OUR GOAL IS TO ENSURE ZERO ACCIDENT, ZERO FATALITY IN OUR AIRSPACE says Dr H.O.Demuren,D.G NCAA

Dr H.O.Demuren,D.G NCAA

*NCAA Introduces E-Licensing

The Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA), Dr Harold Olusegun Demuren recently spoke on various issues affecting the industry in Nigeria  as it affects airlines, the agencies including the one from where he calls the shots, the challenges the ways forward and on top of it all the strides in ensuring that safety is given deserved priority by all the corporate stakeholders in the sector. Below is the excerpts from the interview:

Sir, the aviation industry is seen to be highly technology driven. How does NCAA use information technology to drive its operation?

You can not get Category 1, you can’t even attempt it, if you are not technology; the platform has changed. Very soon one of the things you will see is paperless NCAA.

Already we have started issuing e-licenses; these are licenses we are issuing right now. Very soon you will be able to apply on-line for our licenses. There are a lot of things going on in this area.

In our commercial area, we have moved to e – ticketing, we have moved tremendously, in fact some of the airlines are owing us some money; but we are now talking about having our own e – payment platform in which we can deduct the money right at source.

So these are the things we are trying to do. We are also automating most of our services. Height clearance, helipads certification, airport certification, everything virtually, and we have in the flight safety porter which virtually automates all our services from phase one, from the 8^th critical elements in attaining Category 1 to the last.

We are on the web; you can see what we are doing. Very soon we are going to get to a point in which virtually all our activities will be fully automated.

Before you go on sir, could you shed more light on the automated licensing?

Before now we used to write your license and type it and give it to you; now, these are things of the past; it’s now fully automated, once you have done your examinations and pass and it is there, it is rolled out and you get it.

You get an e-mail informing you about your license, it is all printed, it’s in colour and all rolled out the same day. In other words, we are also minimizing the delay, it’s usually about one week to take an examination and then you wait for the result, we can do it now in one day for you. If you pass in, if you fail you are out.

Recently, you were elected the president of the 37^th General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).Congratulations. What is the significant of this election? And how did you use that recognition to better the image of Nigeria and NCAA?

On that faithful day, as I told them in my acceptance speech, it was a great honour for my country Nigeria, because Nigeria was going to be 50^th and we were to celebrate our 50^th anniversary two days after.

For me I was grateful and humbled ! You have about 178 honourable Ministers responsible for civil aviation, you have over 190 Director – Generals responsible for civil aviation, they are all there and ICAO appoints one person to be president of the assembly.

The assembly meets once in three years and to get nomination from the United States of America and seconded by Australia and Europe saying it is unanimous, we have no other candidate, I think that is good for our country Nigeria.

You see, it’s not personal to me, it’s for my country Nigeria and it’s to Africa. We were about 58 African countries there; they said to themselves “it was the greatest day for Africa”.

We have never had it like that. No African, no black man has ever been the president of ICAO Assembly, and this was going to a Nigerian. I ,as a person know it is important for our country and for the continent of Africa.

That’s how we feel. And we give thanks to our Creator, because that year’s assembly was a very difficult one, because we were dealing with safety, security and environment and environmental issue was so crucial; thank goodness, we made success out of it.

The council of ICAO could not even agree on the case if environment, but that is the only agreement we have got in the world today on climate issue. So it was a great success for Africa and the image of Africa just shot up.

It’s not just me, not Nigeria; everybody knows this was one of the very best assemblies with major achievements. As we concluded the assembly, we were getting calls from all over the world, U.S State Department, Canada, UK, all praising; this is great; we have never gotten such an agreement like this.

Even, United Nations acknowledged what we have done. But we give thanks to God, everything you see in life is an opportunity to serve and being given all the grace to serve and we can do it better, we can only give thanks to the Almighty.

Since you assumed office, what has been your greatest challenge?

My greatest challenge? I have got some challenges; may be the greatest one would be Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

You remember what happened on December 26^th 2009? That was a great challenge because of its security implications. It was a major security challenge to us.  

It was during Christmas, a boxing day when all of us were set for merriment; suddenly my phone rang in the middle of the night quite unusual; I should wake up my Minister to say there is a problem.

He woke me up and said “Dr Demuren, are you watching the television? I said no sir, in fact I have just been sleeping. He said watch television and tune to CNN, there is problem. And I did, ‘wao’ Nigeria, Nigeria, Nigeria!!! I was so worried.

Of course that night I took my phone and woke up all my colleagues, all the security agencies at the airport, I woke everybody up and by 7 am this office was full and we did not leave till 9 pm.

We made a statement, I read the statement to the international community at about 9:30 pm; we did not leave this place until that time. I am not sure anybody even cared to eat anything. We had to find a solution, I am happy that our name which was put on the list of countries of interest watch list; were able to remove Nigeria’s name from it. That was a great challenge; but we give thanks to God that we were granted the grace to overcome.

What is your main driving force in implementing your objectives?

Well, let me tell you, our number one goal is safety, all my honourable Ministers have always told me including the present one, they will say Dr. Demuren, we recognize what you are doing, but don’t forget safety, safety, safety!

They always said it. So that is my goal; when I came here – you know I came here at the wake of the Sosoliso aircraft accident and during that Christmas everybody got Christmas card and lots of presents but I got a present I did not know and I put it under the Christmas tree and when it was time to open it, I did and it was the picture of the Sosoliso accident and there was a woman that lost three children.

That was what they sent to me and one of my friends said, when you get to this position remember this picture all the time and make sure this will never occur again.

I was very sad; first of all I thought it was a normal gift. So I took it to my alter, I put it there as I knelt down and prayed that this would never occur again. So that has been my watch word over here.

