• Committee’s target is for President to make announcement on May 1, says member
• Labour spoils for war with govs, insists states have money from subsidy removal

Indications have emerged that President Bola Tinubu may announce the new minimum wage on May 1 in commemoration of the International Labour Day and backdate its implementation to April.

Saturday PUNCH gathered that the National Minimum Wage Committee was working to ensure that all negotiations regarding the new rate were finalised before then with the expectation that the President would announce the new minimum wage in his Workers’ Day address.

A member of the committee, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue, said, “By next week, the minimum wage committee will meet again. It’s a continuous meeting. That is a meeting where all the reports from the zonal public hearings will be collated and reported, and then, you know, that will also give the committee the direction to work with.

“Our target is to ensure that Mr President announces the minimum wage by the 1st of May, which is the Workers’ Day, for it to take effect from April. So, we are working to meet the timeline.”

When reminded that the current minimum wage of N30,000 would cease to be valid on March 31, the committee member said it was unlikely that the new rate would be ready before then, adding that there was still a long way to go in arriving at an acceptable minimum wage for the country.

The source stated, “We have not got to the negotiation point yet. When you finish with the zones, it is the aggregate of what you collect from the zones that will determine the direction of the main committee. Now that we have finished with the zones, when the committee meets, it will collate all the positions of the zones and committee members.

“The positions of the NLC, TUC, NECA (the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association) and the government will be looked at. Then, we will look at the aggregate, find a percentage, and arrive at what will be agreeable.

“We are going to make some adjustments. I am sure the committee will also have a private meeting with Mr President; they will look at the ability to pay, and then with the state governors. NECA will also be involved and we will see how we marry those angles. It is not a one-stop affair.”

When contacted, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed, did not take his calls and he had yet to respond to text and WhatsApp messages sent to his mobile line as of the time of filing this report.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said he was not so conversant with the internal deliberations of the committee, but affirmed that talks were ongoing among the committee members who, he noted, were cognizant of the urgency of their assignment.

However, a presidential aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not the official spokesperson for the President, said Tinubu might not wait for May 1 to announce the new minimum wage if the committee was able to complete its assignment as scheduled, noting that ordinarily, the new wage should come into effect on April 1.

The aide said, “I don’t think the government will be able to wait until May 1 before announcing the minimum wage. The law says it should be concluded by early April.

“If the parties agree, why do they have to wait to make the announcement? Because they are negotiating and the law says negotiations should be completed by April.”

 Labour warns govs

The Organised Labour has warned state governors that it will not accept anything less than full implementation whenever the new minimum wage becomes law as it is ready to go into battle with such governors.

Labour’s position is coming at a time when the governors are asking the National Minimum Wage Committee to consider each state’s peculiarities in arriving at an acceptable figure, even as the panel is compiling the reports of its public hearing in the different zones.

The two labour centres in the country – the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress – are unanimous in rejecting the governors’ position, warning that it is a recipe for prolonged industrial unrest.

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum had urged the National Minimum Wage Committee to take into account the present circumstances, unique characteristics of individual states, and the effects on both the government and private sector employers’ ability to pay when determining the wage amount.

The NGF, in a communiqué issued after its virtual meeting, and signed by its Chairman and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, made available to journalists on Thursday, stated, “Members reviewed the progress of the National Minimum Wage Committee and ongoing multi-stakeholder engagements towards agreeing on a fair minimum wage.

“Members urged the NMWC to consider the current realities, individual states’ peculiarities, and consequential impact on the capacity of the government as well as private sector employers to pay. Members also emphasized the need for proposals to be data-driven and evidence-based.”

Before now, the labour unions had said the existing national minimum wage of N30,000 was no longer realistic, citing the steep inflation rate of 31.7 per cent in February from 29.9 per cent reported by the National Bureau of Statistics in January.

In January, the Federal Government inaugurated the tripartite committee responsible for deliberating on the national minimum wage.

Vice President Kashim Shettima inaugurated the 37-member panel at the Council Chamber of the State House in Abuja.

Comprising representatives of the federal and state governments, the private sector, and organised labour, the committee’s mandate is to propose a revised national minimum wage for the nation.

During zonal public hearings in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, and Abuja, workers in the North-West requested N485,000; North-East, N560,000; North-Central, N709,000 (NLC) and N447,000 (TUC); South-West, N794,000; South-South, N850,000; and South-East, N540,000 by the NLC and N447,000 by the TUC.

However, the Adamawa and Bauchi state governments suggested N45,000 as the new minimum wage.

The NLC on Friday said governors who fail to implement the new minimum wage when it becomes a law would be breaking the law.

The Congress also noted that it was working towards ensuring that tougher sanctions would be meted on such governors.

In an exclusive interview with Saturday PUNCH in Abuja, the spokesperson for the NLC, Benson Upah, noted that while the Federal Government had never defaulted in the payment of minimum wages, governors had never performed up to the task.

Upah said, “I want to tell you that any state that refuses to pay the new minimum wage will be breaking the law because it will be a national law. The present minimum wage of N30,000 was consensual, so the governors who have refused to pay are breaking the law.

“One of the things we are trying to do with the present negotiation is to ensure that enough sanctions are provided. We are going to ensure that sanctions are sufficiently tough to deter such criminally minded governors. When it comes to the minimum wage, the Federal Government has been adhering. We really can’t recall a situation of default in terms of payment of the minimum wage by the Federal Government.

“Where we had challenges in the past was about defiant governors and their number has been in the minority.”

Similarly, the TUC said it was unacceptable for the governors to undermine the payment of living wages to the workers with their divide-and-rule tactics, adding that state governments had no excuse to do whatever would be agreed on as the minimum wage since they now had more money available following the removal of fuel subsidy.

The Deputy President, TUC, Dr Tommy Etim, told one of our correspondents that the new minimum wage law being worked on would impose penalties on state governors and private sector employers who refused to pay the agreed sum.

He said, “Let me let you know that the Act will be amended to accommodate all those excesses, and then there will be those penalties. Definitely, the Act will be amended to take into cognizance the exclusion, the penalties, and the enforcement for any governor who decides to be recalcitrant; as well as employers of labour who decide to be recalcitrant in the implementation of the minimum wage.

“The bottom line is that once the President signs the Minimum Wage Act, automatically, what is expected is the implementation. We don’t need to tell anybody to do the needful; the employer who hires you knows that he is going to pay you. Telling employers to pay is like telling a Pope how to prepare the Holy Communion.

“Yes, some governors could not pay the N30,000 old minimum wage; that was then and not now. If they couldn’t pay the N30,000 minimum wage, it therefore means that the Act was weak.”

Etim added, “The quantum of money they (governors) are getting from the removal of fuel subsidy is enough for them to pay. I don’t want anybody to say some governors may not want to pay the new minimum wage when it is unveiled. The ability to pay is there because they have more money accruing to them (governors) as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy.

