Gov.Raji Fashola of Lagos State addressing workers at the last MayDay

Bimbola Oyesola
Nigerian workers in their usual characteristic way joined their counterparts from all over the world to celebrate this year’s May Day on Teusday, despite the overall security and other daunting challenges to the national growth. But the organised labour wants the government to act fast in tackling all these life threatening problems, as such the government may need to act fast or else.

OrganisedLabour may have decided to use the period of the Workers Day to send a clear warnings to the Federal Government that it would no longer tolerate the kid glove system the government has before now employed in handling the general insecurity in the country in spite of countless number of innocent Nigerians losing their lives daily.
With this year May Day themed “Right to work, food and education anacea to insecurity”, the workers, according to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has decided to take the bull by the horns and raise the consciousness of the political leaders to put an end to the current carnage going on in the country.

NLC CHALLENGE
The President of the NLC, Comrade Abdul Wahed Omar said that though the Workers Day was a day to reflect on government several policies that had come up since the celebration of the last May Day in 2011, he stated that most of the policies were not favourable to the workers and need to be challenged.
“Generally, we want to use this period for reflection on how the workers have fared generally in the past one year, but there is no doubt that that the conditions have become more pathetic . Workers cannot be said to have fared very well.
“In fact the relieve we ought to have got with the approval and payment of the minimum wage has been eroded by the new pump price increase in January, even as some states like Enugu, Anambra have refused to pay the new wage, this is a gross violation to the law of the country by the leaders who are expected to be the custodian of our constitution. One can see the unbearable pain workers in those states are being subjected to by the leaders they elected to represent their interest, but now turn around to inflict pain on them.”
The labour leader lamented that the increase in the pump price has eaten into the wages of the workers and made lives very terrible for them, as workers now struggle to keep up with the new price regime fostered on them which was never taken into cognizance during the negotiation of the new minimum wage now rendered obsolete.
Comrade Omar noted that while the new price regime has equally swelled the figures of unemployment in the country, it also has further made Nigerians slaves in their country through the practice of outsourcing and contract job.
In his words; ‘’More jobs have been lost between January and now as a result of the increase in the pump price of the petroleum products. The employers in order to salvage their enterprises resulted to cut cost and anytime such avenue is considered workers rationalization has always been the first option.
‘’However, the most pathetic of it is that the employers not only sack our members but go behind to rob Peter to pay Paul as they would still turn around to engage casuals whom they would pay peanuts to do those jobs their permanent workers whom they sacked were doing. To us this is totally unacceptable and we made them realized all workers, be it casuals or permanent workers must be treated fairly and all have rights to belong to the union”, he said.
The labour President noted that the workers believed that the basic challenges to Nigeria as a Nation today is the issue of security and corruption.
On the security, the NLC President believed that the main cause has been unemployment, the main reason why the organized labour opined that if Nigerians, most especially the youths are gainfully employed, there would be little distractions to the crime, as an idle hands no doubt would be the devil’s workshop.
SUBSIDY PROBE
“Nigerians are tired of all these ineptitude and corruption at the highest order most especially in the places of authority. Everybody can see that the result of the subsidy probe has actually justified our protest in January on the issue.
“Based on this we believed that government should not think of any further deregulation of the petroleum sector which would further impoverish and inflict undue pains on Nigerians, should they try it as we are already having the feelers, we will not hesitate to resist the government. Nigerians are ready to take up government on this deregulation, because we are more enlightened now.
“We also commend the National Assembly who has been able to dig up all the corruption going on in the sector and would continue to support the law makers to ensure that justice is done and ensure that the probe do not die a natural death like others before it’’, he stressed.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) President General, Comrade Peter Esele reaffirmed that Labour at this May Day was challenging the government to rise up to its responsibility of proving enabling environment for Nigerians to live, but in terms of security and economic wellbeing.
“As usual we are going to make noise and let them know that the corruption in the country has been a wind that has never blown an average Nigerian any good wind left for those of them who are in the minority engaging in it’’, he said.
Esele added that the three tiers of governments know the right thing to do in creating an egalitarian society, but as they have often failed, labour through this year’s May Day theme thus decided to reecho that the panacea to the grave insecurity in the country, is for the government to provide jobs, food through agriculture and quality education for her citizens.

