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Friday, 27 March 2020

Nigerians drag TB Joshua over his prophesy that Coronavirus will end March 27

TB Joshua had prophesied that the new Coronavirus, COVID-19 will come to an end March 27th and Nigerians are now trolling him as the virus is still a pandemic.
While speaking to his church members last week, TB Joshua said:

“This month (March), before 27th it (Coronavirus) will be over. Nigerians troll TB Joshua over his prophesy that Coronavirus will end March 27
“By the end of this month, whether we like it or not, no matter medicine they might have produced to cure whatever.
It will go the way it comes. “If it is not medicine that brought this to the world, medicine cannot take it out.” “The noise of coronavirus would be silenced before the end of March 2020”, Joshua added on Tuesday while answering several questions related to the coronavirus outbreak on his official Facebook Page.

Nigerians have taken to their social media page to troll him, see posts below.

TB Joshua should have listened to egungun be careful o! Motor for no jam ham.- @Tobycriz

TB Joshua is currently in the Lab Mixing Agbo Jedi and Dr Igwodo Goko cleanser together.. Agbo + Goko Cleanser = Coronavirus cure. @Nsukka_okpa Same

TB Joshua that said Hillary Clinton will win the elections? Lol. Una get time. – @boy_riggy

We still have a few hours before today ends. TB Joshua myst be shaking right now… – @MightyTobias_ TB

Joshua’s prophecy has failed as we all knew it would. But morons will keep following him. This is the delusion of religion. @praisegeorge TB JOSHUA should better come online.

It’s time to call His God again so he can tell him what’s up.

DG school to land Agency Mourns Distinguished Senator Rose Oko

TheEaglesVoice News. ,

...Says Late Senator.Dr. Rose Okoji Oko, has paid her dues in Cross River State and Nigeria. She deserves to be honoured, even at her demise.

"Coronavirus panic saved my life"

TheEaglesVoice News. ,

...my panic saved my life

Soldiers rescue nine kidnap victims’, kill 24 bandits in Katsina, Zamfara

TheEaglesVoice News. ,

Troops of Operation HADARIN DAJI, have rescued nine persons made up of 7 males and two females, from some kidnappers in Katsina and Zamfara states respectively at the weekend.

It was further learnt that the soldiers also recovered 17 rounds of 7.62 mm of AK 47 rifles and one motorcycle, including 42 cattle and 38 sheep.

A statement signed by Brigadier General Benard Onyeuko, Acting Director, Defence Media Operations, Defence Headquarters said the troops had on March 19, 2020, while responding to a distress call on the movement of bandits with rustled animals within Gurbin Magarya, Kwari and Garin Gado villages of Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State shot dead 24 suspected bandits and recovered four AK47 rifles, two locally made pistols and 3 Dane guns.

While appealing to members of the public to avail the troops with useful information, he said: “the general public is hereby encouraged to provide credible information to the Armed Forces, just as the Nigerian military and other security agencies remain resolute towards the security of lives and properties.”

Why I hate Buhari - Osuofia

TheEaglesVoice News. ,

Nollywood actor Nkem Owoh, popularly known as Osuofia has vowed never to forgive President Muhammadu Buhari for making his family go into mourning and grief after he ordered the execution of his younger brother, Bartholomew Owoh.

Bartholomew alongside Bernard Ogedengbe and Lawal Ojuolape was publicly executed by Buhari when he was a military Head of State after the trio were caught trafficking drugs.

Back then, the offence was not punishable by death but with coming to power, Buhari enacted a decree that made drug trafficking offences carry the death penalty.

Despite pleas by Nigerians and the international community for the young men to be spared, Buhari was adamant and made sure the young men who were aged between 26 and 30, were publicly executed.

That singular action, according to Osufia, threw his family into untold grief and sorrow and hence his decision never to forgive Buhari for as long as he lives.

In a recent interview, the comic actor said that whenever he turns his television and sees Buhari, he feels so much anger and to maintain his sanity, he has to put off the TV as he cannot imagine a man who ordered the execution of such young men presiding over Nigeria.

Even though it has been over 20 years that his brother was killed, Nkem Owoh narrated that his family has still not come out of the grief and anytime he sees Buhari on TV, he finds it hard to control his emotions.

“Anytime I see Buhari on TV or even in real life, I find it hard to control my emotions as I often break down in tears,” the actor began.

