Olatunji Oriyomi: Nigeria: Elections, Electronic Technology and the Kenyan Glitches

As Kenyans await the result of their presidential election, the potential impact of the reported glitches that characterised the country’s use of electronic technology on the credibility of the electoral process is a subject that should interest Nigerians and other Africans desirous of getting over the continent’s famous election-related violence and the resultant loss of lives and political instability. Kenyan “election officials had said the new electronic voting system broke down, snarling the process and forcing the tallying to be done manually (Nima Elbagir, CNN, 7^th March 2013).

While electronic voting is different from electronic registration, my aim in this article is to share with the reader my past thoughts on getting election-related technology use right and the critical opportunity missed by the Nigerian Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2010/2011. These suggestions based on the Nigerian scenario will mitigate the impacts of glitches and breakdowns, help counter sabotage, prevent electoral heist (rigging) and make election violence unappealing while the principles advocated will apply in equal measure to Kenya or any other African country desirous of deploying technology in a manner that can effectively impact and strengthen democracy. I reproduce my previous article on the subject below:

At over N89billion, Nigeria’s voter registration exercise is sure to be one of the most expensive single Information Technology projects in recent time. As I argued before, at the start of the whole debate about the processes adopted, recent events and news emanating from INEC, the Nigerian Independent Electoral Commission about electronic register versus manual register only confirms one thing – our fears were genuine and justified. What we had in mind is turning out to be very different from what INEC had in mind. Technology may end up playing solely marginal role in the success of the forthcoming elections whereas our expectation was built around it as the major deal – as the transformational elixir required to get identity verification right for the voting age and permanently ensure only real living people can vote and that only one genuine vote can come from one genuine person for one particular candidate seeking one particular post.

At the onset, I suggested that the basic ingredients that would make such application of technology a huge success in a place like Africa were not being put in place while no attempt was being made to institutionalise the registration programme in such a way that it would become a system driven process rather than being people driven as well as ultimately ensuring that the huge billions to be sacrificed for the purpose served as sacrifice ‘once for all time’ in our quest for proper identity or record management thus permanently ensuring that agencies of government that are in the perpetual habit of asking for billions of naira for records’ automation and identity card data acquisition can simply be told to ‘go liaise with INEC’! Essentially, the core of my position was that INEC as a body needed to adopt “technology use” policy that would make it impossible for even the worst of saboteurs to undermine the process – a policy that would stipulate the objective and the checklists of dos and don’ts that would get us to this objective plus the systemic controls that would ensure the processes are self governing, thoroughly fair, beyond manipulation from within or outside and that the data’s integrity is sacrosanct.

To achieve this, I suggested the development of a Biometric Registration Policy Instrument as the starting point. This is essentially a one to two page document containing codes of conduct. We can call it our Rules of Engagement for the application of technology in attaining credible election.

The mood of the nation favoured INEC leading such a charge at the time because everything being asked by Prof. Attahiru Jega from the relevant to the out-rightly extraneous was being approved by the National Assembly. Given the fact that NITDA, the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency which should have provided such a policy cover was for all practical purposes asleep and seeing that the momentum clearly favoured an INEC led initiative towards getting it right, it was my considered opinion that we could apply technology once-and-for-all time to solve our recurring electoral challenges.

WHAT TYPE OF SYSTEM DRIVEN PROCESS?
I was privileged to deliver a technical paper at the Annual AGM of the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers in October 2010 where I stated amongst other things that one way of getting it right in Nigeria is the evolution of “a system driven institutionalized approach to promoting efficient development”. I went on to argue that it would promote sustainability and help to “escape corruption-induced pitfalls on the path of development”. My position was informed by the fact that human beings are generally inclined to take advantage of systems. White, black, yellow or coloured – human beings are the same. What would therefore make the difference is if the system’s environment permits subtle manipulation or if it is the type that offers a cast iron protection that could be breeched only at individual’s peril – and whether the rules of engagement equitably apply to everyone with equal consequences.

That way, whether a ‘good’ man or a ‘bad’ man heads INEC would be immaterial and whoever heads INEC would be no ‘god’ over INEC’s processes – knowing full well that determining ‘a good man or a bad man’ in a multi-ethnic , multi-religion, multi-party and highly polarised society like Nigeria would be quite subjective. To break this down, the introduction of biometric tools for the purpose of registration of voters by INEC had a clearly defined goal and set of objectives. It was not pursued simply because Jega had a brainwave but because Jega and his team were perplexed by intense public outcry against the register left behind by his predecessor, Prof. Maurice Iwu and wanted to help the nation get a register that would remain valid legally and by so doing remain acceptable to the people.

Such a register in my opinion must help satisfy the 7 points that I identified and listed below:

1. 1.       Ensure that only human beings are listed, i.e., that only real people can vote
2. 2.       That those human beings are Nigerians
3. 3.       Those Nigerians are alive and of voting age (18 years old)
4. 4.       Those Nigerians of voting age can only vote once for a candidate of their choice at any particular election
5. 5.        All votes are equal and that they are the actual and only determinants of the outcomes of electoral contests
6. 6.       Nigerians can be assured and therefore be satisfied after the whole exercise that items 1 to 5 indeed had been conformed to – a kind of confirmatory or compliance test, and ultimately;
7. 7.       In the event of disputes, the huge investment in biometric technology would speed up adjudication by the judiciary and help judges correctly and convincingly administer justice.

