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PAGE 6—SUNDAY VANGUARD, OCTOBER 13, 2019 From left: Ex-Nigeria International, Daniel Amokachi; Founder/CEO, Arise Women, Dr. Siju Iluyomade; Special Adviser to President on SDG, H. E. Princess Orelope Adejoke Adefuilure; Special Assistant to General Overseer RCCG/Pastor-In-Charge, City of David Pastor Idowu Iluyomade; and DG, NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside during Arise Walk for Life held at Eko Atlantic in Lagos. By Chimaobi Nwaiwu and Femi Bolaji The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, yesterday, told the Federal Government and the Nigerian Army that Operation Python Dance military exercise in the South-East is a waste of tax payers money, saying such money should be spent on more meaningful ventures for the people. IPOB also alleged that the “Nigerian Army wants to use the Operation Python Dance and the Operation Crocodile Smile in the South-South to give the world the misleading From left; Sister Omotunde Lawson, Chairperson, Afro-Naija Expo Fair 2019 Planning Committee; Sister Olajumoke Adeniji, Member, Planning Committee and Bro Arch. Olawunmi Agbaje, Chairman, Yoruba Tennis club at the opening ceremony of Naija Fair 4.0 Afro Naija Expo 2019 Exhibition organised by the Ladies wing of Yoruba Tennis Club in Lagos, yesterday. Oghenejabor Oladokun, Keto Amuze,Tinu Okoosi, Ifeanyi Iloh, Karim Ahmed, Lucy Ajala, Nkiru Ehighibe, Lolu Fadipe, Olawunmi Ijaluwoye and Gilbert Taylor at the commissioning of the new Regus office in Victoria Island, Lagos. No crime in S/East, take Operation Python Dance away, IPOB tells FG, Army •Ishaku arms troops against bandits, kidnappers T he Government of Oyo State has observed certain misinformation, misconception and outright mischief in the interpretations being given to the N7.6 billion agriculture loan, which the state government on Thursday secured the nod of the State House of Assembly to access. A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, yesterday, indicated that the government had equally noticed the deliberate misconceptions and misinformation on the loan facility, saying it was an attempt to colour the truth to confuse the unsuspecting public. The statement maintained that the administration of former Governor Abiola Ajimobi had obtained the said loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria and that Makinde, had, in the interest of Oyo State, prevented the past impression that insecurity is affecting every part of Nigeria when that is not the case.” It spoke in response to the announcement of the staging of Operation Python Dance 4 in the South-East by the Army. The group, in a statement by its Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, warned that it will no longer tolerate alleged “killing of innocent civilians in the South-East by soldiers involved in Operation Python Dance in the name of fighting crime”, saying crime does not exist in South-East states. “Killing of innocent civilians in the South-East will not make up for the military failure to deal with insurgency and terrorism ravaging the North where most of the soldiers involved in the extrajudicial killings in the South-East come from. “Operation Python Dance in the South-East is a waste of resources by the Nigerian Federal Government and the Nigerian Army because peaceful atmosphere exists in South-East states. “We know that the Nigerian Army planned launching of Operation Python Dance in the South-East is to give the world the misleading impression that insecurity is affecting every part of Nigeria when that is not the case. “The world must know that we are seriously engaging the band of terrorists in Ebonyi State where they continue to enjoy protection and help from their fellow terrorists in uniform in their quest to Islamize Ebonyi State with the help of Ebonyi State governor, Chief Dave Umahi.” IPOB recalled that “earlier this year, Operation Python Dance 3 was launched but which ended up accomplishing nothing in terms of their stated aim of eradicating IPOB using military force.” Separately, Gov Darius Ishaku has donated 26 motorbikes to the Army in support of troops in the second phase of Operation Ayem Akpatuma in Taraba State. The governor explained that the motorbikes would assist troops in accessing hard to reach areas for quick response to emergencies on banditry and kidnapping among other crimes. Ishaku, who noted that safety of lives and property remained paramount, was also confident that the launch of Operation Ayem Akpatuma will address all pending security challenges in the state. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a training exercise for security agencies in the state on the launch of the Operation, he said: “With this interagency cooperation, I am confident that the coming together of the Army and other paramilitary agencies will give us a long term result and all vices in the state will be rooted. Speaking earlier, General Officer Commanding, 3 Division, Jos, Maj. Gen. Nuhu Angbazo, represented by Brig. Gen. Daniel Briggs, stressed that the operation would rid the state of bad eggs. I stopped immediate e past t govt from squandering N7.6bn CBN loan – Gov Makinde government from squandering the loan at the twilight of the administration. The statement read: “The misconceptions and misinformation that Governor Makinde was going for a loan of N7.6 billion is a deliberate attempt to colour the truth and it is an indication of a political move by certain commentators who are exhibiting apparent amnesia on the matter. “Governor Makinde is not seeking for a fresh loan. The action that was taken by the House of Assembly of Oyo State on Thursday was to give the legislative nod to