The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • The Oyekanmi murder

    The Oyekanmi murder

    • Ogun must review the security structure that made the killing possible 

    Inevitably, the tragedy triggered several questions, particularly whether it could have been prevented. Taiwo Oyekanmi, an accountant and Director of Finance and Accounts in the office of Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, was fatally shot by unidentified armed robbers in Abeokuta, Ogun State. He was 51, and was killed four days after he celebrated his birthday.

    The commissioner of police in the state, Abiodun Alamutu, said Oyekanmi was in “a homemade bullion van” with a driver and one other person, and they were returning to their office from a Fidelity Bank branch where they had gone to withdraw money when the armed robbery happened on November 29. “They were supposed to have a police escort, but for certain reasons, the person (policeman) was permitted to travel to attend to some issues,” he stated.

    According to another version, the mobile police officer, Inspector Rasheed Adegbite, who was supposed to be with the bullion van, had travelled to Igbo-Ora in Oyo State the previous day, without permission. The police said he had been arrested for investigation.

    It is unclear what the police chief meant by “a homemade bullion van,” but the description suggests that the vehicle was not a standard purpose-built bullion van. Indeed, the victim’s elder brother observed in an interview: “Will you call what my brother was in a bullion van or contraption? There was no risk assessment whatsoever.”

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    The police boss said the armed robbers’ vehicle had blocked the bullion van, and “five occupants of the vehicle came down, shot at the director and from their vehicle, they brought out a sledgehammer to force the receptacle where the money was kept open and they left with the money.”

    Oyekanmi, the only fatality, was said to have withdrawn N97.335m from Fidelity Bank and N15m from Sterling Bank. The bullion van was said to be carrying N112.335m at the time of the attack.

    Why did he withdraw such a sum? Why was their vehicle transporting such a sum? In these days of increasingly cashless transactions, why was there such an apparently overriding need for cash?  

    The police suspect the robbery was “an in-house (thing)” because the robbers knew they would need a sledgehammer to break the receptacle where the money was kept. “They must have had information that he was going to take a large amount of money from the bank,” Alamutu said.

    According to him, the driver claimed to have trailed the robbers’ vehicle up to a point “where he lost sight of them.” It was after this that he took the shot director to a hospital. This is a strange narrative. What was the point of chasing the attackers unprotected? Normally, he should have tried to save the director’s life first.   

    The armed robbery exposed poor security arrangements. It is curious that the absent police escort was not replaced by another guard, and those in the bullion van were without protection.

    Apart from this, it is puzzling that there was only one guard attached to the bullion van, who happened to be unavailable on the day. If he was available, or if someone else had replaced him, would one guard have been able to protect the occupants of the bullion van from the said five attackers?  

    Such an approach to security is questionable and condemnable. It should be reviewed. Governor Abiodun, in a statement issued by his aide, described Oyekanmi as “a dedicated, truthful, and diligent official,” adding, “It is indeed a colossal loss for our administration.” From the look of things, the administration did not do enough to protect him, and possibly prevent the tragedy.

    The Ogun State government has announced a reward of N50m for any information that could lead to the arrest of the killers. The state government and the police must ensure that the armed robbers who killed Oyekanmi do not get away with armed robbery and murder.

  • LUTH as metaphor

    LUTH as metaphor

    • ‘Japa’: FG must address the issue of ward shutdowns in our hospitals

    Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos, is Nigeria’s premier health training institution. So, the news that it has shut down five wards with 150 beds should worry any Nigerian. It is enough to make the House of Representatives Committee on Health raise the alarm on the dangers of ‘Japa’ syndrome to our healthcare.

    Chairman of the committee, Dr Amos Magaji, who made the disclosure during an oversight visit to the hospital decried the situation and asked the Federal Government to do something about it.

    If this report in the ‘Vanguard’ of November 29 was demoralising, more devastating was that in ‘The Guardian’ of the next day, headlined: “More teaching hospitals risk shutdown over exodus of medical professionals”. This time it was the president of Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Dele Abdullahi, who raised the alarm. 

    But it would seem ‘Japa’ is only one of the most serious challenges facing our hospitals. It seems there are other issues to contend with, going by the allegation by the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) that chief executive officers of some federal hospitals divert drug funds. This much was contained in a communique issued after the 96th annual national conference of the PSN titled “Jewel City 2023”.

    “The conference called for the probe of corruption against some of the CEOs of the FHIs, whom empirical data confirms indulge in the procurement of drugs through their proxies, in addition to diverting drug revolving funds accruable to identifiable bank accounts that are not official accounts in their institutions”.

