The Nation Newspaper

Category: Lawal Ogienagbon

  • Human guinea pigs!

    Human guinea pigs!

    Lawal Ogienagbon

    ‘If herbs can do the magic in treating Coronavirus, we should not stop people, who choose to, from using those roots under the claim that there is no known cure for the disease’

    HEARD of any war without firing a shot? The Coronavirus conundrum easily passes for one. It has been a war like no other since the outbreak of the pandemic last December. It is a disease which China, the index country, thought it could handle in its own way  and bring relief to the first set of cases. Its decision turned out to be wrong and the Asian country has yet to recover from it.

    China hates to be in the limelight for the wrong reasons; no self-respecting country does. Now to be known as the epicentre of a deadly disease like Coronavirus otherwise known as COVID-19 increases the shame. Little wonder that, for long, it did not want the world to know what was going on in Wuhan where the virus originated from until people started getting infected in their hundreds and then thousands.

    The rate at which people were contracting the virus was alarming not only in China but also outside the country. The enormity of the pandemic was driven home when people from Wuhan began to export the disease to other parts of China. The authorities quickly moved to restrict movements in and out of Wuhan to avoid the spreading of the virus. This has become one of the measures adopted worldwide to contain COVID-19. Sadly, despite the enormous resources being spent on research into the virus, there is no known cure for it yet.

    Eventhough, many have lived to tell the Coronavirus story, how they overcame the disease seems to be shrouded in secrecy. How were they managed? What drugs were they given? Did their survival have anything to do with their immune system? Was it about their age? These are some of the issues those searching for a vaccine for the virus must know in order to aid their work. In the search for cure, the medical world appears to be looking in only one direction. It believes that the problem can only be tackled well trained scientists..

    There is no dispute about that really. Science, no doubt, is the way to go because whatever results that are eventually come up with must be verified for the sake of posterity. But is the world not neglecting something in the process? Herbs and roots discovered in Africa have from time immemorial come in handy in matters like this. Our ancestors used herbs in the treatment  of diseases with positive results. Why then is science shying away from looking at this potential of finding a cure for Coronavirus?

    I am not saying that scientists should not carry on with their experiments into Coronavirus, my argument is that they should not shut their eyes to alternatives, if any, no matter how crude. If herbs can work for Africans, they can also work for other people of the world since we are all part of the human race. What differentiates us from one another is the pigment of our skins. Aside from that, we share all other traits. Our blood is of the same colour red. There is nowhere on earth that we will find the blood that matches the colour of the human skin. Whether black or white, the colour of our blood will forever remain red.

    It is because the human race is one that we are working collectively to find a cure for COVID-19. The thing is as Africans we  should let our people’s voice also be heard in finding a cure for the disease. We can only do this by standing in defence of our home-grown solution to diseases like this. This is where our scientists have a job to do. Our forefathers have done their own bit in charting the path for us. They have shone the light and what is left is for us to follow the way.  We cannot leave this for foreign scientists who do not believe in such things. They never took herbs while growing up nor were they force-fed with brewed roots.

    Those of us who experienced such things and can attest to their efficacy should not be ashamed today to tell the whole world the power in local herbs and roots in treating ailments including COVID-19. We have heard the story of how Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who tested positive for Coronavirus,  was cured within a week with the use of local herbs, among other drugs. We should not wait for the World Health Organisation (WHO) before we do what is right by our people. If local herbs can do the magic in treating Coronavirus, we should not stop people,  who choose to, from using those roots under the claim that there is no known cure for the disease.

    Many of our doctors use these things in the comfort of their homes only to come out to despise these herbs, that is not good. We are where we are today because many of us lack the courage of our conviction. In finding  solution to the Coronavirus pandemic, our scientists have a major role to play and that is to sell to their foreign counterparts the efficacy of our herbs and roots. This is no time to keep quiet because we are in the midst of a war which if not well handled may wipe away the earth. The only consolation though is that God is merciful and He will not destroy the work of His hands.

    I am happy for a survivor, Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, who in her own words, “murdered” Coronavirus. But it was not an easy battle. She took 31 tablets daily – eight in the morning, 13, afternoon,  and 10 at night for the over two weeks she spent at the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), Yaba, Lagos, where COVID-19 patients are quarantined. Mostly, she said, she vomitted the drugs and had to be on oral rehydration therapy (ORT) to remain hydrated. Other patients can be saved the agony of swallowing such huge number of drugs daily all in the name of Coronavirus treatment, if they go for the local therapy, which has been found efficacious, but not scientifically proven.

    I insist that it is the job of our scientists to make that scientific proof happen and there is no better time than now for them to do so. As Queen Elizabeth said on Sunday in her address to Britain and the Commonwealth, “this is an increasingly challenging time… while we have faced challenges before,  this one is different”. So, the world must look for a different solution to the problem.