We can talk about anything else but when it comes to safety, you can’t get me wrong. You must follow the rule, as I told you the only job I have is to enforce safety regulations.

I must make sure that that is what we do. So that is it, it’s a draft, that’s what we do, that’s what we dream, that’s what we think and that’s the only thing we can do. We must have a safe operation.

When a passenger goes to the airport and buys a ticket it’s as if we have given you a promissory note and this true. I don’t care what airline he is buying it from, that we are going to carry you from point A to point B safely and I want us to deliver on that promise.

So we must work hard on it whether it’s the airline or the airport, whether it’s the airspace, everything has to be safe and that is the totality of what we are trying to do.

What is your greatest joy as D.G and what will you describe as your most unhappy moment?

My happiest moment! That is something else right now; before we went to Montreal (Canada), I thought it was Category 1. The category one came and it was simultaneously announced in Nigeria and in Washington DC.

We were just summoned straight; the Ambassador came and announced this; that was great moments of joy for me as a person, for all my staff and of course our country Nigeria.

And again this thing happened also in ICAO, we sat down and suddenly we looked at 178 countries and their ministers and DGs, suddenly there is a nomination and the guy from United States came up and said I want to nominate Harold Demuren of Nigeria as president of ICAO Assembly.

I couldn’t believe it. So those are the greatest moments of mine. And my saddest moment, remember the incident in Bebi (Airstrip, near Obudu), when we lost that aircraft we couldn’t find it I was extremely very sad that it occurred, but again we learnt from that and that will never occur again in this country.

We have now developed our systems, the best technology is what we have acquired, we know where the airplane is, not primitive method but the latest technology.

Later on we will invite you; I promise you in the next three months we will invite you when we are going to open the place; we have it downstairs here, where we can see all aircraft flying in Nigeria.

If it’s flying, we know, if it’s on the ground we know, I can Google it and show you. That’s what is good; when you have a problem you must solve it. And that’s what we believe in, it’s technology that is what we learnt, we must do it. In three months time I will invite you to come and see.

What do you see as some of the most pressing hurdles that the NCAA still needs to surmount to put it at par with its peers in other CAA’s in Europe and the Americas?

I think we need now to improve our infrastructure. We have three challenges; ageing infrastructure, ageing workforce, and inadequate funding.

Since Murtala Mohammed International Airport was built in the 70s we have not had another terminal building since then; thirty years after, it has done well but 30 years has gone.

We should do something else; we are meant to build another one. To me that’s a major challenge, look when you are flying an airplane, you can sleep now, it’s very safe now and we pray to keep it that way.

Our airspace has improved; there is radar, we have improved our MET (meteorological services), all those services; that is good. However, when the passenger come to the airport, if you have to wait three hours to get your luggage, it’s not good enough, the facilities are over stretched and you can’t just blame the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN); it’s a 1970 architecture.

We are now in 2011 we need to do new things now; those are the things we should be talking about. We are now Category 1 certified. We are now making Nigeria the hub for Africa.

So this is important for us to do; we must do that. And they are all looking up to us that we are going to do it; the whole world is looking to us, that Nigeria must do it. We have done it in the past; we can do it again.

So, basically what do you see as your focus for this year?

Well, basically we kicked off from where we stopped last year. And the main thrust for this year is to sustain those achievements and make sure we build on them and move forward. Our goal still remains for this year and the years beyond: zero accidents, zero fatalities. And in doing that, that is crucial to us, we must ensure that we have a safe operation. I should mention this; no traveler will go on an airline if he knows he is going to have an accident. So our primary goal is safety.

What is your impression on the attitude of foreign airlines to corporate social responsibility in Nigeria?

Foreign airlines in Nigeria are having a field day. I came back to this country in 1979. Then, Nigeria Airways could match British Caledonia. They operated the same aircraft. They trained the same crew. The market share difference was minimal.

There was that balance. Now, we have lost all that. Foreign airlines in Nigeria are having a field day. Right now, we are almost carrying the leftover. That’s why we need to support our own airlines and make sure they are strong.

We must strengthen our institutions to make sure they can provide the services. Yes, there is competition. I like sustaining competition because with it, you have good services.

Today, you can see the plane Arik Air is flying on international operations. Good competition is coming in and we will remove all obstacles to make sure they can compete effectively.

That’s the way to get there. Unfortunately, because the foreign airlines have been having a field day, the whole thing has been in their favour. Emirates came in few years ago doing daily flights. Before we knew it, it was two flights daily. You can hardly get a seat.

Of course, I am jealous. I like to have a Nigerian airline that can do that. But how can this happen? I must have a strong Nigerian airline that can compete and can sell those seats. We want our airlines to go to Paris, London, and Dubai.

How can they do that? The airline must be a member of IATA. If they can sell your ticket for you, you will be able to interline. That is what we are asking our airlines to do. We want them to get good technical partners and be able to partner.

That is why we said we would like them to be IOSA compliant. I remember several years ago when they asked if it was compulsory. I said we would like to make it compulsory.

They said they would like to make it voluntary. We settled that it was going to be voluntarily compulsory. We are working with them to make sure we improve and get them to compete.

As the Director General of NCAA, are there things you think should be done differently in 2011 by Nigerian airlines?

Firstly, they need to improve their corporate image. Nigerian travelers are very sophisticated. When they know you are going to have a safe operation and that you are regular and punctual; and they have confidence in the system, they will travel with your airline.

Nigerian airlines need to get the confidence of the flying public. It is very important. We have lost it over the years but it is coming back. Then our government needs to assist them to make sure they can win that confidence and that they will have an edge. You cannot be wrong supporting your own. If we cannot support them, who will support them?

