Promoting Selfless Service to Humanity

PROMOTING SELFLESS SERVICE TO HUMANITY AS WE COMMEMORATE THE 2016 WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY ON FRIDAY AUGUST 19

      

       August 19 each year, the world over commemorates the World Humanitarian Day. The World Humanitarian Day is an annual and international day dedicated to recognize humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives while working for humanitarian causes. The event was designated by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly as part of a Swedish-sponsored General Assembly Resolution on the strengthening of the coordination of emergency assistance of the UN.

       The World Humanitarian Day is a time to recognize those who face danger and adversity while helping others. The day was set aside to coincide with the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad – Iraq, which claimed twenty-two (22) lives including the live of the then Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Iraq in the person of Sergio Vieira de Mello.

       The invention of August 19 as World Humanitarian Day was the outcome of the relentless efforts of Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation coupled with the partnership of the deceased’s family with the Ambassadors of France, Switzerland, Japan, as well as Brazil in both Geneva and New York tabling and steering the draft resolution through the UN General Assembly. All the efforts of the Foundation was to ensure that the tragic loss of the said hero among his twenty-one (21) colleagues, and all the humanitarian personnel who have made the ultimate sacrifices in relieving the suffering of the victims of humanitarian crises were not in vain.

       Sergio Vieira de Mello who was a citizen of Brazil, South America dedicated his lifetime spanning over thirty years in the UN, serving in some of the most challenging humanitarian situations in the world to reach the voiceless victims of armed conflict, alleviate their suffering and draw global attention to their plights. His death alongside twenty-one of his colleagues on 19^th August 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq deprived the victims of armed conflict worldwide of a unique humanitarian leader of unmatched courage, drive and empathy who championed their cause fearlessly and clearly engraved their plight on the world map.

       The tragic event also robbed the humanitarian community of an outstanding leader and intellectual whose thought, philosophy, dynamism and courage inspired all, and remains a timeless legacy to emulate by generations yet unborn. Mindful of this legacy, in 2006 the family of the late humanitarian icon and a group of close friends founded the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation dedicated to continue his unfinished mission of encouraging dialogue between communities and relieving the predicament faced by the victims of humanitarian crises.

       The World Humanitarian Day was commemorated for the first time on 19^th August 2009. Suffice to say that, this year’s commemoration is the eighth of its kind in the history of the worthwhile event. As the international community marks the event today, we are all urged to borrow a leaf from the indelible landmark achievements of the great warrior and legend – Sergio Vieira de Mello. To this end, we are all expected to strive towards promoting selfless service in our respective endeavours at all costs.

       Surely, the most important thing to any man remains his/her welfare. Welfare could be referred to as one’s well-being, or organized efforts to ensure the basic well-being of people in need. Since the term ‘humanitarianism’ has to do with human welfare, it is of no need reiterating the fact that this remarkable event widely known and recognized as World Humanitarian Day was set aside to sensitize mankind on the cogent need for people to help one another, and for anyone to support any crusade that is targeted to promote lending hand to persons that are in need or victimized.

      We must be willing and ready to volunteer ourselves whenever our services are required in our various jurisdictions. It’s very disheartening to notice that whenever tragic incident occurred, some persons’ intent is usually how they would benefit from the crisis. Rather than preoccupy our mindsets with such devilish intention, we are bound to take into cognizance that no one who benefits from a crisis scene lives a happy life regardless of his/her status. To this end, it’s our duty to ensure that we bring succour to the needy, or those victimized by a crisis such as war, terrorism, religious extremism, massacre, and genocide, just to mention but a few.            

       Furthermore, since no one ever wishes to be in a community or society made up of only him or her, thus we ought to ensure that the sustenance of the well-being of our relatives, friends, neighbours, colleagues, associates, or what have you, as the case may be, is at all times our civic responsibility. By so doing, we can boast of a peaceful society filled with thoroughly united individuals.

      So, as Nigeria joins the global community to commemorate the World Humanitarian Day, I enjoin every relevant body to include the religious institutions, civil society, mass media, governments at all levels and well-meaning individuals, among others, to do everything humanly possible toward ensuring that selfless service to humanity is deeply promoted come rain come shine. In his words, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, ‘In a world that is ever more digitally connected, each of us has the power and responsibility to inspire our fellow human beings to act to help others and create a more humane world’.

      The theme of this year’s commemoration is ‘One humanity’, which signifies that we were all created to be one indivisible body irrespective of our individual affiliations. Hence, we are meant to contribute our quota to ensure that we actualize such laudable motive no matter the challenges. Think about it!

