Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Tuesday 29th June 2021
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 29/06/21
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Three Killed As Explosion Rocks Benue Community
File Photo
At least three people have been killed when a fuel tanker exploded at the Amoke village of Apa Local Government Area in Benue State.
The incident occurred on Monday morningwhen the vehicle conveying petroleum product went up in flame in the area.
File Photo
An eyewitness, Godfrey Idede told DAILY POST that the number of casualties could not be ascertained yet.He revealed that the incident led to panic in the area as economic activities came to an abrupt halt.However, the Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Benue State, Yakubu Mohammed, while confirming the incident to journalists, said only three persons were killed.
Mohammed who attributed the unfortunate incident to brakes failure said aside from the three victims, no other person sustained injury.
He stated that the fire was put out after some hours, noting that there was no fire service station close to the scene of the incident.
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BREAKING: Boko Haram, ISWAP Terrorists Currently Attacking Borno Town
Elements of the Boko Haram aided by the deadlier Islamic State West African Province are currently attacking Ajiri community in the Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State.
Military sources told SaharaReporters that the troops are battling to keep the area safe, as the terrorists invaded in gun trucks and targeted the army’s base first.
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“Ajiri in Mafa LGA is under Boko Haram and ISWAP attack. Troops are currently battling to keep the area safe,” an authoritative source stated.
Earlier today, ISWAP and Boko Haram were reported to have invaded the Forward Operational Base of the Nigerian Army in the Bula Yobe area of Borno State, killing several soldiers.
SaharaReporters had learnt that the insurgents on gun trucks attacked the base on Sunday, exchanging firepower with troops of 152 Task Force Battalion attached to Operation Hadan Kai who are stationed at the base.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, in a release, had confirmed the attack by ISWAP but noted that two soldiers were killed, while 12 terrorists died.
He said, “Troops of 152 Task Force Battalion in conjunction with the Air Component of Operation Hadan Kai dealt a devastating blow on marauding Boko Haram and ISWAP while attempting to infiltrate the Forward Operational Base at Bula Yobe in Borno State.
“The terrorists, who came mounted on Gun trucks and several motorcycles attacked the location via an unsuspected crossing point, but were met with a heavy volume of fire from the vigilant troops. The land troops, in their usual dexterity swiftly and decisively engaged the terrorists, subsequently forcing them to retreat, having lost initiative.
“The troops sustained the firefight and successfully neutralised 12 terrorists, with several others fleeing with gunshot wounds. The troops gallantly captured one Gun Truck, one Self Propelled Gun-9, one Dushika Gun and one mounted QJC Machine Gun. Other items captured are one Light Machine Gun and five AK 47 rifles.
“Sadly, during the encounter, two soldiers paid the supreme sacrifice, while five others sustained varying degrees of injury and have been evacuated by the Air component of OPHK to a medical facility, where they are currently receiving medical attention.
“The general area within FOB Bula Yobe is cool and calm under the control of troops of the battalion. Further exploitation by resilient troops is ongoing.
“The Chief of Army Staff, Major General Faruk Yahaya has lauded the land troops and the Air Component for their synergy and quick response, which is in tandem with the ongoing rejigging of the counter-terrorism counter-insurgency operations in the North East. He charged the troops to maintain the tempo and vehemently hold their ground, to deny the terrorists freedom of action.”
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Celtics Name Nigerian 18th Head Coach In Franchise History
The Boston Celtics have named seven-year NBA veteran, Ime Udoka the franchise’s next head coach, making him the 18th head coach in the organisation’s 75-year history, Theundefeated.com reports
“I would like to welcome Ime, Nia, Kez, and Massai to the Boston Celtics. Among the many outstanding qualities that Ime brings to the table are his character, humility, and competitiveness. He has a relentless work ethic and a vast array of experiences as a player and coach,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens.
“He’s a leader that is warm and demanding, and we are so excited that he has chosen to join us in pursuit of Banner 18.”
Udoka joins the Celtics franchise after spending the last nine NBA seasons as an assistant coach between San Antonio (2012-13 to 2018-19), Philadelphia (2019-20), and Brooklyn (2020-21).
Teams that Udoka has served as an assistant coach on have qualified for the playoffs in all nine seasons, with one of those years resulting in an NBA championship (Spurs, 2014).
In addition to his coaching experience in the NBA, Udoka was also an assistant coach for Gregg Popovich and the USA Basketball Men’s National Team in 2018.
