Corp Member Commissions a N650, 000 Borehole

Posted By Yiro Abari
The primary reason why the National Youth Service Corp was founded was to foster unity among the people of Nigeria. The quest by Corp members to find recognition has however led to situations where members embark on projects which they leave behind as legacies to their host communities. Most projects of Corp members are usually minor ones, at least from the point of the financial implications. Thus, it is a big surprise to hear a Corp member commissioning a project worth N650, 000. That is exactly what Emmanuel Nkechinyere Flora from Anambra State did when she successfully commissioned a borehole for Gura Kukum at Tuduan Wada, her immediate host community in Jos North.

One day she fell sick after carrying water from a remote location to her house as a result of the difficulty of getting portable water in the neigbourhood. The water situation, according to her, is so thorny that women and children wake up as early as 2 PM to search for water, risking their lives while doing so. One choice they have is to go to the river to get water which she confessed is unsuitable for human use. These conditions compelled her to take up a challenge to drill a borehole for the people of Gura Kukum at Angwan Clinic, as a personal community project. It turned out to be the only borehole in that community of 70 000 people.

The first question that comes to mind when one hears the cost of the project is how she was able to raise the money. She said immediately she conceived the idea she went to an organization, M E Ofodile. The organization cooperated by undertaking the geophysical survey to locate a position with the best chance of getting water. Another agency, this time from the Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development, Plateau Rural Water supply and Sanitation Agency undertook the drilling of the borehole as a result of the benevolence of Idi Waziri, its Commissioner. The State’s Water Board supplied the hand pump.

The Ward Head of the benefitting community, Da Stephen P Zang could not hide his gratitude for the Corp member for her ability to do what previous government administrations have not been able to do, despite the resources available to them. He recommended Nkechinyere for an award and said he has learnt a lesson that has thought him to admonish their own children serving in other states to try to do same to their host states. He said that their quest for a convenient source of water supply in the ward dates back to 1995 and that it is surprising that a Corp member that has been able to overcome this problem for them. Within the period of their struggle for water, he says the best thing the were able to achieve was a network of pipes that have never hosted or channeled water since they were installed by one of the previous administrations. He however expressed confidence that the present administration would finally consolidate on their water needs by ensuring that portable water reaches every nook and cranny of his ward.

Recently, a local government Chairman was elected for Jos North. Da Zang expressed his awareness of the fact that the new chairman has plans for all the wards in the area. His community will hence wait patiently for their turn to benefit from the plans of the new chairman. The ward will thus give the necessary support to any government, its official or agency that is willing to do anything to help his ward.

The most basic need of all humans is portable water supply. One wonders why the problem of portable water is ubiquitous in every community East, West, North or South of Nigeria. If leaders can act with the type of determination and patriotism of Nkechinyere, we will be able to go far.

How I met Abba Bukar

Hon. Khadija

Honorable Khadija Abba Ibrahim is one of Nigeria’s handfuls of women at the Nigerian House of Reps in Abuja. She however represents a mega constituency comprising four local governments of Yobe State in North Eastern Nigeria.

Khadija is not as plain as she appears to be. She was born with a silver cutlery. To underscore the wholesomeness of the silver with which she was born, one needs to understand that her father, Waziri Ibrahim was one of Africa’s three wealthiest men at the peak of his prosperity. He founded one of the five political parties of the second republic; the Great Nigeria’s People Party, GNPP and contested for the most exalted position of President on its podium. That is not all, the first Governor of the Northern Region, Kashim Ibrahim, was her maternal granddad. She is just one in a long line of regal personalities.

Despite the towering political consciousness of the north of Nigeria, culture has kept its women behind the political horizon. The cultural conservatism of the north is so unyielding that only a few women have access to western education. Usually a unique combination of factors paves the way for a young girl to have western education. In her own case her parents, by their backgrounds were able to overcome the barrier. This prepared the way for her, enabling her to attend Edenton School Oxford. From there she went to Caldwell College in Readings also in the UK where she bagged a Diploma in Business and Finance. She then capped that up with a Degree in Business Studies and Sociology from the University of Surrey. With such an educational background the cultural barrier could not but crumble down before her. She then walked across the rubbles into politics.

