PHOTONEWS: Murdered Democracy Heroine Kudirat Abiola Remembered.

Dr. Joe Okey Odumakin in pensive mood at bthe launch

Kudirat's son, Abdulmumuni Abiola

15 years ago, General Sanni Abacha and his hitmen, led by Hamza Al Mustapha, chased and murdered Mrs. Kudirat Abiola in cold blood on the streets of Lagos. Although they killed her person, they could not kill her convictions.

Today, she lives through her ideals of loyalty to a democratic cause. These are photos of late Kudirat Abiola 15 years anniversary and launching of Kudirat Abiola web site-www.celebratekudiratabiola.info

Taliban Attacks Ribadu’s Hotel In Afghanistan.

Attacked: InterContinental Hotel in Kabul where Ribadu was housed (REUTERS Photo)

The InterContinetal Hotel in Kabul, which had housed Nigeria’s former anti-corruption czar, and last April’s presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Nuhu Ribadu, came under a fierce suicide attack by Taliban fighters yesterday.

Eight of the fighters stormed the hotel killing Afghan security officials and hotel guests.  But Mr. Ribadu had recently left the country after a previous round of attacks against UN workers, relocating to China before returning to Abuja last month.


Mr. Ribadu was appointed by the United Nations to help fight corruption in Afghanistan as part of an ‘Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee’.

Right after the Nigerian general elections in April, the former boss of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission moved to Kabul to commence the assignment.

Okonjo-Iweala Returns To Washington DC To Discuss Jonathan’s Offer With World Bank President, As Details Of Her Current Salary Are Released-Empowered Newswire.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

By Empowered Newswire

June 28, 2011-World Bank Managing Director, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is back in the United States where she attended the bank’s board meeting  on Tuesday morning just as news was breaking on the other side of the Atlantic of her name being absent in President Goodluck Jonathsn’s the first batch of ministerial nominees, Empowered Newswire reports.

But Presidency sources clarified that Mr. Jonathan has decided to appoint her to the federal cabinet nonetheless, although her name has yet to be sent for security clearance.  She is expected to feature prominently in the second list the President will send to the Senate for confirmation this week.

While no one is certain as yet regarding the conditions of her appointment, it is believed that her return to the World Bank head offices in Washington DC is partly to allow her discuss the offer with her boss, the President of the Bank, Robert B. Zoellick, and the board.  It was Mr. Zoellick who appointed her as MD in October 2007.

Presidency officials and sources close to her are both agreed that she is only back in the United States to prepare for her transition from Washington DC and assumption of duty in Nigeria as the returnee Finance Minister.  In the Obasanjo years, she was a key part of the economic team.

While the conditions of her ministerial service under the Jonathan presidency are still unclear, World Bank officials have released her current salary package alongside those of the other top management executives of the Bank.

If and when she is appointed, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, one of two top officials of the World Bank being proposed for top cabinet positions by President Jonathan, will be giving up the second highest salary package in that world financial institution totaling more than $351, 740 yearly, net of taxes.

Reacting to wide media reports about her consideration for ministerial appointment in Nigeria, the World Bank issued a formal statement attributable to World Bank Spokesperson on Tuesday that “Ngozi remains Managing Director of the World Bank.”

But speaking with Empowered Newswire earlier today—Tuesday in Washington DC—before the statement, a Media Relations Officer of the World Bank, Alexis Obrien, said it was unlikely that the Bank would make any public comment yet on the nomination of one of its Managing Directors for a job as a federal minister in Nigeria.

Mr. David Theiss, the World Bank Media Chief, and Obrien confirmed that the salaries of the top management executives of the bank are indeed public information. Theiss released a 2010 updated salary scale which reviews the 2008 version earlier obtained by Empowered Newswire.

Okonjo-Iweala who had been Finance Minister previously under the Obasanjo presidency between 2003 and 2006, received a dollar-denominated salary during that period alongside Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister of the period, Ambassador Olu Adeniji.

She left the federal government in August 2006 and rejoined the World Bank in October 2007as Managing Director. Prior to being named by Obasanjo as Nigeria’s Finance Minister, she had been Corporate Secretary and Vice President at the bank.

Previous media reports had indicated that when she was contacted by officials of the Nigerian presidency initially to be re-nominated this time around, the World Bank senior official had made a similar request concerning her pay before she was prevailed upon to set the request aside.

Part of the argument for Okonjo-Iweala’s dollar salary demands before she accepted Obasanjo's offer in 2003, according to former FCT Minister Nasir El Rufai, who addressed the issue publicly in the US in 2004 at a Law dinner in New York, included the fact that she had children and wards in US schools and universities. Close family sources said two of her children are currently still in universities while two others have since graduated.

World Bank records and reports on the top executives’ pay indicate that apart from the top salary Okonjo-Iweala was paid, which was determined in 2008, after an upward review of the pay of all of World Bank Executive Management team, she was also entitled to $76,996 as the Bank's contribution to her pension. This is in addition to another $77,735 labeled under other benefits.

In the updated 2010 salary review, her salary remained the same but the bank's contribution to her pension plan had gone up to $133,962, while those other benefits rose to $79,493.

The only World Bank official who is paid a higher salary is Mr. Zoellick whose yearly take home, net of taxes, comes to $441,980 based on the 2008 review. Mr. Zoellick also receives $67,181 as contribution to his pension and $191, 825 as other benefits. In the 2010 upward review, Zoellick's salary remained unchanged but his pension rose to $91,237 and other benefits changed to $193,593.

The other World Bank Managing Director, Graeme Wheeler's pay sets him below Okonjo-Iweala, although both of them have different regional areas to oversee at the Bank. Wheeler takes $347, 050 yearly salary net of taxes, about $4,000 less than Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala.

But Wheeler's total extra benefits when added together are higher than Okonjo-Iweala's. For instance he earns an additional $75, 969 in pension contribution from the bank and $88,498 as other benefits. In the 2010 review, Wheeler's salary remained the same, but his pension jumped to $132,176 and other benefits to $89, 886.

While Wheeler, a New Zealand citizen, is the World Bank's Managing Director in charge of Operations, Okonjo-Iweala is MD in charge of several regions covered by the Bank.

As an American citizen, Mr. Zoellick has an additional allowance apart from the stated salary to cover his US taxes. But Wheeler and Okonjo-Iweala's taxes are not taxable as they are both considered international expatriate staff.

Informed sources and presidency officials in Abuja recall that a Court of Appeal ruling had indeed imposed a fine on Okonjo-Iweala as repayment of the dollar salaries under the Obasanjo presidency after the salaries were declared illegal by the court. But she and Adeniji are yet to pay the fines, sources say, because they have reportedly appealed the case to the Supreme Court.

Another Bomb Blast Rocks JTF Checkpoint In Maiduguri.

photo credit: BBC

Less than 24 hours after militant Islamists bombed a beer joint killing 43 people, Nigeria's North Eastern city of Maiduguri in Borno State has again been rocked by another bomb blast, Naija News Desk has learned.

