Home Blog Page 2471

Access Bank Marathoners Win Big Despite COVID 19

By
Bayo Bernard
-
0

By Fola Jmaes

Access Bank Plc dusted initial suggestion that the yearly Lagos Marathon would be cancelled due to the COVID 19 headwinds that affected operations of commercial banks in the country. If the bank was able to press ahead with the 2021 event, some watchers of the event say, the $30 000 grand price could be tinkered with.

But few hours ago, the Herbert Wigwe led bank proved critics wrong after winners emerged in the long race and their cash prizes handed over to them in a grand style. The race which started early on Saturday from the National Stadium, Lagos ended at the Eko Atlantic City with Emmanuel Naibei and Meseret Dinke emerging winners of the 6th edition and their taking away cash prizes of $30,000 each.

Herbert Wigwe - Access Bank MD arrested by EFCC
Wigwe: Access Bank Chief Executive

According to the organizers of the event Kenyan, Naibei, returned a time of 2:11:37 to claim the top prize of $30,000 while Ethiopian, Dinke won the female category with a $30,000 cash prize to keep.

The race which started in the early hours of Saturday from the National Stadium, Surulere, ended at the Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island, a 42-kilometer stretch with Daresa Geleta of Ethiopia claiming second place in the men category while his country man  Demiso Legese came third.

Records from the organizers also showed that Chepchirchir from Kenya came second in the women category taking home a cash prize of $20,000 while another Ethiopian, Desta Muluneh claimed a cash prize of $15,000 after emerging third in the star studded race.

This year’s event was flagged off by the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare and unlike previous events where over 100,000 participated, only 300 athletes were participated in the this year’s edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Veteran Actor, Bruno Iwuoha Is Dead; Suffered Blindness, Diabetes |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
-
0
Bruno Iwuoha

By Akinwale Kasali

Just a few weeks after the demise of veteran Nollywood Actor and Ace Broadcaster, Sadiq Daba, the make belief Industry has again lost another veteran, Bruno Iwuoha.

Iwuoha, who was a titled Chief before, was said to have suffered from diabetes, which resulted into blindness.

The death of the Veteran Actor was made known by close associate and filmmaker, Derik Zai who revealed that the actor died at the National Hospital, Abuja.

According to him, Iwuoha had been in coma for three weeks, and defied all efforts to stabilize.

A native of Abia State, he was 68 years.

Insecurity: It’s Impossible To Secure Southeast Without Its Participation |The Source

By
The Source
-
0

By Aloy Ejimakor

“When you add the other open and notorious exclusions, you begin to see partly why the agitation for the restoration of Biafra is gaining currency, garnering millions of supporters by the day.”

Before Nigeria became a Unitary State, while still pretending to be a Federation, regional security was mostly within the purview of regional authorities, not the Federal Government. And it worked pretty well.

This arrangement was not by chance but by design. Nigeria’s indigenous founding fathers and the departing British Colonists knew too well that you cannot internally secure a people without their participation.

In other words, Eastern Nigerians shouldn’t be the ones internally securing Western Nigeria or Northern Nigeria and vice versa. When you do that, it becomes counter-intuitive to security and begins to look like an occupation, a conquest, or worse. And it might breed popular resistance, overtly or covertly.

The historical dangers of a tribally-imbalanced security leadership for Nigeria, even in its present unitary form, terrified the framers of the 1999 Constitution to the point that they enacted at Section 217(3) that ‘the composition of the officer corps and other ranks of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall reflect the federal character of Nigeria’.

In plain terms, it means that no region, including the Southeast shall be excluded from securing Nigeria, or any part thereof, especially its own part. But today, the opposite is the case as Southeast officers and other ranks are significantly redlined from all security formations, particularly the ones based in Southeast.

What is more worrisome is that this brazen unconstitutionality seems to sit well with Nigerians who desire the nation to still remain one. They feign blindness to the naked fact that there’s no better contradiction to the oneness of Nigeria than this profound injustice.

Additionally, Section 14(3) of the same 1999 Constitution provides that, ‘the composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies shall ensure that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or any of its agencies’.

Again, this means that Southeast shall be equal partakers in the opportunities of the Nigerian enterprise. But it is not. That’s probably why each time the witch cries at night in the Southeast and the baby dies in the morning, the authorities jump to conclusions that it’s the witch that killed the baby. The recent Owerri jailbreak comes to mind.

