Some military officers are grumbling over alleged alteration of the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (HTACOS) contained in the Armed Forces Act, according to Sunday Vanguard.
Some of the aggrieved professionals in the military said that several medical doctors, engineers, lawyers, chartered accountants and architects had allegedly resigned from the three services: Army, Navy and Air Force.
The officers, who did not want their names published for fear of being punished, said, because of the bad impression some people had about the military in the past, coupled with alleged poor remuneration, the Armed Forces Council, drawing its powers under the Armed Forces Act, authored a document known as the Harmonized Terms and Conditions of Service (HTACOS) to attract graduates to the force. “The HTACOS reorganized the ranks of the Armed Forces and drew up clear equivalents among the rank and file in the three services (the superior officer ranks were never an issue)”, the officers said in a document, Sunday Vanguard reported.
“Importantly, the HTACOS introduced incentives to lure the professional class into the Armed Forces. Before then, the three services had their individual arrangements: the Army Council, the Navy Council and the Air Council were each responsible for the administration of their respective spheres of influence.
“However, these were haphazard and proved to be of doubtful efficiency. Then the Armed Forces Council decided that it was better to have uniformity and thus took out time to thrash out policies and regulations that apply to all the services in equal force; hence, the coming of the Harmonized Terms and Conditions of Service.
“The HTACOS set out some incentives to make a career in the Armed Forces an attractive prospect for professionals.” The aggrieved military officers further explained, “Whenever the Armed Forces advertise vacancies and request applications from the public, they dangle carrots before prospective applicants who are professionals.
“This they do by stipulating a higher age limit at which medical doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants, architects and holders of doctorate degrees in fields relevant to individual services can enter any of the services through the Direct Short Service Commission.
“While the age limit is 27 years for ordinary graduates, it is 30 years for professionals. This is obviously in recognition of the fact that professionals spend more years to qualify to practice their disciplines than their ordinary-graduate colleagues.
“By Chapter 5, Article 3 of the HTACOS, professionals joining any of the services through the Direct Short Service Commission will be commissioned in the same rank with their colleagues who are ordinary graduates.
“However, the former will enjoy two years’ seniority over the latter. This balances out what would have amounted to a Greek gift under the higher age limit entry. How? Every rank in the services has a run-out date, the maximum date at which its holder must retire if he is not promoted.
“For instance, the run-out date for a Lieutenant in the Army is 39. If he is not promoted to Captain by that age, he will be compulsorily retired. Thus, the higher age limit entry level for professionals brings an officer closer to his run-out date and exposes him to the risk of premature retirement.
“An officer who joins the service at the age of 30 has only nine years to make the rank of Lieutenant while his ordinary-graduate colleague has twelve. Thus, the two years’ seniority given to the professional class extends their run-out date to eleven years and accordingly cushions the negative effect of entering the services at a higher age limit.
“A lot of professionals poured into the armed forces as a result of these incentives, and have since moved through the ranks. However, the policy is not without its critics.
“The critics mostly comprise officers already in service who feel miffed that the two years’ seniority given to their juniors propels the former to become their mates, sometimes even their seniors. It is possible that it is these same persons who have inspired this about-face by the leadership of the armed forces.
“The HTACOS, currently in force, is the 2012 (Revised Edition). Recently, the three services wrote letters to their officers enjoying the two years’ seniority in which they notified the officers that their seniority had been withdrawn.
“They also published their respective seniority lists reflecting the said withdrawal of seniority. Curiously, this action is not backed by any law. The new policy clearly flouts the HTACOS which is an instrument authored by the Armed Forces Council under the power of delegated legislation.
“The Armed Forces Council is established by Section 4 of the Armed Forces Act with no less a personality than the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander in-Chief of the Armed Forces as its Chairman.
“The Minister of Defence, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff and Chief of Air Staff are members. The HTACOS, being a delegated legislation, has the force of law and cannot be departed from at will. Interestingly, Paragraph 1 of the certification page states as follows: ‘This HTACOS Officers 2012 (Revised) has been reviewed to ensure uniform implementation and it supersedes the previous HTACOS (2007). The contents are to be strictly observed on all occasions and interpreted reasonably and intelligently, with due regard to the interest of the services . . .’“The proper thing for the management of the Armed Forces to do is to review the HTACOS to remove the two years’ seniority for professionals joining the services. But even then, it cannot affect officers who are already enjoying the privilege.
