Zamfara State Gov, Abdul’Aziz Yari Abubakar has described the current spate of killings in some parts of the north as an act of pure criminality which has no any religious or ethnic coloration.
Yari who was speaking on Monday at the Special Town Hall Meeting on Federal Government Measures to Curb killings, organised by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in Gusau, the Zamfara sate capital, said the only way to eliminate the act of criminality by the bandits is when the killings are tackled as an act of criminality and not viewed from religious or ethnic angles.
He asked that if it was religious or ethnic why then the bandits in Zamfara state a Muslim dominated state, killing people of the sate who are of same religion and ethnicity which therefore shows that the perpetrators are nothing but criminals who needed to be dealt with as such.
The Governor noted that the level of loss of lives in Zamfara state in the last few years is more than that of Benue, Palteau and Taraba states put together and called on the people to stop giving the killings religious or ethnic background.
‘’I want to call on my brothers, governors of Benue, Plateau and Taraba states to look at the crisis as act of criminality and not an ethnicity or religious but a clear case of criminality”’, he said.
Yari added that in the bid to reverse the ugly trend, the state government in the last seven years provided 427 new operation vehicles to security agencies and expended over N17 Billion on security.
The guest speaker, Dr Abubakar Sadiq Muhammad of Ahmadu Bello University [ABU] Zaria said part of the reasons behind the rising rate of criminality in the country is due to lot of un-govern areas in the country which allows the criminals to operate and cause havoc to the society,
“The efforts in curtailing insecurity in Zamfara should be sustained and must not be a touch and go thing by the military because it may resurface”, he said.
The minister of Defence, Manir Dan-Ali said as parts of efforts to curb the ugly menace of killings in Zamfara state and other parts of the country, the federal government not only increased security funding but also improved the welfare of the military personnel in the country.
“Operation Whirl Stroke , operating in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba states to tackle the manace of armed herdsmen, cattle rustlers, communal militias, kidnappers are some of the measures put in place by the federal government”, he said.
The convener and minister of Information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the the Town Hall Meeting was organized to enable stakeholders and the public to brainstorm and seek for ways of ending killings by bandits and other criminal activities in the country.
The town hall meeting was attended by six ministers, members of the National and state assemblies, commissioners, traditional rulers and members of Civil Society organisations,
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial Aspirant and former Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mohammed Sani Sidi, on Monday submitted his nomination form to the national headquarters of the party in Abuja.
While addressing supporters and party members shortly after submitting the form, Sidi reiterated his commitment to run a decent campaign devoid of hate and urged other aspirants to do the same.
“I pledge to run a fair and robust campaign devoid of hate, character assassination or any act that will heat-up the polity. I expect such from all my co-aspirants as well. It is my firm belief that we need to, as aspirants, work hand-in-hand for the progress of our dear Party and well-being of our State”; Sidi said.
Sidi declared to support any candidate that emerge in the forthcoming party primaries in case he did not emerge as the flag-bearer of the party.
He said “in as much as I expect to emerge winner at our Party’s Gubernatorial Primary Election; I shall accept the outcome of the Primaries if it turns out contrary to my expectation, and render my support to whosoever emerges winner for the common good of our Party and the people of Kaduna State”.
Sani Sidi was accompanied by the Chairman of the Sani Sidi Campaign Organisation and a former Commissioner of information, Rabiu Bako, a former member of the National Assembly, Jonathan Asake, a former State Secretary of the party in Kaduna State, Kabiru Ballah, the State Women Leader of the party, Comfort Amwe among several other party stalwarts and supporters.
As representative of African Union (AU) visits Comoros Tuesday, Opposition alliance is asking the Union to ensure meeting with all parties affected by current constitutional crisis in the country to end the political impasse.
The Juwa Party spokesperson, Aboubakar Aboud, said the party had reached out to the AU urging them to help resolve the situation in the country. “We had written to the AU President urging him to send representatives to the Comoros as our country is slipping into a dictatorship.”
President Azali Assoumani had in July conducted a referendum extending presidential term limits and ending a system of rotating power among the archipelago’s three main islands. This led to crackdown on opposition parties, civil society organisations and the media, who opposed the move – former leader Ahmed Abdallah Sambi is currently under house arrest.
