Connect with us

Interviews

POLICE REFORMS: Oyo speaker blows trumpet for creation of state police.

Published

on

Constitutionally, the core function of the Nigerian Police is the maintenance of public order through crime detection and prevention so as to safeguard the lives of citizens and their property.

However, confidence reposed in the Police by Nigerians is fast eroding. The public perception is that the Police are biased in favour of the rich against the poor.

According to Nigerians, “when a matter involves the rich and the poor, investigation is usually titrated in favour of the rich, a situation where the average Nigerian does not find solace in the Police any longer, the ability of the Police to fight crime and capacity to investigate has been attenuated by poor motivation; their lives are not protected”.

This has generated heated debates at different fora.

The Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Honourable Adesina Michael Adeyemo, who is also a legal practitioner, in a chat with our correspondent articulated strongly for the establishment of State Police.

Excerpts:

 

Few years down the line, a committee headed by Parry Osayande was constituted to embark on reforms in the police. Do you think there is a need to reform the Nigeria Police Force?

One of the agencies that have to be strengthening for the purpose of our democratic system is the Nigerian Police (NP). I was a bit worried when you use the word- ‘Nigeria Police Force (NPF), we are not in military era, so we have to start from there. When you go to other countries, we have the New York Police (NYP), because that mentality of ‘force’ does not give room and approach for controlling or handling cases by the police.

They see themselves more of military or force like the Navy Force, Air Force, their own is beyond that, since we are in a democratic system. The Nigerian Police has to be seriously overhauled; it is not about changing the Inspector General of Police (IG).

We need to adopt the approach of community policing and what we mean by community policing is that those who are going to police an area should be from that community and once we are talking of community policing, we can now take it to the level of state police.

ALSO READ  I Lent EFCC N300m So It Could Take Off, Says Atiku

If you bring a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) that is not from a particular area, study the function of what the average DPO’s are doing in the stations. From my own experience, immediately a DPO is posted to a particular station, he will start to be asking questions such as, who are the people he can be relating with in the area?

If he is from that area, he will understand the terrain, he will not allow criminality to overrun his community considering his family, you will see that there will be commitment and dedication. We cannot say we are running federal system of government and have a central unit of police, it runs contrary, sounds so conflicting.

There is no peace means to federal system of government, it is either you run it absolutely or you don’t run a federal system of government at all. So, we must go back to that element and principle of federal system of government that will give us federal implementations from all the states, so that the federal government will have few things to be concentrated upon and they will be effective on it.

If the federal government concentrated so much on the military, the issue of Boko Haram will not be an issue for them to tackle, but the federal government is attending to so many things, that’s a threat on our territorial integrity, if one small unit can annex and take over some parts of Nigeria and we don’t face the reality that we must let devolution of power, restructuring of the country.

When you have state police, by the time the group cells have being formed, information will get to the traditional heads, the state police would have been able to be on ground rather than waiting for the mobilization of troops or mobile police from one part of the country to come and curb the situation, you nip it in the bud.

ALSO READ  Oyo: NULGE elects new Exco, seeks divine intervention over LG autonomy

And that is what is going to help us; intelligence gathering will be effective, because of the local content in our policing.

From your submissions, it is glaring that you are really agitating for the creation of state police. Don’t you think the manipulations of the governors are enough to jettison its creation?

Is the federal government not making use of the Nigerian Police against the governors? What happened in River States against Amaechi? That is what we are saying.

There are checks and balances in our laws, you cannot just do anything. The governors cannot just wake up overnight and continue to use the police against perceived enemies, but the federal government does it, because they know that the governors are powerless. The state government will not do it when they know that there are federal police to checkmate them.

The federal police is just going to be there to regulate as we have a regulatory agencies. It is a matter of the law that you put in place to establish the police, infact, governors may not even have the control over them, it may be an independent body as we have it in the judicial system.

People believed that the executives do control the judiciary, but it is not pronounced, same may happen to the state police, can a governor remove the judge?

We should have a level of checks and balances. There is going to be an agency at the federal level such as the FBI that will regulate the system, where the matter is beyond the power of the state, then the central police will come in and work with the state to get to the root to curb it. So, it is a case of pot calling kettle black.

With the creation of state police, don’t you think the unity of the country would be threatened?

It will not! Why are we making our unity to be a conditional unity, that we cannot do certain things because it will affect our unity? In what way is it going to affect our unity?

