At the recently held ICASA conference, I had an exciting time of learning, networking and appreciating the many realities and challenges faced by LGBTI people in Africa. Here, I will highlight one that that a permanent impact in my life, and gave me a reason to proceed with the course. It was thoughts that I have been having particularly from a session on Key populations on HIV/AIDS: LGBTI facilitated by a doctoral research fellow, Zoe Duby of the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation.
More than through any other forum, it was evident from the representation, presentation and conversation held at ICASA that LGBTI refers to sexualities, sexual identities, sexual orientations, sexual lifestyles – NOT sexual behaviour. Only the terms MSM (men who have sex with men) and WSW (women who have sex with women) refer to sexual behaviour. LGBTI, MSM and WSW are all at increased HIV risk due to many factors. LGBTI only recently recognised in context of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Previously, homosexuality in Africa was always blamed on Western European influence, colonialism and technology. However, evidence shows same-sex practices have always been present in African countries, and are often part of local cultures and traditions.
According to studies, there are numerous examples of ‘traditional’ same sex practices in Africa. Young-old partnerships, taking on different gender roles, cross dressing, initiation rituals (Wilson, 1951); situational same sex behaviours (for example prisoners, truck drivers, miners, armed forces, boarding schools etc), socially sanctioned same-sex sexual experimentation before marriage, in adolescence (Murray & Roscoe, 2001) and same sex behaviour plays a crucial role in certain rituals and traditional practices (Weiss, Quigley & Hayes, 2000)
From sessions held at ICASA, it was evident that Africa is the continent with the harshest laws when it comes to homosexuality and other sexual minorities, partly rooted in colonial-era laws and political situations, religious autonomy, strong negative belief in cultural and family values, and a strong patriarchy.
38 countries in Africa have laws criminalizing homosexuality, 4 of which may impose death penalty (parts of Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan and Mauritania).
More than 50% of African governments have taken action and steps to formally criminalise same sex union. It is so sad that when in December 2008, the United Nations Assembly in New York issued a declaration to decriminalize homosexuality, only 6 African countries signed (Ottoson, 2010).
So what are the societal factors increasing HIV vulnerability of LGBTIs?
According to many countries’ laws and politics, Male same-sex behaviour, is illegal. As a matter of fact, protective legislation for LGBTI only exists in South Africa. Recent legal reforms in some African countries have aimed to strengthen anti-homosexual legislation, rather than make laws more inclusive. Given such restrictive legal and political environment,African LGBTIs are increasingly reporting harassment from state authorities, including police and public officials, in relation to their sexual orientation, and to some extent also their gender identities.
In Malawi for instance, there’s been a series of arrests for homosexuality and a new law criminalising lesbians. In Zimbabwe,gay people face persecution under the Sexual Offences Act, while in Uganda, there was a media palaver of “name and shame” top 100 gay persons&most recently, the very contentious debate of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. In South Africa, there’s “corrective rape” and hate killings of young lesbian women.
Such state sponsored homoprejuidice compounds existing situation of abuse, harassment, humiliation, extortion, arbitrary arrests, judicial violence, imprisonment, torture, hate crimes and honour killing on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity all over Africa.
Public opinion also really increases vulnerability to HIV by LGBTIs. Irrespective of restrictive or enabling laws and political systems, public opinion toward homosexuality in African countries extremely hostile.African public opinion ranks most homophobic in the world in international opinions surveys. On average, 85–99% of African people consider that homosexuality should not be accepted by society (Ottosson, 2009).
Some roots of hostile public opinion include:opinion that homosexuality is ‘un-African’&the misconception that homosexuality was introduced to Africa by foreigners, tendency of organised religion to brand homosexuality as immoral and sinful and family/cultural expectations to have partnerships that bear children.
LGBTI persons are fearful to disclose their sexual behaviours or same-sex orientation to family members & health care staff. They feel unable to or fearful of coming forward to ask for help. This in turn prevents access to knowledge, skills and services that would help meet HIV prevention and treatment needs.
The compounded consequences of homophobic stigma from society, communities, religious groups, family and friends have direct impact on an individual’s sense of personal worth. A lack of self-esteem that arises from stigma reduces a person’s motivation to protect themselves from high-risk behaviours.
Pick the already serious concoction of state sponsored homophobia, hostile public opinion, covertness and homoprejudice produce and add to the lack of knowledge & personal skills, the low self-esteem and self-efficacy belief, inaccessibility & unavailability of prevention and treatment services and the hostile and stigmatising societal environment, you have a perfect recipe for making the LGBTI persons and community more vulnerable to engaging in high risk behaviour and HIV infection.
