LAST Thursday’s ruling of an Abuja High Court in the suit between the Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) and Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation (WAYEF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) belonging to Hajia Turai, widow of former President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua, has elicited protests from various segments of society.
They include the FCT Ministry itself, Kasuwa Da Kasuwa (an Abuja-based association of market women and men) and a scholar, Omoba Kenneth Aigbegbele. They contended that it is immoral for Turai’s private organisation to be allowed to go away with a land duly allocated to a public institution committed to the propagation of peace and harmony.
Both parties are locked in a legal battle over the ownership of a prime plot of land said to have been originally allocated to African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) in 2008 but allegedly reallocated to Turai’s NGO in February 2010 by a previous administration. The Coordinator of Kasuwa Da Kasuwa, Hajia Halimatu Jumare, urged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bala Mohammed, to appeal against the verdict. She, in an interview with newsmen at the weekend, berated Turai for allegedly using her NGO as a cog in the wheel of progress of the AFLPM secretariat in Abuja. “Enough is enough. We are peace-loving women and youths who are believers in the Nigeria and the Abuja projects.
We wish to state that we are in absolute support of the African First Ladies Peace Mission, and the FCT Administration - it is therefore immoral and shameful for a former First Lady to attempt to convert a public land which was entrusted in her care for her own private NGO,” she said. The decision to make Nigeria the permanent seat of African First Ladies Peace Mission Secretariat was taken at its sixth conference held in Congo-Brazzaville in 2008 on account of the nation’s status as the giant of Africa.
According to the popular market leader, “Maryam Babangida initiated the building of Women Development Centre; Maryam Abacha also initiated the erection of National Hospital; so, why should Patience Jonathan’s plan for the building of African First Ladies Peace Mission House be different?’’ While commending Dame Patience Jonathan for her numerous contribution to women and children development projects, Hajia Jumare cautioned Turai to stop ridiculing Nigeria before the comity of the continent’s 50 First Ladies who are keen on establishing their secretariat in Abuja for sensitization, mobilization and harmony as well as the entire African womenfolk.
“It is disgusting that she even turned down several alternative plots of land offered to her as replacement in the city insisting on the piece of land belonging to the public,” she said. “I call on the FCT Administration not to succumb to this blackmail. They should go ahead to challenge and up-turn the court ruling and recover the public land from a private NGO.” Jumare also challenged opinion leaders to speak up against the activities of the former first lady while dismissing her triumph at the Abuja High Court as Pyrrhic victory which cannot stand the test of time. She emphasised that “it will be in the best interest of all of us if we can summon the will to speak up against all forms of immorality”.
In a statement entitled, “The immorality in awarding public land to Turai’s personal NGO,” the scholar said the court’s setting aside of the revocation of the said land by the FCT administration, going by the Nigerian mentality, was a thing of joy for some people because another organ representing the government had been rubbished. He said: “A section of the media have repeatedly and deliberately helped in drumming it into the ears of everyone that the decision of the FCT administration to revoke the said land was an attempt to cheat the former First Lady.
Thus, the ruling of the court concluded a script that had been hatched right from time on this matter. “It is ironic that no one in the media seemed interested in the substance of the case and everyone appeared satisfied that the defendant could not give evidence that the revocation was carried out in overriding public interest. The basis of this decision on revocation, to the court, appeared weak. Thus, the learned judge quashed the revocation and returned the piece of land to Hajia Turai.
My problem here is this: Is it satisfactory that a case is won simply because there is no convincing argument by one making a case, even when it is glaring that an anomaly has occurred? Should we simply close our eyes to an anomaly just because the presentation is weak? Now that judgment has been given, can we return to the basis of the case, at least for the purpose of soul searching, and to convince ourselves whether Hajia Turai was morally justified to appropriate a piece of land acquired for a public institution to personal use.
It is important that we carry out this self re-examination so that we will not be glorifying immorality and instituting corruption and greed as a good way to live.” The scholar went on: “A few months before her husband’s ailment deteriorated, leading to his eventual demise, Hajia Turai launched a cancer foundation and hospital project in which N5 billion was acquired. I attended that launch and I saw how moved Nigerians were to support what they considered a worthy cause. Now, three years after the demise of her husband and some four years or so since the cancer hospital project was initiated, Nigerians have not seen anything to justify the huge donation collected by Hajia Turai.
In the same vein, the WAYEF for which she claimed to have diverted the Peace Mission land has been in limbo. In fact, the WAYEF was functional for barely two years and it made virtually no impact considering the mass local and international appeal the NGOs of Dame Patience Jonathan, has made within the last three years. Nigerians should be asking questions by now. Where is the N5 billion collected by Turai?” He added: “In March 2010, Hajia Turai Yar’Adua was said to have approached the FCT Ministry during the tenure of Senator Adamu Aliero to convert the same plot for use by her non-governmental organization, WAYEF.
