FEMI ALUFA POST ....Reasoning in Freedom ....ARTICLES ON PATRIOTISM AND COMMUNITY SPIRIT
Friday, October 7, 2016
CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE to IJERO PEOPLE ON THE OCCASION OF IJERO DAY Saturday, 8th October,2016.
Congratulation to His Royal Majesty the Owa Ajero of Ijero Kingdom,Oba Joseph Adebayo Adewole,Ijero High Chiefs and the good people of Ijero Kingdom on the occasion of 20th Annual Ijero Community Day.
As a proud and patriotic indigene of the town, I congratulate our wonderful and energetic people on this great celebration!
We celebrate the glorious legacy that continues to inspire us, and we share a boundless optimism in our continued impact and importance in shaping and enriching the lives of countless people, both young and old, through our culture , community spirit and festivity.
Special credit goes to the team and the leaders of the Ijero Progressive Union(IPU)and other organizations and individuals who really worked hard in this process to make IJERO DAY since 20 years ago a successful one.Ogbe ki gbe Ijero ,a gbe wa o.
Hope to see more vibrant IJERO DAY Celebration in coming years better and vibrant.
Aseyi samodun O.
Femi Alufa
CEO
FEMI ALUFA POST
www.femialufapost.com
THERE IS A REWARD FOR BRILLIANCE AND DILIGENCE ...JEJE THOMPSON WINS EKITI TEACHERS AWARD By Femi Alufa
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Press Release-Group credits Fayemi over Ekiti NECO success Result
PRESS RELEASE
Group credits Fayemi over Ekiti students success in NECO exams
A youth group, the Progressive Youth League (PYL) has credited the immediate past administration in Ekiti State, headed by Dr Kayode Fayemi, for the excellent performance of Ekiti students in the Senior Secondary School examination results released by the National Examination Council (NECO).
According to the NECO Senior Secondary School examination released last Friday, Ekiti State came top with 96.48 percent among all the states in the federation. It was followed by Edo State with 96.31 percent.
The PYL said the excellent performance by the students who were in the junior secondary school one when Dr Fayemi commenced the various educational policies of his administration, has proved that sound educational policy and a conducive atmosphere for learning were sine qua non to good performance.
The PYL, in a statement by its Southwest Coordinator, Barrister Adeoye Aribasoye, said the excellent performance of the students had vindicated Dr Fayemi as a visionary leader whose educational policies provided incentives for both teachers, students and parents and laid a solid foundation for great performances in internal and external examinations.
Aribasoye who lauded the free and compulsory educational policy of the Fayemi administration between 2010 and 2014, said the brilliant performance by the Ekiti students in the examination has also proved sceptics of free education wrong. “It is reassuring to note that this brilliant results were achieved by students who were the pioneering students of the free and compulsory educational policy of the immediate past administration.”
The group which called on the present administration to revert to some of Fayemi’s educational policies which it has discontinued, stated that the success recorded by the students stemmed primarily from careful planning and incentives which had unprecedented positive impact on learning culture in the state.
It listed some of the incentives instituted by Dr Fayemi to include, the distribution of solar-powered laptop computer to every secondary school under the laptop per child initiative; payment of rural allowances for teachers in the rural areas; Core subject allowances to teachers who teach core sciences , Mathematics and English Language and comprehensive renovation of all secondary school and primary school buildings in the state under Operation Renovate All Schools (ORASE).
“In all, the immediate past government renovated 183 secondary schools and 836 primary schools, thereby creating a conducive atmosphere for learning. This is in addition to the provision of books to the students. Fayemi's giant strides in education made Ekiti one of the three states in the federation that benefitted from the World Bank's $50m State Education Programme Investment Project (SEPIP).”
“It is on record that the Computer per Child programme of the Fayemi administration, which provided computers for both teachers and students, was launched six months ahead of the introduction of computer-based examination by the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB).”
Aribasoye said while the administration organised computer training and mathematics clinics for teachers, also organised remedial programmes for students in each of the local government areas, just as it distributed about 400 motorcycles teachers serving in the rural areas of the state, and ensured that teachers benefited from the relativity pay for all categories of workers in the public service and also benefited from the 27.5% Teachers Pecuniary Allowance.
The youth leader said, PYL is opposed to the introduction of fees in public schools by the Governor Ayo Fayose administration, said the group has finalised arrangements to commence a campaign to make education in primary and secondary schools free in Ekiti State.
“Rather than exhibiting a jocose excitement about a brilliant results it did not contribute to, PYL urges the present administration to make education free and compulsory and also give incentives to teachers and students as did the immediate administration.”
The group also congratulated the students and their parents for complimenting the efforts of the immediate past government in lifting education standards in the state.
Barrister Adeoye Aribasoye
Southwest Coordinator, Progressives Youth League.
Monday, September 12, 2016
APC urges Nigerians to Embrace “Change Begins with Me” campaign
The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Sunday felicitated with Muslim Faithful over the Eid el-Kabir season and urged all Nigerians to embrace the “Change-Begins-with-Me” campaign.
This is contained in a statement signed by the APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun.
Odigie-Oyegun urged Muslims and all Nigerians to use the Sallah occasion to show love, promote harmonious and peaceful co-existence with one another, irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliation.
He urged Nigerians to pray for the peace and quick recovery of the nation’s economy.
“Muslim Faithful and indeed all Nigerians are enjoined to use the occasion of Eid el-Kabir to pray for the peace, development and prosperity of the country,” he said.
He called on Nigerians to support the administration to pull the country out of the present hardship and restore the country on the path of growth in all facets.
“Indeed, Nigeria is today passing through challenging times in its socio-economic life.
“Happily, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration is already employing all legitimate and innovative means to restore the country’s battered economy to health in the quickest possible time.
“In a bold move to repair our value system that has been badly eroded over the years, on Sept. 8, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the laudable national re-orientation campaign, “Change Begins with Me’’.
“The party appeals to all Nigerians to be part of this campaign which will institutionalise the best practice and time-honoured values of honesty, hard work, patriotism, abhorrence of corruption, accountability and integrity in our everyday life,” he said.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
5 lessons from Mark Zuckerberg’s visit to Nigeria
CcHub is 5:Foolishly creating the Future - by Bosun Tijani,CEO Co-Creation Hub Nigeria(CcHub)
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Bono and Dangote Visit Displaced People In Nigeria's Northern Region and VP Osinbajo
Friday, August 26, 2016
Keynote address by the Vice President Federal Republic of Nigeriaat the meeting of the National Council on Development Planning (NCDP), held in Kano, Kano State on Thursday, august 25, 2016
Keynote address by the Vice President Federal Republic of Nigeria
His Excellency Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, 
Protocol
I am delighted to be here with you today for this very important meeting of the National Council on Development Planning (NCDP) taking place in this historic and dynamic city of Kano. I must say how honored i am to be so warmly welcomed. I thank the Kano State Government under the leadership of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje for the warm hospitality extended to me and all participants here. Similar appreciation goes to the leadership of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning for the arrangements made to ensure the successful convening of this meeting.
This Council meeting is well timed and well thought out, as it enables effective partnership and cooperation amongst all tiers of government to envision our collective future while tackling the challenges facing the economy. Your deliberations will also complement the on-going process of articulating the medium term sector strategy 2017-2019 and the 2017 Budget.
The focus of the 2016 NCDP’s meeting is on "National Strategic Planning as Vehicle for Attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria" This focus is appropriate indeed.
It shows the intrinsic link between planning and expected outcomes, in this case the SDGs. The adoption of the SDGs in September 2015 was intended to place our world on the path of sustainable development by the year 2030.
The 17 SDGs which combine economic, social and environmental objectives are intended to be universal unlike the Millennium Development Goals which were meant solely for developing countries.
The universal application of the SDGs and their 169 targets show that they are a menu of options. This allows implementation to take account of different national realities, capacities, policies and priorities. In the Nigerian context, some of the issues that must engage our minds relate to economic diversification, boosting economic growth, eradication of extreme poverty, promoting social inclusion, creating jobs and stemming environmental degradation including climate change.
The empirical evidence from across the globe has shown that national strategic planning is very critical for attaining structural transformation and sustainable development. The countries of East Asia have proved this convincingly even though their development was largely private sector driven.
