Study Finds Reading to Children of All Ages Grooms Them To Read More on Their Own

Cue the hand-wringing about digital distraction: Fewer children are reading books frequently for fun, according to a new report released Thursday by Scholastic, the children’s book publisher.

In a 2014 survey of just over 1,000 children ages 6 to 17, only 31 percent said they read a book for fun almost daily, down from 37 percent four years ago.

There were some consistent patterns among the heavier readers: For the younger children — ages 6 to 11 — being read aloud to regularly and having restricted online time were correlated with frequent reading; for the older children — ages 12 to 17 — one of the largest predictors was whether they had time to read on their own during the school day.

The finding about reading aloud to children long after toddlerhood may come as a surprise to some parents who read books to children at bedtime when they were very young but then tapered off. Last summer, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced a new policy recommending that all parents read to their children from birth.

“A lot of parents assume that once kids begin to read independently, that now that is the best thing for them to do,” said Maggie McGuire, the vice president for a website for parents operated by Scholastic.

But reading aloud through elementary school seemed to be connected to a love of reading generally. According to the report, 41 percent of frequent readers ages 6 to 10 were read aloud to at home, while only 13 percent of infrequent readers were being read to.

Scholastic, which operates book fairs in schools and publishes popular children’s books including the Harry Potter and Captain Underpants series, has been commissioning the “Kids and Family Reading Report” since 2006. For the first time this year, the report, conducted by YouGov, a market research firm, looked at predictors that children of different ages would be frequent readers, defined as children who read books for fun five or more days a week.

Kristen Harmeling, a partner at YouGov who worked on the report, said that children in the survey frequently cited reading aloud as a special bonding time with their parents. As children age, “I don’t think that parents know how important that time and the role that it plays in children’s lives,” she said.

Of course, children who love to read are generally immersed in households with lots of books and parents who like to read. So while parents who read to their children later in elementary school may encourage those children to become frequent readers on their own, such behavior can also result from “a whole constellation of other things that goes on in those families,” said Timothy Shanahan, professor emeritus of urban education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a past president of the International Reading Association.

There is not yet strong research that connects reading aloud at older ages to improved reading comprehension. But some literacy experts said that when parents or teachers read aloud to children even after they can read themselves, the children can hear more complex words or stories than they might tackle themselves.

“It’s this idea of marinating children in higher-level vocabulary,” said Pam Allyn, founder of LitWorld.Org, a nonprofit group that works to increase literacy among young people. “The read-aloud can really lift the child.”

Other literacy experts say the real value of reading to children is helping to develop background knowledge in all kinds of topics as well as exposure to sophisticated language.

“It wouldn’t have to be reading” to accomplish that, said Catherine Snow, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “A two-minute conversation about something on television or something in a magazine or something that you’re reading yourself can also have some of the same positive effects as reading aloud.”

Although the Scholastic report found that teenagers were more likely to read frequently for fun if they had dedicated independent reading time in school, only 17 percent of all children surveyed reported having time to read a book of their choice at school daily. Just 10 percent of 12- to 14-year-olds and 4 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds reported having that time in class. Such reading time at school may be particularly important for low-income children, who reported that they were more likely to read for fun at school than at home.

While previous studies have shown little connection between independent reading time at school and better reading habits or comprehension, some large school districts, including Boston and Chicago, encourage teachers to include time in the day for students to pick books and read.

Parents also see a connection. Emily Skelding, a mother of four in New Orleans and a former middle school teacher, said that her eldest son, Sumner, 15, used to devour books as a child. But now that he has no time at school to read on his own — or perhaps more significant, to choose the books he wants to read — “he stopped reading for pleasure,” Ms. Skelding said.

Cholera outbreak kills 13 in Igbomotoru II community, Bayelsa state

An outbreak of cholera in Igbomotoru II, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, has led to the death of 13 people. On Friday, the community said the victims included five children, three men and five women.

Saturday Independentgathered that the epidemic occurred between the Christmas Eve and January 2, 2015.
It was said to have caused panic among the people of Igbomotoru and neighbouring communities.
“Cholera attacked our community between December 24, 2014 and around January 2 this year,” said a source that pleaded anonymity.

“We lost about 13 persons. Five children, five women and three men have passed on as a result of cholera,” he said.
Investigations showed that communities in the area do not have any functional health facility and potable water.
The people of the area travel an average of one and half hours to seek medical attention in Yenagoa, the state capital.

The Bayelsa State government confirmed the incident through the Ministry of Health. An official of the ministry, who did not want to be named, said government had dispatched a medical team to Igbomotoru II to intervene.

Daily Independent

SPECIAL GOOD STUFF: What We Keep Is What We Give – By O. Jason Osai

I checked in for a Port Harcourt-Abuja flight and waited for four grueling hours before boarding was announced. As I was about to step on the staircase of the aircraft, my peripheral vision caught the unmistakable, towering frame of a man my generation of old Rivers State (Rivers and Bayelsa) owe so much for whatever we have today; a man whose record as

governor of Rivers State in terms of infrastructural development, detribalized governance, human capacity building, with special reference to education etc, is yet to be threatened after almost four decades of leaving office.