ALSO READ  UNIBADAN bans male visitors from female hostels, gives reason

The state police cannot operate independently of the judiciary. Whenever you find yourself, maybe there is an abuse of power by the so called police; the court is there to put a check as we have in the federal.

Probably, you are not going to give them equipments like gun. We cannot say because we have state police, we will not have the presence of federal police in the state to be in charge of ammunitions. We have rubber bullets, water bombs, tear gas; they can have those ones, since they are not going to battle war.

So, when it comes to the issue of crime that is beyond their power, don’t the federal government draft in military to support the police, so they can draft the federal police to support the state in curbing the crime, but the work of the state police will be more of intelligence gathering. We have to check the commission of a crime, that will help us a lot than allowing the crime to degenerate before we now swings into action.

 

Advertisement
Comments

Interviews

Interview: Why Ife Grand Resort is unique to others – GM, Reuben Abib reveals

Published

on

File photo of Mr. Reuben Abib, the General Manager, Ife Grand Resort and Leisure

 

Ife Grand Resort & Leisure, one of the best hospitality-care centers in Africa, located on an expansive hilltop, adjacent to the Ife-Ibadan Expressway at about 4 km from the heart of the ancient and culturally important city of Ile-Ife, in Osun State, Southwest Nigeria, is the right place to be not only for tourists, fun-seekers, holidaymakers, travellers; but also for government institutions and individuals seeking exciting and memorable experience.

Reuben Abib, the General Manager, of Ife Grand Resort & Leisure, in a chat with Idowu Ayodele, reveals the intrinsic values that set the hospitality center apart from others.

Excerpts:

Why is Ife Grand Resort & Leisure described as the people’s palace?

It is, indeed; the people’s palace! You know not everyone can enter the Enuwa palace of the Ooni of Ife, but Ife Grand Resort & Leisure is the extension of that same palace. Here, at the People’s Palace, everyone can feel and be treated like royalty. We set up on over 328 acres of land, over a hundred rooms with chalets of different categories.

We actually have tree houses as well, very interestingly, they are all air-conditioned, we have Eclipse nightclub, a zoo, African Village, which hosts a Bamboo Restaurant and a local kitchen where guests can visit to witness how local food menus are prepared and served to them in local pots, the Adire Oodua Textile Hub where they make traditional adire clothes (tie-and-dye).

The resort also houses a 200-capacity cinema hall nearing completion and would be commissioned soon, an event centre, a conference hall, an indoor spa centre for manicures and pedicures, swimming pools, restaurants and bar, barbecue, where you can get your catfish, bush meat, palm wine among other facilities. Honestly, there is so much to do here, this is a place to be.

ALSO READ  Again, bandits abduct district head in Zamfara

Considering the huge staff strength, both permanent and casual workers, how have you been able to manage and coordinate them for optimal productivity?

We are very much like a family here. So, I see myself like a father figure to all my staff, even a father figure to my customers. We may not always agree on some issues, but the fact is that if you realise you have a relationship that you want it to be extended beyond this present moment, then you have to manage yourself to protect such relationships. There is one Yoruba proverb I owe dearly to my heart is that when a child knows how to wash his hands well, he eats with the elders.

Interestingly, it is something the Yoruba culture has taught me which is the way we treat each other, the respect we give each other, we love each other so much that we bow to each other, in simple greetings, you must adopt humility to succeed. The secret I am trying to bring to the table is that you must love your children even if you must discipline them, binding it together, I think things are working fine here with us.

I am able to manage a diverse group of individuals with unique talents, skills, and abilities.

There are many resorts and hotels in Nigeria, what exactly sets Ife Grand Resort & Leisure apart from others?

We are the source, the cradle of the Yoruba race. The resort itself exemplifies everything that is housed within the Yoruba culture. One of our unique advantages is the pristine rain forest which is just a three-minute walk, and a tropical utopia for leisure seekers and discerning guests who cherish tranquility and communion with nature amid personalised hospitality services.

ALSO READ  UNIBADAN bans male visitors from female hostels, gives reason

We are surrounded by nature , both flora and fauna.

We have more than enough facilities, stable security and fantastic personnel that will make your visit to this destination an exciting and memorable experience. In addition to everything you can do here, we are just a few minutes away from the 401 historical and religious sites in Ile Ife, so if you want to see culture first hand, this is the best place to be. There is so much to do here, so much to learn, there is no way even once in a lifetime you can take everything away. We are just a few weeks to Olojo festival, literally there is always a festival in Ile-Ife.