Go to Europe. In England, they support British Airways. In France, they support Air France, in the US, they support American Airlines. In Holland, they support KLM. So you must support your own.

In Nigeria, we are already supporting our own by making them strong. They are bringing in good aero planes now. They have Boeing 777s, A340s and A330s. They can do it well. We also need to improve our cabin and in – flights services.

Would you say that NCAA is living up to expectations as regards consumer protection?

I think we have tried. It is a major challenge. Last year alone, we had thousands of reported cases of lost baggage, delayed flights and flights cancellations but it happens all over the world. There is the weather problem. There was the volcanic ash problem. These are natural causes. What we do is that we make sure that they put these people in hotels. We get some revenues back to them. There is a lot of room for improvement in NCAA. We are not there yet. What we have done is that we have employed lot of people now.  

Libyan Air Defences Targeted to Enforce UN No-Fly Zone

*As Tomahawk Cruise,Cruise Missiles Hit                Ghadhafi Defence Forces

France, the United States and Britain used cruise missiles fired from warships in the Mediterranean to target Libyan air defences into early Sunday morning following the launch of military action Saturday to enforce a UN no-fly zone.

The US, Britain and France pounded Libya with Tomahawk missiles and air strikes into the early hours of Sunday, sparking fury from Moamer Kadhafi who declared the Mediterranean to be a "battlefield."
            
In the biggest Western intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, American warships and a British submarine fired at least 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya on Saturday, the US military said.
Admiral William Gortney told reporters at the Pentagon the cruise missiles "struck more than 20 integrated air defence systems and other air defence facilities ashore."
            
The action came two days after a UN Security Council resolution with Arab backing authorised military action to prevent Kadhafi's forces from crushing an uprising against his 41-year autocratic rule.
            
An AFP correspondent said bombs were dropped early Sunday near Bab al-Aziziyah, Kadhafi's Tripoli headquarters, prompting barrages of anti-aircraft fire from Libyan forces that lasted about 40 minutes.
            
State television had earlier said hundreds of people had gathered to serve as human shields at Bab al-Aziziyah and at the capital's international airport.
            
A Libyan official told AFP at least 48 people had died and 150 were hurt -- mainly women and children -- in the assaults, which began with a strike at 1645 GMT Saturday by a French warplane on a vehicle the French military said belonged to pro-Kadhafi forces.
            
Libyan state media said Western warplanes had on Saturday night bombed civilian targets in Tripoli, causing casualties while an army spokesman said strikes also hit fuel tanks feeding the rebel-held city of Misrata, east of Tripoli.
            
Kadhafi, in a brief audio message broadcast on state television, fiercely denounced the attacks as a "barbaric, unjustified Crusaders' aggression."
            
He vowed retaliatory strikes on military and civilian targets in the Mediterranean, which he said had been turned into a "real battlefield."
            
"Now the arms depots have been opened and all the Libyan people are being armed," to fight against Western forces, the veteran leader warned.
            
Libya's foreign ministry said that following the attacks, it regarded as invalid the UN resolution ordering a ceasefire by its forces and demanded an urgent meeting of the Security Council.
            
The attacks on Libya "threaten international peace and security," the ministry said.
            
"Libya demands an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council after the French-American-British aggression against Libya, an independent state member of the United Nations," it said.
            
On Thursday, the Security Council passed Resolution 1973, which authorised the use of "all necessary means" to protect civilians and enforce a ceasefire and no-fly zone against Kadhafi's forces.
            
The following day, Libya declared a ceasefire in its battle to crush an  armed revolt against Kadhafi's regime which began on February 15 and said it had grounded its warplanes.
            
As a result of the Western attacks, however, "the effect of resolution 1973 imposing a no-fly zone are over," the ministry statement said.
            
State television, quoting a security official, said Libya had also decided to suspend cooperation with Europe in the fight against illegal immigration due to the attacks.
            
Boats carrying thousands of undocumented migrants, mainly Tunisians, have landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa in recent weeks putting a heavy strain on Italy's immigration infrastructure.
            
US President Barack Obama, on a visit to Brazil, said he had given the green light for the operation.
            
"Today, I authorised the armed forces of the United States to begin a limited military action in Libya," Obama said, but stressed operation "Odyssey Dawn" would not send US troops to Libya.
            
The first Tomahawk missile struck at 1900 GMT on Saturday after air strikes carried out earlier by French warplanes, said Admiral Gortney, director of the US joint staff.
            
"It's a first phase of a multi-phase operation" to enforce the UN resolution and prevent the Libyan regime from using force "against its own people," he said.
            
One British submarine joined with other US ships and subs in the missile attacks, he said.
            
Russia expressed regret over the attacks and said Resolution 1973 was "adopted in haste," while the African Union, which opposed military action, on Sunday called for an "immediate stop" to all attacks.
            
China expressed regret over the air strikes, saying it opposed the use of force in international relations.
            
Japan, however, said it backed the multinational action, urging Kadhafi to make a "prudent decision".
            
British Prime Minister David Cameron said he held Kadhafi responsible for the situation in his country.
            
"Tonight, British forces are in action over Libya. They are part of an international coalition that has come together to enforce the will of the United Nations and to protect the Libyan people," Cameron said in London late Saturday.
            
"We have all seen the appalling brutality that Colonel Kadhafi has meted out against his own people and far from introducing the ceasefire he spoke about he has actually stepped up the attacks and the brutality."
            
In the rebel camp, celebratory gunfire and honking of car horns broke out in Al-Marj, 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Benghazi, to welcome the start of military operations against Kadhafi, correspondents said.
            
Thousands earlier Saturday fled Benghazi as Kadhafi loyalists pounded the eastern city, the rebels' stronghold, with shells and tank fire after two early morning air strikes.
            
