The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Jonathan/Amaechi: If this is not war…

    Jonathan/Amaechi: If this is not war…

    After the latest outbreak of cold war rhetoric between President Goodluck Jonathan’s government and the Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Mr Ahmed Gulak, declared that the governor was not above the law. But he added that in spite of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) grounding the Rivers State Bombadier private jet in which the governor flew into Akure last week, the presidency was not waging war against Amaechi. Really? Hardball may not be interested in who is to blame for provoking the pitched battles between the president and the governor, but to say that no war is being fought between the two combatants is to stretch credulity to breaking point. The grounding of the aircraft, which first took place at the Akure Airport, is now fully implemented, with the NCAA insisting the plane’s clearance had expired since April 2. It is all politics, say aides of the governor.

    If the grounded aircraft showed beyond doubt that the presidency has trained its guns on Amaechi, the sacking of the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, Godspower Ake, by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja about two weeks ago gave a concrete feel to a war that had up till then been fought clandestinely since 2010. Since Amaechi will not give the presidency any quarter, and because the 2015 elections are not too far away, the state machinery of the PDP had to be taken away from his camp and given to Chief Felix Obuah, even if it involved some juridical sleight of hand. The state PDP war may manifest in the shape of Godspower Ake fighting Chief Nyesom Wike, the Minister of State for Education, for the soul of the PDP, but in reality the combatants are Jonathan and Amaechi. Proceeding from taking control of the Rivers PDP from the Amaechi camp, the Jonathan group has gone ahead to announce the suspension of the Speaker of the House, Otelemaba Dan Amachree, and the other 26 pro-Amaechi PDP members in the House of Assembly.

    The Jonathan/Amaechi war, it will be recalled, began inauspiciously in August 2010 when the First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, paid a two-day visit to Rivers State and had a public spat with Amaechi at her hometown, Okrika, while inspecting a project. The war, however, went up a notch when a major disagreement broke out between the president’s home state, Bayelsa, and Amaechi’s Rivers over boundary adjustment alleged to have been surreptitiously influenced by the president. The adjusted boundary, claimed Rivers, unlawfully transferred the rich Soku oil fields in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State to Oluasiri in Nembe Local Government of Bayelsa State, thereby opening a battle between the Kalabari and Nembe.

    While the ugly oil war was yet to abate, the presidency opened another front by throwing a wild cat among the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) pigeons. The target was, of course, Amaechi. Previously united, the NGF has become an emblem of disunity, with the Governor of Akwa Ibom, Godswill Akpabio, proudly leading a coterie of PDP governors to form a breakaway faction of the governors’ forum. This guerilla war is set to become an open, conventional war soon, as the governors prepare to elect a chairman. It is indeed amazing how in a little over two years, the presidency has locked horns four times with Amaechi, while the latter has himself not shirked a fight. The presidency appears to have vowed it will not rest until the latter is humiliated, for the presidency in Nigeria is so powerful that few monarchies in history could project power as viciously as it does, or brook opposition without diminishing the splendour in which it basks. Luckily for patient and bemused spectators, it won’t be long before we know the winner.

     

     

  • JAMB: There is room for improvement

    JAMB: There is room for improvement

    SIR: It will be largely unfair not to acknowledge and appreciate the innovations of the Professor Dibu Ojerinde-led Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB). A number of improvements are noticeable. First, the distribution of examination materials to students in the examination hall is a good one. This has to a large extent, prevented the hoarding of these materials by some banks or forms-selling centres as well grant fairness to all students through uniform use of same materials, e.g. calculator. As an observer of the examination exercise at a major centre in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, I saw that virtually everyone got the writing materials and calculators since these were needed for simple calculations. In recent years, many candidates have suffered gross disadvantage as some examination centers never allowed any kind of calculators, the simple, non-scientific ones inclusive, while others allowed them.

    Another improvement is the biometric verification of candidates. This has brought a sharp drop in the incidence of impersonation and similar malpractices.

