Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka says Nigeria lacks genuine leaders

The Noble Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday lamented the insecurity in Nigeria and blamed it on lack of genuine leadership.

Speaking after receiving the honourary award of the university of Ibadan, he said if the country had genuine leadership, Nigerians would not be at the mercy of Boko Haram.

Soyinka who specifically asked the representative of President Goodluck Jonathan at the award ceremony, the Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau to deliver his message, cautioned the president on the huge amount of money being spent on sports.

While noting that the president had spent so much on sports, he suggested that more money be allocated to education and enlightenment.

He said that Nigeria was covered with cloud of shame and dereliction of responsibilities, adding that what was happening in institutions of learning in the north could happen in any part of the country.

“Something happened. It is what we are doing today. Yes, it is a festive occasion. But, we are here and we know we are sitting under a cloud, it’s heavy cloud; it’s cloud of embarrassment of shame, a feeling of dereliction or solemn irresponsibility towards the children.

“We are sitting here under a cloud of impotence of a calamity that was not without notice.

“You all know why we are all here, it is in the course of learning and till death, we will not stop learning. It is all about learning and that is what life is all about. We never stop learning,” he said.

According to him, this cloud is made up of a sense of humiliation.

He lamented that school children were sent out on errand and they did not return, saying “the errand we sent is what we are celebrating today.

“This is what creates this festive atmosphere. Though, it is a festive mood, but our young protagonists went on that errand and they did not come back; we gathered them in preparation for this day and they never came back,” he added.

President Jonathan who was represented by the Minister of Education, Malam Shekarau, described education as the bedrock of nations’ development.

, saying the federal government would give necessary support to ensure provision of qualitative education at all levels through effective teaching, learning and provision of infrastructure.

To this end, he said government had increased budgetary allocation to education with a view to ensuring accelerated development.

While noting that funding of education should not be left for government, he called on the public sector to contribute to the proper funding of education in Nigeria.


Leadership


Related story: Video - Nigeria's Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka speaks to Aljazeera about Boko Haram and Nigeria today

Africa's richest man Nigerian Aliko Dangote to get oil refineries running in Lagos by 2018

 Dangote Group, controlled by Africa’s richest man, expects an oil refinery it is building in Nigeria to come on-stream in late 2017 or the first half of 2018.

The plant in the Lagos area will be able to process 500,000 barrels of crude a day, George Nicolaides, Dangote Industries’ operations director for petroleum refining, said in an interview at the Platts African Refining Summit in Cape Town today.

“The site is being cleared, the plant is being designed,” Nicolaides said. “We are close to the beginning of detailed engineering.”

In September last year, Dangote said it had agreed on a $3.3 billion loan with 12 Nigerian and foreign lenders to build the refinery as well as a petrochemical and fertilizer complex costing a total of $9 billion. At the time, the facility in Africa’s biggest economy was expected to be completed in 2016 and the capacity of the refinery was put at 400,000 barrels a day.

“We have a very ambitious construction schedule,” Nicolaides said. “I’m not sure about the history of those dates.”

While Nigeria is Africa’s top producer of crude oil, it relies on fuel imports to meet more than 70 percent of its needs. Four state refineries with a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels a day are operating at a fraction of that because of poor maintenance and aging equipment.

Dangote selected Engineers India Ltd. (ENGR) to do most of the detailed engineering work for the new plant. Construction contractors have yet to be appointed.

“Supplying the local market is the primary objective,” Nicolaides said. “Naturally we can move product to the region. The government is being very supportive, very enthusiastic about this project. We are not looking for or wanting any particular subsidies.”

The group owns Dangote Cement Plc, the country’s biggest company by market value, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Dangote Industries Ltd. and Dangote Oil Services Ltd. Its president is Aliko Dangote, who is worth $20.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Bloomberg

Related story: Video - Aljazeera speaks with Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote

Nigerian military take back Chibok from Boko Haram

The Nigerian army says it has recaptured the north-eastern town of Chibok, which was seized by Boko Haram militants on Thursday.

Boko Haram fighters kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls from the village in April, sparking global outrage.

The group, which says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria, has repeatedly targeted villages in Borno state in recent months.

There are reports of many Boko Haram members being killed in Sunday's raid.

Correspondents say Chibok was retaken late on Saturday, after dozens of military vehicles were seen heading to the village.

A local vigilante force was part of the operation.

This was a joint operation by Nigerian soldiers with a large number of members of a local vigilante force. The success of the mission offers some hope of further success against the insurgents who have been seizing towns and villages in north-east Nigeria, often with little resistance.

The vigilantes would have been desperate to flush the jihadists out of the town and may have felt they had very little to lose by taking them on. A decision was clearly taken to retake Chibok as fast as possible. It is geographically no more significant than other towns and villages still in the hands of the jihadists but its name resonates around the world due to the tragedy of the 219 abducted school girls and so it was important for the government and military to win this battle.

