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Here, we spread it as it happens.
Popular broadcaster and Yeni Kuti's ex husband Femi Segun dies
Rev. Chris Okotie writes on the NIS employment test tragedy
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This tragedy mirrors the desperate
situation of Nigeria.
One only hopes that this unfortunate loss of lives, coupled with the incessant Boko Haram killings and other youth-based violence, would serve as a wake-up call to the summiteers, that this country needs a new governance paradigm. If the conference cannot produce that, then the over N7 billion invested in it would amount to another colossal waste of our scarce national resources.
It is an irony that each delegate would earn a whopping N12 million for the 3-month duration of the conference. By conservative estimates, N12 million is enough to provide self-employment for 12 resourceful graduates, and N7 billion could do likewise for thousands, some of whom perished under chaotic conditions in stadia around the country, while waiting for a poorly organised aptitude test by the NIS. The young graduate job-seekers who turned out for the tests filled up many stadia around the country, as if they came to watch high-profile football matches.
These hapless chaps paid N1,000.00 (One Thousand Naira) processing fee each. So, the Nigerian Immigration Service must have made quite some money, considering that in Lagos and Abuja alone, over 125,000 applicants turned up. We may be looking at millions of Naira that this monetised recruitment exercise generated for the NIS. There was record turnout in each of the 34 states for just 45,000 slots that the NIS advertised. The alarming job application horror is a clear evidence of the inability of our public institutions to manage events, resulting in poor crowd control and avoidable deaths through stampede. This is not an isolated case, it is a regular occurrence.
When things go wrong, our leaders seldom take responsibility. The NIS has tried to duck charges of culpability, by claiming that it outsourced the recruitment exercise to a private firm which actually collected the N1,000.00 levy. As usual, a panel would be setup to investigate this incident, followed by a white paper, and then, the report may end up gathering dust in a cabinet somewhere in Abuja, while government officials focus on the more important 2015 general elections in a country where competition for political power is about resource control, not the promotion of the general good of the people.
The fact that four expectant mothers died in this incident, with about 700 others reportedly injured, is enough reason why those who organised this event should not escape appropriate sanctions. Unfortunately, the Jonathan Administration is not known to punish errant public officials, although the NIS boss and the Internal Affairs Minister have been queried. In other countries where human life is valued, the President should compensate the victims and, more importantly, prevent a future re-occurrence. But the Federal Government has other priorities.
For me, and also for the FRESH Democratic Party, which I lead, nothing else matters in our quest for a functional, self-accounting and representative democracy, than a fundamental change of the prevailing order which is responsible for our national predicament. It should be reasonably assumed that delegates to the conference would know this, but I have my fears.
Many commentators have observed that the composition of the delegates to this National Conference is skewed in favour of the old politicians, and some of those who ran this country aground. How can we expect any meaningful change from this set of people? 20th century ideas cannot solve 21st century problems. If you look critically, the composition of the participants in this conference reflects the geriatric propensity of our polity.
All the progressive nations of the world, especially those who have graduated from under-development to emerging markets, are being governed today by new sets of leaders, whose orientation reflects the new world order, and are thus able to successfully confront the challenges they encounter in their respective nations.
As this NIS recruitment tragedy shows, our meal ticket educational system is not designed to drive industrial development or produce resourceful, self-employed folks who can create opportunities, rather depend on employment. The belated introduction of entrepreneur studies in the newly remolded college curricula is like putting the cart before the horse. While vocational studies have been introduced, there are no teachers to instruct carpenters, electricians etc.
I have long been advocating a shift in the paradigm of our educational sector, which should be anchored on Human Capital Development. Science subjects are foundation of technology. If I were the President, this would be the mantra that would drive my reform agenda because without a solid, qualitative, continuous stream of local production of graduates in the technical, or science-related courses, our dream of industrial revolution as recently articulated in a widely publicized launch by Mr. President, would be a mirage.
The secret of Asia industrial miracle is that, leaders of that continent sent their students to Europe and America. The returning Asian students, who went to learn the technological wizardry of the West, laid the foundation of the technological revolution that produced the Tigers, who now threaten the scientific dominance of Europe and America. This is a model we could learn from.
Rev. Chris Okotie, a Pastor-politician wrote from Lagos.
One only hopes that this unfortunate loss of lives, coupled with the incessant Boko Haram killings and other youth-based violence, would serve as a wake-up call to the summiteers, that this country needs a new governance paradigm. If the conference cannot produce that, then the over N7 billion invested in it would amount to another colossal waste of our scarce national resources.