To be sure, it’s uncanny and somewhat sinister that – since 2015 – those that are ruling Nigeria have deliberately violated the Constitution by notoriously excluding Southeast personnel from the security architecture of Nigeria.

When you add the other open and notorious exclusions, you begin to see partly why the agitation for restoration of Biafra is gaining currency and garnering more millions by the day. And the rising popularity of the Eastern Security Network completes the picture of the rampant sense of alienation in Southeast.

Enough said!

Ejimakor, an American Trained Lawyer, writes from Alaigbo

Benue Killings: Military, States Case, Says Personnel Murdered In Cold Blood |The Source

By
The Source
-
0

By Gideon Njoku

The Defence Headquarters ha bemoaned the horrific murder of its personnel who were keeping peace in Benue.

The personnel, 11 in number, ten soldiers and a Captain, were not only dragged into the forest and slaughtered without any provocation, their bodies were burnt beyond recognition and their weapons taken.

They were part of a special  force, Operation WHIRL STROKE, deployed for the maintenance of peace at Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue state over the incessant killings and destruction of properties around Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States.

The clashes have been between  the natives of Konshisha and Oju over boundary issues.

Since the gruesome killing of the soldiers, stories have been carried, especially, in the Social Media, on alleged reprisal attacks by the Military, leading to what was described as a massacre.

There had been instances of such reprisal attacks in the past. During the President Olusegun Obasanjo Government, the Military had invaded both Odi in Bayelsa State, and Zaki Biam in Benue State, leading to a killing spree, and destruction of properties in reprisal attacks. Some soldiers had been murdered by youths in the communities

But in a statement signed by the Acting Director, Defence Information, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu, dated April 9, Defence Headquarters said no such massacre of civilians took place, but admitted that its personnel killed a bunch of those who regrouped to attack them a second time.

Following is the full text of the statement, entitled:

UPDATE ON SITUATION IN KONSHISHA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE

“The attention of the Defence Headquarters is drawn to numerous publications in the media and other online blogs reporting massive killing and destruction of houses and other property by the military in Konshisha LGA of Benue State.

“The Defence Headquarters which has oversight responsibility for Operation WHIRL STROKE deployed to maintain peace in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States, has deemed it necessary to refute these spurious allegations and put the records straight.

“There have been incessant cases of communal clashes in recent times between the people of Konshisha and Oju over boundary demarcation. As part of efforts to resolve the crisis, the Benue State Government held series of meetings with stakeholders from both local governments with a view to arriving at amicable solution to the problem.

“Appreciable progress has been made and a final date fixed for all stakeholders to meet in the disputed areas to fully demarcate the boundary so that peace could reign. Trouble however started on the eve of the final meeting during Easter holiday, with reports that fresh fighting has broken out in the area.

“All along, 72 Special Forces Battalion has troops deployed on the Oju side of the boundary and troops of the Battalion were on their way to replenish their colleagues on 5 April 2021, when they were attacked by armed bandits at Bonta in Konshisha. The troops who were under command of a Captain were seized at a checkpoint mounted by the so called “Bonta Boys” and taken into Konshisha forest where they were all brutally murdered.

“Not satisfied with killing the soldiers, the bandits proceeded to burn all the eleven soldiers and their officer beyond recognition while their weapons and ammunition were carted away.

“Military reinforcements were dispatched to Bonta the following morning. Unfortunately, the reinforcement also came under attack from close to 500 armed youths who by this time had fully occupied Bonta.

“The sheer number of youths involved in the attacks suggests that the armed bandits cannot be from Bonta alone, but were joined by bandits from other parts of Konshisha LGA. The military repelled the attack after more than 4 hours of intense fighting during which military helicopter provided close air support to ground troops.

“Ten armed bandits were killed during the fight with the rifle of one of the Killed in action soldiers recovered from the bandits who fell casualty during the exchange of fire.

“The Defence Headquarters wish to put it on record that apart from this initial 10 bandits, there are no other civilian casualties recorded in any part of Konshisha till date. We therefore challenge anybody from Konshisha to present to the public the 200, 70 or 30 dead bodies of innocent persons, male, female or children killed by troops in Konshisha. There was never a massacre as being touted by some mischief makers.

