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‘Japa’ good for Nigeria, says Peter Obi

Published

10 months ago

June 23, 2023

Peter Obi

‘Japa’ good for Nigeria, says Peter Obi

The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has said the current ‘japa’ syndrome in Nigeria is “good and healthy for the country.”

‘Japa’ is a Nigerian slang for emigration.

Mr Obi disclosed this in a post via his verified Twitter handle on Thursday.

The LP candidate was reacting to a report where the Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, was quoted as supporting the recent surge of Nigerian professionals leaving the country to seek better living in other countries, especially in Europe and America.

“I have always preached and maintained this same position on the ‘japa wave,’” Mr Obi said in support of the mass emigration of Nigerian youths.

The LP candidate said, during his campaigns, he stressed that “our brain drain today will be our brain gain tomorrow.”

“Nigerians leaving the country may look like a loss today, but when we start doing the right things and taking the governance of our nation more seriously, the knowledge and resources from them will be critical in the building of the new Nigeria, as it happened in China, India, Ireland and other developing countries,” he said.

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Mr Obi argued that India’s tech industry success was partly due to utilising resources from Indians abroad.

He said Nigeria would grow and develop on all fronts only when the country prioritises investment in education and health and supports small businesses, and guarantees respect for the rule of law and the security of lives and properties.

“Then our diasporan Nigerians around the world will return home with their global training, skills and resources to immeasurably contribute to building a New and better Nigeria,” Mr Obi, a former Governor of Anambra State, said.

“We will not give up on our dreams for the new Nigeria.”

More Nigerians willing to ‘japa’
There has been growing concern over the mass emigration of Nigerians to other countries in search of greener pastures, with recent reports showing Nigeria has been losing a high number of health workers to foreign countries like the UK and the US.

Last November, the Chief Medical Director of the University College Hospital in Ibadan, Abiodun Otegbayo, disclosed that 600 doctors resigned in one year.

At least 15 high-calibre personnel resign weekly, added Mr Otegbayo, a professor.

About 10,296 Nigerian doctors are practising in the UK alone, according to the Nigerian Medical Association.

A 2022 African Polling Institute survey indicated that 69 per cent of Nigerians would relocate out of the country with their families if given a chance.

In 2019, only 39 per cent were willing to emigrate, according to the same poll.

A study put the 2023 Nigeria migration rate at -0.273 per 1000 population, which indicates that more people are emigrating from the country.

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Yahaya Bello govt spending third term in office through Ododo – Clark

Published

3 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Trends Admin

Yahaya Bello, Chief Edwin Clark

Yahaya Bello govt spending third term in office through Ododo – Clark

Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, says the former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, administration was nothing to write home about.

This is even as he asked the embattled former governor to surrender himself to the authorities.

Bello has been in the news for days on end over money laundering and financial impropriety.

He was declared wanted after he evaded the economic and financial crimes commission (EFCC) who had stormed his Abuja residence to apprehend him.

Speaking on Bello’s time as the governor of the middle belt state, Clark, who is the leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, stated that state sponsored violence, corruption, civilian repression and political killings were rife when Bello was in office.

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Clark also pointed out that Bello is still running the show in Kogi state as he is currently spending third term in power through the incumbent governor, Ododo, who he planted in office.

“Yahaya Bello is just being stubborn. He has been living very very rough…having a very rough government, corruption, killing of people in the place during elections and so on,” Clark said during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday.

“There’s time for everything and it has come for him to answer questions. He should go to court. He should go to court to answer the substance of the case, where did he get the money from?

“Is it true or not that the money he paid to the American school belongs to him or belongs to the government of Kogi State?

“The behaviour of the new Governor shows Yahaya Bello is in power for the third time. Ahmed Ododo is just running after him.

“I just want to plead with Ododo to do the needful so that the youth in this country will have something to fall upon.”

Yahaya Bello govt spending third term in office through Ododo – Clark

News

‘Unfounded accusation’ – Obi slams Umahi over instigation of Igbo against Tinubu claim

Published

4 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Trends Admin

David Umahi, Peter Obi

‘Unfounded accusation’ – Obi slams Umahi over instigation of Igbo against Tinubu claim

Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, says he is not in the business of whipping up ethnic sentiments or amplifying Nigeria’s fault lines to gain socio-political mileage.

Obi said this reaction to comment made by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, at an event on Wednesday on the Lagos-Calabar road project.

Obi has been vocal in his criticism of the road project, calling it a misplaced priority as it is not what Nigeria needs at a time of lean resources and plethora of challenges begging for drastic solution.

Umahi while speaking at the event said Obi’s position on the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project amounted to pitting Nigerians of Eastern extraction, who are majorly Igbos, against the government of President Bola Tinubu.

He also accused Obi of demolishing property without compensating those affected when he was Anambra governor, Obi was inciting South Easterners against the government

“When His Excellency Peter Obi was the governor. He made a statement saying, “Any infrastructure that stands in the way of the road must go. And there would be no compensation paid.” That’s what he said,” Umahi said.

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“And I think he’s inciting some of the South-East people that are not well informed. He is inciting them. And gets them into trouble,” he added

Reacting to Umahi’s allegation of divisiveness and sedition in a statement on Wednesday, Obi opined that he is a preacher of peace and advocate of unity who always wants what is best for the country.

Obi, who described criticisms that he is inciting Igbo against Tinubu’s government as baseless, stated that he won’t wallow in the murky water of divisive ethnic politics like many of his contemporaries and opponents do.

He stated, “My focus is on fostering constructive dialogue and inclusivity, rather than engaging in divisive politics, Claims of incitement are baseless distractions. I have always advocated unity and advancement, refusing to partake in reactionary divisive politics.

“I refuse to be reduced to the level of those who wallow in ethnic politics. Worse still, I have never and can never descend so low as to base my political aspirations on any sectional or ethnic interest.”

The former Anambra governor also said there were no comparisons between the demolition he did when he was governor and what the Tinubu-led government was currently doing.

‘Unfounded accusation’ – Obi slams Umahi over instigation of Igbo against Tinubu claim

News

NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m

Published

4 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Trends Admin

NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced a significant increase in the maximum deposit insurance coverage levels for Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions, effective immediately.

During a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, NDIC Managing Director Bello Hassan disclosed, “For Deposit Money Banks, the increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N5,000,000, would provide full coverage of 98.98% of the total depositors compared with the current cover of 89.20%. In terms of the value of deposit covered, the revised coverage would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 25.37% compared with the current cover of 6.31% of the total value of deposits.”

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Hassan further explained, “The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage for primary mortgage banks from N500,000 to N2,000,000 would provide full coverage of 99.99% of the total number of depositors and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 43.10% of the total value deposits from the current cover of 40.60%.”

Additionally, Hassan noted, “The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage for subscribers of Mobile Money Operators from N500,000 to N5,000,000 per subscriber.”