Nnaji resigns amid controversies, scandal.

 by Martin Ayankola, Fidelis Soriwei and Olalekan Adetayo.

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Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, on Tuesday resigned from office amid controversies and allegations of conflict of interest in the privatisation process.
Besides being at loggerheads with Power Holding Company of Nigeria’s workers on sundry issues, he was said to have interests in two firms that submitted bids for the Afam Power Plc and the  Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc.
The PUNCH learnt on Tuesday that Nnaji  must have been pressured into resigning from the Federal Executive Council by the Presidency because of  fears that the issue of conflict of interest could damage  the credibility of the privatisation process, which has local and foreign investors as bidders.
The privatisation of 17 electricity firms is scheduled to be concluded in two months’ time.
Meanwhile,  President Goodluck Jonathan said he had accepted the resignation.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President thanked Nnaji for his services to the nation.
It was gathered that it was when it was established that Nnaji had interest in two firms, Skipper Nigeria Limited and Eastern Electric Nigeria Limited, that the National Council on Privatisation chaired by Vice- President Namadi Sambo, decided to cancel the technical bid evaluation process conducted for the two firms.
The NCP had last Friday named seven firms as the successful bidders for five generation companies.
 According to Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation’s Technical Committee, Mr. Atedo Peterside, the successful bidders qualified to take part in the financial bidding slated for September.
The preferred bidders for Ughelli Power Plant are Phoenix Electricity, Transcorp Consortium and Ampiron Power Distribution Limited.
Two bidders, CMEC Energy and GPN Nestoil Power Services Limited, were named for the Sapele Power Plant.
Only one firm each emerged successful for Geregu, Kainji and Shiroro Power Plants. They are Ampiron Power Distribution Limited, Mainstream Energy Solution Limited and North South Power Company Limited respectively.
He explained that the seven firms were chosen after scaling the 750 pass mark for the bidding process which involved submission of bids by pre-qualified bidders.
There was speculation that the NCP had been silent on the bidders that were prequalified for the Afam Power Station because of the conflict of interest that had arisen during the privatisation process.
A national newspaper had reported that Nnaji, a member of the NCP by virtue of his position as Minister of Power, had told the council that O & M Solutions of Pakistan, a member of one of the consortia bidding for Afam, had worked as a contractor for Geometric Power.
Nnaji  further notified the NCP that Geometric Power had a minority stake in Eastern Electric Nigeria Limited, which had submitted technical and financial bids for Enugu Distribution Company Limited on July 31.
He also reportedly informed the council that owing to his position, he had notified President Jonathan of his company’s bid for Enugu Distribution Company, and brought it to their attention that although he had an interest in Geometric Power, he had resigned from its board and transferred his shares to a blind trust.
Following this disclosure, Nnaji was said to have excused himself from the consideration of the report of the technical bids.
Having been informed of Nnaji’s direct and indirect interest in two companies being privatised, the report said the council decided to cancel the technical evaluation that had been conducted for Afam and disbanded the evaluation team.
Reacting to the issue of conflict of interest few hours before his resignation, Nnaji said he had voluntarily on Friday, August 24 , 2012, informed other members of the National Council on Privatisation at a meeting, which considered the report on the technical evaluation of bids for generation companies. He said he had revealed to the committee that a company with which he was associated before he joined the government in 2010, was a client of a member of a consortium interested in acquiring majority shares of the Afam power plant in Rivers State.
A statement from his office then said, “The minister consequently applied to be excused from all deliberations at the meeting, and he maintained his ground despite the insistence of some of his colleagues.
 “The minister ought to be commended for exemplary commitment to transparency, probity and the common good. If most public officers had been behaving like Professor Bart Nnaji , there would not have been trust deficit in Nigeria over the decades in respect of the relationship between the people and those in government. The unprecedented domestic and international investor confidence in the
Nigerian power sector is directly traceable to the personal and professional integrity of the process drivers like Professor Nnaji.
“We welcome wholeheartedly the decision of the National Council on Privatisation that bids for the Afam plant be evaluated all over again because justice should not only be done but also seen to have been done by all and sundry.’’
Before he finally threw in the towel, the former minister had also been at the receiving end of the war declared by workers of the PHCN.
The workers had opened a can of worms on some financial transactions allegedly carried out by Nnaji which reportedly drained the purse of PHCN.
They had given the embattled minister a seven-day ultimatum to explain what he did with the money running into millions of naira which they claimed was withdrawn from the firm’s coffer.
Vice-President of the National Union of Electricity Workers Employees, Mr. Etete Ntukuben, last Friday, called for a probe, not just of the PHCN superannuation account, but the entire account of the PHCN.
Ntukuben said that investigators should be brought in to take a critical look at the withdrawals by the  former minister from the account of the PHCN.
“Let us have a holistic look at the PHCN account apart from the pension account; we should take a look at the minister’s withdrawals.
A lot of millions of naira have been withdrawn and given to soldiers and policemen in the guise of security maintenance,” he said.

