Jos crisis panel recommends Police chief Abubakar for retirement
By Pam Ayuba Published 17/02/2010 News Rating: ratingfullratingfullratingfullratingfullratingempty
The Justice Niki Tobi panel on the Jos 2001 crisis has recommended the retirement of Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Zone 5, Muhammed Abubakar.
Abubakar was Plateau State Commissioner of Police during the ciris.
The panel was constituted by former Governor Joshua Dariye to look into the September 7, 2001 crisis. Since it concluded its sitting, its report was not made public until yesterday.
In a White Paper released in Jos, the state capital yesterday, the panel suggested that Abubakar should be dismissed if he refuses to retire.
The panel said: "Religious fanatics should not be posted to head state police commands. The commission recommends that for his ignoble role during the September 2001 crisis which resulted in the loss of lives, the former Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Command, Alhaji M.D. Abubakar, be advised to retire from the Nigeria Police Force and in the event of his refusal to do so, he should be dismissed from the service."
It recommended that the Hausa/Fulani should be encouraged to discuss with other communities and "accept the ownership of Jos by the Ajizere, Anaguta and Berom".
"Anything short of that will not make for peace", the panel added.
It noted: "The non-implementation by government of the report of previous commissions of enquiries and in particular the report of the commission of enquiry into the riots of April 12, 1994 in Jos metropolis (the main features of which are very similar to the September 2001 civil disturbances) is a sure recipe for a repeat performance of such disturbances".
The government also released a White Paper on the Justice Aribiton Fibersima panel on the Jos 1994 crisis. The panel investigated the April 1994 Jos crisis.
Its report said: "There was strong and convincing evidence before the commission that: on April 11, 1994, just a day before the fateful day, Alhaji Yaya Aga Abubakar, the President of Jasawa Development Association, in the company of Alhaji Aminu Mato’s younger brother, Sanusi Mato, held a meeting at Masallaci Juma at Jos with the Jasawa community during which they resolved to carry out a demonstration the following day.
"So, Yaya Abubakar and Sanusi Mato were directly connected with riots. They were the leaders of the insurrection that brought disaster and shame to Jos metropolis, to Plateau State and to Nigeria, that brought death and destruction of lives and properties".
"A recurrent friction for many years between the Berom, Anaguta and Afizere on the one hand and the Hausa/Fulani tribe on the other hand is the remote cause of the riots. Each part of lays claim to Jos."
The report urged the government "to spread its intelligence gathering network far and wide to cover all individuals and organisations (such as religious, cultural, and social organisations) that could be potentially dangerous to peace and order."
Nigeria: Activist Mobilises Youths to Abstain From Subsidy Protest 14 January 2012
Akwa Ibom youths have been urged to accept the removal of subsidy on petrol as the proceeds would bring multiplier effects and benefits to them.
Obong Emmanuel Mbong, a youth activist, gave the advice on Saturday in Eket while addressing youths on the strike called by the organised labour and civil society bodies on the removal of subsidy on fuel prices.
Mbong, who is Secretary of Eket-based Supreme Council of Youth Leaders, urged the youths to shun violence and await an amicable resolution of the dispute between labour and government that would end the strike.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that youth leaders in Eket, Southern Akwa Ibom, mobilised the youths in the area to enlighten them on the fuel subsidy debate and to discourage them from joining the strike.
Mbong said that when market forces were allowed to determine the price of petroleum products, the industry would attract private-sector investment in refineries in oil-bearing areas and provide jobs for youths in the area.
He said that youths were the major beneficiaries of the subsidy removal and urged them to resist any attempt to be used to foment trouble by the few who had exploited the nation while the subsidy lasted.
Mbong explained that the subsidy removal would provide more funds for the government for job creation, provision of infrastructure, including electricity and roads, as well as reduction of infant and maternal mortality.
He urged President Jonathan not to be deterred by opposition to government policies by those who wanted the subsidy regime to continue and enrich themselves to the detriment of the masses.
"Jonathan should deal decisively with the so-called cabal and interest groups who are against the policy, because they have been feeding fat on the subsidy regime for decades now," he said.
Mbong called on the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress to call off the nationwide strike in the overall interest of Nigeria and the economy.
According to him, the country cannot afford an elongated strike now considering the security challenges facing the nation.
He, however, advised Jonathan to urgently implement the palliative measures to assuage the harsh effects of the sudden withdrawal of subsidy which, he said, had resulted in an increase in the prices of goods and services.
