Lack Of Water, Health Facilities, Bridge: Inside Stories Of Enugu Communities Lacking Government Presence (Part 1)

Ukorebi Esien July 2, 2021

This is the first part of the reports on some communities in dire need of basic social amenities in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State. The focus here is Eha-Etiti under Nsukka East Development Centre.

Nineteen years ago, Juliana Okoro was in labor and needed to be transported on a motorbike to a healthcare facility that is over four kilometres from her village, Ishiakpu, in Eha-Etiti, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The road was bad, the health care centre was far and the only means of mobility was the motorbike—therefore, Juliana who could no longer bear the pains of labor—gave birth to her daughters under the shade of cashew trees by the roadside.

"I gave birth to my twin daughters under a cashew tree. I was assisted by the okada man who was conveying me to the hospital, and some neighbors who came to our rescue," she recalls.

"There was no health centre here then, and unfortunately till today. Without the grace of God, I wouldn't have survived the induced labor. Many pregnant women still pass through the same ordeals today, with some fatalities. We need government assistance without further delay."

Eha-Etiti is made up of six villages, all densely populated—UgbeleAkwari, Elugwu, Akwari Ani, Nguru, Amanato and Ishieakpu/Ugwuezegwu—but are all facing similar problems.

Juliana's daughters, Perpetual and Blessing, who have now finished secondary education and are waiting for a university admission say they are worried that nothing has changed about their community 19 years after, and have aspirations to bridge the infrastructural gap.

Perpetual said, "When I heard the circumstances surrounding our birth, I give God the glory. We survived by His Grace. We were born in a bush.

"I want to study medical rehabilitation. I want to improve the health of our people. We have no health centre across the entire Eha-Etiti. We also need road, and other basic social amenities. When I graduate, I will establish a health centre in my community and practice here, unless there is one or more by then. I don't want anybody to pass through the ordeal we did during our birth."

Her sister, Blessing, said, "I want to study accounting. When I grew up and heard where and how we were born, I felt challenged.

"I want to help my community as a testimony for our survival. It is a pity that nothing better has happened since our birth. The bad road in our community has not helped matters as we can't convey our farm produce to market. The cost is high, so we end up consuming what we produce here.

"We thank Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for the ongoing road construction across our area down to Isi-Uzo under the Rural Access Mobility Project, although our village is still far from the road. Our only means of movement is okada, and the charges are much."

A Community Without Government's Presence

Before the award of the ongoing construction of a rural road that passes through Eha-Etiti to Isi-Uzo Local Government Area under RAMP, farmers in the community, where cashew is the valued cash crop, only got-rock bottom prices for their crops.

It was hard for them to get to market, and merchants seldom ventured down the rough tracks that meandered towards the community through erosion-ravaged paths.

Chief Rommy Martins Odo, a community leader from Ugbele in Akwari, said since he was born 59 years ago, he had not seen anything done for the people of the area except the ongoing road construction that passes through the community.

"One would have expected the intervention of Nsukka Local Government Area at least, but I doubt if they function," Odo said in response to a question about what the local authorities are doing. "I have not seen any impact of any Local Government authorities in this community since I was born."

He paints a picture of a neglected community with no social services, such as education, health care and water.

"I appeal for two things for my people: water and a health centre. It takes an average woman about two hours on a motorcycle to access the nearest health centre located at Ama Ochime, which many allege do not always have the presence of medical personnel."

However, it is hoped that the road under construction, when completed, will be the greatest facility the people of the area would have gotten from the government, as farmers' incomes would significantly improve.

Other facilities available to villagers were done through communal efforts.

Sharing Water Reservoir With Reptiles

In their search for clean and safe water, there seems to be no hope in sight as the natives seem to have concluded that it has become a part of their unavoidable ordeals in life. They traverse bushes on a daily basis despite the risk of being attacked or abducted by marauding criminal herders for hours in search of water to drink.

The rich among them build underground tanks to preserve rain water during the rainy season not minding the attendant health and environmental hazards. Very few others, who water vendors can access their homes, buy surface tanks and pay exorbitantly for those tanks to be filled.

Lack-Of-Water-Health-Facilities-Bridge-at-Enugu-Communities

Lack Of Water, Health Facilities, Bridge at Enugu Communities.

"All the six villages that make up the Eha-Etiti autonomous community have no access to potable water. It takes an average of three hours to fetch water from the nearest stream. Most people have resorted to digging underground water reservoirs. Only God knows how safe that option is," Chief Odo said.

"This has been the practice since I was born. I will be 59 years old this June. Since I was born, it has remained the same water issue. So it is an inherent matter.

"The impact has been adverse. Those who can buy rubber tanks spend a lot. Half a tank of water here is about N5, 000 and a full tank is N10, 000. And I am referring to areas that can be accessed by water tankers. Some areas are not accessible, so their only option is the stream. And I'm referring to those living within the Ugbene axis."

He also mentioned how this has had adverse effects on commercial activities, including health care delivery in the community. "It affects our commercial activities, health services and every other aspect of human endeavours because water is a basic necessity of life."

Sharing her experience on the problem of access to water in the community, Mrs. Bridget Odo, who is in her 80s, said, "If there is no rainfall, we don't even have water to drink unless we go to the Vava stream.

"The distance is very far, and the road is isolated. We are also at the risk of Fulani herders who we come face-to-face on a daily basis."

Often, the water they store in their underground reservoirs is not safe. "Not quite long, two snakes were killed inside my reservoir. Frogs also find their ways into them. Rodents are of the same story. We really need potable water," the old lady said.

Many of the natives attest that the quality of the water in the storage is poor.

"It is not hygienic because rain waters are mixed with carbon IV oxide. It is dangerous to our health, and my people pay dearly for that. They suffer one sickness or the other as a result of this," Chief Odo said.

Like many others in the community, he hopes that fortune will smile on Eha-Etiti when political office-holders look back to develop it as they often forget to return to fulfil their promises once elections are won. "We have appealed to the Governments at all levels, but no results yet. We keep hoping. Political office-holders come around during elections to canvas for votes, but once the elections are over, you don't see them any longer.

