My sister told me this story that made me livid. She told me about this woman who has eight children and is being abused by her husband. She told me that the church tried to intervene by reporting the case to the human rights radio. However, the pastor told the woman not to mention that he was the one who took the case to them.
When the woman sat down with the people from the human rights radio to tell her story, she asked them if she was still expected to go back to her husband’s house after their intervention. Needless to say that the intervention did not take place.
This is 2023 and a man still beats his wife. He does not only beat her. He bites her as well. When my sister went to her house to see her, she did not only see the bite marks. She also saw one of her daughters who had a wound on her forehead.The child had tried to stop her father from beating her mother and the father hit her on the head with a tool that left a wound on her forehead.
I asked my sister if she was trying to help the woman and my sister hissed. She told me that when the woman had child number eight, she told her how she could empower herself economically and leave the marriage with the children. However, the woman took in again. Having a child and leaving a marriage do not go hand in hand. My sister tells me that the family is extremely poor and as early as 9:00am the husband would be drunk. She said that the man is extremely violent and would hurt anyone who got in the way. He beat her while she was carrying the baby on her back!
This story made me sad and angry at the same for many reasons. Please who goes and gives birth to eight children in this day and age? We have been struggling economically in this country for close to twenty years now. How can one be poor and have eight children in an abusive marriage and then go on to have a ninth child just when someone wanted to help her escape abuse?
How does a husband beat his wife? How does a man beat a woman not to mention one that has given him nine children? How does a man beat and bite his wife? How does that happen when she is carrying a baby. How does he hurt his child in the process of beating his wife? How do we mind our business?
My question is this: Where are the men in the community when a woman is getting beaten by her husband? Why do they go silent? Is this a form of conspiracy? I remember one day when my neighbour was beating his wife. Her sister kept on screaminng that he was trying to kill her sister and that she would not let him do that. I was alarmed. In the entire neigbourhood, I did not see anyone come out of their houses and go to that house to stop the husband. Not even my husband. I asked him if we could call security. He told me that it was not our business. I told him that since I could hear her cries, it had become my business. After much pestering, he called the police and the estate security who came promptly on a bike.
The case was reported to the police and when investigations commenced, the police came to ask us some questions in the house and my husband told them that we were not aware of what happened. I wondered why. If abusers went to jail, it would discourage others from abuse. I wanted to talk to the police, but I was stopped.
I have come to a conclusion that I would like to share with our ministries of women affairs. That is, that women cannot stop abuse. We need men to be involved in this fight and take the lead for many reasons. Imagine a man who has daughters. Imagine how protective he can be towards his daughters. I believe that if we start a movement against abuse and we involve these fathers in the push against wife battery, we will make a lot of progress.
The case of the doctor who raped his niece is still fresh on our minds. He has been sentenced to life in jail. This is a move in the right direction. A deterrent .However, a lot still needs to be done to protect women and girls in the society.
I personally believe that before we put an end to abuse or reduce it to its barest minimum, abuse must become our collective business. It must become a source of worry to every man in every community. I go back to the day that my neighbour was getting a beat down by her husband. I imagine that if all the men on that street had come out to confront the husband, he would have promptly desisted. However, they did not. This was in the night on a weekday and most of the men on that street were home. How is it not their business? If it was their sister or their daughter. It would be their business.
Women have tried and continue to try. We have raised our voices against abuse for quite a while now and we are getting heard. However, there is a strong challenge. There are men who are die hard abusers and I believe it will take the entire community to stop them. Women can talk and sue but most women who are being abused cannot be saved because the man would often attack those who try to do. Abroad, shelters are bult to protect these women and somehow some of them still end up getting killed by their abusive spouses who would stalk them if they ever left the shelters.
If we intend to reduce and eventually erase abuse in out communities, we must start thinking communally. Where are the men in the community? They can meet each month and make it clear to each other that violence against women will not be tolarated. They can also encourage the women in the community to report abuse to them. If any woman is getting beaten, it becomes their responsibility to break the door and go into the house to save the woman who is being abused, and then also take the man to the police station.
It is important for men to see abuse as their business and their responsibility. It is said that evil strives when good men say keep quite.I have a different definition. A man is he who protects. A good man is he who goes out of his way to protect. A man also has the responsibility of defending his fellow brother from being beaten by any woman. Men who are abused are not less masculine. Any man who sees another beating a woman and minds his business cannot be a man. A man is a protector.
An abuser has a certain type of mentality towards the woman he is abusing, that will require the intervention of other men. Let us look at the mindset of an abuser or wife batterer to understand that unless men get involved in ending domestic violence against women, it is only going to get worse.
The Traits And Mindset Of A Wife Beater: The Psychological Profile Of The Abuser
The following are the traits of a wife beater:
Rude and verbally abusive during courtship; A guy who is verbally abusive and rude during the process of courtship is likely to carry on with this behaviour into the marriage, further escalating into violence.
Background of violence; One study established that 80% to 85% of men who end up physically assaulting their spouses witnessed their dad abusing their mother early in their lives.
Low self-esteem; their upbringing immensely contributed to their emotional development. That’s the reason why the profile of a wife beater revolves around self-esteem.
Poor interpersonal skills play a big role in the abuser’s regard for social relations. An abuser is likely to misinterpret his spouse’s social interactions as love affairs. This is likely to send the wrong signals to his premeditated mind and violence will follow suit.