    However, the largest room in the world remains the room for improvement JAMB cannot afford rest on its oars. The examination exercise is still rife with irregularities that push the motion for its scrapping. There is more to be done to prove the integrity of the body. Otherwise, how would one explain the fact that many students were seen scribbling answers in small sheets before the examinations started? Some corrupt officials must have smuggled copies of the question papers for unscrupulous purposes. Even though the questions are in various types, students can still find a way around this system. The scandalous representation of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in national newspapers a couple of weeks ago due to the leakage of its examination questions should have been a tip to the JAMB leadership to guard against the trend but it was not so to be. There is also a lot that needs be done as regards security at examination centres.

    Moreover, there were also gross errors in the printing of some of the question paper types. For example, the English paper type B that was brought to a major centre in Abuja (with thousands of candidates) did not have question number twenty two. Also, question numbers 83-86 were missing. Would students be marked down for questions they did not answer?

    Another issue is the unnecessary delay that precedes the kick-off of the examination. In a centre in Abuja, the examination kicked off at about 11:30am as against the normal starting time of 9am, even though students had started reporting since 6am. If we do not impress it on the younger generation that punctuality is the soul of business, what reason would they have not to end up showing up late to government work places in the future?

    As much as I do not campaign for the discontinuation of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, I also do call for reconstructive strategies to be adopted to trim off the excesses that plague the smooth conduct of the exercise. Granting autonomy to our universities by taking UTME off the table may not be the best for us at this level of development. A regulatory system is highly necessary to maintain some sanity in the education polity.

    • Joshua Oyeniyi

    Abuja

     

  • Aba health inspectors and their excesses

    SIR: Aba residents are in trouble because of incessant harassment of health inspectors who have made it a routine to be issuing abatement notices to the residents, especially occupants of face me I face you bungalows asking them to come to their office for settlement. The abatement notice ranges from demand for excavation permit, building plan, health fitness and others.

    This development is worrisome because refusal of the occupants to comply attracts court injunction which is not served by a bailiff but themselves. Moreover, the money paid to them to waive the effect of the abatement notice is never receipted. This unwholesome practice has been on for a very long time now.

    Why I am worried about the whole incident is that the country is currently on the crusade of eradicating corruption and if nothing positive is done to terminate the anomaly, it then means that the country is crying wolf in that regard.

    The authorities in charge should clarify the situation to Aba residents, particularly whether the procedure and practice of extorting non receipted money from the residents is correct, otherwise a thorough investigation should be carried out and a severe punishment meted to any offenders to serve as deterrent.

    Aba residents have been writhing in pains as regards deplorable roads and unhealthy environment for many years now. The city requires a face lift before any other thing. So good thinking Nigerians should speak out in favour of Aba residents in order to arrest the ugly situation.

     

    • Nkemakolam Gabriel,

    Port Harcourt

     

  • From the cell Phone

    For Segun Gbadegesin

    Check your fourth paragraph, see lines 3-9 in your caption titled ‘An amazon goes home’. Are you portraying your intended meaning to readers?- From Female lawyer,FCT

    In your fourth paragraph after writing in line three that ‘funmi was steadfast’,you should have jumped other statements before telling us that ‘she stayed strong even when hope dimmed and all appeared to be lost’. This way,you do not get readers confused or contradict yourself as a writer/editor of a column. Co-incidentally, I also have those great qualities/virtues you wrote of her and I am equally convinced that it is the best way to live. May her soul rest in peace. From Miss chigozie ifeoma nwagbara.

    May the Almighty God grant her eternal rest and make her grave scopion free for ever. She left good will behind which everybody can see, she played a very pious role as a deputy governor during her reign. She is worthy to emulate by politicians who lack knowledge of governance. She respected people both small and big, she is not like some leaders that respond to very issues as no going back, I do not give a damn. Let other politicians sit down and think that, one day they would be no more, and whatever they do during their stay in power will either speak agaist them or in their favour. May Almighty God grant her husband and her chilldren courage to bear the lose. I miss her courageous move and her beautiful face. Good night mama and sleep well. From Hamza Ozi Momoh Dockyard Apapa Lagos.

