The Nation Newspaper

Tag: case

  • Case for the devolution of power

    SIR: Recently a bill seeking to grant states control over mineral resources within their domain passed the second reading in the House of Representatives. The bill titled “A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to vest the control of the revenues derived from minerals, mineral oils, natural gas in, under or upon any land In the States of the Federation and for Other Related Matters” seeks to give much needed realism and impetus to Nigeria’s quest for economic and revenue diversification. The truth is that if Nigeria is to make progress economically and achieve its goal of a sustainably diversified economy and revenue base, then it must reform its political-economic institutions in order to reflect its socio-economic realities and the legitimate aspirations of the different ethnic nationalities that have voluntarily congregated to constitute the Federation known as Nigeria.

    The current quasi-unitary system we currently practice is essentially a system of bondage that has shackled Nigeria’s economic potentials, via the subjugation of its federating units nay states, which otherwise should be the engines and propellers of Nigeria’s march to economic development. Nigeria is currently enmeshed in a recession for which many reasons have been adduced to explain the cause. Of all reasons so far adduced, the most factual and resonating has been that aside the mismanagement and corruption of past thieving administrations, Nigeria remains unhealthily saddled with a deleterious mono-product economy, which is a result of the stifling political and economic system we currently practice. A system that places premium not on productivity and innovation, but on doctored population figures and other Machiavellian schemes designed for the purpose of securing a larger chunk of revenue from the corruptly-termed and dwindling “national cake”.

    It is interesting to also note that in spite of the glaring flaws of our current political-economic system, there are those who opine that Nigeria’s under-development has little to do with the unjust and tragically flawed nature of Nigeria’s political-economic system. They insist that our problems are essentially a function of “poor leadership”. They further assert that all Nigeria needs to reach the Promised Land is “repentance and a change of heart” on the part of our political elite, and the people. The proponents of this school of thought have however failed to ask themselves WHY Nigeria has continually been afflicted with “poor leadership” over the years. Is Nigeria and are Nigerians accursed of God? Are all Nigerians avowed corruption-lovers? The answer to this question is rather obvious: Nigeria’s corrupt political-economic system, as a matter of course, births “poor leadership”, in the same manner as a goat cannot give birth to a lion, neither can an unjust and flawed political-economic system give birth to responsible and accountable leadership.

    The few instances of good governance Nigeria has recorded since the coming into force of this present political-economic system have been nothing but anomalies, this is because the Nigerian state does not have the required mechanisms needed to incentivize or replicate such isolated and rare instances of good governance. There is nothing that incentivizes responsible and accountable leadership in Nigeria. For an average Nigerian elected or appointed public official to muster the will to do the right things he or she must be somewhat of a zealot, with significant political leverage and a singular determination to do what is right and legal, in spite of systemic limitations.

    Whilst appreciative of the critical need for good and purposeful leadership, it is humbly submitted that the long-suffering people of Nigeria can not continue to depend ad infinitum on the emergence of anomalies. We must as a people, nay as a nation, create the requisite political-economic institutions and systems that incentivize good governance, engender social cohesion and advance the economic well-being of all our people, irrespective of the political party or person in power. We must design a system that makes it impossible or at least extremely difficult for the lowest denominators in our polity to emerge as our leaders; and only the reformation of our current political and economic systems will enable that.

     

    • Barrister Ugochukwu Joseph Amasike, 

    Lagos.

  • Making a case for the child

    Title: The Nigerian Child and Youth Development
    Author: Edited by Prof Etim N. Udoh (OFR)
    Publishers: Clement Ventures, Uyo. Akwa Ibom State
    No of Pages: 452
    Reviewer: Edozie Udeze

    The Nigerian Child and Youth Development is a comprehensive and well-researched treatise on the condition of Nigerian children.  A collection of articles by different scholars on child development and psychology, the book looks at various levels of the Nigerian child, his rights, his deprivations, his denials, et al, and what ought to be done to make him/her feel a sense of love and belonging in a porous society like Nigeria.  This is why the different articles in the book touch on these aspects – the youth, society and social system; an overview, family types in Nigeria (and what they portend), the almagiri phenomenon in Nigeria (a time bomb), child rearing practices and development of values in Nigeria, marriage and the family in Nigeria.  Other aspects treated in the book include school readiness and childhood education, changes in the child’s body:  Fear of the unknown, the youth in Nigerian education system: the place of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), influence of internal and external factors on youths social and academic experiences and much more.  But the obvious questions that arise from the researches conducted by education experts in the last years are; where did the youth education in Nigeria begin to go wrong?  Is it because all the indexes of child education and care have gone awry that these questions began to arise as to how to get it on track again?