Today's blast targeted the Customs area of Maiduguri where members of the Joint Task force maintains a secretariat.

Naija News Desk learned that Islamists targeted a JTF check point near Custom House on Dikwa Road in the Maiduguri metropolis.

As of the time of filing this report, no casualty figures had been released by the police or the JTF  but eyewitnesses said several people have died while 9 people injured were taken to the university of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital

Much Ado About Ngozi Okonjo Iweala (NOI).

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

By Uchenna Osigwe

Imagine a school which has been in operation for over 60 years and yet no student has graduated from it. But the students keep paying their fees faithfully while the proprietors of the school keep smiling to the bank. Each time a student raises the issue of graduation, the authorities of the school would give a vacuous lecture on following rules and paying fees on time.

Meanwhile the rules of the school make it virtually impossible for any student to graduate. The school also has spin doctors who tell the students how wonderful it would be when they finally graduate from the school. To this end the school would give high interest loans to the students to pay their school fees, compounding their already sorry financial situation. But what many of the students don’t know is that the owners of the school do not plan to graduate any student from the school. The few students who know and opt out are denigrated and smeared and their lives made as difficult as possible by the well connected school authorities.

Substitute the World Bank (WB) for the school and the students for ‘third world’ countries, and you get a picture of our predicament in the global political economy.

Madam NOI works for the WB. She was ‘loaned’ to the Obasanjo administration by that institution between 2003 and 2007 at a high cost, first as Finance Minister and then, as she fell out of favour, probably as the inner circle of the regime became increasingly uncomfortable with her growing popularity, she was unceremoniously demoted to Foreign Affairs.

Basically, she lost out in a palace power struggle. She understood what happened and beat a hasty retreat, promptly tendering her resignation. It is no secret that many Nigerians are fascinated by the woman. And that is understandable since she rose to a great height in the WB, an institution that has a pervasive, though far from benign, presence all over the world. But the fascination Nigerians have for her is an overflow or a reflection of their generally naïve fascination with anything Western.

NOI was supposed to be a breath of fresh air for the Obasanjo administration, an asset that made it acceptable in Western capitals. NOI made sure that the administration’s financial rules followed the direction of the Bretton Woods Institutions. The highlight of that subservience was the highly questionable debt buy-back scheme engineered by NOI and readily accepted by the Obasanjo administration.

The argument goes that Nigeria was spending in excess of 1 billion dollars annually to service her foreign debts. So, why not pay up the debt which at that time was over 30 billion dollars and then stop servicing the loans? The money saved would then be diverted to other developmental projects. At the end of the deal, Nigeria parted with 13 billion dollars and got nothing but the illusory relief of being ‘free of debt.’ Illusory because as I write, the country’s external debt is
heading rapidly into double digits, if it is not already there (these things are usually shrouded in secrecy). Many discerning minds cried foul as the scheme unfolded. Local financial experts pointed out that India, an economy that was hundred times stronger than Nigeria would not agree to part with such a colossal sum at one go.

I have nothing against NOI and actually rejoice with her in her modest achievements in her chosen field. But I am also conscious of the fact that the institutes she works for are imperialist institutes that have not lifted any so-called third world country out of poverty. I challenge anybody reading this to point out one country in the southern hemisphere that has been lifted out of poverty by the institutes that has been in existence for that very reason for almost 70 years now. None. On the contrary, those who achieved any significant measure of financial autonomy, like Brazil, did it in opposition, indeed in defiance, to the prescriptions of those institutes.

If NOI is a financial wizard, what has Nigeria gained from her wizardry? At a time of unprecedented oil revenues and with her in the driving seat, did the value of the naira improve? No. Was inflation reigned in? No. Were the emoluments of political office holders in line with what one should expect in a struggling economy? No. Was there fiscal discipline in the polity? The answer again is no. The executive arm, under the Balogun of Owo, treated public finances as its personal property, and NOI played along. One glaring example was the withholding of Lagos state local government funds in defiance of the ruling of the Supreme Court. That flagrant abuse of office by the president would have been enough for the woman to resign. Publishing what local governments take in each month didn’t particularly make the finance ministry a disciplined one. She could have told the president that who gets paid or not should not depend on his whims and caprices. Again, loading off billions of dollars to already rich nations in the name of paying off bogus debts does not seem like financial wizardry to me.


The truth of the matter is that most of those so called loans never actually left the shores of the donor nations and agencies. And NOI knows that! I mean, if tens of billions of dollars were actually loaned to Nigeria to execute some projects, those projects could have been identified. Were they started and completed? They always seem to be perpetually on-going. Look around the country at WB projects and see what happens there. They hardly benefit the local economy. First of all the consultants, mostly foreigners, and Western companies that usually run the projects, are grossly overpaid. In the end Nigerian tax payers are always made to pay back the high interest loans. Why, for goodness sake, could you be telling the world that most Nigerians live under 1 dollar a day and at the same time asking the same poor people to pay up?

Why the rush to pay up? Was it because of the oil boom? Why wasn’t the case, valid as it is, made that those loans were bogus to start with, because there were really no projects on the ground to justify them? Most importantly, it should have been successfully argued, (as Desmond Tutu started to do), that already very poor people should not bear the heavy burden of paying such a bogus debt that didn’t impact their lives in the first place.


The tragedy is that contrary to the expectations of many Nigerians, our salvation cannot come from those imperialist institutes. Our solution has to be home-grown if it’s going to work for us.

With that in mind, let us look back in our recent history and see that there had been very prudent managers of resources. Some of the prominent cases are Jaja of Opobo. Jaja became a chief because his predecessor was heavily indebted and no one wanted to succeed him. Jaja stepped forward and paid off the debts in no time. Jaja’s dexterity in managing resources didn’t end in Anna Pepple House. He carried it on to the state he founded, the first modern state in
Africa, namely Opobo. Jaja was able to control foreign trade in the state (then it was mostly palm oil) so well that the British knew they had no chance against him on professional grounds. They eventually got rid of him using their military power.

Awolowo was also a very prudent manager of resources. As premier of the western region, he was able to manage revenue from cocoa so well that he introduced high quality free education to the region. As Nigeria’s finance minister, he was able to keep the value of the local currency high, higher than even the British currency, and this during a civil war!
Buhari was another prudent manager of resources. In a few months after taking power, he was able to bring inflation down from double digits to a single digit and this at a time of dwindling oil revenues. When there was the problem of excess liquidity due to currency trafficking, Buhari changed the color of the naira almost overnight.

In so doing he was able to mop up more than 5 billion (in April 1984). The exercise was carried out swiftly with honesty, sincerity and determination. Hate Buhari or love him, that exercise was a stroke of genius. Indeed the naira subsequently became so strong that many of our foreign trading partners complained about it. Buhari said a categorical No to the Bretton Woods Institutes with their enslaving conditionalities and instead went after our monies stolen and stashed overseas. One loquacious former minister was ‘diplomatically’ packaged and only narrowly missed landing in Lagos. If that man were from the south…Then IBB came and introduced SAP as prescribed by the Bretton Woods Institutes, and Nigerians have remained sapped.

