The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • One death too many

    One death too many

    Killing of 13-year-old Kehinde Alade over traffic infraction by his father is tragic and should be punished

    Dad, they’ve shot me” were reportedly his last words as a police bullet allegedly pierced through his back to his front in his father’s car, last week. That was the younger twin son of Mr. Odunayo Alade, Kehinde, who in his bid and haste to drop off his older son sitting for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) early on that fateful day, broke a traffic law and had a policeman accompanying Oyo State Road Traffic Management Authority (OYRTMA) shoot at his car, thereby accidentally killing the 13-year-old.

    There has been what we see as righteous indignation in Ibadan and the larger Nigerian society since the tragic incident. There were reportedly about five other passengers in the car, so there might as well have been more deaths had the mob around not raised alarm and started off a spontaneous protest to the Government House of Oyo State, mandating the Governor Seyi Makinde government to immediately launch a thorough investigation into the incident.

    We condemn the fact that a fully armed policeman has abused his powers of bearing arms and illegally using same against unarmed civilian that was neither a criminal nor even the one who committed the traffic offence. This does not mean that being shot is the punishment for breaking traffic laws, either in the state or in any part of Nigeria. It was merely a case of trigger-happy, possibly ill-trained or possibly mentally unstable police officer with a gun.

    This tragedy is not an isolated incident. Nigerians are almost too familiar with ‘police brutality’ against unarmed civilians. There have been a series of ‘accidental shootings, stray bullet deaths’ across the nation and, in most cases, justice doesn’t or hasn’t come easy or early enough. This tragic loss of life by a promising young boy in his prime over a traffic offence by his father is unacceptable. This is a death too many. No one can forget the trigger of the famous #ENDSARS protest of 2020.

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    Along expressways and city roads in the country, policemen often intimidate road users with corked guns and other forms of physical abuses that had on different occasions necessitated serving Inspectors- General of Police to issue instructions to the public to report any such harassment. But we may add, ‘if the victim is alive to report’.

    We have always complained that many government agencies in Nigeria tend to always be accompanied by armed policemen as they enforce the laws. This shows the existing socio-political mindset that the gun must be used to enforce laws. This is unacceptable and should not be the norm in the 21st century, with all the advancement in technology and AI in the area of security and law enforcement.

    The Oyo State traffic agency does not need the help of an armed policeman to enforce traffic laws. They have several options; they could take the number plate of the driver as is done in most other countries and serve the man with his ticket. That shooting of the innocent boy is so heartbreaking that no excuse can suffice. Yes, the father disobeyed the law but now the victim is innocent and even the offender does not need any bodily harm, let alone death as punishment.

    It is such a primitive attitude to use live ammunition on civil and other traffic offenders. Even in criminal cases, it is only the court of law that ought to give verdicts as prescribed by the constitution. It is sad that the hang-over of military rule keeps surfacing in our democracy.

    This pathetic story cannot be justified by any means, but we believe also that the driver of the vehicle again is a victim of socio-cultural obstinacy of some citizens. The bereaved father would live the rest of his life asking himself whether if he had taken the right route, his son would have been killed. He claimed he was rushing to take an older son for WASSCE exams but now, it is a worst case scenario. Better late than the late is a popular saying.

    Respect for government agencies is not easy for most elite road users who often look down on the staff because their work makes them stay outdoors rather than in offices. More often than not, instead of being respected as those contributing to government efficiency, they are seen as troublesome interlopers who do not need to be respected. Defying their instructions and claiming that the route was shorter and was always being taken by other drivers is too lame an excuse to break the traffic law.

    Notwithstanding, the traffic agency staff were too disruptive in enforcing the law because the video showed that they were about four in number, with another enforcement truck that hit the driver’s vehicle in a bid to stop him. This might have caused more loss of lives and destruction of property and disruption of the traffic they were originally trying to ease out. The whole chaotically tragic scenario was like killing an ant with a sledge hammer.

    There is a legal dictum that says, “it is better that 10 guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer”. Here, the reverse is clearly the case. An innocent boy has been killed. The entire chaotic scene was avoidable.

    This brings us to the issue of training and monitoring. How well are these government agencies trained and supervised by their supervisory ministries? What are the qualifications of those employed? Are they mere political appointees, or are the most qualified always the ones employed?

    While the family and nation mourn the loss of the talented Kehinde Alade, we urge the Inspector- General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, to revisit police training curriculum because there are increasing numbers of social media posts of the misdemeanour of many policemen, especially on the roads, even with tourists.

    Again, Mr. Alade was accused of driving a car with tinted windows. This has become rampant. More cars with dark glasses are on the road and more often than not, the drivers are reckless because they hide behind tinted glasses. We thought there are laws against tinted glasses except with police permit?

    We again suggest that the mental health of the policemen must be sound before they are sent to work with arms. The duty of the police is to protect and serve, and not to show power with the guns bought with tax-payers’ money.

    May justice be seen to be done in this case to all sides.