According to opposition, during the referendum the citizens largely shunned voting. East African Standby Force (EASF) observers, on their part, estimated participation rate at 21%. Journalists on ground have repeated the now famous comment of “empty polling stations and full ballot boxes”, to qualify this masquerade.
“Though we are glad to see that AU representatives are visiting Comoros, we are concerned that they have not responded to our request to meet all parties affected by the situation in Comoros since the referendum to discuss a peaceful and stable way forward,” Aboud said.
In a statement made available to AFRICA PRIME NEWS on Monday, the Juwa Party said, “any visit or dialogue would be an impotent and ineffective exercise if it doesn’t insist that the government follow the Fomboni Framework Agreements.”
AU had said that a meeting in Beijing between the AU President and President Azali provided an opportunity to review the situation in the Comoros, in light of the constitutional referendum held in late July 2018 and subsequent developments.
Juwa spokesman said, President Azali is heading for a power grab and he is arresting opposition leaders and civil society members on a regular basis. “I talked to Maître Mahamoudou, President Sambi’s lawyer earlier today. He told me that he was once again not allowed to see and talk with his client without the presence of a police officer. President Sambi has not been allowed to see a doctor either! The African Union has to be appraised of the way opposition leaders, media and civil society are being treated.”
“In fact, just this weekend, the government has issued an international arrest warrant against Vice President Djaffar Ahmed Said – who had publicly opposed the referendum – for ‘acts of attack and conspiracy against the State’. This follows the arrest of Ahmed Hassane El Barwane, the general secretary of Juwa Party, Dr. Ahmed Abdou Chakour, spokesman for the party and Milano Henri Alphonse, treasurer of the party and of course former President Sambi.
Participants at a one day Programme on Voter Education have tasked the electorates to vote only credible candidates or parties that are committed to upholding the principles of Open Government Partnerships and Local Government Autonomy.
In a Communique issued at the end of the programme in Kaduna, North west of the country, the participants resolved to step down the information gotten at the program to other members of their communities and ensure to mobilise them to actively participate in the electoral process. ‘
Similarly, they would embark on advocacy visit to take up the issues of adopting Open Government Partnership and local government autonomy alongside other demands with candidates and political parties as conditions for support to them.
Other resolutions include, to organise political debate for candidates and get written commitments on Open Government Partnership and local government autonomy,
incumbent members of the Kaduna State House of Assembly to vote ‘yes’ to local government autonomy before the expiration of their tenure, and to advocate and engage the Kaduna North local government council to adopt and domesticate the co-creation principles of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), as well as employ the use of social media as a tool to demand transparency, accountability and responsiveness from the government.
The CSOs agreed to organise a capacity building engagement to deepen the understanding of selected active citizens on OGP and equip them with approaches for engaging the process.
The interactive programme organised by a coalition of CSOs was aimed at educating voters and equipping them with the strategies to demand for the adoption of OPG and Local Government Autonomy as Pre- requisite for supporting candidates and political parties.
It had participants drawn from the 12 Wards in Kaduna North Local Government with representations from traditional Institutions, religious, political parties and community based groups.
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In this report, Odimegwu Onwumere unearths the tall dream for those who had hope in Obudu International Mountain Race once regarded as World-Class Mountain Race
“The 10th edition of the annual Obudu International Mountain Race and the 6th African mountain running championships will hold on Saturday November 8 2014 at the Obudu ranch resort in Obudu,” said the Honourable Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development in Cross River State and member of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the race, which also included the African Mountain Running Championships, Patrick Ugbe who under the ex-Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State, noted at the end of its meeting in Calabar in August 2014. “The race this year will be different from past editions because we are celebrating the 10th year of sponsoring Africa’s best ever mountain running event and the highest paying mountain race in the world. We have thus christened this year’s race Mountain Race of the Stars. We want to invite all area champions and the very best mountain runners in the world to come and celebrate with us.”
Those words could have been the spurring factor for Kemboi Kipkorir of Kenya to set out for Nigeria for the mountain race in that year. While on the journey, Kipkorir had one hope, which was to win the 11.25-kilometre mountain race. He later won the men’s category out of a total of 110 athletes the LOC said shall feature in the World-Class Mountain Race based on their performances around the world.
Abebe Dinkesa of Ethiopia and Kiplimo Philip of Uganda came second and third correspondingly. In the women’s race, Genet Yalew of Ethiopia won, with Chessang Stella of Uganda and Ababel Yesshaneh of Ethiopia coming second and third respectively. These runners are however angry today threatening legal action because the money they won has not been paid them and there is scarce anticipation that they would be paid.