If you really want to get in touch with yourself and your culture, Ile-Ife is the only place to do that, this is the source.

How affordable is Ife Grand Resort & Leisure?

We are the most affordable four-star resort in Nigeria, I can assure you of that. This is the people’s palace, we want it accessible and affordable for all, the reason we deliberately splashed the prices by half. Can you imagine a standard room for N10,000 in a four-star resort?

Having spent some quality and eventful years in Africa, particularly Southwest Nigeria, how would you describe the Yoruba culture?

I am an African American. Growing up in Canada and the US, they will be telling us that our culture is dead. In 2017, when I met the Ooni of Ife and I saw living culture, I saw the culture of the Emeses, the culture of the cult, I saw the culture of the Yoruba people, prostrating before this amazing King, and I was touched to the soul. I am actually a born orphan, and one thing about orphans is that not only that people adopt us, we also adopt people. I must say that I have adopted Yoruba because it resonates with me – the history, the culture, proverbs, and wisdom of the Yoruba people, is something that I feel it is within my soul and it is wonderful.

ALSO READ  Oyo govt unveils 2017-2020 approved new list of books

Likewise, I spent 11 years in the Gambian and I already spent over 5 years in Nigeria, I can always see that for we the repatriated Africans, it is actually easy to find our home here and this is very welcoming. Thank you for sharing your culture with me.

 

 

 

 

Continue Reading

Interviews

Interview: Expert reveals ‘ugly story’ of Nigeria’s cocoa industry

Published

on

File photo of Alhaji Muritadha Adeyemi Adeniji, Chairman, Starlink Global & Ideal Limited

Alhaji Muritadha Adeyemi Adeniji is a leading player in the Cocoa and cashew business in Nigeria. Therefore his insight into the challenges and prospects of the agro-industrial sector cannot be faulted. His company, Starlink Global & Ideal Limited, provides a wide spectrum of marketing and financial services for the procurement and export of Agricultural Produce and Commodities to both local and international markets.

SGI agricultural produce also includes raw cocoa beans, raw cashew nuts, shea nuts, and natural sesame seeds. SGI today has grown tremendously and is well represented in all cocoa-producing zones of Nigeria.

In this interview with online news editors, he bares his mind, among other issues, on the status of cocoa production in Nigeria, even as he expressed his fear about the future of the crop. Excepts

Sir, Nigerians are concerned about the dwindling production of cocoa in Nigeria, because the crop used to be a major contributor to the economic development of the country most especially in the western region in the 60, and 70s. Do you share their fear?

I appreciate your concern about the future of Cocoa in Nigeria. Unfortunately, we used to be number 2 between the period 1968 and 1975. Up to 1992, Nigeria still struggled to be between number 3 and 4 but we are now number 7. Ivory Coast as of 2013, the country was producing 1,000,000 tonnes. Today, Ivory Coast produces 2000400 tonnes. They have doubled their production and have even added more within that period. Looking at the same time, Ghana used to produce 750000 tonnes but they are now producing 950000 tonnes. Cameroon used to produce 350000 tonnes they are still on the 350000 tonnes. Indonesia used to produce 450000 tonnes, they are now producing 280000 tonnes.

They have had a reduction in their production. Nigeria used to produce 250000 tonnes, they are now on 300000 tonnes. Brazil produces 320000 tonnes. All other countries of the world produce the rest of the tonnes.

The total need for Cocoa in the world is 4million tonnes in a year. 75% of the production is done by Ivory Coast and Ghana, which is why they went into a collaboration to ask for Liquid Income Preferential from the chocolate makers. I am the first Nigerian and African to be a member of the Federation of Cocoa and Commerce (FCC), which is responsible for regulating the Cocoa economy in the world. This gives me insight into the problems and solutions to Cocoa production.

ALSO READ  S’court judgement: Sen. Buhari felicitates with Oyo ALGON, tasks APC to ensure adherence by Makinde

When we talk about Nigeria, it’s not only about Cocoa but the quality of leadership has been the problem. When we have leaders that only think about 4 or 8 years in office and do not have a long term plan. This is criminal and injustice to the people they are leading. We must have a well structured country, that has immediate, short and long-term plans. Developed countries of the world have all these plans with strong institutions that Nigeria is lacking.

