Anti-Conflict Peace Keeping Service Commander, Kenneth Garuba, speaks on role of early warning

Commander of the Anti-Conflict Peace Keeping Service, Kenneth Garuba has made it clear that his outfit was designed to give early warning.

Commander Garuba was speaking at the Headquarters of the Anti-Conflict group at Agor-Palace Way, Lagos State recently during the training of the group.

Garuba took the stand while responding to the question on the role his organization will play in the new administration. He said “We will continue to give early warning; that is what we have been signed for under the Ministry of Interior. We continue giving early warning. If the military, paramilitary, civilians, if they love this country, Nigeria, they should get this warning or this advice from Anti- Conflict, they should get it to their office. Nobody should cause any problem if they love the country, but when you hate the country, you can force people who are not qualified to be there to be there, which means you hate the country. But when you like the country, I tell you, you will allow peace to reign, you allow justice to reign, you allow right to reign; that is what I see.”

Commander Garuba also spoke on the plan by the group to organize a seminar in the near future once the new administration comes on board. “In the new administration, what Anti-Conflict Peace Keeping Service will do is very simple, we are not a hidden body, the para-military Anti-Conflict, stands for justice, integrity, all we can do is to make sure we put together some seminar where we will invite other arms of government, like Navy, Army, Air-force, and Police, all the para-military, so that Anti-Conflict will educate them to make sure they learn how to avoid problems.”

He also lent his voice in condemnation of the call for Military takeover or Interim Government in Nigeria, saying that it is wrong “It is wrong, Interim Government, from which angle, military, supported by civilian or who, which area, is it the people that said the military cannot take over again? Why do you want to push them back to the same position they rejected them for, why? So for me Anti-Conflict generally, we want somebody that will do Nigeria well, everyone should learn how to respect justice because such a thing is gone, no more justice again, no more right again, no more truth again, as I know military reach, what we are seeing today in military, that is not what it used to be, everybody worked according to the division of labour, but go to some areas today, you see military officer doing police work, police is doing their own, LASMA, everything, all the people wearing uniform, no one go to what they are trained for, and these are the things Anti-Conflict found out and would not allow it to continue like this.”  

On his advice to Nigerian youths, and what should be their role in the incoming administration, he replied “Enough is enough to the so-called politicians to use them, enough is enough.  Youths of Nigeria should learn how to grow with sense, wisdom and knowledge, if their mother that carry them in the womb fight the time they were in the womb, if their mother were fighting, they won’t bring them out, so they should see it that fight, problems, conflict in Nigeria will not help any of them, rather it will pull them down.”

Ijeshatedo: Lagos Bus-stop where pedestrians die, number of victims increase …As The Lord’s Chosen Church appeals for permission to repair collapsed bridge

“Those black patches you are seeing at the foot of the bridge are the blood of an elderly man who was just crushed by a commercial bus a few hours ago while he was crossing the expressway. This kind of gory sight is a daily occurrence since the collapse of the pedestrian bridge”

That was how the current pathetic prevailing situation at Ijesha Bus stop along Oshodi Apapa Expressway as narrated by Iya Fatai, a fruit seller at the bus stop, when this correspondent visited the area. Her lamentation was the same with sellers of different articles and pedestrians at the bus stop.

Recently, there has been an upsurge in the proportion and absolute number of traffic fatalities at the bus stop as a result of the damaged pedestrian bridge. At the last count, the bus stop has witnessed  an average of three accidents daily, of which most of them were fatal. 

It could be recalled that in the early hours of Wednesday, 16th March, 2022, a truck was coming from Apapa axis at top speed, probably with a faulty bucket and on getting to the bridge with its bucket raised; it hit the bridge and got stuck. In an attempt to pull the truck off the bridge, that resulted in a section of the bridge broke-away, thus rendering the bridge impassable. 

The bridge, which was damaged by a heavy duty moving truck over one year ago, was serving all pedestrians from the densely populated Amuwo/FESTAC axis and Ijesha/Surulere areas of Lagos. Besides, other big churches like TREM, Bride Assembly, Mountain of Fire Ministries, Deeper Life Bible Church etc, with large worshipers, have their branches within the areas. It also has as its tenant a branch of Fidelity Bank, the expansive Akolade shopping complex and the headquarters and revival ground of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, which is one of the most mega ministries in Nigeria with tens of thousands of worshipers cross the road for church activities on daily basis. Given the importance of the bridge to the people, it was expected the damage would have been repaired or reconstructed before now. Thus the people are groaning over the inability of the authorities to fix it till date.

Obviously, accidents don’t just happen, they are caused. It therefore goes to say that every accident in relation to transport is not a mere occurrence but has been instituted as a result of one factor or another. Often, members of one family are wiped out. That is more reason it is expected that shortly after the incident, the authority concerned should have swerved into action to fix the bridge due to the purpose it is serving.

We learned that four days after the incident, the Director, Federal Highways, South West Region, Mr Adedamola Kuti made an announcement that the bridge has been shut down for safety reasons. In that briefing Kuti expressed surprise over the accident as according to him the 30 years old bridge was higher than the normal heights for bridges of its types and that was more reason it could enable all trucks, vis-à-vis containerized vehicles and fuel tanks etc. The director also stated that the truck driver who was responsible has been apprehended, and would soon be prosecuted for deliberate damage to public infrastructure.

Kuti regretted that it was not fair after the Federal Government had spent huge resources to construct and repair roads and other infrastructures, such facilities would get damaged or abused by the users. He however promised that the Ministry would invite their contractor to assess the level of damage in order to advise on what to do. Moreover, he ordered that some of the beams and slabs still hanging dangerously on the facility should be removed immediately to prevent them falling on moving vehicles thereby causing more harm. He therefore appealed to
pedestrians and other road users to bear with the government, while assuring speedy rehabilitation of the bridge.