With this kind of situation, will we stand back and just watch? Will we propagate hate and fuel dogmatic propaganda about moral scales that cannot even be traced from whence they were gotten? “In the words of Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, “Hate has no place in the house of God. No one should be excluded from our love, our compassion or our concern… because of their sexual orientation. Nor should anyone be excluded from health care…. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are… part of the human family… part of God's family… part of the African family. But a wave of hate is spreading across my beloved continent. People are again being denied their fundamental rights and freedoms…. Our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters across Africa are living in fear. And they are living in hiding -- away from care, away from the protection the state should offer to every citizen and away from health care in the AIDS era… ” We must not allow oppression to continue.
Cultural, social & political context for LGBTI in Africa increases their vulnerability to HIV. Generally, countries that have decriminalised same sex behaviour and offered legal protections to LGBTI see more LGBTI coming forward for prevention, testing & treatment. In order to address the HIV epidemic in Africa, African LGBTI, as individuals and collectively, must be acknowledged and recognised. LGBTI must be afforded legal protection and access to health services, and ensured their fundamental human rights.
Written by MaqC Eric Gitau, General Manager, Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sports Club:State Government revokes certificate of occupancy
Delta state Government has revoked the certificate of occupancy of Asaba sport club and taken over the premises recently vandalized by unscrupulous persons in other to reduce tension and avoid loss of lives and property.
The state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan who announced this while inspecting projects in Asaba said the compulsory acquisition of the property was informed by the unprovoked violence and destruction visited on the Sports Club by criminals.
He said the property would henceforth be used for public good explaining that instead of allowing crisis to deny club members their relaxation outfit government take over of the property would restore sanity.
Piqued by the level of destruction of properties in the Club, the governor directed the State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Mamman Tsafe to track down suspects and bring them to book.
He regretted the level people can go to destroy the dreams and aspirations of others, warning that the law must take its full course on those who carried out the dastardly act.
Governor Uduaghan said those who destroy people’s property of others should not be allowed to go free and should be punished to serve as deterrent to others.
In his words “This destruction is unfair, wicked, intolerable and the Commission of Police will track and arrest the perpetuators.”
The governor who inspected schools under renovation in Asaba gave contractors handling such jobs six months dead line to complete them.
He also directed the contractors handing such jobs to execute them professionally and meet all specifications.
Speaking further, he stated that his administration would create conducive environment for academic excellence in primary and post primary institutions in the state saying “we believe that our children should be taught in a better environment, so we are building modern schools.”
Dr. Uduaghan said when completed the school would be properly staffed and equipped with state of the art facilities while classroom blocks would wear ultra modern schools.
The governor who was also at the Airport announced that the airport tank farm, otherwise known as aviation fuel depot has reached 85% completion, adding that when functional the airport will be viable for air cargo flights.
“The airport dream is a collective one, l am quite happy we are moving steadily on the project. The strategy is to make it an international airport because the location is strategic and viable.”
The governor was accompanied on the visit by some legislators and executive members and conducted round the projects by the Commission for Special Duties on special infrastructure, Mrs. Orezie Eseivo.
The state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan who announced this while inspecting projects in Asaba said the compulsory acquisition of the property was informed by the unprovoked violence and destruction visited on the Sports Club by criminals.
He said the property would henceforth be used for public good explaining that instead of allowing crisis to deny club members their relaxation outfit government take over of the property would restore sanity.
Piqued by the level of destruction of properties in the Club, the governor directed the State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Mamman Tsafe to track down suspects and bring them to book.
He regretted the level people can go to destroy the dreams and aspirations of others, warning that the law must take its full course on those who carried out the dastardly act.
Governor Uduaghan said those who destroy people’s property of others should not be allowed to go free and should be punished to serve as deterrent to others.
In his words “This destruction is unfair, wicked, intolerable and the Commission of Police will track and arrest the perpetuators.”
The governor who inspected schools under renovation in Asaba gave contractors handling such jobs six months dead line to complete them.
He also directed the contractors handing such jobs to execute them professionally and meet all specifications.
Speaking further, he stated that his administration would create conducive environment for academic excellence in primary and post primary institutions in the state saying “we believe that our children should be taught in a better environment, so we are building modern schools.”
Dr. Uduaghan said when completed the school would be properly staffed and equipped with state of the art facilities while classroom blocks would wear ultra modern schools.
The governor who was also at the Airport announced that the airport tank farm, otherwise known as aviation fuel depot has reached 85% completion, adding that when functional the airport will be viable for air cargo flights.