Since Friday, Libya's has insisted it was observing a self-declared ceasefire. It said its armed forces had come under attack on Saturday west of Benghazi, including by rebel aircraft, and had responded in self-defence.
            
But the rebels, who have been trying to overthrow the Libyan leader for more than a month, said government troops had continued to bombard cities, violating the ceasefire continuously.
            
In another Middle East hotspot, medics in Yemen on Saturday raised to 52 the death toll from a sniper attack on protesters in Sanaa the previous day, as thousands rallied despite a state of emergency.
            
And security forces in Syria fired tear gas on Saturday at mourners burying two men killed in a protest in the southern city of Daraa the previous day, wounding several, rights activists said.


Source:France24

Violence Continues In Ivory Coast

by NewsDesk - iWireNews  

ABIDJAN (IVORY COAST)

Violence in Ivory Coast has forced more than 450,000 people to flee their homes and dogs were eating dead bodies on the streets of Abidjan, officials said.
November's presidential election was supposed to unite the African nation, but President Laurent Gbagbo has refused to cede power and there is concern the country could descend into a civil war, the BBC reported.
Opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara is widely recognized as the winner of the election and he has traveled to Nigeria to get help in ousting Gbagbo.
The African Union recognizes Ouattara as the winner of the election, but Gbagbo claims election fraud and refused to step down.
About 9,000 U.N. peacekeepers are in Ivory Coast, monitoring a cease-fire line between former rebel forces that support Ouattara, who controls the north, while most of the army remains loyal to Gbagbo.
The U.N. Refugee Agency called the situation an "unfolding tragedy." It said the crisis in North Africa has taken attention from the situation in Ivory Coast.
"We're seeing a lot of desolate scenes like dead bodies still littering the streets of (Abidjan district) Abobo where's there's been a lot of violence for weeks," said Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, a spokeswoman for the refugee agency.

OFFICIALWIRE

An Economic Aftershock Hits Japan

by NewsDesk - iWireNew
The massive earthquake that struck Japan Friday could tip the scales in the country's efforts to reduce its debt and turn its economy around, analysts said.
Analysts at Capital Economics wrote, "The timing of the disaster could not have been much worse," The Washington Post reported Saturday.
The earthquake hit a relatively unimportant area from an economic point of view, the Miyagi Prefecture, which accounts for 1.7 percent of the country's overall economy. Nevertheless, it will cost tens of billions of dollars to repair the damage.
"The greater the social and economic damage, the larger the threat to the government's ability and willingness to ward off a fiscal crisis," Capital Economics analysts wrote.
While the 8.9 magnitude quake was massive, it did not hit major industrial areas, like the 1995 earthquake that struck Kobe. The damage from Friday's tremor, however, does include damage to a nuclear power plant and millions are now without power, the Post reported.
The earthquake struck 30 minutes before the close of stock trading in Tokyo, but sent an already negative market down lower. The Nikkei 225 index lost 1.7 percent on the day and analysts expect markets will adjust lower next week.

Source:OFFICIALWIRE

N6.5B AVIATION SCAM:

COURT ADMITS EFCC   EVIDENCE AGAINST BORISADE

Professor Borishade(in white) flanked by Captain Iyayi and George Eder the CEO of Avsatel Communication Ltd A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja presided over by Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar, on Tuesday, March 1st , 2011, ruled that the confession of Mr. T. A. Dairo, Personal Assistant to a former Minister of Aviation,  Professor Babalola Borishade,  on July 25th , 2008, was made voluntarily; hence admissible in court. The judge also ruled that all the authorities cited during trial within trial by a  counsel to a  former Managing Director of the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency to Rowland Iyayi, are inapplicable and should  therefore be discountenanced. Borishade and Iyayi are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, alongside two others for allegedly taking bribes and forging documents relating to a  N6.5billion aviation contract awarded by them.  The other two accused persons are Mr. George Eder, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Avsatel Communications Limited and Avsatel Communications Limited. It would be recalled that the court had on June 9, 2010, ordered a trial within trial to determine vel non the voluntariness and admissibility of the statement of T. A Dairo made on July 25th , 2008 based on the objections of the defence counsel on the admissibility of same. In a seven-page document dated January 25th , 2011 and titled: “Written address of the prosecution to the court, urging admissibility of the statement made by the 3rd accused person on July 25th , 2008 and in response to written address of counsel to 2nd accused person”, EFCC  counsel, Sebastine Hon, had urged the court to “adopt our review of the evidence, preliminary objection and issue for determination in our exhaustive and comprehensive written addresses to counsels to 1st and 3rd accused persons respectively as our submissions in response to the written address of counsel to the 2nd accused person. Hon added that counsel to Iyayi, Barrister Chidi Ezenwafor, seemed to misconceive the real issue for the trial within trial which is whether or not the statement made by Dairo on July 25, 2008 was voluntarily made. Ricky Tarfa, SAN,  counsel to 4th and 5th accused persons, had also argued that the statements from the accused persons were taken under duress and therefore not admissible in court. The other defence counsel aligned with Tarfa. But in his ruling, the judge said that the prosecution has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the statements were not taken under duress, but voluntarily; hence admissible in court.  The  judge, after ruling on the admissibility of the  EFCC’s evidence, adjourned the case till March 28th , 2011, for continuation of hearing.  The EFCC had filed a 15- count amended charge against the accused on November 19, 2009.

RE:LAGOS GOVERNOR LAMBASTS JONATHAN,PDP Over Comment

Comment from: Bello, Suraj 

Fashola forget Jonathan, he is not a statesman. Do you know that he denied ever making such statement? Remember the 1st October bombing which MEND claimed responsibility? He insists it was the northerners that did it.

