The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Disgruntled presidency?

    Disgruntled presidency?

    • Wilful denial cannot vitiate the correctness of the Lagos fuel subsidy removal protests of January

     

    President Goodluck Jonathan is beginning to exhibit a serious dissociation of sensibility syndrome. That ought to bother lovers of democracy; and alarm those who want to deepen democratic culture.

    That is the only logical way to interpret the president’s revisit of the January anti-fuel subsidy removal strikes, which for a week grounded the country, before the administration was forced to partially backtrack by somewhat reducing the pump price of petrol.

    At the 52nd independence anniversary lecture on September 18 at which John Kuffour, Ghana’s former president was guest lecturer, Dr. Jonathan came out with a presidential old wives’ tale that the Lagos protests were sponsored by some imaginary presidential opponents, using the explosive attempt at complete subsidy removal to unhorse him.

    His proof? The demonstrators were served bottled water unavailable to people in his own presidential village of Otuoke; and expensive food that ordinary Lagosians could not afford. Also, Jonathan’s alleged anti-presidential forces hired the cream of musicians and comedians (which by the way, his own presidential campaign organisation had hired to sell his Goodluck Nigeria message) to throw virtual missiles at his office and authority. The sweeping, presidential verdict? “Even to eat free alone attracts people. I believe that that protest in Lagos was manipulated by a class in Lagos and was not from the ordinary people.”

    The president is entitled to his own belief, no matter how misguided. That is the legal right of a citizen in a democratic republic. But unlike the ordinary citizen, the Number 1 citizen must be wary of his utterances, which often assume the garb of presidential authority. With the chain of verbal faux-pas to which the president has treated Nigerians, it just might be too much to ask that his utterances must always be rigorous and logical. But at least, they must not be the stuff of which child-like rumours are made.

    To start with, the strikes took place nationwide, leading to some heart-warming sights in Kano and Kaduna, where protesting Christians formed rings round praying Muslims, when it was prayer time. Even in Abuja, the president’s base, Labour mobilised the people and it was a grand carnival, as the people peacefully let off their anger at the hare-brained and unconscionable subsidy removal policy – and in January of all months.

    Now, if demonstrations took place nationwide, why did the Lagos demonstration alone merit presidential growling, some eight months, and fuel probes, later – probes fast proving that the so-called bloated subsidy payment, which led to the attempted complete removal, could well be illicit payments to fund the electioneering expenses of the federal ruling party?

    Besides, if the Lagos strikes were organised by presidential enemies playing high-stake politics, were the same enemies responsible for the protests at Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Ilorin and other major cities nationwide? If not, why the attention on Lagos? Does this president harbour any personal grudge against Lagos and its fiercely republican and irreverent citizens, beyond the perfectly legitimate and legal action of protesting when the pocket hurts?

    Besides, in a fit of presidential deviousness, the president would carpet Lagos and its protesters in Abuja, only to hop into a plane to praise into high heavens, celebrating Dr. Tunji Braithwaite at a book launch – Braithwaite incidentally, one of the high-calibre protesters tear-gassed by Jonathan’s security operatives, with legal icon, Prof. Ben Nwabueze? Is His Excellency then playing high-wire politics with his high presidential office?

    President Jonathan perhaps deserves sympathy for still being haunted by the epic rebuff of January, which, in any case, he wilfully brought on himself; and has not been able to live down. But no amount of presidential whining can stop freedom-loving citizens of Lagos from legitimate protest. The choice is simple: the president must get out of the kitchen, if he cannot stand the presidential heat.

    No amount of ethnic scape-goating can vitiate the legitimacy and legality of the Lagos protests of January.

  • Remembering Halliburton, etc.

    Remembering Halliburton, etc.

    •When will Nigeria follow the lead of the Western countries and bring convicts culprits?

     

    It is well known that the United States and Germany are the parent nations of the companies involved in the Halliburton and Siemens bribery scandals that rocked the nation for some time. What is instructive, however, is the attitude of the two countries to the scandals, compared to Nigeria’s.

