Nigeria has no Business with being poor - Wogu

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">ABUJA — MINISTER of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, has said Nigeria has no business being poor because of the vast natural resources abound in its nooks and crannies.</span><br /> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Wogu, who spoke at the 14th National Productivity Day and the award of recognition to selected Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in various fields of endevour, in Abuja, noted that for the country to achieve the Vision 202020 there must be improved productivity at all levels.</span><br /> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span> <span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/we-the-poor/poor/" rel="attachment wp-att-248713"><img alt="POOR" class="alignright size-full wp-image-248713" height="250" src="http://dvsl3w2q45hb8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/POOR.jpg" width="412" /></a><br /></span></span><br /> <span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said the country had missed so many opportunities that made her not to take her rightful place as an economic giant in the comity of nations, but expressed optimism that the articulated transformation agenda of the present government led by President Goodluck Jonathan, had put her on a sustainable path of economic growth and development.</span></span><br /> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">According to him, “the hosting of this ceremony demonstrates the firm resolves of government to transform the Nigeria nation through productivity improvement imperatives. This is because productivity remains the cornerstone for building any virile and dynamic economy.<br />“The history of this nation is replete with so many missed opportunities and low productivity that have prevented the country from taking its rightful place as an economic giant in the comity of nations. Indeed, Nigeria has no business with poverty given our vast natural resources.</span><br /> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“The country, therefore, needed transformation in all sectors of the economy of jumpstart Nigeria’s growth. We must all strive to ensure that this nation achieves its vision of being one of the 20 largest economies in the world in year 2020.<br />“Improved productivity at all levels remains the key towards the attainment of this goal. It is, therefore, apposite for us to demonstrate greater need for productivity consciousness in all facets of our national lives.”</span><br /> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The minister explained that there were various means of attaining productivity which he said was not by coercion but by looking at the contents of the productivity policy and particularly the module put in place to make it easier to be applied in both private and public sector.<br />He said a highly motivated work force would attain productivity level that had to be commiserated with the level of motivation, noting that the policy had come with the innovative process of target setting compelling people in the public and private sector to attain those targets.</span><br /> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Among the 18 recipients of the Productivity Award were former Head of Civil Service, Alhaji Buka Goni Aji; former Corp Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC and current Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka; a Vice President of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and General Secretary of National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN, Mr.Issa Aremu and Lt. General Chikadibia Obiakor (rtd) who was nominated by the military.</span><br /> <div class="OUTBRAIN" data-browser="safari" data-dynload="" data-ob-mark="true" data-os="ipad" data-src="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/nigeria-has-no-business-being-poor-wogu/" id="outbrain_widget_0" obdone="true"> <div class="ob_strip_container NA"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="ob_empty"><wbr></wbr></span><span class="ob_org_header"></span></span></div> </div> <br /></div>

Nigeria has no Business with being poor - Wogu

ABUJA — MINISTER of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, has said Nigeria has no business being poor because of the vast natural reso...

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Nigerians tricked into selling kidneys in Indian hospitals share horrible tales