“You know that in 2019, the sum of N30,000 was in vogue, and things were relatively still at the comfort of the masses, but in this case, have you taken a look at how much fuel is sold per litre now, the price of cooking gas, the price of bread, transportation?  If anyone talks about the ability of the state governors to pay, it therefore means that we are preparing them to hide under that premise.”

The TUC deputy president added that there was no more room for excuses by the governors.

He said the process of getting a new minimum wage was still ongoing and that the TUC’s position on it had been well articulated and that it was tenable in all the zones.

Etim stated, “That is also what we are going to table because we will not give different figures as far as the national minimum wage is concerned. The TUC will come up with a common figure, except as we speak, (NLC president, Joe) Ajaero decides to drop his ego, and then walk in line.

“We are looking at many factors, including the ability to implement the minimum wage. It is not just for you to say N1m as minimum wage. You don’t make a caricature of a very serious matter. How do you arrive at N1m? You have to look at the ability to pay in line with the ILO (International Labour Organisation) minimum wage fixing conventions. You don’t have all those things on the ground and you are just announcing.

“That is why they (the NLC) couldn’t put their house in order. You find out that different zones came out with different minimum wages. It therefore means that the leadership did not show them the direction.

“When you look at TUC’s own, you will see that we have a direction and that is why our position on the minimum wage is in uniformity.

“However, as time goes on, we will get to the point of looking at our paper and then we will agree on our position.”

When asked if the NLC was in touch with the TUC to resolve their differences, Etim said, “I can tell you for free that nothing like that has happened. At my level in the TUC, a thing like that cannot take place without me being involved.

“Definitely, in the long run, we will come together. Let me also tell you that the mere fact that husbands and wives are quarreling does not prevent the children from eating.”

 State labour leaders

The Chairman of the TUC in Ogun State, Akeem Lasisi, said workers in the state would not accept any excuse that the state government might want to put forward to delay the implementation of the new minimum wage.

Lasisi said once the Federal Government announces the new minimum wage, the workers expect the state government to waste no time in implementing it.

He said, “Labour will refuse to accept the lame argument that workers must bear the brunt of the high-handedness of the government.

“The government must set a good example by cutting the cost of governance. Well-compensated and motivated workers are essential for the development of a nation.

“The increase in minimum wage will result in increased productivity and this will eventually increase in monetary value without causing inflation.

“The Organised Labour in the country will not tolerate any excuse from the state governors because workers dictate the development of a nation and must be treated with utmost concern and honour.

“Should workers perish for a nation to develop? It does not require rocket science for the state government to pay a new minimum wage. State governments should escape out of the doom and enter a boom to make workers happy.

“The minimum wage is backed by law; it is on the exclusive list. State governments’ failure to uphold their end of the bargain will be quite regrettable and unacceptable.”

Similarly, the Chairman of the TUC in Ekiti State, Sola Adigun, said there was no basis for the labour movement in the state to think that Governor Biodun Oyebanji would give excuses when the new minimum wage is unveiled.

Adigun said, “At every forum, we inform the governor that the implementation of the new minimum wage will not have any issue in Ekiti State; he has agreed to that, and by the grace of God, there is no going to be any issue.

“So, there will be no basis for us now to start crying or speaking about failure or non-implementation of what has not been agreed on.

“Labour in Ekiti State and the government will work out a meaningful minimum wage or living wage for Ekiti State workers. I don’t expect him (the governor) to do otherwise.”

The Osun State TUC Chairman, Abimbola Fasasi, said Governor Ademola Adeleke had been part of regional negotiations with labour on the new wage.

According to him, Adeleke’s involvement in the negotiations will make it easier for the labour movement to demand the payment of the new minimum wage in the state.

“Fortunately for us here, our governor is involved in the negotiations. It makes it so easier for us here in Osun,” Fasasi stated.

[Punch]

The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for a shooting at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow, the Russian capital.

At the time of the attack on Friday night, the death toll stood at 40.

The number of fatalities has now risen to at least 60, including children, according to Russian state news agency RIA.

No fewer than 145 persons were injured in the attack while the death toll is expected to rise.

The terror group took responsibility for the attack in a short statement published by ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq on Telegram but did not provide evidence to support the claim.

RIA said the attackers who showed up in camouflage and without masks allegedly fled in a white car that had a Renault symbol with a tinted rear window.

Before they fled, they sprayed bullets from automatic weapons on the people at the concert and threw a grenade, setting the hall on fire.

The roof of the concert hall was said to have partially collapsed.

The Investigative Committee of Russia and the operational units of the ministry of internal affairs said they are investigating the potential terrorist attack.

THE United Kingdom, UK, has become the chief mourner, wailing over the presidential election in Russia which gave President Vladimir Putin a new term.

For a country at war and under all sorts of sanctions, it might have been expected that the Russian election would be postponed indefinitely. But it not only held, there was also a reported voter turn-out of 74.22 per cent.

The British media reported that: “Reuters journalists saw an increase in the flow of voters, especially younger people, at noon at polling stations in Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, with queues of several hundred people and even thousands.”

There are also some facts about the election which have not been disputed. There were over 94,000 polling stations which opened daily for 12 hours from 8 a.m. Russians in 144 countries abroad, including the UK, cast their votes in 295 polling stations. Voters also voted on online. Given the country’s size, the world-wide election, and the fact that Russia is at war, only eight electoral incidents were recorded where there were attempts to set polling station buildings on fire.

Internet service providers in Russia reported that there were over 90,000 Denial-of-Service, DdoS, cyber-attacks from Ukraine and North America targeting the Central Election Commission, State Services portal and other government websites.

Additionally, Ukraine tried to sabotage the election by repeatedly shelling Russian regions and oil refineries during the three-day election. Also, thousands of anti-Putin demonstrators protested at polling stations inside Russia and abroad over the February 16, 2024 death of jailed opposition leader, Alexei Navalny.

In the final outcome of the election, Putin defeated the presidential candidates of the New People Party, Vladislav Davankov; the Liberal-Democrat Party of Russia, Leonid Slutsky; and the Communist Party’s Nikolai Kharitonov.

The UK could not condemn Putin for having a fifth term probably because like Russia, its Prime Minister has no term limit. A British Prime Minister like Sir Robert Walpole spent 20 years, 314 days in office, while William Pit the Younger, spent 18 years, 305 days in office.

I do not subscribe to a president spending more than two terms in office, but it is not in our place to dictate term limits for countries.

Expectedly, the Russian election was condemned by many Western countries. Studying their statements, one got the impression that some might have been drafted before the election was held.

Perhaps the most strident was that by the UK, issued by Foreign Secretary, David Cameron. Without providing any evidence, it claimed that there was “suppression of opposition voices during the Russian election”. Expectedly, it was unhappy that elections also took place in some of the breakaway regions of Ukraine.

Although the turnout was far higher than the 66.7 per cent in the 2020 United States presidential election and, the 67.3 per cent in its 2019 general elections, the UK claimed that: “These Russian elections starkly underline the depth of repression under President Putin’s regime, which seeks to silence any opposition to his illegal war. ” It added that: “Putin removes his political opponents, controls the media, and then crowns himself the winner. This is not democracy.” Really, the turnout does not mean anything?

