THE TRANSFORMATION OF NSCDC UNDER AUDI ABUBAKAR

By Solomon Semaka

It takes great efforts and long time to build any worthy cause but destruction happens in a twinkle of an eye. Building solid institutions especially in a democratic setting requires the commitment of leaders and administrators of great repute and strong will. Whether by act of intentionality or divine happenstance, when Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, Phd, mni, assumed office as commandant-general of the Nigeria Security And Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the first from among the ranks of the service, many Nigerians including myself were skeptical of his ability to bring lasting reforms in the agency. This was because of the bad situation at the agency at the time of his appointment.

Audi’s, appointment as reports indicate has indeed proven that it was the best at rebuilding and enhancing the Corps’ productivity and efficiency. This he has achieved within two years of his leadership with numerous accomplishments, proving his capacity as an administrator and compatriot with the zeal to get things done for our dear country. Within just (2 )years of leadership of the corps, the Ahmed Audi led administration has justified the confidence reposed in him with lots of modest but novel achievements to his credit.

Upon assumption of office, the CG’s first priority was to restore the glory of the corps and boost the morale of its personnel by introducing transformational programmes and reforms in line with his vision to reposition the service and improve the operational capacity of the corps for general improved performance.

As a gender friendly and sensitive leader, Dr. Audi launched a gender policy document with the aim of including female officers in the structure and administrative echelon of the service. To keep the NSCDC vision for female officers alive, the NSCDC under his watch established a special female squad to address security challenges, particularly the abduction and kidnapping of school children. The squad increased surveillance and patrol of schools and provided relevant security awareness and reporting systems. To guide their operations, a vulnerability survey of schools in Nigeria was conducted, leading to the formation of the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre (NSSRCC) at the Corps National Headquarters. The center conducted training programmes for critical stakeholders. This innovative approach to gender mainstreaming is the first of its kind globally. This initiative has been commended for it’s impact on the United Nations Safe Schools Initiative program.

Under Audi’s watch, the NSCDC has prioritised training, retraining, and staff welfare to enhance personnel’s operational efficiency in the face of prevailing security challenges. So far, thousands of Corps personnel were trained in various skills and competencies to boost operational capabilities. It is also reported that a Ministerial Committee has developed a pragmatic and 21st century curriculum for the newly established Civil Defence Command and Staff College in Jos which has since been commissioned and operational. This is a sharp departure from an era where there was drought of training opportunities and support from the Corps. No wonder, the Corps has become one of the most effective, disciplined and productive security agencies as can be attested by the number of awards and recognitions coming from different stakeholders both locally and internationally.

Similarly, Corps welfare has received a big boost under the leadership of Dr. Audi Abubakar as the Commandant General. Massive affordable housing projects have so far commenced across the country for junior and intermediate officers with the one in Abuja completed and occupied. The Corps has also completed and commissioned the Sokoto and Kebbi states command to provide befitting office space for effective service delivery. Again, over 200 million insurance benefits have been paid in the last two years alone. Over sixty million naira (₦60,000,000.00) has been given to (119) personnel that sustained various degrees of injuries in the course of duty through the NSCDC Group Personal Accident Scheme. This is the first of its kind in Nigeria. It is interesting to note that another set of 162 families were paid eighty five million naira (₦85,000,000.00) as burial benefits. Other payments running into millions of Naira have been paid under various welfare and insurance schemes. Indeed Dr. Audi is a true reformer and transformer.

To ease operational difficulties and combat vandalism, sabotage and criminal theft of national assets, the Corps embarked on an equipment drive, acquiring operational vehicles, surveillance equipment, and eight gunboats to protect critical assets and fight against oil thieves. The formation of the CG’s Special Intelligence Squad (CGSIS), Agro-Rangers, Peace and Conflict Resolution unit has been an intentional effort by Dr. Audi to give a boost to his strategy in securing national assets, safeguarding farmers and farmlands. Indeed, CGSIS and the other units have performed optimally well in this regard and have combated criminal activities, safeguarding farms, farmers and sustainably settling disputes between farmers and herders through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). The arrest of bandits, kidnappers, and fraudsters, oil thieves, vandals and a cache of weapons is a testament to the strides of this achiever.

In line with its mandate, the NSCDC under Dr. Audi has made efforts to improve the private security industry by digitizing the Private Guard Company Department and coordinating the welfare and training of private guards. This is a step in the right direction as private guards play a very pivotal role in containing security in homes, industries and other critical sectors of the economy. Their regulation will therefore help industry players and stakeholders to act accordingly to laid down rules and guidelines for national development.