Basically, INEC would apply technology to promote transparency, checkmate election fraud and restore confidence in the electoral process. Hence, while the process we envisaged would ensure that INEC officials like Prof. Jega benefit immensely from knowing that they are indeed working with a register of voters that is genuine, and that only genuine voters can vote – they are not the sole target of such assurance. The people are the ultimate target. The people are to benefit immensely from the awareness that the electoral system that determines their leadership is for all practical purposes of unquestionable integrity.
From the way Prof. Jega responded to questions from journalists and members of the National Assembly on this matter, I had no doubt in my mind that these were his original motivation and that what we had in mind were the objectives he had in mind at the time. In fact, Prof. Jega in August 2010 stated that credible voters’ registration was the foundation for free, fair and credible polls and that the incidences of litigation could only be reduced if there was a credible voter register (Source:  http://tinyurl.com/jega-speaks). How would incidences of litigations be reduced if losers in an election were not convinced that the processes leading to their defeat were fair?

Those were my thoughts then. The core issues are that the minimum prerequisites for a reliable electronic technology use in future elections must include the following;

1. A primary policy instrument and a legal framework (PILF) developed in conjunction with stakeholders, NITDA, the Nigerian Identity Management Agency, the Ministry of Justice, the relevant division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and the Nigerian Computer Society.
2. PILF must protect Nigerian voters, their primary data (identities) and specify rules and guidelines (in 2007, many aggrieved candidates took fingerprint impressions of Nigerians to the UK and other parts of the world for analysis without any protective regulations).
3. The PILF must support an independent cross agency check and balance. In simple language, nobody must have absolute control over the system. Associated agencies, the Department of State Security and similar outfits should have and warehouse mirrors of live-logs (audit log and activity trails) that could be cross-referenced in instances of disputes (especially by the judiciary). These should equally be available to all stakeholders (political parties inclusive).
4. PILF should provide for clauses that promote technology best practice, experts’ roles and best technology infrastructure based upon a combination of options for a cross-country virtual private networks using huge machines as well as distributing loads when necessary across a number of machines accessible wirelessly by millions over long distances. Part of the aims should be to support a national central database system with arrays of exact mirrors aided by adjunct technology that supports one-to-one and one-to-many voter’s pattern recognition made possible through their fingerprint minutiae matching.
5. Permanent voter’s registration centres must be established and registration exercise must no longer be a ‘Sunday Sunday medicine’ to be administered every four years but a permanent and continuous exercise that only stops (say 30 days to election) and resumes afterwards.
6. Adequate contingency must be provided with national disaster recovery units. This is critical. It is in fact compulsory if the nation is embracing electronic voting (which should be the ultimate goal). Such contingency must also cover hardware, personnel, transportation, security and power.
7. If biometric technology is deployed, a change should be introduced to the Electoral Act that would discharge the embargo placed on electronic voting as well as enable extension of voting period beyond a single day. This would eliminate the needs for too many voting booths especially those often located where adequate protection could never be guaranteed. A robust electronic technology will guarantee that only one vote can be cast by one person thus eliminating any fear of multiple voting that may be as well as ensure that election tallies are known by all stakeholders in real-time thus ending the extant scenario where results could be doctored after elections must have ended ‘because INEC needed to carry out collation!’.

Conclusion
An election must not only appear to be fair, the people must be convinced of its fairness. Monday Ateboh reported recently that General Muhammadu Buhari has called for the sack of Prof. Attahiru Jega and other top officials of INEC because they cannot be trusted to deliver on credible elections (PREMIUM TIMES, 7^th March 2013). What is the assurance that the replacements would be better? Future elections must NEVER depend on umpire’s proclivity whether good or bad. Our goal should be to evolve an electoral system that even the most evil electoral umpire and his agents would find impossible to undermine. A better call therefore is for General Buhari to use his goodwill and help mobilize a nationwide support for a reformed electoral process where even INEC would be incapable of undermining the system – where the minimum provisions I have itemised above would be in place – a technology enabled process, safeguarded by law, which offers cast iron protection for the sovereign decision of the voter. 2015 is 2 years away. Let’s start the process now.

I end by repeating my previous statement in a related article (read it here http://tinyurl.com/tunji-speaks-eVote1) that a proper use of electronic technology in our elections must support independent people-driven regime of transparency, transparency affirmation and monitoring. In essence the system must not only grant absolute confidence to all stakeholders (citizens, political parties, law enforcement agencies, election monitors etc) that it is absolutely reliable, effective and beyond manipulation, it must been seen – and verifiably so – that it is doing just that. In theory and in practice, this is doable.

Tunji Ariyomo
oariyomo@nd-i.org
Twitter: @olatunjiariyomo
DailyPost

‘My parents don’t believe I am a taxi driver’

Chiwendu Nwankwo is studying Biochemistry at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, Anambra State. The 400-Level part-time student ekes out a living by driving a commercial cab on the campus. 

Can you tell us about your educational background?

I grew up in Asaba, where I still reside. And I love to do activities men do. I attended Asaba Girls’ Grammar School. I was the captain of the school’s female football team. Now, I am a student of Continuing Education Programme (CEP), which is known as part-time programme in UNIZIK. I am also the General Secretary of my departmental association.