Robins flock together; sparrows also flock together. It is only preposterous that eagles will not flock together. It explains why her spouse is also a legislator, a Senator. Bukar Abba is the strongman of Yobe politics that has been its governor three times.

Khadija used to be a marketing Manager of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria. Bukar Abba as a Governor gave her a position in his cabinet as a Commissioner. She accepted. The cabinet relationship however faded into a romantic relationship. They eventually became husband and wife.

Khadija loves keeping fit. Other favorite pastimes of hers involve reading the Holy Koran and novels.

Federal Character a Necessary Evil

By Aliyu Amani

The federal character prin­ciple is arguably one of the most controversial provi­sions of our Constitution.


The Radio Nigeria phone-in programme, Radio-Link, of Satur­day April 25, brought this issue, once again, to the front burner. Conscious of the fact that mass enlightenment is an inevitable weapon for the destruction of old and new myth, I herewith make my own submission to this worthwhile debate.
The phrase 'Federal Character' was first used by the late General Murtala Ramat Muhammed in his address to the opening session of the Constitu­tion Drafting Committee on Saturday, October 18, 1975. "Federal character of Nigeria," according to the CDC's report of 1977, "refers to the distinctive desire of the peoples of Nigeria to promote national unity, foster national loyally and give every citizen of Nigeria a sense of belonging to the nation notwith­standing the diversities of ethnic ori­gin, culture, language or religion which may exist and which it is their desire to nourish, harness to the enrichment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."
Those who drafted the 1979 Con­stitution justified the entrenchment of the federal character principle in our constitution thus: "There had in the past been inter-ethnic rivalry to secure the domination of government by one ethnic group or combination of ethnic groups to the exclusion of others. It is therefore essential to have some provi­sion to ensure that the predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups is avoided in the composition of government, in the appointment or election of persons to high offices in the state”
People who feel threatened by the federal character principle say it undermines merit. But I cannot see how merit could be completely sac­rificed at the altar of federal character. For one, there is always a minimum requirement for appointment into any post within the federal civil serv­ice, Armed Forces, the Police and any other agency of government. I never heard of any situation like say. candi­dates for post A from States B, C, and D must have a minimum of University degree with 3 years post qualification cognate experience while candidates for the same post A from States X, Y, and Z must possess a minimum of an Ordinary National Diploma with any number of years of experience. I stand to be corrected.
Secondly, merit is not a closed shop. -It is not the exclusive preserve of any particular section, geopolitical zone, state, or ethnic nationality. Again, I stand to be corrected. Thirdly, who says university graduates with better grades make better employees than those with lower grades? Or, paraphrasing A. M. Mainasara, who says that the ability to fire a rifle is synonymous with handling a pen or writing a good essay?
Opponents of the federal charac­ter principle also argue that it has been used to accelerate the promotion of mediocre and incompetent civil servants, military and paramilitary officers into top positions, because advanc­ing in the service is based on criteria derived from the federal character rep­resentation. In today's Nigeria, there is nowhere promotions are automatic and not based on the attainment of any further requirement. Again, I stand to be corrected.
I first came into contact with a dis­torted perception of the federal character principle years ago while serving under the National Youth Serv­ice Corps (NYSC) scheme. A fellow corps member from the East and gradu­ate of the University of Nigeria Nsuka, said they were told by their lecturers that federal character is employed even in the grading process of WAEC exami­nations to the effect that a distinction pass in the North was equivalent to a credit pass in the south; a credit pass in the North is equivalent to an ordi­nary pass in the South; while an ordi­nary pass in the North is equal to an F9 in the South. When I posed to her the question: What then is the equivalent of a northern F9 in the south, she was lost for words.
Again, some years ago when the former Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun effected the mass promotion of officers and men of the Nigeria Police, whose promotions were long overdue, I had an encounter with a newly pro­moted corporal who then resides in my neighborhood. I congratulated him on his belated promotion and he answered "thank you, but if I have been a 'notana’ I would have been an Inspector by now or even an ASP, you know promotions are faster and smoother for 'notanas' because of federal character".
I can go on and on telling stories of how the high achievements of many a northerner, accomplished through hard work and perseverance, on the basis of merit, are devalued at the cur­rency of federal character. This is the price that northerners have to pay, though we are not the sole beneficiaries of the federal character principle in the country. Apart from the disadvantaged southern minorities, many southerners pose as disadvantaged northerners to gain admission or secure employment.
The federal character principle is a necessary evil that we, Nigerians, have to endure for now; it's a sacrifice we all have to make for the emergence of the just and egalitarian society we all aspire to have. Hopefully, decades from now when our body politic had developed sufficient immunity to the virus of prejudice and discrimination, the fed­eral character principle will go the way of the dinosaur.