Why Are CPC Leaders Impervious To Reason?

Abubakar Yusuf Bakori.

How far can the national leaders of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) go in their stubborn resistance to reason without ultimately weakening or harming the party? Their present approach to ending the internal crises rocking the party is only making the situation worse.
The appointment of caretaker committees to run the affairs of the party in states such as Kano and Katsina states is only intensifying the crises. In fact, these committees are not welcomed in these states because they were brought to displace grassroots-based politicians who are the main strength of the party.
They are being tolerated rather than welcomed. Appointing caretaker committee is a clever way to shield the national leaders of the party from taking  full responsibility for the party’s disappointing performance during the 2011 general elections.
No keen political observer of Nigerian politics can be fooled by the subterfuge of creating or imposing caretaker committees to protect the national leaders from responsibility. Were they not responsible for the crises in the first place by the introduction of the needless and unjust policy of substitution and imposition of candidates?
Didn’t they deliberately reject the outcomes of peacefully and credibly conducted gubernatorial primaries in Kano, Katsina and Bauchi states because the results didn’t favour their preferred aspirants? Instead, they imposed candidates that lost the primaries and the voters revolted at the polls. This injustice was the beginning of the intractable internal crises rocking the CPC.
Therefore, the establishment of caretaker committees is a clever way of dodging the solution. General Buhari needs to assert himself over the way  the party national officers are running the CPC. Why should Buhari remain indifferent when injustice was committed against duly elected candidates? He is the moral pillar of the party’s credibility and Nigerians would have expected him to overrule any decision by the party leaders, which was inconsistent with justice and the principle of internal democracy. The tail should not be wagging the dog in this respect.
If the CPC leaders are really serious about addressing the internal crises decisively, then a caretaker committee should also be appointed at the national level of the party to replace the officials responsible for the mismanagement of the party’s goodwill.
It is immoral to remain in office after being responsible for the losses your party suffered during the elections. Leadership is about taking responsibility for your own poor judgement, which ultimately cost your party victory.
It is on record that the former British Labour Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown took personal responsibility for the defeat of his party by the Conservatives.
Do the current national leaders of the CPC have any justification setting up caretaker committees and creating scapegoats when they themselves have no reason to remain in office any longer? They exhausted energy fighting the party’s popular candidates and imposing their own who were never legitimately elected at the primaries. Do they have to wait for General Buhari to tell them to take the path of honour and resign? Should any sensitive leader value office more than his credibility?
When they called a post-election evaluation meeting at the party secretariat in Abuja, the national leaders were openly booed by the chairmen of the party chapters across the country. Wasn’t that embarrassing incident a signal that they have lost the confidence of the CPC members and supporters?
Let us face it: the CPC requires radical surgery and that cannot be achieved by the present cosmetic strategy of sacking democratically elected leaders and replacing them with caretaker committees. The excessive idealism of the CPC national leaders was mainly responsible for the poor showing of the party during the 2011 elections. Humility is a critical element of effective leadership.
The all-knowing mentality of the CPC national leaders, which seeks to shut out other better ideas and opinions, will take the party nowhere. Any humble leader should listen to well-meaning advice. Unfortunately, when leaders assume a tin god posture, they cannot see reason or acknowledge where they go wrong, even if it may cost the party dearly. In the words of the great inspiration writer, John Mason, “the person who never changes his opinion can never correct his mistakes.”
Inflexibility and the posture of indispensability is the core reason why the current national leaders of the CPC should not be trusted with the responsibility of restructuring and reforming the party. They are part and parcel of the crises rocking the party. No realistic party leader should expect to displace popular politicians like Mohammed Abacha, Lado Dan Marke and Dan China in Kano, Katsina and Bauchi States and carry the people along. These popular politicians have touched the lives of the people so much that you cannot detach them from hearts of the ordinary people.
Only a man living in the moon would have expected Col. Lawal Ja’afaru Isa to defeat Mohammed Abacha at the primaries or any other elections. But the national leaders ignored reality and imposed Isa at all costs. And the party paid dearly for that miscalculation.
The appointment of caretaker committees to replace elected chairmen of CPC chapters in the country is like holding a conductor responsible for a man-made accident and letting the driver go scot-free!
General Buhari should order the immediate dissolution of the national leadership of the party and replace them with credible and grassroots-based politicians who can relate with the people better and win their trust. They should stop scratching the surface of crises that demand radical and courageous solution. In fact, Chief Mike Ahamba, a former Buhari loyalist, foresaw the disaster they were leading the CPC into and resigned. They are exploiting General Buhari’s trusting attitude to sit tight even when it is obvious that their continuation in office is an obstacle to progress.