Before the 2014, athletes who won in the race since it was first held in 2005 rejoiced in this competition that was set up by the ex-governor Donald Duke (the governor before Imoke). Although, the race came into existence in 1995 as a World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) associate race.
According to a source that would prefer anonymity, “The Obudu ranch was first built by a pair of Scots in the 1950s. In search of a good spot to eat steak, escape the mosquitoes and admire the view, they settled on the cool climate of the mountainous region on the border of Nigeria and Cameroon. Recently renovated by the Cross River State Government, the Obudu Resort now stands as a highpoint in Nigeria’s fledgling tourism industry. More importantly, each year it hosts the Obudu Mountain Race, a 13km uphill run.”
Each year, the men’s and women’s competition winners went home with US$50,000 each. Ethiopians and Kenyans have always been going home with the first prize of $50, 000, second prize of $30, 0000 and the third prize of $10, 000. Checks revealed that the race since it was founded had world class road running athletes even mountain running athletes that included Abebe Dinkesa, Rono Philemon, Philip Kiplimo, Fikadu Awash, Meselech Halieyesus, Andre Mayr, Rita Jeptoo and sundry.
There was a total prize pot of around $250,000 for the competition ones regarded as “the world’s richest mountain race.” The race had great support from the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), the World Mountain Running Association,(WMRA) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It also attracted no fewer than 130 athletes from various parts of the world yearly.
Ugbe noted in 2014, “We are really delighted that the Obudu International Mountain Race has continued to be accorded the rightful status it deserves. We have always enjoyed the physical presence of the WMRA president at the race since the inaugural edition in 2005.
“We had the late president, Danny Hughes, with us for the first four or five editions before his demise. Bruno Gozzelino, who took over from him, has also been a huge part of our race. This shows how important the event is to the world mountain running family.” But this is no more.
End Of The Race
The sponsor and host state of the mountain race in the country, Cross River State Government, gave unsympathetic warning that it had no plans to redeem the won prize money by the athletes at the 2014 Obudu Mountain Race. The government of the state that came on board on May 29 2015 and led by Prof. Ben Ayade said that it had to take the demanding conclusion not to pay the athletes, because there was no economic gains the state was deriving from the competition, therefore Kipkorir, Dinkesa, Philip, Yalew, Stella and Yesshaneh, should look elsewhere.
The Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development in Cross Rivers State under Ayade, Mr. Asu Okang disclosed this to our correspondent. He revealed that the state government was not only bent on not paying the prize money won by the runners in 2014, but had also suspended the mountain race ad infinitum due to lack of funds.
Okang added that he met a bill of N70m to be paid to the prize winners when he mounted the saddle as commissioner. He argued that even though the event was attracting people from all walks of life to the state during the mountain race, the venture was not profitable.
According to him, “When I came on board as a commissioner, I met a bill of N70m to be paid to prize winners; but unfortunately we do not have that kind of money.
“The concept of the mountain race is good but it adds no economic value to Cross River State. It is not a profitable venture and we keep paying money to winners that have no value to Cross River. We must keep our money.”
But the President of the WMRA, Bruno Gozzelino whose tenure as president of the world mountain running governing body in 2013 was extended till 2017, was not happy that the Obudu Cattle Ranch could not host the 30th edition of the WMRA championships in 2014. However, he expressed optimism, saying, “I am confident the Obudu ranch resort will host our championships soon, say in 2016 or 2018. I am seriously working towards it.”
However, the likes of Gozzelino would be regretting the tall dream of Prof. Ayade-led government of Cross River State on the once Obudu International Mountain Race regarded as World-Class Mountain Race.
Odimegwu Onwumere is a Poet, Writer and Media Consultant based in Rivers State. Tel: +2348032552855. Email: apoet_25@yahoo.com
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara has explained that he was inspired by his father to embrace farming, because he made him understand it as a noble profession at a tender age.
He said “My Dad told me farming is a noble profession, because without farmers we will have no food and without food we will all be in trouble. Although a successful business man in his days, he did not give up farming. In my formative years, my Dad wasn’t into farming personally he only had a farm. Except on days when he could spare time, he cleverly ensued that I go to the farm almost every day by sending me there to go pay off workers their daily wages. Even as a University student, anytime I was home, I must go to the farm to supervise what was been done and pay those that must be paid. My Dad raised me as a farmer….”.
