Deadly school lunch: More Indian children treated for poison

In less than a week’s time at two separate India schools, police said yesterday, they believe that children have been poisoned by their school lunches. At least 23 students in the southwestern coastal state of Goa were treated at a hospital after they got sick at lunch, authorities said.

The students, in the third to fifth grades at St. Joseph School, have been released from treatment, Vishram Borkar, a police superintendent in Goa, told CNN. St. Joseph School is a government-aided private institution, he said. “We have registered a case of food poisoning,” he told CNN, “and our investigation is on.”

Earlier this week, 23 students died and 25 people were hospitalized from food poisoning after a school lunch in northern India’s Bihar state.

There were two cooks at the Bihar school, an official told CNN. Two children of one of them — Panna Devi — ate the toxic food and have died, medical superintendent Amarkant Jha Amar told CNN. Panna Devi is not receiving treatment because she didn’t eat the toxic food, Amar said. She has a third child who ate the food and is improving at a hospital, the medical chief said.

The other cook, Manju Devi, is also hospitalized, along with her three children, Amar added. Earlier, CNN-IBN had reported that two of Manju Devi’s children had died.

Bihar state is one of India’s poorest. Experts have said the deaths shine a light on food safety in the country and have prompted discussion on how to improve national school food programs amid news that authorities warned of safety problems with Bihar’s school meal program months ago.

Yesterday, authorities in Bihar announced that a new committee would be formed to strengthen food preparation in rural schools.

The state’s mid-day meal director, R. Lakshmanan, said village communities will also help monitor standards of meals for schoolchildren. The Bihar students, who authorities said were between the ages of 5 and 12, started vomiting soon after their first bite of lunch.

Some fainted. The parents of at least three children have buried their lost ones near the school — one right in front of the building, according to CNN journalists who saw the burial mounds. An official told CNN that the parents did so out of protest.

NationalMirror

PDP Convention: Tukur, Gana in test of might

OBIORA IFOH

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has in the last month been at a great risk of witnessing a major implosion over the proposed Special National Convention and the South-West Special Congress. OBIORA IFOH takes a look at the development.

The fear in some quarters that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may not be in a hurry to conduct the South-West congress and the Special National Convention is fast gaining ground as recent events have clearly shown that there is more to it than for the reason of the Ramadan which was earlier used to masquerade the postponement.

The PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and the chairman of the Special Convention Committee, Prof. Jerry Gana are both engaged in supremacy battle that transcends the present assignment. Both men are very close to President Goodluck Jonathan.

Gana is reputed to have served Nigerian governments, present and past; military and civilian, more than any other Nigerian, dead or alive; right from his days as the Director General of the MAMSER in the military era. He has served in uncountless other committees with the recent appointment which was made possible by a presidential fiat.

He is a founding member of the PDP. But Tukur too is also a founding member of the PDP and has being on the field for too long as father, puritan and successful businessman and politician, having also served as a governor and a minister. His role as the chairman of the African Round Table gave him deserving edge at the international scene.

He ran his PDP chairmanship campaign on the ground that PDP needs him and not the other way. His mission is to attempt to return the party to the original goals it was set out to achieve; a party owned by the people and not by individuals.

To achieve this he needs the support of every party member but most importantly the President. He indeed has the tacit support of the President but his attempt to earn the support of other stakeholders have been proving daunting task, as most politicians appear to be more comfortable with the hatchet-manner politics being played before now.

Tukur, a core conservative and hugely rigid personality refused to be bent over as he refused to run the party the way all his predecessors did. To him, the party must be superior to everyone.

This position was what led to the face-off between him and the Gana-led committee which also has the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremmadu, as the Secretary and quite a number of personalities including Governor Godswill Akpabio, who is the deputy chairman.

There are also 27 other members including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, as well as governors of Delta, Abia, Katsina, Bauchi and Benue states as well as two representatives from the 36 states of the federation.

National Mirror gathered that hell was let loose after Gana usurped the duties of the National Chairman by personally inaugurating the convention committee without carrying Tukur along. Gana also created sub-committees and personally allocated membership to the committees without recourse to the National Working Committee, NWC, in spite of the fact that the NWC was meant to play a supervisory role.

A source that spoke to National Mirror said that the national chairman and members of the interim NWC were not happy with Gana’s committee because the committee is operating as a parallel NWC, whereas, the committee is expected to take directives from the Tukur-led NWC.

According to the source, “the Gana committee has against the norms relocated the special convention committee from the offices of the party to a private office in Wuse 2 by Parakou Crescent.

“The committee had awarded contracts for the convention, yet the date of the convention is not insight. The contractors have awarded and produced the wrappers for the convention without any directive from NWC. Even, the six members of the NWC that are expected to be members of the convention committee are yet to be given or made members of the special committee.

“To make matters worse, the Gana committee had gone to the Chief of Staff to the President, Mike Ogiadhome to request for money to conduct the convention, but they were turned down and asked that they should channel their request for money through the national chairman,” the source.

The cold war came to a head last week when the duo of Gana and Ekweremadu came to the residence of the PDP national chairman to inform him the progress so far made by the special convention committee and also to inform him of the new date for the proposed convention, but aides of Tukur  refused them entry into his residence on his instruction.