The difference is clear: when somebody with strong patriotic zeal and a good idea manages our financial resources, our finances are good. When we follow the dictates of imperialist institutions, our finances are bad.

Our president has once again gone cap in hand to the same oppressors. Even as acting president he was ‘advised’ on his first visit to the USA to take a billion dollar loan on our behalf. NOI will once again be loaned to Nigeria at our president’s behest. But Nigerians need to ask themselves if her first outing was good for the country. Since it wasn’t, why all the excitement about NOI?

Labour Union Insists Dimeji Bankole, Former Speaker, Be Tried To the Fullest Extent Of The Law.

Dimeji Bankole

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has urged Nigerians to be prepared because they will soon have to determine who owns Nigeria.

The Congress was commenting on the statement by the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, that no court has the jurisdiction to try him for anything he did while exercising his powers in that capacity.  It described Mr. Bankole’s statement “laughable and as a serious act of ignorance,” and urged that his trial for fraudulently obtaining a N38billion loan without following due process to go ahead as there is enough proof of evidence before the court to show that he breached the provisions of Section 311 of the Penal Code Act Cap. 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja).

“The questions on our lips are, does Bankole have the right to obtain a secret loan on behalf of the House when the said House is not his private company and even when the Clark of the House vehemently opposed to such move and advised accordingly,” the TUC asked in its press statement, which was signed by its President-General, Peter Esele, and Secretary General,  John Kolawole.

The statement continued: “Is this gentle man trying to tell us that even if he had sold the rest of us into slavery while in power, no one could query his action?

Does this man think that being a speaker means becoming God? Is he saying that once one becomes a speaker he is above the law of the land, or has he not heard of how presidents of other nations are being jailed for the atrocities they committed while in office?”

[Full text of the statement]:

TUC ON BANKOLE CHALLENGE TO THE LAW

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) having demanded for the trial of the ex-speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, over the reckless leadership styles he foisted on the House, and the quick response by the relevant anti-corruption agency to try him for fraudulently obtaining a N38billion loan without following due process, regard his recent challenge to his trial as laughable and as a serious act of ignorance.

Bankole was quoted as Citing  the provisions of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act and the National Assembly Service Commission Act, in which he stated that no court has the jurisdiction to try him for anything he did while exercising his powers as the speaker of the lower legislative chamber. And that in the exercise of his duties in matters relating to his office as Speaker of the House of Representative, that he cannot be prosecuted for such acts, decisions and resolutions of the House of Representatives taken at its Executive or Committee sessions, because the principle of vicarious liability was unknown to criminal law in Nigeria.


He averred that there is no iota of evidence contained or shown in the Proof of Evidence placed before the court capable of warranting the inference or conclusion that he was at any time entrusted with the House of Representatives Account No. 0039007000018 with the United Bank for Africa Plc as alleged in the charge brought against him by the anti-graft agency.

TUC demand that the trial of the former Speaker must not be stopped as there is enough evidence in the proof of evidence before the court to show that he breached the provisions of Section 311 of the Penal Code Act Cap. 532, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (Abuja) 1990 in the manner alleged in the charge .Bankole and his co-travelers committed a felony to wit: theft as being alleged by the EFCC and must be punished according to the laws of the land.

On the alleged offence of criminal breach of trust and theft slammed on him, Bankole averred that, as contemplated or defined in the Penal Code, that he cannot be said to have committed any crime by obtaining a loan to augment allowances and running costs of members of the House of Representatives in violation of the extant Revised Financial Regulations of the Federal Government of Nigeria, 2009.

The questions on our lips are, does Bankole have the right to obtain a secret loan on behalf of the House when the said House is not his private company,and even when the Clark of the House vehemently opposed to such move and adviced accordingly.

Is this gentle man trying to tell us that even if he had sold the rest of us into slavery while in power, no one could query his action? Does this man think that being a speaker means becoming God? Is he saying that once one becomes a speaker he is above the law of the land, or has he not heard of  how presidents of other nations are being jailed for the atrocities they committed while in office?

We call on Nigerians to be ready, as soon, very soon we shall join hands to decide who owns the land.

COMRADE PETER ESELE                                                                 CHIEF JOHN KOLAWOLE

PRESIDENT-GENERAL                                                                     SECRETARY GENERAL

Okonjo-Iweala set to be named as economic czar.

Managing Director of the World Bank, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks during a news conference in Tirana January 10, 2011. PHOTO/REUTERS 

By Terfa Tilley-Gyado

As the president puts finishing touches to his list of cabinet nominees Thursday evening, close aides say the president has decided to name Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as finance minister and economic czar.

In the position, not unlike the role she played as finance minister and chairman of the presidential economic team under Olusegun 0basanjo, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala is expected to be a kind of super-minister with wide swathes over the economy.

Talks had recently stalled after Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, currently a managing director at World Bank, demanded greater executive powers and responsibility in the new administration. In an effort to secure her services, President Jonathan has designed a new State House organogram which fulfils her requirements. Her proposed designation satisfies one of the key conditions for the World Bank managing director, who is now poised to return to her old stomping grounds in Abuja.

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala brings star power to President Jonathan’s cabinet, about the only real dramatic senior appointment he has so far proposed.

But her anticipated role is believed to be causing anxiety in circles around Mr Jonathan, a larger than life outsider who is almost certain to overwhelm many of the lesser known aides around the president.

“Many of the president’s close aides and some politicians are certainly quite worried about her,” said one source close to the president.

However, President Jonathan has ignored the last minute opposition and, barring any last minute wrangles, he is expected to submit his list of cabinet nominees to the senate this afternoon, almost four weeks after his inauguration. Although the official list has not yet been released, several individuals, including a substantial chunk of former ministers, have undergone security screening in the past few weeks ahead of potential nomination.

Old faces

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala is one of many old faces returning to the new executive lineup. Bello Haliru Mohammed, the acting chairman of the PDP, is also in line for a role in Mr Jonathan’s cabinet. Mr Mohammed was so assured of his nomination that he prepared his exit notes yesterday for handover. His replacement as PDP chair is expected to be Bamanga Tukur and an announcement could be made as early as next week.

Mr Mohammed, a former communications minister under Mr Obasanjo, was one of several high profile Nigerians that were implicated by a German court in the Siemens scandal in 2007. The court accused Mr Mohammed of accepting two instalments of €70,000 in bribes, a charge that he later denied.

Mrs Okonjo-Iweala is set to be joined by other returning ministers like: Diezani Alison-Madueke, Godsday Orubebe, Odein Ajumogobia, Bala Mohammed, Chukwemeka Wogu, Labaran Maku, Ruqqayatu Rufai and Caleb Olubolade. Yusuf Suleiman, former transport minister, is also in contention for a ministerial return.

After the president writes the Senate, it is expected that ministerial screening will move to the top of the agenda when the upper chamber resumes next week Tuesday.

Deji, MKO Abiola’s Son Remanded In EFCC Custody Over Failed Business Deal.

