By Shally Ashimi

Shally is a blogger and writer, you can view her blog, http://shallyashimi.blogspot.com and check her on twitter, Shally Ashimi (@sharley_babe).

As child abuse cases increase nationwide, a Child Health Helpline Steering Group (CHSG) has been inaugurated by the Minister for Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson.

The CHSG is expected to drive at the creation of a toll free line that children can access for help when in crisis or when abused.

Usually three or four digit numbers, calls on such help lines are free and easy to make and also assessable on a daily basis.

The Child Helpline International (CHI) initiative is a global network of child help lines working to protect the rights of children.

According to the Minister abused children or those in ay kind of crisis should be able to call a toll free line number for help, charging the CHSG to begin a process of implementing a child helpline initiative in Nigeria for the benefit of the Nigerian children.

The CHSG already inaugurated by the Minster is made up of the Nigerian Police, Nigerian Communication Commission, Telecommunication companies, Nigerian Bar Association, Nigerian Medical Association, Ministry of Youth, Ministry of Women Affairs, UNICEF, African charter on the rights and welfare of the child and National Agency for Prohibitation of Traffic in Persons and other related matters (NAPTIP).

Media officer of the female U-17 national football team, the Flamingoes has said that there is still plenty of room for improvement to be made in female football in the country despite the great efforts already invested in developing female football in Nigeria.

Akujobi confirms that greater efforts in developing the female version of the game would make it catch up with male football observing that in spite of the challenges facing female football, the players and their coaches still work hard to maintain the female league.  “Female football has grown in leaps and bounds but the league is not there yet, but I think we are moving in the right direction; it may take a while, sponsoring is till a major drawback but if the league get a sponsor, I bet you the girls would be doing better that what they are doing currently”, she said.

She however calls for support for the female league to make the coaches and the girls more comfortable with the game. According to her, some of the girls are bread winners in their families.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that it disbursed about 6,590 loans worth N1.2billion to farmers in Katsina State in 2012.

Katsina Branch Controller of CBN, Adamu Hassan revealed in Katisina at the Bankers and Consumer Forum that the loans were disbursed through Deposit Money Banks (DMB) and Microfinance Banks under the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS) of the CBN.

Adamu stated that the loans were disbursed through Deposit Money Banks under the ACGS.  He stated further that the Apex bank recovered N821 million during the period under review and that the State was rated the highest performer in loans guarantee and recoveries.  He also revealed that the United Bank for Africa (UBA) has approved N1billion loan to cotton farmers in the State to boost production of the product, saying hat the West Africa Cotton company had identified 4,000 farmers while 21,450 hectares would be cultivated.

The Controller also said the CBN had established an entrepreneurship development centre in the State as part of its Youth Empowerment Programme with a view to develop new breed of future entrepreneurs calling on more support from the State government and other stakeholders.

The Federal Government has planned to immortaise late Super Eagles Striker, Rashidi Yekini.

Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi who already spoke to the late Yekini’s family in Abuja confirmed that the government would do something meaningful to immortalise the late striker.

Abdullahi also promised to speak to Kwara State government on its plans to mark the first anniversary of the striker’s death. “You know Yekini and I came from the same State and we shall do everything to support the family he left behind and the Federal Government can never fold its arms and neglect the legacies Rashidi Yekini left behind”, Abdullahi said.

Rashidi Yekini was the fist Nigerian to win the African Footballer of the year award and the first Nigerian to score in the senior world cup.

Yekini died on the 4^th of May 2012 and plans are underway to commemorate the anniversary with a two day event.

From time immemorial, media practice in Nigeria has been more of a sacrifice than a job that has much benefit.

Like the teaching profession whose reward is often said to be in heaven, the reward of journalists sometimes can be said to be in the celestial since journalists sometime do not get full reward for their sacrifices and media practitioners are sometimes endangered.

According to Dr. Ralph Akinfeleye of the University of Lagos in a book; Journalism In Nigeria, Issues And Perspectives, published in 1995, government owned media houses pay less than privately owned ones. In his words “it is however interesting to note that the non government media houses in Nigeria continue to pay higher salaries and greater fringe benefits to their journalists than government employed journalists.”

It only means the issue of remuneration has been an important and recurring topic for long. Today, the story may be different as journalists now in the face of economic realities do not want to get to heaven before receiving heir rewards.  While some have thought out of the box to improve their earnings either by self development, networking, adding qualifications, learning new skills etc. to attract more value to themselves, others have fund a winning formula in the inglorious “brown envelopes” syndrome and money for story tactics which package often do not take them home.  Things also may have changed from the days Akinfeleye referred to when government-owned media houses paid lower than privately owned ones.  Privately owned media houses exist today where workers are owed several months salaries.

