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L124P90 aapn0026 Outline Newswtâdi APRIL 24,1995 NIGERIA’S WEEKLY NEWSMAGAZINE VOL. 21 NO. 17 Nigeria: Cover: 12 The Emir of Laf iagi, dethroned by his people, returns to the throne • Former president of Nigeria Labour Not Yet Freedom Congress, Pascal Bafyau, wants his job back • Six Newswatch journalists begin a legal struggle to make Oni- Moshood Abiola's accep­ Okpaku pay for wrongful detention tance of conditional release • Kayode Soyinka, former staff of Newswatch, launches his own raises hopes of his freedom magazine but government shuts the door on his face Africa: A cease-fire hammered out in Sudanby former US president, Jimmy Carter, is threatened Nigeria: 18 World: 27 French presidential candidates are Not the Right time set to test their strength in a first round ballot Tom Ddmi says the Abacha Business & Economy: 30 administration requires more time to put in place Efforts to stop gas flaring in Nigeria structures for an enduring depend on the availability of funds democracy Letters Cartoon Momah Business & N CO O) r CM v Editorial Suite Economy: 28 T- Essay CO A Winning Dialogue Formular Passages CBN's intervention at the Cover: forex market may be the Design by Tunde Soyinka magic to stabilise the value of the naira Newswatch (ISSN 0189-8892) is published weekly by Newswatch Communications Umited, No. 3 Billings Way (off Secretariat Road), Oregun Industrial Estate, Oregun, P.M.B. 21499, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. Telephone: 4960950. Fax: 962887. Telex: 27874 NEWCOM NG. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form, in whole or in part without permission, is forbidden. Printed in Nigeria by Academy Press Pic, Ilupeju. LETTERS Elusive Solution Ours is a long journey indeed. asks for N50.00 "dash". Food, a basic Callibest Chiemeka Durunwa, human necessity, could be responsible. Orlu Town, But the puzzle comes when a man on a Many thanks for your patriotic stand Imo State. monthly income of N20,000.00 demands on the explosive coverage in Corruption gratification of hundreds of thousands or Incorporated (March 13). When Buhari/ Corruption is within the bones of millions of naira. Certainly, the. most Idiagbon came out openly to tackle many Nigerians and not in the blood basic necessity of life - food - cannot be indiscipline inherited from Shagari's because if it is in their blood it can easily said to be responsible. So, the problem is regime with the birth of WAI, majority of be washed away through blood transfus­ greed. And that is why there can hardly us resisted the drastic approach. Our sion. be a workable solution to corrupt practices outcry paid off via a coup d'etat. Ozor Osmund, in the country. Babangida came on stage and lowered Enugu. E.O. Ogbon, the tempo of WAI campaign and we hailed him. During his regime, a new Sapele, "What the cutting locust left, Delta State. word, settlement was coined to replace The swarming locust has eaten, corruption. Abacha came in and being a Someday, all things "must" surely key player in Babangida's team, gave the come to pass away and the corrupt shall social anomaly a rethink by officially corrupt no more. Corruption like wealth, adding C to the already buried WAI. is mere vanity. And now Wole Soyinka, the self- Aniefiok Etukudoh, styled representative of the people, is Owerri. deterring Abacha in the fight against corruption by his trivial revelation that Corruption will continue to thrive in the latter has a mansion in Kano. Soyinka Nigeria as long as those who ruled this should equally extend his investigation country at one time or the other since to our past leaders, past public officers 1966, including public and private and even incumbent public officers - the servants, who have acquired properties properties they have in countries like far above their legitimate earnings, are America, Europe and Asia inclusive of allowed to keep such ill-gotten wealth. huge accounts in Swiss banks. Then will As long as no genuine efforts are made to his role to Nigerians be better understood. recover such properties from this group Abacha is bold and daring. So many of Nigerians and appropriate punishment untouchables have been touched as a meted out to them to serve as a deterrent result, career fraudsters and criminals Anatomy of Corrupt to others, as long will Nigerians indulge are jittery. But how he intends to bring to in corrupt practices, knowing that at the a reasonable end the issue of corruption Practices in end of their careers and with the right in both the high and low places in