“The airport dream is a collective one, l am quite happy we are moving steadily on the project. The strategy is to make it an international airport because the location is strategic and viable.”
The governor was accompanied on the visit by some legislators and executive members and conducted round the projects by the Commission for Special Duties on special infrastructure, Mrs. Orezie Eseivo.
UDUAGHAN BECKONS PRIVATE SECTOR TO PARTNER DTSG
Delta state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has, invited the private sector to partner with his administration in its effort to accelerate economic growth in the state.
Dr. Uduaghan who made the request during the commissioning of Ultimate Food Industry in Asaba promised to encourage the private sector to invest in the state towards the creation of employment.
He congratulated the Managing Director (M.D.) of Ultimate Food Industry, Mr. Jonas Okafor, for choosing Delta state for his investment, nothing that the outfit would provide employment for youths and speed up the economic growth of the town.
“The oil Industry cannot employ all our youths that is why we encourage private investment. This outfit has helped to employ some of our youths and this has removed them from the unemployment market”, he said.
The governor observed that the outfit was strategically located as it was directly opposite the stadium and promised that the stadium would soon be completed.
He commended Mr Okafor for contributing his quota to the economic growth of Delta state and the country.
In a brief opening address, Mr. Okafor said that the aim of his company was to empower Nigerians, especially the youths by creating jobs.
He disclosed that the fast food was a subsidiary of Jonas Ltd and had earlier in June 2011 opened an outfit of Ultimate taste fast food in Asaba which according to him had employed over 150 Deltans.
Present at the commissioning was the Catholic Bishop of Issele-Uku Diocese, His Lordship, Michael Elue among others.
Dr. Uduaghan who made the request during the commissioning of Ultimate Food Industry in Asaba promised to encourage the private sector to invest in the state towards the creation of employment.
He congratulated the Managing Director (M.D.) of Ultimate Food Industry, Mr. Jonas Okafor, for choosing Delta state for his investment, nothing that the outfit would provide employment for youths and speed up the economic growth of the town.
“The oil Industry cannot employ all our youths that is why we encourage private investment. This outfit has helped to employ some of our youths and this has removed them from the unemployment market”, he said.
The governor observed that the outfit was strategically located as it was directly opposite the stadium and promised that the stadium would soon be completed.
He commended Mr Okafor for contributing his quota to the economic growth of Delta state and the country.
In a brief opening address, Mr. Okafor said that the aim of his company was to empower Nigerians, especially the youths by creating jobs.
He disclosed that the fast food was a subsidiary of Jonas Ltd and had earlier in June 2011 opened an outfit of Ultimate taste fast food in Asaba which according to him had employed over 150 Deltans.
Present at the commissioning was the Catholic Bishop of Issele-Uku Diocese, His Lordship, Michael Elue among others.
Nigeria: living in the shadow of Boko Haram
Ejiro Barrett
The Boko Haram threat has facilitated a militarisation of Nigeria's Northern states
The massive security presence on the streets of Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, and several cities across the country’s northern states is a vivid narrative of the security challenges that the country faces. This is the face that the Nigerian government wants the world to see as proof of its readiness to fight the fundamentalist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, which has sporadically been waging a clandestine war of terror against the government and its security agencies since 2009.
The country’s leadership has assumed a hawkish approach in its war against this amorphous terror network. Security cameras have been installed at every key intersection around the city in a desperate attempt by the government to seize the initiative, while a heavy military presence in the north of the country, where the group has executed its terror with fatal consequences, has exposed the government’s methods as ruthless. This is Nigeria’s first face off with a coordinated Islamic fundamentalist terror organization, but its second recent terror threat after the Independence Day bombings allegedly executed by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in October 2010.
Boko Haram claims that its campaign is in retaliation to the military operations in 2009 – intended to quell protests against a government decision in the northern Borno state to evict members of the group from a settlement they had built within the state’s capital and their stronghold, Maiduguri. This decision was based on reports that the group was building a large anti-government support base within the state. The protests that resulted from the evacuation attempts quickly spiraled out of control when heavy handed military tactics to quell them led to the loss of over seven hundred lives, including that of the group’s leader, Mohammed Yusuf. His death in the hands of security agents raised many questions and signaled the start of an all out war declared by the group’s members who vowed revenge.
There are also signs that the Boko Haram threat is unveiling undertones of a geopolitical divide. Opinions in the southern, largely Christian, states, whose citizens have been easy targets for rioters in the north, have been swayed by allegations that the attacks are direct attempts by the northern political leadership to make the country ungovernable for Nigeria’s first southern minority president, Goodluck Jonathan. Giving credence to this belief is the opinion that the shift in the country’s political power base has provoked northern anger and a desire to frustrate the government’s efforts at implementing its policies.
