Christiana
Ukoli, a professor and leader of Nigeria’s delegation at the on-going
World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,
says Nigeria is 100% compliant with the WHO conventions on Tobacco
control.
Ukoli recalled that former President Goodluck Jonathan signed a Tobacco control law in May 2015.
She explained that the law sets strong regulatory and control for smoking and promotion of Tobacco products in Nigeria.
“Nigeria is 100% in line with Tobacco Control and regulations as prescribed by the WHO FCTC Conventions,” she said.
Ukoli
“We
have the strong backing of the minister of health on this and that of
the federal government because Tobacco has very strong health issues.
There is nothing good about Tobacco and it is very good that Nigeria has
very good law on Tobacco Control.”
The University Don, who is
also the chairman of the National Tobacco Control Committee, said
attending the WHO FCTC COP7 in India for the first time had been an “eye
opener”.
“Nigeria has been represented at previous WHO COP
meetings. This COP7 has been good for me when it comes to Tobacco issues
and what is being done to control Tobacco Globally,” she said.
“Our committee has keyed in into FCTC and we will continue to ensure strict compliance by the Tobacco industry.”
On
the need for WHO to also balance the economic and business interests of
national governments and Tobacco companies, Ukoli explained that the
health problems associated with Tobacco far outweighed any economic or
business consideration.
“There is nothing good about Tobacco
health-wise and that is why WHO is trying to limit the business of
Tobacco and also talk about Tobacco industry interference,” she said.
“The
effect of Tobacco is not limited to smokers alone but also non-smokers
who unconsciously are smoking passively. Most developing countries do
not have resources to handle the public health issues that come from
Tobacco business. What we can do is to control indiscriminate of tobacco
by putting and enforcing all of these regulatory mechanisms we have.”
US President-elect Donald Trump flanked by members of his family
/ AFP PHOTO / Timothy A. CLARY
Abimbola Adelakun
The newly elected President of the
United States of America, Donald Trump, has things in common with
President Muhammadu Buhari. In fact, the US elections produced several
interesting parallels between Nigeria and America; one is the
divisiveness occasioned by some of the most virulent rhetoric ever
traded during a campaign. In the age of social media, it is uncertain
the practice of democracy will ever retain any display of civility. In
Nigeria last year and in the US this year, I witnessed much bad blood
pumped by people who would have to reformat their relationships after
the elections. It is interesting how Americans, like Nigerians, also
voted “change.” Both also clamoured for an anti-establishment candidate.
Recently, Buhari admitted that after he
had been elected, and he saw the depth of rot in Nigeria’s government,
he felt like running away. I believe after the initial euphoria of
winning, and Trump settles down to work, he will have his own “Buhari
Moment” even though he may not be tactless enough to admit it publicly.
Buhari’s confession, incidentally, did not elicit much shock from the
nation; I guess it was because we are used to his jeremiad. Such
admissions only reiterate what we have known by now: he was never quite
prepared for the Presidency, he only wanted to be President.
President Muhammadu Buhari
Buhari, shortly after he won the
election, panicked and started saying he had no magic wand to correct
Nigeria’s problems. To think that only weeks earlier, he had been
campaigning like he had one. He became President only to find he had a
real job, one he could not do by standing on the sidelines and griping
about “corruption” all day. Sometime after, he also claimed he would
have been a much better performer if he had age on his side. Trump is
another unprepared president who made it this far largely because he had
a celebrity reputation that preceded both him or his abilities. I do
not think when he declared his interest to run he imagined he would
actually win but along the line he successfully keyed into racist,
sexist, nativist, and extreme rightist sentiment pervading a section of
American demographics. His demagoguery and bigotry might be shocking to
folks who expect better of America but it resonated with Americans who
fear a white genocide: That liberal ideologies that permit immigrants,
terrorism and refugees threaten whiteness.
Trump that has no serious idea how a
nation works in the 21st century garnered attention because he ramped up
denigrating rhetoric. There are, of course, Americans who genuinely
believed in Trump and (naively, I think) assume if he would run the
nation like his businesses (at least the ones that succeeded), America
may emerge “great” again. There are others who wanted an outsider,
someone who does not typify the rot and corruption of Washington. It
remains to be seen how that works out for the US; at least it has not
worked for Nigeria. Trump will soon realise it takes more than personal
charisma, “body language,” braggadocio, and ranting about the incumbent
to run a complex society.