Nigeria Nigeria connections, they will be allowed to enjoy especially among the ordinary Nigerians their wealth in relative peace for the rest like myself who regard corrupt practices What the swarming locust left, The hopping locust has eaten, of their lives. as an escape route from the prevalent Ifeka Okonkwo, What the hopping locust left, social/economic hardship, I do not know. Awka. Sam Matu, The destroying locust has eaten." Aba, Abia State. Joel 1:4 I call for the dissolution of W-A-I-C J. O. Obarijima, that can bark but cannot bite. Your story did not bring out any new Port Harcourt. Alalibo, B. Ken Douglas, information on corruption. The unfortu­ Port Harcourt. nate part of the efforts at reducing corrup­ We used to shed tears for our dear tion (because it cannot be eliminated) is country when we read stories like this. What a remarkable coincidence. I that the two pillars on which any attempt However, we no longer bother ourselves, was reading my copy of your issue on at controlling corruption in any society rather we are waiting for our turn maybe corruption inside a mini bus on Tuesday lies, that is, the press and the judiciary, then we might be able to sell Nigeria and March 7,1995, from Ogba to CMS when have become the major beneficiaries of stash away the money in our "Swiss two policemen co-passengers started discussion on "Roja". Their discussion corruption. Until the judiciary is cleansed account". centered on the recent misfortune of one Osegi I.O. Precious, and the press is not afraid of "assassina­ of their colleagues over a small Roja. At tions", any attempts at controlling corrupt Benin City. the beginning, I did not pay serious practices in Nigeria will be in vain. attention to their private discussion. But Steve Oboh, It may be fairly understandable when when the more vocal corporal started to Lagos. a man who earns Nl,000.00 per month narrate his wealth of experience on the Typed reactions to the contents of Newswatch, should be addressed to Newswatch Letters, 3 Billings Way (Off Secretariat Road), Oregun Industrial Estate, P.M.B. 21499, Ikeja, Nigeria. All letters must bear the correct names, addresses and signatures of the writers. Newswatch reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and brevity. 4 Newswatch, April 24,1995 merits of fewer but bigger Rojas over the Aluko's suggestions about the We Are Disappointed small ones that caused trouble for their Nigerian economy although quite colleague, I realised that they were desirable are coming a bit too late and out In your story, War of Nerves (March discussing new trends in corruption. of place for the Nigerian situation. Where 13) your reporter alleged that "the sole When I asked whether Roja is the same has he been since the 1980s when we administrator of congress, Mr. Ason Bur, thing as Egunje they started laughing at started going about begging for loans, met with northern state councils in Jos, me. and what is he saying about the various the Plateau State capital, last month, a R. Zaibe, government organisations that are still move seen in labour circle as an attempt Y aba, Lagos. rushing to receive loans from these World to split the workers". We wish to state emphatically that this report is as false as The promotion of the WAI-C crusade financial institutions. As it is written in it is incorrect. The fact of the matter is by the Abacha government has confirmed the Bible "The borrower is servant to the that, NLC's sole administrator, as part of my doubt that Abacha cuts down a cedar lender." One would only expect that the tree and stands upon its stump to preach likes of the World Bank, the Paris club his assignment met with officials of the against deforestation. and the IMF would always want to 31 state councils of the NLC in Jos, Plateau State, on the 2nd February, 1995, to discuss Nwaby Onwudinjo, suggest economic measures and policies matters affecting the councils, brief them Enugu. that would safeguard their investment. on progress made on his assignment and All this clamouring for Economic and lay to rest the growing anxiety gripping Aluko Is Wrong Political emancipation, I would like to the councils concerning whether they put down to patriotism clouding the sense were dissolved or not. It is, therefore, Sam Aluko's essay January 9 was an of reason. What we need now are very unfair for your magazine to insinuate uncoordinated flow of everyday government policies that will encourage that this meeting was held with only a economics, lacking in a credible macro- increase in agricultural and industrial section of the state councils.