    The infamous Halliburton/KBR scandal was a classic example. About $180m was exchanged for a contract to build the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Plant, while Siemens was involved in £17.6m scandal. The interesting point is that while Nigeria failed to prosecute people involved in the scandals, foreigners involved in the Halliburton scam were convicted and fined heavily in both the US and UK. Perhaps, it was in order to please the agitated public on this incidence of “justice at a distance and not at home” that the late President Umaru Yar’Adua government set up an inter-agency panel to investigate the scandals and bring the culprits to book. But the panel, as usual, produced no result as conspiracy and antics among government officials, led by the then Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa (SAN) infuriated the Justice Abubakar Umar of Abuja High court who struck out the case being brought up, following the failure of the prosecution to arraign the three suspects for the one year that the trial lasted.

    High level political influence has been identified as a factor for the poor handling of court trials in Nigeria. For instance, the EFCC had also filed charges against former Vice – President of the US and Halliburton CEO, Mr Dick Cheney while, in December, 2010, the commission agreed to drop the charges because the government reported that Halliburton had agreed to pay $250m in fines.

    While Nigeria was still unable to do something about any of these scandals, the United States Department of Justice on January 18 announced that a Japanese construction firm, Marubeni Corporation, agreed to pay a $54.6 million criminal penalty for allegedly bringing officials of the Nigerian government to facilitate the award of the $6 billion Liquefied Natural Gas contract in Bonny, Nigeria, to a multinational consortium, TSKJ. Note that the scheme had involved payment of bribes to Nigerian government officials between 1995 and 2004, in violation of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

    Similarly, two Britons and an American were sentenced in Texas for conspiring to channel the $180m bribes to Nigerian politicians and officials. Yet, there are still others: a Briton, Jeffrey Tesler, a London lawyer, was sentenced after pleading guilty about his role in the bribery. Tesler, 63, bagged 21 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release for delivering $132m in bribes for KBR and partners. He also forfeited $149m as part of his plea deal. Also, an American executive, Jack Stanley, 69, said to be the mastermind behind KBR’s Nigeria bribery scheme, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years on probation, following his release on bail for $100,000.

    Now the point: while the United States, Germany and UK came hard on the trials of their nationals involved in the scandals after investigation, their Nigerian partners have enjoyed immunity from prosecution by their government, just like in many other crimes. This has prompted suggestions that the National Assembly should amend the laws that established the anti-graft agencies to make them absolutely independent of manipulation by the executive. We support this call.

    But the bottom line for now is: we have seen the punishments given to people involved in Halliburton and Siemens’ scandals in their countries; when shall we see the Nigerian counterparts of the foreigners involved in these scandals punished in their own country, Nigeria?

     

  • Mahmoud Abbas’s U.N. gambit

    Mahmoud Abbas’s U.N. gambit

    ONE OF THE winners in last week’s protests outside U.S. embassies in the Middle East was Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Before the eruption of outrage over an anti-Muslim film, Mr. Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad had faced a week of demonstrations and strikes in the West Bank that some were starting to compare to the revolts against other autocratic Arab rulers. Thanks to the eruption of anti-Americanism and Mr. Fayyad’s timely repeal of several recent price and tax increases, the opposition movement appears to have subsided for now. But one way or another, Mr. Abbas’s Palestinian Authority appears headed for trouble.

    The 76-year-old president has been digging himself into a political hole since early last year, when he announced a new strategy of seeking recognition of Palestinian statehood by the United Nations and a reconciliation deal with the rival Hamas movement. The recognition bid flopped last fall in the U.N. Security Council, where the Palestinians failed to obtain even the eight votes needed for a simple majority. Meanwhile, talks with Hamas stalled, and long-overdue elections, promised for last May, were once again put off.

    During this time Mr. Abbas has mostly refused negotiations with Israel, citing as a pretext the continued construction in Israel’s West Bank settlements. Israel has offered the Palestinian Authority a number of concessions in exchange for renewing the peace process, including prisoner releases and a potentially lucrative natural gas concession. But Mr. Abbas has not agreed.

    Instead, as the West Bank demonstrations were reaching a crescendo, Mr. Abbas held a news conference in Ramallah on Sept. 8 and confirmed that he will renew the U.N. initiative, this time by seeking a vote in the General Assembly upgrading the Palestinians’ status to that of a non-member observer state. Palestinian officials say the new status might allow them to join more U.N. bodies and to bring actions against Israel in the International Criminal Court.