Larger towns like Gwoza have been held by Boko Haram since August and it is surprising that there has not been more urgency to dislodge them from there. There has been a depressing diet of news from the north-east but the recapture of Chibok is a rare piece of good news from an area in crisis.

'Still dangerous'
"Troops continue pursuit of fleeing terrorists and arrest of the wounded. Normalcy is restored," Nigeria's army said on its official Twitter feed.

The military has clearly made it a priority to recapture Chibok, which was held by the insurgents for 48 hours, the BBC's Will Ross reports from Lagos.

However, many residents say the jihadists still have a presence in the surrounding villages and so the area is not safe, our correspondent adds.

Many Chibok residents have moved to other parts of the country, fearing more attacks.

Last month, the group dismissed the government's claims to have agreed a ceasefire. The government had said the ceasefire would set the stage for the release of the Chibok schoolgirls.

BBC

Related story: Boko Haram seize Chibok - home of kidnapped schoolgirls

Boko Haram seize Chibok - home of kidnapped schoolgirls

Boko Haram militants have seized the north-eastern Nigerian town of Chibok, from where they kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in April.

Militants attacked and took control of the town, in Borno state, on Thursday evening, residents who escaped told the BBC.

Boko Haram has repeatedly targeted villages around Chibok over recent months.

The group says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.

The schoolgirl kidnappings in Chibok caused worldwide outrage and sparked a social media campaign. Changed tactics

A senator for Borno state, Ali Ndume, told the BBC Hausa service that security forces posted in Chibok, a relatively small, mainly Christian town, ran away when the insurgents attacked.

Residents told the Sahara Reporters news website that the militants headed to the centre of Chibok and declared that they were taking it over as part of their caliphate.

BBC

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The fake ceasefire with Boko Haram

U.S. responds to Nigeria's allegations with evidence showing aid and support given to Nigerian military

The United States has faulted the claim by the Nigerian government that it is standing in the way of the Nigerian military’s quest to procure weapons to strengthen its war against the extremist Boko Haram sect.

Answering questions during a press briefing, the U.S. Department of State spokesperson, Jen Paski, said Wednesday the American government has been supporting the Nigerian military in the area of intelligence sharing, training of soldiers and other measures in combating the insurgency.

On Monday, the Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S., Ade Adefuye, had accused the U.S. of letting Nigeria down in its hour of need by refusing to help the country procure weapon to combat Boko Haram.

“We find it difficult to understand how and why in spite of the U.S. presence in Nigeria with their sophisticated military technology, Boko Haram should be expanding and becoming more deadly,” he said. He said the U.S. was standing in the way of the Nigerian military procuring lethal equipment that would have helped the country end the deadly insurgency mounted against Nigeria by Boko Haram.

Dismissing the claims that the Nigerian military were involved in human rights violations, Mr. Adefuye also flayed the U.S. government for the manner it’s sharing intelligence with the Nigerian military, arguing that despite the claim by the Americans that things have improved in that aspect, “it is still there”.

However, during Wednesday’s briefing in Washington, the Department of State spokesperson said the U.S. has actually increased its support for the Nigerian military, especially in the last six months.
She said her government has improved intelligence sharing with the Nigerian military and has actually approved and sold some military equipment to the Nigerian military.

“Let me just lay out the facts of our assistance. Over the past six months, the United States has started sharing intelligence with Nigeria, began training a new army battalion and held numerous high-level discussions with Nigerian authorities on additional measures to best address the Boko Haram threat.

“We have also provided and approved sales of military equipment to its armed forces. These decisions are made, of course, after careful scrutiny to ensure they conform with United States law,” she said in response to a question about Ambassador Adefuye’s claims.

She explained that the U.S. refused to sell some Cobra attack helicopters to the Nigerian armed forces early this year because it was concerned the military had no capacity to operate and maintain it.
Ms Paski said there were also concerns over the protection of civilians during military operations.

“We shared those concerns with Nigeria before this decision and subsequent to it,” she said.
She said that the Nigerian military has however purchased helicopters from other sources and that the U.S. government did not prevent such purchases.

“Nigeria has purchased helicopters that originated in countries other than the United States, and nothing in our decision prevents Nigeria from obtaining weapons and equipment from other sources.
“We’ll continue to look for ways to deepen our cooperation with Nigeria to help it acquire the systems and skills needed to restore peace and security. But obviously, we’ve provided a great deal of assistance over the past several months.”

Ms Paski said the U.S. would continue to urge the Nigerian military to investigate allegation of abuses by soldiers and to do more in the area of training the country’s security forces to improve its effectiveness.

“We wouldn’t be raising that concern if we didn’t feel and others didn’t feel that they were warranted,” she said.

Premium Times

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The fake ceasefire with Boko Haram