Unfortunately, corruption has killed almost everything in Nigeria. I don’t like politics and I won’t be one of them. Take a look at the time of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo who was an Ijebu man, what was Cocoa production like in Ijebu then? He institutionalized Cocoa production across the Southwest. He had a big Cocoa farm, not for himself but for the country in the present-day Edo State. Things need to change. The law of diminishing return is taking effect on the Cocoa trees as some are now 100 years while some are 75 years. If they are cut down how many years would it take for us to have the new ones? What incentives are being given to the youths as motivation to engage in farming?

What have they been doing in Ivory Coast that Nigerian government has not been doing?

In Ivory Coast, the government allocates 2.5 hectares of land to the youth to engage in farm production. Nigeria’s government needs to create a medium for large farm sites and put necessary social infrastructures to make life bearable for the people. West Africa produces almost 75% of Cocoa in the world, all other countries cannot. We are blessed in this part of the world. For instance, in Indonesia, natural disasters destroy the farms. The government should start to have long-term plans. This is one of the reasons we are faced with the challenge of insecurity such as banditry, kidnapping, and others. We need to face the reality of how to navigate the perennial problems. Unemployment is directly proportional to poverty, banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism.

So how can we get it right?

For Nigeria to get it right in Cocoa production, the government needs to remove what is known as Land Use Act. The people should be allowed to have access to land. This is one of the major problems of agriculture in Nigeria. Physical planning is very key. We are very lucky, Nigeria has the largest arable land in the whole of Africa. You can see the incursion of foreigners into the country, Chinese, Indians, and others are buying lands in large quantities and they are collecting documents from the government, we need to be careful about that. We are talking about colonization, what is going to happen would be worse than colonization. We should learn from the apartheid in South Africa and Palestine because the major cause of what is happening in Palestine, Zambia, and Zimbabwe is land. This is also evident in Kaduna and Jos.

ALSO READ  Adeduntan Installed As Osi Bashorun Of Ibadan Land, Now Personal Physician To Olubadan

No government agency or parastatal in Nigeria is working, corruption has destroyed all of them. We are not investing in technologies that will improve our agricultural system. We need huge investment in technologies in our institutes for us to have alternatives. The kind our fertilizers we use on our farms are the ones killing our soil.

The government should create an enabling environment supported by reasonable laws that wouldn’t be broken. So many people are interested in agriculture but they are being discouraged by the lack of enabling environment.

I want to call on the government to have a well-structured system, long term plans and be proactive in the needs of the citizens, especially the youths. We don’t have accurate data in Nigeria, we only have estimates.

The Nigerian government has been talking about diversification of the economy, especially in agro-industrial sector, in your own opinion do you think they are walking the talk?

As a stakeholder, I have constructively criticized the government to challenge them on the necessary things to be done. Nigeria is retrogressing at a fast pace, something needs to be done. The chocolate factory needs 24 hours electricity, are we having this in Nigeria? A factory cannot be successfully run in an unpredictable place like Nigeria. Look at the price of diesel which used to be N350 which is now N800. So many companies are folding up in Nigeria not because they are fraudulent, it is because they operate in a very harsh economic environment.

ALSO READ  Can cryptocurrencies reduce global poverty?

How did you get into this business?

I was a biochemistry lecturer at the University for 11 months. Religion discrimination and politics in the institution made me leave lecturing job. There was a terrible gang-up as I was the only Muslim, I didn’t see myself developing quickly in such an environment. When I left, I secured another job in Union Trust before the death of my Managing Director which made me leave there after 11 months.

I never wanted to do this business because I have experienced different things in this business. I had so many crises in the Cocoa business. Although, it is my father’s business. Hunger and desperation forced me to stay in the Cocoa business.

How long did it take you to build Starlink Global & Ideal Limited?

We started in 1999. Today, we are the largest exporter of Cocoa, Cashew, and palm oil in Nigeria. In the last 10 years, the growth has been wonderful. We are now into processing, we have just bought the largest and multi-million processing plant in Nigeria.

At SGI, we have 452 direct workers and about 900 appendages. We see the human being as the most important asset. We have warehouses in about 16 states. I motivate my staff for maximum production with sustainable empowerment. Most of them are now self-independent

Continue Reading

Interviews

INTERVIEW: ‘Buhari has failed, made APC to lose goodwill’ – Late Ajimobi’s aide

Published

on

By

Chief Adebayo Ojo

Chief Mutalubi Adebayo Ojo read Mass Communication at the University of Lagos, he later proceeded to the University of Ibadan to study Law. He equally served as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice under late Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State.