    I am not an indigene of Ekiti state but with all the tributes given to her, it is obvious that she lived a fulfilled life. Nevertheless, she has contributed an indelible effort that shows she was truly an Amazon. May God erase all her sins and grant her eternal rest. From Victoria Akinrinade, Lagos

    Re: An Amazon goes home. Even at 52, to many of us, late sister Funmi Olayinka remained an enigma! No one had not poured her encomium as we appreciate her manly energetic womanism. I strongly feel, she would by now be ruling a state in heaven as God also appreciates her worth having listened to us, the mortals’ encomium. Those opportuned on 7th April, 2013 at Ekiti Government House when CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and his Deputy, Barau Co visited Ekiti state Governor Fayemi: the loss was deeply felt and showed in Governor Fayemi’s face. May her soul rest in peace. From Lanre Oseni.

    What a good write-up about the late Deputy Governor! We are used to all this praise singing but why now, you should have made us know all these when she was alive, all these would have been extremely nice if said at the appropriate time. Nobody is ready to tell us her reaction to being sidelined in some actions now that she can not defend herself. I willl be glad to talk to you sir if you wish. Anonymous.

    Your tribute to the late Mrs. Funmi Olayinka is a master piece. I never met her in real life but through your prose I met her flesh, blood and brain. What a loss for Nigeria. Thanks. From Prof. Mayo Ayilaran.

     

    For Dare Olatunji

    I have just read your comments on the constitution review and wish to inform that both Kano and Lagos States have 24 members each in the House of Reps. Thank you. From Hon. Solomon Agidani, Member, House of Reps…1999 to 2011

    I have never seen any funny country like Nigeria. The legislators want to review constitution. Constitution reviews my foot. Have they reviewed themselves? There is corruption everywhere and you are talking about review in constitution. Will it stop corruption? Or will it change the minds of our politicians that are full of devilish things? What we need presently is change in governance not review of constitution. A smelling rotten egg should be discharged not decorated with shell because it will continue to smell. Our politicians are the smelling eggs not the constitution. Nigeria constitution is in order. The National Assembly should be reviewed. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Dockyard Apapa Lagos.

    I have just read your column of today in The Nation. Are you in support of autonomy for LGAs? If so, I disagree. Here in Imo State, we do not have honest politicians to be entrusted such responsibility. Most of the councilors are fraudulent. Please, the issue of LG autonomy should be left to each State to choose by voting or so. Please, do you have any response? Forward it to enable me incorporate it in my analysis which will be published presently. I am an owerri based online journalist. High regards. From John I. Mgbe (johnmgbe@yahoo.com

    We the people of Nigeria in one accord reject in totality, completely and absolutely a misbegotten constitution review that is dead in conception. From TER AKAA Gboko

    Re: A Misbegotten constitution review. The exercise is a camouflage and the height of corruption by our so called representatives. It is even worse than the ramshackle Military assembled constitution foisted on hapless Nigerians. They duped us with their clever way of doing things. They are dubious representatives. They dubbed us by the way and manner they compiled their reports as people oriented. They must be charged for gross abuse of trust. Anonymous

    It is a surprise that the Prof. is expecting such a ‘grand’ performance from Ihedioha and his crowd. These are the people with entrenched interest in preserving the status quo. They that know a truly peoples constitution will end the bazaar currently going on in Abuja where a group of people who pick their noses through legislative sessions, spend a quarter of the national budget annually. True federalism? That is also poison to the predators who want to be in Abuja and set fire on their states. That is also why they desperately want autonomy for LGs as if the constitution made provisions for a fourth tier of the government. Let us watch the grand fraud as it unfolds. Regards. From Olu

    Why can’t Buhari end his selfish group and leave Mr. President alone? They will bark like hungry dogs till 2015. From Sarah Abul, Kaduna State.

    Dear Olatunji, your write-up on “A Misbegotten constitution review” is very brilliant and speaks for millions of Nigerians who are being hoodwinked by the 360 dishonorable members at NASS in Abuja. These people know nothing about what Nigerians demand from them. They are too arrogant to know. From Jack Ovuorie Emevor, Delta State.