    If our scientists do not make their voices heard now, their foreign counterparts will come up with series of experiential drugs on COVID-19 and use Africans as guinea pigs to test them. Two French scientists are already thinking along that line. Although, WHO has kicked against such plan, saying: “Africa will not be a testing ground for any vaccine”. WHO described the scientists’ comments as “racist and a hangover from colonial mentality. It is a disgrace and appalling to hear during the 21st Century; to hear from scientists that kind of remark. We condemn this in the strongest terms possible,  and we assure you that this will not happen”.

    Much more than WHO’s assurance, what is required for this not to happen is for African scientists’ to take the continent’s destiny in their hands. Will they rise up and take the bull by its horns? Or will they allow their foreign counterparts to turn Africans into human guinea pigs?

  • Life first

    Life first

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    AT LAST, the President addressed the nation on the Coronavirus pandemic on Sunday. His long overdue national broadcast covered some lost grounds in the country’s battle to tame the virus.

    The global race to find a cure for the new Coronavirus otherwise called COVID-19 has been long and tedious. Considering how sudden the pandemic broke out, it has tasked the brilliance of scientists who are working round the clock to find a cure for it.

    There is light at the end of the tunnel, though.  There will soon be a breakthrough in getting a medicine for the disease. American President Donald Trump broke medical protocols for announcing such discovery when he hinted weeks ago that hydroxychloroquine may be the magic pill for COVID-19. Popularly known for his garrulity, his disclosure did not go down well with American scientists who were still working on coming up with such cure.

    They disowned their president, saying the drug was still undergoing clinical test before it could be confirmed as the much-awaited medicine for the treatment of the virus.

    President Muhammadu Buhari noted this fact in his broadcast. ‘’As of today’’, the President said, ‘’COVID-19 has no cure. Scientists around the world are working very hard to develop a vaccine… for now, the best and most efficient way to avoid getting infected is through regular  hygienic and sanitary practices as well as social distancing’’.

    But Nigeria may have latched on to Trump’s claim of hyroxychloroquine being the cure for Coronavirus, following the submissions of National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Director-General Prof Moji Adeyeye on Monday.

    She said chloroquine was now being mass produced in the country to meet the needs of COVID-19 patients. Those in the market, she said, were being mopped for the use of those patients. Has the World Health Organisation (WHO) endorsed the use of chloroquine for the treatment of the virus?

    No, it has not. America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is pushing the case for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine because, according to it, ‘’it is worth the risk of trying unproven treatments to slow the progression of the disease caused by Coronavirus in seriously ill patients’’.

    This hard and fast rule is not allowed in medicine. Scientists are exact and certain in their works because human lives are at stake. This is why guinea pigs and not human beings are used in experiments so that when fatalities occur, people’s lives are not unduly wasted.

    Did Nigeria jump ahead of itself in embracing chloroquine as cure for COVID-19 without WHO’s directive? Our leaders are in a hurry to cover lost grounds, but in doing so, they should avoid putting the lives of those infected in jeopardy as they are not guinea pigs.

    From the President’s address, it is clear that the government is ready to do everything to safeguard lives because Coronavirus is highly contagious. According to him, ‘’in Nigeria’s fight against COVID-19, there is no such thing as an overreaction or an under reaction. It is all about the right reaction by the right agencies and trained experts’’.

    In line with this, he announced a lockdown of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun states for two weeks in the first instance with effect from last Monday. The rate at which people are being infected in the capital city and those states is quite alarming really.

    As at Tuesday, it was reported that Lagos had 81 cases, FCT, 25, Osun, five and Ogun, four. What this means is that the country must be on its guard before the virus spreads like wildfire across the country.

    If that happens, it will stretch our medical personnel’s capacity to handle the problem. For one, we do not have all the needed equipment for managing the pandemic.

    Testing kits are not enough. This is why many patients said to be indigent have not been tested. Priority is being given to the high and mighty from who many of the poor patients contracted the disease.

    Read Also: COVID-19: FG releases guidebook on lockdown Policy

     

    Singling Abuja and Lagos out as places where people from other states easily get the virus, the President said: ‘we are therefore working to ensure such inter-state and intra-city movements are restricted to prevent further spread.

    Based on the advice of the Federal Ministry of Health and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), I am directing the cessation f all movements in Lagos and FCT for an initial period of 14 days with effect from 11pm on Monday, 30th March, 2020. This restriction will also apply to Ogun State because of its close proximity to Lagos and the high traffic between the two states’’.

    The President’s action touched a raw nerve in Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka, Ebun Adegboruwa (SAN) and Femi Falana (SAN). They believe that the President usurped the powers of Lagos and Ogun governors by that action.

    The governors of those states, they argued, are the only ones constitutionally empowered to take such action. They may be right, but I beg to disagree. Buhari is the President of Nigeria and every part of the country, including the states, defer to his authority.

    No doubt, we are in a constitutional democracy, but that does not mean the President should keep quiet when developments in certain states can adversely affect other states.