With my forehead almost abrading the tarmac, I said, “Your Eminence” and the distinctive baritone voice of His Eminence, King Alfred Papapriye Diete-Spiff, Amanyanabo of Twon Brass, boomed “Jason, how are you?” I felt exceedingly proud that he knows me personally as I stepped aside immediately; he stepped on the first rung of the staircase of the aircraft and I followed.

Ascending the staircase, I maintained the close distance of a step behind His Eminence and, in the bowel of the metal bird, what I saw humbled but did not surprise me. I saw a stenciled and glowing ear-to-ear smile on the faces of many of the passengers and a glimmering sparkle in their eyes. I knew that those passengers recognized Diete-Spiff and remembered his works as Governor of Rivers State. It is not unlikely that they were beneficiaries of his good governance. I surmised this from the specks and patches of grey hair on their heads and the faint lines on their faces,

which are tell-tails of years on earth; tell-tails that placed them within the brackets of my generation. Spiff took his seat in the business class and, naturally, I proceeded to where I belong as a classroom teacher.

Seatbelt fastened and in a soliloquy, I asked: what value or price can be placed on those smiles and twinkles of the passengers? Venturing an answer, I said in silence that they were unquantifiable in monetary terms; in other words, no amount of money can purchase those kinetic expressions that welled from the bottom of the hearts of those people in the airplane. Spiritually speaking, those smiles and twinkles generate positive vibrations that reverberate beyond the energy fields of planet earth, across the universe and blend into the peculiar environment of the abode of the Divine part of which the earth is only an infinitesimal component; they are vibrations that are spiritually more efficacious than the boisterous prayers in modern day Christian worship. In my opinion, being responsible for generating such positive vibrations in individuals is what seeking and finding the face of the Divine is all about. It is not found in the temple, synagogue, church, mosque or “chursque” if you care; rather, it dwells in the temple of God, which is the hearts of every individual in creation irrespective of color, creed, location and station; Christ told us so. It is

found in our thoughts, utterances, actions and inactions with special reference to our attitudinal disposition in our relationship with our fellow human beings, including our performance in positions of trust.

In the immediate post civil war years, hundreds of Rivers people of my generation and more had access to university education across the world, based on the liberal educational policy of Governor Diete-Spiff, who was, incredibly, in his twenties. At the time, there were only five universities in Nigeria with one in the totality of what we now know as southeast and south-south zones, which means none was in old Rivers State, so admission for those of us from the minorities was Herculean. Based on

Diete-Spiff’s education policy, all you required as an indigene of the State, were the basic qualification and admission into a university anywhere on earth and “wham” you were on your way there.

Personally, I had the good fortune of making the transition from rock’n’roll  musicianship to broadcasting and disc jockeying in Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), Port Harcourt.

One day in between 1972 and 1973, a colleague, Stella Amachree, and I

left the NBC studios on William Jumbo Street in the hands of a rookie called Chima Okor and headed for the Catering Rest House on Harley Street. On our way back through what is now known as Cookey-Gam Drive, we caught sight of the unmistakable and imposing frame of Governor Diete-Spiff, strolling towards us with some Naval personnel

following at a close distance. No one else, but Stella and I were on the street; so, we stood still as a mark of respect. With his superior height and

ramrod frame, the governor seemed oblivious of our presence as he continued in our direction. Stella led in the greeting and Diete-Spiff responded with that peculiar jazzy voice, stopped and asked for our names. (I learned quite early in life that when you are with a ravishing beauty in the presence of a “big man,” you watch your tongue) so

again, Stella led the way in giving out our names. With a poker smile, the governor commended Ship Ahoy and Shaft Corner, which were two of our radio shows; then he said, “We should build a Rivers State Radio” and walked on.

Wow! Good God!! Goodness gracious!!! Stella and I were in total shock at the fact that not only was he familiar with our names, but he also appreciated our programs.

At the radio station, it sounded like a fairytale when we narrated the experience to our colleagues. The prospect of a Rivers State radio? Wow!!!

From Cornelia Omoniabipi and Peter Brown, who, along with Stella and I, were the microphone crew of Shaft Corner, through Bob Bikefe, Mike Oku, Bernard Graham-Douglas, Ifiemi Ombu, Pat Ketebu, Lolo Berepiki, Emmanuel Dokubo, Sunny Meshach-Hart, Steve Bubagha, Monima Briggs, Matthew Mieyeseigha, Boma Erekosima, Tony Alabraba, Chima Okor to Seniboye Itiye, our very affable producer and boss, everyone was elated-we were practically walking on cloud nine.

Behold, that casual statement by Governor Diete-Spiff turned into a public policy; so, it came to pass that I traveled to the United States where Bernard, Ifiemi, Emmanuel and Tony joined me in studying Broadcasting; Stella studied law at Oxford University, Peter went for metallurgy at University of Manchester, Mike and Pat went to Scotland and studied Broadcasting and Accountancy, respectively. In other words, most of us flew overseas on the wings of the dreams and developmental drive of

Diete-Spiff; that exodus created entry space for Siene Allwell-Brown, Maudlin Park and other Rivers people in the “talk industry.” Today, I have the special privilege of holding the oldest BSc (Broadcasting) in old Rivers State-a tiny little place in history. That scenario at NBC was replicated at various subsections of the Rivers State community during that epoch-one man’s selfless dream lifted a generation of his people; the developmental multiplier effect of that achievement is a topic for another day.