Driving for commercial purpose is considered a man’s job. Why did you develop interest in it?

I like driving. When I was young, to the surprise of my family and neighbours, I would drive my parents’ car to far distances. I love to be different all the time by doing things, which people consider unsuitable for women.

At what point did you start driving a taxi?

It was when my aunt, who had financial challenge, needed money and converted her car to a cab. She needed a commercial driver that would drive the car and bring money every day. Out of pity, I took the car to school with the hope of getting a dependable driver for the purpose. Sadly, I discovered that no student was interested. After a few weeks, I started considering driving the car myself. The thought of being branded a taxi driver scared me at first. But one day, I told myself I could do it, being a part time student. That was when I resolved to become a taxi driver. I told my parents of the decision. Till today, they still don’t believe I drive a taxi. They believe it is a joke.

What were the challenges you faced when you decided to take to taxi driving?

I was advised against it. Most of my friends scoffed at the idea and refused to support me. Some even threatened to stop being friends with me if I remained adamant. They saw it as unbefitting for a young woman like me. Again, I feared the work would affect my academic performance adversely. However, I was motivated by the desire to fulfil my promise to my aunt, and to earn a living for myself.

So, when you began, how was the experience?

I started after I registered and painted the car in UNIZIK taxi colour. On the first day, I went to the bus stand and joined the queue with other drivers, most of whom were older men. They did not believe me. Some of them even mocked my intentions. Even students thought I was joking when I called for passengers into my taxi. That first day, it was difficult getting passengers, so I thought I could not go far in the business. A few days later, I enjoyed patronage from students, who were surprised a girl could be driving a commercial cab. Some took my pictures and uploaded on Facebook. Gradually, the business became encouraging and that was when it dawned on me that I had become a taxi driver.

Have you overcome the challenges of being a taxi driver?

As challenges are solved, new challenges come. My friends, who did not buy the idea, now encourage me. Even my lecturers and passengers praise my effort. I drive from 8am to 4pm. Most days, my car, being an aged one, would break down on the road, with passengers in it. This is where the other drivers come in. They have been helpful in such cases.

What values have you learnt from driving a taxi?

I have learnt about human relationship. To me, there is nothing like a male’s job or men’s profession. What matters is conviction that one can do what he or she desires and derives joy from it. I have come across women photographers, contractors, engineers and petty workers. I believe that there is dignity in labour and whatever anyone conceives; he or she can achieve, irrespective of gender. I am convinced that Nigeria will soon have a female president. I advise women to do what they have resolved to do. Good or bad, people will always laugh at them but they must never do anything to please people.

TalkOfNaija

Tears of demolition ‘Fashola has finished us’

