The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • WAEC and examination leakages

    SIR: I write to draw the attention of the public and major stakeholders in the Nigerian educational sector to yet another rot that bedevils the sector and threatens our future. Examination malpractices is a monster that has defied corporate and government efforts. Another alarming dimension to the menace is the leakage of examination questions on the social media before scheduled time of writing the papers.

    As if releasing the questions to students is not criminal enough, the administrators of this social media site also provide standard answers to members, also hours before they write the examinations.

    It is obvious that the issue of leakage of questions, like a malignant cancer that defies the efforts of chemotherapists, has been a major challenge for the regional examination body. Where is, then, the academic integrity needed to earn us respect when our students present their WAEC results for international admissions?

    When will the relevant security agencies fish out these shameless crooks and make them face the full wrath of the law? Which examination body is to be more trusted and relied upon, WAEC or NECO?

    Will be authorities respond to this call to save our future before it falls over the precipice of national mediocrity? Or shrug their shoulders and sweep these allegations under the carpet? Needless to say, this portends a dangerous future for coming generations as well as our corporate existence. When students are no longer encouraged to build on foundations of academic honesty and hardwork in order to succeed, then we are already on a steep slope towards international embarrassment.

    Recently, a Nigerian graduate seeking visa for a master’s degree in a foreign country was humiliated by the immigration officer. The white officer, believing that our graduates our half-baked and knowledge – deficient, asked the Nigerian to define ‘recession’, after all, he was an economics graduate. I do not know such that is enshrined in the policy for granting visas but as long we keep giving out students the easy way to passing examinations, they will be subjected to such ridicule.

    Before the Federal Government and the National Assembly forges head to outlaw the NECO examination body, efforts should be made to restore public confidence in the West African Examination Council. We cannot afford to sacrifice our tomorrow for the selfish purposes of individuals who have no regards for academic hard work and honesty and worse still, pass the same trait to our future leaders in today’s secondary schools.

    • Joshua Oyeniyi

    Lagos

  • How ‘419’ merchants defrauded Ekiti civil servants

    SIR: At first, it was a good news, but few days later, many Ekiti civil servants were crying. A group of people who called themselves SUKA MERCHANDISE CO LTD came to Ekiti State with a programme they called PROPERTY ACQUISITION. If you bought their goods ranging from pressing iron-TV then, you’re qaulified to buy goods in credit up to brand new car and pay them instalmentally for four years.

    We all rushed their goods and when their goods finished, thousands of staff paid them without collecting thier goods in order to qualify for the instalment. They promised to bring the rest of the goods the following day. Up till today, they never returned. Millions of naira were taken away only for them to disappear. All their mobile lines were fake. Their website is, www.sukamerchandise-ng.net.

    Though, nobody can cheat Ekiti people and go freely including some civil servant who helped them.

    Felix Olajide.

    SUPEB, Ado Ekiti

  • Gubernatorial challenges in Nigeria’s democracy

    Nigerian’s current geopolitical constitution as widely known was born out of the commercial interest of the colonial British Empire. It was to advance her commercial interests that colonial Britain found it expedient to weld together the several contiguous ancient kingdoms and local empires into what became a loose British Protectorate of North and South of the River Niger Area.

    In 1914, the two entities were formally merged for administrative reasons only and became the Protectorate and Colony of Nigeria with Lugard as the First British Governor- General until 1919, when he was succeeded by other Governor – Generals.

    While there were serious agitations for autonomy of various sections of Nigeria, not just the North and Southern Colony, the colonial Britain continued to maintain a United Nigeria that was more fictional than real. That was why in the Constitutional Conference of 1953 held under the British colonial power, a federal constitution was hammered out for Nigeria, with the three regions of Nigeria – North, West and Eastern Nigeria being granted significant autonomy to develop at their pace.