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="story-featured-image" style="border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-right: 15px; min-width: 378px !important; width: 368px;"> <img alt="Dayo" class="attachment-bigstoryimage" height="225" scale="0" src="http://www.punchng.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dayo1-360x225.jpg" style="border: none; float: left; margin-right: 10px; padding: 4px;" width="360" /><div class="featured-image-caption" style="clear: both; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 5px; padding: 5px 10px 0px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Dayo</span></div> </div> <div style="float: left; padding: 10px 18px 5px 0px; width: 370px;"> <ins class="adsbygoogle" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7167863529667065" data-ad-slot="6184555097" data-adsbygoogle-status="done" style="display: inline-block; height: 140px; width: 370px;"><ins id="aswift_0_expand" style="border: none; display: inline-table; height: 140px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 370px;"><ins id="aswift_0_anchor" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: none; display: block; height: 140px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 370px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="140" hspace="0" id="aswift_0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="aswift_0" scrolling="no" style="left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px;" vspace="0" width="370"></iframe></ins></ins></ins></div> <div id="nrelate_flyout_placeholder"> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He emerged from his room in a red T-shirt and blue denim on Sunday, August 3, 2014 in a state of despair and sober reflection. Slowly settling down in a white plastic chair in the hotel lobby where he had agreed to speak with our correspondent, he told a rather unusual story of his ordeal in the hands of his close friend who lured him into selling one of his kidneys for just $7,500 (N1.2m). That was 2008.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">However, before he could talk, our correspondent had to part away with N10,000, N5,000 paid in cash and the other N5,000 for exotic drinks and meal.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Not knowing that his friend, who had also become an agent in the international organ trade market, was only mindful of what would flood his bank account, he went headlong into deciding that he would do his friend’s bidding.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Martins said he had only one reason why he was willing to sell one of his kidneys for that amount: financial independence.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He had tried to make a meaning out of his life. While growing up, he had dreamt of becoming an engineer. But his parents did not have the wherewithal to support his dream.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So he settled for the less and trained as a plumber. Up till today, he said he is a professional plumber, but not the type that could free him from poverty.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So when he was approached by his childhood friend, he did not think times over before accepting the offer. He would sell his kidney, his friend, who was also the agent, would make about $1,800 (N300,000), while he would pocket the balance — $5,600 (N900,000). He felt it was balanced Mathematics, but the complexity of the deal was none he could have imagined.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">According to Martins, his friend, Sola, had a link with some individuals in Nigeria, mostly people who were looking for people who could donate kidneys to loved ones who needed to be flown abroad for kidney transplant.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A part of the money paid for the kidney would go to the agent, while the other part would be given the donor.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As an agent, Sola was called one day in October 2008 by a client who was based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The client was a man whose 27-year-old daughter’s two kidneys had failed and needed to be flown to India for a transplant. N1.2m was the amount agreed upon by both parties to strike a deal.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Then the agent’s work was to look for someone who would sell his kidney and be paid a part of the money put down by the client.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Martins was the donor in this case who was hoping he would make N900,000 when the deal was over, but his friend chose to be ‘smarter’ than him. Instead of being paid, he (Martins) was the one who ‘paid’ and is still ‘paying.’</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Martins said, “When I was tricked into selling my kidney for money, it was even a close friend of mine that introduced me into the trade. And I did not doubt him for a second. I wanted my life to change positively. I did not know he would eventually betray me due to the trust I had in him. Things were a bit tough for me then and I was desperate to make a change in my life.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Sola was looking for someone to donate a kidney to a person, and since I had been living in penury, I decided to take a chance. I thought it was a little issue. He told me the huge amount of money that was usually paid to donors. I told him I would do it.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“The client I was to sell my kidney to was in Port Harcourt at that time, so I travelled there and was lodged in a hotel, the name of which I cannot remember now. The following day, I was taken to the General Hospital in the city for medical tests.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">To be tested by the doctors in the General Hospital, Port Harcourt, Martins said he had to pretend as if he was a relative of the patient, and that he did it ‘gladly.’ All he was hoping for was the money.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said, “I had to pretend as if I was a family member of the client who needed my kidney so doctors could allow me undergo the tests.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I was made to undergo different medical tests ranging from HIV, to blood group, and whether my kidney matched with that of the sick.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“That was just the beginning, and everything seemed to work perfect. I was made to understand that assuming I had any disease like gonorrhoea or others, I would be treated here before I travelled out of the country, as far as my kidney matched with the sick’s.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“The second stage was the processing of visa and other travelling documents for me. The agent was to take care of all this. My own responsibility as the donor was just to obey all their commands.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“To process the visa, I took pictures with the family of the patient, which made the officials at the embassy believe I was really a relative of the client. I was also made to bear the name of the family of the client so that there would be no suspicion by the officials at the embassy.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Martins said he learned that if the client were a Yoruba, he would be given a Yoruba name; in this case, the patient and his father (who was the client) were from Rivers State, and so he was given a name that resembled theirs.