Angered by the slap on their face, Gana quickly called for a press conference where he announced August 31 as the date for the convention without clearing from the National Chairman. He also admitted that the locking out drama at the residence of Tukur was an incident that will be resolved within the party and not in the public. He said: “We don’t want to speak on the speculated lock-out at the chairman’s residence.

We don’t want to speak on such an issue concerning a man we have great respect for. Whatever it is, shall be resolved but not on the pages of newspapers.”

Tukur, ready for the fight, went on the offensive and technically scrapped the committee. In a statement by the acting National Publicity Secretary, Tony Caeser Okeke, PDP said: “In view of the anomalies and breaches of the constitution of the PDP observed in the actions so far taken by the Special National Convention Planning Committee, the NWC has directed the Committee to put on hold all activities relating to the Special South West Zonal Congresses and the Special National Convention pending the regularisation of the anomalies and breaches so as to forestall a repeat of the events that affected the party’s convention in 2012.”

Leader of the party, President Jonathan on his return from China summoned the combatants to seek for a peaceful resolution of the face-off.

A Presidency source told National Mirror that though the President overruled the National Chairman over the cancellation of the dates earlier proposed by the Planning Committee for the South-West convention and Special National Convention, he never waivered in his support for Tukur’s passion for instilling discipline in the party.

“President Jonathan called for a truce between Tukur and Gana as the matter could degenerate to a full crisis situation. It is certain the August date for the convention will stand but the President is insisting that discipline must be maintained in the party and the party leadership must be supported to instil discipline in PDP,” says the source.

A PDP source told National Mirror that Tukur “had to be brutal because he sensed that his office is being undermined. How can the committee change a date of the conventions, sells forms, solicit funds from the Villa and draw lists of the membership of the subcommittees without consulting the NWC?

“NWC noted that the lists of membership of the sub-committees were filled with persons that have no business in the party, where people are now using the subcommittees to settle relatives. One of them listed two of his immediate brother.

While NWC members who are committee members were just ordinary sub-committee members while their cronies were awarded with juicy sub-committee chairmanship.” As it stands, peace is not in sight as the Gana-led committee has vowed to continue with the convention.

They had even gone ahead to publish the full list of the subcommittees membership insisting that they will only discontinue if there was a directive from the Presidency. Tukur only a few days ago ordered that the offices allocated to the committee at the Legacy House be sealed permanently and also left an instruction that no member of the committee should be permitted beyond the gates of the party secretariat.

NationalMirror

We’ll register APC despite acronym litigation –INEC

EMMANUEL ONANI

The Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC, has indicated its readiness to register the All Progressives Congress, APC, as a political party,once the conditions precedent to the registration of political parties, were fulfilled.

This is despite the pending suit at a Federal High Court, Abuja, instituted by another registrationseeking association with similar acronym, the All Peoples Congress, APC. The position of INEC was made known to Saturday Mirror by Mr. Kayode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to the chairman of the commission,Prof. Attahiru Jega.

Asked to react to feelers that the commission may stay action on the registration process of APC, which is a marriage of three political parties -Action Congress of Nigeria,Congress for Progressive Change as well as the All Nigeria Peoples Party – Idowu said “INEC does not work on speculation”.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission conducts its operatons based strictly on its existing guidelines and rules. “Every application that meets the prescribed rules and conditions set by the constitution,gets registered, and any that does not meet the prescribed rules, does not get registered,” Idowu said.

When our correpondent drew his attention to the pendency of a suit and the need to stay action pending hearing and determination, he said: “There are no exceptions to the rules; once the conditions are met, the applicant gets registered.”

On the consequence that may arise,in the event that APC’s prayers are answered in the a f f i r mat iv e , I d owu said,”when we get to the bridge,we will cross it.” A few days ago, Jega had disclosed that the commission had commenced a scrutiny of relevant documents submitted by the APC, for purposes of registration.

The chief electoral officer further stated that as soon as that was concluded, the electoral body would make its position known to the public.

Jega’s position was made known at a workshop jointly organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Democratic Governance for Development Project (DGDP) and Inter- Party Advisory Council (IPAC), on the “revalidation” of code of conduct for political parties in Minna, the Niger State capital.

He had said that “the commission is assiduously working on all documents submitted by the APC and as soon as we finished scrutinising all the relevant information and documents submitted, we will let Nigerians know of the outcome.”