The allegations of a northern political conspiracy are a bit farfetched but also not completely implausible. However, unlike the insurrections in the Niger Delta in the late 90s and early 2000s, Boko Haram is not driven by any ambitions of ethnic or political relevance within the Nigerian context. It has hinged its war on the demand for the implementation of Sharia law specifically across the Muslim north, and revenge for the deaths of its leader and other members. It has so far focused its campaign largely on assassinating members of the northern elite whom it considers corrupt and impervious to the people’s needs.
Finding a solution to this phenomenon appears to be a frustrating task for the Nigerian government. This task has been made even more difficult by the fact that very little is known about the group’s sponsors. They have however gradually built a large following and a coordinated network of cells without being detected by Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS). Information has, however, started filtering down: there is some evidence that the group receives motivation, material, and ideological support or influence from a global jihadist movement, but its origins are traceable more to a homegrown phenomenon than any external support.
Boko Haram, which means ‘western education is forbidden’, is a pseudonym used to describe the group known as Jama’atul Ahul Sunnah Lidda’wati wal Jihad, which is Arabic for; ‘people committed to the propagation of the prophet’s teachings and jihad.’ In 2002 it sprouted from the growing influence religious groups enjoyed with the reintroduction of Sharia at state level within the region. For its leader, Yusuf, it was an opportunity to build a strong support base that would aid his radical ideas. The alias captures the resistance of the group to western influences, but oversimplifies their demands. While the declaration of a ban on western education is true, their list of demands include the introduction of strict Islamic laws across the Muslim north, but does not include the southern part of the country, as they do not consider themselves a part of Nigeria’s current geopolitical framework.
Religious fanaticism has always existed in Nigeria in one form or another and has occasionally provoked conflicts across the country’s volatile religious divide – Boko Haram’s activities share obvious similarities with some other fanatical Islamic sects that have emerged at different times on the country’s unsettled religious scene. Some of the most prominent of these groups, such as Maitatsine, Izalla, Quaddiriya, Tijjaniya, Derika, and the Kablu, have exploited the stagnant economic situation in the north, building their support amongst the teeming population of unemployed youth, known locally as Al Majirin, reliant on religious teachings that promise a better life under the implementation of strict religious laws.
Like Boko Haram, the most notorious of these groups, Maitatsine, entered public consciousness in 1982 following protracted riots on the streets of another northern Nigerian city, Kano, before spreading to Yola, Maiduguri, Bauchi and Gombe. Estimates suggest that at least 4,000 people lost their lives, but suicide attacks or covert operations against institutions of government or offices of international organisations were not employed.
In the three years of its daring assault on Nigeria’s security agencies, Boko Haram continues to undermine the efforts of the agencies to wipe it out. They have carried out attacks on the police and army with horrifying accuracy and have assassinated several key politicians in the north. Victims of this new offensive include a gubernatorial candidate, widely expected to win the elections held earlier this year in Borno state, and an aide to another northern state governor. The violence in the northern states, particularly in Borno, have provoked mass migrations of Christian residents – mostly from the south – and members of Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps, deployed to the northern states for their mandatory one year of national service, have also been targeted.
Estimates put the number of lives lost since the group began its offensive against government at over four hundred. The threat of attacks in Abuja, where they carried out the suicide bombing on the national headquarters of the police and the United Nations’ Nigeria office, has stifled a once lively nightlife scene. The seriousness of the Boko Haram threat also persuaded the president to cancel events organised to celebrate the country’s Fifty First independence anniversary.
The similarities between Boko Haram and other Islamic fundamentalist groups are most evident in doctrines and the social conditions that exist within the environment from which they recruit their followers. Boko Haram appears to have imbibed the tactics of international terror organisations with frightening success, and the failure of Nigeria’s security agencies to stop them suggests that their campaign may continue for some time to come. It is not only the incapacity of the security agencies that frightens most Nigerians, but the apprehension that this phenomenon may lead to the proliferation of similar groups. All indications suggest that the sentiments these groups ride on will remain as long as government strategy to stop the attacks is considered by the northern public to be both oppressive and selective.
Ejiro Barrett is a freelance journalist and reporter. He writes a weekly column for The Nigerian Observer.
