Nigeria at 52: We are on the verge of failure – Senator Chukwumeriji

Still in the spirit of the nation’s 52 independence anniversary, a member of the upper chamber, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, yesterday said 52 years after being granted freedom, Nigeria seems not to be free, saying that Nigeria is a failed state.
The Senator stressed on the need for our leaders at the local, state and the federal governments to return Nigeria to the path of economic growth, and work towards the unity of the nation.
This came following different comments from the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, PDP, Akwa Ibom North-East and 108 other senators while congratulating Nigeria on her 52nd years of freedom from colonial rule.
Enang on Monday, October 1, said “Nigeria did mark her 52nd independence anniversary, having attained independence from Britain on October 1, 1960.
“Steadily and gradually, the nation is developing its domestic production capacity as an independent nation. We have become a big player in international affairs within the committee of nations.”
However, Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, PDP, Abia North, said: “It took only 21 years to transform Turkey from a feudal state to a highly modernised state today. South-East Asian countries took less than 30 years to move from ex-British colonies to what they are today; Asian Tigers, and are highly developed to the point that one of them, Malaysia, took our palm produce and turned its economy around.
“It took South Korea 18 years to move from 3rd dependent country to one of the third exporters, and it took China exactly 48 years to move from a small status, being described by the West as the begging bone of Asian, to a super power.
“With our 52 years as a country, a country who took palm produce from us some years back has grown into a prosperous country and turned that product into its main exporting product.
“How would you describe us now importing it? I can only describe Nigeria as either a failed state or on the verge of being a failed one.”
DailyPost

Presidency probes alleged lie in Jonathan’s Independence speech

by Olalekan Adetayo

President Goodluck Jonathan
| credits: nigerianbulletin.com

SOME of President Goodluck Jonathan’s aides may be in trouble for reportedly putting false information in the 52nd Independence anniversary speech of the President.

Jonathan in his 52nd Independence Day broadcast told Nigerians that the global corruption watch body, Transparency International, rated Nigeria second after United States in anti-corruption efforts.

The claim has been found to be untrue with many accusing Jonathan of telling a lie.

In fact, TI has reportedly denied issuing such a report.

Furious at the development, the President has reportedly ordered a probe to discover the source of the misinformation.

“In its latest report, Transparency International noted that Nigeria is the second most improved country in the effort to curb corruption. We will sustain the effort in this direction with an even stronger determination to strengthen the institutions that are statutorily entrusted with the task of ending this scourge,” Jonathan had told the nation on October 1.

The President had made a similar claim at an interdenominational church service held on Sunday as part of the activities marking the nation’s 52nd Independence anniversary.

But an online publication, Premium Times, reports that TI refuted the claim when it was contacted.

“Transparency International does not have a recent rating or report that places Nigeria as the second most improved country in the fight against corruption,” Premium Times  quoted the organisation to have said in a mail.

A source said since he had based his speech on information made available to him by his aides, the President promptly ordered the probe of the source of the claim.

An insider in the Presidency told The PUNCH on Tuesday that the President’s media handlers met on the issue.

They were said to have directed one of the presidential aides, Mr. Reno Omokri, to probe the source of the false claim.

Already, Omokri had reportedly concluded his findings which showed that the piece of information was lifted from a publication in the BusinessDay of September 12, 2012 edition.

Curiously, the memo in which Omokri reported his findings to other aides had found its way to the websites of some online publications on Tuesday.

The memo was also published on the website of the Ministry of Information, http://www.fmi.gov.ng/, as a rejoinder under the headline, “Mr. President’s statement was based on notorious facts.”

In the memo, Omokri who signed simply as Reno, said the President’s claim was based on a newspaper report.

“On this issue, the media published their synopsis of the most recent Transparency International report and BusinessDay, a well respected newspaper with a bias for business reporting, in a headline on the 12th of September 2012 with the title “FG’s anti-corruption initiative impacts Nigeria’s global perception” said, ‘The survey on global corruption perceptions for 2011 versus 2001 showed that the third best improvement in the world was in Nigeria, with its score improving by 1.5 points.’

“For a section of the opposition to now cast aspersions on the integrity of the President when he relied on notorious facts (anything published in the press and which remains unchallenged is a notorious fact) is proof positive of the now obvious fact that they lack ideas on how to move Nigeria forward and would rather snipe at efforts of the President to move the nation forward for which any patriot would do.”

Official reactions normally bear the full names and designations of the authors of such documents.

