Nigeria's new sweatshops

Written by Leo Lawal in Lagos   
Friday, 28 January 2011 17:12



You can’t just walk into the Amigo plant, a heavily fortified factory on ­Ladipo Oluwole Street. Lined with security cameras and a fence topped with razor wire, it looks more like a maximum-security facility than a manufacturing plant.


Teenagers and younger children start arriving by 5am on foot from the working-class suburbs, all hoping they will make it to the factory floor.By 7.30am, the gates are open. The lucky ones are selected and given an ad hoc ID card. Workers get an hour’s break and work ends at 5pm. They receive N800 daily, just over $5, equivalent to around $0.60 an hour.


The children are full of praise for the Chinese owners. “I have to work here so that I can save to buy my high school certificate form. If not for these Chinese, who will employ me?” asks one young worker called Njideka. “Our big men in Nigeria don’t start factories, they buy plenty, plenty of cars and jeeps. At least these Chinese are trying,” .


“My friend took me to her uncle to see if I can get any job, but the man wants ‘something’ from me before he will give me a job. But even if I give him that ‘thing’, I am not sure I will still get the job, so I walked here to the Chinese factory. It’s tough, but what alternative do I have, unless I stay at home and starve?”

 theafricareport.com/archives2/business/5136114-nigerias-new-sweatshops.html

Nigeria's Almajiri children learning a life of poverty and violence

RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE

January 07, 2010|By Christian Purefoy, CNN
A forlorn murmur of young voices echoes from a shack pieced together from rusted corrugated iron.
Inside, more than 50 children with torn clothes and unwashed faces hunch over small wooden tablets or torn scraps of paper with sections of the Quran.
Above them stands a 20-year-old with a small whip -- the children are here to memorize the Quran.
They are the Almajiri.
On the walls hang small bags with their few belongings. In these dark, cramped conditions, the children must study, sleep and eat.
It's an ancient tradition. Poor families from rural areas across West Africa send their children to a network of Islamic boarding schools in the cities of northern Nigeria.
Once here, often hundreds of kilometers from their families, they receive little education and no money.
The Almajiri must beg to survive. Across the north, an afternoon break in classes sends the children flooding into the streets with small bowls to search for any scraps.
Over the past few decades, the system has been overwhelmed and neglected.
And abused.
One young man sent by his family from neighboring Niger told CNN how the schools use him and other children as foot soldiers in religious clashes.
Fearing for his life, he spoke on condition of anonymity, telling how he lost his arm in 2000 in religious violence that killed about 1,000 people in the northern city of Kaduna.
"I blame my Quranic teacher, who sent me to fight during the riots," he said.
"He has ruined my life."
In 2000, about 1,000 people died in religious violence, and hundreds more two years later, after the Miss World competition was to be held in Kaduna. Many of the perpetrators came from the Almajiri.
The Nigeria-based Almajiri Education Foundation says on its Web site: " 'Almajiri' is a word borrowed from Arabic for someone who leaves his home in search of knowledge in Islamic religion. In the ideal situation, the communities should support these children as they leave their families to become a servant of Allah.
"Unfortunately this has not been the case," the foundation's site continues, "and many young boys are leaving their homes only to end up in the streets begging. They have no one to turn to."
Though there are no exact figures on the Almajiri, they are estimated to number in the millions.
The only census ever taken was in Kano state, which found in 2006 that there were 1.2 million Almajiri in Kano alone. One researcher working with UNICEF estimates that 60 percent of the children never return home.
"We can see the manifestations in child begging, child destitution, child trafficking," said Muhamed Laden, a professor of law at Ahmadu Bello University.
"And then they're easily instigated for them to be involved as children in such conflicts that have largely been violent and very bloody in this part of the world."
The government is looking into monitoring and licensing the schools, but the National Council for the Welfare of the Destitute, which is piloting such a program, complains of too little funding.
Council officials warn that the consequences of ignoring the children could be dire.
"They're a real threat -- a real problem -- to the society, unless you address this issue now," said Usman Jibrin, the council's president.
"Otherwise, these children will one day take over control of this country -- in a very unpleasant way."
The children are a violent threat to Nigeria, but also its first victims.

 articles.cnn.com/2010-01-07/world/nigeria.children.radicalization_1_religious-violence-religious-clashes-kano?_s=PM:WORLD

China and Nigeria Building Huge Free Trade Zone in Lagos

in the commercial capital, Lagos. Chinese companies will use the facility to manufacture goods for export throughout Africa.

On the tip of the Lekki Peninsula in Lagos, Nigeria and China are building a 16,000 hectare free trade zone to develop local manufacturing and reduce Nigeria's dependence on imported consumer goods.

It is one of the fastest growing areas in Lagos State and will soon have a new deep water port, an international airport and new hotels as part of a 60-40 partnership between the Chinese government and Lagos State.

Adeyemo Thompson is deputy managing director of the Lekki Free Zone Development Company. He says construction is on schedule for Chinese shareholders that include the China Railway Construction Corporation and the China-Africa Development Fund.

"In accordance with the master plan and the projections that we have made, I think, the first phase of the zone, that is the 3,000 hectare zone, will probably be close to a $5 billion investment, that is inclusive of the infrastructure we going to put on the ground, the roads, the power plants, the water plants," Thompson said.

The global financial crisis has reduced demand for Chinese goods in the United States and Europe. Thompson says the Nigerian free trade zone gives Chinese companies greater access to growing African markets for consumer goods, electrical equipment, and industrial products.

"Part of the reason why Lekki Free Zone is so attractive to the Chinese is that, the Chinese government is encouraging those companies which are shutting down in China to move out," he added. "There are funds which the government has provided for these companies to encourage them to move out to come and set up their factories in other parts of the world. We have that market. Now the Nigeria government is also encouraging investors to go to China and probably buy those factories, which are shut down, maybe at a quarter of the price and bring them into Lekki, set it up and manufacture those goods which you know you have 100 percent market right here."

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola says the free trade zone will help develop Nigeria's manufacturing sector while cutting prices for consumers.

"There is a huge market immediately waiting, when you look at the how much our people spend importing goods from across the world, or for how much they pay in excess baggage at major airports, bringing this here is like bringing home prosperity," said Fashola.

Nearly 90 percent of products used in Nigeria come from outside the country. The free trade zone will allow Nigerians to buy many of the same products now produced in China without the cost of importing them, while creating jobs for Nigerian workers.

