An estimated 400 bodies were discovered in the northeastern town of Damasak, Borno State this weekend. The town of Damasak was liberated by Nigerian troops and joint military operations with Chad and Niger last month, after years of being assaulted by Boko Haram terrorists.

The dead were left out in the elements for an undetermined length of time, and were badly decomposed and covered in desert sands. Dead bodies were found scattered throughout the town and in the Damasak River bed, which dried up recently.
Reports from on the ground also narrate that the dead were buried in at least 20 separate mass graves around the Damasak town area.
Gana Mustapha, a spokesman for Borno State Governor, told the media that "the level of devastation in Damasak is high. We have seen hundreds of people that were massacred by Boko Haram." A committee has also been set up to strategize how towns ruined by Boko Haram and rebound.
News of the Damasak Massacre comes at the same time the Nigerian military allegedly rescued 300 women and girls from the Sambisa Forest, though early speculation that these victims were the Chibok Girls proved fase.
Incoming president, Muhammadu Buhari, has vowed to take a hardline stance against Boko Haram. President-elect Buhari will be inaugurated on May 29th.

10:57

The All Progressives Congress, Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressive Grand Alliance     candidates for last Saturday’s rerun governorship elections in Taraba, Imo and Abia States on Sunday kicked against the results in their respective states.

The candidates- Aisha Alhassan(APC), Emeka Ihedioha(PDP) and Alex Otti(APGA) told journalists that the elections in their states were charaterised by irregularies.

While Alhassan and Otti said they would go to the tribunal to challenge the outcomes, Ihedioha, said he would leave the decision on whether to challenge the result to his party.

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Alhassan was defeated by PDP’s Daruis Ishaku while Otti lost to Okezie Ikpeazu, also of the PDP. Ihedioha, who is the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, lost to Governor Rochas Okorocha of the APC.

In Jalingo, Taraba State, the   candidate     told a   news conference     that the entire electoral   process was like a “daylight robbery.”

She said, “The governorship election in Taraba State was characterised by violence, massive rigging, ballot snatching and abuse of the card readers in substantial parts of the state by the PDP and their allies.”

Alhassan contended that results ascribed to Wukari, Donga, Takum, Sardauna, Zing, Yorro, Kurmi and some parts of Ussa, Karim-Lamido, Bali, Ardo-Kola and Lau local government areas were not acceptable as they did not reflect the true outcome of the election in Taraba.

Alleging that all the complaints about   irregularities and abuse of the election guidelines were reported to INEC, she said she would challenge the outcome at the tribunal.

INEC Returning Officer in the state,   Kyari Mohammed, said Ishaku scored 369,318 votes as against   Alhassan’s   275,984.

Mohammed said there were 1,461,645 total registered voters in the state, of which 787,516 were accredited for the election.

He explained that the total valid votes cast were 681,166, while the total votes rejected were 174,131.

The     April 11 governorship election in the state was declared inconclusive due to what INEC described as widespread irregularities.

In Umuahia, the APGA National leadership     claimed that like the April 11   polls in the state, Saturday’s exercise was marred by irregularities.

The party’s Chairman, Mr. Victor Umeh, told journalists that INEC   colluded   with the PDP to rig the   election in favour of   Ikpeazu

He expressed shock that INEC ignored APGA’s earlier call for the outright cancellation of results from three Local Government Areas in the April 11 poll but instead reinstated the cancelled results.

Umeh, who contested and lost the senatorial election in Anambra State on March 28, said, “The controversy that was generated by the returning officer in reinstating the election results he had cancelled in Obingwa, Osisioma and Isialangwa North necessitated APGA’s earlier call for the cancelation of the “ out of the reality figures from the affected councils.”

He insisted that INEC ought to have sustained the cancellation of the results from the three councils as it did in Imo State in 2011.

Umeh alleged that “ even the re- run was held under incoherent preparations as up till Friday night, details of polling units   remained speculative. “

He said, “APGA rejects the result of the poll as announced not because we cannot lose elections. We   can accept losing an election through a credible process. We won the election clearly but our mandate was stolen.

“Accordingly, we will not resort to self help; we will challenge the result at the tribunal.’’

“APGA will firmly stand by Otti until he reclaims his stolen mandate.’’

Umeh called on the President – elect,   Muhammadu Buhari, to probe electoral fraud in the South-East after his inauguration because “while other parts of the country are celebrating democracy, INEC used the zone for an experiment.’’

Otti thanked Abians for “their massive support “for him, and appealed to them to remain calm and prayerful as he prepares to head for the tribunal.

He said, “ Election has come and gone but the battle has just started. Evil cannot prevail over good but if it seems to prevail, it is only for a while.

“Weeping can only endure for a night, joy comes in the morning. We will not resort to brigandage because two wrongs cannot make a right. “

Otti alleged that voters were intimidated and scared from the polling units by coffins paraded in Aba by suspected PDP sympathisers on the eve of the election.

He also alleged that the rerun was fraudulently cancelled in Umunneochi after it had been listed by INEC.

The APC candidate, Nyerere Anyim and his Progressive Peoples Alliance counterpart, Chikwe Udensi, came third and fourth respectively with 10,244 and 4,381 votes .

Governor Theodore Orji, who welcomed PDP’s victory at the poll, denied that Ikpeazu   was his stooge.

“I can’t manipulate a person who has a Ph.D. He has been in government for long and the era of manipulation is gone. He is intelligent enough to reject what he does not like,”he added.

He attributed Ikpeazu’s victory to people’s quest for power rotation.

Orji, therefore, called on those who lost to close ranks with the winner in the overall interest of the state.

The Police in the state however   denied reports by some online news portals that there were   violent clashes   between the supporters of the PDP and the APC in Aba on Sunday.

Some of them had claimed   that “some angry youths who felt cheated over the outcome of the poll have taken to the streets blocking major access roads leading to the home of the PDP candidate.”

According to one of the reports “PDP supporters   dressed a coffin in APGA flag while chopping off a fowl head which is a symbol of the APGA”.

Also, while the APC supporters   trooped to the streets celebrating   Okorocha’s victory, Ihedioha alleged   that INEC officials conspired to rig the governorship election in favour of the governor.

He said he was not prepared to congratulate the winner because the election was marred by massive irregularities perpetrated by the APC.