    This is weighty. Indeed, but for the fact that the allegation is coming from the PSN, we would have dismissed it as one of those fairy tales just to smear the reputation of the chief executives. It sounds incredible that people who have spent years in practice before attaining the position of chief executive officers would be involved in such a shameful practice. Diversion of drug funds, apart from being a crime, also runs counter to the Hippocratic oath taken by doctors that they will not engage in acts that can harm or hurt patients; and that they will live an exemplary personal and professional life.

    We agree with the pharmacists that the government should investigate this allegation. It is unimaginable that even the little efforts of government to get drugs to the needy are being sabotaged by people who should be in the vanguard of their wellbeing, and those found guilty should be prosecuted.

    But, amidst this seemingly gloomy scenario is the good news that the  Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria 

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    (MDCN) has struck a deal with the Federal Government on how to tame the ‘Japa’ syndrome. MDCN is the body that regulates the practice of medicine, dentistry and alternative medicine in Nigeria.

    “We are trying our best. That is why we are collaborating with the present ministers so that we can actually increase the number of doctors and other healthcare workers we train,” MDCN’s Registrar, Dr. Tajudeen Sanusi, said.

    And this without lowering standards. This would be a good idea. But we are not sure the MDCN’s assumption about having more doctors that would stay after increasing the number of those to train will always hold. 

    According to him, “We have observed that if you trained 10 before, out of the number, four or five will try to go out and you are left with five. If you now train 20, possibly seven or eight will go out and then you have about 12 remaining, it will improve the healthcare delivery system in the country.” 

    But, this is only a postulation based on current experience. It may not always be so. That is why the Federal Government should deal holistically with the situation. What is needed is an improvement in the salary and condition of service of the doctors and other health workers, as well as provision of  state-of-the-art facilities in our hospitals, at least for a start, in the so-called centres of excellence.

  • Coping with COP28

    Coping with COP28

    • Controversy over delegates obscured the higher matters of our environmental needs

    It was not supposed to be a controversy, but the world’s top environmental conference made headlines for the wrong reasons: Nigeria posted one of the highest numbers of delegates. It was framed as another chapter of extravagance and abuse of event, this time by the Bola Tinubu administration.

    The media, including online, fumed about a country sending 1,411 persons as official delegates. This storm lingered until Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information, spelt out the number of officials and put it at 422, defusing some of the uproar.

    While we may caper about the official number, the Federal Government should have responded early to stop the distractions. Even then the minister did not explain why 422 persons travelled to the United Arab Emirates on the nation’s purse. The absence of explanation should have let the nation focus on the more important matter the administration was doing there: that Nigeria is an environmental emergency and we need to be as present in the world conference as any nation on earth, including China.

    Last year, the nation was a cynosure of nature’s rage. About 33 out of the 36 states in the country were under water, with floods hitting homes, businesses and treasures of the society from north to south. It was a sorry sight as persons lived on water and died under water, without electricity, shelter, food. Millions of our fellow citizens were displaced, and many out of jobs. Those who had worked all their lives to create a routine subsistence had to start over again. Whole towns, villages, cottages fell under water with the swaths turning their inhabitants into migrants without destination. Lokoja, a city in the middle of the country, became a watery grave, and towns in Bayelsa State were more water than land, especially in the coastal areas. Even Lagos State, with all its safeguards and anticipations, had some troubles along the coastline where some residents refused to move ahead of warnings.

    According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria lost between $3.79 billion and $9.12 billion. That is a huge chunk of our patrimony lost to nature’s fury. Hence, the nation, out of love for criticism has moved away from the issue burning us the most. The whole world is lamenting the melting of the ice and surge of oceans and the heat, and how humanity may be heading to the apocalypse of drought, thirst and immersion, a paradox of nature’s nightmare. 

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    COP28 is the world’s prime moment in environmental dialogue and Nigeria is Africa’s big sovereign voice in the matter. A hefty presence is justified, but the minister needed to do a better job of explaining the numbers.

    It was even an issue during the presidential campaign when, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) torch bearer, Asiwaju BolaTinubu, advanced the metaphor of the dynamics of the

     holy communion and the church rat, and led to cries of blasphemy among those who wanted to exploit it for a partisan score.

    Another issue was the power deal between the Federal Government and Siemens, with leaders of both Nigeria and Germany signing it. Power is an important part of the environment. Power is one of Nigeria’s great plagues. So, the power deal, whose workings began with the Buhari administration, should not take a backseat to the squabbles over attendees. It was a pivotal moment if our power challenges become history, and it would mean that Nigerians were fumbling over numbers when we were supposed to embrace the light.

    The United Arab Emirates also announced a plan to infuse resources to help this country tame its environmental problems. Added to that, President Tinubu unveiled 100 energy-efficient buses in a symbolic nod to the future of transportation.

