Toll Gates To Return? ~ News in Nigeria ~ 28/01/2018

Toll Gates to Return? Fashola, Please, Perish This Program
The news in town is that as soon as repairs are carried out on some selected federal roads, toll gates will be reintroduced. For me, this is merely a strategy to develop 38 crisis points across our troubled nation. It would also amount to double taxation. I hope our Operates Minister, Babatunde Fashola, has not forgotten that the Obasanjo administration improved the expense of fuel and promised that element of the new revenue would be channeled to Federal Road Upkeep Agency to proficiently execute its duties? One particular of the palliatives Obasanjo promised and subsequently implemented right after his fuel cost raise was the demolition of the toll gates. The Buhari administration further enhanced the price of petrol to N145 per litre. I hope Fashola is also aware that there is an existing petroleum tax of N1.50 per litre, set aside for the upkeep of federal roads. Where are all these funds saved for this special objective? Assuming the previous administration stole the cash, what has been happening to it in the last 30 months of the APC administration? Fashola has to respond mainly because Nigerians are yearning for answers.

This country is clearly not in a mood for the reintroduction of toll gates. The truth that have to be told is that there is also considerably suffering in our land at the moment. The last 30 months have been horrendous, with the cost of goods and services galloping. So lots of Nigerians have also been thrown out of jobs. Nigerians are bleeding and can not afford this added burden of having 38 toll gates. Why make life far more tricky for Nigerians in order to generate funds that will most likely be shared by a handful of privileged individuals? This talk about applying the private sector to construct and maintain the planned toll gates is unconvincing.

Aside from the additional burden of paying tolls, I am also worried about the exasperating visitors gridlock linked with such toll gates, major to loss of productive man-hour. The persistent congestion on the Lekki-Ajah toll gate at peak period is a excellent instance of what I am talking about. Toll gates usually constitute inconvenience to motorists. Visitors gridlock apart, tragic accidents are typically experienced at toll gates. A single heartbreaking scene that has remained indelible in my mind was the sight of a truck laden with petrol, ramming into a long queue of automobiles at the toll gate in Ibadan through these dark days. There were a lot of ghastly accidents at toll gates across the nation. We can not afford a recurrence, which the return of toll gates would clearly provoke. So, I urge my dear Fashola to have a rethink about moves to reintroduce the demolished 38 toll gates across the country.

My beloved Fashola, you should initially drag out the dedicated funds I have listed above and use them for the upkeep of federal roads. If following undertaking this, the revenue discovered is discovered to be inadequate, then, I am suggesting that you should sit down with the representatives of traumatised Nigerians to style out option sources of funding for road maintenance. This talk about returning toll gates is clearly preposterous. For a get started, you ought to try and sell the concept of receiving vehicle owners to spend a modest amount as road upkeep levy whilst acquiring or renewing vehicle particulars. The petroleum tax of N1.50 per litre set aside for road maintenance could also go up to N3 per litre.

Once more, I am shocked that out of N25 billion appropriated for FERMA in 2017, only N800 million had so far been released to the agency by the Ministry of Finance. Obviously, this is the most important purpose federal roads are in a mess. It is also depressing to study that the hyped N100 billion sourced via the Sukuk Bond for roads is but to be released to the Ministry for perform to get started on the selected 25 federal roads. Why really should these shenanigans be taking place in an era of adjust? These are some of the challenges I anticipate Fashola to correctly tackle, in order to repair federal roads.

As for our federal legislators, if certainly, they are the true representatives of Nigerians, I anticipate them to halt this impending ignominy known as toll gate reintroduction. This nation can not continue taking one particular step forward and 100 steps backward.

Herdsmen/Farmers’ Conflicts: Authorities Caution On Reprisal Attacks, Security ~ Naija Breaking.

A peace and conflict resolution expert and Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Prof. Oshita Oshita has warned that retaliatory and reprisal measures by aggrieved individuals and communities occasioned by the herdsmen attacks in Nigeria could provoke a security dilemma.

Oshita gave this warning at a roundtable meeting involving peacebuilding specialists and media partners to discuss and locate option to recent farmer and herdsmen attacks in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba and Plateau states, organised by the Search for Popular Ground, in Abuja recently.

He stated the vicious cycle of attacks and counter-attacks in the ongoing farmers / herders’ violent conflicts in some parts of the nation is not the best solution or answer but could further worsen the currently alarming circumstance.
He stressed an urgent want to stop bloodletting and to forestall any action that could compound the genocidal situation that the nation has delved into.