A man who comes from a culture that regards women as sexual objects is likely going to physically abuse the spouse when he fails to have his way sexually with her.
One who abuses alcohol or drugs lacks emotional balance and is likely to lose his temper when under the influence of alcohol or drugs and turn violent.
Feeling inadequate is another defining factor in the mind of an abuser which makes him turn violent the moment his wife threatens to leave him.
History of abuse in childhood is likely to make a man grow into adulthood nurturing those painful feelings into anger that will be misguided into reading negative messages or signals in the innocent behaviour of his partner. These imaginary faults will lead to violence.
Mood swings are one of the traits of a wife-beater which says a lot about a violent nature. It is highly unlikely for a man who experiences a sudden change of mood to end up friendly. Almost always, the mood ends in anger which is a good enough reason for an abuser to beat his wife.
Adoration of violence is a common trait in many males, especially those who regard violence as an appropriate method of settling scores. This is the kind of man who will only see the option of violence as the best one to employ in “punishing” his wife in the event of a minor altercation.
The history of domestic violence in an individual is a character that one can not easily live down. A man who abused his former wife or partner can not be trusted to keep off his habit for long. Sooner or later, he will abuse his next victim; his next partner or wife in this case.
Marriage for financial gain is a trait among some individuals who are not driven by love but by a desire for amassing gain. This only keeps them happy and sated as long as the bread and butter continue flowing. The moment their expectations are shattered, they turn to the object of their “love” and abuse them. This is the kind of man who first thinks of himself while others come after. With this kind of behaviour, the abuser abuses without reflection.
Ungodliness may be criticised and frowned upon, but it can never be condemned in our modern world where freedom of worship is safeguarded. Even those with no deity as their object of worship, are respected for having chosen their spiritual position. However, when a woman has an ungodly man, one who despises the word of God for a husband, most traditional values are likely to be stepped on. In a situation where such a man has nothing to check him, he’s likely to turn violent on a whim.
Mental issues in a partner or a husband, is a matter of life and death to the spouse. No, any other red signal needs to be raised. The fact that the husband or partner is mentally unstable, is enough to terminate the marriage or a relationship. Here is where your life and concerns take precedence over the sacred tenets of the marriage vows. Even the law will be on your side on this one.
In conclusion, all you ladies out there, be on the lookout for your potential abusers. Consider the value of your lives and use your heads; no time to be swayed by the heat of the moment and lose your head. What you may be misled to interpret as true love in your partner, may in a real sense be your death sentence. When in the movies, look out for that unmistakable love for either horror movies, or violent confrontations. I have not said that that guy who watches horror movies and violence is the culprit. No, I mean that individual who laughs with glee when someone is mauled or killed on the screen. He never looks disturbed even when you are hurt. That is your guy; avoid him like the plague.
Men with these type of behaviours cannot be managed or stoped by women. It will require a community domestic violence prevention unit to empower men within a community to protect women by standing up to and stopping these types of men from abusing their wives.
It would propose a domestic protection unit in every community. This unit would not only be instituted by social welfare but be linked to the ministry of women affairs. The job is to be watch dogs against domestic violence in their community. They also have a hot line and step in for the police before they arrive at the scent of the abuse.
For men who have daughters, sisters and cousins, the issue of abuse should be important to you because many women die in silence in their marriages due to the lack of effective structures in their immediate community to protect them. When they go to the police, they are told that the issue of abuse is domestic. In essence, they are sent back to the monsters at home. When they go home to their families, few are received and protected. Some families are so concerned with their reputation than they are with their children. Some families turn their daughters away because they say that they do not believe in divorce.
It is also very important for men to empower their daughters with skills and resources. If a woman can fend for herself and contributes her own quota in a marriage, she is in a good position to leave an abusive spouse. Some women cannot leave their abessive spouses because they have no resources of their own and no skills to sell. The idea that a woman should depend completely on her husband is weak thinking. In practical terms, how can a man be the only one fending for his family with no contribution from his wife? Sometimes, men become very burdened and frustrated and if a man has an abusive tendency, this very easily starts to rear its head. He starts to believe that the ornamental wife is actually his property.
In conclusion, men of good conscience should make it their business to fish out all abusive men in their community and be actively involved in their persecution. Knowing that there are domestic violence prevention units in every community and that these work with the police and the social welfare office, is a deterrent to all abusers. It will also be a practical tools for protecting women in every community. These should be considered community development services.
Our wealth beneath our feet
Louis Farrakhan, the Great American, once said that Africans should not be poor because our wealth lies beneath our defeat. Today I would like to write about the wealth beneath our feet.
I will start with a little true story. Late last week, I was listening to the radio. Human rights radio to be specific. A gentleman had reported to the station to complain about some Chinese miners who had rented his land for a sum of 50,000 naira per year. However, they paid him and others for only one year.
He told the story. He explained that a few community leaders had brought the Chinese around to introduce them. Some members of the community where not using their land for any activity and so the community leaders asked them to rent out these plots of land to the Chinese people for a sum of 50,000 naira per land per year to the Chinese people .
The deal was sealed, and the first payment was made. However, after a year, the Chinese reneged on the contracts .The gentleman said that all efforts to get the chief of the village to address the issue where futile. Consequently, he came to the human rights radio to see if he could get justice. The Chinese people where mining on the rented land even after refusing to pay or to renew the rent on the land. The ordinary president, Ahmed Isa, advised the gentleman to go to the palace of the higher Chief.