Such plans provide strategic direction, coherence and coordination. They are indeed a framework for guiding the activities of all stakeholders towards achieving a common goal. Planning specifics such as goals, targets and indicators which embody the SDGs also enable tracking, monitoring and evaluation.
Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen-
Successful implementation of strategic plans and attainment of the SDGs entail partnerships as encapsulated in Goal 17-which is about the need to create (global) partnerships in order to attain sustainable development. Accordingly, just as the Federal Government seeks international partnerships at the global level with regard to rules and resources, we also seek partnerships at the national level. Such domestic partnerships entails working closely with the States which is one of the main reasons for the establishment of NCDP. Other essential partnerships are also being built with other sectors of society especially the private sector which is the indisputable engine of growth in successful economies.
Let me now speak about some of the things that the Buhari Administration is doing with regard to strengthening short and medium term planning. We have strengthened the link between budgeting and strategic planning by merging the National Planning Commission with the Budget Office of the Federation. We have adopted Zero-based Budgeting which compels the interrogation of public expenditure at micro levels and allows effective deployment of limited financial resources to areas and sectors with the greatest need. We have used a short-term strategic implementation plan to guide the 2016 budget and just yesterday the Federal Executive Council approved the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the Fiscal Strategy Paper which are fully consistent with the SDGs and AU Agenda 2063.
The strategic priorities of the Federal Government in the area of tackling insecurity, combatting corruption and growing the economy will undoubtedly find expression in any medium term plan. The same is true for the policy interventions in the Strategic Implementation Plan notably with regard to the policy, security and governance; diversification of the economy; power, rail and roads; oil and gas reforms; ease of doing business and social investments.
The commitment of the Buhari Administration to promoting broader macroeconomic and structural reform is obvious in our push to mitigate supply-side constraints. With the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector there has been a significant increase in the availability of petrol throughout the country with savings of N1.4 trillion on subsidy payments alone. Also a more flexible exchange rate regime will help to ease the pressure on the external reserves. In the short run of course there will be consequences for inflation, but we expect that with the greater clarity we are seeing in the implementation of the policy by the CBN, the foreign exchange market will stabilise, and confidence will be restored.
With regard to diversification, agriculture is a major priority of this government. The obvious gains are food security and a reduction in the financial burden and pressure on foreign exchange resulting from importing foods that we can produce. We are therefore looking to self sufficiency in a number of key types of produce including rice, wheat and tomato paste, while scaling up the export of traditional and non-traditional crops like cocoa, cassava, cashew and sesame seeds.
A strategic framework for coherent coordination of trade, industrial and investment activities is also being developed. A mixture of support instruments and incentives will be used to bring about growth in sectors that are critical for economic revitalization, especially in agriculture, agri-business, agro-processing, and SMEs promotion. It will also leverage the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan comprising Nigeria Automotive Development Plan, National Sugar Master Plan, and Local Patronage Initiative. I urge State Governments to key into and get maximum leverage from these initiatives.
Indeed, infrastructural development is being accorded priority in current interventions with total capital budgetary releases from January to July 2016 amounting to over 50% of total budget that has been released to the MDAs going to these needs. If security is added, this rises to over 70% with the Presidential Initiative for the North East being prioritized in order to give a new lease of life to our people in North East.
Some of the key Sustainable Development Goals relate to the social sector which is very much in tandem with the priorities in our social intervention programme. Just as conditional cash transfers address Goal 1 which aims to eliminate extreme poverty, we are also tackling Goal 2 which aims for zero hunger through our Home Grown School Feeding Programme which was launched in July 2016. The Teacher Corps programme to put 500,000 unemployed young graduates to work meets the objectives of Goal 4 on quality education and Goal 8 which is about employment.
In other words, our on-going interventions speak to the ultimate aim of the SDGs to get people out of poverty and address health and education issues of children and other vulnerable groups.
It is important to emphasise that neither planning nor implementation can gain much traction without strong governments and institutions . The capacity to implement is largely a function of the ability of state institutions to deliver social goods. Public health for example, eradicating Polio, AIDS, Laser fever, Ebola, depends so completely on , well funded, well resourced healthcare systems. A healthcare system organised to respond promptly, efficiently and robustly will save more lives and livelihoods than one that is less endowed. The capacity to enforce not just law and order, but social services like immunisation, public education programmes, is the very essence of Statehood.
Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me take this opportunity to highlight the African Union Development Agenda which is described as "Ágenda 2063", to which Nigeria, has subscribed.
Agenda 2063 seeks to develop an Afro-Centric or home grown development framework that is predicated on harnessing the vast opportunities of the continent, as well as proffering solutions towards addressing the peculiar challenges African Nations are faced with in the current global sphere. It is a call to action to all segments of African Society to work together to build a common future and destiny as espoused in the AU vision. It represents a source of inspiration for the development of national and regional sustainable development plans.
The task before us therefore requires finding ways to promote partnership and collaboration in the articulation of a strategic national plan that that is aligned to the SDGs and the AU Agenda 2063. I enjoin you to participate actively in all related activities such as taking stock of the country's performance particularly on the defunct MDGs, convening multi-stakeholders dialogues and validations at zonal levels, and the work of Technical Working Groups. Such active participation will ensure that the concerns, interests and aspirations of our people are reflected in annual budgets and national development plans. It will also quite naturally help to ensure effective implementation.
Other critical challenges we will face in mainstreaming and implementing the SDGs are in the areas of implementation capacity, needs assessment & costing, financing etc etc. Others include rationalisation of the 169 targets and identification of the ones that are most relevant to our specific needs, situation and challenges, and harnessing baseline and disaggregated data needed to monitor progress. Your contributions on how these issues can be addressed would be invaluable.
Excellencies,
Strategic planning may sound academic or esoteric but the truth is that no modern economy has made notable progress without strategic planning. I must say that governments in Nigeria have never been short of good ideas , good intentions, or even good plans. but one of the key difficulties is just that ability to keep to the plan, plodding through day by day, doing the routine things that eventually fulfil a plan. The discipline to stay focussed over the long term is crucial to the success of any plan. To do so as a team requires even harder work, but success in any aspect of State building requires just that -hardwork.
Nigeria is well placed in terms of human and natural endowment to be a thought leader and economic role model in Africa and indeed globally. I am confident that if we remain positive, determined and focused our country can achieve such lofty goals and great heights that we have set for ourselves.
Permit me to again thank the National Council on development planning for their kind invitation to me to be here, and may I wish you a very fruitful and productive meeting and look forward to receiving the outcomes of this meeting and another invitation next year.
Thank you all.
Copyright 2014 State House Abuja. A
TURNING POINT - The Power of a Dream
WE'LL INSTITUTIONALIZE ANTI-CORRUPTION WAR, PRESIDENT BUHARI ASSURES JOHN KERRY
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
The Lincoln Memorial -In Memory of Abraham Lincoln
Th
e Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument. The architect was Henry Bacon; the designer of the primary statue – Abraham Lincoln, 1920 – was Daniel Chester French; the Lincoln statue was carved by the Piccirilli Brothers;[2] and the painter of the interior murals was Jules Guerin. Dedicated in 1922, it is one of several monuments built to honor an American president. It has always been a major tourist attraction and since the 1930s has been a symbolic center focused on race relations.
The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln, "The Gettysburg Address" and his Second Inaugural Address. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Like other monuments on the National Mall – including the nearby Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and National World War II Memorial – the memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since October 15, 1966. It is open to the public 24 hours a day. In 2007, it was ranked seventh on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects. Since 2010, approximately 6 million people visit the memorial annually.
The Lincoln Memorial is an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument. The architect was Henry Bacon; the designer of the primary statue – Abraham Lincoln, 1920 – was Daniel Chester French; the Lincoln statue was carved by the Piccirilli Brothers;[2] and the painter of the interior murals was Jules Guerin. Dedicated in 1922, it is one of several monuments built to honor an American president. It has always been a major tourist attraction and since the 1930s has been a symbolic center focused on race relations.