It is an irony that each delegate would earn a whopping N12 million for the 3-month duration of the conference. By conservative estimates, N12 million is enough to provide self-employment for 12 resourceful graduates, and N7 billion could do likewise for thousands, some of whom perished under chaotic conditions in stadia around the country, while waiting for a poorly organised aptitude test by the NIS. The young graduate job-seekers who turned out for the tests filled up many stadia around the country, as if they came to watch high-profile football matches.
These hapless chaps paid N1,000.00 (One Thousand Naira) processing fee each. So, the Nigerian Immigration Service must have made quite some money, considering that in Lagos and Abuja alone, over 125,000 applicants turned up. We may be looking at millions of Naira that this monetised recruitment exercise generated for the NIS. There was record turnout in each of the 34 states for just 45,000 slots that the NIS advertised. The alarming job application horror is a clear evidence of the inability of our public institutions to manage events, resulting in poor crowd control and avoidable deaths through stampede. This is not an isolated case, it is a regular occurrence.
When things go wrong, our leaders seldom take responsibility. The NIS has tried to duck charges of culpability, by claiming that it outsourced the recruitment exercise to a private firm which actually collected the N1,000.00 levy. As usual, a panel would be setup to investigate this incident, followed by a white paper, and then, the report may end up gathering dust in a cabinet somewhere in Abuja, while government officials focus on the more important 2015 general elections in a country where competition for political power is about resource control, not the promotion of the general good of the people.
The fact that four expectant mothers died in this incident, with about 700 others reportedly injured, is enough reason why those who organised this event should not escape appropriate sanctions. Unfortunately, the Jonathan Administration is not known to punish errant public officials, although the NIS boss and the Internal Affairs Minister have been queried. In other countries where human life is valued, the President should compensate the victims and, more importantly, prevent a future re-occurrence. But the Federal Government has other priorities.
For me, and also for the FRESH Democratic Party, which I lead, nothing else matters in our quest for a functional, self-accounting and representative democracy, than a fundamental change of the prevailing order which is responsible for our national predicament. It should be reasonably assumed that delegates to the conference would know this, but I have my fears.
Many commentators have observed that the composition of the delegates to this National Conference is skewed in favour of the old politicians, and some of those who ran this country aground. How can we expect any meaningful change from this set of people? 20th century ideas cannot solve 21st century problems. If you look critically, the composition of the participants in this conference reflects the geriatric propensity of our polity.
All the progressive nations of the world, especially those who have graduated from under-development to emerging markets, are being governed today by new sets of leaders, whose orientation reflects the new world order, and are thus able to successfully confront the challenges they encounter in their respective nations.
As this NIS recruitment tragedy shows, our meal ticket educational system is not designed to drive industrial development or produce resourceful, self-employed folks who can create opportunities, rather depend on employment. The belated introduction of entrepreneur studies in the newly remolded college curricula is like putting the cart before the horse. While vocational studies have been introduced, there are no teachers to instruct carpenters, electricians etc.
I have long been advocating a shift in the paradigm of our educational sector, which should be anchored on Human Capital Development. Science subjects are foundation of technology. If I were the President, this would be the mantra that would drive my reform agenda because without a solid, qualitative, continuous stream of local production of graduates in the technical, or science-related courses, our dream of industrial revolution as recently articulated in a widely publicized launch by Mr. President, would be a mirage.
The secret of Asia industrial miracle is that, leaders of that continent sent their students to Europe and America. The returning Asian students, who went to learn the technological wizardry of the West, laid the foundation of the technological revolution that produced the Tigers, who now threaten the scientific dominance of Europe and America. This is a model we could learn from.
Rev. Chris Okotie, a Pastor-politician wrote from Lagos.
Government should stop giving actors money - John Okafor
Popular actor, John Okafor, in a recent chat with Punch, criticised the recent
visit of the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria to President Jonathan.
Okafor, popularly known as Mr Ibu,
said he had beef with those who went to visit the president because the
president is yet to set his priorities right with regard to Nollywood.
“The government should stop giving
Actors’ Guild cash, because we don’t know how to handle it. Some people will go
to the office, process the money and squander it and we (actors) never benefit
from such goodwill.
“If they (government) can give us a
structure or land, we (actors) can go ahead and secure funds from investors to
build five-star hotels and other facilities on it, because it will be a tourist
haven. We can bring the Nigerian Censor’s board into the same arena."