    The new independent Nigeria in 1960 was built around a three regional structure, dominated by the three main tribes- Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba before a fourth region, the Mid-west Region was created through a disputed political fiat. The new Nigerian state immediately adopted a British parliamentary system of government without consideration to the ethnically diverse people made up of more than 200 ethnic groups, speaking more than 400 languages. It was clear that beyond the euphoria of independence, the post-colonial Nigeria was born with many handicaps.

    Like most newly independent nations of the 1960s, Nigeria was plagued by the need for rapid development to satisfy the promises of the independence and the yearnings of her citizens. The crisis of nation-building, weakened by the struggle for regional supremacy, suddenly reopened old wounds leading to the first military coup d’état in Nigeria on January 15, 1966.

    Between 1966 and 1979, the mode of political administration in Nigeria was purely undemocratic and leadership change was through military coups, punctuated by spells of elected government that lasted for less than four years until 1991.

    But the growing insecurity of the state, mismanagement of resources in public and private places and the spread of impunity in all forms of the lives of Nigerians, once again hastened the intervention of the military in Nigerian politics in 1993 under general Abacha. It was only a natural intervention leading to the untimely demise of General Abacha, and the emergence of a repentant military General, Abdusalam Abubakar, coupled with the growing voices of Nigerians for the elusive democracy, that finally lead to another elected government in Nigeria, under President (retired General) Olusegun Obasanjo and other governors in 1999.

    From the period of colonial rule to date, the story of Nigeria remains one of search for a constitutional and a political structure, capable of creating the unifying force that can liberate a healthy self-expression of the citizens in a collaborative way that can also galvanize the energies of the Nigerian mosaic for effective development. A truly federal democracy, capable of creating condition for effective elected leadership with good performance merely began to take root in 1999, when President Obasanjo with other 36 governors of the states came to office through the ballot box.

    Other elections have since been held in Nigeria and political power transmitted without a complete breakdown of social order. It is within this period that we can attempt any reasonable evaluation of the roles of political leaders, including governors of states, and the challenges they face.

    Role of governors

    The checkered history of Nigeria’s democratic transition and economic development have imposed on today’s Nigerian governors under democratically elected governments the hard task of quickly and forcefully addressing all imaginable problems, be they personal in nature or those formal issues affecting the general welfare of the people. The main reason for this is because the accountability of governors to the people is expected to form the primary check on behaviors of governors while in office.

    Governors are the chief executives of their state and the chief security and law officer. The role of governors and all other organs of government conferred with executive’s powers are provided under chapter 10, section 13-18 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Beyond these constitutional provision of roles for governors, it is true that the extent that each governor succeeds in performing his role depends on the quality of programs articulated, the dedicated professional team available to the governor beyond the existing bureaucracy, the applicable manifesto of the political party in power which is often non-existent, and the integrity and drive behind the total leadership.

    In essence, no successful role of a governor is without its challenges, but above all other things else, it must be anchored on the delivery of good governance, and this connotes collective participation, consensus building, accountability, transparency, responsibility, equitability, inclusiveness, and more especially. It must be built on the rule of law.

    Challenges of governance

    Two major related problems very often challenge the governors’ performance, and these include unequal availability of resources and the overdependence of many states on the purse of an over-centralized federal government. These on their own, create further challenges, which are either structural national and intrastate in nature and bear with them the collective badge of the misrepresentation of public service as sharing of the national cake, presided over by an abrasive governor if he will set enough for himself and his state. Other challenges to the role of governors in providing good governance have been further articulated to include; over centralization of the Nigerian polity, lack of economic diversification, the growing religious divide, growing human insecurity arising from civil strife and new dimension of terrorism et al.

    I admit here, that critical challenges still remain in Nigeria’s democratic governance. Yet there are concrete pointers of effective performance of governors in many of Nigerians states like Abia.

    These and many other reasons give hope that democracy will grow and endure in Nigeria, while producing the quality of leaders to advance its cause just like it happened in the United States of America.

    An extract from Governor Orji’s lecture; the role of governors in Nigeria’s Federal Democracy: meeting the challenges, delivered at Paul H. Nitze School of advanced international studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C, U.S.A.