Comment from: Corriib

I do not think it's any issue that such a statement has been made by a PDP president. That unemployment is on the rise and that we're gradually having to face our own share of terrorism is not enough to cause him some worry. When people blindly cling to the reins of power, you shouldn't expect them to see the plank in their own eyes before they find the speck in their neighbour's.

Comment from: AMODU DAVID

I wonder why my two political God father (those i respect the most in politics) should engage them selves as gladiators, pls. Mr. governor, what ever the statement may be learn to show your leader some respect, we, i mean Nigerians knows quite well how the progressive change the face of the south-west on infrastructure and the free education, Mr. President like you is a good listener and a good leader, please lest take the nation to places. God bless Nigeria.

Comment from: HINDU

Fashola pls. come out and contest for the presidential seat.I personally urge you to go for it. We want someone like you with a vision and determination.

Comment from: AMODU DAVID  

The only true power in the world is spiritual. We can change the hearts of men, because what they are looking for is something that no one can give them. No matter what you do for them, they’d never be satisfied. And that is why we must preach the gospel very quickly. We must let our lights burn and shine so bright in 2011 that men may see the glory of God in us because we are the only ones that have the power to change the hearts of men. We are the light of the world!
Comment from: BANEGO PETER. O

Jonathan calling the ACN Governors rascals is indeed not a welcome idea. As a president of a country like Nigeria, he should endeavour to make choice of proper & appropriate words before voicing them out. What goes out of a man can make or mar him. However, Fashola should also know that irrespective of the statement made by the president, that he still owe him ( Jonathan) due respect as his president. Fashola has over-reacted. He should apologise to the president while the president should in future be conscious of the choice of languages he uses.

Comment from: AHMED

I´m sure, the president must have regretted his utterances. Don’t, get vex  Fashola, we hope to see you on that seat in Abuja soon. You have proved , not only to the Lagosians but to the whole Nigerians that you can make a good and hard working president in Nigeria. Don’t mind what they say or do , you are the best among equals.

Comment from: Joshua Ojo

A lot of people have commented about the utterances of the President at his campaign rally at Ibadan. It is a shame the President has lost the little respect I have for him as a loyal deputy to all his former bosses. Now that he is fully baptised by the arrogance of the PDP, Nigerians should not expect anything better than what is happening in all states ruled by PDP governors if Nigerians do allow them to win any election through their usual rigging again. The power of the tongue cannot be over emphasized. It can build and destroy. I will refer the President to the book of Proverbs and see what it says about the power of the tongue. The President has said things that cannot be retrieved. Let him know that Luck runs out.

Comment from: Tunde Ladigbolu

It is unpresidential to call your former contemporaries rascals irrespective of what they have done.

Comment from: Chyke Nzube

Na wah for this president. I don't think this man is capable of leading this country to any where. He behaves like a baby that is still being spoon-fed by his mother. The best option left for Nigerians now is to use our votes to remove him from that office which he does not know the importance else one day he will sell Nigeria by his unbridled tongue.

Comment from: Daniel - USA

Governor Babatunde Fashiola in my own opinion is a god. I am personally apologizing to you for such a reckless characterisation by someone who is supposed to be at the mantle of reform.
For a single person who single handedly is transforming the swamps of the environment of Lagos into domicilable domains and to be characterized amongst rascals, is quite thought provoking.
Governor, remember this is a guy who does not know how he first of all became a vice president then, and now being manipulated into becoming a president. Among all those office how many of them did he come out and established himself for? Some hidden, and latent demi-goD thieves spoke for him and place him where he is at. Just a happy go lucky guy sailing to the top of a stupendously rich nation like our Nigeria. A rich domain, sitting duck to be pilfered by these modern day thieves called leaders.
They got offended when a God sent human like Babatunde Fashiola, the great came on stage. They have to offend you with silly comments like rascals. Who is a rascal amongst us? The great Governor or the radical thieves?
Mr. Governor, God, Allah, Chineke, Oluwa, any and all gods protect you, and the people line up in supporting you. Let me say this to you, you are our Marcus Garvey, our Martin Luther King Jr., you are our Mathmaha Ghandi, our Malcom X, so give them (so called….and PDP) if they try to question your able and magical transformation of Lagos. What they like is State like Abia State that is fast becoming a swamp. Have you been to Abia, Governor? Abia is now a mountain of refuse.
Mr Presidents and PDPs, and the other…………, remember Egypt? You guys must leave Governor Fashola alone, instead go and  see what this super Governor is doing in Lagos and try duplicating his work on a national level. This kind of action will help begin to heal the wounds of the nation but you rather call him names. I bet you Egypt will visit you soon.

Comment from: Zara Hawer

The statement is taken out of proportion. It is not necessary
to criticize Good Luck as if he committed a crime
It is only in Nigeria would such remark become an offence
I have seen David Cameron reduce Gordon Brown to a little
rat when he was leader of opposition, Gordon Brown brushed it
off because it is politic. Political language should never be taken
as personal attack

Comment from: OLORUNWA

It has been noted that, president Goodluck has never done something good since he was sworn in as the president of Nigeria.He lack so many things and he is not worthy to be the President of Nigeria. Nigeria as a country need a president that could provide for their needs and wants, in terms of infrastructural facilities, electricity and many other amenities that are beneficiary to people. Goodluck can never compare his work with Lagos state governor...if Fashola were to be the president of this country Nigeria, I believe strongly that Nigeria and people of Nigeria will enjoy so many things and the country will drastically become good, in all aspect of life. Fashola is doing good and fine, infact, here I was in eastern part of Nigeria, the very day I step my foot in Lagos, my home state. I give kudos for Governor Raji Fashola. He had transformed the whole of Lagos State. that is what we need in Nigeria not talking like a child in presidency. Think well and act wise.......Eko o ni baje ooo

EFCC Arraigns Former Ecobank Manager Over N200m Fraud

Henry Orosanye, the suspect

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has arraigned one Mr Henry Oronsanye before a Lagos High Court in Igbosere, on a 102 count charge bordering on fraud, diversion of funds and stealing  the sum of 200 million naira,  contrary to Section 390 sub (7) of the Criminal Code Cap c 17 Laws of Lagos State 2003.