Deji Abiola, one of the sons of late businessman and Politician, Bashorun Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO) has been charged before an Ikeja High court for allegedly obtaining money from a businessman without fulfilling the agreement contained in the transaction.

The charge against Abiola reads :

“Deji Abiola on or about 21st day of May 2008 at Lagos within Ikeja Judicial Division with intent to defraud knowingly and fraudulently converted the sum of N35,550,000 ( thirty five million five hundred and fifty thousand naira ) property of Hamza Babatunde Jose of Irede Property and Investment Company Limited”.

The alleged offence is punishable under section 390(8) (b) and (9) of the Criminal Code Law Cap c17 Vol.2 laws of Lagos State 2003 .


Gistmaster.com gathered that Deji, who is younger brother to  Kola Abiola, allegedly collected about 35.5 million Naira from Hamza Babajide Jose with the promise that he would supply him printing machines in 2008. The machines were supposed to be imported from Switzerland.

After what he considered the long wait for machines without seeing anything in place, Jose decided to report Deji Abiola to Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission).

When the case came up for hearing today,Deji could not take his plea of whether guilty or not guilty as his lawyer, A B Kasunmu (SAN) ask for time to look into the file. Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo ordered that Deji should be remanded in EFCC custody. The case been adjourned till 30 June 2011.

It would be recalled that Deji was also arrested in 2009 by detectives from the Special Fraud Unit, Milverton Road, Ikoyi, based on the allegation that he defrauded Guaranty Trust Bank to the tune of about N177 Million (Naira).

He was said to have obtained a loan facility over goods he said he was importing into the country.

Nigerian Man Dies At Washington Dulles Airport During United Airline Flight Delay.

Majekodunmi Runsewe

A Nigerian, Majekodunmi Runsewe, 69, went into cardiac arrest and later died after his United Airline flight to Lagos flight was delayed for more than three hours at Dulles Airport in the United States.

The tragic event happened on Tuesday June 14, 2011.  Mr. Runsewe, accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Olufunke Runsewe, and his brother, Mr. Oladunjoye Runsewe, were billed to travel to Lagos aboard United Airline flight 990.  According to family sources, the three travellers checked in for their flight at about 7:30 p.m. and boarded shortly thereafter.  The flight, which is routed through Accra on its way to Lagos, was scheduled to depart at 10:44 p.m.  For some reason, however, the aircraft did not begin to taxi until well after midnight.

According to other eyewitnesses, the passengers were relieved when the aircraft finally taxied unto the tarmac after about one and half hours’ delay at the gate, but soon after the aircraft reached the tarmac, it was announced that it had developed an engine problem.  While the passengers expected to be returned to the gate, they were left right there on the tarmac for more than two hours before being allowed to disembark.

In the meantime, Majekodunmi became seriously ill and requested urgent assistance.  The airline attendants could not locate a functioning wheel chair to evacuate the sick passenger who had become distressed and unable to stand on his own.  After two attempts, the airline attendants found a functioning wheel chair and the sick passenger was wheeled back into the waiting area.  While waiting to be picked up to return home, he suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to a nearby hospital where Mr  Runsewe died.


Naija News Desk learnt that the passengers were not fed during the long delay.  Some of the passengers felt that the shabby treatment by United Airlines was due to the fact that the passengers were mostly Africans travelling to Ghana and Nigeria. “Were this to be a Europe-bound flight, such could not have happened,” said one of the passengers. European and American airlines typically put old and poorly maintained aircrafts on African routes.

The family of the deceased is making arrangements for his body to be returned to Nigeria for burial shortly. 

Naija News Desk contacted officials of United Airline in Chicago by both email and telephone to request their side of the story. A press unit official, Marlene Mattio, told us she would find out what happened, but never returned our call. About the close of business on June 21st, a United airline official called asking us to provide further information to enable him to respond. Twenty-four hours later, he too, had not been heard from.

 United Airlines only joined the growing African market recently, making daily flights from Washington Dulles Airport to Accra and Lagos, but it has already started to log a pattern of troubled flights and perhaps faulty and uncomfortable aircraft on the route.

On June 1, for instance, UA-990 was escorted back to Washington by a US fighter jet after having been over the Atlantic for about 50 minutes on its way to Accra.  The official reason was that there had been an incident between two passengers.  Apparently, when one passenger reclined his seat, it was smack into the passenger behind him, who protested.  If true, that would suggest that the UA aircraft configuration, particularly for an intercontinental flight, is not customer-friendly.

Soldiers, Policemen Clash Again In Lagos.

Lance corporal in army uniform started the crisis

The army lance corporal prevents traffic police from towing his car

There was pandemonium at Obanikoro area of Lagos State, South West Nigeria today when soldiers clashed with policemen who were trying to stop the soldiers from using the BRT lane.

Men of the Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental Offences (Enforcement Unit) had stormed the BRT lane on the order from the state government to enforce the ban on motorists using the BRT lane.

P.M.NEWS reporter who witnessed the scene observed that over 95 percent of BRT lane violators were soldiers who displayed brazen act of lawlessness and challenged the policemen who stopped them and wanted to tow their vehicles for violating the laws of the state.

Trouble started when a female soldier and a Lance Corporal in separate vehicles drove on the BRT lane and were stopped by the police. The soldiers knew the police were enforcing the ban on use of the BRT lanes when they intentionally took the lane.

The police officers attempted to tow the female soldier’s vehicle but were resisted while the soldier pleaded with the cops.

While that was going on, the female soldier who drove in a car with registration number SD 754 KJA attempted to drive away the car by force but unknown to her, an iron spike was placed in front of the car’s tyre while the vehicle climbed it and one of the tyres got punctured.

As the car was being towed out of the BRT lane, the other soldier, whose car’s registration number KE 507 EKY came out of his car and successfully concealed his identity by removing the name tag on his uniform.

He insulted the police officers and dared anyone to tow his vehicle. Because of his rudeness, the policemen who had earlier allowed almost 10 vehicles being driven by soldiers who violated the use of the BRT lane to go, decided to tow the Lance Corporal’s vehicle.

The Lance Corporal headbutted a police officer who was trying to drive his car away. He seriously manhandled the cop, while the police team leader tried to calm him down and restrained his men from retaliating.

The policemen still insisted on towing the vehicle but the Lance Corporal slapped and brutalised the police officers while the policemen kept their cool.

As they struggled with the Lance Corporal, some area boys who were in support of the soldier suddenly went wild, but the police succeeded in arresting some of them who were hauled into the Black Maria. In a sudden twist, the Lance Corporal suddenly feigned being unconscious and collapsed without being touched. He was taken to the road side.

This enraged other soldiers who arrived the scene and clashed with the cops.

A police officer shot tear gas into the air and there was pandemonium in the area as people ran for safety. The Obanikoro Bus stop was deserted.

Rumour immediately started spreading that the police had killed a soldier and that soldiers were on a revenge mission.

The soldiers at the scene of the incident vandalised one of the police towing vans and battered the driver of one of the police vehicles but the police rescued him from the scene and took him to a hospital.