  • Abandoned new transformers

    Abandoned new transformers

    •NERC must go tough on DisCos ‘s insistence on payment of connection fee before installing them

    “Why will I help them to buy what they need for their business? It is their duty as private business concern to fix everything that is wrong with our power supply, while our duty is to pay the bills as and when due. The exploitation has to stop.”

    That is Bisi, a resident of Itoko, a community in Igando, Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, wondering why their community has to pay a connection fee before their new transformer could be commissioned. This has left them in perpetual darkness as the transformer is just there, lying fallow.

    But, Itoko is only one of the many communities suffering in silence. Maybe they are even lucky in that they have a transformer that explodes every now and then. Meaning they at least have a feel of what public power supply is. Other communities suffering the same fate are Gberefu and Yovoyan, in the Badagry axis. But, Agbojetho community is not that lucky as it never enjoyed public power supply. But it also has a new transformer that cannot be commissioned due to non-payment of connection fee.

    Unfortunately, the nation is paying for the pitiable plight of people in these communities beyond the usual problems associated with irregular power supply in the cities. Because these are essentially border communities, many of the able-bodied young men and women have now abandoned their vocations for smuggling, to keep body and soul together.

    But the people in the rural communities are not alone in this. Some of the people at the top also have similar experience.

    Senator Adams Oshiomhole is a typical example.”Even we here as privileged class, I have had to buy the transformer used here in the heart of Abuja. To install it, I had to persuade, negotiate and even effect payment to Abuja distribution to connect the transformer that I have procured personally with my resources and hereafter this transformer becomes the property of the DisCo…”, Oshiomhole said sometime last year.

    If a senator had to “persuade, negotiate and even effect payment” to an electricity distribution company (DisCo), to have his transformer installed, why would DisCos not treat people of Itoko and other rural communities with utmost contempt?

    Yet, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the regulator of the sector, always reminds power consumers that provision of power equipment is the responsibility of the DisCos.

    It would however seem that the DisCos are merely exploiting the provisions of the Electricity Act 2023 (EA) and the Investment in Electricity Networks Regulation 2012, which provide for power consumers buying any or all of the electricity tools, including transformers, etc. But this must be under written agreements as to how such expenses could be recouped.

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    However, rather than the DisCos making this known to their customers, they impose the procurement of the items on the consumers by not attending to their demands until they are forced to buy the equipment.

    This is where NERC must wield the big stick. The commission seems to be trying but it appears overwhelmed by the deluge of matters brought before it by aggrieved power consumers.

    The DisCos have for long been weaned under an arrangement that allows them to shortchange their customers. Imagine DisCos that could not supply their customers with a basic tool as prepaid meters? This is a major crisis in the power sector and we know NERC must be having a surfeit of complaints on estimated billing arising therefrom, from aggrieved power consumers.

    We therefore plead with the Federal Government to assist the commission, to help it expand its operations.

    Transformers don’t come cheap. That such an equipment that is not only vital in the power equation but also expensive could suffer such reckless abandonment here and there shows how wasteful we are as a nation. It tells a lot about the DisCos that would rather watch communities that procured transformers literally with their blood continue to be in darkness simply because they cannot afford or refuse to pay for connection fees, whatever that meant.

  • Inexplicable inaction

    Inexplicable inaction

    •We wonder why the NMA is yet to react to story of alleged baby theft by a medical doctor

    Lamentably, weeks after an alarming allegation of baby theft against Dr Timothy Zeje of Divine Reign Clinic, Sauka, Abuja, made headlines, there are no indications that the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) is concerned. The allegation of baby theft against a medical doctor speaks of serious unprofessionalism. The professional group for the country’s medical practitioners was expected to be scandalised by the news, which was bad for its image. The NMA should not wait to be prompted to step into the matter.

    Dr Zeje, who denied the allegation of child theft, was reported saying the matter was being investigated by the police, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command. The police should carry out a thorough investigation into the matter, and release their findings without delay. Pending the outcome of their investigation, the police must ensure that the doctor and the child at the centre of the matter do not become untraceable.

    Indeed, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, which is based in Abuja where the alleged crime was committed, should also be involved in the resolution of this case.

    Mrs Eunice Bright, who accused the doctor of baby theft, had said the alleged incident happened in June 2022. She told journalists: “I did my scan at the hospital, and Dr Zeje told me I was carrying twins. This was confirmed again the following month.” But the story changed after a Caesarean section at the clinic, she said. According to her, “I asked for my twins, but my husband told me only one child was given to him. I was shocked.”

    Her request to see the other baby yielded no result. She was told that the baby had died shortly after birth. She said: “I told the doctor that I would like just to see what the dead child looks like… They told me that my baby is dead and scattered. Okay, where are the pieces and where are the bones? I asked; but they couldn’t give me an explanation… We let go of the issue at the time.”

    She added that nurses told her the doctor “stopped them from telling me because I was still recovering,” and wondered “why my husband who had been in the hospital was not informed and handed the dead child for burial.”

    This strongly suggests collusion involving the clinic’s staff. It widens the sphere of culpable actors.