NationalMirror

Kumuyi’s son faces judgement

It’s a tough time to face trial. Less than a month after his wedding, John, the second son of Pastor W. F. Kumuyi of the Deeper Life Bible Church is appearing before the judgment seat. Not before the Great White Throne, mind you, nor is it before any judge in a court of law. Rather, he is appearing, along with his new bride, Love, before a court of the people.
Those who read this page last week, which centred on the dust raised by the couple who had broken all the rules laid down on marriage by Deeper Life Church, have responded.
And the response came in torrents, nay, deluge. For allowing his wife to dress in a fitted, flowing wedding gown, wearing make-up, carrying a bouquet of flowers, cutting a cake, all opposed to the standards of the church, some people have asked for John Kumuyi’s head. He should even be expelled from the church, they say. But some others have risen in stout defence. Neither John nor Love Kumuyi did any wrong, and they have not committed any sin
. Therefore, their suspension by the church was unfair, unjust, unwarranted, hypocritical, hostile, they claim. Bellow is just a small fraction of the responses: John embarrassed his dad Reading your lovely piece on Kumuyi’s son, I agreed almost 100%.
As long as the couple profess membership of Deeper Life, they must remain bound by the rules of the ministry. John, I believe, has an obligation to save his highly respected dad the embarrassment that is in publicly flouting rules that have guided generations of people his own father shepherds. Betty Abah, journalist, Lagos God’s word is settled Honour is showing merited respect to one’s parents. Please tell Mr and Mrs John Kumuyi what God said in Deuteronomy 5:16.
You and I belong to old time religion, no doubt. God’s word is settled. Elder Ben Ogbomo, Lagos They’ll carry the cross One sin through careless neglect can affect one’s spiritual destiny, just like it happened to Demas and Esau. The latter sold his birthright for porridge, while Demas loved the present world more than God. John and his wife seem to love this present world too.
God will forgive their wilful sin, but they will carry this cross for a long time. The things regarded as non-essentials have sent many believers to hell. Emmanuel Adeniyi, Lagos Sin of rebellion Kudos for the great piece, more especially for creating a balance backed with relevant quotes from the Holy Bible.
In the context of the preaching and tenets of the church, which they were born into, the couple have committed the sin of rebellion, as you stated. Why should children of highly placed members of the church be the ones to break ranks? The wife should have appeared with six months pregnancy, and insist they have been staying abroad, hence cultural influence.
I commend Pastor Kumuyi and his wife for not walking away from the wedding. They would have been justified if they did. Mike Nzeagwu, Lagos Act of God To me, God’s hand might be in the whole saga to streamline the Deeper Life Church along modern trends, without taking holiness and sanctity of Christianity from the hearts of believers. It should be seen as a general corrective measure.
The law itself looks discriminatory against female believers who are known to be inclined towards adorning themselves.
And since the couple’s parents attended the wedding, the best option is to take the issue as an act of God. Lai Ashadele, Lagos Not intellectually equipped It takes intelligence, real intelligence, to appreciate the depth of Pastor Kumuyi’s character, his teachings, and lifestyle.
It takes real intelligence to understand the meaning of being a son of this unique man of God. John Kumuyi is not intellectually equipped to appreciate holiness, so he should be forgiven. But he should not be involved in any serious matter of the church. Obunikem Okonkwo To Pastor Kumuyi Fred not thyself sir, the Almighty knows that you have laid a solid foundation for God, ministry and humanity. It can be painful if our foundations are being opposed by those with us, but do not bother.
When the young couple grow older, they will understand the harm they did. Be undeterred sir, and be more determined in maintaining the integrity of your ministry. Pastor Livy Onyenegecha, 08036174573 Please, show mercy In the Bible, a self-confessed righteous man, and a sinner went to pray.
The former told God how good he was, while the latter pleaded for mercy. God heard the prayer of the sinner. Let the Deeper Life Church show mercy to the young couple, since they have so requested. Chief J. J. Ibeka, Lagos What Kumuyi taught us John Kumuyi cannot destroy his father’s testimony.
He will give account of his own life to God. What Kumuyi taught us is the undiluted word of God, and no action of any son will take anything away from that. Kumuyi’s teaching will populate heaven, with or without his children. God give us more Kumuyis.
Pastor Frank Oputa, Lagos They’ve shown remorse Being children of pastors in Deeper Life, John and Love Kumuyi would have been assumed guilty because much is expected of them. But since they’ve shown remorse, they should be forgiven.
As for making heaven, that is not for man to decide. It is entirely God’s prerogative. Revd S. A. Adetayo, St John’s Anglican Church, Ikotun, Lagos They simply broke the rules The behaviour of the younger Kumuyi and his wife is akin to the tale of Adam and Eve in the scripture, where God gave them a set of rules in the Garden of Eden and they made themselves weak and vulnerable to the whims and caprices of Satan.
There should be no sentiment or the after-thought alibi about their misbehavior that they have lived for donkey years outside Nigeria and were influenced by their present environment.
They simply broke the golden rules of the church governing weddings and they cannot honestly claim they were oblivious of the rules. As the Roman Catholic Church doctrine teaches us, it is wrong for anyone to deliberately commit the sin that carries death penalty, and once anyone does, the person knows that the wages of such sin is death.
So it is with the young Kumuyi and his wife who went of their own volition to violate the set rules of their church and brought shame to their revered parents.
Whatever action the Deeper Life church takes to redress their action is to me justified because there shouldn’t be any sacred cows in compliance to the law or otherwise, and doing so implies the rules were meant for the low people and not for the high.
But if the law is respecter of no one, then there should be no sentiment or hue and cry against the sanctions accruing to them for breaking the rules. However, what I disagree with is that parents should be punished for the misbehavior or misdemeanor of their adult children. It is wrong because as the scripture tells us, everyone must answer to his own deeds or account before God on the judgment day.
So, Deeper Life sanctioning their parents is unjust and wrong, even though their parents attended the wedding, unless they (the parents) incontrovertibly had a pre-knowledge that their children’s wedding was going to be that gorgeous and flamboyant, against the rules of the church.
Otherwise, their children should be answerable for their own deeds, right or wrong, before the church and not the parents. Abuchi Anueyiagu, a Public Affairs Analyst/Veteran Journalist, 08080242128, buchisbuchis@yahoo.com Quit, if you can’t keep rules I enjoyed every bit of your article. While I agree that there should be no difference in enforcing biblical laws in every part of the world, it is a known fact that certain words such as moderation are subjective, and cannot have universal measurement.
Different people and cultures will have their own interpretation. In a culture where people go naked, moderation may mean not to wear too much. In a poor village, moderation may mean not to display opulence and wealth. I live in the UK and the dress in question is quite moderate compared to some wedding dresses that I have seen recently, but that is not the issue.
The issue is moderation as it is practiced by the Deeper Life Church. What is very important is that once you are a member of an organization, all their laws (doctrine in church language) are binding and breaking them is an act of disobedience, which is a sin.
Once a man or woman can no longer abide by the set rules of the organization, he or she must quit the organization or seek to change the laws while still obeying it until such a time that the law is changed. This is the proper and orderly way to do things and I think you will agree with me that our God is a God of order.
In concluding, I would say that Kumuyi’s son has done a grave injury to the lifelong work of his dad and has committed a sin. Mobolaji Akinola, akinolabolaji@yahoo.co.uk Judge not According to the Holy Book, those who worship God should worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:24.Let the hearts of the couple pass judgment, and not the church, not even the fathers. Romans 2:17-29.
A man is judged by what comes out of his mouth (heart). Matt. 15: 19-20.   We are too much of appearance type Christians than spiritual type. Rules and regulations were what turned the Jews away from Christ instead of faith. Austeen  O. C.  Lagos, Alstineventures@yahoo.co.uk

