How to wisely spend Buhari’s N5000

I DON’T know about you but I’m excited about the prospect of the monthly five thousand naira promised to some twenty five million Nigerians. At least, I would now have to take that burden out of my own lean budget. And I don’t have to be sending recharge cards to folks, who normally resell the cards to raise dough. Some people may even be smart enough to start a success story of theirs from the seed money. There are many possibilities. That is why I was disheartened the other day when Senator Phillip Aduda was shouted down when he raised the matter on the floor of the senate. And I don’t always support the burly Abuja-breed, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senator but I was one with him on the issue.

I later understood that his All Progressives Congress (APC) colleagues booed him because they believed there was blackmail in his submission. I really don’t know about that. I mean what is so black mailing about reminding people of their promises? And that is one of my many pains with the ruling party. It appears it has bitten off too much than it can digest. And now, in the face of reality, the APC wants to play hooky by bringing up all sorts of excuses.

First was the silent denial of the promises by the new Doyin Okupe; then the appeal to reason (“you know we have too many problems”); then the outright refusals to shameful roundabouts like in the fuel subsidy matter.

But while many Nigerians want to quickly move on without bugging the new government with many reminders, one issue that won’t go is the N5000 matter. This has clearly become the albatross of the administration. Now, I don’t know why the APC made that promise because they really didn’t need to make it. After all, they were already enjoying a cult following and the campaign was doing very well. Nigerians were almost in agreement that sixteen years of the then ruling party was enough. Many voters didn’t even bother to know the meaning of the acronym “APC”. All that mattered then was the dislodging of a party that, for many, was synonymous with all that is wrong with the third world. In the long months before the general election, many were prepared to vote for Satan himself than remain in the PDP stranglehold. It was indeed not for the love for the new party and its candidate but for the abnegation of the old order and its helmsman. So, yes, the new party was coasting home to victory. The almighty United States of America even tacitly supported it and the international body language suggested change was desirable.

In such a very cosy position, the APC really didn’t need to make bombastic pledges. APC could have been realistic enough to admit that certain things would be difficult; that light won’t suddenly improve; that corruption won’t just go away overnight; and that some of the PDP methods would be copied in the war against terrorism; that the president doesn’t have a magic wand to revamp the economy. A little down to earth candour would have helped. But that is naïve of me. You don’t win elections by going about saying the truth and admitting your limitations. Except if your name was Danbaba Suntai. I was in the former governor’s campaign trail in the electioneering months of 2011 and one of the most iconoclastic things he did was to apologise for promises he couldn’t keep. In some places, the governor would practically beg to be forgiven by the electorate. He would show signs of sincere contrition, as he explained his limitations. At first, I thought the approach was defeatist and self-effacing because our people were not used to such apologies from politicians. But it worked as the electorate warmed up to him. They saw him as a sincere personality who was realistic enough to admit his mistakes and failures in a world of supermen. They promptly gave him a second mandate!

So, APC should have been more realistic about the social contract. And on this issue of five thousand naira, you wonder how they would pull it off. Even with my F9 Mathematics, I know the thing would cost N1.5 trillion annually. And although there is better transparency now (what with the President’s body language of dread), one still wonders if the exercise would not go the ill-fated SURE-P way. After all, the way to hell is paved with the best of intentions.

But that one is their headache.

Right now, let’s talk about what you are going to do with your share of the trillion-naira. What would you do with N5000? Someone says it depends on what part of the country you dwell. If, for instance, you live in Port Harcourt, N5000 won’t survive five minutes of hanging out at a joint. But the same amount may make some sense in a remote outback in Zamfara State – one of the poorest states in Nigeria. In Abuja, five thousand naira in a month is a nightmare. First, the cost of living is abnormal here. Secondly, even if you live in the backyards like I do, life is still very tough because everywhere in Abuja is still “Abuja”. Some people feel the best thing to do is to equip citizens with the right skills and then empower them with the stipends. Others believe such funds could be assigned to states on a monthly basis to revamp the SME sectors. 1.5 trillion naira can also build industries to employ people yearly.

