198 Nigeria News

Tag: Nigeria

Thousands evacuated as California wildfire grows | The Guardian Nigeria News

[ad_1]

A fierce California wildfire expanded early Sunday burning several thousand acres and forcing evacuations, as tens of millions of Americans sweltered through scorching heat with already record-setting temperatures due to climb even further.

More than 2,000 firefighters backed by 17 helicopters have been deployed against the Oak Fire, which broke out Friday near Yosemite National Park, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) said in a report.

But two days after it began the blaze had already consumed more than 14,200 acres (5,750 hectares) and remained zero percent contained, the report said, adding that heat combined with low humidity would “hamper” efforts Sunday.

“Extreme drought conditions have lead to critical fuel moisture levels,” according CAL FIRE’s report.

Described as “explosive” by officials, the blaze has left ashes, gutted vehicles and twisted remains of properties in its wake, as emergency personnel worked to evacuate residents and protect structures in its path.

It has already destroyed 10 properties and damaged five others, with thousands more threatened.

More than 6,000 people had been evacuated, said Hector Vasquez, a CAL FIRE official.

“It was scary when we left because we were getting ashes on us but we had such a visual of this billowing. It just seemed like it was above our house and coming our way really quickly,” one woman who had to be evacuated, Lynda Reynolds-Brown, told local news station KCRA.

“We started getting our stuff together and that’s when I went back up the hill and looked and I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ It was coming fast,” her husband Aubrey Brown told the station.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday declared a state of emergency in Mariposa County, citing “conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property.”

In recent years, California and other parts of the western United States have been ravaged by huge and fast-moving wildfires, driven by years of drought and a warming climate.

Gore blasts ‘inaction’

Evidence of global warming could be seen elsewhere in the country, as 85 million Americans in more than a dozen states were under a weekend heat advisory.

The crisis prompted former vice president Al Gore, a tireless climate advocate, to issue stark warnings Sunday about “inaction” by US lawmakers.

Asked whether he believes US President Joe Biden should declare a climate emergency, as Biden has said he soon might, Gore was blunt.

“Mother Nature has already declared it a global emergency,” he told ABC News talk show “This Week.”

And “it’s due to get much, much worse, and quickly,” he said on NBC.

But he also suggested that recent crises, including deadly heat waves in Europe, could serve as a wake-up call for members of Congress who have so far refused to embrace efforts to combat climate change.

“I think these extreme events that are getting steadily worse and more severe are really beginning to change minds,” he said.

The central and northeast US regions face the brunt of the ongoing extreme temperatures, which were not expected to peak until Sunday and have sent public health officials scrambling.

“Numerous record highs are forecast to be tied and/or broken today in the Northeast as highs make a run at the century mark and heat indices range between 105-110 degrees (40.5-43.3 Celsius),” the National Weather Service said Sunday.

A heat emergency is in effect for cities up and down the northeast coast, from Boston to Philadelphia to Washington.

Not even the usually cool Pacific Northwest will escape the far-reaching heat, with the region expected to face several days in the 90s next week.

Cities have been forced to open cooling stations and increase outreach to at-risk communities such as the homeless and those without access to air conditioning.

Various regions of the globe have been hit by extreme heat waves in recent months, such as Western Europe in July and India in March to April, incidents that scientists say are an unmistakable sign of a warming climate.

[ad_2]

Source link

July 24, 2022
Tinubu, Ruling APC Making Moves To Lobby, Bribe Christian Association Of Nigeria Leaders Over Muslim-Muslim Ticket—Sources

[ad_1]

There is fresh information regarding how the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has initiated moves to lobby and bribe some leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to get their support for its Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
Some top APC members of the Christian extraction have kicked against the Muslim-Muslim ticket and expressed their dissatisfaction with the choice of former Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima as Bola Tinubu’s running mate.

Tinubu and Shettima are Muslims – a combination that has triggered varying reactions since the former recently announced the latter as his running mate in Katsina.
Tinubu is from Southern Nigeria while Shettima, a former Borno governor, is from the Muslim-dominated Northern part of the country.
The APC Christian leaders have described the Muslim-Muslim ticket as an insult, particularly as the party’s leadership claimed that competence was the yardstick – implying that no Christian across the north possesses this quality.
CAN and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) have both kicked against the team of Tinubu and Shettima as the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the ruling party.
Some respected party members have either quit their membership or stepped aside from the APC’s presidential campaign and are now ready to hit the streets to drive home their grievances.
The APC candidate recently met with the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, following the controversy trailing the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Sources at the weekend told SaharaReporters that Tinubu had set up a team of eminent persons with whom he was scheduled to meet the Christian leaders within the party and faith-based organisations like CAN, PFN and the Catholic, to appeal to them and secure their support.
“The APC, having failed to justify its Muslim-Muslim ticket through other mediums, have reached out to the leadership of the Christian Association in Nigeria to endorse its choice of vice presidential candidate,” a Christian leader and member of CAN told SaharaReporters.
“The APC has concluded plans to secure the endorsement of CAN towards quelling the agitations that have come about due to its choice of Senator Kashim Shettima, a Muslim as the vice-presidential candidate of the party.
“I can tell you authoritatively that APC leadership has sent emissaries to our leadership (CAN) to support or endorse the decision to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Talks are ongoing, and the inducement figure is very tempting. I won’t be shocked in the days and weeks ahead; we might see a statement from a faction of CAN endorsing the APC presidential team.
“This is a big challenge for the APC. I think it has realized that the Muslim-Muslim ticket has elicited resentment from most people who view such disposition as an affront to the sensibilities of Christians across the country.”
He continued, “My fear is that some CAN leaders may not resist the offer. It is structured in such a way that it would leave no traces behind. And the amount involved is huge. Talks are ongoing through a senior member of the association with the mandate to get the buy-in of other critical stakeholders in the association.”
The statement was corroborated by a close associate of one of the leaders of CAN. He stated that there had been tremendous pressure to appease the association.
“Before the unveiling of Kashim Shettima, some APC stalwarts reached out to the leadership of CAN, extending an invitation to attend the event. This was rebuffed by CAN, citing no moral justification to attend the event in the face of a clear lack of respect for the sensibilities of Christians in the country,” he said.
“The condition given was the replacement of Kashim Shettima as the vice-presidential candidate of the APC. The decision was hinged on the fact that other political parties respected the ethnic and religious sensitivities in the country, and the APC should not be an exception.”
He added, “I am ashamed of what is going on. I can’t believe that such a topic would be deliberated upon in the first instance. I know the money promised is very tempting, but as servants of the Lord, and at this stage, they ought to have risen above this inducement.
“Why do you think the Christian community can’t speak in one voice? Most of the members of CAN have been grandstanding. They are in the habit of taking care of themselves. If only Nigerians would realize the rot in CAN, they would henceforth take with a pinch of salt whatever statement that emanates from the association.”
An APC chieftain confirmed to SaharaReporters that emissaries had been sent to CAN leadership. He however denied the Christian leaders were being induced with cash.
“We are talking about competence over religious considerations. Talks have reached advanced stages through proxies.“
Calls put across by SaharaReporters to Felix Morka, APC spokesman were not answered or returned.

