Monday 31 March 2014

EDITORIAL: National Confab: By who? For Who?

EDITORIAL
31 March 2014

National Confab: By who? For Who?
Most of the news headlines nowadays are dominated by happenings and fallouts of the on-going National Conference in Abuja. The Confab has produced enough drama to push most other front-burner issues out of the news. Hardly anyone talks about who has defected from one party to another or who is angling for one position or the other. All eyes seem to be set on the National Confab.
In its first week of sitting, a lot of controversies have been swirling around the Conference.  News Media and Social Media are awash with reactions and opinion over the event at the Confab, discussing the various happenings filtering out of the National Judicial Institute main auditorium.
The first salvo from the Confab was the issue of opening prayer. A lot of dust was raised about the use of Islamic prayers to start off, which several delegates argued should have been a neutral prayer. Before that dust could settle down, the issues of voting took centre stage. The crux of it was the provision that a 75% voting majority would be required to reach a decision in the absence of a consensus decision. The argument raged so much that some delegates early came to fisticuffs on the matter and that argument dominated the day’s proceedings.
Next the JNI threatened to pull out of the Confab over their perceived disparity of representation between Christians and Muslims. Not to be outdone, the Lamido of Adamawa threatened to transfer his people’s allegiance to Cameroon in the event the Confab led to Nigeria’s break up. The issue of the age of the Confab delegates became another side show, as a lot of Nigerians described them as too old at an average age of 62. Tie that to the insinuations about the “sleeping” delegate (who eventually passed away three days later) and concerns about the health of former Information Minister, Dora Akunyili and you have a superb soap opera script that even Hollywood cannot contrive.
A wise man has said that “talking is good because as long as you are talking you are not fighting”. We at Nigerian Hotline Newspaper agree with that postulation in its entirety. Focusing on personalities and differences would not lead us far in this undertaking. The Confab is an event Nigerians should take very seriously. We should be able to learn from history and take our fortunes in our own hands. Nigerians should take a cue from the people of Benin Republic who, in the 1990, took control of a similar conference setup  Marchby military dictator Mathieu Kerekou and forged a new direction for their country while also easing the strongman from power.
It does not matter the age of the delegates, their backgrounds or antecedents. What matters is that they are Nigerians and we can hold them to account. Whereas different groupings have forged their own agenda ahead of the Confab, WE THE PEOPLE can foist OUR own agenda on the delegates if we can use the third eye and see the great chance and opportunity presented by the Confab to WE THE PEOPLE.

This is the reason for the title of this editorial: National Confab: By who? For Who? It is by Nigerians and if WE THE PEOPLE of Nigeria are vigilant we can push all the drama aside and make the Confab for us.  A word is enough………….

©2014 Nigerian Hotline Newspaper 


Overzealous Prison Officers Manhandle Innocent Traders

Nnamdi Iheagwaram

Barely four weeks after the National Association of Nigerian trader inaugurated the state chapter of its association with a view to checkmating the excesses of uniformed men on traders, some overzealous prison officers have manhandled some innocent traders who deal on telephone accessories along Okigwe Road, adjacent to the building that was housing Imo state Stock Exchange and Imo State Investment and Promotion Agency.
Nigerian Hotline gathered that the traders whose names were given as Sunday Ngwu, Michael Ude and Isaac Onu were manhandled and beaten to stupor by some armed men identified as members of the Prisons Armed Squad led by an officer identified “Ambush commander”. According to sources the traders sustained injuries as a result of the incident and are presently receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre. Narrating his ordeal to newsmen Mr. Isaac Onu said the man identified as “Ambush commander” usually comes to buy phone accessories from him, pointing out that the bone of contention was that the Wife of “Ambush commander” brought a phone to him to buy the phone on the directions of the husband.
He alleged that they settled at the price of N2,000 and he gave her N1,500 as deposit, promising to pay the balance of N500 later, only to discover that the phone was faulty and immediately he sent a message to “Ambush commander” to that effect but was surprised to note that “Ambush commander” insisted that he must pay the balance, threatening to deal with him if he failed to pay.
Continuing, Mr. Onu expressed shock that the said “Ambush commander” carried out his threat and unleashed an attack on him and some of his colleagues with five of his men, stressing that they applied the use of maximum force and even handcuffed him pointing out that in the course of this melle, his wares and those of his colleagues were destroyed. Corroborating Onu’s story, Mr. Sunday Ngwu and Mr. Michael Ude wondered why they should be manhandled in such a manner by men of the Prisons Armed Squad for an act the know nothing about and therefore called on the Prison authorities to checkmate the excesses of their officers. Reacting to the incident the State Controller of prisons, Mr. Iheanyi I. Amadiri said that his office would carry out a thorough investigation on the matter and if they officers are found liable the authorities would not hesitate to take internal disciplinary action of the officers.  
Meanwhile, Mr. Isaac Onu has threatened legal action to enforce his fundamental human right.    

