The States of Nigeria
ONE: Students of many Nigerian Universities have expressed their outrage over the handling of the latest Boko Haram threat. The terror organization last week threatened to detonate many deadly bombs in 20 Nigerian universities. They proposed to bomb the University of Ibadan, the first Nigerian university, between 12th and 17th of September. The school’s security was increased immediately following the threat. Unfortunately, the students were unsatisfied with their administration’s handling of the incident and the lack of transparency. They protested by storming various exam halls to stop the school’s ongoing examination. Also students of other universities reacted by moving out of student housing on their campuses. A newspaper reported, “students of Ugbowo campus of the University of Benin moved of over security scare.” Today is the 18th of September and there hasn’t been any news of a bomb in UI. We hope it remains as such.
TWO: HERE is the list of the victims of the August 26th UN bomb attack in the capital city of Nigeria. A memorial was held last week to honor these brave men and women. We will always try to remember their brave lives spent fighting the good fight. Some suspects that were arrested in connection with the attack have recently been charged to the Magistrate court in Abuja. Available intelligence suggests that these men are junior members and field operatives of the sect. The alleged mastermind of the attack is still at large. The Nigerian people are waiting for true justice be served.
THREE: The Federal Government has vowed to invest N4.1 trillion in the health sector over the next 4 years. The main goal is to improve the health of Nigerians and meet the MDG goals before 2015. Currently, Nigeria is not on track to achieve the 3 health related goals set forth by the MDG. Maternal mortality and child mortality are extremely high in Nigerian. The government currently spends around a third of the amount it promised on health. That is, $5 per capita. This pledge, if implemented, might result in many lives saved.
FOUR: The governor of Plateau has emphatically stated that he and President Jonathan are incapable of stopping the constant death and destruction the citizens of the state seem to indulge in regularly. This recent outbreak in this special Plateau disease was halted temporarily only after military action was taken at the federal level. The crisis calls for a permanent and rapid solution but it is certain it will not come from Governor Jang’s administration.
FIVE: Collaboration between an American power company, a French energy company and a possibly phantom local firm called proglobal has pledged to invest $600million in the country’s power sector. We have reported the sheer amount of investment needed to jumpstart the system of electricity generation in Nigeria. Although it is not clear how this current administration plans to bring in enough investment to reach the goal, this move cannot hurt. We hope for many more of these.
SIX: The government of the United Kingdom has given the Nigerian government the opportunity to access some part of UK’s infrastructure funds. The fund is said to be around £90bn pounds in total. There are many infrastructural projects that Nigerian must embark on and the availability of such funds will allow the government to achieve her goals.
SEVEN: In a move that surprised his critics, President Jonathan ordered the creation of an Atomic Energy Commission for his country. The commission’s main responsibility is to find long term and sustainable methods of generating electricity in Nigeria. Constant electricity is certainly a great public good. However, this is an alarming development in a country besieged by constant terrorism and other man made disasters.
EIGHT: Former President Obasanjo, last week, went on a not so secret fact finding mission to the family members of the former Boko Haram leader. The trip was unfortunately scheduled for the day of the memorial service for the victims of the terror organization’s latest attack. As response, Wole Soyinka explains his outrage here. Two days later, the former president’s host, Babakura Fugu, the in-law of the slain leader was shot dead. Boko Haram allegedly shot him with the help of his younger brother. It seems all in all, the trip was a failure.
NINE: Last week, President Jonathan’s team erroneously released a report stating that Hyundai, the South Korean company, plans to build a major shipyard in Nigeria. All welcomed the news. Unfortunately, hours later, the company released a report that the news is false. This issue has captured the attention of the World. The company is however building a small pipe-manufacturing factory in the President’s home state of Bayelsa. Regardless of the size of the factory, this factory is a great boon to the economy of that state and to Nigeria as a whole. We celebrate this.
TEN: Last week, Otonye Iworima Sunday, won a gold medal for Nigeria at the 10th All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique. 5 years ago, Ms Sunday won the silver medal for the women’s triple jump. She has since been battling a major knee injury. She got well and finally won the gold prize. We are so proud of her.