My take on the essence of man’s quest for the face of the Divine is that, in our sojourn in this corporeality within the context of the eternal pursuit,

what we keep is what we give, not what we take. The Time Traveler of Ecclesiastes sums it up in his extensive but concise treatise on materialism and vanity.

Diete-Spiff gave his heart to the Rivers community; and today, Rivers people, especially my generation, hold him at the highest esteem and virtually worship him. No one can take that from him-not natural disaster, ill health or even the grave can take that from him. Even if he has never seen the inner walls of any house of God, he will eternally keep the essence of that which he gave.

The spiritual nucleus of those positive vibrations generated by those smiles and twinkles aboard that flight in 2013 sang and still sing Diete Spiff’s song and dutifully delivers the quintessence of the his being to the Divine as part of the testimony of his life here on earth-a veritable

testimony of service to humanity. According to Jane Fraser, a globally acclaimed female banker, “if you don’t have humanity, you have nothing.” Financially speaking, Diete-Spiff may not be classified as one of the rich people in old Rivers State but he is certainly exceedingly wealthy, spiritually. Because he did not want, the Lord became his shepherd; so, he shall never lack; and this is the difference between those who seek office to serve humanity and those who starve humanity by selfishly feathering their nest. This is an eternal lesson our leaders of today should learn; lessons, which, if learned and the essence of Psalm 23 embraced by all, the ever-expanding frontiers of corruption will be reined in and human society

will achieve the intendment of God-“[His] kingdom come on earth.”

Unfortunately, with the preposterous permissive philosophy of vicarious remission of sins, Christendom has lost sight of the essence of the admonition of the Man from Galilee thus: “do not be deceived; God is not mocked; what a man soweth so shall he reap.”

Today, Diete-Spiff lives in blissful serenity with his social environment and will live positively forever in the everlasting memories of my generation and our posterity. And I ask: How many of our past leaders live in the tranquility Diete-Spiff enjoys? And how many of the present leaders covet it? Keep your answer close to your heart. “He that has ears let him hear.”

Osai is ofthe Institute of Foundation Studies (IFS), Rivers State University of Science & Technology.

This Good Stuff was first published on

Buhari in Abia: Promises to Save Nigeria From Falling Oil Prices

Apparently worried by the free fall of crude oil price in international market, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari on Friday promised that he would steer Nigeria out of the attendant economic hardship by diversifying the economy into agriculture and minning if electded as president on February 14, 2015.

 

He made the pledge at a presidential campaign rally at Etche Primary School Aba, the commercial city of Abia State, saying that Nigeria had great potentials in agriculture and solid mineral deposits which if well harnessed, would enable the country absorb any shock occasioned by dwindling oil revenue.

 

According to him, by paying more attention to the non-oil sector of the economy, his administration would not only put the economy on a firmer ground, but also tackle the lingering problem of unemployment

 

“The main concern of the APC is to make sure that there are no idle capable able-bodied person roaming the streets and becoming touts instead of becoming a productive citizen. We want to encourage the financial institutions to empower the small scale industrialists by giving soft credits,” he said.

 

The former military head of state also said that he would create jobs in the federal ministries, assuring that “in spite of falling crude oil prices, the APC will look and employ qualified, competent, patriotic Nigerians to manage our ministries so that competent and qualified Nigerians will get jobs and opportunity to perform.”

 

Buhari, who has been singing the matra of fighting corruption told his cheering supporters that his administration was going to be accountable to the people and challenged Nigerians to hold the APC accountable if they failed to deliver on their promises.

 

While commending the ingenuity of the Aba people, he specifically promised residents of the commercial city and the South-east zone in general that he would give them constant supply of electricity as well as provide financial assistance for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME) to enable the entrepreneurs grow their businesses and contribute to the growth of the national economy.

 

The APC presidential candidate indeed came with bag of promises to tackle the myriads of problems facing South-east, assuring that his administration would tackle ecological problems in the zone, fix the bad roads, noting that the zone deserved the best infrastructure given their contributions to national development and the African economy in general.

THISDAY

INEC Decentralises PVC distribution, To Publish Voters Register 13th January

Chuks Okocha in  Abuja
   
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has ordered the decentralisation of on-going distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to Ward levels, in order to enhance access by persons yet to collect their cards.
Before now, the distribution was done at the local government offices of the Commission since the end of distribution at the polling unit level. But distribution of the PVCs will henceforth be at Ward level nationwide.

The Commission, at its meeting on Thursday, January 8th, 2015, resolved that the period for distribution of the cards should be extended. Registered voters who are yet to collect their cards can now do so from 8. 30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. daily.

Secretary to the Commission, Mrs. Augusta C. Ogakwu said Resident Electoral Commissioners had been mandated to set up effective monitoring strategies and ensure that the specified hours were strictly complied with by relevant INEC staff.