The bulldozers of the Lagos State Government are extra busy these days. First in Ijora-Badia, a sprawling shanty town, which is adjacent to Orile and Costain train stations, and later in the more upscale Itun-Omo Estate, in Odoragushin area of Epe, rumbling and rampaging bulldozers moved in, reducing hopes, dreams and futures to rubbles. In both cases, the government of Lagos State states unequivocally that, “Our intervention is a strategic one, to upgrade the quality of life.” But the affected communities are as bemused as they are traumatised. The refrain on every lip is “We voted for this government. Is this what we will get in return?” There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth among the landlords and residents who are saying with one bitter voice, “Fashola has finished us.”
The saying: “It is easier to destroy than to build” cannot be more apt. What took over a decade to build in Itun Omo Estate in Odoragushin Community of Eredo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, was reduced to rubbles in less than eight hours. The once lively community was reduced to ground zero. No fewer than 100 buildings were felled by rumbling and rampaging bulldozers of the Lagos State Government. Expectedly, the landlords and residents did not find the fate that befell their community funny.
The landlords claimed to have lawfully acquired the parcels of the land on which their buildings were erected. Government, on the other hand, has a different story. The land on which the community sprang up was marked as an industrial area in the master plan of Lagos State. Until now, the landlords and residents of Itun Omo Estate had lived happily.
Some of the mansions that dotted the estate could be compared to what is found in the highbrow areas like Banana Island, Victoria Garden City and other choice areas anywhere in Lagos and Abuja.
But their happiness vanished within a twinkle of an eye. Before their very eyes, their sources of joy faded away as they helplessly watched bulldozers pulling down their palatial homes one after the other. Many could not hold back tears.
Others who could not control their emotion fainted, seeing their once magnificence abodes crumbling. Those who could summon up courage managed to evacuate few of their properties from the buildings before they were completely brought down. They never had any premonition of being in the unenviable position of worrying about where to sleep, being proud owners of befitting homes. But today, they are confronted with the reality seeking shelter anywhere.
Many of the bulldozed buildings, some completed and others in progress, boldly bore their approved plan numbers, conspicuously written on them. But government insists these approvals were fraudulently acquired from town planning officials.
As early 8 am, a combined team of officials of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development and the Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offence Unit had stormed the community to enforce the demolition order.
Some of the residents who had left home before the arrival of government’s agents had to rush back home from their work places. Others said they travelled from as far as Ajah and Ogun State and other neighbouring towns to evacuate their properties. On sighting the bulldozers, some of them jumped on the roofs and hurriedly removed them, either to use them to roof new buildings or to sell them off to recoup some of their losses.
Some were too confused to take any purposeful decisions. They just sat there totally confused on the next line of action. One of the evicted landlords told our correspondent that properties worth hundreds of millions of Naira were destroyed by government
.Mr Omosheni Tajudeen Debowale, one of the affected landlords told Saturday Mirror that he purchased the land on which he erected his dream home from one Alhaji Ashafa, who is popularly known as Oloye, in 2004 but built his five-bedroom bungalow in 2007.
With tears streaming down his face, he said, “I obtained all my papers validly from the government. When they began threatening us, we went to Alausa to have a meeting with them but we were told the Permanent Secretary of the Land Bureau was not around. They reschedule the meeting for March 13. But today, March 5, they are demolishing our houses.
“They brought a white man to measure my land before this latest action. It is sad that with my children and aged parents, I have been chased out of the building I laboured to build so as to have a decent life. It is painfully regrettable”.
The level 14 officer of Ibeju Lekki Local Government Education Authority added that, “I sought information about the land before commencing work on it. I went to the Office of the Surveyor General. I charted the land and was told the land is free from government acquisition and revocation.”
Valuing his demolished house, Adebowale said, “As at 2008, it was worth about 6.7 million. I spent my life savings to build a decent life for myself after all my years of labour. There really is something fishy going on here. The chart the government brought was different from the original chart.
Another affected resident said, “Where does government want us to start from? People have taken loans to build these houses, and in a twinkle of an eye, the houses are pulled down. Ah! This is wickedness!” Mr Taiwo Quadri, who had barely completed his four- bedroom bungalow when the bulldozers came in described the development as a great setback for him. “Everyone knows what it takes to build a house in this harsh economic condition. If one now struggles to build it and this happens, where and when does one start again? It is painful, sad depressing”.
A top official of the government, who craved anonymity, spoke to Saturday Mirror at the demolition site said that the land where the structures were erected was wrongly acquired. He said the building owners used what he termed ‘fly co-ordinate’ to fraudulently, obtain their purported building approvals. He said, “They must have been swindled to acquire the land in the first place. Both the left and right side of the town are designed to be an industrial scheme.
That is why government always educates residents on radio to seek information when acquiring land.” Speaking with Saturday Mirror, the    taskforce boss, ASP Bayo Sulaimon who led the demolition exercise said government would not sacrifice the land for the selfish interests of some individuals at the expense of the larger public, adding that the place is meant for an industrial area that will serve the rest of Lagosians. According to him, if the industries are established, the community and other people living in the area will also benefit through employment opportunities inherent in the project.
He said, “Before commenting on the demolition of their buildings, I think the question we should ask is: How did they come here in the first place? The place has been earmarked for a project and apart from that, they built without approvals and government cannot allow individual interest to override public interest.
“They ‘fly co-ordinate,’ by taking the chart of a location that is free of government acquisition to dubiously get building approval. It is like taking the survey of Oregun in Ikeja to seek building approval from government in Alausa in the same Ikeja. “To those who are building on government land, thinking that nothing will happen, government will rise up and take action one day. This is also a message for both land grabbers and unsuspecting buyers” On the allegation of short notice, Sulaimon said that he had been to the place more than four times, adding that the last time government officials came to the community, they were chased away with charms and other weapons.