"The first primary school we had was a community primary school until about two years ago when the State built one primary school through the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board at Akwari and one at Amanato. That's all.

"We mainly patronize private hospitals because Government hospitals are non-existent. We have the best species of cashew fruits, but can't market them because of the cost implications. Our people are mainly agro-based, but they continue to live in squalor because they are landlocked by lack of access roads.

"But let us have potable water first before we die of water-related diseases. In some of the underground water reservoirs, snakes, frogs and all kinds of harmful organisms live there. My people will claim they don't drink from there, but indeed they do."

Another community leader, Ignatius Nnadi, called on public-spirited individuals, Government Agencies and organizations to come to their rescue.

He said, "Our streams are very far. We resorted to building underground tanks, though they are very expensive. They are for the rich.

"Governments should help us by providing us with water facilities. Boreholes can be dug for us. We also need other rural infrastructure to give meaning to our lives.

"We need health centres. We only have a functional health centre at Agbamere, which is very far. Eha-Etiti has none. We have a large expanse of land, which we are ready to release to the government to build social infrastructure in our place.

"We used to have a forest reserve but it has been abandoned. Our agricultural potentialities are not attractive because of the cost of making them available to selling points."

For Elder Fidelis Nnaji, the oldest man in Ishiakpu Ugwuezegwu village, the story is the same. Elder Nnaji, in this encounter, used a kola nut to pray for divine interventions in solving their water scarcity problems.

He however acknowledged that the community benefited from the 5 million naira grant by the State Government meant for communities to embark on self-help projects of their choice. Nnaji said his people used the money to embark on the construction of a civic centre, which is still ongoing.

"Our greatest problem is lack of potable water. We are just living as an abandoned people. Every day, I appease our ancestors to send our lifetime demand for potable water to governments at all levels," he said.

"Our only source of water takes over three hours' journey to get there. We fetch water in wheelbarrows. Recently, cattle grazers have begun to pollute the water. It is called vava, a spring water.

"We beg the Government to come to our help. We also don't have any health centre. We don't have any secondary school. Our people are simply in danger. Our people are currently migrating out of this village because of the absence of basic social amenities, but water is the greatest problem."

Nnaji also attests that waters in the underground reservoir are not safe for human consumption.  "The alternative source of water is underground reservoirs which the rich among us build. But snakes and other rodents have found such reservoirs a place for habitation," he said.

"This also endangers our lives because such water won't be hygienic, aside from the dangers of being bitten by poisonous creatures.

"We don't have any health centres. We don't have any secondary school. Our people are simply in danger. Our people are migrating out of this village. Our people attend Akwari Primary School, which is very far."

A water engineer, Mr. Okey Nriji, said constructing a borehole in the community is a veritable alternative if the stakeholders engage experts.

He said, "The first thing we do is to carry out a geological survey at the location to determine if water is there, and the depth of the borehole. With it, we quantify the cost of materials and the equipment, as well as the costs of drilling. The cost of the survey is cheap."

END 

This story was produced in partnership with Civic Media Lab under its Grassroots News Project with support from the National Endowment for Democracy.

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How FCT Area Council Public Library Is Left To Rot Despite Students Needing One

By  Nathaniel Bivan, HumAngle

Fourteen-year-old Uchenna Amarachi, a second-year student at Junior Secondary School (JSS) Kayarda, has never used a library though she lives about a kilometre away from one — or what is supposed to be the Kuje public library/ICT centre.

Amarachi lives at Unguwar Gede, a settlement within Kuje Area Council in Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. During holidays, she studies at home, using books her mother provides for her. "But I would like access to a wider range of books," the teenager tells HumAngle. "I would love to read books on Nigeria's history and those of other countries around the world."

No wonder, after her secondary school education, Amarachi wants to take the path of arts, even though she is uncertain about what to major in.

Amarachi is also interested in reading storybooks so she can connect and explore the world. As far as she is concerned, a quiet space within her community will go a long way in helping her achieve that.

Coming from a family of six children, her reading and learning process is sometimes affected by house chores and the noise around her. To make matters worse, even her school, which is a kilometre away from the abandoned public library, lacks a library.

The Project

Fourteen years ago, Kuje Area Council could not boast of a single public library. But on September 25, 2007, one was commissioned by Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe, then Hon. Minister of State for the FCT, after it was completed and fenced by the then Executive Chairman, Hon. Danladi Etsu Zhin.

Apparently, the library project was initiated during the tenure of Zhin's predecessor, Usman Jibrin Wowo, who served as Chairman between 1997 and 2005.

So, what Hon. Zhin met when he became Chairman, was a structure about 70 per cent finished. "I completed the building and furnished the library with about a hundred or more computers," he says. "The place became functional until I left."

But contrary to this, a source who works within the premises, where there is an office for Road Safety Corps staff and the fire service, says the library was never functional and simply served as an office.

The same source adds that during the #EndSARS protest, the library was vandalized and valuables worth about N50 million, which included air-conditioning sets, solar panels, and about 40 new computers, were stolen.

In the absence of documents from the Council to get the exact cost of the library initiative, HumAngle's independent research shows that the price of a modest HP desktop, similar to some of those available as of 2017 in Kuje's library, fluctuated between N120,000 to N160,000 between 2007 and 2021.

So, if a brand-new computer cost as low as N120,000 in 2007 and a hundred were purchased, the Council spent at least N12 million. This is apart from the cost of furniture such as desks and chairs.

Again, a professional builder who assessed the building put the estimated amount spent at not less than N8.5 million as of the time it was completed in 2007.

The library has two sections where not less than 20 new but dusty desktop computers sat on desks with a chair each and cubicles for readers, according to a 2017 report. There was also "a rest room within the building, offices and a room where batteries for solar panels and other equipment like printers were kept. In the event power goes out, the library and ICT centre is expected to run on solar energy."

Libraries And Learning; Any Link? 