As part of preparations for the next month’s general elections, INEC is to issue/publish the Register of Voters to be used for the conduct of the 2015 General Elections on Tuesday, January 13th 2015.

This is a crucial milestone on the journey to the 2015 General Elections. Section 20 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) provides that the Register of Voters for an election shall be published at least thirty (30) days before the elections.

The 2015 General Elections will take place on 14th and 28th February 2015.

Also, the Timetable And Schedule of Activities for the 2015 General Elections released to the public on 24th January 2014 shows under item 10, that the Commission shall release/publish the official Register of Voters for the election on 13thJanuary 2015.

By the same token, the Commission shall publish the list of nominated candidates contesting for the Presidency and National Assembly on 13th January 2015. The list of those contesting for the offices of governor and House of Assembly would be published on 27th January 2015.

In the meantime, provisional figures released by the Commission’s Voter Registry Department shows that as at 7th January 2015, INEC had received a total of 54,341,610 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs); it had distributed 38,774,219 PVCs nation-wide and had a balance of 15,567,219 which are yet to be collected. The percentage of PVCs distributed nation-wide by the Commission as at 7th January 2015 has attained 71.35%

THISDAY

Jonathan to APC: Show Your Blue-print For Anti-corruption

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday in Enugu challenged the Presidential candidate of the opposition All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari to unveil his blueprint to Nigerians on how to fight corruption and revive the nation’s economy.

 

Also yesterday, the Director of Media and Publicity of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode called on Nigerians and members of the international community to interrogate the relationship of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Boko Haram and Buhari.

 

Addressing a mammoth crowd of supporters who thronged the main bowl of Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium, Enugu, venue of the PDP Presidential campaign rally, Jonathan said his administration had tackled the problem of corruption in the last four years using modern technologies.

 

He noted that unlike in 1983 when Buhari clamped “innocent Nigerians” into Kirikiri, there were new and modern ways of fighting corruption.

 

“People keep accusing us of being corrupt; let them bear in mind that no nation can thrive with corruption. We hate corruption but the issue now is that they have not told us how they will deal with it. They should show us how they will manage the econony better than us. Let them unveil their blueprint,” he said.

 

The President also presented candidates of the party in the zone where he raised the hand of Emeka Ihedioha whom he described as “the next governor of Imo State”.

 

The president who spent the better part of his 53-minutes address tackling Buhari’s administration in 1983, said he stood miles away from the APC candidate in terms of possession of democratic credentials, noting that despite the promises the opposition leader made when he took over as the nation’s military leader, the economy nearly collapsed on him as a result of his anti-people policies.

 

He also read out some portions of the text of the 1985 coup read by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida on why the Buhari regime was toppled in a bid to further buttress his points that the APC candidate did not possess leadership credentials as being brandished by his supporters.

 

“I’ve told them that this nation must move forward. I cannot run the country based on my heartbeat but it ought to be based on global best practices. This is a man who jailed Dr Alex Ekwueme for no reason and also jailed Jim Nwobodo for 301 years because of allegation of corruption yet they were innocent.  We must run Nigeria based on the rule of law.

 

“In a democracy, somebody is talking about throwing people into Kirikiri. That’s not what is expected in a modern democracy. We cannot go back to archaic way of fighting corruption. Today, salaries are paid through the electronic system, IPPIS for all federal workers; this has reduced corruption in the system. They want us to be fighting imaginary enemies; catch people, lock them up, show them on television and celebrate it. I can’t do that. The best way to stop robbery and corruption is to use technology.

 

“When we came on board, agriculture was a major avenue for stealing money but all that has changed; we adopted the technological way and today, farmers now get their fertilizers directly. By the time we finish with all the sectors, Nigeria would be completely rid of corruption. Also, their impression that everybody who flies private jet is corrupt is laughable. In other nations in America,  Europe and Asia, businessmen who do genuine businesses have their private jets; are they now saying all those people are corrupt and should be thrown into Kirikiri?

 

“On the economy, we have the best hands managing the economy. Our Finance Minister is one of the best in the world today. They accused us of stealing the foreign reserve; it simply means they don’t know what foreign reserve is because nobody steals the foreign reserve. Buhari is coming with the same message he brandished in 1983 when he was a young man not knowing that things have changed. We cannot fight corruption his own way,” he noted.

 

On security, the  PDP Presidential candidate also dismissed the allegation that he had failed to equip the military, noting that under him, the nation’s military had achieved what they could not in the past 30 years, explaining that before he came on board, the nation had only one Frigate warship, but today, there are four Frigates. He also noted that plans were under way to build drones using indigenous hands.

 

Other speakers at the rally including the PDP National Chairman,  Ahmadu Mu’azu (who presented party flag to its gubernatorial candidate in the state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi); First  Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan; Deputy Senate President,  Ike Ekweremadu; Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa-Ibom; Theodore Orji of Abia and Sullivan Chime of Enugu State as well as the Director General of Jonathan’s campaign committee, Dr Ahmadu Ali. They all appreciated the people of South-east for their unwavering support for the president.