The Boko Haram threat has facilitated a militarisation of Nigeria's Northern states
The massive security presence on the streets of Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, and several cities across the country’s northern states is a vivid narrative of the security challenges that the country faces. This is the face that the Nigerian government wants the world to see as proof of its readiness to fight the fundamentalist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, which has sporadically been waging a clandestine war of terror against the government and its security agencies since 2009.
The country’s leadership has assumed a hawkish approach in its war against this amorphous terror network. Security cameras have been installed at every key intersection around the city in a desperate attempt by the government to seize the initiative, while a heavy military presence in the north of the country, where the group has executed its terror with fatal consequences, has exposed the government’s methods as ruthless. This is Nigeria’s first face off with a coordinated Islamic fundamentalist terror organization, but its second recent terror threat after the Independence Day bombings allegedly executed by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in October 2010.
Boko Haram claims that its campaign is in retaliation to the military operations in 2009 – intended to quell protests against a government decision in the northern Borno state to evict members of the group from a settlement they had built within the state’s capital and their stronghold, Maiduguri. This decision was based on reports that the group was building a large anti-government support base within the state. The protests that resulted from the evacuation attempts quickly spiraled out of control when heavy handed military tactics to quell them led to the loss of over seven hundred lives, including that of the group’s leader, Mohammed Yusuf. His death in the hands of security agents raised many questions and signaled the start of an all out war declared by the group’s members who vowed revenge.
There are also signs that the Boko Haram threat is unveiling undertones of a geopolitical divide. Opinions in the southern, largely Christian, states, whose citizens have been easy targets for rioters in the north, have been swayed by allegations that the attacks are direct attempts by the northern political leadership to make the country ungovernable for Nigeria’s first southern minority president, Goodluck Jonathan. Giving credence to this belief is the opinion that the shift in the country’s political power base has provoked northern anger and a desire to frustrate the government’s efforts at implementing its policies.
The allegations of a northern political conspiracy are a bit farfetched but also not completely implausible. However, unlike the insurrections in the Niger Delta in the late 90s and early 2000s, Boko Haram is not driven by any ambitions of ethnic or political relevance within the Nigerian context. It has hinged its war on the demand for the implementation of Sharia law specifically across the Muslim north, and revenge for the deaths of its leader and other members. It has so far focused its campaign largely on assassinating members of the northern elite whom it considers corrupt and impervious to the people’s needs.
Finding a solution to this phenomenon appears to be a frustrating task for the Nigerian government. This task has been made even more difficult by the fact that very little is known about the group’s sponsors. They have however gradually built a large following and a coordinated network of cells without being detected by Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS). Information has, however, started filtering down: there is some evidence that the group receives motivation, material, and ideological support or influence from a global jihadist movement, but its origins are traceable more to a homegrown phenomenon than any external support.
Boko Haram, which means ‘western education is forbidden’, is a pseudonym used to describe the group known as Jama’atul Ahul Sunnah Lidda’wati wal Jihad, which is Arabic for; ‘people committed to the propagation of the prophet’s teachings and jihad.’ In 2002 it sprouted from the growing influence religious groups enjoyed with the reintroduction of Sharia at state level within the region. For its leader, Yusuf, it was an opportunity to build a strong support base that would aid his radical ideas. The alias captures the resistance of the group to western influences, but oversimplifies their demands. While the declaration of a ban on western education is true, their list of demands include the introduction of strict Islamic laws across the Muslim north, but does not include the southern part of the country, as they do not consider themselves a part of Nigeria’s current geopolitical framework.
Religious fanaticism has always existed in Nigeria in one form or another and has occasionally provoked conflicts across the country’s volatile religious divide – Boko Haram’s activities share obvious similarities with some other fanatical Islamic sects that have emerged at different times on the country’s unsettled religious scene. Some of the most prominent of these groups, such as Maitatsine, Izalla, Quaddiriya, Tijjaniya, Derika, and the Kablu, have exploited the stagnant economic situation in the north, building their support amongst the teeming population of unemployed youth, known locally as Al Majirin, reliant on religious teachings that promise a better life under the implementation of strict religious laws.
Like Boko Haram, the most notorious of these groups, Maitatsine, entered public consciousness in 1982 following protracted riots on the streets of another northern Nigerian city, Kano, before spreading to Yola, Maiduguri, Bauchi and Gombe. Estimates suggest that at least 4,000 people lost their lives, but suicide attacks or covert operations against institutions of government or offices of international organisations were not employed.
