Page 40, T HISDAY, Vol. 16, N o. 5813
T h ursday, March 24, 2011
development
BIJsinessWORLD Soil Scientists Task FG on Food Security From Dalll iiola Oyedele i"Ahuja
M
embers of Ihe Soil Science Society of Nieeria have called on the Federal Government to-lake proper steps lowards ensuring food securily in the cOllnlr)'. Such steps include proper soil management. accurale wealher predictions for proper planning and mit, igatinn of eli male change impacls. provision of orga nic amI inorganic fertilizer.; to increase crop yields and slislainabic 5011 productivity. 1l1C <:ociety. in a communique L"Sucd althe end of Its 35th Annual conferellce in Minna recently. also called for Ihe funding of re''''1Teh and outreaches on climate c.::hange i!'sues rmd facilitates collaboration bC'tween relevant gOVC-1l1 111Clll agencies. Delails of the conference were made available to TIIiSDAY in a Slatement signed by tl,e President. Poof. Victor Olude. At the fonllll. Chllde expressed the society·s willingness to partner with the government on all projects thai would enhance soil fenility and management incillding Ihe National Soil Survey project. He commended the government for already carrying out pilot projects on how 10 improve degraded agriculrural lands in the COUnlry. He also expressed nppreciation to the Federal University of Technology. Minna, Federal Mil1lstry of Agricu lture and Rural Development, Research Insti tutes. National Programme for Agriculture and FcxxJ Security and other contributors to the successfu l hosting of the c("lnference. Chainmm. Budget & Finance of the International Uni on of Soil Science. (IUSS) Prof. Stephen Nortcliff. in his opening address urged Nigerian soil scientislS to focus on the limitaliol1~ of the soil in their immediate environment so that it ~ potentials can be explored full y for fond production He commended the sociely for idenlifying and atlv i ~i ng the government on how to manage the soils. he however lamented the low level of productivity per soil in sub· Sahara Afnca in spi te of the human and natural resources IUSS i. a global umbrella body lhal recognises Ihe role and contributions of member bodies from all countric'\ in advanclT1g studies on soil fertility and IllOlnagement. Awards Wr're also given to indi vid ual ~ \\ ho had dislilHwishetl themselves in the activities df thc society si nce its inception in the last 35 years.
Sign Lagos Peoples' Bill into Law, Fash ola Urged By Ebere Nwiro he Legal DefellL." and A.., ..tance Project (lEDAP). ill collaboration wilh lhe Centre for Citizens with Di<abilities (CCD). have called on 0., Lagos State Govcmor 10 sign inca 13\Y the L1.gos Slate Special Peoplcs' Bill 2010 paSscd inlo law by the Lag", State
T
Hour.c of As."Cl11bly. . 11le group. at a bncfil12. also l;lunched a one million ~lgn<1 lurc campaign from reSidents of L1gOS State to urge the L1gOS Stille Govcmor, fhbatundc Raji Fashola. SAN, In sign into law without delay the 1....1gOS Slate Special Peoplcs· Bill 20 10. . lllC Bill. accord inH 10 Nauonal Cooruinalor. LEOAP, 01ilIO Obiagwu. con';ins pmvision~ 10 ensure that people living: with disabilities in L1gOS State are: given equal rights: ~rcgllarde<1 ag;,ima discnlllllltltion: have access to infomliltion and !he snclo-econmnic environme nt . receive ~pecia l cdlh.:atlOn: acce."" to trant;poI1: and are provided \\·nh a dcdicitlcd Office for Disability Affairs to address complmnts of harnssment. dlr.crill1ination and tOlnlre Nigcda l'illi£ied the Unnctl Nation .. Convention on the Ru!hl"i of Per.;:on~ With Disabiliucs and its Optional PrOtocol on 2-hh Septcmher 20 10. Tlle .. igning into law of the L1g0" State Sr. .~i:1 . 1 People... · Bill will nol only advance the inc1ll .. ,on or tho~e liVing With di~abillties ill Lagos into the sociv-economlc el1Vlmnmcnl and ass i..t them U1 lead· iug an inocpendcnt lire. bul will al~ adhere to Nigeria's obli2<1tiolls under the COJl\cntion and its Optiol1<1l ProtOCol· The WorlcJ He41llh Org'lnl..mion e~tlnmtes lhatthere are 19 milium people in Nigenaliving \\ ith disabilities . Living with a di ..nhility. whcther It i.. physical. cognitive. mental. <;CIlSofy.c111Olional or ocvclopmental. has a significant and orten long lasung impnct nn an indh,jdual's life. People livlI\g with disabilities c,'(perience Widespread "elusion from Ihe social. economic. and polilical life of their communities. which I~ inevitably a.. a ~ult or ongoing slignmltsatlon rooted In cultuml and -religious beliers. and/or the neglect or their needs in the design or poliCies. rrogr<lmOlC'~ and racilitie.... LEDAP and eCD ,1", h.,c Ihe stlppon of Lynx.'C,. 111lL.. ician. enlertainer RIIlJ Pep"ii am!;l::L..."OOor. Joseph Do,u. ex-goal keeper ror the Super Ens-Ie ... gold mednl Allanta OlympIC Game"i \\ inncrs 1996: Solomon Amarnkuo (Chnimlnnl and Okey Nnilcheta (Secretary). State Dtsabled Sports Assisled Project (SDSAP): Daniel Onwe, drafter of the l..,&", Siale Special Peoples Bill 2~1O: an?