Several policemen at the scene fled sensing danger while only a few remained.

A Divisional Police Officer, DPO, who came to maintain peace ran for his life when he saw the soldiers who had gone to reinforce. People ran while banks in the area and some companies shut their gates as they sensed danger.

As the situation was being brought under control, the Lance Corporal, who pretended to have fainted returned to pick his car.

As he was doing that, a large number of armed soldiers were spotted approaching the scene. The remaining policemen at the scene had to beat a retreat to avert more trouble while they abandoned one of their towing vans on the BRT lane.

As the soldiers approached, passers-by had to run to safety to avoid stray bullet hitting them, though, there was no exchange of gun shots.

Earlier, some soldiers had violated the ban on use of the BRT lane and were able to get out of trouble by force. One of such offenders was Tope Awopetu, a staff sergeant and a brigadier, whose name could not be ascertained by our correspondent.

A police car driven by a sergeant was towed by the taskforce. A customs vehicle was also impounded for using the BRT lane while a Superintendent of Police, who claimed to be a lawyer, had his car towed for using the BRT lane.

Also, vehicle belonging to the Lagos Central Business District, CBD, Enforcement unit with registration number LA 23 CBD was towed for using the BRT lane, among others.

The Lagos State Government had decided to enforce the ban on use of BRT lane because of the lawlessness of motorists who take the BRT lane whenever there is mild traffic gridlock on Ikorodu road.

It was gathered that Governor Babatunde Fashola had gotten wind of the clash between the soldiers and the policemen  and had contacted the relevant military authorities to immediately call their men to order. This is to avert a bloody clash like the one in Badagry last month during which a soldier was killed and his colleagues retaliated by killing the Badagry DPO, DCO and other cops.

Okonjo-Iweala Drops Jumbo Salary Request, Makes Demand For Jumbo Ministry.

Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala

Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan's intention to appoint Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala continues to create intrigues in Abuja just as she has reportedly dropped her demands over pay.

But she has raised a new request:  the merging of the Finance and National Planning ministries into one under her leadership, Naija News Desk has learned.

As the intrigues over her proposed appointment mount alongside intense pressure on Mr. Jonathan by lobbyists of every colour, Empowered Newswire has reported that previous discussions of dollar-denominated salary for Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala may have hit a legal brickwall because of a 2007 Court of Appeal ruling that declared the previous dollar salary structure paid Okonjo-Iweala and Mr. Olu Adeniji (who she would later succeed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Obasanjo administration) was an illegality. Both Ministers were ordered to refund the excess salaries paid them.

In that ruling, the Court of Appeal said such a dollar salary was an illegality even if the salary differential was paid by an organization such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which was reportedly   involved in the payment of the controversial dollar salary at that time.

 After dropping the initial demand for a jumbo pay, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala is said to have have demanded that in addition to merging the Ministries of Finance and National Planning into a single entity, she wanted to be given the freedom to formulate and control Nigeria's fiscal and monetary policies during her tenure as Minister.  She has also reportedly a free hand to choose all the members of Jonathan's economic team members in and outside of the government.

Officials in the US also confirmed yesterday that Mr. Jonathan had always shown keen interest in at least two of Nigeria’s top officials at the World Bank: Dr. Okonjo-Iweala and Ms Oby Ezekwesili, wanting them to return to the government as ministers in charge of some critical portfolios.  Both former ministers played prominent roles in Obasanjo’s economic reform team.

But only one of them, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has been more forthcoming about returning to her old position as federal minister apart from her request for a differential salary which ignited a controversy within the government from the outset. 

Some presidency officials are irked by her brazen requests, with one of them describing her as being too ambitious and wanting to run a parallel government in order to bolster her political ambition to run for president in 2015.  Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala has not indicated such an ambition.

Those who opposed the request for a dollar-salary for any federal minister point out that since the controversy that greeted the dollar salary that former president Olusegun Obasanjo approved for the Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala and Chief Adeniji, other foreign-based Nigerians have been named to the cabinet without being paid  dollar salaries.

They cite Olusegun Aganga, Nigeria's most recent Minister of Finance.  Mr. Aganga, it was learned yesterday, neither asked for nor enjoyed a dollar-denominated salary.

Before his appointment as finance minister by Jonathan, Aganga was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs in London. Incidentally, Mr. Aganga, who was described as cocky and colorless by a presidency official, is unlikely to return to the cabinet, especially if the FG strikes an agreement with Okonjo-Iweala.

Others critics of Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala's conditions for accepting a ministerial position say some  Nigerian ministers who formerly worked in top US schools and institutions  did not receive dollar salaries from the Obasanjo administration. 

One such person is Ms. Ezekwesili, who worked with Prof. Jeffrey Sachs at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard before being named by Obasanjo as Senior Special Assistant.  She created and managed the successful Due Process Unit of the presidency, from which she became Solid Minerals minister, and then education minister.

It would be recalled that former FCT Minister Nasir Rufai was instrumental, by his own personal disclosure at a New York event in 2004, to the appointment of Okonjo-Iweala as minister and the approval of a dollar salary for her at that time.

President Jonathan is said to be interested in including technocrats in his administration for two reasons:  to keep the international goodwill and endorsement that followed his recent election, especially from some strategic and friendly Western nations and governments.


A US diplomatic source said that friendly western leaders had hoped that Jonathan would constitute his cabinet early enough as he had promised so that he would be able to beat the current political fights and jostling from his party members.

One of the sources said "we had hoped he would name his cabinet on day one of his new term," because as the source explained,  Jonathan gave the impression to some western leaders during his recent international outing of strong determination to make real change happen in Nigeria.

A diplomatic source also told Empowered Newswire yesterday that the delay in naming the cabinet, about a month now since the president was inaugurated, and the reported names of the politicians dominating leaked versions of the list, are all being closely watched by western diplomats in Nigeria as well as officials in their home capitals.

Commenting on the dollar salary controversy, Dr Baba Adam, a public commentator, said: “Anyone in Diaspora deserves what they are earning in their current positions outside Nigeria.  We understand the skill-set many of us in Diaspora can bring to Nigeria, however, it is very bad for anyone in Diaspora to knowingly request the Nigerian President who swore to defend the Nigerian Constitution to violate the Nigerian Constitution and/or disrespect a Court ruling by paying their salary in dollars or any other currency."

In a statement released earlier in the US, Adam noted, “We strongly urge Nigerians in Diaspora who are willing to go back to serve in any position to accept the Nigerian salary remunerations prescribed by law.  After all Minister's salary and allowance is thousand times the earning of an average Nigerian.  After their service, Nigerians in Diaspora, if they wish can return to their jobs and earn their Diaspora jumbo salary."