  • A welcome order

    A welcome order

    • Lockdown: Humanitarian affairs ministry must make public what it spent on school feeding 

    Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Dr. Beta Edu, has since her inauguration been  quite visible in the media explaining how her ministry intends to lift 133 million people out of multi-dimensional poverty. However, on various occasions she had been faced with a barrage of questions. Many want to find out the magic wand she intends to wave seeing that ‘lifting’ people out of poverty needs more than good intentions. The strategies must be as realistic as it needs deeply thought-out policies and execution strategies. 

    There must also be trust on the part of the beneficiaries of the humanitarian efforts. That this seemed not to be the case led to a situation where some non-governmental groups took the ministry to court for not attending to their requests made under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

    No doubt the road to poverty is a long one just as the road to recovery is not a hundred metre dash. 

    Perhaps no administration in the country had driven more people into poverty more than the last administration of Muhammadu Buhari. This was in spite of the novel creation of the humanitarian and poverty alleviation ministry that had Dr. Sadiya Umar Farouq as the minister.

    However, despite more than N3.5 trillion spent by the former administration, most of the social intervention schemes failed to make any noticeable impact; more people in fact fell into the poverty bracket and Nigeria earned the unenviable tag of the poverty capital of the world. 

    The National Social Intervention Programmes (NSIP)include the School Feeding programme, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), N-Power, National Social Intervention  Programme (NSIP), National Social Safety Net Programme (NASSCO), and the National Cash Transfer Programme (N-CTP) otherwise called ‘Trader Moni’.

    From all indications, analysts believe these programmes were high on names but lacking in efficiency and valid outcomes. There were allegations of high-level corruption and inefficiency on the part of the drivers of those programmes. The COVID-19 impact and the badly handled school-feeding and palliative-sharing scandals across the country worried industry watchers who felt that that was a human error of incompetence and corruption. Unfortunately not much was done by the then government to either prosecute suspects or remedy the situation, hence the NGOs raised the alarm and even dragged the ministry to court. Justice Nkeonye Maha of the Abuja Federal High Court subsequently gave the order that Dr. Edu  should release details of N535.8million of the schoolchildren feeding fund during the COVID-19 lockdown. This couldn’t have come at a better time. Justice Maha held that the minister’s failure to respond to the groups’ letter dated August 6, 2020, or even give reasons for its refusal to respond to the request as prescribed under the FOI Act contravened the provisions of Section 4(a) and (b) of the act.

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    This judicial intervention is a welcome development, especially given the furore the issue had generated across the country. People had averred that the programme was dead on arrival as it seemed poorly thought-out and in real terms would always be a logistical nightmare even for a Federal Government. A better planned process would have seen the local governments in a better position to coordinate such programmes in a country as populous as Nigeria. In a country with very opaque bureaucratic system, it seems to have been a disaster foretold.

    We commend the judicial order, as accountability by government and its agencies is the soul of governance in viable economies. We just hope too that the order would be obeyed by the present government so as to reassure the people that they would not go the same route as their predecessors. The rule of law in all instances must be paramount. This should also serve as a lesson to the government to re-evaluate the programme, which is not a novelty as most developed countries have the school feeding programme that is seen as a way of nurturing the children, especially in underserved communities.

    The school feeding programme in a Nigeria with high poverty index is a necessity as most parents can no longer afford to feed their children properly and in some cases the feeding in school serves as an incentive to send the kids to school. This is especially valuable in a country with the highest out-of-school children at more than 20 million. 

    Accountability in government is a sine qua non to confidence-building in a country with high level trust deficit in all tiers of government by the citizens. We commend the NGOs for pushing this through the courts instead of employing non-legal means that might do more damage. The trillion naira investment in the whole programme must be properly probed too.

  • Gruesome murder

    Gruesome murder

    • Community leader buried alive by captors after collecting part-ransom

    It was a death most gruesome, bizarre and illustrative of inexplicable sadism and wanton cruelty on the part of the alleged murderers. A former Chairman of the Community Development Committee (CDC) in Kereken-Boue community, Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, who had been abducted by a cult gang in the state, was reportedly buried alive by his captors. They killed the victim  in this painful manner despite collecting N200, 000 from his wife as part-payment for the ransom demanded. 

    Even though this grim deed cannot be undone and the dead restored to life, the arrest of the perpetrators of the crime offers at least some hope that justice would be done in the matter.

