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Disturbing Signals From The Army
Some News Reports In The Tide Newspaper, Friday, November 8, 2019 (Pages 3 and 16); “Ambush: Boko Haram kills 10 soldiers, Injures Nine, 12 Missing in Borno” and “Nigerian Army To Court Martial 70 Soldiers In North-East”, are quite disturbing. But for the suspension of a proposed Operation Positive Identification (OPI) by the House of Representatives recently, the Nigerian Army would have placed itself in a position of discomfort with the Nigerian public.
The Boko Haram insurgency in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria has been a lingering issue of concern to Nigerians, especially with 35,000 said to have been killed so far. Similarly, the recent inauguration of a General Court Martial to prosecute 70 erring personnel found defaulting in the counter-insurgency operation in the North-East, creates additional concern to the Nigerian public will be better assured if the Boko Haram issue ends soon.
“Acts of cowardice, desertion, un-soldierly and other forms of indiscipline” are not tolerated by the military anywhere, but Nigerians would feel quite uncomfortable hearing about “army executing war” in Nigeria. Rather, Nigerians were assured long ago that the Boko Haram insurgency had been effectively neutralised, giving everybody the hope that Nigeria is not at war. It is true that military operations are sensitive issues for any writer to comment on, yet, the public needs to be assured there is no war.
19 years ago, one Professor Omo Omoruyi, in an essay: “Nigeria – US Military Pact: Recipe for Danger”, published in The News magazine, October 2, 2000, raised certain issues. In that essay, Professor Omoruyi stated; “Human rights issues are usually on the back burner and when they are concerning the African countries, the US never commits its nationals to defending them. The US involvement in Nigeria is a part of the US defence of her national interests and not the good of Nigeria…”
Professor Omoruyi went on to say that “what Nigeria has since 1966 is a political army, with a regional political agenda… Nigerian Army was actually a political army whose interest was to guarantee the continued stay in power of the North. The Nigerian public would want to know if Professor Omoruyi was wrong in stating that the Nigerian Army was a political rather than a professional one, and if the situation has changed since that statement was made.
The role of the military in a democratic era since 1999 demands its subordination to democratic principles which requires professionalism. A truly professional army would emerge through some orientation programme which should engage the attention of the military. Such orientation, in the words of Professor Omoruyi, should include “a fundamental restructuring of the Armed Forces to make the so-called Nigerian military representative of the Nigerian ethnic nationalities”.
The “War” against Boko Haram insurgency is seen in some quarters as providing opportunity for Nigeria to become a dumping ground for old military equipment from the US and other developed countries. Whether such military supplies come in the form of support to fight insurgency or for a fee, there are implications. There is a possibility that soldiers using old weapons against insurgents using modern ones, the soldiers would be handicapped. Can “acts of cowardice” by soldiers facing a court martial not be traced to the quality of weapons that they use to fight against better equipped enemies?
The bottom-line is that Nigerian soldiers fighting the Boko Haram “war” deserve to be protected even when engaged in a job exposing them to death. The Boko Haram enemies are engaged in an ideological war in which martyrdom is a heroic death, with a reward in heaven. Whoever their sponsors and financiers may be, it should be obvious to the Nigerian public that there is more to Boko Haram insurgency than what meets the eyes.
To nurture a true democracy demands that the military should be professional rather than political or partisan. Since the Boko Haram “war” is an ideological engagement, what happens when some of the soldiers engaging them share some sympathy with the ideology of the enemy they are fighting? This is an issue which should be of concern to the military, especially the court martial of 70 soldiers. There can be grumbling among people doing things which their conscience does not approve of.
There had been complaints about delays in payments of earned allowances as well as other issues, which may account for the acts of cowardice, desertion, un-soldierly and other forms of indiscipline. A feeling of unfair exploitation and exposure to avoidable dangers can give rise to acts of indiscipline on the part of soldiers.
The Boko Haram insurgency, like other sensitive national issues currently confronting the country, deserve to be addressed without shenanigans or hidden agenda. The question has been asked by several Nigerians regarding what the Boko Haram insurgents really want. Whatever they are asking for can be discussed at a round table rather than battle-field, involving bloodshed. When former President Goodluck Jonathan asked the insurgents to appoint representatives, since he could not discuss with a faceless group, we know what happened.