UNEMPLOYMENT
Foremost labour leader and the former President of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Dr. Peace Obiajulu also while presenting a May Day lecture on ‘Right to Work, Food and Education: A Panacea to Insecurity’ at a seminar/interactive session at the weekend in Lagos attributed the crisis and insecurity in Nigeria to unemployment and lack of education among youths in the country.
“The crisis and insecurity in Nigeria is the fall out of the implications of high rate of unemployment and lack of education among youth in the country”, she said.
She noted that Nigeria Government was not serious at generating employment opportunities and catering for the education of the youths.
“Establishing 200 Universities would not solve the problem because our children are robbed of their right, and until this is done, we will not get it right because Nigeria has all resources that would create jobs for the people in which everybody can be self employed but the environment is not right”, she stated.
The labour leader lamented that unemployment increases everyday while youth unemployment hovers round 70 per cent margin, affirming that Nigeria was wholly dependent on imports of food which have journeyed in the high seas for upwards of 2months before getting to the country.
While proffering solutions to above problems, she however maintained that Nigerians must come together in a broad coalition to answer the national question. “Provision of jobs for the youth is very paramount and government should ensure that it invests in the people while all hands must be on deck to stop corruption in our society. We need responsible and responsive governance that would bring about strategy that would reduce social inequality in our society”, she stressed.

NUPENG ANGLE
Also speaking in the same vein on the great challenge posed to Nigerian workers on the issue of insecurity, most especially workers in the oil and gas sector, the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) has charged the Federal Government to urgently address the increasing rate of insecurity and corruption in the sector, else members of the union will have no other option, than to withdraw their services.
The union which also condemned the recent bomb attacks in the country, with separate bomb blasts at the office of Thisday Newspapers in Abuja and those of Daily Sun, The Moment and Thisday in Kaduna, stressed that the Federal Government must rise up to the challenges by extending its security apparatus to all the media houses in the country, as the Boko Haram sect has now resulted to callous killings of innocent journalists.
NUPENG’s President, Comrade Achese Igwe in an interview with Workforce lamented that the high rate of kidnapping, insecurity and corruption in the oil and gas industry have affected the nation’s economy in the last two decades.
“We challenged the Federal Government to urgently address the increasing rate of insecurity and corruption in the oil and gas sector; else our union will have no other option, than to call our members to withdraw their services”, he warned.
He stated further: “While we insist that the high rate of insecurity to lives and property in the country, especially in Niger Delta is affecting the nation’s economy, we therefore warned that if the trend of kidnapping in Niger Delta goes unchecked, we will take action in our own way because we find it difficult to understand why the state governments in the region and security agencies fail to check the criminals”.
Igwe noted that the House of Representative probe panel on fuel subsidy did not take pain to visit the depots, refineries, Central Bank and other agencies to get more information and verify and access claims by these agencies on the alleged fraud committed.
“ NUPENG was vehement in the condemnation of the use of brief case carriers as allotees to the importation of petroleum products, and we make bold to say that the probe panel report has vindicated us on our past criticism raised against the fuel subsidy management”, he said
The labour leader maintained that the union in strong term “condemn the high level of corruption and rot in the system, and therefore, called on the Executive arm of government not to bury the report, but to conduct a thorough investigation without witch hunting anybody”.
On Petroleum Industrial Bill (PIB), NUPENG’s President said that his union was disappointed that PIB was yet to be re-tabled before the National Assembly by the Committee set up to review all the versions, and so, was at a loss on the authentic version of the bill.
“While we are not comfortable with the committee set up by the Federal Government to fine-tune the report for presentation to the National Assembly as it is conducting its affairs in secrecy, we call for a stakeholders meeting in order to iron out the grey areas”, he added.
The NUPENG President, however maintained that government should do everything possible to make refineries work in order to reduce importation of refined products to barest level.

But just how big is the land that will be given out to the farmers? In this visual presentation prepared by InterAksyon.com, we compared the total land area of the hacienda that will be awarded to its tillers to the country’s landmarks and popular places.