Thus, the ministry granted an offer of Statutory Right of Occupancy in respect of the same plot 703 now re-designed and numbered Plot 1347 while the original allocation to the African First Ladies Peace Mission was not revoked. It was reasoned that this was done based on an assumption that the land matter would not be re-visited; and no one was likely to ask question as it is our style. However, in May 2010, the tenure of Hajia Turai as President of the AFLPM ended midway following the demise of President Yar’Adua in office.
It therefore, became necessary for the present First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan to complete Nigeria’s tenure and to continue the task of providing the secretariat of the AFLPM. It was while she went about seeking information on the way forward that the FCT ministry discovered that an error had been committed in allocating the same land hitherto allocated to the AFLPM to Hajia Turai personal NGO. The Ministry therefore, had to reverse itself by revoking the title of Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation and restored the land to its original allotee, the African First Ladies Peace Mission in November, 2011.
“Faced with the grim reality that the land might be lost, especially since her crony has since left the seat, she promptly went to court and launched a massive media propaganda that the current First Lady, Dame Patience wanted to take her land. And as it is common with us, we failed to ask questions and several people joined in vilifying Dame Patience because it was her quest for answer on the plot of land that led to the discovery of the brazen illegality committed by Turai and Adamu Aliero. “Judgment may have been given, but justice is not yet served. And this should not be the end of the matter. We should stop celebrating illegality. Those who perfected the papers so that Turai can in future lay claim to this land in the law court should be brought to justice. Let our eyes not be clouded by our hatred for an individual.
Those who are trying to see that an illegality is corrected should not be crucified. How else can we salvage our nation if we allow every judgment of ours to be clouded by our prejudice? The FCTA had cleared the air concerning the judgement. FCT Permanent Secretary, John Chukwu at a press conference clarified that neither the incumbent First Lady (Patience Jonathan) nor the AFLPM, an international institution affiliated to the African Union (AU), was party to the suit. Chukwu who stood in for the minister, said the FCTA was undertaking a preliminary study of the judgment while awaiting the Certified True Copy (CTC) before further processes.
The FCTA explained that it moved to revoke the purported re-allocation as a legitimate action to rectify the anomaly by a past administration in re-allocating a plot meant for public institution to a private organization. Chukwu, an engineer, stressed that the revocation was done based on the powers conferred on the Hon. Minister of FCT by the Land Use Act and the FCT Act.
Thus the action was taken in the overall public interest and for that reason alone, he explained. The FCTA Permanent Secretary recalled that a former Minister of FCT who made the original allocation of the said land to AFLPM, Dr. Aliyu Umar Modibbo had publicly clarified that the disputed land was actually allocated by him, as the then FCT Minister to the AFLPM and not to Turai’s NGO.
They include the FCT Ministry itself, Kasuwa Da Kasuwa (an Abuja-based association of market women and men) and a scholar, Omoba Kenneth Aigbegbele. They contended that it is immoral for Turai’s private organisation to be allowed to go away with a land duly allocated to a public institution committed to the propagation of peace and harmony.Both parties are locked in a legal battle over the ownership of a prime plot of land said to have been originally allocated to African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) in 2008 but allegedly reallocated to Turai’s NGO in February 2010 by a previous administration. The Coordinator of Kasuwa Da Kasuwa, Hajia Halimatu Jumare, urged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bala Mohammed, to appeal against the verdict. She, in an interview with newsmen at the weekend, berated Turai for allegedly using her NGO as a cog in the wheel of progress of the AFLPM secretariat in Abuja. “Enough is enough. We are peace-loving women and youths who are believers in the Nigeria and the Abuja projects.
We wish to state that we are in absolute support of the African First Ladies Peace Mission, and the FCT Administration - it is therefore immoral and shameful for a former First Lady to attempt to convert a public land which was entrusted in her care for her own private NGO,” she said. The decision to make Nigeria the permanent seat of African First Ladies Peace Mission Secretariat was taken at its sixth conference held in Congo-Brazzaville in 2008 on account of the nation’s status as the giant of Africa.
According to the popular market leader, “Maryam Babangida initiated the building of Women Development Centre; Maryam Abacha also initiated the erection of National Hospital; so, why should Patience Jonathan’s plan for the building of African First Ladies Peace Mission House be different?’’ While commending Dame Patience Jonathan for her numerous contribution to women and children development projects, Hajia Jumare cautioned Turai to stop ridiculing Nigeria before the comity of the continent’s 50 First Ladies who are keen on establishing their secretariat in Abuja for sensitization, mobilization and harmony as well as the entire African womenfolk.
“It is disgusting that she even turned down several alternative plots of land offered to her as replacement in the city insisting on the piece of land belonging to the public,” she said. “I call on the FCT Administration not to succumb to this blackmail. They should go ahead to challenge and up-turn the court ruling and recover the public land from a private NGO.” Jumare also challenged opinion leaders to speak up against the activities of the former first lady while dismissing her triumph at the Abuja High Court as Pyrrhic victory which cannot stand the test of time. She emphasised that “it will be in the best interest of all of us if we can summon the will to speak up against all forms of immorality”.