  • Lynching the Kano bombers

    Lynching the Kano bombers

    No newspaper gave it more than a few paragraphs treatment. Two suspected Boko Haram militants riding a tricycle were believed to have detonated an improvised explosive device near the Emir of Kano’s palace on Wednesday. A mob, says the report, spotted them and gave chase. The two were apprehended and one of them was immediately lynched – burnt to death, according to the report. The other suspect was then handed over to the police, perhaps for interrogation. If he is lucky, he will have his day in court. Mob action, or more accurately jungle justice, was the last piece needed to complete the jigsaw puzzle of Nigeria’s lawless landscape. It is not known yet whether the lynching reflects the frustrations of the people of Kano (kanawa) in the fight against Boko Haram or Islamic militancy in general, or whether it is simply a demonstration of the love they have for their emir, who had been attacked once by the fundamentalists. Whatever the cause, it is significant that one of the suspects received jungle justice.

    Previously, the country had contended with mindless killings carried out by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, and to a little extent, Ansaru, a splinter group, and other adventurous but nameless killers exacting revenge on their victims. After a while, another set of killings was added to the mix, this time from security agents. It began to manifest when the well-known leader of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, was extra-judicially murdered in 2009 after he was arrested by the army and handed over to the police. After first denying the shocking act, the police eventually owned up, took the offending officers into custody and later charged them in court. The case has become tortuous and winding, further infuriating Boko Haram. In sum, killings by security agents, Boko Haram militants and the civil populace have completed the cycle of lawlessness in the country. We should be deeply worried that the ruination of our country is virtually complete.

    Nigerians were contending with, but never able to make sense of, Boko Haram’s mindless killings. Sometimes the killings seemed ethnic, and at other times they seemed sectarian or even political. In any case, no one was immune to the attacks, not Christians, not Muslims, not Yoruba, not Hausa, not Igbo; and no one was too small or too big to be murdered. The country’s anguish was then exacerbated by both the overwhelming force deployed by security agents in battling the insurgency in the north and the deliberate, cold-blooded killings they sometimes perpetrated. But while the country was still trying to prod the government into putting some order and leash on the security agents’ rules of engagement, the people themselves, as evidenced by the Kanawa, have decided to take the law into their own hands. It is not as if the Kano episode was the first manifestation of jungle justice in the country, but it is significant that this is the first time Boko Haram suspects would be caught by the people and lynched.

    From now onward, there would seem to be no further restraint in the total expression of our murderous instinct and rage. The Kano mob action may in fact mollify the suspicion of many who had in the past few years felt northerners connived at Boko Haram killings; and others may see it as an attempt to conjure a people’s deterrent against the sect. But perhaps, like security agents and Boko Haram militants, the people are also beginning to do away with the last vestige of restraint that entitles us to be described as civilised. Henceforth, we would no longer be deterred by the fear of lynching innocent people or any suspect who has not been tried in court. Once caught, rightly or wrongly, the suspect will be summarily executed. It is thus becoming crystal clear that in Nigeria we deserve one another, with everyone running the gauntlet of murderous Boko Haram militants, self-righteous security agents and vengeful mob. Every which way you turn, your goose is cooked, for no one gives you the benefit of the doubt.

  • Boston bombings: How Nigeria, US define terrorism

    Boston bombings: How Nigeria, US define terrorism

    Three people were killed and more than 170 injured in the United States on Monday when two explosions hit the finish line of the Boston Marathon. No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts. But it took less than 24 hours for President Barack Obama to describe the explosions as a terrorist act. “This was a heinous and cowardly act,” he said. “And given what we now know about what took place, the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism. Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians it is an act of terror. What we don’t yet know, however, is who carried out this attack, or why; whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual.” Even if the US president had not been quick in describing the attack as terrorism, he would still have done so in the days ahead, as he belatedly did in last year’s attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, when four Americans were killed including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.

