. The theme outlines the nation’s role in building on these achievements in the empowerment of women. RWN is expanding and contributing to these gains through RWLI and more projects by using holistic approaches to address issues affecting women and girls in Rwanda.
In line with the global movement #BeBoldForChange, the RWLI program encompasses the importance of women’s active role in influencing change that contributes to empowerment of women and gender parity.
RWLI falls under one of the RWN main program areas; Governance and Leadership. It equips women with knowledge and tools to be effective leaders and equal contributors to change and development in their respective sectors and communities. RWLI continues to empower and inspire more women like Lydia to “make their challenges a catalyst for positive transformation,” at a personal, community and national level.

Once Govt Places Emphasis on Building Strong Institutions Incurring Debts Shall No Longer be the Priority-Prof. Olagoke

By solomon2day
On 29/08/2019
Comments (0)
In The People Talk

Nigerians residing in the South West Geo-Political zone are worried over the continued borrowing by State Governments in the Geo-Political zone.

Already, a report puts the total debt profile of the states at N1.3 trillion, even though the debts are not commensurate with the results of governance.

The people express great doubts over the possibility that good governance and economic development shall be achieved in the next four years, as the state Governors continue to borrow.

In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke asserts that if Nigerians leaders concentrate more on building strong institutions instead of strong individuals, the emphasis would shift from incurring debts to generating revenue. Excerpts :

Are you not worried over the rising debt profile of state in the South West Geo-Political zone of Nigeria ?

Recently, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, stated that the major headache for economic development is more revenue generation rather than debts.

Analyzing this within the context of our culture of impunity and corruption, the two are more of threats to the development of the nation and that of the South West because on ground, there is not much to appreciate in terms of development, most especially in the areas of provision of employment, basic amenities and functional infrastructure, apart from the fact that the debts incurred would be more of frictional resistances to the performance of any incoming administration, after the tenure of the borrower must have elapsed.

The general problem of government in Nigeria, both Federal and state, is the lack of continuity in project and policy implementation, most especially when there is a change in leadership. Yet the debts will continue to be an hitch of liability. A notable characteristic of Government in Nigeria, included poor finishing or outright abandonment of projects, no matter how laudable.

Take for example, the way we abandoned vision 2010, for vision 2020, which if it had been well executed would have propelled Nigeria to stardom, placing the country among the 20 most economically viable nations in the world.

Researches were conducted by various institutions in the country with the aim of agreeing to work towards viable and strong foundations for its feasibility on the premise of erasing our Gross Domestic Product(GDP) to $900 billion, power generation to at least 6,00 megawatts and the economic growth rate of 7 per cent, but unfortunately, 2020 is just less than a year ahead, with records of abandonment, lack of visibility, lack of viability and with almost nothing to equitably distribute.

With the sustainable development goals accompanied by with grants from various world bodies, the culture of impunity and corruption have not only weakened governance, but failed us into the mirage of sustainable development.\My advice for debt rate reduction is in the following these guidelines :

Donor agencies need to direct interventions to specific areas of need.
Revenue generation must move up from a status of 55 per cent of 2018.
Judicious use of the interventions with close monitoring mechanism must be in place to ensure it is fraud free.
Nigerian government must avoid imposed programs that are foreign without direct impact on the lives of the people.
There must be coordination of debt management to ensure virement of grants or borrowed money by the network of the Debt Management office, management staff of the Ministry of Budget and Planning, Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and the Directors, should be held accountable for any financial shortcoming.
Let the anti-corruption agencies proactively work with the Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Directors, all staff of the ministry of Budget and Planning for wholesome or all encompassing cleansing of the land on the generated revenue, grants and borrowed funds with the programs and projects they intend to execute for the nation’s development using the advantages of the Treasury Single Account, The Integrated Payroll, Personnel Information System and intelligence gathering of the whistle blowers’ efforts.

Generally, the diversified economy and import dependent

economy of any nation cannot sustain such country hence there would be the need to live on debt for project execution.

To avoid this situation, the area of entrepreneurship should be given adequate attention to recover rapid economic growth.

Presently, the inflation is rate is about 11.2 per cent, while the nation operates two digit interest rates on loans.

This economic climate is never favorable to the growth of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises(SMEs), which are currently suffering from the following lackluster factors, despite the presence of Entrepreneurship studies in the curriculum of our institutions-Secondary schools, Technical colleges, Polytechnics and Universities : paucity of funds, dearth of managerial expertise, irregular power supply with high cost for substitution, no homogeneous consensus of quality and standard among SME entrepreneurs with consequent poor products against the spirit of globalization on global best practices.

There is also the lack of patronage because of low policy design and implementation of Nigeria’s SMEs’ products by government and its agencies.

In addition there is the insensitivity to global competitiveness essence due to the use of obsolete technology form, processing.

Furthermore, there is tough government business regulation on ground that are usually unfriendly to businesses and hence discourage start ups.

Government must therefore, invest on the provision of functional infrastructural facilities to thrive entrepreneurship, to increase efficiency and productivity and provide access to available markets and sustainable growth and development.