I was beyond astounded by this story. I was angry. Well, we were asked to focus on agriculture while other countries are coming into ours to mine our mineral resources illegally. When are we as a people going to fully enjoy the wealth beneath our feet? Is it after our land has been plundered and our mineral resources taken away? I think that it is time to change our focus. It is time to diversify from agriculture to the wealth beneath our feet.
In a society where poverty is prevalent, our focus has remained on growing food for our local consumption. With some luck, we are able to export but the foreign exchange comes majorly from the export of crude oil. My question is how can we can continue to remain in poverty while there are resources that are found in large commercial quantities under our feet?
The mantra about agriculture should be slowed down and more focus should be given to the mining and exporting of our resources as a way of raising the much needed foreign exchange for our economic stability. Providing raw materials markets has never been of any advantage to our economy. As such, we should do all we can to put in place the necessary infrastructure for mining, starting with efficiency in the area of electricity and other forms of energy such as solar and wind energy. The rail infrastructure should also go from north to south and east to West. This should become the major transportation for te mining industry. Furthermore, applying for and acquiring mining licenses should be made easier so that anyone who wishes to go into mining and has the capital and the infrastructure to do so can participate.
There are so many mineral resources under our feet in nigerial. Let us look at a few and where they are located in Nigeria from the excerpt bellow:
Over 40 million tonnes deposits of talc have been identified in Niger, Osun, Kogi, Ogun and Kaduna states. The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC)’s 3,000 tonnes per annum catalytic plant is the only talc plant in the country. The talc industry represents one of the most versatile sectors of the industrial minerals of the world. The exploitation of the vast deposits would therefore satisfy local demand and that for export.
Gypsum: Gypsum is an important input for the production of cement. It is also used for the production of Plaster of Paris (P.O.P) and classroom chalks. A strategy for large-scale mining of gypsum used in the cement industries is urgently required to sustain the existing plants and meet the future expansion. Currently, cement production is put at 8 million tonnes per annum while the national requirement is 9.6 million tonnes. About one billion tonnes of gypsum deposits are spread over many states in Nigeria.
Iron Ore:There are over 3 billion metric tonnes of iron ore in deposits found in Kogi, Enugu and Niger States as well as the Federal Capital Territory. Iron Ore is being mined at Itakpe in Kogi State and is already being beneficiated, up to 67 per cent of iron. The Aladja and Ajaokuta Steel complexes are ready for consumers of billets and other iron products for down-stream industries.
Lead/Zinc: An estimated 10 million tonnes of lead/zinc veins are spread over eight states of Nigeria. Proven reserves in three prospects in the east-central area are 5 million tonnes. Joint venture partners are encouraged to develop and exploit the various lead/zinc deposits all over the country.
Bentonite and Baryte:These are the main constituents of the mud used in the drilling of all types of oil wells. The Nigerian baryte has specific gravity of about 4.3. Over 7.5 million tonnes of baryte have been identified in Taraba and Bauchi States. Large bentonite reserves of 700 million tonnes are available in many states of the federation ready for massive development and exploitation.
Gold: There are proven reserves of both alluvial and primary gold in the schist belt of Nigeria located in the south-western part of the country. The deposits are mainly alluvial and are currently being exploited on a small scale. Private investors are invited to stake concessions on these primary deposits.
Bitumen: The occurrence of bitumen deposits in Nigeria is indicated at about 42 billion tons; almost twice the amount of existing reserves of crude petroleum. Analytical results suggest that this potential resource can be used directly as an asphalt binder. Most bitumen used for road construction in Nigeria is currently imported.
Coal: Nigerian coal is one of the most bituminous in the world owing to its low sulphur and ash content and therefore the most environment- friendly. There are nearly 3billion tonnes of indicated reserves in 17 identified coal fields and over 600 million tonnes of proven reserves.
Rock Salt: The national annual demand for table salt, caustic soda, chlorine, sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide exceeds one million tonnes. A colossal amount of money is expended annually to import these chemicals by chemical and processing companies including tanneries and those in food and beverages, paper and pulp, bottling and oil sector. There are salt springs at Awe (Plateau State), Abakaliki and Uburu (Ebonyi State), while rock salt is available in Benue State. A total reserve of 1.5 million tonnes has been indicated, and further investigations are now being carried out by the Government.
Gemstones: Gemstones mining has boomed in various parts of Plateau, Kaduna and Bauchi states for years. Some of these gemstones include sapphire, ruby, aquamarine, emerald, tourmaline, topaz, garnet, amethyst; zircon, and flourspar which are among the world’s best. Good prospects exist in this area for viable investments.
Kaolin: An estimated reserve of 3 billion tonnes of good kaolinitic clay has been identified in many localities in Nigeria. Lift from page 4 and 5 of Local Sourcing of Raw Materials.