Experts who spoke to HumAngle posit that in communities, especially rural areas where children do not have a conducive environment for study at home, the library becomes an essential learning tool.

It is also believed that learning promotes the culture of reading, which in turn improves children's ability to communicate at early ages.

Precious Aigbe, an educationist, pointed out that libraries are an integral part of a child's life, from primary to secondary school level.

"Apart from the fact that a library within a school environment would help students' reading culture, it also helps them to see beyond the shores of their local environment," Aigbe said. "Most people don't get the opportunity to travel, but with a library in their school, they get to explore beyond their immediate environment."

Aigbe added that Nigerians read when they have a well-equipped and comfortable library and technology is supposed to be an enabler. "There are different reading styles for different individuals. Not everybody would assimilate much from materials read from tablets or phones compared to physical books. Books are still effective in this technological age, and then of course, there is the ICT section of the library," he explained.

A professor from the department of English, University of Abuja, Vickie Sylvester, believes Nigeria has grown with what she described as a colonial disposition. "[For] a lot of things we run in Nigeria, we follow what colonial education has started for us without looking at how they work," she said.

Referring to the way Nigeria treats its educational sector, Prof. Sylvester gave an instance. "In Britain, you don't see cracks on the road before they start working on it. Here, we wait for cracks or somebody to die before we do," she said.

The professor pointed out that when the British came to Nigeria, the first thing they did was teach people how to read and write for labor purposes. Today, children are taught to read and write for the purpose of communication but are not encouraged to read.

"When you start reading to a child, he or she grows with good communication, even at the age of three or four, because he listens to you and takes what is impacted," she explained. "And because he starts reading picture books, he eventually graduates to reading words."

Prof. Sylvester compared Nigeria to the United Kingdom where she said every community has a library and people who have never been to school train themselves to read and write.

"A typical example is Charles Dickens whose work we study today. He didn't have a college education. His father went to prison and he had to work in a shoe factory as a child. After working, he goes to the library to learn to read and write. He started publishing a series in a newspaper where he was paid weekly. That was how his novel started," she narrated that to establish that libraries are important.

In response to the notion some hold that Nigerians, and particularly students, do not necessarily find libraries useful or necessary, the English professor pointed out that libraries are not available enough for such a conclusion to be drawn.

"A lot of children come straight from school to meet their parents in the market. If there is a library there, many of them would go there to do their homework and read books that are available," she argued.

Schooling Without Libraries 

Raphael Chidiebere and Chioma Ozo both had their basic education at JSS Kayarda, a school in Kuje without a library till date.

Chidiebere, who recently wrote his Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and aims to study architecture, recalled how he never realized that he was missing out on anything.

Then one day, while he was in JSS 3, their father took them to Silverbird Galleria in Abuja and Chidebere was awestruck by the number of books in a bookstore. For someone who was used to reading books he got for N100 like Ali Goes To School and portable comic books, he was taken aback when he picked a small book and learned it was N12,000.

Back in JSS Kayarda, their Principal had announced a plan to build a library and Chidiebere was among those who were hopeful. "But until we left, it wasn't built," he told HumAngle.

When Chidiebere used a library for the first time in GSS Kuje, apart from the fact that there were restrictions that forced students to read a library book only for an hour, he was disappointed by the types of books he saw. "They were mostly recommended texts like those written by Chinua Achebe that I had already read," he complained.

Chidiebere, who likes to go beyond what he learns within the four walls of a classroom, pointed out that he found some history books, which talked about the earth and colonialism, interesting.

But, "all through my primary and junior secondary school days, I have not had a library experience and still feel I am yet to have the real experience," he said.

Like Chidiebere, Chioma Ozo who desires to study law in the university went through school without enjoying the benefits of a library until she left JSS Kayarda.

"It would have provided me with a quiet place to study with little distraction," she said.

Kuje Council Students Yearn For Libraries

To sample opinions on what a local public library and access to such space in general means to students, HumAngle took a survey in two public secondary schools in proximity to Kuje's abandoned library.

About 200 metres away from the library is a Government-owned school with a signpost that reads: Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Department of Mass Education, Kuje Zonal Office. Here, study opportunities offered include basic and post-basic literacy programs, continuing education in the form of extramural lessons at the junior and senior secondary level, vocational training, as well as women and girl-child education.

The secondary school students at FCT Department of Mass Education are described as 'second chance' students because they are usually those who have had bad records, academically or otherwise, in their previous schools.

Out of 43 final-year students who filled the questionnaire asking if they use a library often or not, 25 answered yes to making use of a library often while 18 ticked the 'not often' box.

Also, in response to whether they like using a library, 42 responded in the positive with only one in the negative.

One of the students, Lotanna Nwachukwu, points out that her school library does not have all she needs and that a local public library would have given her the opportunity to do more research.

Her classmate, Mondol Tersai, has difficulty with oral English and believes an out-of-school space where he could have access to books on this topic will be valuable to him.

But Momoh Jennifer, on the other hand, has a craving for stories and whole novels and likes to go beyond prescribed texts unlike some of her classmates who read such books because it is required of them.

In the same school, 43 students in Junior Secondary Three (JSS3) say they like using the library while four do not.

Michael Tebe, for instance, prepares ahead of time in his small school library when his teachers give his class the scheme of work for the term. In Gudaba, where he lives, he has made a bookshop his study spot.

On the other hand, Tebe's classmate, Olaleye Rokuba, has an interest in novellas. At her home in Pasali, within the area council, she treks to a private library she pays a token to use.

At JSS Kayarda, HumAngle's survey, which focused on JSS Two and Three students, shows that 20 of them have never been within the four walls of a library, 87 enjoy making use of such a facility, and five are totally uninterested.

But JSS Kayarda, a school of two blocks of single-story buildings, does not have a library where students can study or conduct any type of research.

Like their counterparts at FCT Department of Mass Communication, some students of JSS Kayarda long for a quiet place to study and explore books they otherwise do not have access to.

HumAngle was able to get hold of a list of private schools under Kuje Area Council, which puts their number at 412. Among these, there are only 15 with adequate libraries according to the FCTA Education Secretariat Department of Quality Assurance.