Kuti assured of the presence of the Police at the spot to ensure safety around the damaged facility. Meanwhile, according to him calls had been placed through to the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to assist pedestrians who now have no other option than to walk across the highway. But despite the promises made by Kuti, the bridge is still in a sorry situation and has not been fixed till date. Also those he said would be at the spot to assist pedestrians crossing the road are nowhere to be found. As a result, many road users have died, while others sustained injuries. Some pedestrians had expressed fear and worries over the danger of dashing across the expressway due to the incessant accidents and number of casualties involved. 

Given the prevailing anxious situation at Ijesha bus stop, one would be wondering if the huge amount invested by the federal, state government and CSOs in the campaign to draw the attention of Nigerians on the need to use the pedestrians’ bridges when crossing highways is in vain. When there is no alternative crossing-aid provided in such a case like ijesha bus stop, what shall the righteous do? Sometimes some overzealous security agents instead of helping, they
extort pedestrians crossing the highway. Furthermore, what is the rationale of asking the security agencies to arrest and sanction persons who cross the highway at the location where the pedestrian bridge is damaged as it is done at ijesha bus-stop.

We were told that one of the civic responsibilities of the government is to save life and properties. But in the case of this strategic bus stop, lot of doubt is being cast upon the government because of its inability to demonstrate empathy when it is most required.
It was the same story of dismay by those interviewed by this writer at the bus stop..
Mrs Tina Akume, a teacher explained that the fear of death by accident has hindered a lot of businesses within the area, as many children and others in the neighborhood had stopped going to school because of the inability to cross the expressway.  According to her, some adults are now compelled to trek a kilometer in order to access another bridge.

Also, one of the pedestrians, Mrs Ogechi Onyenze lamented that due to her health condition, she couldn’t cross the expressway unless assisted by sympathizers. 

The same is applicable to many other people living or doing business around the vicinity. Mr Olatunde Adegbemi on his own narrated his ordeal on the damaged bridge, pointing out that life has not been easy for road users like him. "Crossing the expressway without using the bridge is like one trying to commit suicide. In fact, there had been several accidents at this spot. Most times many spend up to thirty minutes for traffic to ease before embarking on crossing the busy expressway. When I remember how vehicles kill people here regularly, I become afraid of crossing, but due to no alternative means, I decided to take the risk." He said.

Adegbemi called on both Lagos State and Federal Government to treat the damaged bridge as an emergency situation that needs urgent attention. "This Bridge needs urgent attention because many accidents have occurred here. Many have died here, while others sustained serious injuries. So, those concerned should not wait until more people die, before fixing the bridge."

Another pedestrian, Mr.  Ernest Asuquo averred that crossing the expressway has caused a lot of deaths, as some pedestrians do so, without looking properly. He therefore appealed to the Federal Government to speedily fix the bridge so as to save lives”

Reacting to the collapsed bridge, spokesperson of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Pastor Louis Chidi was almost in tears, as he recounted the number of ghastly accidents that had occurred at the bus stop as a result of the damaged bridge. “The rate at which accidents happen at that bus stop is alarming, and may have exceeded about 40% of the total accidents in Lagos state. The essence of pedestrian bridge is to make crossing safer for pedestrians and other users. And now there is no bridge; it implies that death has been declared to those who would have used it to save their lives.

"Many have died in the course of trying to cross the Apapa/Oshodi expressway either on their way going or returning. We are not happy seeing casualties as a result of controllable accidents that are really posing serious concern to us. Could you believe that many families have lost their loved ones at that place? The lives lost at that place cannot be quantified with what it will cost to fix the bridge."

He expressed regrets that people are allowed to die in such a manner, when there are supposed to be preventive measures to be taken.

Emphasizing further Chidi said that the Ijesha bus stop needs a functional bridge that would serve the people, to avert accidents. He appealed to both federal and Lagos State Government to intervene in reconstructing the damaged bridge in order to save lives. “We are deeply touched by the ugly situation at the Ijesha bus stop, and are therefore using this opportunity to call on the Federal and Lagos State Government to help fix the bridge.”

Chidi also stated that if the job cannot be handled within the shortest period of time, those concerned should authorize his church to bear the cost of fixing it, in order to further save the lives of the road users. "We wouldn’t mind bearing the cost of reconstruction of the bridge if the authority could allow us to do so.”

 

 

PIAFo presents platform to x-ray pending NITDA Bill, as experts call for its withdrawal

From Left: CEO, ICT Derivatives, Mr. Ayoola Oke; Managing Partner, Classicus LP Solicitors & Advocates, Mr. Olusola Akinyemi; Managing Partner, Crimson Partners Attorneys & Legislative Consultants, Ben Nwaroh; Lead Executive, Policy Implementation Assisted Forum and Editor, Business Metrics Nigeria,Omobayo Azeez; CEO, Jidaw Systems Limited, Jide Awe; and Kenneth Erikume, Policy Analyst, PwC Nigeria.

Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo), on Thursday, April 13, 2023, gathered industry stakeholders, the media and policy analysts at the Colossus Hotel, Maryland, Lagos to jawjaw as well as air their views on the National Dialogue on the Pending NITDA Bill 2021.

The theme of the day’s event was ‘NITDA Act: Towards the Sustainability of Nigeria’s Digitl Economy Drive’.

While welcoming the discussants and guests, the Convener, Omobayo Azeez, Lead Executive, PIAFo and Editor, Business Metrics Nigeria in his Opening Remarks said lately, his organization has followed with keen interest issues around the proposed NITDA Bill 2021 which seeks to repeal and re-enact the NITDA Act 2007 that established the National Information Technology Development Agency.

