South East
Crime, Result of Bad Governance – Emenike
Kidnapping and other violent crimes bedevilling parts of the country are results of bad governance and failure of leadership, Chief Ikechi Emenike has said.
Emenike, a Journalist and an Economist, attributed most of the problems plaguing the country in general and many states in particular to the philosophy that government has no business in business, pointing out that if the leaders have been concerned with establishing institutions that generate jobs only few natural criminals would have been operating and the Police would not have problems contending with them
He argued that for the Third World countries, government should have business in business, asserting that economic activities would not thrive without government support.
”In a society where there is near full employment, you won’t find some of these crimes. Most of the kidnappers do not have jobs,” he said, adding that “Government is the last guarantor of employment. When you have a government, from the beginning of the year to the end, that cannot, in good conscience, point to one job and say we created these number of jobs, it means something is wrong with that society.”
The Abia PDP stalwart who contested for the governorship seat of the state in 2007 on the platform of All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and is now back to PDP, said in an interaction with newsmen in his Umukabia Ohuhu country home in Umuahia North Local Government Area that leaders at all levels should build blocks of development by establishing economic ventures to enhance revenue generation to be able to reverse the rot in society.
Responding to a question on kidnapping and its consequences, Emenike said “kidnapping and economic problems have been long in coming. They all flow from bad governance, they all flow from failure of leadership.”
“Without building blocks of development, without establishing economic structures and institutions, there will never be development and when you do not do it, society has a way of degenerating. Degeneration leads to a couple of things in society, including crimes and recession,
“Quite frankly, much of what we see are symptoms of bad governance, bad leadership and not doing what is right as at when it should be done and it is a collective thing, involving the leaders and the led,” he added.
The Publisher of the World Bank/IMF Annual General Meeting, who said that he may not run for an election in 2011 if he is not persuaded by the outcome of his current consultations, noted that it was the duty of all and sundry to enthrone good governance which he said would provide solution to the problems bedevilling society.
He said governments in other lands use budgets to create jobs while in Nigeria, most states of the country wait just to collect and share federal allocations at the end of every month. “This is not governance. If you are very diplomatic, you will discover that that is very crude and primitive way of applying resources. Government should be able to get money from different resources and should also be in a position to add value to those resources for the benefit of the people,” he said.
He said both the states and local governments should pull their resources together and establish financial institutions such as banks and insurance firms which he identified as drivers of building blocks, adding that what the country’s financial system needed was deepening controls of that sector.
The police in Ebonyi State say they have discovered the body of a yet to be identified middle-aged woman in a hotel room in Abakaliki, the state capital. The spokesperson of the police in the state, Loveth Odah, stated this yesterday.
She said the body has deep cuts on the chest and neck and has been deposited in a mortuary. According to the spokesman, it was discovered at Crown Garden Hotel located along the ever-busy Afikpo road in the capital city.
Mrs Odah, who said that the victim was found in the pool of her own blood, said the suspect had been identified as one Uchenna Awoke.
She said the hotel manager, Emmanuel Eze, the supervisor, and other workers had been taken to the police station for questioning and accused the hotel management of negligence.
“The manager of the hotel, the supervisor and other staff of the hotel were taken to the station for questioning and I must confess to you that the whole thing is negligence on the part of the hotel management. How can a guest be murdered in a hotel room and days after, the management is not aware of the incident.”
“We will investigate the matter properly and I assure you, the perpetrator of the act must be arrested and prosecuted. All we are asking is for the members of the public to avail the police of useful information that will lead to the arrest of the suspect.”
The Senate yesterday passed the South East Development Commission (Establishment) Bill 2018.
The proposed commission aims at enhancing the infrastructural development of the South East zone, which is grappling with huge ecological challenges.
It also seeks to act as a catalyst for the development of the commercial potential of the zone.
The proposed legislation requires the concurrence of the House of Representatives to become a bill of the National Assembly, and the President’s assent to become a law.