Nassarawa Organs of Government Are More Than Cordial

A delegation from Nassarawa State recently attended a cultural festival at Kwall in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State. Among the delegation was a member of the state’s House of Assembly, Honorable Yakubu A Faransa, who represents Awe North Constituency. The News Tower took advantage of the opportunity to discuss with the legislator.

Faransa said the relationship between the Executive and the Legislative arms of government is more than friendly. It is more of a family kind of relationship. The healthy relationship is the reason why the government of Aliyu Akwe Doma has been able to create an impression in the areas of road construction and reforms in the health portfolio.

The pages of Nigerian newspapers have recently been dominated by stories of political defection from other parties to the PDP. Faransa said it calls for concern as the development spells doom for Nigerian democracy that is now headed towards a one-party democrac if nothing is done about it. He agrees that it is indeed true that there have been decamping particularly from the ANPP and referred to the case of the governors of Zamfara and Bauchi states as examples. They were all members of the ANPP and in view of the fact that the ANPP had been the major opposition; there is indeed cause for concern. The problem according to him is the fact that Nigerians politicians see politics as a means of livelihood rather than an opportunity to work for the progress of the nation.

The legislator also answered questions regarding the two year tenure of local administration in his state. He is of the opinion that a politician, who sincerely wants to work, can achieve a lot in just one year and people should not cite two years as been two short a duration for any administrator to make an impression. He however concluded that three years would have been most appropriate.

NEPA booed on Workers Day in Jos

The Worker’s Day celebration was held in Plateau State Nigeria, as it was in the remaining 35 states of the federation and around the world.

Usually the event is marked by a march-pass by different trade unions. The electric power authority, Power Holdings of Nigeria popularly known as NEPA, their old name, was booed by the crowd to show lack of approval for their poor services which has complicated the Nigerian economic problems. The NEPA delegation compounded their situation when they sang one song that is popularly with football fans, ‘ole ole ole ole…… ole…. Ole…….’

Pensioners matched normally and later gave a speech in which they expressed their appreciation to the administration of the state for ending their woes of a very long time.
Teachers marched but refused to sing any song. It was protest to the neglect of their profession by successive administration.

Governor Jang Cuts Curfew Hours

Governor Jonah David Jang of Plateau State has further cut down the curfew hours by two. The announcement monitored on local radio says that the nine-hour curfew from 9 PM to 6 AM has now been reduced to seven hours starting from 11 PM to 6 AM.

Jang imposed a curfew in November last year when fighting broke out in parts of Jos-North following grassroots election. Jang had last year joked that he has realized that the curfew has strengthen families as fathers now go home early and as such he will not lift the restriction. Though the announcement was said jokingly the Governor appeared to have lived up to the statement. With the latest announcement, well meaning persons now feel that the curfew can as well last forever as no responsible persons will stay out beyond 11 PM except on essential duty.

Plateau State Executive Council Now Has Three New Members

The Plateau State Executive Council now has three new Commissioners. These are Professor Barnabas Mandong, Gregory Nyelong and Gayus Chidawa. This is an outcome of a moderate restructuring of the cabinet undertaken by the Governor and father of the state, Retired Air Commodore Jonah David Jang.

In the reorganization, the environment portfolio of the Ministry of Housing and Environment has been matched with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture. The Deputy Governor, Madam Pauline Tallen, ceded her additional responsibility as the Commissioner of Education. The Commissioner of Housing and Environment, Barrister Nankim Bagudu moves to Commerce and Industry while Na’Allah Mudbam of Commerce and Industry moves to Agriculture and Natural Resources. Nuhu Gagara of Information moves to Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters made vacant when Governor Jang fired the Commissioner, Benahel Andong late last year. Angela Miri, formerly of Health, moves to the Ministry of Education. Three voids were thus created in Information and Communication, Health and Housing and have been subsequently occupied by Nyelong, Mandong and Chidawa respectively.