According tp PIAFo, the Bill, which is now pending at the National Assembly, is aimed at creating a regulatory framework for the development of the Nigerian IT sector and digital economy.

Azeez stated that while this, on its own, may not be a bad thing, there are fears that if the Bill is passed the way it is, it may exert negative ripples on the ICT sector, adding that NITDA has been a major contributor to the Nigeria ICT development alongside other agencies of the government under the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, and beyond.

However, the dusts raised around this pending Bill could not be ignored by the organisers of the forum in the interest of Nigeria’s growing ICT sector and the country’s fast-pacing digital economy drive.

Azeez said “The ICT sector has been an economic enabler and a catalyst for socio-economic development. Its contribution to the economic fortune of the country has been impressive and its impacts, felt across various divides.

“For instance, in the last quarter of 2022, the sector contributed 16.22% to the country’s GDP, rising from 15.35% in the third quarter of the year. In fact, in the preceding second quarter, total ICT contribution to GDP was higher at 18.94%. Similarly, Nigeria’s digital economy is estimated to have attracted over $4.4 billion in investments in the last four years. As impressive as these figures may sound, the sector has not yet reached its full potential and if well-protected from policy missteps, its future contributions will be higher. This is why this forum becomes imperative – to ensure the sustainability of the ICT sector and sustain Nigeria’s digital economy growth through effective dialogue among stakeholders,” he said.

Azeez added that PIAFo is not taking positions but only providing the platform for the experts to discuss. “We only hope that our efforts in putting this event together will help the industry to aggregate perspectives, clear grey areas, harmonise thoughts and prevent any controversial overlapping tendencies likely to disrupt the growth of the digital economy sector,” he concluded.

Ayoola Oke, a Legal Practitioner specializing in Information and Communication Technology Law and Policy also lent his voice saying “Apparently, there is a NITDA law and the organization itself is championing that the law be reviewed and reenacted with some changes, however it seems that not much consultation was done from everything we can see. And it was presented as an executive Bill coming from NITDA,  it doesn’t look as if the Attorney General’s office and the Ministry of Justice have vetted it, because it replicates what is in other laws, it gives powers to NITDA that are already given to other agencies, so that is the problem.

“NITDA specifically supposed to be a developmental agency, that was how it was conceived, and that is how most of the original law is, but in its new incarnation, the first five sections of the function of NITDA were not in the old law and all of them have to do with regulatory powers in the ICT sector, and most of these powers are already powers that are given to organisations like Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for technical regulation and NBC for content regulation, both within the ICT sector. So now all of a sudden, the bill seeks to appropriate the powers to NITDA, and that is going to create more confusion in the industry, it will bring about multiple regulation as some people have said, multiple taxation.

“Then there is no clear discernment of what the bill is seeking to do, what is it that has become different, maybe that made the old law obsolete that the bill is trying to improve or correct? The bottom line anyway is that if they cannot establish why you are changing a law, then why tamper with it? To change a law you must know, okay, this is what is wrong, in law we say, what is the mischief that has necessitated you trying to change, what is wrong? What are the new situations arising that makes you want to change the provisions.”

He said NITDA is a developmental agency and should stick to its responsibility. “So generally, NITDA is a developmental agency, but with the regulatory powers they are trying to give to NITDA, it means they are changing the whole essence of NITDA from being a developmental agency into a regulatory agency, and that is not enough reason to review the law.”

Jide Awe, Managing Director, Jidaw Systems, a Policy Advisor on Science, Technology and Innovation is of the conviction that the bill should not go forward as inputs of stakeholders in the industry is lacking in the bill “The bill should not go forward as it is, because there are certain issues that are raised here today, the major issue noticed was the lack of stakeholders inputs into the bill, sufficient collaboration in developing the bill. You know whenever you develop any policy or something like that, let the people who will be affected, let them tell you their needs, and if you have some ideas interact with them, engage with them so that we will know the impact of what you are trying to propose.”

On the insinuations that the essence of the bill was to increase profitability and gag social media, he said “I cannot say that is the essence of the bill, but it would be wrong if that is the essence of the bill. If you listen to my presentation, we are in the era of communication and disruption that should encourage openness, sharing of ideas, you don’t have to agree with my ideas but let’s share ideas, listen to feedback, and when you have ideas you can put innovation, you have new knowledge, new opportunities, so I don’t believe in  gagging idea, we have left that era of somebody, there is somebody that knows it all, now we are in era of collaboration, ideas can come from anywhere, it can come from a startup, from a young person, it doesn’t necessarily have to come from the head of the ministry or head of an organistaion.”

He concludes that there is a need to do more to advance the sustainability of the Nigeria’s digital economy, but should be done by carrying people and stakeholders along.

According to Olusola Akinyemi, Managing Partner, Classicus Law Practice, Solicitors and Advocates, Lagos State, in his contribution spoke on what he called the structure of the bill, adding that before creating a law there is need to define your strategy and not creating a law before finding a purpose for it, which appears to be the case with the NITDA bill. He said “Every form of engagement that should have been had before this bill was introduced was bypassed, and that is why almost everybody is against it even the so-called people that are supposed to be beneficiaries of this development initiative, they are concerned; everybody is at alert. Now some are talking about the funds that is being raised from the bill, what is the purpose? And it is known from history, government can’t really be trusted with funds, so my own position, will rather be that they take the route of CSR for players in the industry. Let them engage in CSR and have a report, you know, with budget to match up with that 1%, and not the agencies or organisations remitting 1% of their gross profit to NITDA, that is unnecessary, and also the bill creates a kind of fear in the system in terms of the penalties for non-adherence. It is highly susceptible to abuse, if an agency should target an organization, it is so easy, what we usually have is substantial compliance, I don’t think there is any organization anywhere in the world that complies 100%, so if you have 0.1% non-compliance, that can bring you down, according to the NITDA law, an organisation can be fined N30million and or the MD go to jail for two years, that is very frightening for any one that wants to do business. So you want safety, you want profit not settling scores on issues with government.”