He played for the Nigerian men’s national team during the 2006 FIBA World Championship, where he led the team in scoring, assists and steals, and was second in rebounds. He also played for Nigeria during the 2005 and 2011 FIBA Africa championships. Udoka and his sister, Mfon Udoka, who played for the Nigerian women’s national team and in the WNBA for three seasons, were the first brother-sister pair to play in both the NBA and WNBA, according to a 2006 report in the Los Angeles Times.
“It’s inspiring to see more players, coaches and personnel, born in Africa or with direct ties to the continent, receive opportunities across the league. Just as Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka continue to inspire the next generation of African players, Ime Udoka is a trailblazer for aspiring coaches from Nigeria and across the continent,” said NBA Africa CEO Victor Williams.
Udoka’s basketball career started at Utah State University Eastern, where Udoka recorded the first triple-double in school history. After two seasons, Udoka transferred to the University of San Francisco, spending one season with the Dons before finishing his collegiate career at Portland State.
After not being selected in the 2000 NBA draft, which he has chalked up to a knee injury at the end of his senior season, Udoka spent time in the NBA’s developmental league (now the G League), in France and Spain, and had brief stints with the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks from 2003 to 2006.
Ahead of the 2006-07 season, Udoka signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, where he started 75 games. He remained in the league for four additional seasons, with stops with the Sacramento Kings and most notably the Spurs, before retiring from professional basketball in 2012.
That same year, Udoka was hired as an assistant by the last NBA coach he played for: the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich.
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Pandemonium In Abeokuta As Secondary School Students Shoot Guns During Riot
Residents of Abeokuta, Ogun State scampered for safety on Monday when students of two public secondary schools shot guns during a clash.
It was gathered that the clash occurred between students of Baptist Boys High School and Ilugun High School, Federal Housing Estate, in Elega, Abeokuta, the state capital.
Students of the former invaded the latter school to avenge the death of two of their colleagues killed during an unauthorised inter-schools gambling competition, Daily Post reports.
It was alleged that students of Baptist Boys High School had invaded the Ilugun High School with dangerous weapons, including guns, cutlasses, broken bottles and assorted charms to avenge the deaths of their colleagues, allegedly stabbed to death a few weeks ago The incidents paralysed commercial activities and vehicular movements in some parts of the state capital.
It was gathered that it took the intervention of the police to restore normalcy to the affected areas.
Shop owners, who had earlier opened for businesses were said to have hurriedly closed down and scampered for safety, while vehicles and commuters also deserted the area for hours.
It was learnt that the students shot sporadically in different directions and chanted anti-management songs to warn the principals and teachers of the schools to steer clear.
One of the shop owners in the area, who managed to return after security operatives had taken over, explained that the students of the two schools were last week, involved in gambling, in which those of the BBHS won massively at the expense of their colleagues in Ilugun.
“The gambling, however, degenerated into a conflict, wherein two BBHS students were stabbed with broken bottles.
“One of the BBHS students stabbed, died last Friday, while the second one died yesterday (Sunday). But the students of BBHS were not happy about the incident and that was why they came out in violent protest against students of Ilugun High School today,” the shop owner said.
The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the incident, adding that the command had deployed security operatives to the area to restore sanity.
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Challenging Spanish-Moroccan Contempt For African Sovereignty, By Owei Lakemfa
Owei Lakemfa
IT is incredible, but true. A serving African Head of State had COVID-19 infection. He could not be treated in his country. A sister African country which came to his aid, concluded he needed specialist treatment which was available in an European country. It contacted the latter which agreed that the sick African President could be sent to it, only to put him on trial right from his sick bed!
The European country involved is Spain which holds the infamous record as the most bestial and greediest colonialist in human history. It also has the dubious distinction of being ruled for 39 years by a fascist dictator, General Francisco Franco, from 1936 to 1975.
Owei Lakemfa
When it was forced by the Saharawi armed struggle, the internal rise of democratic forces and international pressure to give up its Spanish-Sahara (Western Sahara) colony, rather than grant straight forward independence like other European colonialists were doing, Spain broke the newly emergent country into three parts, handed two to Morocco and the third to Mauritania. It was its half-smart way of continuing to run Western Sahara by proxy.
However, the Saharawi people under the POLISARIO Liberation Movement, fought back militarily, forcing Mauritania to hand back its part of the loot, and Morocco to sign a United Nations-supervised peace agreement. Under that agreement, the world body, based on the United Nations Security Council Resolution 690, established its United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, MINURSO in 1991. But due to an unholy alliance of the United States, France, Spain and Morocco, and the impotency of the UN, that referendum is yet to be held 30 years later!