The building is in the form of a Greek Doric temple and contains a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln, "The Gettysburg Address" and his Second Inaugural Address. The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, during the rally at the end of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Like other monuments on the National Mall – including the nearby Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and National World War II Memorial – the memorial is administered by the National Park Service under its National Mall and Memorial Parks group. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since October 15, 1966. It is open to the public 24 hours a day. In 2007, it was ranked seventh on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects. Since 2010, approximately 6 million people visit the memorial annually.
courtesy of Wikipedia.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
SHARING THE GOODNEWS OF JESUS CHRIST
Home Sweet Home
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations. Matthew 28:19
When we decide to get on the road with Jesus, the joy and peace we feel inside, along with the hope of Heaven should lead us to want to share that Good News with others. We need to share how when we read the Bible, we learn to be more like Jesus; how the Holy Spirit guides us in our daily walk; and how the peace of God keeps us from feeling anxious or afraid. By sharing how Jesus makes a difference in our lives, we are able to lead others to get on the road with Jesus too.
We want to know what is happening in the world around us. We can do this by watching the news on TV, listening to it on the radio or reading the newspaper.
Whether we watch the news on TV or read it in the newspaper, they both require the same things. First, someone has to go out and investigate the event. He or she will ask questions of the official people and eye witnesses to find out what took place.
Then he or she needs to write up the story. If they are a reporter for the news, they will share what they have learned on the TV or radio. If they work for the newspaper, their story will be written up, the newspaper printed and then delivered to your home or bought. Either way, the news is shared with us.
Eyewitnesses are an important part of finding out what happened. They help us to better understand the event that took place.
There were no TV or newspapers during Bible times, so eyewitnesses were very important. During His ministry, Jesus traveled to many different villages. He saw many people in great need. He healed those who were sick, helped lame people walk and made the blind to see. He turned water into wine and fed 5,000 people with just two fish and five loaves of bread. He even raised a few people from the dead. Even more important than these miracles, Jesus was also teaching the people. He talked to them about their sin and their need for a Savior. He shared with them that He had come to take away their sins and that they needed to believe in Him and be saved.
I'm sure those Jesus healed went and told others about what Jesus had done. Those who witnessed the healing or who heard about it would also go and share the news with others. Such amazing news had to be shared.
photo credit
There are times when something really neat happens to you and you just can't wait to share it with others. Maybe you get a special gift for your birthday and you can’t wait to tell your friends. Maybe you get an A on a test or were chosen for a part in the school play and you can’t’ wait to tell your mom when you get home. When we have exciting news to tell, we want to share it.
This was just what happened during Jesus’ time. The news was spread about the great things Jesus had done through these eyewitnesses. And because the Good News about Jesus was shared, many came to believe in Him and were saved.
Most people come to know about Jesus because someone told them about Him. They give an eyewitness account about how Jesus came into their heart and changed their life. It is their eyewitness example that leads others to get on the road with Jesus.
We read of two times that Jesus sent His disciples out to be His eyewitnesses. The first time was in Matthew chapter 10. He told the disciples to preach the message that “the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 10:7). In Matthew chapter 28 we read Jesus’ final words to His disciples before He went up to heaven. Jesus told His disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
God wants all of us to be a part of His news team. The disciples were a big part of Jesus’ team in Bible times.
What would you say about the difference Jesus has made in your life? Maybe you could say, “Since Jesus came into my heart. . . My sadness has been turned to joy; my worry has been turned to trust; my fear has turned to confidence; my anger has turned to love; my bitterness has turned to forgiveness."
The most important thing a person can do is get on the road with Jesus. He is the only way to heaven. He is our example of how to live. He brings us peace and joy. We can’t keep the Good News about what Jesus has done in our lives to ourselves. We need to get out and tell people!
photo credit
When others hear our eyewitness accounts, we are sharing the Gospel with them. The Gospel is the Good News about Jesus. Here’s a reminder of what we can share with others. We are all sinners who are separated from God. But because Jesus died on the cross and rose again, we can have the free gift of eternal life. When we ask Jesus to be the Lord of our life, we are forgiven and have the promise of spending all eternity in heaven. And that’s a much better place than Disneyland!
So how about it? Will you be like the disciples, and follow the command of Jesus to go out and share the Good News about what Jesus has done in your life?
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Ijero Municipal Agenda -Thoughts on Redeeming our Community (Executive Summary) - Femi Alufa
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Ijero Municipal Vision Plan is the result of a personal research and consensus building process of a better picture of Ijero -Ekiti Township and its inhabitants for our contemporary times. Not everyone will agree with every item involved with the Municipal Vision Plan. However, the Ijero Municipal Vision Plan provides an exciting point of departure and an important tool to assist the Ijero-Ekiti Municipality in the future. On behalf of the Ijero Municipal Congress (IMC), a socio-political and community organization of Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti State, South-West of Nigeria, my thanks is extended to all the Ijero Patriots; living and dead who have contributed meaningfully to Ijero development and envisioned a better future for the community visioning processes to the present status.
Ijero-Ekiti Municipality Values Statement
Values means worth, standard and priorities that ultimately drives our life. Values are more important than money. We succeed only to the degree of God’s principles and values we believes in life as individuals, organizations, community and nation.
The Ijero-Ekiti Municipality of my vision is a cohesive and mutual community that values and cares about:
preserving and enhancing its heritage as a symbiotic community;
providing a welcoming, friendly, vibrant, hometown atmosphere;
developing a sustainable economy for the inhabitants;
maintaining and improving the health and integrity of the natural environment;
ensuring individual choice and freedom of thoughts;
and promoting a diverse, population of year-round and seasonal residents and visitors who are committed to the community.
Ijero-Ekiti Municipality Vision Statement
1. Community Character
The Ijero-Ekiti Municipality is a cohesive and mutual community…
Where residents and visitors practice an Ajoro (historic symbiotic relationship spirit) with attribute demand that offers a safe, friendly, peaceful atmosphere and prosperous manner where individuals can live, work, play and raise a family.
2. Economic Viability/Sustainability:
The Ijero-Ekiti Municipality is a cohesive and mutual community…
Where a strong and sustainable year-round economy insured through partnerships with local businesses, local and state and federal government agencies and secured by a healthy, vibrant collective supports towards a diverse economic and employment needs of the local residents for the benefit of all.
3. Natural Resources
The Ijero-Ekiti Municipality is a cohesive and mutual community…
Where the actions of the community ensure that natural resources and its habitat are protected, that views from Town to the surrounding Suburbs are maintained, that both air and water quality are clean and improved, and green forest are preserved.
4. Transportation
The Ijero-Ekiti Municipality is a cohesive and mutual community…
Where a good road transportation system provides convenient, low cost, clean, sustainable links to the street area, parking facilities, uptown, and throughout the community and district.
5. Housing
The Ijero-Ekiti Municipality is a cohesive and mutual community…
Where a diversity of modern housing is integrated throughout the community and provides a variety of housing options for the beautification of the township.
6. Cultural Resources
The Ijero-Ekiti Municipality is a cohesive and mutual community…
Where arts, festival, and cultural events and facilities improve the community experience for residents and visitors, offer diverse and affordable programming, and promote Ijero-Ekiti Township as a year-round cultural center and boosting the tourism potential of Ijero Municipality, district and Ekiti State in general.
7. Recreational Resources
The Ijero-Ekiti Municipal is a cohesive and mutual community…
Where the natural beauty of the Suburbs and the Countryside is improved by world
class recreational opportunities that provide diverse activities throughout the year. Those activities are served by community facilities that enrich the visitor experience while ensuring affordable and accessible recreation opportunities for residents and visitors.
8. Education, Government, Institutions
The Ijero-Ekiti Municipality is a cohesive and mutual community…
Where a responsive and accessible municipal local government with the support of the state and federal government encourage citizen’s participation in education of the children, youths and women, local democracy and community development in order to maintain and improve the quality of a life more abundant for all.
9. Population
The Ijero-Ekiti Municipality is a cohesive and mutual community…
Where residents celebrate their collective homogeny and where residents and visitors enjoy the community spirit that makes one feel comfortable, contented and healthy.
10. The Built Environment
The Ijero-Ekiti Municipality is a cohesive and mutual community…
Where the built environment is of high quality design and construction, this respects the environmental and natural setting while also conveying innovation and creativity and that supports community character and enhances the quality of life through sustainable building and estate development principles.
II. VALUES AND VISION STATEMENT
A. INTRODUCTION
“We need the collective conviction and courage to make bold decisions and stand in support of them as we move forward as a people. We need to discern and act from any awareness that the best decisions for the community are dynamic and we need to begin now and not any distant future.”