    However, the vote would not create a state — and it might put an end to Mr. Abbas’s Palestinian Authority. Israel would probably stop providing the tax funds that pay for two-thirds of the authority’s budget; Congress, which has already held up $200 million in funding because of last year’s U.N. initiative, could block all American aid. That would worsen the economic crunch, caused by a loss of foreign funding, that has prompted the strikes and demonstrations Mr. Abbas is seeking to defuse. Not just the Obama administration but also friendly Arab governments, such as that of Jordan, have counseled Mr. Abbas that the push for recognition would be self-defeating.

    The Palestinian leader seems to have left himself some wiggle room: He says the push for recognition will begin with “consultations” with other U.N. members after his Sept. 27 speech to the assembly. Other Palestinian officials have hinted that the “consultations” may be prolonged; Mr. Abbas might hope that he can extract concessions from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, after the Nov. 6 election, from President Obama, were he to win, in exchange for dropping the initiative. But to what end? As Jordan’s foreign minister recently pointed out, negotiations with Israel are the only realistic path to Palestinian statehood. Mr. Abbas’s refusal to accept that fact might prove to be his undoing.

    – Washington Post

  • Destruction of masts

    Destruction of masts

    •It is the Boko Haram bulls’ eye attack on northern economy

    The security crisis plaguing Northern Nigeria has taken a new dimension with the orchestrated destruction of telecommunications masts across several states in the zone. Obviously the aim is to cripple communications and businesses, and unless the wave is contained, insecurity in the region will worsen.

    The Boko Haram sect, which has claimed responsibility for most of the insurgency in the region, has also claimed responsibility for this new development. Tragically, as the infrastructure of the telecom companies are being destroyed, members of their staff and innocent bystanders are also killed by the hoodlums.

    With this new tactics, the Boko Haram sect is out to destroy what remains of the distressed economy of the region. As seen in recent times, the sect has been attacking federal and state institutions, alongside the schools that have been their original target. Last week alone, about 16 persons were reportedly killed in Damaturu and Potiskum, Yobe State, while the Ministry of Religious Studies, Pilgrims Welfare Board, Hajj camp, local government INEC office, and Government Secondary School, Damaturu, were targeted with Improvised Explosive Device (IED). In the same week, the masts in Kano and Maiduguri were also targets of the incendiary activities of the sect.

    The political leadership in Nigeria as we have severally argued must rise up to the primary responsibility of government, which is the protection of lives and property. Because of the persistent wanton destruction of lives and property, it is gradually turning to a permanent state of affairs in the region. In such situation, more businesses close down, more people get displaced, and a major chunk of the scarce resources is spent fighting the insurgency. The result is that poverty worsens, and those orchestrating the violence get more members from the population of frustrated Nigerians, and the result is a cycle of violence and poverty.

    The Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Boko Haram crisis in Yobe State reported that four persons have been arrested in connection with the destruction of the masts, and are being interrogated. We urge the JTF to do more than it has done. It is strange that despite assurances by the Federal Government that it is on top of the situation, the facts on ground remain increasingly slippery. While the Federal Government has changed some key officials and spent huge resources, if the budget is anything to rely on, the results are merely trickling in.

    Unfortunately even before the Boko Haram insurgency started, the North-Eastern part of the country was the least educated, and also at the lowest rung of poverty index in the country. Little wonder that the crisis started and is dominant in that area. With all efforts concentrated on containing the crisis, there is no doubt that the zone will be moving further down the rudder of underdevelopment. Targeting education and any modicum of modern development, the religious sect is obviously determined to return the area to its rustic settings of the previous centuries.

    Even more tragic is that members of the sect are also destroying the communications channels that they also use. While condemning everything western, they rely on modern facilities, including destructive IEDs to spread mayhem. The sect no doubt uses telephones to communicate and pass down instructions, and it is strange that despite their original claim to be fighting against government and other religions, they have now started destroying private properties that are beneficial to all.

    Telecommunication investments in the North have to be protected. Moreover, states in the region would increase the tempo of whatever effort they are making to redeem the north from irreversible destruction. It is also necessary for the states to reconsider their stand on state police, which we have argued may be necessary to stem the apparent descent into anarchy.