TheSun

PHOTONEWS:Pro-Jonathan Lawmaker In Rivers Tried To Snatch Police Weapon

 

caption: Self appointed "Speaker" of rivers State Assembly seen here trying to grab a police gun during a fracas

caption: Evans Bipi

By SaharaReporters, New York

Several photos have emerged showing Rivers State lawmaker Evans Bipi attacking a police officer  during a fracas precipitated by President
Goodluck Jonathan and his wife to unseat the governor, Rotimi Amaechi.
Some of the of the photos show an enraged Bipi going for the AK 47 automatic gun of one of the policemen at the house of assembly.
On July 9th, Bipi  led thugs to take over the house, upon entering the assembly chambers he beat up some principal officers  of the house and pronounced himself the speaker before Governor Amaechi  personally intervened to thwart his efforts.
 Another pro-Amaechi lawmaker, Chidi Lloyd embarked on a counter-attack caught on tape, in the counter action he smashed a wooden mace on the head of another lawmaker who has remained hospitalized.
 Saharareporters

For once, Aso Rock senses tremors

Security inside a rock seems safest only as long as there are no tremors or the prospects can be ominous. As well-known to Nigerians, there is an on-going win all or lose all political battle of survival between President Goodluck Jonathan and Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi.
Despite Jonathan’s ostrich posture on the matter, events suddenly sprang out of control to expose the actual situation. Such was the alarming development that an erstwhile internal civil war of a ruling party attracted the concern of the opposition, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to call for the impeachment of President Jonathan for allegedly violating the constitution serially.
If that demand appeared a joke, the atmosphere at Aso Rock was rattling as the Presidency, within a couple of hours, reacted desperately with the usual polemics and insinuations washing President Jonathan off any responsibility for the political violence in the State House of Assembly on Tuesday.
Action Congress of Nigeria had listed the violence in Port Harcourt the previous day as the last straw in series of alleged impeachable offences committed by Jonathan including the political heat over the disputed leadership election of Nigerian Governors’ Forum.
Significantly, ACN’s demand for President Jonathan’s impeachment was made only a day after one of the party’s governors, Fayemi of Ekiti State, completely exonerated Jonathan from any involvement in the NGF crisis over a month after the election.
There is this intriguing bond between Jonathan and Fayemi dating back to the aftermath of the 2011 presidential elections. While the Action Congress of Nigeria, through its national publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed was faulting Jonathan’s victory for alleged electoral malpractices, Fayemi emerged as the first governor to publicly congratulate Jonathan on his victory.
Without providing any substance or specifics, Aso Rock’s reaction to the demand for Jonathan’s impeachment was more of gobbledegook.
In addition, the swiftness of the response or denial showed how the message got home on the prospects if not reality of the months and years ahead unless Jonathan humbles his political ambition, which, by the way, is legitimate as any other member’s in the PDP.
The only worry is the bully tactics such as being exhibited in Rivers State. The incident triggered bi-partisan instant reaction in the National Assembly with the undisguised notice even by majority PDP members in the National Assembly.
Rather than allowing democracy to collapse, (as was in Egypt), Nigerian National Assembly will preferably abandon Jonathan to his fate as may be determined by his political miscalculation. National Assembly, in this case, comprises largely Goodluck Jonathan’s fellow elected PDP members since the party controls majority in the chamber.
If there was any doubt on where they stand on the Rivers State’s crisis or even on Jonathan’s present and future political aspirations, such doubt disappeared after the forced division in the Senate on the debate over the crisis in Rivers State.
As usual, the House of Representatives was even more damning on all the controversial issues – condemnation of the violence in Rivers State, assumption of the functions and legislative powers of the Rivers State House of Assembly and insistence on the re-deployment of Police Commissioner, James Mbu from the state. The vote was almost unanimous as only three or four members managed to voice opposition.
That should show President Jonathan the degree of support if any, he enjoys even among his party members in the National Assembly on the Rivers State political crisis. Jonathan might dissociate himself from the crisis but such self-claimed innocence is belied by his obsession with dislodgement of political opponents, including his famous god-father, ex-President Obasanjo.
At that stage, Jonathan may have the wrong impression that he is politically invincible. He had better know when and where to stop, or the party would assist him. President Jonathan is a PDP member and by the party’s convention, the leader.
Some of his men in Rivers State House of Assembly, in fact, only five, ganged up and claimed to have impeached the Speaker, who, by implication, still enjoys the support of the remaining twenty-six elected members.
Whatever his other qualification later in life, a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria must have passed through primary school where he must have been taught that throughout the world and at any state of humanity, a group of five can never have it over another group of twenty-six in all matters of majority decision.
The situation in Rivers State had been lingering for months. Where was Goodluck Jonathan and why has he failed so far to educate the dissident five members in Rivers State House of Assembly that they are wrong and will continue to be wrong till eternity? Jonathan claims complete innocence of the threatening anarchy in Rivers State. The only deception is self-deceit. There is a consolation.
Even Jonathan now realises he can be impeached. Hence, the desperate reaction to the call for his impeachment made by the Action Congress of Nigeria. Impeachment move for alleged violation of constitution will comprise series of offences overlooked all along.
In case others had been deceiving or flattering him, the bitter truth is that Jonathan has substantially alienated the political support he claimed to have attracted in 2011. Not the least, Governor Amaechi who recorded over ninety per cent of the total votes in Rivers State for Jonathan. Not the least, former President Olusegun Obasanjo who single-handedly sponsored him to the Presidency.
Not the least, the Action Congress of Nigeria leadership, which engaged in gerrymandering against its, own presidential candidate, all in favour of Goodluck Jonathan. Not the least, the PDP-controlled National Assembly against Commissioner James Mbu conveniently retained in Rivers State by Police-Inspector-General, Mohammed Abubakar, unwilling to upset Jonathan who appointed him IG.