©2014 Nigerian Hotline Newspaper 


              

Tension In Inyishi Autonomous Community Presentation of Staff Of Office

.......Leaders Accuse Eze Chidume Okoro of Rigging their Eze-ship Election

By Nnamdi Iheagwaram

There has been palpable tension in the ancient Kingdom of inyishi autonomous community over the press release by the Secretary to Government of Imo state, Prof. A.G. Anwuka, in respect of the presentation of staff of office to 92 newly recognized Traditional Tulers in which the Eze Elect of the ancient Kingdom of Inyishi, Prince Ugbondu Nnanna Andrew Osuji, was deliberately omitted and in his stead the name of Chief Obed Anyanwu whom the community said never won their Eze-ship election held on 16th July 2013 was entered. The town which is usually busy now very quiet as the staff of office is about to be presented today. Nigerian Hotline gathered that since the history of the ancient Kingdom the people of the area are noted for sticking to their guns when it comes to important policy decisions and they wondered what will become of the community in the event of the Government going ahead to make this presentation to Chief Anyanwu.
According to information reaching us, Chief Obed Anyanwu had lost the election having polled 398 votes as against the 552 votes by Prince Nnanna Osuji who won the election. The people of the area however accused Eze Chidume Okoro of perfecting the plot of influencing the result of the Eze-ship election of the community without due regard to, not only the peaceful disposition for which the ancient Kingdom is known for, but also the customs and traditions of the land.
A community leader who prefers to be anonymous said that he is aware that the community will not leave any stone unturned in their effort to recover what he described as the stolen mandate, describing it as a rape of democracy. Stressing that this setting aside of the people’s will would not go away just like that. When Prince Ugbondu Osuji was contacted, he said that the matter is with the ministry of Community Government Council, haven paid a mandatory fee of N20,000 as charges for legal suit to enable them look into the matter but expressed surprise that the Ministry of Community Government Council never handled the matter till date. Prince Osuji sadi that when they came for the case before the Governor’s panel, the Governor handled every case but regretted that when it came to their turn, the Governor took his leave having been exhausted for the day and this had resulted in the matter lingering till date and when Eze Ohiri tried to mediate in the matter, Obed Anyanwu left the hall and immediately calls started coming to Eze Ohiri, hence  preventing him from giving a fair hearing to the matter and Eze Ohiri therefore discharge them on the premise that the Governor will handle the matter himself.
 Prince Osuji therefore said that up till date nothing has been done about the matter and they were compelled to petition the Peace and Conflict Resolution headed by Engr. Peter Ohawa who started handling the matter until High Chief Lawrence Onumajuru intervened in the matter and decided to withdraw the case for peaceful settlement, which they obliged him and he consequently constituted a panel which was to be comprised of five persons from both parties.
He, howerver, regretted that Chief Obed Anyanwu had 13 persons representing him having been told to do so by one Chief Dr. Johnbull Nwaiwu against the decision of High Chief Onumajuru and this did not go down well with the revered Chief who in turn quarreled with the secretary of the panel Chief Boniface Iheoha on the issue. Continuing Prince Osuji said till date Engr. Ohagwa has not said anything about his findings pointing out that it is Dr. Nwaiwu who claims to be close to the Governor who said that he will will use his closeness to the Governor to ensure that the will of the people in that election does not see the light of the day. Prince Osuji therefore urged the government to hearken to the voice of reason and act according to the heart beat of the people. Meanwhile efforts made to reach Eze Chidume Okoro and Chief Obed Anyanwu were unsuccessful as at press time.                  


©2014 Nigerian Hotline Newspaper 


POLICE RESCUES EX VC’S MOTHER FROM KIDNAPPERS

By Nnamdi Iheagwaram

The Imo  state police command has rescued Madam Lucy Okonkwo at Ihiala from suspected gunmen at Ihiala Anambra State. Madam Okonkwo is the mother of Prof. Chuks Okonkwo, former Vice- Chancellor of Imo state  University (IMSU) Owerri.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Joy Ugo Elemoko, of the Command informed Nigerian Hotline exclusively that the suspected kidnappers, a male and a female, have been arrested and investigations are ongoing, pointing out that the 92 years old woman has been re-united with her family and may have been taken to a hospital for medical attention.  Elemoko said the kidnap attempt was foiled by the dogged Scorpion Squad of the command.
Madam Okonkwo, whose other son is a Catholic Priest in the person of Dr. Emma Okonkwo of Orlu Diocese, Imo State was said to have been abducted by unknown gunmen last Monday at about 11:15am in her compound, Umucheke Amaifeke Orlu LGA Imo State. The PPRO also appealed to the public to always inform the security agents of every suspicious movement around them.