Senators Stella Oduah (PDP-Anambra) and Samuel Anyanwu (PDP-Imo) jointly sponsored the bill read in the Senate on June 22, 2016.
Its passage in the Red Chamber followed the presentation of the report of the Committee on Establishment and Public Service by its former Chairman, Senator Emmanuel Paulker (PDP-Bayelsa), on the floor of the Senate.
The bill, after Paulker’s presentation, was considered clause by clause by the committee of the whole, and amendments made by the lawmakers were read for the third time and eventually passed.
In his remarks, presiding Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, commended his colleagues for a job well done.
In his words, “Every morning we pray that God should give us the grace to do only those things that will promote the peace and unity of this country.
“I believe that we have shown today that we are committed to the unity of this country, and it is this unity that will give us faith in this country.
“This faith will in turn help us to pursue peace and progress,” he said.
Briefing newsmen after plenary, members the South East caucus of the Senate, led by Sen. Enhinnaya Abaribe (PDP-Abia), thanked their colleagues and members of the committee for their efforts.
Abaribe, who spoke on behalf of the caucus, urged the President to sign the bill into law “as soon as we tidy it up and bring to him, in the interest of the unity and progress of Nigeria”.
“This will put to rest the long-drawn agitation in the South East, and the difficulties in the rehabilitation and reconciliation efforts that started at the end of the civil war.
“All things we see always will end up at the negotiating table, which is what we have done,” he said.
The lawmaker said he hoped the House of Representatives would give concurrence to the bill as it went in the Senate.
When established, the South East Development Commission would be the third zonal interventionist body in the country.
Bishop David Oyedepo, the Founder and Presideng Bishop, Living Faith Church Worldwide, on Saturday predicted that nothing would disturb the peace of Nigeria and its story would change for the better in the year 2019.
Oyedepo made the declaration at the just concluded annual prophetic gathering of the Winners’ family, christened the “Dominion”, in a satellite telecast of the church.
In the telecast monitored in Abuja, the cleric also declared that 2019 would be a year of “I have Dominion”.
“Nothing will tamper with the peace of Nigeria; the story will change for the better in the name of Jesus.
“Nigeria shall not see bloodshed, the Prince of Peace will continue to dominate in Nigeria, in Africa and Nigeria is declared blessed.
“Anywhere you step, accident is forbidden; death will not come near you and our nation.
“Anything that is of grace in my life, I freely release upon you today.
“God has opened the year 2019 to us, celebrate Him because its our year of “I have Dominion,” he said.
The Bishop added that the year 2019 would be a year of humbling testimonies for Nigeria and pace-setting testimonies.
He further declared that 2019 would be a colourful year for the nation.
According to the cleric, as long as Jesus has the final say on the issues of Nigeria, it will experience greatness.
Oyedepo said that there would be no more cause of alarm in any area of the nation and its citizens.
He advised Christians in Nigeria to delight themselves in the spirit of servant-hood, adding that the spirit of Christ is the spirit of servant-hood.
“The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of servant-hood. As you keep rising on the ladder of leadership, you must retain our spirit of servant-hood, constantly working to add value to others and be kingdom minded,” he said.
According to him, dedication is at the root of dominion, saying: “Sow yourself as a seed by being totally dedicated to God and His Kingdom’’.
He told his congregation that sacrificial giving guarantees the meeting of all their needs.
“When you engage in taking care of the well-being of others, God is also committed to your well-being,” he explained. The cleric admonished Christians would engage in meeting the needs of the needy, every barrier on their path of destiny would be crushed.
“Nobody tampers with your life, your career, your family and goes away with it because you are promoted to God’s kingdom.
“God will stand for your defence in the day of trouble. Every sacrificial giver has a defence around him in the day of trouble always have that in mind,” he said.
He reminded his congregation that the Church is not a building; the Church is a people and the Redeemed of the Lord.