Chinese firms gain both more immediate access to African markets and far cheaper routes to ship their "Made in Nigeria" exports to Europe.

 voanews.com/english/news/asia/China-and-Nigeria-Building-Huge-Free-Trade-Zone-in-Lagos-102148814.html

Nigerian Muslims Lock University Poll Workers in Hostel & Torch It

An unidentified man walks past the destroyed Zonkwa market in Zonkwa, Nigeria, Thursday, April 21, 2011. Nigerian officials on Thursday delayed next week’s gubernatorial elections in two predominantly Muslim northern states that have been wracked by deadly riots and retaliatory violence since the presidential election was won by a Christian from the country’s south. (AP/Sunday Alamba)
A group of university students were among the dead last week after the presidential elections in Nigeria. The young poll workers were locked in their hostel and it was set ablaze after the Muslim candidate lost in a landslide.
Macon.com reported:
Officials tasked the four young college graduates with monitoring election stations during Nigeria’s presidential vote. Then when the poll results unleashed sectarian violence, an angry mob killed them by locking them inside their youth hostel and setting it ablaze.
Dozens of their colleagues in a nearby state narrowly escaped death after rioters torched their hostel too, leaving many with serious burns and few options to go home.
Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps is a mandatory yearlong assignment for all Nigerians who graduate from university before the age of 30. Most serve as teachers during their stint, but the April national elections have brought extra responsibilities – and danger – to their work.
Now federal officials are vowing to step up protection for young volunteers in the areas wracked by violence, while worried parents are wondering whether their children can be reassigned away from towns marked by charred bodies and torched buildings.
Attahiru Jega, chief of Nigeria’s Independent Election Commission, said the young Nigerians had been targeted “to scare them away from continuing the honorable and excellent work they have been doing during these elections.”
“I call on them, their parents and guardians not to allow the perpetrators of violence to scare them away from the noble job they are doing for this country,” Jega said. “I commiserate with all those who have been affected in one way or the other by the violence. Some have paid the ultimate price for democracy and I am sure that I speak.
 gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2011/04/nigerian-muslims-lock-university-poll-workers-in-hostel-torch-it/

Nigeria's Internationally-Acclaimed Poet And Scholar, Professor Niyi Osundare, Named Distinguished Professor By US University

 Posted: April 29, 2011 - 04:17
Posted by siteadmin


Prof. Niyi Osundare
By SaharaReporters, New York
Professor Niyi Osundare, internationally-acclaimed poet and scholar, and former University of Ibadan don, has just been named Distinguished Professor of English by the University of New Orleans.
According to Professor Peter A. Schock, “This rank is the highest of the professorships awarded by the University, and is reserved for those who have established a truly distinguished national or international record in scholarship or creative work.” The news was broken today to Osundare in New Orleans by Professor  Schock, the Chair of the Department of English of the University. The position was last held by a faculty member in the English Department of the University when Professor Carol Gelderman was named Distinguished Professor in 1993.
Osundare, author of numerous poetry books including, "The Eye of the Earth" which won the 1986 Commonwealth Poetry Prize, "Waiting Laughters", which won the Noma Award, "Moonsongs", "Songs of the Season" and "The Word is an Egg," among others, was born in Ikere-Ekiti in 1947. He gained degrees at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, University of Leeds, UK  and York University, Canada - where he was awarded a Ph.D in 1979. He became a professor at the University of Ibadan in 1989 and was Head of the English Department at the University from 1993 to 1997. He joined the University of New Orleans in 1997.
A committed social critic and activist and self-described 'humanist', Osundare's poetry constitutes a permanent engagement with humanistic imaginations of a better world and the social formation in a dialectical, yet, lyrical way. In his poetry collection, "Waiting Laughters" the poet laments the tragedy of his fatherland, Nigeria:
"Every tadpole is a frog-in-waiting
in the wasted waters of my greed en-tided land."
In the same collection, he laments the shameless misrule of the military in Nigeria's history, asking:
"But are these the messiah
who came four seasons ago
with joyful drums and retinues of chanted pledges?
Where now the aura,
where, the anointed covenant of eloquent knights?"
As a public intellectual, Osundare, who got the Fonlon-Nichols award for "excellence in literary creativity combined with significant contributions to Human Rights in Africa" has never shied away from speaking out on the social, economic and political crises in Nigeria and the rest of the continent.
"You cannot keep quiet about the situation in the kind of countries we find ourselves in, in Africa," he was once quoted to have stated. "When you wake up and there is no running water, when you have a massive power outage for days and nights, no food on the table, no hospital for the sick, no peace of mind; when the image of the ruler you see everywhere is that of a dictator with a gun in his hand; and, on the international level, when you live in a world in which your continent is consigned to the margin, a world in which the color of your skin is a constant disadvantage, everywhere you go – then there is no other way than to write about this, in an attempt to change the situation for the better."
Despite having to move to, and stay in, the United States since 1997 for family reasons, Osundare returns to Nigeria regularly and intervenes consistently in debates about building a truly democratic and egalitarian society. In one of his poems, in spite his disappointment with the realities of the Nigerian condition, he articulates his belief in the possibility of a better country in the future. Sings the pilgrim poet:
"My country is a prayer
Waiting
For a distant amen."

 saharareporters.com/news-page/nigerias-internationally-acclaimed-poet-and-scholar-professor-niyi-osundare-named-distingu

In an atmosphere of rage and controversy

Jega Jega


Sometime around 2003, the United States National Intelligence Committee and a think tank, Fund for Peace, projected that Nigeria could unravel before or by 2015, citing social (ethnic and religious), economic and political crises as predisposing factors. On the basis of the projection that Nigeria was ranked as number 15 in the failed states index, where Somalia is number one, the US military began simulated war games to prepare for a war in Nigeria by 2013, but not later than 2015. Predictably, the Nigerian government, and particularly the National Assembly, poured scorn on the projections and declared that in spite of the problems Nigeria was encountering, the chances of failure were as remote as we can wish. Since the projections were made, a few of the countries listed in the research publication as likely to fail have begun to unravel, many of them listed as even healthier than Nigeria.






Whether Nigeria’s ruling elite wish it away or not, the inexorable processes leading to state failure have continued their relentless march since the Fund for Peace reminded everyone two or three years ago of the apocalyptic projections. If the elite are not too preoccupied with their own ambition for power, the turbulent 2011 polls should serve as a poignant reminder of the precariousness of the Fourth Republic and the delicateness of the foundations of the country as a whole. But whether these reminders will serve any purpose remains to be seen, as the last of the scheduled polls for the 2011 general elections are about to be held. Much more than the two previous polls of the National Assembly (April 9) and presidential (April 16), the governorship and Houses of Assembly polls scheduled for tomorrow are projected to be the most tempestuous. If the recently concluded presidential poll could lead to the unimaginable conflagration of the past one week, it is feared that the more local and intensively competitive polls to fill Government Houses and states legislature could unleash a fiery storm of indescribable scale.
Two main factors predispose Tuesday’s polls to this apocalyptic prediction. One is the fact that going by the results of the National Assembly election, the main underachiever, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), stands little chance of winning many states as its ambition demands. It lost heavily because, in assessing the CPC and PDP and indeed other parties, the voters did not have a sharp sense of the political and ethnic dichotomies that have bifurcated national elections for decades. The candidates were local people all voters could relate with, especially in states that had long been in the Peoples Democratic Party fold. If the voters needed to send representatives to the national legislature, it didn’t matter so much which parties they belonged. What mattered the most to voters was their perception of the representatives’ competence and suitability for the post. In turn, this perception was predicated on the relationship that had existed between the representative seeking votes and the voter. This relationship was not circumscribed by the CPC, a party that, until the presidential poll, did not loom very large in the consciousness of the northern voter.
A second factor is the militarisation of the polity after the CPC presidential candidate, Gen Muhammadu Buhari (retd), suffered a crushing defeat in the hands of the PDP candidate, Dr Goodluck Jonathan. Voters in the North are now likely to be torn between the relationship they have nurtured with their local representatives over the years and past elections and the fact that CPC candidates may now be pushing the agenda of equating a vote for CPC as a loyal vote for the North, and that to do otherwise is to betray the North and its dominant ethos. An atmosphere of intolerance and violence may have thus been smuggled viciously into Tuesday’s contest. Naturally, the other candidates will not give up, and a wounded CPC will latch on to every imaginable tactics to secure as many State Houses as possible to underscore its conclusion that it was cheated in the April 16 poll.
The polls have been deferred in Bauchi and Kaduna States in deep apprehension of uncontrollable violence accompanying the April 26 elections. Though these two states seem poised to explode into violence, needfully or needlessly, it is uncertain what magical balm the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) hoped to apply if the other states that exploded after the April 16 poll again go up in flames. Some ad hoc and youth corps members serving as electoral officers have fled their stations, and those who will remain will certainly be disinclined to stand up to party agents mobilised for violence and mayhem. Yet to cancel the poll in more states than has been done already is to endanger the entire polls and render them inconclusive. Tomorrow will determine how this impasse would be broken.
What is clearly obvious is that the atmosphere is so heavily polluted that it is difficult to see how the polls will be accomplished with anything near free or fair, let alone credible, as the country had managed to achieve so far. Considering the rather ham-fisted response to poll violence throughout this polling season, and the reactive rather than proactive approach adopted by the security agencies, more states may explode in violence thereby severely stretching poorly equipped and outnumbered law enforcement agencies. We may not have the sharp divisions of the April 16 poll, and the sexed-up votes of the South-South and the underage voters of the North may counterbalance each other, yet, it is more likely that Tuesday’s polls will probably be even less credible than the previous two polls, and probably more controversial.