Above all, Nigerian leaders need to focus on building a strong nation, rather than building strong individuals, for any worthwhile development to come by, through high revenue generation and less of legacy debts.

Leadership : Between China and Nigeria

By solomon2day
On 28/08/2019
Comments (0)
In Solomon's Column

Mao Zedong popularly known as Chairman Mao, was successful with his noble goals for China through despotic means.

His leadership was severe, dictatorial and personalized.

For as long as Chairman Mao's cultural revolution lasted, thousands of Chinese died of starvation and inhuman labor.

Mao and his co-travelers argued that same was the price their people had to pay for re-education.

This brand of governance ensured the extermination of the heroes of the civil war and the old party chieftains by the President's armed squad.

Chairman Mao is perhaps the role model of those who hold sway in Nigeria today.

Indeed, the Kaduna state Governor, Mallam Nasir El Rufai is among several other political office holders, who adore President Muhammadu Buhari.

Those in support of this argument insist that on a number of occasions, the Kaduna state Governor had knelt down to greet and/or consult with the President. They maintain that this is only a sign of respect in the traditional African setting.

However, those against this order of things, stress that the underlying factors revolve on hypocrisy and boot licking.

Nigerians are yet to stop complaining of constitutional breaches and the unabated trampling of the rule of law in the dust, without noticeable changes by the powers that be.

From recent events in the country, the economic reform programmes of the All Progressives Congress(APC) led government at the centre and in the states, are modeled along the thinking of a free market economy.

It is doubtful, if government, in the last three years, has managed the economy for the benefit of Nigerians.

At a particular point in time, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo launched the ''Trader Money'' in Abuja.

The target beneficiaries are petty traders in the country and the collateral free loans for them, ranges from N10,000 to N15,000.

But the fundamental questions Nigerians are asking include, Why are the interest free loans coming at this time ?, close to the governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states. Is this not a modified form of vote buying ? Considering the fact that a day after the launch, the Vice President was in Osogbo, Osun state to campaign for the APC Governorship candidate in the 22 September Governorship elections in the state.

This is irrespective of the fact that the state government has just resumed payment of full salaries to its impoverished workforce, after paying them half salaries for over three years.

Of worry is the state of manufacturing industries, which could be said to be epileptic, even as food security is a mirage, insecurity is the chorus everywhere, while crude oil remains the major hope of the present administration.

Interestingly, the future growth of the Nigerian economy rests comfortably on diversification and focus on visionary and creative people friendly economic policies, although government still over-rely and over-depends on crude oil to fund its programmes.

Can the present administration turn around the troubled economy ? Nobody knows.

Govt. Should do More for the Youth-Head, YMCA VTC Ibadan

By solomon2day
On 20/08/2019
Comments (0)

Government at all levels have been called upon to encourage the youth population to pursue careers in Technical and Vocational education.

This Call was Made by Mr. Niyi Fagbemi, Head of the Vocational Training Centre for PrintingTechnology(Young Mens Christian Association), Ibadan, Nigeria.

''Government at all levels should do more for the youth by encouraging them to pursue careers in Technical and Vocational education. It is better to prepare a curriculum and go through it, than to embark on crash programmes whether it is thrre or six months, to avoid turning out half baked graduates'', Mr. Fagbemi stated.

He also advisedc parents and guardians to encourage their children and wards to acquire skills that would make them self reliant adding, '' so that they would have something to fall back on''.

The centre, which is non denominational, trains the youth, mostly indigent, in Printing Technology

Nigeria Judiciary in the Next Level

By solomon2day
On 20/08/2019
Comments (0)
In Solomon's Column

The percentage of Judges and Magisterates in Nigeria,who have the tendency to sacrifice their integrity and career on the altar of filthy lucre are increasing by the day.

Most Nigerians, have a tale or the other to tell of their experiences in the courtrooms, good or bad, with the latter case occupying the majority position.

Interim injunctions, rulings and delivered judgements from the court rooms in the country have always attracted comments,questions and debates among the people, who still view the Judiciary,as the last resort and only hope of the common man.

But this may no longer be the case, if happenings in the various court rooms ar anything to go by. Government it is believed has annexed the independence of the Juidciary and now manipulates it to suit its motives.

However,the common man still finds it difficult to come to terms with the fact that the financial position of an individual determines what he comes out with from the court room.

In 2004, Justice Stanley Nnaji of the Enugu state Judiciary was suspended from office by the National Judicial Council(NJC), for ordering the then Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun, to remove the then Anambra state Governor, Chris Ngige from office.

Also in the same year in Enugu state, Justice Anthony Onovo,ofthe Nsukka Judicial Division,was asked by the then Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman NJC to give reasons for delivering a controversial judgement.

Justice Onovo’s judgement had led to the demolition of a six bedroom bungalow,Nursery and Primary school and a poultry farm at No. 29 John Nwod close, Government Reservation Area,Enugu. The property belonged to a couple-Obed Chukwunedum and Linda Menakaya.

Following a petition written by to the Chief Justice by Menakaya,which alleged perversion of justice between Menakaya and one Dr.Harry Ezim-a United States of America based legal practitioner, the Chief Justice in a letter dated May 24, 2004,with reference No. NJC/873/1/185, requested Justice Onovo to respond ”urgently” to the petition.