The UK, from its colonial history, assumes that democracy is what it thinks, and any election it does not like, is not democratic. So it supported the ‘democracy’ of Apartheid South Africa, and declared that those like Nelson Mandela, Joe Slovo and Walter Sisulu who rejected the Apartheid system, were “terrorists”.

But it is not only external elections it rejects, the British establishment also condemns elections won by those considered to be anti-establishment. For instance, there was a by-election on February 29, 2024 into the Rochdale Constituency in the UK Parliament. This followed the death of Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd. The established parties were in for a rude shock as George Gallaway, the outsider from the Workers Party of Britain, caused a Tsunami. He won 40 per cent of votes, overturning a 9,668 Labour votes at the 2019 general election.

Gallaway won12,335 of the votes, David Tully of the Independent came a distant second with 6,638 votes, Paul Ellison of the Conservative Party was third with 3,731 votes, Labour’s Azhar Ali was fourth with 2,402 votes and Iain Donaldson of the Liberal Democrats came fifth with 2,164 votes. All hell seemed to have broken loose, especially when Galloway is not only pro-people but also campaigned openly for a stop to the on-going Israeli genocide in the Palestine.

A shocked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a hasty press conference outside No 10 Downing Street where he said Gallaway’s victory was “beyond alarming” . He wondered how British voters could have voted overwhelmingly for a candidate who “dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7”, when he said Hamas murdered 1,200 people in Israel.

Tory Minister, Greg Hands said of Gallaway’s re-election as an MP: “I think it’s not a good day for the country, it’s not a good day for anybody. I’ve been an MP now for 19 years and I’ve seen George Galloway now represent three different constituencies. Each time he’s let down those constituents and not been re-elected.” He vowed to put Gallaway at arms length in parliament because “somebody who has an extremist view of the world is not somebody that I engage with”.

But Gallaway after being sworn-in said he had not come to parliament to make friends: “I’ve always loved the building – the people in it not quite so much.”

On Prime Minister Sunak’s attack on him for winning the election, Gallaway said: “I despise the Prime Minister. And guess what? Millions and millions and millions of people in this country despise the Prime Minister. I do not respect the Prime Minister at all.”

Although Western countries have lined up to condemn the Russian election, they are generally silent on the refusal of Ukraine’s Voldymyr Zelensky to conduct election which fell due this March. He said the martial law which he had declared, precluded election from being held. So, he is likely to stay in power without election for as long as he wants, or until he is thrown out.

Putin in defending Russian democracy said: “The whole world is laughing at what is happening (in the United States). This is just a disaster, not a democracy”. Apparently, in reference to the four criminal cases against Republican candidate Donald Trump, Putin added: “…Is it democratic to use administrative resources to attack one of the candidates for the Presidency of the United States, using the judiciary among other things?”

On the Russian election, the UK is like a person insisting that his neighbour is sick, and since the latter insists he is healthy, decides to take medicines on his neigbour’s behalf.

An interesting news report ‘provokes’ this article.

Ordinarily, I would not attempt to delve again into a controversial subject that has created the most crisis and confusion in Nigerian sports administration through the decades. The more one discusses it the more confusing it gets. Presently, there is no clear understanding in the separation of the roles and responsibilities of government, from those of the various sports federations.

On this matter, there are too many ‘experts’.

One wonders with what authority the different voices back the varied positions they take on such an esoteric subject. Most of those that knew how things worked ‘successfully’ in the past, and why, are either no longer alive, or are completely outside the present-day sports loop.

Those that are there now are either victims of the more recent failing adaptations, or are a part of this excursion into the bush led by the ‘blind’ as guide.

The country is today still swimming in uncharted territory that is leading to more confusion on the vexed issue of roles and responsibilities. What is going on now is a fanciful adoption of some foreign templates that may have worked in more developed climes, but surely have been flailing in the Third-World setting of Nigeria.

The President of the Nigeria Amputee Football Federation was on television some days ago. The Amputee football national team has been in camp preparing for the Amputee Football African Cup of Nations, taking place in Cairo Egypt from 19 to 28th of April, 2024.

The President, Paul Maduakor, as is the practise with every other sports federation president, says that the federation has completed its responsibility of assembling, preparing and camping the footballers. It is now waiting on the Sports Minister to respond to the budget for the event submitted to his office by the federation, for release of the funds for the competition-proper from government! Meanwhile, the federation is also seeking sponsorship support from the private sector, something that has proven to be as difficult as a camel passing through the eye of a needle for all federations, including the seemingly most lucrative, the Nigeria Football Federation!

The Minister has not responded. There is now the real threat, or risk, that unless funds are provided, the national team may not attend the championship.

This scenario is common.

Whose responsibility is it to fund competitions, domestic and international?

The above scenario is common now in Nigerian sports, clearly demonstrating the typical relationship between the Sports Ministry and every sports federation; this blurred area of conflict; and who is responsible for what within sports development, administration and competitions.

What brings them together and always creates the friction is the funding of International competitions. Outside of that the federations will continue to survive on life-support funds, no-domestic competitions, and the perennial dependence of government to cover international competitions.

Private sector funding has been very sparce and almost impossible for most federations, and that’s why most do not have the number of domestic competitions that can drive their grassroots, amateur or even elite sports development programs and events with any success.

During international competitions where the country’s flag is flown, the country’s national anthem is played, and the competitions are between national teams (not club sides), the federations fall on the Ministry of Sports almost entirely for funds.

That understanding was clear and generally acceptable to all until the issue of administrative power struggle reared its ugly head, some 30 years ago. Since then, sports administration lost some direction.
The big question now, therefore, is that in funding the International competitions what is the Ministry’s role? Is it to get the budget from the federation, approve it, get the funds from government and hand over to them, with or without any further supervision over the funds?

In the past, for providing the funds to run federation secretariats and International competitions, the government seconded a Secretary, provided a secretariat and nominated one or two members who was always eventually ‘elected’ or appointed Chairman of the board.

For three decades, since Independence, even though the federations were registered as private organisations of clubs and a few other major member-stakeholders in the sport, of equal representation on the board, there was always the government’s representative included in the board composition. The board doubled as the electoral college, appointing or electing its own Chairman. I repeat: the Chairman was appointed or elected from amongst the board by the board members. It was a simple, inexpensive, one-day process that attracted no acrimony, no public or private campaigns, and never resulted in controversies or litigation.

For 3 decades this arrangement worked almost flawlessly.

The Associations ran their domestic events without government funding, and only got government funding for international competitions. All of these without complaints.

When some sponsorship funding and international grants started to come into the associations’ accounts, ‘greed’ and the urge for non-accountability reared their ugly heads.

As revenue from other sources started to flow in, members of the board started to enjoy the freebies, and the clamour for freedom to escape financial scrutiny was birthed. There was extra booty to be shared since government took charge of the basic funding.