The Corps under Dr. Audi played a significant role in election security management during the 2023 general elections, ensuring the protection of INEC staff and election materials. The fact that even international observers commended the Corps for its protection of human rights, and absence of any involvement in electoral malpractice pays credence to the diligence of Dr. Audi and the entire Service.

The rain of awards and recognition received by Dr. Audi and Corps within the last two years, including the prestigious Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) as well as the award given to the NSCDC for being the Best Government Agency of the Year in 2022 have validated the wisdom to appoint heads of security agencies from within the ranks of their service.

The partnership with the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) to review and validate the Critical National Assets and Infrastructure National Protection Policy and Strategy (CNAI-NPPS 2023) is yet another milestone. There’s no doubt that the NSCDC under Audi’s watch has been reformed and transformed for better service delivery and improved national security.

Solomon Semaka, an anti-corruption crusader and public affairs analyst writes from Abuja.

Developed countries must face up to their responsibilities to address climate change

By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
“If we persist in delaying key measures that are needed, I think we are moving into a catastrophic situation,” United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned after many parts of the globe were recently hit by extreme weathers.
However, developed countries have long ignored their responsibilities and failed to deliver on their promises, which undermined the current climate agenda. They have triggered dissatisfaction from the international community, especially the developing world.
Developed countries have historical responsibilities, legal obligations and moral responsibilities for climate change, making developing countries the biggest victims.
According to a recent study led by the University of Leeds and published in the UK journal Nature Sustainability, almost 90 percent of excess carbon emissions come from developed countries, including the United States.
However, developed countries are just making empty rhetoric and shifting the responsibility to the developing world. This is totally against the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva recently said that who polluted the planet in these last 200 years were those who made the Industrial Revolution, and for this, they have to pay the historic debt they have with planet Earth.
Developing countries have not seen enough sincerity from developed countries in coping with climate change. Climate finance remains a key to the global challenge.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement have made clear the responsibilities and obligations of developed countries to provide financial resources, while developing countries are encouraged to provide such support voluntarily.
The University of Leeds report indicated that developed countries could be liable to pay $170 trillion in climate reparations to low-emitting countries to ensure targets to curtail climate breakdown are met.
Guterres noted that adaptation needs in the developing world are set to skyrocket to as much as $340 billion a year by 2030. However, facing such a financing gap, developed countries have yet to deliver on their promise of mobilizing $100 billion per year
for climate action in developing countries before 2020—a promise made 14 years ago, and to offer a roadmap for doubling adaptation finance.
Climate finance was a focus of the recent Summit for a New Global Financing Pact held in Paris. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, president-designate of the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, noted that there is a huge financing gap in coping with climate change and promoting sustainable development of the world, and the climate finance promise is “barely band-aids, or painkillers, to a problem that requires major surgery.”
Over recent years, some developed counties have backpedaled their climate policies. Their fossil energy consumption and carbon emission, instead of decreasing, went up, affecting the global climate governance process.
The U.S. government has repeatedly stressed the importance of transparency, responsibility, and respect for international rules, but it has lacked continuous, consistent, transparent and responsible climate policies. It has failed to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and once withdrew from the Paris Agreement, becoming a saboteur of global climate governance.
Besides, the United States, under the disguise of promoting energy transition, invested hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars in subsidizing its domestic manufacturers via various unfair acts and administrative measures. It also built trade barriers against the green industries of developing countries by cutting their access to green technologies.
These acts blatantly violated the basic rules of the WTO, disturbed the industrial and supply chains of the global green industry, undermined the efforts of other countries to achieve sustainable development goals and went against the joint efforts of the international community to cope with climate change.
China has all along made efforts to promote ecological civilization and taken concrete actions on climate governance.
The country has announced its targets of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, under which it will make the biggest reduction in carbon emission intensity in the world and move from carbon peaking to carbon neutrality in the shortest time span in world history.
It has worked steadily to adjust the energy mix. Today, China has the world’s largest installed capacity and power generation from wind and solar power, and leads the world in the output and sales of new energy vehicles.
A recent Bloomberg report pointed out that China is emerging as a leader on the most important predictor of the climate future – the speed with which clean energy is being deployed to replace fossil fuels.
Apart from following a green development path itself, China continues to deepen South-South cooperation on tackling climate change. It is doing its best to offer support and assistance for other developing countries to cope with climate change under the frameworks of the Belt and Road Initiative and South-South cooperation.
Tackling climate change is a mission facing all mankind. The international community should work together to build an equitable and effective global mechanism on climate change.
For climate change, a take-more-give-less approach based on a utilitarian mindset is in nobody’s interest. The developed world should face up to its historical responsibilities, deliver on its promise as soon as possible, expand its support for developing countries in terms of finance, technology and capacity building, and work with developing countries to achieve concrete progress in global climate governance.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)

NSIB Act 2022: Bureau Holds Consultative Meeting with Stakeholders

As a result of the recent enactment of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) Act 2022 which necessitated the inclusion of new Amendments to its Regulations, the Bureau has invited stakeholders to a Consultative meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 18th, 2023.