Based on a legal suit filed by the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, the Court of Appeal in Abuja in July 2007 granted the reliefs he sought in the case including:

*A declaration that the purported authorization by the President to the effect that the salaries of Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and External Affairs Minister, Mr Olufemi Adeniji be paid in foreign currencies was unconstitutional and amounted to an abuse of office;

*A declaration that the yearly salary of USD247,000 (about N36 million) being paid to the 3rd defendant, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala , the Federal Minister of Finance is a flagrant violation of Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances , etc) Act No 6 of 2002 which prescribes a yearly salary of N794,085.00 for every Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;

*A declaration that the yearly salary of USD120,000 (about N17 million) being paid to the 4th defendant Ambassador Olufemi Adeniji, Federal Minister for External Affairs is a flagrant violation of Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc) Act No. 6 of 2002 which prescribes a yearly salary of N794,085.00 for every Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and

*An order compelling the 3rd and 4th defendants to stop the Federal Government of Nigeria, its agents, servants, privies or howsoever called particularly the 1st defendant from paying Ministers or any other public officers covered by certain political, public and judicial office holders’ salaries and allowances etc Act No 6 of 2002 outside the salaries prescribed in the said Act.

Chief Fawehinmi also contended that besides the jumbo salaries and allowances being paid in foreign currency, the illegality involved the point that the payment of the salaries into the foreign accounts of the Ministers contradicted the provision of the Code of Conduct for public officers which frowns against maintenance of foreign accounts while holding public office.

He further contended that the approval of different  salary scales for the two ex-ministers offended an Act of the National Assembly tagged “Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc) Act No 6 of 2002, which prescribed the yearly salary of N794,085.00 for every minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The court then asked the former ministers to refund the money paid.

Implication for President Jonathan Goodluck’s Transformational Agenda.

By John M. O. Ekundayo

Preamble: It is gladdening to read of a president thinking about transforming Nigeria. I believe that this is not the first time that political leaders have bamboozled citizens with their usual favourite leadership cliché or jargons chosen at their whims and caprices from their lexicon.

While it can be argued that it is better for any leader to declare his leadership style, from the outset, so that his followers will know the expected direction of his administration, appropriating or adopting a leadership style confines a leader to model the way according the proponents of exemplary leadership model-Barry Posner & James Kouzes (authors of ‘The Leadership Challenge’). It is of wisdom to state that transformational leadership main objective as originally propounded by James MacGregor Burns was to inspire followers with vision and passion; in the process the latter themselves are transformed. In a way, transformational leadership, as a model, can be defined as a process involving dynamic influential interactions between leaders and followers, expecting a mutual outcome, within a giving context. The mutual outcome normally results in change(s) to the status quo which invariably energizes followers with the end result of developing them to leaders. Simply and squarely put, leaders that will drive transformational agenda must be courageous to challenge the status quo, be visionary, passionate and proactive to interact with followers to bring about the envisioned innovative change. It must be stressed that that change must uplift the followers-their levels must change in tangible ways that can be felt, seen, touched and embraced!

Wisdom of Nehemiah in the Age of Dr Jonathan:


At this juncture, I will like to draw an analogy from the Biblical Nehemiah, a man that was a servant to a king who was burdened to go back to rebuild the ruins of the ancient Jerusalem. Mr President, you need to accept the fact that Nigeria is presently in ruins; we are blessed with abundant resources yet many Nigerians are living below poverty line. Nehemiah pursued his assignment with catholic zeal and zest. There is a particular reference that I will want Mr President to emulate in the leadership style of Nehemiah in driving his transformation agenda. Before, I go further, I like to remind, Dr Jonathan Goodluck that our dear erstwhile President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (of blessed memory) while reading his inauguration address on 29th May 2007 declared inter alia to the whole world that he would be a servant leader. It was unfortunate that his health compounded the content and context of his traits as a leader and could not really allowed us to fairly assess properly how he performed as a servant leader. I doubt if he would pass if empirically assessed. However, there are some good points that still stand today, by and large for Yar’Adua. These are upholding the rule of law and the Niger Delta amnesty issue.

Dear Mr President, you have 4 years which when broken down is 48 months or 208 weeks translating to 1461 days (sic). Meditating on some portions of Chapter 5 of the book of Nehemiah, my heart was drawn to some issues that Mr President must be passionate, practical, pragmatic and proactive about without delay. Time is running out! In Chapter 5, Nehemiah, who later became the governor of the people, challenged the nobles and leaders who were oppressing and afflicting their fellow citizens. In book of Nehemiah, Chapter 5:7-9, it is stated: “After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers...So I called a great assembly against them. And I said to them...Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?” Then they were silenced and found nothing to say. Then I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?”

This is the real situation in Nigeria. We need a President who will have enough resolve or spine to call the bluff off some callous elites who are so greedy that Nigeria can roast so far they are richer in the process. I am not a religious zealot but I know that my country Nigeria is mostly made up of people of two religions (almost 95% of the nation’s population):

Islam and Christianity. I read your encounter with journalists the last time you were in USA in which you declared that the proportion of Muslims to Christians in Nigeria is 50:50. Some may differ but I defer to your stand, Mr President, you are not far from the truth. In the light of this, as a balance, I will like to quote from what Abubakar Siddique, the first Caliph, leader of the Muslim community after the transition of the referred Prophet Mohammed stated in his inaugural speech: “I have been chosen to rule over you, though I am not the best amongst you. Help me if I am right; correct me if I am wrong. The weak among you will be strong until I have attained for him his due…and the strong among you will be weak until I have made him give what he owes...”


From the foregoing, it cannot be overemphasized that we need a President who will vigorously fight corruption putting his own life online to redeem our battered image locally and internationally. Presently, we are “fighting” this virus with kid gloves while it spreading with the speed of light all over the fabric of our nation. Corruption is everywhere; followers and leaders are involved! One can argue that during former President Obasanjo’s era, he was accused of being selective in his war against corruption; nevertheless he made some people to face the music. One notable good deed by Obasanjo (I am not his fan), his administration established two institutions to fight corruption. No government before his own institutionalized the fight against corruption. Mr President, I will plead with you to adequately empower and equipped EFFCC and ICPC especially by giving them free hand to operate. I read in the paper, as the time of writing this piece that you were under pressure to ‘intervene’ in the judicial process indicting the former speaker and his deputy. If it is true, please, do not hearken; let the law take its course. Enough is enough of these dealers in the garb of leaders rampaging and routing our land while throwing decency and decorum to the wind. Is this not the same Honourable Dimeji Bankole who passed through one of the finest and best universities in the world-Harvard? He was even mentioned before he became the speaker that he was an influential member of the ‘Integrity Group’ in the house? Where is that so called integrity group in the House of Representatives today? I doubt its existence.

Agenda Setting To Cripple Corruption: Overhauling EFCC

Subsequently, I will opine that there is need for change in the leadership of EFCC if your transformational agenda will succeed very well. Corruption is like a cancer killing Nigeria and Nigerians gradually; even President Barrack Obama was passionate in pleading with you recently when you visit the White House to do more in fighting this hydra-headed monster! Virtually, all nations on earth have Nigerians living in them-legally and illegally. It is a truism that many cases of Nigerians in Diaspora are but for survival strategies while there are more than enough resources at home to go round for everyone! Tips of the iceberg: After May 29th, how many former governors are undergoing trial? It is only the case of the erstwhile Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives we are reading about. Where are the others? Walking freely all over the land some of them even having the effrontery or temerity to be lobbying for ministerial positions! Are we really serious as a nation? I even read in the newspapers that about two of former governors left the shores of Nigeria a day or so before 29th May 2011. Were not the security agencies aware of this development? What was the role of EFCC and ICPC in this regard? This is time for followers to ask pertinent questions requiring urgent responses if our nation must not pass through what some North African and Middle Eastern countries have gone through and some of them are still wallowing in the imbroglio that may consume their leaders and possibly their nations.

