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Behind The Smoke Screen …Squinting Views Of The Northern Elite
For the second time in about three months, Northern leaders last week assembled in Abuja, ostensibly to find answers to the increasing wave of violence, terror-based mass murders, resurgence of ethno–religious warfare, and as main agenda, the lope-sided development of Nigeria weighed, in their own estimation, in favour of the southern parts of the nation. They also quarreled with the earnings of the oil producing states which they accused of receiving so much from the country’s resources.
The main crux of the recent dialogue was the allusion that oil bearing states are ill-equipped to manage the enormous resources regularly allocated to them, and to avoid corruption, the allocations should be reviewed. The review should, in their view, be such that allocates enough to the Northern states to help address urgently, the challenges of poverty, under-development and insecurity in parts of the North.
Perhaps, the most interesting position canvassed by the forum was the fact that only the southern states were developing, and such a scenario painted the picture of two different republics in one federation.
Simply put, all the daily attacks by the Boko Haram Islamist sect; the repeated religious-based terror attacks targeted at Christian places of worship, particularly in Jos, Plateau State, and Sulja, Niger and the increasing wave of violence are instigated by poverty, caused by poor federal allocations to parts of the North.
In an earlier attempt at search for peace necessary for the most-needed development, Northern leaders had met in Kaduna, December 5, 2011 where they also brainstormed on a number of issues responsible for the abysmally volatile state of insecurity in some states of the North.
Tagged Northern Peace Conference, it was convoked by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and was attended by prominent Northern leaders and the governors of the 19 Northern states as well as traditional rulers, which according to Jon Shiklam, “was a clear indication that Northerners wanted an end to the orgy of ethnic and religious violence that have become a trademark of the region.”
Apparently, it was from the ethno-religious perspective that Senate President, David Mark addressed the forum in an emotion-laden manner, at least, to remind his listeners of the glorious days of the formidable one-North, when religion, ethnicity and language failed to be dividing factors.
While querying the region’s leaders for remaining silent in the face of rising security challenges in the North, especially the Boko Harm scourge, Mark lamented the decline in moral and cultural value of the people of the North, saying stakeholders must join hands to find lasting solution to the problem.
“We are here today because one of our founding fathers and great leaders, the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, of blessed memory, showed great leadership qualities well beyond his time. He was charismatic, foresighted, committed, selfless, dedicated, totally detribalised, and courageous, and above all, sincere. Though a devout Muslim, he did not discriminate between Christians and Muslims. He was a symbol of Northern Nigeria and personified Northern values among which are education, development, progress, unity and peace.
“Sadly, today, the Northern Nigeria, which he left behind, is known more for the wrong reasons namely: poverty and under-development, poor education, religious fundamentalism, terrorism and ethnic intolerance, among others. He and other founding fathers must be weeping in their graves at our current situation, David Mark lamented, apparently blaming the problems of the North on the North, particularly on those the North depended upon to sustain the ‘One-North’ idea, through the same values the Sardauna championed during his lifetime.
He then asked: “Why has the North continued to lag behind in education? All available statistics show that in both literacy and numeracy, the North lags behind the South, and even within the North, there is so much disparity between the zones and between states”, and urged them to avoid sentiments in the search for solutions.
Bauchi State Governor, Malam Isa Yuguda in his work, Conflict and The Decline of Private Sector, ThisDay, December 9, 2011, particularly blamed the under-development of the North of the decline of the private sector on account of conflict in the region. But he also addressed the imperatives of conflicts in history, and said, “The occurrence of conflicts in society has been explained as a symptom of the competition or struggle for society’s scarce resources – whether by the elite in government for themselves or ostensibly on behalf of their areas or ethnic group or between nomads and farmers.”
According to Yuguda, “All the factors necessary for the development of a robust private sector and the successful take-off of a modern industrial economy are there as there were before. The (Northern) region is endowed with an extensive, fertile, mineral-rich arable landmass more than 600,000 square kilometres in area that can, with the right policies and the right quantity of subsidies, support a variety of agriculatural activity that can feed and make the region a net exporter of food as it supports a multitude of agro-allied industries.
The meeting-point between Yuguda and Mark is the need for introspection, of self-probe and the need to make the best of available resources, and not sit idly by and fan the embers of ethno-religious divides, greed, selfishness, and indeed, lack of industry. The North, in their views, has the history, the right people, the resources and the ability to check the violence in the Northern parts, if indeed, the leadership replicated the virtues and values that the founding fathers bequeathed.