“Yes, my brother committed an offence but at that time, the crime did not carry the death penalty but Buhari came and passed the decree that killed my brother and the other young men.

The crime they committed did not prescribe the death penalty and at most, they could have been sentenced to prison terms but despite pleas from well-meaning Nigerians and the international community including Amnesty International, Buhari turned deaf ears and my brother was killed, cut down in his prime.

If he had been sentenced to a prison term, he could have become reformed and a different person after serving out his jail term.

He was only 26 at the time he was killed; he was a first offender and I am sure if he had been jailed, he would have learnt his lessons and become a better citizen.”

Nkem Owoh who has acted in over 200 Nollywood movies, also added that the trauma the incident caused led to the death of their father who did not recover from the ordeal, ending on this sober note:

“How then can I ever forgive a man who dealt my family such a devastating blow? And anytime I remember he is the president of this great country, I weep bitterly. But I pray God should forgive him.”

10 reasons Why So Many Nigerians Are Denied Visa to The Us

TheEaglesVoice News. ,

So many Nigerians who visit American embassy to collect American visa and travel out of the country, in most cases, usually meet some obstacles, that eventually result in the denial on visa. That is the bitter truth. Your quest to leave the country for America can be cut short at the American embassy.

It is common in many embassies, that after everything might have been processed, the embassies, only issued a few persons visa, while others go home without a visa, and this is not only peculiar to the American embassy. However, in the case of Nigerians, l will be giving you in this article, the reasons why so many Nigerians are denied a visa to the US.

Reasons Why So Many Nigerians Are Denied Visa To The US
Below are some of the reasons why so many Nigerians are denied visa to the US, and I will give you 10 reasons.

1. Failure Of Asking Agent Basic Questions
One of the reasons why so many Nigerians are denied visa to the US is that, they have failed in asking their agents basic questions. To avoid denial of visa to the US, Nigerians should always ensure that their travel agents or their consultants who they used, ask them all the basic and relevant questions before they submit Nigerians applications, otherwise they will be denied visa to the US or encounter difficulty in securing their visa.

2. Lack Of Travel History
When Nigerians lacked travel history, the embassy can possibly doubt them perhaps, suspecting them for dubious intentions. For instance, once you present your passport at the embassy, one of the criteria for issuance of visa is that the embassy will ask for the number of times or countries you have travelled to before.

However, that does not mean that you cannot be given a visa if it is your first time, but you have to get a genuine reason why you want to travel with complete requirements. They are denied a visa because as first-timers, they did not do their homework proper.

3. False Documents
Another reason why so many Nigerians are denied a visa to the US is that perhaps their documents are false. So many Nigerians are guilty of this practice.

When you are not able to provide all the original documents that are demanded by the embassy such as, Certificate of Occupancy, and bank statements, including all the other documents, it will be difficult to secure American embassy. They are denied a visa to the US because of replicating the original certificates.

4. Unable To Explain Source Of Income
Another reason why so many Nigerians are denied visa to the US is that they have failed in explaining their source of money. It is a must that they explain convincingly the source of their money found in their individual bank statement, otherwise, they may have difficulty in getting their visa or standing chances of being denied visa to the US.

This is to beat American thinking, because to them, they are thinking that you want permanent entry into America, and it is incumbent on you to prove them otherwise. So one of the ways to prove the embassy otherwise is by presenting evidence that you get strong economic reasons that when you travel out, you will come to visit or return to Nigeria.

5. History Of Visa Refusal
Another reason why so many Nigerians are denied a visa to the US is that of history of visa refusal. Once the embassy noted that, you have a history of refusal of American visa, or perhaps, if they saw that you have a history of such refusals from different embassies, they may probably think that, you are desperate to leave Nigeria, and they will deny you visa to the US.

6. Poor Interview Skills
Another reason why so many Nigerians are denied a visa to the US is that they have failed in articulating clearly the reason they want to travel. And another reason is, you can have difficulty in securing American visa if you respond poorly to interview questions, and travel interview can be very tricky, that is why, as a Nigerian who want to travel to the US, you must be well mannered and also prepared properly before you attain travel interview.

7. Lack Of Sufficient Funds
Another reason why so many Nigerians are denied a visa to the US is that they do not have sufficient funds to take care of them during the travel adventure. Travelling to America from Nigeria is never a cheap journey. You have to get so much money for travelling as a way of making ends meet.