The following are more of the mineral resources in states- Abia: Gold, Lead/Zinc, Limestone, Oil/Gas & Salt, Abuja: Cassiterite, Clay, Dolomite, Gold, Lead/Zinc, Marble & Tantalite. Adamawa-Bentonite, Gypsum, Kaolin & Magnesite.Akwa Ibom: Clay, Lead/Zinc, Lignite, Limestone, Oil/Gas, Salt & Uranium, Anambra: Clay, Glass-Sand, Gypsium, Iron-ore, Lead/Zinc, Lignite, Limestone, Phosphate & Salt. Bauchi: Gold, Cassiterite (tine ore), Columbite, Gypsium, Wolfram, Coal, Limestone, Lignite, Iron-ore & Clay, Bayelsa: Glay, Gypsium, Lead/Zinc, Lignite, Limestone, Maganese, Oil/Gas & Uranium. Benue: Barite, Clay, Coal, Gemstone, Gypsum, Iron-Ore, Lead/Zinc, Limestone, Marble & Salt. Borno: Bentonite, Clay, Diatomite, Gypsum, Hydro-carbon, Kaolin & Limestone. Plateau: Columbite, ruby, topaz, sapphire
More sources such as Value Chain, an energy magazines, says that Nigeria has 44 mineral resources found in 500 locations across Nigeria in commercial quantity. The former minister of mines and steel development, Olamilekan Adegbete, says and I quote: “this clearly demonstrates the wide mineral spectrum we are endowed with, which offers limitless opportunities along the value chain for job creation, revenue, growth amongst others.” He added “ Nigeria provides one of the highest rates of return because it’s minerals are closer to the surface”.
Going by what the minister says, our solid minerals are a solid source of foreign exchange, especially due to the fact that our minerals are closer to the surface.It means that we will spend less on mining and we will require less energy to bring out our mineral resources to the surface.
Looking at the forgoing, I ask the question, why then are we so focused on agriculture when we can simply diversify into the solid mineral industry by licensing more and more local miners who can then exports these solid minerals to places like China? Why do we continue to allow people from other nations to come in and cheaply dig up our solid minerals and take them to their countries without any hassles while we persecute our local miners whom we describe as illegal?
We have wealth beneath our feet. We should not be poor and suffering because Africa has the highest deposit of solid minerals, and we have our fair share on the Plateau and in Nigeria as a whole. Our Nigerian illegal miners die a lot because of the conditions under which they work. Our miners do not have to die. If a community can put its resources together and get a mining license, it should be encouraged to mine.
Many of our embassies abroad have a long list of our solid minerals. I think that the harvest is plenty, but the harvesters are few. Do we have many mining training institutes where people who desire to become miners go to for training on how to mine different solid minerals, how to process them, grade them and export them? Do we have enough experts and professionals to man this industry or are we sitting down to watch other countries pilfer our resources? We should have a mining cooperation institute at every state and local government level and also have the complementary law that protects the environment.
Let us now take a look at a few of the prizes of solid minerals on the international market from ACA international and ministry of mines and steel development – Iron Ore:77.37, Gold: 1335.5, Limestone:11.05, Baryte:150. These compete with crude prices.
Having read this, let me invite you to read from two more local newspaper so that you may juxtapose and determine our solid mineral situation in Nigeria. The following excerpt is from Punch of 6th July. It details solid mineral imports into Nigeria:
The value of solid minerals imports rose by 74.39 per cent from N23.56bn in the first quarter of 2021 to N41.09bn in the same quarter in 2022. This is contained in the Q1 2022 Foreign Trade Statistics report of the National Bureau of Statistics. According to the report, solid minerals are elements found on the earth, and they include naturally organic substances that are solid like precious stones and kaolin.The report read in part, “The value of solid minerals imports in the first quarter of 2022 stood at N41.09bn, this value was 37.84 per cent higher than the value recorded in Q4, 2021 (N29.81bn) and 74.39 per cent of the value recorded in Q1, 2021 (N23.56bn).” Solid mineral imports were dominated by plasters of calcined gypsum or calcium sulphate imported from Turkey worth N6.87bn and China valued at N1.87bn.Other products imported under this category were salt for human consumption from Namibia (N5.87bn) and Tunisia (N1.14bn), and Gypsum anhydrite (N5.72bn) from Spain.The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, recently described Nigeria as a blessed with 44 different types of minerals in commercial quantity in over 500 locations in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Some of the minerals include baryte, kaolin, gypsum, feldspar, limestone, coal, bitumen, lignite, uranium, gold, cassiterite, columbite, iron ore, lead-zinc, copper, granite, laterite, sapphire, tourmaline, emerald, topaz, amethyst, and garnet.
However, the minister also said that Nigeria and other African countries were suffering from the under-utilization of mineral resources despite huge deposits. The minister said, “Undeniably, Nigeria’s Minerals sector offers robust economic potential for diversification of the nation’s economy yet the country and indeed, many other African Countries have continued to suffer under utilization of their mineral resources.
“This has accounted for the slow phase of socio-economic development in Nigeria and many African countries. Our country is known to operate a mono economy where oil accounts for almost 90 per cent of the foreign exchange earnings. He also noted that insufficient geoscientific data and geological knowledge, weak implementation and enforcement of mining laws and regulations were critical constraints to the mining sector’s development. He said the existing gaps propelled the ministry to immediately begin the process of preparing a detailed sector road map aimed at advancing certain strategic objectives. Adegbite further stressed the role of the private sector as owners and operators of commercial mining entities and businesses.
He called on geoscientists and stakeholders to support government’s policies and efforts in diversifying the nation’s economy, using the mineral sector as one of the key drivers.The President, Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, Alabo Charles, said the Federal Government had identified mining and agriculture as viable options in its effort to diversify the nation’s economy from dependence on oil and gas.