Oronsanye , a former staff of the EGC Securities Limited, a subsidiary of Ecobank Plc,  is alleged to have sometime in 2008 while he was the officer in charge of posting of funds to shareholders’ accounts at EGC defrauded the bank to the tune of N200 million. 

The accused  was first arrested in 2008 following a petition by the bank and had been enjoying administrative bail until his arraignment today. Following his arrest, investigations reveal that Oronsanye had been involved in “dry posting”, which is the jargon for the fraudulent act of creating fictitious figures and post them as funds into shareholders’ accounts after which the money is diverted to private use.

He sustained this nefarious practice for almost a year before the bank noticed and raised a query. He was confronted with the facts but denied, claiming the postings were genuine. Further queries from the bank however discovered the fraud and hence the petition. Oronsanye  was however  re- arrested on January 7^, 2011 after the EFCC preferred charges against him at the Lagos State High Court, Igbosere.

One of the charges read: ‘‘that you Henry Oronsanye on or about the 19^th of May,2008 while being the Financial Controller of EGC Securities Ltd., a subsidiary of EcoBank Plc in Lagos within the Lagos State Judicial Council with the intent to defraud stole the sum of 4,957,000 naira.’’

After the charges were read to him, the accused pleaded not guilty. His counsel, Osahon Ihenyen immediately urged the court to grant his client bail.

He argued that  the accused has a right to bail and assured the court that his client  will make himself available whenever the matter comes up for hearing.

Story&Photo-EFCC

LAGOS GOVERNOR LAMBAST JONATHAN,PDP OVER COMMENT

*Fashola says PDP Federal Government 

 Bereft of Ideas, Lack Planning

By Lateef Lawal 

The Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) controlled Federal Government has been described as an administration bereft of ideas and planning to develop the country and move it to greater heights.

This was how the Governor of Lagos State,Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola responded to the statement of the President,Goodluck Jonathan during the flag off of his party’s campaign in Ibadan, Oyo State early in the week where he referred to opposition controlled Sate Governors in the Southwest as ‘Rascals’.

Speaking with journalists yesterday on his return from Abuja., Fashola noted that the statement by the president was unbecoming of the person of Jonathan who was presently occupying the exalted office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He told the president to channel his energy toward addressing the infrastructural decay that dotted the country’s landscape such as bad roads instead of engaging in cheap diatribe and name calling  which was unbefitting of the exalted office of the President.

Expatiating on his challenge to President Jonathan, Governor Fashola asked the president to  come to Lagos and see lots of abandoned  Federal roads adding that if  governors qualify as " Rascals" ,  Jonathan himself is a ' president of rascals'.

Fashola went on: "I think that I am happy that you have put the remark in its very appropriate perspective. The office of the President  of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a very high office and I do not think that that kind of language coming from the PDP presidential candidate is unpresidential.

And it is interesting that these remarks are being made from outside Lagos, so I hope that when they come here they would be able to call us rascals again. And if we are rascals it means that some of the other governors he has been presiding over are in a republic of rascals’.

He added: ’But I leave him to decide his own choice of words. Why should they be worried about our success in Lagos? If it(our success) gives them sleepless night and it makes them uncomfortable, I make no apologies, that is why I am in government, to succeed  here, to improve the quality of lives of people as best as I can.’ 

Governor Fashola pondered:, ‘Look. This  party, PDP ,  has spent 12 years trying to provide electricity. We have provided  three  major electricity plants in Lagos, the next one will be completed in a few weeks. And clearly therefore they are deficient in ideas , they are deficient  in planning. They spent four  years trying to build 400 meters bridge in Ota, Ogun State and on the day that they finally came to open  that bridge instead of apologizing to the people Lagosians, they inundated us again, they were fighting themselves about who will cut the tape." 

Said Fashola : " Meanwhile the road that leads to the bridge is not completed. We built Okota  link bridge in 18 months. It is longer  than that bridge in which they were fighting. So, that is what we expect them to come and talk about. Apapa- Oshodi-Oworoshoki Express Road is their  road, is potholes ridden. The road to the biggest airport to this country is a national embarrassment.

“ We cleared Oshodi, asking them to finish their roads so that Nigerians can even begin to change our image to foreigners who come here. These are the issues that we expect them to come and address our voters about. We are waiting for them.’ 

‘But Lagosians will have to  be determined  to see clearly the pattern of the candidacy of the PDP candidates who seek to continue to lead this country into poverty, into inefficiency, into insecurity.  But having said that I think that I  have asked myself whether the president is more concerned about who is governor of Lagos or about becoming president.

The governor continued,:’I think that if the PDP wants to swap candidates for the governor of Lagos I will be ready to face him because his candidate is not talking about what he wants to do in Lagos. And I will leave our own presidential candidate on issues that are germane to Nigerians. 

Why the federal roads in Lagos have not been fixed? Why  Lagosians do not have electricity? Why Lagosians have to bear the cost of their own security in spite of the enormous votes every year in the federal budget? 

‘These are the issues that concern Lagosians and those are the issues about which their votes will be deployed.  Lagos voters will not vote on the basis of luck. I did not win this office on the basis of luck, it was won on the basis of very clear manifesto of the ACN, very clear ideas about how to propel this economy, very hard work that we have done since 1999 as a people, progressives who have shown our common touch with the people." 

