26012020 - How bad an example was set in Zamfara

Viewpoint
By Julius Oweh
olitical scientists and
Pconstitutional lawyers the
globe over, agree that the primary
purpose of governance is the security
and welfare of the people. The 1999
constitution, the fundamental law
that underpins the current
dispensation is also very emphatic
on the importance of security and
welfare of the people. The president
is also the Commander- in -Chief of
the Nigerian Armed Forces and by
implication, the chief security
officer of the nation.
At the state level, the governors are
regarded as chief security officers
of the state even though cannot give
order to the commissioner of police
or any other security operative for
that matter. That is the major flaw
of our curious brand of federalism.
It is not a matter of political
conjectures or polemics that the
Federal Government is
overwhelmed with the security
challenges of the nation. Armed
banditry, virus of terrorism,
kidnapping and the infamous
rampaging herdsmen are the
By Jones Nnaike
t is now common knowledge that
IThe Igbos of Southern Nigeria
usually return enmass every end of
the year to spend the xmas yuletide
with their kith and kins at home.
Several Communities of the region
have since found a creative way of
making use of the opportunities
attendant upon such demographic
mix to positively showcase their
culture and advance development
initiatives.
One of such communities is
Ekitiafor Abba in Nwangele Local
Government Area of Imo State.
Ekitiafor which is part of the larger
Abba clan trace their origin as being
descendants of the famous Abam
warriors who were part of the
military wing of the Aro trading
system that exerted influence and
suzerainty over much of Igboland and
beyond for more than four centuries
prior to the advent of formal British
colonialism. However the current
status of Ekitiafor as an autonomous
entity has a recent origin that was
achieved under the governorship of
The politics of community policing
The Minister is in the
executive arm, saddled
with the responsibility
of implementing the
laws and policies of
government; he is
clearly usurping the
functions of the
judiciary to interpret
and adjudicate
unfortunate trademarks of the
nation.
It is against this backdrop, that the
recent launch of Western Nigeria
Security Network otherwise known
as Amotekun could be situated. The
governors of these states believed in
pulling their resources together to
tackle the issues of insurgency, the
clash between herdsmen and
farmers, armed banditry and
kidnapping. However, the Federal
Government frowned at the
composition of Amotekun and that
its activities are illegal within the
provision of the 1999 constitution.
Speaking on the activities of
Amotekun, the Attorney General of
the federation and Minister of
Justice, Abubakar Malami
maintained the concept of the
security outfit was strange to the
1999 constitution. Said Malami:
‘The setting up of the paramilitary
organization called Amotekun is
illegal and runs contrary to the
provisions of the Nigerian law. The
constitution of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) has
established the army, navy and air
force, including the police and other
numerous paramilitary
organizations for the purpose of the
defence of Nigeria. As a consequence
of this, no state government, whether
singly or in a group has the legal
SUNDAY Vanguard, JANUARY 26, 2020, PAGE 43
right and competence to establish
any form of organization or agency
for the defence of Nigeria or any of
its constituent parts‘.
While the honourable Minister of
Justice is spot on but, he mixed the
woods for the trees. The 1999
constitution recognizes the three
arms of government – the executive,
the judiciary and the legislature. The
Minister is in the executive arm,
saddled with the responsibility of
implementing the laws and policies
of government. He is clearly
usurping the functions of the
judiciary to interpret and adjudicate.
If the Minister is not comfortable
with the establishment of the security
outfit and believes that it abridges
the functions of the executive arm,
he should approach the court to test
the functionality or otherwise of the
security outfit. Ours is a democracy
and not a monarchy, where the king
or his surrogate wakes up and
makes pronouncement. The
statement of the minister is merely
blowing the wind.
Furthermore, this is not the first
time that state governments are
forming security outfits for the
protection of their citizens. As you
read this piece, Civilian Joint Task
forces are in operation in the North
East battling the Boko Haram
insurgency. The Federal
Government has even commended
the efforts of this security outfit.
Hisbah is an Islamic or state
police very effective in the north,
enforcing strict Islamic code of
conduct. Hisbah is notorious for
abusing human rights of people and
the question of choice as for the
consumption of alcohol. The
Federal Government is living in
denial of its existence. Hisbah is very
visible in Kano State. In September
2019, the Islamic police destroyed
196,400 bottles of beer. According
the Hisbah‘s Commander General,
Sheik Aminu Daurawa, twelve
million bottles of beer were
destroyed in seven years. Yet this is a
state that gets money generated
from Value Added Tax VAT on
alcohol.
Ekitiafor Day celebration: When tradition aligns with modernity
Chief Ihedi Ohakim and which got
further revalidation during the reign
of Chief Rochas Okorocha
Perhaps it might be apt to say that
the community has fared quite well
with her new found autonomy if going
by the peace, unity and progress that
pervades there is the criteria to judge.