    Briefing newsmen on the issue in his maiden press conference as  Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, Mr Tunji Disu, said “After concluding intense surveillance on November 15, in separate crack operations, men of the Anti-Cultism Unit arrested Baridapdo Igra, 33, and Elvis Gordon, 26, two suspected armed robbers and kidnappers in Kereken-Boue community of Khana Local Government Area”. The arrested duo, according to Mr Disu, not only confessed to being the leaders of ‘Iceland and Degbam’ cult groups in Khana LGA, they also admitted responsibility for the murder of the Kereken-Boue CDC former Chairman. They also confessed to their involvement in the murder of nine other persons between 2021 and 2023 in different acts of violence for which the community was partially evacuated within the period.

    Although cult gang activities, including violent clashes and barbaric killings occur in different states across the country, the incidence of this form of crime is particularly prevalent and consistently recurrent in Rivers State in the Niger Delta region. On April 20, for instance, it was reported that clashes between two suspected factions of ‘D12 and Blackies’ rival cult groups in the Diobu axis of Port Harcourt resulted in the death of a man in his twenties popularly known as Asari.

    In September, a dreaded cult group in Ahoada LGA of Rivers State was responsible for the murder of the late Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Superintendent of Police Bako Angbashim, in the Odeimude community of the local government. The same cult gang led by one Gift Okpara, also known as ‘2baba’ was allegedly implicated in the killing, barely two months after Angbashim’s murder, of five persons in Odiemerenyi community, reportedly for providing information to the police on the hideout of the gang.

    It was also in September that a young man was reported to have been beaten to death by hoodlums suspected to be members of a rival cult gang in Rumuodomaya community in Obio/Akpor LGA. Another young man was allegedly killed by gunmen suspected to be cultists at Mile 1 in Diobu community of Port Harcourt Local Government in October. A report by the Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND), a Non- Governmental Organisation, estimated that at least 202 persons had been killed as a result of cult and gang violence in Rivers State between January 2021 and September 2023. According to the report, Ahoada LGA had the highest number of incidents with 63 deaths, followed closely by Port Harcourt LGA with 60. Thirty persons were reported to have died near the Bayelsa National Force; nine were killed in Lewe District of Gokana LGA while eight deaths were recorded in Bonny and adjoining local governments.

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    Noting a rise in cult activities in the state, especially in the wake of the recent attempt by some members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to impeach the governor, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, the PIND report stated that “cult clashes and political violence are mutually reinforcing – cult gangs are often funded and used by politicians to attack opponents and influence election results”. It is probably because of this link between powerful political actors and cult gang criminality that those apprehended for these acts of violence are hardly ever brought to book.

    Before the posting of Disu to Rivers State as commissioner of police, there had been widespread disenchantment with the performance of the state police command in checking cult violence in the state. For instance, the Concerned Ekpeye People for Peace and Development had decried the state of insecurity in Ekpeyeland and expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the former police  commissioner, Mr Emeka Polycarp. Disu has commendably hit the ground running with the arrest of the cult gangsters responsible for the murder of the former Kerenke-Boue CDC chairman. The challenge now is to ensure the swift and efficient prosecution of the accused and all those involved in similar cases so that the current rampaging cultism can be decisively curtailed in the state.

  • Horrid error 

    Horrid error 

    • Army’s killing of Kaduna worshippers is security mission grossly misdirected

    A sorry matter soured the nation. More than 80 villagers were killed penultimate Sunday in a drone attack by the Nigerian Army personnel aimed at terrorists but delivered on worshippers. The tragedy, which occurred at Tudun Biri village in Igabi council area of Kaduna State, has left the nation seeking answers. Why, many are asking, could the carnage of innocents not have been avoided?

    The army conducted what was said to be a routine airstrike targeted at terrorists and bandits that had been infesting the area. Only that when the strike hit home, it was against harmless religious adherents celebrating the Maulud. New reports say some Christians in the area also lost their lives in the inferno. Neither the military nor the Kaduna State government provided the official casualty toll. But the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in a statement, said 85 bodies, including those of children, women and the elderly had been buried while search was underway for additional victims. The agency added that at least 66 people were injured. Community sources estimated the death toll at far in excess of 100.

    Following the mishap, it was initially thought the bomb was dropped by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), but the force disclaimed the operation. NAF spokesman, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said in a statement: “The news making the rounds that Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft accidentally killed innocent civilians in Kaduna is false. Please be informed that the NAF has not carried out any air operations within Kaduna State and environs in the last 24 hours. Also note that the NAF is not the only organisation operating combat armed drones in the Northwestern region of Nigeria.”

    However, the army has since owned up to the incident, which it regretted as an error. During a visit to the affected community last week Tuesday, Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, apologised for the drone strike, saying it was carried out “based on observation of some tactics usually employed by bandits; unfortunately, the reports we got revealed it was innocent civilians the drone conducted a strike on.”