To say that there is more to Boko Haram and other national issues would require that Professor Omoruyi’s essay published in The News magazine, October 2, 2000, (pages 60-65) should be read. It would also be quite instructive to read what retired Major S. Mukoro said in his interview with the News magazine, July 3, 2000. There’s hardly any change since then.
What democracy demands is open dealing, just as a nation’s armed and security forces must be truly professional to be able to defend democracy.
Bright Amirize
Letters
Obi Should Do More, Discordant Tunes On Minimum Wage, Akpabio’s Unguarded Comment
Obi Should Do More
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, has continued to voice out his opinion on the happenings in the country. On the budget padding scandal currently rocking the upper chamber of the National Assembly, he has told the Senate to provide Nigerians with some explanations on the matter.
He said the claims and counter-claims over the alleged N3 Trillion which was alleged by Senator Abdul Ningi to have been padded into the 2024 budget, requires proper explanation as to what Nigerians must need to know regarding management of the nation’s, insisting that the suspension of Senator Ningi for three months does not address the issue.
The Labour party chieftain had also expressed his concern over the hunger in the country a few days ago. He raised the alarm that Nigerians were spending all their money on food.
It is commendable of Obi to have stood with the masses at this critical time in the nation’s history and be critical of negative happenings in the country and bad government policies. However, Obi should do more than just criticising. It is said that “a tree cannot make a forest”. Therefore, Obi should galvanise all the law makers both on the national and state levels to tow the same line with him, which should be seen as the position of the Labour Party.
In 2023, there was a revolution in the country. People of all walks of life, of various religions and tribes trouped out in support of the labour party because they believed in Mr Peter Obi. People saw the Labour Party as a needed alternative to the two most populous political parties, PDP and APC. Based on Obi’s personality and popularity, some people who ordinarily would not have won councillorship positions in their communities were elected into state and national assemblies. Many of them won the elections for free, spending no shi shi.
Painfully, after assuming the exalted positions, many of them, especially those in the national assembly seem to have forgotten the masses. It is now business as usual. Among the seven senators and 36 House of Representative members of the Labour Party in the National Assembly, which one of them has moved a strong motion about the hardship currently being faced by the masses and how to address it? How many of them stood by Senator Ningi on the budget padding revelation? What out the exotic cars distributed to them, how many of them advised that they should go for less expensive cars and the excess money channelled into developmental projects? It has become a case of one not talking while on the dining table, right?
Obi should be able to organise his party to form a formidable opposition and a party that does things differently, a party that stands with the people. If the labour party elected political office holders carry on the way they have done since they came into office, they will keep de-marketing their party, forgetting that 2027 is just around the corner.
Ngozi Omeje,
Umuahia, Abia State.
Discordant Tunes On Minimum Wage
I have followed the discussion on the proposed new minimum wage with keen interest and I just hope the leadership of the organised labour will be firm enough to represent the workers and refuse to fall prey to the ploy to disunite them.
It is disheartening seeing workers come up with different amounts as the proposed minimum wage. While the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, demanded that South-West states should pay N794,000 the Trade Union Congress, TUC, asked for N447,000. Similarly, workers in the Federal Capital Territory demanded N709,000, while their counterparts in the North-West clamoured for N485,000.
This idea of singing in discordant tunes is not good for strong unionism. I recall my days as a civil servant in Ibadan, Oyo state. That was during the time of Adams Oshiomhole as the National President of the NLC. The labour union was a force to be reckoned with and whenever the workers barked, the government caught cold. The increase in workers’ wages was fought for as body. There was nothing like federal workers going to the left and the state workers going to the right. Of course then, in 2000, the TUC did not exist as a separate body. The entire workers spoke in unison.
Yes, the states did reserve the right to say whether they can pay the national minimum wage or not but the national body of the NLC was carried along in the negotiation. Please, the NLC and TUC should come together and present a common front in the new minimum wage quest and ensure that workers in the states also get a fair deal. If not, some of the greedy governors will continue to subject the workers to hardship.
Pa Micheal Adeniran,
Rumuogba Housing Estate, Port Harcourt.
Akpabio’s Unguarded Comment
“Today, he’s responding to a remark by the Governor that has nothing to do with him. The opposition is urging the Senate president to be mindful of his utterances. How can he turn the burial of late Access Bank CEO, Herbert Wigwe, wife and first son, such a sad moment, to a political attack?. It’s disappointing. That’s political recklessness taken too far. We, the opposition parties, won’t tolerate such utterances anymore if it continues.”