He said, “In spite of instances of identified electoral malpractices, including the arrest of over 25 members of staff of Imo State INEC, who conspired with the opposition party to manipulate and change the results of the elections already declared in favour of the PDP, incident of swapping of PDP votes in favour of the APC, all of which eroded the validity and credibility of the exercise, INEC has gone ahead to declare the APC candidate as the winner.”

However, he maintained that as a law abiding citizen, he acknowledged the declaration of the results by INEC. But he added that his party would deliberate on the details of the result and act appropriately in future.

Our correspondent in Owerri however saw   jubilant APC supporters wielding brooms and chanting pro-Okorocha slogans.

They   converged on the Government House chapel where Okorocha was having a thanksgiving service to congratulate him.

The elated governor dedicated his victory to the masses of the state who he described as the main victors of the election.

He said, “I have asked God to bless me so that I can bless others, I asked him to honour me so that I can honour others; give me leadership position so that I can impact on my people. This victory is for them.

“I have redeemed my campaign promises; now my people can enjoy free education, kidnapping is now a thing of the past, now it is time for job creation and setting up of industries.   The first beneficiaries would be my 25,000 youths waiting for employment. One thousand others will go to Turkey for industrial training.”

He however appealed to his opponents   to join hands with him to build the state.

“I suffered a lot of campaign of calumny and hate speeches from my opponents but one thing they would never say is that I did not work; now I am the governor of APC, APGA and the PDP; so I call on them to join hands with me to build this state.”

23:04

The Federal Government has received two grants totalling N1.2bn from the European Union and the Government of Japan to tackle insurgency in the North-East as well as to improve the level of disaster management in the country.

The agreement for the release of the grant was signed in Abuja between the Federal Government and representatives from the EU and the government of Japan.

Minister of National Planning, Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman, signed on behalf of the Federal Government while the Head of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria, Mr. Michel Arrion, and the Charge the Affairs of Japan, Mr. Masaya Otsuka, signed on behalf of the EU and Japan respectively.

The pact for the release of the grants was also witnessed by the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Zainab Maina; the Executive Secretary, National Planning Commission, Mr Bassey Akpanyung; and the Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Sani Sidi.

While the EU grant, which was put at €1.5m (about N325m) was for the support of children and adolescents affected by the insurgency in Borno State; that of Japan, valued at $4.5m (about N886.5m), is for the provision of disaster management equipment to be used in Nigeria.

Speaking at the event, Sulaiman described the $4.5m grant from Japan as a game changer in the disaster management objective of the Federal Government.

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He said, “Nigeria has experienced various degrees of disaster over the years, including flooding, fire disasters, disease epidemics, oil spillage, climate change and terrorism.

“In most cases, whether natural or man-made, our response level may not have matched the magnitude of the negative occurrences. Draught, desertification, flooding, fire outbreak, disease epidemics and terrorism are the most common source of disaster.

“Flooding, which is the most recurring disaster in Nigeria, is usually caused by either climatic or non-climatic factors thus leading to River floods, flash floods, urban floods, sewage floods, glacial lake outburst floods and coastal floods.

“The yearly recurrence of flooding in Nigeria with disastrous consequences serves to illustrate the country’s inadequate preparedness and low capacity for effective disaster management.

“The resources for effective management of the occurrences are not readily available; hence the support from development partners serves as invaluable assistance.”

While commending the government of Japan and the EU for the grants, the minister assured them that the fund would be judiciously used as stipulated in the terms of the agreement.

On the EU grant, he said the fund was expected to contribute in mitigating the negative psychological implications of the humanitarian crisis that currently plague Borno State, the operational base of the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

This crisis, he said, had largely disrupted education and health services, including immunisation activities, in the state.

23:02

Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati
| credits: File copy

The Presidency on Sunday said despite losing the March 28 presidential election to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the All Progressives Congress, President Goodluck Jonathan is still working for Nigerians.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, made the clarification in a message he posted on his Facebook page on Sunday.

Abati was reacting to some reports that claimed that the present administration which winds down on May 29 had abandoned some of its ongoing projects because of Jonathan’s electoral loss.

The presidential spokesman said there was no truth in the reports.

He said contrary to the reports, Jonathan was still busy working for Nigerians as their President.

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He said evidence that Jonathan was still working abound at the site of the second Niger Bridge which is currently under construction, the ongoing work on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway as well as the Abuja-Kaduna Railways.

While thanking Nigerians for allowing Jonathan to serve them, he expressed the hope that the transformation being witnessed under the current administration would continue under Buhari’s leadership from May 29.

He said the President maintained that he remained committed to service and sacrifices for Nigeria in whatever capacity he finds himself.

Abati, who attached a video of ongoing work on the second Niger Bridge, wrote, “A short video from the site of the second Niger Bridge which is currently under construction according to project schedule.

“Our projects have not been deserted as some reports give.

“From Lagos-Ibadan Road to Abuja-Kaduna Railways and Kashimbilla Dam, which are set for inauguration, we are still working for you.

“President Jonathan prays for the incoming administration led by General Buhari to achieve even as we hope that this transformation continues.

“We thank you for letting us serve you.

“President Jonathan maintains that service and necessary sacrifices will be his lifelong commitment to Nigeria in whatever capacity.”

23:02

President-elect, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), on Sunday said his administration would take a second look at the claim by a former Governor of the Central Bank, now Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, that $20bn, that was supposed to be remitted by the NNPC to the federation account, could not be unaccounted.  

President-elect Muhammadu Buhari

Buhari said this while receiving a delegation of party supporters and newly elected officials on the platform of the All Progressives Congress from Adamawa State at his campaign office in Abuja.
The President-Elect, who spoke in the local Hausa language, expressed surprise that instead of probing the allegations by the former CBN governor, the authorities chose to fire him.
According to him, since Sanusi’s claim was documented, his administration will take a second look at the document when he assumes power on May 29th.
Buhari said, “On the issue of corruption, I heard that some people have started returning money. I will not believe it until I go and see for myself.
“You all know what the Emir of Kano talked about when he was the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. He said $20 billion dollars, not naira, $20 billion dollars, was unaccounted for; they said it was a lie. Instead of investigating it, they sacked him. And God in his infinite mercy made him the Emir of Kano. In any case, that is what he wanted. And since this was documented, the new administration will take a look at it.”
This is against the background of a pronouncement by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has started refunding the unremitted $1.48bn into the federation account.
While expressing gratitude to the visiting delegation, Buhari in response to several requests, said his administration would work in tandem with the manifesto of the APC.
He listed priority areas to include security of lives and property, the economy, job creation and the war against corruption. 