    Director of Defence Media Operations, Major-Gen. Edward Buba, gave a more detailed narrative in a statement, saying the strike was based on credible intelligence about the presence of terrorists in the area. According to him, a Nigerian Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detachment had that Sunday night observed suspicious movement of terrorists around the community, known to be a terrorist-infested area of Kaduna State. Aerial surveillance, he said, captured movement of groups of persons akin to terrorists’ tactics and modus operandi, and the observed advance of the terrorists posed a threat to key infrastructure within reach. That threat, Buba explained, was eliminated to prevent the terrorists attacking innocent civilians.

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    The defence spokesman said: “It should be noted that terrorists often deliberately embed themselves within civilian population centres for civilians to bear the consequences of their atrocities. Nevertheless, the Nigerian military does its best at all times to distinguish between civilians and terrorists. The military views every civilian death in the course of operations as a tragedy; as such tragedies are needless and unwanted, which causes the armed forces to take extensive measures to avoid them.” He explained that one such measure taken by the military was to continually sensitise communities “to always alert troops of their activities, particularly when such a community is known to be infested with terrorists and their sympathisers. These instructions are intended at enabling the military to distinguish between friendly and untoward activities.” It was not clear if Buba was thereby saying Tudun Biri village residents did not pre-notify the army of their outing that fateful Sunday.

    For his part, army spokesperson, Brigadier-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said service personnel had been on “aerial patrol when they observed a group of people and wrongly analysed and misinterpreted their pattern of activities to be similar to that of bandits,” leading them to carry out the drone strike. He added in a statement that the general area had before now been subjected to frequent attacks by terrorists operating in the area, hence the aerial patrol.

    The military are, no doubt, rendering great service in securing the country against the menace of terrorists. In the past year, we have witnessed the dislodgement, arrests and evisceration of their goons and camps. We are supposed to show gratitude. But the Tudun Biri incident is another cue for a reality check. It is curious that the strike aimed at terrorists but ended up killing scores of harmless villagers, without confirmed indication of terrorists being among the casualties. This suggests there was a terribly wrong lead but it has been perceived in some quarters as wrongheaded. It may have arisen from faulty intelligence. We need an independent analysis of the data that informed such an attack, and expert views untainted by partisan interest are required as to whether the data justified that action or whether the decision came out of incompetence, impetuosity or malice. We need to know the facts. How, for instance, did the intelligence operate and did not see the presence of women and children, who apparently made the curious body count? The huge death toll also evidenced lack of precision and indiscriminate target-aiming by army personnel. 

    Could it be there was a challenge with the mastery of the technology used for the operation? If so, it implies carelessness at the highest level. How can a technologically untrained or immature person handle a matter of life and death? How come no child was seen? Was there not supposed to be layers of checks before unleashing weapons in a society in which innocents mix with the guilty? Traditionally, the NAF handled aerial dimension of security missions, but the army now has an air wing for its operations. Are the personnel of this wing sufficiently stewed in handling aerial missions, or is there a need for tutelage by the NAF to cultivate precision skills? Did institutional arrogance play a part in a lack of synergy with the NAF before carrying out the assault?

    We also condemn some persons who have turned it into a case of religious quarrel. Some have sullied it into a north-and-south matter and Christian versus Muslim fisticuff. Some clerics have lost their pious detachment and uttered incendiary rhetoric, trying to stoke citizens against citizens. Let us not imply without evidence that the army attacked out of ill-will. The same forces have been defending the communities with bandits casting long shadows of death and fear on innocent lives. They deserve a benefit of the doubt while the country comes to the truth about it. The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, has visited the community and families and assured of the government’s sincerity to find out the truth and bring a measure of restitution to affected families. We know that no amount of restitution can replace a human being and that is why we must not repeat that disaster even as we seek the truth.

     We appreciate the symbolism of lawmakers volunteering their salaries, even if the public sees it as cynical sacrifice for a tribe that earns bountifully at the expense of the people. The lawmakers more importantly need to help in seeking a closure on this matter by investing time in the investigation.

    President Bola Tinubu has ordered a thorough investigation. It is expected that the findings will be made public when the probe is completed and lessons drawn therefrom diligently applied. The Tudun Biri mishap is one too many and everything must be done to prevent a reoccurrence. 

  • Enough is enough

    Enough is enough

    • Supreme Court slams N40m cost on Ozekhome

    The Supreme Court appears to have exhausted its patience over obviously frivolous and vexatious petitions which clog the court’s docket, and deprive other litigants expeditious hearing of their cases before the apex court. In a rare show of anger, the court fined a legal practitioner, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, N40 million personally, in favour of the respondents, for bringing before it an application which it described as frivolous and vexatious.