According to the Director General of the Bureau, Engr Akin Olateru, the purpose of the meeting is to enable stakeholders make contributions to the amendments which are meant to, amongst others, ensure that the Bureau’s Regulations are consistent with the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) set forth in ICAO Anex 13.

The Amendments, he further reiterated, are meant to put the Bureau in tune with the evolution of new technologies and changes within the industry globally.

Expected to attend the meeting are members of the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), all holders of valid Air Operators Certificate (AOC), security agencies and all those involved in Air Safety and Security issues, a statement by Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NSIB, Dr. James Odaudu revealed.

The meeting which is billed to hold at the conference room of the Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in Abuja, will also hold simultaneously on Zoom for those unable to be physically present. Details of the online participation have been conveyed in their invitation letters.

In a related development, the Bureau has also stepped up preparation for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Safety and Security Audit of Nigeria scheduled for August.

Director-General of the Bureau, Engr Akin Olateru said although NSIB has always been on top of its duties, preparations are in top gear to ensure that the country comes top again in all aspects, especially as it concerns NSIB.

China’s AI industry achieves fruitful outcomes

By Xie Weiqun, Shen Wenmin, Huang Xiaohui, People’s Daily

The World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2023 was held in Shanghai from July 6 to 8.

The event, joined by more than 1,400 guests and 400 exhibitors, covered an exhibition area of over 50,000 square meters. It hosted 133 themed forums, attracting over 177,000 in-person visits. All of the above hit record highs.

The event was a magnet attracting investment and businesses. During the 2023 WAIC, 210 firms reached a total intended purchase amount of 11 billion yuan ($1.52 billion), and 32 major projects were signed with a total investment of 28.8 billion yuan.

The scale of China’s core artificial intelligence (AI) industry has exceeded 500 billion yuan so far, with the number of AI enterprises exceeding 4,300. Intelligent chips, AI development frameworks and other innovations keep emerging.

The application scenarios of AI are seen everywhere, from people’s daily life to enterprises’ production, sales, services, and administration.

“Our equipment is designed for those with lower limb disorders in their early functional training,” said a staff member of an exhibitor who brought a lower limb rehabilitation robot to the 2023 WAIC.

The staff member said that the robot provides users with correct sensory input and helps prevent the development of abnormal gaits through rhythmic stimulation, vertical DOF (degree of freedom) and ground-walking assistance. The robot has been applied at many rehabilitation centers across China.

Autonomous driving vehicles were a highlight of the event. On July 8, 15 unmanned vehicles manufactured by three enterprises obtained the first batch of road test licenses for unmanned intelligent connected vehicles issued by Shanghai’s Pudong New Area.

As relevant regulations are put into effect, autonomous driving in Pudong New Area is about to embrace an “unmanned era.”

According to a report issued by the 2023 WAIC, China has witnessed prospering development of its AI industry, accelerating relevant infrastructure construction and in-depth integration with other industries over recent years.

Statistics released at the conference showed that China’s computing power ranks second globally. Thanks to the profound integration of AI and the manufacturing sector, more than 2,500 digital workshops and smart factories have been built across the country, which forcefully drives the digital, intelligent and green transition of the real economy.

The application of AI-assisted scenarios is leading to rapid data growth. Computing power, as a key productive force in the era of the digital economy, will empower all industries.

The State Information Center of China said that 80 percent of scenarios will rely on AI in the future. How to build a solid foundation of computing power and making it a basic resource of AI development is a key factor driving the development of industrial ecology and promoting sci-tech innovation.

According to preliminary estimation, the revenue of China’s AI computing core industry will hit 4.4 trillion yuan by 2025, with related industries up to 24 trillion yuan.

Future development of computing power will feature inclusiveness and intelligence, said a report released at the 2023 WAIC. It noted that computing power will be able to forcefully drive the integration, sharing, development and application of data collected from different levels, regions and departments, and thus vitalize data assets.

AI insiders and more than 80 renowned scholars held in-depth discussions on the topics of technology, industry and humanities, focusing on intelligent chips, scientific intelligence, robotics, brain-like intelligence, autonomous driving, rule of law and security as well as other frontier research areas.