the State Government to access the fund that had already been domiciled with the government since the days of ex-governor Ajimobi. “The Governor’s decision to approach the House of Assembly was a mark of his belief in due process, the rule of law and its processes. Ordinarily, some state executives would just have proceeded to spend the funds since it was already in the coffers of the state, but Governor Makinde won’t do that. “You may wish to recall that sometimes in 2017, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had approved some funds under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACs) for disbursement to four states: Ekiti; Osun; Oyo and Abia. “Somehow, the immediate past administration of Governor Ajimobi chose to delay access to that money until April 2019, when the governorship election of 2019 election had been won and lost. That government intended to expend the said money on the purchase of “Agriculture equipment” in less than two months to the end of its tenure. Allowing access to that money within a month of Ajimobi’s exit could only be counterproductive for the people of Oyo State. “It was the spirit of activism in Engineer Seyi Makinde that prodded him to smell a rat in the plan to access that money in the twilight of Ajimobi’s administration and that informed the suit filed by then - Governor-elect Makinde at the High Court of Oyo State to secure an injunction restraining then Governor from accessing that money. The suit, dated May 7, 2019, is referenced M/284/2019. “It is a well-known fact that the immediate past administration in Oyo State had spent millions of Naira on the purchase of agriculture equipment including excavators and tractors, whose locations cannot be ascertained just a year after the purchase. “Besides, no one could estimate the value (if any) of the expended huge public funds “In effect, the decision by Engineer Makinde to stall the access of Ajimobi’s government to the N7.6 billion was not only wellconsidered but completely in the interest of the people of Oyo State. “As the Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Makinde had taken his time to x-ray the best way the loan can be applied in view of the four-point Service Agenda of his administration. “He has, therefore, come to the inspired decision to devote the said loan to the reconstruction and standardization of the Farm Settlements in Eruwa and Akufo areas of Ibadan.” According to the statement, the two farm settlements are to be built into Farm Estates in line with the vision of the Makinde administration to ensure the full utilisation of the Agriculture value chain for economic expansion and to boost of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). “It is expected that when the two Farm Estates fully come on stream, the output therefrom would easily offset the loan secured while also providing the seed money for the reconstruction of the remaining seven Farm Settlements. “The administration of Engineer Seyi Makinde has emphasised a Four-Point Service Agenda, which encompasses Education, Health, Security and Economic development using Agriculture value chain, its focus on this agenda for a quick turnaround of Oyo state’s human development index remains unshaken.” Group oup Urges ges Senate e To Confirm irm Okumagba, Others Into NDDC Board By Gab Ejuwa group, Delta Peoples A Mandate, DPM, has called on the Senate to confirm the appointment of Mr. Bernard Okumagba as Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board. The group, in a press release signed by the President, James Agbamu, and PRO, Carolyn Afunabena, blamed some aggrieved persons within the Niger Delta for campaign against the nomination of Okumagba. The group said: “The campaign against the nomination of Mr. Bernard Okumagba and others as NDDC Board nominees are being sponsored by some few within and outside the APC fold in the Niger Delta. "The sponsors are attempting to portray the nominees as not qualified and irresponsible to create room for the nomination of their allies. “Okumagba’s appointment was well-received and deeplyappreciated in Delta State and the entire South-South. So attacking Okumagba’s appointment for being an Urhobo man is an attempt to sow a seed of discord among the tribally-diverse, yet peaceful people of Niger Delta. “Bernard Okumagba is a proven technocrat whoa has contributed a lot for the growth of APC in Delta State and the entire South-South region”. Abiodun commiserates with Agekameh, the Nation’s families G overnor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has commiserated with the family, management and staff of the Nation Newspapers over the death of Mr. Dele Agekameh on Friday night at the age of 60. The governor, who expressed shock over the sudden death of the renowned colunmist, described him as an energetic, dogged and a committed journalist and writer who used his pen to expose ills in the society, especially criminal activities. “I am particularly pained that we lost a fine gentleman and a writer who can be described as the best crime reporter, whose exploits led to bursting of crimes by security agencies”, he said. “He was a gem who touched lives positively in so many ways. He was always fighting for a just, agaritarian society, devoid of crime. He was my friend and I can never forget him”.
