News

June 12: 25years after, we’re failing Nigerians but democracy is far better than autocracy-Minority leader, Chinda

Published

3 months ago

June 12, 2024

Naijablitz

..if you doubt try autocracy

…says we’ve to be extremely careful as signs of failed state are already showing here

Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Rep Kingsley Chinda has said despite so many failures recorded on the last unbroken 25years of democracy, it still remains the best form of government as autocracy as an option is suicidal.

Chinda who represents Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency of Rivers State, made this disclosure while chatting with journalists on Tuesday in Abuja stating that:

“Well I would have clearly been in that class of persons that would say, look there is nothing at all to talk about democracy in Nigeria.

“But I belong to the groups of persons that stood firmly against military rule in Nigeria. At least I’ve gone through detention while in school to say no to military rule.

“For anybody who thinks that democracy is not good, try autocracy. You will see the difference.

“And so I believe that the worst democratic government is better than the best autocratic government.

“We are seated here today talking to ourselves, speaking freely, because we have a democracy. There are days that you cannot sit with me in this room to hold this interview, even whilst I am the leader of opposition in the country.

“We need to hide in a conclave somewhere for us to discuss like this. And as we are discussing, we are watching our back.

“So democracy comes with its own advantages. And I can tell you that men generally seek democracy, so that we have had it for 25 years. It’s a thing of joy.

“But then the question is, 25 years of democracy, how well have we fared? Are we succeeding? Are we doing the right thing? Are we truly making maximal use of the democracy that we have? The answer is no. We are not faring very well.

“We are abusing the opportunity we have much more than using it to further our society. One clear example which I have always said, what is the primary purpose of government? Security of the citizens and their welfare, so, are we succeeding?

“If we talk about security in Nigeria today, it’s worse than it was 25 years back. 25 years back, you can travel from Port Harcourt to Sokoto, even at night.

” In school, I used to ply night bus from Port Harcourt to Lagos. Good morning Lagos, good night Port Harcourt. Finish the business of the day. At night, you go back to the bus station and then you’re back to Port Harcourt the following morning.

“But you can’t do that now, even in the afternoon today, to move from Port Harcourt to Abuja, because of the strike recently, I wanted to drive from Port Harcourt to Abuja. And everybody was screaming, why would you want to take such a risk?

“So, that primary purpose of government, providing security, we have not succeeded.

“Now you go to welfare, which is the second purpose of government, why we have all agreed that we elect a few persons to act in our stead, so that they will take care of our welfare.

“How well has government succeeded? The same answer is, government has failed. The welfare of Nigerians are not getting better. Our welfare 25 years back is better than what we have today.

“But there ought to have been improvements. 25 years back, public taps were flowing, public schools were doing well. We all attended public schools. Public health facilities were running.

“But today, Nigerians provide for themselves. You provide your security because you must get a security man in your house and you pay for it. You provide power for yourself. Most people are going for solar today because the public system has failed. You send your children to private schools because public schools have failed. That is, you also provide education for yourself.

“So, what do you actually owe the government and what does the government owe you? You owe obedience, compliance with laws and all that and that’s why you see most people, out of anger, will kick against the government of the day.

“So, whilst we celebrate democracy, yes, 25 years, but we must also take stock and remind ourselves that we are failing.

“And I would dare say that if we continue without taking a proper course, we are bound to disintegrate as a country because the signs of a failed state are there. Government is just struggling to hold back. At a point, the centre might no longer hold. So, we need to be careful as Nigerians.

On what opposition is doing to help rewrite the situation in Nigeria, Chinda said: “Very well. As opposition members of the parliament, we have taken some steps.

“Most recently, on the issue of security, you will recall after our meeting that we asked the government that in three months, which will expire in July, I think July 16th, that if there is no improvement in the area of security, that we might be compelled to take steps to call on Nigerians to begin to do things that the government might not be comfortable with.

“Now aside that, things like welfare, most recently, we talked about the cyber security issue and implementation of that law, which led to a lot of brouhaha in the society.