23:01

The Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has condemned the sale of honorary awards by some Nigerian universities to individuals of “questionable character.”

Oshiomhole noted that such acts had dented the sanctity of the nation’s education system, calling for a review of such awards as a way of santising the system for future generations.

The governor spoke during the 19th convocation of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, where three Nigerians – the Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri; a philanthropist and businessman, Dr. Lee Ikpea; and Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of the Believers Love World, a.k.a Christ Embassy, were honoured by the institution.

He said, “One of the problems that confront us today as a nation is that even the ivory tower seems to have given up and many are now in a hurry to award honourary degrees even to people of clearly questionable character. That a man is rich doesn’t mean he is successful; what defines a successful man is the overall totality of his lifestyle.

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“And so when we see universities giving honours to those who can dole out, it becomes award for the highest bidder and, of course, it disturbs the values of our younger ones. So, when universities give honour to people just because they are rich and even when the source of the wealth is so clear that it is not a result of industry and hard work, then I think it is very sad for Nigeria.”

Oshiomhole, who is the Visitor to the university, emphasised the need for a new national policy on education to provide equal opportunity based on intellectual capacity rather than socio-economic class.

He said, “We must revisit the question of appropriate national education policy so that it must be possible for the child of the poor to have quality education; no child should be denied access to the best schools.

“Even Oxford has had to reverse its policies notorious for providing spaces for only the children of the elite; they now have quota to ensure that a worker with requisite knowledge can go to Oxford University and the state provides subsidy to make that possible.”

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Cordelia Agbebaku, lauded the state government’s support in ensuring that good learning environment was provided for the students.

She also noted that the institution would continue to provide policies that are aimed at improving its academic profile.

A total of 7, 882 first degrees, 239 higher degrees and 46 certificates were awarded at the ceremony.

23:00

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Okezie Ikpeazu, the winner of the Abia State governorship election.
Mr Ikpeazu polled 264,713 to defeat the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, Alex Otti, who polled 180,882 votes.
The result was declared in the early hours of Sunday after the supplementary election of Saturday.
Election was held in all the areas earlier listed by INEC for the re-run election except in Umunneochi Local Government Area.
INEC had erroneously scheduled election there, which was not supposed to take place in the first instance because the Form, EC40G, was not filled which indicated that there was no problem in the area.
Abia State is one of the state where supplementary governorship election was held on Saturday after election of April 11 was declared inconclusive by INEC.
Other States are Imo and Taraba State.
The incumbent Governor of Imo State has been declared the winner of the elections while the result of Taraba state election is being awaited.
Supplementary House of Assembly election was also held in some other states in areas where elections had been declared inconclusive. The elections were adjudged peaceful.

01:40

Migrants climb aboard the NGO Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) ship Phoenix as a group of 104 sub-Saharan Africans on board a rubber dinghy is rescued some 25 miles off the Libyan coast in this handout photo provided by MOAS October 4, 2014. (Photo Credit: REUTERS/MOAS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/Handout via Reuters)

 

 

Only 5,000 migrants may be allowed to resettle in Europe as refugees under the emergency summit crisis package, the rest are to be speedily repatriated. The package is to be agreed by EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday .

A confidential draft summit statement reported by the Guardian indicates that the vast majority of those who survive the journey and make it to Italy – about 150,000 did so last year – will be sent back as irregular migrants under a new rapid-return programme co-ordinated by the EU’s border agency, Frontex. More than 36,000 boat survivors have reached Italy, Malta and Greece so far this year.

In particular in terms of sharing responsibility across the EU the draft statement suggests only “setting up a first “voluntary” pilot project on resettlement, offering at least 5,000 places to persons qualifying for protection”, it says.

The draft summit conclusions also reveal that hopes of a major expansion of search-and-rescue operations across the Mediterranean in response to the humanitarian crisis are likely to be dashed, despite widespread and growing pressure. In essence their operational priority will be to keep the migrants out, not to rescue them.

EU foreign and interior ministers on Monday 20 April decided to double funding in 2015 and 2016 and “reinforce the assets” of the existing Operation Triton and Operation Poseidon border-surveillance operations, which only patrol within 30 miles of the Italian coast.

The European council’s conclusions said this move “should increase the search-and-rescue possibilities within the mandate of Frontex”. The head of Frontex said on Wednesday that Triton should not be an operation primarily aimed at search and rescue. (Frontex is the European border guard agency.)

Instead, the EU leaders are likely to agree that immediate preparations should begin to “undertake systematic efforts to identify, capture and destroy vessels before they are used by traffickers”. The joint EU military operation is to be undertaken within international law.

The statement calls the crisis a tragedy and says the EU will mobilise all efforts at its disposal to prevent further loss of life at sea and to tackle the root causes of the human emergency, including co-operating with the countries of origin and transit.

“Our immediate priority is to prevent more people dying at sea. We have therefore decided to strengthen our presence at sea, to fight the traffickers, to prevent illegal migration flows and to reinforce internal solidarity,” it says, before adding that the EU leaders intend to support all efforts to re-establish government authority in Libya and address key “push” factors such as the situation in Syria.

The EU leaders also make a commitment to “increasing emergency aid to frontline member states” – taken to mean Italy, Malta and Greece – “and consider options for organising emergency relocation between member states”.

EU leaders are expected to stress their determination to fight the traffickers and will promise to bring them to justice, seize their assets and make a concerted attempt to take down any online material likely to attract migrants and refugees.

On Monday, ministers and the European Commission agreed to bolster the Triton mission, to increase its funding and assets, and to expand the operational area of Triton, which is run by Frontex. But the head of Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri, said on the eve of the summit that saving migrants’ lives should not be the priority for his maritime patrols despite the clamour for a more humane response after the deaths of 800 refugees and migrants over the weekend.

He flatly dismissed turning the Triton mission into a search-and-rescue operation and voiced strong doubts about new EU pledges to tackle human traffickers and their vessels in Libya.

“Triton cannot be a search-and-rescue operation. I mean, in our operational plan, we cannot have provisions for proactive search-and-rescue action. This is not in Frontex’s mandate, and this is, in my understanding, not in the mandate of the European Union,” Leggeri said. Instead, he appealed for planes to conduct aerial surveillance so they could anticipate more disasters.