That indeed was the tone set by the December 5 dialogue, which also gave Vice President Namadi Sambo the opportunity to list efforts being made by the Federal Government to boost the economy of the North. They include improving the transportation sector, boosting water supply, transforming agricultural, and educational sectors, and boosting healthcare delivery for the people. The Federal Government, according to Sambo, will also boost access to financing and entrenchment of good governance anchored on transparency, probity, accountability and the rule of law.
These are naturally the basic ingredients needed by a state to build a strong infrastructural base, and by extension, a strong economy. With a large expanse of arable land and rich in minerals, a strong infrastructural base would no doubt attract the right investors and that way create jobs and boost economic activities.
Rather than think in that light, some Northern leaders have been busy, clamouring for hand-outs from the Federal Government sourced from the sweat, sacrifice and suffering of the long deprived oil producing states of the federation, in addition to blaming their security woes on all others, except themselves, their greed and misapplication of funds in recent past.
Rising from their recent meeting, Northern leaders introduced an old debate in a strange manner that offended the very logic they relied upon.
The Northern position can be summarised as follows:
1. That the Northern is not only under developed, it parades the biggest majority of poor people.
2. That the spate of violence in parts of the North is caused by the level of poverty that obtains in the North.
3. That the state of abject poverty and want prevalent in the North is as a result of the ‘huge” monthly allocations, based on derivation, that go to the South-South and other Southern states as against the North.
4. That the South is developing at a quicker Space than the North and that in itself amounts to two republics in one federation.
5. That to reverse the trend, allocation to Northern states should be reviewed upwards in line with prevailing realities.
6. That unless that was done, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to address in a lasting manner, the state of insecurity in the North.
Reading in-between the lines, it is clear that Niger State Governor, and Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu was not merely flying a kite, when the said, oil bearing states were receiving too much from the Federal Government and should be reversed. That, he was, in fact, speaking for the North, without appreciating the history of derivation, the years of marginalization suffered by the Niger Delta, and indeed, the true tenets of federalism.
If the Northern states consider development
Soye Wilson Jamabo
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DEPLOY YOUR CAPACITY, TECHNICAL KNOWHOW TO REVITALISE SONGHAI FARMS, FUBARA TELLS TASK FORCE
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has said that diversifying the economy of the State has become inevitable because of the need to solve the problem of food shortages while also providing jobs for the teeming unemployed youths.
These, he said, are the reasons why great care has been taken to critically look at the prospects of revitalising the Songhai Integrated Farms, which is located in Bunu Tai, in Tai Local Government Area of the State.
Governor Fubara insisted that if the problem associated with food shortages is tackled with good intent and purpose, about 40 to 50 percent of current problems of economic hardship plaguing the country and its people would have been solved.
Governor Fubara made the assertion while inaugurating the Chairman, Mr Biedima Oliver, and members of the task force saddled with the responsibility of supervising the revitalization of Songhai Integrated Farms by its partners: Vitalcrop Ventures Limited and Imagine Adama Limited, at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Other members of the task force included, the Rivers State Commissioner for Agriculture, Engr Victor Kii; Commissioner for Finance, Barrister Emmanuel Frank-Fubara; Dr Ayebaesin Beredugo; and Mr Maurice Ogolo.
The Governor explained that it took him time to approve the constitution of the task force being inaugurated because of the ugly experience with the previous group that shown such interest.
Governor Fubara stated that a process was initiated and driven halfway into the handing over of Songhai Farms on concession to an interested partner who latter showed a total lack of the needed capacity to undertake such task.
He said, “As a matter of fact, if few of you could remember, we even conceded the place to an investor who came in after he had made his presentation, and we, believing that he has the capacity, we said okay to him, and we had already signed up.
“But something happened. He came back to tell us that he wanted us to give him a N5billion bank guarantee. We then asked him, why? If we have the N5billion, why do we need you to come and even revitalize Songhai Farms? We would have put that N5billion there ourselves. For that reason, we cancelled that arrangement.”
Governor Fubara said now that two separate companies have come together to indicate interest and given the assurance of having the needed capacity to drive the process, he is delighted to see them meeting that expectation.