Bart Nnaji Abruptly Resigns As Nigeria's Power Minister.

By SaharaReporters, New York

The minister of Power resources Professor Bart Nnaji has resigned as a minister in President Goodluck Jonathan's government.
A statement from the Presidency said the President Jonathan has accepted Prof. Nnaji's resignation.
 Mr. Cdon Anuba who acted as spokesperson to Prof. Nnaji also confirmed Nnaji's resignation to Saharareporters.

Oshiomhole Not Qualified to Be Governor – Tribunal told..

As the Edo State Electoral Tribunal hots up, the Tribunal has been told that Governor Adams Oshiomhole the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate was not a fit, an appropriate person to contest the governorship election as a result of his academic qualifications as stimulated by the constitution. The Tribunal was also told that the primary schools claimed to have been attended by Adams Oshiomhole was not in existence as at the time he claimed to have attended the school and that he Oshiomhole did not complete the secondary modern school he claimed to have attended.
In response to the reply of the Election petition filed by General Charles Ehigie Airhiavbere (Rtd) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Airhiavbere lead counsels Chief E.L. Akpofure, SAN and S.O. Agwinede Esq said that the voters register used for the election was manipulated as a manual register was smuggled in and used in several polling units contrary to INEC and political parties earlier position.
The summary of the response are as follows:
PARTICULARS
1. There was no Iyamoh Primary School, Iyamoh in 1957.
a) The 1st Respondent (Adams Oshimhole) was barred from enrolling into and entering primary one in 1957 having not attained the minimum age of SIX YEARS by the provision of Western Region of Nigeria Garzette No. 17 Vol. 5 dated 5th April, 1956.
b) The 1st Respondent dropped (Adams Oshimhole) out of the Secondary Modern School in the second year and did not complete the mandatory three years course at Blessed Martin Secondary Modern School, Jattu-Uzairue, which he claimed to have attended between 1963 and 1965.
c) Unexplained discrepancies in the academic certificates presented as aforesaid.
d) The Petitioners state in reply to paragraph 27 of the said Reply that publication in the Newspaper like the Nation Newspaper does not cure the effect of the continued campaign carried out by the 1st and 2nd Respondents (Adams Oshiomhole and the ACN) beyond the prescribed campaign period as stipulated by law.
2. In specific reply to paragraph 24 of the 2nd Respondent’s Reply to the Petition, the Petitioners (Airhiavbere & PDP) state that the 1st Respondents (Adams Oshiomhole) is not the owner of the Secondary School Modern School Certificates and the altered Testimonial presented to the 3rd Respondent and the 1st Respondent does not have Primary School Leaving Certificate.
3. The Petitioners aver in reply to paragraph 23 of the 2nd Respondent’s Reply to the Petition that the 1st Respondent(Adams Oshiomhole) is not educated up to School Certificate Level or its equivalent contrary to Section 182 (1)(J) of the same Constitution (as amended) .
4. In answer and reply to paragraph 22 and 22(a) of the said 2nd Respondent’s Reply, the Petitioners (Airhiavbere & PDP) state that the production of new Manual Registers under any circumstance for use in the Governorship election in Edo State on the 14th day of July, 2012 amount to a revision or amendment which was clearly prohibited by the 3rd Respondent (INEC).
5. In further response to the said paragraph 15 and 16 of the 2nd Respondent’s Reply, the Petitioners state the laid down accreditation and voting procedures in the manual For Election Officials were not observed and the column for “Governor” were not ticked as required and box for entering number of accredited voters and other statistical Election data were not followed rendering the various Forms EC8A affected void.
6. In further answer and reply to paragraph 11(c) of the said 2nd Respondent’s Reply, the Petitioners state that any addition to or alteration of the said 2011 Voters Registers amount to a revision which the 3rd Respondent’s expressly and unambiguously prohibited. All revised Voters Registers are void as far as they affect the said July 14, 2012 Governorship Election in Edo State.

