Friday, 27 May 2016
The Oba of Benin is born and not made, Oshiomhole's statement, a sacrilege
By - Thompson Omorodion, Ph.D.
There is no debating the fact that an Oba in Benin is installed by the Benin king makers(Usama N’Ihinron), not the governor of Edo State.
The governor of Edo State, following the military inherited Section 19 of the Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Law, 1979, is only to recognize a duly installed Oba and present the ceremonial staff of office after the traditional authority has concluded the coronation process. The statement by Edo State Government regarding the appointment of Oba of Benin by Adams Oshiomhole is therefore another “iconoclastic” blunder, executive rascality, administrative arrogance and apparently disdainful display crude use of brute power him - a slap on the face of the Benin monarchy and the good people of Benin.
In a megalomaniac statement dated 24th May 2016, issued by what has become known as the iconoclastic government led by Adams Oshiomhole, published in many national dailies, a supposed professor of Political Science and Secretary to the Government of Edo State announced, albeit arrogantly, the “appointment of HRH Edaiken N’Uselu, Crown Prince Ehenede Erediauwa as Oba of Benin without prior consultation nor input of the Crown Prince, Benin Traditional Council or the Palace of the Oba of Benin, to which such matter relates – while the obsequies was still on for the former Oba. This is the apogee and height of disrespect, and callous disregard to our revered traditional institution.
It is therefore not surprising that within twenty four hours, there have been massive outpouring of both emotive and rational reactions to the gaffe of the government that is ever acting as alien to us, a reaction which has led the government withdrawing the cursed statement today in a letter signed by the same Secretary to the government of the state. The wording of the withdrawal betrayed evidence of the true intentions of the government in issuing the statement in the first instance.
“The said letter was issued in error as the rites of passage of His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba of Benin are still on”.
The withdrawal came without apology. This may also have been deliberate. The true intention of the APC and Adams Oshiomhole led Edo State government was egoistic, nay – megalomaniac - futile attempt to denigrate the Benin crown, reduce the dignity, prestige and majesty of the Benin crown, and attempt to demystify the glorious mysteries of the Benin Kingdom. This ulterior motive of Adams Oshiomhole and his outgoing iconoclastic APC government in Edo State can be deduced by the x-raying the three main patterns described in the following paragraph and that that have played out within the last 30 days or so.
First, the Edo State government released an article last month describing Oba Erediauwa as an iconoclastic Oba. Shortly after the announcement on Friday April 29 of the passage of Oba Erediauwa, Adams Oshiomhole caused an iconoclastic condolence message to be released which offended the palace and the Benin people. Upon reaction by the public, the government through an aide (rather than the governor making such apology himself) apologized to the palace but he ignored the Benin people who he also offended.
Secondly, the Edo State government, on May 3, disturbed the peace of Benin City by violently removing the former Speaker with thugs, urchins, gunshots and tear gas at the Oba palace area during the mourning period. This is further demonstration of the suspicion that it is a deliberate slight to the Benin people and disregard for the sorrowful mood at the time. Why could Oshiomhole not ask his legislators to sheathe their swords in respect of the mourning of the Oba?
And thirdly, Oshiomhole hurriedly announced that he was appointing the Oba of Benin. The statement by the Edo State government that HRH Prince Ehenede Erediauwa has been “appointed” as the Oba of Benin is not only an abomination but a sacrilege to everything reverent about Benin Kingdom. This is the apogee of disrespect. Oshiomhole, and indeed the governor of Edo State, does not have the right to ‘appoint’ the Oba. The Oba of Benin does not derive his legitimacy or authority from any government anywhere in the world, let alone a state governor like Edo State government.
Can Oshiomhole appoint an Oba? Even if there was a so-called Section 19 of the contentious and pointless 1979 Traditional Rulers and Chiefs Law that purportedly empowers the government to recognize (not appoint, in the case of Oba where there is no contention) an Oba who is corronated by the traditional authority of Benin. In Benin, we call them Uzama N’Ihinron.
We agree that no one is perfect. However, there are higher degrees of responsibility expected from certain high office holders, especially those who have aides and assistants provided for them by tax payers’ money for the purpose of minimizing errors and maximizing effectiveness. A state government is one of such high offices. The plethora of errors, nay blunders, that have characterized this government of Adams Oshiomhole and the APC in Edo state, in recent times, leaves decent and intelligent people to begin to wonder whether this government hasn’t broken down irreparably or its chief officer gone berserk.
We the Benin people are still offended by these gaffes by the Edo State government, and even more annoyed for the following reasons.