Other discussants include, Mr Nwora, a Legal Practitioner and Consultant, Peculiar Showale, C-Suite Executive Assistant, Paradigm Initiative; while goodwill came from Tony Emoekpere. President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and Engineer Gbenga Adebayo, National, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON). Who were represented by their Executive Secretaries, Ajibola Olude and Gbolahan Awonuga in that order.

I’m not into politics, my business is winning souls for Christ--Pastor Muoka

General Overseer of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministry, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, has made it abundantly clear that he is not a politician, saying that his only business is winning souls for Christ.

Pator Muoka made the disclosure on Sunday, April 9, 2023 at The Lord’s Chosen two-day International Crusade code named God’s Covenant of Peace and Blessings which took place at the Revival Ground of the mega church at Ijesha, Lagos State.

The General Overseer stressed that he has no business with politics and that anybody who uses his name for politics is on his own.

He disclosed that at no time did the church insinuate, request, or plead for polling booths be brought in the church, stressing that people who peddle such rumour or allegation are wicked and evil.

He added that he has never sided any politician or political party, before and he will never do that 

“Another one is politics, I have not sided any political party. They want to create the impression that I am supporting them. I can't leave the church for political purposes, I can't. 

“Anywhere you see on social media that say we say, they are thieves, I am here standing for Jesus. Anybody who come here and say you should bring polling booth here, I don't say something like that, you can only come here, we pray for you and we say let the will of the Lord be done.

“I am not in the business of telling you who will win, my business is to prepare you for heaven and ensure you gain heaven at last,” he stated.

Pastor Muoka also condemned the action of those who use his name to appeal for funds from the public, stating that such actions do not emanate from him.

Muoka who maintained that he does not collect money for praying for people, made it clear that the church only solicits for fund when the church has a project and it is done only in the church, and therefore stressed that the church does not appeal for fund via the social media. “I don't collect money for prayer, is not from me, we don’t appeal for fund except when we are doing something here for a purpose 

“Some people go to social media, place my picture and put account number, they are thieves, they go to internet, Facebook, WhatsApp asking people for money, such actions do not emanate from me or the church,” he stated.

Speaking on the theme of the programme which was God’s Covenant of Peace and Blessings, Muoka said that God is faithful and cannot lie.

He said “Even if you are a first timer, whatever you are looking for God will grant them, even if you are in doubt my faith is greater than your doubt.”

On the need to repent and receive the covenant of peace and blessings from God, he said “As you make amendment and turn from your wicked ways God will forgive and heal you. It can never be minus you, everybody will be remembered. Whatever God said, he will fulfill, he has the power; nobody can hinder it.”

Muoka called on the congregants to repent, because a Christian is not a sinner and a sinner is not a Christian. 

Immediately the pastor mounted the podium, he commanded the sick to get healing, paralysis and stroke, those in wheelchair where healed, afflictions that have defied solutions were all rolled away; and powers and their throne we're quashed, the bind saw, the deaf heard and the dumb spoke and principalities and powers were silenced, according to testimonies.

The two days service did not go without amazing miracles, deliverances, healings, and Holy Ghost baptism as testimonies of God’s wonderful works ruled the air. Spirit of poverty, rising and falling were rolled away, terrible stomach pain, HBP was kicked out, women who were not seeing their period received healing, breast cancer was commanded to go, those having terrible cough received freedom, while those hearing strange voices were delivered.

Glaucoma, cataract, five years of arthritis rolled away, one year swollen leg healed, stooling for 20 years miraculously healed, 4 years broken bones joined together, 13 years deaf and dumb rolled away, 20 years epilepsy gone, breast like that of man was sent to normal size as 2 weeks knee pain was also healed. 

Brother Onwudiegeu testified how God delivered him from affliction of the enemies after the burial of his mother, which was done in a befitting way. A Brother received permanent visa to Canada after six years of application only to be invited after Pastor prayed. He also had the privilege to be called to the Bar in Canada. 

Sister Blessing from Bolade, Oshodi testified how God used her to end untimely death in her family, while Sister Joy said her constant urinating for four years has been rolled away. 

Brother Chinenye Chukwuma who lives in United Arab Emirate (UME) came down for God's Covenant of Peace and Blessings. He said he followed the GO’s teachings on cable and God miracle; he was given employment Visa and employed in the UAE airport, a Sister testified how God blessed the family with a duplex on Agor Palace.

 

Stop ethnic profiling, Archbishop Martins cautions Nigerians, saying we are one before God

His Grace, Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins, the Catholic  Archbishop of Lagos, has urged Nigerians to stop ethnic profiling, insisting that everybody is the same before God.

Archbishop Martins took the position at the 2023 Chrism Mass celebration which took place at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos Island, Lagos State on Thursday, April 6, 2023.

The highly revered Archbishop condemned all forms of ethnic rancor, divisive comments either online or offline, divisive behavior, particularly of ethnic kind, stressing that such negative conducts are not conducive for good neighborliness and peaceful coexistence. He called on Lagosians not to allow politics and politicians to disrupt their lives and means of livelihood.