He also appealed to Nigerians to "show understanding and bear with the government as the pains experienced today is temporary". Tagged: Business, Children, Labour, NGO, Nigeria, Petroleum, West Africa
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Subsidy: Labour’s premature t+ruce with govt
Written by Amiru Adamu Wednesday, 25 January 2012 05:00 inShare SocButtons plugin Share
The removal of fuel subsidy will go down in the history of Nigeria, as one of the most unpopular policies ever imposed by a government on its people. Nigerians kicked against the policy from day 1of its proposal, to the first of January when it was imposed on unsuspecting Nigerians. The regrettable announcement made by the PPPRA triggered N65 to a whopping N146 per litre overnight. The impact of the subsidy removal was immediately felt, as many Nigerians who had travelled to their hometowns for the Christmas and new-year celebrations were stranded due to lack of enough transport fare or enough fuel money, for their “Tokunbo” cars. (The pro-subsidy officials called them exotic.)
As expected the Nigerian labour organisations, NLC/TUC, challenged the government, accusing it of breaching the agreements reached at their discussions over the removal of the subsidy. They therefore called on the government to revert to the old price or face a mass strike action. The government’s refusal to heed the call by the labour unions prompted the call and declaration of a nationwide strike and mass protests by the labour unions. Though fearful of the labour unions because of their reputation of backing out at the crucial moments, Nigerian youths and civil society groups took a leap of faith and mobilized their members unto the streets of Nigeria. Social networks such as facebook and twitter served as the information outlets of the protest especially when most television stations and newspapers turned pro subsidy and anti masses overnight.
The protest gathered momentum and the death of protesters in Lagos, Kwara and Kano further fuelled the youths to troop out in-mass to the streets .Though the protests were about subsidy removal, some historic moves were made by the youths with the signing of the Kano covenant, which mandated the Christian youths to protect Muslims while they pray and the Muslims to also protect the Christians while carrying out theirs. The Kano agreement prompted the signing of such types of agreements by the protest groups all over the country. While all these activities were going on, a Nigerian youth, activist writer and poet, named Gimba Kakanda led a group of Muslim youths in Minna to circle a church and use themselves as human shields in a gesture of solidarity and brotherhood.
While the protests were going on with increased number of protesters and additional demands such as accountability and reduction in the cost of governance, the labour unions as the arrows of the protests were sitting with the government. The meetings were continually being deadlocked or so we were told. Anyone who followed the subsidy debate on and offline, will agree that the protesters were highly suspicious of the labour and were afraid of being sold out cheaply by them. But the labour unions kept assuring Nigerians that “it is N65 per litre or nothing”. The fears of betrayal expressed by Nigerians were proved right, when the NLC/TUC suddenly called off street protests after a meeting with the government officials. They later went ahead to accept an offer of N97 per litre from the government, without consulting with the masses whom they claim to represent. To add insult to injury, the trade unions called off the nationwide strike just as Nigerians were beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
In their defence, NLC/TUC claimed they called off the strike action and protests to save the lives, as according to them the government is willing to use extreme and deadly force to stop the protests. Many Nigerians including myself regard NLC/TUS’s actions as a betrayal of the trust we had in them. Many are of the opinion that had it been the strike and protests have continued, we will have forced the government to revert to the old price of N65 per litre. The labour unions should have known that any government willing to use deadly force in order to achieve its set goals cannot be expected to negotiate without any form of pressure.
Nigerians, especially the youths, are disappointed with the behaviour of the unions. They kept asking why the NLC/TUC pushed and assured them to commit themselves to a struggle that cost the lives of some youths, only to turn around and desert them halfway into the journey to the Promised Land.
Adamu, publisher of Northern Wind Magazine, is a member of the Occupy Nigeria group.
@bubusn Are you referring to the same 'twitter mob' that assisted with your now rested lightupnigeria tweets?.
When I wrote this article http://t.co/b1QzKE2h May, 2011, I am sure the likes of @bubusn thought I did not know he was a mole #occupyNigeria
RT @JCphoenixx: How much was paid for Light up Nigeria... That's what I want to know...
Members of the Joint Action Front (JAF) met earlier today at the Labour House in Surulere, Lagos to discuss strategies for sustaining public protests in the face of the Jonathan administration's use of military force to scuttle the protests.
At the end of the meeting, the group vowed to continue with the protests until their demands are met. The group wants the Jonathan administration to revert to the N65 per liter cost of fuel and to institute real economic reforms that would punish fuel marketers and government officials who have defrauded Nigerians through fraudulent fuel subsidy claims. In addition, the group wants the government to agree to significant cuts in the cost of running the different tiers of government.
The group deplored the Jonathan administration's use of soldiers to forcefully disperse peaceful protesters and to harass members of the international media.