SUNDAY Vanguard, OCTOBER 13, 2019, PAGE 7 SEXUAL HARASSMENT ON CAMPUS: How Reps, ASUU blocked first Bill against perpetrators Inside the new Bill By Henry Umoru, Asst. News Editor The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo- Agege, last Wednesday, reintroduced a Bill seeking to completely prohibit any form of sexual relationship between lecturers and students in the nation’s tertiary institutions. The Bill was reintroduced in the Senate for consideration and subsequent passage. It is christened: ‘A BILL FOR AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF STUDENTS IN TERTIARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND FOR MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH, 2019.’ The Bill had been sponsored during the 8th Senate by Omo-Agege and supported by 46 other senators. Six months after it was introduced on the floor of the Senate, it was passed on October 27, 2016 by the Red Chamber. It prescribed 5-year jail term for lecturers and educators convicted of sexual harassment of their male or female students. The Bill, however, suffered a setback in the House of Representatives as it was not harmonized to be forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent. For a Bill to be sent to the President to be signed into law, there must be concurrence by the Senate and the House of Representatives. The immediate past Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, had, in a tweet after four lecturers, Dr. Boniface Igbeneghu and Dr. Samuel Oladipo of the University of Lagos as well as University of Ghana lecturers Professor Ransford Gyampo and Dr. Paul Kwame Butakor, were secretly filmed allegedly sexually harassing undercover BBC reporters in the Sex-For- Grades documentary, appealed to the 9th Senate and Buhari to revisit the Bill to safeguard students in educational institutions in the country. The tweet read: “As a father, I’m appalled by the actions of lecturers captured in the #SexForGrades exposé. We cannot allow this sort of deplorable behaviour to fester. “In 2016, my colleagues and I in the 8th Senate passed the ‘Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Education Institution Prohibition Bill’ to prescribe a 5 year jail term for any lecturer, educationist or person in a position of authority in any tertiary institution in Nigeria found guilty. I appeal to the 9th Senate & President @MBuhari to revisit this Bill so that we can implement the institutional reforms necessary to safeguard our children in educational institutions in the country. “I also urge the institutions to conduct robust investigations, not only on the accused but also for all other reports and complaints that come in. We need to believe victims and make institutions safer for our students”. But while rejecting the 2016 Bill on the floor of the House, then-Majority Leader and now Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, had expressed concern that it did not take care of other spheres of the society. Gbajabiamila, who noted that the Bill ought to take care of work place, religious institutions, among others, however, advised the House to take into cognisance some of these issues in order for the National Assembly to come up with a more comprehensive law. At the end of the day, then-Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, agreed with the submissions, stepping the Bill down pending consultations between both chambers of the National Assembly. Meanwhile, at a public hearing organised by then-Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) kicked against the Bill, describing it as a violation of the rights of its members. In his presentation at the public hearing on the Bill, the President of ASUU, Biodun Ogunyemi, stated the position of the union. With much importance attached to the Bill and how the issue of Sexual harassment in tertiary institutions has become a burning one and a matter of discourse at international fora, this time, 106 senators are co- sponsors of the Bill as against the 46 senators that co-sponsored in the 8th Senate. The citation of the reintroduced Bill read: “This Act may be cited as the Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Educational Institutions Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal Act, 2019.” According to Omo- Agege on the Bill, which was read for the first time, “This Act is enacted to promote ethical standards of education, the sanctity of the studenteducator fiduciary relationship of authority, dependency and trust and respect for human dignity in tertiary educational institutions, by providing for: “Protection of students against sexual harassment by educators in tertiary educational institutions; prevention of sexual harassment of students by educators At a public hearing organised by then- Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) kicked against the Bill, describing it as a violation of the rights of its members in tertiary educational institutions; and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment of students by educators in tertiary educational institutions.” Giving an insight into why he came up with the Bill three years after it suffered a setback, the Deputy Senate President described sexual harassment as a problem that has caused academic injustice, depression and countless other negative effects on individuals and the society in various parts of the world. Concerned parents and youth, he said, should help energize support for proposals towards enacting an effective law against sexual harassment in workplaces and educational institutions. A statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Yomi Odunuga, quoted Omo- Agege as vowing to ensure that the energized concerns of all fathers, mothers and youth accelerate the success of his Bill towards becoming an effective law against sexual harassment in Nigeria. He said, “It is a problem that has caused academic injustice, depression and countless other negative effects on individuals and the society in various parts of the world but the key to lasting change is for us to begin it within our own environment. “I applaud the First Lady, Hajia