Is Jonathan not worried by the complete silence throughout north western Nigeria? Jonathan should even be fair to himself by seeing Amaechi as a sincere political opponent or even enemy better than presumed hypocritical supporters among some PDP governors.
National Assembly saw the danger Jonathan might not have seen in the position of the political rascals in Rivers State. If they got away with their five votes to impeach the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly, the next stop would have been the National Assembly to similarly impeach the Speaker of House of Representatives or President of Senate with minority votes.
All the same, the reaction of the National Assembly members must not be seen as self-preservation but a notice to the rascals in Rivers State or whoever might be sponsoring them, not to set the nation ablaze. It is also not enough to deny Jonathan’s involvement in impeachable misconduct. He should be advised not to allow himself to be remotely suspected of such political/constitutional crimes.
For these purposes, there cannot be the blackmail of plot against “our son” or our party. The loyalty of National Assembly in impeachment prospects is primarily to the nation before an individual or even the party.
Nigeria must defy Britain on death penalty
If anybody ever thought enforcement of laws on capital punishment in this country would pass without the pontification of unsolicited foreigners, such Nigerian must have been underestimating the delusion of these ex-colonial rulers in failing or refusing to grasp the reality of the sovereignty of each country, all over the world.
It is, therefore, essential that President Goodluck Jonathan and Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, stand firm on the all-important question of death penalty prescribed for offences posing insecurity to lives and property in Nigeria. Governor Oshiomhole duly performed his duty by signing the death warrant of only four out of the possible hundreds facing execution.
Remarkably, all of them earned their fate after due process of law through fair trial from Magistrates/High Courts, Appeal Court to the Supreme Court.
What is more, nobody should be surprised at the executions. Despite the country-wide threat of anarchy posed by the criminals, Governor Oshiomhole stood out among the crowd (of governors) by alerting Nigerians that, to stem the wave of insecurity, he would sign any death warrant of any condemned criminal.
It was therefore mischievous of critics who read revenge motive into Oshiomhole’s performance of his constitutional duty as aimed at making up for the murder of one of his aides, Olaitan Oyerinde, who was murdered for no reason. Even if that were so, did Oyerinde deserve to be murdered without deterrence for the culprits? Before Governor Oshiomhole took the stern measure, there were general complaints and accusations by Nigerians and foreigners against President Jonathan for allegedly being weak to guarantee security.
All that has therefore happened with the execution of the culprits is a direct attack at the major source of the insecurity. It is therefore hypocritical of the critics, Nigerians and foreigners alike, to express anger at the war on insecurity. On his part, President Jonathan must go the who hog. Governor Oshiomhole is only one out of thirty-six state governors and insecurity is all over the country rather than only Edo State.
For his courage in carrying out the executions, Oshiomhole has commenced the process of relieving President Jonathan of the misplaced criticisms of being weak and incapable of guaranteeing security. Jonathan must therefore not leave Oshiomhole seemingly as the bad guy among the state governors. He (Jonathan) must make the remaining thirty-five state governors account for convicts in the death cell.
Much as Jonathan cannot force a governor against the governor’s will, to sign death warrants, all such unwilling governors must be acquainted with the consequences. In a situation of such misguided moral posture in violation of the oath of office to which each governor swore to enforce laws, the Federal Government has the duty under the constitution to deal with any breakdown of law and order arising from insecurity posed by kidnappers, murderers, arsonists and armed robbers.
That duty in our present situation is for President Jonathan to declare emergency throughout the state concerned, suspend the governor for at least six months and restore normalcy. Jonathan has no choice or he will then deserve the blame for being weak to guarantee security in the country.
For the record, Jonathan deserves credit for coming out strong to discuss Britain’s criticisms on the reactivation of execution for capital offences. Particularly robust was the reminder, in case the former colonialists forgot, that Britain introduced death penalty in Nigeria. We were in this country in 1953 under British rule when eleven convicts were hanged one morning at Broad Street prison in Lagos for the murder of one law-abiding citizen, a Muslim preacher, Alhaji Bisiriyu Apalara.
Two years later, another set of five convicts were hanged in the same prison for the murder of a Nigerian musician, Israel Njemanze. It was therefore re-assuring that President Jonathan and Governor Oshiomhole have refused to be intimidated by Britain, the Commonwealth, European Union and Amnesty International. Beneath the arrogance of this group of critics is disregard, partly with racist undertone for Nigeria’s sovereignty. By whatever name they are called and however committed, murder is murder and the punishment is execution.
When a group of people declares and wages war against another people in another country, the name is unprovoked murder. And when the countries on the receiving end legitimately inflict the punishment even through unmanned drones, the name is execution for murder. In fact, such executions by the United States and Israel are largely pre-emptive and without trial. Those so executed are at the worst suspects and at the best accused.
This is not to say that United States and Israel violate any law since the first duty of any nation is to guarantee the safety and survival of its law-abiding citizens. The similar duty of Nigerian nation is to guarantee the safety and survival of its law-abiding citizens against the established crimes of murderers, kidnappers and armed robbers who kill their victims.
The life of a law-abiding citizen unlawfully murdered is not less valuable than his American and Israeli fellow citizens of the world. America and Israel take lawful, pre-emptive deterrent measures just as Nigeria takes lawful, punitive deterrent measures to contain these criminals.
It must therefore be noted that for whatever measures United States or Israel takes, including execution through unmanned drones, Britain, the Commonwealth, Amnesty International and other foreign moralities have never reacted critically. Why then the hostility against Nigeria? Nigerian Government is answerable to Nigerians, rather than to the Commonwealth or Amnesty International.
Even on the domestic scene, America still operates the death penalty in most states. Yet, Britain never raised objections. With the death warrant Governor Oshiomhole signed, other criminals will henceforth flee Edo State for neighbouring states condoning murderers.