By seeking retaliatory measure via arms bearing in self-defence as being canvassed for by a section of the country, he said, "we are provoking safety dilemma. This appears like the road to Somalia. We require to take a definite step to stop the bloodletting."
Oshita stressed the will need to find lasting option to the trouble. He, hence, provided 3 recommendations, which includes the will need to reconfigure the safety architecture of the country the need by unique ethnic nationalities to have a true perception of a single an additional and the want for the nation to have the image of "whom we are and where we are heading".
"This is a really destabilising phenomenon and we need to all rise up to do all issues to stem the predicament," he mentioned.

He also referred to as for sincerity in the way difficulties of farmer-herder conflict is being reported, saying perceptions are becoming built into it with people’s narratives taking political, religious and ethnic dimensions. This, he said, is anti-national cohesion.
The Director-General charged the civil society organisations to be up and carrying out with sincerity of goal, mainly because, to him, the civil society space is becoming slippery and unpredictable arguing that some organisations are becoming biased and not speaking the mind of the popular man.

"We have to have to be authentic because if you are discussing a severe trouble without having being authentic, it implies you are not telling us what could support us to come out of that dilemma. We need to be ready to implement recommendations towards sustainable option
"We will need to inaugurate a sincere platform for dialogue based on the truth that we are one individuals, 1 nation and due to the fact we want to have a sustainable economy that will drive this nation in this 21st century and beyond," he mentioned.

Giving an overview of project and objectives of the media roundtable, the Project Lead, Forum on Farmer-Herder Relations in Nigeria (FFARN), Mrs. Bukola Ademola-Adelehin said the roundtable aimed at bringing with each other peace and safety scholars, practitioners, policymakers and media experts to reflect on existing dynamics of farmer-herder conflict in Nigeria.

The roundtable was supported by the United States Agency for international Improvement (USAID) via the Conflict Mitigation and Management project (Creating Bridges involving Farmers and Herders) implemented by Search for Popular Ground.
This, she stated, would give FFARN a likelihood to present the suggestions of its current policy briefs titled ‘Responses to Conflicts involving Farmers and Herders in the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria’ and ‘The Implications of Open-Grazing Prohibition Laws on relations involving Farmers and Herders in the Middle Belt Region of Nigeria’ for increased awareness of possibilities for peaceful resolution of the conflict.

The two policy documents presented for discussion by the Senior Programme Manager, Middle Belt Programmes, Mr. Sani Suleman, stated violent confrontations involving farmers and herders are old phenomena, which have develop into a defining function of inter-group relations among communities in the Middle Belt area.

He mentioned, "environmental degradation, social manipulation of ethno-religious biases and technological advances has altered relationships that have been historically interdependent and mutually valuable. Conflict involving farmers and herders exist on a large scale both within Nigeria and the higher Lake Chad Basin and Sudan-Sahel area, having said that, states inside Nigeria’s Middle Belt have witnessed a stark relationship transform and an increase in casualties as consequences of this fractured relationship"
He advanced motives for conflicts to include population growth, urbanisation, climate modify and unresolved old conflicts, cattle rustling and theft. He stated six,500 deaths had been recorded involving 2010 and 2015 with 62,000 persons displaced while about $13.7 billion has been lost by the Nigerian government.

Findings, he stated, revealed specific responses by national and state actors as signifies of getting a solution to this perennial dilemma. These, incorporate creation of Grazing Reserve in Northern Nigeria in 1965 with 415 reserves and grazing routes establishment of the National Commission for Nomadic Education to educationally equip the nomads deployments of safety agencies in response to a number of outbreak of violence the establishment of the Wonderful Green Wall Initiative in response to financial, political and security challenges posed by climate change and the failed National Grazing Reserved Bill initiated by the National Assembly in 2016.

Suleman study the positions of Search for Typical Ground as portion of recommendations to address gaps in response to reduce the conflict. Portion of the recommendations consist of charge on the federal government to review existing structure of cattle routes and reserves that Federal Government should really review the existing programme on nomadic education with a view to strengthening the structure of service delivery

Other positions were that the federal government should really utilise option response to conflict resolution beyond deployment of safety agencies, utilizing dialogue and mediation as de-escalation tactics to address proliferation of smaller arms and light weapons, applying mechanism that is neighborhood centred that federal government ought to companion civil security and other non-state actors to leverage on ICT as enabler of cattle monitoring, and that federal government should assistance and strengthening neighborhood policing.