 

01:35

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose

The 19 All Progressives Congress lawmakers in Ekiti State House of Assembly have urged a Federal High Court, Abuja, to establish a contempt charge against Governor Ayodele Fayose for allegedly manipulating its ruling.

They warned that impunity and manipulation of facts of his impeachment case in the media could not save him.

The lawmakers were reacting to media reports on the ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja which refused Fayose and seven Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers’ request which sought to bar APC lawmakers from continuing impeachment process against the governor.

Special Adviser to Speaker Adewale Omirin, Wole Olujobi, said in a statement on Saturday that the APC lawmakers were surprised that the governor and his men could deliberately misrepresent the fact of the ruling to mislead the public.

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“It is incredible that the governor and the PDP lawmakers could manipulate the press again to mislead the public that the ruling by Justice Evoh Chukwu was in their favour.

“While the judge clearly ruled that it could not stop Fayose’s impeachment without hearing from the APC lawmakers, the governor’s storm troopers went to town in a contempt of court to turn full circle the ruling by the judge,” the statement explained.

The statement added, “He first raided the courts and chased the judges under their tables and subsequently closed the courts. After that, he closed the House of Assembly and chased the lawmakers out of town.

“Fayose is now creating for himself a reputation as an enemy of the state who within few months killed all democratic institutions and their supporting structures in Nigeria in a mindless pursuit of power.?”

The statement urged the court to establish a contempt charge against the governor and his men for this “thoughtless manipulation and misrepresentation of the ruling to put the court in bad light.”

Fayose, who reacted through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, said he would not dignify the APC with a response.

He said, “We are not interested in joining issues with them on the pages of newspapers on the court ruling since we know and everybody knows the type of character the APC lawmakers are.

“A dog that will perish will not listen to the whistle of the hunter.”

01:32

Government-operated temporary shelters for foreign nationals displaced by xenophobic violence in Johannesburg have now been closed, officials have told Al Jazeera.
Zweli Dlamini, a spokesperson for the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, said late on Saturday that local leaders in affected communities had assured authorities that foreign nationals would be secure after a series of meetings between government, police officers and community leaders.
“We only moved them when we were given assurance that their safety is guaranteed,” Dlamini said.
“We started the re-integration process on Thursday and we only had about 128 people left in the camp after that, which we then cleared this morning.”
At least eight people were killed in a wave of xenophobic violence that erupted on March 30 in Durban, the capital of eastern KwaZulu-Natal province.
The violence displaced thousands in the port city before spreading to areas in and around country’s commercial hub, Johannesburg.
Johannesburg’s Primrose camp, which opened on April 16, initially sheltered 400 to 500 people. Later almost 1,000 foreign nationals took refuge here.

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In next-door Cleveland, a few hundred more people found respite in a community hall.
In the suburb of Mayfair in Johannesburg, Gift of the Givers, a nongovernmental organisation, is still running a camp that hosts more than 130 displaced people.

01:32

Thousands of people marched through downtown Baltimore on Saturday to protest the unexplained death of a black man in police custody but the demonstrations turned violent when some protesters threw metal objects at officers and broke windows.
Saturday’s protests began peacefully, with at least 2,000 demonstrators marching to City Hall for a rally, the biggest since 25-year-old Freddie Gray died six days ago, a week after
his arrest. But later, as darkness fell, some protesters fanned out across the city and damaged stores and cars.

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Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the overwhelming majority of the protesters were peaceful but that agitators disrupted the demonstration.
“After a week of peaceful demonstrations I am profoundly disappointed to see the violence in our city this evening,” Rawlings-Blake said at a news conference.
With his death, Gray joined a long list of black men who have died under questionable circumstances during police encounters in recent months. The highly publicized incidents
have triggered an outcry over the use of force by law enforcement against African-Americans.
Last year, weeks of protests followed the shooting death of unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the death of Eric Garner, a black man in New York City who was placed in a chokehold during an attempted arrest.
While the demonstrations in Baltimore were largely peaceful on Saturday, there were pockets of violence, and police said in a Twitter message that 12 arrests were made.
Fredericka Gray, Freddie’s twin sister, joined the mayor at the news conference and appealed for calm.
“Please, please stop the violence, Freddie Gray would not want this,” she said. “Freddie’s father and mother does not want violence, violence does not get justice.”
Local television station WBAL showed footage of a protester in the afternoon throwing a metal crowd-control barrier at officers, while WJZ showed a young man hurling a flaming metal container at riot-clad police officers. Other protesters jumped on police cars, breaking their windshields.
WBAL showed dozens of demonstrators running through downtown streets where they overturned garbage bins and broke at least one storefront window. Video footage on WJZ showed police in riot gear moving in formation and pushing a crowd of a few dozen
demonstrators away from a downtown intersection.
At various times, demonstrators faced off against officers in front of Camden Yards, home of the Orioles baseball team, whose evening game against the Boston Red Sox began as
scheduled.
After the game ended, the scoreboard flashed a message saying the mayor and the police department had asked “all fans to remain inside the ballpark until further notice,” according to photos posted to Twitter. Later, fans were permitted to
leave.
U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, who represents part of the mostly African-American city of Baltimore, told WBAL the disturbances could distract from calls for justice in Gray’s death.
“Any little thing can spark the situation to get out of hand and we cannot afford that, we’re better than that,” Cummings said.
Six Baltimore police officers have been suspended in the Gray case, and an internal police investigation is under way.
“We are all united in our demand to indict the six police officers and convict,” said Sharon Black, spokeswoman for People’s Power Assembly, one of the rally organizers.
On Friday, Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said the officers repeatedly failed to give Gray medical assistance and disregarded department regulations by failing to buckle the man into seat restraints in the van.
Gene Ryan, president of the Baltimore police union, criticized Batts’ comments. Ryan, president of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police, said in a statement the
commissioner’s comments were premature and “appear to be politically driven.”
Police have said Gray fled when officers approached him in a high-crime area, but he was caught a short time later and placed in the van. He was carrying a switchblade knife, police said.
When the van arrived at the police station, an ambulance was called and Gray was taken to a hospital. He died a week later.
Batts said on Friday that investigators were still trying to determine what happened inside the police van. Police said their investigation would be completed by May 1, a day before
protesters plan another rally in Baltimore.
The department will turn over its findings to state prosecutors and an independent review will follow