The embassy is to be satisfied first beyond doubts that there is money with you and that, you are comfortable before you are allowed to leave Nigeria for America. From your bank statement, the embassy will see that your money is intact, and that, you can handle your money well. So much is to be done with money, otherwise, the American embassy will deny your visa to the US, they do not want you to go there and become a burden to them.

8. Lack Of Home Ties
Another reason why so many Nigerians are denied a visa to the US is that they lacked home ties. No home ties mean no visa or you may encounter difficulty before you obtain one. You have to get home ties to be able to obtain an American visa.

Suppose you do not have home ties such as family, and kids, and business, and land properties including any others thing that can easily bring you home when you travel,, you can be denied visa to the US. You must present at the embassies the prove that you have home ties or something that may convince the embassy that, there are things that can always bring you back home.

9. Failure To Response Properly To Interview Questions
Another reason why so many Nigerians are denied a visa to the US is the failure to respond properly to interview questions. Responding to travel interview questions can be Nigerians greatest undoing in their quest to obtain an American visa.

Imagine how to travel interview is going on smoothly, and suddenly one officer comes up with a question, and you have not prepared for such a question. And any weak and feeble answer given by a Nigerian can actually lead to denial of visa to the US.

10. Applying For Visa Not Consistent With Lifestyle
Another reason why so many Nigerians are denied visa to the US is that most of them applied for visa that is not consistent with their lifestyle. When applying for an American visa, they must be sure that they are applying for a visa category that is consistent with their lifestyle, otherwise, they will either have difficulty in getting their visa or will stand changes of being denied a visa to the US. Type of visa include, vacation packages which involve singles, or couples, or families and even businesses on occasion, such as Valentine, and Easter, and Summer or even Christmas get-aways; to America.

Conclusion
Your quest to leave Nigeria for America can be cut short at the American embassy. It is common in many embassies, that after everything might have been processed, the embassies, only issued a few persons visa, while others go home without a visa, and this is not only peculiar to the American embassy. However, in the case of Nigerians, l have given you in this article, about 10 reasons why so many Nigerians are denied a visa to the US.

Nigeria Confirms First Case Of CoronaVirus In Lagos

TheEaglesVoice News. ,

Deadly coronavirus diagnosed in Nigeria.

Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi. [Twitter/@FollowLASG]

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, has recorded its first case of the deadly coronavirus disease.

In a statement, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) says : "The Honourable Minister of Health (Osagie Ehanire) has announced a confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) case in Lagos State.

"The case, which was confirmed on the 27th of February, 2020, is the first case to be reported in Nigeria since the beginning of the outbreak in China in January 2020.

"The patient is clinically stable and is being managed at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba.

"We assure all Nigerians that measures are in place to respond appropriately.

"We are working with the Lagos Ministry of Health to identify contacts and initiate response accordingly. "

The coronavirus has killed nearly 3,000 people and infected over 80,000 globally.

Most of the victims are in mainland China.

The hemorrhagic disease was first diagnosed in the Chinese city of Wuhan, with a population of 11 million residents, and has spread to 12 countries since that time.

Sporting events and summits have been cancelled or rescheduled as the disease ravages the world.

The coronavirus is airborne and symptoms begin to manifest after 14 days. You could transmit the disease before symptoms begin to manifest.

Precautions include regular hand washing, using a hand sanitizer, using a nose mask and avoiding contact or proximity with infected persons.

Lagos has a population of 20 million people and is Nigeria's economic capital.

Full list of Ministerial Nominees forwarded to the Senate by President Muhammadu Buhari