I look back at the 2015 elections and
still marvel how Buhari’s handlers shielded him from the cerebral aspect
of the contest. He shunned debates and his supporters were too
enamoured with his mystique to press him for an agenda. He went all over
the country with an unrealistic manifesto. The few times he granted an
interview, we were alarmed at his moldiness. When he said he would
stabilise the oil market and make naira equal to a dollar, it was
obvious he was an economic virgin. On the campaign trail, Trump has made
equally laughable comments about the economy. During the three debates
he had with his opponent, Hillary Clinton, he was out of his depth on
any issue and only managed to bluster through.
Some of Trump’s brightest economic ideas
have been about protectionism, most of which does not take into account
the reality of how trade policies have actually benefited the US. If he
tries to execute some of the ideas he has been flaunting for months, he
would be shocked how it would backfire. Some of the arguments made for
Buhari was also made for Trump – that he would employ hands far more
capable than him to help steer the country. From afar, it seems like a
feasible idea but a leader with only an elementary knowledge of
governance will find himself reeling at the complexity of his job and
soon begin to falter. Buhari took almost a year to form a cabinet and
when he eventually did, nobody was wowed. Trump, a narcissist, may even
be less rigorous and instead build the government around himself just
like he did his campaigns.
The fear of what Trump portends,
however, is much more than whether he will tank the US economy or not.
Trump also happens to be one of the most divisive human beings to run an
election in contemporary times. Because he receives support from white
nationalists such as the Ku Klux Klan, they will now be emboldened to
crawl out of the woodwork and declare an open season of racism. For
Muslims, ethnic and racial minorities, women, and the disabled, and all
the groups that have been a target for white supremacist vitriol under
President Barack Obama, the next four years will be a fight to retain
their dignity in Trump’s America. Trump already described himself as the
“law and order” candidate and anyone who knows the history of America
understands what kind of dog whistle that is. These are interesting
times.
We can argue that America has strong
democratic institutions but no matter how entrenched the habits of
democracy, no system can survive abuses by despots and dictators. Trump
boasted that if he won he would tweak current libel laws against the
media. A presidential candidate threatening what is tantamount to Decree
4 is almost unthinkable. When a leader says he will toy with mechanisms
of checks and balances, and still gets a majority backing, it is only a
matter of time before they begin to weaken their supposedly strong
institutions. Also, for a man whose “make America great again” slogan
was premised on nostalgia of a time when minorities were excluded from
national patrimony, I am anxious about acts of violence and oppression
this newly empowered majority will wreak on minorities; and which the
majority will condone as part of the project of “making America great
again”. Under Adolf Hitler’s Germany, that was part of how evil became
banal.
For Trump who acts unhinged, and lacks
self-control, it also remains to be seen how America will use its
instruments of democracy to reel him in. The European philosopher,
Slavoj Zizek, said it was better Trump won because it would implode the
system and from there something new might emerge. Zizek is a thinker I
respect but such Dadaist approach to political philosophy ignores that
there are material consequences to democratic choices. Like I told some
of my American friends who found the idea of Trump as an
anti-establishment revolt tempting, change is not always useful.
Nigerians faced a similar dilemma last year and we allowed ourselves to
be seduced by the idea that we were voting a man who would pull down the
corrupt establishment. Just look at how it has worked for us so far.
Meanwhile, I congratulate Clinton for
her valiant efforts. With Trump’s emergence both the Democratic and
Republican parties will rethink their disconnect from voters. Clinton
worked hard for the presidency and for a country that prides itself on
meritocracy, she ought to have won. Anyway, it was not meant to be but I
am proud of her for putting up a brave fight.
The recent ransom paid to Boko Haram in
exchange for the release of some Chibok girls have contributed to the
recent upsurge in the killings and disappearances of soldiers engaged in
the fight against the insurgents, senior military sources have
revealed.
The military men told splensizy that despite denials by the Federal Government, money was paid to the sect to secure the release of the abducted girls.
It was learnt that the insurgents
demanded for $50m for the release of the girls but about a quarter of
the sum was eventually paid.
splensizy learnt that the
Federal Government paid the cash in two currencies – the naira and the
CFA Francs to the leaders of the sect to facilitate the release of the
girls.
But, the highly-ranked military men who
are engaged in the war, and who craved anonymity because they were not
authorised to speak for the military authorities, attributed the recent
upsurge in the activities of the insurgents to the huge ransom paid for
the release of the girls.
Prior to the current increase in the
attacks by the insurgents, it was learnt that the troops of Operation
Lafiya Dole, deployed in the North-East, had effectively cut off food
and logistics supply to the insurgents.
Some of the sources, who are also
commanders at the war front, said that the troops had effectively
defeated the Boko Haram members, who were on the run while a good number
of them had surrendered and taken to a rehabilitation camp established
by the Defence Headquarters in Yola.