Click here to view graphic.

It is in this direction that the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Ransford Tetteh, has urged media practitioners, especially, journalists, to harness the power of the web, by using social media as a tool to communicate to their various communities.

“The use of social media,” he noted, “in today’s media industry is very important.”

Mr. Tetteh made this observation over the weekend, when he presented a paper on the ‘Role of the Parliamentary Press Corps in educating the populace on parliamentary proceedings’ at a two-day workshop at Dodowa.

The workshop was organised by the Parliament of Ghana to build the capacity of the Press Corps in their quest to reach out to the populace. It was under the theme ‘Parliamentary Press Corps as an agent of Good Governance.’

According to him, journalists must always be innovative in presenting their work, and the social media presents such a platform for one to meet the demands of the information age.

Social media, he said, makes research and interactivity between the journalist and his or her community much easier. He described the modern journalist as a multimedia creature, who feeds the beasts of television, print, radio, and the web.

Commenting further, he urged members of the Parliamentary Press Corps to master the art of parliamentary reporting, since it was an avenue that requires specialisation.

He bemoaned the situation where editors do not allow their reporters to stay long in Parliament, arguing that “such practice inhibits the art of parliament reporting.”

Other papers presented include Parliamentary Reporting by Daniel Kondor, Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, Parliamentary Procedures by Ebenezer Djietror, Office of Parliament, Constitution and the Standing Orders that relate to the practice of Journalism by Cyril Nsiah, Office of Parliament, and The Need for Features and Articles on parliamentary proceedings by Robert Apodola, Assistant Clerk to Parliament.

The Dean of the Parliamentary Press Corps, Edwin Arthur, in his opening remarks, called on journalists to be guided by ethics of journalism, in order to preserve the dignity of the profession.

He bemoaned the lack of professionalism by some journalists in their day-to-day activities, a situation, he argued, was giving the journalism profession a bad image.

“Let me state here that, it is sad to observe that some journalists and media houses have thrown ethics to the dogs, and are practising the profession the way they want it in a reckless and careless manner, which development has given the profession a bad image.”

To address the challenge, Mr. Arthur called on the GJA and the National Media Commission (NMC) to, as a matter of urgency, put in place measures to strengthen the practice of journalism in the country.

Another issue of concern raised by Mr. Arthur was the polarisation of the media into categories of political affiliation.

This, he noted, must be condemned in no uncertain terms, since such unprofessional conduct contributes to the breeding of charlatans, “with some virtually turning themselves into blackmailers, plying their trade on naïve and ignorant politicians.”

However, Africa remains the region with the lowest IDI values. Of the forty African countries listed, only six of them made the first 100 on the 2010 IDI. They are Mauritius (69), Seychelles (71), Tunisia (84), Morocco (90), Egypt (91) and South Africa (97).

In West Africa, Ghana ranked 120^th behind Cape Verde (104) while Nigeria, Senegal and The Gambia were placed in the 122^nd, 125^th and 126^th positions respectively. While Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea-Bissau were not included in the 2010 IDI, other listed West African states are Cote d’Ivoire (130), Mauritania (131), Togo (133), Benin (135), Guinea (144), Mali (146), Burkina Faso (149) and Niger (151).

To highlight differences in ICT levels within the five regions of the world, Africa had the greatest global ranking difference between its top five countries – 40 places separate Mauritius and Botswana. The continent also seconded the CIS as the region with the largest increase in IDI ranges between 2008 and 2010 –where countries with relatively lower ICT levels are not catching up as fast as their counterparts in other regions.

While only Mauritius, Seychelles, Angola, Gabon, Nigeria and South Africa have more than 5% of their households connected to the Internet, four countries – South Africa, Seychelles, Cape Verde and Mauritius have a broadband penetration rate of over one percent.

The report stated that despite Africa’s fixed broadband basket has dropped by over 50%, the service remains prohibitively expensive and in 2010 still represented almost three times the monthly average per capita income.

