…It”s Compelling, Says Iworiso-Markson
One of the private owned national television, Arise would today begin airing a special documentary programme to honour renowned ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark and celebrate his life and times.
The two part documentary programme on his many contributions to the peace, unity, and development of Nigeria and produced by First News On-line will be aired on national television stations beginning with Arise News on Sunday May 11 by 7.30pm and will also be available on First News TV’s Youtube Channel.
A statement by the Publisher and Chief Executive Officer of First News, Dr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the first part of the documentary programme, featured Chief Clark’s journey to greatness, through education, determination and resilience, despite numerous challenges.
According to him, the 30-minute star studded documentary also tells a compelling story with stunning testimonies of how the late sage stood and fought for what is right, even in the face of intimidation including threat to his life and family.
The second part of the documentary captured key ideals of the departed elder statesman and Pan-Nigerian, his death and the lessons of his character and personality.
Iworiso-Marskon explained the reason for the production of the documentary.
He said, “We all know that our revered father was a great man. Yes, there are stories about him including his memoirs and book, ‘Brutally Frank’, but we were driven by the need to have a video document to help preserve his legacies and also for the coming generations to know that there was a man called Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark who came, saw and conquered.
“There is so much to learn from him, and the documentary will provide that guide which in turn will shape the thought process of our young ones. We believe that with this little effort of ours, more E.K. Clarks will emerge and continue to push for what is right for our country.
“To put it succinctly, the documentary is a fitting tribute to Chief Clark’s remarkable life and legacy, offering valuable lessons for generations to come.
“In putting this documentary together, we transversed the length and breadth of the country, interviewing those who knew him, worked closely with him, and could bear eloquent testimony to his unique nature.”
Iworiso-Markson expressed appreciation to the Governors of Bayelsa, Senator Douye Diri; Delta, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori and Rivers States, Sir Siminalayi Fubara; the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and the Group CEO of Century Group, Ken Etete for their supports in ensuring the successful production of the documentary.
He also thanked former President Goodluck Jonathan; former Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson; elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, Ambassador Godknows Boladei Igali and members of PANDEF, the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) as well as members of the Clark family.
[09/05, 12:25] Vincent Ikuomola: Trade amongst ECOWAS member states not properly captured- Hon. Munir
Hon. Ahmed Munir, Member, a member Nigeria House of Representatives has differ to the notion of low trade amongst members of the Economic Community of West African States.
Munir said there is a robust trade going on within the citizens of the Community at the informal sector.
He however siad the only challenge is that they are not properly captured.
Munir who is the member representing Leray Federal Constituency in Kaduna, Nigeria, therefore urged that the informal sector be dragged into the net of the Gross Domestic Products of Member states.
Munir who is the Deputy Chair of the ECOWAS Committee on Infrastructure was responding to questions from journalists at the sideline of the ongoing Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament Delocalised meeting of Joint Committee on Infrastructure, Energy and Mines in Lome, Togo said.
He said that the informal sector has a lot to gain in the general community ecosystem.
He said: “Having said that, you said something that captured my imagination. Saying that it’s not encouraging the amount of trade that’s going on in West Africa. You’ll be shocked that the amount of trade that is going on in West Africa is quite robust.
“But it falls in the category of the informal sector. And it’s not properly captured. And these are one of the few assignments that we have to do in tangent to what we are doing here. How do you bring the informal sector into the formal sector? Number one, for the possibility to have a wider net, of course, of the economy to be captured in our GDP. But even more important than that is, no matter what they’re doing in the formal sector, it is more beneficial for them to be part of the formal sectors because they have certain access to funding and protection that is key.”
He was hopeful that the regional body would be able to fashion out something workable and beneficial for all the sectors of the economy.
On the need to reduce the cost of airfare within the region, which is the main reason for the Lome meeting, Munir said addressing interconnectivity among member states is critical to the regional integration policy.