It is in this atmosphere of rancorous balloting and collation that some 24 states will be going to the polls to elect their chief executives and legislators. Among them, the Southwest will be attempting to steer the region completely into progressivism, the Southeast will be preparing grounds for a future attempt at the presidency, and the various zones of the North will see whether they can arrest the drift to anomy represented by poor and dispossessed youths called almajirai, to whom it now seems the North’s political, traditional and even religious elites have become hostage. If we successfully navigate the treacherous waters of the April 26 polls, we will still come smack into the middle of the seething disputation over whether the current structure of the country, with its leprous and inchoate federalism, can sustain the country beyond the projected doomsday of 2015.

 thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/politics/3980-in-an-atmosphere-of-rage-and-controversy.html

Killings in the North planned, says Soyinka

--

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Deputy Political Editor


Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday spoke on the violence that broke out in the North, following the outcome of the presidential elections, saying it was pre-meditated.
He called for a code of common behaviour, which prescribes distinct punishment for those elements, who have violated the rules of mutual existence in the country.
Lamenting the murder of Youth Corps members in some northern states, which he said has affected the unity of Nigeria, the former university don urged President Goodluck Jonathan to facilitate the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNG) to discuss the basis for peaceful co-existence in the country.

Urging the governor-elect to restore the honour of the state, he said the murder of the late Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) politician, Otunba Dipo Dina, should be revisited.

Soyinka
Nobel laureate
Prof. Wole Soyinka

Soyinka applauded the power shift to progressives in Ogun State, noting that the electorate have voted out a "fetish" government, which trampled on the dignity of the people and prevented the House of Assembly from performing its democratic duties.
Soyinka, who spoke with reporters in Lagos on the general elections, especially the preliminary report of the monitoring group, ‘Reclaim Niger Organisation’, said that President Goodluck Jonathan won the presidential election.


He said despite the hiccups, including under-age voting and improper accreditation of voters, the polls were declared free and fair by domestic and foreign observers.
"My view is that the presidential election was won by President Jonathan, based on figures collated," Soyinka stressed, adding that he would not comment on matters of figures because he is not a ‘mathematician’ like Akinjide. Chief Richard Akinjide, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, argued the 12 2/3 case in the 1979 elections that brought Alhaji Shehu Shagari to power. He was later rewarded with appointment as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the Second Republic.
Soyinka rejected the speculations that led to "unbelievable carnage and destruction of lives" in Kaduna, Gombe and Bauchi states.
He said what appalled him was the glee with which the assault on humanity and killings were accomplished, stressing that the joyful acceptance of the carnage in high quarters was worrisome.
Soyinka said: "The carnage is unacceptable to me because it involves human beings. In the end, these killings were done on a non-existing foundation. In any decent society, such killings are not acceptable. In the end, in my view, it turns out that these killings were carried out on nothing. They were carried out on a piece of lies; I suspect sometimes, deliberate misinformation, may be, on no information at all. They were planned well before hand. Anybody who says they were not planned before hand is a naive individual. From the reports, I did not detect any note of spontaneity. I am convinced that these killings were planned before hand. And it is the responsibility, not only of government, but any citizen who lays claim to humanity to denounce these killings in the strongest possible terms.
"I watched the body language of some of those leaders on television responding to these killings, the unnecessary waste of human lives. I was very disappointed. I am not going to name names. I did not detect any vestige of remorse."
Soyinka spoke on his involvement in the efforts to rescue Youth Corps members trapped in the trouble spots, saying their condition was pitiable.
He lamented that the youths were deliberately targeted by rioters who actually chased them while on national duty.
The renowned playwright, who described the NYSC as the greatest legacy of the Gowon administration, likened the scheme to the Peace Corps of the Kennedy years in the United States, stressing that members deserved the care and protection of their host communities.
Soyinka blamed successive administrations for not acting decisively when violence erupted and strangers were targeted, pointing out that non-natives were usually vulnerable in their places of sojourn.
He added: "Two of my children served in the Northern parts of the country; one in Maiduguri, another in Jos or somewhere I can’t remember now. Today, if I have children who are to go on service there again, I will say ‘over my dead body’. These children were brought together and sent to the various parts of the country to foster a sense of unity.
"The frequency of the killings has, not now, but ages ago, passed intolerable level. We have a succession of governments who revel in the culture of impunity."
Soyinka, who congratulated the President for his victory at the polls, enjoined him never to emulate his predecessors, who, he said, turned deaf ears to the agitations for a Sovereign National Conference (SNG).
He chided the past Heads of State for their insensitivity to the national question, saying their attitudes contributed to the dismembering of Nigeria.
Soyinka said the Jonathan administration would fail, if the President brushes aside the call for the resolution of fundamental issues germane to the existence of the country or if he reduces it to an unintended interpretation.
The master dramatist also called for a new direction in governance, proposing a closure to the bogus salary earned by legislators.
He maintained that the country does not require full-time legislators who earn more salaries than the President of the United States and Russia as well as the Prime Ministers of India and Britain.
He said only credible people, who are ready to serve and receive small allowances, should serve as part-time legislators.
Soyinka called for security in the country, saying that he objected to the enactment of different and arbitrary laws.
He described the Gboko Haram violence as a product of negligence, complacency and complicity of those in government, who have created allies they could no longer control.
Soyinka said: "When people spend all their times scheming for an unconstitutional third term in office, then, they seek allies and they fail to condemn and punish when prospective allies act in a way that break the constitution. They appease them simply because they want to stay in power. These are not friends of people; they are not friends of humanity. They are traitors to the cause of humanity.
"President Jonathan has no choice than to tackle the problems headlong in a comprehensive, holistic manner, not piecemeal. Otherwise, I greatly fear for the continuity of the nation. The moment one reaches a point where he cannot allow his son to go any part of the country; the nation has already failed as a nation."
He emphasised that his views on these matters represented the views of majority of Nigerians, who have expressed concern about national security.
Soyinka congratulated the people of Ogun State for redeeming themselves from the PDP, urging those who would take over the baton on May 29 to return the state to the path of honour.
He added: "This is an address to the people of Ogun State. At long last, you have redeemed yourselves. I have
been very shocked and disappointed at the docility of the people of Ogun State in accepting that their house of parliament is shut down illegally, disorderly, shabblishly by the out-going government of Ogun State, headed by one ‘Daani elebo’, who brought fetish into the government of the state. He is the son of his political father.
"Nobody expected this. But we were fooled at the beginning. I was among them. And when we tried to correct this situation, this character, ‘Daani elebo’, was adamant. I congratulate the people of Ogun State for redeeming themselves a little, although that stigma that they tolerated them for so long will be there, especially the closure of the House of Assembly, the voices of the people, although some of them were not elected, but got there through manipulation by the master mafia, the former President of the Federation.
"I thank them for not making me to sell my house in Ogun State and relocate somewhere else. That is what I would have done, if they have not chased the ‘Daani elebo’ gang from Ogun State and humiliated his father. So, it is a new beginning for the people of Ogun State.
"There is no perfect person who does not have a baggage in their history, but I think those elected have an opportunity to restore the state to its former condition, to the days when individuals like Funmilayo Ransom-Kuti led the charge against the colonial powers because of their feudal excesses, when I was a little boy. Ogun State has always been the gateway to democracy. It is about time we re-open those gates and chase out those fetish people and criminals, some of who still have to answer for some murders, especially the murder of Dipo Dina, and other murders".

 thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/4501-killings-in-the-north-planned-says-soyinka.html



Ohakim, Okorocha Claim Victory In Imo

INEC takes decision today || State of emergency looms || Confusion, fears and anxiety reigned supreme yesterday in the streets of Owerri, the Imo State capital as supporters of Governor Ikedi Ohakim of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that of Rochas Okorocha of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) are claiming victory in the governorship poll of Tuesday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which could not announce the final results of the governorship and state assembly elections in the state, called on all stakeholders to remain calm as the impasse would be resolved today.
The election was on Wednesday night declared inconclusive by the state returning officer, Prof. Enoch Akobundu, after declaring results for 23 out of 27 local government areas in the state.
Okorocha had already won 12 local government areas while the incumbent governor and candidate of the PDP trailed with victory in 11 local government areas.
A drama however ensued when the returning officer for Mbaitoli, Mr. Frank Mathias, after releasing results for the local government and giving copies to party agents appeared at the state collation centre to declare that he had no result.
But soon after the opposition agents produced their copies, the embattled returning officer confessed to have duly released the result at the council collation but stated that there was an agreement between him, INEC and the police that informed his earlier position.
Meanwhile, the expectation of conducting election in Ngor-Okpala, Ohaji-Egbema and most parts of Oguta where elections either did not take place or were massively disrupted, was dashed as no voting took place in any of the communities yesterday.
The public affairs officer of INEC in Imo State, Mr. Samuel Bassey, told our correspondent that the REC was still expecting directives from Abuja for the next line of action.
LEADERSHIP also gathered that INEC boss Prof. Athahiru Jega had given directive that elections in those problem areas be conducted today before announcing the winner.
Subsequently, thousands of youths believed to be supporters of APGA besieged INEC office along Port Harcourt Road demanding that results for the governorship election be declared since there was no election conducted in those remaining areas as earlier scheduled.
Later, they left the INEC office and moved rounds the capital city in buses carrying Rochas Okorocha’s posters, chanting anti-Ohakim slogan and advising him to package his baggages ahead of a final pronouncement.
Crisis also ensued near INEC office when the youths stopped some vehicles from entering the premises of the commission. The youths had alleged that they were smuggling in concocted results in favour of the PDP. About four vehicles were destroyed before the intervention of security agents.
The situation around Government House was tense when our our correspondent visited there. Some of the governor’s aides were clustered in groups discussing their fate. The governor himself was said to have travelled to Abuja.
Meanwhile, the Rochas Campaign Organisation has appealed to its supporters to remain calm despite the delay in announcing the result.
The director of media and publicity, Chioma Ogoke, told our correspondent on phone that they were optimistic that Okorocha would definitely emerge winner at the end of the day.
A state of emergency may be declared in the state if the political impasse is not resolved today. INEC is billed to meet today to take a final decision on the complex political logjam.
A statement from the chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, Kayode Idowu, disclosed the development.
The constitution states that no election should take place 30 days before the handover date. The handing-over date defined in the constitution is May 29. In essence, no election can take place between April 29 and May 29. Hence there will not be a legally constituted executive in any such state by May 29.
The statement by Idowu read in part: "In view of the difficulties experienced with the April 26, 2011, governorship and state assembly elections in Imo State, which made the returning officer declare the election inconclusive, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has consulted with its lawyers for advice on the next line of action.
"The commission is scheduled to meet tomorrow, Friday, April 29, 2011 to take a final decision.
"INEC hereby urges everyone concerned to be patient and await further directives, which will be communicated as soon as a decision is taken. The commission also urges everyone to be peaceful and avoid taking the laws into their hands.
"The commission, once again, reiterates its resolve to ensure the highest level of integrity and credibility for the electoral process and hereby solicits the cooperation of all stakeholders."

 leadershipeditors.com/ns/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29931:ohakim-okorocha-claim-victory-in-imo&catid=51:cover-stories&Itemid=142

FG To Prosecute Backers Of Electoral Violence – Sambo

28 April 2011 23:56 Samuel Aruwan, and Isaiah Benjamin, Kaduna .

Loses ward again || The Vice President (VP), Namadi Sambo yesterday in Kaduna vowed that all those responsible for the post-election violence that engulfed the country must be fished out and made to face the full wrath of the law.

The VP who spoke to newsmen shortly after he cast his vote at his Camp Road polling unit, along with his wife Hajiya Amina Namadi Sambo said, “I want to seize this opportunity to express my sincere sympathy and condolences to the victims of the last violence that took place and pray that Almighty God will grant us continued peace in this country. But I must also seize this opportunity to inform Nigerians that all culprits would be taken in accordance with the law of this country and this administration would not sit down to allow people to take law into their hands.”

He also said that President Goodluck Jonathan’s government would be that which would carry well meaning Nigerians along regardless of their party, ethnic or religious affiliation to transform Nigeria and place her among the most developed nations by the year 20:2020.

“We want to assure Nigerians that we will not fail them. Today the trust will be seen and I must congratulate all Nigerians for the right decision.”

He expressed satisfaction with the calmness exhibited by voters in areas visited even as he commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for their commitment in the conduct of the general elections, “INEC under the leadership of Professor Attahiru Jega must be commended for their untiring efforts in the conduct of the election,” he said.

“We thank God that today everything is very calm and peaceful and I would like to use this opportunity to express my appreciation to all Nigerians for the confidence bestowed in us during the last Presidential election.

He assured Nigerians that the Federal Government is doing everything possible to ensure that the sad experience did not occur again.

At the end of the accreditation at the polling unit, the turn out seen was not as compared to what was experienced during the presidential election as the accredited voters was four hundred and eighty eight compared to that of the presidential election that had six hundred and seventy two accredited voters.

Meanwhile, Vice President Sambo for the third time was defeated in his polling unit yesterday. In the gubernatorial election results at the unit, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP polled 148 votes, while the Congress for Action change, CPC got 274 votes.

leadershipeditors.com/ns/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29868:fg-to-prosecute-backers-of-electoral-violence--sambo&catid=51:cover-stories&Itemid=142

Soyinka`s Poem on Racism

Happy Birthday Prof. Wole Soyinka: In celebration of your wit and literary mischief, I am hereby reproducing, what I personally regard as your best poem, "Telephone conversation".
I read this poem in school, but it was only when I arrived the UK that its naked facts and mischievous truth on racism hit me, according to you, on my "peroxide blond" palms.