_ 1;;-
:.:....~-
-
~-~
This Weel<'s Issue: Corruption Impetus
A
nalysts believe that government's 'famous' drive to achieve zero COoluption has dwindled to aJrnost nothing in recent times. and this can be set against the context that money -hidden away by looters - is surfacing to provide war chests for political contestants and to recruit potential ballot-box snatchers and thugs for the corning general elections. 111e thinking among concerned stakehol~ i:" that politics has an inverse relationship with corruption batt1e, in that an increase in political activities lead to a corresponding decrease in the fight against corruption, which is ironicaUy the greatest scourge afflicting Nigeria's development process. It is believed that the drive to achieve victory at ~le pons has softened government's stance on cor· ruption. es~ia Uy when it comes to issue of campaign financing. n le questions: Has the go\'emment's an ti-corruplion nre really gone down? Is lhe current poLitical process directly ~ponsi b l e? ' Vhat can be done to regain lhe impelw; ror zero corruption in the country?
By Abimbola Akosile - TIle government's anti<omJption only work on the p..1ges of newspapers To get things done in Ulat agency. government should provide every necessary resource needed 10 fight cOmJplion to zero point - Af r. Gordon N norom, Umllkabio,A bia Slale
- As far as I am concerned, comlplion has not gone down l11e best Ihm@. I" 10 make every candidate declare their assets. Ir artel une year the per;on's a~sets have increased, we impeach him. We shouldn't wait for rour year.; again . Our people are hungry and comlplion is the CilUSC . - Miss Oll)'ill)'e Nmmji,Akokn, l'aba, Lagos
so O,erefore all politicians
Impetus Chart ·TI., government should allow 0., ICPC and EFCC 10 run as a privale body. rou~ht for O.,ir pocket shall be broughl into judgment, it can reduce corruption 111 our society. - A·f r. I' ''ichaellijibola, Sambol and A llied senlces Ud_ Lagos.
- Comlption can he checked by maklllg public omce unattractive. open assets declaration. refonning tile judiciary. ovcThaul UlC ICPC e.lc. Repatnaling unaccounted funds in collaboratiny: foreign banks. removal or immuruty ror all. o\er· haul tile banking sector. whistle bll)Wers in public servIce and univcr.;:ities etc. Trnnsparency In contrncl award..<;. transparency clubs. monitoring of budgets by credible NGOs. clergymen e t.e
- Personally. I would say that the much-touted war against cormption never really had much impetus e.cept perhaps as a tool for political perseculion of perceived enemies of those at 0., helm of affairs. Occasionally though to a.suage the fcclings of the masses. some 'big fish' are sacrificed on 0., altar of 'anti-conuption crusades' and then are quietly let ofT with a t.1P on the wrist. TIle current political process has only given our crop of ex and current 'Iootocrdts' ilJI oPIX>rtUnity to invest in areas (human and material) that would yield more opportunities 10 bleed our country dry.
- llle light against conuption has never gone down anytime In history. e\'erybody is conscious of it; though slow but steady. even when the noisy political activities overshadowed its efforts. The fight against conuptlon is r;\-eryone's own and to regain its impetus. governance should be translated Into foOO. clothing and sl.,lter or O,e basics. 11len. the people will reel belonged and jOll1tly fighl the war For now, it is we. them and self sustenance efrorts.
