Headline

Bleak Christmas As Insecurity, High Cost Of Living, Others Mar Celebrations

Published

1 year ago

December 25, 2022

Editor

It is another Christmas, a season people travel to be with their loved ones. For some Nigerians, it is more than a Christmas celebration, it is a period of homecoming.

Nigerians are known to be travelling home every December for Christmas and New Year celebrations. They used the occasion to besiege their villages from wherever they may reside including those in the Diaspora.

While some attributed this quest to visit home during the end of the year as an inborn trait, others saw it as more of a homecoming, a get-together for an average Nigerian traveller. The latter school of thought believes that Christmas time provides people with the opportunity to unite with their families and loved ones.

This period of homecoming usually witnesses so many social and cultural events such as housewarming, weddings, child naming/dedication, burial, football competitions and masquerade displays among others.

Before now, many had thought that nothing would deter Nigerians from travelling home during this annual festivity. However, the worsening security challenges in the country, the biting economic hardship and an astronomic increase in transport fares have changed the narrative. People are afraid to go home for fear of being killed by bandits and unknown gunmen. They are hungry and ever-busy motor parks and markets are scanty.

Gloomy Situation

A trip to some major parks in major cities like Lagos and Abuja showed a drastic decrease in the number of travellers from the previous years. The above-mentioned factors were said to be responsible. For example, a journey from Lagos to Onitsha that cost about N11, 000 in November was N27, 000, a more than a 200 per cent increase, on Friday.

Transporters are not happy with the gloomy situation. They voiced their frustration when asked to compare this year with previous years.

“This is supposed to be a boom time”, said Onoja, a driver with an interstates transport company.

“But you can see what’s happening here, this place used to boom by this time. As you can see, everywhere is dry and it’s not good for us.”

Economic Hardship

The scenario is the same across major markets. In Lagos, markets like Oyingbo, Mile12 etc. recorded low turnouts of traders. The reason is not far-fetched: economic hardship. For instance, a bag of 50kg rice, which was sold between N15, 000 and N20, 000 last year, is selling between N40, 000 and N45, 000 as of Friday.

“How many Nigerians do you think can afford a bag of rice at this period when the minimum wage is N30,000 and salaries are owed in many states?”, Adeola, who deals in foodstuff at Daleko Market, Mushin, Lagos queried.

“The economy is bad and nothing is working. It’s unfortunate that this government only knows how to visit hardship on the people”.

Insecurity

According to VANGUARD findings, insecurity tops the reasons why many people were not travelling. Those who spoke to our correspondents attributed the situation to the menace of unknown gunmen, kidnappers, bandits, armed herdsmen, etc who have been terrorizing the entire country.

The South-East, which used to be one of Nigeria’s relatively peaceful regions, has witnessed rising violence in recent years. Gunmen have been on the rampage in the geo-political zone, killing scores including police officers and burning police stations, Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, offices, shops and vehicles.

The recent spike in violent attacks followed a five-day sit-at-home across South-East from December 9 – 14, declared by Simon Ekpa, a controversial Finland-based Biafra agitator and leader of the pro-Biafran group, Autopilot IPOB, a faction of the IPOB.

During the enforcement of the order, many people were killed, including Prince Iheme, an elder brother to Nollywood actor, Osita Iheme. Properties worth billions of Naira were also destroyed.

The unconscionable enforcement of the now unpopular sit-at-home has injected fear into the people.

Instead of those living outside Igbo land to visit home, as usual, it is residents in the region that are leaving their ancestral homes in droves to meet their loved ones in Asaba, Lagos, Abuja, etc.

For example, a report by SBM Intelligence for DevEast Foundation said insecurity and sit-at-home protests in the South East have led to massive economic losses estimated at almost N4 trillion in two years.

The study noted that transporters plying inter and intra highways and other roads in the five states of the region lose between N10 billion and N13 billion every day of the sit-at-home protest. It added that small and medium enterprises mostly involved in trade and commerce, as well as artisans, lost between N655 billion and N3.8 trillion within 24 months.