Okafor tells Punch. Continue...
"How can we be paying N50,000
to have one movie censored and then generate N5m from over 100 movies produced
in a month and yet there aren’t any structures in place for Nollywood? “With
such amount of money, government should be able to cater for us. If this is
done, the industry will make a giant stride.”
Okafor also talked about
homosexuality in the Nollywood industry...
“Homosexuality is very rampant
in our industry and it is one thing that aggravates my anger many at times,” he
reveals.
He talks about fans not taking him
seriously because of the 'unserious roles' he plays in the movies.
“Many people do not take me
seriously because of the kind of roles I play in movies. But the truth is that
those who know me very well know that I am a very focused and principled
person.
“In fact, I teach and mentor many
upcoming actors and also organise workshops and seminars regularly for them.”
He recalls when he knew he would be
an actor.
“I think I got the gift of acting
from my grandfather. I discovered this in the early 70s. My grandfather was a
foremost comedian in his own right. Back in the days, he would take me to
places where he performed. Growing up, I realised that I was going to become an
actor somehow,” he recalled.
Okafor says acting has not made him
rich
“Acting has not made me rich, but I’m very comfortable. I am
able to feed and adequately take care of my family; neither do I borrow money.
“It has also opened many doors for
me and it has taken me far and wide beyond my wildest imagination. It has
exposed me to certain level where I can say that God has done it for me.”
National Conference: Islamic group attacks Pastor Bakare over criticism of Justice Kutigi’s Islamic prayer
A rights group, the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has lashed out at fiery Lagos pastor, Tunde Bakare, over his comment on the floor of the National Conference Tuesday that Chairman Idris Kutigi should refrain from starting his speeches with a short Arabic phrase seeking Allah’s guidance.
The group also accused the
Presidency of having deliberately manipulated the delegates list from the
South-west geopolitical zone to marginalize Muslims from the region.
Mr. Bakare had, at the first plenary
of the Conference, drawn attention to the short Arabic phrase that preceded
Justice Kutigi’s speech as he called the Conference to session.
The clergyman then called for
a uniformed prayer at all meetings of the Conference.
“Mr. Chairman, yesterday you said
something at the inauguration of the Conference and I did not understand,” Mr.
Bakare said. “Today again, you said it. I think you should pray in the way all
of us understand because if I stand up and say, ‘Praise the Lord somebody,’ we
will turn this place into a church service.”
But in a statement Thursday morning,
MURIC said Mr. Bakare’s “attack” on Justice Kutigi was a premeditated
demonstration of his hatred for Muslims and Islam.
The group said, “Tunde Bakare’s attack
is rather unfortunate. His criticism arose from premeditation. It is known
all over the world that individual Muslims start speeches with a short Arabic
phrase in which they seek Allah’s guidance in their utterances and Justice
Kutigi did not do more than that. MURIC affirms clearly, unequivocally and
unambiguously that the revered jurist has every right to do this.
“Tunde Bakare’s outburst was
therefore a manifestation of pathological hatred for Muslims and their faith.
“His behavior smirked of a gross lack of tolerance for the faith of others and
portrays the pastor as an enforcer. Attempting to stop the chairman from using
his faith to guide him is an encroachment on the latter’s Allah-given and
fundamental human right.”
MURIC however advised Muslim
delegates at the conference not to be provoked by Mr. Bakare’s criticism of
Justice Kutigi.
It said, “MURIC appeals to Muslim
delegates in the conference not to pay the pastor back in his own coins
“MURIC expects Pastor Tunde Bakare
to understand that a conference of this magnitude requires, first and foremost,
mutual respect, understanding and tolerance of the highest order; not
suspicion, rancour and ill-feeling,” the group said. “Delegates need to guard
their tongues and watch their language because a rancorous body language
emerging from the national conference is capable of sending this country up in
flames.
“Tunde Bakare has stirred the
hornet’s nest by firing the first salvo. His request that religion should
not be brought into the national conference is unrealistic, deceitful and
hypocritical.Nigerians are religious people and this should reflect in our
deliberations unless we want to deceive ourselves.
“The colonialists themselves
bequeathed to us a controversial religious setting which must be discussed and
reviewed at this conference. The status quo is chaotic. It must change. It must
be done today, not tomorrow. This is the right time to address issues
objectively. It is not the time for sentimentalities.
Read full statement below.
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