— 17 Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2012— “If we can't be our brother’s keeper, let us at least not be his destroyer.” - John F. Kennedy N Thursday last week, our nation lost a little bit more of its humanity, after over one hundred people perished in a fire while scooping spilt petroleum from a crashed tanker. Exactly how many people died in those circumstances, in a State literally sitting on oil resources may never be known. Their ashes and partially-burnt limbs will be gawked at by fellow citizens, who will then all walk away. Soon the incident will be forgotten; the same way we walked away from victims of many of such disasters in the past. Vague references and arguments over poverty, greed and indiscipline will be made; but these will not stop another of such disasters occurring soon. And the nation will be reminded then of the disaster of Okogbe which is now a statistic, and it will move on. A few days before the fire from a crashed tanker took over 100 lives, prominent citizens including a Senator and other legislators gathered around a mass grave with villagers in Maseh, Riyom Local Government of Plateau State to bury men, women and children burnt, shot or hacked to death. Reports say the event was attacked, and in the stampede to escape which followed, the Senator and another legislator collapsed and later died. While the corpses remained begging to be buried, a section of the local community blocked the highway and killed a few more people. It was all just another day in the killing fields that Plateau State has become. The next few days were also followed by routine intensive searches, burnings of villages and homesteads and the shooting of many cattle around Barikin Ladi. The nation duly noted these events, and our humanity died a little bit more. Mass killings in incidents such as the fuel tanker fire and the events around villages in Plateau State make headlines. Many others do not. Victims of the bombs and bullets of the Jaamatu Ahlil Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad (JASLIWAJ) (a.k.a Boko Haram) are registered daily. Daring attacks such as those suspected to have been
incompetence or indifference of leaders must be accounted for. The constitution says our governments have two primary functions: to protect our lives and property, and pursue our welfare. In most parts of our land, development cannot take place without peace; and since neither community nor citizen has peace, none can develop. In other parts, peace will be unattainable unless substantial inroads are made into poverty. So you will have to develop people in order to have peace.
O
Living with mass death
T
planned to eliminate the Shehu of Borno and the State Deputy Governor in a mosque last Friday, briefly hold public attention. The bomber who prayed with the Shehu and then attempted to blow him up a few minutes later will merely redress the growing perception that the JASLIWAJ insurgency (if indeed it is responsible for the attack) only targets Christian places of worship and villages. There are many other mass killings or deaths, the most widely observed being those that involve the Nigerian elite, such as the recent crash of an aircraft in Lagos. Hundreds die on our highways daily, and the bulk of fellow travellers barely slow down to ask what happened, or how many have died. Violent crimes take dozens of lives in towns and villages, and communities bury their dead and move on.
he simple yet very difficult irony is that democracy is only as good as ordinary people want it to be. Citizens Our nation has learnt to live with evil, must rise to demand that bad roads and this is taking away our humanity. must be fixed by those with responsibility to do so. Dangerous drivers who cost lives must be brought to justice. Police must work. The courts must work. Someone must pay for incompetence, indifference or c r i m i n a l Destruction caused by Boko Haram, Islamic sect negligence Every single life taken unjustly, or lost when aircraft crash. Citizens who are through avoidable circumstances aggrieved by actions of other citizens weakens our humanity. The more we must have visible and tangible relief for their grievances. Murderers who hide behind contrived causes to kill fellow citizens and security agents must be stopped and punished by the law. Leaders who cannot protect us from mass murderers, or from criminals who kill because they can, have no business leading us. It is that simple. The simple yardstick to apply when next we have opportunities to elect tolerate unjust or avoidable death, the leaders, or participate in appointing less likely we are to ask why they community leaders is their potential to happen, and stand up to ensure that protect us from unjust or avoidable they stop. Mass killings, including death. This is not too much to ask from avoidable disasters and lives lost to a democratic system which cannot criminals, security agents or ethnic promise to do any more than this at and religious conflicts, or through present.