    In contrast, after more than three years of active bombing of mainly civilian targets in the northern part of Nigeria by Boko Haram militants, the federal government, claiming poetic licence, has struggled not to describe the attacks as terrorism. Not only has it wrestled with its conscience, it has also put pressure on the US government not to categorise the attacks as terrorism. So far, the US has acceded to Nigeria’s strange request, perhaps because there is no consensus within Nigeria on how to describe the violent bombing campaigns in Nigeria. Some argue that the attacks manifest unmitigated terrorism, while others argue that once the bombings were categorised as terrorism it would stigmatise the country and inflict untold hardship on Nigerians travelling abroad. In determining how to describe the Boko Haram attacks, those who eventually won the argument and prevented the sect from being labelled terrorists gave the impression we owed more obligations to the comfort of travellers and the living than we owed to the more than 2,000 who have died and countless more who have been maimed or who can no longer smile.

    Indeed, in Nigeria, the US has found itself putting up with much more than merely wrestling with its conscience on how to categorise Boko Haram attacks. The Americans also squirm as they are made to respect, or pretend indifference to, the Nigerian government’s decision to negotiate with terror or grant amnesty to terrorists. It is of course not the business of any outsider what we do with ourselves, as long as our actions do not impinge on the wellbeing of others. So, whether we see a minor insurgency where other countries see terrorism is strictly speaking not the concern of the US.

    But as Obama reiterated clearly on Tuesday, the US has made it the cardinal principle of its domestic policy never to negotiate with terror or to prevaricate on the meaning of terrorism, for the life of every American is so valuable that the living has an unshakeable obligation to the dead to bring every felon to justice. If Nigeria chooses to negotiate with terror in exchange for peace, or to pretend that terror is not actually terror until it pleases us to consider it so, that is our business. We are at liberty to choose not to mind what the consequences of today’s appeasement will be on future generations of Nigerians, as we whimsically modify moral principles and set precedents that neither past nor present, nor yet future generations can be proud to cite or embrace

  • German Physicist and Methodist Girls , Yaba, Lagos

    SIR: German Physicist Max Planck once jested that those born in 1879 are especially pre destined for Physics. In 1879, Albert Einstein, Max Von Laue and Otto Hahn were born.They all went on to win the Nobel prize for Physics. Lisa Meitner, Planck, said “was born a small inquisitive girl in November 1878. She could not wait for her time to come.”

    Lisa Meitner was an Austrian, later Swedish, Physicist who worked on radio activity and nuclear Physics. Meitner was part of the team that discovered nuclear fission 75 years ago. According to the wikipedia, “Meitner is often mentioned as one of the most glaring examples of women’s scientific achievement overlooked by the Nobel committee”.

    Also in 1879, Methodist Girls High School (MGHS), Yaba, Lagos was founded. MGHS was to produce Ibiyinka Fuwape who emerged valedictorian at the University of Ibadan founded on November 17, 1948, exactly 70 years after the birth of Lisa Meitner whose birthdate is sometimes mistaken for November 7, 1878.

    Ibiyinka Fuwape(nee Adedokun) was to be described by the University of Ibadan Physicist, Profesor Ebun Oni (also a product of MGHS) as Africa’s first authentic woman theoretical physicist. Ibiyinka Fuwape was to be promoted to the rank of Professor in 2005, refered to as the Einstein Year, or the World Year of Physics to mark the publication of Einstein’s three” miraculous” papers of 1905.

    Einstein was a Theoretical Physicist.

    Interestingly Methodist Boys High School, Lagos was founded on March 14 1878 exacly one year before the birth of Albert Einstein.

    But the world waits for the Methodist Girls Yaba, Lagos.

    • Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth,

    London, England

  • Shema’s scorecard in print

    SIR: One of the expectations of democracy is better accountability from government and since Nigeria returned to civil rule, elected officers had been conceiving different programmes to make them accountable to the people.

    Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema recently released two volumes of brochure dubbed Katsina State Projects 2007/2010 and 2010/2012 on the development projects he embarked on for the state. The brochures were produced by the Kaduna-based Timex Communications (Nig) Ltd.