[ad_2]

Source link

July 24, 2022
Inside story of how Adeleke rode to victory in Osun — Politics — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

[ad_1]

• Saraki, Diri, Obaseki’s Role Laid Bare

The outcome of the Osun governorship election held last weekend where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke was declared winner is still a big shock to many Nigerians, especially chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), living outside the state.

However, to the party faithful residing in the state, the defeat had been foretold and was described as a self-inflicted injury.

In the election described by observers as peaceful, free and fair, the incumbent governor and candidate of the APC, Gboyega Oyetola was defeated by Adeleke, who scored 403,371votes to emerge as the governor-elect of the state. Oyetola polled 375,027 votes. Action Democratic Party (ADP) candidate, Kehinde Atanda finished a distant third with 10,104 votes.

The PDP candidate had his first shot at Osun Government House in 2018 in an election that was declared inconclusive, necessitating a controversial supplementary election in seven polling units, after which Adeleke was defeated by 482 votes. But Adeleke held on to his structure and returned to defeat the incumbent governor in 17 local councils while APC won in 13.

The fall of APC in Osun State has kept tongues wagging as to how and why the party could not maintain its hold on the state with most members blaming the unresolved internal crisis among its leaders. It is not a secret that there is no love lost between Oyetola and former governor of the state and Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. Various efforts by the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande to resolve the crisis were unsuccessful. At some point, the matter created a gulf between Tinubu and Aregbesola, who warned the National Leader of the party to “stop playing God.”

Some members of the ruling party who spoke on condition of anonymity blamed their defeat on the lackadaisical attitude of President Muhammadu Buhari, whom they said refused to intervene directly between Aregbesola and Oyetola after the efforts of Chief Bisi Akande and Tinubu failed to yield result.

The war of attrition between the duo polarised the party. Aregbesola and his supporters had accused Oyetola of reversing most of the policies of his predecessor in office in a manner that cast aspersion on the integrity of the Minister. But the governor, who thought he had to listen to the people’s outcry, did not regret reversing some policies, including the same school uniform for all secondary school students, taking over of all legacy schools by the government, half salaries for workers and other policies that had made Aregbesola unpopular before the end of his tenure.

In reacting to Oyetola’s decisions, Aregbesola’s group, The Osun Progressives (TOP), opposed the governor’s second-term ambition. They sponsored another aspirant, a former Secretary to the State Government, Moshood Adeoti to contest in a parallel primary organised by Aregbesola’s faction of the APC. Oyetola secured the ticket of the main faction and TOP members approached the court seeking to nullify his candidature and recognise the primary election conducted by its faction. But their hopes were dashed on the eve of the election by the judgment of the Appeal Court, which affirmed Oyetola as the party’s candidate.


APC sources disclosed that most members of TOP campaigned and voted for the PDP governorship candidate. “It is unfortunate that it was APC members that worked against the party. We saw them sharing money with people to support Adeleke. We know ourselves, it is no secret, that they gave the victory to Adeleke and PDP.”

It was also gathered that workers in the state had agreed not to vote for Oyetola despite acknowledging he performed better than Aregbesola in terms of welfare and payment of salaries and allowances as and when due. To the workers, most second term governors underperform and do not care about workers welfare.

Some of them who spoke to The Guardian said Aregbesola performed creditably well during his first term in office but suddenly introduced many anti-workers policies in his second term.

One of the civil servants, who pleaded anonymity, told The Guardian that “At this moment, we don’t want a second term governor because of what we went through during Aregbesola’s second term. He suddenly became a monster and paid us half our salary at the period all other states were implementing a new minimum wage.

“Besides, Oyetola was his Chief of Staff for eight years and he cannot completely absolve himself from the anti-people policies of Aregbesola’s administration. Unknown to many, Oyetola has not paid the backlog of salaries Aregbeola owed us. He inherited assets and ran away from a backlog of salaries and allowances. We campaigned against him and enlightened our people not to be persuaded with inducement during election.”

The source said their campaign against vote-buying made many electorate to reject the N10, 000 shared by APC in many polling units to accept any amount PDP offered them. He argued that the money they collected from the PDP was not inducement but “appreciation” because they had made up their minds to vote for the PDP.

Besides, the campaign against APC as a failed party that did not fulfill its campaign promises of restructuring, insecurity, inflation, unemployment and erratic power supply resonated to the grassroots, which made many to seek change.

A party source said, “The performance of the Federal Government did not help us during the campaign. If you didn’t go out and meet people, you won’t know how people loathed our party in the state. Each time we go out on the house-to-house campaign, some questions they asked us about our performances at the federal level and our promises were too difficult to answer because we cannot pretend they are not real.”


A chieftain of the party, Alhaji Saka Adegbite said: “How can we explain that we lost in Ila, Baba Akande’s local council or at Ejigbo and other areas that are APC strongholds. We thought the National Secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore will deliver all the three local councils in Ile-Ife, but we won two with slight margins. We saw it coming but we never thought it would be this bad.”

It was also discovered that in 2018, APC was strong in about 15 to 16 local councils but due to the infighting, Ife Central where APC and SDP were strong four years ago was overrun by PDP last weekend. Places like Ejigbo, Ila, Ife South, Aiyedire and others were also weakened because of the crisis, giving PDP the advantage.

Ikire and Iwo local councils also fell victim as a result of the APC fracas. Although the likes of Oluwo of Iwo in Iwo local council boasted he would deliver the area to APC, he couldn’t because of the crisis. A former SSG to Aregbesola who also contested the APC governorship primary but lost to Oyetola was strong in Osun West.

The crisis in the party worsened when the party leadership constituted the 2022 Osun State Governorship Council, chaired by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos and his co-chairman, Governor Umaru Ganduje, who were Tinubu’s right-hand men while excluding Aregbesola’s name. The development pushed most loyalists of the minister out of the party to align with Adeleke.

Last Minute Plot Against Oyetola’s Return
IT was gathered that on the eve of the election, former Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Lasun Yussuff, who also left APC to take up the ticket of the Labour Party directed his followers to vote for Adeleke.

In a similar vein, Aregbesola, who deliberately travelled out of the country, also allegedly directed his loyalists to cast their votes for Adeleke to spite the governor.

A chieftain of Osun APC, Alhaji Liad Tella described the victory of PDP “as a triumph of darkness over light” basically due to the protracted infighting among stakeholders in the ruling party. He said all is not lost, promising that the party will soon bounce back.

Fall Out Of 2020 COVID-19 Palliative
Not many people would realise that part of the undoing of APC in Osun State is the manner in which some party members allegedly mismanaged the COVID-19 palliative handouts that were supposed to be distributed to alleviate the people’s suffering then.


A commercial motorcycle, Lani, told The Guardian that Adeleke warmed himself into the hearts of many citizens of Osun not only because he dances but because he is also very caring and kind.

According to him, “Majority of us are furious with the APC government because it is full of deceit and lies. In 2020, the party deliberately hoarded the COVID-19 palliative food items meant to alleviate the suffering of the masses until we discovered the stores and broke into them. Since then, the majority of us had made up our mind that Oyetola will not get a second term.”

Saraki, Diri, Obaseki’s Role In PDP’s Victory
The PDP selected some of its most experienced strategists for the National Campaign Council. In the campaign council, three members devoted more time and resources to the campaigns, particularly in the last few days of the election. The trio, who chose to give more time to the Adeleke campaign, were former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Bayelsa State Governor, Sen. Duoye Diri, and his Edo State counterpart, Mr Godwin Obaseki.

