No Controversy Over Peace Corps Bill

By ‘’One lie built on another is like a thatched house,
and before long, it will soon rain through’’—-African
Proverb

It is increasingly becoming clearer by the day that some
misguided elements are getting more desperate and paranoid about
the fact that an unforgettable fortune of a life time is about to
smile on the Peace Corps of Nigeria as a result of the efforts of
its Founder, Amb. (Dr) Dickson A. O. Akoh. The Akoh-phobia, instead
of dissipating, is rather burgeoning in the camp of his critics to
the extent that when he sneezes, his fast-vanishing tribe of
detractors catches cold.

In Nigeria, the challenge of leadership is undoubtedly daunting.
How do you ensure that you satisfy the people without pandering to
the whims and caprices of the stakeholders? By stakeholders, I mean
those whose principal desire is a government or entity that caters
to their needs and massages their over-bloated egos and those who
think rightly or wrongly that power must be exercised at their
discretion and to their advantage.

Since the adoption of the Bill for an Act to Establish the
Nigerian Peace Corps (NPC) by the Senate on Tuesday, July 27, 2017,
a segment of the nation’s media, principally the social media,
Premium Times and Sahara Reporters, have been awash with several
allegations that border essentially on speculation devoid of any
empirical evidence to support such.

It would be recalled that since the Bill was sponsored by Hon.
Umar Farouk in the House of Representatives and Sen. Ali Ndume in
the Senate, some dark forces, especially those who hate Amb. (Dr)
Dickson Akoh’s guts with a passion and are willing to sacrifice any
part of their body to have both him and the Corps crucified, have
been in the trenches fuelling all manner of controversies in the
public domain.

It beggars belief the wicked level to which some individuals can
go to assassinate the characters of other fellow Nigerians. Because
Akoh has over the years resisted all manner of pressures to
capitulate to the desires of the enemies of Nigerian youths,
through the abandonment of his noble pet project, the PCN, he and
the Corps have been marked for destruction.

That is why some could go to the ridiculous extent of saying
that our Distinguished Senators were monetarily induced to adopt
the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill, while others allege that some ‘’key
Senators’’ were even promised over 500 employment slots to ensure
that the Bill was adopted. Balderdash!

All these allegations are simply the products of the fecund
imagination of those who wish Peace Corps dead at all cost, not
minding the fact that the establishment of this organization is a
dream come true for millions of Nigerian youths, who have been at
the receiving end of the grandiose mismanagement of the nation’s
affairs over the years.

It would be recalled that during the Public Hearing conducted by
the two chambers of the National Assembly (NASS) on the NPC Bill,
the Police, Civil Defence and the DSS registered their opposition
to it by submitting memos and backing them up with oral
presentation. However, their opposition was overwhelmed by the over
five hundred and eighty (580) Memoranda and presentations by major
stakeholders who declared their support for the Bill at the
hearing. Some of the groups that supported the Bill include
traditional rulers, members of the academia, students cum religious
bodies, members of states Houses of Assembly, several government
ministries and parastatals, both at the state and federal levels
etc.

So, those that are opposed to the Bill have either not read its
contents to really appreciate the functions assigned to the Corps
or they merely elected to be mischievous in their wild criticisms.
In this context, for anybody to assert that these Senators were
compromised before this same Bill could be passed and adopted
smacks of playing to the gallery.

The so-called opposition of the Head of Service to the Bill was
premised essentially on the fear that because there is economic
recession, it will be a bit burdensome for the government to
comfortably fund the Corps. This is understandable considering the
dwindling revenue accruing to the Federation Account.

Another issue I find really irksome and objectionable is the
strange trenchant opposition of the Senate Committee Chairman on
Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Sen. David Umaru, who
was mandated to look into the court case between the Corps and the
Police and advise the Senate accordingly, whether the case will
have any legal implication on the adoption of the Bill.
Surprisingly, he went beyond his brief, aligned with some
well-known opponents of the Corps namely the Inspector-General of
Police, Ibrahim Idris and the Commandant-General of Nigerian Civil
Defence, Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu, all who incidentally happen to
come from the same Niger State like him (Sen. Umaru).

The allegation of bribery leveled against the Corps is so
puerile that it is not worth been dignified with any response. The
only response to this malicious allegation is a question: how can
an NGO like the Peace Corps muster enough financial muscle to bribe
the highest paid legislators in the world, the Nigerian Senators?
Of course, it is not possible, because some of these Senators are
former governors, captains of industry, business moguls, retired
military or police officers, legal luminaries or former ministers
etc.

