News
Nigeria @62: More Knocks; Few Kudos
As Nigeria clocks 62 today, The Tide takes a look at how the country has fared since attaining independence in 1960, using people’s opinions as basis. Expectedly, people differed in their assessment. While many Nigerians said the country has failed to realise the dreams of its founding fathers, others described the present situation in the country as a process of nation building, expressing the hope that the country will soon overcome its present challenges.
Below are some of the views got by our correspondents.
Speaking with The Tide at his palace at Woji, the Paramount Ruler of Woji community, Eze Emeka Ihunwo, said the country was at a zero level at the moment.
Ihunwo said it was regrettable that the country at 62 was still grappling with the challenges of insecurity and bad governance.
“Nigeria at 62; we are at zero point: Insecurity in this country has rubbished Nigeria.
“I wouldn’t know if insecurity has added to make our money look like rag. I can’t understand! Today, there is inflation; at the same time, people are being killed at will”, he said.
The Woji monarch said for Nigeria to get it right, people must do away with tribalism, and wondered why people in their 80s still want to govern the country when they are quality, competent young men everywhere.
He commented the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, for his purposeful leadership in the state.
Also speaking, the Okan-Ama of Ataba Kingdom in Andoni Local Government Area, King Benson Mgbowaji Egwenre Oruk, said the country has disappointed its founding fathers.
He said that at 62, the country has not met the expectations of her people, nothing that Nigeria has continued to slide into a pariah state.
He also said that gone were the days when Nigerian currency was at per with the American Dollar and the British Pounds, adding that at the moment, the Naira had been reduced to nothing.
Egwenre said what was needed at the moment was a committed and God-fearing leader to pilot the affairs of the state.
The royal father also commended Governor Nyesom Wike for providing quality leadership in the state.
He used the occasion to call on politicians in Ataba Kingdom and the rest of Andoni to embark on issue-based campaigns while urging the people to remain peaceful.
However, in his opinion, the EzeIgbu Ubie 111 in Ahoada West Local Government Area, Eze Okpokiri Maxwell, said Nigeria was passing through its period of growth and development.
He said the dreams of the founding fathers had not been misplaced as every nation has her challenges.
The royal father said political independence has brought freedom to Nigerians, stressing that all challenges presently confronting the country would be surmounted one day.
Speaking further, an activist, Prince Williams Chinwo, also decried the dwindling fortunes of Nigeria, and expressed the hope that the country would come out of the conundrum one day.
For a university lecturer with the Rivers State University, Dr Monday Didia, Nigeria at 62 ought not to be celebrated given the rate of killings and economic downturn in recent times.
Didia said that no parent would be happy to birth a child like Nigeria who has chosen to be a toddler at 62.
“I don’t think Nigeria at 62 is worth celebrating unless for the fun of it. How can we celebrate nothing? Ranging from the economy to the least, no remarkable impact has been made”, he said.
The university don frowned at the over seven months industrial strike embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which he said has caused setback in the education sector.
Another respondent, Mr Bobby Amadi, an agriculturalist, described Nigeria as a near failure at 62.
Amadi recalled the oil boom era in the early1970s and how farmers were seen as lords, regretting that Nigeria squandered the oil money on frivolities and became poor.
He narrated how the Malaysians took palm seedlings from Nigeria and has become the highest producer of palm oil in the world while the natural owner of the product [Nigeria] trails far behind.
“Well, we are Nigerians, what we are celebrating is Independence Day and nothing more. The reason is that we cannot sincerely point out one thing that we have independently achieved”, he said.
Meanwhile, a top Immigration Officer, who pleaded anonymity, noted that Nigerians were leaving the country in droves for other parts of the world due to bad governance..
According to him, passport offices throughout the country are busy everyday attending to applicants who want to leave the country with their families in search of greener pasture.
A political scientist and lecturer at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Port Harcourt, Dr Oboada Alafonye Uriah, said Nigerians are wallowing in a vicious cycle of development.
‘’You prove to be developing, but you improve by six steps forward and then you move seven steps backwards. So, are we really making progress? No, we are not’’.
He lamented the high level of insecurity, economic hardship and poor standard of education in the country.
‘’Nigeria has depreciated to the level that every right thinking Nigerian should be worried about whether we have the country Nigeria or not. In fact, Nigeria has failed. By all standards, we have failed’’, he lamented.