 

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor

(TheMediaAmbassador)
-Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-
Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career Development - Owerri

_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

Twitter: @mediambassador 

Kicking Against Hostility and Conflict

KICKING AGAINST HOSTILITY AND CONFLICT AS THE WORLD MARKS THE 2016 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE ON WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 21

 

       Today, Wednesday September 21, the world over is commemorating the 2016 anniversary of the International Day of Peace. In respect to the effect of peace to humanity, in 1981, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly through a resolution established the International Day of Peace. The day was first celebrated on Tuesday September 21, 1982. The maiden commemoration was meant to coincide with the anniversary of the UN’s opening session, which was held annually on the third Tuesday of September.

         Consequently, in 2001, the UN General Assembly by unanimous votes adopted resolution which established 21^st September of every year as an annual day of non-violence and ceasefire. By this resolution, the UN invites all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities, and to otherwise commemorate the day through education and raising of public awareness on issues related to peace.

       Hostility is unfriendly or aggressive behaviour/feelings towards people from other backgrounds. It can also be described as a strong opposition against an idea, a plan or a situation. On its part, conflict is a situation in which individuals, groups or countries are involved in a serious disagreement or argument which often results to violence; it can simply be defined as a state of complete confusion and disorder. On the other hand, peace is a period of time when there is no enmity, violence or war in a certain locality; more so, it is the state of being calm or quiet, or living in mutual friendship with others.

        Hostility and conflict, that have over the decades subjected mankind to a state of mockery, have indeed arrested the developmental thrives of most nations across the globe thereby constituting a severe and uncontrollable poverty among the populace. Conflict, that is as old as the world, has succeeded in rendering the socio-economic growth of many countries incapacitated due to its cruel and dastardly nature.

       Conflict through the emergence of terrorist activities such as assassination, kidnapping, massacre, armed robbery, genocide, or what have you, has not only brought endless anxiety to the people, but has contributed immensely to the degradation of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the affected country or region, as the case may be. Above all, the dangers of war, or the level of the post-traumatic stress disorder attributed to it, cannot be overemphasized.

       Research shows that the rudimentary attribute of several conflicts are directly related to leadership and/or valuable natural resources such as gold, diamond, petroleum, coal, timber, water and so on. Needless to say that, addressing the ownership, control and management of available natural endowments is crucial to maintaining peace and security in any society, thereby sustaining an ideal development needed by all. Hence, in Nigeria for instance, it’s imperative for the governments at all levels to include the host communities of the country’s resources in the scheme of things, especially while implementing capital projects. Equitable distribution of leadership positions among the citizens/regions would equally be a welcome idea.

       Surely, peace and security are essential foundations for social progress and sustainable development, thus we must quench the fire of extremism among us in order to tackle the root causes of conflict. We must bear in mind that peace is definitely a long journey that we are bound to collectively embark on. Suffice to say; we are expected to hold peace in our hearts and minds, and tenderly nurture it so it would grow and blossom.

        It is not anymore news that armed conflict causes untold grief and hardship to families, communities and the entire country involved. Indeed, too many persons are suffering today at the brutal hands of war-mongers and terrorists. This is why, from the onset, we must learn to teach our children and wards the essence of tolerance and mutual respect. Let’s invest in the schools and teachers toward building a fair and inclusive world that embraces diversity; fight for peace at all cost, as well as defend it with all our might. The various religious bodies have a very vital and inevitable role to play in this regard.

        From time to time, we are meant to sensitize our children, relatives, friends, colleagues, associates, and what have you, to emulate the habit of the UN Messengers of Peace, or the likes of Princess Haya, Daniel Barenboim, Paulo Coelho, Michael Douglas, Jane Goodall, Edward Norton, Steve Wonder, Charlie Theron, and Elie Wiesel, just to mention but a few, whom remain distinguished individuals carefully selected from the fields of art, literature, science, entertainment, sports among other fields of public life, who have agreed to help focus worldwide attention on the work of the UN in the area of peace promotion. These prominent icons volunteer their times, resources, energies, talents and passions, to raise awareness of United Nations’ tireless efforts to improve the lives of billions of people worldwide.

        The International Day of Peace offers people globally a shared date to think about how they can contribute towards ensuring that natural resources and quest for leadership positions are handled in a mature and tactical manner, thus reducing potential for disputes as well as paving ways for a sustainable future, which is obviously the future we want. Furthermore, in our various homes, we need to see our spouses as best friend, to avoid likely cases of domestic violence that could jeopardize our peace.

        As Nigeria joins the rest of the global community to mark the 35^th anniversary of the laudable commemoration, there’s a compelling need for holistic condemnation of any act that could result to any form of hostility or conflict around us, in order to sustain a formidable peace needed for both individual and national developments. Think about it!