01:31

That base year was the year he and Umaru Yar’Adua, who at their inauguration had labelled themselves “children of independence”, took power.
2007 was before Mr. Jonathan famously declared corruption in Nigeria to be “exaggerated”.  It was before he swore he would never publicly declare his assets, and before he elicited the collective gasp of history as he declared acts of stealing not to be mistaken for corruption.
But on that occasion, less than two months after his inauguration, he said he was re-launching the “war against corruption”, and that his government would be governed by the principles of transparency and accountability.
Mr. Jonathan’s speechwriter, presiding over a carton of Gulder, must have been guffawing hard as he as he listened to the president mouthing all the made-up cliches.
“We will carry out a comprehensive audit of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government beginning from June 2007,” he must have mouthed along.  “You must observe due process in all that you do…
"The anti-corruption agencies have been directed to beam their searchlights on the ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government, and also focus on the states and local government areas, in order to send out a clear signal, that no form of abuse will be tolerated.”
It is evident now that the Nigeria leader was merely reading a script.  Not once thereafter did he even refer to such an investigation, no report was ever issued, and nobody has suffered as a result of his “war”.
But just in case you didn’t know, the nation’s constitution is categorical about one standard expected of public officials:
Section 140 (1) says: "A person elected to the office of President shall not begin to perform the functions of that office until he has declared his assets and liabilities as prescribed in this Constitution and he has taken and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of office prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to this Constitution."
In Sections 149 and 152, it prescribes the same standard for Ministers and Special Advisers.
To be fair to Mr. Jonathan, he never said he had not declared his assets: the nightmare which kept him awake was always the one about the public finding out what he really owns.
But that is the very point, and our history is firm proof that a secret declaration is no declaration at all.
That is where that speechwriter who manipulated him got it wrong in the transparency double-talk.  In Mr. Jonathan’s March 2015 electoral collapse, Nigerians confirmed they did not forgive the duplicity.
But the outgoing president was also assisted by the mistakes of the Founding Fathers, who imagined that asset-declaration as non-contact sport would someone help Nigeria along the way.
That must now be corrected, and it is hopefully one of the first few things that Muhammadu Buhari chases first when he assumes office.  It is not enough for him and his appointees to declare their assets, even at Abuja’s Eagle Square.  The task is to end impunity, and he can commence that process by working to make public assets declaration by public officers a matter of law.
But this must also be tied to two other extremely important correlations.  The first is that the three cited categories of public—and allied—officials must also publicly declare their assets when their tenure ends, or within two weeks if they are fired or impeached.
A declaration of assets at the beginning is worthless if it is not accompanied by a control declaration at the end.
The second correlation is to combat the highest level of impunity at the source: the immunity cause in the constitution.  If a President or a governor has time to create assorted and repeated mayhem in office rather than focus on serving the public, he can certainly face necessary legal action.
This is hopefully the tone that Buhari will set four weeks from now: leadership of action, laws and institutions.
But Buhari is not bringing miracles, and Buhari himself it is who must understand this.  He does not have to do everything, because he cannot.  What he can, and must achieve, is to set a bar below which Nigeria must never again sink.  He can do that by establishing appropriate law, building a meritocracy, and motivating Nigerians to take their fate in their hands.
We expect action where there have been hollow words for over 50 years. 
But of course he will also speak, especially at his inauguration, when every word will be as powerful as anything he will ever do.
He should throw himself at the mercy of Nigerians, reminding them that neither they nor the leadership given him can accomplish anything unless we all change.  He should call out to Nigerians to reach deep so as to rise high; to replace selfishness with compassion, and corruption with nationalism.
He should remind Nigerians that everyone can serve, and everyone can give, and that it takes every man and every woman serving a little and giving a little for a people to reach the skies.
He may paraphrase another famous leader.  “Ask not what this government can do for you or for yours, but what you and yours can do for this country.
“You don’t have to see me, or hold office, in order to serve.
“You don’t have to see the Vice-President.
“You don’t have to be acknowledged or to be rewarded.
“Let us change what being a Nigerian official means: not a means of self-enrichment, but an opportunity to serve.  Let us change what being a Nigerian citizen means: from being a spectator of a kleptocracy to being an active champion of our democracy.
“We will identify and provide opportunities to contribute to the common good, but you do not have to wait to be shown how to serve.  We will list worthwhile and unfinished projects throughout this country.  You will have a chance to serve, to uplift, to serve, to contribute, to complete.
“Pledge.  Commit.  Cooperate.  Improve your community
 “Donate your time.  Write a cheque.  Donate scholarships and we will find deserving students who never need to know your name unless you insist, who will honour them in the name of Nigeria.
“Donate a privilege, a car, a bus, airline tickets or opportunities, rather than ask for them.  Donate land or good buildings for public use, but not stolen funds.  If you have stolen funds in your hands, return them: it is the right, safe and advisable thing to do.
“Build or furnish a library, a playground, a park, a community centre, a tennis court.  Generously endow a chair or join with others to endow a chair or a scholarship in perpetuity in the name of an honourable Nigerian.  Volunteer your expertise. 
“We need functional communities, rising on the backs of volunteer and group work.  Let us have local response to local needs and problems: villages and streets and neighbors and associations organizing and cooperating to improve the environment or conquer a common menace, so as to rebuild our battered country.
“We need students, parents, schools, civic and professional associations putting down the pens and pencils of criticism, and replacing them with the rakes and shovels of national commitment and social action…”

01:19

The Abia State election rerun kicked off with INEC officials at the state level employing all tricks to frustrate most of the officials sent from Abuja to enable a level playing ground for all. Last night, the Abuja field officers were seen tiredly spread on the premises of INEC in Umuahia and complaining of neglect by INEC in Abia. In the same vein, they were assigned to duty posts late morning today, making it practically impossible for them to get there on time.