“We intervened quickly to say no. The Central Bank circular, which intended to impose fees on Nigerians, was not correct, and it should be withdrawn. Fortunately, the president reacted and responded to it and withdrew that circular.

“So we think that these are some of the roles that we should be playing to check some of the excesses of government and draw attention of Nigerians to this and also call on government to take steps to correct them in the interest of Nigerians.

“Well, like I said earlier, that through legislative intervention, we should strive towards accomplishing the main purpose of government.
“A major example is the Local Content Act that we have today is limited to the oil and gas sector. And because of that Local Content Act, you can agree with me that more Nigerians are becoming big players in the oil and gas sector. Knowledge is being developed.

“Yes, the general economy in the country is also hitting that sector. And so that’s why you see some of these oil, big oil giants, Shell, Elf, Mobil, and all that, talking about either downsizing or selling off their interest and all that.

“But who are those that are buying off those interests? Most of them are Nigerians. So this is the advantage of the Local Content Act in the oil and gas sector.

“And we felt that it would not be proper to limit it to that sector. It should also dovetail into all other aspects and facets of our economy, into construction, into medical, into ICT, and all that.

“So it will develop local capacity. It will give opportunity for our people to be big-time players in all these other fields. And then it will also give minimum requirements for local content in those areas.

“Now, an example, again, it’s the issues of unemployment. What it means is that for every locality where you go to establish these firms or these operations, those from that locality must produce at least the lower cadre of the staff of such firms. And there is provision of training in it.

“They are compelled by law to continue to do training for these persons and then also be prepared to hand over even the expatriates to the locals within a particular number of years.

News

Govt cites security threats, bans Telegram for officials

Published

4 seconds ago

September 20, 2024

Naijablitznews

By Mario Deepromoter

Ukraine on Friday restricted the use of Telegram for its government, military and security officials, citing “threats” to national security on the app founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov.

“The National Security and Defence Council decided to restrict the use of Telegram in government agencies, military formations and critical infrastructure facilities,” the council said in a statement on Facebook, saying it was a “matter of national security.”

News

Ooni unveiles launch of Olojo Festival, reveals ancestral significance

Published

7 mins ago

September 20, 2024

Naijablitznews

By Mario Deepromoter

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, on Thursday, announced the commencement of the 2024 Olojo Festival, revealing the event’s ancestral and spiritual significance.

Ogunwusi spoke at his palace during a news conference on the 2024 Olojo Festival with the theme “Evolving Transformationaly Domestic Tourism With Community Festivals.”

According to him, the festival is significant because of the spiritual exercises that characterise it and the testimonies it attracts.

He said the celebration of the revered cultural event was held annually in the ancient city to celebrate the day of the first dawn.

The Ooni said the festival was in remembrance of “Ogun,” god of iron, who is believed to be the first son of Oduduwa, progenitor of the Yoruba people.

He added that the festival marked the birth of the “Aare Crown”.

Ooni said that several prayers rendered to Olodumare through the iconic “Aare crown” during the Olojo festival had been answered with so many testimonies.

He stated, “Olojo is the festival of dawn and the birth of the crown, “Ade Aare”, the crown of all crowns. The crown that gave birth to all crowns all over the world with all the colours of the rainbow. It is called the spectrum of rainbow crowns.

“The crown does everything humans do, it is a very spiritual crown, very sacred. I am a living example and witness. I have actually charged the crown, I have prayed with it, that I want this done, this particular time.

“This is my ninth year on the throne, going to my tenth year by the grace of God, I have seen a lot of testimonies.

“I will pray with the crown worn on my head, I pray to the almighty God, Olodumare through the crown. I have never seen any failure in it. It is our strong heritage, our strong culture and tradition and we will continue to uphold it forever.

He added that they were not idol worshipers, but rather custodians of their ancestors’ legacy, which continued to benefit them.

“These are things we should not joke about, It is our heritage, we should not compromise it with anything. It is created by nature, by God Almighty who is the supreme being,” he said.

Explaining the nature of the “Ade Aare”, Ooni described the crown as a sacred, mysterious being which bears the nature of humans.

According to him, the crown functions like humans.