Before this time Justice Onovo was transferred in 2002 from the Enugu Judicial Division toNsukka Judicial Division,but for undisclosed reasons, he continued to adjudicate on some cases, he was in charge in Enugu, before his transfer to Nsukka.

Of worry, is the fact that similar instances abound in several court rooms in the country,today.

Interestingly,the then state Chief Judge, never authorized Justice Onovo to conclude pending cases in his court before his transfer. This exposed his hidden interests in those cases.

The case between Dr. Ezim and Menakaya is one of such cases.

On 3, July, 2001, Dr. Ezim had instituted a suit in the state high court,against the 78year old retired Chief Agricultural Officer,in the old Anambra state, in a bid to claim ownership of No. 29 John Nwodo close.

In the suit No. E/18301,2001, Dr. Ezim prayed the court to declare that, he legitimatley acquired the property from the siblings of a deceased, Gabriel Okiyi, a close friend of Menakaya.

Indeed, court rooms are increasingly becoming waiting rooms of injustice.

But Menakaya through his counsel,Chief Anthony Mogboh, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN) countered Dr. Ezim’s claim. Chief Mogboh stated that his client bought the land from late Okiyi, when he was Director in the Ministry of Agriculture in the defunct East Central state and thereafter, proceeded to build a six bedroom bungalow, a poultry farm and a Nursery and Primary school. He maintained that his client,had lived there since 1981.

Surprisingly, on 19 March,2004, Justice Onovo delivered judgement against Menakaya. In his judgement,Justice Onovo declared Menakaya a tresspasser on the land,while also ruling that Dr. Ezim was the rightful owner of the disputed property.

Less than an hour after the judgement was delivered, Dr. Ezim mobilised 15 thugs,three anti riot policemen and 14 policemen from the Police Area Command, Enugu and one Ugwu, the then Chief Bailiff of the Enugu state High court to eject Menakaya and his family.

On Monday,March 22, armed with a ”warrant of possession”,which Dr. Ezim claimed originated from Justice Onovo, and a caterpillar,the entire buildings were demolished.

Menakaya’s case is just one out of several thousands that have gone unnoticed. Indeed,it is very odd for some questionable legal practitioners to relocate their chambers to beer parlours,in residential areas.

Their motives are reflected in a beer parlour operator’s words: “We always have our LLB, BL, beer parlour here for us,this is his chambers”.

Of interest,is the desperate attempts by individuals,who have acquired illegitimate wealth to invest same in landed properties in major cities in the country, of course,this can only be possible with the seal of the court rooms,and the footsteps of the law enforcement agents.

Are these attempts having the consent of the authorities that be ? Hopefully not !

Use Good Governance to Address Challenges By Prof. Sabitu Olagoke

By solomon2day
On 15/08/2019
Comments (0)
In The People Talk

Nigeria suffers from poverty and kleptocracy as reflected in hunger, insecurity, corruption and untimely death in the land because of injustice and inequality in an environment of impunity.

Nigerians gave their mandate, through the ballot box, to the occupiers of various political offices in this new dispensation, to rule and govern with the belief that the office holders would end the insecurity in the land.

However, Nigerians are still asking questions :

* Why are cases of kidnappings, ritual killings, rape, pedophilia, armed robbery, banditry, threat of secession and advanced fee fraud, persisting ?

* Why is the promotion of prosperity through the enhanced provision of basic amenities for the people’s welfare, and infrastructure for industrial development difficult to achieve ?

All Nigerians are stakeholders in this respect. Only good governance, that ensures well funded education and health sectors, while also institutionalizing discipline and zero tolerance to corruption, without bias, is the antidote.

The Judiciary, Legislature and scripture compliant religious bodies need to create an enabling environment for sanity, reliability and sustainable development to be achieved.

Sympathy

By solomon2day
On 15/08/2019
Comments (0)
In Morality

Sympathy is the act of identifying with people in their times of grief.

It is proper to show sympathy to those who find themselves in unfortunate circumstances.

Always sympathize with those in bad condition or who find themselves in one form of difficulty or the other.

Difficult Situations include natural disaster, accident, economic recession or depression, fire incident and violence among others.

Kenya : Female Lawmaker and Baby forced out of Parliament by Speaker

By solomon2day
On 13/08/2019
Comments (0)
In News

The presence of a Female Lawmaker who was in the chamber of the Kenya Parliament with her five month old baby temporarily disrupted proceedings last week Wednesday .

The acting Speaker, Christopher Omulele had, on noticing that Kwale Woman Representative, Ms Zuleika Hassan was in the chamber with her baby, ordered her to take her child out of the chamber.

This resulted into a division among the lawmakers, with some male lawmakers pitching their tents with the female lawmakers wh insisted that Hassan should remain in the chambers.

Even though the acting Speaker ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to implement his order, a human shield around the the female lawmaker temporarily prevented her from been taken out.

In a chat with newsmen after leaving the chambers, Ms Hassan, who was accompanied by her female lawmakers, expalined why she was in the chambers with her baby.