Aisha Buhari, the First Lady of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, the Academic Staff Union of Universities and all those who stoutly rose in support of the BBC’s commendable journalistic endeavour that is effectively beaming light on a hidden menace. “I am wholly convinced that the unique student-educator relationship of authority, dependency and trust should never be violated. By the maxim of ‘loco parentis’, educators are like parents. They owe a special fiduciary duty of care to students under their authority - students who trust and depend on them to shape their future career paths. “It must therefore be extremely offensive to a reasonable mind where an educator treats students as ‘perquisites’ of his office. As a father, it is an issue that I cannot just accept. It is a shame on our conscience as a people. We will stop it. “In 2016, with the support of several colleagues in the Senate, I tabled the Bill on the Prohibition of Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Institutions which provides for a five-year jail term or a fine of N5 million for any lecturer convicted for sexually harassing male or female students. “The Bill also criminalizes any act of neglect or failure by administrative heads of tertiary institutions to address complaints of sexual harassment within a specified period and it also made provisions to adequately punish anyone found to have levelled false allegations of harassment against lecturers and educators. “I deeply appreciate the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) decisive change of position on this issue which they opposed three years ago; I see myself, not only as a representative of my senatorial district but as a representative of every parent who has a daughter that will one day, pass through our tertiary institutions. “Nobody’s daughter deserves to be treated as ‘fringe benefit’ for anyone in position of trust and responsibility; the psychological trauma of sexual harassment has existed for too long and that is why we are reintroducing the Bill to make prosecution of sexual offenders easier for prosecutors and remove the vexatious argument of ‘consent’ as defence to perpetuate evil. “The punishment of five-year jail term for those found guilty should serve as deterrent in a society that urgently needs to address this issue of sexual harassment. “I feel proud and further motivated. What we all collectively need at the moment is urgent action, especially for the passage of the Bill for the Prohibition of Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Institutions into law.” While describing the scourge as sexual harassment in the nation’s tertiary institutions as unacceptable, Omo-Agege said it was high time the trend was eliminated. The reintroduced Bill prohibits any form of sexual relationship between lecturers and their students and prescribes jail term of up to five years for lecturers who engage in sexual relationship with students. The Bill also recommends expulsion or suspension for students whose claims of being serially abused by lecturers or educators are found to be false by any competent court. It proposes a fine of N5 million in the event that the accused person is convicted by a competent court of law even as it makes provisions for lecturers and educators who may be falsely accused by their students to seek redress. In such instances, an accused lecturer or educator who is acquitted by a court can turn the heat on the student who shall be expelled or suspended, as the institution where both belong deems fit. The Bill also recommends expulsion or suspension for students whose claims of being serially abused by lecturers or educators are found to be false by any a competent court. It adds, “An educator shall be guilty of committing an offence of sexual harassment against a student, if he or she has sexual intercourse with a student who is less than 18 years of age, an imbecile or of generally low mental capacity or blind or deaf or otherwise physically challenged”. The Bill deems it as an offence when such a person “has sexual intercourse with a student or demands for sex from a student or a prospective student as a condition to giving a grade or the granting of honours and scholarships, or the payment of stipend, allowance or other benefits, privileges or considerations. It further states: “An educator shall be guilty of committing an offence of sexual harassment against a student if he or she solicits sex from or makes sexual advances towards a student when the sexual solicitation or sexual advances result in an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment for the student. “Or directs or induces another person to commit any act of sexual harassment under this bill, or cooperates in the commission of sexual harassment by another person without which it would not have been committed; grabs or hugs or rubs or strokes or touches or pinches the breasts or hair or lips or buttocks or any other sensual parts of the body of a student. “Or displays, gives or sends by hand or courier or electronic (means) or any other means, naked or sexually explicit pictures or videos or sex related objects to a student. “Or whistles or winks at a student or scream or exclaims or jokes or makes sexually complimentary or uncomplimentary remarks about a student’s physique.” Now that the Bill has been read the first time, going through to second reading will be a formality considering the number of senators who co- sponsored it. At the public hearing, it will also be easy for the sponsor of the Bill to have his way against the backdrop of the fact that ASUU that lampooned it three years is now in support.
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