    In order therefore to make the articles lucid, the researches here reflect the Nigerian situation in the last four decades or so.  Ending in 2015, the articles thoroughly analyse and dissect contemporary Nigeria and its problems.  It envisages the future changes necessary to position the youths where they ought to be in the nation (page 2).  Stating reason for the compilation of the articles, Professor Etim Udoh says “the justification for this publication therefore lies in its relevance in the illumination of the challenges associated with the growth and development of those yet unborn.  It also ventures approaches, based on sound and objective analyses of challenges.  Indeed, the book is shaped by the triangle of childhood, youth and adulthood.  (Page 2).

    This is equally linked to a quadrangle of the family, village, tribe (ethnicity), and the nation itself which in all intents and purposes, actually shape or define the life of a Nigerian child.  The core essence of the arguments as presented in the book is that the society usually expects some norm from the child at this stage of his life cycle.  A child of today becomes the adult of tomorrow.  But what he took away from his childhood inadvertently defines his life of tomorrow.

    This is why the book is an all-rounder on the genesis of the child – of what he is today, what he makes of his childhood, depending on the indoctrination or moral conducts available to him, to what he turns out to be as a youth, and then into adulthood.

    If, for instance, education is seen as the universal natural phenomenon and the right of the child, how much of it, does the Nigerian child get?  When a child gets good and functional education, it is taken that it manifests in his life as he grows up.  This is why the Nigerian system should sit up now.  It is time to refocus attention on the rights of the child as enshrined in the United Nations charter on how to make the child a fundamental member of the larger society.

    But how can this be achieved, more so, in a society where most parents, and sometimes government functionaries do not even care to locate these rights and apply them?  The answers are all contained in this compendium, well-dissected and addressed not only for the attention of parents and the like, but for education policy-makers so that the Nigerian child will indeed begin to have and feel this sense of belonging.  A cursory look at the programmes to emancipate children from the clutches of education and poverty of the mind over the years, reveal that not much had been achieved.  This book draws attention to those anomalies and warns that if care is not taken even the level of unemployment which has hit 9.2 million, will soon tear the society to shreds.  Who is to blame, then?  Is it not due to the inept attitude of government in place where even to approve the budget for education, the minister in charge has to bribe those in-charge to release his money?  But there can’t be a functional education where apparatuses of education policies over time have been in the doldrums.  It is also incongruous to assume that good can come out of a rotten system.  A good society, of course, breeds good education for its teeming youths.  This is why the almagiri phenomenon should be nipped in the bud forthwith.  It breeds miscreants.  It is anti-development.  It is against the usual spirit of development where a society intends on doing so (page 57).

    On page 57, the book states it clearly: “in view of the importance of education to individual, personal and natural development, the education of the almagiri child should not be ignored by the government.  Thus, the need for the integration of basic education elements into Qur’anic schools with government should expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education especially for the most vulnerable disadvantaged children” (pages 59 and 60).  In order to achieve this, government has to begin now to improve mostly on girl-child education which has been and is still at its lowest ebb.  Where a girl-child is given good qualitative education, it goes to show that not only the family but the tribe, the state and the nation will gain from it tremendously.  This is the whole essence of the statistics provided by the book.  It is to help readers have a glimpse of what the situation has become since time immemorial

    And so to rear a child (page 85), it is the primary concern of parents in the African setting.  However, there can be various inputs by the society, the family and so on.  As much as a child is highly valued, it is also imperative that both the society and the parents do their utmost to ensure their proper care and upbringing that would eventually define the direction the child takes in his strides in the world.  There’s that urgent need to instill discipline in the child, to let him or her know right on time that with education, he will go places.  But first of all, this discipline has to be dispensed with love and tenderness in order to get the best result.  Children thrive more in an atmosphere of love imbued with some level of instruction relevant to their needs.

    The section on influence and concept of adolescence harps more on this sudden changes that occurs in the life of the child.  Before the child gets to the puberty stage, these changes tend to confuse him/her.  But it is still part of the education that propels the child on in life.  That physical maturity in this regard sees the child proving tough or difficult or more.  Yet, it is the role of the people involved in his life to lead him on the road to progress and fulfillment.

    The book is divided into sections in order to situate the lesson clearer.  And indeed each section dwells on different issues essential for the good of the child.  It is better to read the book in sections so as to allow the lesson rub in.  Although there are plenty of editing and proofreading errors in different sections of the book, this is a book which education handlers whether at the state or national level, should make their constant companion.  It is more in reading it and implementing the recommendations that the book can make more sense.