TheSun

My Biafra war tales…At 60, ex-CAC boss reminisces on the civil war

By IKENNA EMEWU, Abuja
At 60, Sir Dennis Ekumankama would readily tell you that years have taught him great lessons about life. He counts himself lucky to be a survivor of several setbacks that were enough to send him out of the scene, including the initial obstacle of being born in an environment that lacked modern healthcare.
“I survived infant mortality that was high when I was born. Later I survived the civil war,” he intones deeply.
But war did not let go without a scar. Because of the problem that came with it, at a time he should have been leaving secondary school, he was rather enrolling. He was just one of the millions of children of his generation whose education and course of life was altered by the war in the Biafran side of the divide.
Ekumankama tells his long story spanning 60 years as his family, friends and associates plan to host him today. He announces himself as one of the kids born into rural areas where health facilities were entirely lacking.
“My parents told me that mum gave birth to me at home unattended to by any medical officer. She returned from the farm that day, July 13, 1953 and suddenly went into labour, after which she had a baby boy. Surviving childhood those days was as tough and unaided as the process of birth. But God destined that some must survive at a generation most children died of ailments preventable today.”
He recalls that: “I passed out of primary school in 1965 in my village, Amangwu Edda and was to enroll in secondary school in 1966 when the war broke. I had taken the common entrance intending to enroll in the Ikom County Secondary School when the problems became unbearable and my uncle I lived with, a tax assessment officer in Ikom, had to send me home to Edda (Ebonyi State) to watch things. On my return, things turned worst, such that all my family had to migrate as internally displaced persons that lived in the bush for years. It was a crisis of high proportion that nobody mentioned anything about school enrolment. The paramount factor was survival, and this was even a tall order in the bush in Abam (now in Abia State) where we lived for all the years the war lasted. So, registering in a secondary school, had to wait until 1970 when the war was over. As we returned to our native abode in Edda. Having lost everything to the war it was time again to start picking the pieces. The hardship was enormous.”
After the war, it took the intervention of another uncle of his, the late Justice Onu Ekumankama to enroll him in Ishiagu High School, a neighbouring town.
“I keep saying that the intervention of my uncle was God’s kindness at work because after the war, things were not easy at all,” he recalls.
In 1975, he was done with secondary education. With a good result, he immediately secured a job to teach at the Omobo Primary School, Akaeze, a town just next to where he had his secondary education. This didn’t last long as his quest for further education pushed him to enroll for his HSC and A’Level programmes. On making three subjects at the A’Level, he was uploaded to teach in a secondary school. His teaching career lasted till 1978, when as part of the first batch of candidates to take the Joint Matriculation Board Examination, JAMB, he got direct entry admission to read law in the University of Lagos, Unilag.
“I can say God had intended from the beginning that I would be a lawyer, because prior to my admission to Unilag, I had made failed attempts to get admission in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka to read Sociology/Anthropology or Political Science.” He was called to the Bar in 1982.
“Those days, there were ample opportunities for lawyers to be engaged after service. That was how the law firm in Makurdi, Benue State where I served, employed me. I worked one year there with the Osman & Co, Fati Chambers and commenced my personal practice and firm the following year. Good enough, my principal at the place I served and worked for one year, Chief Mamman Mike Osman gave his blessings and all the support to commence my private practice.” A little after he started his private practice, the returns for a successful career manifested in his buying his first car, a 505 Peugeot at N11, 000. That was the first major breakthrough he had from his Dennis Ekumankama & Co, Harmony Chambers because “the car made practice easier for me as God’s kindness made everything I handled in my career a success.”
He furthered his success run in November 1987 when he got married. That union with Rose Chinny is blessed with eight children, two of whom have already graduated and two others in the universities.
If the war that cost him four years of his education was a setback, it was just temporary because Ekumankama later outgrew the lapses and picked up speed to regain the lost years.
“While in practice, I felt it necessary to further my education, so I enrolled for a Masters degree in law at the Abia State University, a certificate I picked in 1991. I attended lectures in Abia from my base in Makurdi while still practising and managing my family. After my LLM, it was just some years before I felt the urge again to take the effort some notches higher.”
Soon, the dividends of his new status started rolling in with a job to help develop the Law Faculty of the Benue State University, Makurdi. He also made good input in commencing the postgraduate law programme in the faculty and also served as the first coordinator of postgraduate law programmes of the university.
In 1996, he stretched his appetite for education by publishing his first book – Law and Development of the LGA in Nigeria.
“With sense of modesty, that was an era of the dearth of legal literature in local government law. In my research for the book, what I found were books by social scientists on the subject and not even a single reference in law, apart from monographs and workshop papers,” he says.
After his outing as an author, the following year, he was appointed to the elections petitions tribunal of Ebonyi State on local government elections. Maybe, the appointment reminded Ekumankama that he still had something lacking about his legal quest, as he soon returned to the classroom as a student in 1998 at the University of Jos where he enrolled and did his PhD in Law. He actualized the course meant for a minimum of three years in just two years. But the school authorities delayed his final defence till it was three years since his enrollment. At this time, his interest in law had started tilting towards the major rave of the moment – financial crimes. So that was the focus of his doctorate thesis – Financial Crimes as Impediment to the Development of Nigeria.