Insiders believe that as the AI industry keeps developing, enterprises can boost industrial development and lead high-quality AI development with strong computing power through systematic innovation and open source.

As of the end of last year, the number of data center racks in use topped 6.5 million in China. Besides, the country was twice faster than the global average in terms of computing power improvement.

A participant in the 2023 WAIC told People’s Daily that the paradigm shift in AI technology leads to strong demands for intelligent computing, and the diverse reforms of computing systems are bringing new development opportunities.

Given the structural gap in the supply of computing power, the AI industry is currently in a window period for deploying computing power, the participant said, adding that it is important to make computing power inclusive during the transition from extensive deployment to detailed planning, realizing synergy and integration.

China’s independent computing enterprises will achieve faster and better development with the help of intelligent computing centers, the participant added.

To jointly explore future of digital economy

By He Yong, People’s Daily

The Global Digital Economy Conference 2023 was recently held at the China National Convention Center in Beijing.

At the event, Beijing and 18 partner cities, including Abu Dhabi, jointly released the global digital economy partnership city cooperation initiative.

The initiative covers six aspects such as promoting exchange and cooperation among cities around the world, sharing and opening up mutually beneficial market environment, jointly building an innovative ecology for digital technology, accelerating the digital transformation process of cities, green development through digital empowerment, and supporting global digital inclusive cooperation. It aims to build an open innovation network for the digital economy between global cities and within multi-bilateral frameworks.

The annual event of the Global Digital Economy Conference was firstly held in 2021. Themed “Data Drives Development, Intelligence Leads the Future,” the Global Digital Economy Conference 2023 aimed at vitalizing global innovation in digital technologies, promoting digital transformation of industries and building an important platform for international exchange and cooperation on the digital economy.

China is seeing a constantly reinforced foundation of digital economy. As of the end of May, the country had built a total of over 2.84 million 5G base stations, with the number of cellular internet of things end-users exceeding 2.05 billion. China is the first major economy in the world that sees more connected things than people.

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, digital economy and real economy are accelerating their integration in China. By the end of May, the numerical control rate of key processes in key industrial enterprises reached 59.4 percent, and over 1,700 industry-leading digital and intelligent workshops and factories had been built across the country. Besides, China is home to more than 240 industrial internet platforms influential to their respective regions and industries, which connect over 89 million units of industrial equipment. New applications, scenarios and business models keep emerging.

The core sectors of the digital economy are expanding, and the digital industry remains an important force driving the growth of the digital economy.

In the first five months this year, the revenue of China’s software industry exceeded 4.3 trillion yuan ($594 billion), up 13.3 percent year on year. The revenue of the information technology and services sector stood at 2.84 trillion yuan. In particular, that of the cloud computing and big data services reached 436.6 billion yuan. This has injected vitality into technological innovation as well as economic and social development.

Beijing has vigorously advanced the construction of a benchmark city for the global digital economy in recent years. The added value of Beijing’s digital economy increased from 871.94 billion yuan in 2015 to 1.7 trillion yuan in 2022, and its share of GDP rose from 35.2 percent to 41.6 percent. The city is home to over 8,000 enterprises above the designated size engaged in the core sectors of the digital economy.

As a window showcasing the achievements in the construction of a benchmark city for the global digital economy, the Global Digital Economy Conference has grown into an international, high-end and professional cooperation platform for building a paradigm of global digital economy that features benefits for all, balance, coordination, inclusiveness, win-win cooperation and common prosperity.

The conference will earnestly implement the global digital economy partnership city cooperation initiative, keep providing opportunities for relevant parties around the world, jointly contribute to and share the achievements of the digital economy, and explore the future of the digital economy, to inject new impetus into the global economic development.

Fabricated Ministerial List;-Group Lambast Dele Alake

A prominent civil society group, APC Professionals Renaissance Group has lambasted Mr. Dele Alake, Special Adviser -Media, Communication, Strategy and Special Duties to President Bola Tinubu for describing the ministerial list that trended in the social media as fabricated by journalists in order to sell their newspapers. In a press statement made available to journalists in Abuja by the National Coordinator, Malam Abubakar Mu’azu Matazu, the group noted that Dele Alake is over- reaching himself and making enemies for President Bola Tinubu, who is toiling day and night to consolidate the gains of his administration. Speaking further, the group opined that Dele Alake ‘s vituperations is the aftermath of his corrupt quest to manipulate the President to his(Dele Alake’s cronies) as ministers after allegedly collecting kickbacks from them with the assurance that they will scale through as ministerial nominees. If not, why the foul cry and unnecessary noise when there are none. He should be advised to stay true to the dictates of his office instead of dabbling into issues beyond his brief.