TheEaglesVoice News. ,

Ikechukwu Ogar - Abia
Mohammed Musa Bello - Adamawa
Godswill Akpabio - Akwa Ibom
Dr Chris Ngige - Anambra
Sharon Ikeazor - Anambra .
Adamu Adamu - Bauchi
Maryam Katagum - Bauchi
Timipre Sylva - Bayelsa
George Akume - Benue
Mustapha Baba Shehuri - Borno
Godie Jerry Agba - Cross River
Festus Keyamo - Delta
Ogbonnaya Onu - Ebonyi
Osagie Ehinare - Edo
Clement Agba - Edo
Adeniyi Adebayo - Ekiti
Geoffrey Onyeama - Enugu
Ali Pantami - Gombe .
Emeka Nwajuba - IMO
Sulaiman Adamu - Jigawa
Zainab Ahmed - Kaduna
Hadi Sirika - Katsina
Abubakar Malami - Kebbi
Sabo Nanono - Kano
Maj Gen Bashir Saleh - Kano
Ramatu Tijani - Kogi
Lai Mohammed - Kwara
Gbemisola Saraki - Kwara
Olorunnibe Mamowora - Lagos
Babatunde Fashola - Lagos
Subairu Dada - Niger
Olamilekan Adegbite - Ogun
Tayo Alasoadura - Ondo
Rauf Aregbesola - Osun
Sunday Dare - Oyo
Paulen Tallen - Plateau
Rotimi Amaechi - Rivers
Mohammed Maigeri Dengaji - Sokoto
Saleh Momoh - Taraba
Abubakar D Aliyu - Yobe

THE MAN BEN AYADE AND THE JOURNEY SO FAR...COME WITH ME.

TheEaglesVoice News. ,

By Chief Angela Ogeyi Odey Team

(1)Ayade converted over 1000 contract staff at the Cross River Waterboard to permanent staff.

(2)Ayade employed over 50 or more lawyers in the state ministry of justice.

(3)Ayade converted 1,500 DOPT casual staff to civil servants

(4)Ayade revamped the three moribund model schools in Abi,Akpabuyo & Yala to it present functional status & teachers were employed to carry out full academic activities.

(5)Ayade is employing over 2000 teachers & 500 security staff to fill in existing gaps in our public schools under the state universal education board (Subeb)

(6)Ayade has approved the employment of 1000 nurses to fill in the existing vacancies in the state owned health facilities.

(7)Ayade started & completed the only toothpick company in East of the Niger at Ekori Yakurr LGA

(8)Ayade started & completed the largest single hall garment factory in Africa with over 3000 work force at present

(9)Ayade started & completed the only automated Rice seedlings factory in Africa

(10)Ayade is constructing a 21 mega power plant to ease the incessant power outage in the state,the facility is at 98% completion

(11)Ayade is constructing a cocoa factory at 85% completion

(12)Ayade is constructing an ultra modern rice milling factory in Ogoja at 85% completion

(13)Ayade is constructing the only pharmaceutical company in the South south geopolitical zone of the country 90% completion

(14)Ayade link the long disconnected people of Eastern & Western Boki with a solid bridge & the construction of the east west Rd in the region.

(15)Ayade is constructing a dual carriage way from Nfom in Yala LGA cutting across Ogoja, Bekwara to Obudu LGA/Obanliku,asphalting in progress.

(16)Ayade is constructing the pylons, pole company in Akamkpa at 50% completion

(17Ayade has the highest number of political appointees in the country numbering over 6000

(18)Ayade is one of the very few governors in the country that have paid up to October salaries.

(19)Ayade has build/renovated over 200 schools in the state

(20)Ayade is building a Canadian science/technical school in cross river state.

(21)Ayade is constructing a resettlement centre for Bakassi returnees in the state

(22)Ayade procured over 80 pieces of patrol vans for security agencies in the state

(23)Ayade procured 59 Tricycle Ambulances for our rural health centers

(24)Construction of noodles factory at 50% completion.

(25)construction of Calachika farm for export of all types of poultry products.

The list is endless.

Vote Ayade Vote wealth Creation 2019.

MY TRANSITION HOUR: Goodluck Jonathaan book launch!

TheEaglesVoice News. ,

The Presidential Election Results

Jonathan said of the 2015 presidential election result: “I knew what was coming the day before I called General Muhammadu Buhari. I had reports on the polls around the country. It was clear the results were not going to favour me. Apparently, there were many instances of irregularities. There were series of problems with card readers, resulting from widespread technical hitches leading to the non-uniform application throughout the country.

“For some inexplicable reason, INEC had been able to achieve near 100% distribution of Permanent Voter Cards in the North, including the North East, which was under siege with the Boko Haram insurgency but failed to record a similar level of distribution in the South which was relatively more peaceful.

“Social media was filled with all manner of stories, pictures and videos. I was settled in my mind that I was not going to be the sitting President pointing out these infractions and accusing the opposition and the very INEC I helped to strengthen.

