Happenings

The governorship candidate of the  African Democratic Congress(ADC) in Oyo state, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin has called on the state Commissioner of Police to stop members of the state chapter of the National Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW) from pulling down bill boards belonging to ADC candidates.

Senator Lanlehin made this call on Wednesday during an interaction with journalists in Ibadan, Nigeria.

''NURTW has started bringing down bill boards. We are appealing to the Commissioner of Police ,Mr. Abiodun Odunde who is  a fine officer, help us appeal to them so that Oyo state would be peaceful. It is in our interest that everything works. There should be a conflict resolution mechanism in place'', he stated.

A former Governor of Oyo state, who is also the governsorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party in the state, Otunba(Dr.)Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala has expressed worry over the covert moves by some personnel of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) and the All Progressives Congress(APC) in the state to move eligible voters from their Local Governments to  different ones to facilitate a new dimension of  rigging.

Otunba Alao-Akala made this disclosure on Tuesday,  in an address he delivered at the  Official presentation  of the ADP governorship candidate, his deputy and other candidates for the 2019 Gubernatorial Elections in Ibadan, Nigeria.

''May I use this occasion to inform the stakeholders in the Nigerian electoral system and the world at large that information reaching us from competent sources is that some bad elecments in the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) are conniving with the ruling APC to disenfranchise thousands of voters across the state and weakening the leading oppositiom candidates in their strongholds by engaging in state-wide illegal relocation of voters from their units/Local Government of origins to other units/LGAs''.

The former Governor called on the INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmud Yakub and the security agencies to ''put a stop to this advanced rigging method''.

He assured the people of the state that candidates of the ADP were passionate about delivering results that shall impact positively on them, adding ''I must say that the re-election of the present administration was an aberration that came by way of the bandwagon effect that followed the election of President Muhammadu Buhari''.

''Regardless of the sinister moves of other parties, our campaign shall be issue-based, violence free and intellectually stimulating, resting on the renewed 13-point agenda drawn from our party's hallmarks; all these clothed in peace and tranquility'', Otunba Alao-Akala stated.

Medical Stores Department(MSD) in Tanzania is set to commence the  delivery of medical services and drugs to remote parts of the country through drones.

Thsi disclosure was made byt the MSD Director, Laurean Bwanakunu, in a chat with journlaists.

“We will soon announce tender for the company that will enter into agreement with MSD to supply the drones''.

For over three and a half years now, Nigerians have contended with  hunger, poverty, unemployment and insecurity. Sadly, government at all levels have done little  to address these hydra like challenges which have not only demoralized the citizenry, but  also prompted them to continually and relentlessly rein curses on the country's political office holders. A cross section of civil society groups  allege that the three tiers of government have deliberately impoverished the populace, as a way of compelling them to sell their votes in the 2019 general elections.

Interestingly,a former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar(rtd) has advised Nigerians to stop complaining about their pitiable condition, but vote out leaders who have not met their expectations .  In this interview with Federationews2day, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke  says Nigerians should seek God's guidance in the choice of candidates they will vote for. Excerpts :

The insinuation is that the Federal and State Governments have deliberately impoverished Nigerians   for the purpose of ensuring that vote buying is the trend in the 2019 elections. What are your views ?

The history of poverty in Nigeria started in 1960, when our poverty index was 15 per  cent, followed by the second republic in 1979 to 1983 at 28 per cent. The military interventions worsened the situation as it rose from 42 per cent to 65 per cent.

Then, in 1999, it rose to 70 per cent almost till this moment.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo campaigned against impoverishing the poor masses, because according to him, Nigerians irrespective of their tribes and social class must have access to free education which would eventual liberate  the children of the poor from the clutches of poverty. From his time to that of Bola Ige education took a large chunk to support structure, facilities and books, while having a good plan of allowing children to trek to and from school. One could  imagine the then government was  for all Nigerians, most especially the impoverished masses, whom the government intended to emancipate. Unfortunately, the dedication and commitment of our founding fathers, on the issue of the growth and development of the nation and general welfare of the people suffered a great set back during the civil war as well as the attendant agitations for true reconstruction, reconciliation and rehabilitation which was poorly managed to warrant the present insurgency, militancy, kidnapping and damages to the ecology of the oil producing areas, which were agitating for resource control and the South East's secession call.