Again, while 178 are registrable, 234 are substandard and unregistrable.

What influences the quality department's verdict are physical facilities such as classrooms, administrative blocks, science laboratories, computer science laboratories, toilets, sports fields or playgrounds, the general environment, sanitation, and the availability of a library.

There are not less than 77 public schools under the Council, and out of these only nine have adequate libraries.

A source in the quality assurance office points out that some of the libraries among the nine are dilapidated. Also, although some appear to be well stocked with books, that are mainly obsolete. But what gives them the privilege of being classified under schools with adequate libraries is the fact that they have a wide space.

The Difference Shows In WASSCE Performance

A record obtained by HumAngle of the performance of FCT secondary school students in the 2015 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) shows that out of 10,362 candidates, only 211 students (two per cent) got five credits and above, excluding English language and Mathematics.

Only 159 got five credits and above including English language, 4,750 with five credits and above including Mathematics, and 4,350 with five credits and above including Mathematics and English.

For private schools, out of 8,522 candidates in the same year, a hundred had five credits and above excluding English and Mathematics, 6,701 with five credits and above including English, 5,720 with five credits and above including Mathematics, and 5,470 with five credits and above including English and Mathematics.

In the June/July 2015 National Examination Council (NECO) test, out of 14,422 candidates, there were 13,516 with five credits and above, excluding English and Mathematics.

When Will Kuje Get Public Libraries?

In 2017, then Executive Chairman of the Council, Honourable Abdullahi Danladi Galadima explained that his Government had made efforts to put the library to use. He also made a promise: "I want to assure the people of Kuje Area Council that, very soon, we will put the library in order. It would be better than it is." He added that "students would have a place to study."

But this promise was not fulfilled, a situation likely to negatively impact education in Kuje and set a bad example for schools, particularly those owned by the Government, that lack such facilities or are left in a terrible State.

All attempts to get an official response from the current Chairman, Abdullahi Suleiman Sabo, failed as of the time this report was filed.

- END 

This story was produced in partnership with Civic Media Lab under its Grassroots News Project with support from the National Endowment for Democracy.

WikkiTimes Publisher, Family Threatened After Exposing Dogara’s 1 Billion Naira Shoddy Constituency Project

Haruna Mohammed Salisu, publisher of WikkiTimes, an online newspaper, and his family have been threatened following the publication of an investigative report exposing how Yakubu Dogara, a former Speaker of the House of Representative and Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) squandered N1 billion constituency school projects.

The investigation revealed that the former Speaker squandered N1 billion allocated to building model schools in Bauchi South Federal Constituency.

The Publisher Mohammed Haruna Salisu said, "At about 3:27pm, my younger brother called me and told me that three men in Peugeot 406 with a covered number plate came to my house and were asking for my whereabouts.

"He told them that I have travelled, and they asked if he was aware of a 'damaging' story I did about Yakubu Dogara, he told them that he was not aware of anything.

"They told him to tell me that since I have done my own; I should wait for their own."

The story which detailed how the former Speaker falls short in delivering the model school projects also unearthed how the contractors who were awarded the contracts shortchanged several communities billed to benefit from the project.

The threats came hours after a group, Dogara Digital Media Support Team wrote and circulated a purported rejoinder debunking WikkiTimes' investigation.

The latest threat to the publisher is coming just 3 months after a similar threat was issued to him following an investigation which detailed how Makkah Eye Clinic, owned by Saudi Arabia Albasar International Foundation, deviated from its creed of affordable healthcare and resorted to charging clients three times the amount in similar private institutions.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has reported that Nigeria is one of the countries where journalists are unsafe. According to CPJ, between 1992 to 2021, at least 24 Nigerian journalists have either died or got missing while doing their jobs.

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Investigation: Deception, Tales Of Lies Mar Implementation Of Cross River Tax Exemption Law

Governor Ayade commissioning the Cross River State Anti-Tax Agency headed by Bishop Emah Isong

By Patrick Obia, Glorita Agba and Maxwell Effiong, CrossRiverWatch

Agents of the Cross River State Internal Revenue Service (CRIRS) have continued to illegally collect taxes from petty traders and low-income earners in total contravention to the provision of the State's Anti-Tax Agency.

Petty traders and low income earners exempted from tax paid by the Government are daily being coerced and humiliated by agents of the State Internal Revenue Service in their illegal operations.

An investigation by CrossRiverWatch, revealed that agents of CRIRS have been illegally collecting taxes and harassing tricycle (Keke Napep) operators, mechanics, petty traders, artisans, hairdressers, shoe makers, etc. And sometimes confiscate goods from these people when they refuse to hand out what the forceful tax collectors demand.

This medium documented pieces of evidence of tax payments by these groups of people to officials of CRIRS, who at many occasions operate in a gang like manner.

Few months after assuming office, Governor Benedict Ayade had on August 19, 2015, declared that his Government will not impose taxes on what he called "the poor", who struggle daily to survive. "Let our desperation for taxation not allow us to heap the burden on the poor. This must stop. Definitely, God has a purpose of bringing me here as a Governor and I must not disappoint my creator." The State Governor, Sen. Ben Ayade said.

This was reiterated by the Governor in 2017 when he said, "I will rather tax my intellect to prosperity rather than taxing my people because we have sufficient education, exposure and experience which we need to bring to bear for the prosperity of our people, which is why they elected us."

To that effect, Ayade's administration initiated an executive bill abolishing all forms of taxation for low-income earners in the State, culminating into the establishment and subsequent inauguration of Cross River State Anti-Tax Agency in May 2020. The Agency is to among other things ensure that commercial taxi drivers, petty traders, tricycle (Keke Napep) riders, hair salon, civil servants earning below fifty thousand (N50,000) Naira do not pay taxes.

Tax Agency Betrayed Trust As Affected Tax Payers Lament Ordeals

When the Agency was inaugurated under a renowned Bishop, Emmah Isong of Christian Central Chapel International, Cross Rivarians heaved a sigh of relief, believing that the cleric will religiously end the illegal extortion and actualize the dream of the Governor.