Meanwhile, the Saharawi who renamed their new country, the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, SADR, has continued to govern the liberated parts of the country while Morocco has, with European and American backing, continued to occupy the rest of the country. This is responsible for the prolonged refugee crisis with many Saharawi being forced to live in the Algerian-provided refugee camps in Tindouf.
In 1982, the Organisation of African Unity, OAU, recognised the independence of Western Sahara and that year, admitted it as a full member. A sulking Morocco cried at the OAU Summit like a baby deprived of its lollipop, but Africa insisted on its principle of the right of all colonies, including Western Sahara not just to self-determination in accordance with the founding Charter of the UN, but also to independence.
When it would not be allowed to re-colonise the former Spanish colony, Morocco walked out of the OAU.
Since then, Spain and Morocco have been in an unholy alliance looting the phosphate, fisheries and other resources of the Saharawi people and repressing them. Their attempt in June 2021 to seize the Western Sahara President, Brahim Ghali, was their latest gambit which despite all the drama both countries put up, failed.
President Ghali was infected by COVID-19 and could not be adequately treated in the country nor neighbouring Algeria. The later approached Spain which agreed that Ghali be treated at the Hospital San Millan-San Pedro in Logrono, the capital of its La Rioja Province in the North. However, teary Morocco took offence; it considered the extension of medical treatment to President Ghali a betrayal.
In its usual tantrums, Morocco on May 18, 2021, retaliated against Spain by opening its borders with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and urging migrants who have been trying to enter Europe, cross into the Spanish territory. In two days, some 8,000 of them entered Ceuta. As it turned out, when most of the migrants were rounded up by the Spanish armed forces, half of them were Moroccans.
Meanwhile, Spain was engaged in its own irritabilities. Based on alleged complaints by a Moroccan group and despite the fact that he has diplomatic immunity, it put President Ghali on trial from his hospital bed on the alleged grounds that as chief of the Saharawi Liberation Army some four decades ago, he committed war crimes.
However, Spain’s High Court on Tuesday June 1, turned down a request that President Ghali be taken into custody, stating that the plaintiffs had provided no shred of evidence in the preliminary hearing that he had committed any crime. Morocco in protest, recalled its ambassador. Next day, President Ghali flew back to Algeria to continue his treatment and recovery.
Interestingly, Spain which seeks to hold some moral ground in its accusation against President Ghali has never brought any of its citizens to trial for the over 500,000 human beings killed during the Franco coup and rule.
The conspiracy of Spain and Morocco to seize President Ghali was not just to undermine the sovereignty of the African people by imprisoning a serving African Head of State, but also to take their pound of flesh on a Saharawi leader that had given both countries, bloody noses.
President Ghali, 71, was one of the co-founders of the POLISARIO who began an armed struggle against Spain. He led the military raids against the colonialists in 1973 and the following year, emerged the Chief of Staff of the Saharawi Peoples’ Liberation Army. This great African son was a major military leader heading the Liberation forces which militarily took on the combined armed forces of Spain, Morocco and Mauritania in a David versus Goliath contest in which the Saharawi David was neither intimidated nor conquered until this day.
When the world called for peace, Ghali played a major role in that peace process leading to the establishment of the MINURSO. He was the Defence Minister from 1976, Ambassador to Spain for nine years from 1999 and Ambassador to Algeria, the most important country to the Western Sahara, from 2010 to 2016. On July 9, 2016, he was elected President of the Republic.
When on November 13, 2020, an over-confident Morocco decided to violate the ceasefire agreements, the Ghali administration without any hesitation or fear, immediately resume the armed conflict; confidently pitting the 597,339 Saharawi in battle against the 36.47 million Moroccans. So, the fascist Spanish and the monarchical, anti-democratic Moroccan establishment know who they are dealing with in Western Sahara.
Generally, Western Europe and America tend to treat Africa like garbage; the Arab group assumes it is next to Europe in human hierarchy, while with Morocco peeing into the continent, the AU accepts these like a House Nigger.
But Africa had peerless leaders like Ben Bella and Abdel Gamel Nasser in the North, Mwalimu Nyerere in the East, Robert Mugabe and Samora Machel in the South, Patrice Lumumba in the Central belt and Kwame Nkrumah and Sekou Toure in the West. Africa will rise again and take its place of pride as it did when it led the whole humanity into civilisation.