As a way forward, Uriah advocated transparency and accountability in governance, saying once there is sanity at the top, it will permeate every sector,
Another respondent, Barrister Sunny Igwe, who is a legal practitioner, said Nigeria at 62 is painful ‘’because we appear visionless’’.
He said that in spite of Nigeria’s abundant human and natural resources, the country is wallowing in misery and penury due to what he called ‘’visionless leadership’’.
He wondered why the country keeps on spending trillions of Naira on fuel subsidy when we should have used the money to fix the nation’s four refineries.
He, therefore, urged Nigerians to elect good leaders who have the potentials to move the nation forward.
Speaking in the same vein, a banker, Erasmus Amakiri, described Nigeria at 62 as a complete failure.
He said Nigeria is going backwards in the area of economy, power supply and job creation.
‘’Beside this, Nigeria is owing a debt that even our great-grand children can not pay off. Over N4trillion. That’s crazy. We are not making progress, for me, Nigeria is a complete failure.
‘’It’s my country. I love it, but then, the leaders are not helping us. At 62, we are supposed to be grown-ups but we are still like babies’’, he said.
A Medical Doctor and Head of Department, Pharmacology, Rivers State University (RSU), Dr Ekene Woke, also hit Nigeria below the belt.
According to him,’’there is nothing to celebrate or remember about it. A 62 year-old is a full grown man and should be able to correct his mistakes but to Nigeria, the reverse is the case. We have learnt nothing from our past mistakes. The country is at war at itself. Citizens are being killed every day and government can only give excuses at every time.
‘’Nigeria at 62 is a complete failure. Which area is left out? Is it water? Water is a basic necessity of government but people are using borehole for their water supply. Is it security? People are building up vigilantee. The state police has been shut down by people who are benefiting from the system. It’s only Nigeria that copied the federal system from the USA but only removed the part of state police for reasons that people don’t understand.
‘’However, the only thing we can celebrate in Nigeria is that the country has not divided. But the unity must have reasons to make the citizens happy. If we have been divided, things would have been much worse than this. So, we only have celebration of unity.
In his own view, President, National Association of Surface Tank Oil and Gas Retailers of Nigeria and Professor of Engineering, King Onyeche Promise Obinna, said that Nigeria has not got it right with leadership.
He said Nigeria needs a purposeful and creative leadership that could turn things around for the better, noting that the ability to provide policies of governance that will generate and recreate wealth and make it envy for all nations is lacking.
However, Prof Isaac Zeb-Bipi of the Rivers State University, said Nigeria has experienced some positive changes in the area of education.
‘’At least, now we can talk about having more institutions both at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. We can talk about the introduction of private institutions to complement public schools. We can talk about producing a good number of our citizens through these institutions for them to be able to read and write’’, he said.
He, however, said that the nation’s education could have done better in the area of infrastructure and manpower if right policies were put in place.
‘’Yes, we could have done better in terms of having schools that are well equipped, we could have done better in terms of having products of these schools that are properly and thoroughly educated, we could have done better by having education providers properly catered for, we could have done better by having our institutions meet the demands of industries’’, he said.
Zeb-Bipi hailed the state of infrastructure at the Rivers State University, attributing it to the visionary leadership of Governor Nyesom Wike and the pragmatic leadership of the Vice Chancellor, Prof Nlerum Sunday Okogbule.
BY: Tonye Nria-Dappa, Lady Godknows Ogbulu, John Bibor,
King Onunwor, Susan Serekara-Nwikhana & Oreoluwa Adigun
The Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, has alerted the Governor of Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Abia states to what he calls an emerging ‘Economic Triangle’ within their states.
Mr China, a real estate success strategist who has won numerous local and international awards, has thus drawn the attention of the governors of the concerned states to the emerging development and has urged them to intentionally accelerate the emergence of the economic triangle.
Speaking to newsmen in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital at the conclusion of his business trip to the state, Mr China, who is the managing director of the Housing and Construction Mayor Limited, said the envisaged economic corridor would compete favourably with the Lagos economic hub or even better.