Peel off the skin of a black man and a white man, dissect them both, leave them open for examination, both organs and entrails are similar, the same blood is red, the white man's blood is not fairer than the black man's blood; not even the best (Oxon) biologist can tell the difference.

I remember some years ago (1996), while house hunting in London, I was faced with the same dramatic dilemma as Kongi. It went something like this.

White English landIady's were scared of my deep Akwa Ibom accent (Gringory style). After several unsuccessful attempts, I had to hand the phone over to my fiancee (now my wife), she had cultivated this rich urbane British accent. The trick worked, I got myself a bed sit, but the land lady insisted on seeing the "English lady" for an interview. We prayed. I went on my own to a predominantly white area, High Barnet , in North London. When I appeared at my land lady's front door, the husband took one look at me and grunted under his breath, "O dear, it's a black African man!". Well, since I was not holding a spear or riding on the back of an elephant , he politely ushered me in. Still intrigued at my trick he asked me," the lady that spoke to my wife , is she black or white ?". I thought for a minute, then I replied ( it was something like this) , " she is a very black Edo woman, with a very white English voice",

Ladies and Gentlemen for your reading pleasure, " Telephone Conversation". Happy Birthday once again, Prof.

Ata Ikiddeh
UK, Essex

Telephone Conversation
by Wole Soyinka

The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady swore she lived
Off premises. Nothing remained
But self-confession. "Madam," I warned,
"I hate a wasted journey—I am African."
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was foully.
"HOW DARK?" . . . I had not misheard . . . "ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?" Button B, Button A.* Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis--
"ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT?" Revelation came.
"You mean--like plain or milk chocolate?"
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wave-length adjusted,
I chose. "West African sepia"--and as afterthought,
"Down in my passport." Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. "WHAT'S THAT?" conceding
"DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS." "Like brunette."
"THAT'S DARK, ISN'T IT?" "Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but, madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are peroxide blond. Friction, caused--
Foolishly, madam--by sitting down, has turned
My bottom raven black--One moment, madam!"--Sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears--"Madam," I pleaded, "wouldn't you rather
See for yourself?"

UNBELIEVABLE! BRIDE HUNTS FOR JOB....IN WEDDING GOWN

WALE ELEGBEDE

UNEMPLOYMENT boredom is really driving some graduates bananas or how else could the comic script played out in River State recently be best explained. It was a drama definitely beyond the crunch on plum oil firm job.

Bride rushes to exam venue
Calm of applicants writing examination for employment with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was jolted last weekend as a young lady simply identified as Nonye, in her wedding gown rushed straight to the hall and grabbed a seat and sweated it out with the rest over the questions.

National Daily Weekend gathered that the newly-wed bride did not care much for the negative reactions of people around when in the full wedding regalia she dashed out of the reception to partake of the NNPC's aptitude test, instead of proceeding straight to enjoy their honeymoon an option, most women in her shoes would have chosen .
The test which was conducted nationwide, attracted thousands of applicants who thronged out to try their luck in the NNPC employment process.

Lesson for job hunters
Nonye who just got the priced certificate of Mrs., after a hard work , shocked crowds when for job-sake she literarily abandoned her husband and other family members and dashed to the test center at FGGC Rumuokoro, Port-Harcourt, to write the exams.

Despite the steers and being hounded by the paparazzi who clicked away at their camera lenses, the bride remained undaunted and refused to be distracted. Some of the people around were said to have shook their heads in pity at how unemployment situation has made people throw decency to the winds and has now seemingly tended to rubbish the sacred institution of marriage, by trying to, though temporarily put asunder the bride couple shortly after they were joined to the applaud and admiration of all well-wishers.

Though the scene attracted so much attention, raised many brows as well as attracted criticisms , it indeed created a comic relief for the applicants some of whom castigated her action as being a mere “attention seeking” ploy. But quite a handful commended her resolute determination to be part of the exercise despite its coincided with her wedding.

I’m Not Aware Of Anti-Party Activities – IBB

Wednesday, 27 April 2011 02:53 Stanley Nkwocha, Abuja and Abu Nmodu, Minna


• ‘We won’t sanction him, others’
Former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd), has said that the alleged anti party activities have not been formally made known to him by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).  He also said that the low turnout of voters recorded in the state was due to post-election violence. Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), also described the post-election violence as “idiotic” and not capable of solving any problem in the country but rather aggravate the country’s problems.
IBB and Abdulsami said this when they cast their votes at the Hill Top polling station in Minna, Niger State.  The duo spoke when journalists sought their views on their views on the post-election violence.
IBB, who was asked to comment on the alleged anti-party activities charge levelled against him by PDP said, “I have no reaction, no, I read it in a newspaper and I don’t think I should believe that, because most of those things you write are not believable”.
On the speculation that he brokered the failed alliance between the CPC and the ACN he said “Did you read the press statement by Kassim Afegbua that answered it all”.
Speaking on the violence, Babangida said “We must be worried over the spate of violence, the government I am sure will do the best it can to bring about peace and stability in the country.”
The former military president said that the fear of the post-election violence should not have deterred voters from voting.
He added, “This is a constitutional responsibility so I think I will only advise the voters to bear the consequences and come out to vote. There are security agencies; police and the military with the responsibility of maintaining peace and security”.
Meanwhile, the PDP has debunked rumours that its National Working Committee (NWC) is planning to sanction Babangida, Alhaji Aliyu Gusau and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for alleged anti-party activities.
National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP said that it had become imperative to clear the air so that Nigerians would not be misled, adding that at no time did the NWC at its meeting take any decision to sanction or punish the said persons for anti-party activities.
The statement said, “The concern of the party at the moment is to win election at all levels and therefore will not be distracted from its main focus. In the event that the party finds it necessary to look at the activities of its members before and during the general elections, they are procedures and appropriate channels for taking such actions.
“We wish to therefore call on those working for our leaders and elders in the party to cross check media reports before going to the press.”
 leadershipeditors.com/ns/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29786:im-not-aware-of-anti-party-activities--ibb&catid=51:cover-stories&Itemid=142

Nigerian Muslims Lock University Poll Workers in Hostel & Torch It

Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 6:43 AM

 
 
An unidentified man walks past the destroyed Zonkwa market in Zonkwa, Nigeria, Thursday, April 21, 2011. Nigerian officials on Thursday delayed next week’s gubernatorial elections in two predominantly Muslim northern states that have been wracked by deadly riots and retaliatory violence since the presidential election was won by a Christian from the country’s south. (AP/Sunday Alamba)
A group of university students were among the dead last week after the presidential elections in Nigeria. The young poll workers were locked in their hostel and it was set ablaze after the Muslim candidate lost in a landslide.
Macon.com reported:
Officials tasked the four young college graduates with monitoring election stations during Nigeria’s presidential vote. Then when the poll results unleashed sectarian violence, an angry mob killed them by locking them inside their youth hostel and setting it ablaze.
Dozens of their colleagues in a nearby state narrowly escaped death after rioters torched their hostel too, leaving many with serious burns and few options to go home.
Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps is a mandatory yearlong assignment for all Nigerians who graduate from university before the age of 30. Most serve as teachers during their stint, but the April national elections have brought extra responsibilities – and danger – to their work.
Now federal officials are vowing to step up protection for young volunteers in the areas wracked by violence, while worried parents are wondering whether their children can be reassigned away from towns marked by charred bodies and torched buildings.
Attahiru Jega, chief of Nigeria’s Independent Election Commission, said the young Nigerians had been targeted “to scare them away from continuing the honorable and excellent work they have been doing during these elections.”
“I call on them, their parents and guardians not to allow the perpetrators of violence to scare them away from the noble job they are doing for this country,” Jega said. “I commiserate with all those who have been affected in one way or the other by the violence. Some have paid the ultimate price for democracy and I am sure that I speak the minds of all Nigerians if I say that the nation will be eternally grateful to them.”
 gatewaypundit.rightnetwork.com/2011/04/nigerian-muslims-lock-university-poll-workers-in-hostel-torch-it/