Meanwhile, inside INEC office, a Federal Commissioner from Ebonyi State held sway. The man, one of the known but unseen hands for PDP in the April 11 elections, tweaked areas where elections are to be held today, presumably working with chieftains of PDP. Insiders say the Abuja list of where elections are to hold today is not consistent with the Umuahia list. Together with a female Federal Commissioner from Abia State  who is due to retire soon and the REC who has been working hand in gloves with the current governor, the Commissioner was bent on returning PDP as the winner of the April 11 election and partly accounted for the inconsistency of the Returning Officer in the drama that followed the verdict on the fake results from mainly three local government areas of the state. As accreditation is ongoing, here are briefs across state:
Umunneochi: Fracas broke out in Nkwoagu, the local government headquarters yesterday. Sensitive materials arrived Thursday night with only INEC and PDP officials available. By Friday, APGA representatives alleged an influx of fake adhoc staff from PDP. Before much could be said, thugs alleged to be working for PDP and led by one Akwaja from Mbala  Isuochi, and under the watch of the Transition Chairman of the local government unleashed mayhem. The son of a former Senator was stabbed badly by the thugs most of whom were alleged to have been 'imported' by the Transition Chairman. Later Friday night, the sensitive materials were taken back to, presumably, Umuahia with INEC officials saying the election in Umunneochi had been 'postponed'. This morning, military personnel and fringe INEC staff arrived, but substantive INEC officials did not. APGA led in Umuaku and Umunneochi in the April 11 elections with a landslide. Sensing a heavy defeat in his town, one Ebuga, led thugs loyal to the Transition Chairman to attack a vehicle carrying ballots cast by voters. It was on the pretext of that that PDP requested for the cancellation of the elections in Umuaku polling area. The question then is if INEC doesn't hold the election in Umuaku today, what happens to the votes previously cast?
Alaoji Park, Ugwunagbo: Thugs working for PDP were beating and scaring away would-be voters and the police helplessly looked on. The military arrived later and professionally restored order. Unfortunately, as soon as the military left after about forty minutes the thugs took over from where they stopped, and this time helped by the Police. That is the situation as at 1.20 p.m. today.
Ward 3, Aba South: As at 10:15 a.m., there were many registered voters waiting but no INEC officials.

10:55

Nigeria’s First Lady, Patience Jonathan, was conspicuously absent at the 5th and last Presidential Prayer Breakfast Saturday.​

Mrs. Jonathan always attended the presidential breakfast prayer which was initiated ​by her husband, ​President Goodluck Jonathan.
The first lady, who was vociferous before the March 28 presidential election, has stayed out of spotlight and has not made any public appearance after the president lost the poll.
Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress, APC, won the election.​
Mrs. Jonathan w​as also absent at the Easter ​church ​celebrations and has since not made any appearances at event she would normally attend.

10:44

The Nigerian Army has allayed fears of any attack Saturday morning in Jos Plateu State after an explosion was heard by the residents.

The Spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, in a brief statement said "the explosion heard in Jos, Plateau State this morning  was from an accident that occurred while troops authorized to destroy unservicable ammunitions were transporting the bad ammunition.
"Some of the unserviceable ammunition  exploded in the process of moving them to demolition site in the bush."
Colonel Usman added that the explosion did not affect the barracks or neighbouring communities.
He nevertheless disclosed that "Unfortunately, two soldiers lost their lives and one sustained injuries. Normalcy has returned to the area."

10:29

The Chief of Army Staff under the late former military dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, Lt.Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi (retd.), on Tuesday, narrated to a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja how he was allegedly swindled by an alleged serial fraudster, Fred Ajudua, with the aid of a suspended court registrar, Mrs. Oluronke Rosulu.

Bamaiyi appeared as a witness before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, where Rosulu, the then registrar to Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, is facing two counts of conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence.

According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Rosulu allegedly connived with Ajudua to defraud Bamaiyi of $330,000 on November 20, 2004.

The money was allegedly obtained from Bamaiyi by Ajudua with the aid of Rosulu, under the false pretence that the sum represented the professional or legal fee demanded by Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) to represent Bamaiyi in court.

Then, Bamaiyi was standing trial before Justice Oyewole over the allegation of attempted murder of the publisher of The Guardian Newspapers, Mr. Alex Ibru and two others.

Ajudua had allegedly told Bamaiyi that he was a lawyer and that on the advice of the then Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Ade Alabi (retd.) and the then Lagos Attorney General, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), it was best for him to hire Babalola as his lawyer, in order to facilitate his release from the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons in Lagos, where he was remanded.

Rosulu, whose trial had now been separated from that of Ajudua for want of speedy trial, was alleged by the EFCC to have violated Section 1 (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 13 of 1995.

Led in evidence by the EFCC lawyer, Seidu Atteh, Bamaiyi said, “On November 23, 1999, I was in cell 5, first floor, at Kirikiri Maximum Prisons. Later Ajudua and Ade Bendel were brought in at the block. I and Ajudua were together in my cell, so we became friends.

“Ajudua told me that he was a lawyer and that he had studied my case, and found out that it was purely political. Ajudua told me that he was interested in the case and that he had sent his wife to see the Lagos Chief Judge, Justice Ade Alabi and the state Attorney General, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, over the matter. I was told that the CJ was the one in contact with Chief (Afe) Babalola.

“I was told that Chief Babalola charged $18m as professional fee. I was then told that the money was to be paid through Justice Oyewole. Ajudua told me that Justice Oyewole was going to send his registrar (Rosulu).

“On October 23, 2004, which was Rosulu’s first visit to me in Kirikiri, the defendant came to the visiting room with Ajudua and confirmed to me that she was sent by Justice Oyewole. She came with Ajudua alongside a prison officer, ACP Abdullahi Garuba.

“On November 6, 2004 at 10am, which was her second visit, the defendant came with Ajudua to the prison, alongside ACP Garuba. This time she came with her daughter, who she said was from the university. The defendant assured me that any money released through Justice Oyewole would get to Chief Babalola.

“Before the defendant’s third visit on November 20, 2004, a friend of mine had arranged $330,000 for me. The money was brought in a ‘Ghana-Must-Go’ bags to the prison. I showed Ajudua the money and he said he would send one Jonathan, his boy, to assist us in counting the money. The money was counted in the presence of the defendant (Rosulu) and the prison officer (ACP Garuba).

“That evening, Ajudua told me that the defendant called and confirmed delivering the said money to Justice Oyewole and the same had been taken to Chief Babalola. I never met her again until December 19, 2013 at the Lagos office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

“Not hearing from Chief Babalola after a while, then Ajudua had travelled to India, I suspected that something was wrong.