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Investigation: How Yakubu Dogara, UBEC Squandered N1 Billion Model School Projects
Science Laboratory, Government Day Technical College Tafawa-Balewa
Dogara’s collapsing model schools built in 2020
Three years ago, the Universal Basic Education Commission released the sum of N97 million to three companies for the construction and rehabilitation of classrooms in the federal constituency represented by Yakubu Dogara in Bauchi State.
The money was part of a N1 billion consistency project of the former speaker of the House of Representatives who currently represents the area at the National Assembly.
Quickfix Property Limited, Delta Force limited and Maridiq Nigeria Limited received the money for the construction and rehabilitation of schools in the area, according to Budeshi, an open contracting platform.
At the Government Day Technical College in Tafawa-Balewa, no single project has been executed despite the school being listed as one of the beneficiaries of the intervention project.
Mr Jatau Daniel, principal of the technical college told WikkiTimes that the school had been neglected for years, adding that he was not aware that it was billed to receive such intervention.
But it is not only the Government Day Technical College in Tafawa-Balewa whose classrooms renovation and construction are up in the air despite money being released by UBEC. Investigations by WikkiTimes show that other schools that were listed as beneficiaries either got shoddy construction or none.
Built in 1978, the Government Day Technical College Tafawa-Balewa is the only technical school in Dogara’s constituency, but the school has deteriorated, leaving more than 1400 students in a poor learning environment without basic amenities.
The principal said the last building in the school was constructed about 20 years ago and renovation has been done through the contributions of the Parents Teachers’ Association (PTA).
“I have had the privilege of meeting with Hon. Yakubu Dogara last year,” Mr Daniel said. “I tabled all the challenges faced in the school and how the school is on the verge of total collapse. After receiving my proposal, we have not gotten any response from him till date after telling me he will get back to us.”
Inside the school, cracks appear in-between the walls, inviting reptiles and insects into the classrooms.
“See how bad the school looks,” said exasperated Mr Emmanuel Barau, head of sciences laboratory in the school.
Science Laboratory, Government Day Technical College Tafawa-Balewa
Students suffer the neglect. At Samuel Alheri’s classroom, the ceiling is about to cave in. The windows and floor of the classrooms are all broken. The students sit four per chair with some lapping each other. “The chairs are not enough to accommodate all of us,” Alheri said.
“Throughout last term, we could not have physics class because we don’t have a physics teacher,” Alheri told WikkiTimes.
“I am in the computer science department. I only go to the lab with other students where we just sit for a while and then return back to our classes,” said Idi Miyaki, Alheri’s classmate.
“We don’t have a computer science teacher,” Miyaki continued. “No light or generator to even power the few computers, I don’t know anything about computer. I am just here wasting my time. As soon as we close, I just rush to the farm where I can make meaningful use of my time.”
Another school in the area, Central Primary School was listed as a beneficiary in the zonal intervention project by UBEC, but like the technical school, no construction was ever carried out despite money being released to the contractor.
In 2018, a contract for the construction of a block of three classrooms was awarded to Maridiq Nigeria Ltd, the same company that also got a contract for that of the technical college. It was awarded at N19 million.
The most recent block of two classrooms in the school was built in 2016 which was done under the Sustainable Development Goals’ intervention project.
“Look at all the roofs falling apart with so many classrooms, not in use,” Mary Maikomo, a native of Tafawa Balewa town, pointed out. “They are so dilapidated and not habitable for learning”, she added.
Mr Emmanuel Iliya, youth leader of Zaar Youth Development Association, ZAYODA told WikkiTimes that children in the area deserve a better school and quality learning to secure their future.
“You can see the pitiable state of the school,” Iliya said. “It’s at the mercy of God. This is a school that has graduated a lot of prominent people in this country, and the school in its bad look has lost its entire legacy.”
However, at Nahuta Primary School in Tafawa-Balewa, another beneficiary of the zonal intervention project, the contract was executed but was incomplete. A block of three classrooms was constructed but the supply of teaching materials and furniture was left out.
The block was built within three months, according to Mr Amos Bature, the head teacher at the school. It was hastily and poorly done with the doors and windows looking out of shape.
The contract was awarded to Quickfix Property Limited for N19 million failed to supply classroom furniture and teaching materials as contained in the contract.
“I just wish Hon. Yakubu Dogara will come and see for himself and then tell the public how proud he is of the school,” Mr Bature said. “Primary schools are supposed to give a foundation to children especially these ones in rural communities. These children have to suffer what their counterparts in urban cities enjoy.”