    We are seeing how Coronavirus is ravaging the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK) and Italy, among other developed nations of the world, despite their strong healthcare system. What does Nigeria have to fight the virus if it should spread like wildfire nationwide?

    The nations we will go to for help  already have their hands full. In some cases, some of the nations can no longer cope with the problem and are now seeking external help.

    So, any step that is taking to stem the spread of the pandemic should be lauded. The nation is in an emergency even though the President did not declare a state of emergency in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja.

    The Coronavirus pandemic is a clear and present danger which requires urgent and coordinated steps to tackle before things get out of hand. What matters most now is the protection of lives. But while doing this, we should not shut our eyes to upholding the rule of law.

    The Constitution clearly emphasises this in Section 305 (3) (f) which confers the President with power to declare a state of emergency when ‘’there is any other public danger which clearly constitutes a threat to the existence of the federation’’.

    The President has not used his emergency powers yet, he only did what a concerned leader should do when his country is faced with public danger,  by restricting people’s movement to avoid the spread of COVID-19. He has not usurped the governors’ powers nor breached any law.

  • Corona conquest

    Corona conquest

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

    The world is at war. It is a war like no other because its enemy is not bearing a gun or any other related weapon. What kind of war is that you are wont to ask. How can such an enemy take on the whole world for over 86 days now without capitulating? The world is reeling on its knees under the super power of this fearful enemy

    This enemy is not a sovereign nation like Hilter’s Germany which along with Italy and Japan took on the world in 1939 and lost. It is a tiny thing, but powerful enough to kill within days or weeks. It is so minute that it can be crushed between two fingers. The thing is it cannot be seen with the naked eyes; it can only be seen under the microscope. It is none other than the new Coronavirus otherwise known as COVID-19.

    It exploded on the world via Wuhan in Hubei District of China last October. Being a closed country, China did not want the development to draw the world’s attention to it. It quickly quashed all local complaints over the matter. But the virulent virus could not be stopped by armoured tanks. China’s leaders watched in awe as the virus killed many of their infected compatriots just as it spread around the world.

    It spread at an alarming rate, waking up the world, which initially thought that it will be limited to China, from its slumber. The world’s greatest mistake was to have initially ignored the potential of the virus to cause calamity. By the time the world decided to act, the virus had spread far and wide. It got to Europe, which was just coming to terms with Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU). Italy was the hardest hit and as at today its number of casualties exceeds that of China which is the index country.

    As the world closes ranks to deal with a common enemy,  the United States (US) and China are flexing muscles over the Coronavirus outbreak, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has since declared a pandemic. Many countries were slow to react to the outbreak of the pandemic. To them, it was a China thing which could not be imported into their countries. When it dawned on them that it was highly contagious, it was rather too late to stop the virus from entering their soil as their citizens who were returning home from high risk nations had become infected.

    In most cases, the infected did not know their status because the symptom takes weeks to manifest. By the time they knew they had already infected others, widening the spread of the pandemic. In some cases, those who returned home from high risk countries did not self isolate for two weeks in line with WHO protocols.  They just returned to their normal life as if everything was alright,  forgetting that these are unusual times.

    We have witnessed two of such cases in high places in Nigeria. Chief of Staff to the President Abba Kyari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s son Mohammed returned from abroad and went back to their normal schedule without taking the precautionary step of self isolation. It has since been confirmed that Mohammed tested positive to Coronavirus. There are reports that Kyari may also have tested positive. The duo may have infected some of those they came in contact with or travelled with. Mohammed has infected Bauchi State Governor Bala Muhammed, one of those he met on his arrival in the country.  He met many others who are now being contact traced. So also for Kyari, who met with many people including the President,  his deputy, and many other top government officials

    Mercifully, the President has tested negative for the virus. But will others that Kyari also met after his arrival in the country be that lucky? Only a test, which many of them may be reluctant to take, can determine that. But the Federal Ministry of Health and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), which hold a daily briefing on COVID-19 are maintaining sealed lips on Kyari’s case in violation of WHO’s regulations. They did not hold that briefing on Tuesday despite widespread report of Kyari testing positive. Elsewhere in the world, it is not so, the public is duly informed of those infected no matter their status.

    With the seat of government – Aso Rock in Abuja – on lock down over the Coronavirus scourge, it is crystal clear that the place may be out of bounds until it is made safe healthwise for use again. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which holds there every week, has been postponed indefinitely.

    The figures from the pandemic are really, really frightening. To  WHO, the over 300,000 cases reported from almost every country of the world is “heartbreaking”.

    It added: “The pandemic is accelerating.  It took 67 days from the first reported case to reach 100,000, 11 days for the second 100,000 cases and just four days for the third 100,000 cases… we can change the trajectory of this pandemic. To win, we must attack the virus with aggressive and targeted tactics, testing every suspected case,  isolating and caring for confirmed cases and tracing and quarantining every close contact”. Nigeria will do well to play by  this WHO rule rather than circumvent it when powerful people are involved.