It is also important to note that all
these positive attributes would not
have been possible if not for the
internal restructural of its traditional
institution and governance structure
that was undertaken by the leaders of
the community to align it with
modern trends. It was such
restructuring that gave rise to the
creation of five prime offices and
their occupation by highly qualified
top achievers who work with the
traditional ruler to give leadership to
the community. Such offices includes
the Lord Mayor, The Lord Chancellor,
The Ambassador Extra Ordnaire, The
Lord Pillar, The Lord Envoy and The
Traditional Prime Minister. Another
novelty in this restructuring is that the
succession to these offices is by election
conducted by the council of chiefs.
Fundamentally all these reforms and
other rules have been codified into a
written constitution that is now used
to direct the affairs of the community.
Again the quality of top professionals
that has ascended these positions
attests to the efficacy of these reforms.
Take for instance, the position of the
Lord Mayor is occupied by Chief Chris
Onwuzuruike, a successful American
based Architect/Builder and business
owner. The Lord Ambassador on the
other hand Professor F.C. Dike is a
SAN and Former Attorney General
of Imo State. The Lord Chancellor
Chief/Nze Ted Obialor is an American
based pharmacist. The Lord Pillar
Chief Uchenna Uzowuru is a
successful Lagos based business man
just as the Lord Envoy Chief
Ugochukwu Nwoke is also a Lagos
based IT/Phone Professional. This is
not to mention the fact that the
traditional ruler himself HRH (Hon)
Eze B.I Ononenyi Uzoma is a former
member of the House of
Representatives.
The attraction of high quality
manpower into its leadership position
and a general reform of its traditional
institution and its adaptation to
modern trends has given rise to not
only the much needed peace and unity
but also to a quantum leap in physical
development. Evidence of this
progress is not only the ubiquitous
beautiful homes that are springing up
everywhere in the community but also
the tarred roads as well as well paved
drainages that adorn its physical
landscape.
Perhaps the ultimate symbol of the
progress that pervades Ekitiafor
Abbah Autonomous Community is
the superb organisation attendant
upon the conduct of its yearly
Ekitiafor Day Celebrations that
holds on the second January of
every year. This years version of
the festival attracted numerous
visitors from all parts of the
country and the diaspora
particularly from the United
States of America, Canada, The
United Kingdom and Asia.
*Oweh, a journalist, Asaba, Delta
State.
Read more on
www.vanguardngr.com
At the festival venue proper
which held at the primary school
ground, many natives appeared in
their most colourful dresses. There
was also the endless stream of
neighboring traditional rulers and
their chiefs that enriched the crowd
quality. Not to be left out though is
the colourful displays by various
masquerade groups of all kind of
descriptions. There were the very
fearful ones as well as the benign
types. It is also good to mention
the different cultural dance groups
with their heart rendering choruses
that competed for attention.
In effect it could be said that the
peace, unity and physical
improvements which reign in
Ekitiafor is in itself an offshoot of
efforts at internal leadership
improvement mechanism which
has led to the alignment of its
traditional institution with modern
values.
Read more on
www.vanguardngr.com
By Collins Adaka
HE recent Supreme Court
Tvictory of Governor Bala
Abdulkadir Mohammed of Bauchi
State was a triumph for the
hardworking people of Bauchi State.
It is now time to face governance
squarely without distractions after the
highest court in the land had
vindicated his claim to the executive
seat. This was not the first time he
had attained such a feat. Bala
Mohammed did it when he was elected
a senator representing Bauchi South in
April 2007 against ex-governor Muazu,
who contested for the same senatorial
seat.
Bala is a man of many parts. This
could be attested to the skyscraper of
his life built on the firm foundation,of
boundless energy and health, quick
mind and energetic spirit. He is such an
amazing phenomenon.
Bala Mohammed’s strides
By Charles Adingupu
or discerning minds, democratic
Frule has remained the sine quo
non for development in virtually all
spheres of human endeavour. Hence,
when the 4 th Republic was eventually
enthroned after a prolonged military
misrule, Nigerians were bursting with
excitement. The popular axiom held
by self styled apostles of democracy
was that the worst brand of
democratic rule is far better than the
best military administration. But this
aphorism has proved to be a mere
paradox in the Nigeria’s clime. As
almost two decades after the
enthronement of the 4 th Republic,
Nigeria and her people still grope in
abject poverty in the midst of plenty,
decaying social amenities, near
extinct institutions, barefaced
corruption and worst still, a justice
system that is not sufficiently punitive
for people who perpetrate crime.
As Martins Luther King Jr. puts it,
“history will have to record that the
greatest tragedy of this period of social
Bala Mohammed’s victory: Triumph for Bauchi people
commenced when he was elected
senator in April 2007. Remember, “the
doctrine of necessity”, when the ailing
President YarÁdua was in the saddle of
the affairs of this great country, Nigeria.
His then Vice President, Dr. Goodluck
Jonathan could not become the acting
President because of a lacuna in the
constitution. Governor Bala Abdulkadir
Mohammed, being a senator then was
the first to call for declaring president
Umaru Yar’Adua incapacitated and
making Vice President Goodluck
Jonathan, the acting President. This is
because he believes in peaceful coexistence
for national growth and
security. He is highly detribalised and
believes in due process. Moreso, he is
free minded and has a zero tolerance
for religion. Despite the numerous hues
and cries from dissenting voices across
the nooks and crannies of the country,
he did it out of a conviction for the
stability of the country in the obvious
tense polity then.