    Dramatically, the story changed again, leading to the allegation that the doctor had stolen the baby. “I went for immunisation at AMAC Hospital at Besan,” she said, where she ran into the doctor’s wife and her brother. She narrated: “When I saw the baby they brought, I was like, what is happening here? The baby in my hand looked exactly like the one in their hand.” 

    At some point, she had advised the doctor’s wife “to remove the baby’s cap because the heat was too much.” According to her, “She removed the cap, I became more confused because of the spitting semblance of the child and my baby. They have the same legs, same face, same dreadlocks, same everything.” She concluded that her baby “was taken away at birth and not dead as told by the doctor.”

    Her story is a sad commentary on institutional integrity if expectant women cannot trust hospitals to do what is right at all times.

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    Nearly three years later, the issue remains unresolved. In the course of their efforts to clarify the identity of the other child, Bright and her husband came up against a brick wall. The doctor allegedly refused to cooperate when they suggested a DNA test to establish the parentage of the child in dispute.

    It is unclear why he rejected the idea, if he did. Such a test is universally recognised as a reliable method of establishing the parentage of a child in dispute. Ordinarily, he ought to be willing to do the test to prove his innocence. We demand that he be made to take a DNA test; and the child should be taken away from him pending the outcome.

    This case demands urgent action. The inaction on the part of those who should intervene is inexplicable.

  • Mid-term assessment

    Mid-term assessment

    Strides have been taken, but a lot more is needed

      Traditionally, mid-term is a good time to review the activities of a government. President Bola Tinubu came to power on May 29, 2023, promising a new lease of life for Nigerians.

      However, he equally said during the campaign that the going would be tough at the beginning because of the state of the economy he was inheriting.

      Thus, on the day his administration was inaugurated, he announced the removal of subsidy on premium motor spirit (PMS) or petrol. That policy was followed by a merger of the official and parallel foreign exchange market rates. While many have cried out about the inflationary effect of the twin policies, government has maintained that there was no alternative.

      That was the promise during the electioneering campaign and it ought not to have come as a surprise, especially since the two other major candidates – Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party – gave similar campaign pledges. As the Tinubu administration has explained, it appears that prices are beginning to settle. The exchange rate that was at a point threatening to hit N2000, is now stable at about N1600. This is still unbearable, but it is an indication that the downward push could continue to a more comfortable level.

      This is better demonstrated in the price of the PMS, that was about N167 per litre at the inception of the government, but shot up to a peak of about N1,400 per litre before a marked reduction to the current N895 in Lagos. Perhaps market forces are not really a monster that many people in the developing countries think it is.

      Economic reforms are inevitable, even in the most developed countries. The statement by American President Bill Clinton, “it’s the economy, stupid”, continues to reverberate on the political scene till date. It indicated an urgent need for reform of the economic structure of the country then.

      President Tinubu must be credited with great courage to have come up with his reforms at this time, and if he successfully pulls them through, it would be the greatest achievement of his administration and this generation.

      The twin policy announced immediately he assumed office have been complemented with an industry-acclaimed management restructure of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). The appointment of Bayo Ojulari, a seasoned player in the oil and gas industry, as replacement for Mele Kyari, sent a right message to investors, who responded with renewed confidence in the country.  The financial rigour is shown in the liquidation of the International Monetary Fund’s loans, the $7 billion loans and ways and means burdens. He has reduced the debt service ratio from 97 percent to 65 percent. This has freed revenue for projects.

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      One immediate indication that the government would make impact, at least in some sectors, was the pledge by the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, that obtaining the Nigerian passport would be seamless, and available within two weeks of application. He also gave a marching order to the Nigerian Immigration Service to process the backlog of applications within three weeks. While most Nigerians regarded this as an empty boast, his accomplishment of the pledge showed he knew and meant what he said.

      The minister has since taken further steps to show that a lot could be achieved with determination. The e-gate at the Lagos international airport is one example of a giant stride taken by the ministry.

      In 2024, the president issued an executive order on removal of tariffs and Value Added Tax on pharmaceutical active ingredients, towards facilitating local production and forcing down the price of medicines manufactured in the country. This is beginning to yield some positive results, though a lot more is expected. As soon as prices responded to the new exchange rate and energy cost, prices of drugs, both imported and locally manufactured, responded and most people who were finding it difficult to purchase drugs resorted to herbs, including those crudely produced under unhygienic conditions. The appointment of Professor Alli Pate in 2023 as Minister of Health was one that elicited optimism at both national and international levels. He is not new to the public service, having served as minister of state in the ministry before. His international exposure, too, was seen as a plus for the Tinubu administration.

      In two years, the ministry has rehabilitated and constructed 1,000 primary health care centres. He is said to be working assiduously towards lifting the health of the average Nigerian despite the inclement economic environment.

      In just two years, he has surpassed any other administration in agriculture investment as Kaduna State governor Uba Sani asserts. Big farms focusing on produce like rice, millet, etc are blooming just as thousands of tractors are brought in to escalate his vision.

