PHOTOSPEAK: LEADERSHIP. RELATIONSHIP INTELLIGENCE AND WORKPLACE PRODUCTIVITY WORKSHOP

GOVERNOR AMAECHI'S BULLDOZERS READY FOR ANOTHER DEMOLITION GALORE!

 The Rivers State government has marked all the entire houses, business premises, homes, schools, churches, and buildings on both sides of the 4km Akpajo to Elelenwo Road for demolition, in order to pave way for a road expansion project. Tension is very high among  business owners and  residents of the densely-populated neighborhood, as they fearfully await the arrival of the state's ruthless bulldozers. In the context of an ongoing urban development and renewal programme that commenced in 2007, the Rivers State Government has forcefully evicted tens of thousands of residents, and demolished buildings, homes, businesses, schools and properties across the metropolis, especially the densely-populated waterfront communities.

Owners of the marked buildings have not been compensated nor provided with alternative accommodation. If allowed to happen, tens of thousands of families will be rendered homes and stripped of their sources of livelihood. Unlike Njemanze and Abonema Wharf waterfront communities that have been flattened by the Rotimi Amaechi-led demolition friendly government, Elelenwo Road is not a slum. Some local residents claim they have both customary and statutory title to their lands, and obtained approval prior to erecting the marked structures. 

Governor Amaechi is known for his deep resentment for public consultation and citizen engagement on matters relating to urban renewal. As such, it is not likely that he will heed the growing calls for restraint considering the soaring rental costs in the city. 

All Nigerian citizens, including the inhabitants of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, are entitled to the fundamental right to property, as guaranteed by Section 43 and 44 of the Nigerian Constitution. In addition, an array of national legislations such as the Land Use Act, and the Rivers State Physical Planning and Development Law of 2003 specifically protects all rights-holders against arbitrary seizure by state and non-state actors. For instance, section 90 of the Rivers State 2003 Law requires that the government provide affected persons grants, loans, compensation, alternative lodging or sites for accommodation. The Rivers State government has never provided an acceptable alternative location and/or accommodation for demolished communities.

The right to property is violated when the government orders or carries out mass demolition or forced evictions without adhering to the statutorily laid down procedures. Apart from property and housing rights, forced evictions and demolitions also violate the fundamental right to life, dignity, and health, as expressed in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ratified into Nigerian law.

Ngozi Nwosu and an ailing health sector

By Aruviere Martin Egharhevwa

Two weeks ago, ailing Nollywood actress Ngozi Nwosu finally got on a flight to London, United Kingdom, where she is reportedly receiving treatment for a kidney malfunction. Before her departure, and probably due to the fact that she is a well-known public figure, several harrowing details about her health had circulated in the news media. The most distressing of such details was her reported desperation for money to offset the anticipated cost of her treatment in the United Kingdom.

WWW: What I Learned from Tim Berners-Lee

By Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri

Meet Tim Berners-Lee, the computer scientist who stunned the world when he invented the world wide web. What this man did will resonate beyond generations. He simply captured "fire"! When he invented the world wide web, he didn't name it after himself, or even attempt to brand it, because he so much believes in web neutrality.  

The director of the World Wide Web Consortium, (W3C) definitely has lots of important lessons and experiences to share with both veteran and upcoming digital designers and users. That was exactly what he did last week at the annual SWSX Festival held in Austin, Texas, United States on Saturday, March 9, 2013.  Like many others, I was thrilled to meet him in person!

Expectedly, Berners-Lee presentation, "OPEN WEB PLATFORM: Hopes and Fears" was explosive,  packed with great insights into the technological advancements in internet evolution, while offering practical guidance to impactful web-use creativity and and digital fulfillment.

Berners Lee said:  Once you invent something big and powerful, its not about what you can do, but what others can do with your stuff. Imagine what others can build on top of your idea. That is impact! The focus should be on creating digital platforms that provide value to others. That is where the excitement comes from. 