1. What is a Community Vision Plan?
A community vision plan is a document a community uses to describe its preferred future and to chart its steps toward that future. Public or community involvement shapes a vision plan, in that the core of the plan must be what the community identifies as its shared values and purpose, which translate into qualitative aspects of what the community should look like socially, politically, economically and environmentally in not a distant future of time e.g. 10-20 years in terms of development.
The visioning process allows community members to articulate their opinions about values individually and in an open forum. Consequently, after listening to the ideas and concerns of other citizens, members of the community realize that they share opinions and are stakeholders in the community’s future. In this way, the visioning process tends to emphasize community assets rather than needs, and planning options are assessed based on shared values.
A community vision plan then describes in narrative form the consensus reached about what the community wants to become. The community vision plan is, by its nature, very general; it is focused on visioning and doesn’t drift toward too much detail or specific solutions. This is somewhat different from many conventional planning documents, which identify improvement projects and implementation programmes. Yet a community vision plan does provide a starting point for the development and/or updating of a more detailed master plan and other studies that could provide detailed information necessary to institute specific programmes.
Visioning is a useful tool in long-range comprehensive planning because it establishes a framework for ideas and information; it makes a connection between the collection of data and the creation of vision statements and action steps. Ultimately, visioning provides context for the consideration of planning policies, allocation of funding, and rationale for their approval.
For the Town of Ijero-Ekiti Municipality, the visioning process is like a “Nehemiahic Vision” which the Biblical Nehemiah galvanized his people in the re- building of the wall of Jerusalem. The visioning process is to be used for identifying necessary data inventory and analysis for future planning and policy-making decisions.
There are three key elements in the Ijero-Ekiti Municipal Vision Plan.
First, a broad Values Statement that describes, in very general terms, the core qualities of life that the community recognizes.
Second, a Vision Statement that relates these values to a series of planning topic categories and addresses key planning issues such as housing, transportation, economic sustainability and natural resources.
Third, an Action Plan that defines the next steps for achieving the stated “thematic” vision. The Action Plan lists Action Steps that focus on the specific themes.
2. Purpose of the Ijero Municipal Vision Plan
The purpose of the Ijero Municipal Vision Plan is to provide documentation regarding the visioning process and to itemize specific Action Steps that the Town of Ijero-Ekiti Municipality should undertake to implement the Vision Statement. The proposed Action Steps include a variety of recommendations to more fully define specific attributes of the Vision Statement. The Vision Plan promotes shared public values and a vision for the future of the community and should be used by elected and appointed officials in making important decisions that will impact the future of the Ijero-Ekiti Municipality community by the year 2025 for the Ijero Municipal Developmental Goals (IMDGs).
3. Plan Development
The Ijero Municipal Congress (IMC) will be convening an annual convention and retreat to establish a common agenda for the Ijero-Ekiti Township to pursue over the coming year, as well as years to come. One of the goals is to provide a compass for the organization and the community a Blueprint to be run as a template for the Ijero community development in the 21st century world. The Congress will "incorporate Ijero-Ekiti Municipality’s unique characteristics into a consistent vision for the community's future.” The visioning process will be guided by the participation of Ijero stakeholders; indigenes at home and in the Diaspora, residents, property owners, seasonal residents, local employees and visitors. All the stakeholders will be participated to endorse at varying degrees in gathering information, identifying values, identifying a preferred future development, and finally, crafting Vision Statements for specific topics categories from time to time or as envisioned in this booklet.
4. Plan Organization
This document is organized into five primary segments: Executive Summary, Values and Vision Statement, Preferred Scenario and Survey Results, Action Plan, Conclusion Statement, and Documentation. The Executive Summary section provides a brief explanation of the Vision Plan process and its results. The Values and Vision Statement section describes the overall visioning process including public workshops, stakeholder interviews, and other outreach efforts and includes general information regarding meeting formats, how information is collected at each meeting and ultimately informed the final product. The Values and Vision Statement section also includes the Values and Vision Statement will develop and refined by the public and the Advisory Committee. The Action Plan section includes Action Steps and specific improvements that the Ijero-Ekiti Municipality should consider in order to implement the Vision Plan. The Conclusion Statement section provides a comment on the visioning process and the outcome of the final product.
Culled from my upcoming Book,The Municipal Agenda :Thoughts on Redeeming our Ekiti Communities. Copyright(C) 2016 
FEMI ALUFA POST.
Monday, August 15, 2016
Ijero Municipal Agenda:Thoughts on Redeeming our Community -Femi Alufa
This piece is about community development. It is a distillation of thoughts of many years that our Ijero community should have a vision plans to take its place in the 21st century world. Ijero Municipal Vision Plan or Ijero Municipal Agenda has been rhetoric or mere slogan on the lips of many Ijero indigenes and residents; the patriots, the scholars, the political class and the masses of the people for the past three decades. It is a latent and potential idea which need effort of the people to makes it a kinetic and brought into fruition before our very eyes for the sake of our community development in our generation and to avoid the pitfall of our future.
One of this latent idea is muted in August, 2003 when I published my debut book Tell Ijeroism, A patriotic book of Ijero history and Philosophy and called for the creation of Ijero Municipal Council in one of the pages of the book. Nothing has been done since then actively; Ijero Municipal Vision Plan is an idea of Ijero Municipal Congress (IMC), a nonviolent civil rights and socio-political organization that will work to promote the interests of Ijero people of Ekiti State of Nigeria.
In 2010, I ran an unsuccessful campaign for the House of Assembly seat in Ijero Constituency under the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Party, and planned a onerous task to implement an Ijero Municipal Agenda at the House if elected as a state legislator to the Ekiti State House of Assembly in 2011 in my own humble way but I did not get the political will from the major political party then and I published a book The New Covenant of Hope: Blueprint for Ekiti Constituency Development (2010) which dwell much on this dissertation too as my political manifesto, as the rest is now history. I believe that the idea whose time has come cannot be doomed into extinction.
As a believer of Ijeroism, I believe that Ijero Municipal Agenda can be achieved by collective responsibility of all Ijero patriots, sons and daughters of Ijero at home and in the Diaspora to come and let us rescue our district from lagging behind in the comity of towns in Nigeria. Some men of goodwill and I are presently began recruiting youthful, brilliant, articulate Ijero patriots into the Ijero Municipal Congress,IMC to champion this worthy cause of our generation. My highest prayer is that my own generation will not be “wasted” but fulfilled its own destiny and purpose in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
IMC ultimate aim is to achieve the provisional agenda for the Ijero Municipal Vision Plan; Agenda for a Better Community Development of the Ijero-Ekiti early 21st Century by the year 2025 and propagate the idea and ideals of Ijeroism; the philosophy of Ajoro, mutual relationship, concord and harmony, and democracy of ideas which Ijero-Ekiti is founded many centuries ago and which is dooming into extinction in our contemporary times. The flame of intense patriotism should be rekindled in our times for the total development and emancipation of our people who has been decimated in the past by the clutches of lukewarmness, government neglects and lack of devotion to Ijero patriotic duty.
Once getting the consent of the people and government at local, state and federal, the IMC will pursue policies to establish a fully Ijero municipality, with Ijero Municipal Agenda for Development, socio-economic policies and grassroots democratic government within the jurisdiction of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria and the need to retain its loyalty to the Ekiti State Government and Customs and tradition of the Ijero land.
Ijero Municipal Development Goals (IMDGs) is based on the unequivocal support of two basic principles—the autonomy, promotion and protection of the Ijero Municipality and the right of any Ijero personality to supports the realization of Ijero Municipal Agenda.—which together provide the guarantee of a better future for all Ijero people in this 21st century world.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF Ijero Municipal Congress (IMC);
1. To champion the cause of the creation of Ijero- Ekiti Municipality, more autonomous local Government Councils in Ijero districts and creation of more State Constituencies in Ekiti State and Ijero in particular.
2. To promote and protect the interest of the people of Ijero-Ekiti and her district at home and in the Diaspora throughout the world.
3. To campaign for nonviolent and peacefully expression of the people’s social and political beliefs under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
4. To rally public support to seek government’s support at all level to recognize people’s fundamental human rights and yearnings for development through public education, demonstrations, letter-writing campaigns, fundraising events, and press conferences.
5. To organize annual conventions that will formulate the policies of Ijero Municipal Vision Plan and Agenda for the 21st Century, which will remained the basic platform for Ijero Municipal Development.
6. To support and mobilized people to participate in State and General Elections and vote for the political party and candidates that will support the issues of the Ijero Municipal Vision Plans and Agenda for the 21st Century development of Ijero Township .