 

Comrade Fred Doc Nwaozor

(The Media Ambassador)

-Public Affairs Analyst & Civil Rights Activist-

Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research

& Career Development - Owerri

_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

 
http://frednwaozor.blogspot.com
Twitter: @mediambassador           

 

Jonathan's Patience, EFCC and their Melodrama

PATIENCE JONATHAN, EFCC AND THEIR MELODRAMA

       It’s not anymore news that on 18^th April 2016, upon request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the former Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Domestic Affairs in the person of Mr. Waripamowei Dudafa was arrested at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos State by the Nigerian Security Operatives – DSS, over alleged Money Laundering, while attempting to travel out of the country, having evaded arrest on several occasions.

       It was gathered that the aide was on the anti-graft agency’s wanted-list for his alleged involvement in the sharing of #10 billion to delegates during the December 2014 presidential primaries of the then ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Mr. Dudafa allegedly converted the money into US dollars, amounting to $47 million, and distributed it among delegates from the 36 states alongside the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Investigations revealed that the fund was part of the alleged $2 billion meant for the purchase of arms but which authorities said was shared as slush funds by politicians via the office of the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki. It’s noteworthy that the case in question is currently being entertained by the Federal High Court in Lagos State.

      Thereafter, in July, some discovered alleged fraudulent bank accounts worth $31.4 million, linked to the defendant, were frozen by the EFCC, upon court’s directive as claimed by the commission. However, the former First lady Mrs. Patience Jonathan has claimed ownership of the frozen accounts, stating that she was the sole signatory to the affected accounts. On 6^th September, she consequently, through her counsel, demanded a court declaration that the respondents have breached her fundamental human rights as a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by placing a No Debit/Freezing Order on the accounts ‘without any court order’, or ‘serving any prior notice’ to her, thus prayed for #200 million compensation.

      In response to her fascinating claim, the EFCC stated thus, ‘We did not know that the accounts belonged to Patience Jonathan at the time we froze them. The accounts do not bear her name neither do they carry her Bank Verification Number (BVN). So, how can she accuse us of harassment?’ It would interest, perhaps shock you to acknowledge that the four accounts in question, lodged with Skye Bank Plc, are reportedly in the name of four different companies namely, Pluto Property and Investment Company Ltd.; Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Ltd.; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Ltd.; as well as Avalon Global Integrated Service Ltd.

      Intriguingly, Mrs. Jonathan had since 2010 been reportedly using the credit cards of the accounts and operating them without any hitch. According to the report, even in May, June and July 2016 respectively, she travelled abroad for medical treatment and was using the cards over there, up till July 7 or thereabouts when the cards cease to function, probably owing to the No Debit Order issued on the accounts. Nevertheless, we have reliably learnt that the claimer has written the EFCC amidst the ongoing court proceedings, precisely on 14^th September 2016, ‘begging’ for the ban to be lifted, saying that $15 million out of the $31.4 million in the controversial accounts were for the medical bills she incurred in London, UK in 2013. Amazing; isn’t it?

      Well, it’s worth noting that there are fundamental matters arising from the ongoing melodrama scripted by the EFCC and the ex-First Lady. First; why were the accounts opened in those companies’ names? Since it is claimed that the accounts possess a sole signatory, why then were they opened with misleading names? Funnily enough, we have learnt that the aforementioned firms lacked addresses; suffice it to say that their localities were not tendered to the bank. We are not unaware that on no ground would a domiciliary corporate account be opened without tendering tangible addresses. So, how do we reconcile this?

       Another pertinent inquiry is: why did the claimer wait for over one month before filing a claim in the law court? According to records, the accounts were frozen in the first week of July, but she filed the claim in the Lagos High Court on September 6; the interval was almost two months, or more, if I’m not mistaken. No matter the degree of the consultations that were made prior to putting up the claim, the duration ought not to have lasted so long, because such issue involving finance required an urgent attention.

       Among all, why would the claimer plead with the EFCC to lift the ban/order while the court is still hearing her appeal, thereby contradicting the ongoing prosecution? Besides, what kind of medical treatment(s) would result to such amount of money? Though I’m just thinking aloud, all the parties involved really need to look into this complicating angle critically.

       As much as I owe the ex-First Lady an explicit respect, I would as well like her to comprehend fully that all eyes are on her person as long as this melodrama lingers. I am strongly convinced that she’s surrounded by many astute legal luminaries, hence I expect her to realize the best comment to make at any given time, and how best to present it. That is one of the rudimentary obligations of one’s lawyer, and not just filing cases at the court of law on his/her behalf and awaiting a victory.

      The EFCC, on its part, must equally be very careful on how it handles the issue. Any sensitive matter in the public domain requires not only experienced hands, but tactical and convincing approach. We must note that Nigerians are keenly and dispassionately watching the melodrama; and I bet you, they are willing to observe till the end. Think about it!  

           

 

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor

(TheMediaAmbassador)
-Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-
Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career Development - Owerri

_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

Twitter: @mediambassador