    To me, as long as that thing is a constitutional review/ amendment, opinion sampling that led to those mentioned outcome, was not a bad idea. The only bad aspect was the politicisation of the delegate members who were handpicked to join others to make voice/hand raising votes of YES or NO. Many of the delegates were illiterates and few, literates within the literates, many knew next to nothing in the economic and social implications of what they voted for! Whether or not Emeka praised selves, fact remains that, Nigeria has a long way to move up without killing corruption and illiteracy. From Lanre Oseni

    I know that as a Yoruba, you will never see anything good in what the deputy speaker has done, even when an average Yoruba man indulges in hypocrisy. God help you. Anonymous.

     

    For Tunji Adegboyega

    Re: ‘Amaechi in the eye of the storm’ (The Nation, April 28). That ban on motor bike by Gov Amaechi which you disagreed with is what I agree with. May God not let you fall victim of ‘Okada’ (Amen). I was a victim on March 23 when I was robbed for about 38 minutes in Ibadan. Gov Amaechi has always been lucky, no matter how long. In the turbulence with his own men and people in the Presidency, I am convinced they will settle before December 13. From Lanre Oseni.

    Amaechi doesn’t know what diplomacy is; as a governor, he has access to the President, whatever their differences can be settled amicably. Anonymous.

    I do not agree that some PDP governors are good. Why? Because they run their states within the neo-colonial capitalist system which allows extreme poverty in the midst of wasteful spending by the rulers. Yes, the Amaechis are a blessing to the business world, not the poor in the land. Thanks. From Amos Ejimonye, Kaduna.

    It is very sad that you portray Governor Amaechi as a champion of democracy. Here in Rivers State, there is no democracy, as those who worship him are given political appointments or are made LG chairmen. No wonder he suspended them and they all accepted it. Less than five-kilometre road is being built for about six years (Ada George Road), very few roads are motorable and the evidence is the ‘go-slow’ we see everyday. Apart from schools, development is concentrated in Port Harcourt. From Fred.

    You are doing a fine job. Just wondering your price? A la (name withheld) and others before him (names also withheld). We are in this mess today because of two groups – NUJ and NBA. Anonymous.

    Gov Rotimi Amaechi should know that if he cannot beat them, he has to join them if the pressure is much. He should know that there are forces against his ambition; let him bow down for them and wait for another time. Governance is not a do-or-die affair. God gives power to whom He is pleased. So, he should still believe in God because it happened to him in 2007 when they said his candidature had ‘k-leg’ but at the end of the day, the judiciary restored his mandate. From Gordon Chika Nnorom

    I read your piece, ‘Boston bombings: Obama for third term’ (The Nation, April 21), you nailed it all; keep up the good work with your pen. We, Nigerian youths are waiting. From Oluwalankey.

    Re: Boston bombings: The words of American presidents, past and present, are bonds. Perhaps as at April 21 when your article was published, one of the Boston bombers had been killed and two captured/arrested, without dialoguing with criminals, unlike in Nigeria that cannot be relied upon and is not worth dying for, even in danger. Corruption remains the bane in our nation. Anonymous.

    Your article in The Nation of April 21 was a good one. President Obama has fulfilled his promise. Let’s see if Americans will call for amnesty for the bombers who shed innocent blood. Anonymous.

    I love your style of writing. Apt, easy to understand, witty and to point. Your writings inspire me. Thanks, I’ll chat soon. From Digba Adeyinka.

    Dear Tunji, I do not miss The Nation on Sunday. Your column is one of the reasons. Well done. Anonymous.

    Tunji, you don’t understand the President’s confidence in wishing that PDP captures 32 of 36 states come 2015. My wife and I were returning officers in an election. The result of the election was announced before we could hand in our field figures. Can you get the picture? Cheers. From N. Ejiofor.

    Just read your article on the Boston bombings. Don’t you think an American journalist or columnist will write on the topic without bringing politics into it? Nice one, but your conclusion was not impressive. Just hope we are not infested with PDP fever! Anonymous.

    Tunji, you are telling the ruling party, through The Nation, that votes are sacred? In Nigeria? Since when? I pity you. You must have just arrived from Mars. I earnestly pray that the opposition will not be relying on your assurances as it gets ready for 2015. Anonymous.