    Justice Tijanni Abubakar who read the lead judgment said: “This is a calculated attempt to re-litigate the matter. The application is frivolous and vexatious. It is totally lacking in merit. Counsel for the applicant is hereby ordered to pay N40m to the listed parties in the matter.” 

    Before the judgment, Justice Inyang Okoro, quizzed the senior advocate over why he brought an election-related matter, nearly four years after, whereas the extant laws grant the apex court a 60-day window from the judgment of the Court of Appeal, to hear such matter.

    This newspaper has severally canvassed for such humongous costs against litigants and their lawyers who make a joke of the judicial process by filing frivolous and vexatious applications before the courts. As we have argued, such applications not only denigrate the integrity of the particular court, but the entire judicial process. They also deny other litigants with more important cases expeditious hearing of their cases. Even to a layman, it is ridiculous that a learned mind would canvass for a hearing of an application to bring back a candidate sacked by the same court nearly four years ago.

    The senior advocate had brought the application to argue that Governor Hope Uzodimma who has almost completed his tenure should be sacked, and Emeka Ihedioha, earlier sacked by the Supreme Court, be returned, to serve his tenure as governor. As Justice Okoro correctly posited, those who bring such frivolous applications before the court usually join the public to lampoon the courts when such applications are allowed by the courts. 

    The trending social media criticisms over election petitions justify the lamentation of the justices. Even lawyers join ordinary citizens not learned in law to ridicule judgments, on the premise that they are against public opinion.  

    Read ALso: NJC clears 11 Justices for Supreme Court

    Justice Okoro said: “In the atmosphere we are in now, we will not entertain speculative matters.  You must come to this court with a genuine matter. Counsel knows the truth before any matter is brought to court. Recently people bring in impossible matters to the judiciary then they go to social media to denigrate the court.  You know we do not have jurisdiction. This is an election-related matter; you know the 60 days given to us by the constitution had elapsed.” 

    Despite the lead, the senior advocate continued to seek a consequential order of the court, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue Ihedioha a certificate of return as the validly elected governor of Imo State, for the election held in 2019. According to media reports, the court slammed the SAN with the N40 million when he insisted that his application was meritorious. 

    We join our voice to ask lawyers to temper their quest to satisfy the whims and caprices of their clients at the expense of the judiciary.

    The example set by the Supreme Court in Ihedioha v Uzodimma should guide the lower courts when legal practitioners consent to their client’s request and bring forward applications that will make a mockery of the judicial process. While we do not support the stifling of jurisprudential enquiry, we join the justices of the Supreme Court to frown at manifestly frivolous and vexatious applications. Enough of such shenanigans.

  • Renewed Hope

    Renewed Hope

    • We hope Budget 2024 will live up to its name

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu November 29 presented the first appropriation bill of his administration, (the 2024 Budget), to a joint session of the National Assembly. Christened “The Renewed Hope Budget”, it seeks, according to the president, “to achieve job-rich economic growth, macro-economic stability, a better investment environment, enhanced human capital development, as well as poverty reduction and greater access to social security.”

    Among its key highlights are, an aggregate expenditure of N27.50 trillion, the highest ever; although some 10.8 percent higher than the N24.82 trillion Budget 2023, it actually assumes a much lower deficit of N9.18 trillion – a 33.5% reduction compared to the 2023 budget deficit of N13.78 trillion.  And whereas last year’s revenue was estimated at N11.05 trillion, next year, the Federal Government is targeting a rather ambitious figure of N18.32 trillion.

    On the deficit, the president says that this “will be financed by new borrowings totalling N7.83 trillion, N298.49 billion from privatisation proceeds and N1.05 trillion drawdown on multilateral and bilateral loans secured for specific development projects.”

    Ironically, whereas the government plans to spend N8.25 trillion (30 percent) of the budget on debt servicing, the total capital expenditure is a comparatively modest N8.7 trillion. The key top spenders sectorally are defence and security, N3.25 trillion, (12 percent), education, N2.18 trillion (7.9 %), and health N1.33 trillion (five percent).

    The budget’s key assumptions are $78 oil price, 1.78 million (bpd) crude oil production, naira/dollar exchange rate of N750, inflation rate of 21.40% and a GDP growth rate of 3.76 percent. 

    Although overtly ambitious in several respects, the budget could in equal measure be described as pragmatic. Thanks to a new framework of security in the Niger Delta, we have seen a steady ramp up in oil production to give room for optimism. So is a discernible resolve to raise tax revenues through the Taiwo Oyedele-led Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms. These two separate but related developments cannot but speak to a clear-headed determination to address what successive administrations had tended to pass off as an ‘intractable’ revenue question. 