"I had an emergency and decided not to miss work but come with the baby. She is not an atomic bomb and can't explode," Ms Hassan stated.

In 2013, Kenyan lawmakers passed a motion directing the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) to set aside a room within Parliament buildings for breastfeeding mothers.

Sadly, till date the directive yet to be carried out.

Anti Graft Fight : Nigeria's Two Different Approaches

By solomon2day
On 09/08/2019
Comments (0)
In Solomon's Column

At a point in Nigeria's history, former President, Chief(Dr.)Olusegun Obasanjo stated ''it is a matter for regret that most public servants tend to subdue their political discipline in the face of personal aggrandizement''.

When Chief(Dr.)Obasanjo was in the saddle as President, he set up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) to rein in fraudsters, money launderers, corrupt government officials and several others.

Perhaps, the EFCC, was to strengthen the activities of the Nigeria Police Force, while the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission(ICPC) was established to boost the work of the Code of Conduct Bureau.

During this period high profile personalities, like former Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun showcased the fight against corruption.

Sadly, happenings today, is a total and fierce departure from when Chief(Dr.)Obasanjo called the shots.

Interestingly, in an interview in 2007, prominent lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana(SAN), who was then a member of the National Conscience Party(NCP) had stated '' you in the media, you must challenge politicians, you must ask them for their programmes for our people as opposed to celebrating criminals. If somebody says he is a thief, you should ask him to resign''.

Unfortunately, Nigerians have continuously asked ''thieves'' to resign in this present administration without positive results.

Of worry, however, is the fact that the youth now have the impression that corrupt practices are the only reliable path to success.

The youth readily make reference to the present administration's choice of Ministers as a source of inspiration to them

Nigerians express anger over the claim of the powers that be, that they have fought corruption to a commendable extent, even when it is very glaring that several officials of the present administration have cases of corruption trailing their daily lives.

Everywhere within the borders of Nigeria, fraudsters, corrupt government officials and related category of criminals are celebrated by their people, who believe these individuals are the heroes of this time.

The EFCC is now a shadow of its old self, only barking but not biting those it ought to bite.

If only the leadership had made transparency the guiding light to its activities, all the negatives trailing the country at home and abroad would never be the signposts of governance.

The increase in the pump price of the Kerosene has been described as a kite flown by government officials to deny Nigerian workers a new national minimum wage.

''The AWC concludes that government has a sinister agenda strangulate the Nigerian workers and the generality of the Nigerian people. The question we ask is that even if government will have to take the increased salaries back from the workers what about the unemployed, the retirees and all those who don't receive salaries from any source ? It means that government would visit them with unprecedented agony and pain'', the National Coordinator of the All Workers Convergence(AWC), Comrade Andrew Emelieze opined.

Nigerians express sadness that depsite the unconstitutional annexation of $1 Billion by the Federal Government for the procurment of all that is needed to checkmate the insecurity in the land, Kidanappings, killings and other violent crimes are not abetting, even though government has developed a new culture of commiseration and condolences to families who lost their loved ones to the reactionary approach by government to the unabating insecurity in the country.

El zakzaky : President Buhari as a Good Adherent of Islam Ought to be Guided by the Voice of God-Prof. Olagoke

By solomon2day
On 03/08/2019
Comments (0)
In Special Report

Governments by popular choice all over the world abide and obey court orders made by those in the Judiciary.

These governments do not, however, manipulate the Judiciary to promote and perpetrate illegality.

In Nigeria, the former National Security Adviser, to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Ibrahim Yaqoub El Zakzaky and several others have been held in detention for years, despite a number of court orders directing the Federal Government to release them.

This has to a large extent, resulted in the avoidable crises occasioned by their continued detention, which is in line with the motives of fifth columnists within government.

In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that President Muhammadu Buhari as a good adherent of Islam must always be guided by the voice of God through the Holy Quran, to do what is just and right to all. Excerpts :

In your views what is the way out of the imbroglio between the Federal Government and members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria ?

The Shiite Muslims in Nigeria led by Ibrahim Elzakzaky had been living with us since the emergence of the Iranian revolution in 1979.

The Shiite Muslims have a record of discrimination and persecution, since the days of Ali the fourth Caliph of Islam, the son-in-law of Prophet Mohammed in Medieval time.

Islam had been broadly segregated into the world of Shiites and Sunnis.

Muslims have always been in conflict based on the antecedents of History and ideological differences.

By acts of commission or omission, where we have the Shiite Muslims, they have always been in the minority and have always wanted to be relevant in the control of power.

However, in the case of Ibrahim El zakzaky led Shiite Muslims, they have been increasing in population, in their struggles, through the conversion of many Muslims and their children in the North, most of whom happen to belong to the majority Sunni Muslims.

It is therefore, unfortunate for the Shiite Muslims, to have run into their present predicament, which was brought about by their clash with the Nigerian Army. And worse still, the clash involved the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, this is the major reason why the Shiite Muslims suffered several casualties, which led to the mass burial of over 300 of their members.

Ever since this incident, El zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat have been in detention.