Nigeria rights group says over 500 killed in riots

　
 25 April 2011


* Rights group says death toll over 500
* Fears of further unrest around state elections
* Opposition party vows to go to court
By Nick Tattersall
LAGOS, April 24 (Reuters) - More than 500 people were killed in post-election violence last week in the mostly Muslim north, a Nigerian human rights group said on Sunday, and it warned of further unrest during state elections.
Youths launched protests in northern towns and cities after President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the south, was declared the victor of an April 16 election, defeating former military ruler and northern Muslim Muhammadu Buhari.
Observers and many Nigerians say the vote was the most credible in Africa's most populous nation for decades and world leaders have congratulated Jonathan. But Buhari says the count was rigged and his supporters have refused to accept defeat.
Nigeria's Civil Rights Congress (CRC) said more than 500 people were killed on Monday and Tuesday in three towns alone -- Zonkwa, Kafanchan and Zangon Kataf -- in the southern part of Kaduna state, one of the worst-hit areas.
"The victims were encircled, raided and hacked to death and their homes burned," CRC president Shehu Sani said in a report based on testimony from the group's members in the communities.
Churches, mosques, homes and shops were set ablaze in the rioting. Although a military-enforced curfew brought the violence under control in major cities after little more than a day, soldiers took longer to deploy to more remote towns.
Sani said the CRC -- which is based in Kaduna -- confirmed 316 dead in Zonkwa, 147 in Zangon Kataf and 83 in Kafanchan.
"Soldiers did not get there until afterwards," he said.
A tally of figures from Red Cross officials, health workers and Reuters witnesses who visited morgues showed the toll was at least 130. But that was only in a few major towns and cities, excluding those mentioned in the CRC report.
More than 40,000 people were displaced by the violence.
STATE ELECTIONS
Nigeria is home to more than 250 ethnic groups, most of whom live peacefully side by side. The majority of the Muslim population live in the north while the south is predominantly Christian, although sizeable minorities live in both regions.
Jonathan and Buhari have condemned the unrest, but fiercely contested governorship elections are due in most of Nigeria's states on Tuesday and there are fears of further violence where there are close races between the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Buhari's Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).
The polls in Kaduna and Bauchi states in the north have been postponed by two days because of the security situation there.
"The CPC is being seen as a Muslim party and the PDP is being seen as a Christian party. Whichever way the election goes, there is going to be a problem," Sani said of Kaduna.
The CPC plans to go to court to challenge the presidential election result, on the grounds that the ruling party and electoral commission conspired to rig computers at collation centres and deprive him of victory.
"The facade at the polling units must be unmasked for this election to be seen for the sham that it truly was," Tunde Bakare, an evangelical pastor and Buhari's running mate in the presidential race, told reporters in Lagos on Saturday.
"No legitimate government can be formed on a stolen mandate." The results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed Jonathan had more than 22 million votes compared to around 12 million for Buhari.

af.reuters.com/article/nigeriaNews/idAFLDE73N06420110424?sp=true

FACTBOX-Regional battlegrounds in Nigerian elections

 
[-] Text [+]
April 25 (Reuters) - Nigeria will hold elections to select governors for the majority of its 36 states this week, after a presidential vote nine days ago sparked rioting in the north in which hundreds of people are feared to have been killed.
Following are some of the regional races which will be closely watched.

NORTH
-- Kaduna state: more than 500 people were killed in post election violence last week in the southern part of the state, according to Nigeria's Civil Rights Congress.
The governorship vote has been delayed by two days to allow tensions to ease and for security personnel to prepare.
Youths launched protests in northern towns and cities after President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the south, was declared the victor of an April 16 election, defeating former military ruler and northern Muslim Muhammadu Buhari.
Jonathan's ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) have put forward incumbent governor Patrick Yakowa for a second term but he will face strong opposition from Buhari's party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), whose hopeful is Haruna Sa'ad Kajuru.
The PDP will be keen to hold on to its governorship control in Kaduna to prove it still has a strong northern following.
-- Bauchi state: another state where violence was fierce following Jonathan's victory. The race between the incumbent PDP and opposition CPC candidates is again expected to be close.
The vote will also be postponed by two days and a heavy security presence is expected but many parts of the state are isolated rural areas where trouble can quickly flare up.
-- Kano state: an opposition-controlled state where Jonathan performed well in the presidential race despite one of his opponents, Ibrahim Shekarau, having just served two terms as governor in the home of northern Nigeria's most populous city.
CPC replaced its original controversial candidate, the son of late dictator Sani Abacha, removing one potential flashpoint.
-- Borno state: radical Islamic sect Boko Haram was suspected to be behind bomb attacks in the state capital that killed at least two people on Sunday. [ID:nLDE73O044]
Boko Haram launched an uprising in 2009 in which hundreds of people were killed and the group's attacks have become increasingly political. Gunmen in January assassinated Modu Fannami Gubio, the opposition All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) candidate who was favourite to win in April, and pledged further attacks on the ANPP which controls the state. [ID:nLDE72S29K]
-- Other northern states like Katsina, Buhari's home state, where PDP risk losing their control, will be carefully watched.

NIGER DELTA
-- Bayelsa, Jonathan's home state: A bitter governorship battle between incumbent PDP governor Timipre Sylva, and ex-presidential adviser Timi Alaibe has been delayed until next year after an appeal court judgment upheld a ruling which said Sylva had not yet served his four year term.
But elections for the state house of assembly will go ahead and are likely to be fierce races. Some federal parliamentary seats will also be contested after the original vote on April 9 was marred by ballot box snatching in some areas.
-- Delta state: PDP governor Emmanuel Uduaghan was in January declared winner of a re-run election, held amid tight security, after a court last year overturned his 2007 victory.
His main opponent, Great Ogboru, questioned the conduct of the re-run, and his supporters alleged rigging, setting the stage for a fierce showdown this week.
-- Akwa Ibom state: A state riddled with tension where the candidate for opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) James Akpanudoedehe was charged with treason for alleged involvement in fatal rioting between rival supporters last month.

SOUTHWEST
-- Ogun state: A controversial split within the PDP saw incumbent governor Gbenga Daniel defect to People's Party of Nigeria (PPN) after former president and PDP stalwart Olusegun Obasanjo blocked his attempt to run for a Senate seat.
Obasanjo and Daniel are now backing opposing governorship candidates for PDP and PPN, which could split the vote and open the door for the ACN party, which holds several other states in the southwest including the commercial capital Lagos.
-- Oyo state: This will be a key battle ground with PDP governor Christopher Alao-Akala facing strong opposition in a state which has already seen political violence, including the murder of a union leader during a campaign rally.