He stressed that there cannot be proper integration without ease in movement of goods and people.
He explained: “At the moment, I always like to look at the glass half full. No doubt, we have a lot of work to do.
“But it’s not insurmountable. At the moment, as you’re aware, from Lagos all the way to Dakar, they’ve started the roads that will connect that. Especially from the Nigerian side, at least I can speak for that has been captured in our budget.
“So there just needs to be more work as a community to ensure not only does the road get from Lagos to Dakar, but also with transshipment to Cape Verde. We have to look at our rivers. There’s actually a lot of interconnectivity among the rivers within the ECOWAS sub-region, especially the landlocked, how we can get certain goods across to them, whether we need to dredge those rivers, and what happens”.
He also said Public, Private Partnership should also be considered in the Infrastructure efforts..
“So yes, there’s a lot of work to do. And it shouldn’t fall on the government alone. Some of these things have to be looked at in the eyes of PPP. Where along the highways within these great countries in West Africa, certain private entities take responsibility for construction and maintenance of certain stretches of the road, and they’re able to recoup their investment in a fair manner through toll gates. And apart from toll gates, there can also be tax incentives. Whatever work certain construction or factories within the region are willing to do, certain infrastructure projects, you can also develop some tax credit bricks.
“So there’s so many innovative ways that we’re here to lend our voice and see how we can move forward.
The legislator was also positive despite the challenges confronting ECOWAS, says with about a population of about 400 million, there is hope for the region.
Munir said like the mobile telephone revolution, “We want to achieve the same within the aviation airline industry as well, for passengers, for West Africans to be able to connect among each other, to trade among each other, to have tourism among each other, to have education across various universities among each other.
“So there’s a lot of work to be done. And like I said, it is meetings and gatherings like this. And you can ask, is there hope? The fact that we’re here, the fact that we’re working on a bill to achieve that, and subsequently, by the end of this conference by Saturday, we’ll have a document in place after sitting with all stakeholders.
“And then, of course, it will go to the relevant bodies that will hopefully ensure it is implemented. And then most importantly, us parliamentarians will go back to our countries and domesticate what we have reached over here. And yes, plenty of hope for tomorrow.”
The legislator stressed that at 50, ECOWAS has achieved a lot of milestones which signifies hope for the sub-region’s integration policy.
He stressed: “But I’m trying to base my answers on facts. For you to know that there is hope. And the hope is based on the work that is on ground. And we’re achieving great things together. You need to see the infrastructure that ECOWAS is doing. You need to see what they’re doing in the power sector, in the transport sector.
“There’s actually a lot of wins if we focus on them. Now, having said that, yes, we’re mostly advisory when we come here. But this interaction that we have with our colleagues, once we have a common front, for now, as whatever reforms that need to be taking place are being taken care of, patiently, adequately, responsibly.
“The truth of the matter is once we meet here, once we come up with tangible ideas, policies, or laws that will be beneficial for the entire ECOWAS team, ECOWAS, we come together, go back to our various countries, and try to navigate it through. And then we meet ourselves at a future point. Work like this is grinding. We have various nations. They are all sovereign. They all have various interests. So putting all these interests together is not an easy task. Now, all of us want to reach the same destination, but we just have different ideas of how to reach there. So the idea for us is to form a common front and move forward as one.
“And I believe we can do so because I am seeing it practically here. And I’m proud of the work that we’re doing here. And the idea is to pass the baton to the next set of parliamentarians that will come in until we get to our destination.
“Obviously, we have come a long way from where we were. And coming together, obviously, you can see the strength in unity. But we still have a long way to go. And with various reforms that are being projected, with the various work that you can see us doing here, setting targets that are short-term, medium-term, and long-term as well, I believe we’re going places.
“And the other thing that we also have to put in place is, remember, it’s not just the parliamentary body, but there are other segments, heads of states, and so on and so forth. I think everybody working together is key. And we will get there.”