7. To rekindled the spirit of patriotism and consciousness to Ijero duty and total development and emancipation of our people who has been decimated in the past by the clutches of lukewarmness, government neglects and lack of devotion to patriotic duty.
8. To support the cause of community development, democracy and good governance at the grassroots to evolve a better society.
9. To be the catalyst of socio- political, economic policies and total transformation of the grassroots necessary for the public good through agenda that guarantees a better future for all the people of Ijero municipality, Ekiti State, Nigeria and humanity in general.
At Ijero Municipal Congress, (IMC) we have itemized the five basic agenda for
Ijero Municipal Development Goals (IMDGs) as simple as A, B, C, D, E steps:
1) Actualization of the processes for Ijero Municipal Agenda from time to time.
2) Beautification of Ijero Township by applying the Ijero Municipal Vision Plan.
3) Constituency Delineation and Self-determination for Ijero Municipal Council
4) Development of Ijero Man and his personality in the scheme of things.
5) Education of Ijero Child and Empowerment of Ijero women and Youths.
No political manifesto of any political parties or government can give people their needs for development unless the people concretely demand for it. We need to go through all of these steps to make life easier for our people in Ijero municipality.
There can be no gainsaying of the fact that neglect and marginalization by successive governments have caused a lot of social and political doldrums which engulfs this Ijero community and sub towns and villages. About five decades ago, a youthful American President, John F.Kennedy said at his inauguration that… And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
We cannot say that government should meet all the aspirations and collective needs of the community, but the duties of government as enshrined in the modern constitutions of nations is to protect the fundamental rights of the citizen and the government is created at the local and grassroots’ level to make sure that the people are optimally represented and their development Agenda at towns and community level such as education, health, commerce and trade, agriculture,culture and tourism,social infrastructures are catered for by the local or municipal government.
I hope this piece will arouse the consciousness of the Ijero People and all men of goodwill to fashion out modalities for the declaration of our vision and agenda for a better future for Ijero Municipal Vision Plan before 2025. Let us all hope that the dark twilight of social and political marginalization that we found ourselves now will bring a glorious dawn of a radiant community and in some not too distant future.
A New Future of Ijero-Ekiti Municipal Development is possible before our very eyes. I am a firm believer of the actualization of the Ijero Municipal Agenda, as the scripture said: “The just shall live by faith”. Nobody will champion the cause of Ijero Municipal Agenda for Ijero community, if we, the people of Ijero community keep silent.
The essence of this piece is to help “show the light for the people to find the way”, like the motto of Dr.Azikiwe’s old West African Pilot Newspaper. Together, let us keep the faith in the peace,progress and prosperity of Ijero, the land of our birth and pride, our own Jerusalem here on earth. Let us keep the hope of Ijero Municipal Agenda alive! .I will be extremely grateful if what I have shared on this piece will be constructively admonished and criticized on how we can achieve this historic effort as a people in our lifetime.
Thursday, August 4, 2016
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BARACK OBAMA,44th US PRESIDENT
Happy Birthday to Mr.Barack Obama
Barack Obama is the 44th and current president of the United States, and the first African American to serve as U.S. president. First elected to the presidency in 2008, he won a second term in 2012.
Barack Obama - Mini Biography (TV-14; 5:04) Born in Honolulu, Barack Obama went on to become President of the Harvard Law Review. In 2008, he was elected President of the United States, becoming the first African-American commander-in-chief.
Born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Barack Obama is the 44th and current president of the United States. He was a community organizer, civil-rights lawyer and teacher before pursuing a political career. He was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 and to the U.S. Senate in 2004. He was elected to the U.S. presidency in 2008, and won re-election in 2012 against Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
Early Life
Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother, Ann Dunham, was born on an Army base in Wichita, Kansas, during World War II. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dunham's father, Stanley, enlisted in the military and marched across Europe in General George Patton's army. Dunham's mother, Madelyn, went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, the couple studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program and, after several moves, ended up in Hawaii.
Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. Obama Sr. grew up herding goats in Africa and, eventually earned a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya and pursue his dreams of going to college in Hawaii. While studying at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Obama Sr. met fellow student Ann Dunham, and they married on February 2, 1961. Barack was born six months later.
As a child, Obama did not have a relationship with his father. When his son was still an infant, Obama Sr. relocated to Massachusetts to attend Harvard University and pursue a Ph.D. Obama's parents officially separated several months later and ultimately divorced in March 1964, when their son was two. Soon after, Obama Sr. returned to Kenya.
In 1965, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, a University of Hawaii student from Indonesia. A year later, the family moved to Jakarta, Indonesia, where Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro Ng, was born in 1970. Several incidents in Indonesia left Dunham afraid for her son's safety and education so, at the age of 10, Obama was sent back to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents. His mother and half-sister later joined them.
Education
While living with his grandparents, Obama enrolled in the esteemed Punahou Academy, He excelled in basketball and graduated with academic honors in 1979. As one of only three black students at the school, Obama became conscious of racism and what it meant to be African-American. He later described how he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage with his own sense of self: "I noticed that there was nobody like me in the Sears, Roebuck Christmas catalog. . .and that Santa was a white man," he wrote. "I went into the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror with all my senses and limbs seemingly intact, looking as I had always looked, and wondered if something was wrong with me."
Obama also struggled with the absence of his father, who he saw only once more after his parents divorced, when Obama Sr. visited Hawaii for a short time in 1971. "[My father] had left paradise, and nothing that my mother or grandparents told me could obviate that single, unassailable fact," he later reflected. "They couldn't describe what it might have been like had he stayed."
Ten years later, in 1981, tragedy struck Obama Sr. when he lost both of his legs in a serious car accident. Confined to a wheelchair, he also lost his job. In 1982, Obama Sr. was involved in yet another car accident while traveling in Nairobi. This time, however, the crash was fatal. Obama Sr. died on November 24, 1982, when Obama was 21 years old. "At the time of his death, my father remained a myth to me," Obama later wrote, "both more and less than a man."
After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science. After working in the business sector for two years, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked on the impoverished South Side as a community organizer for low-income residents in the Roseland and the Altgeld Gardens communities.
Law Career
It was during this time that Obama, who said he "was not raised in a religious household," joined the Trinity United Church of Christ. He also visited relatives in Kenya, and paid an emotional visit to the graves of his biological father and paternal grandfather. "For a long time I sat between the two graves and wept," Obama wrote. "I saw that my life in America—the black life, the white life, the sense of abandonment I'd felt as a boy, the frustration and hope I'd witnessed in Chicago—all of it was connected with this small plot of earth an ocean away."
Returning from Kenya with a sense of renewal, Obama entered Harvard Law School in 1988. The next year, he met with constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe and their discussion so impressed Tribe, that when Obama asked to join his team as a research assistant, the professor agreed. “The better he did at Harvard Law School and the more he impressed people, the more obvious it became that he could have had anything, said Professor Tribe in a 2012 interview with Frontline, “but it was clear that he wanted to make a difference to people, to communities.” That same year Obama joined the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin as a summer associate and it was there he met Michelle Robinson, a young lawyer who was assigned to be his adviser. Not long after, the couple began dating. In February 1990, Obama was elected the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law in 1991.
After law school, Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer with the firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland. He also taught constitutional law part-time at the University of Chicago Law School between 1992 and 2004—first as a lecturer and then as a professor—and helped organize voter registration drives during Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. On October 3, 1992, he and Michelle were married. They moved to Kenwood, on Chicago's South Side, and welcomed two daughters several years later: Malia (born 1998) and Sasha (born 2001).
Entry Into Illinois Politics
Obama published an autobiography, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, in 1995. The work received high praise from literary figures such as Toni Morrison and has since been printed in more than 25 languages, including Chinese, Swedish and Hebrew. The book had a second printing in 2004 and was adapted for a children's version. The audiobook version of Dreams, narrated by Obama, received a Grammy Award for best spoken word album in 2006.
Obama's advocacy work led him to run for a seat in the Illinois State Senate. He ran as a Democrat and won election in 1996. During his years as a state senator, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans to draft legislation on ethics, as well as expand health care services and early childhood education programs for the poor. He also created a state earned-income tax credit for the working poor. As chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases after a number of death-row inmates were found to be innocent.