“We have been on this matter for a very long time; they are only being economical with the truth. I have been here more than four times. They build on government land to whip up sentiment; they were probably cajoled by these miscreants called ‘Omo Onile’ to quickly build on government land, thinking that once the structures are erected, nothing will happen again. That is the strategy used by miscreants that are selling government land to unsuspecting members of the public. People should seek information from government on any land before paying or building on the land. If they have genuine Certificate of Ownership before the acquisition by the government, they will be duly compensated.”
Meanwhile, independent investigations by Saturday Mirror revealed that the land was meant for LAGBUS factories, where Macopollo, the official manufacturers of LAGBUS buses will assemble them. It was gathered that the LAGBUS boss and other foreign experts from the Marcopollo head office had visited the community several times in preparation for the establishment of the planned worldclass factory. The tears are flowing even more freely in Ijora Badia, one of the slum communities in Lagos State where the situation seems more pathetic.
Located in Apapa Iganmu Local Council Development Area,(LCDA) Ijora Badia is a shanty town and those who are affected by the demolition exercise are already at the very bottom of the societal ladder where life is an endless struggle to make ends meet. Olori Edaema, one of those affected by the demolition, spoke to Saturday Mirror. “The demolition affected me badly. The worst thing is that we were not aware that the caterpillar was coming to do this to us. I lost my properties.
I only manage to rescue few things and before I knew it, the caterpillar had scattered everything. We are all Nigerians. We are not foreigners. I have gone to the governor’s office to register my complaint. We are human beings but we have been treated like fowls and goats. All fingers are not equal that is why you see some people living in this kind of place. We all cannot live in big houses as the government people are living. But the poor people are also human beings like them.
I am begging Fashola to have pity on the poor people. And if he does not want poor people in Lagos, he should dig the ground and bury all the poor people. That option would be better than what has happened to us now,” she wailed “Some people who went to night duty returned home only to see that all they have in this Lagos had been scattered. It is not good at all.”
Also speaking with Saturday Mirror, Ayo Olawande who is nursing a onemonth- old baby lamented the unsafe condition her baby has been exposed to as a result of the demolition.
She said, “Since our house was demolished, we have been staying here under the shade. Just look at my baby, she is just a month old but look at mosquito bites all over her. Just look at rashes all over her body. Is this what a good government should do to innocent babies? I don’t know what to do to save me and my family from the situation we are now in.
We just hope and pray that God would come to our rescue. It is not fair at all. The government should find alternative for us because so many things has happened to me. I lost all my properties during the demolition.
Since I have no place to hide my head, I lost my job because I could not settle down to prepare for work. It has been one problem or the other since the government pulled down our houses. How would I take care of my baby? Where would I bring the money to rent a house and cater for our wellbeing?” she wondered.
Another nursing mother, Joke Oyinlonyi said that she and her baby have been sleeping in the open since the bulldozers razed down the structures they called their homes, rendering them homeless. “We have been sleeping outside since this demolition took place.
Things have not been easy at all with us. My baby is not even doing well. It is not a good thing to expose little babies like this to sun, rain and dirty environment like this. The government should please help us and provide us with shelter.
They should not leave us like this. No house, no food, nothing. We are just living as if we are animals or goats. It is not supposed to be like this. They did not even inform us to evacuate our personal effects before the demolition. Since the unfortunate incident,
I have been wearing just this one shirt. It is not good for a nursing mother at all. I was not at home when the bulldozers destroyed this place. For the sake of these little babies, innocent children, they should try and get us a place to stay,” she pleaded. Esther Emmanuel, a septuagenarian, was an Ijora-Badia landlady before the demolition exercise.
She said the exercise ‘broke the tree on which her entire family leaned,” while wondering “where will I go from here”. She said, “I had two structures on this land and as you can see, none of them is still standing. They have both been demolished. I am now stranded. I don’t have anywhere to go. I don’t have who to run to for survival. I have been left here in the cold, in the sun, day and night with nothing to cover my head. “Where do you think that I have been sleeping?
I have been living like this since they demolished my two houses. If the government that has everything in their power cannot help me, who else do you think can? I have been living here like this. If I want to sleep, I sleep here. If I want to eat, I eat here. I do everything a human being should do right here in the open.” Asked if she had a prior knowledge of the demolition exercise, she claimed ignorance.
“I was not aware that bulldozers were coming to clear our houses. Maybe other people were aware but for me, I was not. Nobody told me of anything. I was woken up by the noise of neighbours when the demolition started, as people were shouting “caterpillar, caterpillar.” It was very early in the morning and as I heard “caterpillar, caterpillar,” I ran out and discovered that houses were being demolished. I saw police and soldiers everywhere. I was not so scared because it has happened before. “Immediately I saw the bulldozers bring down other people’s structures, I woke up my children and we started parking our loads out. Although I did not salvage all, I managed to take the im-     portant things out before the caterpillar reached my structures.
The caterpillar did not destroy my personal effects but it brought down my houses. And that is why I am lying down here a sad woman. I had a 10-room structure here. I occupied a room and parlour, while the other eight rooms were let out. My survival majorly depended on the eight rooms I rented out. My tenants were paying N1,500 per month on each room. I was also selling soft drinks and small-small things (smallscale provisions) to complement the rent I was being paid from the rooms.
But how I would survive now, I don’t know. I look up to God. Only God can help us. God can change the governor’s heart and he would provide us accommodation for the time being before the land issue is settled. My means of living is now gone. I have not eaten since morning,” Madam Esther lamented. “As I am here now, I don’t know anything again. I don’t know what to do next. I am confused. Look at my legs, look at me.
Mosquitoes and other blood sucking insects are feeding on me. I could not even take my bath this morning. I have cried, cried and cried and I am tired of crying. Can’t you see how I am resting hopelessly here? Do you still need to know how I feel right inside of me? It is a feeling of agony.”
Also speaking, Durojaiye Effuru, a neighbour who was on a condolence visit to Madam Esther Emmanuel said, “Those of us living across the big gutter were not affected by this exercise. I am here to sympathize with Mama Esther. Since this demolition took place, we have been living in fear. We don’t know what is on the mind of the government. They have the power and the means and could move in anytime. We are therefore living in fear by the day. This kind of thing has happened here before not once or twice. This one, they took us by surprise as there was no notice given to us.
