The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has alleged that Peter Obi, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, is inciting people of the southeast, especially those who are not well informed, against the government.

Umahi claimed that Obi would not fight for the people even after getting them into trouble.

He made the statement on Wednesday while speaking during an event to compensate property owners affected by the Lagos- Calabar coastal road prospect.

The exercise was organized by the Federal Ministry of Work.

The 700-kilometre coastal highway has been enmeshed in controversy following the demolition of Landmark Beach Resort, valued at $200 million, to create a right of way for the project which is estimated to cost the federal government N15 trillion.

After the demolition, a visibly worried Paul Onwuanibe, the Group CEO of Landmark, told BusinessDay that about 70 percent of the beach was destroyed by the government bulldozer, describing the action as “insensitive.”

“What is left of these businesses are the rubbles you can see (in video clips he captured while the demolition was going on). Those are people’s investments and means of livelihood reduced to mere rubbles; so many jobs have been lost and many Nigerian families are in for it,” Onwuanibe said.

On his part, Obi slammed President Bola Tinubu’s administration for going on with the controversial Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project in defiance of public outcry.

The presidential candidate expressed displeasure that the government is embarking on a job-losing project at a time of rampant unemployment.

Obi said it was not too late to discontinue the Lagos-Calabar highway project, adding that urgent necessities are nationwide security, poverty eradication, healthcare, and education, especially for the poor and underprivileged.

He had also described the reported demolition of businesses and residences in the designated right of way for the project as insensitive and heart-wrenching, lamenting that livelihoods were being wiped away, lifetime investments wasted, and jobs disappearing as a result of the demolition.

In a post on his X handle on Tuesday, the former Anambra State governor said: “The outcry against this project has been overwhelming due to the current situation in the country. However, reports as of yesterday indicate that demolition of businesses and residences in the designated right of way for the project has commenced from the Lagos end.

“The sight of this insensitive demolition is heart-wrenching. Livelihoods are being wiped away, lifetime investments are being wasted, and jobs are disappearing as bulldozers roar through. The homes of the elderly are being overturned by the power of bulldozers.

“This hasty flag-off defies the widespread outcry by the public, especially business and property owners directly affected by the project. Nobody knows the outcry that will accompany this project as it progresses towards poor rural landscapes.

“Thousands of jobs are about to be lost, with investments above $200 million at risk. Over 100,000 jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector face imminent extinction, along with 80 small businesses and their 4000 mostly youth employees.”

However, Umahi insisted there was no inhumanity meted to Landmark and that the matter should be buried because he was actively involved.

The former Ebonyi State Governor alleged that Obi goes around to condemn people, thereby bringing judgment upon himself.

He said: “It brings to some of the comments made by my brother, his Excellency Mr Peter Obi, I am not supposed to comment about it because some people have already done the work. And I know what Arise Television brought courtesy of Channels Television, they were bringing similar scenarios 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.

“But look at me, by the human face of the renewed hope agenda administration, we are even paying for people who are illegally staying on the coastal line, and don’t have valid infrastructure and valid documents. That is mercy, that’s mercy… You know some people darken counsel without knowledge. You know there’s the devil in the details.

“When you condemn people, you bring judgment upon yourself. And that is what he (Obi) has done. 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. And he doesn’t go to fight for them. Wisdom is a defence. And I want our people to have wisdom because I am involved.

“There’s is no inhumanity meted to Landmark, that matters should be buried because I was there. And so we fought everything possible. Even some people donated property to save his two big infrastructures. That’s appreciation. But some people have taken sides along with him to play politics.

… Govt Taking Easy Route With Borrowing- Expert

On August 9, 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated a tax committee with mandate to raise revenue because his government inherted a ‘bad government’ and he will not continue with the “circle of debt”.

About 17 days later, Tinubu’s Minister Of Finance and Cordinating Minister of the Ecoomy, Wale Edun, also emphasised the President’s position on loans at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held on August 28, 2023.

He said, “The federal government is not in a position to borrow at this time. Rather, the emphasis has to be on creating a stable, macroeconomic environment, stable inflation, stable exchange rate, an environment within which people can come and invest and thereby increase production and further grow the economy.

“So that is the plan. That is the expectation and it is that there will not be a reliance on borrowing.”

Tinubu was inaugurated on May 29, 2023. The total public debt as of June 30 was N87.37tn or $113.42bn. In September 2023, the debts were N87.91tn or $114.35bn, according to data from the Debt Management Office.

By December, the country’s debt profile grew to N97.34tn or $108.22bn. The growth in the naira value of the debt was driven by the naira devaluation which drove exchange rate from N 768.76 in June 2023 to N899.39 in December.

However, data showed that the FG took $1.95bn loan from World Bank.The loans were $700m for education, $750m for power and $500m for women empowerment.

At close of Nigeria’s activities at the World Bank/International Monetary Fund Spring meeting in Washington DC, the United States, Edun announced that the administration is expecting a fresh $2.2bn single-digit interest loan from the World Bank.

He said another budget support facility is expected to be disbursed by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

“We have qualified for the processing just this week to the Board of Directors of the World Bank of a total package of $2.25bn of what you can call ‘the closest you can get to a free lunch’; virtually a grant. It’s for about 10 to 20 years moratorium and about one per cent interest,” Edun said, adding “In addition, there is a similar budgetary support – low-interest funding – from the African Development Bank (AfDB).”

The Economist and Senior Partner at SPM Professionals, Paul Alaje said the government inherited a poor economy and they are going for the easiest way out like subsidy removal and taking loans.

“Nigeria can raise up to N40tn for federal government and something close within the state government. But the question is, are we ready to generate this money.

“This does not mean we are raising taxes or making life relatively inconvenience for people to live,” Alaje said.

He said the govenemnt should focus on bloking revenue leakages within the economy.

Alaje said, “The challenge is that we seem not to have the capacity to block those leakages. On the second part, we have a lot of mineral resources,” adding “If we don’t get our minings sector right, the truth is that we will still complain no matter what government does with crude oil because that revenue is not sufficient for our government and also for reserves to help us.”

Alaje said mineral resources are leaving the country in commercial quantity adding it is important for the government to “audit some of these points” so that the government will not have to borrow.

Alaje insisted that revenue generation is possible. The expert argued that the government can generate between N7tn to N8tn from the telecommunication sector.

“We can generate between N7tn to N8tn more than what we are doing today,” he added.

Wild condemnation is trailing the beating to pulp of a nurse by a group of masquerades in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State on Sunday.

According to DAILY POST reports, the action has attracted outrage, with individuals and groups demanding justice for the nurse who was racing to her duty call.

The victim has been identified as Miss Blessing Ogbonna, a staff of a private hospital in Nsukka.

In a video trending online, the nurse, properly kitted, was flogged until she fell down from a motorbike.

As she managed to get up and run, the hordes of masquerades continued beating her till she fell into a deep drainage.

Miss Blessing told an online TV owned by Mr Chinedu Anichi that a tipper blocked her view while she was riding to the hospital, adding that before she could see the masquerades, it was too late to run.

While calling for justice for her and other victims, she disclosed that she had remained traumatised as they showed her no mercy.

The development has drawn the ire of many Nigerians, who are calling for the outright ban of the ‘Oriokpa Nsukka masquerade’, which they said was now notorious for committing all manners of crime.

Apart from always beating people to a pulp for not parting with money, they have also been accused of bearing arms.

Reacting to the sad incident, a rights group, Heroine Women Foundation said the action of the masqueraded and their handlers must be probed and proper sanctions meted out on them.

The Executive Director of the Foundation, Amb. Onyi Mama, said this act against the female nurse shouldn’t be tolerated by the relevant authorities.

“Watching the video of the attack on this helpless lady is so painful and I wonder what has happened to our humanity,” Amb. Mama said.

“What is even more sad is that this is a nurse in the business of saving lives and was on her way to work when these conscienceless individuals descended on her and were having fun in her pain.

“How do you even begin to define this as a cultural display? I call on the relevant authorities to round up anyone involved in this act to serve as a deterrent to others,” she demanded.

Similarly, a pressure group in the Nsukka zone, Otobo Nsukka Cultural Zone Community Developmental Initiative, has rallied authorities to ensure justice for the nurse.

In a statement signed by Prince Chibeze Onah, Convener and Agu Chineme, Head of Administration, the group announced that it has traced the nurse to where she is receiving treatment and that justice was underway.

“We are happy to inform the general public that the leadership of Otobo Nsukka Cultural Zone Community Developmental Initiative NGO, led by Prince Chibeze Onah (Tallest), Convener, and Agu Chineme Mc O one, Head of Administration, today, Tuesday, April 30th, 2024, took swift action to locate the nurse in question.

“We met her at a hospital in Nsukka, where she is receiving medical treatment. After interviewing her, we discovered that she was mercilessly beaten by the Oriokpa masquerades at Echara Nsukka while on her way to answer an emergency call from a patient.

“We thank God that she is responding to treatment as of the time we met her.

“Otobo Nsukka Cultural Zone Community Developmental Initiative NGO is calling on the Igwe, PG, and youth leaders of Echara Nsukka to ensure that those behind the incident are brought to justice, so that such an incident does not repeat itself. Culture should be revered, not used as a cover for hooliganism.

“It was possible that through the leadership of Otobo Nsukka Cultural Zone Community Developmental Initiative, Blessing Ogbonna, was opportune to speak with the government of Enugu State officially.

“We look forward that the office of the Ministry of Gender and Children Affairs, in conjunction with the Office of the First Lady of Enugu State will do the needful, for Blessing Ogbonna to get justice.”

Also speaking on the development, a renowned university don, Professor Damina Opata described the development as disturbing.

Opata, a professor of English and literary studies said “The current Oriokpa phenomenon is a very disturbing trend. Oriokpa has not always been like that. It has become a threat to peace and security. But it can still be restored, to a very large extent, to what it used to be.

“Oriokpa is part of the Omaba masking system. Some people call it ugwa. In the olden days, Oriokpa did not beat strangers, it did not beat any person carrying a child; it did not beat any person who on being pursued ran into a yam farm; when pursuing a young person and the person bent down, touching the soil as a mark of surrender, the Oriokpa would use the cain it is wielding to touch the person at the back, and let go. The Oriokpa did not beat married women.

“Beyond these, the Oriokpa was like a cultural and moral guard. If there was a man who habitually wasted himself on a widow, a group of Oriokpa would compose a satirical song about the man and his exploits and sing it around the community at night. If there was a young lady or girl who was habituated to going from one man’s bed to another, the same type of song would apply to her.

“If there were young boys who were becoming hooligans, the same musical pattern would apply to them. They even composed songs about known thieves in the community. Through this method, they helped to enforce some sense of morality in the community.

“In the olden days too, the Oriokpa did not go about begging for money. I suspect that begging for money by Oriokpa is the influence of Uraga/ Manwu Christmas. Recall how children those days, after Xmas mass, would move from house to house and to different villages, begging for money. They even shunned food and drinks and preferred monetary gifts.

“The Oriokpa too did not wield any form of weapons. Maybe, this is an influence of criminal modernity.

“Another reason for the current dangerous behaviour of Oriokpa is the lack of continuity in mentoring new entrants into the Omaba institution. Christianity demonised the institution. Some Christian parents even prevented their children from committing the sin of watching Omaba performances. Many Omaba houses in different village arenas fell into disuse, and were totally abandoned.

“Luckily, there is a great momentum and resurgence of the Omaba institution across a variety of Omaba masking communities. Some communities have evolved regulations that control the outing and performance of Oriokpa, and these appear to be working.

“The real danger is that some reckless youths even from outside Nsukka Omaba culture areas go into the bush, don Oriokpa outfit, and begin to waylay people on the road, forcefully extorting money from innocent citizens, and even beating people who refuse to give them money. One way out of this is for village vigilantes and the police to arrest Oriokpa who block main roads, begging for money. The Igwes should also play a part in controlling the excesses of the modern Oriokpa.”

Meanwhile, as of the time of filing this report, no word has come from the traditional ruler of the Nsukka community where the incident took place.