MIDDLE BELT
-- Plateau state: More than 200 people have been killed in and around the state capital Jos since December in sectarian clashes between indigenous groups, mostly Christian, and settlers from the mostly Muslim north.
The tension is rooted in fierce competition for local political power and control of fertile farmlands, resentment which local government policies have done little to calm. Campaign rallies could trigger further violence.

 (Reporting by Joe Brock; editing by Nick Tattersall)

 af.reuters.com/article/nigeriaNews/idAFLDE73O02Z20110425?sp=true

High stakes as Nigerians vote for state governors

Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:45pm GMT
 
By Nick Tattersall UYO, Nigeria (Reuters) - After a parliamentary vote delayed by administrative chaos and a presidential election that triggered deadly rioting, Nigerians head to the polls Tuesday to elect state governors who exert more control on their lives.The contests are set to be fiercely fought. The 36 state governors are among the most powerful politicians in Nigeria, wielding influence at national level and controlling budgets in some cases larger than those of small African nations.From the mangrove swamps of the southern oil-producing Niger Delta to the dusty northern towns on the fringes of the Sahara, it is the state governor who is seen as the one who will provide new roads, schools and hospitals."These are positions that have much more bearing on people's local communities and aspirations so these are very contentious elections, much more fiercely fought," said Clement Nwankwo, head of Nigeria's Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre."My worry is that some politicians are much more desperate and willing to take bigger risks," he said.This month's elections have already been an emotional rollercoaster for the 73 million registered voters in Nigeria, which -- until 10 days ago -- had failed to hold a single credible election since the end of military rule in 1999.Huge optimism over electoral reforms turned to disappointment when parliamentary polls, originally scheduled for April 2, had to be delayed by a week after voting materials failed to arrive at polling centres on time.Hope was restored by a presidential race on April 16 deemed the freest and fairest in decades, but the euphoria was marred by rioting in the mostly-Muslim north last week over the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan, a southern Christian.Hundreds were feared to have been killed and more than 40,000 displaced in the violence, in which churches, mosques, homes and shops were set ablaze. Tuesday's vote has been delayed by two days in Kaduna and Bauchi, two of the worst-hit areas.Members of the National Youth Corps, graduates doing their national service by helping run polling units, were targeted and there are fears some will be too afraid to return.But voters voiced determination."Nobody can frustrate me from voting for who I want. Our party supporters will come out en masse," said Garba Musa, 45, a carpenter in the northern city of Kano.RULING PARTY UNDER PRESSUREJonathan may have been declared the winner of the presidential race but his ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), which has already seen its parliamentary majority weakened, is expected to lose ground at the state level.A poll by global research firm Ipsos published in This Day newspaper Monday showed the PDP, which currently controls more than two thirds of the 36 states, could lose as many as nine to opposition parties.The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) of former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, Jonathan's main rival in the presidential race, who claims rigging deprived him of victory, is expected to perform strongly in the north.There are also fierce battlegrounds between the PDP and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) opposition party, whose stronghold is the southwest, as well as in the Niger Delta.The state of Akwa Ibom, on the edge of the oil-producing region, has already seen rioting in which dozens of cars were burnt. The ACN governorship candidate, James Akpanudoedehe, was arrested and charged with treason over the unrest, triggering further protests, although he has since been released.Akwa Ibom's resident electoral commissioner, Maria Owi, said the army would be stationed closer to polling units this time."They should be on standby just in case anything happens," she told Reuters in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom capital.Police in Bayelsa state, also in the Niger Delta and facing a fiercely-fought election, arrested seven men Monday with 52 locally-made guns, raising fears of violence there.In the federal parliament polls, few voters could name their candidates and turnout was low. There was more enthusiasm at the presidential election, but the debate on the street was around personalities rather than policies.Tuesday, much more is at stake."Graduates are having to make a living out of this, the only industry here," said Aniete Bassey, 45, pointing to a group of young men who work as motorcycle taxi riders in Uyo."The money is benefiting a few while the masses suffer. We need change," he said, vowing to cast his vote.(Additional reporting by Austin Ekeinde in Uyo, Samuel Tife in Yenagoa, Mike Oboh in Kano; Writing by Nick Tattersall; editing by James Jukwey). af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE73O43M20110425?sp=true

Violence Threatens Gubernatorial Polls

Except government moves to stem the brazen and unwarranted attack on youth corps members, ensure their safety and restore their confidence on its ability to protect them, INEC may not be able to conduct the gubernatorial and state house of assembly elections scheduled for April 26th. Besides, angry voters in most northern states have burnt their voter cards in protest and automatically disenfranchised themselves from partaking in the gubernatorial elections. These and many more challenges put next Tuesday’s polls in jeopardy Michael Oche writes.
Indications point that next Tuesday’s polls may be in jeopardy unless urgent steps are taken. Frustrated voters are burning their voter cards in large section of the north and corps members are fleeing as parents continue to raise concerns for the safety of their wards
A Keke NAPEP operator who gave his name as Ibrahim told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, "I am disappointed with the process but since I cannot take to the street I have decided not to partake in future elections. In fact, I have burnt my voter card because it has no use to me"
INEC offices were razed in some areas by rampaging youths, a situation which has left the Commission short of ad hoc staff, as youth corps member, willing to work for it in those state were frightened by that. Although INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega insists the elections would go on as scheduled despite the violence it may not be that easy and seamless.
The governorship and House of Assembly elections in Jigawa State may be affected by the shortage of ad-hoc officials as some members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) have abandoned their primary assignments.
Corps members serving in Hadejia Local Council had sent a Save Our Souls (SOS) message to the NYSC coordinator in the state following threats to their lives during post- election violence in the area last Monday.
Consequently, the state NYSC Coordinator, Mr. Baba Ahmed, has withdrawn the 350 corps members from the area due to insecurity.
Ahmed said the corps members were withdrawn from their places of primary assignments because of threats to their lives by hoodlums in the area.
He said that the NYSC had informed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that the corps members in Hadejia would not participate in the forthcoming governorship and House of Assembly elections.
Besides the fleeing corps members, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is complaining of office accommodation in order to conduct the Saturday polls in some places. Many of the commission’s offices in some parts of the North were razed down during the mayhem. Though the governorship election has been postponed in some states where the violence was intense, the electoral body still has issues of office accommodation to contain with. Also, security of election materials is another headache for the commission.
In Bauchi State, for example, four INEC offices have been burnt down in Bauchi, Dambam, Misau and Jama’are local governments while 500 laptops used for the voter registration exercise were looted by the irate youths.
Bauchi State governor, Isa Yuguda, said 600 of the corps members have been evacuated from some parts of the state and accommodated at the Staff Development Center and the army barracks as government is committed to their safety.
Director-General of the NYSC, General Maharazu I. Tsiga, who was visibly worried over the incident, said arrangements are being made to evacuate all the corps members from Bauchi to their various home states, saying: "Our concern is to ensure your safety by organising a convoy of vehicles that will take you to the nearest safe place so that you will be reunited with your families."
Amidst shouts of ‘We want to go home’ from the corps members, the NYSC DG declared that from the present situation, "The corps members may not be used for the remaining elections since they have been made targets by criminals."
Following the outbreak of violence and attack targeted on youth corps members, leadership Sunday checks reveal that most of them and non indigenous ad-hoc staff employed by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the election in Northern Nigeria have fled for safety.
There are fears that names of corps members who fail to turn up may be replaced with loyal party members if INEC is not proactive enough to keep such scenario under check.
Recall that INEC’s Returning Officer for Ika federal constituency in Delta State, Dr Godwin Avwioro, publicly announced that some chieftains of a political party changed all the youth corps members sent to the area, prepared uniforms for fake corps members believed to be brothers and sisters of party candidates and made him to sign the result under duress.
He said: "My attention was brought to the fact that some corps members were protesting the substitution of their names on the INEC ad hoc staff list, a few days before the election. Their names were substituted with the names of brothers and sisters and those close to the people contesting".
Few days after his declaration, he was reportedly kidnapped.
Despite the assurance from INEC on the safety of corps members, parents have raised concerns about sending their wards to volatile areas to act as INEC ad-hoc staff. Already, thousands of Nigerians have been displaced by the post election violence and elections have been postponed in two states of Kaduna and Bauchi.
Some of the youth corps members that spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity confirmed they are afraid for their lives and have no plans of returning to the polling centres, until INEC can guarantee their safety
Reports say angry youths protesting the results of the presidential election stormed the Nigerian Christian Corpers Fellowship (NCCF) Secretariat in the heart of Minna, the Niger State capital and forcibly locked the Corps members in and set the building on fire. But lucky enough for them, the leader of the Corps members, fondly called Papa by his colleagues, found the strength to break down the door and set his colleagues free.
The irate youths however succeeded in setting the NCCF 18-seater bus and a motorcycle belonging to the fellowship ablaze. The ugly development has forced the NYSC to direct all Corps members in Chanchaga (Minna) Local Government Area to relocate from their homes to the Nigeria Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) barracks on the outskirts of the city.
Leadership Sunday learnt that parents, whose children are serving in the National Youth Service Corps, have protested to the NYSC directorate over the brazen attack on corps members, and vowed not to allow their children to participate in the subsequent elections.
A parent Mrs. Nwosu Esther told our correspondent "there is killing everywhere. People are being killed on daily basis. As much as we want our children to contribute their quota to the country, we will not allow our children to become targets for politicians and their thugs, in their bid to settle scores".
Sources within the National Youth Service Corps headquarters in Abuja also told leadership Sunday that its director general is unwilling to release youth corps members for the remaining elections, particularly in the North; as such and action will amount to putting them in harm’s way.
Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig-Gen. Maharazu Tsiga, last Tuesday visited INEC chairman where he lamented attacks targeted at Corps members by hoodlums saying such actions might dissuade them from continuing with the exercise.
Though Jega assured the DG of the safety of corps members but feelers say the corps members are not comfortable with returning to the field.
Checks revealed that political parties had proposed to INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega, to conduct the gubernatorial elections scheduled for April 26th in the South only, since the North was engulfed in violence. But Jega was said to have told them that he will do no such thing.