Edo Political Forum.

 

 

Perjury, Forgery: S/West PDP gives FG 14 days ultimatum to commence Tinubu’s trial.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West has given the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) 14 days to commence the trial of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leader and former governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu for forgery and perjury.
The party said it was on record that Tinubu did not attend Government College, Ibadan as he stated in his profile and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) FORM CF. 001 in 1999, adding that; “it insults the sensibilities of Nigerians and the integrity of the country for liars and document forgers like Tinubu to be sermonising about good governance.”
PDP Zonal Publicity Secretary, Hon. Kayode Babade said in a statement issued in Ibadan today, that; “Until people who commit crimes are made to pay for their crimes, no matter their status, Nigerians will continue to see criminality as a way of life.”
Babade said; “It is on record that when Tinubu was Lagos State governor, a petition dated August l2, 1999, was written against him by one Alhaji Jameed Seriki of 62 Balogun Street, West, Lagos and one Dr. Waliu Balogun-Smith of 5 Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos to the Inspector General of Police.
“The documents enclosed by the Petitioners were photocopies of Tinubu’s inauguration profile, INEC FORM CF. 001, affidavit sworn to at Ikeja High Court of Justice on 29th December 1998, the year books of Government College, Ibadan and the transcript of Chicago State University.
“It was alleged in the petition that there was discrepancy in the age of Bola Tinubu since the profile published during his inauguration stated that he was born in 1952 and the age on the transcript of the governor at Chicago State University states that he was born in 1954.
“Also on INEC form CF 001 1999, he said he was born on March 29, 1952, but on his passport with number, A1883991 he said he was born on March 29 1954 in Iragbiji, Osun State.
“Tinubu also claimed on oath that he attended Government College, Ibadan, which he never did. And curiously, he did not include the Government College, Ibadan in his INEC Form in 2003.
“Again, Tinubu lied on oath that he was a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the United States. Curiously too, he did not include this qualification in his INEC Form in 2003. He simply wrote; ‘Not Applicable’ on both his O’ Level and Post Graduate qualifications.
“From the above, it is an established fact that Tinubu lied on oath about his attendance of Government College, Ibadan and the O’ Level certificate he filled in his INEC forms in 1999 was forged.
“Therefore, if perjury and forgery is still an offence punishable by the relevant laws of the country, Bola Ahmed Tinubu must be tried now!
“Failure to do this by the AGF will mean that Nigerians are free to go ahead and be committing forgery and perjury.”
TheTruthNg.com

Don advocates movable refineries to meet energy needs.

Port Harcourt – A university don, Prof. Godwin Igwe, has suggested that governments should build modular refineries in all states of the federation to meet the energy needs of Nigerians.
Igwe said in Port Harcourt on Tuesday that modular refineries were easy to assembly and were movable.
He said the building of such refineries would also be handy in addressing fuel scarcity problems.
Prof. Igwe is the Director, Centre for Gas, Refining and Petrochemicals, Institute of Petroleum Studies, University of Port Harcourt.
“Modular refineries are very simple refineries. You don’t have to make 300,000 barrels a day or whatever higher amount.
“You can tune it to such a level that you could produce between 20,000 to 100,000 barrels a day, and it’s movable. It is not like a big structured, big refinery.
“It will solve the problem by not making the diesel and other products that are involved in refining.
“You are only cracking for gasoline. If you have a process, you make diesel, you make the bottoms, at each boiling temperature, you have different materials, it is a manufacturing process.’’
Igwe also suggested that energy banks be set up to assist small-scale entrepreneurs who would work at the modular refineries.
He said government should discourage people involved in illegal refineries by making them to work at modular refineries.
“The bank will be geared towards people who are making and producing fuel for each of the 36 states. Our rich people can do that, by supporting these small-scale people.
“We have to support our entrepreneurs and most of them are very smart, but they do not have the money to back them up. (NAN)

Hope In The Time Of Trial By Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah.