      In the education sector, one thing that the president promised and has fulfilled is the Education Loan Fund. At the moment, about 500,000 students are said to have benefitted from the scheme. These are mainly indigent students who might either not have gained admission or could have dropped from school. This is a giant step that even opponents of the president should applaud.

      One major contributory factor to high cost of food and other products is transportation. While the compressed natural gas (CNG) policy had been on the table for more than a decade, it took the Tinubu administration to promote it from the back burner to the front. In some parts of the country, transporters have been converting their vehicles to the use of CNG. This, many of them have confessed, is a master stroke. This is however still a far cry from what is needed, as there are still few conversion centres and filling stations. Obviously it would take time to meet demand, but with the first step taken, government has demonstrated good faith. It is up to the trade unions, civil society organisations and the public to continue putting pressure on the government in this wise.

      Infrastructure is surely one of the major areas that the government has done so much. From the legacy projects of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road and Sokoto-Badagry highway, to reconstruction of existing roads and bridges in all parts of the country, it is obvious that President Tinubu wants to leave his footsteps in the sands of time.

      Other positive impacts made by the administration include the judgment obtained from the Supreme Court in favour of  financial autonomy of local government councils as third tier of government, despite the fierce resistance by the state governments.

      It however remains a final push to get the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to give effect to the judgment given since last July.

      The boost in revenue of the federation has been of so much benefit to the states as they have been drawing more than double their previous funds from the Federation Account. This has enabled them to pay off much of their debts to commercial banks and thus free funds for projects. However, not much is being done for the masses by many state governments, thus making them accuse the Federal Government of doing little. This must be corrected if the country is to make the progress needed.

      Security is a major problem of the country as it affects all sectors. Unless there is marked improvement in security, it would be difficult to boost food production, build roads and houses, boost oil and gas production and engender confidence of the people in government.

      Government has taken steps through the Office of the National Security Adviser to improve security, but there is so much more to be achieved. The resurgence of insecurity in states like Borno, Plateau, Benue, tends to underplay much progress achieved. In Kaduna State, for instance,  three local governments that were out of bounds for most citizens are now safe, including a major market in Birnin Gwari. Big-name bandits have been killed n the past year across the north and states like Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina Kogi and Nasarawa have witness considerable improvements. We still have disturbing level of concern but progress made give reasons for hope. Until Nigerians in all parts of the country could sleep with both eyes closed, government cannot afford to give itself a pass mark. But it has shown itself as thinking and transformative government pursuing bold reforms under a daring reformer.

    • Still much to do

      Still much to do

      •26 years on, democracy is alive and promises to be well

      Just now, some buzz has taken over a section of the country that a one-party state is in the offing. This voice is coming from a quarter of jittery hypocrisy, a voice that once beat its chest about its own legitimate hegemony.

      Hence, we can say that, in the past 26 years, we have weathered a lot as a polity, and one of such stridencies is of the tenor of those who, today, are advancing fears of an apocalypse for this republic.

      We have to say that such voracious rage about our democratic surrender to a party state stems from two things. One, a fear of one man. Two, the incompetence and beggary wisdom of an opposition that has run into confusion because it lacks the way out of its self-imposed rut.

      Rather than look inward and chart a way in a democratic nature, they are accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of autocracy. How that can be justified has not been addressed.

      The president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is the target of this cartoonish abuse. The bitterness of the colossal stumble in the 2023 polls and series of steps to reverse a clear mandate are carrying itself over to the rhetoric and calculations of an opposition. They should play opposition, play opponent but should not play poison. That is what is more dangerous than the so-called fear of opposition as the embittered are orchestrating.

      Is this crybaby attitude part of democracy? Of course, it is. Democracy abides a lot, from the heroic, to the rawboned, to the softie. They are the grist of a system that reflects the range and plenitude of any society.

      That’s why we say that, not in spite of the one-party hysteria but because of it, democracy is all well and healthy in 2025. The call does not endanger democracy. It strengthens it. It affirms our tendencies to quarrels, contentions, variance, disputes and upwellings of malice. These sentiments stand side by side with the sublimity of ideas, moral poses and poises, works of empathy, humour and heartaches of harmony.

      We have been at it since 1999 when the first vote was cast and the first president and local government chairmen replaced the contraptions of the soldier. We have stumbled, and often still stumble. We have seen many bloodsheds but not always as watersheds, we have had impunity but we have also thrown up humility in our attitudes to each other. We have seen bigots flex and their followers roar but also we have witnessed men embrace both the Bible and Quran. Tribes and tongues have continued to differ but we still defer to the idea of brothers.

      When we had our elections in the early cycles, they were seen, in the words of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as do-or-die affairs, a foul language that no role model should utter. We saw elections as the beginning and the end of violence. Men organised elections as though an army going to war. They made plans for them with weapons but the uniforms were the identity of ferocious language, their style of rapine and mayhem. So, arson followed, innocents died from bullets and houses went up in flames. Streets crawled with corpses and fear. Ballot papers became the currency not of victory alone but also of personal triumph. The more ballot papers stolen, the greater the chances of winning.

      Elections were no pictures of the people’s wishes for most part, but the endorsement of private cruelty of a select few. Public villains strutted as role models. 