Now, let us also read the following excerpt from Business Day Newspaper of February 2019 and Juxtapose the two:
In all ramifications, Nigeria is immensely endowed with numerous mineral resources. Every state in the country has some form of mineral deposit, waiting to be tapped for economic prosperity. According to Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Nigeria has 45 different solid minerals buried in various locations across the country. But these minerals are largely untapped. Both local and foreign investors can leverage on this multi-billion-dollar market. In its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017 to 2020, the Federal Government of Nigeria declared that solid mineral sector is one of the fast-growing sectors of the economy. The recognition of this is a window opening for investors to tap into the promising sector in Nigeria. The solid minerals deposits in Nigeria are worth several trillion-dollar market, yet Nigeria losses billions of dollars every year for importing things that can be produced locally using these items. “The commercial value of Nigeria’s solid minerals has been estimated to run into hundreds of trillions of dollars. The domestic mining industry is underdeveloped, leading to the importation of commodities that can be produced locally,” NIPC says in its document.
In conclusion, it is time to actually diversify our economy by actually diversifying our economy. It is time to massively mine the wealth beneath our feet for our growth and development. It is time to move from agriculture to our mines now in dove.
Dogara: Is this ‘political prostitute’s’ huggermugger over?
Once upon a time, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives during the 8th assembly, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara held sway in the corridors of power. As member representing Bogoro, Tafawa Balewa and Dass at the green chambers for over a decade plus, he certainly was once a force to reckon with within the circle of the political gladiators in the country including his immediate constituency back home. And as luck will have it for Dogara, after party-political cunnings in the House of Representatives back then, he eventually materialized as the Speaker of our nation’s significant parliament which epitomizes the integral aspect of the legislative disposition of the nation. Lest many have forgotten, the former Speaker’s rise to power was necessitated by the doggedness of his people back home who came out under the rains and sun to ensure that he consistently won elections to represent them at the lower federal chambers in Abuja.
Dogara who emerged as Speaker on the 9th June 2015 is a minority from Bogoro Local Government Area of Bauchi State favored by the god of politics to excel thus far in his political career. Today, Dogara is no longer the Speaker and would certainly come May 29th 2023 be amongst several other federal legislators in the country whose tenure would expire and he will not return to the green chambers for any legislative duty again. Evidently, Dogara will come back home where he all started his political adventure to meet his people at Gwarrangah village and more of his constituents at Bogoro, his local government area. As is the tradition with most politicians, he may decide to hold a Thanksgiving Service and or preferably quietly stay back in Abuja to think of what he would venture into next in life. He would certainly be left deep in thoughts considering the present traumatic and unpleasant unfolding developments trying to envelop him back home. For many concern individuals like us, the federal lawmaker may with a sober reflection come to terms with the unpleasant realities on ground concerning him and perhaps turn a new leaf.
This is because; once out of power, reality eventually hits many of such once political gladiators and pushes them to repentance. This perhaps is the only noble path Dogara may humbly chose to follow if the little “demons” in him do not rebel again.
Prior to the 2023 general elections, Rt. Hon. Dogara and Babachir Lawal abandoned the ruling All Progressive Congress,(APC) in protest over the Muslim-Muslim ticket which the party decided to adopt. After several visitations to churches and other significant political gatherings aligning with others who shared his similar thoughts, Dogara ended up in the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP), an opposition political party which decided to adopt a Muslim-Christian ticket but infringing the gentleman’s rotational agreement consensus earlier adopted by the northern and southern political juggernauts in the country. This gentleman’s agreement came into effect before the emergence of this incumbent political dispensation to help consolidate the balance power sharing arrangements for uninterrupted effective and efficient leadership succession intended to enhance fairness, justice and socio-economic and political integration of the citizens of the country.
With the passage of time however, Dogara back home in Bauchi State surprisingly decided to support APC’s Gubernatorial candidate in the state, Air Vice Marshall Saqid Abubakar against the incumbent Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed who has since won re-election for a second term of office. Rt. Hon. Dogara’s campaign for the immediate past Chief of Air Staff was an open secret to the extent that people got confused on which side of the divide the former Speaker was. This attitude was another flagrant disregard to party loyalty and another anti-party activity if one may say so.
Though Dogara was a team member of PDP’s Presidential Campaign Council for Atiku/Okowa, he was also deeply involved campaigning for the APC gubernatorial candidate of Bauchi State perplexing intellectuals and political pundits. Even as he meander from one political party to another taking crucial decisions which needs further consultations with stakeholders back home, Dogara for once never found it expident to do so. This is certainly Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara for you. Retorting to this infrequent malfeasance, the APC Presidential Campaign Council Spokesman, Festus Keyamo described Dogara as a political prostitute. Keyamo, the incumbent Minister of State Labour further tagged the former Speaker as a wanderer and back-stabber. True to his word, since Dogara’s departure from APC, no one can pragmaticaly ascertain where or which political party he can confidently call his comfortable home. Plently water has passed under the brigde right now and not even Dogara himself can resonate the positive implication of his nasty political misadventure and or it’s glaring advantage to both the members of his immediate constituenty and Bauchi State at large. Typical of some Nigerian politicians who employ administrative ingenuity to tackle crucial issues, Dogara is perhaps still hypnotized by spontaneous wealth and affluence and believes that he is still in a class of his own forgetting the reality of life in the sense that in politics and or life journey, there are seasons for everything under the sun. His leadership arrogance eventually came to bear after he started fighting anyone who shared a more pragmatic and logical ideology than his. Dogara is such a man driven by fallacious quest for power, unimaginable control of people and overwhelming notice me kind of a lifestyle. This narcissistic ideology, unnecessary desperation for undue and undeserved power control by Dogara has led to his political misadventures in most recent times. As it is today however, Dogara is no longer on the same page with APC, PDP and or the Governor of Bauchi State. Beyond this, he has consistently continued to pick up fruitless quarrels with the former Executive Secretary of TETfund, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, one man who has selflessly served this country with due diligence and integrity including other noticeable stakeholders in his community. For some of us, there is no way Dogara can compare his level of impact both back home and in disapora with that of Prof. Bogoro. Truth be told, Prof. Bogoro’s legacy and tremendous service to humanity is uncountable and Dogara can never claim to have done anything near it despite the office he occupied when he held sway in the corridors of power. Unfortunately, Dogara is yet to comprehend the simple fact that the people of Bogoro are wiser than his thoughts now.