“This is because the HTACOS cannot be made to apply retroactively. As Section 6(i) (b) and (c) of the Interpretation Act, stipulates: ‘The repeal of an enactment shall not – (b) affect the previous operation of the enactment or anything duly done or suffered under the enactment; (c) affect any right, privilege, obligation or liability accrued or incurred under the enactment.”
Faulting the action of the three services, the officers said, “By their action, the leadership of the Armed Forces has unlawfully pushed officers closer to their run-out dates. And by reducing their seniority, a lot of officers are now on ‘borrowed’ ranks. “This is because without the two years’ seniority factored in, many of them would not be due for promotion to their current ranks. What this means is the absurdity that an officer, say a Lieutenant Colonel, affected by this action, is, in reality, a Major.
“Disincentivised and demoralized, several officers in the three services have since resigned so that the services run the real risk of eventually starving themselves of the services of these professionals that they had paid odds over for.
“The policy somersault or policy reversal is not only illogical and ill-timed but also without any legal foundation. At a time the country is reeling from the violent work of insurgents, the action couldn’t come at a worse time. “The officers and men of our armed forces have an onerous task on their hands waging the war on terror. They surely do not need the distraction of having their ranks tampered with. It is an irresponsible thing for anyone to contemplate, let alone do.
“The Armed Forces are created by law and must operate in conformity with the law. The HTACOS is the only document that regulates the command, retirement, payment of retirement benefits, promotion and discipline of officers and men of the three services of the Armed Forces. It is a sacred document indeed and ought to be treated as such.
“Unfortunately, the authorities of the Armed Forces are not doing this at the moment. What this means is that it is at the mercy of the whims and caprices and can be violated any day the authorities feel so inclined.
“A serviceman could get his rank yanked off with no justification, have his benefits halved or quartered or be thrust into some other unsavoury situation that he never signed up for. “This will not only threaten but effectively jeopardize the livelihood and careers of tens of thousands of our servicemen and their dependants who put their lives on the line everyday in defence of our nation. “It is a scary thought, and one that continues to send shivers down the spines of not just officers but also the rank and file of the armed services. The HTACOS is essentially a contract between the armed forces and its officers. “It is inconceivable that anybody will deign to conduct the affairs of the Armed Forces in flagrant violation of its clear and elaborate provisions.”
Sunday, 7 February 2016
China to invest $60bn in Nigeria
The People’s Republic of China has said it will invest $60bn in Nigeria.
Chargé d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, Mr. Qin Jian, who said this in a statement commemorating the 45th anniversary of its diplomatic activities in Nigeria, described economic cooperation between both countries as fruitful, The Punch reported.
Qin said China was willing to integrate its development with independent and sustainable development of Nigeria and other African countries, so as achieve common development.
He noted that at the “successful and historic” second edition of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed five major pillars for China-Africa relations.
According to the Chinese envoy, China and Africa should seek equality and mutual trust in politics, cooperation in economy, mutual learning in civilisation, mutual assistance in security and unity and coordination in international affairs.
Qin said, “(China’s) 10 key cooperation plans with Africa in the fields of industrialisation, agriculture modernisation, infrastructure, etc. will serve as an all-around blueprint for China’s cooperation with Africa in a period to come and symbolise that China-Africa relations will take a big stride and enter a new era.
“To fulfil the 10 plans, China has pledged 60 billion US dollars in development funding to Africa. When carrying out cooperation with Africa, China sticks to the principle of ‘Four noes and three priorities.’
“These include attaching no political conditions, interfering in no African country’s internal affairs, raising no demanding requirements and making no empty promises.”
Among the listed priorities of the Asian nation were Africa’s demands, improvement of African people’s livelihood and enhancement of Africa’s capacity for independent development.
Woman who escaped husband's plot to kill her confronts him at her own funeral: 'I felt like somebody who had risen again'
It’s hard to tell what
the most shocking part of Noela Rukundo’s story is.
Is it that her husband
paid $7,000 to have her killed by hitmen because he thought she would leave him
for another man?