    One striking idea about the two books is that in each sector, the numbers of projects executed were stated and the cost of these projects. This, no doubt, gives room for verification of not just the physical projects but also the amount expended on the projects, which is a huge departure from the norm. Most governors in their scorecards do not state the cost of projects executed.

    The books are testimonials of his stewardship as governor of the state since 2007. Since taking over from the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua as Governor of Kastina State, Shema has devised new methods of bringing development and accountability to the people. First of this is the introduction of Community Development Committees (CDC) which he has effectively used as means of identifying and executing relevant projects in the state.

    That strategy gave various communities in the state the opportunity to determine projects, which are needed by the people. This strategy has also helped the governor to build projects that will add value to the people.

    Also, the method has enabled the governor to provide responsive leadership to the needs of the people. Through this method, Shema has demonstrated that prudent management of scare resources can bring succour to the people.

    A census of projects undertaken by state government under the leadership of Governor Shema since 2007 revealed about 30 roads which have been newly built, rehabilitated or dualised. If the completion of the Katsina Airport is added to the executed projects, it will be clear that his administration has adequately attended to the transportation and infrastructural needs of the people of Kastina State.

    By building of fertilizer blending plants in Batsari, Bakori, Safana and Maiadua, the governor has set the stage for revolution in agriculture in the state. What is more? His introduction of free education in primary and secondary schools in state has brought enlightenment to the people.

    Thus, the establishment of free education has opened the way for the spread of prosperity; he has given electricity to more than 60 towns and villages in the state. He has built the Youth Craft Centre for Entrepreneurship Development in the state. Shema’s strides in development enabled the Katsina State Universal Basic Education Commission to win laurels in 2009 and 2010.

    Katsina Motel has been upgraded to a three-star hotel with suites, chalets, rooms and a swimming pool. The motel is also equipped with an automomatic power generator. The list of accomplishment is long and inexhaustible touching every aspect of human life.

    • Hassan Sirajo

    2, Cibi Road, Kurmin Mashi, Kaduna

  • Bayelsa, AMAA and the making of pan-African brand

    Bayelsa, AMAA and the making of pan-African brand

    The term branding has evolved so intensely especially in contemporary times as a critical element in salesmanship. It simply means “to burn.” According to Wikipedia, it refers to the practice of producers burning their mark (or brand) onto their products. The concept of branding has since progressed over the last century and now we are in a world ruled by brands. Not only is branding associated with products, today we see various countries of the world strongly identified by their compelling brand posturing. This is so because we are in a world where today the consumers are obsessed with brands. Why, for instance, has Dubai today become one of the world’s favourite travel destinations? Or why is America called God’s Own Country? And you wonder why most people go through so much trouble just to take up American citizenship. The answers to the above questions lie in the branding.

    Truth is, the branding and image of a nation-state and the successful transference of this image to its exports – is just as important as what they actually produce and sell.

    The brand recognition of Dubai and USA has been so built up to a level where they now command and enjoy a critical mass of positive sentiment in public consciousness. The positive response United Arab Emirates and the United States or any other country for that matter enjoy today by virtue of the success of their brand image, stems from people’s perception of their brand. The brand image or public perception of these countries is the direct result ofa deliberate symbolic construct created within the minds of the public, consisting of all the information and expectations associated with those countries, thereby making them who they are today.

    We talk of the emergence of a new Bayelsa today all because we recognize the power of branding. Governor Seriake Dickson through the vigorous and audacious pursuit of his restoration agenda has surely left no one in doubt that indeed a new Bayelsa is possible. The emergence of a new Bayelsa has given rise to a situation whereby the welfare rights of every Bayelsan is pursued with vigour especially within the context of basic human rights (socio-economic and political).

    We also fondly talk of the emergence of a new Bayelsa especially as it concerns Governor Dickson’s visionary leadership: an ambitious template which in the last one year has ensured an impressive stewardship that satisfies the basic, broad interests of the people of Bayelsa State, creating great economic opportunities as well as making a beautiful statement in infrastructural development.