    Is there any treatment yet for Coronavirus? According to WHO, “there is currently no treatment that has been proven to be effective against COVID-19”. Not even the much-touted chloroquine by US President Donald Trump?

    Milord at 90

    I first got to know Justice Ishola Olorunnimbe, formerly of the Lagos State High Court from afar. I was a reporter covering the judiciary and his court at the Old Secretatiat, Ikeja GRA, was always a port of call for reporters.

    He was a no-nonsense judge who did not hesitate to draw the line whenever a lawyer wanted to prove difficult. But behind his steely demeanour is a soft and amiable man who loves to crack jokes a lot. He was a father figure who treated lawyers that appeared before him like his children. Some 25 years ago he retired.  His lordship is, however, not tired and he has proved that time and again.

    In 2003, he served on the Lagos State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board. It was then I got to know that he is also an old boy of Ahmadiyya College (now Anwar-ul Islam) College,  Agege. He was a member of the pioneer 1948 Set. They were long gone from the school when my own set came in 25 years later in January 1973 . Despite the huge age gap between him and many members of Anwar-ul Islam College Agege Old Students Association (ACAOSA), he continues to play a vital role in the body.   This old boy of old boys turned 90 on Tuesday, six days after the 93rd birthday of our Principal Emeritus Alhaji J. A. Gbadamosi. Milord, happy birthday. May you wear your new age with grace.

  • Odia Ofeimun and Awo

    Odia Ofeimun and Awo

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    TO work for a man like Chief Obafemi Awolowo is no mean feat. That person must be ready to put up with a lot of things because of the kind of life Awo led. Writer, poet, author, artiste Odia Ofeimun fitted the bill well as he served Awo as private secretary.

    As Awo’s private secretary much was expected of him and he discharged his duty creditably. Then something happened. It is a story well known by people of my own generation.

    If Ofeimun, a big uncle to people like me, was not well known then, that incident shot him into limelight. It was the heady days of politics in 1979.

    Awo had written a confidential letter to Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe over that year’s presidential election. Somehow, the letter got leaked to the media before it got to Zik. The first suspect was of course Ofeimun since he was Awo’s secretary. But he was not the one that leaked the letter.

    Read Also: Odia Ofeimun at 70: The poet ages

     

    He knew who leaked it and Awo himself got to know later who that person was, but Ofeimun took everything in his strides as he was sanctioned for something he did not do.

    He lost his job with Awo, but his fame grew and has continued to grow. Ofeimun, who turned 70 on Monday, is unassuming. He is in love with the arts and writing.

    The Awo letter may have brought Ofeimun to the notice of many Nigerians because that was an unforgettable incident. He became known to many who did not know him before, with some wondering what kind of man is that, that will take the blame for what he did not do.

    Ofeimun has come a long way in life. He has paid his dues and he deserves all the accolades he is getting on the celebration of his 70th birthday.

    Edionwan, as your name implies, you have shown no fear even in the face of adversity. May you continue to enjoy good health as you age gracefully.

  • Not too big to fall

    Not too big to fall

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    ‘Developed countries may have weapons of mass destruction, but what will that profit humanity which needs protection from pestilences, such as Coronavirus which can explode at any time without notice’

     

    TO say that the Coronavirus aka COVID-19 has dealt a big blow to the whole world will be an understatement. The virus is ravaging the globe. Hardly does a day passes without reports of fresh cases and casualities. The world is benumbed by what has hit it.

    From China to Canada, United States (US) to United Kingdom (UK), Poland to Portugal, Iraq to Iran, Sweden to Slovenia, the virus has left no nation out of its deadly sting.

    The big countries which people hitherto thought had answers to every problem on earth have been made to look ordinary by COVID-19. They are the hardest hit by Coronavirus which the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a pandemic on March 12.

    A pandemic is a disease that is spreading in multiple countries around the world at the same time. Since the virus hit China last December 31, there has been no stopping it as it spread around the world.

    While declaring Coronavirus a pandemic, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that as at that date, there were 118,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths, adding that the virus has found a foothold on every continent except Antarctica.

    He went on: ‘’we have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a Coronavirus. And we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled at the same time.’’

    The virus has become a big challenge to the developed countries and their scientists. The scientists have been in and out of their laboratories looking for a vaccine to tame the pestilence. The world has seen a pandemic before but it was not in the mould of Coronavirus.

    The last pandemic to hit the world occurred in 2009. The novel Influenza A (H1N1) virus was first detected in the US and it quickly spread through that country and the world. But the rate at which the Coronavirus is spreading is alarming.

    Each day comes with news of how the virus is wreaking havoc globally. In three months, the virus has taken a huge toll on the world. The global economy is threatened as countries take measures to contain its spread. The Coronavirus is more dangerous than many other viruses because it is an airborne disease.