 It is unfortunate that this government inherited an already failed and recessed economy, which they were unable to manage at par  with their campaign magic of the change mantra.

The bastardized environment, bad economy and disorganized society now continue to groan under poverty, which had been artificially introduced due to the  era of endemic corruption and institutionalized indiscipline. 

Under this condition, the political class,  derailed from the focus of the goal of Democracy as a need to enthrone credible leadership for the purpose of institutionalizing justice and equity concepts in order that there would be peace and sustainable development.

The attendant consequence of gross mismanagement of the economy, the people and the environment, thereafter has resulted in the worrisome situation of insecurity and unbearable poverty tending to the abject level for many.

The 2019 general elections ought to focus on how best we would be able to vote in patriotic  Nigerians with outstanding leadership qualities that would be able to arrest the menace of the present social upheaval, starting from  working on the psyche of all Nigerians for better attitude in an environment  of strict institutional discipline that would only be achieved through leadership by sacrifice, integrity and service.

Nigerians therefore, need to be mindful of God, without emphasis on religion in order that credible candidates, who will have passion for the restoration of our core values and see human rights issues as the ability to provide equal opportunities and equal access to the people of Nigeria, the downtrodden ones inclusive.

Nigerians are proud to live in a country with a land area of923,773km 2, with varied vegetation and types of soil, suitable for various agricultural purposes.

In 1960 and the years following, up till the early 1970s, Nigeria's economy was between the agricultural friendly ''grassroots'' and the ''white collar'' city oriented centre. All that had to do with the production of goods were concentrated in the city, while a large percentage of Nigerians resided in the villages, with farming as  their major occupation. The villages, then, lacked major amenities of life.

Governance during this period, was with a chain of challenges. Then, most of the earnings from export were from agriculture, while 65 % of Gross Domestic Product(GDP) also came from the sector. Nearly 50 % of Government revenue in 1960 could be traced to agriculture.

Today, as in the 60s, the provision of quantitative and qualitative education, quality health care delivery and the absence of social and economic infrastructure, are just a few in the long list of challenges that confronts Government.

In 1973, when crude oil emerged as the mainstay of the economy, government took a ''nap'', having noticed the 'light at the end of the tunnel '.

That 'nap', was at great cost, as can be seen in the unfolding events of the present time. In 1980, crude oil constituted 81.1% of Government revenue and 96.1% of export earnings.

Indeed, the  growth of the economy was tied to projected earnings from crude oil exports, this was despite the fact that signs had began to manifest on the imminent collapse of crude oil prices in the international market.

With fiscal and current account deficits, occasioned by falling crude oil prices, resulting in internal and external imbalance, the only option open to Government is to borrow from international financial institutions.

A community  in Sierra Leone is  hopeful  that a court ruling which ordered an international palm oil company to return a big block of land to its owners  would be a source of empowerment for them to retake control of their land and resources.

In the course of the case the court discovered that the land in Port Loko district, northern Sierra Leone, was leased to a Singapore-based palm oil company, Siva Group, in 2011, but  for three years it failed to fulfill its rent obligations to  landowners.

In its judgment the court ordered the return of the 41,500 hectares (103,000 acres)to the community and a imposed  $250,000 fine.

 Lawyers for the case disclosed that this was the first time in the  history of Sierra Leone that a community would  win back land leased to a foreign company.

Leaders of the organized labour in Nigeria have been faulted for suspending the indefinite industrial action prior to the Federal Government's announcement of a definite figure for the new national minimum wage.

This position was made known by the National Coordinator of the All Workers Convergence(AWC), Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

''In the future it would be better for labour, despite the agreement, to allow Government to pay the new minimum wage before the indefinite strike action would be called off, this when done, would guarantee workers confidence in labour. We are a bit surprised that the strike was suspended, even when government had not pronounced to the public what it was ready to pay workers''

''However, labour has not  done badly, at least they have been able to compel government, which has been unrepentantly unwilling to review workers' salaries, to concede, in the fianl analysis, for a wage increase, though the last presentation of labour of N30,000 is still slavish in nature and will still give room for future agitation as time goes on because N30,000 cannot be a living wage'', Comrade Emelieze noted.