“The world saw my ordeal at the polling unit in my community in Bayelsa State, where the card reader refused my PVC, even after we tried repeatedly during accreditation. And it was the same with my wife and my mother. It was a moment that exposed the shortcomings of INEC.

“However, I was heading towards peace. Stopping the election on voting day would have been like detonating an atomic bomb. After we managed to vote upon filling the Incident Forms, I left Bayelsa for Abuja to monitor the elections and collation of results all over the country from the 29th to 31st March, 2015.

“The country was tensed. I had to do something. I could no longer wait for the collation of the final results. The pressure on the country was palpable. In Lagos, people were ready to burst loose on the streets and in the North; the stage was set for envisaged violence. One of my party’s agents at the INEC National Collation Centre in Abuja, Elder Godsday Orubebe eventually got into a heated argument with the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega. That further raised the tension in the country. Everyone was expecting the worst. I knew it was time to douse the tension.

Why I conceded defeat

“I was fully informed about the manipulations, intrigues, intimidation and betrayals. The consequences of not conceding were only better imagined. My natural instinct for peace automatically surfaced. I was going to make a decision which reflected my commitment to that ideal. This is the foundation of my essence. In my periodic projections into the future, I did not see how I would be presiding over any kind of chaos. I was prepared to promote the peace, unity and progress of Nigeria.

“This is a huge sacrifice, but I hope my readers believe me when I say it turned out to be one of the easiest decisions I ever took while in office. With my mind made up, I knew it was time to inject peace into the tensed polity, especially before INEC completed collation.

“I was in my living room with some ministers, aides and friends. Among them were the Coordinating Minister for the Economy/Honourable Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka and Waripamowei Dudafa, my Senior Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs.

“They were recommending sundry alternatives, but I was quiet in the midst of their discussion. I hugged my thoughts, figuring out how to do that which was best for the country. My personal interest was receding rapidly and the interest of Nigeria looming large. I excused myself and left the sitting room. I walked into my study. Even here, my mantra was a strong circle around me, supporting and comforting me. Let the country survive. Let democracy survive. My political ambition is not worth people being ‘soaked in blood’.

“More reports flowed in and I could not wait anymore. The announcement of the final result could take issues out of all our hands. It was time for me to take action and bring peace to the nation. I felt I was destined by God at that point in time to inject the peace serum and douse the palpable tension in the country.

“I reached for the telephone and placed a call through the State House operators at about 4:45 pm. A peace I had never felt since my political sojourn, descended on me. It showed me where I had been in the past 16 years and where I was then. I smiled at the thought of what I was about to do. I waited calmly for the person at the other end of my call to answer.

Buhari: “Hello Your Excellency!”

Me: Your Excellency, how are you?”

Buhari: “I am alright, Your Excellency”

Me: “Congratulations!”

Buhari: “Thank you very much Your Excellency …”

“For several seconds the line was seized by the loudest silence I have ever known. Then we had a brief discussion. I could sense his relief too. He knew what could have been. Here is a man who had contested three times and lost. Maybe my gesture humbled him against his expectations because he thanked me and we talked about the handing over processes.

“Everywhere all over Africa, Asia and other parts of the world, countless deaths have been recorded on the scores of elections and power disputes. I mentioned Cote d’Ivoire earlier, where people died in their thousands during post-election violence. A similar scenario had unfolded in Kenya. African nations are more prone to post-election violence than other parts of the world. Only very few African nations have not experienced post-election violence on a very grand scale or some bitter power tussle fed by tribal or ethnic sentiments.

“I hung up the phone, confident that my decision was right for Nigeria and would probably have a great impact on Africa. This may well be the beginning of a new perspective to power; a perspective which places national interest above personal preference. It should not always be about winning.

“After my conversation with Muhammadu Buhari, which lifted my spirit greatly, I felt better and lighter; it was time to break the news to my Ministers and aides. I wandered back into the living room. These are people I came to know after a period of time. I anticipated what their response would be.

“In my new found calm, I stood before them and told them what I had just done. The elections were over. I had called and congratulated Muhammadu Buhari on his victory. It was time for all of us to move on. Stunned silence greeted the room for some time and after they overcame their shock, they all congratulated me.