“I called Ajudua’s line in India to tell him that Justice Oyewole said he never received any money and Chief Babalola did not handle my case. Ajudua asked me how I got Justice Oyewole’s number and since then he stopped receiving call on that line.”

During cross-examination by the defence counsel, Mr. Bamidele Ogundele, the retired General said that Rosulu never introduced herself to him as a legal officer or a member of staff in the office of Chief Babalola.

Bamaiyi added that Rosulu did not sign any document on receiving the $330,000 claimed to be part payment for Babalola’s legal services.

Rosulu’s trial was, on October 24 last year, separated from that of Ajudua, who had hitherto stalled the proceeding with various applications.

Her lawyer, Ogundele, had pleaded with Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye that Rosulu, who had been suspended as a court registrar, needed to know her fate before her retirement due for this year.

Ogundele told the court that unlike Ajudua who had several pending applications stalling the trail, her own client desired a timeous trial, adding that out of the 32 counts filed by EFCC, Rosulu was involved in only two.

00:27

NIGERIANS, especially the youths, have continued to protest xenophobic attacks on foreigners, especially Nigerians, in South Africa.

The latest protesters included the students of the University of Lagos and members of the Youth Action for Success.

The UNILAG students on Monday staged a protest at the South Africa’s High Commission, Lagos, while the YAS members took to the streets of Enugu on Tuesday.

The UNILAG students delivered a protest letter to the South African High Commissioner, Amb. Lulu Mguni, giving the South African authorities a 24-hour ultimatum to either stop the attacks or face a boycott of businesses and products from the country.

The students came in three buses, one of which had ‘Aluta missile’ on the number plate.

One of the students that participated in the protest told our correspondent that the demonstration had been planned to move on to major South African companies on the Lagos Island but that the police stopped the protesters.

He said, “We issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the appropriate authorities of South Africa to stop the attacks or they risk a boycott of their businesses and products in the country. We will be the ones to champion the boycott.

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“We were to go to a major South African company on Tiamiyu Savage Street but armed policemen resisted us and we cancelled our trip.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the protest.

He said, “The students, under police protection, demonstrated at the South African High Commission. They made attempts to go to the DSTV and MTN offices but were appropriately advised in the interest of security.

“They peacefully departed after a hitch-free protest.”

In Enugu, the youths, who protested on the streets of the coal city, demanded an end to the attacks within 48 hours, failing which South African investments in Enugu State and other parts of Nigeria would be destroyed.

The youths, under the aegis of YAS, carried placards with various inscriptions. Some of the placards read, “No to mindless killing of Nigerians”, “Stop this xenophobia now” and “Don’t tempt our patience”, among others.

Speaking to journalists during the rally, the leader of the group, Jesechai Okezie, said the South Africans had not been grateful for the hospitality of other Africans.

He said, “We are not happy that Nigerians are being brutalised and killed in South Africa.

“We allowed South Africans to come here and operate; they have Shoprite, Multichoice, MTN and a host of other investments here.

“So why are they killing us? Why are they brutalising us? Why are they denying us of our economic rights?

“We love other nationals here in Nigeria, we treat them with the highest level of hospitality, but this is what we have got in return.”

Demanding an immediate end to the attacks, Okeke said, “These killings must stop forthwith.

“We are giving the South African government 48 hours to ensure that these killings and looting come to an end.

“The President of South Africa must assure the world that the lives and properties of Nigerians are safe; if they don’t do that, we are going to react and our reaction will be disastrous.

“We are asking Nigerian youths to remain calm.”

00:25

The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has urged the National Human Rights Commission and the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Holland, to prosecute Governor Ayodele Fayose.

The party accused the governor of making inciting broadcast on the state radio and television by urging his supporters into “an act of rage and violence” to attack the 19 APC lawmakers in the Ekiti State House of Assembly thus preventing the lawmakers from performing their constitutional duties.

The APC said the statement by Fayose had threatened the peace of the state in the past few days.

But the governor dismissed the call by the APC as coming from a group of people that lacked decorum.

The APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, in a statement on Tuesday, said the call to the ICC and NHRC became imperative because of the death of one person recorded in Efon Alaaye and the near collapse of the peace after the governor’s live broadcast.

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Olatubosun said, “Governor Fayose few weeks ago mobilised his supporters to confront the APC lawmakers who were coming to perform their legal duties in Ekiti State. He had earlier urged his supporters to defend his election with the last the drop of their blood.

“In obedience to his order, his supporters in Efon stormed the security check-point and engaged the security agents who they perceived as paving the way for the APC lawmakers to enter the state. In the ensuing gunfire, Modupe Olaiya was shot dead.

“In response, Fayose rented a woman to pose as the mother of the deceased to claim that an APC lawmaker shot Modupe dead.

“Few days later, the real mother of the deceased showed up, raising the alarm in the media that the impersonator was a woman leader of Fayose’s party. She accused the impersonator of taking government’s inducement to implicate an innocent man.”

The party urged the rights commission and the ICC to open their books for the earlier petitions over rights abuses by the governor, saying Fayose remained the greatest security risk to peace in the state.

Fayose, who reacted through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, said it was ridiculous and a thing of shame for the APC to call on the NHRC and the ICC to sanction somebody exercising the mandate freely given to him by voters.

He said, “The facts that APC leaders have sold their conscience for a pot of porridge does not mean others have done same.

“They killed Modupe Olaiya, and that was the 12th person APC people would kill in Ekiti State since when Kayode Fayemi came to office.”

00:24

Xenophobia in South Africa is not new; it’s not a phenomenon that started today. In 2008, a wave of xenophobic attacks specifically targeted at black migrants claimed the lives of more than 60 people, many of them Nigerians and Zimbabweans, and their properties and investments worth millions of dollas.