Even though new submarine cables are providing African countries with access to more and cheaper international Internet bandwidth, the report stated, Africa still lags far behind other regions in terms of the bandwidth available to Internet users. For Africans to benefit from the continent’s increased connectivity, operators must acquire greater amounts of international Internet bandwidth, expand and improve core networks, and make network access infrastructure available, as well as affordable.

“While the IDI leaders are all from the developed world, it is extremely encouraging to see that the most dynamic performers are developing countries,” ITU Secretary-General, Dr Hamadoun Touré said in a release. “The ‘mobile miracle’ is putting ICT services within reach of even the most disadvantaged people and communities. Our challenge now is to replicate that success in broadband.”

The only African country among those that made the largest improvements in the use sub-index reflecting a substantial increase in Internet usage, and fixed or mobile broadband uptake is Kenya. Described as one of Africa’s fastest growing Internet markets with a 0.55 IDI value increase as compared with the world average of 0.46 and the African average of 0.23, Kenya recorded a 37% increase in the access sub-index due to the large growth in mobile-cellular subscriptions and a high increase in the country’s Internet bandwidth capacity. Its use sub-index jumped 19 places to a value of 1.05, and compares very favourably with the African countries’ average of 0.44. Mobile-cellular tariffs have come down considerably due to increasing competition between providers in Kenya.

This year’s report includes a special focus on broadband, looking at speed, quality of service and international bandwidth available in different countries worldwide and how this is impacting broadband take-up in the developed and developing worlds. 

It says that while broadband prices declined sharply worldwide, a high-speed Internet connection remains unaffordable in many low-income countries citing Africa at end of 2010, where fixed broadband services still cost an average of 290% of monthly income, down from 650% in 2008.

The report also analyzed the digital divide among Internet users examining how factors like age, gender, educational level, and urban/rural location affect people’s ability to get online. ITU indicated that targeting students may be the most effective way to increase the about 21% of its population that use the Internet in developing countries through connecting schools and other educational institutions, and improving enrolment rates.

ITU said that while the spread of mobile networks has reached saturation in developed countries with average penetration now over 100% at end 2010, developing countries remain buoyant with 20% growth in mobile subscriptions (now 70%).

As the main source of internationally comparable data and statistics on ICT, ITU is the globally-recognized body saddled with the responsibility of observing improvement in all countries of the world and proffering ICT trends that would augur well for the overall being of every state – more so as ICT has been closely linked to good governance these days.

After a 30-hours-journey from Ciudad Juárez to the Global Media Forum in Bonn, Judith Torrea was tired, but still full of energy. (Screenshot from author's video)

Judith, you have been reporting on Ciudad Juárez for 15 years now and even moved there in 2009 – what draw you towards one of the most dangerous cities in the world?
I am a journalist and our duty is to tell the stories that have to be told. If we don’t do that, we become accomplices of war, massacres or genocides like those involved in the so-called „War on Drugs“ led by the Mexican president Felipe Calderón. Once I stepped into this topic I couldn’t just ignore it and go back to Washington as if nothing had happened.

Stepping into it, how did that happen?
Even if I was born in Northern Spain, my heart is purely Mexican, it’s Juárezian. I always wanted to live in Mexico, but finally it all happened by pure coincidence. Fifteen years ago I crossed the Mexican border for the first time and the first city I came across was Ciudad Juárez. At that time the first women were disappearing, and there was nobody else who was reporting on it.

Most bloggers are citizen journalists and activists – when you started blogging, you have already been a highly experienced and awarded journalist. What made you leave your prestigious job as a White House correspondent and become a blogger in Mexico?
Originally, I wanted to work there as a freelance journalist. But then I discovered that in full economic crisis, nobody wanted to buy my stories. But I didn’t want to give up: I published them on a blog instead – not to nourish me, but to lift my spirits. I even renounced on advertisements or collaborations with traditional media, because I want to be as independent as possible. However, I would never have thought that it might become so popular and even receive the prestigious BOB Awards. Just consider how technically simple it looks. Perhaps I won’t earn much money with this blog, but it makes me happy. In times like those Juárez is going through, it is essential that people rise their voices, that they talk or write about what they are experiencing. I also teach citizen journalists in Juárez – my “pupils” are common people, but they tell some stories better than me.

