Rising tension: Stop ethnic profiling; pursue peace, says Olawepo-Hashim

ON FEBRUARY 21, 202112:00 PMIN NEWS

As ethnic tension rises across the country, former presidential candidate, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has warned Nigerians to desist from engaging in ethnic profiling so as not to worsen the situation and embolden Nigeria’s enemies to create more crises for the nation.

The politician and businessman, who was reacting to rising ethnic tension in the land, warned that pitching one ethnic group against the other and pushing for attacks and reprisal attacks could only promote more suspicion and mistrust and lead to avoidable destruction.

In a statement made available to Vanguard in Abuja on Sunday, Mr Olawepo-Hashim, expressed serious concern over the ongoing attacks and counter attacks arising from the age-long farmers-herders conflicts and exacerbated by other security challenges, but warned that they should never be a justification for ethnic stereotyping capable of provoking ethnic pogroms.

Olawepo-Hashim said: “All patriotic Nigerians should be worried. I am worried. We all have roles to play, community leaders and social organizations must tone down divisive rhetoric,” he said.

“Now is the time to motivate and encourage various security agencies to step up their games. Now is the time for government leaders to act as statesmen. We must unite to save the nation.

“Public officers at all levels must avoid statements and actions that show support for any party to the conflict as it has tendency to undermine national cohesion and security.

“On clashes between herders and farmers all over Nigeria, it is well agreed by all reasonable citizens and leaders that a pastoral practice that ruins the legitimate businesses of others, must immediately give way to a more acceptable and modern arrangement. ”

“We need a transition to a system that accommodates the aspirations of poor farmers and herders who have long been neglected by successive governments. This is the most urgent task of public policy at both State and Federal levels.

Perhaps it is time again to renew our earlier call for devolution of power to the States in policing and other critical areas, in order to lessen the burden of the Federal Government in policing,” Olawepo-Hashim cautioned.

He reiterated that states and local policing might help reduce tension as security questions requiring prompt attention would be taken at state levels before they fester into broader national crisis, providing incentives for diver’s centrifugal forces to jump in.

While observing that nation building will not be completed in one day, the business executive expressed optimism that there would still be life after 2023 and Nigeria will survive.

The businessman turned politician noted that from ongoing public debate, it was obvious that consensus has been built around issues such as the desirability of state police to deal with insecurity, devolution of powers to states to control resources in their inland basins to pay taxes to the centre.

It will be recalled that Olawepo-Hashim had in a recently admonished Nigerians to agree on things that are agreeable and continue to discuss things that are not clear but may become clearer in the future.

Nigeria, he said, must move forward together in peace and harmony.

Vanguard News Nigeria

What is Nigeria turning into? I am very worried about the rumor i just heard. The management of National Open University of Nigeria under the instruction of the vc is rumored to have given the Nans president N500k to issue statement condemning students who called for the sack of the VC. Without any inquiry, or efforts to understand what was happening within the institution that led to the call for the sack of the Vc, the Nans president, upon hearing money is involved horriedly issued the statement claiming that the students are imposters. This is a trying period for this country.

Even the devil fell remose when he his alone

SHOCKING REVELATION ABOUT GEJ BY REUBEN ABATI

Kayode Emmanuel wrote on facebook:

Reuben Abati, spokesman of President Good luck Jonathan confided in a close associate recently while expressing his deepest concern.
Abati reportedly said, you have to be absolutely bias and extremely sentimental to be able to defend president Good luck Jonathan successfully.

If you are not acting blind to his flaws, you can’t perform your duty to him as a spokesman because there is hardly anything he does right. Even if you advice him to act right on certain occasions, he will eventually act wrongly,yet you have to defend him in his error. Some times, I get tired of defending him because, you have to keep lying continuously.

On your own path, you have to abandon logic and bother less about any personal integrity, else you can’t make the image of this president. If you don’t want to lie to defend him, if you don’t want to be bias or sentimental, then his image can’t be made because he hardly act right on many national issues.