“The remnants of the armed bandits that escaped from Bonta withdrew into neighbouring villages where they kept on attacking troops as they continued with the search operation through Bonta into other parts of Konshisha. Knowing the implications of killing troops in cold blood, most of the villagers fled their homes which were then occupied by armed bandits who kept firing at troops from the settlements as they advanced into Konshisha.

“Troops repelled the attacks and destroyed the houses and other buildings which the criminals used as hideout for the attacks. The use of abandoned settlements by armed bandits to attack troops is popular with insurgents. The aim is to draw military fire into the dwellings and then turn round to blame soldiers for the destruction. This is common guerilla tactics armed bandit designed to whip up public sentiment against security forces and this is what played out in Konshisha.

“This accounts for some of the burnt houses being reported in the press. Some of the phones of the dead soldiers were also tracked to some of the settlements. We should therefore blame the armed bandits for the destruction since they used these settlements as hideout for attacks. It will be wrong to blame soldiers who are in Konshisha on legitimate duties when some of them were murdered in cold blood. Some of the buildings being paraded today were actually burnt during earlier communal clashes between Konshisha and Oju, all of which the sponsors of the mayhem are now blaming on the military.

“Finally, the Defence Headquarters wishes to state that soldiers deployed to Konshisha displayed commendable restraints by adhering to the rules of engagement in the face of unprovoked attacks and therefore deserve accolades.  In addition to the return of all carted away weapons, the local leaders of Konshisha must bring the main actors responsible for the mayhem to security forces to face justice. They must also surrender all other weapons in their possession.

“The military will not tolerate the jungle justice attitude and dastardly acts leading to the gruesome murder of patriotic soldiers on legitimate duty to keep the peace. We look forward to working with the Benue State Government in its promise to support security forces in fishing out those fomenting trouble in Konshisha. Once again, there is no massacre in Konshisha and the stories making the rounds are fabricated by bandits and their sponsors to smear the military after murdering troops in cold blood.”

PDP Governors Say Nigeria Is Gone Under APC |The Source

By
The Source
-
0
PDP Governors

Governors elected under the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, have decried what Nigeria has been reduced to.

In a comprehensive review of the state of the Nation at a meeting held in Makurdi the Benue State Capital, the Governors under the umbrella of the PDP Governors’ Forum, the Governors were of the opinion that Nigeria has been destroyed.

They were shocked by the alarming level of insecurity which has gripped all the  States of the Federation, and threatening to break the country.

They noted that the APC has  ran the country aground, and said the nation has already drifted.

The meeting was attended by all the Governors elected under the PDP, except the Bauchi State Governor who was represented by his Deputy. Prince Uche Secondus, the National Chairman of the Party was also present to brief the Governors.

Following is the full text of the communique, signed by the Chairman of the Forum, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State.

“Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, met in Makurdi, Benue State on 9th April, 2021, under the aegis of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum, PDP–GF, to review the state of affairs in the country and common developments in their states and issued the following Communique at the end of their meeting;

“1. The meeting noted and condemned the alarming drift of Nigeria which if allowed to continue, will make Nigeria a failed state under the watch of the All Progressives Congress, APC, government. They expressed deep concern and alarm at the deteriorating relations between various groups in Nigeria. The Governors were deeply worried that indeed, all our fault lines and differences are being stretched to the limit by a government that clearly lacks the capacity to govern. The meeting agreed that this has given rise to ethnic and tribal tensions, religious divisions, and various forms of social and political cleavages. The Governors concluded that Nigeria is in dire need of leadership at the Federal level to avert the looming disaster.

“2. The meeting was similarly alarmed that security of lives and property of Nigerians are no longer guaranteed under the present government as a result of leadership incompetence and mismanagement of the nation’s affairs. While noting that Governors have a role to play in the handling of some of the worsening situations, they regret their hands are tied behind their backs as the entire coercive authority in the country is monopolised by the APC federal government. Time has come to take advantage of the ongoing Constitution Amendment process to decentralise the security architecture of Nigeria and involve States and Local Governments.

“3. Consequently, the Governors reaffirmed their conviction that an urgent devolution of powers and restructuring of the country in a way that brings together various groups and tendencies in the country appears to have become imperative and timely now as Nigeria cannot afford another civil war.