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He continued, “Meanwhile, as all these were going on, I never knew that negotiations between the client and the agent were also ongoing, I was just obeying their bidding; at least I thought my friend could be trusted.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Before we travelled and because everything seemed to be working according to plan, my agent told me I had to get new clothes to travel with to India, so I borrowed some money from them, to be repaid from the money they would pay me.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Normally, the client would not pay the agent the money until the day of travelling and the agent would not pay the donor until he was sure the operation was successful.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I never knew all these until I experienced it. My friend was the agent and that was why I did not bother asking for the money before I travelled to India.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“On the day I was to travel with the family of the patient, we were lodged in a hotel in the Ketu area of Lagos. We got to the airport around 5am and I was thinking all through the journey. I was hoping my life would be better if everything was successful.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">MIOT Hospitals in Chennai, India was the destination. Everything had worked very well in Nigeria, but that was just the first step.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Martins continued, “We got to the hospital and we were lodged there. The following day, I began another series of medical tests. The medical personnel, who attended to me there, Doctor Tashir, sat me down and asked who I was to the patient.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I told the doctor she was my niece. He asked me if I knew the consequence of what I was about to do, and I told him there was no problem. For the next one and a half months, I underwent another series of medical tests. The doctors at the hospital trashed the ones I did in Nigeria.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“While in the hospital, I was just not comfortable with the way things were going. I wanted to be sure if the money I was expecting to do this would really come, so I decided to call my friend who arranged the whole thing how much I was going to be paid.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“But before I called my friend, I called the client to find out how much he paid my friend. He (the client) was in Nigeria; it was only the lady, her mother, and me who were in India. He told me he had paid them on the day we travelled to India, and that was where the trouble began.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I called the agent (my friend) and asked him why he did not tell me the client had paid him.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“My friend (the agent) had even seized my phone to act as a collateral in case I failed to come back to the country after the operation. When I heard he had been paid, I had to remind him that it was my life I was playing with, and he assured he would pay me once I returned to the country.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“The last stage after the medical tests was that I was taken to their local council to face a panel. They asked me again if I was ready for the operation that would last for 27 hours, and to know if I was ready for death in case it came. To all these I said yes.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Unfortunately, the patient’s mother started treating me unfairly. She believed I had been paid. At a point, I had to tell my friend that I would not do it again if I was not paid. I even told him to go and give the money to my mother, though she did not know anything about it. But he kept assuring me the money was safe.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Eventually, Martin’s kidney was removed and everything seemed to go well, but he later realised his woe had just begun.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said, “After the removal of my kidney, I called the agent again to tell him to send me some money for my flight home. That was when I knew I had been used and dumped.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“He changed the tone of his voice and told me to stay in India. He started asking me what I was coming to do in Nigeria. I had planned to use the N900,000 to buy a bus for transport business here in Lagos, to start life afresh. That had been my thought all along.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“On December 2, 2008, after about three months of being in India and 10 days after the operation, I said I was going home. With no money and no good treatment from the patient’s mother, I was stranded. Even though I had the opportunity of stealing their dollar notes in their wardrobe, I did not do so. I could never do such a thing. I felt pity for the lady.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">On December 3, 2008, Martins eventually got a ticket to be flown to Nigeria and could not believe that he had been made to pass through the horrible situation for nothing.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said, “I tried all I could, and from the money I had borrowed before leaving, I came back to Nigeria.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“My parents never knew where I went and stayed for almost three months. Things were really pathetic. I met a lot of problems at home which I hoped I could solve with the money I would get. On this same matter, I lost my elder sister who was pregnant because it was her money that I took from home, hoping that I would settle her when I return.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“The baby died, she too died, my world collapsed. Out of the N900,000 I was expecting, my friend paid me only N250,000. That was after I had threatened him. I could not involve the police because I knew it was one of those hard choices I made. That was how I was duped in the process of selling my kidney.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">From the amount he could collect from his agent, Martins was able to set up a football viewing centre, which has since collapsed.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Another person with a similar story to tell is Dayo. Not also willing to remain in financial mediocrity all his life, he thought the ‘mouth-watering’ offer Sola (same agent for Martins) offered him was not too small to sell his kidney. Afterall, he learned in Biology that man needs only one kidney to survive.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So when he was approached at the same time with his friend by Sola, he did not bother to consult with anyone before he decided he would sell his kidney for N1m.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Almost similar experience with Martins’, the same agent, who is also their friend, manipulated him and gave him just N500,000 out of the sum he bargained for.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">However, the irony of the whole thing is that through some manipulative means, the agent told Dayo that he was also into travelling agency and that he could help him secure a visa to the United Kingdom, but the unfortunate thing was that Dayo did not think twice before he withdrew the whole money he was paid for selling his kidney.