On the implications of Open Grazing Prohibition Laws in the Benue State and the Middle Belt as a whole, Search for Typical Ground said even though the law was a response to the conflict involving farmers and herders in Benue State, "the appropriateness and feasibility of the law to manage the conflict is but to be determined.

"While the federal government lacks the capacity to legislate more than the use of land at the state level, it is having said that vital for it to contemplate performing oversight function in this approach, to ensure that the rights of all citizens are respected as enshrined in the constitution.

"While legislation can be a useful tool to address drivers of conflict, it need to not be employed as a panacea. The situation in Benue State presents a distinctive opportunity for state governments to be conflict sensitive in the improvement and implementation of legislation that addresses the farmer-herder conflict in Nigeria".

Don’t Speak Or Act For Ogoni, MOSOP Warns Group ~ Nigerian News : 28/01/2018

Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni Individuals (MOSOP) has declared its the only genuine pan-Ogoni organisation recognised by the citizens to speak and act on their behalf.

MOSOP’s warning was on the heels of a current advertorial credited to a group, called Ken Saro Wiwa Associate (KSWA) against its (MOSOP) thriving engagement with an oil firm, Robomichael Restricted.

A statement issued yesterday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, by the Media Advisor to the movement, Bari-ala Kpalap, described the report as "alarming and unfortunate."

The statement additional warned persons and groups seeking relevance for economic considerations, to leave the "revered and well-known name of Ken Saro Wiwa and other fallen Ogoni heroes" out of their interests.

"MOSOP has, as a result, named on the Ogoni individuals, the authorities and the public to discountenance the so-named opinions and threats by the stated KSWA, as the stance in no way represents the position of our individuals.

"MOSOP has, as effectively, cautioned the Ogonis not to permit themselves to be applied as quick tools in the hands of external enemies masking as messiahs, but obviously bent on frustrating the Ogoni dream.

"While we recognise the correct of citizens to freedom of expression, we insist that this liberty in no way involve misguided and misleading reports.

"The report, undoubtedly, betrayed ineptness and improperly believed via. It is in the light of the foregoing that we advise the authors of the stated advertorial (Ken Saro Wiwa Associates) to exercise caution and know-how-primarily based methodology in responding to troubles, specially the query of oil extraction as it relates to Ogoni.

"However, MOSOP is aware of the intent of the advertorial. Coming on the heels of the thriving engagement involving Robomichael Restricted and MOSOP, and the failed try by the coordinator of KSWA to frustrate the meeting, has left no a single in doubt about the adversarial motives that drove KSWA’s approach.

"The deliberate attempt to misinform and mislead unsuspecting Ogonis and other interests, including the public, as properly as the messianic tilt of the report, was meant to drive public opinion in its favour, which would influence the authorities to negotiate and accept their sponsors. Surely, the voice is Jacob’s when the hand is Esau’s.

"Facts abound that in its work to impact broad-primarily based consultation and obtain the people’s social licence to operate and create the Ogoni oil fields of OML 11, Robomichael Restricted wrote letters, dated October 20 and November 7, 2017, respectively, in search of audience with MOSOP.

"The engagement was held on Friday, November 17, 2017 at the MOSOP secretariat in Port Harcourt. In the course of the meeting, the firm announced its intension to seek the advice of extensively and solicited MOSOP’s guidance.

"Robomichael Restricted also applied the engagement to formally introduce the corporation and presented, articulately, its approaches to make sure sufficient participation of the Ogoni individuals in the investment as effectively as the improvement of the region.

"It committed to devoting a affordable percentage of the investment to the community, and this would be deposited and managed by a trust fund to be membered by Ogoni representatives and officials of the firm," Kpalap mentioned in the statement.

According to the movement, a five-member committee, headed by Prof. Ben Naanen, was set up to create a template, which would be presented to investors interested in investing in Ogoni.

The committee, MOSOB stated, was provided 14 days to turn in its report to the organisation for consideration.

"The approach of KSWA, undoubtedly, suggests unhappiness that Robomichael Restricted engaged MOSOP.

"As of reality, MOSOP is the only reputable pan-Ogoni organisation mandated by the individuals to speak and act on their behalf. Evidence abound that no other organisation has such mandate in Ogoni. Hence, these acting without having mandate are unquestionably on their own.

"As a knowledgeable and law-abiding organisation, MOSOP is conscious of its limits. We know that the Ogoni individuals have correct to social licence and we would make sure that this proper is protected and utilised to the collective benefit of all Ogoni citizens."