Some times, you have to act foolishly to defend some of his actions because without at least some element of foolishness, some things can't be logically defended. That is one area i find difficult in this job. Abati said.

they are the sponsors of various govt to power

no,, woman look like man

hum

?

thanks for your advice and am ready for real.. add yours

educate people if you know, not abuse them.

Abdulkadir Bala Minjibir
LESSONS FROM LIBYA

This is the first time I am making comment on Libya since the beginning of cospiracy to oust Gaddafi by west an action which to me was based on the motive to plant someone who is loyal to them ,unfortunately many citizens of Libya were part and percel of the conspiracy.

When the war was going on I saw many Nigerians supporting what was happening in Libya without actually taking their time to study the situation ,many were supporting because Gaddafi has been on power for long hence they supported a new govt,some supported simply because Gaddafi was a Muslim our Nigerian orientation ,our so called democrats supported because Gaddafi wasn't democrat like them ,other group simply don't care they were supporting because the west were interested and they believed everything from west is good .

Worst still was the fact that all these groups couldn't condemn the kind of inhumane treatment metted on Gaddafi in fact we saw his corpse being dragged on the ground when he was finally killed, libyans who misunderstood the motives of the killing were celebrating while his supporters were not happy yet don't have the right to protest.

We were expecting the so called human right activists and all the world noise makers to condemn that barbaric actions but to our amazement not much dust has been raised ,proving what many people are saying that human right violation and terrorism are only those practices and actions that are not in the interest of western world religion inclusive.

Whichever way one look at it Gaddafi is now history but there are lessons to learn on what Libya is loosing after west has successfully executed Gaddafi, let me highlight some of the gaddafi's dividens that libyans are loosing as follows:

There was no electricity bill in Libya; electricity was free for all its citizens.

2. There was no interest on loans, banks in Libya were state-owned and loans given to all its citizens at zero percent interest by law.

3. Having a home was considered a human right in Libya.

4. All newly weds in Libya used to receive $60,000 dinar (U.S.$50,000) by the government to buy their first apartment so to help start up the family.

5. Education and medical treatments were free in Libya. Before Gaddafi only 25 percent of Libyans were literate. Today, the figure is 83 percent.

6. If Libyans wanted to take up a farming career, they would have received farming land, a farming house, equipment, seeds and livestock to kick start their farms... all for free.

7. If Libyans could not find the education or medical facilities they needed, the government funded them to go abroad. The trip was not only paid for, but they got a U.S.$2,300/month for accommodation and car allowance.

8. If a Libyan bought a car, the government used to subsidize 50 percent of the price.

9. The price of petrol in Libya was $0.14 per liter.

10. Libya had no external debt and its reserves amounted to $150 billion -which are now frozen globally.

11. If a Libyan was unable to get employment after graduation, the state would pay the average salary of the profession, as if he or she was employed, until employment was found.

12. A portion of every Libyan oil sale was credited directly to the bank accounts of all Libyan citizens.

13. A mother who gave birth to a child received U.S. $5,000.

14. 40 loaves of bread in Libya used to cost $0.15.

15. 25 percent of Libyans have a university degree.

16. Gaddafi carried out the world's largest irrigation project, known as the Great Man-made River project, to make water readily available throughout the desert country.

What the west or the current libyan govt provides for Libya I don't know but time will tell.

My motive for this article centered on current insecurity in this country which many people are linking with the west particularly America who for long predicted that by 2015 Nigeria will devide hence they are trying to justify their prediction ,this is in addition to internal forces as mentioned by NSA last week which instead of reasoning with the two scenarios many choose to take side president directing press to seek clarification from NSA ,PDP beneficiaries mounting pressure on president to sack NSA while poor Nigerians watch helplessly.

HOW I WISH NIGERIA CAN ENJOY EVEN TWO OUT OF THE 16 HIGHLIGHTED GADDAFI'S DIVIDENDS .

