The Candle on Our Watch. Author :Eke, Gabriel Ikechukwu

The candle on our watch

How long shall we stand and watch? How long shall we solemnly ignore? How long will it take us to realize? How long will the wind blow the light off our candle?

Yes! How long I ask? A nation blessed by strong heroes, who took it upon themselves and national responsibility to war for our independence. A nation God blessed with the likes of Macaulay, Zik of Africa, Obafemi Awolowo ,  Ahmadu Bello to mention but a few. Men of stride and national passion. How much proud have we made them? If life exists after death, will they be proud in the life after to say “we were pioneer citizens”, “we were the siege breakers”,” and we set the pace”. If our national heroes were to leave the land of the dead to visit us, will they be proud on how we have turned the system? How proud will they be to say “we were from here”? Will their face light with smile when they find out that the candle they left is burning out fast and dying on our watch.

I recall the days of coup d’état I still recall Zik saying “violence has never been an instrument used by us as founding fathers of the Nigerian republic, to solve political problems”. The days of civil war, the days of dictatorship, the days of civil unrest and moments of terrorism. How did we survive such horrifying times or have we not? How did we work together as one how did we control the burning bush, how did we find the road back to peace, how did we find the way to democracy again? Did we visit the underworld for counsel? What happened to the days when naira had value? What happened to fair trial? What happened to “Giant of Africa “? What happened to our thunder? Will our candle die off on our watch? Will our mission (Nigeria) be reached?

Two scores, one decade and five years it is, after certified years of emancipation, slavery and colonialism we have survived and swam dangerous waters of national challenge, tribal and religious misunderstanding, corruption, joblessness, poor economy, poor education and hospitals with doctors and facilities that need help more than the intended patients. While we die, the masked kings of the jungle swim in national treasury fatting up there generation and the fight against corruption turns to a fight against political enemies

Who...Who? Has let this misfortune catch on us like a wild wind? Who has let this great hurricane of terrorism jump on us like a leopard on a deer, who…Who? Who has left us vulnerable like a chick without a hen, and like the prodigal son, shame the father’s name.

We all have. Yes we all have! Let it not be said that the drummer did not drum, nor the ghost did not cry. Let it be shouted today from the mountain tops that we … yes we, you and I, has let the wind blow our candles to burn out on our very watch. Let it be heard that we are our struggle. Like Sampson and Delilah we are our bane. Shall we not change? Shall we all put our legs in water and palms in our last bowl of eba waiting for the presidency? Shall we play minute rules in corruption smiling and  saying” na turn by turn” shall we all stay in queue waiting for our turn to loot the future away. If we change our mindset, and behavior and our leaders turn a new leave, if we knew we are the leaders of ourselves, the candle will surely not burn out on our watch. Let shame be cast away and let’s guard our candle with all jealousy. Hold your candle and let it keep shining.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE NIGERIA. GOD BLESS NIGERIA 

Author: EKE, GABRIEL IKECHUKWU.

  

Presidential Speech. NIGERIA @55

“October 1st is a day for joy and celebrations for us Nigerians, whatever the circumstances we find ourselves in because it is the day, 55 years ago; we liberated ourselves from the shackles of colonialism and began our long march to nationhood and to greatness.

“No temporary problems or passing challenges should stop us from honouring this day. Let us remind ourselves of the gifts God has given us. Our Creator has bequeathed to us Numbers – Nigeria is the ninth most populated country on the planet. We have in addition arable land; water; forests; oil and gas; coastline; and solid minerals

“We have all the attributes of a great nation. We are not there yet because the one commodity we have been unable to exploit to the fullest is unity of purpose. This would have enabled us to achieve not only more orderly political evolution and integration but also continuity and economic progress.

“Countries far less endowed have made greater economic progress by greater coherence and unity of purpose.
“Nonetheless, that we have remained together is an achievement we should all appreciate and try to consolidate. We have witnessed this year a change in our democratic development.

“The fact that an opposition party replaced an entrenched government in a free and fair election is indicative of the deeper roots of our democratic system. Whatever one’s views are, Nigerians must thank former President Jonathan for not digging-in in the face of defeat and thereby saving the country untold consequences.

“As I said in my inaugural speech, I bear no ill will against anyone on past events. Nobody should fear anything from me. We are not after anyone. People should only fear the consequences of their actions. I hereby invite everyone, whatever his or her political view to join me in working for the nation.