“If there is a way, the government should put a concrete plans on ground and ensure that the people here are compensated accordingly and settled down instead of this intermittent demolition and unsettling of the people.” Effuru and many others are probably unaware of the fact that the Lagos State Government plans to build a low cost housing estate on the contentious land. While commenting on the demolition exercise, Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, had said, “Let me say for the Ijora Scheme that our intervention is a strategic one, to upgrade the quality of life there.
It is about a kilometre to the Orile and Costain train stations and we intend to accommodate the present occupiers in new units in addition to other people who will desire to live there.” When Effuru was informed of the governor’s plan for the new Ijora-Badia, he simply asked, “What would be the benefits of the new housing estate to those who have been living here for so many years?” And even if the government wants to start the building of the low cost housing units immediately, they would have informed us earlier so that we could relocate and make appropriate adjustments.
But the bulldozers camped around this area on Friday and very early on Saturday morning, they gave us this sad weekend gift. Where they started the demolition, the occupants could not rescue any of their possessions. The police were everywhere and anybody who dared to challenge the demolition was arrested. Some people were arrested and later released. If they want to relocate us, they should do so. If they don’t want, they should let us know instead of this constant embarrassment. Look at how they have left the people in the open, exposed to all kinds of things.
“They say the occupants of the land illegally took possession of it. Do they know the history of this place? The people that occupied this land originally were fisher men. So most of those laying claim to the land now are children of the fishermen. The first occupants were relocated to this parcel of land by the Federal Government during the regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo between 1974 and 1975 when the National Theatre, Iganmu was to be built.”
On her part, the septuagenarian landlady, Madam Esther Emmanuel, said “I have been living here before Shagari came into power. That was in the good old days. Life was sweet at that time. Who could ever imagine that life would become very bad and sad as it is now? Things have generally become worse and it seems to be getting worse by the day. Who would ever have imagined that government would treat the people it is supposed to care for this way? Life in those days was very sweet. It is not as bitter as it is now. That I am sitting in the sun, is it not bad? It is bad ooo!
That I have not eaten since morning, is life not bad? It is bad ooo! Ahhh!” the septuagenarian wailed. “But I believe that things will be better in the future. Things must change. Things will not remain this way for ever. The good old days must come again for our children’s children. Things cannot continue this way. God forbid.”
Another victim, Esther Daniels, who spoke with Saturday Mirror said, “My children cannot go to school because of this demolition. It has finished my family. Look at my boys there sleeping on the ground when they are supposed to be in school.
Is this a good life? Is this the kind of life we should give these children? I cannot just cry for these children. I have four children and they are all stranded here. Fashola should please help us out of this mess. The bulldozer came with heavily armed police men and we did not have the courage to evacuate our properties from the house as we were ordered out. If they cannot even help us, let them ensure that our children have a good life. Let our children go back to school.
We are begging. No where to stay. No money. Just look at us. I could not rescue anything from the house and we are just stranded. We are pleading with the government, they should help us. My husband’s father founded this area.
They were fishermen and stocked their fish around this area in those days. The government should please help us as we are all stranded. We voted for Fashola and this is not the way to pay us back. We at Oke Luori voted en-masse for this governor.
This area has been an ACN area and I don’t think this is how to pay faithful and loyal servants. We deserve better things. That is what we are begging the government for.” Meanwhile, Saturday Mirror investigations reveal that the occupants of the land were given notice to quit by the then Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Lands Division, Mr. O.A Dosunmu, as far back as 1973.
The notice states in part: “Further to notice No. E43/35/T/19 of March 13, 1973 wherein you were requested to vacate this parcel of land on or before the 27th day of March 1973, you are hereby warned that unless you remove your fixtures from this land on or before the 23rd day of June 1973, the Federal Military Government shall effect their removal without any further notice to you and shall not be held responsible for any breakage, loss etc.”
Curiously, the Baale of Iganmu Alawo, Chief Lucas Owoseni, who confirmed that there was indeed a quit notice before the demolition, said that the notice was too short for the occupants to relocate The Ojora of Ijora land, Oba Fatai Oyeyinka Ojora has declared the support of the Ojora Chieftaincy family for the plans of the state government to develop a Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme on the wide expanse of land in Iganmu Alawo in Ijora.
Addressing a press conference at his palace on the issue, the monarch said the present state of facilities in the area is not conducive for human existence, explaining that the area has become a nuisance. The Ojora said that some eight to ten years ago, the former administration in the state demolished the shanties that were in the area but that the structures returned after some time.
The Oba appealed to the residents of Iganmu Alawo to cooperate with the State Government on the proposed housing project, adding that it would be of immense benefit to the whole community and the state. He also said that the fate of those displaced by the demolition would be determined by the State Government after it must have held consultative meetings with stakeholders including the land owners and the tenants.
According to the spokesperson of the Ojora Chieftaincy Family, Prince Obafemi Bashua, the present occupants of Iganmu Alawo are the tenants of the Ojora Chieftaincy Family who are the original owners of the land. Prince Bashua stated that the land was never sold to them but that they are occupying it on leasehold which is the tradition with all land owned by the Ojora Chieftaincy Family.
And anytime the government requests to make use of the land in the overriding public interest, the government’s request would be considered on its merit. The decision of the Ojora family to support the government in its quest to make use of the land is therefore borne out of the belief that it is going to benefit the entire citizenry.
Shedding more light on the proposed development in the Iganmu Alawo community, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing, Mr. Olusoga Odunlami said the land belonged originally to the Ojora Family and was released to the Federal Government to construct the Railways.
The Permanent Secretary added that the remainder of the land that was not used by the Railways was what was latched on to by the people who chose to settle on the land, which has reverted to the family after it was not utilised by the Federal Government.
According to the Permanent Secretary, after the demolition exercise, the land would be used to construct a Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme that would be available to low income earners and also provide opportunity of mortgage to the allottees.
TalkOfNaija