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said, “I gave him the whole money he gave me back, waiting to fly to London. Up till now, I have not heard anything from Sola again neither have I been given any visa to travel. My whole life is in chaos now.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“I cannot even tell anyone in my family that I did such a horrible thing. I have been lying to many people who saw the mark on my body. Who will ever believe I sold my kidney for money? My life is ruined.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“My mother will not even believe it. In my desperation for money I have destroyed my whole life. I just pray that God will forgive me because this is something I have never told anyone.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Dayo only allowed our correspondent take his back picture, using his right palm cover the stretch mark. He said his family and friends would identify him if they see his full back.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Professor Itse Sagay, a human rights lawyer, believes that organ trade is criminal and must be fought.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said, “Definitely it is an infringement of the law against threat to human life. It is contained in the criminal code. It takes on a criminal hue. This matter should be investigated while the people doing this trade should be punished according to the law.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Ministry of Health’s spokesperson, Dan Nwomeh, said Nigeria needs to sign the proposed National Health Bill into law before organ trade transactions get out of hand. He clamoured for the prompt signing of the bill into law for the regulation of organ transplant in the country.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said, “We hear rumours about the trade, but the truth of the matter is that we have a big problem at hand, and this is because there is no law regulating organ transplant in Nigeria. There is no law at all now, and what can the Ministry of Health do when there is no law?</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“That is why we have been canvassing for the signing of the National Health Bill. If the bill is signed into law, important health issues like organ transplant and fertility medicine will be regulated. It will not be done in the secret.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“But while we are waiting for the National Health Bill to be signed into law, everything depends on the practitioners to do the proper thing. You cannot say someone who is into the organ trafficking business has committed an offence since there is no law yet that is against or regulating it.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Nwomeh added that the Ministry of Health would continue to canvass for the signing of the National Health Bill into law.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said, “The health minister and the Ministry of Health will continue to push forward until this particular bill is signed into law. Until such happens, there are bound to be shady businesses like that.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Vice-President of the Commonwealth Medical Association and former President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, corroborated the comment of the health ministry.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said that the bill takes into account provisions for the regulation of organ transplant and fertility medicine in the country. He said if the bill is not signed, the perpetrators would continue to have a field day.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Enabulele said, “Right now, organ trade is commoner outside the country, especially in India, and so it is not unexpected that the business there is booming due to the fact that people from other countries go there to do it.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“It is definitely illegal and a criminal act, but in the absence of regulation, no one can be blamed. People are doing many things underground and even if you apprehend them, under what law are you going to charge them? What penalties will be levied on them?</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“In terms of the robustness of the trade in Nigeria, I think one is certainly not very much aware of how it is, but I know that the usual destination point is India because that is where all sorts of trafficking take place.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“This is one of the reasons that when I was the president of the Nigerian Medical Association, I actively supported the passage of the National Health Bill because it has the provisions for the regulation of organ transaction, including the kidney, to make sure there are rules and strict adherence to the guidelines for organ transactions, unlike having an unregulated market where anything happens.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“It is even now important that there is acceleration in terms of getting the President’s assent to harmonise the National Health Bill to prevent the burgeoning of illegal organ transactions. If it is happening, it is the sign that there needs to be some sort of regulation.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“If the guidelines are not there, there will be an astronomical increase in criminal activities in organ transplant due to the level of poverty. Many unwilling donors will end up in the hands of fraudsters. If people must donate their organs, then it must be according to certain guidelines.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Normally, organs are not what to be donated for a fee, it should be voluntary out of empathy for a victim (either a relative or friend) just like blood donation. It should be out of one’s empathic disposition.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Guidelines must be put in place to prevent extortions like this whether they are doing it because of poverty or not. A framework must be put in place to regulate organ transplant in the country through the signing of the health bill.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Enabulele emphasised that there was nothing wrong in donating human organs, but that it should be done voluntarily and freely under the regulation of the law.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He added, “There is nothing wrong with a doctor offering help out of his own volition in referring a patient who needs an organ replacement to countries like India; however, it must be voluntary or else the whole essence of the human life is gone.”</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A mail sent to the MIOT hospitals, Chennai, India was not replied as of the time of going to press.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The spokesperson for the India High Commission in Lagos, Mr. Vyan Choudhauy, expressed surprise that some Nigerians are engaged in the trade in his country. He also promised to send a message to the Consul in India for proper investigation.</span></div> <div style="padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said, “Definitely, it is a wrong thing to do. I will forward a mail to the Indian Consul and I am sure necessary actions will be taken against the situation. No matter the money involved, it is wrong for people to sell their organs. We will do everything possible to investigate this matter and give you the feedback.”</span></div> <div> <br /></div> </div> </div>