Then, there was a silent ‘protest’ and a plan was hatched to stop government’s nominee from becoming ‘automatic’ Chairman. This ‘nomination’ was identified as interference in the internal affairs of a private organisation by some radical members of the board. They rebelled by insisting new rules must be created, the electoral college expanded, and an expanded general assembly put in place to approve the new rules and elect a Chairman from amongst the general assembly and not the board.

The new ‘concoction’ made the process of electing board leadership convoluted, expensive, confusing and disenfranchising government, preventing it from playing its statutory responsibility in funding international events.

So, they fought government and changed the rules and process for electing the leadership of the federation.

To crown it they started to chant that government should hands-off the running of sports, that sport could run itself through private sector funding. Inadvertently, they took over government’s statutory responsibility to fund International events.

Thus was created a huge chasm in sports administration that has lasted 30 years without a clear resolution, plenty of friction, reduction in domestic and grassroots sports development, stagnation at elite sports levels, and ad-hoc and intermittent support that government provides different sports federations with international responsibilities for taking over what they cannot cope with for the ‘price’ of external funds that are not enough to do anything. Football led this rebellion against government. Till now, even football, with all the external funding it gets, is unable to funds its international competitions. It still depends largely on government.

The other federations stand no chance of securing funding from the private sector to run both local and domestic sports. The new sports policy of introducing business is a most desirable objective, but its success still lies decades ahead and would only go side by side Nigeria’s development as an economic power. Government in also a legitimate stakeholder through its funding and must have a legal membership in every federation with clear and unambiguous roles and responsibilities.

Of course, who pays the piper dictates the tune. That’s why Sports Ministers have been fighting back since 2004 when the rebellion started.

It will take plenty of courage and plenty of sacrifice on the part of federation members to give up a little and get a little, in order to clear up the cobwebs and bring back a workable and acceptable template that will include every stakeholder particularly government on an equal basis for true development to start again.

The Defence Headquarters on Friday said it has declared 97 persons wanted for terrorism, violent extremism and secessionist threats against the state.

Prominent among the wanted persons is the factional leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Simon Ekpa.

Major Gen Edwaed Buba, Director, Defence Media Operations, confirmed the names and pictures of the people declared wanted in Abuja on Friday night.

The wanted persons, terrorists/ bandits and insurgents commanders are from the North East, North West, North Central and South-East zones.

The military authorities did not place any bounty on the wanted persons.

A breakdown of the wanted persons shows that 43 were declared wanted in North West Zone plagued by banditry, and kidnapping among others.

Some bandits/terrorists leaders include: Alhaji Shingi; Malindi Yakubu; Boka ; Dogo Gide; Halilu Sububu; Ado Aliero ; Bello Turji; Dan Bokkolo; Labi Yadi ; Nagala; Saidu Idris; Kachalla Rugga and Sani Gurgu.

In the North East plagued by Boko Haram and Islamic State for West Africa Province terrorists, 33 persons were declared wanted.

Among them are terrorists commanders, Abu Zaida; Modu Sulum; Baba Data; Ahmad; Sani Teacher; Baa Sadiq; Abdul Saad; Kaka Abi; Mohammad Khalifa; Umar Tella; Abu Mutahid; Mallam Mohammad; Mallam Tahiru Baga; Uzaiya and Ali Ngule.

In the North Central and South East 21 Insurgents/militants and violent criminals were declared wanted.

They include factional IPOB leader Simon Ekpa; Chika Edoziem; Egede; Zuma, ThankGod Gentle; Flavour ; Mathew; David Ndubuisi ; High Chief Williams Agbor; Ebuka Nwaka; Friday Ojimka.

Others in the South East include Obiemesi Chukwudi aka Dan Chuk ; David Ezekwem Chidiebube and Amobi Chinonso Okafor aka Temple .

[Vanguard]

Being a Text of a Press Conference

Held on Thursday March 21, 2024

At NUJ Press Center kaduna

“When exposing a crime is treated as committing a crime. You are being ruled by criminals”. -Edward Snowden

Gentlemen of the Press,

The recent events in the National Assembly – the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi, his resignation from the Northern Senators Forum, and the removal of Senator Kawu Sumaila from the PRO position – expose a troubling trend. These developments raise serious concerns about a culpable National Assembly and a failing Nigerian state, leaving many to wonder: Whither Nigeria?

These events unfold against the backdrop of a Nigerian state that has demonstrably failed to fulfil its constitutional mandate. The constitution, to which both the executive and legislative arms have sworn to uphold, guarantees the security and welfare of Nigerian citizens. This failure is compounded by attempts to stifle public debate. The recent silencing of senators through microphone control exposes a leadership seemingly complicit in the very issues it should be addressing, such as the alleged budget padding, a blatant act of legislative looting.

Meanwhile, the real victims of this charade of democracy are the ordinary Nigerians; Impoverished and marginalized, they are daily struggling to survive with no hope on the horizon. The Arewa Movement for Good Governance (AM2G) feels compelled to address this existential crisis facing the nation. We urge Nigerians to raise their voices and demand accountability from their leaders.

You may recall that, at the presentation of the 2024 budget, it was alleged that the actual budget box was empty; the National assembly has not come clean on this allegation, beyond verbal dismissal of the allegation, which is to be expected. There were also allegations that members were given a certain amount in dollars to take their eyes off the budget and simply approve it, again corrupting the budget process. Yet again there was an allegation that the N160m USVs was part of the bribery for the members of the NASS to rubber stamp the budget. Perhaps most disturbing was the celebratory song sung by legislators, with the chorus "on your mandate we stand." This display of misplaced solidarity with the executive branch, which is unwarranted and unprecedented, raises questions about the legislature's commitment to its role of holding the executive accountable. This capitulation, as it were, and the absence of a rigorous debate on the principles of the budget, a well-known parliamentary practice where the objectives, structure and the pegging of the crude price benchmark are discussed, have given away the National Assembly as a willing accomplice in the massive looting of the public treasury that has today become the budget process. That between the passing of the budget and the signing of the budget it was hardly a day, shows a great haste; quite intriguing.