Shoddy And Incomplete Projects
At Government Junior Secondary School located at the roadside, a few metres away from Bogoro main town, a three-classroom block has been built by Quickfix Property Limited but without teaching aids and furniture as spelt out in the contract.
“Being in a rural community, we sometimes use the money paid by the student as PTA levy to buy attendance booklets and even some of the textbooks we use in the school,” said Mrs. Bilhatu Daniel, principal of the school.
“We were only given 80 pieces of 40 leaves exercise books in a school of 398 students,” Mrs Daniel continued. “My pain is not just as a teacher or the principal of the school, but as a mother, seeing children with brighter future in such a mess with little or no hope of getting the best basic education they need at this age and time.”
QuickFix Property Limited also constructed a three-classroom block at Upper Basic Primary School in Shall Gwartar, the only benefiting school in Dass Local Government Area.
But the building which was constructed last year is already falling apart with its foundation exposed and the walls already tearing into different parts, just as the floor in the classes already broken, leaving the newly erected classes in a wretched state.
Dogara’s collapsing model schools built in 2020
The structure was erected in the first quarter of 2020, shortly before the COVID-19 lockdown. It was awarded at N19 million.
Ya’u Yusuf, the PTA Chairman of Upper Basic Secondary School, Shall Gwartar and Yusuf Gambo, a volunteer guard told WikkiTimes that the construction was done in two months, and it started collapsing immediately after the erection.
“The contractor was using substandard materials. We saw it for ourselves,” they said.
“I personally stopped them, and they went to tell the Honorable himself,” Yusuf said. “After some days, they returned back to continue their work with the same materials and at this point, I had to allow them.”
Yusuf described the building as a death trap to students, adding that they feared that the building would finally collapse at any time.
“There has never been a time when leaders are so greedy and selfish as now,” Yusuf said. “They can eat up everything allocated to a rural community without any fear or conscience.”
Haruna Danladi, village head of Shall Gwantar, could not hide his disappointment when describing to WikkiTimes how students sit on bare floor to learn.
“We have no option,” he said. “We only accept what they give to us no matter how bad or good it looks. The award of a contract by the government is usually for their own profit not for the benefit of the community. If not, quality and durable materials would have been used in a school.
“When they come to carry out the project, they never seek our advice. They just begin work and so we just sit aloof and watch them.”
The principal of the school, Mr. Sulaiman Yunusa who shared his experience with WikkiTimes explained how teachers struggle to maintain the school with zero support despite hefty allocations that come with the intervention project.
“We never received any book or teaching materials from anyone,” he said.
Gwarangah, Dogara’s Home Town also neglected
Outsiders would assume that the hometown of a former speaker of the House of Representative who has been in the House for over 17 years would have basic amenities like good roads, constant power supply, pipe-born water, and standard schools as well as primary healthcare facilities.
But it is the opposite. The racketeering in the execution of the school projects in other communities did not also spare Gwarangah, his village. In comparison to other schools in Bogoro, Dass, and Tafawa-Balewa where the 2018 projects were either not carried out or poorly executed, a block of three classrooms was constructed by Delta Force Ltd.
“I am Dogara’s Uncle and the principal of this school, as well as the NUT chairman of the local government,” said Mr Gideon Gambo, who said that the new building belongs to the primary school which share premises with the secondary.
“Here in Gwarangah Junior Secondary school, as the principal, I have to buy chalk which we use because from SUBEB they only give us one carton of chalk for the whole term. How do you expect us to use just one carton in a term? So, we resort to taking money from the PTA levy which the students pay terminally to buy chalk which we use in our classes.
“Imagine students preparing for junior WAEC and other exams, no library and no textbooks. At what point is the government supposed to come in and help these children. In the whole of this community, no single ICT centre and this is the community which produced the number four citizen in this country.”
The purported ICT centre in the community has been converted to an APC warehouse used by Dogara. The building which has an APC logo, the political party of Dogara, is behind his house.
A peep into Dogara’s house shows several undistributed stashed tricycles. Members of the community told WikkiTimes that the books meant to be distributed to the schools in the area had been stashed inside Dogara’s house as well.
Contractors Operate in the Shadow
The contractors that executed the N1 billion Dogara Models Schools project mostly operate in the shadow as no trace of their offices in either Bauchi, the seat of government or at Dogara’s constituency.