He said: “Talking about ‘Economic Triangle’, the only place that can wrest economic power from Lagos is Akwa Ibom, Abia, and Rivers states axis or corridor. This corridor contains more than Lagos has, if they can be interconnected with smooth roads, ports, and if their blue potentials are unlocked. They will not only wrest power from Lagos but would be more lucrative.”
The investor who is behind the emerging Alesa Highlands Green Smart City in Eleme, near Port Harcourt, said the new ‘Economic Triangle’ has a bigger potential due to massive land assets with the corridor plus blue economy and the existing hydrocarbon industry.
Explaining, Mayor of Housing said Aba (Abia State) provides the biggest fabrication capacity in West Africa to supply goods to the Gulf of Guinea; Port Harcourt provides access to the Gulf of Guinea for off-taking Aba products, and the Uyo provides deep sea port at Ibaka and international airport facilities as well as forest reserves for massive agro-economy.
He said with sea ports in Rivers State and deep seaport in Akwa Ibom, and international airports in Rivers and Akwa Ibom, Aba can focus on adequate power supply and fabrication boom to supply a new booming market around the economic triangle.
By doing this, he said, jobs would spill out in huge quantities and more manufacturers would be drawn from all over Africa to boost the fast coming African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). He said Nigeria would thus have two major trade nodes in West Africa; Lagos and the PH/UYO/Aba triangle.
He said goods going to or coming from Chad, Niger, and the rest of Central Africa can head to the Lagos ports or to the Ibaka/PH ports zone in the new economic triangle.
He said with power supply made stable, good roads, excellent security system, and ease of doing business enthroned in the zone, the South-South and South East would become the biggest economic nerve in the near future.
Mayor of Housing called on governors of the three states to be intentional about the new corridor, put away political differences (if any), and create this corridor by agreeing on projects each state would execute with a short period of time so the states would be linked by good roads, communication, security, trade laws, concessions to investors, etc.
He remarked that northerners were already heading to the Onne Port in Rivers State to export goods, saying creating a commission to oversee the development of the ‘Economic Triangle’ would fast-track its emergence.
He observed that people of the three states are peaceful and usually preoccupied with zeal for economic prosperity, saying that if they are linked to such huge opportunities staring at them in the emerging economic triangle, they would totally shun violence and focus on prosperity.
Mr China insisted that the emerging economic triangle would form a big node not only into the Gulf of Guinea economic zone but into Africa because AfCFTA is about production, certification, market availability, and easy transport nodes by sea and air. He said the new economic triangle boasts of all the factors.
“They can only realise this by working together, through collaboration. One state cannot do it but a triangle of the three will create it through seamless interconnection, ports, industrial park, etc. The people will be the richest and internally generated revenue (IGR) will be the biggest in the country,” he said.
President Bola Tinubu has sent the names of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, days after he sent the first batch of three names.
Among them are the immediate past chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmud Yakubu, an aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri (Delta), and former Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, among others.
“In two separate letters to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu asked the Senate to consider and confirm expeditiously 15 nominees as career ambassadors and 17 nominees as non-career ambassadors,” read a statement on Saturday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
In the statement titled, ‘Tinubu nominates 32 additional ambassadors,’ Onanuga noted, “There are four women on the career ambassadors’ list and six women on the non-career ambassadors’ list.”
“Among the non-career ambassador designates are Ogbonnaya Kalu from Abia, a former presidential aide, Reno Omokri (Delta), former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmud Yakubu, former Ekiti first lady, Erelu Adebayo, and former Enugu governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
“Others are Tasiu Musa Maigari, the former speaker of the Katsina House of Assembly, Yakubu N. Gambo, a former Commissioner in Plateau State and former Deputy Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission.
“Professor Nora Ladi Daduut, a former senator from Plateau; Otunba Femi Pedro, a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State; Femi Fani-Kayode, a former aviation minister from Osun State; and Nkechi Ufochukwu from Anambra State are on the nomination list,” the statement read.
Also on the list are former First Lady of Oyo, Fatima Florence Ajimobi, former Lagos Commissioner, Lola Akande, former Adamawa Senator, Grace Bent, former governor of Abia, Victor Okezie Ikpeazu, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, businessman, lawyer and Senator from Ondo State, and the former ambassador of Nigeria to the Holy See, Ambassador Paul Oga Adikwu from Benue State.