There have been issues of fake journalists who often wrestle organizers of programmes and events at various venues for “transport claims” even when they are not accredited to attend such programmes.

These “fake” journalists have continued to rubbish the pen profession, relegating the noble practice to the backgrounds as a beggarly endeavour. However, if these press rats are not fumigated out of the practice by the ruling body of the profession, chances are they may continue to propagate themselves and with time, may even outnumber the real journalists.

No doubt, there is depression in the economy which is not peculiar to the media profession.  It is also true the fact that there are fake professionals in every profession.

There have been fake soldiers, fake doctors, fake lawyers, even fake youth corpers who have been arrested in the past, therefore it is not only in the media profession that there have been such ugly record and the pen profession must not be singled out for ridicule.

Meanwhile, media owners should look into remuneration of journalists and should even consider putting in place proper insurance policies to safeguard the lives of journalists who sometime operate on dangerous terrain.

But instead of journalists looking for an easy way out of the depression, they should rather seek to develop themselves, become more hard working on their beats, they should not see brown envelopes as an easy way out as it may be irrelevant considering the need on ground.

Again, journalists, especially young journalists should think out of the box and seek to develop themselves within the available free time they have  off assignments to seek self development.  They should invest in professional tools and seminars necessary for addition of values.  While some continue to condemn the profession, talk ill of their employers, others have moved on after investing in their careers.  Examples abound of those who have performed excellently on their various beats and have even been internationally recognised.  These professionals have gone ahead to win awards where others have continued to chase brown envelopes, blaming their employers and complaining of their megre salaries.  Some journalists have even published their own books and gained recognition through the new media, some have moved on from the newsrooms to having distinguished themselves and received recommendations to greater heights.  Journalists should even see their published stories as golden opportunities to greater heights than whatever transient brown envelopes they may get.

In essence, brown, white or whatever colour the envelopes may come can never be the way out.  It may only provide temporary relief while the only solution and a lasting one has remained hard work, self development, commitment and dedication to the profession.

Journalists should look inward, develop themselves and add value to become relevant and when the time comes to move on, they would have been well prepared for the next level.

…………..

Dayo Emmanuel is a Lagos based journalist who writes for Sunday Newswatch Newspaper.  He is also the Administrative Secretary of Journalists For Christ, the organization for Christian journalists and allied professionals in Nigeria.

MANY commentators are not pleased with President Goodluck Jonathan over his Borno/Yobe outing last week.

Some said he should have outlined his agenda for saving the North East from terrorists, including development agenda. There were those (including, predictably, the opposition political parties) who described the visit as a “wasted opportunity”. I have slightly different views.

There were only two things I regretted about the state visit. Number one was that the President had to wait for the governors of the merger-bound political parties to storm BornoState before he made what some call his “forced” visit. By keeping away from the theatre of terror he gave the impression that that part of Nigeria was unsafe for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of its Armed Forces to visit. He allowed the opposition governors to lead while he followed. That was unfortunate.

The second was that he sat in the Town Hall meeting with suspected Boko Haram sponsors who should be behind bars: former Governor Nmodu Sheriff, Senator Ali Ndume and others yet to be unmasked. Nothing has been done by this regime to teach any prominent figure the lesson that it does not pay to finance the levying of war against this nation; nothing is there to deter those still intending to do so.

That is why more political figures, including one “Honourable” Husseini Dei Dei, a former FederalCapitalTerritory, FCT, chairmanship candidate, are still allegedly financing bomb factories and procuring heavy ordnance for the terrorists.

But as for the President’s assertion that he would not negotiate with faceless people, that is less than what the terrorists deserve. Mine is, we should not negotiate at all. Of course, there cannot be any talk of withdrawing soldiers from the trouble spots when the job for which they were mobilised is yet to be completed successfully. Needless to say! Finally, I also believe that the leaders of Borno and Yobe in particular, and the North in general, will have to bear the main burden of getting the terrorists to rethink.

After all, they created the
conditions for mass poverty and incubated the terror cells for political self-aggrandisement. So long as they remain unwilling to turn a new leaf and help in restoring normalcy, there is little a president can do. Even if the Federal Government will play some role in rehab, it can only take place when the North’s “civil war” ends. It is left for the North and their leaders to decide when they are tired of fighting themselves and enlisting the services of foreign terror legionnaires to destroy their homeland and its economy.