1. The governor, not the Secretary to the Government, should have done the withdrawal, and apologized, in light of the gravity of the grievous harm that the announcement has caused our Benin people and our monarchy.
2. The governor has belittled the significance of the coronation of a Benin monarch, usurping the traditional functions of the Uzama N’Ihinron of Benin kingdom.
3.The governor is making the highly cherished traditional rites of ascension to the Oba of Benin of no effect.
4. The governor is giving non-Benins, and even some unsuspecting Benins, the wrong impression that he is the one that has the capacity to appoint an Oba for Benin thereby downplaying the well-known primogeniture ascension rule of Benin kingdom, and most of Edo state peoples.
5. The governor, by his repeated acts of subtle aggression, is daring the Benin people, overstretching our patience and spoiling for a dirty war which would most likely consume him, his party and everything he stands for. Onyearuegbulem is a ready case study in the Benin principle of Aiguobasimwin.
In light of the above identified further flaw of a thoughtless non-remorseful withdrawal by Edo State government in light of such grievous, provocative and denigrating announcement which the government calls ‘error’, I am calling the leadership of the APC, particularly the Comrade Governor, Adams Aliyu Eric Oshiomhole, to come out and publicly apologize, not only to the Benin monarchy - but also, to the Benin people who feel particularly socially embarrassed, psychologically deflated and generally hurt by the grievous harm that that erroneous and annoying announcement has done to the Benin psyche; our collective pride, our cultural heritage and our public image locally, nationally and internationally. Anything short of this further clearly defined apology would make the now popularly held belief to stick for fact, that Adams Oshiomhole is doing all these things to deliberately spite us the Benins and also to denigrate our Crown. But the Enikaro of Benin will resist anyone who seeks to embarrass the Benin or our ancient institutions.
Lessons from Oba Erediauwa’s life
By Editorial Board
Oba Erediauwa belonged in the caravan of honourable servants. He was the ultimate carrier of royalty, who served, ruled, and led an ancient city with the finest virtues. Despite his exposure and education, he was puritanical about preserving his Bini heritage. Besides their ancient history, the infectious pride of the Bini regarding their culture and monarchy rests on the undiluted richness of the Benin tradition, the unapologetic allegiance to its cultic purity and the long historical diplomatic relationship with other nations, especially European ones. Anyone who aspired to lead such a people must have the moral stamina of a genuine custodian of traditions, the wisdom of a true repertoire of cultural history, and an instrument of justice and peace. Oba Erediauwa exuded all this in one iconic personality.
Born on June 22, 1923, this scion of Oba Akenzua II, ascended the throne as the 38th Oba of Benin, on March 23, 1979. Before then, he was an illustrious super civil servant and public officer by the name of Prince Solomon Igbinighodua Akenzua. For his formal education, he attended the Government College, Ibadan, between 1939 and 1945, and later studied at the Yaba College of Technology, before proceeding to King’s College, Cambridge University, in the United Kingdom, where he studied law and administration.
After graduating from the university, he joined the Eastern Nigeria Civil Service as District Officer, and later moved on to the Federal Civil Service where he retired as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health in 1973. Erediauwa served as a regional representative of Gulf Oil, and had a stint as Bendel State Commissioner of Finance under the military administration of Brigadier George Innih.
As a public servant, he was noted as an administrator of high professionalism, exemplary probity and candour. Perhaps, these were the qualities that informed government’s choice of making him part of the high-powered delegation to the Aburi Conference during the Nigerian Civil War.
Upon his occupation of the Oba stool, he held court with equanimity and justice, settling disputes amongst Edo kin and between the Bini and other ethnicities. Government and state administrators tapped from his wise counsel for a peaceful tenure. In his reign, Benin City rose from a rustic and sleepy town to a sprawling modern city. He also maintained a kingdom of peace and tolerance without sacrificing traditional culture.
In recent times, owing to the sweeping effect of westernisation, the role of traditional institutions has wrongly been viewed as simply symbolic in this part of the world. Apart from being primarily a living form that signposts the cultural history of the people, traditional institutions have succumbed to the pre-eminence given to civil government by the dominant western political order. The effect of this is that traditional rulers have given in to the whims of devious political powers.