“My Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka, sought my permission to tweet my phone conversation with Muhammadu Buhari. I obliged and he did. The country was no longer waiting for the declaration of the election results. The nationwide tension automatically dissipated as though a red hot piece of iron had been dipped in a bowl of water.’’

Oyedepo to Buhari: Resign, get out of office

Eje Peter News. ,

Oyedepo to Buhari: Resign, get out of office

Jesusegun Alagbe

By Eje peter

The founder and presiding bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, aka Winners’ Chapel, David Oyedepo, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to resign over persistent Fulani militant herdsmen killings.

In a YouTube video posted by the church’s official page, the cleric made this call on Sunday at its headquarters in Ota, Ogun State.

With this development, Oyedepo has joined other notable clerics – including the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan; and a former Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Lagos, Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie – who have asked Buhari to quit his position over failure to secure the lives of Nigerians.

The cleric told his congregation that although he was not partisan, he would not be alive and not talk about the massacre of Nigerians, especially in the Middle Belt, by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

Speaking on the theme, “Enough is enough,” he said, “When I was talking in 2015, people were saying my own was too much, now everybody can see what’s happening. What has moved forward in anybody’s life? You don’t know it’s war. Why are they attacking the Christian communities? Why has nobody been arrested? I can tell you this, the authorities and the powers that be are behind them.

“I will never be partisan; Jesus got me out of it in 1984. But I will not be alive to see innocent people massacred.

“We must wake up and push this evil back. Not one of those so-called herdsmen – they are jihadists – has been brought to book till date. Herdsmen don’t shoot; they have been here all along. They are just taking cover under the herdsmen to assault innocent citizens. They wake up in the night and slice innocent children to pieces. Yet, you have a government in place. What!

“The most honourable thing for any non-performing leader to do is to resign. The most honourable thing is to resign. That’s my own for Mr President. Resign! Get out of office! Even our Islamic friends in the North are calling on him (Buhari) to resign. Because that’s the noblest thing to do. Or are we going to look at one system destroy a whole nation?”

Oyedepo also warned Nigerians against the ceding of land to the Fulani herdsmen for ranching, as proposed by the Federal Government.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:https://theeaglesvoice.blogspot.com/2018/07/no-man-of-honour-will-return-to-pdp.html

He said, “I’m going to say this and I’m not going to be tired. This (Nigeria) will never be a Fulani republic. That is not our terms of agreement. It will remain a secular nation till Jesus returns. It’s not just (about) land, it’s (about) heritage.

“Forever, I stand on the fact that no government has the authority to collect land from those who own it and transfer it to another person because on the other side (presumably the north), it never happens.”

(TEVB)

Plateau killings and Ezekwesili’s moral urgency

Eje Peter News. ,

Plateau killings and Ezekwesili’s moral urgency

By Eje peter

By a curious twist of history, Nigeria may be back in the terminal days of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s inept watch. At the time, as the Boko Haram insurgents triumphantly and murderously occupied one Nigerian town after another, trailed by heavy causalities, all we got from the Presidency was the squeak that ‘Boko Haram would soon be a thing of the past’. Usually, the press statements, which were cold comfort anyway, sounded flat, as if they had been written before the latest atrocity was committed. Until Jonathan was voted out of office, Boko Haram, in spite of a dying minute’s pushback motivated by electoral calculations, never became a thing of the past.

Today, we do get some action and presidential visits from the Muhammadu Buhari administration, as one Middle Belt community after another is flattened by suspected Fulani herdsmen. But the action comes after mass killings and spectral atrocities that evince the scent of war. Then, there is a swinging to action: Law enforcement is mobilised, surviving families are condoled, a few arrests are made, and then silence, until the next round of mayhem and massacres.

I don’t think President Buhari is unconcerned about the sprawling killing fields of North-Central Nigeria, of which the slaughter of over 100 people in Plateau State is the latest gruesome manifestation. Buhari himself has recently forcefully spoken out to rebut charges that he is doing nothing about the escalating disaster in the Middle Belt. However, whatever steps are being taken or contemplated, including the possible overhaul of the security agencies, are coming too little and too late to arrest the slide to serial bloodletting undergirded by allegations of ethnic cleansing and land grabbing thrown at Fulani militias.