Going back to the assertion of Sultan Sa’adu Abubakar that a total amnesty should be declared for the terrorists “without thinking twice”, I hold the view that the call is not viable. In other words, it will produce more harm than good. In the first place, and as I have noted before, the terrorists are not a group of Nigerians fighting against injustice. Nigeria has not done anything to the North or North East that it has not done ten times worse to Eastern Nigeria (South East and South-South). If there is “injustice”, it was foisted on the Talakawa (downtrodden) by the Northern Oligarchy. Leaders like Mallam Aminu Kano spent their lives fighting through political means to liberate the impoverished masses from the Oligarchy. They lost the fight.

Boko Haram and others are part of a global movement to impose a brand of Islam which vows to eliminate Christians, Jews and moderate Moslems. It found a breeding ground around the Sahel/Sahara Desert zones of Africa. The terrorists are no longer just the Mohammed Yusuf enclave of local Islamists which the Yar’Adua regime busted in 2009. Since that victory, the Arab Spring took place. Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi was killed, while his followers were scattered in the four winds.

The Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrib (AQIM) ballooned in size and joined the Tuareg rebels in Northern Mali to seize power or create their own nation out of Mali. The intervention of the French and Nigeria-led ECOWAS troops drove out the Islamists from Mali and many of them headed towards Nigeria. The groups have multiplied and now consist of Malians, Nigeriens, Chadians, Somalis, Sudanese and of course, Nigerians. Granting the terrorists “total” amnesty means we will start feeding these evil, mostly foreign enemies of the nation with post-amnesty bounties? People will be crawling from all over the Sahel to line up for hand outs every month? Those we have managed to put behind bars will have to be released to join the dole line: a veritable reward for killing Nigerians and destroying property? Then they will regroup?

There is one fact that the Sultan and many Northern Muslim leaders are running away from: THE TERRORISTS ARE AFTER THE OLIGARCHY PRESIDED OVER BY THE SULTAN! They want to overthrow the Northern Oligarchy. Two top Northern Emirs – Ado Bayero of Kano and the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Umar Ibn Garbai, escaped assassination by whiskers on separate occasions. The terrorists want to put an end to an order where government goodies are only for the elites while the poor are trampled underfoot or simply left to their own devices. They are fighting with hopes of establishing a new Islamic rule that will make the common Muslim the primary target of governance and welfare.

But being driven by foreign interests and made unpopular by their mindless campaigns of mass murder and destruction they were not able to focus their mission to make it politically correct or acceptable.

These people are not interested in amnesty, dialogue or negotiation. If you make an offer some will accept it for the bonanza that it is, but the terror will continue. They are fighting to win or be defeated. Since they cannot win they must be defeated. Let us resolve to do so. Now.
From Vanguard

THAT the Murtala Muhammed International Airport is porous was on Wednesday night again confirmed, as deadly looking robbers, numbering over 10, beat the airport security network to unleash terror on the entire airport. Two people were feared dead.
According to an eyewitness, the armed robbers had entered the airport through the terminal zero, proceeded to the arrival hall and penetrated the departure hall of the terminal.
The incident, which occurred around 8.00 p.m. took the various security officials stationed at the airport by surprise with most of them scampering for safety due to the superior deadly weapons the robbers paraded.
The eyewitness who works within the airport terminal building, explained further that on entering the terminal, the armed robbers ordered all the users of the airport to lie down while those who refused to comply were shot at.
In the process, a protocol officer of Addax Oil Company simply identified as Chike was shot and reportedly taken to a hospital through an ambulance after the armed robbers had left the airport.
The reason for the attack on the airport and the extent of damage could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report, but another source who works with one of the agencies at the airport explained that the attack showed porosity of the entire airport.
However, information gathered indicated that the robbers were not able to penetrate into the central search of the airport.
The Nigerian Tribune however gathered that some people lost their lives following the manner the robbers shot sporadically while trying to find their ways to the terminal building.
As at the time of filing this report, it could not be ascertained the number of casualties but in responding, the Corporate Communications, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Yakubu Dati confirmed the incident, but said that the men of the Nigerian Police attached to the airport foiled an attempted robbery attack at the airport.
Dati explained that there was an exchange of fire, which resulted in the death of one of the robbers, stressing that the level of casualty was still being ascertained as at press time.
He, however, said that the robbers might have come to the airport to attack some of the bureau de change operators within the premises.
He added, “The situation has since been brought under control by the swift intervention of joint security force. They were apparently attempting to rob a bureau de change operator near the airport. Normal operations and flight have not been affected by the incident.”
From Nigerian Tribune

THE Congress for Progressives Change, (CPC) has warned that it would be ready to mobilise Nigerians against the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party, (PDP) should they connive to deny the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a related development, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has accused the PDP of either suffering from crass ignorance or engaging in palpable mischief by saying the leaders of the APC should have registered the name with INEC before now.