Nigerians tricked into selling kidneys in Indian hospitals share horrible tales

Dayo He emerged from his room in a red T-shirt and blue denim on Sunday, August 3, 2014 in a state of despair and sober reflection....

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We Must Do Better Than Obama

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">President Barack Obama has not served African Americans well, according to Garry Cobb, a former linebacker for the Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, and Dallas Cowboys and current GOP candidate for a House seat out of New Jersey.</span><br /> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br />"We have to do better, we've got to do much better than that and I don't think he's done a good job,'' Cobb said Wednesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on <strong><a href="http://www.newsmaxtv.com/">Newsmax TV.</a></strong></span><br /> <div class="embed-container" style="height: 49px; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 30px 0px 1099px; position: relative;"> <iframe scrolling="no" seamless="seamless" src="http://www.newsmax.com/CMSPages/NewsMax/OoyalaPlayer.aspx?embedcode=p0b3RnbzqV1oADkEmL8h7XgQuAOJrirR" style="border: none; height: 1178px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 1955px;"></iframe></div> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /><br /><strong>Note: </strong>Watch Newsmax TV now on <strong>DIRECTV Ch. 349</strong> and <strong>DISH Ch. 223</strong><br />Get Newsmax TV on your cable system – <strong><a href="http://www.newsmaxtv.com/findnewsmaxtv/">Click Here Now</a></strong><br /><br />"You can see that African Americans are not doing well. You talk about … minimum wage. Minimum wage goes after young African American kids because it doesn't let them in the workforce. We've already got a huge unemployment rate with the African American kids, so we want to put an end to that.<br /><br />"We celebrate the fact that [Obama] became president … but he hasn't really done anything for the African American community during that time.''<br /><br />Cobb, who grew up in North Carolina, said a strong education is key element to the development of youngsters and "a door out of poverty.''<br /><br />"We started out poor…. As a kid I could remember eating mayonnaise sandwiches, ketchup sandwiches and drinking sugar water, but we were able to go out and do better than our parents and that's what my parents dreamed of,'' he said.<br /><br />But a program to eliminate poverty enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson encouraged men to leave the home and "it destroyed African American families throughout the country, according to Cobb.<br /><br />"I was all into the Democratic Party and everything and then I started realizing they helped destroy our communities and we're celebrating electing these people,'' he said.<br /><br />"African American communities throughout the country are doing horribly under Democratic-run cities and that's why I want to put an end to it.''<br /><br />Cobb, who will face Democrat Donald Norcross in November for the Garden State's 1st congressional district, volunteers his time to help underprivileged youngsters in the Camden area.<br /><br />"I'm talking to the youngsters, trying to give them motivation to stay in school and I've been doing that for the last 20 years so I've given of myself,'' he said.<br /><br />"I did it when there was quote-unquote nothing to gain necessarily for me, but it's just the way I feel and I wasn't looking to get involved in politics, but it's something I need to do … I want to see kids get a chance to get an education.''<br /><br />Cobb, who is also a radio personality on Philadelphia's WIP radio, is author with Pat Breslin of <strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Be-Clueless-Keys-World/dp/1599212587/ref=nosim/?=newsmaxcom08-20">"Don't Be Clueless: 7 Keys to Life in the Real World,''</a></strong> published by Lyons Press.</span><br /> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b><br /></b></span> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><b>Get this Book....</b></span><br /> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img alt="" id="main-image" rel="" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5161SISeXML._SY300_.jpg" style="display: inline; text-align: center;" /></span><br /> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>

We Must Do Better Than Obama

President Barack Obama has not served African Americans well, according to Garry Cobb, a former linebacker for the Detroit Lions, Philadelp...