Admittedly, this looting has been on for some time now, some would say from the fourth assembly inaugurated in 1999; the amounts then was in hundreds of millions. Over the quarter century this looting has grown geometrically into billions and with this assembly trillions. Now we should understand why this country has refused to grow and developed; now we can see why we spent billions of dollars in electricity without a substantial increase in megawatts of electricity and the culprits are going scot free; now we can see why our economy has been shrinking and ending up in shambles; now we can see why our youth cannot find jobs; now we can see why our country is on this dangerous trajectory, heading for the rocks; now we can see why this country under this rogue politics has no future at all. Now we should see where exactly the problem is and now we should see why we can’t keep quite. Now some specific issues:

1. Suspension of Senator Ningi – this appears to be a panic measure that violates the principles or representation in a democracy. It is clearly an evasive move to distract attention from the issues raised. It is also unfair for an issue of this magnitude to be swept under the carpet without a thorough investigation to prove beyond doubts to the Nigerian public, who ostensibly elected these Senators to represent them, that the Senators are not culpable. From the video clips shown by the media covering the NASS, we found it intriguing that after the suspension and as Senator Ningi was walking out of the chamber with the heap of evidence in his hands, no senator appeared to show any compunction. This suggests a conspiracy of silence in the supposedly hallowed chamber, or is it a chamber of shame. It apparently did not occur to the Senate that they were judges in their cause or worse still, they were the prosecutors and the jury at the same time. We are forced to ask the question, Distinguished Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, what is distinguishing in this behavior? Where is your conscience? What do you want us to think of you?
2. Padding of 2024 budget – today there are mountains of evidence that massive, some would say outrageous, padding has taken place in the 2024 budget. Even as, Senator Ningi was not allowed to present his evidence, as he was shouted down and his mic was being switched of now and then, in what little he was able to expose, there were enough malfeasance and fleecing to be worried about. We may argue on the figures but Bugetit, an expert institution on budget has confirm a lot of Ningi’s allegations. It has confirmed the hiking of budget of the MDAs by N1.27T, it has confirmed that while the budget submitted was for about N25T, the budget that went out for signing was over N28T. The devil is in the details. Many of the figures in the budget were opaque and this opacity would appear to be deliberate to hide the fleecing that is buried in the budget. The senate was clearly hiding something and that is exactly the point at issue. These are public resources and the public must know what happens to their resources. Can the senate come clean by opening up and subjecting the budget to a thorough investigation? Isn’t transparency and accountability a key feature of democratic culture and processes? Don’t they have a moral and constitutional responsibility to submit themselves to public scrutiny?
3. Constituency Project – this has been a thorny issue between the executive and the legislature. It needed not to be so but for our ‘cash and carry’ politics. The well know practice which defines the fourth republic is for legislators to be contractors of their constituency projects. The allocation of these projects appeared to be shrouded in secrecy as even the senators themselves are kept in the dark about what their colleagues are getting. It is also clear that that allocation was selfish, arbitrary, and unscientific, and all these in the 21^st The Senate President was alleged to have amassed a humongous amount distributed across several budget lines, while some ranking senators claimed that that they got nothing. Some who appeared on television evaded direct questions as what was allocated to them. If such secrecy and inequity is practiced at the highest level of our legislature what do we expect to be the quality of our laws? If these same people are supposed to run oversight on our executive arm what do expect to happen? Can we in good conscience trust these people?
4. Budget process – the whole budget process appear to be messy. There are key steps in any budget process and those that have been practiced in the NASS budget process that have been abandoned this time. Budgets must start with revenue because it is allocation of resources for development, you need to be certain about what is available to be spent. Some of the revenue sources in this budget are the sale of government assets without details, making the revenue sources suspicious and unreliable. There are other key steps like consultation with key government revenue and planning institutions which have not been adhered to. The budget office and the public procurement office are also supposed to bet the costs and this could not have been done; for, in this budget a single borehole costing a ridiculous sum of N193m or a single street light costing an insane sum of N184m, making the whole budget laughable. Seun Onigbinde of Bugetit has revealed even more baffling atrocities when he showed how many projects were allocated to MDAs that have no capacity for execution or even relationship with the projects. This is overwhelmingly exhibited in the ministry of Agriculture, which has been allocated about 600B for projects that have nothing to do with Agriculture. He explained that one school notorious for this is the Federal Cooperative College, Orji River, building town halls hundreds of kilometers away from the school. One is forced to ask what kind of people do we have in the executive and legislative arms of government? Is this stupidity or criminality or both? Doesn’t this explain why so much money is spent every year and so little is seen on the ground? How can this insane and laughable budget address the developmental challenges that budgets are meant to address? How can the power of the purse given to the legislature by the constitution be a license for such irresponsibility? For how long can this country bear this affront? Where are the young people whose future is being destroyed by this class of politicians?
5. The Northern Senators Forum – we are waiting to hear the explanation for the intriguing deafening silence of the Northern Senators Forum. We thought Senator Ningi, their chair and Senator Kawu Sumaila their PRO were representing them when they stood up to these alleged atrocities in the Senate. Their silence as a body appears to suggest that they have no courage to show up for the fight against the alleged inequity and transgressions. We thought the issues raised by Senator Ningi are issues which affect their constituencies, the people who ostensibly sent them there to represent and protect their interest. Are they betraying the trust of their constituencies? Are they suggesting that they are an accomplice in the alleged crime that is unfolding in the senate? Are they willing tools of the Senate President or his boss the President in the alleged subversion of the interest of their constituencies? How did they come about their new leadership? Could the suspicion that they were appointed by the executive be true? Will they have the courage to come clean on these and several other roles they seem to be playing?

Distinguished members of the press, it is very evident that our democracy is in crisis. Our democracy is not delivering development and with the kind of National Assembly that we have today, and we can see why. Our democracy is impoverishing the citizens, more citizens are daily  falling below the poverty line and many are trapped into multi-dimensional poverty. Our democracy is not creating hope on the horizon for the teaming youth who cannot even go to school and those that managed to go through school cannot find jobs. Our democracy is losing its meaning, losing its value and losing its luster. Our democracy is stripping us of our dignity, of our honor  and of our humanity. There is urgent need to restore our confidence in democracy before we lose our senses. Once we get to the point where we lose our senses that will be the end of anything sensible.

What to do?

• Halting and freezing all funds that are suspect until a thorough investigation is done.
• Instituting independent investigation including civil society like CISLAC and BUDGETit.
• The young people should endeavor to engage these political institutions and defend their future which is being destroyed by a rouge democratic culture.
• Leaders of civil society, especially those who were in the trenches in the late 90’s, fighting to restore democracy, must come forward to give a policy direction and build an elite consensus on the future of this great country.
• We must all focus on the leadership recruitment process, we must develop criteria for suitability of political offices. To be sure, the criteria in the constitution is only a criteria for eligibility. We must not confuse eligibility with suitability. Character, competence and courage of conviction must be part of these criteria.

I thank you and God bless.

Usman Bugaje, Convener, Arewa Movement for Good Governance AM2G.

A few days ago, during the 25th anniversary of Madonna University, Fr. Edeh made remarks about virginity in the school. Whenever virginity is mentioned, it immediately brings to mind the gender disparities in our society and the historical exploitation of women. Why is it that virginity is always associated with women in our customs? There is no equivalent term for a virgin man. This aside, the reference to virginity by Fr. Edeh has sparked widespread discussion. What is it about sex and related topics that incite such heated debates? Why should we be concerned if students who entered Madonna as virgins graduate as virgins?

I have previously stated that sex and its associates rank high in the hierarchy of desires. Once basic needs like food and shelter are met, man spares time and money in pursuit of sexual pleasure. This is a societal problem, affecting both humans and animals. Have you ever seen lions fight to the death over territory? It's not the territory itself that intrigues the lion, but the prospect of having exclusive access to females.