He said “I want to use this opportunity to call on every one of us to pay attention to the fact that in these last few months or thereabout, there has been all sorts of ethnic profiling and all kinds of tension that has arisen because of elections and politics, and politicians and the rest of them. I want to use this opportunity to call everyone to put a stop to the spread of ethnic profiling of all forms, put a stop to all forms of ethnic rancor, divisive comments either online or offline, divisive behavior, particularly of ethnic kind, it is not conducive to good neighborliness or peaceful coexistence.  We the people of God and indeed all of us in Lagos must not allow politics or politicians to disrupt our lives and our means of livelihood.”

He maintained that every Nigerian is a child of God and are equal in dignity before God “Let us remind ourselves that we are all children of God, we are equal in dignity before God, wherever we may come from. The only man made distinction is between the poor and the rich, the privileged and the under-privileged, and this must not be allowed to do anything to the way we have been, intermarriage have been there for all time, living together, interaction of all kinds; we must not allow this to come to an end, rather let us emphasize all that is good for unity, for friendship, and for the good and growth of our land, and our nation.”

Speaking on Chrism Mass and how it can impact growth and development of the country, Archbishop Martins said “We are celebrating the gift of the priesthood to the church and we can only ask that the people will continue to pray for their priests and support them, and encourage ourselves as priests to be faithful to the calling that we have been given, and to constantly be aware who we are under Christ, so that we can make that message of Christ to be alive through the way we behave at the pulpit.

“The day is part and parcel of what we called the Thursday when Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament of the priesthood as well as the Eucharist, both are demonstrations of God’s love for humanity, and whereby God also calls us to serve one another in an unselfish manner, and that says a lot as a nation and as individuals within the nation. We see so much selfishness in our world, in our country, people looking towards their own and the goodness of the people who are related to them, so this is an opportunity to call on those who have the possibility of leadership, those who are given the opportunity to lead to really show that love, you show that love only when you are serving people without counting the cost and without ordering anything towards oneself rather for the common good,” he stated.

The Archbishop called on those given the mandate to serve to do so selflessly “And so as elections have happened, our leaders need to continue to remind themselves that people have elected them in order to serve them, not for the people to serve the politicians and those who have opportunity to rule, rather in a selfless way give your best for the service of the nation. Our nation is in a very difficult time with regard to insecurity, with regards to terrible state of the economy which has been impacting on people’s lives, and so we expect that those that have been elected will use the opportunity to make life better for Nigerians.”

He asked the leaders to appoint those with capacity and knowledge to be part of decision-making bodies, saying such appointments should be above political considerations “Bring those who have knowledge, capacity to take decisions, decisions that will help the economy to grow, let it not be a political thing, but rather going out for the best wherever they can be found in order that the lives of people can become better as I said in terms of insecurity, in terms of hardship people are facing at this time.”

According to Reverend Fr. Paul Ariole, who explained the significance of Chrism Mass said “The Chrism Mass is one of the most solemn and important celebrations of the liturgical year. Ordinarily, its celebration ushers the church into the Tridium. The Chrism Mass ‘should be, as it were, a manifestation of the priests’ communion with their bishop or Archbishop. The renewal of priestly commitments and the blessing and consecration of sacred oils are the hallmarks of the celebration. At the Chrism Mass, along with the blessings of sacred oils is the celebration of the institution of the priesthood.

The Bishop used the opportunity of Chrism Mass to bless the oils to be used in one year throughout the diocese from today till April in 2024. The oils are the oil of catechumens which is for the celebration of  Baptism, Oil of the Sick, and the Sacred Chrism which is for the celebration of Holy Orders, baptism, and confirmation.

 

In this era of our nascent democracy, it’s abnormal, absurd to call for interim government, military takeover--Umenzekwe

Onwa Achina, Hon (Chief) Modestus Umenzekwe, Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Member, Federal Housing Authority, in this interview summarizes his impression and assessment of the just Conducted General Election in Nigeria, makes appeals to both winners and losers in the election and also set agenda for the President-elect. Except:

The 2023 General Election is over, what is your general impression or assessment of the just conducted general elections?

As far as I am concerned the election went well. But before I comment on the election generally, we must as human beings created by God give the almighty God all glory for his infinite mercies upon us, upon Nigerians, upon politicians, because without him we couldn’t have conducted that election, we couldn’t have even participated, let us thank him at all times, because he is the finisher of all things, he is Alfa and Omega, so glory be to God.

Then I must congratulate Nigerians, wherever they are, even those in the Diaspora for coming up to air their views, to participate in the election, that means the voter education is permeating, that means we have started to know the importance of participating in governance, speaking our mind through the ballot. While congratulating Nigerians, let me congratulate in a special way President Muhammadu Buhari for making sure that our democracy is deepened, he gave INEC unfettered hand to conduct this election, he never interfered in any way, even when people were accusing him of supporting Mr A or B or being against Mr A or B. he kept quiet, and made the election go freely. Then INEC, they are now in the receiving end, so many people said so many things, both the ones that are true and those that are not true. It is not easy to conduct election in a country where you have more than 200million people, I must congratulate INEC, I must congratulate Professor Mahmood Yakubu for a job well done, because everything must not be perfect, but when you get near perfect, you are already there, when you score 70% in an examination, you are already making A, so I congratulate INEC for a job well done.

Yes there may be some irregularities here and there, but that is human nature, we are in a learning process. You see, some people will come and tell you in America, in London, in France, forgetting that those Super Powers passed through our present stage for hundreds of years, and Nigeria is just about 60 years plus, and democracy just started 1999, and you see people saying all manner of things. Incidentally this social media something, where everybody has turned to be a journalist, has created a very big problem in this country. Yes, I don’t rely on it, and there is need for proper regulation of our social media conduct. It has created a lot of problems, people configure whatever they like and push out. Nobody is querying them, nobody is asking them questions and they get away with that, and that ushered in rancor, ushered in unwarranted enmity among brothers, political parties, among ethnic groups, among religious groups, things that are not supposed to involve in our politics are brought in as a result of activities of unprofessional journalists.

