Wednesday, October 26, 2005

‘Tragedy Should Strengthen Nigerians’ THIS DAY ‘Tragedy Should Strengthen Nigerians’ From Josephine Lohor in Abuja, 10.25.2005 President Olusegun Oba-sanjo yesterday urged Nigerians to draw strength from the tragic events which hit the nation at the weekend with the crash of the Bellview aircraft in which 117 people died and the sudden death of First Lady, Mrs. Stella Obasanjo. In a broadcast to the nation yesterday on the two occurences, Obasanjo said: "We must draw strength from this adversity and show to ourselves, communities and the world that we are a people with a goal and with the will to put our past behind us and move forward together." He said that after the period of mourning, Nigerians must move on because my "experience in life tells me that the departed would have wanted it so for Nigeria, a country that most of them had lived and died for. Let our sharing sorrow and solidarity translate to our resolve not to look back or slide in our collective commitment to reform and the repositioning of our country for peace, security, stability, harmony, growth, development and progress." While praying that God should give everybody the strength to bear the loss which occurred on the night of Saturday to Sunday, he said "this is the time to come together, grief together, console each other, strengthen our faith, consolidate our hopes and rededicate our selves to the cause of our country and humanity. Those who have lost their lives may not be with us physically, but you can be rest assured that they are with us in spirit and would want us to be strong at all times. "I appreciate the outpouring of condolences, sympathy, visits and solidarity from all quarters in the country and from outside the country. I believe that this adversity should strengthen our resolve to remain committed, strong and unshaken in our effort to make Nigeria a great country that God has created to actualize her potentials. We are already on the path to greatness through our comprehensive reform agenda; we must not waver or get diverted, distracted, confused or discouraged," he added. Obasanjo said that there was no doubt that latest events had touched the lives of all Nigerians, and observed that "the successes gained in the first six days of last week that included the IMF acceptance of our Policy Support Instrument, PSI, indication of noticeable improvement in Transparency International's rating of Corruption Perception Index of Nigeria among other nations, and the signing of the debt relief agreement with the Paris Club seem to have been overshadowed by the tragic incident of the Bellview aircraft crash at Lisa in Ogun State and the sudden death of my dear wife, Stella while on holiday and without noticeable illness." He also said he has already "ordered a full and thorough investigation into the cause of the air crash with a view to ensuring that this sort of calamity does not repeat itself. "In addition, I have directed the Aviation Ministry to ensure strict compliance with maintenance and operations requirements and standards for all aircraft in order to plug loopholes and ensure passenger safety. We must draw strong lessons from this experience and we shall leave no stone unturned to ensure the highest standards in the aviation progress.” He also asked all Nigerians to observe a minute silence at midday today in memory of passengers that died on board the Bellview aircraft. He disclosed that the Government of Ogun State has been directed to organise an inter-faith memorial service at the site of the crash tomorrow.     3:33:00 PM    comment []

TIDE Online Police invade Independent Newspaper’s premises • Wednesday, October 26, 2005 Operations were brought to a halt Monday afternoon at Independent Newspapers Limited, when armed riot policemen and officials of the Lagos State Physical Planning and Development Authority invaded the company’s premises in Ogba, Lagos. The invasion, led by Superintendent of Police Odogbo A.E and Iheme Gewase (ASP), started by 2.45pm and lasted for about one hour during which the policemen brutalised journalists and securitymen at the gate. The invading team claimed they were executing a demolition order issued by the development control department of the Physical Planning and Development Authority in Ikeja for “constructing an industrial premises without statutory development permission”. While in the premises, the security operatives brandishing their weapons harassed and manhandled workers on duty. Apart from the newsprint warehouse which was demolished by the rampaging team, the policemen broke the glass door leading to the main editorial block and damaged the library door with jack knife. When the company’s legal adviser confronted them to find out why they invaded the premises and destroying property without the courtesy of informing the company’s management of the mission, one of the policemen seized him by the trousers and started brutalising him. While struggling to free himself from the policeman’s grip, his belt snapped and he raced off. His assailant grabbed the belt and pursued him into the main block breaking the glass door in the process. When the legal adviser ran into the library and locked the door, the man pulled out his jack knife and started ripping the door with it, shouting that he would deal with him no matter what. It took the intervention of his colleagues to prevent him from inflicting further damages to the door. One of those brutalised, Mr. Godwin Essien, has been rushed to an hospital where he is receiving treatment. “The invading security men came in a Nissan bus with Lagos State registration number LAO26A76 and another truck with number XL 723 LND. This invasion is coming on the heels of frequent police brutality on the civil populace, which in some cases have resulted in loss of lives. We are deeply concerned about this trend and we call on the concerned authority to take appropriate step to address the matter. The Tide Online is published by Rivers State Newspaper Corporation Home | Contact us | The Tide Story | Today at a glance | Reporters Send mail to webmaster@thetidenews.com with questions or comments about this web site 2:59:38 PM    comment []