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To avert a major crisis, leaders must urgently roll out poverty alleviation plans – Prophet Ogundipe

Published

3 years ago

November 2, 2020

Prophet Israel Oladele Ogundipe is the founder and presiding pastor at the Genesis Global Church. In this interview with DADA JACKSON, he bares his mind on a number of topical issues including poverty in the land and the recent #EndSARS protest

What is your take on the recent #EndSARS protest against police brutality embarked upon by some Nigerian youths?

Thank you very much for this question. The decision of the youths to take to the streets to condemn the act of brutality by the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) was based on several years of pain and frustration. Many youths have experienced this act of brutality either directly or indirectly. I totally support the decision of the youth to engage the government with this peaceful protest. Our leaders owe us accountability and we should hold them responsible when they fail to deliver on their promises.

So it was a protest that you aligned with?

Absolutely

Would you say it succeeded largely because they had no arrowhead?

Yes, it really worked for them. I supported the fact that the protesters didn’t have a leader. We have seen different protests and strikes in this country that didn’t make any headway just because their leaders were allegedly compromised and bribed with huge amounts of money. But in the case of the #EndSARS protest, everybody was assumed to be the leader.

What is your reaction to the alleged shooting of the unarmed protesters in Lekki?

It’s really painful when the people meant to protect lives and properties are now the ones who take lives. I feel very pained seeing this happening in a democratic government. I strongly condemn the act, and I appeal to the leadership of our nation not to run our country like a military government but rather to run a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

How would you rate the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration?

I want to be very careful with my choice of words. But sincerely speaking, I will say that many Nigerians are not happy. People put in so much into making sure that this current government got elected into power with the expectation of a promised CHANGE. Unfortunately, things have refused to change and rather things are becoming very hard for the common man. To whom much is given, much is expected, and that’s why it’s looking like people are disappointed in this current government.

Would you say the administration has failed the people?

This administration has really failed the youth continually. Young Nigerians take their time to go to school, study hard just to make sure they graduate with good grades so as to be able to get a good job. But unfortunately, they roam around the streets without any job. As a young Nigerian, I feel pained seeing the level of unemployment and insecurity in our nation.

Did you at anytime foresee this happening?

The recent happenings have confirmed one of the prophecies I gave this year in one of our services. I said that if our leaders were not careful, the masses would start invading their premises to pack food items and other valuables. This goes a long way to show that the poverty situation in our country is alarming. Hardly will you find a family in Nigeria who can afford a good meal when it is needed. My major worry is that if something urgently is not done about the level of hunger and poverty in the land, people may turn violent and they could do much more than what we saw during the #EndSARS protest. I strongly agree with the school of thought who believes that if nothing is done quickly to ameliorate the suffering of the people, there will be a situation where the poor will be attacking the rich. A hungry man, they say, is an angry man. It may get to a level where some hungry/poor people will start to see the rich people within their environment as thieves who steal government money and then see them as the reason why they are poor and underprivileged. This could also make them see rich people as their enemies.

What do you make of the looting of warehouses where alleged COVID-19 palliatives were kept?

How on earth will the government deprive hungry people of palliatives that were supposed to help them suppress the effect of the hunger during the lockdown? I have heard several excuses given by governors and I feel quite disappointed hearing some of these excuses. The real time that people needed these items, they were kept away from them and so many people lived in terrible hunger and even some died during the lockdown due to the inability to get food; only to discover later that thousands of bags of palliatives were being kept in various warehouses across the nation. Our political elites need to address the people they govern; they should show empathy. They need to immediately start rolling out plans on poverty alleviation.

There is this controversy surrounding the visit of Ayinde Wasiu (Kwam1) to your church sometime ago. Could you shed some light on what actually transpired?

Two major things prompted that visit of Kwam1. I am a prophet who doesn’t discriminate against any religion and I say that all the time. Apart from the fact that I was born a Muslim, I have always learnt to see everyone as my brother. K1 visited our church to thank God in submission for what God is doing in the ministry.

I didn’t invite kwam1 to our church; he was the one who said publicly at a function that he would love to pay a visit to the Genesis Global Church to appreciate God for the great things He is doing in the church. And when he reached out to me on this intention, I obliged.

Secondly, I remember that when I was a little boy, each time my mum saw Wasiu Ayinde on the TV, she would lay her hands on the TV to pray for him and she would also lay her hands on me to say my own Wasiu too (because my Muslim name is Wasiu) would be great. So, when Kwam1 offered to come, I saw it as an opportunity to tell our mothers in the church that their prayers over their children would always come to pass.