At CAC
He was still awaiting the final lap of his doctorate when nature showed him a sunnier side with his appointment to the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC. “Whenever I remember my appointment to the CAC at the point it was undergoing reorganization in 2001, I still feel this sense of gratitude to my brother, the then Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim (now the Secretary to the Government of the Federation). Then he had suggested to me the need to change location and leave Makurdi where I had lived for 20 years since my youth service. His argument was that my legal practice had grown and would be better if taken to a larger space like Abuja. That brotherly suggestion later worked out better things. As I was leaving for Abuja it was when CAC was reorganizing and there was vacancy for people like me to drive the new idea. So, I applied and got employed in the CAC as Director/Secretary of the Commission through Anyim’s support. The reason for my appreciation of Anyim’s motivation that made me relocate to Abuja was another opportunity base, different from my 20 years of legal practice to do something different and also serve the nation in another capacity. I remained in CAC till June 2009. It was in that same month that the office of the chief executive of the CAC was vacant.”
As the next most senior officer, he automatically moved up to fill the gap in acting capacity. He was the Acting Registrar General/CEO till October 9, 2009 when a substantive chief executive was appointed. His exit or failure to be confirmed substantive CEO was one of the outcomes of the Head of Service’s rule then which was ratified by President Umar Yar’Adua that all officials that had served as directors for up to eight years in any federal establishment should retire. Alongside other directors caught in the track of the new rule, he had to leave CAC.
“So, I left without attaining the statutory 60 years of age or 35 years of service that is the general rule for retirement.”
But that was not without events according to him. He thumps his chest that: “When we joined the commission, things were like at the base level, but I thank God that I was part of the team that lifted and turned CAC around. We got there with a burdensome responsibility to make things better, and I am sure we did just that. We joined CAC when the office was somewhere in Area 11, Abuja. It was not befitting operating from there and the whole place was infested with touts and touting. The CAC was in a mess that no customers or clients wanted to have anything to do with it. Our quest for a new Commission made us move the office to somewhere in Wuse Zone 5. It was there we launched the CAC into online registration of companies in 2004. Such moves gave the body the right bearing for better business in a better environment, better trained staff, better motivation and challenges for taking the body to a world class business incorporation outfit. And with all sense of modesty, we got so much mileage in actualizing that dream, and even now that I am no longer there, I have no doubt that the spirit of growth and innovation is being sustained because the person that took over as the CEO was part of the innovative team. The effort culminated in the CAC moving to its present location in a wonderful environment and edifice in Maitama. Even as I speak to you, company registration, the major business of the CAC and a vital aspect of the drive of the nation’s economy to pro-market tracks and the encouragement of investment from citizens and foreigners is sure to be completed in just 24 hours using the online platform. There are instances and types of registrations that are made possible in just 24 hours. That is the benefit of foresight and the drive of our team that had a sight for the right stead for the commission. I remain always proud to say that I left the CAC in good standing and in far greater shape than I met it.”
His books
While in the CAC, the workload and other encumbrances of his duty did not stop him tilting steadily to his academic inclinations. He still found time to write books on law even as secretary of the commission. One of them, which got the endorsement of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais who wrote the foreword, was Criminology and Penology: A Nigerian Perspective. The second was The Law, Corruption and Other Economic Crimes in Nigeria Today; Problems and Solutions. The books were presented in Abuja in November 2003. In 2004, in apparent appreciation of his contribution to the development of the Nigerian legal system, especially at laying a foundation towards attaining a corruption-free nation as suggested in his books and contributions to the development of the community, he was awarded a National Honour, MFR, by th administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The blessings and open doors has not stopped as between “2001 and 2008, I was blessed with three more children. Now I have in all eight lovely children, for which I am grateful to God for their lives and the joy they add to my life everyday. It is my prayer that God Almighty who blessed my life with these wonderful gifts would bestow on them excellent spirit to be of good and worthy service to Him and the society. Not just that, I insist that God’s word in Psalms 127 and 128 would be real in my life and that of my wife to see my children’s children, and if it pleases him to see my great grandchildren. So far, all my children are doing well. My first daughter is married, the first son has completed his youth service and one of them right now has decided to follow my steps and he is studying law.