      But today, some of that has gone away. Ballot papers are of less value as they were 15 years ago. Technology has seen to that. With BVAS and biometrics, identity now is not about big men skulking in the shadows but the people coalescing in the vote into one voice: that of the majority. That is a bit exaggerated but it speaks to the progress we have made, especially in the past decades.

      We are not in that place where militants in the Niger Delta turned into recruitments of boys of plunder for the service of political wheel horses. We are not in that era when a politician made idle men in Borno State into an alternative society until they posed so great a threat that even a governor yelled for help because they had bastardised a faith and mauled our values.

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      Political parties continue to bloom, but we have lamented the absence of ideology. That might be an overblown expectation because we are thinking in western tropes in terms of liberal tradition and conservative retreats. Some scholars still insist that our political elite must fashion home-grown ideas that may well make our democracy truly authentic and hug our history and culture. That might be on the way, but the signs are not yet in the open.

      The rule of law has also been a thing regarded with disdain, from the bombing of Odi, the flouting of court orders and the corruption of judges. This has stained out human rights aspirations. Good news is that quite a few judges have come down on the hammer, although we believe more of it will cleanse the system. But it points to a better day. Human rights questions arise after investigations in assassinations have hit dead ends. For instance, Bola Ige’s murder has retreated into moans of regrets amidst institutional impotence. We have seen cases of police and soldiers acting above the law as well.

      We have also watched, in spite of these, a sense of devotion to the idea of the vote. That is significant because the majority of Nigerians would rather have a flawed democracy than any military regime. When late President Umaru Yar’ Adua was dying, the idea of the doctrine of necessity was a testament to the democratic fidelity of, at least, this generation.

      Elections continued to stand as the bellwether of democracy in the past quarter century. But we must not confuse it or conflate it for democracy, which entails more, like the recruitment of bright and audacious men and women, the encompassment of rural Nigeria that has been much neglected through tokenism, the elevation of values over money and the entrenchment of a fair system that deemphasises faith and tribe by taking the best of them rather than bigotry.

    • UTME glitch

      UTME glitch

      • Averting a recurrence is the way, moving forward, not undue calls for JAMB boss’s resignation

      The 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has generated a lot of controversy. Many people were unhappy with the outcome of the examination in Lagos and the South-East states. This feeling is understandable because the scores earned by individuals in the examination have the potential to determine or influence their career prospects or trajectory. 

      The pattern of low scores by candidates from the concerned states after the results were released on May 9, prompted calls for a re-examination or review of the results.

      JAMB therefore launched an investigation, in collaboration with various stakeholders, and the investigation revealed that there were actually problems with the scores of candidates who took the test in these states.

      At a May 14 press conference, the Registrar and Chief Executive of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, regretted that this year’s UTME that would have been the best since he assumed office was marred by an avoidable error by one or two persons. “I want to make it clear that our review and investigation reveal that there are grounds for the complaints about our 2025 UTME results and this press conference is convened with a view to unveiling the bitter truth of our findings openly and objectively.”

      Oloyede continued: “… on the second day of the examinations…which was Friday April 25, 2025, we discovered that there was some omission in the items within the LAG category. … In simple terms, while 65 centres (206,610 candidates) were affected in Lagos zone (comprising only Lagos State), 92 centres (173,387 candidates) were affected in Owerri zone, which includes the South-East states.”

      He said the technical personnel deployed by the service provider for Lagos and the South-East states failed to update some of the delivery servers in the process of rectifying the issue adding that this, unfortunately, was not detected before the results were released.

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      He also revealed that “the patch was not properly applied in some centre servers by the service provider and that failure disrupted the upload of the candidates’ responses within the first three or four days, as applicable to Lagos and Owerri zones.”

      Oloyede accepted full responsibility for the negligence of the agent and tendered an unreserved apology for the trauma it had caused the affected candidates and their parents.

      The board consequently decided that all the candidates affected by the glitch in the 157 centres out of the 882 centres nationwide would be contacted to retake the examination, starting from May 16.

      Mercifully, this has been done and the results released on May 25, after a meeting of the board’s chief external examiners (CEEs) in all the states of the federation. A sub-committee chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the National Open University, Prof. Olufemi Peters, who is also the CEE FCT, was constituted to confirm that the results were in order, while an expert in psychometrics, Prof. Boniface Nworgu, was invited to analyse and endorse the results for subsequent release.

      Oloyede’s public admission of responsibility for error is a breath of fresh air in Nigerian leadership just as the restitutive measure by the board is a commendable act of empathy, responsiveness and nobility. It is the standard global practice required in such situation.

      While we decry the ethnic dimension that was read to this lapse by some prominent persons in a section of the country, it is noteworthy that a wide range of well-meaning Nigerians showed understanding, especially as such glitches are not peculiarly Nigerian.

      Computer hitches have bedevilled public examinations in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, China and India, in spite of the best efforts of these ICT-advanced countries.

      So, the strident calls for Oloyede’s resignation on account of the 2025 UTME hitches are extreme. 