    Read Also: Nigeria records five new cases of coronavirus

     

    Person to person infection is easy from even a casual contact if necessary precautions are not taking. Football, the most followed sport in the world, has lost its shine to Coronavirus.

    The world’s best leagues in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France have put the football season on hold because of COVID-19. Some footballers and the manager of Arsenal Mikel Arteta have tested positive for Coronavirus.

    The global economy is haemorraging, with many countries on lock down because of the pandemic. There are fears that if a vaccine is not found for the virus in good time, there may be a global economic crisis. How soon can a vaccine be found for COVID-19 in order to save the world from its scourge?

    Countries that should concentrate on researching for the vaccine are in a battle of sorts with the pandemic. The US, UK, France, Germany and Canada are being ravaged by the pandemic, slowing down the search for the vaccine.

    Cheery news however came from the US on Tuesday that an experimental Coronavirus vaccine had been administered on four volunteers in Seattle.

    It is the first known vaccine to be tested on healthy human beings. Their reaction to the vaccine will determine whether it should be administered on those with Coronavirus.

    It is amazing how a virus can bring down a world, especially countries which think they have all it takes to face whatever comes their way.

    The Coronavirus pandemic has shown that there are some unforeseen forces greater than the so-called world powers. These countries may be powerful, but their power has been curtailed in the face of Coronavirus.

    Even, if eventually, a vaccine is found for the pandemic, the point would have been made that the virus shook the globe before it was contained.

    Developed countries may have weapons of mass destruction which they can deploy at the press of a button in the event of a war, but what will that profit humanity, which needs to be protected from pestilences, such as Coronavirus which can explode at any time without notice. Just as COVID-19 did in China in 2019 and humbled the developed countries.

  • Sanusi: The road to exile

    Sanusi: The road to exile

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

    It was a matter of time before they got him. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, until Monday, March 9, the emir of Kano, knew that Governor Abdullahi Ganduje was after him and that he would do anything to get rid of him at the least opportunity. The cat-and-mouse game between them had been on for long. Ganduje would have since deposed Sanusi if not for the emir’s connections.

    His friends always came to his aid before the governor could dethrone him. If they had their way, the emir’s friends would have stopped his dethronement last Monday, but it seemed the governor, who could not get over his Sanusi complex, caught them unawares. Sanusi is brash and rash, no doubt. He takes no quarters as he is ever ready to speak his mind no matter whose ox is gored.

    He has always been like that. He loves controversy. In fact, Sanusi thrives on controversy. As Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, a post in which he should be seen and not  heard often, he became a thorn in the flesh of the government of the day despite knowing the consequences of such action. He lost his job because of his outspokenness when former President Goodluck Jonathan could no longer tolerate him.

    That was six years ago and you would say that he should have learnt his lesson and as such be mindful of his utterances in future, especially after he became emir shortly after that. To expect Sanusi to do that means the public does not know who the real Sanusi is. He is royalty but in his blue blood is the gene of a social crusader. Sanusi wants a just and egalitarian society. A society where things work; where the boy- and girl-child are given equal opportunity; where parents do not send their children out to beg in order to survive.

    He saw everything wrong in his immediate environment where the Almajiri culture thrives like an industry. The more he looks at what is happening in the North, the more he is embittered. Sanusi did not like what he saw. He believed that those boys who roamed the streets with begging bowls could live a better life if educated. Why would a man sire a child and virtually abandon the boy? Why would a father give away his daughter in marriage at an early age all because of money? Why would such parents not send their children to school?

    Nigeria has over 13 million out-of-school kids, with the North having the highest percentage. This is the kind of statistics that makes the stomachs of people like Sanusi churn because of its inherent danger. The North can do better for itself and that is what Sanusi is clamouring for. Those in leadership position tend to misunderstand him because of his open way of doing things. They want him to come to them in private and talk things over instead of going public. The question is: if he panders to their wish will they listen to him?

    It is good to advise leaders in secret, if and only if, such leaders will take to the advice. If they will not, it is better to go public with such comments. I have heard people ask: ‘’is Sanusi not part of the problems he claims he is trying to solve?’’ In his little way, he acted practically to address some of the problems facing the region. He instituted  a N100 million fund for small scale entrepreneurs and also invested in the education of his people.

    He may not have played his politics right, but that is not to say he did not mean well. Sanusi meant well, but he was misunderstood not only by Ganduje but also by many who called themselves his friends. When the time for Ganduje to exact his pound of flesh came on Monday, March 9, he swiftly did so before Sanusi’s friends could move in again and save him. That fateful day, the Kano State Executive Council held an emergency meeting, with only the dethronement and banishment of Sanusi on the agenda. The reason for Sanusi’s dethronement still seems hazy. The House of Assembly had yet to take action on the petitions against him before it when Ganduje deposed him.