In 2000, Obama made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush. Undeterred, he created a campaign committee in 2002 and began raising funds to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 2004. With the help of political consultant David Axelrod, Obama began assessing his prospects for a Senate win.
Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Obama was an early opponent of President George W. Bush's push to go to war with Iraq. Obama was still a state senator when he spoke against a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq during a rally at Chicago's Federal Plaza in October 2002. "I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars," he said. "What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne." Despite his protests, the Iraq War began in 2003.
U.S. Senate Career
Encouraged by poll numbers, Obama decided to run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Republican Peter Fitzgerald. In the 2004 Democratic primary, he defeated multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes with 52 percent of the vote. That summer, he was invited to deliver the keynote speech in support of John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Obama emphasized the importance of unity and made veiled jabs at the Bush administration and the diversionary use of wedge issues.
After the convention, Obama returned to his U.S. Senate bid in Illinois. His opponent in the general election was supposed to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, a wealthy former investment banker. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004 following public disclosure of unsubstantiated sexual deviancy allegations by his ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan.
In August 2004, diplomat and former presidential candidate Alan Keyes accepted the Republican nomination to replace Ryan. In three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers and tax cuts. In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70 percent of the vote to Keyes' 27 percent, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history. With his win, Obama became only the third African-American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction.
Sworn into office on January 3, 2005, Obama partnered with Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana on a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Eastern Europe and Russia. Then, with Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, he created a website to track all federal spending. Obama also spoke out for victims of Hurricane Katrina, pushed for alternative energy development and championed improved veterans' benefits.
His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006. The work discussed Obama's visions for the future of America, many of which became talking points for his eventual presidential campaign. Shortly after its release, the book hit No. 1 on both the New York Times and Amazon.com best-seller lists.
2008 Presidential Election
In February 2007, Obama made headlines when he announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. He was locked in a tight battle with former first lady and then-U.S. senator from New York Hillary Rodham Clinton. On June 3, 2008, Obama became the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee after winning a sufficient number of pledged delegates during the primaries, and Clinton delivered her full support to Obama for the duration of his campaign. On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama defeated Republican presidential nominee John McCain, 52.9 percent to 45.7 percent, to win election as the 44th president of the United States—and the first African-American to hold this office. His running mate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, became vice president. Obama's inauguration took place on January 20, 2009.
When Obama took office, he inherited a global economic recession, two ongoing foreign wars and the lowest-ever international favorability rating for the United States. He campaigned on an ambitious agenda of financial reform, alternative energy and reinventing education and health care—all while bringing down the national debt. Because these issues were intertwined with the economic well-being of the nation, he believed all would have to be undertaken simultaneously. During his inauguration speech, Obama summarized the situation by saying, "Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met."
First 100 Days
Between Inauguration Day and April 29, 2009, the Obama administration took action on many fronts. Obama coaxed Congress to expand health care insurance for children and provide legal protection for women seeking equal pay. A $787 billion stimulus bill was passed to promote short-term economic growth. Housing and credit markets were put on life support, with a market-based plan to buy U.S. banks' toxic assets. Loans were made to the auto industry, and new regulations were proposed for Wall Street. Obama also cut taxes for working families, small businesses and first-time home buyers. The president also loosened the ban on embryonic stem cell research and moved ahead with a $3.5 trillion budget plan.
Over his first 100 days in office, President Obama also undertook a complete overhaul of America's foreign policy. He reached out to improve relations with Europe, China and Russia and to open dialogue with Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. He lobbied allies to support a global economic stimulus package. He committed an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan and set an August 2010 date for withdrawal of nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq. In more dramatic incidents, he ordered an attack on pirates off the coast of Somalia and prepared the nation for a swine flu outbreak. He signed an executive order banning excessive interrogation techniques and ordered the closing of the military detention facility at Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay within a year (a deadline that ultimately would not be met). For his efforts, the Nobel Committee in Norway awarded Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.
2010 State of the Union
On January 27, 2010, President Obama delivered his first State of the Union speech. During his oration, Obama addressed the challenges of the economy, proposed a fee for larger banks, announced a possible freeze on government spending in the following fiscal year and spoke against the Supreme Court's reversal of a law capping campaign finance spending. He also challenged politicians to stop thinking of re-election and start making positive changes. He criticized Republicans for their refusal to support any legislation and chastised Democrats for not pushing hard enough to get legislation passed. He also insisted that, despite obstacles, he was determined to help American citizens through the nation's current domestic difficulties. "We don't quit. I don't quit," he said. "Let's seize this moment to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more."
Challenges and Successes
In the second part of his first term as president, Obama faced a number of obstacles and scored some victories as well. In spite of opposition from Congressional Republicans and the populist Tea Party movement, Obama signed his health care reform plan, known as the Affordable Care Act, into law in March 2010. The new law prohibited the denial of coverage based on pre-existing conditions, allowed citizens under 26 years old to be insured under parental plans, provided for free health screenings for certain citizens and expanded insurance coverage and access to medical care to millions of Americans. Opponents of the Affordable Care Act, which foes dubbed "Obamacare," asserted that it added new costs to the country's overblown budget, violated the Constitution with its requirement for individuals to obtain insurance and amounted to a “government takeover” of health care
On the economic front, Obama worked to steer the country through difficult financial times. After drawn-out negotiations with Republicans who gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2010 mid-term elections, he signed the Budget Control Act of 2011 in an effort to rein in government spending and prevent the government from defaulting on its financial obligations. The act also called for the creation of a bipartisan committee to seek solutions to the country's fiscal issues, but the group failed to reach any agreement on how to solve these problems.
Also in 2011, Obama signed a repeal of the military policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which prevented openly gay troops from serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. In March 2011, he approved U.S. participation in NATO airstrikes to support rebels fighting against the forces of Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi, and in May he also gave the green light to a covert operation in Pakistan that led to the killing of infamous al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden by a team of U.S. Navy SEALs.
Obama gained a legal victory in June 2012 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, which required citizens to purchase health insurance or pay a tax. In a 5-4 decision, the court decided the health care law’s signature provision fell within the taxation power granted to Congress under the Constitution. Voting with the majority were two associate justices appointed by Obama—Sonia Sotomayor (confirmed in 2009) and Elena Kagan (confirmed in 2010).
2012 Re-Election
As he did in 2008, during his campaign for a second presidential term, Obama focused on grassroots initiatives. Celebrities such as Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker aided the president's campaign by hosting fund-raising events.
"I guarantee you, we will move this country forward," Obama stated in June 2012, at a campaign event in Maryland. "We will finish what we started. And we'll remind the world just why it is that the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth."
In the 2012 election, Obama faced Republican opponent Mitt Romney and Romney's vice-presidential running mate, U.S. Representative Paul Ryan. On November 6, 2012, Obama won a second four-year term as president by receiving nearly five million more votes than Romney and capturing more than 60 percent of the Electoral College.
Nearly one month after President Obama's re-election, the nation endured one of its most tragic school shootings to date when 20 children and six adults were shot to death at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012. Two days after the attack, Obama delivered a speech at an interfaith vigil for the victims in Newtown and discussed a need for change in order to make schools safer while alluding to implementing stricter gun-control measures. "These tragedies must end," Obama stated. "In the coming weeks, I'll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens—from law enforcement, to mental-health professionals, to parents and educators—in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this, because what choice do we have? We can't accept events like these as routine. Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard?"
Obama achieved a major legislative victory on January 1, 2013, when the Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved a bipartisan agreement on tax increases and spending cuts, in an effort to avoid the looming fiscal cliff crisis (the Senate voted in favor of the bill earlier that day). The agreement marked a productive first step toward the president's re-election promise of reducing the federal deficit by raising taxes on the extremely wealthy—individuals earning more than $400,000 per year and couples earning more than $450,000, according to the bill. Prior to the bill's passage, in late 2012, tense negotiations between Republicans and Democrats over spending cuts and tax increases became a bitter political battle until Vice President Joe Biden managed to hammer out a deal with Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Obama pledged to sign the bill into law.
Second Term
Barack Obama officially began his second term on January 21, 2013, when U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office. The inauguration was held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and civil-rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of Medgar Evers, gave the invocation. James Taylor, Beyoncé Knowles and Kelly Clarkson sang at the ceremony, and poet Richard Blanco read his poem "One Today."