“My countrymen and women, every new government inherits problems. Ours was no different. But what Nigerians want are solutions, quick solutions not a recitation of problems inherited.

“Accordingly, after consultations with the Vice President, senior party leaders and other senior stakeholders, I quickly got down to work on the immediate, medium-term and long-term problems which we must solve if we are to maintain the confidence which Nigerians so generously bestowed on us in the March elections and since then.

“As you know, I toured the neighbouring countries, marshalled a coalition of armed forces of the five nations to confront and defeat Boko Haram. I met also the G-7 leaders and other friendly presidents in an effort to build an international coalition against Boko Haram.

“Our gallant armed forces under new leadership have taken the battle to the insurgents, and severely weakened their logistical and infrastructural capabilities. Boko Haram are being scattered and are on the run.

“That they are resorting to shameless attacks on soft targets such as I.D.P. camps is indicative of their cowardice and desperation. I have instructed security and local authorities to tighten vigilance in vulnerable places.

On power, government officials have held a series of long sessions over several weeks about the best way to improve the nation’s power supply in the safest and most cost-effective way.

“In the meantime, improvement in the power supply is moderately encouraging. By the same token, supply of petrol and kerosene to the public has improved throughout the country. All the early signs are that within months the whole country would begin to feel a change for the better.

“Preliminary steps have been taken to sanitize NNPC and improve its operations so that the inefficiency and corruption could be reduced to a minimum.

“Those of our refineries which can be serviced and brought back into partial production would be enabled to resume operations so that the whole sordid business of exporting crude and importing finished products in dubious transactions could be stopped.

“In addition to NNPC, I have ordered a complete audit of our other revenue generating agencies mainly CBN, FIRS, Customs, NCC, for better service delivery to the nation. Prudent house-keeping is needed now more than ever in view of the sharp decline in world market oil prices. It is a challenge we have to face squarely. But what counts is not so much what accrues but how we manage our resources.

“We have seen in the last few years how huge resources were mismanaged, squandered and wasted. The new APC government is embarking on a clean up, introducing prudence and probity in public financing.

“At an early stage, the federal government addressed the issue of salary arrears in many states, a situation capable of degenerating into social unrest. The APC government stepped in to provide short-term support to the debtor states and enabled them to pay off the backlog and restore the livelihood of millions of Nigerians.

“Fellow Nigerians, there have been a lot of anxiety and impatience over the apparent delay in announcement of ministers. There is no cause to be anxious. Our government set out to do things methodically and properly. We received the handing over notes from the outgoing government only four days before taking over. Consequently, the Joda Transition Committee submitted its Report on the reorganization of Federal Government structure after studying the hand over notes. It would have been haphazard to announce ministers when the government had not finalized the number of ministries to optimally carry the burden of governance.

“Anyway, the wait is over. The first set of names for ministerial nominees for confirmation has been sent to the senate. Subsequent lists will be forwarded in due course. Impatience is not a virtue. Order is more vital than speed. Careful and deliberate decisions after consultations get far better results. And better results for our country is what the APC government for CHANGE is all about.

“I would like to end my address this morning on our agenda for CHANGE. Change does not just happen. You and I and all of us must appreciate that we all have our part to play if we want to bring change about. We must change our lawless habits, our attitude to public office and public trust. We must change our unruly behaviour in schools, hospitals, market places, motor parks, on the roads, in homes and offices. To bring about change, we must change ourselves by being law-abiding citizens.

“Happy Independence Celebrations. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The List: Amaechi, Fashola, Ngigi not missing

President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial list contains a number of familiar All

Progressives Congress (APC) names such as Babatunde Fashola, former governor of
Lagos state, and Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers state, TheCable can
report.