Bishop Matthew Hassan KUKAH

By Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah

We boast of our troubles because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings acceptance and this acceptance brings hope. This hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit who is God’s gift to us (Rom 5: 4)
Although it is true that these are trying times for Nigeria, nay, the world at large, it is not true that the causes of these trials are the same for all nations. Whereas our leaders love to seek refuge from their inefficiency by assuring us that we are not alone because neither corruption nor insecurity are peculiar to us, they forget that the disease might be the same, but the causes and cures are different. Whereas corrupt government officials in atheistic China could lose their lives if found guilty of an infraction against the state in their line of duty, in Nigeria, the most religious nation in the world, these same persons could actually prolong their lives by the size of their corruption. National honours, recognition by religious and traditional leaders all go to add to the give legitimacy to corruption by the elite. But the cumulative impact of corruption has come back to haunt us as it has become clear especially in the last ten years.
How will Nigeria survive these trials? In the end, how will this endurance bring us hope and is there any chance that this hope will not disappoint us? We prayed for an end to colonial rule and it came and went. No sooner did we become independent than our hopes were dashed. Then the military came. We endured, prayed and hope that the country would return to civil rule. That too has come to pass and today, we are more sorrowful and angry than at any time in our history.
In response to the Madalla bombing, I published an appeal to Nigerians titled, Do Not Be Afraid.In it, I enjoined Nigerians to remain steadfast and firm because we will survive the murderous trials and persecutions by the agents of evil who desecrate religion by wearing a devilish mask. Now, it is time for us to look up to the meaning of the cross of Christ as symbol of the triumph of good over evil. The challenge is whether indeed we as Christians can embark on genuine personal and communal repentance and commitment to turn to the true teachings of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He came that we might havelife and have it to the full(Jn. 10: 10). The humiliation and scandal of His death is the guarantee that all who die in Him will have eternal life (Jn. 11: 25, I Cor. 15: 22). In His cross is our hope that we Christians will understand that suffering has a meaning in God’s plans. At a time when Christians are made to believe that suffering is an aberration, we need to pray that God helps us to understand and appreciate its purifying effects in our lives as individuals and as a nation. We have seen the end of slavery and in our own times, the end of apartheid. In each case, the people become stronger.
To be sure, these are tough times for Christians in Nigeria. There is no doubt that the negligence of successive Government has created a climate of impunity in which Christians have continued to feel trapped in many parts their own country especially in the some northern states. Over the years, the federal and state governments have looked the other way as our Churches gradually became objects of desecration and target practice by a band of miscreants and criminal youths who claim to be Muslims. Our priests have been slaughtered from Kaduna to Maiduguri, thousands of innocent Christians have been trapped and murdered in their churches and homes. Their places of worship and their properties have been destroyed while the governments of Nigeria continued to fiddle and fritter away the opportunity for national cohesion. The incompetence of governments has opened up a vacuum where criminals wear a religious mask.
Rather than feel under siege or threatened, we Christians must arise to the fact that these are the trials that bring forth endurance. It is sad to hear Christians sound as if Jesus made a mistake by offering a higher goal than the murderers and arsonists can understand. Faced with protracted injustice and violence, I hear some Christians wonder what Jesus meant when He said: You have heard it said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap you on the left as well (Mk 5: 38-9). Some Christians have sought to moderate their thoughts by claiming that after offering their two cheeks which have been struck by the enemy, it is time that we must feel justified to seek revenge. Others claim that these criminals must be taught a lesson so that they do not think that they have a monopoly of violence.
The anger and the frustrations of our people are understandable especially against the backdrop of an incompetent state which has lost its ability to apprehend and punish criminals. But, as the late Rev Martin Luther King said, It is only the love of Jesus that is capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. It was well after His executioners had completed their work that they acknowledged that, Truly, this was indeed the Son of God (Mt. 27: 54). Mahatma Gandhi who preached non-violence was not a Christian. Rev. Martin Luther King or a Nelson Mandela, his disciples embraced non-violence and in the end, they all have triumphed and left the world a memorable legacy that years of violence and vengeance could not produce.
Forgiveness and good neighbourliness have always been part of our lives as Africans before evil crept into our lives, dividing us into Christians and Muslimsrather than brothers and sisters. Easter gives us Christians a chance to preach this message because we are Christians not because of what anyone else believes or thinks.