    The governor accused Sanusi of insubordination and of breaching Part 3, Section 13 (a-e) of the Kano State Emirate Law 2019. Ganduje may have had his way in deposing Sanusi, but the dethronement and banishment may end up making the emir more popular. Someone like Sanusi cannot be silenced because whether on or out of exile he will always remain in public conscience.  When things go wrong, they will pine for him and for his interventions on burning issues.

    Should any leader be talking of banishing people in this era when we are no longer under colonial rule? Can a governor just wake up, depose a monarch and send him on exile in flagrant violation of the Constitution, which provides for freedom of movement, freedom of association and right to personal liberty? Many of our governors are like Ganduje. They do not want anybody to challenge their authority. Consequently, they have become overlords, with their Houses of Assembly and local government chairmen under their beck and call.

    Our governors are the major threat to our democracy. They want to be treated with respect, but they do not accord others such respect. They have forgotten that being a governor does not mean that they are better than those they govern. May they realise their mistakes sooner than later and retrace their steps before it is too late.

  • The Coronavirus conundrum

    The Coronavirus conundrum

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    CORONA is the most popular word in the world today. By the time you say corona, others will complete it by adding virus.

    Coronavirus hit the world like a bolt out of the blue in December 2019 when it started ravaging Wuhan in the Hubei Province of China.

    It is a novel virus which type had never been seen until now. It is in the family of coronaviruses of which the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (SARS-Cor) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (MERS-Cor) are members.

    SARS-Cor and MERS-Cor hit the world in 2002 and 2012. The novel Coronavirus or COVID-19 has thrown the globe into a frenzy because it has no cure.

    The medical world is battling to find a cure for it. Though some vaccines are said to have been developed and tested on animals, they cannot be immediately applied on humans because certain scientific protocol must first be observed. Our own Prof Maurice Iwu, of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fame, claims to have found a cure for it.

    The United States (US) which has lost nine of its citizens, as at Tuesday night, to the deadly virus has challenged its pharmacists to find a cure for the virus.

    Being one of the developed nations at the receiving end of the virus, the US will certainly stop at nothing until it finds a cure for the disease.

    China too is not resting on its oars. Apparently shocked that the virus originated from its soil, the communist nation has done all it can to contain the scourge. It built two hospitals with space for 1000 beds and 30 intensive care wards within 10 days for those infected.

    For now, patients are being managed with anti-malarial drugs and those with strong immune systems are known to have survived because their ailment was detected early.

    Those with weak immune systems or whose illness was not discovered early have died. The statistics is alarming for an epidemic which hit the world only three months ago.

    As at Tuesday night, the figures were 92,835 reported cases worldwide with 3,168 deaths and 48,469 said to have recovered. Between then and now, the statistics is bound to have risen.

    How did China come about the virus? Nobody knows. There are speculations that it was first discovered among animals in a forest in Wuhan.

    Some Nigerians living in the city have been calling on their home government to bring them back home for fear of contracting the disease. The government has sent them money for their upkeep pending when the Coronavirus storm blows over.

    Meanwhile, the virus has landed in Nigeria, courtesy of an Italian who came in from Milan last week. The Italian has been quarantined at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) in Yaba, Lagos.

    Read Also: How we’re tackling coronavirus case, by LASG

     

    He is said to be responding to treatment. The problem now is in tracing his fellow passengers in the plane that brought him to the country on February 25.

    No fewer than 158 passengers on the Turkish Airlines flight are said to be at large. Some of them are said to have gone back to Europe or travelled to other states. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has joined in the search for them.

    There is anxiety over their whereabouts because some of them may be carrying the virus without knowing and mingling with people in that condition increases the risk of spreading the disease, thereby compounding its early containment.

    The earlier these people are located and quarantined the better for the public. As long as they cannot be located, the chances of containing the disease become slimmer by the day.

    There seems to be nothing to fear about the virus in Nigeria as the authority has put in place measures to prevent its spread.

    Emergencies test the best of governments and this is an emergency in which the government has done well so far. But it must not wait for emergencies to arise before it provides basic health and related facilities for the people.

    To show how serious the COVID-19 threat is, the man in charge of keeping diseases at bay here is himself in isolation for public safety.

    Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, according to Health Minister Dr Osagie Ehanire, went on self isolation in line with standard practice after his return from China.

    Ihekweazu had gone to China as part of the WHO Mission on COVID-19. A Nigerian footballer in Italy is also in quarantine after testing positive for the virus, which is no respecter of status, age or nationality.

    Top government officials, including a vice president, and some footballers, among others have fallen victim of the epidemic. Some matches have been postponed in the Italian league because of the virus.

    Iran’s Vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar has been isolated at home because of the virus. For the WHO, COVID-19 is a global menace and everything must be done to contain it before it starts ‘’spreading freely in communities’’.

  • What about the victims?

    What about the victims?

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

    If there is one thing you cannot take away from a Nigerian, it is his penchant to play to the gallery. Whether in public or private office, many Nigerians like to do things in order to be noticed. The Yoruba call it ka ri mi. They like to be seen doing things which ordinarily should not attract attention because of the mileage they will get from such an act.