However, When CrossRiverWatch visited the two populous markets in the State capital (Watt and Ika Ika Oqua), strategic junctions and roundabouts as well as taxi drivers' parks, staff of CRIRS were seen collecting taxes and issuing tickets to Governor Ayade's "poor".

In these locations, the supposedly exempted taxpayers told CrossRiverWatch of the consistent harassment and countless face-offs with the tax collectors who come in large numbers and sometimes with Police cover.

These categories of persons when approached, refused to speak to this reporters on video nor audio for fear of been victimized or their business close-down by these taskmasters who may see it as exposing them. This reporters went undercover to get the facts, keeping their names and businesses anonymous.

At Marian market located at the hub of the city, petty traders share their encounters. A Shoe Maker said: "I have been paying for a ticket every day, there is nowhere and nobody in this market that is exempted from paying tax. I do not know how the people are bigger than the Governor's order; honestly, I don't know.

"I heard that the Government has constituted Anti-Tax force headed by Bishop Emmah Isong but they cannot stop it," saying that, they are paying dues to some key people whom he described as "enforcers".

"Do you understand that people who keep their things on the verge of the roadside for sell, pay over a thousand (N1,000) Naira for a ticket every day. If you don't want to pay as they want, be ready to fight because 90% of the ticket agents are gangsters (cultists)," he added.

A home utensil seller said payment of tax is a daily routine to him, though he does not have a formal shop. "Even this edge of the gutter where I keep my things, I am paying 50 Naira ticket every day." He went on to reveal that, "Everybody selling on the roadside is paying 200 Naira, or over 1,000 Naira a week. We used to have a union but these ticket agents have spoiled it, so in this Marian market there is no union."

A middle age watermelon seller who was fuming at the time this reporter approached her claimed that, she spends more than 1,200 Naira for a ticket. "They used to come and harass us here. They used to fight our colleagues, it happened recently; they fought and stabbed themselves. Sometimes, they used to come in a group of 4 or 5 persons," she said, looking around to confirm no one was watching her at the time she was speaking with CrossRiverWatch.

Fairly used clothes (Okrika) seller, in a loud voice, screamed, questioning Governor Ayade's "political talk" adding that, making pronouncement without action is just self show.

He said: "Who told you people that we have not been paying for ticket to sell in this market, had you come earlier than now you would have seen the ticketing agents who are just leaving my shop not quite long ago (gesticulating). The Governor has announced the exemption which we are hearing on the radio and newspaper without follow-up with due action; it's just a political talk, action is different from talking. If there was a good action, they wouldn't have been coming around but there is no action attached.

"Outside of this market some people are paying over 100 Naira, some people pay about 500 Naira for ticket to sell in this market. The ticketing agents come in group and they are more than 6 sets of persons, especially on a Saturday," he said.

A groundnut seller at the ever-busy Watt market revealed that, they were still buying ticket, alleging that some local politicians are benefiting from the deal. "We are paying for ticket, and why we are still paying for this revenue is because House Members and Councilors of different Wards are getting a share of this revenue.

"After the Governor's pronouncement, the politician met with those ticket boys, people like Hon. Essien Ayi and the Councilor of this Ward have revenue points in this Watt market, so, why would the traders do not pay for ticket? The tax exemption was only enforced a week after the Governor's pronouncement but immediately after that week, the boys have always been coming to harass us for ticket."

Furthermore, the angry groundnut seller revealed: "When we asked them why they have been coming to collect tax from us, they said the Governor didn't discuss something like that with them. And if they come for the ticket and you refuse to pay, they would torture you. If you go to the Police for their arrest, those boys would stand there and call their oga  (boss) to come for their rescue and their oga (boss) would call the Police to release them and they will be released, almost immediately. They collect even from pure water sellers, if they refuse to pay, their goods would be seized from them.

Another petty trader who for fear of victimization didn't want to be mentioned in print that sells cosmetics on wheelbarrow described his daily struggle with the tax collectors as a war-like situation. "They usually come with different strategies, and if you are a newcomer in the market, they would keep on coming to seize your goods until you get tired and close down the business or comply. So, my brother, what we are facing in this market is more than a war against this people."

Meat-pie seller expressed dismay that the Anti-Tax Agency that was supposed to come to their aid was no were to be found.

A 5- year old boy hawking sachet water in a helpless tone said: "We are paying 50 Naira for ticket everyday, sometimes we pay for three tickets a day, you must pay if not they would seize your sachet water and the rubber."

Water-leaf seller alleged that the Governor made the pronouncement and gave the contract to his workers: "We have been paying for ticket every blessed day, otherwise, they won't allow you to sell in this market."

In a conversation with a commercial minibus driver (white color) which was recorded secretly, he alleged that the Governor is aware of the illegality going on in the metropolis. His words: "The Governor who set a panel to check and arrest those who are asking for tickets is the same Governor when those people were arrested spoke with the Commissioner of Police to release them. All the tears he was shedding on television were stage-managed act; that is the kind of country we are living in.

"I had a problem with those boys because of tickets up to the point I even went to the Local Government (Calabar Municipality) and met with the Chairman. Unfortunately, the Chairman told me that the tax collectors are working to meet the targets given.

"The Chairman told me the Governor Ayade is aware of it. The price of tickets has gone up; five hundred and fifty (N550) Naira every day and they have different units. For Calabar Transport Regulatory Agency (popularly known as 100 Marian) is yearly and it is more than twenty thousand Naira while the Local Government own is every day. If you look at the back of this vehicle (stickers of tickets) then you will know how much I have contributed to the well-being of this State," he disclosed, as he kept gazing at his car steering.

Exempted Hoteliers Still Pay Tax

The anti-tax law has also exempted hotels with few rooms. However, as is the case with traders and marketers in the two popular markets, the hoteliers were made to pay the tax, despite the law and directives against it.