Last Tuesday, he appeared on Ayekooto On Radio, a magazine programme anchored by Olayinka Agboola live on a private radio station in Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State. Read some of his submissions:

On one of your Social Media profile pages, you wrote that laws must be used as tools of social engineering, for economic development and poverty eradication. Why did you think along this line sir?

Lawyers are called legal luminaries all over the world especially in a democracy to lighten paths and ways of their fellow citizens so that they can see through and will not fall or slip from their ways. Law is an object to develop the country and engineer development and tackle poverty.

Today, as we are speaking, do you consider yourself to be a full fledge politician?

I must not pretend about that. I am a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).  I formally joined the party very recently during the revalidation exercise. When I was in government under our late leader, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, I was not a card-carrying member of the party.

What was it like when you were the Chief Lawmaker in Oyo State?

It was all about service to humanity, contributing your quotas to your community, state and society at large. All of us cannot be satisfied to remain in our comfort zones because if it is something we are going to eat together with our family and how to educate our children, we do not have such problems. Let us think of others who are less privileged and who do not have the same opportunity like us.  In life there are basic amenities of life such as food, shelter and education and health. Let us strive to make life more meaningful to people, I believe that any aspiration to be in government and public service should be geared towards service. As a commissioner, I served to the best of my ability.

ALSO READ  The Day I Almost Died In An 'Action Movie' | By Olawale Sadare

States are at war with  Government on the issue of the Value Added Tax collection (VAT). What is your opinion?

I have a very different view and I have expressed it at different fora before. Value Added Tax (VAT) is not listed specifically in the exclusive list. We have already had in place a VAT act – since the era of the military. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has been collecting it from individuals, company without any level of protest from any level of government. It will be wrong for any state now to enact another VAT law like Lagos and Rivers have done. We already have a federal act which has covered the field and that will be inconsistent with any law that is happening now.

During the second republic, we had a similar case between Attorney General of Ogun State and Aberuaba which was litigated up to the Supreme court that it was stated that Ogun State could not enact sales tax.

Also, during Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Governor of Lagos State, there was this law that was enacted by Lagos state government on hospitality and consumption tax. It happened that Eko Hotel took the state government to court that they could not be paying the same tax when they were already paying same to the federal government and they won the case.

Now, as a lawyer and politician, you know the way things are in Nigeria today – insecurity and economic woes, where did we get it wrong?

Leadership is the major problem facing Nigeria. Our current president, Muhammadu Buhari has failed and has disappointed many people. He has failed woefully and the party, APC has lost its goodwill that brought it to power in 2015.

ALSO READ  WHO provides drugs for Oyo students to cure tropical diseases

But some observers said Jugdes/Lawyers, Policemen and Journalists are mainly responsible for the situation Nigeria has found itself..

I do not agree with that assumptions that Lawyers, Judges, Police and Journalists are responsible for Nigeria’s problems today. We have all failed. We cannot have a better country if we do not have a good family unit. A good community cannot exist if there is a bad local government and state. We have lost it all and all sectors are affected.  We are the problems and if people in the country agree to change and do the right things then Nigeria will be better.

What do you think is the difference between APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

There is no difference between the two parties. Our political parties are not ideology-based. They are just platforms through which one can get elected to serve. There is nothing like progressives’ party in my understanding. Both parties are bereft of ideologies.

So, what is the way forward sir?

We cannot keep complaining that because politics is a dirty game. It is dirty because majority of the people participating in it presently are dirty. We must not leave it to charlatans, we must all participate in it to improve the system.

What is your stake on the ongoing agitation for Yoruba nation?

Looking at the rate at which we are going in this country, unless Nigeria is restructured, we may disintegrate. Things are not at ease and we have never been divided like this before. The Hausas are seeing themselves as different from the Fulanis. There is nothing like one north again, even the Hausas and the Fulanis are even more divided than the south. We need to sit down and find solutions to the myriad of problems we are facing.

ALSO READ  In photo as Makinde, Akeredolu, Mimiko, others pay condolence visit to Pa Fasoranti

Independence of Yoruba Nation is just one of the valid options to be used to solve Nigeria’s problems.

Before you go, do you wish to send a message to fellow politicians?

Let us all resolve to do the right thing at the right time. Let us be selfless and put the interest of the country at heart first and let us love Nigeria above our personal interest.

I will also counsel Nigerians not to cut corners and to do the right things always.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Tweets by ‎@megaiconmagg

Subscribe to our Newsletter

* indicates required

MegaIcon Magazine Facebook Page

Advertisement

MEGAICON TV

Trending