Lining pockets with the paltry sum each month may look like a cool way to end poverty. But a closer examination shows that it may turn out to be another nightmare waiting to happen. If all that a man does is wait for five thousand naira each month, without any skills or purpose in life; what is the fate of such a creature? Money minus a proper plan is equal to poverty raised to power two. But I’m not a pessimist and I truly pray that this works better than all the previous poverty alleviation efforts of the past.

Watching what you eat

■ University don, at inaugural lecture, warns on unguided consumption of ogbono, cassava starch and bitter kola

From Oge Oladele

An eminent Professor of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Vincent Chima Okore, of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has called on Nigerians to beware of the harmful effect of excessive consumption of local foods and abuse of natural herbs which are commonly available in our environments.
Prof. Okore gave this warning while delivering a lecture titled: “Adventures in Miscellany Pharmaceutical, Physiological and Health Implications of Some Commonplace Practices” to mark 101st edition of the university’s inaugural lectures.
Enumerating the health implications of local foods consumption such as cassava starch, ogbono, bitter kola and other local herbs, Prof. Okore revealed that when combined with foreign drugs, they are not congenial to human’s health.
Citing an example with ogbono, the lecturer said that it has been discovered that in most parts of West Africa, the seed has become the favourite of the sub-region because it enhances the viscosity of the soup and also adds flavour and aroma which makes it serves dual purpose.

Confession of an excellent student

• I read my books as if there were no God, says Bowen University overall best graduating student

From Clement Adeyi, Osogbo

The overall best graduating student among the 1,098 graduands turned out by Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, during its recent 10th convocation, is still basking in the euphoria of her academic excellence.
Miss Tiwaloluwa Aduloju is not just happy about the rare feat but because she was able to equal the record of her ‘predecessor,’ a girl, who also emerged the overall best student during the graduation of the set before hers. She had thought that a male student would break the jinx this time round, only for her to maintain the momentum as a female graduating student topped the class yet again.

JFK assassination film: woman sues US government for return of ‘lost’ footage

First lady Jacqueline Kennedy cradles her husband President John F Kennedy seconds after he was fatally shot.

A woman whose grandfather shot a home video of the assassination of president John F Kennedy that has since been misplaced is suing the US government, demanding the film be returned or that she be paid $10m in compensation.

Gayle Nix Jackson filed the lawsuit in federal court on Saturday, one day before the 52nd anniversary of Kennedy’s death. The film was shot by her grandfather Orville Nix and shows the assassination in Dealey plaza in Dallas on 22 November 1963.

Jackson’s lawsuit claims the film is as important as the assassination footage captured by Abraham Zapruder with his movie camera. The federal government settled with Zapruder’s heirs in 1999 to purchase the film for $16m.

The claim states: “According to the Warren Commission, the Nix film is nearly as important as the Zapruder film, yet the public is mainly unaware of its significance.”

The Warren Commission conducted the government’s investigation of the shooting.

Democrats won another big race in Louisiana – a campaign involving race, justice and the death penalty

Glenn Ford left the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., in 2014. His conviction in a murder case was vacated after he spent 30 years in jail and on death row. (Associated Press)
District attorney races are often fiercely competitive.

For starters, the candidates are lawyers, temperamentally inclined enjoy a good bout of non-lethal combat. And chief prosecutor jobs (most of which are elected) don’t come open all that often. That’s part of the reason that, in major metropolises and tiny rural hamlets alike, the DA’s name is often one that a lot of people know.

But in Caddo Parish, La. (population: 253,00, biggest city: Shreveport), there is a district attorney’s race that seems utterly suited for something straight out of a Jim Crow period piece about justice, bias and Southern politics. And although this might sound like an oxymoron, this could also be a relatively gripping story about campaign finance.

What’s happening in Caddo centers around Glen Ford, a black man convicted of murder, sentenced to die then locked away in solitary confinement for 30 years before a court declared him innocent and set him free. There would have to be a mention of the fact that the until-recently predominantly white Caddo sentences more people to death, per capita, than any other place in the country. And 77 percent of those who have been so condemned over the last 40 years were black.