LOW-COST HOUSING: ALTERNATIVES TO FORCED EVICTIONS

By Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri

Recently, densely-populated Lagos slums, Makoko and Badia painfully faced the wrath of the Lagos State government's bulldozers, rendering thousands of families, including women and children homeless during the rainy season. Forced evictions, including the demolition of areas predominantly lived by the poor have increasingly become an urban re-engineering tool in Nigeria, with spiraling effects on social security, employment, health and human rights. These demolitions are often executed without prior notice and provision of compensation, or alternative accommodation to the affected populations.  

American Democracy Has Been HACKED! - Al Gore

By Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri

I consider listening to Al Gore – former Vice President of the United States - a big deal. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t queue for over an hour waiting to gain entrance into Exhibition Room 5 of the Austin Convention Center in Austin Texas, USA to hear him speak directly to an audience of not less than 3,000 persons who had come from far and wide to be part of the SXSW Interactive (Digital) Festival. In the one hour no-holds-barred discussion anchored by Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, Al Gore discussed his latest book,  “The Future”, revealing inconvenient truths about the changing global order in a provocative manner that intensely aroused deep (mixed) feelings.

Spaces for Change Director Emerges SXSW Winner

The SXSW Interactive scholarship program recognizes individuals from all sectors and from anywhere in the world who are using new media to push the boundaries of tackling community problems. Non profit leaders, grassroots organizers, individual citizens, and civic-minded entrepreneurs are all eligible. We focus on people whose work (whether it's a job, a hobby or volunteer) helps people through technology. For this scholarship, we sought undiscovered creative talents who can use the springboard of SXSW Interactive to make connections in the tech sector. The following listing of community heroes will be recognized for their good work at SXSW in March in Austin:

Victoria Ohaeri is a human rights lawyer, development researcher, freelance writer and community engagement specialist with extensive practical experience in law, development and human rights. She is the executive director of Spaces for Change, an non-governmental organization that leverages technology, crowd sourcing concepts and web-based communication tools to conduct researches, promote public awareness, and facilitate citizen engagement in the policy, legislative and institutional processes of the oil, natural resource, security, housing and power sectors in Nigeria. Ms. Ohaeri serves on various committees and working groups of national, regional and international bodies and associations.

Click HERE to see the full list of winners!

The North Does Not Control Nigeria’s Oil Blocks (1) - Toyin Akinosho

By Toyin Akinosho

Senator Ita Enang’s spirited claim at the National Assembly Wednesday to the effect that 83% of the country’s oil block is in the hands of northerners appears to be inspired  from assertions contained in an old article by a newspaper commentator, Mr. Ross Alabo-George whose famous essay was titled Poverty And Deprivation: Why The North Is Poor. 

In the excerpted refutation below, Toyin Akinosho, a petroleum geologist with over two decades of work at Chevron and now publisher of the well-regarded Africa Oil and Gas Report, argues angrily that such lines of thought canvassed by the likes of Senator Ita Solomon Enang and indeed Mr. Ross Alabo-George are merely hysterical, and tendentious, designed to mislead the public. Mr. Akinosho characterizes the arguments as crappy and crummy. It is excerpted from the African Oil+Gas Report for the value it brings to the current debate about Nigeria’s oil resources and the National Question.

The North Does Not Control Oil Blocks Anymore (2)- Diminas

By Samuel Diminas

The North actually does not control Nigeria’s oil blocks anymore: A Rejoinder to Toyin Akinosho: THE NORTH DOES NOT CONTROL NIGERIA'S OIL BLOCKS

While Senator Ita Enang’s assertion that Northern interests control 83% of Nigeria’s oil blocks may be dated, this assumption is still widely believed in the oil producing communities of the Niger Delta. This is not a totally unfounded speculation; between 1991-1998 several very lucrative oil blocks and ‘crude oil lifting allocations’ were awarded by the then ruling military regimes based entirely on the prerogative of the military rulers.