 

Specifically, Akpabio ruled out the possibility of a parallel government by the APC, noting that Jonathan will win the election “fair and square”. Voting for them means a vote for insurgency. We cannot hand over Nigeria to vandals. They cannot benefit from the misfortune they’ve unleashed on Nigerians,” he said.

 

While Abia governor said the people of South-east would not give their votes to the same man that clamped their leaders including Ekwueme, Nwobodo and Dr Sam Mbakwe into prison, his Enugu counterpart said ordinarily, the president had no need coming to Enugu as the state remains his major support base.

 

On his part, Vice president, Namadi Sambo said the PDP administration under President Jonathan had done a lot for the people of the South-east including the Akanu-Ibiam International Airport, the rehabilitation of the railway line from Port-Harcourt to Makurdi, the ongoing construction of the second Niger Bridge as well as the construction of about 200km of roads in some parts of the zone.

 

While eulogising the zone as having produced some of the nation’s great leaders who made enormous contributions to the overall development of the nation, the Vice President said the only way to sustain the contributions of the zone’s founding fathers was for the people to vote massively for the president.

 

Nigerians should interrogate the relationship of MEND, Boko Haram and Buhari…

Meanwhile, the Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP’s Presidential Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has called on Nigerians and members of the international community to interrogate the relationship involving the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) as well as Boko Haram and the All Progressives Congess (APC) with its presidential candidate, Buhari.

 

Fani-Kayode made the call on Friday in Abuja against the backdrop of the purported endorsement by MEND of General Buhari’s presidential candidacy on the APC platform.

 

He said when accosted by journalists that Buhari’s comments about insurgency in Nigeria were worrisome and that his endorsement by MEND, a discredited militia group, should also give Nigerians and the international community great concerns.

 

The PDP Presidential Campaign spokesperson said with the way events are curiously unfolding, it would not come as a surprise if Boko Haram group equally publicly endorses General Buhari and the APC.

 

According to him, “it is important for Nigerians to take another look at General Buhari’s comments about Boko Haram and the way he has encouraged Boko Haram.

 

“It is on public record that Buhari had announced to the whole world that it was unfair and unjust for the Boko Haram to be tackled; a sect that had killed over 20,000 innocent Nigerians, mostly women and children, after burning their homes and destroying their communities.

 

“It is also on record that Buhari has severally and consistently criticised government for protecting Nigerians against attacks by Boko Haram and has gleefully announced that government forces should stop attacking the Boko Haram, and in fact, should treat them like the Niger Delta militants; in other words, rehabilitate them, grant them amnesty and pay them every month, concluding that any attack on the Boko Haram sect was a declaration of war on the people of Northern Nigeria.”

 

This, according to Fani-Kayode, brings us to the question of the true nature of Buhari’s relationship with these terrorist group and its international affiliates.

 

He further stated that the APC’s spokesperson, Lai Mohammed, whom he described as a friend, had supported Buhari by stating that the proscription of Boko Haram by Federal Government after they had murdered 20,000 Nigerians in cold blood was unjust and unconstitutional.

 

“I think it is relevant and something of interest for all Nigerians and the members of the international community to begin to ask questions about the nexus between Boko Haram, MEND and all these terrorist organisations that find it easy to kill people and the leading opposition presidential candidate and the APC.

THISDAY

Buhari: History and the Wilfully Blind – By Shaka Momodu

Thirty years ago, he faced the cruel and ignominious fate of being tied to the stake and a hail of bullets from marksmen ended his precious life. That person was Bartholomew Owoh (26) who alongside others, Bernard Ogedengbe (29) and Lawal Ojuolape (30), were executed by firing squad after being arrested and tried for drug trafficking. The case of Bartholomew Owoh, the youngest of them all, was particularly tragic. At the time of his arrest, the crime did not carry capital forfeiture -the punishment was six months imprisonment. But Decree No. 20 was hurriedly promulgated and back-dated by one whole year to take effect from when he and others committed the crime and on the basis of that they were all tried, found guilty and executed by firing squad. Someone recently asked me if this actually happened and I said, “read the records of history against Buhari’s name”.

The man responsible for that “judicial murder and crime against humanity” is today the APC presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, who has shown no remorse, no regret and has tendered no apology for his actions. Furthermore, he has sought no remission or restitution for that act of pure evil. He is the same man being daily burnished in the media by revisionists as the new face of “change.”

 

I sometimes wonder how he has been able to sleep, eat and wake up every morning for the past 30 years knowing that his hands are stained with the blood of these young men.

Before the promulgation of Decree 20, drug offences were bailable and it is instructive that Bartholomew Owoh was even on bail when it was promulgated. My personal investigation reveals that immediately the decree was promulgated, the young man expressed his desire to escape from the country. But his father prevailed on him to stay back, promising that he would protect him from the grave injustice. The young Owoh heeded his father’s advice and stayed. But his father clearly underestimated the deadly resolve of General Buhari to implement the new decree against his son and others. I can imagine the horror the poor father must have felt on hearing that soldiers had marched his son to the Bar Beach firing range to be executed.