You have been the first Spanish reporter to witness and report about death penalty executions in the US – another dark topic. Are you fascinated by the proximity of death?
In no way! I am a very happy person who loves life. But Juárez is my mission. Nobody asks to be born in a certain place at a certain time. If I don’t tell the story of Juárez, the winners of this „War on Drugs“ will tell it. What keeps me here is my passion and my love for this city. I am fascinated by the mothers of the murdered girls who succeed in transforming adversities into strength. Ciudad Juárez taught me to live.

What was your impression of Juárez when you entered the city for the first time? Was it love at first sight?
The city is neither fascinating nor beautiful. But when you cross the bridge across the US-Mexican border into Juárez, you immediately feel the energy of this town. It’s a women’s city: While many men are unemployed, women have for decades worked in the export oriented assembly plants, the maquilas. Their strong position causes jealousy in the city’s macho culture.

“Hours go by. The fear. She doesn't come back. Days go by. Years.” – Many mothers are still waiting for their daughters to come back, years after their disappearance. Judith Torrea blogs about forbidden activism, ghost towns and the power of memory (Screenshot of Torrea's blog)

Since 1993 hundreds or thousands of young women have been murdered in Juárez; many locals even speak of 5.000 cases. You said that the first media reports came extremely late – how does the Mexican press react?
Absurdly the first newspaper that reported on it was the New York Times. The Mexican press even claimed that the people of Juárez invented these stories, following the discourse of president Felipe Calderón. Mexican media is mainly concentrated in two outlets tightly related to the government. Today mainstream media can’t ignore the feminicidios any longer, but instead of analyzing the reasons for it, they show gruesome pictures of the victims and indirectly blame them for provoking these violent acts by dressing up or going out.

The city lacks international attention: You are the only foreign journalist living in Juárez – and when you wanted to sell your first freelance stories on Juárez in 2009, the editorial offices weren’t interested. Where does this ignorance come from?
Mexico is not Afghanistan. Many foreign editors don’t consider it an important topic. Furthermore it is a dangerous job; many journalists come with bodyguards and don’t want to sleep in the city, because they don’t want to risk anything. When I was back in New York reading the news about the so-called „War on Drugs“ in Ciudad Juárez, I realized that my perspective differed from that of most journalists: Unlike them, I distrust Calderón when he states that the victims have been related to drug dealing.

Once you accused the Mexican president Felipe Calderón on TV of supporting the Sinaloa Cartel, the most powerful drug cartel in Juárez. Are you not frightened?
The only fear I have is not doing what I have to do. I am a journalist that will never betray herself, that is not corrupt. Neither the Sinaloa Cartel nor Calderón can stop me. As Juárezians, we all share the same danger.

Have you ever been threatened?
The government tries to put me under constant pressure. But I won’t go into details.

What will the future bring for Juárez?
Peace will come soon; the death toll is already dropping. But it won’t be a peace for the love of peace – Calderon’s „War on Drugs“ simply costs too much money. And it will be a false peace: This “War” has left tremendous social problems, hundreds of orphans, empty houses, lots of unemployed and many, many traumatized people.

What will you do when this „War“ is over?
Hard to say – I hardly ever think about the future.

Interview conducted in Spanish and translated into English

Judith Torrea’s blog: www.juarezenlasombra.blogspot.com
Her book: Torrea, Judith: Juárez en la sombra: crónica de una ciudad que se resiste a morir. Aguilar, 2011.

• Ciudad Juárez is a city of 1,5 million inhabitants in Northern Mexico directly bordering the US city El Paso. Due to its location, the city is a major point of entry and transportation into the United States – for migrants and goods as well as for drugs. Juárez attracted several drug cartels by its low-wage work force, the proximity of the lucrative U.S. market and its social disorganization. In the 90ies it became the epicentre of Mexico’s “War on Drugs”; with between 6 and 27 homicides each day it is considered “the most violent zone in the world outside of declared war zones.”