  • Foreigners’ affront

    Foreigners’ affront

    •The arrest of a Chinese company executive should be the established pattern

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has sealed off Chung Full Nigeria Limited for arrant abuse of business ethics. The company is the manufacturer of Osaki range of table water, suspected to be capable of causing hurt to human health. Mr Ksui Kim, its Chinese managing director and four other officials of the company,were arrested for allegedly masterminding the production and sale of such injurious water.

    The company, from reports, had been placed on surveillance by NAFDAC over time due to suspicion that it infracts on industrial guidelines and procedures. There were reported instances of when officials of the regulatory agency, in the line of duty, were prevented from entering the company’s premises. The Mende, Maryland area, Lagos State office of the company was a no-go area for the regulatory authority, supposedly, on the orders of Kim.

    Surprisingly, the company allegedly subverted the law providing for implementation of good manufacturing practices in the country, and also flagrantly impeded the discharge of NAFDAC duties as statutorily provided for by its enabling law.

    Mr. Garba Macdonald, NAFDAC’s Director of Enforcement, described the company’s onslaught against the law, coupled with its operating from an insanitary residential apartment, during a visit thus: “As you have seen, this is an1 unhygienic environment and the company has been producing table water without a valid registration certificate, which is a clear violation of NAFDAC’s regulations.”

    What a mockery of the nation’s system for a foreigner to operate such a company! That is one of the greatest acts of industrial impunity that can be committed against any sovereign nation by a foreigner.

    Can Kim engage in such unethical practices in his home country? There is no doubt that China, a no-nonsense country when it comes to issues of fraud and ethics, will not condone such crass impunity from its own nationals, not to talk of foreigners. This is why government officials that are involved in enforcement of ethics, standards and industrial procedures should be up and doing in the discharge of their duties. NAFDAC ought to have taken lawful steps to stop this company from operating a long time ago.

    Henceforth, foreigners, irrespective of their countries of origin, just as Nigerians operating in the country should be compelled to adhere to the rules of engagement. Nigeria is in dire need of foreign investment but we wonder if it is in the area of table water. It is adding salt to injury when even a foreigner who sees that as a business to embark upon in the country would do so without consideration for public hygiene. Definitely, Mr. Kim is not alone in this. There have been other reported incidents of foreigners that short-changed the country in the management of their companies’ affairs. However, because no scapegoat has been made of any of them, this gives impetus to the continuation of the type of illegality recently discovered in Chung Full Nigeria Limited.

    Relevant authorities must ensure that this matter is pursued to a logical conclusion. Those involved in the kind of activities that Chung Full Nigeria Limited is alleged to be doing should face the consequence of their action in accordance with the nation’s laws. We should not be seen to be running an industrial jungle in the name of attracting foreign investors.

     

  • Mysterious disappearances

    Gawat

    •Cases of missing persons are rising and increasingly disturbing 

    It is over two months since ace TV presenter Rasak Aremu Gawat disappeared mysteriously in Lagos, and many people are still wondering what happened to him. His Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) was found on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, with no trace of the popular broadcaster. His disappearance has stuck in the public imagination as perhaps the most notable case of a missing person in the country so far this year.

    Gawat, however, is just one of over 50 people the police in the state have declared missing since January. There are various possibilities that could explain the disappearance of these people, according to force public relations officer, Mr Frank Mba, who shed light on cases of missing persons in a newspaper interview.

    He explained: “Not everyone that is not immediately found or whose whereabouts are still in doubt, for a particular number of hours or days, can be said to be a missing person.” He gave examples of run-away house maids and apprentices who are found later, and people who suddenly slumped and died on the street, or who died in road accidents or at the beach , whose situations are compounded if there is no way they can be identified. He also mentioned cases involving young people who fall into the hands of bad elements, as in the recent case of Cynthia Osokogu, the post-graduate student of Nasarawa State University who met her death at the hands of friends she met on social media sites, who lured her to Lagos ostensibly for business purposes.

    In Cynthia’s case, she died in a Lagos hotel without any means of identification, and it took the efforts of the police to discover her identity and apprehend her suspected killers. But for effective police investigation, she could have ended up being declared a missing person, even though she was actually killed.

    It is always bad news for the families of missing persons, who would prefer the clarity of death to the uncertainty of disappearance. The agony of living with the disappearance of a loved one is reflected in the reported case of one Olumide Adelogba, who has been missing for five years. He was sent on an errand to Oshodi market in Lagos with N20, 000, but never returned home. His mother, Mrs Olayinka Adelogba, 68, a retired teacher, told a reporter, “I will only get over my son’s disappearance after I die. It is traumatising to recall him once in a while. I would wonder if he was actually dead or hypnotised and wasting away somewhere.”