THE POWER THAT BE

I first heard of this phrase,THE POWER THAT BE from a former NANS vice president who happens to be a friend,and i ask, what is the power that be? he replied, there are forces in NANS that you must go through to get a position,especially the major one like the president,he went further to say, if those power that be support you,you would get it and if not, you would lost out. I asked him again who these people were and he replied, stake holders, people who graduated in the late 80's,early 90's and others. they work with politicians and government to determine who is best for the head. So i ask, what is NANS all about if those who make the rule are not even part of the students?

After then, i have constantly heard about the power that be in political circle and others places. Who has the power that be? man or God? Who can make you be? the created or the creator? who own that person you regard as the power that be? God.
In essence, there is no body with a power that be. These so called power that be are criminals,sucking the physical leaders,they twist him or her since he regard them as special,he does what ever they ask of him even if it means making every other person cry,hungry or even die. Many of our present leaders are product of that so called power that be,they feared there godfathers even beyond their creator,they would not go against them no matter what,they the godfathers have the key to end the leaders in their setting,they are their lord and masters as far as reality is concern. They can violate and get away with it,they can unjustly abuse with no government to do justice and they can eliminate and no question would be asked. But i want you to know that there is no POWER that be except that from the Almighty creator,he his the one who open or lock,he made people emerge or loss. Don't ever fall for a so call power that be, they are powerless provided you can stand against them. My advice to my fellow youths is to stand creatively independent,avoid relying on any person,don't be arrogant,be confident and focused and you shall be what you want to be.

THE SUPERIOR ONE

When man has a plan to make a car or any other machine, he breaks it down into numerous parts, first making each one of them separately. Thereafter, he puts them together to create the final object. On the contrary, when God raises a tree or creates a human being, his technique is completely different. He brings it out as a complete unit right from the beginning. God’s ‘factory’ ...-- the entire tree and the full man gradually come out from one seed or drop. It is an utterly unique, inimitable way. Indeed it shows that in this existence there is Someone superior to man -- Someone Whose plans are superior to man’s. The sun is more than one million times bigger than our earth. The earth is four times bigger than the moon. All these heavenly bodies are in a constant state of movement. The moon is circulating around the earth from a distance of two hundred and fifty thousand miles. The earth on the other hand is moving round the sun from a distance of ninety million miles in two different ways: in its own orbit as well as around the sun. Similar is the case of all the heavenly bodies, which are following their schedules of movement with extreme precision at distances that are mind boggling. These arrangements help in creating days and nights; they also help in designing the system of our time; likewise, it contributes in enabling man to arrange his life properly. This huge system has been functioning with great precision for thousands of years without any alterations. It all shows that there is Someone out there Whose power is unimaginably immense. These signs of God are showing that the Maker of this system is very knowledgeable. An ignorant being couldn’t have made this system to function. Moreover, He is very Powerful, without being one, this huge factory couldn’t have operated. His planning is thoroughl! y perfect. If that was not the case, it wouldn’t have be! en impossible to find such meaningfulness in this world. God’s world is full of His signs. However, a sign is an argument that is a subjective rationality and not a dagger that strikes and needs no further proofs for its existence. An argument appeals only if there is willingness in the one who is being approached. It appeals only to the one who is seriously inclined to acknowledge its truthfulness, whether it goes with his interests or against them.

true

good one

http://www.worldbankpresident.org/a-bank-insider/uncategorized/ngozis-statement-to-the-board-of-the-world-bank

Ngozi’s statement to the board of the World Bank
Posted on April 12, 2012 by A Bank Insider I worked very hard to get this, but I think after the US Treasury Department made Kim’s statement to the board public, its only fair to also hear what Ngozi and Ocampo had to say.
Here is Ngozi’s statement in full below, and I will post Ocampo’s as soon as I get it.STATEMENT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE WORLD BANK
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Nigeria
9th April 2012
It is with a sense of privilege and humility that I present myself before you today as a candidate for the position of President of the World Bank Group. And I thank you for giving me this opportunity to share with you, in broad terms, my vision for the World Bank Group.