Among the nominees for career ambassador and high commissioner-designates are: Enebechi Monica Okwuchukwu (Abia), Yakubu Nyaku Danladi (Taraba), Miamuna Ibrahim Besto (Adamawa), Musa Musa Abubakar (Kebbi), Syndoph Paebi Endoni (Bayelsa), Chima Geoffrey Lioma David (Ebonyi) and Mopelola Adeola-Ibrahim (Ogun).
The other nominees are Abimbola Samuel Reuben (Ondo), Yvonne Ehinosen Odumah(Edo), Hamza Mohammed Salau (Niger), Ambassador Shehu Barde (Katsina), Ambassador Ahmed Mohammed Monguno (Borno), Ambassador Muhammad Saidu Dahiru (Kaduna), Ambassador Olatunji Ahmed Sulu Gambari (Kwara) and Ambassador Wahab Adekola Akande (Osun).
“The new nominees are expected to be posted to countries with which Nigeria maintains excellent and strategic bilateral relations, such as China, India, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Africa, Kenya, and to Permanent Missions such as the United Nations, UNESCO, and the African Union.
“All the nominees will know their diplomatic assignments after their confirmation by the Senate,” it read.
Last week, Tinubu sent three ambassadorial nominees for screening and confirmation.
The nominees were Ambassador Ayodele Oke (Oyo), Ambassador Amin Mohammed Dalhatu (Jigawa), and Retired Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (Ogun).
All three are in the pot for posting to the UK, USA, or France after their confirmation.
“More nominees for ambassadorial positions will be announced soon,” Onanuga revealed.
The Secretary to Rivers State Government, Dr. Benibo Anabraba, has reiterated that the administration of Governor Siminalayi Fubara remains committed to improving access to quality education at all levels.
Dr. Anabraba gave the assurance while receiving the Deputy Registrar/Zonal Coordinator of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Mr Ayanfemi Adeniran-Amusan in Port Harcourt during a courtesy visit.
He emphasised that Governor Fubara remains resolute in sustaining investment in the education sector to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
According to him, “We appreciate the work you are doing and know that our students are amongst the highest in ranking.
“His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, takes education very seriously. He is sponsoring the free registration of students for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Government Schools.
“Also, Governor Fubara has approved the establishment of Computer-Based Test (CBT) Centres across the State’s three senatorial districts and the 23 LGAs. The project is intended to improve access to digital learning and examination facilities for students so that our children are at breast with digital literacy, a prerequisite for today’s students.
“We are currently working assiduously to get those centres, both mega and mini, across the three senatorial districts and the 23 local government ready in order to meet up with your deadline,” he said.
The SSG also conveyed the assurances of the Governor to WAEC on Government’s willingness in providing land for its Zonal Office.
Earlier, the Deputy Registrar/Zonal Coordinator of the West African Examination Council, Mr Ayanfemi Adeniran-Amusan, promised to collaborate with the State Government in matters concerning education development.
In another development, the Secretary to State Government, Dr Benibo Anabraba, also met with officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, led by the Assistant Director of Intelligence, Rivers State Command, Barr. Ikediashi Nwamaka.
The SSG while appreciating the Agency for its effort in the protection of vulnerable persons, also raised Government’s concern on the activities of orphanages and care homes in unwholesome practices such as child trafficking, abuse of underaged girls also known as baby-factory, and the lack of regulations on surrogacy.
He however assured that the Rivers State Government has already put plans in place towards legislation to regulate these acts against vulnerable persons, particularly women and children.
-
Featured2 days agoOil & Gas: Rivers Remains The Best Investment Destination – Fubara
-
Nation3 days agoOgoni Power Project: HYPREP Moves To Boost Capacity Of Personnel
-
Nation3 days ago
Hausa Community Lauds Council Boss Over Free Medical Outreach
-
Nation3 days ago
Association Hails Rivers LG Chairmen, Urges Expansion Of Dev Projects
-
Nation2 days ago
MOSIEND Calls For RSG, NDDC, Stakeholders’ Intervention In Obolo Nation
-
Nation3 days ago
Film Festival: Don, Others Urge Govt To Partner RIFF
-
News2 days agoNDLEA Arrests Two, Intercepts Illicit Drugs Packaged As Christmas Cookies
-
Rivers3 days ago
UNIPORT Moves To Tackle Insecurity … Inducts Security Experts