    With the range of possibilities, there is no doubt that cases of missing persons pose a tough challenge to the police, especially when there are no clues. However, some of such cases really boil down to the question of security. In recent times, for instance, there has been an upsurge in incidents of kidnapping, and some of the victims have not been released by their captors or rescued by the police. There have been observations in some quarters that the country is under-policed, and this security factor needs to be addressed for the safety of the people.

    Speaking on the efforts of the police to prevent cases of missing persons, Mba said, “We have introduced the idea of Passengers” Manifest in our inter-state vehicles. The idea is for all passengers to write their names, telephone numbers, next-of-kin, and destinations so that in the case of any eventuality, the case of identification will not be a problem. But even at that, many of the passengers will write fake names and information. And we also advise that people should have valid identity cards on them.”

    It is not clear how well this precautionary measure is working, even though it is limited to road transport situations. All said, there is the need for the police to come up with more ideas to check the rising incidence of missing persons.

     

  • Clash of interests?

    • The forced resignation of Barth Nnaji could be more of clash of interests than of conflict of interests

    Was

    NNAJI

    the former power minister, forced out of office because of a clash of interests with superior powers, and not the official reason of conflict of interests?

    This question has become imperative, given the claim by an editorial, in the latest issue of The Economist, the London magazine, that Mr. Nnaji lost his job as power minister because he stood against “companies”, in which Vice President Namadi Sambo allegedly had interests.

    The Economist’s claim, verbatim: “Mr. Nnaji also warred with the vice-president, Namadi Sambo, who owns companies with interests in the public power sector, oversees the government’s national privatisation council and heads a programme to build ten new state power stations that Mr. Nnajii hoped to privatise. This may have hastened his departure.”

    Now, these are very grievous charges, if true – and the reasons are self-evident.

    For starters, Vice-President Sambo drives the privatisation programme, as chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP); just as Mr. Nnaji drove the power programme, as power minister. Now, if the minister lacked integrity, at least in the context that he had conflict of interests, since firms in which he had interests were bidding for power plants for which the minister was chief auctioneer, and he had to forfeit his job for that, does the vice-president have more integrity, if his alleged firms were bidding in a process of which he is the overall boss?

    If these allegations are true – and they may well be false – but if they are true, what moral or legal reasons does the vice-president have to stay on in office, and continue supervising a process which, like the fallen minister on a lower scale, he has alleged conflict of interests? If the allegations are true, and the vice-president stays on as the privatisation czar, is the whole privatisation process, on which the Jonathan presidency’s much-vaunted economic reforms is hinged, not doomed to a permanent credibility slur?

    Then the issue of double standards, again if the allegations are true: If a minister was pressured to quit on allegations of conflict of interests, even if he openly declared his interest and pleaded blind trust as legal defence, what happens to the State No. 2, who neither declared his interest nor pleaded any trust, blind or sighted? More fundamentally, in the realm of equity and justice, could the minister – incidentally, the brightest sparkle in a team that is no means stellar – have been ousted not because of any conflict of interests (even if that is bad enough) but because of plain victimisation for allegedly standing in the way of powerful interests bent on corrupting the privatisation process (which is worse)?

    But for all you know, these allegations might be false. Nevertheless, it is shocking that the office of the Vice-President and the NCP which he chairs have not come out to refute these grievous allegations, capable of compromising the whole privatisation process, in the eyes of the neo-liberal crowd that Nigeria’s economic managers, since the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo, have always grandstanded to please.

    But whatever the reaction from the office of the Vice-President and the NCP, the anti-corruption agencies should move in and thoroughly investigate these allegations. They must lay the ghost to rest by establishing the vice-president’s innocence or otherwise. Better still, the vice-president can take the news weekly to court to clear his name.