Several lessons inform the thoughts that I will be sharing with you. My vision for the World Bank Group and my passion for development draw on my experiences dating back to my childhood years. I have been through tough times as a girl growing up in Nigeria. I have lived poverty. I know what it means to fetch water from the village stream two miles from my home, to hunt for firewood, and to weed the farm with my grandmother under the hot sun. I have experienced the risks and challenges of living through conflict and its aftermath during the Nigeria civil war. My life has continued to remain deeply-rooted in my country, Nigeria, a country where mothers still die in unacceptably large numbers in childbirth, and where many born children do not get past the age of five.

My vision has also been informed by my two and a half decade experience at the World Bank working on development issues, and my four years spent as Finance and Foreign Minister of Nigeria. The experience at the World Bank has taken me beyond poverty issues in Africa to other regions. I have worked worldwide on policy issues affecting developing countries, specifically on the Middle East and North Africa, East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. In the process, I have gained experience on what needs to be done, what are the best practices, what works and what doesn’t. I have seen how to get results on the ground whether in managing finances prudently for a stable macro-economy or in delivery of better health services, in trying to modernize agriculture and create jobs, as well as garnering resources to finance infrastructure. Together, these experiences have given me a taste of the life and the extra-ordinary challenges faced by millions of poor people around the world, as well as their hopes and aspirations.

My experience notwithstanding, I believe in listening and learning because no one has all the answers to the complex development problems we face today. I have a keen listening ear. I have listened to different countries to distill what their aspirations are. I have listened carefully to leaders in emerging markets and their aspirations. And I have tuned in to the developed countries, with their strong desire to tackle issues of poverty. I have listened to you all, I have learnt from you, and I have gleaned from these valuable insights that feed into, broaden and enrich my vision for taking the World Bank to higher levels. In articulating my vision, I also seek to build on the many strengths of the Bank whilst addressing its weaknesses.

I will outline my vision in three parts:

1.Delivering on the Bank’s mission
2.Dealing with the Bank’s clients and donor countries
3.Building a Bank for the 21st century
1.Delivering on the Bank’s mission
Let me state emphatically that I fully subscribe to the mission of the World Bank of fighting poverty with passion and professionalism. It is a timeless and inspiring mission. But what does it mean to actualize this vision today? I think it requires that we focus very tightly on a number of priority areas: job creation, infrastructure investments, building institutions, social sector spending, fragile states, gender and global public goods.

Job creation: My vision of the World Bank is that of an institution that focuses on job creation as a central platform for its efforts in fighting poverty and improving living standards. There is not a single poor person I have met who does not want the dignity of a job, to be able to feed, clothe, educate and bring up his or her family. But unemployment remains the central, perhaps most challenging problem of our time, in both developing and developed countries. Today, the unemployment rate in the Eurozone is about 10.8 percent, in Spain about 23.6 percent, in South Africa about 24.4 percent, in India at about 9.9 percent. In my own country, Nigeria, the unemployment rate is about 23.9 percent. The problem becomes even more glaring, when we focus on youths, where high unemployment and underemployment prevents the reaping of demographic dividends, posing immense risks to social and political stability in many countries. I will certainly support the development of key sectors that help create jobs. For example, there is plenty of scope to do agriculture differently focusing on value chains. In addition, we could harness the potential in the housing and construction sector. As President of the World Bank, I will view this as one of the key areas where the Bank must be more aggressive in assisting client countries. Realizing this goal of job creation requires that we focus on removing structural impediments in various countries. The specific impediments may differ from country to country but there are some common issues. In Developing Countries, infrastructure appears to constitute the biggest obstacle, and this leads me to my next area of focus.

Infrastructure investments: The World Bank Group is doing a lot to support infrastructure development in client countries. But it must do more, and at a faster pace. It must deploy greater effort and creativity to address the large infrastructure financing gap. In Africa, for example, an estimated $120 billion per annum is needed, and even after you factor in available resources, a funding gap of $50 billion still remains – with the largest gap in the power sector. In India, $1 trillion is needed for infrastructure investment over the next five years as India struggles to create 8-10 million jobs a year. In this regard, the Bank can make a huge difference by using its instruments more aggressively to mobilize finance, whilst safeguarding its financial health. In Africa, a pool of resources in the form of large pension funds lie waiting to be tapped, in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. Yet, Africa struggles to find resources for infrastructure investments. The key question is: what can the World Bank Group do to help tap into and utilize these resources? Although progress has been made in relaxing the use of guarantees for IDA and IBRD, I believe that more could be achieved by leveraging resources from the private sector through the use of such instruments.