Jesus said to us: I tell you who hear me. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you and pray for those who ill-treat you (Lk 6: 27, Mt 5: 44). We are most gratified by the fact that over time, our Christian youths have continued to conduct themselves in the most peaceful manner in keeping with the laws of the land even against provocation. Till date, there is no record of any Christian youth who has ever set out to burn or destroy a mosque. Wherever anything has happened to the contrary, it has been an act of self-defense to repel these miscreants. I hope that their Muslim counterparts can learn a lesson from this and hopefully, together, our youths can become agents of peace. But we religious leaders must work hard to create environment for collaboration and avoid stoking the emblems of division and hatred through what we teach our youth. The federal government must be awake to its duty because it is its negligence that has left the public space open to scoundrels.
Sadly, our nation is still in the woods despite claims of superfluous religiosity. A climate of moral relativism and uncertainty, a blurred vision, hangs gloomily in the air. A sense of what or who is right or wrong is contested. Can any senior public officer ever go to jail in Nigeria for stealing? The answer is, it depends. Can Nigerians ever agree that the stealing of state resources is a sin? The answer is, it depends.
Do we know how anyone can get a job that they qualify for in Nigeria? The answer is, it depends. Do we know how a good man or woman can win an election in Nigeria without money or the power to corrupt the system? The answer is, it depends. How do you gain admission into a University in Nigeria? The answer is, it depends. What qualifications do you need to get a job of a contract in Nigeria? The answer is, it depends. Having secured a job, how do you retain it or get promoted? The answer is, it depends. Is there any hope that one day the Judiciary will really and truly become blind to social status and power in Nigeria? The answer is, it depends. Will Nigeria come out of this mess or ever develop a sense of shame? The answer is, it depends.
The challenge of Easter is for us to rethink the reality of our faith. Although it easy for us to say that he world is in crisis, the fact is that indeed, it is religion and the loss of its moral compass that account for this crisis. In Nigeria, we have watched over the years as those in power have seduced religion and religious leaders and have now domesticated religion. We have watched as religion has lost its moral authority, independence and capacity to speak truth to power. We have surrendered our altars to politicians and men and women of influence and power. The thunderous prophetic power of the Church is gradually becoming a whisper, with religion becoming a balm to cover the ugliness of corruption. The Church has been caught up with power and now, the hunter has become the hunted. Prayers warriors, sorcerers and prophets, for a little share of the filthy lucre are promising to arm-twist God to do the will of their clients even when they steal elections or loot the state treasury. Is it any wonder that truth has been so relativised that a culture of it depends has now emerged?
In this climate of moral relativism, can the word of God regain its power? The answer is yes, because,St Paul assured us that: The word of God is living and powerful! It is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12). We must recover this power so we can cut through the clouds of doubts that have dulled our consciences. Our Christian politicians must be encouraged to make a difference in our political life. We have models and the Catholic Church has continued to point the way for Christians to make a difference in their public life.
To this end, the Catholic Church has recognized the nobility of politics as a vocation and a call to public service. In 2000, the late Holy Father, Pope John Paul 11 made St Thomas More (A Man for All Seasons) the patron saint and model of Christian politicians. Closer home, our own late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere is on his way to being beatified and presented by the Catholic Church as a model for African politicians. Against this backdrop, I want to appeal to our Christians to continue to uphold the principles of the Christian Gospel especially as it pertains to honesty, distributive justice, accountability, integrity and the pursuit of the common good. May the Lord raise up saintly politicians for us.
Finally, the simplicity of life of Jesus should be the model for us Christians especially in an environment where modesty is gradually giving way to unruly, unscrupulous and greedy quest and display of often ill-gotten wealth. We learn from Jesus how not to use power wrongly because; the one who was God did not take advantage of his equality with God but became obedient unto death (Phil 2: 8). There is a lot for us to learn from the selflessness of the early Church as we learn from their life of love and sharing. There is need to listen to the words of St James who has told us that: True and genuine religion is this, taking care of orphans and widows in their suffering and keeping oneself from being corrupted by the world (James 1: 27).

It is this insatiable greed that has destroyed our nation, created a climate of violence and chaos. In celebrating Easter, we must think of Jesus, the one who had everything but came to the world in a borrowed womb (Lk. 1:38), was born in a borrowed stable (Lk. 2:7), had no where to lay His head (Mt. 8:20, Lk. 9: 58), had His last supper on a borrowed room and table (Mk 14: 14-15), rode to Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey (Mk 11: 2-3) and even in death, was buried in a borrowed tomb (Lk. 23: 53). The Lord Himself has assured us, Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God and trust in me (Jn. 14: 1).
The late American President, Benjamin Franklin said:Doing an injury puts you below your enemy. Avenging injury may make you even with him. 
But forgiving sets you above your enemy. May the one who forgave his killers who did not know what they were doing (Lk 23:34), grant us the grace to forgive those who have caused us untold grief and brought our nation almost to its knees.  May He grant peace to those who have died in these trials and consolation to their families. Nigerians will laugh again for our Redeemer liveth. A happy and blessed Easter to you.
Bishop Matthew Hassan KUKAH
Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese.