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Saturday, May 29, 2021

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude”. – Maya Angelou (Poet and Civil Rights Activist)

Dear Active Citizen,

Yesterday,

May 28th,

marked the

At least 1,603 citizens were violently killed and over 1,774 abductions in Q1 2021.

These numbers are startling as we are not at war!

We will not be quiet because every Nigerian life must count irrespective of religion or tribe! If our elected leaders fail to address insecurity in Nigeria, we have a duty to say #EnoughIsEnough.

Frequency of Nigerian Military Plane Crashes

The frequency of Nigerian military plane crashes in recent months is alarming. So far in 2021, the military has recorded three fatal crashes in the space of four months. The first happened on Sunday, February 21st when 7 officers aboard the NAF King Air 350 died in an Abuja crash. 37 days later, on Wednesday, March 31st, an Alpha-Jet aircraft en route to Borno state with 2 officers on board, lost radar contact and was later declared crashed. A third crash occurred just last Sunday, May 23rd in Kaduna State, killing 11 people on board including the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru.To this end, the Accidental Investigation Bureau, Nigeria (AIB-N) has begun investigations into the maintenance of aircraft, to help improve military flight safety records. The outcome of the report must be made public.

Attacks in Benue and Sokoto

Over the weeks, we’ve rung bells about insecurity in Nigeria. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to get any better. Two separate attacks by armed bandits on Sunday, May 2nd, and Tuesday, May 25th, in Rabah and Sabon Birni LGA, Sokoto State have claimed 22 people, including a village head. Local merchants were robbed of cash and goods worth millions of naira. Over 100 people have been reportedly killed in Benue State so far in May by suspected herdsmen. Just yesterday, about 36 more, including students of the College of Education in Katsina Ala, Benue State were added to that list! While the Benue State government encouraged citizens to defend themselves, Sokoto State talks of restructuring vigilante groups. Since when does the government of a nation leave inland security duties to citizens and vigilante groups? The security of citizens is the primary responsibility of the government!

Ebonyi Involves Youth and Women in Governance

This is Good News! The Ebonyi State government has taken deliberate steps to enhance the involvement of youths and women in governance in order to curb restiveness across the state. According to Ebonyi State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Uche Orji, the marginalisation and inability to involve the critical mass in the state governance were breeding mass anger. He stated that each of the 13 local governments in Ebonyi has a compulsory female vice-chairman and that youths were incorporated in executive councils to reduce the number of over-40 aged members. We highly commend this development!

Constitutional Amendment Public Hearing

Did you participate in the public hearing exercise to amend the 1999 Nigerian Constitution on Wednesday and Thursday this week? Send us an email to share your thoughts!Our article in ThisDay this week by Sesugh Akume discusses the challenges with our Constitution.

The School of Wildlife Conservation together with the ALU School of Business are looking for promising conservation leaders for the  October 2021 MBA for Conservation Leaders Programme and Business School. If you are interested in African wildlife conservation and business, register here or recommend potential candidates who might be fit for this programme.

Have a great weekend!The EiE Nigeria Team