A key staff in one of the hotels in Calabar South Local Government Area of the State exclaimed in pidgin English: "Ehh ... You say wetin? We no dey do wetin? If we show you our tax file you go fear. Which Governor said what? There are different tax we are paying for each year and they are still coming; the Governor said nonsense on TV and radio, you can ask another person if you think I'm telling lies. State Government will come, Local Government and others will come.

"Health will come, Environment will come even the dustbin we have here we are paying close to twenty thousand Naira. Many of them will come saying they are from this and that Agency and you pay heavily. Mr. Ayade was showing himself," he added.

Another management staff in one of the populous hotel in Calabar Municipality Local Government gave a list of things like television, fan and others they pay tax for, saying it is too much. "If it is tax, we are paying heavily. Not one, not two, State will come, Local Government will also come. They tell us to pay television, fan and air conditioner tax. Any amount of them you have in each room, they will calculate and tell you to pay.

"They put forty-five thousand Naira price for just five televisions including this reception own. They go as far as telling you to pay for street numbering. The tax is just too much."

Also, a hotel situated around Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar Municipality, however, differed from others saying they take instructions from their union before they pay any tax. "It is not all the tax we pay. Most of the Local Government tax we do not pay, except only the ones from the State Government and Federal Inland Revenue. We are paying Health to Tourism Bureau, we pay for hotels license, 10,000 Naira a year, we pay for the fire extinguisher, we pay for the environment, we pay for the first-aid box still to the Tourism Bureau, we pay for health certificate for staff, this to ascertain that your staff is medically fit to serve the public.

"We pay for the waste bin, 10,000 Naira per year, we pay for business rate and business premises to the Local Government and we also pay 10,000 Naira for liquor license. These are the taxes we pay per year, any other taxes we do not pay except the hotels' union authorizes us to pay, otherwise, send your tax to the union for approval. The union has to inform us about the tax we must pay."

Cross River Anti Tax Law - A Populists Policy

Mr. Richard Friday Inoyo, the Chief Executive Officer of Carthinium Consult, a consulting firm specializing in tax and other business analysis, described the tax exemption law as "populist policy" positing that all citizens ought to pay tax in the State looking at the poorly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) as well as the low allocation the State receives from the Federal Government.

"So, in a State where the IGR is very low and the Government suspends paying tax, it means the Government is going to have a very weak returns in terms of revenue, so it is not really a good thing if you ask me and that means the Government may not be able to pull off some of its projects," he asserted wearing a serious look.

Tax Agents Harass People

It may be recalled that on Wednesday, March 17, 2021, Task Force Team suspected to have rooted from Calabar Municipal Council stripped a commercial taxi driver identified as Chucks Solomon, naked and his vehicle damaged in Calabar, the first Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Nigeria.

Passersby and commuters were left in awe at the Council's entrance, when a team of men in black and blue outfits harassed the taxi driver who was said to have refused to offer them 50 Naira only when apprehended at the point.

In a video that surfaced online, the commercial driver is seen beaten up and his car burner disfigured as well as his car battery removed with the boys who number not less than six rounding him up.

The Chairman of Calabar Municipality, Mr. Effefiong Eke, hastened foot to disassociate the Council from said illegal activities of the Task Force, saying their operation is illegal and they are not operating under the authorization of the Council.

When the ordeal spread like wildfire on the media, the Chairman quickly called the victim for a round table discussion which he later gave a token of five hundred and fifty thousand (N550,000) Naira only to get a fairly used Honda Accord (EOD 2006 model) car to quench the uproar and killing any intention of instituting legal actions.

Inside Source In Anti-Tax Agency Speaks, Accuses Greedy Politicians

Meanwhile, an inside source in the Cross River State Anti-Tax Agency, who spoke on condition of  anonymity blamed some disgruntled and greedy politicians who still employ these uncivilized fellows.

"The Government had exempted some categories of persons from paying tax but, we still have some disgruntled politicians who still send their boys to the roads to destroy and molest people and collect money on the roads and markets," the inside source told CrossRiverWatch. In September 2020, some alleged impostors were arrested by the Anti-Tax Agency but there has been no news about their prosecution.

Not Everybody Is Exempted From Tax - Authorities

When approached about the findings by CrossRiverWatch, the State's Auditor General who doubles as the Acting Chairman of Internal Revenue Service (CRIRS), Mr. John Odey, confirmed that "People earning about hundred thousand and below are exempted from tax. Obviously, those people selling water-leaf, vegetables and those table markets are exempted. For you to be exempted there are certain parameters that you will be exempted."

"Mechanics are exempted because it is assumed that those mechanics are dealing on small cars and all that but, there are ultra-modern mechanic shops where you see them have diagnostic equipment they use to dictate faults. Those equipment, one is over 3-5 million; they have so much equipment.

"When the Governor mentioned that those people in the market who are petty traders are exempted, it is not everybody because there are people who are in the market who own warehouses worth millions of Naira outside the market," he stated.

When this medium approached the office of Cross River State Anti-Tax Agency, a tall-light skin color young man stock his face from the gate and asked "who is there" having knocked on the gate for minutes.

Neither the Agency's Chairman nor any key staff was found on a seat at the time of the visit. When this reporter asked the security guard on how to get the Chairman, they later requested the former to write a letter and submit it. A letter to that effect was submitted to the same office on Wednesday 2nd of June 2021 suggesting Friday 4 June 2021 by 10:00am as date time and venue for an interview but was never responded to date.

On the other hand, the State Chairman, Unified Commission Drivers Association of Cross River State, Mr. Thomas Ekeng, after series of postponement finally accepted to speak on the phone. His words: "When you talk about tax, it has its own enclaves when you understand the nature of tax.

"Ticketing is reduced to sectional thing because every section has its own peculiar name; it's not a Government thing per say but if you look at the Government aspect I don't think we are having any issues from that axis.

"When I say a sectional thing, like our welfare you can't classify our welfare into ticket because welfare is for membership. Every section has what they collect at the little base where they know and I don't see that as a big issue; it's not a Government thing per say except there is some other thing I don't know." He skillfully obviated questions of his members being taxed.