     

  • Profligacy

    •Only a wasteful government would offer N3.2 billion to rebuild an already insured UN house
    The reconstruction of the United Nations House that was bombed in August last year by Boko Haram insurgents is absolutely necessary; but should it be undertaken by the Federal Government? Of course it is not that we are not concerned about the fact that people lost their lives in the unfortunate incident. Or that we want the Federal Government to jettison the traditional hospitality for which Africans are renowned.
    But we do not see any need for earmarking N3.2bn of tax payers’ money to rebuild the UN structure, especially if it is true that it was insured, as the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), an opposition party has claimed. The party reasoned that since all UN buildings worldwide are usually insured, not only against fire or other mishaps, but also against terrorist activities like it happened in the Nigerian case, the Federal Government has no business spending such an amount to rebuild the office bombed in the country.
    The CPC last week exposed moves by the Federal Government to commit the amount to what should be the concern of another institution. Mr Rotimi Fashakin, CPC’s national publicity secretary, was apt: “…. it is our belief that, before embarking on this expensive venture, there is the need to ascertain the appropriateness of this expenditure. Indeed, in its world-wide operations, UN has a comprehensive insurance policy for its buildings and a separate insurance for terrorism! This is why we see the offer by the Federal Government to spend money on what was already provided for by the UN as totally wrong-headed and preposterous.’’
    Till date, there is no evidence that the UN ever sought for pecuniary assistance from the government in its bid to rebuild the building. We are bothered because of the present administration’s proclivity for embarking on very unpopular policies and implementing projects outside of the budget. On the issue of fuel subsidy, the government was unreasonably adamant until it was forced to see reason (even if partially); also, the needless issue of N5000 currency denomination that it has insisted on going on with is still very fresh in mind. We only hope that this unsolicited gesture for the rebuilding of the UN House will be stopped by the National Assembly.
    The move, ab initio, is fraught with so many pitfalls. For example, how did the government arrive at the figure for rebuilding the edifice? Was the money appropriated by the legislature? More importantly, has it been carefully ascertained in other places where UN buildings were damaged that this is the way it is done? Are we sure that some powerful forces somewhere are not trying to capitalise on the UN House bombing to siphon public funds? We can only hope that the proposed assistance is not another way of telling the world that money is not our problem but how to spend it!
    Since the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, the US came up with the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) of 2002. When this expired in 2005, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Programme Re-authorisation Act 2007 extended it through to December 31, 2014. Unfortunately till date, the Federal Government has not seen the wisdom in adopting this important legal framework despite the avalanche of terrorist activities in the country since 2009.
    We know that those running the UN realise the hazards that the institution and its personnel face as a result of its activities worldwide and must have made provision for the kind of insurance that the CPC is talking about. It is only in our type of environment that we resort to ‘fire brigade’ approach in dealing with issues. Those running the United Nations are more proactive. We therefore submit that there are more productive ways that the government can spend the country’s hard-earned resources instead of squandering money on an unsolicited venture like this.

  • Agenda for NBA exco

    •The high principles of the rule of law and humanity must inform its leadership
    The biennial election of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) ended on a high note with an annual convention in Abuja. Mr. Okechukwu Wali (SAN), who won the election, was sworn in as President of the association, with members of his new executive. The immediate past President, Mr. Joseph Daudu, was optimistic that the new leadership would continue to advance the paramount interest of the country; and as part of his last function as the chief spokesman of the NBA, he stated the position of the Bar on some critical national issues.
    We support the need for a continuous intervention of the Bar on critical issues of national development. The new leadership of the NBA no doubt must be aware that without the wellbeing of Nigeria, there will be no bar association. As such, the Bar must always make sure that it weighs in on the side of the people at all times. Interestingly, the need for a fundamental amendment of the constitution is on the front burner of national discourse. Among the critical questions confronting the country are fiscal federalism, revenue allocation formula, corruption, state police, state creation, restructuring of the federation, resource ownership, redenomination of the Naira, among others.
    In his final address, Mr. Dauda on behalf of the Bar supported the creation of state police, and denounced the proposed redenomination of the Naira and creation of a new N5,000 note, among other resolutions. The last Bar leadership had always taken positions on other national issues. While some may disagree with some of their stand, such regular intervention is helpful. The new leadership must continue in that respect. It should work hard to send its resolutions on constitution amendment to the National Assembly, clearly expressing its position on critical issues of national importance after a robust debate among its members.
    One critical issue for the survival of the country, which is also inevitable for the survival of the association, is the promotion of rule of law. For the business of Nigerian lawyers to thrive, governments must not show mere lip service to the rule of law. The Bar must therefore rise always to fight for it. One sore point staring the country in the face is the matter of the illegally suspended President of the Court of Appeal. The refusal by President Goodluck Jonathan to recall Justice Ayo Salami to his post despite the position of the National Judicial Council (heading another arm of government), must continuously be condemned by the Bar.
    In our view, the Bar must also fight for the restructuring of the country, in such a way to restore the ethics of work. Except for beneficiaries of the current crisis, there is little doubt that the country needs to be put on the path of sustainable growth. We hope members of the legal profession will direct their intellectual energy to study why and how Nigeria turned a ‘rent economy’ and one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Despite the huge economic resources from the exploration of oil, the Bar should seek to understand why Nigeria’s poverty index is also one of the highest in the world. We believe that understanding this web of poverty in the midst of wealth will help the association to make an informed contribution to the country’s growth.
    It is good that the association has set up machinery for internal reformation. At the last conference and even the ones before, many of the association’s members have always complained about the electoral process and welfare of members. Also, members of the public have raised concerns over professional conducts of some lawyers. We hope the new leadership will take steps to critically examine these issues and offer sustainable changes in the overall interest of her members and the society.