 

I can imagine the last few moments of Bartholomew’s earthly life as he watched soldiers march around in a choreographic and synchronised parade to carry out the orders of General Buhari. What was going on in his mind? Did he have the moment to say goodbye to his family? Definitely no. He must have been too shocked by what was about to happen. What were the last word(s) he heard on this earth before the hail of bullets hit and silenced him forever? Have any of Buhari’s supporters bothered to ask or imagine? Have any of them put himself on the receiving end of such grave injustice? I guess the last word Owoh heard was: “fire”! And the last sound? The crack of gun shots as hot lead pierced through his body ripping him apart. He probably twitched for a few seconds and his precious life ended just like that. Where and how were he and others buried? In an unmarked grave perhaps! Expectedly, their families were denied the privilege of paying last respect to their loved ones.

 

If Bartholomew Owoh, the youngest of the three were still alive today, he would have been (56) – about the same age as Buhari’s running-mate, Yemi Osinbajo. He would have been married with children; somebody would have called him father; somebody would have called him uncle. But he died in his prime, as his life was brutally cut short by no less a brutal regime with the red hand of murder. What is a life worth to those who casually say Buhari has changed when the evidence points to the contrary? What is the value for human life to the revisionists and those uninformed bloggers who spread fantasies of Buhari’s daughter who is alleged married to an Ibo Christian man all in a bid to sell him?

I can imagine the eternal guilt Owoh’s father must have felt and probably still feels, that’s if he is still alive for prevailing on his son not to escape.

The irony here is that Bartholomew Owoh and his co- travellers were no saints; just as Buhari who ordered their execution is no saint. But the difference is that while the supporters of Buhari tell us that he has changed and are willing to forgive and give him a second chance, the same Buhari never gave Bartholomew and his co-travellers the opportunity for a second chance – to change and be good citizens of the society.  Each time my mind drifts to this monumental injustice, I still freeze in shock and  a cold chill runs through my body. How could this have happened in our country? But I am a witness to this part of our history.

I doubt if many Sai Buhari! crusaders feel the same way. But I know for sure that they won’t be so supportive of Buhari if their relatives were among the three Nigerians executed by a back-dated law. Can anyone of his supporters out there stand up and be counted on this score?  Needless to say that many of them were too young to appreciate the gravity of the injustice while many others were not even born then. So, they can be excused for not being witnesses of records but they can’t be excused for refusing to use the lessons of history as guides to the future.

 

The frenzied campaign to dress Buhari in borrowed robes and foist him on Nigerians must be interrogated without let. Buahari’s critics must never  allow themselves to be intimidated into silence by those who attack them for daring to interrogate the past, present and acts recorded against the general. Moreso, as the Sai Buharis have the right to air their opinion and support for the general without molestation. It is the fairest minimum for a healthy debate.

It is in this regard that I take exception  to Buhari’s supporters who would rather re-write history and shout critics down for daring to air contrary views from the make-belief narrative being used to dupe a new generation of  Nigerians, especially bloggers, facebook and twitter savvy youths. Whatever the case, facts remain  sacred, comments are free but the records of history endure.

One of the often forgotten victims of Buhari’s high-handedness is Busari Adelakun. Does that name ring a bell? If it doesn’t, let me introduce him to you. Busari Adelakun was a grassroots mobiliser like no other. He was so instrumental to the emergence of the late Chief Bola Ige as the governor of old Oyo State in 1979 that he was appointed Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs despite his low academic qualifications.  But Adelakun was to fall-out with his boss, Ige, and pitched  tent with his estranged Deputy, the late Chief S.M Afolabi. Alongside  other  former Unity Party of  Nigeria (UPN) stalwarts, Adelakun moved to the rival National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and worked for its candidate, Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, in the August 13, 1983 governorship election which he won. Olunloyo was sworn-in on October 1, 1983 and three months later, December 31, 1983, a group of soldiers led by Buhari, overthrew the democratic government.

One of those arrested by the new junta was Adelakun. He was herded into jail alongside other politicians. While Adelakun was not put on trial, he was nonetheless kept in jail despite his poor health, he was an ulcer patient who needed regular treatment and a special diet.

But he was denied proper treatment and food; leading Adelakun to suffer in prison until he died. Even after his death, the military junta would not release the corpse to his family. He was yet another  Second Republic politician who met his untimely death as a result of the in-human conditions he was subjected to in Buhari’s detention camps.

The same man is now being canonised by a cabal of primitive wealth accumulators, money changers and flawed progressives whose motivation  is anything but altruistic.

 

 

APC, Buhari, Change and Corruption

For God sake! How can a man who, according to Professor Wole Soyinka, “Built a career out of human rights abuses” suddenly become the change agent for the New Nigeria?

He has become the man who will cure Nigeria of all afflictions such as corruption, insecurity, etc. The only message coming out from Buhari is: “I will fight corruption and insecurity,” but he has been short on details on how he plans to achieve these twin objectives. He is yet to give Nigerians an economic blue-print, five weeks to the presidential election. In the face of dwindling revenue, General Buhari is yet to articulate  an innovative, and creative  road map on how to move the economy forward.