“Alake has displayed in a most brazen the lack of regards for the great Nigerian Patriots and honest supporters of President Bola Tinubu mentioned in the original list criticized by him”.

In the same vein, the APC group stated that Dele Alake is an outsider who never contributed anything tangible to the victory of Senator Bola Tinubu either during the primaries or the larger hotly contested Presidential elections. The professionals posited that Nigerians knows the grassroot people and loyal party faithfuls that truly delivered votes to President Tinubu in Ekiti state and other parts of the country and therefore warned Alake to be mindful of his unguided unterrances.

They berated Alake whom they described as in his characteristic manner refused to acknowledge the sacrifices made by those contained in the Ministerial list in other to downplay the tendency for their Ministerial capacity.

According to them “Alake is playing a dangerous capable of diminishing the support base of Asiwaju across the country because the people mentioned in the leaked documents supported the President during the campaign with their own resources without getting a dime from the campaign office and the party”.

“We know the characters that benefited financially during the presidencial campaign without sacrificing anything and failed to render voluntary services. Certainly, Alake was among the few that milked PBAT during the period and blocked genuine people from gaining access to the him for free services. In fact, during the primaries he was busy taking care of himself in America. He also came trying to rubbish the foot soldiers he met on ground and he is trying to discredit their legitimate Ministerial aspirations having already concluded the battle with President Tinubu in the trenches”.

They accused Alake of being selfish and greedy for hijacking an amorphous titles of Special Adviser on Media, Strategy and Special Duties to the detriment of others that sacrificed so much during the stuggle. “Sadly, the ranting of Alake is generating bad blood within the cadres of the party across the landscape thereby demoralizing true lovers of President Tinubu devoid of the misplaced Lagos sense ownership mentality”.

“The utterances of Alake are unwarranted, mischievous, dubious and self serving capable of undermining our continued support to the fledgling administration”.

“Alake’s reckless statement on the raging Ministerial list is unbecoming of supposedly someone versed in strategy and public communication management”.

They urged President Tinubu to rein in on Dele Alake as he is usurping the duties of the Secretary to the Government and Chief of Staff to the President. Continuing, the pro- Tinubu campaign group appealed to the President to immediately constitute his cabinet so as not to provide cannon fodder for Dele Alake and his cohorts as they are cashing out from the present scenario where he is currently arrogating to himself the alpha and omiga of the administration. Also to prevent him from adding more fuel to the raging battle for Ministerial slot across the political field as all his photo ops are deliberately orchestrated to position himself as one -man cabal in the presidency.

Ministerial List: Don’t Appoint Fmr Gov Umahi’s Brother as Minister, CSO Urges Tinubu

…says Ebonyi not private estate

A Civil Society Organization, Save Nigeria Movement (SNM) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be wary of the desperate antics of former governor Dave Umahi to foist his younger brother on the people as minister from Ebonyi state.

The CSO in a statement released on Wednesday in Abuja and signed by it’s convener Rev Solomon Semaka also urged the President to ensure for Inclusiveness for Sustainable Peace in SE

The pro democracy group noted that even though it remained apolitical, it was incumbent on the organization to offer interventions on political decisions that pose a threat to democracy and the people.

“Following concerns raised by wide media reports of attempts led by former governor Dave Umahi and now senator to nominate his younger brother Austine Umahi as Minister in President Tinubu’s government, it has become necessary to highlight the selfish tendencies of the Umahi family and their desperation to turn Ebonyi State into a family dynasty.

“While we recognize the right of every citizen to hold public office, it is morally necessary to censor the implications of contemplating injustice let alone promote same by people who should promote fairness and justice and equity among their people.

“Let it be on record that anyone who seek to promote injustice and greed such as has become the pattern of the Umahi’s threatens the already fragile situation in Ebonyi and the South East .

“Our findings on this subject matter particularly reveal that Austine Umahi is the younger brother of the the immediate past governor of Ebonyi State who wielded much influence in the politics of the state and region during the 8 year tenure of his elder brother Gov Dave Umahi; now a serving Senator.

“Recall that former Gov Dave Umahi after two terms in office as governor in the build up to the 2023 general election ran for the Presidential ticket of the APC but lost to incumbent President Tinubu.

“How he transformed from the Presidential contest to successfully run for Senate in the same election year is still a subject of special inquiry by all democrats”. However, various media reports have detailed how the former governor snatched the Senate ticket from Mrs Ann Angom who was rightly declared winner by the law courts when Austine Umahi withdrew from the Ebonyi South senate race.