Our correspondent learnt that the development had caused panic in the Presidency with fear of dismissal already gripping some top officials.

In his reaction, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, told journalists on Tuesday that Nigerians should focus more on thePresident’s message.

He said, “The President’s message is that this administration is tackling corruption. The revelations from the pension scam and the fuel subsidy scam as well as the sanitation of activities at the ports all came to be because the President sanctioned them.

“People should focus on the message, namely that a lot of progress has been made and is still being made to tackle corruption in the system.

“There are lot of people outside there who mislead Nigerians that nothing is being done. These people tackle individuals.

“What the President did was that he fired hope and promised his rededication to the service of the nation. There are those who are looking for a way to water down the message.”

Punch

Kukah: It’s Weakness to Celebrate in Hiding

Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Mathew Kukah

By Muhammed Aminu

Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Mathew Kukah, Tuesday said President Goodluck Jonathan celebration of the country’s independence at the Presidential Villa, is an admission of weakness.

Speaking during an interview with THISDAY in Sokoto Tuesday, Kukah described as unacceptable the inability of the President to stand publicly and address Nigerians. He noted with dismay that the President had succumbed to the terror streak of Boko Haram by choosing not to celebrate the nation’s independence publicly.

The cleric, who also pointed out that the state, has the legitimate monopoly of the instruments of power to deter aggression from any group, said: “The notion that the president cannot stand publicly and address Nigerians on the day of independence is unacceptable and an indication that he is not in charge.”

“Today we are celebrating independence in the Presidential Villa, who knows next time if it is threatened, we move into the council chambers and subsequently there would be no celebration.

“And this is not the kind of wrong message Nigerians want to receive because anytime the president gives an inch to such insurgent groups, he surrenders his legitimacy,” he said.

He emphasised that Jonathan would have utilised the opportunity to spread the message of hope and courage to Nigerians.

“Jonathan should have used the independence anniversary to inspire Nigerians. He should have urged the people to laugh in the face of Boko Haram because if we show that we cannot celebrate independence because of the insurgents, then we are sharing power and territory with them.”

Kukah pointed out that the president ought to have shown Nigerians that government was capable of protecting them.
He maintained that the president’s quest for foreign investments will not amount to anything, if nothing much is done to build confidence.

“This is a psychological war game, the president must demonstrate to foreign investors that he is open for business. But this celebration of independence in Aso Rock is not building any confidence on the part of citizens and foreigners alike,” Kukah added.

He averred that the country has made appreciable progress in its 52 years of nation hood but lamented that the 30 years of military rule had caused untold harm to the nation’s economy.

Kukah, therefore, called on Northern leaders to put more efforts in order to restore peace in the region.

ThisDay

Presidency Blames Jonathan’s Independence Day Gaffe On Newspaper Article-PREMIUM TIMES

President Goodluck Jonathan

By SaharaReporters, New York

In an attempt to salvage President Goodluck Jonathan’s integrity after a PREMIUM TIMES investigation revealed that the president lied on a claim he made in his independence anniversary broadcast to the nation, the Federal Government on Tuesday said the president‘s claim was based on “notorious facts” provided in a newspaper article.
In his Independence Day speech, Mr. Jonathan scored his administration high on many fronts, despite the widely held believe among Nigerians that its performance had been abysmal.
In an apparent attempt to gain international goodwill, he further asserted that the global corruption watchdog, Transparency International, had endorsed his administration’s war against corruption.
“In its latest report, Transparency International noted that Nigeria is the second most improved country in the effort to curb corruption,” Mr. Jonathan had said in the broadcast.
However, in an email to PREMIUM TIMES, Transparency International said the president’s claim is untrue.
“Transparency International does not have a recent rating or report that places Nigeria as the second most improved country in the fight against corruption,” the Berlin-based organisation told this newspaper.
The presidency, in a statement released this morning, said the president‘s claim was based on “notorious facts” published by Nigeria’s BusinessDay newspaper.
Presidency sources say the president’s gaffe has caused panic among his speech writers and media aides regarding who should take responsibility for the misinformation.
The panic is also reflected in the official response, posted on the official website of the Federal Ministry of Information, and signed by a person who identified himself as Reno and did not indicate any official designation.
The Reno, who signed the statement, is believed to be Reno Omokri, Mr. Jonathan’s Special Assistant on New Media.
“As is the practise worldwide, we accept the premise that whatever is published in the media and goes unchallenged is the truth,” the statement said. ”On this issue, the media published their synopsis of the most recent Transparency International report and BusinessDay, a well respected newspaper with bias for business reporting in a headline on the 12th of September 2012 with the titled (sic) “FG’s anti-corruption initiative impacts Nigeria’s global perception.”
The statement indicated that Mr. Jonathan’s advisers merely lifted an article from a newspaper without checking its accuracy and then gave it to the president to read to over 150 million Nigerians as independence anniversary day speech, televised on national television and possibly streamed on the Internet.
Reno added that since the BusinessDay report was not challenged by TI, it should be taken as a “notorious fact”.
“The President acted in good faith and his statement was based on notorious facts”.
The president’s aide then chided what he described as some “opposition leaning media houses” for casting “aspersions on the integrity of the President.”
“They lack ideas on how to move Nigeria forward and would rather snipe at the effort of the President to move the nation forward for which any patriot would do,” he said.