In October, 83 soldiers were reported
missing days after they came under a Boko Haram attack. Though there
have been increasing reports of soldiers either missing or killed since
the Chibok girls were released, the military initially denied the
report, it later said that only 39 soldiers were missing.
Also, on November 4, seven military men,
including Lt.-Col. Muhammad Abu-Ali, were killed on their way to
reinforce troops at Mallam Fatori during a Boko Haram attack. Two days
later, one soldier was also killed while four others were wounded in the
line of duty.
In October, 21 of the over 200 girls
abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014 were
released by the group.
However, the Federal Government denied exchanging insurgents for the abducted girls and paying a ransom to the sect.
But the military sources insisted that
Boko Haram did not release the girls without getting anything in return
and that the Federal Government indeed paid a ransom and released some
of the group’s strategists that were detainees.
One of the sources said it was sad that
the same government that was initially seen as tough enough to end
insurgency in the country failed to negotiate with Boko Haram from a
position of strength.
“It is unfortunate that in government’s
desperation to secure the release of the Chibok girls, it has put our
(soldiers’) lives in danger by yielding to the demands of the group to
collect a ransom and secure the release of its commanders.
“It is now obvious that the group has reinforced and bought more weapons to fight us.”
According to another source, left to the
military, the ransom and the exchange of Boko Haram members for Chibok
girls would not have taken place.
“Funds were given to Boko Haram and now
we can all see the result of that action; there have been renewed
attacks recently and many of our men have been killed in the process but
we will not relent, we will continue to do our best to secure this
nation.
“The military had reservations about the
arrangement but it was not in our hands; it was a political decision
that we had to abide with and it was the DSS that was directly in charge
of the operation,” the source added.
Another source, who is also active in
the war theatre, said, “They got the Chibok girls and suddenly the Boko
Haram that we had beaten and chased out of Sambisa are attacking and
killing men of quality.
“It is very obvious that they have used
the money they got from the deal to buy equipment and recruit men to
carry out their heinous acts.
“The group is still in Mallam Fatori,
they have infested the entire area and their strongest point into Chad
is Abadam. It is from there that they disperse their men to carry out
attacks.
“Another thing you must note is that the
towns around the borders are occupied by mercenaries from foreign
countries. Where did they get the money to fund that?”
Investigation revealed that Boko Haram
members, who were routed out of their dreaded Sambisa enclave by the
military, had regrouped at Abadam, and were still holding onto the
fringes of Mallam Fatori in the northern part of Borno State.
It was further gathered that the group
was engaging the services of mercenaries with their operational base in
Abadam in the far north, close to Chad.
The latest incidents contradict
President Muhammadu Buhari’s assertion on December 24, 2015 that Nigeria
had “technically” won the war against Boko Haram and that the militant
group could no longer mount conventional attacks against security forces
or population centres.
Following the President’s assertion, the
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, also said on
December 27, 2015 that “we have been vindicated because Boko Haram have
been decapitated compared to the past records.”
The sect gained international attention when it kidnapped 219 Chibok schoolgirls on April 14, 2014.
Two years later, on April 10, 2016, the
group said it wanted a $50m (N15.7bn) ransom to free the Chibok girls,
according to a report by The Sunday Telegraph of London.
The publication said it gathered from
sources close to the sect that the demand was made “during secret
contacts with the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, who has said
he is willing to negotiate for the girls’ freedom.”
The sect’s six-year insurgency has led
to the deaths of over 17,000 people, destruction of more than 1,000
schools and displacement of about two million people.
Between May 2015 when President Buhari
assumed office and October 2016, the insurgents have carried out over 20
attacks, leading to the deaths of over 2,600 Nigerians.
However, Splensizy learnt
on Friday that combined forces of the ground troops, the fighter pilots
of the Nigerian Air Force and local hunters had been deployed to fight
the insurgents around some locations in Gwoza.
When one of our correspondents contacted
the Acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Rabe Abubakar, he
said that the minor setback in the operations should not be taken to
mean that the Boko Haram was a formidable force.
He told one of our correspondents on the
telephone that the military was determined to defend the territorial
integrity of the country and was equipped to do so.
He gave the assurance that Boko Haram would not achieve its objective of acquiring any territory in the country.
He said, “The group is not a force to be reckoned with as far as the military is concerned.
“In spite of the minor setback, it does
not in any way mean that the Boko Haram is a force to be reckoned with.
We will defend the integrity of Nigeria to the letter, and that is what
we are committed to do.”
Faulting the payment of cash to the sect
as a ransom for the girls, a United Kingdom-trained criminologist and
Chairman of Puma Eye Security Services, Mr. Pedro Ayandokun, said it had
to be responsible for the renewed terrorist attacks in the country.