“Recall that former Gov Dave Umahi perhaps, out of fear , had pre-empted his loss at his party’s Presidential primary. To this end and to assert his interests and autocratic tendencies on the party and people of the state, Fmr Gov Dave Umahi co-opted his younger brother into the Senate race for the Ebonyi South district on the platform of the APC to hold sway for him as a placeholder, a strange political arrangement introduced by the likes of Umahi and other greedy politicians.

“To demonstrate the depths of greed and high octane ambition of the Umahi’s, a serving two term governor, running for Presidency could harass his party into giving his blood brother a Senate ticket while running for presidency” Of course Austin Umahi was the only trusted placeholder that his elder brother,Dave Umahi could trust to relinquish the ticket when the need arose.

“It is an open secret that when Dave Umahi failed to clinch the APC Presidential ticket, his younger brother Austine Umahi, now tipped as Minister indeed let go of the Senate ticket for his elder brother Dave.

“How else could the state be privatized? Ms Ann Angom, the second runner up during the said Primary election approached the court and got judgement: Delivering judgement on the matter, Justice Fatun Riman, cited Section 115 of the Electoral Act, 2022, saying the governor was not an aspirant and cannot participate in the election or pre-election matters of the All Progressives Congress as regards the Ebonyi South, whose primary held on May 28, 2022.

“But the rest they say is now history; using all manner of crude tactics including sanctioning the suspension of the rightful owner of the party ticket, after Austin Umahi withdrew , followed by threats and intimidation, fmr Gov Dave Umahi found his way into the Senate where he seeks to compensate his younger brother and consolidate the family grip on power to the detriment of others.

“Mr President , former Gov Dave Umahi alongside his younger brother Austine Umahi who is now tipped for a possible ministerial appointment in your cabinet because of self interest and greed has done and continue to do everything within reach to maintain a stronghold on the public purse and the people using intimidation and ill gotten wealth.

The group further noted that the development has led to the sorry state of affairs in the state.

“The people of Ebonyi State do not deserve the cruelty and greed brought upon them by former Gov Dave Umahi and his brothers after all the people have given to them individually and collectively.

“The Umahi’s are not the only people in Ebonyi State let alone the South East; if Mr President is made to believe by the former governor that no one else is competent except the Umahi’s, then Mr President must have a rethink, ” the group insisted.

The group expressed confidence and believes that Mr President is a true democrat and would not allow himself to be misled by the inordinate ambition of a single family especially as this act of desperation widens the uncertainties around growing insecurity in Ebonyi State and the South East region in general.

IADI partners NAGGW, pledges commitment to addressing environmental challenges

A foremost Civil Society Organisation, identified as Integrity Advocacy Development initiative, has expressed commitment to support government efforts towards effectively addressing environmental challenges in the country.

The Converner and Executive Director of the organization, Comrade Christopher Ofomhi, stated this during a roundtable engagement in collaboration with the National Agency for the Great Green Wall, NAGGW, held in Abuja on Wednesday.

Speaking on the theme of the event ” The Importance of Natural Resources Management in the Economic Development of Nigeria: the role of NAGGW, Comrade Ufomhi explained that his organisation alongside other CSOs, are fully committed to developing a partnership that would implement framework to reverse the ugly trend of climate change in the country.

The Director General,National Agency for the Great Green Wall, Dr. Yusuf Bukar represented by the Deputy Director Planning, Policy and Coordination Dr. Alenyi Onu, promised effective collaboration of his agency with major CSOs in championing its core mandate towards ensuring implementation the Great Green Wall initiative in Nigeria in order to combat the effects of climate change and desertification in the country.

Also, two resource persons present at the event,Comrade Jacob Okpanachi and Comrade Dominic Ogakwu while stressing the importance of forestry to national economy and food security, expressed concern over the negative destruction of the nation’s forests which has led to desertification, erosion, flooding and other environmental challenges.

Kuliang story of China-U.S. friendship passed down for generations

By Bai Ziwei, Liu Ge, Wang Yinxin, People’s Daily

Since the 1880s, large batches of foreign expatriates moved to Fuzhou, southeast China’s Fujian province. Many of them would spend the summer in Kuliang, or what’s known as Guling in Mandarin, a popular place for summer vacation located on the outskirts of Fuzhou.

There, they built villas, hospitals, tennis courts, swimming pools, postal offices and many other facilities, and established a deep bond with local residents.