Modern civilization has exacerbated this problem by irresponsibly stimulating the sexual impulse, leading to increasingly immoral behavior. Our fathers would have pretended not to hear what Fr. Edeh said. Not any more! Many individuals now see no issue with using their bodies to earn money, and there are few moral restraints on desire. While our ancestors downplayed this issue, the current generation has magnified it through various forms of stimulation, advertising, emphasis, and display, promoting the dangerous notion that inhibition is harmful, whereas restraint – the control of impulses – is a hallmark of decency.

In the past, many of our mothers married as virgins. Today, however, youths driven by hormones may question why they should restrain their sexual desires. Instead of valuing purity, they boast about their sexual conquests and shamefully talk about “ body count.” Numerous terms have been coined to describe various forms of sexual deviance.

Fr. Edeh, perhaps owing to his age and vocation as a Catholic priest, belongs to an older school of thought. He understands that unchecked youth, devoid of customs, morals, or laws, may ruin their lives before realizing that sex, if not restrained, can lead to chaos for both individuals and society. I understand that in his schools, students have limited freedom to leave campus, reducing opportunities for sexual escapades. Is it right? This is a subject for another day. With the confidence of someone who has exercised restraint, he made his statement. However, given current societal trends, what he seeks to prevent may still occur in his school without his awareness.

Nevertheless, considering the nature of his school and the constraints in place, Fr. Edeh is justified in making his statement. It's akin to discussing the Catholic Church, which provides numerous avenues for spiritual growth. Despite this, many fail to take advantage of these opportunities. In the end, should the blame fall on the Church or the faithful? 

I stand with Fr. Edeh and find it troubling that many are attempting to discredit his statement. To illustrate the prevailing mindset, Bidemi Edwards came forward to admit that she did not graduate as a virgin, implying that even the most devout societies have their deviants.

Verificationist among us are currently working on Fr. Edeh’s statement.

It is not a surprise that President Bola Tinubu has ordered investigations into last week’s slayings of 17 army officers and soldiers in Delta State. It was the most gruesome attacks on the Nigerian military in recent times, and as the commander-in-chief said, ‘’it was an attack on our country’’. I should, however, remind the President that there are many unfinished investigations into previous disasters in the country. In fact, the word ‘’investigation’’ has become the most frequently used expression in Nigeria’s official lexicon. Whenever there’s a crisis in the land – and there have been many of them - there’s a 100 percent chance that the government will promptly promise ‘’urgent investigations to get to the root of the problem’’, but the outcomes of those inquiries are hardly ever known. It would appear that a promise of investigation has become an escape route for public officials buffeted from every angle by all sorts of problems.

I join others in condemning the murders of 17 army officers and soldiers in Okuama village, Bomadi LGA of Delta State. The investigators have their jobs cut out for them. What was the mission of the army in the area and who gave the order for the mission? We have been told that the soldiers were in the community for ‘peace mission’ over land matters in a small community of not more than 2,000 people. Is it customary for a military operation led by a lieutenant colonel and a major to be involved in land disagreements? I should also invite the investigators to take note of the fact that Okuama might not be the only community in the Niger Delta where soldiers regularly visit. The region itself is not a stranger to this sort of thing. Remember Odi in 2001?  

While we are still investigating Okuama, I recall that in May 2013, over 10 officials of DSS and 55 police officers were slaughtered by a militia group known as ‘Ombatse’ in Nassarawa State. Reports said that the security officers were lured into an ambush, disposed of their weapons, brutally murdered and burnt by the cult group. Frank Mbah, who was the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer then (he is now a DIG) had promised full investigation, noting that the police will track down the killers. ‘’Enough is enough’’, he told journalists. The investigators were expected to answer some numbing questions: What was the mission of the security officials, who authorized the ill-fated operation and how were they lured into the ambush? Eleven years after, there has not been any update on the matter. And we have all moved on. Well, except the families of the departed who might still be mourning their loss.

Last December, the Nigerian army mistakenly dropped two bombs on a crowd of people in Tudun Biliri village in Igabi LGA of Kaduna State, killing over 100 of them. The villagers were celebrating a religious festival at night, but the military mistook them for a gathering of terrorists and quickly dispatched two drone bombs. There was a national outrage and the military authorities were expectedly embarrassed by such carelessness. President Tinubu was only six months in office, but he managed to make the right noises, promising ‘’prompt investigations’’. Both Kaduna and the federal government scrambled to salvage the situation and save face. The governments and the military high command promised went further to pledged to rebuild the Tudun Biliri village. Four months after, we are yet to hear of the updates on the investigations and the extent to which the village has been rebuilt. More crises are on the way…

A few weeks after the Tudun Biliri bombings, terrorists invaded three LGAs in Plateau State between Christmas eve and Boxing Day, killing and maiming over 200 villagers. Again, there were the usual official movements and motions. The state governor, Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, quickly issued a press statement, condemning the ‘’dastardly act’’ and followed it up with appearances on TV talk shows. He spoke of invasion of his state by terrorists and the helplessness of the governors as chief security officers. ‘’As I speak to you, terrorists are occupying some schools in the area and they may launch more attacks’’, he said. Vice President Kashim Shettima visited Jos and held town hall meetings with political and religious leaders. There were the usual talks of ‘’nibbing the crisis in the bud’’ and instituting a high-powered investigation to get to the root of the matter’’. The National Assembly even invited the service chiefs into a closed-door session ‘’to find lasting solutions to the crisis’’. As at this hour, we have not heard of a single arrest being made and the outcome of the ‘’full scale investigations’’. The country has moved on…

We cannot easily forget March 28, 2022, when terrorists planted explosives on the Abuja-Kaduna rail tracks. The device exploded when the train travelling from Abuja to Kaduna ran over it, killing eight passengers while many others were kidnapped by the terrorists. Again, investigations were promised, and again no word has been heard on where we are on that. Our country is full of many other unfinished investigations into cases of buildings collapse, extra judicial killings, accidental discharges and even that notorious case of a snake swallowing millions of naira belonging to the government.

Since May 29, a new wave of investigations has come upon us. The CBN and many of its actions, including the Anchor Borrowers Program are under scrutiny. The Senate is planning to look into the N30 trillion ‘Ways and Means’ of the Buhari era, and at the same time, some Northern groups are calling for a probe into the Senate’s N3 trillion budget-padding matter! Talk of investigating the investigator!

What then do we do with all the litany of investigations in the land? Can we have a judicial committee to investigate all cases of unfinished investigations?

To ensure that opportunities for employment in the federal civil service are open for all eligible Nigerians, the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) under the chairmanship of Prof Tunji Olaopa is to introduce an online recruitment portal.

The move which is also part of Olaopa's objective of reforming the civil service and keeping it abreast of the digital era will see to the introduction of computer-based tests ( CBT) for hiring and promoting of federal civil servants.

 Prof Olaopa disclosed this at the maiden edition of the commission’s Monthly Seminal Series held on the agency's premises on Thursday.

He said that since the inauguration of the reconstituted FCSC on the 13th of December, 2023, its mission had been to engage two concerns that had been woven into two seminal questions.