And I want to use this opportunity to call on the federal government, state governments, local governments, and town unions to please, step in and regulate our social media conducts. I know people will say press is being gagged, let us regulate and filter whatever we push out so that this country can be in peace.

Let us dwell a little on this social media, the government also uses social media to disseminate information because it is one of the easiest means of getting information across, especially the youths. Talking about regulation, most of the time government simply select what they want and others they term hate speech or fake news, your take

All I know is that government uses professionals, it is different from myself sitting here, I configure something and push out, I am not a journalist. Somebody will be at newspaper stand and configure something and push out, someone will be at the comfort of his mansion, configure something and push out and he is not informed, somebody will be in his farm, stop farming, configure something and push out, but government doesn’t do that, government always use professionals, so let us allow professionals to handle the social media activities.

So let’s get back to the issue of election. Do you think Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu deserves the victory he got at the polls?

You that is asking me, what do you think, answer me?

That is why I am here, I cannot be a judge in my own case

Well as far as I know, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a politician of note, he is a political giant, he knows when to strike, he is a master strategist; he has paid his dues in deepening our democracy. He put in his life to make sure that we have unbroken democracy; he fought for it and I think he deserves to win, and I believe that he won the election.

Looking at the election itself, a lot of things were thought to be wrong, especially the opposition felt that the BVAS, against all the promises of the electoral empire, did not go the way it was promised, election results were not uploaded real time, all these tended to bring about suspicion. Do you think otherwisw?

In this country everything is politicized and it is very unfortunate. I am not holding brief for INEC or for anybody, but the way I see it as a person, the BVAS is man-made and it is part of our learning process, Technology is not sacrosanct, Professor of Medicine does not know it all, Professor of Economics does not know it all, anything made by hand can have error.  I don’t see, with the level of preparations we made in this election, I don’t see anybody intentionally or whatever trying to do such thing, after all the whole results are there now, anybody complaining would now compare what he has with what is in the portal there. So whether it was uploaded that day or a day later, the most important thing now is that the whole results are there and everybody, all political parties, winners, oppositions, the government in power too, they should compare what they have with what is there. If it is not the same, then they have the right to contest, but in doing that contest, you follow the legitimate way, not all these inflammatory statements coming from here and there. It can make me very uncomfortable, and it is heating the political space of this country and it should not be. I want to call on party supporters, those supporting Asiwaju, those supporting other candidates to tread with caution, allow the candidates to fight for themselves through the legitimate way, because each and every one of them put up a very good fight. Yes Asiwaju won, as declared by INEC, I congratulate other candidates, because they made the political space very hot, everybody was on their toes, even the electorates, the party supporters, so this 2023 election was one of the most serious, and at the same time freest elections ever conducted in this country. It is similar to 1993 election which was annulled and that drew us back and such a thing should not be allowed in this present election.

Do you think it is right for the opposition to go to court or are you advising them to withdraw their casess and join hand in moving the nation forward?

Before talking about what is their right and what is not their right, I must congratulate them too, more especially the two main oppositions, the PDP and Labor, and more especially the Labour, because nobody knew about Labour before, so they have done very well. Then to answer your question, the constitution is there, they have the right to go to court, it is their right and nobody should harass them or vilify them because they are going to court. And that is why I am saying, the supporters and the electorate should allow them to fight for themselves or adjust to retrace. You know, at times you might not want to do something, but people behind you will be nudging you until you make a mistake. But if I should advise them, I will advise them to retrace so that this country can move forward, because God knows everything. If we believe in God, that is my attitude to life, if we really believe in God, we must allow God to take decision for us; they have tried, they really tried, I must commend them, there is no two words about it, more especially the Labour Party, within the short time they came into the contest, the whole arena charged, everybody was running helter-skelter and they proved that they can do something, and it is good for our democracy. But then let emotions, sentiments not becloud the sense of reasoning.

What happened in the election was that a lot of unwarranted emotions and sentiments crept in, and some people are taking some steps that might blow ill wind for everybody. We need peace, we have had a lot of distractions in this country. Ebola distracted us, Covid distracted us, endSARS distracted us, cash swap distracted us, then election 2023 is about to distract us again. And we forget that if anything happens in Nigeria it will affect the whole of Africa, and as a giant of Africa, we shouldn’t allow such a thing to happen, and that is why I must commend the President Muhammadu Buhari who said, that election have come and gone, he will not stay a day beyond 29^th May, 2023, he is going to hand over while other legitimate agitations can go on in line with the law. I must commend him for saying so.

Many are said to be calling for Interim National Government, some others are said to be calling for Military Takeover. Do you think they are justified in anyway? 

Those calling for interim government and military takeover, are they candidates in the just concluded election? I am asking you.

I am sure it is a rhetorical question, tell the public

Who are those calling for interim government?

The DSS said they are misguided individuals

Who misguided them? Anyway, at the other day I was on Television Continental (TVC) and I addressed this issue. In this era of our nascent democracy, it is abnormal, it is absurd for anybody, for whatever reason, to call for interim government or called for military takeover. We have passed that stage long ago. Other countries in Africa where military took over, Nigeria went there and stopped them, then somebody is calling for military takeover in Nigeria, the giant of Africa. It doesn’t sound normal. And that is why I keep congratulating all the candidates for taking the legal way to address their feelings.

You said they are misguided, who misguided them? They misguided themselves. And I want to thank the DSS for sending words of warning to them to stop, otherwise, the long arm of the law will catch up with them.