He said, “Olojo is the time when the crown comes out for blessings. This is a crown that has life in it till date, right from time immemorial.

“The crown changes the weather, it does not see the atmosphere except once in a year, during Olojo festival.

It’s fake news, Ooni’s palace denies marriage trending story
“In the crown, we see everything complete, we see the day, night, four corners of the world, the northern, southern, eastern and western poles.

“The birth of the crown is actually the first dawn pathfinded by Ogun, which is linked to our celebration.”

The Ooni added, “Olojo is the main new year celebration and this dovetails to everybody’s new yam festival all over because what is used to bring out yams are cutlasses and hoes made with iron.

“This is the time we get beautiful harvests, the time we get wallnuts, bitter kola. For us in Ile-Ife, we still uphold our heritage and that is why we celebrate the first dawn.”

Ogunwusi appreciated the sponsors for the festival.

“I want to appreciate you all, our sponsors, for everything you have been doing. For always responding to my calls. May God bless you and may our ancestors guide you all. I appreciate the state government as well,” he added.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Osun, Abiodun Bankole-Ojo, appealed to sponsors of the Olojo festival to look into the possibility of developing some tourism sites within the state, like the Oranmiyan Groove.

“Please corporate bodies, stop giving us monetary and material gifts, come and develop the Oranmiyan site as a tourist site. Government will not be able to do it all,” he said.

The Olojo Festival Chief Consultant, Ayo Olumoko, urged Nigerians and international tourists to grace the festival.

NAN reports that the Grand Finale for the 2024 edition of the annual Olojo Festival in Ile-Ife, will be held between September 26 and September 30.

On September 26, there will be Ayo Olopon Traditional Game, Festival Cultural Talent Hunt (Audition) and Olojo Festival Colloquium.

On September 27, there will be Ojo Ilagun, Iwode Ile-Ife (Community cleansing) and Oonirisa’s terrestrial message to the world.

September 28 is the festival’s grand finale official ceremony, Ojo Okemogun, and the Aare cultural procession.

September 29 is Ojo Ajoyo (Asekagba), Grand Royal Reception – Invitational, Adire Oodua Cultural Exchange Exhibition and Oonirisa’s Ife Award for Community Service, 2024.

September 30 would be for the Ojo Ibile (Oonirisa’s ancestral traditional propitiation) and cultural talents hunt.

News

Trump Says Israel Will Go Extinct Within Two Years If He Loses US Election

Published

11 mins ago

September 20, 2024

Naijablitznews

By Mario Deepromoter

Trump expressed concern about his polling numbers among Jewish voters, lamenting his current standing compared to Harris, the Democratic candidate.

President Donald Trump suggested that Jewish-American voters could bear some responsibility if he loses the upcoming presidential election to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump expressed concern about his polling numbers among Jewish voters, lamenting his current standing compared to Harris, the Democratic candidate.

Reuters reports that Trump claimed that Israel could face extinction within two years if Kamala Harris wins the election, suggesting that Jewish voters who support Democrats would share some responsibility for that outcome.

Speaking to a crowd, Trump stated, “If I don’t win this election, the Jewish community will play a significant role in that. If 40% or even 60% of people are voting for the enemy, Israel, in my opinion, will cease to exist within two years.”

He referenced a poll indicating that Harris had 60% support among American Jews.

Although he didn’t specify which poll he was citing, a recent Pew Research survey showed American Jews favouring Harris over Trump by 65% to 34%.

Trump also expressed disappointment over winning less than 30% of the Jewish vote in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Trump reiterated similar sentiments earlier at a summit in Washington aimed at combating antisemitism in the U.S.

The Trump campaign has prioritised appealing to Jewish voters in critical battleground states, where even a small shift in support could influence the election outcome.

In Pennsylvania, for instance, there are over 400,000 Jewish residents, and Biden won the state by just 81,000 votes in 2020.

In response to Trump’s comments, Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, criticised him for his past associations with individuals accused of antisemitism.

Trump has consistently denied allegations of antisemitism, noting his Jewish son-in-law during his speeches on Thursday.