This, as the saying goes, “the things
that get rewarded get done”. Due to this
record, ex-President Goodluck
Jonathan appointed him as the
Minister of the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) on April 8, 2010 when
Jonathan announced his cabinet.
Amongst his achievements as the FCT
Minister was his dogged approach to
the twin problems of waste
management and lack of portable
water.
Mr. Cliff Akora, co-publisher of the
Nigerian Politician magazine, who did
his NYSC with the governor in Plateau
State, 1982/83 session, said Bala always
made a difference wherever he finds
himself. When they did their primary
posting at the defunct mirage
newspaper, published by Salama Press
of Senator Tomas Yepwi from Lafia
Darkness at Dawn in Niger Delta
transition was not the strident clamour
of the bad people but the appalling
silence of the good people”.
The advent of democracy in 1999
was indeed the dawn of darkness in
the states that make up the Niger
Delta as successive governors in some
of these states had left the states worse
than they met them. Although
available corruption data are
fragmentary, and sometimes
contradictory, and passions are still
too intense and perspective too
distorted to allow for broader
generalization and firm conclusion.
Though attempts by the federal
government to intervene in the
development of the region with the
inauguration of the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC)
had hit the brick wall. The
commission is currently fraught with
gross incompetence, unending
conflicts, poor governance, nepotism,
lack of transparency and
dysfunctional management
dynamics. The history of the
Commission is littered with
spectacular implosion of corruption
and its attendant collateral damages
to the oil rich region.
Today, the NDDC which would have
been a soothing balm to the people
has become a cathedral of corruption.
The current Minister of the Niger
Delta and the immediate past
Governor of Akwa Ibom state,
Senator Godswill Akpabio, is
overwhelmed by the large scale
corruption he discovered in the NDDC
upon assumption of office. Against this
backdrop, the Minister threatened
forensic investigation into the
activities of Commission. Hell was
let loose as politicians, contractors
and traditional rulers went wild, but
Senator Akpabio remained adamant
in his resolve.
However, while the Minister’s
threat is being washed away with time,
Senatorial district in present day
Nasarawa state. It was a new tabloid
then with Bala Mohammed, Emma
Agu, former MD of champion
Newspaper, late Sheikh Abutiate,
formerly of The Guardian and Cliff
Akorah, among the pioneer editorial
staff. The Mirage Newspaper became
an instant hit, which was largely the
preferred choice of readers, as against
the state owned newspaper, the
Standard. Solomon Lar was the then
Governor of Plateau state. Watching and
reading about this iconic personality of
Governor Bala Mohammed from afar,
I cannot but admire his doggedness
in what over he believes in.
Governor Bala decisively presses
on in Bauchi, amidst dwindling
fortunes accruing to the federating
units of the states, by applying
prudence, self-discipline and love for
the people, seen in his quality
the current NDDC chairman, Mr.
Aladasoadura recently opened
another shocking vista of corruption
in the commission. He dis closed that
over twelve thousand paid contract
running into trillions of naira were
unexecuted. This staggering
revelation has further compounded
naysayers in the region.
Despite the huge federal allocation
and colossal amount of money
accruing to the states as oil derivation
funds, the states are still nothing but a
shadow of their proud past. This ugly
trend has forced the people of the
Niger Delta to conclude that the
region is jinxed. Though most political
pundits stated that the continuing
under development of the Niger Delta
is gravitating between the state
Governors who are in firm control of
the total sum of monies accruing the
states and the traditional rulers who
now claim ownership of oil laden
lands domiciled in their various
programmes.
In situations of dificulties
occasioned by the recklessness of
youths in one form of vices or the
other, he marches on nonetheless.
Governor Bala Mohammed’s zeal
to set new standards and push new
boundaries against all odds is worthy
of emulation.
His resolute mien and relenting
faith in his vision and faith in the
potentials of this country and state
sets him far apart from his peers.
The jubilation that greeted his
Supreme Court victory across the
entire length and breath of Bauchi
state is a testimony to this fact.
Governor Bala Mohammed
observers and citizens hope will
continue in his infrastructural
development and other
transformation advancement of
Bauchi state in order to justify the
confidence of the people.
•Adaka, lives in Port Harcourt, Rivers
State
communities.
Under this unholy arrangement, the
Governors collect tax from the oil
firms operating in the area of
jurisdiction while the traditional rulers
on the other hand, scamper to collect
what they tag royalties on behalf of
the people and the community. The
scramble for royalties from the oil
firms operating in the region had
pitched the traditional rulers with their
subjects on the one hand, and the
governors and the traditional rulers
on the other hand. Undoubtedly, the
continuing civil unrest in the region
had been traced to who gets what in
the oil rich communities.
Recent investigation has shown that
most traditional rulers in the
communities are richer than the
communities they represent. It was
alleged in certain quarters that some
of the traditional rulers have become
big time contractors to the oil firms
while their subjects grope in abject
poverty.
Read more on
www.vanguardngr.com