In his inaugural address, Obama called the nation to action on such issues as climate change, health care and marriage equality. "We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today's victories will be only partial and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years and 40 years and 400 years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall," Obama told the crowd gathered in front of the U.S. Capitol building.
The Obamas attended two official inauguration balls, including one held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. There the first couple danced to the Al Green classic "Let's Stay Together," sung by Jennifer Hudson. Alicia Keys and Jamie Foxx also performed.
After the inauguration, Obama led the nation through many challenges—none more difficult, perhaps, than the terrorist bombings of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, which killed three people and left more than 200 injured. At a memorial service in Boston three days after the bombings, he told the wounded, "Your country is with you. We will all be with you as you learn to stand and walk and, yes, run again. Of that I have no doubt. You will run again." And he applauded the city’s response to the tragedy. "You’ve shown us, Boston, that in the face of evil, Americans will lift up what’s good. In the face of cruelty, we will choose compassion."
In the same month, Obama also found his efforts for gun-control measures thwarted in Congress. He had supported legislation calling for universal background checks on all gun purchases and a ban on sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. When the bill was blocked and withdrawn, Obama called it “a pretty shameful day for Washington.”
By June, Obama had suffered a significant drop in his approval ratings in a CNN/ORC International poll. In the wake of allegations of the Internal Revenue Service targeting conservative political organizations seeking tax-exempt status and accusations of a cover-up in the terrorist killings of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three others at a diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, Obama’s approval rating declined to only 45 percent—his lowest rating in more than 18 months.
Experts also attributed the ratings slide to new revelations about the extent of the U.S. National Security Agency’s surveillance program. Obama defended the NSA's email monitoring and telephone wiretapping during a visit to Germany that June. "We are not rifling through the emails of German citizens or American citizens or French citizens or anyone else,” he said. "The encroachment on privacy has been strictly limited." Obama stated that the program had helped stop roughly 50 threats.
In early July 2013, President Obama made history when he joined former President George W. Bush in Africa to commemorate the 15th anniversary of al-Qaeda’s first attack on American targets, the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. The event marked the first meeting between two U.S. presidents on foreign soil in commemoration of an act of terrorism.
Later that month, Obama spoke out about the outrage that followed a Florida jury’s decision to acquit George Zimmerman in the murder of African-American teen Trayvon Martin. "When Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son,” the president remarked at a White House press conference. “Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago." Obama explained that this particular case was a state matter, but he discussed how the federal government could address some of the legislative and racial issues highlighted by the incident.
International Challenges
Obama found himself grappling with an international crisis in late August and September 2013 when it was discovered that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons against civilians. While saying that thousands of people, including over 400 children, had been killed in the chemical attacks, Obama called Syria's actions "a serious national security threat to the United States and to the region, and as a consequence, Assad and Syria needs to be held accountable."
The president worked to persuade Congress and the international community at large to take action against Syria, but found a majority on Capitol Hill opposed to military involvement. Obama then announced an alternative solution on September 10, 2013, by stating that if al-Assad agreed with the stipulations outlined in a proposal made by Russia to give up its chemical weapons, then a direct strike against the nation could be avoided. Al-Assad acknowledged the possession of chemical weapons and ultimately accepted the Russian proposal.
Later that month, Obama made diplomatic strides with Iran. He spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the phone, which marked the first direct contact between the leaders of the two countries in more than 30 years. This groundbreaking move by Obama was seen by many as a sign of thawing in the relationship between the United States and Iran. "The two of us discussed our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over Iran's nuclear program," reported Obama at a press conference in which he expressed optimism that a deal could be reached to lift sanctions on Iran in return for that country’s willingness to halt its nuclear development program.
Domestic Policies and Problems
Obama found himself struggling on the domestic front in October 2013. A dispute over the federal budget and Republican desires to defund or derail the Affordable Care Act caused a 16-day shutdown of the federal government. After a deal had been reached to end the shutdown, Obama used his weekly address to express his frustration over the situation and his desire for political reform: "The way business is done in Washington has to change. Now that these clouds of crisis and uncertainty have lifted, we need to focus on what the majority of Americans sent us here to do—grow the economy, create good jobs, strengthen the middle class, lay the foundation for broad-based prosperity, and get our fiscal house in order for the long haul."
The Affordable Care Act continued to come under fire in October after the failed launch of HealthCare.gov, the website meant to allow people to find and purchase health insurance. Extra technical support was brought in to work on the troubled website, which was plagued with glitches for weeks. The health care law was also blamed for some Americans losing their existing insurance policies, despite repeated assurances from Obama that such cancellations would not occur. According to the Chicago Tribune, Obama insisted that the insurance companies—and not his legislation—caused the coverage change. "Remember, before the Affordable Care Act, these bad-apple insurers had free rein every single year to limit the care that you received, or used minor pre-existing conditions to jack up your premiums, or bill you into bankruptcy,” he said.
Under mounting pressure, Obama found himself apologizing regarding some health care changes. In an interview with NBC News, he said of those who lost their insurance plans, "I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me." Obama pledged to find a remedy to this problem, saying, "We are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this."
Managing Foreign Crises
The fall of 2013 brought Obama additional challenges in the area of foreign relations. In October 2013, German Chancellor Angela Merkel revealed that the NSA had been listening in to her cell phone calls. "Spying among friends is never acceptable," Merkel told a summit of European leaders. In the wake of these controversies, Obama saw his approval rating drop to a new low in November 2013. Only 37 percent of Americans polled by CBS News approved of the job he was doing as president, while 57 percent disapproved of his handling of the job.
Echoes of the Cold War also returned after civil unrest and protests in the capital city of Kiev led to the downfall of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's administration in February 2014. Russian troops crossed into Ukraine to support pro-Russian forces and the annexation of the province of Crimea. In response, Obama ordered sanctions targeting individuals and businesses considered by the U.S. government to be Ukraine agitators or involved in the Crimean crisis. "In 2014 we are well beyond the days when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders," Obama stated. The president said the sanctions were taken in close coordination with European allies and gave the U.S. "the flexibility to adjust our response going forward based on Russia's actions.”
In addition to the ongoing troubles in Ukraine, tensions between Israelis and Palestinians erupted into violence in Gaza during the summer of 2014. At the same time, tens of thousands of Central American children were being apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border after making the perilous crossing alone. Many Republicans called for the rapid deportation of these illegal immigrants, while others considered the situation a humanitarian crisis. Another of the president's woes came from the legislative branch. Speaker of the House John Boehner launched an effort to sue Obama for overstepping his executive powers with some of his actions regarding the Affordable Care Act.
In August 2014, Obama ordered the first airstrikes against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, which had seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria and conducted high-profile beheadings of foreign hostages. The following month, the U.S. launched its first attacks on ISIS targets in Syria, although the president pledged to keep combat troops out of the conflict. Several Arab countries joined in the airstrikes against the extremist Islamic militant group. "The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force,” Obama said in a speech to the United Nations. “So the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death."
Presidency After 2014 Elections
That November, Obama had to cope with new challenges on the home front. Republicans made an impressive showing on Election Day and gained a majority in the Senate, meaning that Obama would have to contend with Republicans controlling both houses of Congress for the final two years of his term.
Obama flexed his presidential power in December by moving to reestablish diplomatic relations with Cuba for the first time in more than 50 years. The policy change came after the exchange of American citizen Alan Gross and another unnamed American intelligence agent for three Cuban spies. In a speech at the White House, Obama explained that the dramatic shift in Cuban policy would "create more opportunities for the American and Cuban people and begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas."
In renewing diplomatic ties with Cuba, Obama announced plans "to increase travel, commerce and the flow of information to and from Cuba." The long-standing U.S. economic embargo on Cuba, however, remained in effect and could only be removed with the approval of Congress. Obama may not be able to sway Congress to agree on this policy shift as leading Republicans—including Boehner, McConnell and Florida Senator Marco Rubio—all spoke out against Obama's new Cuba policies.
In his 2015 State of the Union address, Obama declared that the nation was out of recession. "America, for all that we've endured; for all the grit and hard work required to come back . . . know this: The shadow of crisis has passed," he said. He went on to share his vision for ways to improve the nation through free community college programs and middle-class tax breaks.
With Democrats outnumbered by Republicans in both the House and the Senate, Obama threatened to use his executive power to prevent any tinkering by the opposition on his existing policies. "We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got to fix a broken system," he said. "And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it."