Building institutions: The World Bank must also complement its financial assistance support to developing countries with technical assistance services to help build strong institutions in these countries. Institutions of governance, systems and processes for dealing with finance, procurement, etc are paramount. As an example, developing mortgage finance systems in many countries has hitherto been paralyzed by issues of land tenure, land rights and land registration. We must explore ways of addressing these.

Building institutions is arduous, and requires patience and persistence. There is no organization better suited to this difficult long-term task than the World Bank Group. Institutional reforms have been dear to my heart, both in Nigeria and elsewhere, and nowhere more so than in fighting corruption. In Nigeria, I have promoted and implemented transparency of the budget and of public finances by publishing monthly revenues of all tiers of government. These publications have been instrumental in making leaders at the local, state and national levels more accountable. I have fought corruption at the ports, and worked to strengthen institutions of governance.

Social sector spending: The Bank is also well-placed to address human capital development issues. But I think we need to re-think the existing approach to investing in the health and education sectors. In the health sector, investments should prioritize strengthening of national health systems as a way of sustainably managing disease prevention and control. Similarly, in the education sector, the Bank needs to place more emphasis on improving marketable skills in developing countries. Many developing countries today have a severe shortage of skilled artisans, engineers and entrepreneurs – the type of skilled professionals who are important for job creation.

Gender: The Bank has made immense intellectual contributions on gender issues and is a leader on economic empowerment of girls and women. The publication of its flagship report, The 2012 World Development Report on Gender, took these issues several steps forward. Personally, I have set a track record in working on gender issues. I will make sure the Bank works more forcefully in integrating and mainstreaming gender into its approach. In addition, the Bank must work with governments to spell out exactly how they will strengthen empowerment of girls and women within their policies, programs and projects.

Fragile States: The World Bank has prepared a ground-breaking World Development Report on Fragile and Conflict-affected States, which has set out ways of helping these countries transition out of conflict into sustainable development mode. This provides a solid basis for designing appropriate assistance strategies. Consistent with the main theme of my vision, the optics with which I would look at fragile states would be the creation of jobs and restoration of basic social services as a means of reducing social tensions and tackling poverty. I am pleased that the seminal work on LICUS (Low Income Countries Under Stress) carried out by Paul Collier and I has provided an enduring basis for the Bank Group’s work on fragile states.

Global Public Goods: Finally, I see the Bank as a leader in addressing global public goods and issues relating to the global commons such as climate change, cross-border health challenges, green growth and environmental pollution. Developing countries lack knowledge, expertise, skills and financing in these areas, and capacity building support coupled with knowledge transfer and finance will be required. In addition, there is also the need to build trust between developed and developing countries particularly on climate change and green growth issues.

2. Dealing with the Bank’s clients and donor countries

Let me state categorically that the World Bank has many strengths. One of these strengths is its “collaborative”, which is encapsulated in the Board that sets the policy direction for the Bank. It has worked for the good of the Bank for many years, and we have to build on it. This “collaborative” of partners on the Board, from both Developed and Developing Countries, has worked very much to the advantage of the poorest people in the world.

I seize this opportunity to thank the donors around the table who have been very generous, helpful and understanding even in tough times. I see at least two ways of husbanding this generosity. First, we need to use aid resources in leveraging greater investment and trade flows that create jobs. Second, we need to provide support to states in delivering effective services. As World Bank President, I will work very hard to ensure that this partnership is strengthened. The World Bank Group, under the Presidency of Bob Zoellick, overcame a very tough period in its history and came out strong and better. This manifested in the World Bank’s excellent handling of the recent food, fuel and financial crises. You have my assurance that I will strive even harder to ensure that the Bank continues to perform more strongly in the future.