The losses, according to the report, could be traced to specific factors including loss of between four and five working days per week; job losses due to cutbacks by business owners in response to the reduced working hours and other lost opportunities; loss of clients and customers who find alternatives because of the unstable business environment in the South-East; and increased cost of service delivery because of extra logistical costs.

The study added that the activities of official and non-state actors of various stripes – unknown gunmen, Eastern Security Network (ESN) and Ebube Agu and military operations in the zone, agitations by IPOB as well as the #EndSARS protests of 2020 – also worsened the security situation in the region and contributed to the losses. The story is not different from any other part of the country.

Not even the presence of increased formal security measures and parallel quasi-security formations like the one formed by the Benue State government could stop the incessant violent attacks across the country. The agitations, violence and inability of constituted authorities to handle the security situation in the country appear to have further dwindled public trust in the political and community leaders due to their apparent helplessness.

Not even the assurances of state governors and security agencies that the security of lives and properties of all citizens was guaranteed could convince everybody who wanted to travel to do so. Those who dare to travel in the face of insecurity said they were doing so because of important engagements they have at home.

Sharing his thought with our correspondent, Obinna, a trader at Alaba International market, Lagos, said: “I know the risks involved but I can’t help it. I have an important engagement in the village and my presence is required. So, I’m travelling.”

Another trader at Ladipo market in Lagos, Emmanuel, said he’s travelling because of the burial of his late mum which is scheduled for January 5, 2023.

His words: “It’s my mother we are talking about here. We can’t keep her in the morgue forever. The date has been fixed and we will give her a befitting burial. It’s our hope and prayers that nothing unfortunate happens that day.”

Mr Paul Eso, a journalist, he’s travelling with his entire family to see his aged parents.

According to him, “since my parents are old and weak to be moving around from village to the city and verse versa, it is my duty to always check on them and there’s no best time to do so than this Christmas season.”

Meanwhile, Favour Ama said he would have travelled but for the exorbitant transport fares.

“The only thing discouraging me from going to my village during this yuletide is the high cost of transportation. Things are hard, I don’t want to go past myself. When things get better in the country, I will travel home.”

Similarly, Mrs Blessing Sunday, Mr Ebere Okwara and John Abasi all said they would have travelled if not for the insecurity in the country.

“I love visiting home during this period. I planned to travel for Christmas but was deterred by high cost of transportation and insecurity. It is unfortunate that the government who came to power on the mantra of change has failed woefully in discharging its constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property”, Abasi said.

VANGUARD

Headline

B-I-Z-A-R-R-E! Man Missing For 26 Years Found Alive In Neighbour’s House

Published

7 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Editor

An Algerian man, Omar Bin Omran, who went missing at the age of 17, 26 years ago following an alleged kidnapping, has been found alive in his neighbour’s house.

According to Daily Mail on Wednesday, Omar was discovered in a hole in the ground within a sheep pen, concealed under stacks of hay.

Omar, one of nine children, disappeared in the city of Djelfa, Algeria, 26 years ago. His family believed he had been killed during the civil war that ravaged the nation in the 1990s and early 2000s.

According to reports, Omar was found less than 200 meters from his family’s home. A 61-year-old neighbour is now in police custody after Omar, now 45, was rescued on May 12.

Footage was shared on social media and broadcast on Algerian television networks of the moment that he was found in what appeared to be a hole in the ground, described by authorities as a sheep pen, within the home of his alleged captor.

The blurry video shows torchlights shining into a pit surrounded by hay as Omar furtively looks up, seemingly in shock at the search party surrounding him, with stray pieces of straw in his hair.

Other images have since been circulated of the bearded man emerging from the hole, thought to be a sheep pen, and of him as a teenager, sitting with a dog and with young children before he disappeared.

According to the Algerian newspaper El Khabar, his dog recognized his scent and stayed near where Omar was held. It was alleged that the captor poisoned the dog to ward the family off.

Omar went missing in 1998 while heading to a vocational school. He was found after the captor’s brother aired grievances on social media, reportedly over an inheritance dispute.