Inertia has several cousins, such as benign neglect, feet dragging, wisdom after the event, shoving to the back burner or acting just to be politically correct. Illustratively, we can ask the question whether the deployment of a special military task force could not have occurred on the very day the news of the tragedy filtered around the country and the nation’s leaders all gathered in Abuja for the closing session of the All Progressives Congress national convention. Better still, since the widespread and intense massacres of communities in Plateau were characterised as revenge killings (revenge for stolen cows) by the Miyetti Allah, could not security institutions have got a whiff of the planning and battle rehearsals and saved the nation and humanity the illogical and bizarre conclusion of bloodshed on a scale that beggars belief?

In contrast to halting and staggered responses to humanitarian tragedies, such as the carnage in Plateau State, was the resolute action and virtually lone protest on Tuesday of former Minister of Education and convener of the Bring-Back-Our-Girls group, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili. Defying mounting odds of possible arrest and brutalisation, Ezekwesili walked from the Eagle Square in Abuja to the gate of the Presidential Villa to deliver a message to Buhari requesting him, in the name of all that is good, “ to stop the killings”.

Ezekwesili’s courage and defiance is about moral urgency, commitment and passion for what is decent, humane and right. She could have found a thousand excuses not to act so boldly. She could have calculatingly, in the hope of being appointed to a government position, should the APC win the 2019 elections, reneged. But she edified us all by sticking out her neck for justice and voting for an orderly and well governed Nigeria. She deserves our kudos, even as she throws a challenge, impliedly, to civil society, nationwide, to rediscover its lost mission and mandate of bringing truth to the very precincts and barricaded walls of power.

At this point, however, this writer digresses to bring in a short take. “Sadly, Nigeria evokes the paradox of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a treasure stove of minerals and precious metals that nonetheless remains desperately poor. Indeed, the Brookings Institution has recently categorised Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world”. The speaker is Dr. Olusegun Demuren, a former Director – General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority at Wednesday’s Faculty of Social Sciences Open Lecture, held at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye. Addressing the theme, ‘Public Governance and Sustainable Development’, Demuren, following two welcome addresses by the Dean, faculty of Social Sciences, Professor I. A Ademuluyi and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ganiyu Olatunji, respectively, zeroed in on the obstacles to sustainable development in Nigeria. He referred to such drawbacks as the lack of access to electricity of 42 per cent of the population, the lack of innovation and data driven policymaking, the accountability and transparency deficits, as well as the low level of nationalism.

The guest lecturer argued that the more Nigeria is able to overcome the hurdles to sustainable development, the more she will cross the threshold from her present backward status to a modern and efficient sate that looks increasingly like the club of powerful nations. Regretting the rising number of Nigerians who have relocated abroad to pursue their studies or in search of fulfilling careers, Demuren submitted that it was time that Nigeria stood up to be counted. With reference to the aviation sector, which is his purview, the lecturer averred that it is possible for Nigeria to mount a national carrier similar to what the Ethiopian Airlines is doing in Africa and beyond, provided there is emphasis on the building of a professional corps, as well as efficient management which is not subject to the whims and caprices of political authorities. The bane of the aviation sector, he explained, is related to management issues made worse by political authorities that micro manage it, the shortage of adequate data on which to ground planning and the dearth of skilled professionals. Considering his track record, the nation will do well to take Demuren’s panaceas seriously.

To return to the initial discourse on the Plateau killings and its aftermath, it is important for the authorities to consider the civil trust and perceptual underpinnings of viable security institutions. Security is more than the deployment of raw force and sophisticated equipment; it includes a partnership between security institutions and stakeholders. With reference to the massacres in the Middle Belt, it is important that trust be restored and maintained between the local population and law enforcement authorities. Hopefully, the touted restructuring of the nation’s security edifice will take on board this problem of trust, to the extent that no side in the recurrent conflict suspects that it will not get fair play.

To be considered, too, is the regionalisation of the security architecture in favour of the North, in contradiction to the stipulated federal character objectives of the 1999 constitution. The projected security reform when it is eventually carried out should tackle this loop sidedness which has been mentioned often in public debate on the tragic killings. It is a paradox that notwithstanding that most of the states involved are ruled by APC governors, alienation and frustration characterise the relationship between the centre and the state.

Finally, policy, which should become more proactive than contingent, should aim to bring the issues to the front burner of national attention underwritten by a sense of emergency and compassion for the victims of these monumental disasters.

(TEVB)