Therefore, if some unfolding unspeakable happenings in Bogoro Local Government Area fingered at Dogara must be taken into consideration critically, some of us with all sense of responsibility would opine that the Dogara we know in 2015 is not the one some of us are seeing these past months and years. His unpleasant engagements with stakeholders of the area has portray him as one who is selfcentered, uncultured and intolerant of eclectic peculiarity of a contemporary but complex soceity as ours. In the midst of many intellects Bogoro Local Government Area is blessed with, Dogara has continued to arrogate a fallacious cloud-nine lifestlye only ascribed to medivial tyrannic emperors degrading the need for accepting systematic principles of good brotherliness for the benefit of the people of the entire area. The way and manner Dogara arrogates power to himself including his eratic reaction to societal issues today makes some of us wonder whether he is not out of touch with reality this time.
But again, for the fact that while the APC has won the presidential polls, PDP has overwhelmingly won both the Bauchi State gubernatorial election solidifying the return of Senator Bala Mohammed as Governor and the seat of the member representing Bogoro constituency at the Bauchi State House of Assembly with the retention of Hon. Musa Wakili Nakwada of the PDP, he will end up becoming politically homeless without any base to operate after 29th May 2023. This equally means that the people of his constituency have completely deserted him for their own good.
As each day passes-by, Dogara will continuously be reminded of his obvious political miscalculations which has brought him from the pinnacle of power down to rock bottom. He will also be reminded of the obvious fact that prosperity eventually judge all mankind when the chips are down.Dogara: Is this ‘political prostitute’s’ huggermugger over?
Once upon a time, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives during the 8th assembly, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara held sway in the corridors of power. As member representing Bogoro, Tafawa Balewa and Dass at the green chambers for over a decade plus, he certainly was once a force to reckon with within the circle of the political gladiators in the country including his immediate constituency back home. And as luck will have it for Dogara, after party-political cunnings in the House of Representatives back then, he eventually materialized as the Speaker of our nation’s significant parliament which epitomizes the integral aspect of the legislative disposition of the nation. Lest many have forgotten, the former Speaker’s rise to power was necessitated by the doggedness of his people back home who came out under the rains and sun to ensure that he consistently won elections to represent them at the lower federal chambers in Abuja.
Dogara who emerged as Speaker on the 9th June 2015 is a minority from Bogoro Local Government Area of Bauchi State favored by the god of politics to excel thus far in his political career. Today, Dogara is no longer the Speaker and would certainly come May 29th 2023 be amongst several other federal legislators in the country whose tenure would expire and he will not return to the green chambers for any legislative duty again. Evidently, Dogara will come back home where he all started his political adventure to meet his people at Gwarrangah village and more of his constituents at Bogoro, his local government area. As is the tradition with most politicians, he may decide to hold a Thanksgiving Service and or preferably quietly stay back in Abuja to think of what he would venture into next in life. He would certainly be left deep in thoughts considering the present traumatic and unpleasant unfolding developments trying to envelop him back home. For many concern individuals like us, the federal lawmaker may with a sober reflection come to terms with the unpleasant realities on ground concerning him and perhaps turn a new leaf.
This is because; once out of power, reality eventually hits many of such once political gladiators and pushes them to repentance. This perhaps is the only noble path Dogara may humbly chose to follow if the little “demons” in him do not rebel again.
Prior to the 2023 general elections, Rt. Hon. Dogara and Babachir Lawal abandoned the ruling All Progressive Congress,(APC) in protest over the Muslim-Muslim ticket which the party decided to adopt. After several visitations to churches and other significant political gatherings aligning with others who shared his similar thoughts, Dogara ended up in the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP), an opposition political party which decided to adopt a Muslim-Christian ticket but infringing the gentleman’s rotational agreement consensus earlier adopted by the northern and southern political juggernauts in the country. This gentleman’s agreement came into effect before the emergence of this incumbent political dispensation to help consolidate the balance power sharing arrangements for uninterrupted effective and efficient leadership succession intended to enhance fairness, justice and socio-economic and political integration of the citizens of the country.
With the passage of time however, Dogara back home in Bauchi State surprisingly decided to support APC’s Gubernatorial candidate in the state, Air Vice Marshall Saqid Abubakar against the incumbent Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed who has since won re-election for a second term of office. Rt. Hon. Dogara’s campaign for the immediate past Chief of Air Staff was an open secret to the extent that people got confused on which side of the divide the former Speaker was. This attitude was another flagrant disregard to party loyalty and another anti-party activity if one may say so.