While Diri was the chairman of the National Campaign Council, Obaseki who has known the PDP’s candidate’s elder brother, Deji Adeleke since their days in the financial sector in Lagos also felt obliged to share his experience in similar elections in 2020 when he was seeking re-election and had similar APC forces arrayed against him. His victory strategy was therefore needed and he decided to help the party in the same way the party helped him to defeat the APC forces.


As for Saraki, there were many reasons his interest in seeing PDP and the Adeleke win in Osun State. First, Osun State is a neighbouring state to his own Kwara State and he needed to ensure Osun State would not be used to sabotage PDP in Kwara State in next year’s election. Second, as the chairman of the PDP National Reconciliation and Strategic Committee (NRSC), Saraki handled the resolution of the crisis in the party in the state and is very well aware of the issues, personalities, and need for unity in Osun PDP if the party were to make any impact in the governorship polls. It thus became a challenge for him to help the Adeleke’s in making a last-minute rally of all forces and persons behind the candidate in order to defeat the divided APC.

Third, while his late father, Oloye Olusola Saraki was a colleague of the patriarch of the Adeleke’s in the Second Republic Senate, he and the late eldest brother of the Adeleke’s, Isiaka Adetunji were colleagues in the 7th and 8th Senate. Later, when Ademola, the PDP candidate replaced his late brother in the 8th Senate, he was a loyal supporter of Saraki, who was then Senate President. Fourth, the Saraki and Adeleke families remain the only two nuclear families to have produced three members of the Nigerian Senate respectively. Also, Deji Adeleke, the surviving eldest of the Adeleke brothers is a good friend of Saraki. Thus, for all these reasons, Saraki decided to throw in all the support for the Adeleke.

Saraki and his team moved from Ilorin where he had been since the eve of the last Eid-El- Kabir festival to Ede, the Adelekes’ hometown on Wednesday morning (July 13, 2022) and immediately on arrival went into a meeting with all the PDP polling agents. The venue of the training handled by the former Senate President was the Adeleke University, Ede. There, he shared some strategic lessons with the agents on how to carry out their assignments on polling day. He also emphasised to them the importance of their roles to the success of the party on Election Day.

The presence of such a dignitary not only inspired and encouraged the party agents but also emphasised to them how serious and ready the Osun PDP and the candidate’s campaign were about the election.

After the training session with party agents, Saraki drove back to Osogbo, the state capital with Deji Adeleke, the candidate’s elder brother to join PDP Governors who were getting ready to meet with ex-Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola at his Osogbo GRA residence. The meeting was actually at the instance of Saraki, who believed that Oyinlola was aggrieved and needed to be pacified and appeased to support Adeleke. The party was able to appease Oyinlola and reconciled him with Adeleke.

Saraki went back to Ede that same night to meet with the PDP governorship candidate and his team where the meeting reviewed the preparation for the election and checked if all the necessary boxes had been ticked concerning critical areas of election preparation – security and logistics.

By Thursday morning, Saraki and his team were in Osogbo to coordinate the PDP mega rally. On Friday morning, Saraki commenced another series of meetings with aggrieved party stakeholders from each of the three senatorial districts. The first set was the people from Osun East. This particular one took up most of the day. At the end of the day, the issues appeared resolved and the party seemed ready for a good outing on Saturday.

On Election Day, as early as 6:00 am, Saraki was already in the situation room to start coordination. He was also joined by the two governors to supervise the situation room. They were practically getting reports from party agents, field officers, and observers across the state. The three men and their teams did not sleep until the results were announced in the early hours of Sunday morning.

It was because of their critical roles that soon after being pronounced the winner, Adeleke prostrated before his elder brother, Deji, held tightly to each of Saraki, Diri and Obaseki for their kind interventions that saved the day.

MEANWHILE, unlike in the APC where those who were disgruntled with the party successfully worked against Oyetola’s victory, some of the former PDP chieftains, such as Dr Akin Ogunbiyi; House of Representatives aspirant in Ede Federal Constituency, Ayodele Asalu (Asler); factional state chairman of PDP, Wale Ojo; running mate to the PDP candidate in the 2018 governorship election and former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Albert Adeogun, who left the party angrily to the APC couldn’t wreak much havoc on the party’s chances.

The overwhelming popularity of Adeleke dynasty and the love from people of the state notwithstanding, his shortcomings and controversies surrounding his reported Christian-Christian ticket and capacity worked in favour of the major opposition party.

Also speaking, a member of the Senate, Senator Francis Fadahunsi described the victory as liberation of the poor masses in Osun.

He said: “This is a victory for democracy and liberation for the suffering masses in Osun. We have to thank Senator Bukola Saraki, former Senate President, incoming Vice President of PDP, and Governor Okowa, these are the people that really backed Osun PDP including Adeleke’s senior brother, Deji Adeleke. These are the people who stood by Senator Adeleke to the last.

“We have to also thank Ademola for his large-heartedness and bravery, if not, he would have run away. What will happen in 2023 is already known, we are going to win the presidency and all National Assembly seats with the backing of the incoming Governor Ademola Adeleke and Governor Seyi Makinde. Automatically, we will win the elections with the cooperation of the party leaders. It’s time for Osun to work and Governor-elect Ademola Adeleke is here to make it work,” Fadahunsi said.

[ad_2]

Source link

July 24, 2022
Gunmen kill five in central Nigeria: police

[ad_1]

Unidentified gunmen on Thursday attacked a community in central
Nigeria’s Plateau state, killing five people, local authorities
said on Saturday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

The five victims belonged to a family in the Fusa community in
Jos East local government area of the state, police said in a
statement, adding that “frantic efforts” were made to arrest the
gunmen.

The most populous African country has been hit by a series of
armed attacks this year, which caused the death of civilians and
security operatives.

[ad_2]

Source link

July 24, 2022
High cost of 5G devices affecting launch in Nigeria —IBM

[ad_1]

As Nigeria prepares for its 5G rollout in August, Temitayo Jaiyeola speaks to Vice President, Global Telecommunications Industry, IBM, Craig Wilson, on the possibilities, challenges, and affordability of this new technology, and how Nigerians will benefit from it

A lot has been said about the potential of 5G. With your experience in the industry, how will 5G transform Nigeria’s digital economy?

The immediate opportunity for 5G in Nigeria’s digital economy is to use Fixed Wireless Access to bridge the gap in enhanced broadband connectivity for homes and enterprises, both large and small. Key sectors in the region that could benefit include manufacturing, agriculture, financial services and oil and gas industries. An important benefit of 5G is that it enables open ecosystems to thrive. Open, cloud-native architectures and operating models will allow Nigeria to develop a vibrant local ecosystem that can help drive innovation and economic development. 5G growth in the region is expected to develop rapidly in the second half of the decade and continue into the 2030s. The economic impact of mid-band 5G will be around 0.4 per cent of GDP in 2030 in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Since 4G rolled out, penetration has peaked at around 40 percent in the nation. Will the uptake of 5G perform better than this? How can operators roll out this network in an effective way?

GSMA Intelligence believes 4G will remain dominant, with 5G connections making up only 3% of total mobile connections in Africa by 2025.