“4.  We call on the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to send a new Revenue Allocation Formular that allocates more resources to States and Local Governments to Mr President for National Assembly’s action. It is a scandal that 21 years after the 1999 Constitution came into being, no new Revenue Formular is in place. Furthermore, the meeting called for a more transparent and accountable running and operation of the NNPC.

“5. The meeting further condemned the intimidation of sitting Governors by the APC administration using all sorts of weapons like security agencies, unequal access to federal resources, promotion of divisions in the opposition political parties with fake promises and falsehoods. We significantly condemn the double standards that are applied by the APC-led federal government to intimidate PDP controlled states. To this end, we call on Mr. President to lift the so called “No flight Zone” and other intimidating tactics, imposed on Zamfara State as similar measures have not been extended to similar states with security challenges like Kaduna, Borno, Katsina, Yobe and others. This is mostly politically motivated to ensure that the Governors move over to APC.

“6. The meeting noted that the APC has been unable to even have a democratically-elected National Executive Committee as required by the Nigerian Constitution. A Political Party that operates by military fiat with an appointed and unelected Executive Committee at ALL LEVELS from WARD to NATIONAL has no business running the affairs of our country. APC cannot deliver democracy to Nigeria; even to constitute a Board of Trustees has been an impossible task for the party since inception. It further expressed surprise that the APC is interested in playing politics and jockeying for power in 2023, when they have done an abysmal and terribly poor job of their current questionable mandate.

“7. The Governors were distressed that Nigeria is now officially the country with the highest unemployment rate in the world at 33% under the disastrous leadership of APC. This is following on the heels of yet another feat of being the country with the second highest poverty rate in the world. For APC, it is indeed a race to the bottom.

“8. The meeting received briefings from the National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, and Chairman PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, and assures Nigerians that help is on the way as the PDP is primed to offer effective leadership ONCE AGAIN to Nigeria. It enjoined Nigerians to once more place their trust on the PDP as the only effective vehicle to salvage the country.

“9. The meeting commended the Governors of PDP-controlled states for their innovative approaches to governance in many fields especially infrastructure, education, health, women and youth initiatives and the timely delivery of developmental projects, across the country. It is these LEGACY PROJECTS being undertaken in many PDP-governed states that will be presented to Nigerians as our scorecard at the appropriate time.

“10. The meeting thanked the Host, His Excellency, Governor Samuel Ortom for hosting the first meeting of the PDP Governors in recent times outside Abuja and for holding the Party together not only in Benue State but in the entire North Central Zone.”

Covid-19: Lagos Eases Restriction: Defaulters Face Sanction |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
-
0

By Akinwale Kasali

Lagos State is gradually coming alive after the COVID-19 pandemic buried all social activities in the, otherwise, bubbling State.

There is a sigh of relief for Social / Events Centre owners across the Lagos,  as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has eased the COVID-19 imposed restrictions.

This was disclosed Friday, April 9th, 2021, by the Hon. Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture,  Uzamat  Yusuff, and the Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Lanre Mojola.

Mojola stated that after consultation and deliberations with relevant stakeholders and MDA’s including the State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Lagos State Safety Commission, Governor Sanwo-Olu has approved the further easing of social centres across the State with immediate effect.

“Further to the above, riding on the Order of Mr. Governor, the Hon. Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture – Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile Yusuff and Director-General / CEO of The Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola hereby issues this press release that stipulates the new guidelines for social/event facilities.

“All event centres must hold a valid license of The Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture prior to operating as an event center in the State.

“All event centres must be duly registered and verified on The Lagos State Safety Commission website www.lasgsafetyreg.com prior to holding any event.

“The guidelines that followed the ease of the restriction order is that an Event Safety Clearance must be obtained from the Lagos State Safety Commission through the website www.lasgsafetyreg.com for any proposed event or exhibition.

“Safety Marshals shall be deployed by an accredited event safety consultant from Lagos State Safety Commission for every social event with attendance exceeding over 200 people.

“Occupancy limit at any event must not exceed 50% of the maximum design capacity of the hall, wherein Occupancy Limit stickers provided by the Lagos State Safety Commission must be boldly pasted at the entrance of the event hall.

Maximum allowable capacity for Event Centers irrespective of occupancy limit is 500 people.