INEC moves election in two states:
However, as the violence gets messier, Jega was forced to announce that INEC has postponed elections in Bauchi and Kaduna states. INEC said that the election in the two states would now hold on April 28 and that this was tentative.
"In the past few days, the Commission in conjunction with security agencies, NYSC and political parties has carefully been assessing the feasibility of holding the upcoming April 26th elections in the states most affected by the violence".
"The assessment shows that there is marked improvement in security in some of the States for the elections to hold. However, in others, specifically Kaduna and Bauchi states, the security situation remains a source of concern".
"Consequently, the Commission is constrained to postpone the April 26th elections in the two States in accordance with Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) from April 26th to April 28th 2011. This is to allow for further cooling of tempers and for the security situation in those States to improve".
"I call on them, their parents and guardians not to allow the perpetrators of violence to scare them away from the noble job they are doing for this country".

Jonathan Speaks on plight of corpers:
"I have authorised our security services to use all lawful means, including justifiable force to bring an immediate end to all acts of violence against our fellow citizens".
"In view of the condemnable attacks on our gallant Youth corps members, I have directed all state Governors to take personal responsibility for their security and safety in the States where they serve," Jega had said.

Jega assures on security
Speaking on Tuesday when the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig-Gen. Maharazu Tsiga, visited INEC, Prof. Jega decried wanton attacks that have been unleashed on Youth Corps members who constitute the bulk of ad hoc staff engaged by the Commission for the ongoing general election.
Prof. Jega reassured parents of the safety of their wards, saying no effort will be spared to protect them against further attacks. He again extolled the commitment of the Corps members, as had been commended by domestic and international observers of the elections.
He pledged that INEC would engage appropriate authorities at the highest level towards ensuring the protection of Corps members involved in election duties.
Brig.-Gen. Tsiga had lamented attacks targeted at Corps members by hoodlums had become a disincentive for the Corps members engaged in election duties and might dissuade them from continuing with the exercise.
Prof. Jega empathized with the corps members, but regretted that their succumbing to intimidation at this point would fulfill the objective of the perpetrators of violence.

Buhari speaks on burning of voters cards
Since the violence broke out, residents in most of the affected states are taking refuge in army and police barracks. Residents of the affected areas who are taking refuge in some barracks and camps have automatically been disenfranchised.
Some voters could also face disenfranchisement that was not as accidental as that of people in refugee camps. In their case, they are saddened with the result of the presidential elections and have decided to destroy their voter cards. It is widely allegedly that most of the CPC supporters have burnt their voter cards in protest of the outcome of the last Saturday’s presidential election.
The act of burning their voter cards would stop them from voting in the governorship election. Appealing for calm on the basis of ongoing moves to recover what he claimed was a stolen mandate, Buhari said in a statement issued on his behalf by his spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin that:
"Information has reached me that, out of frustration, some of you have been destroying your voter’s cards. This is a very grievous mistake, which is not going to solve any of your problems. I urge you to preserve and safeguard your cards, and come out en-masse on Tuesday to vote out and disgrace your oppressors who have stolen your votes. If you don’t do this, it is to be feared that all your efforts will have been in vain."

Jega insists gubernatorial polls to go on
Despite the outbreak of violence that trailed the presidential election in some parts of the northern states, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it is going ahead with plans to conduct governorship elections next Tuesday. Speaking on the issue recently, Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Kayode Idowu, said the commission is going ahead with plans for the governorship elections as scheduled.
Also, in a statement, INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega said the commission is working with the security agencies to ensure that the remainder of the elections are not derailed by violence.
Jega condemned the violence especially attacks targeted at youth corps members saying, "We have received reports that these young men and women have become targets of attacks by unscrupulous persons, whose obvious objective is to derail the elections by intimidating the corps members and scaring them away from their patriotic service to the nation.
"It is particularly distressing that this is happening because in ideal circumstances, these young men and women should be celebrated as heroes of our collective national aspiration for credible and enduring democracy. They have worked in these elections with uncommon courage and diligence. Indeed, their role has been widely commended by both domestic and international observers.
"I am deeply saddened that some of them have suffered losses on account of their selfless investment in the future of our country."
He vowed to ensure the safety of all INEC staff especially members of the NYSC during subsequent elections saying, "our Commission is determined to provide maximum security for all election field workers, especially our ad hoc staff. Already, we have engaged appropriate authorities at the highest level to ensure the protection of corps members and all other ad hoc staff involved in election duties."

leadershipeditors.com/ns/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29560:violence-threatens-gubernatorial-polls&catid=33:special-report-&Itemid=151


　
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