In our church, we believe in transition and not tradition. The world is evolving and we should be flexible enough to accommodate new practices that are different from the old doctrines.

People say you’re generous to a fault. What do you want to achieve with this?

Let me say it without mincing words. I had a very humble background and this has informed my high passion to give. Each time I remember how we struggled to survive, I always try to make sure I put smile on the faces of people struggling. My philosophy is that giving is living. I am only privileged and everything that God has given to me is for me to be a blessing to others.

What do you make of pastors who preach only prosperity at the detriment if salvation?

Prosperity Gospel is part of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and it’s a major part of our existence. Where I have a problem with it is when people deemphasize other parts of the Bible just because they want to manipulate members to give or they want to attract members to their church. I must say that prosperity is good and I preach prosperity too but it should not be used as a means for manipulation.

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Appeal Court fines Makinde N50m for withholding ex-council Chiefs’ funds

Published

9 hours ago

December 9, 2023

Trends Admin

Governor of Oyo State, Engr. Seyi Makinde

Appeal Court fines Makinde N50m for withholding ex-council Chiefs’ funds

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Friday awarded N50 million in damages against Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, and six others for failure to pay the outstanding balance of N3,374,889,425.60 (N3.4 billion) from the N4,874,889,425.60 (N4.9 billion) debt, arising from a May 7, 2021 judgment of the Supreme Court.

A three-member panel of justices, in a unanimous judgment, condemned Makinde’s conduct, which it described as disrespectful of the nation’s judicial system.

The court affirmed the April 27 decision of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) ordering the state governor to paid the outstanding balance.

The N4.9 billion debt arose from the judgment of the Supreme Court given against Makinde, the state’s Attorney-General (A-G), Accountant-General and four others in an appeal by chairmen and councillors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), but sacked on May 29, 2019, by Makinde, upon assuming office.

In the judgment, the appellate court upheld the arguments by the lawyer to the ex-council chiefs, Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, resolved the two issues, identified for determination, against the appellants and dismissed the appeal filed by Makinde and six others for lacking in merit.

The court awarded N50 million cost against Makinde and co-appellants, to be paid to the ex-council chiefs led by Bashorun Mojeed Bosun Ajuwon.

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The judgment was on the appeal marked: CA/595/2023 filed by Makinde, the Oyo State’s A-G, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Accountant-General of Oyo State, Speaker of Oyo State House of Assembly, the House of Assembly and Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC).

In the lead judgment, Justice Danlami Senchi held that, as against the contention by the appellants, there was no dispute in relation to the amount that constituted the judgment debt.

The judge referred to a letter written on Dec. 13, 2021, by the A-G of Oyo State, where the state put the salaries and allowances due to the ex-council chiefs at N4,874,889,425.60 and pledged to pay everything within six months.

He said the court could not allow Oyo State Government and its officials to approbate and reprobate; blow hot and cold at the same time by claiming the amount constituting the debt was not ascertained despite the letter by the A-G and the fact that the appellants took steps to settle the debt by making part payment.

Justice Senchi also faulted the appellants’ contention that the ex-council chiefs failed to first obtain the consent of the Oyo State A-G before initiating a garnishee proceeding to seize the state’s funds to settle the judgment debt.

The judge said asking the ex-council chiefs to first seek and obtain the consent of the Oyo A-G, who was one of the judgment debtors, amounted to making him to be a judge in his own case, “which requirement is unfair to the judgment creditors.”

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“The ex-council chiefs were in order to have initiated the garnishee proceeding, because there was a judgment debt to be paid by the appellants by virtue of the judgment of the Supreme Court,” he said.

The Supreme Court had, in its May 7, 2021 judgment, declared the action of the ex-council chiefs, who sued through 11 representatives, led by Bashorun Majeed Ajuwon, as lawful and ordered the Oyo State Government to compute and pay them their entitled salaries and allowances within three months of the judgment.

Rather than comply with the judgment, the Oyo State Government paid only N1.5 billion, prompting the judgment creditors (the ex-council chiefs) to initiate a garnishee proceeding against Makinde and others before the High Court of the FCT.

In the April 27 ruling, Justice A. O. Ebong of the High Court of the FCT issued a garnishee order absolute, directing Makinde and others to pay the balance of the judgment debt on instalment basis, begining with N1,374,889,425.60 to be paid immediately.

Justice Ebong ordered them to subsequently pay the remaining N2b billion at N500 million quarterly, with the first instalment payable on July 31, a decision Makinde and others challenged at the Court of Appeal.

NAN reports that it was the April 27 ruling by Justice Ebong that the Court of Appeal affirmed in the judgment delivered on Friday.

Appeal Court fines Makinde N50m for withholding ex-council Chiefs’ funds

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Nigeria losing best brains to Japa syndrome — AfDB President

Published

10 hours ago

December 9, 2023

Trends Admin

Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank, AfDB

Nigeria losing best brains to Japa syndrome — AfDB President

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has called on African leaders to create quality jobs for their teeming unemployed youths to stem the trend of brain drain bedevilling the continent.

Adesina said in Abuja on Friday at the second Veritas University Digital Innovations Exhibition and 12th convocation lecture that Nigeria was losing its best brains to Japa syndrome.

The former minister of agriculture who spoke on the convocation lecture theme “Africa, It’s Your Time”, also tasked Nigeria to turn its huge youth demography into an asset and not a liability.

Adesina, who was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree by the institution, announced that Nigeria had been listed among 10 other African countries to benefit from the Bank’s $20 billion Desert-to-Power initiative.

He noted that the power project was conceived to develop 10 GW of solar power, being the largest solar zone in the world when completed.
He listed other countries to benefit from the initiative as Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, the Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Eritrea, and Senegal.

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Adesina also announced AfDB’s adoption of Veritas University as a centre of excellence for computer coding for employment.

“What Africa lacks is not money. What Africa lacks is lack of bankable ideas. Remember, money will always follow great ideas,” he said.

“As you join the workforce, technology and Artificial Intelligence will play a big role in your lives and in your enterprises.

“I expect to see many of you provide creative solutions to many of our challenges through analytics and data aggregation. There are huge opportunities in smart and digital economies of the future.

“All this matter to me personally because I do not want to see the continued exodus of young people who risk their lives to dangerously cross land and sea to go to Europe at all cost.

“The fastest way for Nigeria to dramatically expand the wealth of its economy, create jobs and provide decent work opportunity for its youth is to implement bold, effort-oriented, industrial manufacturing actions.

“This will rapidly expand foreign exchange earnings, boost income per capita and provide quality and well-paying jobs for millions of its young people,” he added.

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Adesina charged the youth, both in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, to dream again while urging Africa to make use of the largest reserves of cobalt, lithium, diamonds, cocoa, nickel, copper, platinum and uranium in the world.

According to him, those resources could boast of 65 per cent of the world’s arable land and the largest deposit of solar potentials but has not materialised into wealth for the continent.

The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Hyacinth Ichoku, revealed that the institution’s undergraduate enrollment had increased from 1,200 in 2018 to over 6,000.

Also, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council of the institution, Most Rev. Matthew Kukah urged the graduating students to be good ambassadors of the institution.
Kukah, in a bid to give back to the institution, announced a donation of N3 million to three students who demonstrated their ideas to the gathering.

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Court gives stringent bail conditions for UTME impersonators

Published

1 day ago

December 8, 2023

Trends Admin

Court gives stringent bail conditions for UTME impersonators

A Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has granted stringent bail conditions to three persons who were arrested for UTME registration impersonation examination malpractice.

They were arraigned and remanded to prison custody in May, 2023.

At the resumed hearing of the case Thursday, Justice T.O Adegoke, granted bail to the defendants to the sum of N1m each and sureties who must have a company registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission(CAC) and do business within Akure metropolis.

Justice Adegoke ruled that the sureties must show evidence of tax clearance for the past three years and must deposit the original copies of their company registration certificates with the Registrar of the Court while the sum of one million by each of the defendants must be deposited in the account to be provided by the Court Registrar.

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The sureties and each of the defendants, according to the Judge must write an undertaking that the defendants would attend their trial till the conclusion of the case.

Prosecuting Counsel, M. I. Osimen, called a witness, Oyegun Gabriel, the Technical Officer, who detected the suspicious registration transactions.

Oyegun gave evidence and tendered his the JAMB registration printout in respect of the 2nd defendant.

He explained to the court how the defendants were arrested at the Aina Awwal CBT Centre, Akure, for impersonation.

Oyegun almost informed the court that the defendants gave a written statement at the office of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC), Akure Command.

Relatives of the defendants said they were afraid that the defendants might spend the Christmas and New Year in prison custody saying the bail conditions would be difficult to meet.