Though Dogara was a team member of PDP’s Presidential Campaign Council for Atiku/Okowa, he was also deeply involved campaigning for the APC gubernatorial candidate of Bauchi State perplexing intellectuals and political pundits. Even as he meander from one political party to another taking crucial decisions which needs further consultations with stakeholders back home, Dogara for once never found it expident to do so. This is certainly Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara for you. Retorting to this infrequent malfeasance, the APC Presidential Campaign Council Spokesman, Festus Keyamo described Dogara as a political prostitute. Keyamo, the incumbent Minister of State Labour further tagged the former Speaker as a wanderer and back-stabber. True to his word, since Dogara’s departure from APC, no one can pragmaticaly ascertain where or which political party he can confidently call his comfortable home. Plently water has passed under the brigde right now and not even Dogara himself can resonate the positive implication of his nasty political misadventure and or it’s glaring advantage to both the members of his immediate constituenty and Bauchi State at large. Typical of some Nigerian politicians who employ administrative ingenuity to tackle crucial issues, Dogara is perhaps still hypnotized by spontaneous wealth and affluence and believes that he is still in a class of his own forgetting the reality of life in the sense that in politics and or life journey, there are seasons for everything under the sun. His leadership arrogance eventually came to bear after he started fighting anyone who shared a more pragmatic and logical ideology than his. Dogara is such a man driven by fallacious quest for power, unimaginable control of people and overwhelming notice me kind of a lifestyle. This narcissistic ideology, unnecessary desperation for undue and undeserved power control by Dogara has led to his political misadventures in most recent times. As it is today however, Dogara is no longer on the same page with APC, PDP and or the Governor of Bauchi State. Beyond this, he has consistently continued to pick up fruitless quarrels with the former Executive Secretary of TETfund, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, one man who has selflessly served this country with due diligence and integrity including other noticeable stakeholders in his community. For some of us, there is no way Dogara can compare his level of impact both back home and in disapora with that of Prof. Bogoro. Truth be told, Prof. Bogoro’s legacy and tremendous service to humanity is uncountable and Dogara can never claim to have done anything near it despite the office he occupied when he held sway in the corridors of power. Unfortunately, Dogara is yet to comprehend the simple fact that the people of Bogoro are wiser than his thoughts now.
Therefore, if some unfolding unspeakable happenings in Bogoro Local Government Area fingered at Dogara must be taken into consideration critically, some of us with all sense of responsibility would opine that the Dogara we know in 2015 is not the one some of us are seeing these past months and years. His unpleasant engagements with stakeholders of the area has portray him as one who is selfcentered, uncultured and intolerant of eclectic peculiarity of a contemporary but complex soceity as ours. In the midst of many intellects Bogoro Local Government Area is blessed with, Dogara has continued to arrogate a fallacious cloud-nine lifestlye only ascribed to medivial tyrannic emperors degrading the need for accepting systematic principles of good brotherliness for the benefit of the people of the entire area. The way and manner Dogara arrogates power to himself including his eratic reaction to societal issues today makes some of us wonder whether he is not out of touch with reality this time.
But again, for the fact that while the APC has won the presidential polls, PDP has overwhelmingly won both the Bauchi State gubernatorial election solidifying the return of Senator Bala Mohammed as Governor and the seat of the member representing Bogoro constituency at the Bauchi State House of Assembly with the retention of Hon. Musa Wakili Nakwada of the PDP, he will end up becoming politically homeless without any base to operate after 29th May 2023. This equally means that the people of his constituency have completely deserted him for their own good.
As each day passes-by, Dogara will continuously be reminded of his obvious political miscalculations which has brought him from the pinnacle of power down to rock bottom. He will also be reminded of the obvious fact that prosperity eventually judge all mankind when the chips are down.
The wonders of african black olives
Edible and Therapeutic oil Atili oil is considered a healthy vegetable oil rich in crude fats and protein. It’s regarded in the northern parts of Nigeria as the local olive oil. It’s believed to be more nutritious and flavourful than ordinary cooking oils. It is highly medicinal, believed to cure ailments like ulcer, I recommend it for some of my clients, and they’ve come back with positive feedback. Good for whooping cough, treating rashes and used as an ointment for healing wounds. It’s excellent as carrier oil. When integrated with certain other carrier oils and essential oils, this oil has the potential to do amazing things.
Atili oil is said to be used in parts of Africa as bridal endowment during a wedding ceremony. The resin contains 8-20 % of an essential oil, the main constituent of which is limonene; essential oils are important in the production of fragrant candle and it has a long shelf life.
In honesty, the benefit derivable from eating black African olive, (Atili) equates to using olive oil. It contains naturally occurring antioxidants and enzymes. It is natural moisturizing oil with a nutty and pleasant smell. It’s loaded with anti-oxidants and vitamins that nourish the skin and stimulate hair growth. It works wonders when integrated in skin and hair care products. Atili oil has a unique feel that other oils do not have because of the speed with which it penetrates the skin, leaving it smooth and supple.
Medicinal/Herbal importance
Resin from Atili was used as a substitute for gum-mastic in making wound dressings in World War II. It is believed that the resins collected from the atili tree can be used for preparing herbal medicines that treat intestinal worm infections and other intestinal parasites. It is an emollient, stimulant, diuretic and has action on skin infections such as eczema. The resin burns readily and is used as a bush candle. The resin is also used to repair broken pottery, for caulking boats and as a gum for fastening arrowheads to shafts. The resin is used as a fumigant against mosquitoes too.