    Your write-up on the Boston bombings was interesting. Do not forget that Obama is a democratic leader; he was elected, not selected; he leads a nation, not a party; loves his nation, not self or cash or power; he is intelligent, not below mediocrity level that is being applauded here, he will never condone criminality, will not lie and above all, runs a government ‘of all of us’ as against ‘I’. Thanks. From Remi.

    Without checking my record, I knew you were right. Do you know what? You can’t compare Obama or his officials with our beer-loving sycophants. Most of our so-called leaders can’t measure up to the positions in other climes. From Matthew.

    I just read your piece. Vintage you. The information now is that the relevant authorities are battling to ensure that the fatally wounded second suspect in the fire fight survives. Compare this to Yusuf’s case. From Kiki, Lagos.

    Can our leaders learn something from Obama’s address on Boston bombings, where names are not mentioned of those behind the act but that the country is on top of the situation? We play politics of stomach and juicy contracts and what naturally come after that are songs of praise despite that some of our leaders are not performing …. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State.

    Re:Boston bombings: You wondered why none of the American officials with Obama smiled during his speech. And in Nigeria officials will laugh in the same circumstances: well that is because one nation is that of serious and informed people who don’t compromise on good governance while the other is a nation of ignorant fools who don’t know what good governance is all about, and this is evident in the way they continue to vote a party of mediocre in PDP. A party that could not deliver on any promises such as power generation in 14 years and is still relevant. Nigerians simply cannot be the happiest people on earth unless of course they are masochists. Anonymous.

    Thank you, Tunji, for your write-up on Sunday, April 21. As I went through your essay, I wept for Nigeria and Nigerians; as I wondered if we are on this same planet earth with Americans. I hope our rulers are watching Obama and his America. Thank you, Tunji. From Andrew Ikem, Benin City.

    Re:’ Boston bombings, Obama for third term’. Sir, there is no basis for comparison. Some have first class brain but some have what the Late Dr Solarin called a ‘Newt’. Some degrees are hardly worth the paper on which they are printed. From M.O. Ajayi, Lagos.

    Tunji, Faleye is from the south-west. Please ask our able, loving governors to come to his aid. Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Dr Kayode Fayemi should be able to help him. From Baba Ikire, Port Harcourt.

  • Why scrap NECO, UTME?

    Why scrap NECO, UTME?

    SIR: There have been reports of plans by the Federal Government to scrap, merge or reverse some ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). To go are 14-year-old National Examinations Council (NECO), the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the 37-year-old Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

    The development is said to be sequel to the recommendations in the White Paper submitted to the Presidency by the Stephen Oronsaye-led Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies..

    Quite understandable is the committee’s thought that it is time we reduced wastage caused by overlapping and duplicated functions of our ministries, departments and agencies. Oronsaye and his cohorts put the figure to be saved at about 853 billion naira between 2012 and 2015.

    The committee’s recommendation that NECO and UTME be scrapped is akin to cutting the head as an antidote for headache. At its arrival, NECO attracted praises from those who thought it would widen the choices candidates would make as to which examinations to sit in a nation long dominated by the regional West African Examinations Council (WAEC). NECO has since conducted the Senior School Certificate Examinations for which it has been issuing certificates to candidates. JAMB’s UTME had remained the only pathway to Nigerian universities until some varsities began to conduct post-UTME for admission seekers.

    Should NECO cease to be, WAEC will return as a monopoly; this will signify motion without movement. If we scrap UTME, universities will get full powers to conduct their entrance examinations with likely tendency of abuse of such freedom. The government should be wary of giving universities that have not been able to manage their finances efficiently the sole responsibility of handling admissions. Government should be mindful of the likelihood of students who do not have influential persons to pull strings for them lose out of what may become a ‘rat race’. If they do, they will end up not gaining admission to study in our universities. Then, we are back right where we are trying to depart from.

    In addition, applicants will have to criss-cross the nation in a bid to write examinations, thus being vulnerable to all manners of dangers ranging from kidnapping to road crashes. The current style that lets candidates write UTME where they please is a good one; the government should be wise enough to know.