What is their grievance?
They claim that these black migrants from fellow African countries flood their cities and towns and compete with them for scarce and limited job opportunities, most times succeeding at the expense of the locals. Most of these attacks occur in shantytowns and townships where there is a pronounced and asphyxiating poverty.
Like Nigerians, most South Africans live below the poverty line. In fact, figures reveal that the current poverty level in South Africa is higher than it was in the Apartheid era. The economic gap between the whites and the minority affluent blacks on the one hand and the majority poor blacks on the other has never been more pronounced. The poor black South Africans barely mix or come in contact with the whites, and the wealthy blacks are also often beyond reach, locked away in their mansions.
When these black migrants arrive, they do not usually go to the big cities, such as Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban or Cape Town, instead they settle in the shanty suburbs and underdeveloped townships where they struggle with the locals to eke out a living. This creates an inevitable friction with the locals, leading to resentment and discontent and often culminating in physical violence and abuse.
Though it is true that xenophobic attacks mostly occur in areas such as the ones I described above and are often instigated by their own version of Nigeria’s Area Boys, they have no geographic or socioeconomic limitations or boundaries. If opinion polls – some of which can be accessed with the aid of an Internet search engine – are anything to go by, xenophobic sentiments run high among many South Africans.
In 2014, a disturbing video surfaced in the social media, allegedly portraying officers of the South African Police Service assaulting a naked Nigerian immigrant in Cape Town, sometimes seen punching and kicking him in the groin with unbridled ferocity. Moreover, the alleged killers of the famed South African global reggae icon, Lucky Dube, claimed in court that he was shot because they mistook him for a black foreigner, specifically a Nigerian.
South Africa has an unenviable record when it comes to welcoming foreigners. A report released in 2014 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known as the UN Refugee Agency, stated that 238 incidents of attacks on foreigners in which 120 foreigners were killed and 7,500 more displaced were recorded in 2013. A similar figure was obtained in 2014 and 2015, it seems, is not looking any different.
Nevertheless, not all South Africans are xenophobic. Most of them aren't, actually. Not all the locals living in the shanties harbor xenophobic sentiments towards their foreign neighbors. But, because we are more attracted to bad news than we are to good news, we are less likely to hear of their good deeds than of their bad deeds.
However, the crux of the matter remains that xenophobia is a disgusting, foolish and cowardly crime worthy of condemnation. Xenophobia is similar to racism and other forms of sociocultural, economic, political and sexual discrimination and it must be treated as such. The present wave of xenophobia sweeping across South Africa should be spoken of in the same breath as the racism and anti-Semitism of Nazi Germany, the discrimination against Aboriginal Australians by the white immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries, the anti-Christian persecutions by ISIS in the Middle East and the Apartheid.
Some would argue that this is happening on a much smaller scale than the others, but, if left unchecked, it will metamorphose into something more monstrous. Others will argue that it’s simply a symptom of and response to the poverty that pervades the country. This vindication is flawed. There are many ways to react to and tackle poverty, but none of them includes taking it out on foreigners and their investments.
It is rather unfortunate that these series of attacks are happening in a country that had recently been rescued from the fangs of Apartheid. It sours the good works of the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, who strived hard to mend the broken country and turn it into a welcoming, all encompassing rainbow nation.

Follow the writer on Twitter @MichayChizzy
 

00:23

According to Dr. Okereke Chukeumerije, a Professor at Reading University, United Kingdom, the Nigerian Ministry of Environment “needs to have highly capable and experienced people running the ministry – from the minister through the senior to medium level officials.” One of the results of inexperienced personal piloting the affairs of Ministry of Environment in the words of Prof. Okereke is “lack of environmental awareness and well designed policies to tackle a host of sustainability related challenges in the country such as erosion, desertification, climate change and waste accumulation.”
A quick look at recent attempts by groups at raising the level of environmental awareness in Nigeria is not encouraging. The acceptance of “amnesty” program by the Niger Delta militants and the subsequent abandonment of genuine agitation for reduction in pollution at creeks and farmlands from activities of oil exploration and exploitation was demoralizing. This was coming at the heels of the brutal execution of environmental right activist Ken Saro-wiwa by Sani Abacha's administration on November 10, 1995. The election of Vice President - now President Goodluck Jonathan- to the seat of power in Abuja raised false hope that the degradation of Niger Delta ecosystem will begin to receive the much needed urgent attention.
However, President Jonathan’s inaction towards salvaging what is left of the environment at his backyard as well as putting the right pegs in the right holes in Ministry of Environment makes the theme of this year’s Earth Day - “It’s our turn to lead” - pertinent.
As we prepare for this year’s Earth Day on April 22nd, 2015, the questions on my mind are; where are the leaders of Environmental Movement in Nigeria? Whose turn is it to lead in Nigeria? Where are the next leaders in ‘governance for sustainable development’? Who will be the next Minister for Environment?
Nigerians have just elected General Muhammadu Buhari in a historic election characterized by change. GMB if nothing else should reciprocate by changing the political system where individuals with little or no understanding of the science that underlies good environmental policy are put in charge of the Ministry for Environment. GMB should appoint a Minster for Environment that will help reconcile continued economic and social improvement with the preservation of local ecological systems, through ‘decoupling’ of economic activity from environmental loading.
GMB as a change agent should appoint someone that will exhibit independent judgment in the development, implementation and evaluation of plans towards clean energy and sustainable development. Also, the next minister for Environment should work with environmental civil society groups to develop the necessary skills to tackle the broader political, economic, and social issues that underlie environmental problems as an integral part of the change Nigerians voted for.
It’s the turn of environmental groups in Nigeria to lead. They should therefore, not only constitute an effective force in tackling environmental issues, but also a genuine civil society that is transforming state-society relations in Nigeria. To effectively influence sustainable development debates, we need environmental networks with a wide understanding of politics and political action.
There is thus the need for radical shift in environmental movement in Nigeria. While the Niger Delta environmental movement was active few years back, they failed woefully to make an impact on environmental governance.  This new collation of environmental groups should therefore mount national campaign different from the failed efforts of the Niger Delta militants that capitulated in the face of financial inducement.
It’s our turn to translate this ambitious agenda for societal change towards the environment to practical reality. To achieve this, we need to push for a radical shift in existing patterns of oil production and consumption as well as the transformation of major socio-economic sectors including energy, transport and agriculture. We have to lead the public debate, get involved in political decision making, policy formation and implementation that will steer societal development along sustainable lines.
Finally, we hope that GMB will give Nigerians a Minister for Environment with the experience and determination to effect change so urgently needed in these desperate times in responding to citizen complaints while enforcing environmental regulations. That is the change we voted for and expects to see from GMB in commemoration of 2015 Earth Day in Nigeria. Wind of change is in the air. The environmental ministry in Nigeria shouldn’t be left out.
  Churchill Okonkwo
African Center for Climate Science and Policy Research
Washington DC
Churchill.okonkwo@gmail.com

00:21