''Mr. President as a good Islamic adherent must always be guided by the voice of God through the Holy Quran, in resolving matters without been unnecessarily and humanly passionate, if this voice of the Holy Quran is anything to go by :''

Quran 5 : 8

8‘‘O ye who believe ! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo ! Allah is informed of what ye do’’.

This resulted in struggles and agitations by his followers to press home their demands for the release of their leader and his wife.

The general opinion, is that Ibrahim El zakzaky and his wife must not be allowed to die in detention, so that Nigeria would not again, run into the sad experience of the extrajudicial saga that resulted in the death of the leader of the Boko Haram Sect, Mohammed Yusuf. The consequence of this is with us till today, with causalities spreading from the North East to almost the entire space of the Northern region.

The issue now, is the controversy surrounding the release of Elzakzaky.

Elzakzaky and his wife were charged to court by the Federal Government, perhaps, to have a legal justification to deal with the movement.

The several court orders, directing the release of Elazakzaky and his wife, has not been obeyed by the Federal Government.

However, we must take note of :

The fact that the issue must not be made personal by the President Muhammadu Buhari led government, who people believe may have a soft spot for the Sunni Muslims, while also respecting the Government of Saudi Arabia, that may detest the Shiite Muslims’ inclination because of some of their doctrines that negates the normal Islamic tenets upon which the Sunni Muslims claim to stand on.

The Iranian Government’s interest in the Shiites’ plight in Nigeria may further complicate the case of El zakzaky for the fear of possibly been sponsored, with readiness to strengthen the movement for possible reprisal attacks.

The major discussion is that El zakzaky must not be allowed to die in detention because of the fear of the fifth columnists in government, who may take advantage of the situation to kill the leader of the movement to make the environment very ungovernable for this administration.

The challenge before all Nigerians and our government, is now on the perceived sub-standard state of our health sector, the medical services in particular, whereby any sickly member of the elite is rather flown abroad for treatment, instead of receiving treatment locally.

Government should do all that is possible to address this all important aspect, to serve as a bequeath able legacy to the coming generation.

Our health care services must guarantee patients’ safety and security.

When this is the situation, then Elzakzaky’s and his wife’s release could be done in such a way that they are treated locally.

Another lesson, is that government ought to have learnt that leadership ability is better measured in times of crises.

The management of any crisis in future, including the present ones, must be through the experts in the family of conflict resolution.

This is because most problems snowballing into violence and insurgence are preventable, so therefore, Sociological, Psychological and Medical as well as spiritually religious experts in these realms of Peace and Conflict Resolution, are better challenged to proffer solutions to the problems for government’s implementation, rather than hurriedly making use of military solution which is supposed to be the last resort.

Finally, Mr. President as a good Islamic adherent must always be guided by the voice of God through the Holy Quran, in resolving matters without been unnecessarily and humanly passionate, if this voice of the Holy Quran is anything to go by :

Quran 5 : 8

8‘‘O ye who believe ! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo ! Allah is informed of what ye do’’.

Education Officials, Head Teachers and Food Vendors Sabotage the School Feeding Program-Prof. Olagoke

By solomon2day
On 30/07/2019
Comments (0)
In Special Report

The Federal Government recently disclosed that 9.9 million pupils in 56, 000 Primary schools in Nigeria have benefited from the School Feeding Program , suggesting that this achievement, to a great extent, has impacted positively on the worrisome standard of education in the country.

Nigerians dispute this claim, while stressing that government has done little or nothing to overhaul dilapidated school infrastructure, replace damaged desks and chairs, recruit qualified teachers, ensure prompt payment of teachers' salaries and provide relevant teaching aids.

This is made more problematic with the appointment of those who are not technically fit to oversee the education sector.

In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Gran Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that the lack of proper monitoring mechanism of the program has made saboteurs to use it to enrich themselves. Excerpts :

Do you think the school feeding program of the Federal Government has made a positive impact on the standard of education at the Primary school level ?

We need to appreciate the Federal Government's efforts under President Muhammadu Buhari for venturing into the feeding of pupils in our primary schools because the government before him never heeded to the clarion call for free mid-day meal for our children at their formative age, whereby balanced diet would ever have direct impact on their growth and their reasoning faculties.

However, as good as the policy is, the program has suffered a lot; because of its poor implementation .

In the first, place it does not cut across board, considering the number of public schools in Nigeria.

If the figure the government claims to have attained, is to be reckoned with, we have more than 9.9 million children in our public primary schools and the number of schools is more than 56,000.

Apart from these lapses, the Federal Government does not have any serious monitoring mechanism, giving way for saboteurs to enrich themselves through the program.

The connivance between some fraudulent education officials, some Head Teachers and the food vendors, has made it possible to shortchange the children because there are cases of some schools where one egg is usually shared into 16 places while the the quality of food is poor in most cases.

The major objective of the program is not only to serve the children with balanced diet, but to enable children of the poor to equally attend school as well as to increase the number of children who attend classes; courtesy of the relief the mid-day meal must have brought about for the poor parents, whose children had earlier been denied access to basic education.

In terms of statistics, therefore, for class attendance there has not been a remarkable increase.