Search conducted by WikkiTimes on Corporate Affairs Commission’s website shows that the three companies that were awarded the contracts – Quickfix Property Limited, Delta Force Engineering Limited and Maridiq Nigeria Limited were all incorporated. Further efforts to confirm the companies’ profiles and other necessary information through the paid service, was not successful as the companies only have physical addresses in Abuja. But there are no emails or phone numbers. The companies do not have functional websites nor any active social media accounts for public engagement.
Expert Faults Project, Claim Amount, Inflated
An expert in quantity survey and lecturer at the Department of Quantity Survey who doubles as the Current ASUU Chairman, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, (ATBU) argued that the pictures shown to him by WikkiTimes purportedly built at N19 million were highly inflated.
“With these pictures, you have just shown me, considering the cheap labour and already available land to carry out the project, the amount said to be spent on this project is shoddy and questionable,” Dr Inuwa Ibrahim.
“N19 million only is a lot of money, and for a structure said to be erected in 2018 of such standards, such amount is enough to give us around three to four of such blocks of three classrooms of which there was no fencing and other sophisticated equipment needed,” he said.
A proprietor of one of the biggest secondary schools in Bauchi, who doesn’t want her name mentioned, corroborates Dr Inuwa regarding the inflated cost of the Dogara’s model schools.
She said N19 million will enable her erect another private school.
“If given N19 million I can comfortably open another branch and erect like six to seven classrooms of a good standard because I already have the land.
“I may not be so particular to tell you the actual cost of my school and the maintenance, but it is my pleasure to let you know that N19 million will give me a new section and some change (additional money) to pay salaries of my staff for some months.”
She said N19 million “is a lot of money which can be used to build a standard school with ultra-modern science equipment that can be compared to some schools in some bigger schools.”
Dogara, UBEC, Ignore Interview, FOI Request
A freedom of information request sent to the official email address of the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC by WikkiTimes requesting the commission’s response on its findings were not responded to days after it was sent. WikkiTimes also contacted the spokesperson of the commission Mr David Apeh requesting an official response regarding the commission’s shoddy execution of Dogara’s projects. Mr David requested the reporter to send an official email requesting comments, but days after the reporter sent the email, it fell on deaf ears, just as repeated calls to remind him about the earlier correspondences was equally ignored.
Several calls and text messages to Yakubu Dogara and his spokesman Turaki Hassan were not replied.
Dr Aliyu Tilde, a former Bauchi Education commissioner who was contacted before he was sacked by his principal, Governor Bala Mohammed also declined to answer questions about the projects. Instead, he referred WikkiTimes to State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB).
“I do not handle education projects in LGAs. Please contact the State Universal Basic Education for any clarifications,” said Tilde in a text message.
Then SUBEB directed WikkiTimes to speak with its director of planning, Dr. Aliyu Abdulrashed who said UBEC would be most appropriate in answering the questions relating to the projects.
“We are only the beneficiary,” he said. “We are not the supervising body or the awardees of the contract, and so if you need any information about the project, you should reach out to the Universal Basic Education Commission.”
This story was produced in partnership with Civic Media Lab under its Grassroots News Project with support from the National Endowment for Democracy.
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Elijah Ojonicko Akoji
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Christian Association Declares Day Of Prayer To Tackle Growing Insecurity In Oyo
The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Oyo State chapter has declared Friday as a day of prayer against insecurity in the state and the country.
This was part of resolutions reached on Monday, between the state government and CAN during a stakeholders’ meeting.
The state government, represented by the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr. Wasiu Olatunbosun, and the Executive Assistant on Administration, Rev. Idowu Ogedengbe and CAN agreed to go spiritual during the meeting, as the Christian body vowed to hold a special praise, worship and prayer session to intercede for the state on Friday, July 2.
The state government had met with Islamic and traditional leaders, where it was unanimously agreed that they would all work together to improve security.
Olatunbosun noted that the state government resorted to seeking the intervention of religious stakeholders to forge a new front against insecurity in the state, Vanguard reports.
“In a bid to renew our efforts against insecurity, Oyo state has been working tirelessly against insecurity in recent times. We have purchased needed gadgets and vehicles for security agents in the State and we will do more.”
“However, we cannot do it alone, we apparently need to change our strategies and work with you religious stakeholders in the state.
“We are meeting Christians and Christian body for a specific reason, which is to trigger a religious war against the devilish act of banditry, abduction, and insecurity in the state.
“This government seeks to secure the state from insecurity and we will do so regardless of the state of the nation.
“And as we redouble our efforts, we will never allow insecurity to divide us— this is why we have engaged representatives of all religion in the State: Christian, Muslim, and traditional Worshippers,” he said.