  • Two men, two Americans

    The race for the White House is so tight because voters cannot decide what sort of country they want to live in
    One of President Obama’s best stunts in nearly two years of campaigning for re-election has been to stage a speech under a decrepit Cincinnati bridge that he promised to rebuild, creating hundreds of jobs, if only Republicans in Congress would approve the funding. The speech was so widely broadcast that he gave one just like it under another bridge a few weeks later.
    The man hoping to remove him from the White House is less given to theatrics, but just as fond of reliable applause lines. One of his favourites is a promise to start the process of repealing “Obamacare” on his first day in the Oval Office.
    Last night Mr Obama accepted his party’s nomination, and both campaigns entered the final straight of the most grueling selection process democracy has ever devised. It will end not with a referendum on Mr Obama’s record, as some Republicans hoped, but with a choice between two radically different visions of America.
    It will not be an easy choice, because the country is not just in the economic doldrums and a political funk; it is in a full-blown identity crisis. The identities on offer are not the social clichés of the late 20th century’s culture wars but the jarring economic mantras that Americans have acquired after four years of polarizing recession and recrimination. In historical terms this is a choice between the great national investment programmes of the New Deal and the stern self-reliance of Barry Goldwater – or even the pioneers. In bumper-sticker language it is “I love my postal carrier” versus “Work harder – millions on welfare depend on you”. It is a choice between restoring an America that seems to have worked better in the past, and forcing it to adapt to mighty changes in global economics and demography.
    Both campaigns lay claim to American exceptionalism, because they must. It is still true that no one can win the White House without assuring voters they are unusually resourceful and somehow blessed. Julian Castro, the charismatic Mayor of San Antonio, specifically invoked his Texan “bootstraps” as well as his good fortune in having been brought to America by his parents, in a keynote speech this week that was quickly likened to the one Barack Obama gave eight years ago.
    But in important respects the two camps’ versions of America will be pitched as polar opposites. For one, taxes are little more than brakes on the economy. For the other, they are essential to create jobs and pay down debt. for one, government is a necessary evil. For the other it is the citizen’s essential partner.
    The first task for whoever wins will be to forge a plausible deficit reduction plan. If it is Mitt Romney, he must accept that the country’s finances cannot be fixed with spending cuts alone. If it is Mr Obama, he must acknowledge that raising taxes for only the richest 5 per cent will not suffice. A good template would be a detailed set of proposals drafted by Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, and wrongly shelved by Mr Obama.
    The next President must have the courage, as Bill Clinton did, to begin to reform welfare programmes that America can no longer afford, and to invest in the research and education without which it cannot hope to lead a global recovery.
    The race is on a knife-edge. Polls of the roughly 6 per cent of voters who remain undecided will give clues as to how it will end, but on November 6 a few thousand ballots in swing states may decide the national race. Part-time workers in Ohio and lowa, dismayed by high unemployment but suspicious of Mr Romney’s background and business record, are one key group. Latino voters in Florida and Colorado, among who Mr Obama enjoys a 35-point lead, are another.
    The result will not resolve America’s identity crisis, but in typical America fashion, the race will address it head on.