Worse still, the government officials and elite sponsoring this program of mid-day meals have failed totally to patronize public schools, but instead send their children and wards to either expensive choice private schools, ignorantly assessed to befit their status or rather send them overseas or to neighboring countries considered to be functional education friendly.

If their children or grand children attend these schools, government would never be at the mercy of relying on false information, regarding the fairness of the program and correctness of the impact, the program must have had on pupils, school performance and the needed improvement in class attendance.

Government needs to establish an independent body, saddled with the responsibility of monitoring the implementation of the program, with adequate transparency and accountability.

This would enable the barriers of project implementation with impunity to be broken, for government's efforts to yield the desired results.

Generally, therefore, government must equally charge the mass media, most especially the electronics, to embark on sensitization and assessment reports through the peoples' parliament for it to have accurate and reliable data through the pulse of the nation. This would bring offenders to book and would serve as deterrence to those who might have such intentions.

The program is laudable but implementation and the low involvement of the children of the elite, serves to weaken the expected effectiveness of the program as well as serving as threats because it is very hard for the people to feel the impact due to the various listed barriers and acts of sabotage that are yet to be addressed.

Govt Attempting to Buy over Labour Leaders-AWC

By solomon2day
On 23/07/2019
Comments (0)
In News

The All Workers Convergence(AWC) has declared that the scheduled meeting between members of the National Joint Civil Service Negotiating Council and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is inimical to the interests of Nigerian workers.

The AWC made this declaration known through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

‘’Meeting at this very critical period is very dangerous for the labour movement and Nigerian workers. We are afraid, government is attempting to buy over the labour leaders and so after the meeting labour leaders would start singing another song.’’

‘’We therefore urge Nigerian workers to be ready to take personal action in their various work places, while the AWC insists that workers would never accept another table that does not reflect the interest of Nigerian workers’’.

‘’To this end, we have started mobilizing in Ibadan, to lock up the Federal Secretariat complex indefinitely on Monday 29th July, 2019 in protest against the non-implementation of the new national minimum wage and insecurity in the country, if the meeting on Wednesday between the labour leaders and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is not positive.’’

‘’The AWC calls on workers across the federation to convoke meetings and decide their fate, irrespective of the agitations by the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) and the Trade Union Congress(TUC), Comrade Emelieze stated.

The Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita recently disclosed that the workers were making unrealistic demands.

“President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to implementing the new national minimum wage and that is why the presidential committee on the consequential adjustment arising from the minimum wage has been sitting to deliberate on it.

“And in fact, it has sat with the union leadership within the public service to come out with the consequential adjustment arising from the new minimum wage. There were a few, what I will call unrealistic demands from the unions’’, Mrs. Oyo-Ita stated.

The Head of Service also disclosed that the new national minimum wage was targeted at the low income earners, and as a result the Federal Government would not allow the demands of the Senior Staff unions to affect its implementation.

Insecurity : No Yoruba Must Sell Out-Prof. Olagoke

By solomon2day
On 15/07/2019
Comments (0)
In The People Talk

Just last week Friday, Mrs. Funke Olakunrin, the 58 yer old daughter of nonagenarian, Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fashoranti was felled by the bullets of yet to be identified gunmen at the Ore junction in Ondo state, Nigeria. A cross section of Nigerians have condoled with the family of the bereaved. The Federal Government has also sent its condolences which has now become a tradition in most recent times.

However, the security situation in the country is worsening by the day.

In this interview, Founder, Spiritual Head and Gran Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that no Yoruba son or daughter, regardless of economic status, religious and political persuasions should give in, to the lure of money for any reason. Excerpts :

What is your reaction to the gruesome killing of the daughter of Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fashoranti ?

First and foremost, the general state of insecurity in the country is very disturbing and in history, I have never known any government performing to reasonable expectations, under an hostile environment of insecurity.

The age long of insecurity during the 20 years of our Democratic experience shows our reluctance to develop Nigeria and the high level of unpreparedness of all the emerging leaders till date in Nigeria ; in making us to continue to witness orgies of government commiserations in the face of non performance.

The essence, under rationality theory, of changing government through electing new leaders is to maintain or improve upon the areas of strengths and opportunities for development to appreciably emerge while the new leaders are expected to restrategize to minimize or prevent the areas of the weaknesses of the successive governments of the past and to seriously help the entire population in taming and replacing the areas of threats which fundamentally would have caused a viscose friction in the will of the progress and efforts of the past movement.

However, for Nigeria’s history, contrary has been the case.

The various security summits, for example, by the Yorubas, has always been like the barking of a dog already chained to a place because even that of the State Governors was not only ceremonial, but without adequate preparation to save the Yoruba nation from the embarrassment of the day.

It is very unfortunate that Mrs. Olufunke Olakunrin, the daughter of Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fashoranti became another victim, it affects every Yoruba in particular and Nigerians in general because Pa Fashoranti has for long been at the forefront in fighting the cause of the advancement of the Yorubas in the area of unity and freedom and equity and justice in the wider Nigerian society.

No amount of commiserations from all of us can wake up the innocent victims of insecurity, including Mrs. Olakunri.