CAN Chairman in the state, Apostle (Col) Joshua Akinyemiju, said the body in partnership with the Chaplain of the state government house will commence a powerful intercession for the state.
“Yes, insecurity is not exclusive to Oyo State, but we believe as Christians, we will not give in. We will intensify our efforts to pull down the stronghold of the enemy,” he said.
There is growing insecurity in Oyo State worsened by attacks (killing and kidnapping) by suspected Fulani herdsmen, cult wars, and violence involving road transport workers.
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Ex-Nigerian Leader Who Oversaw Biafran War, Gowon Leads Prayer Against Insecurity, Others In Nigeria
Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon says that with collective and concerted prayers from all Nigerians irrespective of religion or ethnicity, the country will win the war against armed banditry, kidnapping and other social ills bedevilling the corporate existence of the country.
Gowon made the assertion at a one-day prayer rally to seek God’s intervention held at the Calvary Life Assembly, Nomansland, Kano.
Optimistic that Nigeria will overcome the worrisome disability confronting it, he urged the Christian faithful not to renege on their faith in God.
“We need God intervention to bail us out of the predicaments facing us as a nation.
“Our gathering in Kano today is an expression of our love and faith in our country Nigeria for God to hear our prayer and heal the land.
“We are bringing before our Lord the myriads of our problems: insecurity, banditry, murders, political, economic and social problems. God, help us find solution to all these problems that have given our country a bad image.
“Lord, hear our sincere confession of our wrongs in the past and present and forgive us as a people and nation. We ask for forgiveness and mercy. Lord, heal our nation and heal us individually and collectively,” Gowon, who is the chairman and convener of Nigeria Prays, said.
As Head of State, Gowon presided over the controversial Nigerian Civil War in 1967.
The Civil War is listed as one of the deadliest in modern history, with some accusing Gowon of crimes against humanity and genocide.
Gowon maintains that he committed no wrongdoing during the war and that his leadership saved the country.
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E2%80%A6-skc-ogbonnia Remove Muhammadu Buhari Now Or… By SKC Ogbonnia
Nigerian youths should be applauded for calling off the nationwide protest previously planned on June 12, 2021 to demand the removal of President Muhammadu Buhari from office. The bloodthirsty dictator could have exploited the protest to murder more citizens. These helpless youths have suffered enough for the sins of their heartless leaders. Yet, the goal of the protest lives. But the plan must assume a new and broader dimension.
It begins by acknowledging the fact that Muhammadu Buhari is no longer Nigeria’s real problem. The year 2021 does not belong in the past where a clique could assume power and dictate as it pleases. Recent events have hinted that Buhari’s ongoing war against Nigeria would not be decided at the Dodan Barracks nor at the Aso Rock. The country now has a multitude of Biblical Josephs of sort that have become strategically entrenched in all nooks and corners of the world but who are determined to pay the ruthless leader in his own coin.
The gist is that Muhammadu Buhari is a spent force. He is already boxed in a corner and bound to be bundled to the International Criminal Court at the Hague once out of office. In short, Buhari’s case is a settled matter.
The true problem, therefore, is the Legislature which has failed to abide by the Constitution to remove the president for “gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office.”
Enumerating Buhari’s gross misconduct in office is akin to counting the sand at the seashore. How and where does one begin or how and where does one end? This man is a stone-cold bigot who has sustained power through demagoguery. He is by far the most vengeful, divisive, tribalistic, nepotic, toxic, and terrorist leader in recent memory. The Nigerian president commits mass murder. He commits politicide. He dreams and relishes genocide. The sadist is a curse to the human race and currently the world’s worst.
Accordingly, many ethnic groups, as well as prominent Nigerians—from the East, North, South, and West—have continued to call for Buhari’s impeachment. The gross misconduct under his regime is so glaring that even his wife, Aisha Buhari, had to damn the consequences to alert fellow citizens that her husband had since lost the control of the government. She admonished “the Nigerian men” for doing nothing.
The delay to impeach the president prompted several youth groups and activists to embark on various protests, demanding good governance. But the protesters are always met with brute force, with many innocent youths losing their lives. Buhari’s terrorist activities, as well as the gory images, are daily news.
So, what is the National Assembly waiting for before removing the terrorist from office? Could the delay be attributed to the fact that the president is indifferent to the massive corruption at the legislative arm of the government, including jumbo salaries? Could it be because the Nigerian legislators, their families, and estates are fully guarded by detachments of officers from the Nigerian Armed Forces?