Not long after his State of the Union address, Obama traveled to India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to several news reports, Obama and Modi had reached a "breakthrough understanding" regarding India's nuclear power efforts. Obama told the Indian people in a speech given in New Delhi that "we can finally move toward fully implementing our civil nuclear agreement, which will mean more reliable electricity for Indians and cleaner, non-carbon energy that helps fight climate change." This agreement would also open the door to U.S. investment in India's energy industry.
Supreme Court Victories
The summer of 2015 brought two major U.S. Supreme Court wins for the Obama administration. The court upheld part of the president's Affordable Care Act regarding health care tax subsidies. Without these tax credits, buying medical insurance might have become too costly for millions of Americans.
On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court also made marriage equality a reality with its 5-4 decision to overturn an earlier 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that same-sex marriage bans in several states were constitutional. By reversing this earlier decision, the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal throughout the country. President Obama, who became the first president to voice support for same-sex marriage in May 2012, praised the court for affirming "that the Constitution guarantees marriage equality. In doing so, they've reaffirmed that all Americans are entitled to the equal protection of the law. That all people should be treated equally, regardless of who they are or who they love."
In his speech, Obama also said that the court's decision "is a consequence of the countless small acts of courage of millions of people across decades who stood up, who came out, who talked to parents—parents who loved their children no matter what. Folks who were willing to endure bullying and taunts, and stayed strong . . . and slowly made an entire country realize that love is love."
On the same day as this landmark decision, President Obama grappled with an incident of racial violence by speaking at the funeral of Reverend Clementa Pinckney, one of the nine African-Americans killed by a young white man during a Bible study meeting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. In his eulogy for Pinckney, Obama said that the church’s late pastor "embodied the idea that our Christian faith demands deeds and not just words."
Iran Nuclear Deal
In July 2015, Obama announced that, after lengthy negotiations, the United States and five world powers had reached an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program. The deal would allow inspectors entry into Iran to make sure the country kept its pledge to limit its nuclear program and enrich uranium at a much lower level than would be needed for a nuclear weapon. In return, the U.S. and its partners would remove the tough sanctions imposed on Iran and allow the country to ramp up sales of oil and access frozen bank accounts.
As the administration began its effort to lobby Congress to endorse the deal, Obama made his first trip as president back to his father’s homeland of Kenya. In addition to having dinner with three-dozen relatives, some of whom he met for the very first time, Obama proudly proclaimed to a packed arena, “I am proud to be the first American president to come to Kenya—and of course I’m the first Kenyan-American to be president of the United States.”
Clean Power Plan
In August 2015, the Obama administration announced The Clean Power Plan, a major climate change plan aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the first-ever national standards to limit carbon pollution from coal-burning power plants in the United States. President Obama called the plan the "single most important step that America has ever made in the fight against global climate change."
The plan calls for aggressive Environmental Protection Agency regulations including requiring existing power plants to cut carbon dioxide emissions 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 and use more renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. Under the regulations, states will be allowed to create their own plans to reduce emissions and are required to submit initial plans by 2016 and final versions by 2018.
Critics quickly voiced loud opposition to the plan including Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, who sent a letter to every governor in the United States urging them not to comply with the regulations. States and private companies, which rely on coal production for their economic livelihoods, are also expected to legally challenge the plan.
Despite the backlash from those sectors, President Obama remained steadfast in his bold action to address climate change. "We've heard these same stale arguments before," he said in an address from the White House. "Each time they were wrong."
He added: "We're the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it."
2015 Paris Climate Conference
In November 2015, Obama further demonstrated his commitment to environmental issues as a primary player in the international COP21 summit held outside of Paris, France. Addressing the gathered representatives of nearly 200 countries, Obama acknowledged the United States’ position as the second-largest climate polluter and the nation’s primary responsibility to do something about it. The resulting Paris Agreement requires all participating nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the rise of global temperatures over the ensuing century and also to allocate resources for the research and development of alternative energy sources. President Obama praised the agreement for establishing the “enduring framework the world needs to solve the climate crisis” and pledged that the United States would cut its emissions more than 25 percent by 2030.
Gun Control
Entering his final year as President of the United States, in early January 2016 Obama held a press conference to announce a new series of executive orders related to gun control. Citing examples such as the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school, the president shed tears as he called on Congress and the gun lobby to work with him to make the country safer. His measures, which have met with vehement opposition from members of both the Republican and Democratic Parties, as well as gun advocacy groups such as the NRA, would implement more thorough background checks for gun buyers, stricter governmental oversight and enforcement of gun laws, better information sharing regarding mental health issues as related to gun ownership and investment in gun safety technology. According to a 2015 Gallup poll, most Americans favor some kind of stricter regulations of gun sales.
Final Year in Office
Entering his final year as President of the United States, in early January 2016 Obama held a press conference to announce a new series of executive orders related to gun control. Citing examples such as the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut, the president shed tears as he called on Congress and the gun lobby to work with him to make the country safer. His measures, which have met with vehement opposition from members of both the Republican and Democratic Parties, as well as gun advocacy groups such as the NRA, would implement more thorough background checks for gun buyers, stricter governmental oversight and enforcement of gun laws, better information sharing regarding mental health issues as related to gun ownership and investment in gun safety technology. According to a 2015 Gallup poll, most Americans favor some kind of stricter regulations of gun sales.
Shortly after the press conference, on January 12, 2016, Barack Obama delivered what would be his final State of the Union address. Diverging from the typical policy-prescribing format, Obama’s message for the American people was centered around themes of optimism in the face of adversity, asking them not to let fears about security or the future get in the way of building a nation that is “clear-eyed” and “big-hearted.” This did not prevent him from taking thinly disguised jabs at Republican presidential hopefuls for what he characterized as their “cynical” rhetoric, making further allusions to the “rancor and suspicion between the parties” and his failure as president to do more to bridge that gap. But Obama also took the opportunity to tout his accomplishments, citing the Affordable Care Act, diplomatic progress with Iran and Cuba, the legalization of gay marriage and profound economic recovery as among them.
Further indicating his unwillingness to accept a “lame duck” status, two months later Obama made two important moves to attempt to cement his legacy. On March 10 he met at the White House with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the first official visit by a Canadian leader in nearly 20 years. Central among the topics addressed during their meeting—which also included trade, terrorism and border security—was climate change, with the two leaders promising a commitment to building an international “low-carbon global economy.” Trudeau’s apparent concern for environmental issues and generally liberal agenda stand in contrast to his predecessor, Stephen Harper, with whom President Obama enjoyed strained relations due in part to Obama’s unwillingness to allow for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
A week after his meeting with Trudeau, Obama held a press conference at the White House to present 63-year-old U.S. Court of Appeals chief judge Merrick Garland as his nominee for the Supreme Court seat vacated with the unexpected death of conservative stalwart Antonin Scalia. Though Garland is considered a moderate “consensus” candidate, his nomination was immediately rebuffed by leaders of the Republican Party, who have repeatedly stated their intention to block any nominee put forward by President Obama, fearing that such a confirmation would tip the balance toward a more liberal-leaning court. In an allusion to the political standoff, President Obama closed his remarks about Garland by saying, “I am fulfilling my constitutional duty. I’m doing my job. I hope that our senators will do their jobs, and move quickly to consider my nominee.” During his presidency, Obama already filled two seats in the Supreme Court, with Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, though both were confirmed when there was a Democratic-majority Senate.
Leaving the Senate to weigh their options regarding his nomination of Merrick, President Obama set out on a historic mission to Cuba on March 20. The first sitting American president to visit the island nation since 1928, Obama made the three-day visit—accompanied by First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha. Obama's visit was part of a larger program to establish greater cooperation between the two countries, the foundations of which were laid in late 2014, when Obama and Cuban president Raul Castro announced the normalizing of diplomatic relations for the first time since 1961. At the top of the agenda during the milestone meeting between the two leaders were human rights, the U.S.’s economic embargo on Cuba and Guantanamo Bay. Following their first conversation at the Palace of the Revolution, Castro and Obama held a joint press conference broadcast on state television during which they fielded questions from the press. While they acknowledged its complexities, both also professed a shared optimism about the road ahead.
CULLED FROM http://www.biography.com/people/barack-obama Courtesy of FEMI ALUFA POST Copyright(c)2016
CULLED FROM http://www.biography.com/people/barack-obama Courtesy of FEMI ALUFA POST Copyright(c)2016
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