15
T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2016
EDITORIAL NIGERIANS ON DEATH ROW IN ASIA
T
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency needs to work harder to curb trafficking in illicit drugs
he Senate was recently upset by the huge numbers of Nigerians on death row in Malaysia and China. This was sequel to a motion tabled by Senator Gbenga Ashafa entitled: “Nigerians involvement in illicit global drugs trade and increase in domestic drug abuse by Nigerian youth.” According to Ashafa, some 153 Nigerians would soon be executed in these Asian countries for trafficking in illicit drugs. Besides the image problem created for our country, the senator representing Lagos East rightly observed that “our nationals are viewed with suspicion and subjected to demeaning treatment at airports across the world as a result of this negative perception.” However, the information from the upper chamber of parliament was a bit dated. Late last year, a human rights organisation by the name Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) said almost 300 Nigerians were currently on death row in prisons across Asian countries. According to Mr. Chinonye Obiagwu, the data independently collected by LEPAD revealed that 120 BESIDES THE IMAGE Nigerians faced the PROBLEM CREATED prospects of death in FOR OUR COUNTRY, Chinese prisons, and OUR NATIONALS ARE over 170 in Indonesia, VIEWED WITH SUSPICION Thailand, Malaysia, AND SUBJECTED TO Vietnam, and five in DEMEANING TREATMENT Qatar, United Arab AT AIRPORTS ACROSS THE Emirate and Saudi WORLD Arabia. He estimated that about 16,500 Nigerians were being held abroad while most of those on death row were convicted of drug-related crimes. Even so, the figures from the parliament once again highlight the increasing desperation of Nigerians in the narcotic trade. In spite of frequent arrests and stiff punishment, and the increasing sophistication in technology to combat the illegal business, many desperate Nigerians are still not willing to let go. Indeed, Ashafa noted that many of these Nigerians paraded themselves as university students to undermine the visa system and gained entrance into
Letters to the Editor
T
Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and other drug traffic routes. Over 30 out of 80 foreign students arrested in Malaysia in 2015 were reportedly Nigerians. That perhaps explains why across the world today, several Nigerians are on death row or serving prison terms and creating enormous image problem for the country. Those in prison serving terms are even the lucky ones. In many countries, especially in Asia, it is public knowledge that trafficking in hard drug carries the ultimate sentence. In June 2008, two Nigerians were executed in Indonesia for trafficking in illegal drugs. The same fate befell one Chibuzor Vituz in China in 2009.
I T H I S DAY
EDITOR IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU DEPUTY EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOlAfE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OlUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN
T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOlA BEllO, KAYODE KOMOlAfE, ISRAEl IWEGBU, EMMANUEl EfENI, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR OlUfEMI ABOROWA DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS PETER IWEGBU, fIDElIS ElEMA, MBAYIlAN ANDOAKA, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS HENRY NWACHOKOR, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOlA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI GENERAL MANAGER PATRICK EIMIUHI GROUP HEAD fEMI TOlUfASHE ART DIRECTOR OCHI OGBUAKU II DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com
TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (9501000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND THE SOCIETY
he bedrock of every society is the family. As the primary unit of socialisation upon which is laid the foundation for a good society, the family plays a vital role in building a healthy society. It is therefore quite unambiguous that any threat to the family unit is a clear threat to the society. Recent onslaught on this enormous societal pillar in form of domestic violence is a serious threat to the society which calls for urgent attention. That the marriage institution is currently under severe pressure is not in doubt as we now witness unimaginable violence hitherto seen only in movies among couples. The recent alleged murder of a 36-year old woman by her 51- year old husband over allegation of infidelity is still very fresh in the news. This is coming on the heels of the brutal killing of a young woman in Ilorin, Kwara State, by her admirer for refusing to marry him. As if that was not enough, barely three months ago, Nigerians were shocked with the news of a how a young man in Ibadan was killed by the wife when she slit his throat. It is distressing to discover that the home is no longer a safe and peaceful haven for children as fathers and mothers now engage in bitter and deadly squabbles. In Lagos State, for instance, it is rather dreadful to note that the Ministry of Woman Affairs and Poverty Alleviation received over 382 mails on domestic violence and over 553 distress calls in recent time. This is how serious the issue of domestic violence has suddenly become in our society.