    Problems of course remain. One such is the ballooning debt – and with it the burden of servicing it. At nearly a third of the total proposed outlay, it remains a major source of concern. As for unemployment, it remains intolerably high, particularly among youths. Currently, inflation is more or less on the rampage at around 27 percent, and with it across-the-board hikes in food prices, all of which, together, continue to make life very difficult for the citizens. Wasteful expenditures in government of course remain a big issue; so is corruption. But it seems to us that the biggest of them all is the cycle of poor implementation that has tended to make the budgets over the years a farce. The times are such that call for bold and imaginative leadership.

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    While the prognoses cannot be anything but one of a difficult year ahead, Nigerians nonetheless expect the budget to live up to its promise to renew their hope.

    And just as we are under no illusions that Budget 2024 or any budget for that matter can solve all of the problems in any given year, Nigerians surely expect that the Tinubu administration will, in the course of the current budget cycle, finally settle some of those age-long problems which have hobbled the nation’s developmental march.

     Top on the list is the fuel import albatross, which not only continues to sap the economy but has fostered the culture of rent and associated corruption. In line with the administration’s promise, we expect the current fuel import regime to terminate in 2024 with the planned re-streaming of the refineries in Port Harcourt later this month, Kaduna later in the coming year, and of course, the coming of the Dangote refinery any time from now. 

    The same applies to the on-going power projects across the country; Nigerians cannot wait to see them come on stream if only to terminate the reign of nightmare foisted by a cartel of clueless operators. Needless to state that the administration’s delivery on these would have a direct bearing on the budget performance. 

    And, while much has been said about the budget as not matching our stature as the ‘African Giant’, a sure way to make the budget relevant is to ensure that Nigerians have value for every kobo of their money – as appropriated.

  • Seize their allocations?  

    Seize their allocations?  

    Senators say Federal Govt should not release funds to LGs whose officials are not democratically elected

    Impunity reigns at all levels of governance in Nigeria. No branch or level of government is exempted, as express provisions of the 1999 constitution are disregarded and replaced with personal preferences of leaders.

    One area that has stuck out as a sore thumb since inception of the Fourth Republic is the running of local government areas that are regarded as the third tier of government in the country. Whereas the grundnorm states that the acceptable form of administering the closest tier of government to the people shall be by democratically elected officials, governors all too often whimsically dissolve the councils to replace them with cronies, allies and family members.

    The latest example is alleged dissolution of elected council officials in Benue State. Apparently dissatisfied with the fact that those elected to run the councils under his predecessor, Mr. Sam Ortom, were all members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Hyacinth Alia of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was said to have set the machinery for removing them in motion as soon as he took over the machinery of government.

    Speaking on a motion he sponsored at the Senate to empower the Federal Government to withhold allocations due to such local governments, Senator Abba Moro who represents Benue South said flagrant disregard for law, order and protocols by governors should no longer be tolerated. The Senate Minority Leader, supported by former governor of Edo State, Senator Adams Oshiomole, and the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, both of the APC, want statutory revenue allocations to the Benue local governments being run by caretaker committees seized by the Federal Ministry of Finance.

    This has, however, generated controversies as to the constitutionality of the recommended measure. While almost all agree that governors should not administer the local councils like emperors, there are concerns over the power of the Federal Government to seize the allocations. Section 162 of the constitution stipulates that all funds in the Federation Account should be shared among the three tiers of government and, the local government areas in each state are listed. It is therefore the contention of some experts that under no circumstances should such funds be withheld unless on the order of a court of law.

    Others argue that since the law is that only democratically elected officials should govern local councils as is the case at the federal and state levels, money should not be released to those illegally occupying the offices.

    Governor Alia’s explanation that he did not dissolve the councils but suspended the officials in accordance with a resolution by the state House of Assembly is untenable. No institution or individual deriving its power from the constitution could turn around to violate provisions of the supreme law of the land.

    It may be difficult for the Federal Government to arbitrarily hold on to funds due to some local government areas unless a law to give effect to it is passed by the National Assembly. We therefore advise the federal lawmakers to pass a law to that effect.

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    Meanwhile, Governor Alia should reverse his action as it is patently ultra vires. When the constitution is clear in its provisions and intendment, officials of state should not burden the courts with adjudicating such matters.