A reference, in the not too distant past, was the infamous military regime of Gen. Sani Abacha, when traditional rulers were blackmailed and hoodwinked to support obnoxious policies against the people. When the dictator summoned traditional rulers to Abuja to well up support for an extended tenure, amongst other atrocious plans, Oba Erediauwa, alongside other royal fathers, answered out of respect. But that would turn-out the only time he went to Aso Rock. Having listened to the dictator’s plea, he came back to his people, and vehemently criticised Abacha’s intention. While other monarchs lay low, cowed by the irascible and mercurial Abacha and his killing machine, Oba Erediauwa stood up against Abacha and the military.
One of the lessons to be learnt from the Oba is this: If we want to redeem Nigeria, we need people who will represent the traditional institution this way. As Nigerians can observe today, traditional rulers collude with politicians and public office holders to oppress the people. Some are so power-seeking that they want to be both custodians of their traditional values and promoters of alien culture. This is demeaning of the authority and position of the monarch even as it demystifies the efficacy of traditional institutions.
The life and times of the late Oba Erediauwa also pose a challenge for the Crown Prince Edaiken N’Uselu Eheneden Erediauwa. Judging by conventional standards, the elder Erediauwa seemed to have left shoes too big for anyone to fit into. Yet, it is these shoes that posterity is inviting the Crown Prince to step into as Oba one day soon.
Just as his father, whose firm paternal grip of the Benin Kingdom was like the solicitude of a gentle giant, the Crown Prince is beckoned by the demands of the throne and the times, to display uncommon courage, sacrificial empathy, and eloquent wisdom in the service of the land. He is also challenged to advance the traditional institution with equal integrity, royal distinction, and class which his father fittingly bestowed it by his character and moral finesse. As a distant but respected voice in the affairs of state, the oracular admonition of the traditional monarch is expected, like his father’s, to guide the polity onto the part of values and genuine leadership.
TheGuardian
Thursday, 26 May 2016
THE NATIONAL PROSECUTION CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEE (NPCC)
OBJECTIVE
The objective of NPCC are to-
Co-ordinate efficient, effective and result oriented investigation and prosecution of High Profile Criminal Cases in Nigeria;
Ensure early contact and synergy between investigators and the prosecutors of High Profile Criminal Cases in Nigeria;
Manage information to the public on High Profile Criminal Cases;
Ensure strict compliance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 (‘‘the Act).
STRUCTURE
The structure of NPCC is as follows-
Honourable Attorney-General of Federation
The Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation is by virtue of Section 174(1) of the 1999 Constitution the Chief Law Officer of the Federation. Therefore, he is responsible for the overall policy formulation and implementation of the entire scheme.
Section 174(1) of the 1999 Constitution provides-
The Attorney-General of the Federation shall have power
To institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person before any court of law in Nigeria, other than a court martial, in respect of any offence created by or under any Act of the National Assembly;
To take over and continue any such criminal proceedings that may have been instituted by any other authority or person;
To discontinue at any stage before judgment is delivered any such criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by him or any other authority or person.
National Prosecution Co-ordination Committee (NPCC)
The National Prosecution Co-ordination Committee is a body comprising of nineteen (19) members; twelve (12) ex officio members and seven (7) external lawyers experienced in administration of criminal justice in Nigeria and other commonwealth jurisdictions. All members of the Committee shall be paid sitting allowances as may be determined by the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
The members are as follows-
Mr. Taiwo Abidogun (Permanent Secretary / Solicitor General) - Chairman
Dipo Okpeseyi, SAN
Professor Bolaji Owansoye (Executive Secretary, PAC) Vice Chairman
M.S Diri (Director of Public Prosecution)
Chukwuma Machukwu, SAN
Chief Okoi Obono-Obla
Pius Oteh, Esq)
Mrs Juliet Ibekaku
Abiodun Aikomo, Esq
Kehinde Oginni, Esq
Mr. Salihu Othman Isah
Al-Amin Ado Ibrahim
Nafiu Yakubu, Esq.
Tunji Oluborode, Esq. Member
Eric Onokif Ifere, Esq Member
Mrs. Diane Okoko
Temitope Adebayo, Esq.
DIG Abdulrahman Yusuf (Rtd)
Sylvester Imhanobe, Esq.