n a well sensational outing in April 2015, four Nigerians convicted of drug trafficking were executed along with other nationals by Indonesian authorities via firing squad. The Public Communications Division of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave the names of the executed Nigerians as Martin Anderson, Okwudili Oyatanze, Jaminu Abashin and Sylvester Obiekwe. Pleas for leniency by Nigeria, the United Nations and Amnesty International were reportedly downplayed by the Indonesian government partly because “at that point, seven fresh cases of drug trafficking involving Nigerians had just emerged in Indonesia”. Yet the huge numbers of drug mules still jetting out of the country means the enforcement agencies still have much work on their hands. This is in addition to the fact that Nigeria is increasingly becoming a destination for narcotics in its own right. In the past few years, the use of illicit drug use has been widespread and many of our young citizens are increasingly getting addicted. The Senate specifically has called for the restructuring and repositioning of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the agency saddled with curbing the crime, to be more effective. Indeed, some of its staffers were reportedly compromised in the past while the agency has long argued that it is understaffed and ill-equipped. But the scale of the problem and the consequences for our image, national security and public health are so severe that something must be done urgently.
According to experts, domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence, is a pattern of abusive behaviours by one partner against another in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation. Domestic violence and abuse is not limited to obvious physical violence. It can also mean endangerment, criminal coercion, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, trespassing, harassment, and stalking to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence is a global phenomenon. It occurs across the world, in various cultures, and affects people irrespective of their economic status. According to one study, the percentages of women who have reported being physically abused by an intimate partner vary from 69% to 10% depending on the country. In Nigeria, spousal abuse has become a scourge and there is a report that 50% of our women have been battered by their husbands at one time or the other and unbelievably, more educated women (65%) are in this terrible situation as compared with their low income counterparts (55%). The effects of domestic violence on couples are far- reaching as it affects not only the children but the entire society in the long run. The effects on children are most devastating as they exhibit fear, anxiety, feeling unsafe, anxious to please, withdrawal syndrome, depression, shame, guilt, anger, sleep disturbance and a whole lot more. Temilade Aruya, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Lagos
BUHARI AND Fskyrocketed UEL SUBSIDY in the market and now the
“Nigerians are being deceived on the issue of fuel subsidy, I’m completely opposed to the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government” ---Buhari 2011 The above statement was made by Muhammadu Buhari, as the then Presidential Candidate of the CPC. What made the sudden change of mind by President Buhari, leading to the astronomical hike in the pump price of petrol by his administration? How could one comprehend this? Why did Buhari make a complete U-turn after he got the office courtesy of the goodwill of the people who thought that they made the right choice? President Buhari, from all indication, was lured into agreeing with the removal of subsidy and hike in the price of fuel by those who do not mean well for the ordinary people of this great country. In fact, this is the greatest injustice ever done to the people, taking into consideration how the people are paying through their nose these days for almost everything. The living condition of the people is horrible. Prices of commodities have
hike in the price of fuel would no doubt compound the living condition of the people especially the poor. Even if the administration feels that there is need to increase the price of fuel due to the slump in oil price, it ought to have introduced some kind of palliative measures to cushion the effects. The purchasing power of the people of this country is seriously down because of the high cost of living, especially those in public service. What the administration needs to do to ensure the supply of the product to the people is cogent measures in revamping the refineries that are in sorry state and taking stiff measure in curtailing smuggling of the product by some selfish marketers. Outright hike in the price of fuel would not solve the problem of shortages of fuel and the unnecessary long queues in the filling stations. It is doubtful if subsidy removal would end the fuel queues or tackle the age-long corruption in the oil sector. Usman Santuraki, Jimeta -Yola