“Deep cleaning must be carried out before and after every event.

Physical distancing shall be maintained between seated guests and a maximum number of seated guests should be 6 (six) people on a table of 10 (ten)persons.

“Event duration should not exceed a maximum period of 6-hours.

All guests and service providers at the facility must wear a nose mask and make use of hand sanitizers

All guests and service providers must endeavor to wash their hands before entering the venue or in the alternative use hand sanitizers.

“Temperature checks must be taken at all entry points into a facility.

Guests and service providers with temperature (above 37.5) are to be politely turned back and referred to paramedics or the emergency response team on ground.

“Hand sanitizers must be positioned at the entry points and different spots within the hall.

“All event centers must endeavor to display standard COVID-19 safety signs. The signs must be bold and installed at conspicuous locations.

“Event center owners/ planners/vendors would be responsible for any breach of protocols by their staff.”

He stated that any violation of this protocol shall attract fines and penalties in line with the Lagos State Infectious Diseases Control Regulation 2020.

CBN Freezes More Accounts Over Terrorism

By
Bayo Bernard
-
0
His Men On The Run

By Fola James

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has continued its clampdown on suspicious sponsors of terrorism in the country. The apex bank on Friday disclosed that it has obtained another court order to freeze 194 bank accounts in various commercial banks and financial institutions owned by some bureau de change firms. The development comes barely few days after it stopped the operation of 11 banks accounts in First City Monument Bank, FCMB pending the conclusion of investigations on them.

The Buhari administration has recently expressed worries that some Nigerians are funneling illicit funds through bureau de change to the terror group, Boko Haram. Also, the government of United Arab Emirates, UAE recently sentenced six Nigerians and companies suspected of channeling funds to the deadly group.

Godwin Emefiele
Emefiele: Clamps Down On Terror Sponsors

According to information published by the Godwin Emefiele-led CBN, the order was obtained in a federal court, Abuja presided over by Justice, A.R. Mohammed, which directed the CBN to notify the deposit money bank, DMBs to put a lid on such accounts for nothing less than 45 days pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.

Justice Mohammed said the CBN can approach the court for an extension when necessary for further investigations.“The order may be extended upon good reasons shown. Any person aggrieved by this order could apply to the court to have the order set aside, discharged or have the order reviewed for good reasons without waiting for the 45 days to lapse,” the judge said.

The apex bank named the bureau de change undergoing investigations to include Seasons Bureau De Change Limited, Sethwealth Ventures Limited, Sani Polo Global Investment Limited, Romvic Ventures Limited and Blue Beam Capital Limited. There are over 104 others not mentioned in the court order so as not to jeopardize ongoing investigations, according to close sources in CBN privy to the issue.

On Wednesday, the apex bank obtained an interim order from an Abuja High Court presided by Justice Mohammed for 45 days to enable the government bank to conduct investigations into suspicious activities.

The order followed an exparte motion, dated March 12 and filed on March 16, for an order of the court, directing First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, to freeze all transactions on the listed accounts and all other bank accounts of the defendants for 180 days pending the outcome of investigation and inquiry currently being conducted by the CBN.

The CBN listed the account owners to include Albert Austin Ugochukwu with two bank accounts, Belfour Energy & Allied Services, Belfour Oil and Gas Limited with three bank accounts, Circle Flow Integrated Services, Kacynaus Reality Nigeria Limited with three bank accounts and Tasmara Integrated Services.

“An interim Order is made empowering the applicant to direct the Head Office of First City Monument Bank Ltd to freeze forthwith all transactions on the bank accounts listed on the motion paper for a period of 45 days only pending the outcome of investigation currently being conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria,’’ Justice Mohammed said.

IGP Makes New Appointments, Removes Secretary, Retains Mba |The Source

By
The Source
-
0
Usman Alkali Baba - Acting IGP

Excludes Women

The newly appointed Acting Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has, as they say, hit the ground running. 48 hours after his appointment, he has made a new appointment to the Police Management Team.

The new entrant is AIG Hafiz Inuwa, mni, who was appointed the new Force Secretary, which, automatically, makes him a member of the Management Team.

The Police Management Team is made up of the IGP, the Deputy Inspectors General of Police, and the Force Secretary. For the  records, it is an all men affair, as no woman police officer is a member of this team.