The terms of reference of the NPCC include to-
Advice the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (HAGF) on the exercise of his prosecutorial powers in section 150 and 174 of the 1999 Constitution;
Prepare the policy strategy document for the co-ordination of investigation and prosecution of High Profile Criminal Cases in Nigeria;
Collect the list of High Profile Criminal Cases in Nigeria and assign the cases to prosecution teams;
Scrutinize the proof of evidence and charges in High Profile Criminal Cases in Nigeria before arraignment;
Coordinate investigation activities of High Profile Criminal Cases in Nigeria
Receive and analyse reports from the investigation and prosecution teams engaged to handle High Profile Cases in Nigeria;
Prepare and submit to the HAGF monthly report of High Profile Criminal Cases supervised by the committee;
Serve as liaison between the HAGF and the investigation and prosecution teams engaged to handle High Profile Criminal Cases in Nigeria;
Sensitize the public on the conduct of High Profile Criminal Cases in Nigeria;
Make rules for its proceedings ;
Carry out any other directives issued by the HAGF;
To undertake any other matter incidental to the achievement of the objective of the Committee as approved by the HAGF.
The Committee is a major thrust of the fight against corruption. The Committee shall be inaugurated by His Excellency, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Friday the 27th May 2016 at the VP Conference Room
Wednesday, 25 May 2016
FCT Minister sacks all Environmental Board management staff
The minister appointed Oluwatoyin Olanipekun as replacement.
The minister also removed all heads of department as well as Heads of Unit under the board and directed their deputies to immediately take charge.
The Minister made these changes on Wednesday after he and the FCT Permanent Secretary, Babatope Ajakaiye, met with the former management team of the AEPB.
Mr. Bello directed the Director of the FCT Establishment and Training who was also part of the meeting to issue the new appointees with their appointment letters.
He warned that lackadaisical attitude to work must be stopped forthwith as Abuja must be rid of filth, street beggars, street hawkers and all other environmental nuisances immediately.
The Minister said a lot of things were not going on well at the Board and further warned the new team to work to change the tide immediately.
He said that the former Director and his management team should ensure all handing over processes are completed by Friday.
Mr. Bello instructed that the new Task Force be headed by the former Director of the Board and was given eight weeks to do the recovery into FCT administration’s coffers.
At the meeting, the Minister also approved the appointment of Abdullahi Adamu Monjel, a retired Air Force Squadron Leader, to head a special team of 200 security personnel drawn from the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to assist in the enforcement of environmental laws in Abuja.
The Minister was however quick to warn the new management and special team to conduct their duties within the ambit of the law.
Mr. Bello further warned that the FCT Administration would not tolerate any act of abuse of fundamental human rights of the residents in the discharge of their duties.
He urged them to diligently do their job by following and applying the law and due process.
The new Acting Director, Oluwatoyin Omolola Olanipekun, was formerly the Deputy Director, Environmental Degradation & Development Monitoring in the Abuja Environmental Protection Board.
Nigeria Police ‘arrest Nimbo attackers, recover video of attack’ – Spokesperson
The attack on the Enugu left at least 20 people dead.
Police said in a statement on Wednesday that operatives of the police Inspector General’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) arrested the suspects based on “credible intelligence”.
The statement signed by spokesperson, Olabisi Kolawole, said the response team arrested Mohammed Zurai, Ciroma Musa, Sale Adamu, Suleiman Laute and Haruna Laute.
Police said they also recovered one Gionee L88 mobile phone with memory card containing the video recording of the massacre in the community.
The police said the team, on May 6, also arrested a three-man syndicate of bank robbers/kidnappers and recovered arms, ammunition, dynamites and rifle servicing tools from them.
“The gang members, Gogo Daniel Ume, Ikado Michael and Ifeanyi Kalu had been terrorizing Rivers, Imo and Enugu State, respectively,” the statement said.
“Items recovered from them include 3 AK-47 rifles; 1 LAR rifle; 310 rounds of live ammunition; 12 rifle magazines; rifle servicing tools; cache of dynamite explosive; 1 Toyota Highlander Jeep; 1 Toyota Venza jeep; and 1Ford Edge Jeep.
UPDATED: Ex-Newswatch, The News publishers, others appointed DGs of NTA, NAN, VON
The appointments were announced in Abuja by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.
The new appointees are Ishaq Modibo Kawu – Director-General, Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Mansur Liman – Director-General, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN); Yakubu Mohammed – Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).
Others are Garba Abari – Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Bayo Onanuga – Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and Osita Okechukwu – Director-General, Voice of Nigeria (VON).
The new appointees replaced the chief executives of the parastatals who were removed on February 15, 2016.
Ishaq Modibo Kawu – Director-General, Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC)
Before his appointment, Mr. Kawu was the Chief Executive Officer of Abuja-based media firm, Word, Sound and Vision Multimedia Limited.
He holds a Bachelors degree in Mass Communication and Masters Degree in Political Science. Mr. Kawu has deep and varied experience having reported for Radio Nigeria, Radio France International, Radio Netherlands and BBC World Service.