-END

Taxi drivers in Calabar protesting multiple taxation amidst Ayade's Tax free regime

This Story was Produced in Partnership with Civic Media Lab Under its Grassroots News Project with Support from the National Endowment for Democracy.

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Bursted!!! How Dogara allegedly squandered N1b meant for UBEC Model schools

By Elijah Akoji, WikkiTimes

Three years ago, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) released the sum of N97 million to three companies for the construction and rehabilitation of classrooms in the federal constituency represented by Yakubu Dogara in Bauchi State.

The money was part of a N1 billion consistency project of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives who currently represents the area at the National Assembly.

Quickfix Property Limited, Delta Force limited and Maridiq Nigeria Limited received the money for the construction and rehabilitation of schools in the area, according to Budeshi, an open contracting platform.

At the Government Day Technical College in Tafawa-Balewa, no single project has been executed despite the school being listed as one of the beneficiaries of the intervention project.

Mr. Jatau Daniel, principal of the technical college told WikkiTimes that the school had been neglected for years, adding that he was not aware that it was billed to receive such intervention.

But it is not only the Government Day Technical College in Tafawa-Balewa whose classrooms renovation and construction are up in the air despite money being released by UBEC. Investigations by WikkiTimes show that other schools that were listed as beneficiaries either got shoddy construction or none.

Built in 1978, the Government Day Technical College Tafawa-Balewa is the only technical school in Dogara's constituency, but the school has deteriorated, leaving more than 1400 students in a poor learning environment without basic amenities.

The principal said the last building in the school was constructed about 20 years ago and renovation has been done through the contributions of the Parents Teachers' Association (PTA).

"I have had the privilege of meeting with Hon. Yakubu Dogara last year," Mr. Daniel said. "I tabled all the challenges faced in the school and how the school is on the verge of total collapse. After receiving my proposal, we have not gotten any response from him till date after telling me he will get back to us."

Inside the school, cracks appear in-between the walls, inviting reptiles and insects into the classrooms.

"See how bad the school looks," said exasperated Mr. Emmanuel Barau, head of sciences laboratory in the school.

Students suffer the neglect. At Samuel Alheri's classroom, the ceiling is about to cave in. The windows and floor of the classrooms are all broken. The students sit four per chair with some lapping each other. "The chairs are not enough to accommodate all of us," Alheri said.

"Throughout last term, we could not have physics class because we don't have a physics teacher," Alheri told WikkiTimes.

"I am in the computer science department. I only go to the lab with other students where we just sit for a while and then return back to our classes," said Idi Miyaki, Alheri's classmate.

"We don't have a computer science teacher," Miyaki continued. "No light or generator to even power the few computers, I don't know anything about computer. I am just here wasting my time. As soon as we close, I just rush to the farm where I can make meaningful use of my time."

Another school in the area, Central Primary School was listed as a beneficiary in the zonal intervention project by UBEC, but like the technical school, no construction was ever carried out despite money being released to the contractor.

In 2018, a contract for the construction of a block of three classrooms was awarded to Maridiq Nigeria Ltd, the same company that also got a contract for that of the technical college. It was awarded at N19 million.

The most recent block of two classrooms in the school was built in 2016 which was done under the Sustainable Development Goals' intervention project.

"Look at all the roofs falling apart with so many classrooms, not in use," Mary Maikomo, a native of Tafawa-Balewa town, pointed out. "They are so dilapidated and not habitable for learning", she added.

Mr. Emmanuel Iliya, Youth Leader of Zaar Youth Development Association (ZAYODA) told WikkiTimes that children in the area deserve a better school and quality learning to secure their future.

"You can see the pitiable state of the school," Iliya said. "It's at the mercy of God. This is a school that has graduated a lot of prominent people in this country, and the school in its bad look has lost its entire legacy."

However, at Nahuta Primary School in Tafawa-Balewa, another beneficiary of the zonal intervention project, the contract was executed but was incomplete. A block of three classrooms was constructed but the supply of teaching materials and furniture was left out.

The block was built within three months, according to Mr. Amos Bature, the Head Teacher at the school. It was hastily and poorly done with the doors and windows looking out of shape.

The contract was awarded to Quickfix Property Limited for N19 million failed to supply classroom furniture and teaching materials as contained in the contract.

"I just wish Hon. Yakubu Dogara will come and see for himself and then tell the public how proud he is of the school," Mr. Bature said. "Primary schools are supposed to give a foundation to children especially these ones in rural communities. These children have to suffer what their counterparts in urban cities enjoy."

Shoddy And Incomplete Projects

At Government Junior Secondary School located at the roadside, a few metres away from Bogoro main town, a three-classroom block has been built by Quickfix Property Limited but without teaching aids and furniture as spelt out in the contract.

"Being in a rural community, we sometimes use the money paid by the student as PTA levy to buy attendance booklets and even some of the textbooks we use in the school," said Mrs. Bilhatu Daniel, principal of the school.

"We were only given 80 pieces of 40 leaves exercise books in a school of 398 students," Mrs. Daniel continued. "My pain is not just as a teacher or the Principal of the school, but as a mother, seeing children with brighter future in such a mess with little or no hope of getting the best basic education they need at this age and time."

QuickFix Property Limited also constructed a three-classroom block at Upper Basic Primary School in Shall Gwartar, the only benefiting school in Dass Local Government Area.

But the building which was constructed last year is already falling apart with its foundation exposed and the walls already tearing into different parts, just as the floor in the classes already broken, leaving the newly erected classes in a wretched state.

The structure was erected in the first quarter of 2020, shortly before the COVID-19 lockdown. It was awarded at N19 million.

Ya'u Yusuf, the PTA Chairman of Upper Basic Secondary School, Shall Gwartar and Yusuf Gambo, a volunteer guard told WikkiTimes that the construction was done in two months, and it started collapsing immediately after the erection.

"The contractor was using substandard materials. We saw it for ourselves," they said.