Where Are The Convicted Drug Dealers

The sundry abuses of our country’s criminal justice system need to be confronted by all stakeholders. Unfortunately, governments at the federal and state levels are the chief culprits because of their lackadaisical attitudes to the responsibilities of the state in the process. Matters are not helped by some officials in the criminal justice system who collude with criminals to ridicule the system. These include investigators, prosecutors and custodians of accused persons and convicts.

Recently, rights activist, Femi Falana, SAN, raised an incredulous alarm that 197 persons convicted for drug trafficking offences, are not serving their prison terms. But, as unbelievable as the report seemed, the allegation was substantiated by a committee set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, headed by Justice Gilbert Obayan, in 2006. According to the committee, ‘out of 143 drug convicts for the year 2006, 96 of them were never brought to prison. Similarly, another 101 drug convicts for the year 2005 were never brought to the prison, bringing the total convict evading jail to 197 within this period’.

The learned Senior Advocate has asked the NDLEA to supply him information on the allegation, relying on the Freedom of Information Act, to make the demand. He threatened to bring civil and criminal proceedings against the NDLEA chairman and his agency, if after seven days the information is not given to him. We join the activist to ask the NDLEA, where are the convicts? If indeed the convicts have been unlawfully released from prison, there is the urgent need to bring the gang responsible for this scandalous conduct across the agencies to immediate justice.

It is disheartening that the Federal Ministry of Justice will stand idly by, while this kind of treacherous impunity against our national interest is allowed to fester. We demand the immediate implementation of the findings of the Justice Gilbert Obayan’s (rtd) committee. Any further delay must be interpreted as a clear connivance of the Ministry of Justice with the criminals who use their positions to undermine our criminal justice system, to the nation’s detriment. We urge the various agencies to put in place safeguards to forestall this type of embarrassment. Indeed, any of the convicts re-apprehended should be subjected to a fresh trial for jailbreak, and the officials concerned treated as accomplices to the crime.

The disease plaguing the NDLEA is also the lot of other agencies in our criminal justice system. It is commonly believed that many of the high profile detainees and convicts usually spend their detention in the comfort of their homes. There is a more bizarre allegation that those convicted to die are substituted by sundry criminals, who are killed in their place. Another common strategy used to help convicts and detainees avoid confinement in prisons and detention camps is to pretend that they are ill, and are receiving medical attention, when actually they are not. Many of the heads of the agencies, while hosting the high profile detainees shamelessly turn to their drivers and aides, instead of treating them as persons in custody.

We urge other activists and the civil society to join in the crusade to sanitise our criminal justice system, in the country’s interest. A system that does not genuinely punish infractions of its law is an open invitation to chaos and a national embarrassment.

TalkOfNaija

Poverty and child hunger in America

 by Farooq Kperogi

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As I was writing my column for this week on economic inequalities in the United States, I came across this intriguing BBC story about poverty and child hunger in the United States and couldn’t help but share it with my readers.  In more ways than I could have done, it graphically illustrates America’s paradox of want amid plenty. What follows is the abridged version of BBC’s Duncan Walkers’ “The children going hungry in America,” which was published on March 6, 2013. The full version can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21636723#story_continues_2.

Child poverty in the US has reached record levels, with almost 17 million children now affected. A growing number are also going hungry on a daily basis.
Food is never far from the thoughts of 10-year-old Kaylie Haywood and her older brother Tyler, 12. At a food bank in Stockton, Iowa, they are arguing with their mother over the 15 items they are allowed to take with them. There is little money to go shopping for extras.
Apple sauce is in, canned vegetables, tinned spaghetti, meatballs and ravioli might be.
But when Kaylie asks for ground beef, she is overruled as their motel room does not have a fridge to keep things fresh - just a sink filled with crushed ice. There’s nowhere to cook, either.
It’s not the first time that the family has struggled to get hold of the food they would like - or enough of it.
“We don’t get three meals a day like breakfast, lunch and then dinner,” says Kaylie. “When I feel hungry I feel sad and droopy.”
Kaylie and Tyler live with their mother Barbara, who used to work in a factory. After losing her job, she was entitled to unemployment benefit and food stamps - this comes to $1,480 (about N234,000) a month.
But they were no longer able afford to live in their house, which along with bills cost $1326 (about N210,000) a month, leaving little for food or petrol.
Kaylie supplemented their income by collecting cans along the railway track near their old home - earning between two and five cents per can.
Tyler also helped out: “For mowing other people’s lawns, I got $10 [about N1600) and I put in six of it for the gas, and gave the rest to my mum for some food.”
Instead of shopping at the mall, Kaylie’s clothes come from the Salvation Army shop where, to her embarrassment, 60-cent shirts are allowed, but those costing $2 are “too much”.
Rent on the motel room is around $700 (about N110,000) a month, but trying to balance the budget has meant sacrifices.
Tyler says there are good days and bad days: “Sometimes when we have cereal we don’t have milk - we have to eat it dry. Sometimes we don’t have cereal and we have milk. Sometimes when there’s a cooking show on I get a little more hungry - I want to vanish into the screen and start eating the food.”
The family are among the 47 million Americans now thought to depend on food banks. One in five children receives food aid.
In the area where Kaylie and Tyler live, one provider - River Bend Foodbank - has seen the numbers needing help rise sharply.
“It’s changed dramatically since the recession. We’re up about 30% to 40% in terms of the number of people coming forward,” says Caren Laughlin, who has worked with food banks for 30 years.
“That’s not only because so many people have lost their jobs, it’s also because the jobs that are replacing them are low paying. You cannot feed a family.”
Although Kaylie, Tyler and Barbara’s motel room is away from the children’s friends and very cramped for three people, the move has made their lives easier in some ways.
The children’s father is not around and, although her grandmother lives nearby and helps out when she can, her mother has found it difficult to cope.
“I’ve never seen it this bad. To get jobs it’s very hard,” says Barbara.
She is training to become a hairdresser, but does not hold much hope for the future.
“I seen a doctor... for depression. She put me on some anti depressants and Xanax for my panic attacks. I don’t even know if I can find a job when I get out of school. Or if it will ever get any better.”
In February, President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address to promise a rise in the minimum wage, to $9 (about N1440) an hour.
“This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families. It could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank; rent or eviction; scraping by or finally getting ahead,” he said.
But families like Barbara’s, where parents have suddenly lost their jobs and children are going hungry, continue to concern food banks.
The problems are reflected across America, says the nationwide charity Feeding America, which operates 200 food banks and feeds 37 million people each year, including 14 million children.
It says that, in total, nearly 17 million US children live in homes where getting enough healthy food is not something they can count on.
For some families, cheap and easy to prepare food can mean unhealthy choices like pizza - increasing the likelihood of obesity and health problems later in life.
In many areas schools take part in a “backpack” programme, set up to deliver food parcels to the most vulnerable on a Friday - so that they have enough to eat over the weekend.
In eastern Iowa and western Illinois, the River Bend Foodbank now helps 1,500 children in 30 schools through one such scheme.
“Kids can focus better and pay attention better,” says Mrs Laughlin. “If you’re worried about what you’re going to eat when you get home that’s what you’re going to be thinking about - not what’s on the blackboard.”