He said, “I was never in support of
making any exchange with Boko Haram. That is what is creating the
problem. What they have got will not be used to buy rice, but to acquire
ammunition.”
Also, the Chief Executive Officer of
Security Watch Africa, Patrick Agbamu, said giving cash to the
insurgents would encourage them to kidnap more girls.
He said, “The government ought not to give money to the terrorists. It will embolden them to kidnap more girls.”
Despite the insurgents’ recent attacks,
Agbamu, however, asked for patience, saying, “Up till today, there are
still attacks in Afghanistan and Iran. Insurgency is not easily
stopped.”
The President of the Association of
Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria, Dr. Ona Ekhomu,
also said if the Federal Government gives money to the insurgents, it
could empower them to carry out more attacks.
He said at a time when the sect was broke, giving money to them might be all they needed to regain more strength.
He said, “There were insinuations that
for the 21 girls released recently by the insurgents, cash was given to
the terrorists. Cash is exactly what the terrorists need to be
strengthened.”
Likewise, a professor of African
History, Peace and Conflict Studies and Director, Institute of Peace and
Strategic Studies, University of Ibadan, Isaac Albert, said government
had not been negotiating with Boko Haram from a position of strength.
He said, “We have said for some time now that we have defeated the sect but it is obvious that it is not true.”
No cash involved in Chibok girls’ release
But the Presidency on Friday insisted
that the Federal Government did not pay members of the Boko Haram sect
to secure freedom for the 21 Chibok girls.
The Special Adviser to the President on
Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the position of government
remains that cash was not involved in the release.
“Information Minister, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, told the country that there was no cash involvement in the
release of the 21 Chibok girls. If you have evidence that it was not so,
simply produce it,” he said.
However, one of the lawmakers involved
in the negotiation which led to the release of the 21 girls, confirmed
that a ransom was paid to Boko Haram but said the amount was far less
than $50m.
The source, who expressed shock when one
of our correspondents put the question to him to confirm the payment,
agreed to speak on condition of anonymity.
He said, “I don’t think it is up to that
amount. Yes, there was a deal. Something like that (payment of a
ransom) happened but it was never near the amount you just mentioned; it
is even not up to a quarter of that amount. I can tell you that it was
done (paid).
“I can also tell you that the second
round of the talk was scuttled because of the disagreement on the next
tranche of a ransom. The negotiation for another batch of the girls has
hit the brick wall as a result of the failure to agree on an amount (to
be paid as a ransom). I am speaking to you on this authoritatively.”
Robbers invaded Otun-Ekiti in Moba Local
Government Area of Ekiti State on Thursday, killing four residents
during attacks on two banks.
It was learnt that policemen at the scene fled from the firepower of the robbers, who operated in the town for over an hour.
During the attack, the manager and a
cashier of Heritage Bank, a security man at Unity Bank and a guard of
the town’s monarch, Oba Adedapo Popoola, were killed.
Our correspondent gathered that the security man was to get married in two weeks before he met his untimely death.
The Oore of Otun, Oba Popoola, said the
attack came like a war on the community with gunshots and explosives
going off all over the town.
“I was relaxing with my chiefs in front
of the palace around 6pm on Thursday when we heard what first sounded
like some fireworks and we dismissed it as some of the children’s antics
as a result of the festive period. But later, we heard louder sounds
that resembled gunshots and explosives. That was when we realised it was
no child’s play.
“I couldn’t situate the incident as we
ruminated whether it was a robbery, Boko Haram attack or some kind of
war happening. We later learnt that the robbers mounted their men at the
four entrances into the town, the roundabout at Orimope Road, front of
the Moba Local Government secretariat, front of my palace and front of
the Technical College along the road to Kwara.
“By the time the sporadic shooting stopped, the four victims had been gunned down.
The king said he quickly contacted
Governor Ayodele Fayose, who immediately mobilised security agencies to
the town, but the robbers had left before their arrival.
The monarch narrated that the incident
was the first ever in the town, adding that Otun was prone to such
attacks because it is a border town with Kogi, Osun, and Kwara states.
“ The border towns and local government
areas should be given adequate security so that this incident does not
happen again. Government should put more efforts in the protection of
lives and property,” he said.
A resident of the town told reporters that the king’s guard was shot in the groin area while trying to lock the gate.
“Even policemen fled. We saw a police
sergeant running faster than others during the attack. The one wife of
the guard killed at Unity Bank is pregnant. We also learnt that the bank
manager resumed just 20 minutes before the robbers attacked.”
When contacted, the Ekiti State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, confirmed the report.
He said that the police had deposited
the remains of the victims at the Usi-Ekiti General Hospital, adding
that investigation was ongoing.