- ~1r, J im Og""dllko, lAgos
- Afr_Don
Oparaji~
Police Senlce Co",miss;nn,Abuja
-IHr. Okekt Bellld,i,Nigeria" CwV!n,Abuja
r---
- Keeping an avernge Nigenan leader from ·F OOD INDEX ---, being • ~, this pan or the world, means of corrupl is like keeping a gom from eatong reaching OUI with a strong enough cam· }am. When tile head is bat!. the whole body i~ Top impetus: Make public Total:a or responden ..: 21 p3lgn organ to tune the mjndset or Ule affected. Thererore the current political pror~.s.'i offICe unultracth'e! Male: 19 : elcctorme is dcsperntely w3Juing. Creating No fire: 9 Female: 2 I is directly responsible. 1l1e only ..olution i.~ 10 awareness and making people understand vole for God-feanng. patriot~c and disciphned Yes. fire: 2 Highest location: Lagos & 1 the very government that IS supposed to le.der.;hip. Others: 10 Abuja (6 each) protect them against cnme and corruption - Afr_ US. Loda" (s"r), Engineer and Radieal tip: Pri\'atise EFCC! is O,e mosl guilty. That 0., aulhority with ACrilist, Jos, Pla/ean Slate which they perpetrate this shameful act is given by the mandate they get from the unsu ..pecting electornte who give it - 11le situation of the countty is woni~me . The presidential aspirants are ..till away without adequate evaluation. An awareness campaign about the power of Singing tile old songs of the IIJ6<r.;. They are still canvassl1l@ ror voles predicaled the people's mandate: peoplc who with vehemence frown at conupt politicians. on the proviSion of adequate o;ecunty. potable \vater and trains tlmt will lake almost will go a long way 10 cause shake-ups in certain quarters. llle sustenance can a week to travel rrom Port Harcou rt to Kano at tlus jet age. Any government that start rrom there. cannot provide sccunty and water should not be in place at all. The country IS bud .. - Mr. Edward Cnle, lAgos geting in trillions of nairn. Our taJgct should be massive Industnalisat.,on, lec~no logical development, diversification of tile economy, reduce importation or fnvo- I am t.:onvinced thatlhe Freedom or lnformauon (FOI) Act can do more lOllS goods and services and strengthcn the value or the nalld. We should move than aJllhe other anli. ~'Crf1Jrtion structures combined 10 fight comlpLion ~re wiO, the rest of the world. God bless Nigeria are SOllle acts unlawful or morally wrong ~lat ....,ould nol even take place sun• A'fr. Ayodele O),adosll, Ecmra",isl, Abuja ply because 01 its existence. For public officers who cannot stand infonnaLJf'}n oll thcir remuner.ltions being twisted. made Uli1CCurate or speculated upon. this • Even tllOugh EFCC keeps reeling out figures and assunng us thaI alll~ \\,ell, bill will solve their problems. it is obvious Ulat the anti-corruplion war has 1000t its steam. TI'IC political tempo ha.. - /l-t r. Bliga DlIllj.JOS. Plaleau Slale worsened the situation bec.1Use the ~uspects have becC'lllle candidates. financiers and suppliers of thugs! Justice musl lake Its cause without rc..'U' or favour • TIlere is actuaH y no fight against comlplion in ~lis country. It is only done - A1r. IK M ilO, Departme,,1 ofAdmi"islmrio", OOU,Ago-l wo)'e, Oglll' Slalr 011 Ule pages or our newspapers. It amazes me how a politician wou Id spend almost a billion naira to get to an office that officially he wouldn't get more U,an • It has gone down. The currenl pohtical process i, not directly respon"ble. say 30 million in Ole whole 4 years in office. I think a slep in the righl directio" What can be done is to treat all as equal in the fight. A situation where issues are would be to limit how much an individual can spend on his own campaign. and raised and dropped instcad of pursuing to a logical conclusion because the per· also limit how much individuals or groups can contribute into his campaign sona.lities in\l()lved are connecled to lhe power that be only to surface when tile fund all contributions made pubJjc and funds audited after elections as it haprelationship gets bad as in the case or Ogbulafor. A situation where all plyi.ng our pens in other civiJi~ countries. 