Meanwhile, Prince Chukwuemeka Uba, a native of the area and the National President of Ohaneze Youth foundation (OYF) in a telephone interview has condemned the act, asking the perpetrators to repent and channel their energy into meaningful ways to better the society instead of channeling their talent to committing crimes.

©2014 Nigerian Hotline Newspaper 


Dimaku Blasts Okorocha “You are not my leader”

By Chidi Odor

The seemingly bottled up anger of Hon. Kingsley Dimaku against the governor of the state, Governor Rochas Okorocha was made open when he declared that the governor is not his leader.
Hon. Dimaku who represents Ehime Mbano State constituency at the Imo State House of Assembly Stated this during the one day working visit of the governor to Ehime Mbano, stressing that, Chief Tony Chukwu brought him into politics and is his leader.
According to Hon. Dimaku, “His Excellency Sir, I am always loyal to you since we came on board despite the fact that we are not from the same political party. Both of us married from the same place and as such, share the same in-laws but, I have a leader who brought me into polities,” he declared.
Speaking, the governor told the people to be grateful to God who brought him into power as the governor of the state, disclosing that 19.3km of roads have been awarded to various contractors to the tune of N1.158bn while over N500M has been released to contractors to execute the road projects and urged the contractors to give good accounts of themselves.

Earlier in an address presented by the Transition Committee (TC) Chairman of the council, Hon. (Lady) Chioma Ogoke said that the people were delighted about the free education policy of the governor which has removed the burden of school fees and other educational materials from parents, pointing out that children who dropped out of  school due to school fees are now back to the classrooms.

©2014 Nigerian Hotline Newspaper 


COMMUNITY CRIES FOUL OVER OKOROCHA’S MODERN SCHOOL BLOCKS.

The Umuduru-Egbeaguru Improvement Union in Onuimo LGA has sent a save-our-souls (SOS) letter to Governor Okorocha. The letter which was made available to newsmen highlighted what they described as the injustice meted to the people of the area.
The trio of Eze S.E. Alegbe (traditional ruler), Prof. (Sir) E.A. Nwokoro (Apex leader) and Dr. (Sir) Stainless Onyeneke (President General) of the community lamented that the implementation of Governor Okorocha’s directives on the construction of 305 modern school structures in each of the 305 wards of the state was denied the people of Umuduru Egbeaguru Describing the ward of Umuduru Egbeaguru  which has 13 polling Units/booths with sizeable voters as the biggest in Onuimo LGA, the union called on the governor to look into the denial of the modern school structures to the community.

According to the leaders all efforts to convince the relevant authorities to revisit the situation have proved abortive. The Umuduru Egbeaguru leaders appealed to Governor Rochas Okorocha to ascertain whether his directives pertaining the 305 modern school structures was implemented in their area.

©2014 Nigerian Hotline Newspaper 


DIFFERENT STROKES: WHAT TYPE OF MOTHER ARE YOU?

DIFFERENT STROKES, WITH REV. CANON CHINEMEREM UCHE
WHAT TYPE OF MOTHER ARE YOU?

