Jonathan preaches security, development

High-level insecurity and poor public power supply, two social plagues that have aggravated the woes of the nation since political independence will soon be a thing of the past, says President Goodluck Jonathan.

The President has also assured that Nigerians would soon witness significant improvements national infrastructure, education, healthcare and employment generation in the year 2011.

In his new-year message to the nation, Jonathan pledged that his administration will work even harder in the coming months to ensure that ordinary Nigerians begin to feel the tangible benefits of the economic growth recorded in recent years.

He said his administration would give particular attention to the effective implementation of the new national job creation scheme for which N50 Billion has been earmarked in the 2011 Appropriation bill to create thousands of new jobs for the unemployed.

To further boost employment, he said government will initiate a massive national public works programme in the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory for renovation, rehabilitation and upgrading of schools, medical facilities, roads and other public utilities.

Jonathan said that in addition to the N500 Billion intervention fund which has been established for the country’s power, manufacturing and aviation sectors, a $500 million facility will also be made available to support small and growing businesses.

The President however noted that these and other measures being evolved by his administration to improve the quality lives of Nigerians can only be effectively implemented in a secure, peaceful and politically stable environment.

He urged all stakeholders in the country to play positive roles in ensuring that next year’s general elections are conducted peacefully to further consolidate Nigeria’s status as a stable democracy.

Jonathan expressed his gratitude to Nigerians for their support, loyalty and cooperation since his assumption of office in May 2010.

He stated that with their continued support and votes in the 2011 elections he and Vice President Namadi Sambo will continue to give dedicated and committed leadership to ensure that Nigeria moves much more rapidly towards the fulfillment of its immense capacity as a nation

Nigeria: Bomb explodes at army barracks

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A bomb blast tore through a beer garden at a Nigerian army barracks where revelers had gathered to celebrate New Year's Eve, causing casualties, witnesses said.

A local police spokesman said the blast occurred at about 7:30 p.m. Friday in Abuja, the capital of Africa's most populous nation.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion in this oil-rich nation, where bombings at other locations had killed dozens of people several days earlier.

"It's unfortunate that some people planted (a) bomb where people are relaxing because of the new year," Air Marshal Oluseyi Petirin told journalists. "Nobody has been able to give accurate figures (of casualties), but we have rescued some people."

Officials declined to comment further.

"The details are still scanty," police spokesman Jimoh Moshood said.

A local journalist at the scene told The Associated Press that soldiers carried injured people away, with one officer saying he feared there were fatalities.

In the minutes after the explosion, police and soldiers swarmed the area, blocking onlookers from entering the area. Later, an AP journalist saw police carrying out covered bodies and putting them in the back of police vehicles. Officers shouted at each other to keep the bodies covered and hidden from onlookers.

The base, called the Mogadishu Barracks, includes an area of market stalls and beer parlors referred to locally as a "mammy market." There, civilians and soldiers regularly gather for meals and drinks.

The blasts come days after a similar attack struck a nation that remains uneasily divided by faith. On Christmas Eve, three bombs exploded in the central Nigerian city of Jos, killing dozens of people. That area has seen more than 500 die in religious and ethnic violence this year alone.

Members of a radical Muslim sect also attacked two churches in the northern city of Maiduguri the same night, killing at least six people.

The sect, known locally as Boko Haram, later claimed responsibility for both attacks in an Internet message. Police say they are still investigating those attacks.

Boko Haram means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language. Its members re-emerged recently after starting a July 2009 riot that led to a security crackdown that left 700 people dead.

The Christmas Eve killings in Jos and Maiduguri add to the tally of thousands who already have died in Nigeria in the last decade over religious and political tension. The bombings also come as the nation prepares for what could be a tumultuous presidential election in April