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Must African writers be ‘anointed’ by foreigners to be taken seriously?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <header><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img alt="Billy Kahora and Okwiri Oduor. PHOTOS | FILE" class="photo_article" src="http://www.nation.co.ke/image/view/-/2317630/highRes/747390/-/maxw/600/-/n69q14/-/Caine.JPG.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; vertical-align: middle; width: 728px;" /></span><div id="photo_article_caption" style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Billy Kahora and Okwiri Oduor. PHOTOS | FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP</span></div> </header><article class="article" style="margin-top: 36px;"><section class="article-sidebar" style="border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-right: 24px; width: 231px;"><section class="summary" style="padding-right: 24px;"><h3 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 6px;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In Summary</span></span></h3> <div> <ul style="margin: 0px 0px 24px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 18px;"> <li style="margin-bottom: 12px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Caine Prize has also been accused of being paternalistic towards African writers.</span></li> <li style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">There is a feeling that Anglophone African writers need to be “anointed” by this British institution before they are taken seriously.</span></li> </ul> </div> </section><section class="ad" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 24px auto 0px; padding: 0px 0px 5px; text-align: center; width: 230px;"><span class="" style="display: block; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">ADVERTISEMENT</span></span><div class="ad" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; margin: 0px auto; padding: 0px 0px 5px; width: 230px;"> <analytics:objectcontext logview="true" object="com.coremedia.mauritius.cae.contentbeans.MauAdLocationImpl$$[id=1949174]"><analytics:objectcontext logview="true" object="com.coremedia.mauritius.cae.contentbeans.MauAdvertisementImpl$$[id=1948930]"><analytics:namecontext logview="true" name="ad_Z-DN-200x200-opinionarticle"><div id="google_ads_div_Z-DN-200x200-opinionarticle_ad_wrapper" style="text-align: left;"> <div id="google_ads_div_Z-DN-200x200-opinionarticle_ad_container" style="display: inline-block;"> <ins style="border: 0px; display: inline-table; height: 200px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><ins style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; display: block; height: 200px; position: relative; width: 200px;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="200" id="google_ads_iframe_Z-DN-200x200-opinionarticle" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="google_ads_iframe_Z-DN-200x200-opinionarticle" scrolling="no" style="border-width: 0px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px;" width="200"></iframe></ins></ins></div> </div> </analytics:namecontext></analytics:objectcontext></analytics:objectcontext></div> </section></section><section class="body-copy"><section class="author" style="margin-bottom: 24px;"><figure class="left" style="float: left; margin: 0px;"><img src="http://www.nation.co.ke/image/view/-/1951884/medRes/558592/-/6w9xw8z/-/Rasna.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 45px; vertical-align: middle; width: 45px;" width="50" /></figure><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">By RASNA WARAH<br /><a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/-/1148/1951886/-/view/asAuthor/-/65ga76z/-/index.html" style="text-decoration: none;">More by this Author</a></span></section><div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I have just returned from Oxford, one of the most beautiful towns in England, and which is home to the 38 colleges that comprise Oxford University. I was attending a workshop at the university’s Wadham College, founded in the 17th century by Nicholas Wadham and his wife Dorothy.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This college, like all the other colleges in Oxford, with its manicured lawns and rectangular courtyards, epitomises the Gothic and neo-Gothic architectural heritage that the university has preserved since it was founded in the 13th century.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In the hallowed halls of Mansfield College where I was staying, breakfast was served in an awe-inspiring hall that was once a chapel. Stained glass biblical images stared down at me as I sipped coffee and ate toast. It was utterly surreal.