The roll-out of 5G will be carried out in phases, beginning in urban areas with a need for high-quality broadband, and Nigeria expects to have 5G coverage of major cities by 2025, according to Nigeria Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Pantami. The International Telecommunication Union said regional governments must streamline regulatory conditions to facilitate 5G deployment, providing regulatory flexibility for innovative 5G propositions and addressing the consumer barriers to adoption – both of which will contribute to effective rollout.

Nigeria has a big Internet access gap, is 5G primed to bridge this gap? For 5g to have an impact on the continent, how much investment is from a continental perspective?

A sweeping majority of Nigerians – 88 per cent – lack access to smartphones with 4G-like speeds for Internet connection and the capacity to use the Internet on a daily basis, according to the Alliance for Affordable Internet. Based on the access and backhaul infrastructure available in the country, a model for the deployment of 5G services in urban, suburban and rural environments must be developed. Today, 4G network services are only available in urban areas, so a continued investment toward rural areas is essential. A phased 5G network rollout, starting from operational fibre optic and microwave node locations, is recommended for an impactful transition. Today, Ethiopia, Botswana, Egypt, Gabon, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe are all testing or deploying 5G. Nigeria issued spectrum licenses in March, and is hoping to possess the widest 5G network in the continent this year. The Nigerian Communications Commission has indicated that it is targeting August 2022 for commercial deployment.

How will 5G accelerate the fourth industrial revolution on the continent and in Nigeria?

The most impactful benefit of 5G is by creating an underlying platform that enables existing technologies to be deployed in new and better ways, for example IoT. While the claims that 5G will usher in the fourth industrial revolution are bold, they are indeed possible. Opportunities in agriculture and healthcare are key verticals where 5G will enable significant transformation in both operating cost models and in the ability to introduce exciting new innovations that were not previously possible.

With 5G, seamless online actions are set to create more data traffic from the continent. What are some of the security challenges this might pose?

The move to 5G networks and distributed architectures introduces a few cybersecurity challenges to be addressed, including: Expanded threat surface across a hybrid cloud network, with a vast number of distributed end points that need to be secured; complexity and scale heightening the need for AI and automation to be infused across the security landscape; a shortage of cybersecurity skills and personnel. The best way to safeguard against these inherent challenges is for 5G Operators to “design in” security across every part of their organisation, with modern DevSecOps methods and CI/CD processes.

Faster Internet will create a better backbone for Over The Top services such as WhatsApp calls, chats, and more, threatening traditional revenue streams of telcos. What can telcos do to create new revenue streams?

Telcos must use the move to 5G and cloud native technologies to regain control of their business and their architectures. A study last year by the IBM Institute of Business Value found that a majority of high performing telecom operators expect to continue to outperform the industry by adopting secure, open hybrid cloud architectures and ecosystems to capture “platform control points” consistent with digital businesses.

There have been questions raised on the affordability of 5G. Is this a legitimate concern?

The cost of a 5G device currently runs around $350 USD, making them unafforadble for many. However, some device manufacturers have commited to bringing costs down to around $150 USD. Still, many industry analysts believe that 5G devices need to be at about $50 USD to support mass adoption across Africa. The high cost of 5G phones is a major impediment, and it impacts the launch the fifth generation network on a commercial scale when there are not enough mobile devices capable of receiving it. We can see the effects on 5G rollout when we compare Africa to other continents. Globally, the rollout of 5G has been in process since 2019. Yet deployment across Africa has been much slower, with only 6 African countries having launched the network.

COVID has made digital the new normal on the continent, how prepared is Africa, and Nigeria? And what are the key lessons if the continent is to leverage this new normal?

While Africa has been hit hard by the COVID pandemic, workers and enterprises have responded to the challenges with great resilience and adaptability. However, the pandemic fundamentally altered where and how people work, upending many long-standing norms and practices. One of the most prevalent changes to training and collaboration has been the growth of digital training courses, which have been adopted by more than half of enterprises. The three key takeaways to leverage this new normal are: The first is the deregulation to accelerate the growth of large firms. The growth of large firms increases a country’s resilient economic transformation. With more assets, they are inherently more resilient and are better equipped to endure economic storms. Policymakers should prioritize policies for facilitating the entrance and growth of such firms, through domestic deregulation and encouraging foreign direct investment. The second one is agricultural productivity-led growth and the development of the agro-food system. A second strategy leading to increased resilience and transformation is to improve agricultural productivity-led growth and the development of the agro-food system. The third is the support for smaller businesses. Globally, small businesses have been hit the hardest by the pandemic. Those businesses that are best able to adapt to digital ways of working (including remote work) and that are more insulated from global supply chain constraints are in a better position to rebound. Additionally, the ability to improve productivity or reduce cost through cloud based “as a Service” consumption of compute and connectivity has benefitted many sectors of the economy – both large and small.

What are some of the efforts IBM is making to improve the telecommunication industry on the continent?

There are a few significant efforts IBM is making in Africa to support telecom development, including Digital4Agriculture Initiative. IBM’s Digital4Agriculture Initiative (D4Ag) aims to foster African start-ups in the agricultural sector and strengthen the long-term living conditions of local small farmers by increasing productivity and quality. With the help of digital expertise from IBM Services and access to accurate weather data provided by IBM’s The Weather Company, D4Ag is helping over 36 African agricultural companies better prepare for the digital future. Another one is satellite towers. IBM is working with a global business partner to introduce AI based solutons to reduce cell tower energy costs and improve sustainability. We are working with a large regional telecom operator to pilot this solution in Africa. The other one is micro-lending via Blockchain. In many emerging markets, food retailers along with smallholder farmers, struggle to secure loans and develop a credit history. And without the proper financing, scaling a business is nearly impossible. To tackle this, IBM has rolled out a pilot withh Kenya-based food logistics startup, Twiga Foods, to facilitate micro-lending options for food vendors using blockchain.

Increasing data traffic is inspiring a rise in the number of data centres in Nigeria and Africa. What level of new growth is expected in the data centre sector? Is Africa primed for fullscale local cloud hosting capabilities?

Technologies such as the cloud, big data, and IoT generate more data through high-end applications and need more efficient systems for data processing. These technologies are growing the demand for advanced IT infrastructure in the African data center market. Enterprises prefer servers that can reduce space in the data center environment without affecting performance. The competition between branded and ODM server suppliers will continue because multiple enterprises opt for server infrastructure based on open community designs (OCP). The increasing demand for server shipments will continue to grow moderately as enterprises move to the cloud or colocation platforms for their IT infrastructure operations. The data centre market in Africa has attracted significant investments in recent years, led by Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Ethiopia. Global cloud service providers, including IBM, are expanding their presence with new cloud regions. In fact, more than nine data centres in Africa have added as much as 30,000 square feet or more of additional space each in 2021. Several local governments are supporting these initiatives by developing special economic zones, and industrial parks, which provide tax exemptions for data center development.

[ad_2]

Source link

July 23, 2022
US heat wave soars as California wildfire rages | The Guardian Nigeria News

[ad_1]

Tens of millions of Americans already baking in a scorching heat wave braced Saturday for record-setting temperatures to climb, while a major fire ravaged part of California.

The country’s central and northeast regions face the brunt of the extreme temperatures, which are not expected to peak until Sunday at the earliest and have sent public health officials scrambling.