    In all of this, the Federal Government has failed to admit that corruption – a vice it has done little or nothing to stamp out – is a crucial factor responsible for the poor management and non-performance of several of its moribund agencies. It illogically shifts the blame to some other factors such as ‘evil forces’. By planning to scrap NECO and UTME and sell such national heritage as the National Theatre in Lagos for the flimsy reason of poor management, government is not being sincere. Thus, it has successfully told the nation that effectively managing national institutions is only achievable by scrapping or selling them.

    The same government established new universities when it could barely fund existing ones. It has not chosen to scrap any. It is building a new Vice-Presidential residence when there is already a befitting one for the nation’s number two citizen.

    Rather than scrapping NECO and UTME, we believe government can explore other avenues to improving things. If truly the FG is not afraid of facing tough challenges, a good way of handling NECO, UTME, and other ‘going’ MDAs is to overhaul them.

     

    • Agboola Odesanya,

    Department of Mass Communication,

    University of Lagos, Akoka

     

  • I weep for Baga town

    SIR: I join lovers of humanity to lament the brutal and malodorous massacre of innocent civilians at Baga town. I also deprecate and publicly deplore in strong terms the killings of security forces by men who have since sold their soul to the devil.

    It beat my imagination that at a time when peace process effort had begun, few species of “gallow birds” still hide under the cover of terrorism to desecrate the sanctity of humanity. We must not forget that an attack on our security forces is indeed an attack on the state. I believe members of our forces have the right to life just as others civilians. Consequently, I think the rules of engagement do not dictate to security agents to fold their hands and watch with amusement when they are under life-threatening attack. The Baga ‘comdie noire’ would have been averted if community leaders were on the quivive and sincere. The onus is on them to alert security forces of the presence of criminally minded characters in their abode. They kept silent and allowed their land to serve as safe haven for wanted agents of doom. If they had provided the security forces with security report, a more professional approach could have been adopted to smoke them out. It is a known fact that terrorists all over the world use human shields and civilian populated areas to plan and launch attacks. So trying to fish them is usually very difficult especially during an emergency response operation.

    Let me use these medium to appeal to Nigerians regardless of religious and other social divides to support the proposed amnesty to those murderous machinators and children of Erebus who have killed and promised to kill more in a shell display of satanic braggadocio. We must never be tempted to see the amnesty approach as weakness but sign of political cum spiritual maturity. While those opposed to the amnesty should not forget the powerful mantra of Desmond Tutu which says that “if you want to make peace, you do not talk to your friends, you talk to your enemies”, for the umpteenth time I want to submit that violence does not pay and we must reject violence. The Baga ‘cause celebre’ accentuate the vantage point of John .F. Kennedy that man must put an end to war or war will put and end to man. Please let there be peace in the Land.

    • Ehi G.O.

    Benin City

  • Amnesty for Aba residents

    SIR: There was a time Aba, the Enyimba city and the commercial nerve center of Abia State was a no-go area in terms of insecurity, ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery, ritual killing and other related vices. The development brought almost to a halt all social, political, commercial and developmental activities in the town and even culminated to people relocating to other less violent areas for safety.

    However, the situation was later laid to rest by the intervention of the federal troops. Thanks to Governor Theodore Ahamefula Orji who initiated the move.

    Aba has been a wonderful and vibrant city since inception. In fact it was the envy of the neighbourhood states until after sometime when it became an eyesore as a result of infestation of dilapidated and moribund industries including myriad of deplorable roads. This pitiable situation made people’s lives unbearable and boring.

    Now normalcy has returned to the town the residents expect the rehabilitation of those moribund industries like: Aba Textile mills, Aba Metallurgical complex, Aba Glass Industry and many others including the reconstruction of the abandoned roads that was truncated as a result of the insecurity situation to continue in order to bring succor to their lives like other residents in the neighbourhood states.

    No doubt, the kidnap saga discouraged and diverted the state and federal governments attention from making the town a befitting edifice. But that notion should not linger so long.

    I therefore plead on behalf of Aba residents for amnesty as the town has been the pride of the state in particular and the nation in general. It should not be forgotten that Aba is the home of the former CAF champion, Enyimba Football Club and the site of Ariaria International market.