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I was also fortunate to be invited to the 2014 Caine Prize for African Writing award ceremony at the university’s Boldein Library, whose underground galleries contain 180 kilometres of shelves that hold many of the library’s collection of old books, maps and manuscripts.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This year, two Kenyans, Billy Kahora and Okwiri Oduor, were shortlisted. Oduor <a href="http://www.caineprize.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">won the £10,000 prize</a> for her short story, <a href="http://www.caineprize.com/pdf/2014_Oduor.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em>My Father’s Head</em></a>, a poignant tale about a woman who summons her father from the dead. Odour is the third Kenyan to win the prize; Binyavanga Wainaina won it in 2002, while Yvonne Owour won it in 2003.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It has been a good year for Kenyan artists. With Lupita Nyong’o blazing the trail in Hollywood, and young Kenyan writers making a mark internationally, it may not be long before Kenya is viewed as the literary and artistic capital of Africa.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">However, what struck me about the Caine Prize ceremony was how English the setting was. There, in the gardens of Exeter College, where the nominees, judges and patrons gathered while sipping champagne, it seemed odd that a prize celebrating African literature would be announced in a place that was anything but African.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Perhaps that was its appeal. The ceremony, held at one of the world’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning, forces a decorum that is, in essence, upper-class English and a tad snobbish.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Caine Prize has launched the literary careers of several African writers, including Nigerian Helon Habila, who published his first book after winning the prize in 2001. The Kenyan winners, Wainaina and Owour, also went on to publish books after winning the prize, as did Zimbabwe’s NoViolet Bulawayo. The Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, who was shortlisted (but did not win) in 2002 has published four books since her nomination.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <strong style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">LOWERING THE BAR</strong></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Critics of the Caine Prize say that the selection criteria are slanted towards stereotypical African images of poverty, war, child soldiers, prostitution and desperation.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Indeed, many of the winning stories have been about communities and individuals trapped in a kind of post-colonial madness or are about victims of violent or dysfunctional societies.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Some critics, such as Helon Habila, who was the first to win the prize, have wondered whether there is a “Caine Prize aesthetic” perpetuated by judges and publishers whereby “style feeds on style, especially if that particular style has proven itself capable of winning prizes and book deals and celebrity”.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Prize has also been criticised for lowering the bar for African writers in that it judges short stories, not full-length novels, unlike most literary prizes.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Caine Prize has also been accused of being paternalistic towards African writers. There is a feeling that Anglophone African writers need to be “anointed” by this British institution before they are taken seriously.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Prize has certainly opened doors for young African writers who have found a market for their work, which is not so with many African writers. Many winners have become celebrities in the literary world.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Africa-based literary prizes, such as the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature on the other hand, do not seem to bestow the same fame or fortune to its winners. For instance, Stanley Gazemba, who won the prize in 2003 for his first novel, <em>The Stonehills of Maragoli</em>, is still a struggling writer who has yet to be embraced by Kenya’s literary community as a celebrity.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="margin-bottom: 15.600000000000001px;"> <em style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">rasna.warah@gmail.com</em></div> </div> </section></article><section class="main-home section " role="main" style="margin-top: 42px;"><section class=""><div class="container" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 1160px; padding: 0px 20px; width: 768px;"> </div> </section></section></div>