      Many Nigerians have been following JAMB’s activities, especially since he became the head of the board, and have been full of praise for the tremendous progress in virtually all areas of its operations. It would, as such, be unfair to cast aspersions on his person, and, indeed, counter-productive to the nation at large, to write off the examination body.

      This year’s UTME problem has already occurred. The meaningful thing to do, moving forward, is to interrogate the error more closely, locate its source more categorically, and apportion corrective blames as necessary.

      Moreover, it is of utmost importance to make the examination infrastructure more robust and monitor related activities more unceasingly to avoid future hitches.

    • Whodunit

      Whodunit

      • Whoever killed the lawyer and his client on their way from court in Anambra must be fished out and punished

      The gruesome murder of Mr Rolex Iloakasia and his client around Agulu and Nanka communities in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, has triggered fear among the local communities. The stories surrounding the killing and the identity of the victims have raised national outrage and we hope the police will identify the killers and bring them to justice.

      According to the Anambra State Police Command spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga, the killers operated on a motorcycle. One of the victims was a lawyer who just secured a bail for a person accused of murder. The other victim was a client to the lawyer, while the third person survived the attack. According to the spokesman “preliminary investigations suggest that the victims were attacked while returning from the court session, having been trailed and double-crossed by the assailants.” If the insinuation that the lawyer was attacked because of his work is true, then every professional has cause to be concerned. For, no matter how unacceptable the outcome of a professional service may be, murder should never be contemplated as the answer for any disagreeable conduct.

      In every legal contest, there will be a winner and a loser, and if after every such context, the winner is exposed to danger, then the society is in grave danger.

      In other professions like medicine, doctors are sometimes exposed to danger when a patient dies in their care. While expression of emotion is human, predetermined killing can never be condoned, regardless of the level of provocation.

      Sadly, judges and magistrates who preside over cases are sometimes victims of attack when a judgment does not go a certain way.

      The sad incident in Nanka and Agulu community must be used to forestall recourse to murder as a way to settle scores, for professional services rendered in an unsatisfactory way, as insinuated in this case.

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      The quick intervention of the state’s commissioner of police, who has reportedly ordered an intensive investigation into the murder and has deployed tactical intelligence teams to ensure the perpetrators are tracked to face criminal justice, is heartwarming. Anything short of that may open a floodgate of self-help, when a client disagrees with a service rendered. If, as the preliminary investigation suggested, the culprits are those who lost a loved one to a defendant who has been granted bail, following the effort of the slain lawyer, then they should be ready to suffer a double jeopardy when they are caught and punished for their crime. If, as alleged, a bail was granted against their wish, they have the option to urge the prosecution to appeal the bail. Moreover, a bail is not an acquittal, so if the accused person is guilty, as they believe, they can still get a conviction if the facts support their belief.

      The ease with which ordinary Nigerians have access to firearms is a cause to worry. Over a decade ago, the chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Onitsha Branch, Anambra State, Barnabas Igwe, and his wife were gunned down over their activities as lawyers. Their murder was linked to agents of government, who were allegedly uncomfortable with the work of the NBA chairman in defence of human rights and abuses of power by the then state government.

      We urge the legal community, the state government and the police to work together to ensure justice for the lawyer and his client, whose lives were cut short in broad daylight. No effort should be spared to ensure that the killers are identified and made to answer for their evil act.

      We emphasise that anyone aggrieved with the outcome of a professional service should approach the law enforcement agencies, the court or relevant professional body, for redress.

    • Emefiele’s mansions

      Emefiele’s mansions

      • We urge fairness in allocation of the 753 housing units

      The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has handed over 753 units of houses earlier confiscated from the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, to the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. The Executive Chairman of the commission, Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede, handed over the documents to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.

      We commend this inter-agency collaboration, given the pledge by Dangiwa that the auctioning of the housing units would be done transparently. We hope that the minister would, as promised, diligently deal with the recovered assets on behalf of the people.

      We are worried because the acquisition of this huge number of housing units by the former CBN governor is not the first display of impropriety by the man during his tenure between June  2014 and June 2023.

      On May 6, 2022, Emefiele was reported to have stirred the hornet’s nest by picking up expression of interest forms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 presidential election. This action was considered an aberration by any head of Nigeria’s apex bank, and was against the dictates of the Central Bank Act which provides that the occupant of the governor’s position must remain apolitical and independent at all times, to preserve the non-partisan posture of the bank.

      That action of his caused national outrage. Some called for him to resign while others advised the Muhammadu Buhari government to sack him.

      He equally went ahead to re-design the N200, N500 and N1000 notes in a move that threw the country into financial chaos. Economists and the World Bank feared the impact of the move on the Nigerian economy and it truly impacted the economy and the people negatively as the process was not properly handled.

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      The then Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, complained that Emefiele did not consult her ministry before re-designing the currency.

      There were multiple court cases against his partisanship and fiscal and monetary policies, especially with foreign exchange.

      At a point he was suspended and arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) after the EFCC filed new charges against him, having been accused of fraudulently allocating $2 billion in foreign exchange.  A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, ordered the interim forfeiture of $4,719,054, N830,875,611, and several properties linked to him.