A decoction is used as a treatment against hypertension, dysentery, gonorrhea, coughs, chest pains, pulmonary affections, stomach complaints, food poisoning etc.
The giant Atili tree offers protection to the soil against erosion, often left standing on cleared land to provide shade and also acts as a wind break. It has been planted for reforestation in Uganda. It can also serve as firewood that can easily burn to generate heat.
The wood is a good fuel, igniting readily and burning with a lot of heat. The flame is very smoky and soot is collected as carbon-black from the outside of pots held over it for use in tattooing and to make ink in Liberia.
The wood is light in weight; very soft; not very durable, being susceptible to fungi, dry wood borers and termites. It seasons slowly but fairly well, though there is a risk of distortion and checking; once dry it is poorly stable in service. Works easily, stains and polishes well. Used as a substitute for true mahogany. The timber is used as core veneer, for decorative paneling, parquetry, furniture, and flooring and for general utility purposes. Locally, the wood is used for mortars, planks, boats and canoes.
The heartwood is pinkish when fleshly cut but darkens to light brown mahogany colour; it is not sleekly demarcated from the 5 – 15cm wide band of sapwood that is white with pinkish reflections. The texture is slightly coarse; the grain interlocked, thus causing a fine striped figure on quarter-sawn boards.
Its thick barks become increasingly scaly and fissured with age. The pounded bark is used against leprosy and ulcers. The bark exudes a heavy, sticky oleoresin that smells like turpentine and solidifies to a whitish resin. It is obtained by slashing the bark and allowing the colourless expiation to trickle to the ground where it solidifies into a sulphur-yellow opaque resin. The resin is used as primitive illuminant and as incense and releases a lavender-like smell.
Its leaves are pinnate, clustered at the end. The leaves are boiled with other herbs and the decoction used to treat coughs.
Its Root is used against adenites whereas root scrapings are made into a poultice.
No side effects have yet been confirmed following consumption of atili fruit.
Propagation
Seed–Pre-soak the seed by immersing it in hot water and then allowing it to cool in the water for 24 hours prior to sowing. The seed can be sown in nursery beds or in situ.
The ripe fruits should be collected when they fall to the ground and allowed to decompose; the stones should then be separated from the outer fruit coats. Seeds can be stored for a long time.
Embracing the challenges of fatherhood
By DENNIS RAINEY
LIKE soldiers, we are called to do our duty even when the storms of life tempt us to abandon our posts.
That’s what a soldier does. He acknowledges the storm, but he doesn’t give in to it. He stands firm. As a friend told me, “If these men can stand guard over the dead, how much more important is it that I stand guard over the living—my wife and children?”
Like these soldiers, we are called to stand and do our duty while staring down the very storms that seek to rob us of courage, taunting and tempting us to neglect our duty and abandon our posts. These storms are packing some power.
Storm number one: damnable training by fathers
I once met a man who grew up in a remote section of our country. He admitted that the only advice he received as a boy from his father about women was, “Get ’em young. Treat ’em rough. Tell ’em nothing.”
I wonder how that advice worked for him in his marriage.
You could say this is a legacy of the “strong, silent, tough man” image often passed down from father to son. This is the type of misguided training in manhood that has corrupted so many men as the leaders in their homes—selfish men who control their wives and children so that their own needs are met.
And that’s just one part of the problem. Many boys grow up with fathers who are distant and passive. Fathers who rarely engage their families, and when they do, their half-hearted attempts to train their sons may promote irresponsible, or even immoral, behavior. Like the father whose idea of sex education for his 12-year-old son was to take him to a strip joint. There they sat for three hours as the women did their thing onstage. No words were spoken. When they arrived home later that night, the dad told his wife, “There, I did it! Now I’m going to bed.”
Too many men today were raised by fathers who didn’t step up to their responsibilities. Is it any wonder we have a generation of men who feel lost and aimless, not knowing how to face their fears or think rightly about themselves, women, and their own passions?
Storm number two: fatherless families
The relentless, howling winds of a culture of divorce have uprooted the family tree, and with it at least two generations of men. With our high divorce rates and the increasing number of births to single women, the number of children.
Children are the innocent victims of this raging storm. Dad is AWOL in far too many homes today.
The social implications of fatherless families are endless. For example, the greatest predictor of a child dropping out of high school, committing a crime, and going to prison is his or her experience of growing up in a home without a dad. Many young people grow up today in areas where the only adult male role models they know are live-in boyfriends or gang leaders. The fallout has only just begun: a crop of weak young men, and frustrated women who are looking for real men.
One of the greatest challenges any boy could endure is trying to become a man without a father to show him how. How can a boy know what it looks like to behave as a man, love like a man, and be a man in the battle if the main man in his life has abandoned him?
My friend Crawford Loritts works with young men to build their skills as leaders.
Many of [these young men] grapple with fear. … I think that the dismantling of our families over the past 50 years or so has almost institutionalized fear and uncertainty. Divorce, the rise of single-parent households, and the tragic assortment of abuse and dysfunction in our families have produced a generation with many young people who are afraid of risk, and afraid to make mistakes.
So many of our young men grew up in homes in which they had limited or no contact with their fathers, or they had dads who were detached and didn’t provide any meaningful leadership. We are left with a legacy of men who in varying degrees have been feminized. They are uncertain about who and what a man is, and how a man acts and behaves. They are fearful of assuming responsibility and taking the initiative in charting direction.