Rev. Canon Chinemerem Uche
The mothering Sunday is here and it will be good if we reflect on the kind of mothers we have.  This classification might enable us to take corrections where we need to.
“Churchious” Mother: She is always in the church and prefers church activities above her husband and children.  She can preach very well and belongs to almost all the groups in the church and yet her children are symbols of rascality and immorality.
Talkative Mother:  The only time she is not talking is when large ball of food is in her mouth or when she is sleeping.  Her nick name is “uka tuo aja.” –abundance of talk like sand.  This kind of mother is a one woman riot squad when it comes to quarrelling.  She has the history of everybody in her “yard” and will use it as her weapon of offense whenever there is a quarrel. She does not need to be invited in any discussion as far as she hears what is being discussed; she must join in the talk-talk.
Masculine Mother:  She is domineering and bangs her fist on the table while arguing with the husband.  She makes autocratic statements and nobody dares to oppose her because she will be ready to fight to finish.
Gossip Mother: She has gossip as her second and most important name!  She knows what is happening in every woman’s marriage and bedroom.  She can fabricate stories that are hard to refute and disbelieve.  She delights so much in gossiping about pastors and celebrities.
Mirror-Mirror Mother: She is always on the mirror, admiring her beauty.  She colonizes every mirror in the house including her husband’s rear view and side view mirrors.  The only thing that startles her out of the mirror is the hooting of her husband’s car horn urging her to be quick so that they do not arrive late for a function.
Fashion crazy Mother: This woman reads magazine a lot, or rather watches magazine to check for the latest fashion worn by celebrities and wealthy women.  She tries more than ten clothes before making a final selection of the one to wear for an occasion.  In the process of making a choice, she takes her bath several times after sweating it out in the wardrobe.  She spends a greater part of her earnings including feeding money on fashion.
Nagging Mother:  She can nag from morning to evening and can continue to the following day over an issue that has long been settled.  Her wall is full of graffiti showing dates and time a particular wrong was done to her.  Her husband returns home when he is sure she has gone to bed to avoid her constant nagging.
Debtor Mother: This kind of mother loves borrowing because she lives above her income.  She wants to meet up with the high class ladies and will do anything to meet up. In the church, she makes pledges she cannot fulfil -just to belong to the high class.  She wants her children to dress and feed like the president’s children.  She lives in a cycle of borrowing to pay debtors and living big.  The unfortunate thing about her is that people know her class and level of income even though she thinks she is a high class lady.
Money Mother:  The only time there is peace between her and her husband is when there is money.  As far as there is no money to spend and throw around, the house becomes a war zone.
“Gbazaquine” Mother:  You cannot look for this woman in the crowd because she is everywhere.  In the church she must give a testimony, sing a special number and shout the loudest hallelujah. She will dance and sing loudest in the church or social function for everybody to notice her. 
Food Mother: This woman can eat! Her hobby is eating and she does not care.  She hates to be told to control her eating habit and will pick quarrel with anyone that tries to enforce it.  She cooks her food with a lot of “tozo” “fokpu-fokpu,” “afo anu,” and “kanda.”  The unfortunate thing however is that by the time she is done with her cooking, all these mentioned ingredients would have vanished from the pot.
Drug abuse Mother:  This type of mother likes taking drugs especially anything that is called herbal remedy.  Whenever she falls sick and visits the orthodox doctor, she does not keep to the discipline of taking the drugs as prescribed.
Temper tantrum Mother:  She is quick tempered and will throw anything within her reach at you when she gets angry.  She can say anything to her children when she gets angry with them including “God punish your mother.”
Business tycoon Mother:  This type of mother is a business mogul.  She goes to market by 5am and returns by 9pm.  The unfortunate thing about her is that she spends a greater time after the day’s business, counting her money and leaves all the work to her house girl including her conjugal duties.
Suffer Woman: This mother works hard.  Some of them are those who go to the “bush market” to buy food stuff for sale.  She pays the house rent, school fees and medical bill for the entire family.  Sadly, her husband is a drunkard or a lazy drone.  Her children too are careless and live big at the expense of their mother.
Dirty Mother:  She hardly washes her garments.  Her parlour and room is unkempt and her children are perpetual host to ring worm and eczema.
Virtuous Mother: She is godly, born again and faithful to her husband and treats him as her king. Her husband is always falling in love with her and devotes time to her.  She in turn, devotes time to care for the family.  She refused to start work early so as to train the kids well.  Helps the kids to do their homework and monitors their performance in school. She is industrious and a model of motherhood.
Political juggernaut Mother: She is an accomplished astute politician.  She is a powerful gladiator gathering chieftaincy titles and awards wherever she extends her political tentacles.  Her husband and children hardly see her.  In fact she is a virtual or online mother.
“Ogogoro” Mother:  This mother is a champion at drinking alcohol.  She is a true manifestation of the proverbial drunkard that drank the wine and ate the cup. –What some folks call, “anu chaa e fechaa cup, ata npi nmii.”
Fish brain mother: Because she travels a lot she decided to bring in a full time, full blooded lady as a house girl into the home. See the kind of text message she sends to the husband about her sudden need to travel: “Honey, praise God I have been nominated to deliver a lecture at the Alabama University. Adaobi the house girl has been instructed about your menu.  As no nonsense Christian husband, I know as usual you will not allow her to dress improperly especially when visitors are around and I have warned her too.  I will be back in three days. Bye dear…”
Correspondence mother:  She travels a lot and stays long on her journey.  She is very much in love with her job.  She is so eager about career advancement and would not mind running the home through correspondence.  See the kind of note she drops for the family whenever she has to travel: “Ngozi, as the first daughter of the house take care of your Daddy and siblings.  I will be away for a month.  Your Daddy’s food has been packed in the green buckets and preserved in the freezer and it is expected it will last for 4 weeks.  Meanwhile, I have transferred the sum of Ten Thousand Naira into your account for your feeding. You can combine whatever you buy with the noodles and macaroni in the store.”
What type of mother are you? You can also list your type if is not listed here.

Editor’s Note: The views and opinions of our guest columnists do not in any way reflect or represent the views, standpoint or editorials policy of Nigerian Hotline Newspaper.

©2014 Nigerian Hotline Newspaper