      On June 22, 2024, a Federal High Court granted the final forfeiture of properties worth over N12.18 billion Naira to the Federal Government.

      The latest seizure from the former CBN governor is just one of his many acts of impropriety.

      While there could be arguments that having been in high bank offices in the past, he might have had enough financial influence to own several properties, possibly with bank loans and collaborations, he could not prove this in court. We therefore believe that he possibly abused his powers.

      His actions are surprising but not strange in a system where most public servants abuse their powers for personal financial gains.

      Emefiele is merely the proverbial dog caught with fecal dent in its mouth proving to all that it feasts on faeces, even when other dogs might be guilty too.

      Emefiele’s five-year term in office was renewed by the President Buhari administration. The Senate approved his re-nomination. Our question then remains: what qualified him for a second term as the head of the apex bank in Nigeria? How effective was National Assembly’s oversight function?

      The seizure of such a huge number of housing units from a former CBN governor in a country where housing has been problematic for many years is very telling of his character.

      We commend the EFCC for their legal pursuit of this case to the end. We however urge the housing minister to ensure that the houses are not fraudulently allocated, using official powers and influence. There had been allegations of such behaviour in past acquisitions and we hope this would prove skeptics wrong.

      We also recommend that the EFCC treat many other petitions of this kind expeditiously too because they are legion. Justice must be the watchword in an economy that keeps bleeding from official corruption. 

    • Pork responsibly

      Pork responsibly

      •Neither BudgiT’s accusation nor NASS’s riposte vitiates the need for prudent allocation of scarce resources

       Let’s be real: pork is part of democratic politics as debt is central to the capitalist system. So, dubbing pork as automatic sleaze is not unlike demonising debts. But that both are integral to each system does not mean they should be abused. 

      That’s the crux of the BudgiT allegation: that the National Assembly bloated the 2025 budget with pork, in suspect constituency projects.

      Still, had BudgiT been less judgmental, thus prompting the media to dub its allegations with own favourite cliche of “padding”, we would not have had the trite grandstanding from the National Assembly (NASS), which flexed rippling muscles over its constitutional right to put the final seal on the executive’s “estimates”.

      The parliament’s right on that score is clear and unimpeachable. Yet, that hardly equates recklessness — if it indeed was — on its own part. Public discourse in our country must shun extremes and needless emotions. That’s the only way we can pin-point specifics and achieve results.

      What are the allegations by BudgiT, a public finance watchdog and critic? That NASS, to satisfy narrow political interests, inserted 238 projects, each valued at more than N5 billion, all totalling N2.29 trillion. Aside, other sets  of 984 projects (costed at N1.71 trillion) and 1, 119 projects, each valued between N500 million and N1 billion (all costing N641.38 billion), were allegedly smuggled into the 2025 budget.

      Specific, among these smuggled pork: 1, 477 street light projects (N393.29 billion), 538 boreholes (N114.53 billion); 2, 122 ICT projects (N505.79 billion) and gravy for traditional rulers (N6.74 billion). All of these projects, BudgiT alleged, jarred against the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2021-2025), aside other national priorities.

      Except BudgiT can prove specific cases of padded cost, for each of these projects, there is no way investments in street lights (security), boreholes (water) and ICT (technology) would not fit into critical national development (short, medium or long-term). These are projects that should add value to the lives of citizens.

      Even the N6.74 billion for traditional rulers, which could trigger an initial red flag for possible sleaze, might not amount to much, with the number of traditional rulers involved. Perhaps BudgiT should have quoted the exact number, so we could build a case for excessive vote? 

      Besides, that budgetary vote could be another leg of security. If traditional rulers must be part of the solution to insecurity, especially non-kinetic interventions, there ought to be budgetary support for such. 

      So, it would appear unfair for BudgiT to virtually rope in everyone as aiders and abetters of budget padding, because it did not get the preferred response to its query, though it could have acted in a blather of patriotic rage.

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      Still, do all of these put NASS in the clear? Hardly! Both Yemi Adaramodu, the Senate spokesperson and Clement Jimbo, deputy chairman of the House Committee on National Planning and Economic Development, just chased shadows, missing a golden opportunity to shed quality light on the allegations.

      The one launched into a bitter conspiracy theory over “dark angels of falsehood” and ludicrous “political ball-boys”. The other bragged about the exclusive rights of NASS to make laws; and the budget was part of that law. Trite — or don’t we all know that? 

      Even if BudgiT were to act in clear bad faith — and that was far from established — shouldn’t the people’s representatives have been more civil in their response, instead of being gruff and angry?

      The NASS should have explained why the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology and the Federal Ministry of Budget and Planning got bigger votes than they applied for. 

      They should also have explained why, as BudgiT alleged, agencies as the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (Lagos), and the Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, were allegedly charged with implementing projects they were ill-prepared to do, thus sparking fears of possible waste of scarce resources, if not outright sleaze.