Today, the Bank Group is no longer the type of organization that dictates to countries what to do. It has become a better listener and partner. It has also become more responsive in the delivery of services to its members and in its focus on results. But it can work even faster and better. Given a chance to lead, I will strive to further increase the Bank’s client responsiveness. Being on the ground now as Finance Minister, the need to respond quickly to assist policy-makers to solve policy dilemmas has become more evident. There is a need for the World Bank to position a rolodex of experts that could be mobilized quickly to help address thorny policy problems. The Bank also needs to cut down on operational processing times but this cannot be achieved without the concurrence and support from the Board. The Bank has demonstrated its ability to cut down its operational processes as its responses during the global food and financial crises showed. We should explore ways of extending this to other Bank operations without undermining the Board’s oversight role.

I will also pay great attention to results, and to ensure quality over quantity in the delivery of the Bank’s products and services. I envision a Bank that pays greater attention to results, outcomes and output, and further hones its ability to measure these.

Knowledge exchange is a key area that the Bank can leverage in helping to fight poverty. A lot can be shared from the experiences of successful emerging economies among themselves as a group, and between emerging economies and other developing countries. There is in fact scope for south-north knowledge transfer in the areas of structural reform and social insurance. These are problems bedeviling some Eurozone members at this time. South-south investment and trade is also fast becoming the norm. The World Bank Group is well-positioned to help push this agenda forward through better and faster knowledge intermediation among sharing countries.

The Bank continues to attract significant financing through IDA to help its poorer countries while showing capability for innovation in designing and delivering both financial products and services. The success of IDA 16 replenishment has required the building of a global coalition involving continued commitments by traditional donors and expanding the contributory role of emerging markets in new and innovative ways. I am pleased to have chaired the IDA 16 replenishment process, supported by a superb IDA team, which succeeded in raising almost $50 billion, amidst the difficulties of an uncertain global environment. IDA will remain a key instrument of the World Bank Group to support its low income member countries but the future sustainability of IDA will depend on a willingness to look at new models and approaches for its financial health and sustainability. I pledge to support a more innovative World Bank Group approach to IDA sustainability.

I also attach great importance to the role of Trust Funds in Bank operations. Particularly, since about 40 percent of the recipient executed Trust Funds are directed towards Fragile States – a key priority for the Bank. If elected, I will continue to ensure close donor coordination in these settings drawing on my experiences with Afghanistan, Liberia, Sierra Leone and other fragile states.

I will ensure that the World Bank’s financial health is maintained. The Bank has been a strong institution because it has managed to maintain its financial health under tough circumstances whilst safeguarding its Triple A rating. Nevertheless, I am among those who believe that the World Bank and IFC will require another capital increase in the near future to enable them maintain their financial relevance to client countries. I appreciate that this will take a few more years given the fiscal stress of many shareholders at this time. So whilst not now, surely it is also not 20 years from now! We need to think carefully about good timing for this so that the Bank remains relevant in terms of its financial assistance.

3. Building a Bank for the 21st Century

The Bank’s staff is its greatest asset. Its superb staff embodies rich knowledge, expertise and experience that the Bank must harness to support client countries. I will work hard to carefully husband this resource. We must nurture an environment that attracts, motivates and retains the best talent working on development. I also strongly believe that we must ensure more diversity in the staff and management composition. We will strive hard to attract people from different nationalities, educational backgrounds, and experiences, which is needed to address the complex development challenges facing member countries across the globe.

For the broader World Bank Group, my vision is one of greater coordination and increased efficiency. The Bank Group must work more closely as one, if it is to assist countries more effectively and efficiently on the ground. Situations where IFC and World Bank Country Directors do not interact much or know what each other is doing must end. The Bank is stronger as a group, deploying its instruments together. This is even more important in fragile and conflict-affected states, where we should pilot one World Bank Group Country Director, pulling all instruments together to deliver in difficult situations of fragility.