The false consensus seems to be that the legislators from Northern Nigeria will not be quick to impeach Buhari since his deputy, a southerner, would automatically assume the presidency. The proponents argue that it is more plausible to allow him to serve out his two terms so that the process of power rotation can be preserved.
But such a reason is not tenable. Anyone thinking that Muhammadu Buhari will hand over power at the end of his tenure is daydreaming. The incorrigible dictator cannot and must not be trusted. This is a man who assumed power, preaching integrity, virtue, and righteousness, only to gain the power to embrace the worst form of corruption, utter disregard for rule of law, and gross abuse of office as a way of governance. There is no way Buhari can be entertaining the thoughts of peaceful transition of power while at the same time waging war against some sections of the country.
Moreover, a vast majority of the Nigerian people no longer cares about the ethnic origin of their president insofar the goon is gone. After all, the people of Buhari’s region are the worst victims of his evil policies. Even at that, nothing stops the legislators from impeaching both the president and his deputy. But Buhari must go.
The National Assembly must act now. Nigeria is at the brink of a monumental collapse. The time of hiding behind the Buhari baggage to absolve blame is over. Forget about past experiences. Let one courageous patriot move a motion for the impeachment. Let the world know where each lawmaker stands. Let their constituencies know where they stand. Let the youths know their true enemy.
Failure to act is to risk a mass revolution of global consequence. But such revolution should be targeted squarely to where it belongs. It does not have to be the typical youth affair. The Nigerians in the Diaspora—some of whom were forced to embrace the harsh conditions at foreign immigration jails as more hopeful than the situation in their native country—are definitely more aggrieved. The international community, of course, is tired of the never-ending mess. Needless to remind that the Arab Spring revolution, which Buhari once craved for Nigeria, was masterminded outside the Arab States.
SKC Ogbonnia, 2019 APC Presidential Aspirant, writes from Houston, Texas
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Presidential Amnesty Programme Moves To Stop Monthly N65,000 Stipend For Ex-Niger Delta Militants
The Interim Administrator, Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd) has said it is high time the ex-agitators graduated from the mentality of receiving N65,000 monthly stipends.
Speaking to leaders of the second phase amnesty programme in Yenagoa at the weekend, Dikio regretted that the ex-agitators had allowed the stipends to stop them from harnessing their entrepreneurial potential.
Describing the stipend as inadequate, he challenged the ex-agitators to wear their thinking caps and key into PAP’s vision of making them successful entrepreneurs to enable them to exit the stipend regime. He said it was only reasonable to end the Disarmament Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) aspect of the programme to begin a post-DDR phase of the scheme.Dikio said for the region to move forward, the scheme must be changed from ‘amnesty’ to the Niger Delta Stabilisation Programme (NDSP). He said with the current status “there are things we can’t do and there are countries we can’t enter”.He said: “We must establish the Niger Delta Stabilisation Programme. We must change that name, terminate the DDR, and open another thing. I have operated DDR in Cameroon and Angola. As far as this name ‘amnesty’ remains, there are things that we can’t do and there are countries we can’t enter. We can’t make progress sitting in one place. My job is to make you think beyond the N65,000 mentality.”He said the PAP was offering a platform to the ex-agitators through the cooperative model to enable them to develop and own functional businesses, adding that all the beneficiaries of the scheme must organise themselves under cooperatives.”You must think of how you can graduate from stipends after 11 years. I am offering you a platform. You have to form yourselves into cooperatives. You are better than this stronghold of N65,000,” he said. Dikio also asked the ex-militants and other youths in the Niger Delta to stop blocking major roads for protests and issuing ultimatums to oil companies to leave the region.He said such public display of violent behaviour was part of the reasons why most persons outside the region claimed the Niger Delta was not safe.”This kind of behaviour is making people say it is not safe here. I was to organise a workshop and I chose Port Harcourt, Owerri, and Warri. But they turned it down and I said I would not hold the conference in Abuja. If you are not choosing any of the venues then keep your conference. They later chose Port Harcourt. “We must all begin to think of how to bring companies back to the Niger Delta. If they are not here, your PhD is in vain. We have told you that after your scholarship, you must work first for Niger Delta for two years. It is up to you and me to make the Niger Delta a better place. “We will graduate the programme to Niger Delta Stabilisation Programme. Do you want to stay in a house where the landlord wakes up every time and asks you to leave? Then why are you quick in giving oil companies a quit notice?”Why will you go and block roads? What about the people passing through the road? If you want to prosper, do you open your shop or close it? You must open it,” he added.
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