Meanwhile, the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) Wednesday doubted the integrity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its alleged plan to register a shadowy APC.

In the same vein, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has declared that the formation of the APC by a coalition of opposition parties in the country was a step in the right direction.

The CPC was reacting to reports that INEC may advise the merging group to adopt another name, following claims that it had earlier received request for the registration of the African Peoples Party (APC) from a different group.

The CPC insisted that it would not change the name of the APC, while accusing INEC of conniving with the ruling PDP to frustrate the registration of APC.

Speaking in an interview with The Guardian yesterday in Abuja, the CPC’s National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin insisted that INEC was igniting fresh crisis in the country by its declaration on the APC, warning that the commission was just acting the script of the PDP, which he noted would be resisted by the merging parties.

While wondering why INEC has refused to release the identity of those behind the African Peoples’ Congress, Fashakin, maintained that no amount of collaboration from INEC and the powers-that-be would stop the APC’s registration.

Apart from ensuring a strong and viral opposition, Atiku said APC would strengthen two-party system.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said it was disturbing that the ruling party in Africa’s largest democracy can exhibit such ignorance or mischief, when the legal requirements for a merger are well spelt out in the Electoral Act.

‘’For the avoidance of doubt, the law does not make any provision for any group to reserve a name at INEC, and the legal requirements for a merger do not allow registration until all the stipulated conditions have been met. Applying for registration before the conditions have been met will be like putting the cart before the horse, and would have been illegal and irregular

In a statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Emma Eneukwu, the party said it was unfortunate that INEC, which should be an impartial umpire, had in the public domain.

The ANPP noted: “Is it not puzzling that the same INEC which is currently, and aggressively, implementing a policy of deregistering non-performing political parties, is falling over itself to register a new party, which has no iota of evidence to show that it can function as an association, not to talk of as a full-fledged political party?”

Atiku, who was the guest speaker at the public lecture organised by the Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan (UI) as part of its 50th anniversary, said he had for long been a strong advocate of a two-party system for Nigeria and lauded the emergence of the APC.

Speaking on the topic, “Thoughts on Internal Democracy in Nigerian Political Parties: Challenges and Strategies”, Abubakar noted that the APC would not only put the ruling party in check, it would serve as a viable alternative.

Besides, he pointed out that the two-party system was the best way to have parties that cut across the various regional, ethnic and religious divides.
From The Guardian

Facts emerged on Wednesday that permutations ahead of 2015 were responsible for the presidential pardon granted a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, along with four others.

Investigations showed that President Goodluck Jonathan had recently come under pressure by ex-militants, who have increasingly become critical of his style of leadership.

It was learnt that Jonathan was concerned that any restiveness in Niger Delta could rob him of the much- needed home support ahead of the 2015 presidential poll.

A competent source in the Presidency told The PUNCH that the President was banking on the intervention of Alamieyeseigha, in reaching out to the ex-militants, who believed that he(Jonathan) had not sufficiently addressed the problems in the Niger Delta.

Our source added that Jonathan was equally aware of Alamieyeseigha’s desire to return to the political arena with a possible shot at the Senate in 2015.

Close associates of the President were said to have drawn his attention to the fact that he could use his presidential powers to pardon the former governor thus solving twin problems – his 2015 challenge and the “political debts” he owed the former governor.

His attention was also called to the fact that this would not be the first time such powers came in handy in dealing with potentially challenging situations.

Apart from Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was pardoned by the Gen. Yakubu Gowon regime, the administration of Shehu Shagari pardoned Gowon and Dim Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, who returned and immediately joined politics.

As recent as 1999, the Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar regime pardoned Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who was convicted and given a long prison sentence by the Sani Abacha junta for treason.

The pardon paved the way for Obasanjo to contest and win the 1999 presidential election.

A source, who confided in one of our correspondents, said, “Everything is political. Alamieyeseigha has a senatorial ambition; the ex-militants are angry with the President. The President wants the man to intervene and speak with the ex-militants as 2015 approaches.”

However, a Special Assistant (Media) to the President, Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi, told one of our correspondents, “The idea of a presidential pardon was not novel; it is not happening for the first time; it is not perculiar to Nigeria and there is a process.

“People apply for pardon; they apply to the President who considers it and he follows the process.

“He takes it further to the National Council of State which in this case has given its advice, which will be gazzetted.

“It is not new; so opposition political parties should not seek to politicise the normal process of government.

“If the opposition politicians are in doubt, their attention is called to the fact that one of those in council was Gen. Gowon, who himself was pardoned by Shehu Shagari.