1'l1llcidding, right? Who will beillhis cat? roads or even blind passengers can hear our law enfort:ement agcnts askll1g ror - Mr. Chris ! weujom, Archileci. Afa;duguri, Bom o Slale bribe openly and the IG reigns Ig:nor.mce in every rora showc; that we need to go back to tile drawing board on this issue or corruption • By now we as a nation should not. be t..1.Iking or comlption. It ought 10 have · Afr. Kt!1I Nn'eu, Porl /larcom1, RiI'en Slale been reduced cirnstically given the vigour to erndicate conuption was driven ab initio. My fear is that this gener.lIion except there is a divine intervention 'not - The fight against corruption has gone down badly Yes. the current political Lhc holy intervcntion' \ve will continue to grope in the dark - 1 rear for us all. process is fCS)XJnsible. Electing a leader who is commilted to wiping out conup- Mr. Fn'day Ekeobo, media pmctilioller, Lagos tion and putting Nigcria on the patll or accelerated developillent \vt?Uld .regaln the tempo ror our zero corruption in our beloved country. GcxI bless Nlgena - It has gone down. Farida Waziri is not fighting corruption but the opposi• Mr. Odey Oclriclra, IIw)"i, Logos tion. She appears more like a PDP card canying member assigned 10 silence all oppositions.lfEFCC is gunning for 010 head of Asiwaju Bola linubu, Presidenl - If we have conupt frceci vi l servants who are dedicated to tllCir work and 'cor. Goodluck JonnUmll shOll Id be made to answer sonle questions because he was rupt,free PHCN workers (tlleY = Ole most COrrupl institulion). Nigeria wi ll be in Ole class of36 graduated stale govcmors Ihat Ribadu . a' an EFCC O,.irman. bellero(f - Afr. Godson A,,)'aeze, Pnfi1icnl aMe 10 11011. Ausrille NIl'aclwkll'lf. NASS. had labeled as being corrupt
1-
J
- ~·fr. Pahick Okebu, New-Kalll,Nasamwa Stale
- 111e bite in the fight against conuplion has gone weak: we need ano~ler Ro~adu to rekindle the bite in Ole fight Ibori and Yar'Adua killed the fighl by appointing Andoakaa and Farida \Vaziri , - I\lau. Sai,,1 Ofriaeri,A buja
• Mi!hting contlption is a battle belween light and darkness, good ~nd evil. God m~d U"le devil. PDP cannot fight COITUpllon becauc;e they are twin brothers. Corruplion may senior PDP. bul il is the pany Omt holds Ole sword and will cut whoever he will. It is really difficuh to fight comJplion in Nigerin as almost e\>eryone is corrupt. Corruption makes corrupt officials bold and powcrful. no reverence, no loyalty and no conscience. COlTllption is n battle for the unborn gencrnlion. - Af r. Ohudu Godspol,,·er, Coordi"ator Natio nal Equuy Ma ndate, AbualOduo LGA. Rh 'i!I'S Siale
Abuja
-llle go\'ernment's anti-corruption fire \Vas notlivmg lip to its billing to e1iminale corruption in our governance TJ:le agency doesn't have lighti~g "pant t'o ~} enough is enough of COTTUption procllres because so-called polIIICI<lnS .....ere d,c· tating how agency will opernte for their Interest to be prolectcd ·lIfr. Ken" eth Nllorom l )'ou/" Co"per i" Edo Slale • l admired Rioodu whell he wa... Ule antl -conupuon czar ror Ill S rorthnghtne5~. passion ror the job and intelligence. llle signs havc been there that government's anti--conuption £ire went down willi the Yar'Adua administration and the sacking or Ribadu . TIle current political process hIlS nothi ng to do with It . To invlgoratc and give impetus for zero COTTUplion. the president and his team must show good example by living above board and vow not to intcrfere in the \\IOr-kings or the anti· corruption organisations. - Dr. /fale NWlI/O, ",,,i,NERDC, /lbuja
Next Week: Three Wise Tips In a rew weeks, Nigerians wilJ go to tile polling centres to exercise tllt"ir voting right to elect tlleir preferred repre.c;entalives into power for the ne~1 tenure t?f four years. Certain tools have been put in place like the new VQlcr.; register, the new directive by lNEe for citizens to Slay back at the pollmg centres and momtor their VOies and tile increa.c;ed awareness or the need for people to protect tllCir mand.1le jealously. Ilowever. analysts believe there is stUI much left to do, 10 ensure a smooth electoral process and a se..1mless transilion devoid of wrangling, court cases. and electoral violence. TIle tllinking is that certain laid down steps must be rollowed and rules and guidelines obeyed throughout the process. But there are always unforeseen cirt:umstances. TIle questions: As 3 concem ed citizen, can you give three wise lips (in order of imporL-lOce) to tile people of Nigeria,lo ensure a fair, rree and sue· ~ul electoral process, come April?
Plense make your response direct, short and simple. and state your ful l name, lille, o~anisation . and location. Responses should be sent bel ween today & ~I~~da~ (Mar 28) 10 ~!1Sti~~o~al~nf!'....n~~):,!,_~~'." OR abim bolayi@yahoo.com. Respondents can also send a shon leXi message 10 08023117639