 Shedding light on these questions, Olaopa said: "Why is it that in spite of the many spirited institutional reforms of the civil service since 1999, the federal bureaucracy seems to be declining in some vital indicators and parameters? 

" And what has the FCSC failed to do as the gatekeeper of the federal civil service to safeguard its professional integrity through upgraded systems of recruitment and staff promotion practices? "

Olaopa asked further : "Indeed, how did the commission become an abandoned space with dilapidated infrastructures, operating with such outdated work methods, analogues processes and uninspiring work environment, one which pool officers regard as a kind of Siberia that is punishment posting to anyone that ever finds him or herself there?"

According to Olaopa, the profession of public administration in Nigeria is also at a juncture that demands a measure of introspection by professional bureaucrats that should take them back to first principle and to such basic questions as: who a civil servant is and should be, and what qualities he or she should possess.

"We need answers to these questions as a basis for reprofiling who and who should be admitted to become civil servant, all within the framework of the reform to build a new generation of public managers in Nigeria.

"The present commission is however sold out to the mission to restore FCSC as a professional hub and centre of excellence solution house for HR practice in the federal service", he said.

To Olaopa, the starting point of that transformation journey is for the commission to get back its originating mandate as the promoter and protector of the merit system in the civil service. According to him, this will make inevitable the hinging of the implementation of the federal character policy on meritocracy.

He said : "We however recognise that restoring competency-based HR practices and the merit system will be meaningless if intended reforms fail to address the wage and compensation dimension of meritocracy. It is this recognition that inspired our engagement with the Chairman, National Incomes Salaries and Wages Commission, whose insights were not only reassuring, but also seminal in its solution content.

"This takes me to the objective of today’s maiden FCSC monthly seminar series which is designed to institute a seminal space and learning lab for federal officers. One where the commission contributes to deepening the sharing and learning sustained interrogation of key reform issues and benchmarking in Nigeria. And this is commencing today with the topic ‘The Institutional Framework and Procedure for the Conduct of Directorate Level Exercise: Guaranteeing Integrity, Transparency and Accountability of Standard Practices’; as commencement point to begin to overhaul the commission’s core operations and practices."

In this connection, according to him, the commission is transiting through the upcoming 2024 promotion exercise from analogue-rooted practices to computer-based tests (CBT) and the modernisation and digitization of its core operations. 

"The commission is therefore introducing the following: Installation of online recruitment portal that is accessible to all Nigerians, and which enables eligible candidates to pre-fill recruitment form and update the same from time to time ahead of advertisement for recruitment into the federal service.

"Eligible candidates will in addition, henceforth undergo computer-based tests (CBT) and oral interviews with results collated and released real-time.

"FCSC is the meantime entering into an outsourcing contract with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and JAMB as technical partners with a view to taking advantage of their infrastructure, networks and experience to enable online accreditation, CBT examinations and promotion interview for officers in the federal service starting with the directorate-level officers.

"Today’s seminar is therefore convened to critically examine some of the first level issues and risks associated with the planned transition from analogue to online computer-based commission’s assessment processes as they touch on promotion exercises for federal civil servants. A number of other technical conversations will follow, as part of due diligence, before we begin social media orientation, education and mock-tests, to prepare federal officers for the 2024 promotion exercise which is scheduled to hold in the third-quarter of the year

"Beyond the CBT and the digitization and computerisation programme, there are many other facets to the commission’s reform plan, which will be unveiled progressively as we get the sign-on and endorsement of our principal. Of course, the commission requires enhanced staff capacity and upgraded institutional capability to sustain the momentum that this series of reform initiatives will create.

"We are however hopeful that in so far as all the efforts are channelled to strengthen the professionalism of the federal bureaucracy to enhance the potential of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President to game-change Nigeria’s national transformation journey, thereby relieving the burdens and pains that the irreducible policies of the Federal Government may have created, then we sure will not lack the oxygen required to keep the implementation of the reform programmes on course."

The one-day seminar with the topic "Institutional Framework and Procedures for the Conduct of Directorate Level Promotion Examination: Guaranteeing Integrity, Credibility, Transparency and Accountability" was convened by the Chairman of the FCSC, Prof. Olaopa. It had the following as the speakers and panelists: Mr Olu O. Ilesanmi - Rtd. Permanent Secretary, Federal Civil Service; Dr Ahmed Dunoma Umar - Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Youth Development; Mr Ataboh Ademu - Director (Learning and Development) OHCSF; Prof Olugbenga D.Ojo - Director, Examination and Assessment (NOUN) ; and Mr Mato Yusuf Abdullahi - Director (ICT) FCSC .

I have received a mail in which the writer has expressed curiousity about events of past centuries and those of the present time. He contends that there have always been disasters. He states that human beings have always fought wars and there have always been natural disasters. In the writer’s own words:

“Just curious! In religion, signs of the end times have always been talked about from time immemorial. So, thoughts of perilous times are nothing new.

“History tells us that the world has been tumultuous and treacherous from the beginning. In my opinion, people react to events without deeply reflecting on grave historical pasts that surpassed what’s happening today.  Think about famines, pandemics, record-setting floods, tornadoes, high levels of evils and wickedness of leaders/followers and wars of ancient civilizations that wiped out millions of lives! That was even before the population explosion and advent of today’s technologies in communications, healthcare and great strides in modern warfare.

“The four horsemen of apocalypse have always been and will most probably continue to be around us. Not to diminish the teachings of our faiths (especially the controversial Book of Revelation on Armageddon). Our great-great grand parents have talked about end-times. I am unsure if that will be truncated before or after our own great, great grand children.

“I am just curious.”

It is true there have been wars, all kinds of wars–major wars that are sometimes referred to as shooting wars and those that fall under the category of minor conflicts. There have been wars between nations and within nations. Nations have been known to fight civil wars, inter-tribal wars, and conventional wars. History books, the internet in particular in modern times, are quick to remind us of the World War 1 (1914 – 1918) and World War 11. The latter took place from 1939 to 1945. Both clinched the awful barge of the deadliest hostilities in human history. It is common knowledge that they were total wars in which the so-called world powers were directly involved. The wars claimed nearly 8 million lives, some 3 million of them in gory genocidal extermination. The Roman Empire lasted 500 years in which nations were held in subjugation at gunpoint. Societies were raided and people were carried into captivity after deception or bitter conflicts such as during slave trade. There was Somaliland Campaign of between 1900 and 1920.  There was the Sudan revolt of 1900. For three years (1900 – 1903), there was uprising in South-West Madagascar. In Kenya, 1911. There was French conquest of Dendi Kingdom of 1901.

When we consider the ravages of epidemic and pandemic afflictions, the scale of destruction by hurricanes and tornadoes sweeping through lands, the question is then asked if anything can be worse. According to livescience.com, about 5,000 years ago, an epidemic wiped out an entire village in China. The bodies of the victims, old, young, children and middle-aged, were gathered inside a house and set on fire. The speed of the ravages did not permit time for proper burial and the site was totally abandoned; there has never been any habitation there again since the horrible experience. The epidemic in Athens about 430 B.C. claimed 100, 000 lives. According to reports, they battled sudden attacks of “violent heats in the head, redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath.” What was called Antonine Plague killed more than five million people in the Roman Empire that held sway from 27B.C. to 180 A. D. The plague is gloatingly regarded as a spoil of joys of victory which soldiers brought back to the Roman Empire from war against Parthia.