The speaker however reiterated the need for a concerted government effort at ensuring widespread mechanized farming as way out of the country’s poverty and food security, noting that “If we must grow what we eat and eat what we grow, then government must ensure that our farmers remain on the farms no matter the cost, and lay the foundation for mechanization of agriculture and smart farms”
Dogara in an interview with Daily Trust Newspaper said: “As at today, I am not deeply into agriculture, although I am a part owner of a farm. I started my foray into farming in the late 90s when I first established an Orchard on the banks of river Tafawa Balewa which is still flourishing till date. Before I got into politics, I acquired the present farm land at Gidan Kura, Nasarawa State for the purpose of cultivating cassava on a commercial scale.
“Unfortunately, the policy on cassava farming introduced by the then Obasanjo government failed. We were left with so much cassava that we didn’t know what to do with. We sold a full pick up truck load for N30,000 then but there was no enough market to take all the cassava. When the cassava farming failed, we decided to turn the farm into an orchard.
“In 2006 before I joined politics, we planted 37,000 mango seedlings consisting of 12 different foreign varieties and 17,000 jumbo guava seedlings on the farm. We lost quite a number in the process of nurturing the trees to maturity but right now it’s an established orchard. We have added Banana trees, fish ponds, poultry and a small ranch as the years go by. In collaboration with partners, we want to expand the poultry and begin processing rice and maize on the farm. But that is work in process”.
According to the Speaker, “It is also true of Nigeria that as long as we are not running mechanized farms, any talk of progress in agriculture is mere cheap talk. When more than 99 percent of farmers still go to farms with small hoes, big hoes, etc, there is no way we can successfully feed our ever increasing population. Something has to be done and very urgently too as we are not near any breakthrough in agriculture, if the truth must be told”.
On fears that if what is needed to guarantee food security in the country is not urgently done, Dogara said “I have no doubt in my mind that if we don’t increase and continue to expand our capacity to grow enough food to feed our citizens, with the population explosion starring us in the face, we don’t need a seer to warn us of the coming implosion. With current practices, the prospects for our nation is not looking good at all.
“The challenge we have as a nation is recruiting the next generation of farmers. We have to make farming attractive to the millennials otherwise, we face a very frightening and insecure future. I don’t know how we can achieve this, but it’s a task that must be accomplished. The youths must be encouraged to take to farming as a profession of choice. There are so many young persons out there in this country that have never gone to farm or work on the farm, even once in their lifetime and that’s unacceptably and worrisome”.
The Speaker while explaining how he also motivated his children out of their initial hatred for farming said “I had to work hard to break the walls of resistance they had built inside themselves. Right now, anytime they are home, they are looking forward to when they will go to the farm. I know exactly what I’ll do to cement their interest in agriculture but I cant let the cat out of the bag now as they may also read this interview”.
Senator Shehu Sani flanked by supporters on his way to pick the nomination form
By Joseph Edegbo
Is it Direct or Indirect Primaries? This is the million-dollar question awaiting to be answered to settle what can be described as a political logjam under All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State, North west Nigeria.
Sen Shehu Sani, a pro – Direct Primaries, representing Kaduna Central in Nigeria’s National Assembly, on Saturday turned the Abuja headquarters of his party agog, as supporters from his constituency accompanied him to pick nomination form for Senate.
An eye witness told AFRICA PRIME NEWS, “more than 50 cars and buses conveyed people from Kaduna to the APC headquarters in Abuja.
The man held the APC headquarters to a standstill. More than even some people who were to pick gubernatorial forms,” he said.
His arch rival and pro- Indirect Primaries, Mr. Uba Sani, currently the special adviser to Governor of Kaduna State, had picked his form on Friday.
Both Aspirants are relying on their respective god- fathers to carry the ‘day’ as supporters continue drumming.
Addressing supporters before picking up his nomination form on Saturday, Sen Sani who promised more proactive representation and quality leadership delivery, thanked them for their unflinching support.
“We appreciate your immense contributions for the growth and progress of the party, both in the State and the nation. Your presence here today in Abuja to demonstrate your support for me while I buy the nomination for Senate is a sign of your dedication to the APC.