Or that the assassins
decided to pocket the money and spare her so she could live to tell the tale?
Or is it that Rukundo
confronted her husband, Balenga Kalala, at her own funeral before she had him
locked up for his murderous plot?
Nearly a year after
Rukundo, a Burundi native who lives in Melbourne, Australia, narrowly escaped
death and confronted her would-be murderer, she told BBC News the
unbelievable account.
“I felt like somebody
who had risen again,” Rukundo told BBC of the
experience of living to confront her killer husband on Feb. 22 of last year.
“When I got out of the car, he saw me
straight away. He put his hands on his head and said, ‘Is it my eyes? Is it a
ghost?” she said.
Days earlier, Rukundo had been in her
native Burundi for her mother’s funeral.
Saddened by her mother’s death, she
phoned her husband from her hotel room before she planned to turn in early.
“He told me to go outside for the fresh
air,” Rukundo said.
“I didn’t think anything, I just thought
that he cared about me, that he was worried about me.”
But, instead, it was a ploy for Rukundo
to step out onto the balcony, where an armed man waited for her.
“He just told me, ‘Don’t scream. If you
start screaming, I will shoot you. They’re going to catch me, but you? You will
already be dead.”
Rukundo was taken hostage by a group of
men, driven to a building, tied to a chair and questioned, still unaware her
husband was behind the plot.
“They ask me, ‘What did you do this man?
Why has this man asked us to kill you?’ And then I tell them, ‘Which man?
Because I don’t have any problem with anybody.’ They say, ‘Your husband!’ I
say, ‘My husband can’t kill me, you are lying!’ And then they slap me.”
Rukundo didn’t believe the hitmen until
they called her husband, who uttered orders that she says she’d never forget.
“Kill her,” she heard her husband’s voice
say over the phone.
“I heard his voice. I heard him. I felt
like my head was going to blow up,” she told BBC News.
Kalala is originally from the Democratic
Republic of Congo and moved to Australia as a refugee in 2004 after a rebel
army plundered his village and killed his wife and son, The ABC reported.
Rukundo, who has five children from a
previous relationship, also arrived in Australia that year and the two met
through their respective social workers.
They married, set up a new life for
themselves in a new country and had three children of their own together.
“I give him, beautiful and handsome, two
boys and one girl. So I don’t know why he choose to kill me," Rukundo
said.
As luck would have it, however, the
assassins stopped short of killing her because they refused to kill women and
children.
Instead, they left her on the side of the
road after two days in captivity, gave her a memory card with recorded
conversations with her husband about the murder plot, and ordered her to get
out of the country in 80 hours.
They proceeded to extort more money out of
Kalala and informed him that the deed was done, setting him up for the surprise
of a lifetime.
After Kalala told family and friends that
Rukundo had died in a tragic accident, he would see the woman he believed to be
dead at her own funeral.
“It was around 7:30 p.m. He was in front
of the house. People have been inside mourning with him,” Rukundo told BBC.
“I was stood just looking at him. He was
scared, he didn’t believe it. Then he starts walking towards me, slowly, like
he was walking on broken glass.”
“Then he said, ‘Noela, is it you?’ Then
he start screaming, ‘I’m sorry for everything!'” she recalled.
Rukundo reported the crime to Melbourne
police and on Dec. 11, Kalala pleaded guilty to incitement to murder.
He was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Rukundo said she will find a way to move
on from the harrowing experience and care for her eight children.
“My situation, my past life? That is
gone. I’m starting a new life now,” she said.As luck would have it, however,
the assassins stopped short of killing her because they refused to kill women
and children.
Instead, they left her on the side of the
road after two days in captivity, gave her a memory card with recorded
conversations with her husband about the murder plot, and ordered her to get
out of the country in 80 hours.
They proceeded to extort more money out
of Kalala and informed him that the deed was done, setting him up for the
surprise of a lifetime.
After Kalala told family and friends that
Rukundo had died in a tragic accident, he would see the woman he believed to be
dead at her own funeral.
“It was around 7:30 p.m. He was in front
of the house. People have been inside mourning with him,” Rukundo told BBC.
“I was stood just looking at him. He was
scared, he didn’t believe it. Then he starts walking towards me, slowly, like
he was walking on broken glass.”