Legal expert says Jonathan’s administration is the worst since independence

Constitutional lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Robert Clarke has described Nigeria’s system of government as a civil form of government and not a democratic system of government.
Mr Clarke, made this know while evaluating Nigeria after its 52years of independence, stating that having experienced all the various system of government practiced by the country since, 1960, the current manner of government is the worst since the history of the country came into being and since the advent of democracy in 1999.
Clarke, who was speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, said “I have seen it pre-independence governance, I have seen first independence governance, I have seen military governance, I have seen the second republic governance and I am seeing now the so called third republic governance”.
Having a clear view of what the governance road has been before the Union Jack was lowered till now, the legal luminary said “I can assure you from my own experience, this is the worst since 1999, and this is the worst system of governance we have”.
He took a swipe at the president saying “I can assure you he (President Jonathan) cannot name twenty of his minsters off head”.
He also accused ministers and governors of having a long thread of aides that are paid for doing nothing with tax payers’ money.
Mr Clarke said the system of government being run in Nigeria is nowhere close to a democracy.
He said “Look let’s not deceive ourselves, we have no democracy in Nigeria, what we are running today in Nigeria is a civil form of government”.
He went further to explain what a true democracy is positing that it is “the entrenchment of institution”.
He said the institutions in Nigeria lack the autonomy to operate on their own, a trend he traced to Obasanjo’s civilian government that began in 1999.
“The police is still subservient to the governor, subservient to the president. The EFCC is still subservient to this..we have not entrenched the institutions we have to make them independent so that we can feel the effect of democracy”.
 ChannelsTV

EFCC to arrest Catholic priests over Atuche’s N45m tithe

by Hauwa Gambo

inShare

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is set to arrest reverend fathers and leaders of the two Catholic Churches in Delta State which received from Francis Atuche, former managing director of Bank PHB, money believed to be stolen depositors’ funds, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting has reported.
Mr. Atuche, who is standing trial at the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, paid N45 million he allegedly stole from depositor to St. Monica Catholic Church and St. Augustine Catholic Church, both located in Ibusa, Delta State.
While St. Monica got N35million as tithe from Atuche, St Augustine got N10million.
Sources in the commission told icirnigeria.org that the agency has taken a decision to recover the entire amount and plans to arrest the priests and leaders of  both churches to help in the recovery of the money.
The EFCC, our sources revealed, wants to use this as a test case to deal with religious bodies who help criminals to launder money in the guise of performing religious obligations such as tithes, offerings and vows.
The commission is said to be worried that many Nigerians, in both the public and private sectors, who steal money hide under such religious obligations to launder some of their loot and anti – graft agencies and the police have found it difficult to deal with the matter because of it’s sensitive religious nature.
But one of our sources in the EFCC said the commission will “no longer tolerate religious institutions, whether churches or mosques, synagogues, shrines or whatever, receiving stolen money in the guise of offering or tithes”.
“It is money laundering, simple. You might pretend to be ignorant of the source of the money, but under the law if you receive money from proceeds of crime you are guilty of money laundering and ignorance is no excuse under the law,” the source said.
According to the source, henceforth, any money illicitly obtained and given to any religious body or organization will be fully recovered.
Apart taking from action on this particular case, it was gathered that the EFCC will also come out with a stern warning to religious houses to investigate the source of funds that come to them from worshippers, particularly when it involves public figures and large amounts of money.
The commission may also engage religious houses and organizations in the country through seminars and interactions to sensitize them about  what the law says about receiving stolen funds.
The EFCC has great latitude under the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2004 to prosecute persons who receive proceeds of crime.
In fact, such persons, under the Act are liable to a jail term of between two to three years.
YNaija.com