It is not enough for Buhari and his party to tell us that he will fight corruption without telling us how. Of course, that is the easiest claim any politician can make but the statement cannot be taken as a commitment. It is all talk, and talk is cheap if it is not backed by an action plan which is currently missing.

For the life of me, why should the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun brand every Nigerian who opposes Buhari’s presidential ambition as corrupt? Is that not a gratuitous insult? Is this not a typical example of an elder behaving badly? Why are these people so self-righteous when we see how corrupt they are too?

My worst fears were confirmed after reading news reports credited to the APC chairman recently that Buhari will not probe past corrupt acts because he wants to draw a line in the sand and move on. I chuckled and then laughed.  If this is Buhari’s position, how then will he fight corruption, when even before the election, he has given a blanket amnesty to those accused of being corrupt? Can anyone spot the contradiction in the public message of “change” and the utterances of the APC leadership? In one breath, they accuse anyone who is opposed to Buhari’s ambition as corrupt- and in another breath, Chairman Oyegun stated that Buhari won’t probe past corrupt acts. Hear him: “The only people I can think of, who will fear the Buhari presidency are those who do not want change; they are those who want to continue with business as usual; they are those who want to continue to profit from the level of corruption in the society.

“The message will be clear – whatever you engaged in before that was detrimental to the people of this country, please stop it. There will be a line drawn in the sand; on one the part is the past, the other side is the future.” How will this deter people from corrupt acts if-  past crimes carry no weight of  punishment?

If the signals from Odigie-Oyegun are anything to go by, then the clamour for change by the APC  may end up just giving Nigerians more of the same or just selling a bad apple disguised as an orange.

Now hear Buhari in Port Harcourt where he went to launch his campaign: “I will send corrupt people to Kirikiri.” Really?  (Probably without trial).  That would have made sense if the PTF probe report wasn’t so damning.

But unfortunately, Buhari’s Spartan incorruptible and austere credentials being trumpeted by Oyegun and his supporters have been ripped apart with his indictment in the management of the Petroleum Support Trust Fund, PTF.  Based on the probe report conducted in 1999-2000, the PTF under Buhari’s supervision was mismanaged. The report was however neither made public nor was it acted upon by former President Obasanjo.

In its summary, the committee had advised Obasanjo to “set up a high powered judicial panel to recover huge public funds allocated to the PTF and to take necessary action against any officer, consultant or contractor whose negligence resulted in this colossal loss of public funds.”

 

According to the report, the sum of N25,758,532,448 was mismanaged by the Afri-Project Consortium (APC), a company contracted by the PTF as management and project consultants. Buhari as PTF chairman was said to have also “delegated to them the power of engineers in all appropriate projects requiring such power-” which made them assume absolute powers to initiate, approve and execute all projects by the PTF.

The mismanagement that took place in the PTF under Buhari’s watch was said to have been carried out by APC (the company) in their capacity as management and project consultants. Both their management services fees and budgets for several projects carried out during the existence of the PTF were greatly overpriced.

The question now is who will send Buhari to Kirikiri for the mismanagement, corruption and huge financial losses suffered by the taxpayers when he was chairman of PTF?

With his indictment for mismanagement by a committee instituted in 1999 by Obasanjo,  Buhari’s ability to manage the Nigerian economy and fight corruption has being called to question. Will he lead by example by voluntarily surrendering himself at Kirikiri Prisons. Imagine the effects of such an action on many corrupt people who currently walk the streets free.

 

The opinions expressed in this article are the Author’s and do not reflect the editorial policy of Sayelba Times

Suspected Boko Haram Member Confesses: I Was Initiated After Drinking Concoction

Yesterday, three members of the insurgents group, Boko Haram, who partook in recent attacks and killings around towns and villages of Borno State, were arrested at a refugee camp in Maiduguri where they were faking to be part of IDPs from Baga.

One of them who agreed to squeal said he was never a lover of the sect until he was forcefully conscripted into the sect through diabolic means.

The Civilian-JTF operatives deployed to provide security for the arriving displaced people of Baga after the terrorists had sacked them last week said the Boko Haram terrorists joined other IDPS to enter Maiduguri with the intention of spying for their colleagues in the bush.
Gambo Muhammed, a 27-year-old native of Gaya in Kano State who was born and brought up in Malumfatori, confessed that he had killed “only six people” since he was forced to join Boko Haram last year.

He was arrested amongst the fleeing residents of Baga whose town was taken over by Boko Haram last week. Over six thousand residents of the seized fishing community were forced to flee their homes into Maiduguri in the last five days.

Gambo Muhammed was fished out by another conscripted but non-combatant Boko Haram member who was helping the Civilian-JTF to identify members of the sect that may have disguised as IDPs.
According to the scraggy looking arrested Boko Haram member, he was forced to join the Boko Haram sect after some members of the group threatened him and several others with death upon them and their family should they refuse to pick up arms and fight against non-members.
“I and over 40 other young men were forced to become Boko Haram members in Baga town when Boko Haram gunmen came to round us up in the mosque,” he said.