Another high point of the appointments is the re-appointment of CP Frank Mba, as the Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO.  Ag. CP Idowu Owohunwa is the new Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to the IGP respectively, a high profile office.

According to a Press Release signed by Mba,  the new Force Secretary, Inuwa, takes over from AIG Mustapha Dandaura who has been redeployed to Zone-7 Police Headquarters, Abuja. AIG Inuwa holds a Masters degree in Public Policy and Administration (MPPA). Prior to his appointment as the Force Secretary, he was the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone-13 Ukpo -Dunukofia in Awka, Anambra State, covering Anambra and Enugu State Police Commands. He had, also previously served as the Commissioner of Police in charge of Delta and Cross River States, amongst other strategic positions. He is a member of the  National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Kuru, Jos.

CP Mba, a lawyer and a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), is also an alumnus of the University of Dundee, Scotland – United Kingdom, where he earned a Master’s Degree in Law. An IVLP scholar, he holds a Diploma in Police Strategic Management from the University of Virginia, USA and a graduate of the prestigious FBI National Academy (FBINA) in Quantico, Virginia, USA. He also holds a Certificate in National and International Security from Harvard University, USA. A veteran Public Relations (PR) practitioner, he is being re-appointed as the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO) and the Image-maker for the Nigeria Police Force for the third time.

Ag. CP Owohunwa, the newly re-appointed Principal Staff Officer to the Inspector General of Police (PSO-IGP), holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice Studies and Policing from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. A Chevening Scholar, Ag. CP Owohunwa also holds a Diploma in Police Strategic Management at the University of Virginia, USA and a graduate of the globally recognized FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, USA.

Ag. CP Owohunwa was the PSO-IGP between 2015 and 2016, and to the immediate past Inspector General of Police. This re-appointment marks the third time he is holding the position as the Principal Staff Officer to the Inspector-General of Police.

In a similar vein, the IGP has ordered the posting of the following officers; CSP Idris Abdullahi Abubakar as the PSO II to the IGP, SP Isah Abdulhamid as PA-IGP, SP Nura Kabir Hanga as Secretary – IGP, amongst other personal aides.

The appointments/postings of the Senior Officers and personal aides take immediate effect.

Insecurity: MURIC Alleges Saraki-Led Senate Reason For Insecurity In Nigeria |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
-
0

By Akinwale Kasali

Controversial Islamic Scholar, and Director of Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, has held the Senate President of the 8th Assembly, Dr. Bukola  Saraki, responsible for the insecurity under the Muhammadu Buhari administration

Prof. Akintola blamed the 8th Senate and those he called disgruntled elements for inciting insecurity against the Federal Government, thus making the citizens experience  terrible situations that is unprecedented in the country.

In a press Statement, the Group said Saraki and political bad losers made the nation ungovernable under President Buhari.

“Bad losers among the politicians are hell-bent on ensuring that the present administration fails. There are also anarchists whose main objective is to sabotage security facilities,” the statement said.

MURIC recalled that the Saraki-led Senate on 6th April 2018, rejected the President’s request for $1billion for the purchase of arms, stressing that if it was approved at the time, the present State  of insecurity in the country wouldn’t have been this unacceptable.

According to Prof. Akintola, the decision was a “deliberate attempt” to frustrate the government’s resolve to secure the nation.

“Nigerians would have witnessed a drastic improvement in the security situation had that request been granted.

“But the unpatriotic elements in the Senate ensured that the request was blocked. The same politicians turned round to blame Buhari for the worsening security situation,” he added.

The statement stressed that the government’s efforts were sabotaged during the #EndSARS protests in October 2020.

It said the release of prisoners, the burning of police stations and the looting of police armoury were meant to cause and wreak havoc and destabilize the present Administration of President Buhari.

On the assault on Imo State Police Command headquarters, Akintola declared it was to ensure security challenges persist.

The organisation said the attack on Owerri prison where 1,844 prisoners were released confirmed “the diabolical objectives of the anarchists”.

The MURIC Director urged citizens to expose enemies of peace, adding that nobody should think that another leader has the magic wand.

Omole, Anglican Bishop, Dies |The Source

By
The Source
-
0
Augustine Omole

By Adesina Soyooye

The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, has lost one its most vocal and cerebral Clergymen.