Governor Fubara pointed to the expectation of the people who want to see the Songhai Farms back on stream on a sustainable basis.
That expectation, he insisted, is also what his administration wants to see actualised within its lifespan.
He noted, “We want to see food sufficiency, because we know when Songhai Farms comes on board, there will be food, which is one of the problems we are having in this country. If we are able to tackle the issue of food, 40 to 50 percent of our problem will be solved.”
Governor Fubara also stated that although he believes in the presentation made by the group and has taken their assurance to heart, but warned that he would not tolerate a repeat of what happened before.
The Governor said, “I hope your story will not be (end) halfway too. I hope you have the capacity and all the technical knowhow to handle it. It is not when we start now, after we had finished inaugurating the task force, you will come back to tell us that you need $2million. If we have $2million, we won’t need you. We will invest it by ourselves.”
Governor Fubara, however, praised the capacity of the Chairman of the task force, Biedima Oliver, saying that incidentally, he was one of the personnel that convinced the then administration to develop the Songhai Farms, and had worked with the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) to manage the project.
He said, “He knows and understands the workings of Songhai, and now that we are making you the chairman of the task force, we want to believe that you will make that place come back to life.
“I don’t have any doubt in your capacity. A few things you’ve touched, you turned them to gold. Please, bring it back to what we used to see in Songhai. Bring it back with the help of your committee.”
Governor Fubara assured that his administration will remain committed to providing all the necessary support that they may require to make their assignment a success.
He added, “So, I hereby inaugurate you. Your task is very simple: Do everything within your powers and with our support to make sure that Songhai becomes operational to the benefit, not just the people of Tai, but to the entire Rivers State and Nigeria as a whole”.
In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the Task Force to Supervise the Revitalization of Songhai Farms with Vitalcrop Ventures Limited and Imagine Adama Limited, Mr. Biedima Oliver, expressed appreciation to Governor Fubara for the opportunity and confidence reposed in them to revive Songhai Farms.
Mr. Oliver assured that they will deliver the expected goal on Songhai Farms, and doing so on time and on target so that the good people of Rivers State can eventually be happy and also benefit from the huge investment.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has declared that all the policies and programmes of his administration are tailored towards the protection of interest of Rivers people, especially the youths.
This, he said, is borne out of the importance his administration attaches to youths’ development and empowerment as leaders of tomorrow.
Fubara, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, disclosed this when he received the youths of Emohua Local Government Area under the auspices of “Emohua Youths For SIM” on solidarity visit to Government House, Port Harcourt, last Friday.
He said that his administration has put in place modalities that will boost the livelihoods and well-being of Rivers citizens, which youths of Emohua will also benefit when they materialise.
The governor, who spoke through the Rivers State Head of Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, pointed out that the recently awarded Elele-Omudiaga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Ikiri-Omoku Road, the ongoing Emohua-Kalabari Road, reinstatement of illegally sacked workers of Emohua Local Government Area and the approval for electrification of the area, are part of deliberate measures to open up the area to make life conducive and more meaningful for the people.
According to him, “Everything about the governor is putting the interest of Rivers State first. He is looking at and taking action on those things that we need to do to restart the wheels of progress in Rivers State.
“There are many things the governor has planned and is already doing that will boost the life and welfare of every citizen of Rivers State, but most importantly the youths.
“Growing up, I learnt that Egbeda is one of the biggest communities in the whole of Ikwerre, and it’s predominantly an agrarian community. They have food in Egbeda, they have food in Ubimini, they have food in Omudiaga and other natural resources. The whole world is tilting to agriculture, and this is the way to go.
“The Elele-Umudioga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Omoku road, when completed, will open up the area for real development. Your food and everything you produce there will now have value, they will no longer be thrown away. In all these, you the youths are going to be the utmost beneficiaries.”
He added, “Same will be applicable to the Emohua-Kalabari Road which will also, trigger development in the area, and you will be the greatest beneficiaries. When the LGA is also electrified, you will be having 24 or 20 hours of electricity, and those things the youths can do with electricity, you can stay at home and create wealth for yourself and children.
“All the totality of what the governor is doing, when they are completed, or even as some are completed now, the youths are going to be utmost beneficiaries.”