The sweltering heat has also increased the risk of blazes, such as the major Oak Fire, which broke out Friday in California near Yosemite National Park, where giant sequoias have already been threatened by the fire in recent days.

The Oak Fire — described as “explosive” by officials — went from 60 acres to more than 6,555 (2,650 hectares) in less than 24 hours. Concentrated in Mariposa County, it has already destroyed ten properties and damaged five others, with thousands more threatened.

As of midday Saturday, it was zero percent contained, according to California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The department said the fire’s activity was “extreme” and that emergency personnel were working to evacuate residents and protect structures.

More than 400 firefighters assisted by water-dropping helicopters are fighting the blaze, the department said, but the Los Angeles Times cited officials who said it could take a week to contain.

“Explosive fire behavior is challenging firefighters,” the department added on its website.

Climate scientist Daniel Swain tweeted that the fire was “exhibiting consistently extreme behavior,” while stunned social media users posted images of billowing plumes of smoke — with the LA Times reporting that the cloud reached up to 30,000 feet into the air.

In recent years, California and other parts of the western United States have been ravaged by huge, hot and fast-moving wildfires, driven by years of drought and a warming climate.

– Record-breaking heat –
Evidence of global warming could be seen elsewhere also, as more than a dozen US states were under a heat advisory.

Central US metropolitan areas such as Dallas and Oklahoma City were expected to reach highs of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (above 38 degrees Celsius) for at least the next five days.

A heat emergency is in effect for cities up and down the northeast coast, from Boston to Philadelphia to Washington.

Not even the usually cool Pacific Northwest will escape the far-reaching heat, with the region expected to face several days in the 90s next week.

The high temperatures have already caused an uptick in emergency calls for heat-related illnesses.

Cities have, meanwhile, been forced to open cooling stations and increase outreach to at-risk communities such as the homeless and those without access to air conditioning.

“This is really one of the things that we recognize in Oklahoma — heat is the number one weather-related killer across the United States. It far surpasses any other” nature-related cause of death, Joseph Kralicek, director of the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency, told CNN.

Residents of the central US city were expecting temperatures to reach 103 degrees Fahrenheit Saturday and up to 106 degrees on Sunday and Monday.

The nation’s capital Washington was predicted to reach temperatures at or near 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday, with New York not far behind.

“Look for daytime max temps to eclipse the century mark in the Central Plains and record-breaking high temps from the Central Plains to the Northeast today,” the National Weather Service said in a forecast.

“Sunday grows even hotter in the northeast,” it added.

Severe thunderstorms are expected in the Midwest Saturday, with the potential for damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes, the NWS said.

Various regions of the globe have been hit by extreme heat waves in recent months, such as Western Europe in July and India in March to April, incidents that scientists say are an unmistakable sign of climate change.

[ad_2]

Source link

July 23, 2022
Chad rebels return to peace talks | The Guardian Nigeria News

[ad_1]

Several Chadian rebel and political groups have said they are resuming peace talks with the country’s military government in Qatar after pulling out last week.

Around 50 groups have been negotiating for more than four months in Doha, with the aim of holding an inclusive national dialogue to pave the way for elections.

But a host of them withdrew from the talks on July 16, accusing the government of seeking to destabilise peace efforts.

On Saturday, Colonel Adoum Yacoub, a spokesman for 19 groups that had pulled out, told AFP their concerns had been addressed.

“We had discussions with the mediator with whom we shared our grievances in writing and we received all the answers,” he said.

Brahim Hissein, a spokesman for Chad’s main armed opposition movement, the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), said they had spoken to the mediator on Thursday and decided to “give the talks a new chance”.

Government spokesman Abderahman Koulamallah praised “the foresight of (his) brothers”.

On Thursday, the Qatari mediator handed a draft peace agreement to the rebel groups and the Chadian government.

Mahamat Mahdi Ali, the leader of FACT, told AFP: “There are two or three points to discuss… but it’s a good start.”

The impoverished Sahel state was buffeted in April 2021 when its veteran president, Idriss Deby Itno, died fighting rebels, including FACT.

His son, Lieutenant-General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, immediately took over at the head of a junta.

He dismissed the government, dissolved the parliament and repealed the constitution, vowing to hold “free and transparent” elections in 18 months — a deadline that he said could be postponed once if “certain conditions” were not fulfilled.

The rebel groups who withdrew on July 16 did so less than 24 hours after the younger Deby’s administration announced that a national peace dialogue ahead of elections would start on August 20.

The rebels said the new date had been set without any consultation, describing it as an attempt to “exclude” many of the armed groups and their political allies from the dialogue.

[ad_2]

Source link

July 23, 2022
More disruptions in local aviation as fuel, forex crises bite harder | The Guardian Nigeria News

[ad_1]

• Airfares Spike, Route Network Shrink Over Low Fleet Capacity
• Sell What You Buy, Stakeholders Tell Operators

With aviation fuel at its all-time high and foreign exchange unavailable to meet obligations on schedule, local air travellers should brace up for tougher days ahead.

Operators have warned that the dire situation, now feasting on airlines’ operations, would worsen flight delays and cancellations, further reduce frequencies and routes, and push airfares higher as more carriers battle to stay afloat.

Apparently in agreement with the airlines, aviation stakeholders have urged the operators to review the ticket subsidy practices and pass the actual costs to consumers, instead of “cutting corners” on high operating costs – a no-no in standard operating practices.

Already, the warning signs are all over the sector. This week, the oldest operating carriers in the country, Aero Contractors, suspended operations over its depleted fleet capacity to operate reliable scheduled operation. The airline has about eight out of its nine airplanes on the waiting list for routine maintenance, but lacks foreign exchange to purchase spares and meet obligations.

Less than 24 hours after Aero closed shop, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) suspended Dana Air operations with immediate effect, citing inability to run safe operations and meet financial obligations.

With 10 local airlines suddenly down to eight, the effects are telling on local travels. On one hand are the stranded travellers on less viable routes. On the other are high frequency routes that are now affected by high fares.

As of yesterday, The Guardian learnt that most seats on the busy Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Kaduna routes are fully booked for the weekend and early next week. Where available, the prices range between N75,000 to N110,000 for one-way economy seats. Round-trip tickets range between N130,000 to N180,000, depending on route, airline and time of purchase.

A frequent traveller, Akeem Oloyede, lamented the galloping rise in airfares. Oloyede said: “It gets frustrating to receive the same fares we used to pay for international trips as the new fare for local and less than an hour travel. It is unaffordable.

“The most annoying part is that there is no guarantee that the airline will operate on schedule, if they operate at all. I just had a flight to Owerri cancelled after the travellers had waited for hours. The airline officials have no apology whatsoever. It is a shame!”

The Chief Operating Officer of one of the airlines noted that the airlines were faced with multiple challenges of fuel and capacity constraints.

He narrated that out-of-operation Dana Air has a fleet of nine aircraft and daily flights network on Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Owerri and other routes.

“Following its exit, those are routes that are now further devoid of flight options. There will be scarcity and disruptions. Those routes that have alternate airlines will push up prices seeing a spike in demand. Think of those people who depend on flight to get in and out of those places to avoid being killed or kidnapped on the road or rail.