Good progress has been made in governance reform, particularly on the subject of voice and representation. But it is not enough. We must take this agenda forward, keeping in mind however, the sensitivities of developed and developing countries.

If indeed I am selected, I commit to a very strong relationship with the Board, a relationship of mutual respect and partnership. I will give the Chairing of Board meetings the importance and attention it deserves. Many of you know my antecedents as the Bank’s Managing Director, and my approach to the Board. I will do even better than that. I will strive hard to build trust and respect because I believe that partnership with the board is essential in managing this institution. At the same time, though, I believe that the Board should give the Chief Executive Officer room to manoeuvre, to take decisions, and to effectively deliver on the Bank’s mandate.

Concluding Remarks

Distinguished members of the Board, to conclude, my focus will be on these three goals: delivering on the Bank’s mission (jobs, infrastructure, institutions, social sector issues and global public goods), improving relations with client and donor countries, and building the Bank as a development institution for the 21st century.

I pledge to be a good ambassador to the Bank – with civil society, policy-makers and other stakeholders. I will certainly make sure that the Bank pays attention to doing things faster, quicker and more efficiently, husbanding the Bank’s staff that constitutes a wonderful asset.

My work as Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister in one of the world’s largest and most complex developing economies has provided me an important vantage point to see how a close partnership between governments, donors, private sector and civil society matters for delivering on development. I pledge to harness all of the World Bank Group’s unique attributes and resources to make this partnership deliver for the world’s poor people.

http://olufamous..com/2012/04/we-are-not-robbers-we-only-use-police.html
A very funny drama is playing out at the office of Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, in Lagos as members of a 10-man robbery gang smashed by the team, have called on human rights organisations in Nigeria to help rescue them from the police, saying they were wrongly tagged as armed robbers.

According to the criminals, they are "mere" hijackers of goods on transit, using police uniform.

While speaking to a journalist on their case, the leader of the criminal gang, Emeka Amadi (28), a native of Mbaise in Imo State, argued that it was wrong to tag him and his boys as robbers since they did not operate with guns.

Amadi said a member of the gang named Julius "just" wore a MOPOL uniform with which the gang used to intimidate their victims by giving them the impression that they were members of a special task force constituted by the Federal Government to impound contraband goods.

Amadi said: “We were 10 in number. Each member had a role to play. My own role was to drive our operational vehicle. I used to lead the other members of the gang to spots where we hijacked trucks. We didn’t carry guns at all.

“Once our victims saw Julius in MOPOL uniform, they assumed that we were policemen. Hence, they promptly complied with our instructions. We also wore T-shirts that carried the label of task force.

“Each time we blocked a truck or a trailer, we arrested the driver and the conductor and tied their hands and legs with their shirts. We didn’t even beat our victims. We normally dropped them at a spot where they could be easily assisted by passers-by.

“Even the truck or trailer we hijacked was dropped after off-loading the goods into the receivers’ trucks or trailers. The receivers of the goods usually hung around our operational areas for quick offloading.

“During our first operation, we hijacked a truck that carried cartons of a brand of food seasoning. In the second operation, we hijacked a trailer loaded with engine oil. It was the arrest of the receiver of the engine oil that exposed us.

Tunji Abdul (21) one of the suspected receivers of the goods, claimed to hail from Oyo town in Oyo State. But he denied buying the stolen truckload of food seasoning. He said the only thing he bought from the gang was engine oil.

Abdul confessed that he had worked against efforts made by SARS operatives to track the hijackers, knowing that once they were arrested, the buyers of the hijacked goods would be exposed. But luck was on the side of SARS and five of the suspects were tracked tracked down while five others were at large.

“I did not know that they were stolen goods. I did not know that they were hijackers. I am not their member. It was my first time of buying anything from them. I did not know that they were criminals,” he said.
A Kano-based businessman who bought some of the hijacked goods from the gang was said to have ordered his boys not to sell them to retailers when he discovered that the matter was being investigated by the police.

But so far, I hear a few human rights organisations are considering the best way to take up the case of the 'young' criminals, since it appears they are not armed robbers, after all.

peace

hum

this is no joke