• Judith Torrea is a 37-year-old journalist from Pamplona/ Spain. After working for several US media she decided to dedicate her work to the fight against drug trafficking and the Mexican „War on Drugs“. She was awarded with the Spanish journalist award Premio Ortega y Gasset as well as with Deutsche Welle’s international weblog awards, the BOBs, for her blog “Ciudad Juárez, en la sombre del narcotráfico” (Ciudad Juárez in the shadow of drug trafficking). Based on her blog and long lasting experience she recently published her book “Juárez en la sombra” (Juárez in the shadow).

This interview first appeared in Orange Magazine of the European Youth Press in June 2011 as part of its coverage of the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum. E-Mail the author at christina.felschen(a)gmx.de or visit www.chessocampo.blogspot.com.

The De la Cruz siblings were fathered and abandoned by US servicemen in the Philippines.

(First of two articles)

ANGELES CITY, Pampanga – There was a hint of embarrassment in Mark Gilbore’s voice as he pointed to the infamous red light district of Angeles City.

It was almost dusk when girls of various shapes and sizes began to pour out onto the streets. Clad in clothes that showed off more skin than fabric, they sashayed on stilettos into the narrow road called “Walking Street,” their glassy smiles intact.

“There,” Mark said as he pointed to a girl wearing a skimpy rodeo outfit outside a bar that was just about to open its neon sign. “She’s like me,” he said, looking away.

The girl, like Mark, is an Amerasian or a child fathered by American servicemen who were stationed in Clark Base in Pampanga, back when the US had its biggest military bases in the Asia Pacific region, here at Subic and Clark. The American bases were opened from 1903 till 1991, when the destructive eruption of nearby Mt. Pinatubo and a historic 12-11 vote by the Philippine Senate finally forced their exit from Philippine shores.  But when the soldiers left, few cared about the children they left behind.

Continue reading here: http://www.interaksyon.com/abandoned

Divided into the ballot, the certificates of canvass and the election process, InterAksyon probed the various ways cheating was done at that time.

Check out the cheating via

The ballot [http://www.interaksyon.com/hoax-populi-ballot]

The COCs [http://www.interaksyon.com/hoax-populi-coc]

The election process [http://www.interaksyon.com/hoax-populi-election-process]

It has been exactly five years Thursday, since Gambian journalist Mr Chief Ebrima Manneh went missing and separated from his family where he was a breadwinner. Chief Manneh, who disappeared since July 7, 2006, was allegedly whisked away from his office, the pro-government Daily Observer newspaper in Bakau, by State Security Agents.
Since then, his fellow journalists and family members have been in a ceaseless quest to trace his whereabouts, but so far, their efforts have proven futile.
In one of the most drastic of efforts to clear the doubts over his whereabouts, the sub-region’s leading media watchdog, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) sued the Government of The Gambia at the ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria.

More on http://thenorthbankeveningstandard.blogspot.com/2011/07/kidnaped.html

Speaking to international journalists from Africa and Asia in Hamburg this week, the veteran journalist said newspaper business is fast crumbling because people are now using new media technologies for latest information. Although some big media organisations are charging for internet content, Mr Gaugele said the money received from internet subscriptions is not enough to keep the media business running.

“Freeing internet content was the biggest mistake that was made,” said Mr Gaugele. He said newspapers are dying because people are getting free online news. In addition, he said it would be better if internet users were paying for the information they get on monthly basis.

Several newspapers in Europe, including Hamburger Abendblatt, one of Germany’s leading regional newspapers is facing difficult times in increasing their readers.

“Even my newspaper is also a victim of this development,” he added. He said approximately 220. 000 people read Hamburger Abendblatt’s print version while about 2 million viewers visit the paper’s online edition on a daily basis.

However, Mr Gaugele said new social media networks such as facebook, twitter and blogs were not a serious threat to professional media organizations. He said people do not trust news from sources of unchecked credibility.

“New social media networks are not a threat at all. Mature readers know where to get news every time. There is no way people can start relying on facebook and twitter for news because they would end up double checking information they get on these networks with what would be reported in mainstream media,” Mr Gaugele told journalists on Monday.

Mr Gaugele worked for various German newspapers that include the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Bild am Sonntag before he joined Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper in 2008. He also used to work as a guest media lecturer at the University of Leipzig.