Many people are of the opinion that the call for interim government and military takeover is coming from government party supporters to distract attention the court  case against them, or even to rope in some politicians

Those that said it should be called to substantiate, I don’t know about it.

We want you to set agenda for the incoming president as we await his swearing-in come May 29, 2023. What are those things you would want him to tackle immediately he assumes office?

The President elect is a Nigerian, he knows the problems of this country; he knows the problem of each geopolitical zone that made up this country, he knows the problems in our economy, he knows that we have serious security issue which started since 1999, he knows that there are so many agitations here and there. The most important thing he is going to do is to try and unite this country, he has to do everything possible to make sure we live in peace, number one thing, then in governance he should not look at the opposition as lesser human beings, he has to bring them into governance, everybody, both those that voted him and those that did not vote for him, after all he got vote from every part of the country. We have been talking about the number of votes, he got votes from every part of the country, and therefore the onus is on him to recognize all of them. And he has said it, he has extended hands of fellowship to everybody, he called it government of national unity and I congratulate him for doing so, and I believe he will do that. If he doesn’t do that we shout, we talk, we address the press, but I know Asiwaju, he has a large heart, he is focused. If he was able to rejig Lagos for better, because any person that handled Lagos can handle Nigeria, if Lagos collapses the country will collapse, so I believe he will do well, having done so in Lagos. So the primary thing is to unite the country, let everybody have sense of belonging, let there be peace. Once we achieve peace everything will be a work-over.

There is a bit of worry in the polity, immediately after the election, the president elect’s whereabouts is unknown so to say, he is not talking, and no public appearances, given room for the opposition to wag their tongues. What is actually happening?

You called him president elect, what do you want him to do? President elect, he will talk when he is sworn in, right now, he is still strategizing, gathering information, gathering opinions, do you want him to start fighting with the opposition?

Even during the celebration of his birthday, he was conspicuously absent which was unusual…

But he called for prayers which is part of what I am talking about, because anything you are doing without praying to God is a nullity. His absence is it creating problem? After the Primary he went out to rest, and people started talking, saying he has died, he has done this, and I keep warning Nigerians to stop using health issues to castigate anybody. They did it to Buhari, and Buhari has successfully completed eight years, very energetic, very elegant, much younger, they are now doing it to Tinubu, people should be very careful. After all this rigorous movement in the election, he can’t rest? Because people are talking, no, he will talk at an appropriate time, after all his Aids are talking, and when his Aids talk, he is the one talking. That is the way I see it and that is the way it is. Let somebody prove me wrong.

After the Presidential Election and what transpired in Lagos where Labour Party took the day, the Governor of the state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu appeared to be anxious, but thank God he won, what is your agenda for him too?

About two years ago I granted interview that Snwo-Olu would win second term, I said it and it has come to pass because he deserved it, he is working hard seriously. So let him continue with his agenda, development agenda that he has for Lagos. Let him be father of all, the role he has been playing to accommodate everybody, to make Lagos a smart city, to be a good listener which he has been, and do the work of governance, the way it supposed to be. The number of people in Lagos is much, and it is not easy for anyone handling such population, and that is why I have been calling on the national assembly to give Lagos special status in the national budget, I said it during the 8^th Assembly, I said it during the 9^th Assembly and in the coming 10^th Assembly I am still repeating it. There was a time Senator Oluremi Tinubu sponsored that bll but they turned it down, I wrote that time supporting her and I am granting an interview now supporting that motion to come up again so that it will be easy for the governor to do the enormous work that is waiting for him in Lagos State.

Over the weekend Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate decried the violence meted out to Ndigbo during and after the election and threatened to bring IPOB to Lagos to defend his people, your take.

Did you listen to the president of Ohanaeze Lagos, Chief Aguene, he has taken care of that, he has made statement that that statement didn’t emanate from Ndigbo. But what I am saying is that whatever the case maybe, whatever that Eze may have done, let them temper justice with mercy. But that statement didn’t emanate from Ndigbo and as far as Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos has made statement, there is no point talking on that because that is the apex Igbo body in Lagos and on that statement I stand.

Chief how would you assess the impact of Labour party in the just concluded election?

Well the Labour Party, I must say, changed the whole political situation of the whole country. As I said before I must congratulate Labour Party, they made the campaign very robust, all the parties were strategizing, working hard for them to win. So I think their participation in the election brought in a lot of vigour, a lot of more seriousness, a lot of crossing the Ts and dotting the Is. So I think they did well.

Your message to Nigerians

Let us live in peace, not in pieces, let us control what we say and push out, let us avoid inflammatory statements, whether you are Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba. The moment we are able to control our tongues, we will flow very well. Let us be our brother’s keeper, let us see Nigeria as our kindred, if you see Nigeria community as your kindred there won’t be mistakes, we are one, and we have to remain one, so that we can keep the vision of our forefathers who made sure that this nation came together as one, the likes of Dr Nnanmdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, at least three of them, let us build on their legacies to keep this country as one.

Do you think Asiwaju should continue with Buhari’s programmes?

You see each incoming government, whether you like it or not builds on the past government, and building on the past government is changing the ones you can change, continue the good ones you can continue, it is not because of Buhari, even if it is another person that wins, you cannot come in and say, ahh, this Buhari did well, let me cancel it, you must continue, this place he did bad, let me continue it, no. so it is a process, whether it is Asiwaju or anybody, all the things that Buhari did that are good must be continued, if there are areas he didn’t do well, he has to improve on them, and I think that is why he called his agenda, Renewed Hope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Idimogu calls for peaceful co-existence between Igbos, Yorubas in Lagos State

Lawmaker representing Oshodi/Isolo Constituency 2 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Honourable (Sir) Jude Chukwuemeka Omobowale Idimogu has called for peaceful co-existence between the Igbos and the Yorubas in Lagos State.