“Then he said, ‘Noela, is it you?’ Then
he start screaming, ‘I’m sorry for everything!'” she recalled.
Rukundo reported the crime to Melbourne
police and on Dec. 11, Kalala pleaded guilty to incitement to murder.
He was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Rukundo said she will find a way to move
on from the harrowing experience and care for her eight children.
“My situation, my past life? That is
gone. I’m starting a new life now,” she said.
With daily news
Obasanjo prostrates before Ooni, seeks support for monarch
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday visited the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, at his palace to pay homage to the foremost traditional ruler in Yorubaland.
Obasanjo, who was accompanied to the palace by Otunba Oyewole Fasawe, Dr. Femi Okunnu and others, prostrated flat before the Ooni on his arrival at the palace.
Obasanjo, who lauded the moves being made by the Ooni to unite all Yoruba Obas and people, urged other monarchs to support Ogunwusi to ensure that all of them were united, The Punch reported.
The former President stated that the unity move by the Ooni was important for the progress of Yorubaland. He urged Oba Ogunwusi not to relent in his move to ensure unity, stressing that Ife remained the source of the Yoruba race.
He said, “I commend the role of Ooni in ensuring peace in Yorubaland. Continue what you are doing, especially your unity course. I am happy with the moves so far. It is only a sign of honour for the Ooni to visit anyone. That does not deny Ile-Ife of its position in the history of Yorubaland.”
Obasanjo, who was ushered into the palace by drummers and praise singers at the palace jokingly cautioned them from singing Owu la ko da (Owu town was the first to be created).
He said that song was not appropriate especially at the Ooni’s Palace because of the paramount position of Ile-Ife, which is the source of Yoruba people.
Obasanjo said he was very happy with the steps taken by the Ooni so far, saying the moves had proved that he did not support a wrong person to occupy the exalted throne.
Oba Ogunwusi thanked Obasanjo for finding time to come and pay him a visit.
The monarch said the former President is a lover and promoter of Yoruba culture, saying others should emulate him.
Earlier, the former President had paid a similar visit to the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, who was inaugurated as a king shortly after Oba Ogunwusi.
Obasanjo, who was invited for Oluwo’s coronation on January 16, said he could not attend the ceremony in person because he was outside the country then.
He called on Yoruba monarchs and their subjects to unite to continue to move the race forward.
The Oluwo also urged Obasanjo to use his influence across the globe to help Iwoland, restating his desire to speedily develop the town.
He said, “Since I became Oluwo, I have been making efforts to fast-track the development of Iwo and by the grace of God and the support of privileged Nigerians like Chief Obasanjo, we will get there.”
Aniseh Makhlouf, mother of Syria's Assad, dies
A statement on the presidency's official Facebook page says Makhlouf, the wife of the late President Hafez Assad, died in the Syrian capital Damascus, according to AP.
Makhlouf was born in 1930 to a prominent and wealthy Alawite family from the coastal province of Latakia in the heartland of the religious minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam.
She married Hafez in 1957 when he was an air force lieutenant and rarely appeared in public after he became president in 1971. Although she kept a low profile, she was known to be the family matriarch and exerted strong influence over her husband and children.
"She was to prove a devoted wife and mother and Assad's closest and most trusted confidante, providing him with a domestic environment of unquestioned respectability," wrote Assad's late biographer Patrick Seale in his book "Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East."
Many considered her to be the first lady long after Hafez passed away in 2000.
At the beginning of the uprising against the Assad family rule in March 2011, she was reported to have pushed Assad to crack down hard on protesters. She was later reported to have left Syria to the United Arab Emirates, joining her only daughter, Bushra, who moved to the Emirates with her children after her husband, Assef Shawkat, was assassinated in a blast in the Syrian capital in July 2012. Shawkat was the deputy minister of defense, AP reported.
Aniseh Makhlouf's nephew, Rami Makhlouf, is one of Syria's most prominent and wealthy businessmen. He controls the mobile phone network and other lucrative enterprises, and the protesters behind the 2011 uprising saw him as a symbol of corruption.
Makhlouf is survived by her daughter Bushra and her two sons, Bashar and Maher Assad. Two other sons passed away, one of them, Basil, in a car accident in 1994.
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