He further said : "  Elections will not be won by resulting to derogatory  language and by claiming luck, elections require those who seek elective offices to focus on the people over who they plan to exercise authority and to communicate to them in a very clear and practical manner how they intend to improve thier lot. I think that the PDP led federal government has a lot of questions to answer in Lagos."

On the controversial elevation of the president of the Court of Appeal into the Supreme Court, Fashola said : " Seriously, I don’t have all of the facts, and you know that until I have the facts it is dangerous to make conclusions, more importantly I think I read somewhere that there is now a court action so I more than anybody should respect and not make the work of the court difficult in this matter. Except of course to say on a general basis that I know as a fact that the president of the court of appeal has opted on occasion not to be elevated to the supreme court, he made that choice. And therefore many of his colleagues some of whom were his juniors have been elevated to that place. And it is common knowledge in our profession that if we were colleagues or classmates on the day that I get appointed to the court even if I were your junior, on the day I get appointed to a court and you come after me, you become my junior in that court.

‘ So, if his colleagues and juniors have gone to the Supreme Court ahead of him and we are promoting him, is there a real promotion there? Because he is going to take a queue behind them. If it is a promotion, is that a real promotion to go and queue up behind those you presided over? " 

Attack of the Drones

Unmanned aircraft are now a vital tool in war zones, but our skies could soon be buzzing with spy planes that feed information back to the police – and even the paparazzi

There is a second-and-a-half delay between the RAF operator pressing his button and the Hellfire rocket erupting from the aircraft he is controlling, circling in the sky above Afghanistan.

That's a long time in modern warfare, but the plane is an unmanned "drone" and its two-strong crew are 8,000 miles away at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. Right now, the Reaper is being commanded from a console with twin video screens shaped to resemble a plane's cockpit.

The UK has five Reapers like this one operating in Afghanistan. With a wingspan of 66ft, they are 36ft long, reach a top speed of 250 knots and usually carry four Hellfire rockets and two laser-guided bombs. These Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) – which rely on fibre optic cables, European "upstations" and satellite links – are part of an international trend towards remote combat. RAF-controlled Reapers used their weapons in Afghanistan 123 times in the first 10 months of 2010.

British forces are also using smaller drones, such as Lockheed Martin's hand-launched Desert Hawk. The lightweight surveillance aircraft is flown by Royal Artillery controllers to provide army patrols with "over the hill" vision for improved reconaissance. Last summer the Ministry of Defence ordered £3m worth of an enhanced version that will give troops in Afghanistan "greater situational awareness" and upgraded "target acquisition" capabilities. On the US side, there were more than 100 CIA-led drone strikes in Pakistan last year and the Pentagon is about to deploy its intimidatingly named Gorgon Stare airborne surveillance system, a multi-image video device for tracking suspects across large areas.

But interest in UAVs is not limited to the military. Advances in remote control, digital imagery and miniaturised circuitry mean the skies might one day be full of commercial and security drones.

They're already being used by the UK police, with microdrones deployed to monitor the V festival in Staffordshire in 2007. Fire brigades send similar machines to hover above major blazes, feeding images back to their control rooms. And civilian spin-offs include cheaper aerial photography, airborne border patrols and safety inspections of high-rise buildings.

Despite this development, not everyone, even within the miltary, thinks that drones will eventually replace all other planes. Wing Commander Christopher Thirtle is responsible for the RAF's strategy on remotely piloted air systems (RPAS) — the term preferred in air force circles.

"Reapers will not replace Tornados. Human beings bring flexibility like no computers," he told an audience at the Royal Society in London.

It may be just as well: there has been international criticism because a significant number of those killed in drone attacks have been reported to be innocent tribesmen misidentified as al-Qaida leaders, or villagers caught up in targeted explosions.

But Thirtle insists the RAF is bound by international laws governing armed conflict – specifically the principle of attacks being discriminate and proportionate. "We have a targeting directive which sets down who are combatants and sets out rules on how we can engage [them]."

A ground pilot's extreme distance does not necessarily result in greater collateral damage, he argues. Aircrews in Kosovo conducted bombardments from 22,000ft. "If I was asked where I make the best decisions about people on the ground, then my clarity of thought is much more conducive at a ground control station [without] a 10lb flying helmet on my head."

Accustomed to the 20th-century gadgetry of cruise missiles, CCTV, satellite phones and radio-controlled model aeroplanes, technical experts and peace campaigners have only belatedly become alarmed by the combination of such capabilities.

The International Committee for Robot Arms Control (Icrac), founded in Britain in 2009, marked the beginning of a global – if small-scale – protest movement. The organisation held its first workshop in Berlin last summer and called for a ban on the "further development of armed autonomous robots", limits on numbers operated by any state and restrictions on the use of armed drones for "targeted killings in sovereign territories not at war".

Even the UN human rights special rapporteur, Philip Alston, has warned that US drone killings may violate international law. He has called on the US to explain the legal basis for its attacks. Others have taken direct action: peace protesters recently breached the gates of the Creech base – 14 of them were arrested for invading the site. Kathy Kelly, their spokeswoman, said: "We protested because . . . the US is, at an alarming rate, moving into robotic warfare, kind of a mission creep, that could lead us into perpetual war."

Opponents of drones fear they will lower the threshold for wars to start in places such as Yemen and Somalia, where the US is not involved in any formal conflict. Yemen was the site of one of the earliest CIA-co-ordinated Predator drone attacks on al-Qaida targets as early as 2002. There have been further drone strikes there since the failed Christmas Day attack on a transatlantic airliner. A fresh onslaught, it is suspected, is being planned in the wake of the recent Yemeni-based plot to destroy cargo planes.