    President Goodluck Jonathan should help rebuild Aba

     

    • Nkemakolam Gabriel

    Port Harcourt

     

  • Governors should respond to Jibril Aminu’s diatribe

    Senator Jibril Aminu, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, is a man of unlimited candour. That candour has served him well over the years. Not minding his age, he is certain to go on speaking his mind candidly until his last breath. Last Saturday, according to the Vanguard newspaper, he took on the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, describing them as malevolent busybodies who were undermining Nigeria’s young democracy and attempting to extend their budding suzerainty to the presidency. Said he: “The governors are against all of us and the president. They have organised to stop the government from doing what is right for this country. You can see that they have organised to stop anything functioning in Nigeria without them…Governors are the ones imposing things on the rest of us. The problem with the governors is that they meet regularly and have their way by threatening the president that they would not support him for second term…Number one, they have stopped the local government from functioning. They decide what amount to give to the local governments under their control. They decide what the LGA chairmen should spend, up to the last kobo…”

    Even though in their campaign against the President Goodluck Jonathan government, the governors have received the support of a great majority of Nigerians, it is hard to ignore the senator’s salient views. But let us ignore his sweeping generalisation that the governors are against the president and the rest of us; and let us also dismiss his contention that the governors are imposing themselves on us and preventing the country from functioning. However, there is little doubt that his observation that the governors have virtually emasculated the local governments is unimpeachable, and the governors will be tongue-tied to gainsay him.

    But Aminu was not done. Hear him: “Unfortunately, there is nobody to call the governors to order because they have already swallowed the Houses of Assembly that would have served as a check on them. Today, nobody gets any job or appointment at the state level without the approval of the governors. Even election into the National Assembly is controlled by governors. So they have super powers and nothing gets to anybody except the governor approves same. Not satisfied with the powers they have already usurped, the governors now want to extend their power to the president.” Brilliantly put, but is the president, his great idol, not even more powerful and rapacious? Did Chief Olusgeun Obasanjo, for instance, not attempt to play more than God in enthroning and dethroning public officials, including governors? It would not be a bad idea if the governors were restrained, for they have sometimes acted so impetuously and imperiously that you begin to wonder whether we are in a democracy. After all, the Nigerian president has also nearly always acted like a monarch. If governors must be restrained for democracy to survive, it is even more necessary for the president to be bound with new and strong fetters if we are not to be ruined.

     

  • An appeal to First Bank

    An appeal to First Bank

    SIR: Oka-Akoko branch of First Bank Nigeria Plc came on stream in 1978.This writer was among the first callers to have eagerly opened an account with the bank; and it has remained the only bank I have patronised so far. Even though the populace is largely agrarian, it was nevertheless sited in the place because of the town’s huge population and its potential to attract a large number of customers. Happily, this has been largely achieved.

    Curiously, since its berth in the town, the bank has remained in the same old one storey building it has rented and occupied for more than three decades. It’s not as if this is bad in itself but obviously, the building is too narrow and too small. If it was considered ideal then at inception, the same thing cannot be said about it now. The clientele has grown so large that it now becomes increasingly difficult for users and customers alike to do business with ease and comfortably. The place is always choked up that it feels like one is in an oven. The space has shrunk so much so that more often than not, customers would queue up from inside and spill over onto the ever busy highway at the risk of being knocked down by daredevil “okada” riders and commercial drivers plying the road to and from Abuja. Why it’s been such a Herculean task for the FBN to have its own building is very curious and difficult to conjecture.

    Any time I visit home and in an attempt to do business with the bank, each time I’m disappointed. When the ATMs are not malfunctioning, the bank will be closing to customers as early as 12 in the afternoon. I was at the bank on Thursday and Friday, April 25 and 26 respectively when there was no one to attend to me. The reason as usual was that the servers were down and had been like this for all of one week and without any solution in sight. And to imagine that this is the only FBN bank serving the whole of Akoko currently. The nearest bank is in Owo and Emure in Ekiti, a distance of about 40 kilometres away! The one in Ikare which is close by is yet to commence operation after it was looted and vandalized by armed robbers a while ago. This is not good enough. The people of Oka and indeed the whole of Akoko deserve better treatment than they are currently getting.