“When we were taken to a bush camp near Konduga we were given some water that was used to wash off some Arabic inscription from a wooden tablet, and we were also given a fresh date that was rubbed with some substance to eat. After eating mine, I felt some internal heat, and then I began to sweat profusely; that was all that I could remember and I became a full member of the sect doing everything other members were doing including killing people.

“I killed only six people…and I swear it was not more than that figure; in fact I was even forced to do it when we went to Konduga and we wanted to forcefully take some people’s livestock of which the owners said they won’t allow us go with them even if it was for the purpose of doing “God’s job. So, one of our leaders asked me to step out with my gun and ordered me to kill the people and he warned that if I refused to do as commanded, they would shoot me. So I had to shoot them all,” he said.
Gambo was arrested alongside two others who at the time of the interview had refused to speak even though they had earlier acknowledged that they were Boko Haram members who had participated in several killings including the recent Baga attack.

Provost of the Civilian-JTF, Lawan Zanna, who led the team that arrested the three Boko Haram suspects said his team had so far arrested about 270 of such Boko Haram members who would join the IDPs to the camp either to escape being arrested or as spies.

He said the three arrested Boko Haram members are still being investigated with a view to revealing where some of their members who may have sneaked into the state capital could be fished out.

Give Us Updates On Rescue Efforts, Chibok Parents Tell FG

Parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls who are unyielding in their hopes for the return of their daughters yesterday asked government and Nigeria security forces to tell them how far they have gone in the search of their girls, LEADERSHIP Weekend reports.

Bulama Jonah, the father of one of the 219 abducted schoolgirls who are still under the captivity of the Boko Haram in a telephone interview yesterday requested to be briefed on the extent government and Nigerian military had gone in trying to rescue the girls.
“Days have crept into weeks and weeks now to months and by the 14th of this month, our daughters would be spending nine full months in the hands of the terrorists, yet government is not telling us anything about them,” said Jonah who mourned the absence of his eldest daughter, Amina.

He worried further that, “it is sad that these girls would be spending nine months in the hands of Boko Haram and no one is telling us anything, not even how far they have gone and where they have stopped. They should know that these are girls and even a woman that is pregnant would by now be thinking of delivering a child but even before that time of delivery, the husband and parents of the woman must have information about her progress.

“It is sad that our government has gradually abandoned us and our missing daughters but as citizens of this country, we deserve to be informed about what is happening to our daughters.

For God sake, the government of Nigeria has no right whatsoever to discountenance our plights because in the first place, it is her duty to protect the children who were taken into captivity from the school which is supposed to be government premises.”

Leadership

Nigeria, 3 Others Account for Half of Africa’s Poor, Says Report

Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Tanzania and Ethiopia currently account for about 413 million people living below poverty line in Africa. This is about half of the continent’s population.

The disclosure was contained in the 2014 Africa Progress Panel Report (APPR), released during the week. The panel which has 10 board members is currently chaired by the former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Kofi Annan. Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, is also on the board.
The report stated: “More than 413 million people still live below the poverty line. Just four countries: Nigeria, DRC, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, account for half of Africa’s poor.”

While acknowledging that Africa remains one of the world’s fastest growing regions in the world, it said: “In the past decade and a half, the only global region to grow consistently faster than Sub-Saharan Africa has been developing Asia. Africa’s average incomes have risen by a third.”

Oil, gas, and minerals, it added, have been driving much of this growth in countries such as Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Mozambique. But non-extractive sectors including agriculture have been key in countries such as Cote d’Ivoire, Rwanda, and Ethiopia.

However despite the impressive and robust population growth, too few people are benefitting from the continent’s natural resources, adding that inequality was on the upward growth.
The way out of the poverty menace, the report advised was for African governments to focus on agriculture to reduce poverty, a sector that supports two thirds of all African people. “Africa could feed itself but instead it imports food worth $35 billion per year.” the Report explained.

APP said: “Food production in Sub-Saharan Africa is falling behind. It now exports less than Thailand.”
However, it said Africa’s applied technology innovations showed African creativity when given the right opportunity.

“Developed by Africans for Africa and the world, this digital and mobile technology is accelerating Africa’s productivity growth.
Indeed Africa’s agricultural productivity could easily double within five years.” It also added.

The Report further stated: “Urbanisation, hunger, and the heavy cost of food import bills mean that Africa must produce more food.

“Global population is set to grow from 7.2 billion to 9.6 billion by 2050. Urban populations will grow even faster. Global food demand is expected to double. This is an excellent commercial opportunity for African agriculture.”

The 2014 Report urged African governments to invest more in their agricultural sectors, which directly affects two thirds of Africa’s population. It however stressed that Zambia, Liberia, and Mozambique show that time, effort, and money can produce impressive agricultural growth, adding that growing the sectors can drive national growth.

“Illegal logging costs the continent an estimated $17 billion every year, while, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing costs West Africa alone a conservatively estimated $1.3 billion every year.

“Foreign boats are not just taking fish, they are stealing food, jobs, and income”, APPR asserted.

Africa has been losing an estimated 5.7 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) an equivalent of $50 billion, to illicit financial flows, which is more than the continent spends on health.

Thisday