In a statement entitled, “The immorality in awarding public land to Turai’s personal NGO,” the scholar said the court’s setting aside of the revocation of the said land by the FCT administration, going by the Nigerian mentality, was a thing of joy for some people because another organ representing the government had been rubbished. He said: “A section of the media have repeatedly and deliberately helped in drumming it into the ears of everyone that the decision of the FCT administration to revoke the said land was an attempt to cheat the former First Lady.
Thus, the ruling of the court concluded a script that had been hatched right from time on this matter. “It is ironic that no one in the media seemed interested in the substance of the case and everyone appeared satisfied that the defendant could not give evidence that the revocation was carried out in overriding public interest. The basis of this decision on revocation, to the court, appeared weak. Thus, the learned judge quashed the revocation and returned the piece of land to Hajia Turai.
My problem here is this: Is it satisfactory that a case is won simply because there is no convincing argument by one making a case, even when it is glaring that an anomaly has occurred? Should we simply close our eyes to an anomaly just because the presentation is weak? Now that judgment has been given, can we return to the basis of the case, at least for the purpose of soul searching, and to convince ourselves whether Hajia Turai was morally justified to appropriate a piece of land acquired for a public institution to personal use.
It is important that we carry out this self re-examination so that we will not be glorifying immorality and instituting corruption and greed as a good way to live.” The scholar went on: “A few months before her husband’s ailment deteriorated, leading to his eventual demise, Hajia Turai launched a cancer foundation and hospital project in which N5 billion was acquired. I attended that launch and I saw how moved Nigerians were to support what they considered a worthy cause. Now, three years after the demise of her husband and some four years or so since the cancer hospital project was initiated, Nigerians have not seen anything to justify the huge donation collected by Hajia Turai.
In the same vein, the WAYEF for which she claimed to have diverted the Peace Mission land has been in limbo. In fact, the WAYEF was functional for barely two years and it made virtually no impact considering the mass local and international appeal the NGOs of Dame Patience Jonathan, has made within the last three years. Nigerians should be asking questions by now. Where is the N5 billion collected by Turai?” He added: “In March 2010, Hajia Turai Yar’Adua was said to have approached the FCT Ministry during the tenure of Senator Adamu Aliero to convert the same plot for use by her non-governmental organization, WAYEF.
Thus, the ministry granted an offer of Statutory Right of Occupancy in respect of the same plot 703 now re-designed and numbered Plot 1347 while the original allocation to the African First Ladies Peace Mission was not revoked. It was reasoned that this was done based on an assumption that the land matter would not be re-visited; and no one was likely to ask question as it is our style. However, in May 2010, the tenure of Hajia Turai as President of the AFLPM ended midway following the demise of President Yar’Adua in office.
It therefore, became necessary for the present First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan to complete Nigeria’s tenure and to continue the task of providing the secretariat of the AFLPM. It was while she went about seeking information on the way forward that the FCT ministry discovered that an error had been committed in allocating the same land hitherto allocated to the AFLPM to Hajia Turai personal NGO. The Ministry therefore, had to reverse itself by revoking the title of Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation and restored the land to its original allotee, the African First Ladies Peace Mission in November, 2011.
“Faced with the grim reality that the land might be lost, especially since her crony has since left the seat, she promptly went to court and launched a massive media propaganda that the current First Lady, Dame Patience wanted to take her land. And as it is common with us, we failed to ask questions and several people joined in vilifying Dame Patience because it was her quest for answer on the plot of land that led to the discovery of the brazen illegality committed by Turai and Adamu Aliero. “Judgment may have been given, but justice is not yet served. And this should not be the end of the matter. We should stop celebrating illegality. Those who perfected the papers so that Turai can in future lay claim to this land in the law court should be brought to justice. Let our eyes not be clouded by our hatred for an individual.
Those who are trying to see that an illegality is corrected should not be crucified. How else can we salvage our nation if we allow every judgment of ours to be clouded by our prejudice? The FCTA had cleared the air concerning the judgement. FCT Permanent Secretary, John Chukwu at a press conference clarified that neither the incumbent First Lady (Patience Jonathan) nor the AFLPM, an international institution affiliated to the African Union (AU), was party to the suit. Chukwu who stood in for the minister, said the FCTA was undertaking a preliminary study of the judgment while awaiting the Certified True Copy (CTC) before further processes.
The FCTA explained that it moved to revoke the purported re-allocation as a legitimate action to rectify the anomaly by a past administration in re-allocating a plot meant for public institution to a private organization. Chukwu, an engineer, stressed that the revocation was done based on the powers conferred on the Hon. Minister of FCT by the Land Use Act and the FCT Act.
Thus the action was taken in the overall public interest and for that reason alone, he explained. The FCTA Permanent Secretary recalled that a former Minister of FCT who made the original allocation of the said land to AFLPM, Dr. Aliyu Umar Modibbo had publicly clarified that the disputed land was actually allocated by him, as the then FCT Minister to the AFLPM and not to Turai’s NGO.
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