Noel Sharkey, professor of robotics and artificial intelligence at Sheffield University, told the Royal Society meeting there are credible estimates that one in three casualties from drone attacks is a civilian. His chief anxiety is the development of "autonomous targeting", where unmanned planes are engineered to lock automatically onto what their onboard computers identify as the enemy. The military are keen on this because it would no longer have to worry about radio signals being jammed.

"There's a really big drive to get autonomy," he says. Manufacturers are even working on "swarms" of vehicles that can co-operate. "The big problem is there's no system capable of consistently distinguishing [between] targets. The Pentagon is funding research labs and saying these things can 'think': that's strong anthropomorphic language."

However, Thirtle is adamant we will never reach a Terminator-style situation where robots run out of control. "There will be an enduring need for a man in the [control] loop for the foreseeable future," he maintains.

The Oxford-based Fellowship of Reconciliation is "seriously concerned" the UK might be sanctioning a culture of "convenient killing . . . Our core concern is with 'PlayStation warfare', where the geographical and psychological distance between operator and target lowers the threshold for launching an attack."

Thirtle dismisses the accusation. "The people doing this are adults," he said. "They understand flying and the effects they are having on the ground. They are not remote. One pilot told me he had never felt more connected to the ground than in flying a Reaper."

But Steve Graham, professor of cities and society at Newcastle University, who studies urban battle grounds, warns that the US military's "technophilia" and "fantasies of omnipotence" blur the distinction between surveillance and killing. As he puts it in his book Cities Under Siege: "The possibility of deploying swarms of armed and unarmed robots to loiter persistently across regions of the world deemed trouble spots is clearly a good fit with the Pentagon's latest thinking surrounding the long war."

The growing popularity of UAVs can also be witnessed in the UK's congested skies. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has conducted two safety inquiries, the first of their kind involving UAVs, into the use of drones over Salisbury Plain following reports of near-collisions with helicopters. (It concluded that the ground operator avoided a risk of collision.)

Border patrols present a further opportunity for deployment. The US Customs and Border Protection Agency has announced that it is patrolling all 2,000 miles of the Mexican border with Predator drones equipped with night vision cameras. Frontex, the European border agency, has held a drone demonstration conference in Bulgaria, while the UK Border Agency says: "[We] do not rule out the use of drones in the future if they can be shown to provide a value for money increase in our border security."

At least four police forces – Essex, Merseyside, Staffordshire and the British Transport police – have bought or used microdrones. Last summer the Serious Organised Crime Agency published a tender notice requesting information on "a fully serviced, airborne, surveillance-ready platform for covert observation" provided by either drones or manned aircraft. And several fire brigades – including West Midlands and South Wales – regularly send up drones to check on the spread of blazes.

Commercial distributors and manufacturers are convinced drones will gradually displace expensive manned aircraft and expand into even more areas. Aviation experts already envisage a time when unmanned cargo planes, fitted with collision-avoidance detectors, circle the world.

Given this progress, it cannot be long before news organisations exploit microdrones to obtain picture exclusives: imagine aerial races between Hello! and OK! magazines. Last autumn a US academic claimed he was developing a "paparazzi drone". Ken Rinaldo of Ohio State University said it would have a lot of "flash and bling".

"UAVs will, to an extent, replace helicopters," believes Mark Lawrence, director of Air Robot UK. "Our 'air robots' cost £30,000 compared with £10m for a fully equipped modern helicopter. We have even been asked to put weapons on them, but I'm not interested in getting involved in that."

Alistair Fox, commerical director of Air Power Systems, which supplies microdrones to the fire service and the government's Health and Safety Laboratory, claims drones have "all sorts of commercial applications for safety inspections. With thermal imaging and air-sampling devices they could check for cannabis being grown under lamps in roof lofts." Another suggested use is perimeter patrols around prisons.

There are possible uses – drones have already been used for high-altitude research into hurricanes. And Israel lent the Chilean airforce several to inspect damage after the country's earthquake this spring. In Japan, drones are used to cropdust rice fields.

Many of the 70 permissions already granted by the CAA for drones to fly in UK airspace this year are thought to relate to civil engineering surveys or aerial photography companies. But the agency has warned: "In the wrong hands or used irresponsibly in built-up areas, or too close to other people or property, [drones] represent a very real safety risk."

The advent of effective "sense and avoid" systems would transform the technology, the CAA admits, opening up a future where unmanned UAVs could float safely above our heads. The first firm to design an acceptable system could make a fortune.

Part of the CAA's anxiety was due to postings on YouTube showing near–collisons in central London involving microdrones launched for amusement. Some of the latest models can be controlled by iPhones. Permission is now required to fly a drone "within 50 metres of a person, vehicle, vessel or structure" not under the control of the remote operator.

Even without these restrictions, it may be a while before our streets echo to the buzz of unmanned aircraft. John Moreland, general secretary of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems Association, the trade body that represents the industry in the UK, suspects that security surveillance at the 2012 Olympics will be conducted from an airship rather than highly mobile drones.

The CAA, he says, is unlikely to allow UAVs to operate so close to large crowds because of "reliability" issues. The east London site, he also points out, is too close to London City Airport.

One airshow enthusiast has nonetheless contacted the Guardian to say he is convinced he spotted a drone passing over the Olympic site. "Its length was about 8ft and its altitude between 300ft and 400ft," he said.

The authorities denied any knowledge of the flight. "The public perception of drones at the moment is that they are a little bit sinister," Moreland adds, "but the technology is becoming more widespread and there are lots of applications. Everyone is feeling their way forward."

Source: guardian.co.uk