    The hosting of this year’s African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) is another eloquent testimony to Governor Dickson’s quest to give vent to the on-going branding effort to make Bayelsa the desired tourism destination in Nigeria. The attainment of this branding aspiration clearly informed the decision to host AMAA 2013 and it also informs the various policies and programmes now being implemented vigorously across the state. Surely, like the former leader of Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew, who turned around the fortunes of his country by leap-frogging Singapore from third world to first world, Dickson is also laying a solid foundation for the rapid development of Bayelsa State.

    For Bayelsa State, AMAA 2013 represents a valuable branding asset, which indeed explains the reason for its long-term stewardship and relationship with the brand. In the last eight years out of the nine years since AMAA came into existence, Bayelsa State has been an active player and supporter of Africa’s biggest and most prestigious movie awards.

    The reason why Bayelsa has been dubbed the natural home of AMAA is in itself a branding strategy. Whenever you think of AMAA, you automatically think of Bayelsa. Beyond the advantage of place branding, which evokes or conjures pleasant memories of the place given the sheer affection, warmth and love that greet every first time visitor to Bayelsa; there is also the compelling presence of the untapped beauty of our rich natural environment and culture and the many endowments.

    The Dickson administration is working hard to leverage on the successful transference of the robust brand image that comes with the hosting of AMAA in Bayelsa State to drive its rich tourism potentials, thereby attracting investment in that critical sector. The quest to use the award event as a key vehicle to drive the state’s economy through tourism is more evident when you consider the fact that AMAA as of today ranks as the most elaborate and glamorous event in the African continent attracting over 1,000 movies stars and invited guests strutting up the red carpet and with the main award ceremony televised live to over 150 million TV viewers across the African Continent and elsewhere throughout the world.

    The 2012 ceremony was watched by more than 60 million Africans across the continent.

    Realizing the huge potential of this brand vehicle and the enormously prohibitive cost that goes into hosting every AMAA event, Governor Henry Seriake Dickson took the decision to seek private sector involvement and partnership in the hosting of the 2013 edition. To this end, a fund raising dinner chaired by one of Nigeria’s leading corporate players, Alhaji Sayyu Dantata, was held April 16 at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

    The fund raising event was to help raise the stakes as well as provide a unique platform for Corporate Nigeria to come in and invest. Governor Dickson also believes the vast branding opportunities that African Movie industry through AMAA offers is a good way to promote African businesses in addition to serving as a strategic tool in the re-branding campaign of Nigeria and the African continent.

    Also conscious of the vital role of security in the entire pursuit of tourism development and the successful hosting of AMAA 2013, the state government has been tackling the menace of crimes and criminality and we can say confidently that we are winning the social re-orientation crusade with enduring law and order.

    As the state plays host to thousands of movie stars from all across the continent who will gather in Yenagoa come April 20 for the ninth edition of the African Academy Movie Awards, we make bold to say that our continued support for AMAA is hinged on our abiding faith and resolute commitment to Africa’s fast emerging movie industry and the need to celebrate excellence as well as an opportunity to showcase the best of the continent’s talents. We cannot but underscore the huge branding relationship which AMAA and Bayelsa State share as we look forward to a future bound up in limitless opportunities. This is the good news about a new Bayelsa, creating and co-creating value. The future is very bright indeed.

    • Iworiso-Markson, Chief Press Secretary to Bayelsa State Governor sent this piece from Yenagoa.