“Aero Contractors has good connectivity between the North and South regions. Those routes will suffer and miss their operations. So, is the industry growing bigger or smaller? The revenues that they also generate for the airport authority, regulators and ancillary services are also on hold. That those two airlines are out is not a gain for others in operation, because they too are struggling to serve what they have. No airline has access to forex at official rate, but the black market rate of over N623/$! Which airline can afford that and still pay creditors on time? So, when I say that we are in a mess, that is what I mean and it is only going to get worse for the entire industry,” he said.

The umbrella body for the carriers, the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), had raised the alarm over the skyrocketing cost of aviation fuel and the fate that await scheduled reliability and some distressed member airlines.

In a memo to the NCAA requesting an upward review of fuel surcharge, Chairman of the AON, Abdulmunaf Sarina, lamented that in addition to the crippling effect of intermittent shortages of Jet A1, the price has risen from N420 per litre in February 2022 to over N833 per litre this week.

“This has greatly increased the operational cost of airlines by well over 130 per cent. Yet, airlines are unable to increase fares and as well suffer from unavailability of foreign exchange to conduct their operations.

“In order to forestall a backlash and total shutdown of the system, airlines are hoping to resort to an introduction of a fuel surcharge of between 25 – 40 per cent of Neutral Unit of Construction (NUC) as a way of offsetting the additional burden brought about by increased fuel cost bearing in mind that jet fuel accounts for about 40 per cent of total operational expenses,” he said. . However, President of the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), a think-tank group of the local sector, Dr. Gbenga Olowo, said the sector remains deregulated; hence operators should sell airfares at the prevailing market realities.

Olowo added that to do otherwise was to encourage “cutting corners to save cost”, which would be very dangerous for all .

He said: “Given these uncontrollable factors of production in the airline industry and operators selling what they buy, demand will definitely drop, but much better than cutting corners and planning an accident.

“If a trip fuel is 4000 litres for a one-hour Lagos-Abuja jet flight, for example at N800 per litre, which gives N3, 200, 000. At a load factor of 100 passengers, it means fuel cost per person is N32, 000. That is approximately 30 per cent of total cost. Therefore, it will translate to N107, 000 tariff for one-way journey. Period.”

By comparison, Olowo noted that PHCN has introduced Premium Tariff on power and those who can afford it are settling for it. He added that the aviation sector should not be different.

He warned: “This is not the time for frivolous and reckless competition or uneconomic patriotism. Operators should intensify cooperation, collaboration, consolidation, prune schedules to minimise perishable seats and maximise load factor.

“The spirit of Spring Alliance must be strengthened. The sector must not negotiate an accident. The NCAA is encouraged to be more vigilant to watch those cutting corners,” Olowo added.

Aviation security consultant, Group Capt. John Ojikutu (rtd), reckoned that the critical state of affairs requires the apex regulator, NCAA, to be most active in checking the books and safe operations of the airlines.

Ojikutu noted that the operators’ complaints were perennial and should have been resolved by concerted efforts of both the government and airline operators that built their business plans around the realities.

He said: “The spike in fuel prices did not start today nor did it start earlier than five years ago but about 12 or 15 years ago, and Aero being the oldest airline after Nigeria Airways should know better than the rest. Prices have been irregularly increased almost monthly in spite of what the government called subsidies to the fuel marketers.”

He added that in the interim, the NCAA should audit the airlines’ books yearly and that of other aviation agencies every four years, to avert a disaster.

“That is what the NCAA regulations say. But we blame the NCAA for most of the things that are happening. In the days of Dr. Harold Demuren (former Director General of the NCAA), they were proactive and took actions when it was necessary. We are now seeing lethargy from the NCAA.

“But it is better than not doing it at all. The audit of Dana should have been done long before now, especially when it became very glaring that the airline is massively owing aviation service providers, fuel marketers, workers and others. This could lead to cost-cutting and eventual accidents. There are two audits that should be held and they are safety and financial audits. All other airlines should be audited to know how strong they are,” Ojikutu said.

[ad_2]

Source link

July 23, 2022
Duru: Why Southeast is supporting Tinubu’s presidency | The Guardian Nigeria News

[ad_1]

Nze Chidi Duru, a two-term member of the House of Representatives, is currently the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He spoke to LEO SOBECHI on the heels of the unveiling of Senator Kashim Shettima as the party’s presidential running mate, that the Southeast would not be missing at the discussion table in the emerging Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Presidency, stressing that the party has recorded many achievements in the Southeast to improve its bragging rights.

With the present noise about same faith ticket, do you think APC could still emerge on the first ballot?
I believe and am very confident that APC would emerge February 2023 and will retain power, government. I was one of those that worked with Ambassador Babagana Kingibe when he ran to become the presidential flag bearer of SDP (Social Democratic Party). We went to Jos and we competed against amongst others, MKO Abiola and Atiku Abubakar and we came second. And, in the collective wisdom of the party and the presidential candidate at that time, MKO Abiola, the lot fell on Ambassador Kingibe to be his number two.

As it is today, it was also then; there was a long line of reasons why it should not be, there were also reasons why a different combination should have been combined and that also throw up the possibility of Pascal Bafyau.

For the politicians, what was important is structuring the combination in a way that addresses the need of the party, not just to win election, but also to address the issue of capacity, competence and to address the issue of coming together to deliver the common good for the country. It is a way of telling the country, ‘we hear you, we understand what you are saying. The concerns are very legitimate; by the way, it cannot be discounted.’

But, we are bringing a combination that will address all the issues that we are talking about in Nigeria. What do Nigerians want? We want a government that can listen to you; we want a government that can address the concerns of Nigerians, we want a government that can arrest the days of the locust. We want a government that can address the security challenges that we have in the country as of today, provide employment, put food on the table, make sure that Nigerians, wherever they are, as it was in those days, are proud wherever they are to be called Nigerian. And that is the possibility that this combination represents for the people of Nigeria.

And like we said, at the end of the day, the combination is open for Nigerians to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and there is also the alternative and that is the alternative of the north again retaining power through Atiku Abubakar. The PDP combination goes against the grain of what we used to know in Nigeria, which is the north holds power, it goes to the south, after the south, it goes back to the north.

But then, in clear disregard of that known convention, the tradition that we know it, we are having a political party that have always depended on the south to retain power consistently within the political dispensation arrogantly telling us that power must remain in the north through Atiku Abubakar. And, on top of that, the base of PDP is southeast and not only considering somebody from the southeast, chose his vice presidential candidate from a different zone.

So, these are combinations that are open for the people of Nigeria to make a choice and I believe that when we go into the campaign, when the whistle of campaign starts in September, as we believe; this message begins to get across, Nigerians will decipher and know which party better represents their interest.

I think that at the end of the day, the will of Nigerians will prevail, whosoever, any political party that Nigerians vote for, will be the political party that will take over power in 2023 and we will stick with that government for the next four years.

Will you subscribe to the notion that the emergence of Peter Obi on Labour Party amounts to distraction of this calculation?
I think that Peter Obi is a man of great standing, he was once the governor of Anambra State and he has a swath of followership across board and he is well regarded and respected. We have two dominant political parties in Nigeria, they have been tried and tested and they have done very well in Nigeria and leadership will always revolve around these two political parties.