While acknowledging that youths are the true leaders of tomorrow and any government that fails to carry them along in the scheme of things is doomed to fail, the governor assured them of his administration’s commitment to always address issues concerning youths and ensure that they are part of his government.
He commended the youths for toeing the path of truth by identifying with his administration, urging them to sustain the tempo and shun evil, as his government will ensure that the trend whereby politicians turn youths to beggars are over.
He said, “Youths are, indeed, the leaders of tomorrow. The time of youth is a very important time. It a time that your parents or whoever is your leader at that time have to make the greatest investment in you. And any Government that decides to only carry the elderly, chiefs aling and abandon the youths is bound to fail,” he asserted.
“But I am happy that Governor Fubara has concentrated his energy on everything that will benefit the society, especially the youths.
“And based on these, I want to thank you for recognising what is good and calling it good, for shunning what is evil, for saying the Governor is standing for you.
“Let me tell you, you are on the right direction. Let me tell you again, Rivers State is the bride of Nigeria. The whole Nigeria is looking at what will happen here. As they look here and see you standing on the path of truth, this is a very important step that you have taken to right all the wrongs of the past, to make Rivers State stand on the tripod of justice, peace and security. That is what we are going to gain through the governor, taking all the wise actions that he has already initiated.
“The projects the governor is embarking on are meant to prepare nets for the youths to fish and put food on their table, hence you should continue to follow him.
“The SIMplified Movement brought upon by the governor will ensure that Rivers youths stop the habit of going to bow down before politicians, pledging loyalty before they can eat.”
Earlier, spokesman for the Emohua Youths for SIM, Comrade Ovamale O. Ovamale, had said that the visit by youths from the 14 political wards in Emohua Local Government Area was to thank the governor for the award of the Elele-Omudiaga-Egbeda-Ubimini-Ikiri-Omoku road, the approval for electrification of the area and reinstatement of sacked workers of Emohua Local Government Council, of which the youths were mostly affected.
According to him, “Siminalayi Fubara of recent has given Emohua Local Government road that links Elele to Omoku, which comprises over four communities in the local government.”
“Emohua Local Government has also been in darkness for eight years. No community in the local government that has light. But, of recent, because of the passion and love the governor has for the people of Emohua, he has approved the electrification of the local government.
“Also, the illegal sack of Emohua Local Government workers, for which the youths were mostly affected and without the approval of the Local Government Service Commission, the governor, in his compassionate nature, has reinstated them, and that is why we said we must come and thank His Excellency”, he said.
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured that his administration will collaborate and continue to consult widely in delivering a liberated State experiencing enduring peace.
Fubara said, in doing so, he would not operate as a dictator but as a member of a team that has the best interest of the State at heart and determined to leave a lasting legacy that can be celebrated.
The governor spoke during the formal presentation of Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office to the Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, King Ateke Michael Tom, as first class tradition ruler, at Government House in Port Harcourt, yesterday.
Fubara stated that, during the Sixth State Executive Council meeting, N80.8billion was approved with 50 percent contract value paid already as the Government awarded the construction of the Elele-Egbeda-Omoku Road.
He said the project will be funded from the savings from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to underscore his administration’s prudence without also borrowing to complete the project.
“We are at a crossroad in our State where we all need to stand for what is right. It happens once in a life time. So, for now, be one of those people that will be in the course to liberate and free our dear State.
“And I know strongly that having the support of a peace-loving Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom, having the support of the wonderful Council of Chiefs, having the support of the great people of Rivers State, we will bring peace in our State. We will do those things that are right to develop our State.
“We will continue to consult. We will not act as dictators. We will act as people who know that one day, we will leave, and when we leave, the way we have acted will speak for us. We will not force people to talk good about us. Our legacy will be a signature for how we led”, the governor said.
Fubara explained that he acted within the ambit of the law to upgrade the traditional stool upon which King Ateke Tom sits in recognition of his efforts in promoting peace in Okrika, and indeed, the State, and urged him to continue to do justice to everyone.
In his speech, Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Community Affairs, Hon Charles Amadi, congratulated King Ateke Tom for being formally presented with the Certificate of Recognition and Staff of Office as first class traditional ruler.
Also speaking, former Transport Minister, Chief Abiye Sekibo, thanked the governor for fulfilling his promise of upgrading the traditional stool of Okochiri Kingdom, and pledged the support of Kirike Se people to his administration.