Suffice it now to say, that the Yorubas must be the first in the vanguard for the promotion of inclusive society where those who can walk the talk should be given the chance to come together to place the Yoruba agenda above other considerations.

No religion, no ethnic group, political persuasion must have a place under the goal of promoting inclusive society, but credibility, commitment to Oodua nationhood and the determination of purpose to have safe and secure Yorubaland, with right territorial integrity.

No Yoruba person, therefore rich or poor, aggrieved or otherwise, must allow him or herself to be bought over through the evil spirit of money mania which has been the root cause of our value erosion.

Internally, we have more than sufficient paraphernalia of authority to manage and defend the cause of Yoruba unity; if the heroic spirits of our fore fathers, whose heritage we must not allow anybody to destroy, is to be above every Yoruba son and daughter’s considerations.

In unity, the Yorubas can make it without any external considerations.

New Minimum Wage in Nigeria : How Soon is Very Soon ?-AWC

By solomon2day
On 28/06/2019
Comments (0)
In Special Report

The All Workers Convergence has expressed disappointment over President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to ensure the implementation of the N30,000 new national minimum wage very soon.

The AWC made its position known through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

‘’We the Nigerian workers are disappointed in Mr. President and we urge him to correct himself by ensuring that in the next seven days all the dust surrounding the payment of the new national minimum wage is settled, if actually he is serious with his promises. What we have been hearing from President Buhari is that very soon it shall become a reality. Workers are forced to ask how soon is very soon ?’’

‘’It should also be stated that how much is N30,000 that governments across the federation are expressing reluctance to pay, money that is not worth a living wage is what they are delaying. We the Nigerian workers can no longer trust Mr. President in the issue of the new minimum wage. He is playing on our collective intelligence, he is not ready to make workers smile’’, Comrade Emelieze lamented.

Appoint Experienced Professional for Water Resources-AWDROP to President Buhari

By solomon2day
On 28/06/2019
Comments (0)
In News

The Association of Water Well Drilling Rig Owners and Practitioners (AWDROP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint an experienced professional to oversee the affairs of the Ministry of Water Resources as he did in his first term in office.

The AWDROP made this call through its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Richard Adeyinka.

‘’It is advisable the President looks inward, when he wants to appoint a Minister for Water Resources. He should appoint someone who has experience and is well versed in the field. Those in the Ministries of Justice and Health are core professionals, same should apply for water resources, so that Nigeria can have a smooth ride in achieving the SDG 2030 goals. The professional so appointed shall make the workload much lighter, when we talk about governance. The former Minister Engr. Admu performed to the best of his ability’’, Mr. Adeyinka concluded.

Nigerians have continued to express reservations over the unimpressive performance of a number of the Ministers, President Buhari appointed in his first term in his office.

Married Couples ought to Remain United-AWC

By solomon2day
On 24/06/2019
Comments (0)
In Special Report

The All Workers Convergence(AWC) has advised married couples not to allow negative happenings in the society today to disintegrate their homes.

The AWC gave this advice recently, through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

''The AWC advises maaried couples and families, most especially the young ones not to allow mounting negative happenings in society to erode family bond, unity and togetherness to the extent of destroying their marriages.''

''However, even if we have to do otherwise, partners should recognize that they both have the right tom seek redress through legitimate means, not through extrajudicial means, so that the marriage would not result in self destruction because it is better to go one's way than to go through the path of destruction, when marrigaes are not working'', Comrade Emelieze concluded.

President Buhari has lost the Goodwill of Past Leaders and Nigerians-AWC

By solomon2day
On 17/06/2019
Comments (0)
In Special Report

The All Workers Convergence(AWC) has declared that the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration has lost the goodwill of past leaders and Nigerians as a whole.

The AWC made this declaration through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze, in a chat with Poverty Line.

''Former Nigerian Heads of State and Presidents no longer believe in the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration. President Buhari has lost the goodwill of past leaders and Nigerians as a whole. Nigerians no longer trust him.''

Nigerians are only hoping and praying for God's intervention, while the socially conscious ones have concluded that the problem with the country is President Buhari and the ruling class'', Comrade Emelieze noted

Orita Aperin Market Fire : Only 8 Lock Up Plank Shops were affected-Oyo State Fire Service

By solomon2day
On 17/06/2019
Comments (0)
In News

The Oyo State Fire Service has declared that only 8 lock up shops made of plank at the Orita-Aperin Market were razed by the inferno that engulfed the market over the weekend.

A cross section of mainstream media had reported that the faulty truck of the state fire service negatively affected the inferno at the market.

The State Fire Service made this declaration through its Deputy Director, Mr. Moshood Adewuyi.

''It is a mis-statement for saying that the fire service truck malfunctioned, in the process of putting out the fire that engulfed the Orita Aperin market. The reverse is the case, my people performed excellently well, those in the market and its surrounding can testify to this. The shops were made of combustible materials, the shops were made of plank. Of 50 of these shops, the fire service was able to contain the situation and only 8 shops were affected. What was the situation ? The fire started at the centre of th market and we were able to curtail its spread, only 8 lock up shops were affected. Our quick intervention saved the situation. In the process of putting out the fire, the pump of the truck broke down and because of this we opted for buckets to put out the fire. I use this medium to appeal to newsmen to always contact the fire service in such a situation before publishing their reports. People can go to the market and see for themselves what we did, the whole market was constructed with combustible materials'', Mr. Adewuyi concluded.