I belong to APC, we believe very strongly that APC will form the government in 2023. We think that given the level of support and given what the candidate we have elected as our flag bearer in APC brings to the party and the negotiations that will take place to reassure the people of the southeast, that they belong to Nigeria and they are part of Nigeria, that every efforts will be made, and no efforts will be spared in ensuring that the demands of the people of the southeast are looked into, that southeast will play their part in ushering in that government in 2023.

APC has been showing great capacity to influence the political dynamics of Southeast, but do you see a future for the party in the zone come 2023 elections?
I believe, yes. In the sense that as you know before now, other than Imo State, where we had an APC government, when Rochas Okorocha was the governor of Imo state, APC had progressed to not only retaining the state, but have also gained one additional state in the southeast, which is Ebonyi State, and if you looked at what had happened in the last one year or two, there is a growing acceptance, even if it is not the way we will like to see it, to the extent that people are open to engage in a discussion around the party and what the party represents in many parts of the southeast, in particular the three remaining states which is Anambra, Enugu and Abia.

It is very unfortunate that because of the internal division in Anambra State, Anambra could not come together to deliver the state, but prior to the party primaries of APC in Anambra state, the political class and those who mean well and that can deliver in their wards, in their local governments, in their senatorial districts, we are all in APC. It was as a result of that division within the party that caused a friction and it was not possible to harmonise that led to the poor outing of the party in Anambra in November 2022.

And we also believe that with what we have seen in the last one month or two following the holding of the party primaries in Enugu and Abia, it represents a great potential in the state, that there is a possibility that APC may gain one additional state in the southeast, if you know that only three states are up for grabs in the current exercise in the gubernatorial elections that will take place in March 2023.

Outside of Anambra and Imo that are off-season election, the rest of the three states in the southeast are up for grabs, which is Ebonyi, Enugu and Abia. The party is upbeat that we may again another state in the southeast.

During the unveiling of Kashim Shettima, there were concerns in the Southeast that zoning or selecting the presidential running mate from Northeast presupposes that Southeast should also have been considered for the presidential ticket. How far does this argument factor into the 2023 calculations?
There is not denying the fact. It is factitious, it was not engineered; but I would like to see it basically as happenstance. If the candidate of the party did not come from the Southwest and if the candidate himself did not express a preference for Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate, who happened to come from Northeast, that argument will be moot to the extent that what is primary here is looking at who takes the ticket of the party and who flies the ticket. The consideration of who becomes number two is a matter that is open primarily to the candidate, who is number one, and of course in consultation with the stakeholders of the party.

And, for so long, I know that the North-eastern part, as well as the South eastern part of the country, have for good reasons made a claim that the zone is now ripe and the conditions are ripe for the president of the country to come from that particular zone.

It will not, therefore, have happened that our candidate in APC will come from the Southwest and then any other person in the South would be the vice presidential candidate of the party. So, naturally, it will go to the north and in this instance, it went to His Excellency and Senator Kashim Shettima, who happened to have played a very strong role in the emergence of His Excellency Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, our flag bearer.

And, on the basis of that, I mean, when the shortlist was done on who could be the potential VP, it was not difficult, given his (Shettima’s) track record; given his experience, his reach and particularly also, that he cut across and straddles two important arms of government, having been a state governor and now a legislator. Those experiences will come to weigh in government to choose him as the vice presidential candidate of the party and there are arguments for that. There is also an argument for why the southeast should have a slot in becoming the president of the country.

There are insinuations in some quarters that the refusal by Senator Anayo Rochas Okorocha not to participate in the 2014 presidential primary worked against him as much as his insistence on imposing his son in-law as the governor of Imo state to succeed him…
I would not want to delve into the realm of speculation or conjecture. I could only say that he (Okorocha) as well as other aspirants offered to fly the flag of the party in 2023 and in the considered opinion of the delegates that voted in the national convention of June 7, 2022, they voted differently and they voted for our candidate, Ahmed Tinubu, who is now the candidate of the party.

Every other consideration is something I cannot speak to and one is not very much informed on what could be the reason for his (Okorocha’s) current status in politics. It will be left for historians and scholars to document his current status in the political sphere and then students of history, who read it would be better informed so that we can learn from it.

There is also this argument that having come from the fragment of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), his infighting within the party, failure to offer leadership, instead choosing to antagonise the current Labour Minister, Dr. Chris Ngige, former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, vitiated the effort at membership recruitment into APC in the southeast during his tenure. Do you think there is any element of credibility to those assertions?
I think largely, what we need and what we still require in the Southeast is the consensus building for stakeholders of the party to close ranks, come together and work for the benefit and interest of members of the party and the party in general. There cannot be one tree in a forest; everybody is equally important in helping to build the political party.

It may have happened that at some point, people will assume the position in power, in authority or in government bequeath one with the title of being the leader in a particular environment, whether in the ward, local government, state and zone without of course taking into account that politics is what it is: The ability of people to come together, define their common goal and then work together to achieve the common goal, which is, how do they present their manifesto, their ideology and message it in such a way that the electorate will be able to understand that. And then, they being trusted with the responsibility by electing them into office, to be able to bring about the fulfilment of those philosophy and manifesto and ambition that they have orchestrated.

Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu is a well respected leader of the party, not just in the Southeast, in the country and within the party; so is Chris Ngige and many others who have not been mentioned that have also done their best in promoting the party, as well as Owelle Rochas Okorocha as many other stakeholders in the southeast.

We need a new chapter opened. And that chapter is to build on the experiences of the past and then hope that our leaders will be able to close ranks and come together and understand that unless and until you deliver in the party, deliver your zone or deliver your state to the party, your bargaining right and your bragging right is significantly reduced in comparison to others that have delivered their zone to the party.

And we think that this lesson learnt, we also believe that it will help us going forward to do the right thing as we continue to tell our people from the southeast that look, we need to come under one umbrella, we are not saying put all our eggs in one basket. The reality on the ground today is that we have two dominant political parties and that political party must be such that we should engage reasonably and the way you can engage is to also come with your followership, the electorate behind you, in a way that suggests to the political party that the people are receptive of the ideals of the party.

From your personal assessment, do you think there is optimum synergy between the two governors of the party in the southeast?
I think that more than ever before, our leader in Imo and Ebonyi States have demonstrated capacity to work together and where there are issues to iron out, they have shown maturity in the way they relate to one and the other. And, we also know like the adage says, ‘you cannot have two captains in a boat; one predominates.’ And Hope Uzodimma, obviously was earlier in time governor of APC in the southeast before the coming in of His Excellency, Dave Umahi. Of course, there is a difference in the leadership of Hope Uzodimma in the Southeast.

We also think and believe that both of them have worked in such a way to give comfort, particularly in the other three states, where we do not have an APC government, like Abia, Enugu and Anambra states. We will continue to look up to their leadership and their guidance to midwife this zone in a way that the zone can then win significantly and then make a significant imprint in the forthcoming elections next year, starting with the National Assembly election, the presidential election and of course, the state Houses of Assembly election. It is only under their guidance that we will be able to provide this.