Who Can Stop Airhiavbere?
By Okharedia Ihimekpen

The voice betrayed his emotions. He tried to be as calm as he could, possibly managed talking, as it were, on such a highly volatile issue. But the frustration was palpable. You could almost feel it. Finally he uttered with utter exasperation, “Airhiavbere must be supported to go to the court tribunal”. The meeting was at ubiaja, the country home of Senator Odion Ugbesia, senator representing Edo central senatorial districts.
Such a verdict coming from top member of the Peoples Democratic Party, clearly indicates the seriousness of the political division between the Edo state leadership and followership of the party. The Speaker, whose face wore a painted look swamped with a feeling of betrayal, is a highly regarded member of the Edo elite. He is also one of those aspirants whose presidential ambitions have apparently gone up in smoke in the matrix of the June 12, 1993 presidential election that produced the late M.K.O Abiola in the defunct Social Democratic Party.
But if members of the stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP feels marginalized and not being carried along in the party’s decision to withdraw from the suit challenging the July 14 governorship and the eligibility of Adams Oshiomhole, what about the candidate General Charles Airhiavbere himself who was not part of that decision, apparently the party leadership shaving his hair in his absence.
The lack of political will in the PDP has long been identified as the major odd against the party’s progress in the state, and this goes as far back as 2003, when inspite of the loud cry that Lucky Igbinedion as a PDP governor has performed below expectation, the party represented him before Edo electorate with a declaration that there was no vacancy in Government House. The second was when the party could not discipline Igbinedion when he formed the “Grace group” within the PDP as a platform to launch the ACN and Oshiomhole in the state and the third is the recent betrayal of their governorship candidate General Charles Airhiavbere as they withdraw from the election petition tribunal.
We are fully aware that the comrade governor came to office through the instrumentality of the same court tribunal and ever since it has been the norm that all electoral contests end in the court of law. The question then is what does the PDP got to lose if they file behind their candidate to the end. Except there are other agenda behind the party leaders position, the PDP should realize fast, that had Oshiomhole had these certificates being alleged to have been forged, as a propagandist Oshiomhole would have placed them on advertorials, on his comrade buses to bike rides and in the Ring Road for the people to see.
This perhaps is giving confidence and impetus to the PDP faithfulls to go on with Airhiavbere just as the party’s withdrawal from the suit is fastly painting the state leadership of the party in the negative. To compound issues for the party, it is the later immigrants into the party, from the ACN most of whom lost out at different elections primaries in the ACN and had become electoral liabilities that had now positioned themselves as the mouthpiece of the PDP in the state. What a pity…
Another germane question is, assuming Airhiavbere even has no case to prove at the tribunal, what does the party stand to lose, if they support him to prove that the party justly, are proud of having the General, as their flag-bearer to whom they are justly committed, come rain, come sunshine.
General Airhiavbere has gone to the Edo state election tribunal to challenge the election of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and also the academic credentials he presented on oath which is alleged to have been fake. Oshiomhole has in turn responded that, the tribunals dismiss the petition in the light that the electoral act did not specify any specific academic qualification to contest for the office of a governor. The issue therefore borders on perjury and forgery, and not educational equivalent of a school certificate.
Who knows perhaps Oshiomhole needed not to have presented the certificate afterall, if in his view the “suya mallam, pepper and tomato seller” can contest the office of a governor of a state, or put it the other way the Okharedia Ihimekpen would not have needed to send their children to school, if they too can be governors and president without education, and do not need to have specific educational qualifications. Another issues is the disconnect in the names in the certificate so presented, “Adams Aliu and Aliyu Adams” without Oshiomhole in them, when in the same form he has earlier admitted that he has never had any change of name nor added any additional names in his certificates. Then who is fooling who?
For me I really sympathize with the comrade governor who has thus be humbled by the controversy. When last I saw him in the Samuel Ogbemudia’s birthday celebration, he wore a pensive and stoic look that typifies the tragedy of a peevish school boy in an examination hall who only remembered the solution to a problem when the time was up. For me if he could scale through 2007 without presenting these certificates, it was a grievous fault to have presented them now.
Even if he eventually snaps out of this political liturgy, he will still have a long way to go. From all indications, he and his ACN are so politically disorganized today that if they were to be graciously offered an alternative option to this quandary by the tribunal, they may not know how to handle it. Haven been so used for so long to arrogance just to survive politically, the opportunity to be calm for once may be too tempting for the comrade governor to accept; hence there seems no one in sight that can stop Airhiavbere in this political duel.