In the higher knowledge spreading on earth in these times, mediated In The Light of Truth, we learn that we are in the End-Time already. By End-Time is meant the Time of the Holy Spirit Who is the Will and Justice of the Most High; it is the Time of the return of the Star of Bethlehem and the time of Everlasting Gospel of and by the Son of Man that is for all mankind.  The Lord Christ said at the approach of His exit from the earth, that He would send the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who would remind mankind of what He had taught them and lead them to further truths, thus completing His Work. The Spirit of Truth will reprove the world of sins and of righteousness and will bring judgment.

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness, and of judgment; Of sin because they believe not on me; Of righteousness because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.”

The Lord went further: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the  Spirit of Truth is come he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall He speak…All things the Father hath are mine; therefore said I, that He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” John 16: 7-15. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14: 26. “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceeded from the Father, he shall testify of me.” John 15: 26.  “I and the Father are One.” John 10: 30. (Dakes’s Annotated Reference Bible). Further establishing His Origin and therefore His Authority, the Lord Christ said “Believe me: I am in Father and my Father is in me.” John 14: 11. (King James Version).

The exit of the Lord Christ was premature by the way, brought about by the conspiracy of the priestly and political establishments of His Time who saw Him as a threat to their power and influence and were determined to get rid of Him. The priests had taught wrongly but the Lord Jesus Christ had brought Light and Life to teachings about life and existence, and about eternal life. He taught about the Laws of Creation which bear the Will of the Most High and gives expression to It. He had said He had come not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill It. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5: 17. He said what a man soweth, that shall he reap. “Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7.

From the Lord Christ’s address to His Disciples, there were very important points to note. He promised to send a Comforter. The Disciples were downcast following hints of His departure to rejoin with His Father, the Almighty. The second point is that the Comforter is the Holy Ghost Who is also described as the Sprit of Truth and Who would be sent by the Father in His Name. His Mission was going to remind mankind of what Jesus had taught them and bring further truths which He could not teach them because they could not bear them. The third leg of the Mission of the Spirit of Truth would be to bring judgment. It is obvious that the Lord was talking about another Person other than Himself. We can note that He used third person singular pronoun as grammarians would put it. Yes, He would come back but only in the clouds and He would not be seen by mankind anymore and yet He would fulfill His Mission. His predicted Successor, therefore, was the Spirit of Truth from the same Origin as Christ.

Just as the Star of Bethlehem accompanied the Lord Christ beaming the Rays of Love, the Spirit of Truth is also to be accompanied by the same Star but this time beaming the Rays of Judgment.

It is said of this Star called The Great Comet in higher knowledge: “It is thought that it brings upheavals of an incisive nature. But this star portends more.

“It can be called the Star of Bethlehem, because it is of exactly the same nature as that was. Its power sucks the waters up high, brings weather catastrophes and still more. When encircled by its rays the earth quakes.

“Since the event in Bethlehem there has been nothing like it. Like the Star of Bethlehem, this Star has also detached itself from the Eternal Realm of Primordial Spirit at such a time as to take effect on this earth exactly when the years of spiritual enlightenment are to come to all mankind.

“The Star takes its course in a straight line from the Eternal Realm to this part of the Universe. Its core is filled with high spiritual power; it envelops itself in material substance. Unerringly and unswervingly the Comet pursues its course, and will appear on the scene at the right hour, as already ordained thousands of years ago.

“The first direct effects have already begun in recent years. For anyone who wishes neither to see nor to hear this, and who does not perceive how ridiculous it is still to maintain that all the extraordinary things which have already happened are of everyday occurrence, there is naturally no help. He either wishes to act like an ostrich out of fear, or he is burdened with an extremely limited understanding. Both types must be allowed to go serenely on their way; one can only smile at their easily refutable assertions. But the knowing ones could also be told where the first powerful rays are striking. However, since the rays are gradually also encompassing the whole earth there is no use in being more explicit.  It will take years to come to this point, and years before the Comet again releases the earth from its influence.

“And then the earth is purified and refreshed in every respect for the blessing and joy of its inhabitants.  It will be more beautiful than it has ever been. Therefore every believer shall look forward to the future with tranquil confidence, and not be alarmed at anything that may happen in the coming years. If he can look up with confidence to God no harm will come to him.- -“

The purification has long begun. With the coming of this special Star and daily approach towards our world and its Rays encompassing the earth coupled with the already anchorage of the Light, the Power of the Holy Spirit on earth, there is unremitted pressure of the Light on earth, on every creature, the earth crust, the entire cosmos, causing also climate change to ensue. With the pressure comes the awakening of all that is dead. In the Beyond, touched by the pressure, and sensing there is no more time left, souls are in dire existential struggle to come back to the earth to atone for misdeeds of previous earth lives and make progress. With the pressure also there is intensification and acceleration of events. In decades past, a striking event of a tragic proportion would be the talk of the world for months. Today the same event or similar to it in severity hardly lasts a day before it is replaced from public attention and erased from consciousness.  It has been overtaken by worse and intensified calamities.

We learn in higher knowledge that inconceivably long ago, the journey of man was beautiful. Herbert Vollmann says in his treasure book, A Gate Opens: “The Bells of Paradise were ringing as they departed, and even at the last moment they caught this silver-clear tone, and cherished it deep in their young hearts. Then the little points, whirling merrily, sank into the world-embracing depths. The time came when these delicate little flames had blossomed forth in purity into human spirits…” At that stage they could link with home and with attendant awakening of the beautiful tone they had experienced upon leaving home that was Paradise. Vollmann states that it “was the time when planet earth revolved in luminous orbits, and fresh heavenly dew fell on it each day.”

After a while discords were heard in place of echo in the Dome of Heaven. “The holy singing of earthmen had died away.” Progressively man deviated from the Will of the Almighty and forgot his origin. In place of the longing, the yearning for Truth and eternal Life, the greater part of mankind put the craving for earthly things, the desire for pleasures of the lowest kind, for power and influence. With degeneracy, there were acrimonies, twisted thinking, tension and wars. Killer diseases, drought, famine, earthquakes, landslides and floods, all consequences of the deviation from the ordinance of the Will of the Creator in His Creation. The situation has gone worse over time despite all the helps sent down — the Prophets and the Teachers of mankind. The upheavals will heighten with continuing  pressure of the Light which brings about intensification and acceleration of events, of purification to rid the earth of pestilential elements, engender renewal and prepare our world for the Millennium,  the 1,000 years reign of peace, when only the Holy Will of the Almighty Father will reign supreme, the reign of the Holy Spirit. Mankind are now in the prophesied era of enlightenment when we are reminded of the Teachings of the Lord Christ and are led to further Truths!