Idimogu who spoke at his residence at Ejigbo on Saturday, April 1, 2023, advised that issue of elections should not divide the two groups which have been living like brothers and sisters.

“There has always been peace between the Igbos and Yorubas if not for the last election, that tribal sentiment crept in, a typical Igbo man is peaceful, sincerely, he faces his business and my Yoruba in-laws are good people, very accommodating, give it to them, but they are also having that benefit, after all the development that we have in Lagos State, is it in our villages? If they say Jude come and leave, am I going to carry my house to my village? It remains in Lagos here, so it is a matter of, they say, when the right hand washes the left hand and the left washes the right, everything will be clean, that for me is a symbiotic relationship.”

He also cautioned the Vice Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the just concluded 2023 election, Datti Baba-Ahmed over his inflammatory outbursts.

The lawmaker condemned the call by Datti that the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should not be sworn in, and tagged such utterance as irresponsible, and a move geared towards bringing down the hard earned democracy in the country.

His advice to labour party Presidential candidates and his Peoples Democratic Party counterpart who have gone to the court to challenge the outcome of the election, “But they are in court already now, the only advice, since they are in court, whatever decision the court takes, they should accept it, at the end of the day, if it is appeal court, they can even appeal to the supreme court, it is the final abitter, so we can’t say much, they are there already unless on their own they want to withdraw their petitions, that is the best thing, fro me the vice presidential candidate of labour party, Ahmed Dattilet him be careful…

“He should be careful with his utterances. At his level and with his education, he should choose his language. He does not own Nigeria. Nigeria won’t end because he lost election. Must you win?

“The democratic process should be followed. They have gone to court. They should follow the process to its logical end. That’s the beauty of democracy”

“Atiku has contested elections severally, and does not utter such divisive words. Datti-Ahmed is not even a presidential candidate. He’s a mere spare tyre”, the lawmaker stated.

Idimogu also opined that it is not impossible for a non-indigene, or a person of Igbo extraction, to become governor of the state one day.

“It must be an understanding and you must get the support of the owners of the land”, he stated.

Idimogu further stated that it is not in doubt that non indigenes in Lagos have the number, but the owners of the land must be respected, and “if they work with the Yorubas and the ruling party, it’s not possible”.

He stated that the average Igbo man is peaceful and law abiding, while the Yorubas are very accommodating, hence the need to work together to achieve set objectives.

“It’s only natural for investors in the state, many of whom are non-indigenes, and Igbos, to have an interest in politics and whoever is elected to initiate and run policies which will affect their businesses and investments. Hence the Igbos are taking interest in whom gets into public offices.

“Going forward, there should be inclusiveness. The APC (All Progressives Congress) should learn to pull others close and carry them along. “Igbos in lagos have more investments here in lagos than in their home states, hence they are interested in who occupies political offices”.

 

On the just concluded general elections, Hon Idimogu said if not for the pockets of violence, it was a good election, and that the will of the people triumphed. “There were issues in a few places, but the percentage, less that 10%, is not enough to discredit the entire process”, he argued.

“The election was good but not good enough. It could have been better. There were reports of violence in some places. But at the end of the day the people’s voice was herd and the majority had their say”.

“The election was a lesson for us, especially my party. Times are changing. The youths want to be part of governance. The perception about the old politicians is not accurate.

“The coming of LP is an eye opener for the old political parties, and elected public office holders to sit up or they might be kicked out”, he said.

On violence meted out to Igbos especially in Ejigbo and Okota, he advised his party, APC to learn to ensure inclusiveness in governance even as he called for peace. “It is a general thing that happened, it is not Lagos only, even in other states, but it is not good enough like I earlier said, democracy should be government that allows people to participate in an election, but because of fear of the unknown, the true Lagosians, because when they saw what happened during the presidential election they felt, if we keep quiet another party will likely take over the state, but I am happy that we won, though there was a lot of crises which for me was not good enough. Crisis will always be there in an election, but when you look at it, you compare the percentage where this crisis occur and the general performance. But to minimize these things, let’s talk about inclusiveness, our party should learn inclusiveness, not just the Igbos, even the Arewas, where they dominate, give them their person, where the Igbos dominate, give them, South-South, give them, the bottom line is at the end of the day, what matters is, my party won, but when you don’t give them and at the same time you want them to come and vote for you, no, you cannot beat a child and say he should not cry, it is difficult.

Speaking on the threat by Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate, Eze Fred Nwajiagu, to bring the Indigenous People of Biafra  (IPOB) to come and defend Ndigbo in Lagos over constant harassment, said “It is just senseless, when there is a situation, right now the polity is hot, the recent governorship election that happened on the 18^th of last month have not settled, which was almost like a cold war between the Igbos and the Yorubas, and you are now adding fuel into fire by saying you will call IPOB, so are you saying if there are issues in Lagos State, so we don’t have police in Lagos or even Amotekun in Yoruba land, and you are talking about IPOB, on what basis? Is Lagos State Imo State, Ebonyi or Anambra? How can somebody who is reasonable talk like that? Well my Yoruba brothers and sisters, we are not part of it, please we are not part of it at all, let him go and face the music, we don’t know what he is saying, as far as we are concerned in Lagos here, we want to live in peace with our Yoruba brothers and sisters, and do our businesses. A typical Igbo man minds his business, but whoever that is careless in saying whatever he likes should go and face the music, please absolve Igbos from this, but let that man go and face the music, what has IPOB got to do with Lagos State? So for me it is a very careless statement.