Also nominated to be minister is Lai Mohammed, national publicity secretary of the
ruling party, and Kayode Fayemi, who lost his Ekiti governorship re-election bid in 2014
to Ayodele Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
From the south-east are the likes of Chris Ngige, former governor of Anambra state
and former senator of the federal republic; and Ogbonnaya Onu, first executive governor
of Abia state and former national chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), on
whose ticket Buhari contested and lost the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections.
Udoma Udo Udoma, a former senator who represented Akwa Ibom south senatorial
constituency at the national assembly, made it as well.
Buhari also nominated for ministerial appointment, Aisha Alhassan, who was on the
brink of becoming the first elected female governor before eventually losing the Taraba
state governorship election to Darius Ishiaku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
From his days at the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Buhari picked Malami
Abubakar, a senior advocate of Nigeria and former legal adviser of the defunct
party; Hadi Sirika, a former pilot and former CPC senator who represented Katsina north
senatorial district; as well as Adebayo Shittu, former governorship candidate of the party
in Oyo state.
Ibe kachikwu, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum (NNPC), is a
surprise appearance on the list. But with Buhari already declaring himself minister of
petroleum resources, it is likely that Kachikwu will combine his current portfolio with
that of the minister of state for petroleum resources.
Amina Mohammed, special adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on
post-2015 development planning; and Kemi adeosun, former commissioner for finance
in Ogun state; were also nominated.

Boko Haram Poisons Water Source in Borno - Nigerian Army

Press statement from the Nigerian Army

Information reaching the Theatre Command, Operation Lafiya Dole indicates that Boko Haram terrorists have now resorted to poisoning water sources like wells and streams in areas they were dislodged by gallant troops or areas threatened by offensive operations. The latest being the poisoning of the cattle water ponds in Kangallam village along Marte and Abadam axis in Borno State where a large number of cattle died after drinking water from the ponds.
Credible information available to the Theatre Command indicates that though no human life was lost as a result of the barbaric act of the terrorists, however, some cattle were killed after drinking water from some poisoned sources. The action of the terrorists is no doubt aimed at taking their own pound of flesh on the innocent citizens and livestock as a result of the unbearable offensive operations through the combined effort of the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Air Force to route them out completely from their enclaves and hide-outs all over the North East. In view of this development citizens are called upon to avoid as much as possible drinking water from unverified sources especially in locations that troops routed out Boko Haram terrorists. You are please requested to disseminate this information to the public through your medium. Thank you for your usual cooperation. Colonel TUKUR GUSAU Deputy Director Army Public Relations

Source : Linda Ikeji Blog

Sport: Man United vs Wolfburgs 2:1

United aim to bounce back against Wolfsburg.
Manchester United FC will bid to get their first points on the board in Group B when they host a VfL Wolfsburg side seeking a change of fortune on English soil.

Manchester United FC will try again to get their first points on the board in UEFA Champions League Group B when they host VfL Wolfsburg on matchday two.

• Man. United suffered a 2-1 loss at PSV Eindhoven on matchday one, but Wolfsburg made a positive start with a 1-0 home victory over PFC CSKA Moskva.

Previous meetings
• This latest encounter falls precisely six years ago to the day since the first – when United overturned an Edin Džeko goal (56) at Old Trafford to win 2-1 through Ryan Giggs (58) and Michael Carrick (78).

• The lineups for that group stage match on 30 September 2009 were:
United: Kuszczak, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidić, Evra, Valencia (Fletcher 82), Anderson, Carrick, Giggs, Owen (Berbatov 20), Rooney.
Wolfsburg: Benaglio, Riether, Costa, Madlung, Schäfer, Hasebe (Ziani 73), Josué, Misimović, Gentner, Džeko, Grafite (Martins 82).

• Džeko struck again in the return on 8 December but Michael Owen scored a hat-trick as group winners United prevailed 3-1 to consign the Bundesliga side to third place in the section.

Man. United
• United are unbeaten in their last six home fixtures in UEFA competition (five wins, one draw), including the 3-1 success against Club Brugge KV in August's play-off round.

• When United last hosted a German team at Old Trafford – Bayern in the 2013/14 quarter-finals – Bastian Schweinsteiger hit the visitors' goal in a 1-1 draw. United had begun that campaign with a 4-2 win over Bayer 04 Leverkusen in which Wayne Rooney (two) and Antonio Valencia found the net.

• Their overall home record against sides from Germany is W8 D4 L2.

• This is the first time United have entered their second game of a UEFA Champions League campaign without a point since 1996/97, when they started with a 1-0 loss at Juventus.

Wolfsburg
• Wolfsburg's only defeat in six away matches in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League was in the north-west of England – a 4-1 reverse at Everton FC on 18 September 2014. Ricardo Rodriguez got the Wolfsburg goal.