Above was the response of a member of the House of Representatives and Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, to the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, unguarded remark on Gov. Siminalayi Fubara’s comment during the burial of the late Access Holdings Plc GCEO, Herbert Wigwe, wife and first son last weekend.
It is hoped that Akpabio will heed to the advice and learn how to talk in public. Tracing his character as a public servant and political office holder in various capacities over the years, one would notice that the senate president lacks the act of public speaking and carriage.
Was it not recently that he announced that the clerk of the house had sent money to each of the senators’ personal account for their holiday enjoyment only to be called to other and he changed it to ”In order to allow you to enjoy your holiday, the senate president has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return.” What about the “honourable minister off your mic” shameful display.
Whoever wants to die seeking public/political office should go ahead but leave our dear governor alone.
Loveth Opusunju
Minima, Opobo, Rivers State.
Featured
Fubara Promises Rivers Support For Wigwe Varsity …Cautions Political Class On Power Tussle
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has promised the state government’s commitment to supporting Wigwe University.
Fubara disclosed this on Saturday after the funeral service of the late Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, in Isiokpo, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Wigwe, alongside his wife, Doreen, and son, Chizzy, died in a helicopter crash in California near the Nevada border, United States of America.
Also involved in the crash was the Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Abimbola Ogunbanjo.
The governor said, “I want to say our brother has finished his work, though short. We, as a government, will do everything with the Wigwe Foundation to immortalise one thing.
“It is not the bank, the bank might have a new identity, a new boss to run it, other ventures will also have their names; but one thing that has his name is Wigwe University.
“We will do everything within our power to make sure the dream will continue to live just as he has planned it.”
Fubara questioned the mourners as to why they kept chasing worldly desires, stressing the significance of impacting lives rather than struggling for power.
“This one has to do with the political class, what is all these struggle all about? You want to kill, you want to bury, what is it all about?
“This is a man who was not a politician, he made his money through our investments, he had the world in his palm financially, he controlled even the political classes; but today, with all the power financially couldn’t control life. Is it not enough to ask ourselves why are we struggling? Why are we not making an impact on the lives of our people?” he queried.
Dignitaries present at the funeral service include the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria , Sanusi Lamido; Governors Alex Otti (Abia) Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), and Babajide Sawwo-Olu (Lagos).
Other dignitaries are former governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Peter Obi (Anambra), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Bukola Saraki (Kwarra), and James Ibori (Delta), among others.
Featured
Muslims Begin Ramadan Fasting, Today
Muslims all over the world will begin the 30-day Ramadan fasting, today.
This followed the announcement of the sighting of the lunar moon of Ramadan by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, yesterday.
The sighting of the moon paves the way for the beginning of the Islamic 30-day fasting.
The Kingdom announced on its Twitter platform, @Haramaininfo, yesterday, that the Crescent of Ramadan 1445/2024 has been sighted in Saudi Arabia.
The tweets partly read, “Crescent of Ramadan 1445/2024 has been sighted in Saudi Arabia!
“Subsequently, Ramadan 1445/2024 begins tomorrow, 11 March 2024.
“Taraweeh Prayers will begin in the Two Holy Mosques after Isha Prayers.”
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs had earlier announced the tentative dates of March 11 and March 12, 2024, as the commencement dates for the annual Ramadan fast, pending the sighting of the moon after sunset on Sunday, March 10.
In a statement by the Deputy Secretary General of the NSCIA, Prof Salisu Shehu, the Council urged Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1445 on the given date, equivalent to 29th Sha’aban 1445 AH.
The NSCIA also urged Muslim faithful who had credible sightings of the crescent to inform members of the National Moon Sighting Committee.
However, as of the time of filing this report, the Sultan is yet to make an official announcement about the commencement of the fasting in Nigeria despite the announcement from Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar have also declared today as the first day of Ramadan, according to Emirati state news agency, WAM.
The starting date of the dawn-dusk fasting month is determined by both lunar calculations and physical sightings of a new moon.
Ramadan is observed by more than 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide and is considered a month of fasting and spirituality.
Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam and is mandatory for all healthy Muslims. However, young children, sick individuals, travelers, and women who are pregnant, nursing or menstruating are exempt.
Muslims have followed the tradition of looking for the crescent moon for thousands of years to determine the start of Ramadan as well as the two major holidays in Islam, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
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