    To deepen Nigerian democracy, all the people must rally round the local councils. At the heart of  democracy is free, fair and credible election, after which the electorate’s mandate must be respected. It is bad enough that State Independent Electoral Commissions are only independent by name. In practice, they have been reduced to appendages of the ruling party in the states. Even when otherwise respected retired judges of superior courts are appointed the chairmen, they only do the bidding of the government of the day. This is shameful, and the federal legislature has been unable to do anything about it. Earlier attempts to wean institutions, arms and democratic bodies off the clutches of state executives had failed as the state lawmakers were manipulated into frustrating the plans.

    All leaders, especially at the federal level, have a duty to team up with the National Assembly in ensuring that the democratically elected councils survive in the country so that the people may imbibe the electoral principle. It is unfortunate that more than a century after the colonial masters were compelled to bring Nigerians into deciding their own leaders, governors and their cohorts are undermining the process.

    Nigerians have been tolerant of autocracy for too long. Whenever governors trample on voters’ rights, the people should rise up to insist on their due. In the instant case in Benue State, civil society organisations and the general public should prevail on Governor Alia, a Reverend Father, to do what is right and just. President Bola Tinubu who is known to have intervened in political disputes in states within the short period he has been governor should call the governor to order. It is interesting that the resolution passed by the Senate was supported across political divide. It should be obvious to leaders of the APC that while Gov. Alia is a member of the party today, tomorrow is unpredictable. Patriots and nationalists should rise up to fight this battle because it is to lift the banner of democracy across the country.

  • Henry Kissinger (1923 – 2023)

    Henry Kissinger (1923 – 2023)

    • He was a genius but a controversial one, ominous for world peace 

    He was a cosmic character who played a largely controversial role in shaping history and reshaping the world. When Henry Kissinger exited the stage on November 29, aged 100, the commentaries on his departure were a mix of approbation and denigration.

    Between 1969 and 1977, his positions as national security advisor and secretary of state under United States (US) President Richard Nixon, and his continuation as secretary of state under Nixon’s successor, Gerald Ford, served as platforms for practicalising his own ideas on international relations. In the period, he was highly influential in the formulation and implementation of US foreign policy.  

    To his credit, he initiated détente with the Soviet Union, explored friendship with China, employed shuttle diplomacy towards ending hostilities in the Middle East, and negotiated the peace accords that ended American involvement in the Vietnam War.

    He was controversially a co-winner of the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize, for helping to achieve a ceasefire and US withdrawal from Vietnam. The other awardee, a prominent Vietnamese diplomat and politician, Le Duc Tho, rejected the award. Interestingly, Kissinger did not attend the award ceremony, donated his prize money to charity, and offered to return his prize medal.

    To his discredit, however, was his association with controversial US policies, particularly its bombing of Cambodia, involvement in the 1973 Chilean coup, support for Argentina’s military junta, support for Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor, and support for Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War and Bangladesh genocide.

    He was accused of war crimes involving mass killings of civilians caused by the policies he favoured, backing US support for dictatorial regimes, and denialism concerning human rights abuses by the US and its allies. 

    A champion of Realpolitik, he once said in a 1972 interview with Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, “If I were to let myself be disturbed by the reactions of the public… I would accomplish nothing.” After giving such a revealing insight into his approach to international politics, an embarrassed Kissinger later claimed that it was “the single most disastrous conversation I have ever had with any member of the press.”

    Notably, a 2014 poll of American international relations scholars ranked Kissinger as the most effective secretary of state in the 50 years prior to 2015.

    Born in Germany, he followed an unlikely path to fame. His German-Jewish family fled Germany in the face of Nazi antisemitism, in 1938, when he was 15. They eventually arrived in New York City, in America, after a stop in London. His childhood experiences in Germany are believed to have influenced the formation of his pragmatic approach to foreign policy. He had described it as a place that “had a great deal of order and very little justice.” 

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    In America, he was drafted into the US Army in 1943, which interrupted his education. He became a US citizen that year. He earned a degree in Political Science from Harvard College in 1950, and a master’s and doctorate in the same discipline at Harvard University in 1951 and 1954, respectively.

    As an academic, he worked in Harvard’s Department of Government where he served as the director of the Harvard International Seminar between 1951 and 1971. He was also study director in nuclear weapons and foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations in 1955/1956.  He released his book Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy in 1957. The controversial book proposed the use of tactical nuclear weapons on a regular basis to win wars.

    By the time Kissinger was appointed national security advisor in 1969, according to his official biographer, he was possibly “one of the most important theorists about foreign policy ever to be produced by the United States of America.” 

    After his power years, he founded Kissinger Associates, an international geopolitical consulting firm that sustained his relevance. 

    Author of over a dozen books on diplomatic history and international relations, he demonstrated remarkable mental fecundity at an advanced age. He published The Age of AI: And Our Human Future in 2021, and Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy in 2022.