Mansur Liman – Director-General, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN)
Mr. Liman was the head of the British Broadcasting Service, BBC, Hausa Service.
Garba Abari, Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA)
Garba Abari was born on the December 15, 1955 in Potiskum, Yobe State, North-east Nigeria. He had his early education at the Central Primary School, Potiskum and Fika Government Secondary School also in Potiskum.
He holds a Ph.D in Political Science and has taught at the College Of Basic Studies, Maiduguri and the University Of Maiduguri. Before being appointed DG of NOA, Mr. Abari was a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of Maiduguri.
He is a member of many professional bodies including the Nigerian Political Science Association, African Political Science Association, Nigeria Society of International Affairs and the Nigeria Economic Summit Group.
Osita Okechukwu – Director-General, Voice of Nigeria (VON)
Mr. Okechukwu is an indigene of Eke community in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State in Nigeria’s South-east. He is a graduate of the University of Nigeria, UNN, having bagged a Bachelor of Science degree from the institution.
Mr. Okechukwu is a former governorship candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, and the South-East spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
During an interview shortly after Muhammadu Buhari became president, Mr. Okechukwu said that his support for the president was not for personal gains.
“My unalloyed support for President Buhari in the presidential campaign elections of 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 was more than personal. I mean sincerely that it is more of national than personal interest,” he had said.
Bayo Onanuga – Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Mr. Onanuga was born on June 20, 1957 in in Ijebu-Ode, South-east Nigeria. He attended Ijebu Muslim College, Ijebu-Ode, Federal Government College, Odogbolu and the University of Lagos where obtained a Bachelors degree in Mass Communications.
He was appointed editor of African Concord in 1989. In April 1992, he resigned his appointment and with his colleagues found The News Group in 1993.
Mr. Onanuga had remained editor-in-chief of The News Group before his latest appointment. He is a fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and a member of the World Association of Newspapers.
Yakubu Mohammed – Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
Mr. Mohammed was born on April 4, 1950 in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, North-central Nigeria. He attended St. Joseph Primary School, Anyigba and had his post-primary education at the Government Secondary School, Okene.
He later bagged a Bachelors of Science degree in Mass Communication at the University of Lagos.
Mr. Mohammed was a founding member of the Newswatch Communications Limited, the publishers of the Newswatch magazine. Before the magazine was sold to businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim, Mr. Mohammed was the deputy chief executive officer of the organisation.
An accomplished journalist and columnist, he had shown interest in contesting the governorship of Kogi State under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but later shelved the idea.
Mr. Mohammed has been quiet in both journalism and political scenes for some time until his latest appointment.
Jonathan’s government was corrupt, visionless, ran Nigeria aground – MEND
MEND, while distancing itself from the NDA, stressed that the sudden emergence of the militant group has absolutely nothing to do with the Niger Delta struggle but was a ploy by certain elements to destabilise the present Buhari government.
“The painful but necessary resolution to respect the ceasefire was borne out of MEND’s belief that as President Muhammadu Buhari marks his first year in office, he deserves more time to stabilize the country that was ran aground by the ill-fated, corrupt and visionless immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan which pauperized the Nigerian people to the alarming degree we all experience today.
“The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) wishes to condemn and dissociate itself from the recent activities carried out by a group known as the “Niger Delta Avengers.
“Their sudden emergence has absolutely nothing to do with the Niger Delta struggle but rather a tool by certain elements to destabilise the current government.
“MEND serves notice to the International Community that the Niger Delta region shall NOT be part of a secessionist Biafran State.
“Rather, the group believes in one strong united Nigerian federation where the principles and ideals of Resource Control; True Federalism; Rule of Law/Respect for Human Rights; Democracy; Free Enterprise and a Vibrant Civil Society are well entrenched in the grundnorm and put to practice.
“However, The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) remains vehemently opposed to the fraudulent and unsustainable Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) headed by Brigadier General Paul Boroh (rtd) which still runs on the corrupt bureaucratic and operational template of the past administration.
“We have always made it very clear that unless the root issues which gave birth to the agitations in the Niger Delta region are addressed, in the form of a sincere dialogue, this programme will only continue to remain a mere cesspool of corruption.
“In order to create an enabling environment for dialogue on the Niger Delta question, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) urges President Muhammadu Buhari to release the Okah Brothers – Henry and Charles who were arrested in 2010 on trumped-up charges.
“The release of Henry and Charles Okah will be key to any form of dialogue in helping to bring stability to the volatile region.
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