      After a hot exchange from both sides, we still have not got to the root of the matter. The common wealth is the net-loser. That is unfortunate. 

      Which is why we call on NASS — its both arms — to shed light on these specific allegations to justify its good faith and sound thinking on the matter. 

    • Paper tiger

      Paper tiger

      • Proposed law on compulsory voting is a non-starter

      Members of the House of Representatives are pushing ahead with plans to enact a law making voting compulsory for eligible Nigerians, and sanction default with a prison term or a fine. But their exertions are misoriented, entailing more burdens than benefits. Lawyers on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) platform, last week, became the latest set of stakeholders to call out the legislative bid as misguided.

      The lawmakers had in February introduced a bill to make it compulsory for every Nigerian who has attained 18 years and above to vote in elections or face up to six months in prison or a fine of ₦100,000. Sponsored by House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, the bill was re-presented penultimate week by its co-sponsor, Representative Daniel Asama, who said it was needed to address low voter turnout, vote buying and electoral apathy – issues he argued threaten Nigeria’s democratic foundations. Asama cited countries like Australia, Belgium and Brazil where compulsory voting is credited with boosting voter participation and accountability.

      Titled “Bill for an Act to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to make it mandatory for all Nigerians of majority age to vote in all national and state elections, and for related matters,” the proposed law seeks alteration of Sections 9, 10, 12 and 47 of the electoral act, and prescribes penalty for any Nigerian of voting age who fails to cast his/her ballot in elections. Among others, it also seeks to mandate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to compile a voter register having names of all Nigerians who are 18 years and above and are, thus, eligible to vote in elections. The explanatory memorandum says the bill is aimed at addressing “large-scale apathy towards performing a vital civic duty in electing Nigerian leaders.” It added: “The percentage of registered voters that present themselves for actual voting is abysmally low and requires parliamentary attention.”

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      Whereas the Electoral Act 2022 in Section 9 requires INEC to compile, maintain, and update on a continuous basis, a voter register bearing names of all persons “(a) entitled to vote in any federal, state, local government or Federal Capital Territory area council election;” the new bill seeks to alter that clause to stipulate persons “(a) who have attained the majority age of 18 and are entitled to vote in any federal, state, local government or Federal Capital Territory Area Council election.” Also, it seeks addition of a new sub-section (4) to Section 47 that will provide as follows: “(a) It shall be mandatory for all registered voters who have attained the majority age of 18 and above to vote in all national and state elections;

      “(b) A person who has attained the majority age of 18 years who refuses to perform his civic duty to vote commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not more than N100,000 or imprisonment for a term not more than six months.”

      But the NBA described the bill, which went through second reading in the House, as unconstitutional, draconian and an affront on civil liberty. In a statement by its president, Afam Osigwe (SAN), the association argued that the bill violates fundamental rights guaranteed in the 1999 Constitution and undermines democratic principles. “Section 39(1) of the Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to remain silent, dissent and abstain,” it stated, adding: “In a democracy, voting is a civil responsibility, not legal obligation.” The NBA also cited Section 40 that protects freedom of association, including the right not to associate or participate in state processes. “Compelling individuals to vote, regardless of their faith in the electoral process or the choices available, violates their personal convictions and political freedoms,” it said.

      The body of lawyers criticised the attempt to criminalise non-participation in a system grappling with electoral violence, systemic flaws, insecurity and mistrust. It argued that voter apathy is a symptom, not a cause, and should be addressed through institutional reform, security guarantees and voter education. “Democracy thrives on consent, participation and trust – not coercion. Forcing citizens to vote under threat of imprisonment undermines the essence of free and fair elections,” it said.

      We argued before now that the bill being processed by the lawmakers is a waste of time, and we can’t help restating that position here. True, voter apathy is a plague on Nigerian elections. Out of 93.47million persons registered as voters before the 2023 general election, only 24.9million voted in the presidential and National Assembly polls, representing a meagre 26.72 percent voter turnout – the lowest since the country’s return to democracy in 1999. Compared to 34.74 percent voter turnout in the 2019 general election, there was a decline by 8.03 percent, and a far cry from 50 percent voter turnout that INEC had said it was targeting for the poll.

      But we hold that the remedy isn’t in compelling eligible persons to vote. It is, indeed, a contradiction in terms to compel people to express free choice. Low voter turnout in Nigerian elections, as the NBA noted, is a function of systemic challenges like the high level of electoral violence and low trust level in the credibility of elections that make many people think it isn’t worth their while to vote. A more useful thing to do would be to address these challenges as would induce confidence in voters and motivate them to exercise their franchise.

      In the countries referenced by the lawmakers as having compulsory voting in their laws, there is relatively high trust level in those electoral systems that make the compulsory voting stipulation only an added motivation for citizens to perform their civic duty.

      In any event, the Reps’ bill ignores the logistical nightmare it would pose to capture every Nigerian from age 18 in the voter roll, since voter registration must also now become compulsory. And that isn’t mentioning the unwieldy logistics of prosecuting violators of the new provisions, which expectedly will be humongous in number. It is simply not an implementable law and will be dead on arrival.