    I therefore call on the FBN authorities to do something very urgent to reverse and improve on this situation by building a more befitting, enduring, bigger and spacious FBN office building in Oka and the reopening of the Ikare branch forthwith so as to lessen the people’s financial headaches as they seem to be facing now.

    • Alana Olusegun,

    Abeokuta.

  • Discipline of judges: CJN must proceed with caution

    On the day the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended Justice Charles Archibong of the Federal High Court, Lagos for sack, it also directed that Justice Abubakar Talba of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court be investigated for his widely criticised judgment on the police pension case involving an Assistant Director in the Police Pension Office, John Yusuf. Talba had, pursuant to the case presented by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), sentenced Mr. Yusuf to the maximum two years jail term provided by the law relevant to the case but gave him an option of fine on each of the three counts filed by the anti-graft agency. For a case involving the theft of about N32.8bn, a N750,000 fine was thought by many Nigerians to be unrealistic and provocative. Commentators also worried that the EFCC amended its initial case by substituting a 10-count charge with a maximum jail term of 14 years and a fine for a three-count charge carrying a maximum two years jail term or an option of fine.

    After an investigation that ran for about two months, the NJC has placed Talba on a 12-month suspension without pay for failing to exercise his discretion “judicially and judiciously” in passing the sentence on Mr. Yusuf. Hardball can himself not explain why Talba chose not to play safe by exercising his discretion to give Yusuf the two years maximum penalty provided in the law. But that is the problem with discretion; it is a subjective thing, and can be exercised one way or the other. More importantly, that is also the problem with the law; judges, especially, bend over backwards not to be influenced by popular feelings and emotions or even conventional wisdom and political correctness. How to balance the provisions of the law with the popular demands of the society is one of the eternal struggles they face.

    Perhaps in the near future it may be known why the EFCC amended the charge against Yusuf, which amendment obviously entrapped Talba. For if the first 10-count charge had been maintained, the provisions of the law would not have offered the leeway the trial judge embraced. Better than in the Archibong case, where a controversy is still raging on whether the NJC gave the sacked judge fair hearing or not, some fairness seems to have been allowed in the Talba case. However, that an opportunity was given to Talba to defend himself does not mean that justice was done. It still must be established that the NJC, under the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma-Mukhtar, was indeed juridically right to have suspended Talba.

    Notwithstanding popular feelings on the case, it is indeed difficult to rationalise the NJC’s action. To what extent can the judicial body punish judges for exercising their discretion within, not outside, the provisions of the law? There have been thousands of cases where judges exercised their discretion, but that discretion was overturned on appeal and stiffer penalties imposed. In the Yusuf case, the matter is still on appeal, and the appellate court was yet to determine one way or the other what it thinks of Talba’s judicial or judicious discretion. Not only was the case then sub judice, by suspending Talba, the NJC had effectively determined the outcome of the EFCC appeal. This is both hasty and contemptuous of the court. The Talba case could in effect endanger jurisprudence in these parts by bringing the exercise of judicial and judicious discretion under the influence, sometimes irrational, of popular opinion. It could also have subtle and deleterious effects on the independence of judges.

    It is doubtful whether this was the intended effect the NJC hoped to bring about. When she was sworn in last year as the CJN, Aloma-Mukhtar pledged to sanitise the judiciary. She deserves support. But she must recognise the extreme sensitivity of her office and therefore needs to proceed with even more caution. The Archibong sack is needlessly embroiled in controversy and appears to give the impression that petitions are encouraged against judges. Yet, judges themselves need protection. And, in fact, the CJN must reassure them that her perception of them would not be tied to popular emotions. Talba is suspended for 12 months without pay, though civil service rules indicate that suspensions should be with half pay. By all means the judiciary should be purged, but however that purge is done, it must never be to the detriment of the independence of judges in the exercise of discretion, or to the detriment of justice itself, for as a former Justice of the Supreme Court, Adolphus Karibi-Whyte, said, “…Where the exercise of discretion is vested, it follows that there is no absolute answer to the solution of the questions.”