His Lordship, The Rt. Rev. Augustine Omole, PhD, the Bishop of Sokoto  Diocese, Anglican Communion is dead.

Bishop Omole, according to reports, died of injuries he sustained, a few days ago, in a vehicle accident. His death has, also, been confirmed on  the  Facebook of the Anglican Clergy and Laity.

Omole was blunt and fearless, while alive, and was never tired of expressing his views on the State of the Nature.

As a mark of honour and, in his memory, we reproduce here, text of an interview he granted the Nigerian Tribune. It was entitled:

“Why Nigeria is retrogressing

With the general election over, what should the new set of incoming elected public officials do differently so that the country can reap the real gains of civilian rule?

We have everything we need to make Nigeria great; we have them in abundance-human and material resources. The trouble of Nigeria is man-made. It is directly caused by our leaders who are not connected to the people; leaders who will see white and call it black or those that see black and call it white. Leaders who will eat and eat and even make room for only their unborn children, whereas those they are leading are jobless. That is the problem and indeed the missing link.

What does it portend for the country? Don’t you think it constitutes a time bomb?

It is a time bomb. What is happening is such that when you catch a thief and ask him why he is stealing, he says it is because he has lost his job. It is a time bomb that we are preparing for the future of this nation.  We are telling our youths that they are not useful for anything. They spend money, go to school, come out and there is no job for them. That is why we have all the so called-se Yahoo Yahoo (internet fraud). Jobs are not available for the youth. You ask them to go to farm, whereas there is nothing for them to work with. Our actions and inaction as leaders today are mortgaging the future of the country and our children. We are consuming what we are supposed to set aside for our children. We are creating a Nigeria, where children will kill one another, though it is already happening. Our politicians should know if we do not curtail the ugly things happening now, I give it another 30 years, we would witness a different aspect of Nigeria. But, God forbid. Our leaders should wake up from their slumber and do the needful.

Anyone above 60 years should not be allowed to contest the Presidency of this nation again. We should look into the provision of the constitution that deals with the issue of age. Nigerians between 30 and 50 years can do better than all those elders currently in office.

They have finished Nigeria, but I if we can put someone who has the interest of the country at heart and is committed to making life better for all, even those Nigerians already in their graves, will not curse them.

Most Nigerians are seriously worried by the level of moral decadence in the society, despite the high number of worship centres across the country.

What specific role can the church play to reawaken Nigerians to those values that exalt a nation?

If we go back in history, we would see that the church played a very significant role in building Nigeria, and I believe that the same church can still do same. We should remember that Christianity, particularly the Anglican Church, for instance, came with schools, hospitals and many others which were pivotal to development of this nation. Also, we should not forget that some institutions and some hospitals that have played so much important roles in the health aspect of this nation are all products of the missionaries. Talk of Kings College or Igbobi College, both located in Lagos. All these things were what churches contributed for the building of the nation. Let churches go back to history and begin to do those things that were done in those days. I believe they can still contribute a lot to our nation-building.

The truth is that sometimes, we allow the issue of money to override the importance of the church. We look for money in a way that are not glorified by God and such attitude can not build a nation. I want to say that the church still plays a very vital role in building Nigeria, especially if we remember what we have done before. Things were good for Nigeria in those days and we want it to be better. So, the church must rise up to make further stronger impact in nation-building.

We spread the gospel and that is what the kingdom of God demands from the church. We are the Light of the world, so, the church should to continue to preach the gospel, as Apostle Paul says it is the power of God. There will be sanity in the society if the church should rise up in condemning the evil tendencies that have taking over our society today.

We should shine our light and preach the gospel if evils must stop, and if we succeed in that regard, there will be improvement in development, as the spate of kidnapping, killing and other forms of criminalities will be put to an end. What form of development do you expect in a crime-prone environment? So, the church must consistently teach and preach against those negative tendencies.

I believe we will get it right and normalcy will return to Nigeria and the dream of a great country that we all want will be achieved

With the benefit of hindsight, at what stage do you think things began to go awry in the church, particularly against the background of its positive role you talked about?

The first thing we must understand is that any society that leaves God out of its affairs is bound to decay. The government of this country some time ago took over mission schools. It administered them without recource to the fundamental ideas and vision of the founders.