In the three years of its daring assault on Nigeria’s security agencies, Boko Haram continues to undermine the efforts of the agencies to wipe it out. They have carried out attacks on the police and army with horrifying accuracy and have assassinated several key politicians in the north. Victims of this new offensive include a gubernatorial candidate, widely expected to win the elections held earlier this year in Borno state, and an aide to another northern state governor. The violence in the northern states, particularly in Borno, have provoked mass migrations of Christian residents – mostly from the south – and members of Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps, deployed to the northern states for their mandatory one year of national service, have also been targeted.
Estimates put the number of lives lost since the group began its offensive against government at over four hundred. The threat of attacks in Abuja, where they carried out the suicide bombing on the national headquarters of the police and the United Nations’ Nigeria office, has stifled a once lively nightlife scene. The seriousness of the Boko Haram threat also persuaded the president to cancel events organised to celebrate the country’s Fifty First independence anniversary.
The similarities between Boko Haram and other Islamic fundamentalist groups are most evident in doctrines and the social conditions that exist within the environment from which they recruit their followers. Boko Haram appears to have imbibed the tactics of international terror organisations with frightening success, and the failure of Nigeria’s security agencies to stop them suggests that their campaign may continue for some time to come. It is not only the incapacity of the security agencies that frightens most Nigerians, but the apprehension that this phenomenon may lead to the proliferation of similar groups. All indications suggest that the sentiments these groups ride on will remain as long as government strategy to stop the attacks is considered by the northern public to be both oppressive and selective.
Ejiro Barrett is a freelance journalist and reporter. He writes a weekly column for The Nigerian Observer.
Drainage Problems to soon end.......Uduaghan
Delta state governor Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has assured the residents of Asaba that the drainage project currently going on in the town would drastically reduce flooding and erosion in the state capital.
Dr. Uduaghan who disclosed this while inspecting the project expressed delight at the progress so far made inspite of the challenges it faced during the raining seasons.
He said at the pace the project was being executed the flood and erosion that ravaged some areas in Asaba would not be witnessed in the next raining season.
Emphasizing further he said “the present project will check erosion and completely direct flooding towards the anwai river so that the flood that visited some parts of Asaba during the raining season will not be seen next year”
The governor therefore charged the contractor to accelerate work so that the target and purpose of the project would be realized.
Dr. Uduaghan recalled the criticism that trailed the project during the raining season and said that with the progress made it was now clear that the contractor was serious and was only being affected by weather.
His words “it is now clear that the contractor is serious because the job is moving fast and I am satisfied with what I am seeing.”
Conducting the governor round, the site engineer of Modis Construction and Engineering Services Ltd, Mr. Peter Kari explained that they were constructing the manhole to channel flood through Inter-Bau to Anwai River.
He observed that they were working along okpanam road saying “ we are constructing the manhole on the left hand side of the road for now, when we are through we will begin work on the other side of the road this will help channel flood from both sides through Inter-Bau round-about to Anwai river”.
Explaining further, he noted that walkways would also be constructed on both sides of the road.
The governor was accompanied on the inspection by the Commissioner for Works, Hon. Funkekeme Solomon among others.
Dr. Uduaghan who disclosed this while inspecting the project expressed delight at the progress so far made inspite of the challenges it faced during the raining seasons.
He said at the pace the project was being executed the flood and erosion that ravaged some areas in Asaba would not be witnessed in the next raining season.
Emphasizing further he said “the present project will check erosion and completely direct flooding towards the anwai river so that the flood that visited some parts of Asaba during the raining season will not be seen next year”
The governor therefore charged the contractor to accelerate work so that the target and purpose of the project would be realized.
Dr. Uduaghan recalled the criticism that trailed the project during the raining season and said that with the progress made it was now clear that the contractor was serious and was only being affected by weather.
His words “it is now clear that the contractor is serious because the job is moving fast and I am satisfied with what I am seeing.”
Conducting the governor round, the site engineer of Modis Construction and Engineering Services Ltd, Mr. Peter Kari explained that they were constructing the manhole to channel flood through Inter-Bau to Anwai River.
He observed that they were working along okpanam road saying “ we are constructing the manhole on the left hand side of the road for now, when we are through we will begin work on the other side of the road this will help channel flood from both sides through Inter-Bau round-about to Anwai river”.
Explaining further, he noted that walkways would also be constructed on both sides of the road.
The governor was accompanied on the inspection by the Commissioner for Works, Hon. Funkekeme Solomon among others.
80% Of Nigerians Oppose Subsidy Removal - Pollsters
A recent public opinion poll conducted by the Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE-Nigeria) and CLEEN Foundation indicates that over 80 percent of Nigerians oppose the fuel subsidy removal plan.
ACE Nigeria’s, Deputy General Secretary, Asuzu Echezona, yesterday made the opinion poll’s findings available to LEADERSHIP.