– Ochela is a public affairs analyst based in
Abuja

By ‘’One lie built on another is like a thatched house,
and before long, it will soon rain through’’—-African
Proverb

It is increasingly becoming clearer by the day that some
misguided elements are getting more desperate and paranoid about
the fact that an unforgettable fortune of a life time is about to
smile on the Peace Corps of Nigeria as a result of the efforts of
its Founder, Amb. (Dr) Dickson A. O. Akoh. The Akoh-phobia, instead
of dissipating, is rather burgeoning in the camp of his critics to
the extent that when he sneezes, his fast-vanishing tribe of
detractors catches cold.

In Nigeria, the challenge of leadership is undoubtedly daunting.
How do you ensure that you satisfy the people without pandering to
the whims and caprices of the stakeholders? By stakeholders, I mean
those whose principal desire is a government or entity that caters
to their needs and massages their over-bloated egos and those who
think rightly or wrongly that power must be exercised at their
discretion and to their advantage.

Since the adoption of the Bill for an Act to Establish the
Nigerian Peace Corps (NPC) by the Senate on Tuesday, July 27, 2017,
a segment of the nation’s media, principally the social media,
Premium Times and Sahara Reporters, have been awash with several
allegations that border essentially on speculation devoid of any
empirical evidence to support such.

It would be recalled that since the Bill was sponsored by Hon.
Umar Farouk in the House of Representatives and Sen. Ali Ndume in
the Senate, some dark forces, especially those who hate Amb. (Dr)
Dickson Akoh’s guts with a passion and are willing to sacrifice any
part of their body to have both him and the Corps crucified, have
been in the trenches fuelling all manner of controversies in the
public domain.

It beggars belief the wicked level to which some individuals can
go to assassinate the characters of other fellow Nigerians. Because
Akoh has over the years resisted all manner of pressures to
capitulate to the desires of the enemies of Nigerian youths,
through the abandonment of his noble pet project, the PCN, he and
the Corps have been marked for destruction.

That is why some could go to the ridiculous extent of saying
that our Distinguished Senators were monetarily induced to adopt
the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill, while others allege that some ‘’key
Senators’’ were even promised over 500 employment slots to ensure
that the Bill was adopted. Balderdash!

All these allegations are simply the products of the fecund
imagination of those who wish Peace Corps dead at all cost, not
minding the fact that the establishment of this organization is a
dream come true for millions of Nigerian youths, who have been at
the receiving end of the grandiose mismanagement of the nation’s
affairs over the years.

It would be recalled that during the Public Hearing conducted by
the two chambers of the National Assembly (NASS) on the NPC Bill,
the Police, Civil Defence and the DSS registered their opposition
to it by submitting memos and backing them up with oral
presentation. However, their opposition was overwhelmed by the over
five hundred and eighty (580) Memoranda and presentations by major
stakeholders who declared their support for the Bill at the
hearing. Some of the groups that supported the Bill include
traditional rulers, members of the academia, students cum religious
bodies, members of states Houses of Assembly, several government
ministries and parastatals, both at the state and federal levels
etc.

So, those that are opposed to the Bill have either not read its
contents to really appreciate the functions assigned to the Corps
or they merely elected to be mischievous in their wild criticisms.
In this context, for anybody to assert that these Senators were
compromised before this same Bill could be passed and adopted
smacks of playing to the gallery.

The so-called opposition of the Head of Service to the Bill was
premised essentially on the fear that because there is economic
recession, it will be a bit burdensome for the government to
comfortably fund the Corps. This is understandable considering the
dwindling revenue accruing to the Federation Account.

Another issue I find really irksome and objectionable is the
strange trenchant opposition of the Senate Committee Chairman on
Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Sen. David Umaru, who
was mandated to look into the court case between the Corps and the
Police and advise the Senate accordingly, whether the case will
have any legal implication on the adoption of the Bill.
Surprisingly, he went beyond his brief, aligned with some
well-known opponents of the Corps namely the Inspector-General of
Police, Ibrahim Idris and the Commandant-General of Nigerian Civil
Defence, Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu, all who incidentally happen to
come from the same Niger State like him (Sen. Umaru).

The allegation of bribery leveled against the Corps is so
puerile that it is not worth been dignified with any response. The
only response to this malicious allegation is a question: how can
an NGO like the Peace Corps muster enough financial muscle to bribe
the highest paid legislators in the world, the Nigerian Senators?
Of course, it is not possible, because some of these Senators are
former governors, captains of industry, business moguls, retired
military or police officers, legal luminaries or former ministers
etc.

– Ochela is a public affairs analyst based in
Abuja