Opportunity To Address Poverty:

Mr President, I was one of your friends on Facebook and I gave a thumb up for your write-up declaring your formal intention to run for the office of the president sometimes in 2010. I read the story, Mr President, of how you could not afford a bag to put your books in while you swam through a river to go to school (sic). Definitely, there are still people in such a situation like that today not only in Oloibiri, but in Numan, Aliade, Baga, Sabongida-Ora, Igboho, Biliri, Takum, Ikot Epkene, Ode-Ekiti, Umunede, Nnewi, etc. What are the practical, pragmatic and proactive steps your transformational leadership will take to address poverty that people will perceive have a human heart of kindness and compassion? Are there going to be a provision to care of the senior citizens throughout the length and breadth of our nation? I have been living in Singapore and Malaysia for 6 years now, and I could see that people from age 65 and above are classified as senior citizens and they are given concessions for some public services like transportation (at times they pay 50%). How about education: can the nation afford to cushion the crunch on parents paying for the tertiary education of their wards by having bursary award for students in this category? Can the Federal Government make funds accessible (could be a loan) to pursue higher degrees (Master degrees and Doctorates) both in local and overseas universities so that no Nigerian is denied education because he or she cannot pay for it?

Creating Jobs: Proactive Agricultural Development As A Way Out

Going back to Nehemiah’s time, virtually everyone was engaged in building the wall, carrying away the rubbles and restoring order to the nation. The citizens need to be mobilized. There is the need for your government to proactively create jobs! Personally, I see Agriculture as a way out. It is unfortunate that the Federal Government and most of the states government avoid practical agriculture like a plague. It is obvious that both federal and state governments annually vote money for agricultural development which callously end up in distribution of fertilizer, loans to ‘farmers’, building dams, etc. These activites, in most cases, have no direct bearing on the lives of farmers or citizens in Okenne, Wukari, Idanre, Otukpo, Baga, Yenogoa, Kabba, Ayangba, Nguru, etc. There must be proactive ways to reach these farmers. Is it not possible to initiate modern day farm settlements in each state of the federation where mass number of youths can be gainfully and productively employed? The merits are numerous: Food Production, Employment Creation, Income Generation and Foreign Exchange Earning. A stitch in time can save nine. I have posted messages like this on your Facebook but I found them deleted, possibly by your agents: it is good that this in public domain.

Conclusion:


Mr President, I want to appreciate you and your assistants (leadership team) taking time to read this and setting down to work. Nigerians are yearning and longing to witness the real transformation; not just words and words, promises and promises; there must be passionate, pragmatic and proactive steps taken to deliver this nation from ruins and rubbles she has been subjected to. The wounds on Nigeria and Nigerians are in the words of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State self inflicted which only, according to him, only leaders with bold resolve can attempt to heal. You can start somewhere and leave an indelible and memorable mark; yours could even be a benchmark, Dr Jonathan Ebele Goodluck!

Feedback is welcome from readers:  jmo.ekundayo@gmail.com
This piece is written by John M. O. Ekundayo, a leadership researcher/political commentator, who resides in Malaysia, South East Asia.

Suicide Terrorism: New Trouble At Home And Challenges Ahead Of President Goodluck Jonathan.

By Oludare Ogunlana

The recent Abuja bombing of the Louis Edet Police Headquarters is something not surprising as the emergence of Boko Haram and other domestic terrorist organizations has become evident for the last seven years. Nigeria is recording its first incidence of suicide terrorism since the insurgence of domestic terrorism in the most populous black nation.

According to the report, the assailants gained access to the police Headquarters by disguising as part of the back-up convoy of one of the Inspectors General of Police. Immediately, the bomb suspected to be about 500lbs of TNT explosive went off killing eight people and destroying several vehicles parked on the police premises.  The effect of the explosion would have been worse and could have resulted in greater casualties if not for the fact that the car used for the operation was not in close proximity to the main building.  The terrorist target was successful not as a result “failure of intelligence” per se but due to the “failure of imagination”.  We all failed to imagine that the terrorist could have been so audacious to the extent or targeting the “lion den”.  The June 16, 2011 terrorist act is a “symbolic” attack just like October 1, 2010 terror campaign in Abuja and other bomb blasts that have occurred in Nigeria military barracks. It is a clear message that there is trouble on the home front. Once again, the modus operandi of the suicide attack shows that the 21st century terrorist organizations are more organized, discipline, committed, and sophisticated with high levels of intelligence gathering capability.

Of course, terrorism is no more a new phenomenon in Nigeria but the worrisome part of it is the new dimension of suicide terrorism.  There is no doubt in the fact that there is real trouble at the home front for President Goodluck Jonathan in terms of building capability to confront and defeat the fast growing terrorist groups in Nigeria.  Nevertheless, it is not yet time to trade blame or shift the responsibility on the law enforcement agencies, rather the incidents call for full commitment on the part of the Government and its agents.  Defending the homeland from terrorist organizations is vital to the state, and hence the challenges to that interest must be met with full force. President Goodluck Jonathan and his security chiefs must understand that our adversaries are unconventional, and so our approach for defeating them must be unconventional as well.  We cannot defeat them solely by force; we must use a blend of political, informational, military, economic, and socio-cultural approaches, in combination with foreign governments’ assistance, security forces, and populations.

Understanding Suicide Terrorism

What could have tempted a normal human being to risk and sacrifice his life for a cause by embarking on a death mission?  The justification of rationale behind this irrational behavior as exemplified in many actions of suicide terrorists has formed a major concern among the political scientists and researchers on terrorism across the world.  According to Marthar Crenshaw, “the purpose of terrorism is to intimidate popular watching audience by harming only a few’.

Terrorism is meant to hurt, not to destroy.  Terrorism is preeminently political and symbolic”. Crenshaw 2000, p. 406.  However, the purpose of suicide terrorism has gone beyond ordinary hurting, it has moved from demonstrative to a destructive terrorism like what we witnessed at the event of the September 11, 2001 suicide attack masterminded by Al-Qaida on the soil of the United States of America.  Scott Atran defined suicide terrorism as a “targeted use of self destructing humans against non combatant – typically civilian population to effect political change”.  Atran 2003.