In another development the people of the state have expressed worry the state over the declining level of governance as a result of the freezing of the accounts of Ministiries Departmens and Agencies, just as they called on the state government to take urgent steps to address the situation.

Governance : Nigeria Risks Imminent Collapse Unless-AWC

By solomon2day
On 12/06/2019
Comments (0)
In Special Report

ALL WORKERS CONVERGENCE(AWC)

Motto:We Make Things Work

Email:allworkersconvergence@gmail.com

Phone no :09055598166

10th June, 2019

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF AN EMERGENCY MEETING OF CONCERNED WORKERS IN IBADAN ON JUNE 10, 2019.

Rising from an emergency convergence of concerned workers, the Nigerian workers after intensively considering various situations in the country especially as it concerns the horrible spate of massive killings, the unimaginable pace of suicide , the high level of insecurity all over , the prevailing hopelessness among our people viz-a-viz massive unemployment and poor national economy. The convergence is also worried about the delay in the implementation of the new national minimum wage,the unending social tension , extreme poverty facing the populace and poor governance at all levels.

The position of the convergence is that Nigeria is at drift and highly endangered,the national situation has shown itself to be a disaster and Nigerians are being wasted endlessly, with no hope for a reprieve . Governance is at its lowest ebb and the country is moving like a sheep without a shepherd.

Painfully, the response from the masses have been very nauseating ,the people have continued to show lack of sufficient social response in the prevailing circumstances. Of worry is the uninspiring attitude of labour leaders towards the multifarious challenges bedevilling the country.

We the Nigerian workers are therefore disturbed that if nothing urgent is done to correct these anomalies, Nigeria risks imminent collapse.Hence, we the Nigerian workers resolve as follows that :

1. We will no longer tolerate the mindless massacre going on in Nigeria.

2. President Buhari should immediately stop the pace of killings in the country or in the alternative tender his resignation.

3.Labour movement in Nigeria should lead Nigerians towards a social renewal.

4. The Nigerian Labour Congress ( NLC) , Trade Union Congress (TUC ) and the United Labour Congress (ULC) should call workers out for a national protest, if after 14 days ,the killings continue unabated.

5. By 30th June 2019, if workers have not received the new national minimum wage, then Labour should direct workers to proceed on an indefinite nationwide strike action.

6. Nigerians should be more proactive in developing a culture of protest against societal ills

7. Nigerians should get ready to take their destiny in their hands as governance in Nigeria has failed.

In Solidarity,

Comrade Emelieze Andrew

National Coordinator

NIMET Predicts Flooding in 18 LGs in Rivers

By solomon2day
On 10/06/2019
Comments (0)
In News

Nigeria Hydrological Services and Nigeria Meteorological Agency(NIMET) has warned that 11 Local Governments in Rivers state shall experience severe flooding while seven others shall experience mild flooding.

This disclosure was made by The Zonal Director of the National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA), Walson Brandon in an interaction with Journalists.

Brandon who also stated that the forecast showed that flooding this year was expected be more than that of last year, listed the areas to be affected to include : Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, (2) Oyigbo, (3) Tai. (4) Abua/Odual. (5) Degema, (6) Akuku-Toru, (7) Port Harcourt City, (8) Obio-Akpor (9) Gokana, (10) Ahoada-West (11) Ahaoda East (12) Andoni (13) Asari-Toru (14) Bonny. (15) Ogu-Bolo (16) Okrika, (17) Opobo-Nkoro, (18) Etche as the local government that will suffer flooding.

He advised the State Government to put in place emergency management procedures to mitigate the impeding flooding saying,''emergencies are local for example when there’s a plane crash, it happens at a place, so we expect the local residents around that area to assist in basic First Aid and also respond adequately. Since disasters happen at a particular place, we expect the people to take action concerning their environment.''

“Federal Government is a big entity that covers the 36 states and capital, in issues of emergency the first respondent is Local government, by extension the state as second before Federal government, so there’s a need for the state government to have robust state emergency team to mitigate the coming flooding. Our procedures are, if there’s an emergency, we move to the area and assess the situation and then make recommendation to our headquarters for action, pending the response from the Headquarters we assist victims with basic first aid and emergency services. so the state is expected to act first,'' Brandon noted.

In 2015, Ahoada West was submerged and over 60 families were affected by the flooding.

Posts by solomon2day

''Mr. President as a good Islamic adherent must always be guided by the voice of God through the Holy Quran, in resolving matters without been unnecessarily and humanly passionate, if this voice of the Holy Quran is anything to go by :''

Quran 5 : 8

8‘‘O ye who believe ! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity, and let not hatred of any people seduce you that ye deal not justly. Deal justly that is nearer to your duty. Observe your duty to Allah. Lo ! Allah is informed of what ye do’’.