Stint in politics
After his in the CAC, and following calls by his people for more service and representation, he joined politics with a view to vying for the senatorial seat of his region, Ebonyi South Senatorial District in the 2011 elections. His effort, however, ended at the primary contest level in the party selection. That done, he settled back to his core competence area – legal practice.
“I had to dust my wig and gown and revive fully my legal practice. I to re-opened the Dennis Ekumankama Chambers now in Abuja at Zone 6, Wuse. This time, I didn’t revive it as the Harmony Chambers as it was in Makurdi because I found that someone else uses that name. So, I renamed it Veritas Chambers.”
More books
“Right now, I have completed my two new books. Soon, they would be out for the public. One of them is Government Integrity, Anti Corruption and the Law. This is essentially a compendium of papers I have written and published in the weekly Leadership Newspaper. In the book, I considered and x-rayed the meaning, scope of corruption, the causes, effects cost and, of course, the responses and recommendation for its control. I tried to highlight the issues in broad perspective and considered the role of the legal system, the legislature, budget implementation transparency, the rule of law and adherence to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2007, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the Money Laundering Act, the EFCC and ICPC Acts as they all relate to the broader body of laws on corruption. The work will also expose the roles and relevance of the civil societies, the media, NGOs and the public in the control of corruption and in the management of the nation. My second book also about to be released is A Companion of Contemporary Company Law and Practice in Nigeria. The two will hit the market at the same time. This second book would provide details in Nigeria’s company laws in real terms and what commercial company operators need to know about company registration processes in the CAC. It is a work I started with my practical experience in the CAC over the years. I have dedicated the work to all workers of the CAC who worked tirelessly to reform the commission while I dedicated the work on corruption to all Nigerians and agencies that fight the war against corruption.
SAN
I am not yet a SAN. Not being a SAN yet, does not make me feel bad or feel like one who has not been appreciated or made enough impact to be recognized. I will also tell you that my practice was truncated by my exit to serve in the CAC. Right now, I am back fully in practice. But you should not forget that I have been a Notary Public for years. It is an honour certified and conferred on legal practitioners by the CJN. Again, being in the academia, I continue to contribute my quota in the development of the legal system in the nation through my books. I have been a resource person for years in various fora, including the International Symposium on Economic Crimes that holds in Cambridge, UK every year.
I am a Fellow of the Corporate Administrators of Nigeria; Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management; Member, Malaysian Institute of Management; Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary International; Member of the IBB Golf Club; Knight of St. John International (KSJ) former Rotary President of District 9120 between 1998 and 1999 and many other honours and accomplishments.
Presently, I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, for which I am grateful to President Goodluck Jonathan for judging me fit to serve in that capacity, and I promise to contribute my all to improve on the state of the institution for a better nation.
Corruption in Nigeria
My position on corruption, an issue I have written much on and spoken about, is the belief that no one party, organ or entity can fight corruption in the system successfully. So, I have always advocated integrative action if we would succeed in arresting corruption before it totally ruins the nation.
I remain optimistic that with God on our side, the corruption situation in Nigeria can’t continue the same way. I have offered solutions on the way out of this mire in my works in the past and ready to offer more in the future. I say with all boldness that the government needs to do more in demonstrating the willingness to fight corruption, and that should include motivating Nigerian workers enough to distract them from condoning and breeding corruption. To do this, we have to pay the worker better, assure him that his labour is not in vain. Let us not create work environment to encourage discrimination of one in favour of the other by reason of any form of biases.
So at 60, I am a happy man. I am a grateful man, to God, to the nation, to my family, friends, especially my brother Senator Anyim. If it didn’t please God, I would not have come this far. And as a result, I don’t feel bad or regret not getting anything I targeted because the ones I got were purely by His grace. What about my mates who didn’t make it this far, am I in anyway better than them? No. I am a Christian, and the word of God I firmly believe in makes me understand and truthfully so that all we have is just God’s grace. So I thank Him for the grace believing he would do more in my life.

TheSun