    When rendering such ‘public service’, they speak with sugar-coated mouth. They paint a picture of themselves as having the love of the people at heart when all they are aiming at is to score cheap political points. Our politicians are most guilty of this practice. They are always, in their words, fighting for the people when in actual fact they are feathering their nest. Sucked in by their fake love, the people usually return them to the office in the next election.

    There is no need to deceive the people, but that has become the stock-in-trade of our politicians, who lie through their teeth. Lies and half-truths have become their second nature. To them, they engage in lying so as to be politically correct. What kind of political correctness is that when people’s lives are involved? We all know the havoc Boko Haram has wreaked on the country in the past 10 years. The insurgents have ruined thousands of families in the northeast.

    Families have been separated, with many ending up in internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps, children have been orphaned and wives turned into widows. Till today, many schoolgirls abducted between two and six years ago are still in Boko Haram captivity. Moreover, there is no let-up in the attacks of the insurgents, which the government wants us to believe have been ‘’technically defeated’’. The government has only scorched the snake, not killed it. This is why Boko Haram is still hitting what the military prefers to call ‘’soft targets”.

    Soft must have a different meaning, with the insurgents’ attack on Garkida in Adamawa State last Friday in which former Defence Academy Commandant Maj-Gen Paul Tarfa’s home, police barracks, churches and hospital, among others, were destroyed. Boko Haram remains on the prowl, yet the Senate is contemplating granting the sect’s members amnesty. It is talking of amnesty when the sect is still killing, maiming, raiding, kidnapping, forcefully marrying underage girls and making them baby mothers ala Leah Sharibu!

    Has Boko Haram shown any remorse to warrant it being considered for pardon? The Senate, as the upper chamber of the National Assembly, is to make laws for the good governance of the country under a peaceful and orderly setting. Is this what the Senate is doing with this bill proposing a law for ‘’An Agency for the Education, Rehabilitation, De-radicalisation and Integration of Repentant Insurgents in Nigeria’’. The Senate has more important things to do. It should stop wasting its time on a bill like this for now because the nation has not got to that bridge.

    The bill, its sponsor, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam claimed, ‘’is to help disintegrate the violent and poisonous ideology that the group spreads; the programme will enable some convicted or suspected terrorists to express remorse over their actions, repent and recant their violent ideology and re-enter mainstream politics, religion and society’’. Is that so? Is the Senate not putting the cart before the horse with this proposed law?

    Did it consider the feelings of victims of insurgency and their families before coming up with this bill? Will Gaidam have contemplated such a bill if he is at the receiving end? Is this the kind of law that Nigeria needs at this critical juncture of its existence when Boko Haram has made life nasty, brutish and short?

    Will the Senate listen to the voice of reason, even among its own members, jettison the bill and allow frayed nerves to calm, especially in the northeast before embarking on this audacious legislation?  If it has nothing better to do, it can go on recess and resume after regaining its composure. For now, it badly needs a break to think straight.

    So Supreme

    • Justices of this court are human beings, capable of erring — Justice Oputa

    Can the Supreme Court reverse itself? Yes, it can, contrary to the belief in certain quarters that it has no such powers. Until the politicians came, the court had always lived up to expectation, dispensing justice without favour, affection or ill-will. It did everything based on law and facts as contained in the records of proceedings from the courts below. It was strong, safe and surefooted. Justices of the court were among the best in West Africa. Other countries in the sub-region sought their services and many were seconded there as chief justices. Suddenly, things changed and the court turned to something else. The public started losing faith in the court as the corruption in the lower courts crept into the place.

    Today, the Supreme Court is caught in a web because of its conflicting verdicts in some similar election cases. What happened? Was it the pressure of work? The court, as the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa noted in 1989, can be wrong, but the consolation is that it can reverse itself and set things straight. The court has a chance to do just that as the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its arch foe, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) return to the court, seeking a review of its decisions in the Imo, Zamfara and Bayelsa state governorship polls.

    It is an opportunity for the court to take a hard look at itself and make amends where necessary, based on the merit of each case, in accordance with Oputa’s admonition: ‘’When it appears that any decision of this court has been given per incuriam… this court has the power to overrule itself (and has done so in the past) for it gladly accepts that it is far better to admit an error than to persevere in error’’. May the court muster the courage to do what is right as the nation waits on it.

    • This piece was written before the Supreme Court’s decision on the Bayelsa case yesterday.

  • The boxer-king

    Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    THERE are certain things a king cannot do in public. These include quarrelling or fighting.

    But when a king breaks any of these rules, he brings shame to himself and the throne.

    The Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, did the unthinkable when he descended on the Agbowu of Ogbaagba, Oba Dhikrulai Akinropo, with blows at a peace meeting in the office of Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Bashir Makama in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, last Friday.