Police: 3 Killed, Child Injured, Inside Home; Suspect Killed

Authorities say three people are dead and a child injured after they were all shot inside their home. Police responding to the incident shot the suspect who later died.

The shooting happened around 5 p.m. Monday on the west side of Columbus, Ohio.

A Columbus police spokesman says three officers shot the suspect after a short chase outdoors near the home where the shooting happened. The suspect was taken to a nearby hospital where he died Monday night.

The child was taken to the city’s Children’s Hospital. Spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner says there were no other suspects. He didn’t have details on what caused the shooting.

The home was surrounded by several police vehicles, with the street shut down for several blocks in both directions.

Source: ABC NEWS

BVN: Civil servants groan, can’t access salaries

Despite assurances by the Federal Government that all civil servants would receive their salaries before the close of work on Thursday, investigations have shown that many of them have yet to be paid on Saturday afternoon.

It was learnt that while the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation had approved the release of monies to banks for payment of salaries since Tuesday, some banks had yet to credit the salary accounts of some government workers.

While government workers who had their salary accounts domiciled in banks like First Bank, United Bank for Africa and Guaranty Trust Bank had confirmed receiving their salaries, findings revealed that those who had accounts with Ecobank had not received their salaries.

Findings by our correspondent further showed that some of these workers whose accounts had been credited could not make any withdrawal owing to hitches associated with their Bank Verification Number.

India’s huge need for electricity is a problem for the planet

Dusk descends on a village in the eastern Indian state of Bihar as residents start their evening chores. Women walk in a line, balancing packets of animal fodder on their heads. Others lead their water buffalo home before dinner.

Overhead loom bare utility poles — built but never wired for electricity — casting long shadows across the landscape.

Of the world’s 1.3 billion who live without access to power, a third – around 300 million — live in rural India in states such as Bihar. Nighttime satellite images of the sprawling subcontinent show the story: Vast swaths of the country still lie in darkness.

India, the third-largest emitter of greenhouses gases next to China and the United States, has taken steps to address climate change in advance of the global talks in Paris this year — pledging a steep increase in renewable energy by 2030.

But India’s leaders say that the huge challenge of extending electric service to its citizens means a hard reality — that the country must continue to increase its fossil fuel consumption, at least in the near term, on a path that could mean a threefold increase in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, according to some estimates.

When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked climate change with President Obama in September at the United Nations, he was careful to note that he and Obama share “an uncompromising commitment on climate change,” but “without affecting our ability to meet the development aspirations of humanity.”

13 Suspected Cultists Remanded For Murder, Dumping Corpses Into River In Lagos

Thirteeen suspected cultists, who allegedly murdered two men before dumping their bodies in a river, were on Thursday in Lagos remanded in Ikoyi Prisons.

An Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court which rejected their plea, said they should be kept behind bars pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The accused are: Ismail Bello, 26; Shola Jaiyeola, 28; Kabiru Wahab, 23; Akeem Adeyemo, 36; Monsuru Ojopagogon, 29; David Lasisi, 35 and Bayo Bakare, 30.

Others are Daniel Yosue, 30; Ademola Ayelabowo, 27; Joshua Udoh, 20; Daniel Adeyemi, 28; Saheed Mohammed, 25; and Wasiu Aborisade, 40.

The Latest: Girl in prep school case says she lives in fear

The latest on the sentencing of a former student at an elite prep school who was convicted of sexually assaulting a younger classmate (all times local):

10:55 a.m.

A former student at an exclusive New Hampshire prep school who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old classmate is set to learn his fate.

Owen Labrie, of Tunbridge, Vermont, was convicted in August of misdemeanor sexual assault plus a felony count of using a computer to lure the girl to a sexual encounter. His trial exposed a practice of sexual conquest at St. Paul’s School known as Senior Salute in which graduating students try to have sex with underclassmen.

Labrie was 18 then. Now 20, he faces up to 11 years in prison and a lifetime on the state’s sexual offender registry when he’s sentenced Thursday. The hearing begins at 1:30 p.m.

His lawyers want to keep him off the sex offender list, saying it’s too harsh a penalty.

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