In the last seven years, the APC administration has delivered visible infrastructural development in the Southeast, especially the much talked about Second Niger Bridge, the Enugu-Onitsha, Enugu-Port Harcourt highways. Apart from all these, we may call bonus, do you think the party from the southeast will be making specific demands from the party for the incoming dispensation by way of appointment of positions as a kind of bargain for votes?
Politics is all about bargaining and it is all about discussion. It is also about reaching out and making your demands and the people of Southeast, as well as the people of the other five geo-political zones in Nigeria, are more than entitled to make a claim in the government of Nigeria more so, if the government in place is a government produced by APC.

And like you have rightly pointed out, the messaging of the efforts of the government, the current government which is an APC government in the Southeast, has not been well told in a way that our people will appreciate that more than at any other time in the history of this current democratic dispensation, this government had done so much for the people of the southeast. The biggest big-ticket development in Nigeria is taking place in the Southeast and that is the Niger River Bridge and the development surrounding it.

And when people talk about the Niger Bridge, they seem to look at basically the construction of just a bridge. It is much more than that. There is so much infrastructural development that went beyond the construction of the bridge across the River Niger, including the basic road infrastructure and the complete development and improvement of the Onitsha city centre. It all encompasses this development that we are talking about.

So, it brings change in life style, it brings changes in the way people relate, it will expand the economic activities not only in the southeast, but also across the region and then really return Onitsha to what it used to be, which is the commercial nerve centre of the Southeast and Nigeria. And we can also talk about the Onitsha-Enugu road dual carriageway, which is currently ongoing, as well as the one from Enugu to Port Harcourt and of course, the railway lines that will also cut across the place.


We did warn that we cannot afford to put our eggs in one basket. It was important that the people of the southeast actually give a listening ear, not just to one political party, but also to the two dominant parties in Nigeria, which is APC and PDP. Unfortunately, it would appear that there was a more inclination towards PDP to the extent that we lost our bragging right. We lost our negotiation power in the emergence of the constitution of the people in power in the current dispensation. Were it not for the benevolence of the leadership of the country, the President, some of these developments that came to the Southeast would not have come.

When it came to sharing the spoils of office, it became very difficult for the people of Southeast in APC to put their feet down and to negotiate from a position of strength. That was why, even when we were having a legitimate claim, and the possibility that it could make sense for the presidential candidate of the party to come from the Southeast, they couldn’t actively make that demand, because, we couldn’t come to the table with the votes of the people of southeast.

And yet, PDP that the people of the southeast voted over the years, from 1999 to date, as a political party with disdain could not even look at the southeast and say to the southeast, ‘we will give you number one slot in our political party.’ Southeast lost the opportunity. Not only did they lose this opportunity, they also lost the opportunity to provide the number two man to the PDP presidential candidate, so it was a double loss.

And I am beginning to see, people are also thinking that maybe the point that was raised that we made in 2019, which we made very strongly that we need to grant a possibility for our people to look at the opportunity that presents itself and on that basis come to the party, vote APC. Enable the party leaders in the southeast to come to the negotiation table to make a reasonable demand as would be the other geo-political zones in Nigeria.

So, when we do that, I think the government that is coming in 2023, will be able to consider among others what is possible, what can be done to help the people of the southeast.

Apart from Sen. Orji Uzo Kalu, there seems to be no likelihood that APC will produce a ranking Senator from Southeast to suggest a possible Senate Presidency…
It depends on what comes to the southeast and there have always been a doctrine of necessity and sitting here, I could look and see the possibility of one or two others who have been in the National Assembly that are running under the ticket of the APC coming to the National Assembly from Imo State.


We have Osita Izunaso, who is running from the Orlu Senatorial zone. Very experienced, he has been in the House of Representatives, he has been in the Senate, he has been a National Organising Secretary of the APC, he is rounded, he is well experienced and he qualifies as a ranking Senator.

We have from Anambra State, a member of the House of Representatives who have been to the house for the third term (Chukwuma Umeoji) and then the people of Anambra State in our party looked at it and for the reasons that he should advance, thought that he should move to the Senate and run as a Senator and which we the people of Southeast and Anambra State in particular see reasons as we believed he would, he is also qualified to stake for that position.

And of course, like you said, we have OUK who is from Abia State. Highly regarded and respected within the political firmament, he is a very strong voice in APC. And so, the southeast is not lacking in men and materials that will potentially clinch any position that will be zoned to the southeast should that happen. But, at the end of the day, it is important to say at this point that the micro-zoning of who gets what have not happened. What has happened as of today is that we know that our presidential flag bearer is from the Southwest. We know that our number two man is from the Northeast.

And then, the other four geo-political zones will then have to stake a claim as to the other positions that may be available, which I think in the coming months, will become very apparent and clear as to who gets what in terms of the leadership of the National Assembly and then of course, the prime positions that will become available in the executive wing of the party.

Does it worry you that in political party development in Nigeria, there is a lack of research and development as in the days of NPN?
It is a big issue, but I don’t think it is something to worry about or something to hold a political party to account or it becomes a blame game, what has happened traditionally over the period. The line has become blurred over the years, because political parties are not held to account to their manifesto and their philosophy and what they represent. It has become a tool or basically, a platform to seize power and hold on to power.

I think as we begin to segregate and begin to mature in the political space, we will go back to what it then was when political parties are noted for what they stand for. It was unthinkable in those days for any of the members of, for example, Action Group, to move over to another political party and still retain his position. The person will be considered to be a pariah and if you go to do election you will fail, but the thin line is there.

So, I think APC have represented the capacity to document what they believe in and in the directorate, you have a directorate of planning, research and documentation. Yes, could we have done better on the basis of all the big research work, the research that went into what we can do for Nigeria and what Nigerians can expect from APC? Possibly not.

Could we have exercised more discretion in some of the things that we do? Yes, of course. Could we have given Nigeria better alternative, of course we could have, but the point still remains the think-tank is there and that we can still give hope to Nigerians and tell Nigerians that this is the kind of government we like to deliver to them come 2023 and thereafter.

[ad_2]

Source link

July 23, 2022
Nigeria could ban motorbikes in bid to stop terrorist raids

[ad_1]

Despite a huge backlash, officials said the nationwide ban was a necessary sacrifice to deal with a proliferation of terrorist groups and armed gangs that threaten to overwhelm the giant West African country.

In recent years, Nigeria’s security services have struggled to deal with armed bandits staging hundreds of attacks in the northwest of the country. This adds to the decades-old fight against al-Qaeda linked jihadist groups in the northeast.

The Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), a splinter group of Boko Haram, attacked a prison in Abuja earlier this month and freed more than 800 inmates. It is one of only a few times that terrorists have attacked Nigeria’s capital city – in a worrying sign that security forces have failed to keep marauding jihadists at bay.

In March, armed bandits attacked a train travelling from Abuja to the northwestern Kaduna State, taking hundreds of passengers captive. Reports suggest that the bandits cooperated with Boko Haram in what officials have called “an unholy handshake”. Kidnapping for ransom has snowballed into a widespread security threat in the region as hundreds of children and babies have been taken from schools in Kaduna State over the last year.

The nationwide ban is the latest in a string of failed attempts by the government to restore peace and security to the troubled nation.

In 2017, officials earmarked $1 billion from Nigeria’s vast oil wealth to buy weapons and security equipment to fight terrorists in the northeast. The government bought six A-29 Super Tucano planes for $593 million from the US last year, in a controversial deal that critics said would not address the root causes of jihadism and insecurity.

[ad_2]

Source link

July 22, 2022