• Wolfsburg have scored on all three of their previous visits to England but lost every time.

• Diego Benaglio and Marcel Schäfer played in Wolfsburg's first meeting with a Premier League club – a 3-2 home triumph over Portsmouth FC in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage.

Ministerial List to be Made Public Next Week Tuesday.

Anxiety and suspense that trailed the transmission of the ministerial list from the Presidency to the Senate may not be over yet as Nigerians may have to wait til Tuesday next week to know the ministerial nominees.

Against widespread expectations, President Muhammadu Buhari failed to submit the much-anticipated ministerial list to the senate until after lawmakers ended Tuesday’s plenary session.

But Senate President Bukola Saraki announced this evening on his Facebook page that he eventually received the ministerial list from the Presidency at about 5PM Wednesday.

“About an hour ago, I received the list of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees from the Chief of Staff to Mr. President, Abba Kyari, and the Special Adviser to Mr. President on National Assembly (Senate) Sen. Ita Enang,” Mr. Saraki posted on Twitter at 6:06PM on Wednesday.

However the ministerial nominees may not be officially known to Nigerians until Tuesday next week owing to the timing of the transmission of the list and the established tradition guiding the announcement of the nominees.

The tradition has been that upon receipt of the correspondence from the Presidency, the senate president would read the content of the letter on the floor, after which a motion for screening and confirmation of nominees would be moved by the Senate Leader.

The names of the ministerial nominees would have been read Wednesday had the presidency conveyed it to the leadership of the Senate at the appropriate time, a senator said.

In anticipation of the list, the senate president, Bukola Saraki, had to stay beyond office hours to receive the correspondence from the presidency.

A principal officer at the Senate told PREMIUM TIMES the Senate President can only read the names on the next legislative date, which is Tuesday.

“This means that all of us will only have the privilege of knowing the ministerial nominees presented by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday next week,” a senator said.

While explaining the reason the list may not officially made public until Tuesday, he said the Senate does not sit on Mondays, Fridays and at weekends.

“If tomorrow, Thursday, were not public holiday, the list would have been announced before the Senate,” he said. “You know the federal government has announced 1st October to be a public holiday in order to mark our independence anniversary.”

On w

ednesday evening, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the presidency would not make the list public.

He explained that the responsibility of the Presidency is to convey the list to the Senate, while the Senate has the responsibility of announcing the nominees during plenary.

Primary Source : Primetime News

Nigeria Received $5bn Oil Revenue in Q3 2014.

Nigeria received about $5 billion of oil revenues in the third quarter of 2014, BusinessDay has learnt.

The huge revenues were made possible following the enactment and successful implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (NOGICDA, 2010).

In the last five years, NOGICDA has remained an impactful legislation for the nation’s oil and gas industry, with some people calling it the most significant since the Petroleum Act of 1969.

NOGICDA prescribes that indigenous operators be given first consideration in the award of contracts and licences, as well as first consideration for training and employment opportunities, and that preference must be given to domestically manufactured goods.

According to a report released Tuesday by CWC Group, a UK-based energy and infrastructure consulting firm, Nigerian content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry grew from around 5 percent to 18 percent, and 89.2 percent of marine vessels were either built in Nigeria or owned by Nigerians. This, the report said, resulted in a 40 percent increase in domestic fabrication facilities.

“In just one year, Shell Producing Companies in Nigeria awarded $2.4 billion worth of contracts to indigenous companies and Total launched the Total Supplier’s Financing Scheme worth $7.5 billion to be made available through Nigerian banks, aimed at bridging the gap between local vendors, suppliers and financial institutions,” the group further stressed in its report.

In Q2 of 2014, Nigerian firms Taleveras and Aiteo placed the highest bid for Shell’s OML 29 at the cost of $2.85 billion. In the same year, Oando Energy Resources completed its landmark acquisition of ConocoPhillips’ onshore and offshore businesses in Nigeria for $1.5 billion.

“The profile of the Nigerian oil and gas industry has gone through greater transformation than seen in previous decades; there are more indigenous players in the industry than ever before, a wider pool of skilled Nigerian professionals and indigenous asset ownership has increased steadily as has the domiciliation of manufacturing and fabrication,” said Denzil Amagbe Kentebe, executive secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).

Source: Business Day