Recently, Kuliang welcomed many old friends from the United States attending the “Bond with Kuliang: 2023 China-U.S. People-to-People Friendship Forum.” Some of them spent their childhood in Kuliang with their parents, and some boast close relations with the Chinese small town through their families. Kuliang is like a bond that connects them with China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the forum. “I was very glad to hear from members of the Kuliang Friends, and to know from your letter more touching stories about your connection with Kuliang,” said Xi in the letter.

In 1901, U.S. citizen Milton Gardner came to Fuzhou as an infant with his parents and stayed until his family moved back to the United States in 1911. Gardner had been longing for revisiting his childhood home, but had never been able to make his wish fulfilled before passing away.

In 1992, Xi, who was then secretary of the Fuzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, learned about this touching story from an article titled “Ah! Kuliang.” He then invited Milton Gardner’s widow, Elizabeth Gardner, to visit China, so as to help fulfill her husband’s lasting wish.

Since then, the Kuliang story has become well-known to many.

Lee Gardner, grandnephew of Milton Gardner, told People’s Daily that his whole family is grateful to Xi for realizing the dream of a senior American, adding that the Kuliang story has touched many people in the United States.

According to the man, who has visited Kuliang four times, his grandfather and father were both born in Kuliang, and the place was their homeland and also Lee’s second hometown. He said the words of love are universal though in different languages.

He showed to People’s Daily a photo album kept by his family, which records the deep bond between the Gardners and Kuliang. He said the album is the most valuable treasure of his family and would be presented to the Chinese people as a gift this time he came to Kuliang.

Gail Harris, who once lived in Kuliang as a child, said in Fuzhou dialect “I’m home” as she once again set foot on the land of Kuliang for the forum.

Her grandfather Harry Russell Caldwell was an expert on the ecological environment of Fujian province and compiled South China Birds, a book studying bird populations in Kuliang. It’s one of the earliest modern scientific works recording China’s bird species.

Harris noted that Caldwell loved China and the Chinese people, and now his grandchildren have also fallen in love with this country, adding that she very much misses and loves the time she spent in China.

This time, Harris met her childhood friend Li Yiying. They sat down and exchanged slowly, word by word, in Fuzhou dialect. The two friends greeted each other, with hands clasped together.

Harris said that she hopes the bond in Kuliang could be passed down from generation to generation, so that love and friendship will live on forever.

Octogenarian Priscilla Brewster Gill came to attend the forum accompanied by her granddaughter Katy Barber, recalling the old streets and alleys she remembered from her childhood. China is the hometown where her heart belongs, Gill said.

Gill was born in Fuzhou’s Gutian. Her father Harold Brewster once ran a clinic in Kuliang and was the last foreign president of the current Fuzhou Medical University Union Hospital.

Gill lived in China for 12 years and used to help her father take care of patients. She recalled her childhood when she fell down and got hurt, the local villagers would also help her with her wounds. She and the locals were like families, Gill said.

Elyn MacInnis, 72, is a senior advisor of the Kuliang tourism and culture research association. Her husband Peter MacInnis was born in Fuzhou, and her father-in-law Donald MacInnis was once a member of the Flying Tigers, a group of volunteer American volunteer pilots who came to China and stood shoulder to shoulder with the Chinese people to fight the Japanese invasion.

Over the years, the woman has been committed to spreading the Kuliang story.

In 2016, she set up an English website about Kuliang and its history and established the group “Kuliang Friends” in the United States. Today, the group has over 50 members and has grown into an important force driving non-governmental friendly exchanges between China and the United States.

Amity between the people holds the key to sound state-to-state relations. The Kuliang story is a great example of the people-to-people friendship between China and the United States.

Although the two countries are currently facing difficulties and challenges in their relations, they are in dire need of enhancing people-to-people exchanges.

Elyn MacInnis told People’s Daily that their elder generations lived in Kuliang in the past and got along well with the locals, and this piece of history just well presents the good qualities of mankind – understanding, respect, peace, friendship and love.

She noted that the Kuliang story belongs to not only China and the United States, but also the whole humanity at large. She hopes that children from across the world could gather in Kuliang one day and carry on the Kuliang story.

Protecting cultural heritage, promoting mutual learning among civilizations

By Hang Kan

To protect cultural heritage and pass it down through generations is a shared responsibility of mankind. So far, the number of world heritage sites in China has grown to 56, including the Great Wall and the Summer Palace in Beijing, the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, northwest China’s Gansu province, the Yungang Grottoes in north China’s Shanxi province and Fujian Tulou, a type of Chinese rural dwellings of the Hakka people in the mountainous areas in southeast China’s Fujian province that dates back to Song and Yuan dynasties.