  • Proposed amnesty for terrorists

    Proposed amnesty for terrorists

    SIR: I have monitored the declining government of Goodluck Jonathan with a sense of dread, horror and prayers for a change. I have also criticized the woeful economic and security measures by the government yet hoping for the best result at the end of the day. It is to my deepest chagrin and utter dismay that the government has shown its weakness/reluctance to adequately protect lives through the ultimate act of political abuse of the legal terms ‘amnesty”

    Do they (Nigerian government) even know the full legal ramification of amnesty? For the sake of clarity, “amnesty is a pardon extended by the government to a group or class of persons, usually for a political offence; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of persons who are subject to trial but have not yet been convicted. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offence”. Countless lives have been lost, properties destroyed, economic development halted, children rendered orphans and the government has the effrontery to term it a political offence? This is a crime against humanity! Their actions go beyond greed and selfishness to pure wickedness. What amnesty can you possibly offer a man whose beliefs are rooted in matters of faith and he is ready to die alongside that belief?

    How can you reach a state of pardon with a faceless person? What of the ties to other terrorist organizations? How do you hope to handle and sever it? Has the government considered these questions?

    There is more to this amnesty bid than the government is letting on and if the rumours of political settlement for a second tenure is to be believed, then not only am I hugely disappointed, I call for our collective intervention to stop this travesty! I watched the video, saw the bodies and felt the heartfelt cries of the families, how can the government turn a blind eye to such heart breaking plight?

    For the sake of families that have been emotionally paralyzed, innocent lives, dreams that have been cut short and economic retardation, I ask the government to abandon this weak attempt and concentrate on protecting lives while bringing the culprits to face the full brunt of the law because that is what justice is all about. Amnesty programs are expensive, the money can be channelled to victims, their families, and development

    In the alternative, I call on the intervention of the legislative arm to put up laws for conditions to the grant of amnesty and the judiciary to sanction the application of the privilege. If this prerogative is left in the hands of the executive alone, the abuse can lead to more anarchy, chaos and distraction from economic progress.

    David Smock rightly noted, “The downside of it is the impunity that it implies; that people can commit atrocities and say that they will only stop if they are given amnesty…”

     

    • Jennifer Heaven Mogekwu Mike

    University of Exeter UK.

  • Tilting the scale of judicial reforms

    Tilting the scale of judicial reforms

    SIR: Recent occurrences in the Nigerian judiciary under the current Chief Justice of Nigeria has confirmed in a big way that it may no longer be business as usual. Since the assumption of office as Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Hon. Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, GCON has demonstrated the will to restore public confidence in the judicial arm. The loss of public confidence in the courts has exposed the judicial system to public distrust, thus the tendency to view every judicial decision as a product of some ‘behind the scene’ orchestrations, no matter how legally justifiable such decision may be.

    The height of public distrust in the system was once again manifested a couple of months ago given the public deprecation that greeted the judgment of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Abuja in the John Yakubu Yusuf police pension fraud case. This was despite the fact that the decision had a legal basis.

    For a judicial system that is so engrossed in a crisis of integrity, the current reforms being carried out by the NJC under Justice Mukhtar’s chairmanship is to say the least commendable. The suspension of two High Court judges for judicial misconduct has without doubt sent signals to the appropriate quarters that things may not continue to be as they were.

    However, the ends of the reforms would be defeated if the big stick of the NJC is only wielded against those judicial officers that are found wanting in the discharge of their duties. To encourage judicial purity, the NJC must also introduce a means of rewarding judges that have displayed exceptional judicial honesty and bravery. Hunting those who have sinned while losing sight of the saints would only tilt the scale of reformation towards one side than the other.

    High Court judges in this country who have demonstrated a very high sense of judicial gallantry in the discharge of their duties should be rewarded. Such judges should not be allowed to rot on the High Court Bench. The much desired sanity in the judicial system could only be attained when honest and brave judges are allowed to climb the judicial ladder to the peak.

    Specifically, Hon. Justice J.O.K Oyewole of the High Court of Lagos State is an easy reference. The learned judge who was said to have been tipped for elevation to the Court of Appeal on account of his bravery during the Bode George case had since remained on the High Court bench, nobody seems to talk about that.

    The efforts at sanitising the judiciary are commendable but the war against judicial ungodliness could only be won if judicial courage and honesty is also rewarded. This is the only means by which the scale could be balanced.

     

    • Vincent Adodo, Esq.

    Ilorin, Kwara State