So, the takeover soon created a vacuum in moral instruction and other fundamental objectives of establishing the mission schools. The Christian Religion Knowledge, for example, has been removed from the education curriculum. When we discovered in the last National Examination Council (NECO), we wrote a letter to the Ministry of Education to complain.

All they told us was that they would look into the complaint. The students sat the exam but it was discovered that their papers were not marked. That is to tell you the level at which the government is helping to destroy the nation.

The other time, they said CRK has been combined with about five subjects and that the subject (CRK) can be taught by anybody, that is, such teacher doesn’t have to be a Christian. When you ask someone of other faith to teach Christian Religion as a subject, what do you think he is going to teach for God’s sake? If you remove Christian Religion from the school curriculum, it means there will be no moral instruction; there will be no morning assembly. Even in schools established by the church, there are government policies that have been put in place to make sure some of these things are not happening.

Then, what kind of nation do you want to build? The church, which should have been the bedrock of this nation, has been put aside. We should remember that those days, it was the same church that helped to stop slavery Slessor. Have we forgotten Mary Slessor who fought the battle that twins should not be killed anymore?

Was it not the church? The point is that when the church is hindered by government policies, anything can go wrong, because from what we know of the church, it is the light. The Bible says: “We are the light of the world.” So, when the church is not given its prime place in the society, then we are inviting trouble. Some of the things that have been happening is the fact that the church has been put aside and the result is what we are seeing and getting now.

Another issue of public discourse is the flamboyant lifestyle of a number of church leaders in the face of harsh economic challenges confronting their followers.…

When salt loses its value, it becomes ordinary sand. The trend you talked about is prevalent among many of pastors, not the notable ones alone; from the level of parish priests to evangelists who say they are leaders in the church.

You want to pray for someone, you ask the person to go and bring his or her panties. What are those things meant for? You cannot do deliverance without touching a woman’s buttocks or other sensitive parts of her body.

These are some of the things that demean a pastor as a man of God. You want to ride in the latest car; some pastors want to show who is ‘bigger’ in status and wealth.

They purchase private jets, helicopters and the rest of them. Some can no longer travel in the same vehicles with their church members because they want to put a line of demarcation. Who makes us superior to others?

So, the act of worldliness has permeated the church and seated in the altar of God’s temple. It is the act of negligence and evil life of some men of God.

What the Bible tell us to do is to preach the Gospel, win souls, but what we are doing today is no more evangelism of winning souls but evangelism of highlighting and spreading what we have (wealth we have acquired) and what we are.

We want to show other pastors that we are bigger; that we are superior. These things are demeaning our ministry because we are now eclipsed than heavenly in our outlook. Even other church members come to churches with dresses that expose the sensitive parts of the body of a man or a woman and they (pastors) condone such indecent dressing because of the money they collect from such individuals.

These things happen today because we think we can compromise the Word of God. But you can only compromise your own standard. It is the word of God that makes you whatever you are. So, if you compromise the word of God, then you have opened the door of criticism for yourself and the church that you think you represent. And that is not a good omen.

But the church needs to survive, given the prevalent hostile economic climate in the larger society. How do you think the church, business and politics can inter-relate without any form of compromise?

The churches, business and politics, for me, is played by just one person; the Bible says, “Let your life show sign before men that they will see your good luck and glorify your father who is in heaven.” A Christian, for instance, must show himself as a true Christian in his business and politics. Politics is all about governance; it is about distribution. As a Christian, you must live a life that tells the people who you are. If you want to be a different person in the church, a different person in politics and a different person in business, that is not proper; things don’t work that way.

For me, there is a link because the church is out to make sure that life is better for its members; then business too is meant to ensure that life is better for the people. So, the link is the three-church, business and politics. The issue is that there should be no difference because if I am a politician and at the same time, a Christian, I must allow the virtues of Christianity to reflect in my brand of politics.

The problem we have in Nigeria is that we want to be Christian in the church; another person in politics and yet another person in business; that cannot work. That is why Nigeria seems to be moving backward. If I am a Christian and politician, anywhere I find myself, I must use my Christianity to make things better for the people. As a businessman, whatever business I do, I do it according to the rules and the tenets of my religion.

There will be no fake drugs, Government will not give me money to do something and I will misappropriate it. I will not take bribe before I do my work.

1...2,4702,4712,472...2,975Page 2,471 of 2,975