"I personally stopped them, and they went to tell the Honorable himself," Yusuf said. "After some days, they returned back to continue their work with the same materials and at this point, I had to allow them."

Yusuf described the building as a death trap to students, adding that they feared that the building would finally collapse at any time.

"There has never been a time when leaders are so greedy and selfish as now," Yusuf said. "They can eat up everything allocated to a rural community without any fear or conscience."

Haruna Danladi, village head of Shall Gwantar, could not hide his disappointment when describing to WikkiTimes how students sit on bare floor to learn.

"We have no option," he said. "We only accept what they give to us no matter how bad or good it looks. The award of a contract by the government is usually for their own profit not for the benefit of the community. If not, quality and durable materials would have been used in a school.

"When they come to carry out the project, they never seek our advice. They just begin work and so we just sit aloof and watch them."

The Principal of the school, Mr. Sulaiman Yunusa who shared his experience with WikkiTimes explained how teachers struggle to maintain the school with zero support despite hefty allocations that come with the intervention project.

"We never received any book or teaching materials from anyone," he said.

Gwarangah, Dogara's Home Town Also Neglected

Outsiders would assume that the hometown of a former Speaker of the House of Representative who has been in the House for over 17 years would have basic amenities like good roads, constant power supply, pipe-born water, and standard schools as well as primary healthcare facilities.

But it is the opposite. The racketeering in the execution of the school projects in other communities did not also spare Gwarangah, his village. In comparison to other schools in Bogoro, Dass, and Tafawa-Balewa where the 2018 projects were either not carried out or poorly executed, a block of three classrooms was constructed by Delta Force Ltd.

"I am Dogara's Uncle and the principal of this school, as well as the NUT Chairman of the Local Government," said Mr. Gideon Gambo, who said that the new building belongs to the primary school which share premises with the secondary.

"Here in Gwarangah Junior Secondary school, as the principal, I have to buy chalk which we use because from SUBEB they only give us one carton of chalk for the whole term. How do you expect us to use just one carton in a term? So, we resort to taking money from the PTA levy which the students pay terminally to buy chalk which we use in our classes.

"Imagine students preparing for junior WAEC and other exams, no library and no textbooks. At what point is the Government supposed to come in and help these children. In the whole of this community, no single ICT centre and this is the community which produced the number four citizen in this country."

The purported ICT centre in the community has been converted to an APC warehouse used by Dogara. The building which has an APC logo, the political party of Dogara, is behind his house.

A peep into Dogara's house shows several undistributed stashed tricycles. Members of the community told WikkiTimes that the books meant to be distributed to the schools in the area had been stashed inside Dogara's house as well.

Contractors Operate In The Shadow

The contractors that executed the N1 billion Dogara Models Schools project mostly operate in the shadow as no trace of their offices in either Bauchi, the seat of Government or at Dogara's constituency.

Search conducted by WikkiTimes on Corporate Affairs Commission's website shows that the three companies that were awarded the contracts – Quickfix Property Limited, Delta Force Engineering Limited and Maridiq Nigeria Limited were all incorporated.

Further efforts to confirm the companies' profiles and other necessary information through the paid service, was not successful as the companies only have physical addresses in Abuja. But there are no emails or phone numbers. The companies do not have functional websites nor any active social media accounts for public engagement.

Expert Faults Project, Claim Amount, Inflated

An expert in quantity survey and lecturer at the Department of Quantity Survey who doubles as the Current ASUU Chairman, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi (ATBU) argued that the pictures shown to him by WikkiTimes purportedly built at N19 million were highly inflated.

"With these pictures, you have just shown me, considering the cheap labour and already available land to carry out the project, the amount said to be spent on this project is shoddy and questionable," Dr. Inuwa Ibrahim.

"N19 million only is a lot of money, and for a structure said to be erected in 2018 of such standards, such amount is enough to give us around three to four of such blocks of three classrooms of which there was no fencing and other sophisticated equipment needed," he said.

A proprietor of one of the biggest secondary schools in Bauchi, who doesn't want her name mentioned, corroborates Dr. Inuwa regarding the inflated cost of the Dogara's model schools.

She said N19 million will enable her erect another private school.

"If given N19 million I can comfortably open another branch and erect like six to seven classrooms of a good standard because I already have the land.

"I may not be so particular to tell you the actual cost of my school and the maintenance, but it is my pleasure to let you know that N19 million will give me a new section and some change (additional money) to pay salaries of my staff for some months."

She said N19 million "is a lot of money which can be used to build a standard school with ultra-modern science equipment that can be compared to some schools in some bigger schools."

Dogara, UBEC, Ignore Interview, FOI Request

A freedom of information request sent to the official email address of the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC by WikkiTimes requesting the commission's response on its findings were not responded to days after it was sent.

WikkiTimes also contacted the spokesperson of the commission Mr. David Apeh requesting an official response regarding the commission's shoddy execution of Dogara's projects. Mr. David requested the reporter to send an official email requesting comments, but days after the reporter sent the email, it fell on deaf ears, just as repeated calls to remind him about the earlier correspondences was equally ignored.

Several calls and text messages to Yakubu Dogara and his spokesman Turaki Hassan were not replied.

Dr. Aliyu Tilde, a former Bauchi Education Commissioner who was contacted before he was sacked by his Principal, Governor Bala Mohammed also declined to answer questions about the projects. Instead, he referred WikkiTimes to State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB).

"I do not handle education projects in LGAs. Please contact the State Universal Basic Education for any clarifications," said Tilde in a text message.

Then SUBEB directed WikkiTimes to speak with its director of planning, Dr. Aliyu Abdulrashed who said UBEC would be most appropriate in answering the questions relating to the projects.

"We are only the beneficiary," he said. "We are not the supervising body or the awardees of the contract, and so if you need any information about the project, you should reach out to the Universal Basic Education Commission."

-END

This story was produced in partnership with Civic Media Lab under its Grassroots News Project with support from the National Endowment for Democracy.

If you love this story and want to read more investigative stories like this, please hit the share button. That's the least you could do for us. Thanks