The document considered arguments by government for the subsidy removal as largely flawed. Only recently, when horse trading over the payment of minimum wage raged, most State governors placed the removal of fuel subsidy as condition for its payment to workers of the N18, 000 minimum wage agreed with organised labour. On the part of the federal government, it has warned severally that retaining fuel subsidy has become unsustainable. The Nigerian economy would collapse in the next two years if fuel subsidy is not removed, the federal government has reportedly argued.
“However compelling the argument by government appears, what is perplexing is the insistence of government that it must implement the policy with or without public support. This sort of public defiance only makes one wonder whether democracy is still government by the people, of the people and for the people.” The document read.
The report noted that before the 2011 general elections, the issue of removal of fuel subsidy was already in the public domain. But curiously, despite the plethora of presidential debates held prior to the April 2011 general elections, review of Nigeria’s fuel subsidy regime was not adequately addressed thus denying Nigerians the opportunity of making choices on the contentious plan at the polling booth rather than on the streets.
“It was also expected that if Nigerians were to vote according to issues the position of political aspirants on fuel subsidy would have largely determined the ballot swing given the crucial place of petroleum in the day to day life of the average Nigerian.
ACE Nigeria’s, Deputy General Secretary, Asuzu Echezona, yesterday made the opinion poll’s findings available to LEADERSHIP.
The document considered arguments by government for the subsidy removal as largely flawed. Only recently, when horse trading over the payment of minimum wage raged, most State governors placed the removal of fuel subsidy as condition for its payment to workers of the N18, 000 minimum wage agreed with organised labour. On the part of the federal government, it has warned severally that retaining fuel subsidy has become unsustainable. The Nigerian economy would collapse in the next two years if fuel subsidy is not removed, the federal government has reportedly argued.
“However compelling the argument by government appears, what is perplexing is the insistence of government that it must implement the policy with or without public support. This sort of public defiance only makes one wonder whether democracy is still government by the people, of the people and for the people.” The document read.
The report noted that before the 2011 general elections, the issue of removal of fuel subsidy was already in the public domain. But curiously, despite the plethora of presidential debates held prior to the April 2011 general elections, review of Nigeria’s fuel subsidy regime was not adequately addressed thus denying Nigerians the opportunity of making choices on the contentious plan at the polling booth rather than on the streets.
“It was also expected that if Nigerians were to vote according to issues the position of political aspirants on fuel subsidy would have largely determined the ballot swing given the crucial place of petroleum in the day to day life of the average Nigerian.
Re: Nigeria’s Identity Crisis (I Hate You-You Fear Me)
Ifeoma Dike
"We have been robbed of meritocracy, excellence and unity, we are still battling favouritism, federal quota, zoning, catchments areas, state of origin in a world that is consistently getting smaller through globalisation and the need to fight a collective cause(despite the hypocrisy and shared interests)." Dickson 2011
Words that are so true they almost throw themselves at you. Words that have become the bane of our society, the cause of our social malaise, ineptitude, unbridled rivalry, disingenuous and malappropriate discrimination on the grounds of who you are, who you know and where you come from.
Surely ones place in a society should be predicated on ones capabilities and competencies rather than on ones ethnic affiliations. In a society where ones life outcomes are increasingly being judged on ones ethnic origins, social progression and the d-mystification of these entangled web of social injustice can only exacerbate a degenerative apathy towards the State by those who have the most to give but have been so denied of such contributory access. Conversely, the links that exists between the political actors, the ruling classes, the civil service and ethnicity is bound to the wound up in the State being denied of the best of breed i.e. by Meritocrats or Technocrats (the new Italian Govt for example).
This dysfunctional and mythical creation will in itself and over time disenfranchise those who have the most to give who in an attempt to keep their sanity may well flee to foreign lands in an attempt to seek solace and also be able to function as a more less equal member of their host society. The resultant effect/impact on the Nigerian State thus become real especially as the investments made in developing and embedding such ethnicity becomes counter productive thereby resulting into the State run and managed by less capable, ill equipped and puppet driven political and public service actors.
Added to this is the cancerous act of nepotism and political god fatherism. The flagrant execution of such discriminatory acts on the grounds of knowing some one or being related to some one or even knowing some one who knows some one means that intelligence, capability and competence will at all times in the Nigerian State continue to play second fiddle to those who are so well connected but may lack the intellectual capacity to execute the tenets of the office that they have become vested.