“There was also Gen. Obasanjo, who had to be granted pardon before he could contest election in 1999.

“Even Obasanjo himself had to pardon a former Speaker, Alhaji Salishu Buhari, who was convicted of forgery .”

Meanwhile, a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has said the pardon granted Alamieyeseigha and ex-Managing Director of Bank of the North, Alhaji Mohammed Bulama, is capable of stopping the war against corruption.

Ribadu, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja, said the pardon was very discouraging.

He said, “I believe that corruption still remains the biggest problem confronting Nigeria. We should not do anything that will take us back. The action by government is capable of stopping the entire war against corruption.”

The former EFCC chairman recalled that Alamieyeseigha and Bulama’s corruption cases were investigated and prosecuted when he was the EFCC chairman.

He added, “These (Alamieyeseigha and Bulama) are two corruption cases that I personally investigated, prosecuted and got the convictions. They were the first convictions we got in this country for corruption, not in the military tribunals, but by regular courts.”

Ribadu said that by its action, the government had granted amnesty to people who were convicted of corruption.

“For them to have been pardoned, it like now more or less giving them amnesty. It is a sad development. It is very unfortunate. It is capable of affecting, negatively, the fight against corruption in our country.”

The former EFCC chairman said that the action would embolden those who are corrupt.

He said, “It (government action) is sending a message that if you are found to be corrupt ultimately nothing will ever happen to you. You will be clean. You will be pardoned. It will embolden those who are corrupt.

“There are people who have been convicted; I do not know whether they will be pardoned or not. I do not know what will happen to those who are being prosecuted today.”

Ribadu also said that the pardon granted Alamieyeseigha and Bulama would send a negative message to the judiciary and law enforcement agencies.

“ The message that is sent to the courts and the law enforcement agencies is a very negative one. It is a very discouraging act. Like most Nigerians, I am very disappointed by this development.”

He stated that Alamieyeseigha still had cases in the United Kingdom, adding the pardon would not affect the cases.

“He still has cases there. I do not think this pardon will be extended to the UK,” Ribadu explained.

Expressing his disappointment, he recalled that a former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori, whose case was treated shabbily in Nigeria had been convicted in the UK.

Ribadu also took a swipe at a presidential aide, Dr. Doyin Okupe, who justitified the pardon granted the former Bayelsa State governor.

Faulting Okupe, Ribadu said such comments were not only unfortunate, but unfair to Nigerians, who had suffered and are still suffering because of corruption.

“There are more 150 million Nigerians who are suffering because of the terrible effect of corruption. Saying he (Alamieyeseigha ) has suffered enough is very unfortunate,” he said.

Okupe had earlier on Monday, said the pardon was not a unilateral action of the President.

He said in a statement that the decision was considered and approved by the NCS, a body constitutionally empowered by the 1999 Constitution to do so.

According to him, the council comprises the President, Vice-president, all former presidents, former Chief Justices of the Nigeria, the leadership of the National Assembly and all state governors who do not take decisions on impulse.

While explaining that the eight Nigerians who were granted pardon were approved after thorough deliberations by the council members , Okupe added that granting of a state pardon should not be unduly politicised.

Okupe said the very idea of a pardon showed that it was meant not for the innocent but for those who might have been found guilty of some offences and have either finished serving their sentences or in the process of serving those sentences.

He added that the framers of the constitution envisaged the need for some ex-convicts to be reintegrated into the society, especially if they have shown penitence and willingness to contribute positively to societal growth.

Also, on a Channels Television programme, Sunrise Daily, on Wednesday, Okupe said the President did no wrong in pardoning his former boss.

He said, “The relationship between President Jonathan and Alamieyeseigha is not something that is hidden. The granting of pardon was not by President Jonathan per see but by the highest constituted authority in Nigeria; is not something I need to defend. They don’t need me to defend them; I defend actions and activities of the President where they are necessary.

“That is an action that has been taken by the National Council of States and I have no apology for that. “We must begin to respect and honour our institutions. I don’t need to defend the action that has been taken.”

When asked whether he did not feel that a presidential pardon for Alamieyeseigha would cast a shadow of doubt on the present administration’s anti-graft war, Okupe wondered what else Nigerians expected from the former governor after he was removed for office and was convicted.

He asked, “Is it because he is Alamieyeseigha? Is it because he is a Niger Deltan? Is it because he is a former governor of Bayelsa State? Is it because he is a friend of the President? I mean what are we talking about?

“A man has been found guilty; he has been jailed. A Yoruba adage says you ask a thief to run and he runs, you ask a thief to drop what he is holding and he drops it, what are you chasing him for again?”
From Punch