The simple yardstick to apply when next we have opportunities to elect leaders, or participate in appointing community leaders is their potential to protect us from unjust or avoidable death
,
Communities fight over land or grazing routes, or over seemingly innocuous reasons. Hundreds who survive become refugees and are left at the mercy of the elements. Those who survive with their lives, limbs and homesteads grieve and move on.
BY IKECHUKWU IGBOANUGO
W
Democracy and the peoples wish
HEN Governor Peter Obi gave me his CV, and indicated his interest for the governorship race in Anambra, from that moment, I knew he will get there and he will also perform. At the time, some friends and I were running a political party in Anambra state, he would always come around and donate about a N100, 000.00 worth of refreshment such coke, fanta, pure water etc, with his black Peugeot 504 salon car without a driver. One day he cornered me when he attended one of our meetings and asked my advise regarding the political party he should join. Our party then the UNPP which was actually fronting for Ibrahim Babangida. I advised him to join APGA because APGA was more or less an Igbo party because of the Late Chief Ikemba Nnewi Odimegwu Ojukwu’s involvement. I reminded him that Jim Nwobodo was voted into office by Igbos because of the Late Chief Nmamdi Azikiwe’s involvement in NPP. Peter Obi was a very rich business man then, he was in the same line of business with me. We were in the same business category. Our category then had fleet of cars with drivers but Peter Obi had only one black Peugeot 504 car. I admired his way of presentations at public functions, his smart and intelligent speeches were attracted the attention of quite a number of people. That was why I presumed that this kind of man will deliver, coupled with his way of life as a chronic miser. His political turbulence initially was as a result of people's grievances because he closed his door on
OPINION Who says Obi is not working
people. As a governor you don’t close your door on people like that, you must help people so that people can pray for you. He eventually opened his door. Coming to my point that Peter Obi is working, I was going to Ifite Ogwari in Anambra state recently, moving up to almost the boundary between Anambra and Enugu State in the northern side of Anambra. All the roads there are cleanly tarred, I asked which Governor did this overwhelming development, I was told it was Peter Obi. Anytime I am in Anambra I don’t enter Onitsha, but recently I was compelled to enter Onitsha to see a sick friend. I could not recognise some areas as a result of the development. Again,when I inquired , the answer was Peter Obi. This is why I find it a bit disturbing that some individuals accuse Obi of poor performance. How can El Rufai who is not even from Anambra state and whom no one knows when he visited Anambra state last and moved around the state to determine Peter’s performance.
B
efore I embarked on this write up, I have done a thorough investigation and I have observed that Peter Obi has done a lot in Anambra State, he has covered all sectors of development viz: education, roads, water, health etc. even to the extent of settling contractor ’s debts incurred by Mbadinuju’s administration.
,
My concern is that I am an Igbo man from Anambra State. We must search for a credible Igbo man whom we can position when it is time for Igbo presidency. For sure President Jonathan is constitutionally entitled to a second term if he performs well which I believe he will. After him, it should be the turn of the South East. Since after the first republic, the north has ruled for over 25 years, South West 11 years, South South now 8 years so in 2019 it will definitely be the turn of South East. I don’t personally believe in zoning but rotation. This is the period we should begin to shop for a credible Igbo man that wilt represent us in Aso Rock in 2019 and we should examine the performance of the present and ex- governors from the South East. There is no gain-saying the Obi’s achievement in Anambra is overwhelming; a very busy governor who has acquired so many awards, a governor who visits schools on monthly basis, the presence of a governor in any school boosts the morale of the children and their teachers. He bought 500 vehicles from a local manufacturer in Anambra; some governors will import and steal money in the process. Peter has built over 200 health centres in Anambra. The media is awashed with the various businness of governance Obi is involed and engaged in. Since the inception of democracy, Akwa-Etiti my town has not benefited from any state government’s key position despite all contributions from AkwaEtiti. Today. Obi has appointed one of the noble sons of Akwa-Etiti as one of state's commissioners. *Mr. Igboanugo, a social critic, wrote from Anambra State.