WeeklyTrust

Boko Haram: Afenifere, ACF disagree on Jonathan’s refusal to grant amnesty

By Wale Odunsi

The pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, has commended President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision of refusing to grant amnesty to the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.
A chieftain of the group, Ayo Adebanjo, said that the President’s stand on the matter was commendable.
He was reacting to the call by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar lll, that the Federal Government should grant “total amnesty” to all the armed groups operating in Nigeria, including Boko Haram.
The Sultan gave the advise in Kaduna at the annual meeting of the Central Council of the organisation.
DailyPost had reported that the President , during his official visit to Yobe State on Thursday, said he was not ready and willing to grant amnesty to ghosts.
Adebanjo said, “What the President said made sense; how can you grant amnesty to people who you don’t know, people who don’t have a face? What the President said was common sense. They have not come forward to state what they are fighting for.”
He said, it was wrong for anyone to compare the Boko Haram elements with Niger Delta militants, who enjoyed amnesty.
Another Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, said there was no way the Federal Government would grant amnesty to faceless criminals.
He said, “President Jonathan’s position is most acceptable and commendable. There is no way government could negotiate with faceless criminals.

“It had happened in other countries and it fizzled out. These criminals cannot sustain their lawlessness for too long. They will soon be tired and fizzle out of existence.”
Meanwhile, the Arewa Consultative Forum said it supports the Sultan’s request.
It said that the suggestion was a way of encouraging the sect leaders to come out for dialogue and negotiation.
Its National Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani said, “When you ask ACF to react to the Sultan’s suggestion for general amnesty and the President’s saying that there cannot be a dialogue and amnesty for a faceless group, I wonder what you want me to say.
“I do not think the Sultan meant amnesty without conditions. And because the leaders of Boko Haram may be afraid to show themselves for a dialogue, the Sultan may be suggesting an offer of amnesty in the hope of encouraging them to come out for the dialogue without fear for their lives.
“That is to say, the Sultan may be saying in his own way that the government needs to go beyond rhetoric and do something practical in order to make the leaders of the sect show their faces.
“Mr. President may be right when he said the government could not have a dialogue with a faceless group. Yet, he cannot say it is not the responsibility of the government to find a way of bringing leaders of the sect into the negotiation table, however difficult.”
DailyPost

We Must Make Nigeria Stronger And United – Former President, Shagari

In a move  to ensure unity and progress of the country, former President Shehu Shagari has called on Nigerians to work towards moving Nigeria forward.
The nation’s statesmen spoke in Shagari town on Friday when Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu paid him a courtesy visit.
President Shagari observed that Nigeria, which is a great nation that provides leadership to other sister African countries, must be made stronger and its people united.
“We must all work towards making the nation a strong and united country irrespective of our diverse religious, ethnic and cultural differences,” he said.
Shagari commended Governor Aliyu Wamakko for transforming the state in all sectors. “We are happy and we must show appreciation for upgrading the Shagari Primary Healthcare to the status of a general hospital.”
On his part, the Minister said that Shagari, “apart from being a father and a revered leader in Nigeria, is also humble, incorruptible and disciplined. These are some of the lessons we must all learn from leaders like him for Nigeria to develop further,” he added.
Earlier, Governor Wamakko told the former President that the Minister’s visit was aimed at “showing respect to him as a leader who was still contributing meaningfully to national development.”
Naij.com