Diversity of human civilizations not only defines the world, but also drives progress of mankind. Over 2,000 years ago, ancient Chinese came to realize that “things are born to be different.” The prosperity of civilization and human progress will not be possible without enhancing common ground and reserving differences. It is the interaction among different civilizations that promotes human progress and prosperity.

The Yungang Grottoes is a great example of Chinese-foreign cultural communication. For instance, in its Cave 18, one of the five earliest excavated caves with huge Buddha images, there is a Buddha statue on the north wall featuring Caucasian appearance. However, there’s no document proving the Yungang Grottoes’ excavation was joined by European artisans. This exactly mirrors the communication between China and foreign countries in ancient China.

Besides, various decorative patterns of both Chinese and foreign features are seen in the caves of the Yungang Grottoes, and some columns there obviously carry the characteristics of foreign cultures, such as the Ionic order from ancient Greece as well as other classic orders from Persia and India.

Inter-civilization interaction promotes technological exchanges. It has been influencing the world since ancient times.

For instance, porcelains went from ancient China to the rest of the world, and the technologies for making porcelains are still upgrading today. High-tech porcelains made from rare earths, mixed with metallic element, or made with various firing techniques can be used in biomedical fields such as manufacturing artificial bones and joints.

It is true with the case of rice planting, too. Rice Terraces in the southern mountainous and hilly areas of China was recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, and the country’s hybrid rice technology is benefiting the mankind. So far, Chinese hybrid rice has been planted in 16 African countries, and is printed on banknotes of Madagascar.

Over the recent years, more and more quality exhibitions of cultural relics have been introduced to China, which mirrors the open and broad vision of modern China.

The just-ended Gandhara Heritage along the Silk Road: A Pakistan-China Joint Exhibition held at the Palace Museum, Beijing, attracted a large number of visitors. The Gandhara was a major transportation route on the ancient Silk Road. As an outcome of the collision among Greek, Persian and Indian civilizations, it reflected the creativity and vitality of mutual learning among the civilizations along the ancient Silk Road.

Between 2016 and 2020, China hosted over 300 entry-exit exhibitions of cultural relics. The Treasures of China, East Meets West: The Maritime Silk Road during the 13th – 17th Centuries, and The Splendor of Asia: An Exhibition of Asian Civilizations that was jointly organized by 47 Asian countries as well as Egypt and Greece all demonstrated the mutual learning between China and other civilizations around the world, becoming a “golden signature” of Belt and Road cultural communication.

The conservation of cultural heritage is a shared responsibility of all mankind. The 8.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015 damaged many cultural heritage sites in the country. Two years later, the Chinese government officially kicked off a foreign aid project to restore the quake-hit Nine-Storeyed Basantapur Palace complex in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. It was the first major foreign aid project for cultural heritage conservation launched by China in Nepal.

Today, the cooperation on cultural heritage conservation has grown into an area that sees great potential in inter-civilization exchange and cooperation.

The preservation and restoration of historical sites in Khiva, Uzbekistan, the first cultural heritage conservation project launched by China in Central Asia, was completed in 2019. The project gave the Chinese side an opportunity to study local culture, history and traditional techniques, and brought to Uzbekistan Chinese philosophies, techniques and experiences of cultural heritage protection.

The excavation of the ruins of Nateshwar in the Vikrampura Ancient City, Bangladesh marked the first archeological collaboration between China and a country in the South Asia subcontinent. It has achieved remarkable results. Currently, the two countries are planning to build an archeological park on the site, so as to further explore the value of the ruins and bring more benefits to local communities.

The cooperation on cultural heritage conservation, as long as it conforms to relevant international and local principles and respects the customs of countries and regions concerned, leads to win-win situations.

Currently, China is cooperating with six Belt and Road countries on the conservation of 11 historical sites, up from one country and one historical site. It has also launched 33 joint archeological projects with 17 Belt and Road countries, which all received high evaluation from local governments and people.

Today, protecting cultural heritage and promoting mutual learning among civilizations has gradually become a consensus shared by the international community. However, it is also important to see that the conflicts in human society and the changes of the nature would both damage cultural heritage. To pass cultural heritage down through generations remains a heavy task that calls for continuous efforts.

Chinese people believe that one should value not only one’s own culture, but also the cultures of others, and this will contribute to the flourishing of all cultures. It is expected that countries around the world could work together to better inherit fine traditional cultures and respect each other’s culture while protecting the diversity of human civilizations, and pursue further development of their own cultures, so as to deepen international cultural exchange and cooperation.