    The Oluwo is known for his theatrics, but there was nothing theatrical in his boxing show that fateful day. He was annoyed; yes, he is entitled to such temperament, but he should not have punched the Agbowu. A royal father should always act regally no matter the provocation.

  • Supreme Court, heal thyself

    Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    AS the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court owes it a duty to give decisions which will stand the test of time because of its power of finality.

    Its verdicts must be verdicts that people will hear and be able to say ‘’that was a verdict’’. Even where they are faulted, it must be from the prism they are being looked at by the critic.

    No litigant wishes to lose in court and when they do, they impute motives. That is when you hear stories of how corrupt the judge is as well as his relationship with the winning party.

    The Supreme Court is not just any court. It is the final court where aggrieved appellants believe that, no matter what, they will get justice.

    Their belief is fuelled by the fact that the apex court is the bastion of justice where all tears are wiped away. They are delighted by the apex court’s power to correct the perceived wrongs done them at the high and appeal courts.

    The statement ‘’we will meet at the Supreme Court’’ confidently made by many lawyers after losing at the lower courts stems from the fact that it is the portal of justice which can do no wrong.

    Has this been the case? These lawyers, their clients and Nigerians who have been affected one way or the other by the court’s decisions are likely to answer in the negative.

    A time there was when the Supreme Court was indeed supreme. Those were the days of the Udoma Udo Udomas, Anthony Aniagolus, Ayo Irikefes, Andrews Otutu-Obasekis, Chukwudifu Oputas, Kayode Esos and Augustine Nnamanis.

    These justices were bold and erudite and activism ran in their veins. Their verdicts went beyond the law to touch on social and political issues. They never left you in doubt on where they stood.

    For instance, in Ojukwu versus the Lagos State Government, the Supreme Court in 1985 blasted the government for flouting the appeal court’s order not to forcibly evict the Biafran warlord from his 29, Queens Drive, Ikoyi home.

    The court described the government’s action as ‘’executive rascality’’. This happened during the military era when the courts, according to the Court of Appeal, were to ‘’blow muted trumpets’’.

    But, the Supreme Court blew trumpets that were heard across the nation, leaving its marks in the sands of time. Our present day Supreme Court, a school of thought believes, is not taking a cue from its worthy precursor.

    This school of thought points to some of the court’s decisions in some election cases to buttress its stand. It accuses the court of giving conflicting verdicts in cases that are similar, leaving lawyers wondering what happened to what is called legal precedent.

    The age-long principle of legal precedent is that the court’s order in one case is binding on a similar case in future.

    The court, it appears, has dumped this principle, preferring to give conflicting verdicts in similar election cases, leaving lawyers dazed and confused as to which to cite as authority when they appear before the court.

    The court has drawn the flak, especially for its decision in the Bayelsa State governorship election wherein, without consideration for the people’s will, it voided the election of David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC) because the deputy governor-elect, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, used multiple names.

    Read Also: Civil societies seek review of Imo Supreme Court judgment

     

    The apex court visited Degi-Eremienyo’s sin on Lyon and APC, and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare the next candidate with the highest number of votes cast and the constitutional spread as the winner of the election.

    Analysts are not comfortable with the court’s decision because it seems to conflict with its earlier decisions in the cases of Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    Even if it is assumed that the court can stand in place of the electorate to choose their leaders, can it be pardoned for giving conflicting verdicts in cases which appear similar?

    It voided Lyon’s election because he contested on a joint ticket with Degi-Eremienyo, but it saw nothing wrong in the election of Bello, who inherited the votes of the late Abubakar Audu, and contested the Kogi governorship rerun election without a running mate.

    James Faleke, who ran with the late Audu, withdrew from the race when APC did not adopt him as its candidate for the rerun after the former candidate’s death.

    Yet, Section 187 (1) of the Constitution says: …a candidate for the office of governor of a state shall not be deemed to have been validly nominated for such office unless he nominates another candidate as his associate for his running for the office of governor, who is to occupy the office of deputy governor.

    Their lordships did not avert their minds to this provision in the Bello case, but did so in Lyon’s. Where then is the justice in both cases? Which one will lawyers cite as authority in future similar matters? In the Amaechi case, the court held that the electorate vote for parties and not their candidates.

    On the basis of that, it voided the election of Celestine Omeiha as Rivers governor because he was not the rightful candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2007 election and suo moto (on its own) awarded the election to Amaechi, who it held was the party’s lawful candidate.

    The Supreme Court cannot continue to approbate and reprobate on sensitive election cases, otherwise it will throw the nation into anarchy. Its decisions must be clear, concise and considered.

    It has done enough harm already, but there is still room to make amends.

    The apex court should remember the words of Robert Jackson of the United States Supreme Court that ’’it (Supreme Court)  is not final because it is infallible, but it is infallible only because it is final’’. A vibrant Supreme Court shall yet rise from the ashes of these present times.