This led Omar’s family to search the neighbour’s house, where they found him. The captor attempted to flee but was restrained and arrested.

Tragically, Omar’s mother died in 2013 without knowing the fate of her son. Reports suggest Omar was informed of his mother’s death while in captivity.

A relative said on Facebook: ‘Thank god my cousin was found. Bin Imran Omar is in good health after 26 years of disappearance. Awaiting details of the case and investigations.’

Public prosecutors in Djelfa, a mountain city of around 500,000 people around 140 miles south of coastal capital Algiers, say Omar will receive psychological care after being rescued as they vowed to get him justice.

‘The Djelfa Attorney General’s Office informs the public that on May 12 at 8 pm local time, it found victim Omar B, aged 45, in the case of his neighbour, B.A., aged 61,’ they said in a statement.

A court official in Djelfa was quoted as saying: “Two days ago, on 12 May 2024, the Public Prosecutor’s Office received, through the regional department of the National Gendarmerie in El Jadid, a complaint against an anonymous person claiming that the complainant’s brother, Omar bin Omran, who has been missing for about 30 years, is in the house of one of his neighbours, inside a sheepfold.”

Following this report, the General Prosecutor of the Court of Idrisiya in the province of Djelfa ordered the National Gendarmerie to open an in-depth investigation and officers went to the house in question.

He added: “The Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered that the victim receive medical and psychological treatment, and the suspect will be presented to the Public Prosecutor’s Office immediately after the completion of the investigation.”

Officials have promised the ‘perpetrator of this heinous crime’ will be tried with ‘severity.’

The suspect, a civil servant, lived alone but was often seen buying enough food for two people. A neighbour recounted to Algerian TV station Bilad that Omar’s mother died without knowing her son was so close by.

Questions have arisen about why Omar did not call for help during his captivity. Some reports claim Omar said he was unable to call out because of a spell cast by his captor, while others suggest his psychological state may have prevented him from seeking help.

The case may be among the world’s longest-running kidnapping cases. Eleven-year-old Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped in Meyers, California in 1991 and remained missing for over 18 years after she was captured by Phillip and Nancy Garrido.

Dugard was kept in depraved conditions and was subjected to extreme sexual abuse, having two children by Phillip Garrido, and later said she adapted to sympathising with her captors to survive.

Headline

FG, States, LGs Share N1.2tn In May

Published

8 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Editor

The Federation Allocation Allocation Committee has disclosed that during the May 2024 meeting of the FAAC held in Abuja, N1.2tn from the April 2024 Federation Account Revenue was shared by the federal, states, and local governments.

The Director of Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Bawa Mokwa, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

The document revealed that N1.2tn total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N284.71bn, distributable Value Added Tax revenue of N466.45bn, Electronic Money Transfer Levy revenue of N18.02bn, and Exchange Difference Revenue of N438.88bn.

Total revenue of N2.19tn was available in April 2024.

The total deduction for the cost of collection was N80.51bn; the total transfers, interventions, and refunds were N903.47bn.

Gross statutory revenue of N1.23tn was received for April 2024.

This was higher than the sum of N1.01bn received in March 2024 by N216.28bn.

The gross revenue available from the value-added tax in April 2024 was N500.92bn. This was lower than the N549.69bn available in March 2024 by N48.77bn.

From the N1.2tn in total distributable revenue, the Federal Government received a total sum of N390.41bn, the state governments received N403.40bn, and the local government councils received N293.81bn.

A total sum of N120.450bn (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared with the benefiting states as derivation revenue.

On the N284.716bn distributable statutory revenue, the communiqué stated that the Federal Government received N112.14bn, the state governments received N56.88bn, and the local governments received N43.855bn. The sum of N71.83bn (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared with the benefiting states as derivation revenue.

The Federal Government received N69.96bn, the state governments received N233.22bn, and the local governments received N163.26bn from the N466.45bn distributable value-added tax revenue.

A total sum of N2.704bn was received by the FG from the N18.024bn Electronic Money Transfer Levy. The state governments received N9.012bn, and the local governments received N6.30bn.