Must African writers be ‘anointed’ by foreigners to be taken seriously?

Billy Kahora and Okwiri Oduor. PHOTOS | FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP In Summary The Caine Prize has also been accused of being paternalis...

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Religious leaders can end Boko Haram, not Jonathan — Oritsejafor

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div id="main" role="main" style="border: 0px; float: left; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 455px;"> <br /> <article class="post-456524 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-national-news" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/NewsArticle" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><h1 class="entry-title posttitle" itemprop="name headline" style="border: 0px; margin: 10px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 432px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">on</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span><time class="meta-time updated" datetime="2014-07-25T06:16:27+00:00" itemprop="datePublished" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">July 25, 2014</time><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></h1> <div class="metaStuff" style="background-image: none; border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: -23px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;"><br /></span></div> <div class="metaStuff" style="background-image: none; border: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: -23px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">By Daud Olatunji</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;"><iframe allowtransparency="true" class="twitter-share-button twitter-tweet-button twitter-share-button twitter-count-horizontal" data-twttr-rendered="true" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.1404859412.html#_=1406266600893&count=horizontal&id=twitter-widget-0&lang=en&original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vanguardngr.com%2F2014%2F07%2Freligious-leaders-can-end-boko-haram-not-jonathan-oritsejafor%2F&related=vanguardngrnews&size=m&text=Religious%20leaders%20can%20end%20Boko%20Haram%2C%20not%20Jonathan%20%E2%80%94%20Oritsejafor%20-%20Vanguard%20News&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vanguardngr.com%2F2014%2F07%2Freligious-leaders-can-end-boko-haram-not-jonathan-oritsejafor%2F&via=vanguardngrnews" style="border-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 107px;" title="Twitter Tweet Button"></iframe></span></div> <div id="entryContainer" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <div class="entry entry-content" itemprop="articleBody" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 6px 0px 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"> <div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">ABEOKUTA—President of Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Orisejafor, has said religious leaders in the north and not President Goodluck Jonathan, could end the Boko Haram insurgency.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">Orisejafor spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, during the graduation, send-forth and prize giving ceremonies held by Stephen International Centre.</span></div> <br /> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_306116" style="border: 0px; float: left; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 20px 20px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 422px;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://dvsl3w2q45hb8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ORITSEJAFOR-ayo.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: background-color, border-top-color; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: background-color, border-top-color; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="From Left: Co-Chairman, Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor; National Co-Ordinator/Executive Secretary, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, and Co-Chairman, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar III, at a meeting" class="size-full wp-image-306116" height="250" src="http://dvsl3w2q45hb8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ORITSEJAFOR-ayo.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: margin 0.2s linear, box-shadow; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.247059) 1px 1px 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: margin 0.2s linear, box-shadow;" width="412" /></span></a></div> <div class="wp-caption-text" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 8px 0px 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">From Left: Co-Chairman, Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor; National Co-Ordinator/Executive Secretary, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, and Co-Chairman, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, at a meeting</span></div> </div> <div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The occasion was attended by prominent dignitaries, including Secretary to Ogun State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, South West CAN coordinator, Arch. Bishop Magnus Atilade, commissioner for women affairs, Elizabeth Sonubi and national coordinator of voice of Christian matyrs , Isaac Oluwole, among others.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">According to CAN President, “With all sense of all responsibility, I use this opportunity to call on all Muslims religious leaders, traditional rulers and political leaders in the north not necessarily in the South West because in the South West, we have lived together and I know the way it operates in the south west.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">”So, I am challenging from the north, our religious leaders, political rulers and traditional rulers as matter of urgency, to step forward and take responsibilities for the way out of this problem.”</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Boko Haram is propelled by a religious ideology, it is not poverty. Anyone who tells you it is poverty is not telling you the truth. It’s not poverty. When you blame it on poverty, it is an insult to poor people. There are poor people everywhere even Christians all over the north. Bin laden was not a poor man. He is from a rich Saudi Arabian family. The Nigerian boy who almost blew up a plane on Christmas day is a son of one First Bank chairman and he is still one of the richest people in Nigeria today. Boko Haram insurgency is an ideology. People are being radicalised by an ideology.</span></div> <div class="OUTBRAIN" data-browser="safari" data-dynload="" data-ob-mark="true" data-os="ipad" data-src="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/07/religious-leaders-can-end-boko-haram-not-jonathan-oritsejafor/" id="outbrain_widget_0" obdone="true" style="border: 0px; clear: both; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 5px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <div class="ob_brnBox_cont NA" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span class="ob_empty" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><wbr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></wbr></span><span class="ob_org_header" style="border: 0px; float: left; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">You might also like</span></span><br /> <ul class="ob_ul_container" style="border: 0px; 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Religious leaders can end Boko Haram, not Jonathan — Oritsejafor

on   July 25, 2014   By Daud Olatunji ABEOKUTA—President of Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Orisejafor, has said ...

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