The purpose of suicide terrorism is to coerce the targeted opponent in order to get partial or full concession of the demands.  Its primary use is typically an instrument of psychological warfare intended to affect a larger public audience.  Terrorist choose the suicide option when realizing that fighting a conventional war will surely lead to their defeat, therefore, suicide terrorism is the weapon of the weak against a strong opponent.  The history of suicide terrorism is ancient and dates as far back as the 1st century, when the Jewish sect called Zealots (siccari) adopted the suicide option in Roman occupied Judea.  Also, a radical offshoot of Muslim Sha'a Ismaili (Islamic Order of Assassin - “hashish eater”) adopted same suicide method against the Christian crusaders attempting to conquer the present day Syria and Iran between A.D 1090 and 1272.

Terrorist organizations like Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad, Chenchen rebels, Hesbollah and Tamil Tigers have successfully adopted the suicide tactics and prefer suicide terrorism as a strategic weapon against their opponents.  According to Hoffman, even though, Al-Qaeda is known to be the first terrorist organization to have successfully conducted suicide attacks on land, sea and in the air, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) remain the leader among the organizations that use suicide terrorism since LTTE adopted the suicide tactic in 1987.  It should be noted that all these terrorist organizations adopted suicide terrorism because it is not expensive, lethally efficient, easier to execute and has a high degree of success.  Of course, the mode of attack is attractive to the perpetrators because suicide terrorism guarantees media coverage and sends fear to the target audience.  “Suicide terrorism is a high cost strategy, one that would only make strategic sense for a group when high interest is at stake and even then as the last resort” Pape 2003.  With the adoption of suicide terrorism by Boko Haram, Nigeria should be vigilant because such an attack may occur in places of worship, police checkpoints, military and police barracks, academic campuses, high profile functions, mass transportation system and inside government offices.

Boko Haram (brief profile and modus operandi)

The name Boko Haram connotes fears and terror in the mind of every household in Nigeria, particularly, the people living in the North East of Nigeria.  The group was founded in the year 2002 by Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf with anti-west education ideology.  My personal encounter with Yusuf as an undercover reporter in the year 2006 gave me more idea of Yusuf’s philosophy. The Boko Haram goes beyond what people think.  He spoke to me about injustice, corruption, collapse of moral values and all other social vices of which he wanted me to help send to Saharareporters.com for publication.  He blamed everything on the influences of western education.  Yusuf was killed in the year 2009 under a very controversial circumstance.  Since the execution of Yusuf in the year 2009, the organization has adopted the leaderless style for a cell group leadership.  It means any member of the cell group is capable of taking decision in line with the philosophy of the organization without necessarily waiting for an instructional command from higher authority.  This method of cell group leadership makes it extremely difficult for law enforcement agencies to tame and grab the leadership of the group.

I have been profiling Boko Haram since 2007; the modus operandi of the organization is similar to all known terrorist groups in the world.  The trademark of the organization is blood, tears and sorrow with both covert and overt violent attack against Police officers, churches and high profile government officials.  Their weapons are; machete, "daga", locally made bow arrow and guns.  The use of bombs was introduced in December 2010 while suicide terrorism is the latest method adopted by the group as a new strategic weapon of attack.

The organization is funded through mandatory daily contributions from members. There is no doubt the fact that the organization also gets support from politicians in Nigeria. Even though, one is yet to establish any direct link between the leadership of Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda movement, however, the recent indication has confirmed the fact that the Boko Haram sect is getting international training and financial support from the international terrorist groups.

 A very Serious Threat

With the recent occurrence, terrorism is now taking a dangerous dimension with the introduction of suicide terrorism.  It is a very serious threat to the existence of Nigeria as a nation of which President Jonathan must act very quickly to tame the “monster”.

In what could have looked like the first suicide attempt in Nigeria  was an unusual incident at the Margaret Ekpo Airport, Calabar on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 in which a lone driver beats all the airport security and rammed into an Abuja-bound Arik aircraft.


The second incidence was the June 16, 2011 Louis Edet House attack of Police National Headquarters.  These are serious threats to our National Security and government must use all means available to remove all sources of insecurity at all levels. Of course, threats always outnumber the resources available to negate those threats to safety.  The gap between the threats and resources to nullify those threats is a risk.  Therefore, the Government must be determined and ready to take the necessary risk in order to build enough capability to confront terrorism.

Capability

Home grown violent extremism is not the only threat our nation will face in the near future. We must also prepare to tackle both domestic and regional terrorist organizations.

The lead agencies in charge of our security in Nigeria were primarily organized, trained, educated, and equipped for conventional crime fighting, and these capabilities remained essential to deter and fight conventional crimes.  The senior leadership of law enforcement agencies is yet to grab exactly how to handle issue of terrorism because they have not been trained to handle terrorism issue. Therefore, the federal government must ensure that our law enforcement agencies need to re-balance conventional capabilities and the capacity of our police to conduct long-duration counterterrorism operations. We must train, equip, and foster the development of civil society and of course, the effective governance is essential.

Most important of all, the law enforcement agencies need to create or improve career paths, incentives, and advancement opportunities for security personnel with critical counterterrorism-related skills and knowledge. If we do not create new demands that force the Service personnel management systems to transform, we cannot hope to identify, access, educate, train, develop, utilize, and retain adequate numbers of the people we need to wage a protracted war against terrorism.

The way forward

The recent signing of the anti-terrorism bill into law as a legal instrument to arrest and prosecute the offenders is a welcome development.  However, the President must exercise his power at this point in time.  In order to exercise power, the state must be capable of carrying out threats.  Doing this requires possessing the instruments of power.  In traditional terms, these instruments are divided into three categories: Diplomatic (or political), economic, and military power.

The approach towards fighting terrorism is the semi –military aspect of security.  The significant aspects of terrorism and its suppression are also political and law enforcement concerns and for which military responses are ineffective.

Therefore, President Goodluck Jonathan should make this as a priority by designing strong counterterrorism policies that supersede the mass killings and extra-judicial murders committed by our macho police and military officers in the past.

This is not a time for complacency; the President must be ready to act on all necessary intelligence reports related to terrorism.  In most cases, the policy makers often make such mistakes by failing to act on intelligence.  It is also acknowledged that this happens in some instances because the “customer” does not understand the intelligence.

Therefore, it is the responsibility of the analyst and the officer of the NSA to ensure that the President not only receives the real time intelligence but fully understands it.

In conclusion, out law enforcement agencies and the intelligence communities as constituted in Nigeria Joint Intelligence Board (JIB) must be ready to share information.  It is common that most intelligence organizations place more emphasis on secrecy than on effectiveness.  This in most cases leads to poor intelligence.  Failure to work as a team has been one of the principal reasons for the intelligence failure.  The absence of crime is the splendor of efficient security. Therefore, the goals in countering terrorism are:

·         Stop terrorists from committing acts of violence by capturing them, disrupting their cells, or killing them

·         Keep the most dangerous weapons out of terrorists' hands

·         Recognize that it is impossible to prevent all attacks

·         Protect those facilities in Nigeria that, if struck, would cause catastrophic damage

·         Prevent radicalization by helping to deal with grievances that are spawning terrorists

Oludare Ogunlana is an Intelligence Analyst, and President, Global Alternative Agenda, (GAA)
 www.global-agenda.net

 Updates to follow