... and then there is bribery and corrupt practises but then again this very act also seeks to perpetuate and legitimise those who already have against those who can ill afford in becoming heirs and heir apparent to a commonwealth that should legitimately belong to every one - rich or poor, royal or commoner, Ibo, Hausa, Yoruba, Efik, Edo or Ijaw.
So where do we go from here? is there a panacea or even a recipe that can guarantee success for Nigeria? should this be home grown? or is there a pro recipe that can be copied or even tailored to meet our contextual circumstances? Does the intellectuals at home and abroad have a role to play in gradually tearing apart these unethical fabrics that have come to define our very own Nation? is there a silver bullet?
I am not sure that any one can truly answer any of these questions, but one this remains true to form, the revolution that is sweeping through the Middle East right now may never take route in a place like Nigeria, we are scared shit less to challenge any form of authority especially those have guns and ammunition, the Nigerian values life more than martyrdom unless of course the Boko Harams.
An evolutionary process that can take root may gradually and over time provide a platform for such egalitarian access for all regardless of ones ethnic origin, religion, rich or poor, connected or not. The University Professors must stop taking bribes or being nepotic in giving University Admission places - it really should be done on merit with those able and capable being afforded places. we must also begin to lay the foundations of vocational education, decry ill gotten wealth, promote excellence whilst supporting the less able with identifying appropriate and engaging opportunities for them.
A society with few elites and a huge mass of the down trodden will over time precipitate and combust.
"We have been robbed of meritocracy, excellence and unity, we are still battling favouritism, federal quota, zoning, catchments areas, state of origin in a world that is consistently getting smaller through globalisation and the need to fight a collective cause(despite the hypocrisy and shared interests)." Dickson 2011
Words that are so true they almost throw themselves at you. Words that have become the bane of our society, the cause of our social malaise, ineptitude, unbridled rivalry, disingenuous and malappropriate discrimination on the grounds of who you are, who you know and where you come from.
Surely ones place in a society should be predicated on ones capabilities and competencies rather than on ones ethnic affiliations. In a society where ones life outcomes are increasingly being judged on ones ethnic origins, social progression and the d-mystification of these entangled web of social injustice can only exacerbate a degenerative apathy towards the State by those who have the most to give but have been so denied of such contributory access. Conversely, the links that exists between the political actors, the ruling classes, the civil service and ethnicity is bound to the wound up in the State being denied of the best of breed i.e. by Meritocrats or Technocrats (the new Italian Govt for example).
This dysfunctional and mythical creation will in itself and over time disenfranchise those who have the most to give who in an attempt to keep their sanity may well flee to foreign lands in an attempt to seek solace and also be able to function as a more less equal member of their host society. The resultant effect/impact on the Nigerian State thus become real especially as the investments made in developing and embedding such ethnicity becomes counter productive thereby resulting into the State run and managed by less capable, ill equipped and puppet driven political and public service actors.
Added to this is the cancerous act of nepotism and political god fatherism. The flagrant execution of such discriminatory acts on the grounds of knowing some one or being related to some one or even knowing some one who knows some one means that intelligence, capability and competence will at all times in the Nigerian State continue to play second fiddle to those who are so well connected but may lack the intellectual capacity to execute the tenets of the office that they have become vested.
... and then there is bribery and corrupt practises but then again this very act also seeks to perpetuate and legitimise those who already have against those who can ill afford in becoming heirs and heir apparent to a commonwealth that should legitimately belong to every one - rich or poor, royal or commoner, Ibo, Hausa, Yoruba, Efik, Edo or Ijaw.
So where do we go from here? is there a panacea or even a recipe that can guarantee success for Nigeria? should this be home grown? or is there a pro recipe that can be copied or even tailored to meet our contextual circumstances? Does the intellectuals at home and abroad have a role to play in gradually tearing apart these unethical fabrics that have come to define our very own Nation? is there a silver bullet?
I am not sure that any one can truly answer any of these questions, but one this remains true to form, the revolution that is sweeping through the Middle East right now may never take route in a place like Nigeria, we are scared shit less to challenge any form of authority especially those have guns and ammunition, the Nigerian values life more than martyrdom unless of course the Boko Harams.
An evolutionary process that can take root may gradually and over time provide a platform for such egalitarian access for all regardless of ones ethnic origin, religion, rich or poor, connected or not. The University Professors must stop taking bribes or being nepotic in giving University Admission places - it really should be done on merit with those able and capable being afforded places. we must also begin to lay the foundations of vocational education, decry ill gotten wealth, promote excellence whilst supporting the less able with identifying appropriate and engaging opportunities for them.
A society with few elites and a huge mass of the down trodden will over time precipitate and combust.
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