The Federal Government received N205.59bn from the N438.88bn Exchange Difference revenue. The state governments received N104.27bn, and the local governments received N80.39bn. The sum of N48.62bn (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared with the benefiting states as derivation revenue.

According to the communiqué, in April 2024, oil and gas royalties, company income tax, excise duty, petroleum profit tax, electronic money transfer levies, and CET levies increased significantly, while import duty and value-added tax recorded considerable decreases.

The FAAC noted that the balance in the Excess Crude Account remained at $473,754.57.

Headline

Harry & Meghan: Outrage As UK Journalist Says Nigerians Are Nazis

Published

9 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Editor

A British journalist, Christopher Wilson, sparked outrage among many Nigerians with a now-deleted tweet.

In the tweet, Wilson compared Nigerians to Nazis for welcoming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, to Nigeria, igniting widespread condemnation.

The three-day visit of Prince Harry and Meghan to Nigeria attracted significant attention and reactions worldwide.

“Desperate to show his wife they were still ‘royal’ in the eyes of the world, the Duke of Windsor took Wallis on a tour of Germany in 1937. Nigeria’s human rights record is not far short of Nazi Germany’s,” Wilson posted on Tuesday.

Wilson, author of ‘A Greater Love: Charles and Camilla,’ was referring to Wallis Simpson, an American socialite who became the wife of King Edward VIII.

Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle, abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Simpson.

The monarch’s decision to marry Simpson, a divorcée, triggered a constitutional crisis, leading to Edward’s abdication from the throne in December 1936.

After their marriage, they became known as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

The couple travelled extensively, and notably, they visited Adolf Hitler at his Berghof retreat in Bavaria, Nazi Germany, in October 1937.

Markle, an American divorcee, married Prince Harry in 2018.

However, the couple announced their decision to step back from their royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California, United States. Despite their move, they retained their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

When confronted for comparing Nigeria to Nazi Germany, Wilson referenced a 2023 report from the United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour.

The report he cited highlights human rights abuses in Nigeria, including extrajudicial killings, torture, harsh prison conditions and arbitrary arrests, among others.

The post sparked criticism and backlash from Nigerians and netizens.

On X.com, @wukster2, who tweets anonymously, wrote, “How did we become Nazis @TheWislon? You are so triggered by Harry and Meghan that you have resorted to comparing Nigeria to Nazi Germany. Meghan Markle’s power over mediocre white men and women needs to be studied. We need a global conference.”

A tweep, Faith Harvest, who identifies as @harvest_fa77000 on X, wrote, “Desperate? Nah, there is no comparison. Try as they may to liken Meghan to Wallis Simpson, Meghan is no Wallis and Harry is certainly not an abdicated king with sympathies to Hitler, and as far as human rights records, Christopher Wilson needs to read up on his own history!”

On Arise TV’s The Morning Show, journalist, Rufai Oseni, also voiced his criticism.

“These people are racist. This is the height of racism. He’s just so jealous because Harry and Megan came to Nigeria and they got relevance and it’s in your face it’s going to hurt you to the very end. I hope that this racism eats your bile up and it continues to eat you because we can’t continue this way. How would you relate them to what happened in Nazi Germany?

“The scenarios are different very different. These people came for a worthy cause in Nigeria which is the Invictus game, to be able to support veterans. Harry has built a brand with this Invictus game that goes around the world and has supported a lot of veterans and that’s something worth celebrating but because of the hatred and the bile that you have against this guy just let him be,” Oseni said.

Glow Lee, who tweets as @GlowanneLee, said, “Christopher Wilson is a royalist journalist critical of Meghan from the beginning and has just compared Nigeria to Nazi Germany. This is the mentality of the hard-core royalist. If they can say these things on Twitter, what would they say off it?”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in the capital city of Abuja last Friday and were pictured at a range of engagements over the weekend.

The official purpose of the trip was to celebrate the Invictus Games, Harry’s tournament for wounded soldiers in Nigeria.