  • Film Village boss makes case for filmmakers

    The Managing Director, Abuja Film Village International (AFVI) Ltd, Mr. Segun Oyekunly has called for more support for indigenous filmmakers so as to pave the way for qualitative documentation of socially relevant issues in the country.

    In particular, the AVFI boss said that stakeholders in the film industry are in dire need of financial backing, to enable them churn out good films on contemporary trends, for entertainment and enlightenment of both local and international audiences.

    Oyekunly made the call while declaring open an American Film showcase at the 2016 Abuja International Film Festival held last week.

    The Film Showcase was reportedly presented by the Embassy of the United States of America, in collaboration with AFVI Ltd, where audiences were engaged on contemporary issues aptly captured in American independent documentaries and narrative films.

  • Don makes case for cyberspace

    Don makes case for cyberspace

    A lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Prof Charles Omekwu, has stressed the need for Nigeria to promote technological education in order to meet up with contemporary challenges facing the country.

    He stated this during the university’s 113th inaugural lecture held at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium (PAA).

    In his lecture titled: Cyberspace revolution: Issues, implications and imperatives, Prof Omekwu said cyberspace was making complicated tasks easy, saying its impact is being felt in all aspects of human endeavours.

    According to the don, the influence of cyberspace can be seen in the world with the advent of video conferencing, e- learning, e- banking, e- marketing and e-medicine, adding that it also provides a veritable basis for academic excellence.

    “Cyberspace environment provides the enabling platform for individual and institutional visibility on the global scale. Those who fail to embrace the technological revolution will be relegated to the background of global insignificance,” he said.

    In his address, the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Benjamin Ozumba, represented by his deputy for Academics, Prof James Ogbonna, said the theme of the lecture was timely, stressing that the world has become a global village where every human effort are driven by Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

    His words: “There is no better time to have this scholarly lecture than now when the world is ICT-dominated. Everything we do is basically centered on the use of ICT for efficient service delivery.”

     

  • ‘I have no case with EFCC’

    ‘I have no case with EFCC’

    The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Godwin Obaseki, has said that he has no case with the Economic and  Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Obaseki said reports linking him with a  case with the anti-graft body is false, adding that political foes are at work.

    The flag bearer, who spoke with reporters in benin City, the state capital, added: “I don’t have a case with EFCC. I am in the board of several companies and this company in question is a German company and I served on their board and they had a partner who died many years ago and unfortunately, his estate has not been properly managed.

    “His other businesses have gone bankrupt and there is a petition from their children claiming that this company was owing their father, but there was the agreement this company had with the children several years ago where what was due to the estate was paid.

    “We have been seeing it in the papers. It is a family having quarrels and all sorts of internal issues. So,  they wrote to the EFCC and other bodies. So, if somebody is owing you money, are there no courts to go? Is it not a civil matter? But, I didn’t manage the company. I was just a shareholder. I don’t have anything there. But, you know being in politics, you expect everything.”

    Obaseki gave an insight into the king of government he will run,  if he wins the September 10 election. He promised tp run an all-inclusive government by using technology, thereby reducing the cost of governance.

    The Chairman of the Edo State Economic Team said the APC will go into the election as one family, adding that he is carrying along other former aspirants.

    He said: “One thing I will want to do is to use technology to run government, a smart government because we don’t have money.We don’t have the kind money we used to have. So, one innovation, which we started with the Comrade Governor, is the use of the ICT. We are going to move up to a much higher level so that we can give a lot efficiency from the little money we have.”

    Shedding light on how he emerged as the candidate, despite his perception by some party leaders as a neophyte, Obaseki said he approached the primary as if it was a general election.

    He stressed:”I went round the 18 local governments. I said if this an election of party delegates, then, we should go and campaign to them and I just came up with a strategy where I had to meet every delegate. It was not just sufficient to say we have met with the leaders; I have spoken to them and I expect that they will spread the word down through. For the responsibility I am seeking to get, I thought I needed to know a lot much more. So, I ran a delegate election as if it was a full blown election. I went to every of the 192 wards and I tried to understand the structure of governance in each ward.”

  • We won’t withdraw suits until PDP follows its constitution – Chieftain

    We won’t withdraw suits until PDP follows its constitution – Chieftain

    A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State, Chief Akintayo Akin-deko, Thursday insisted that he would not withdraw his court case against the national leadership of the party until the leaders follow the constitution of the party in selecting leaders and in taking other decisions.

    Akin-Deko and some other party members filed a suit against the party’s national convention held in Port-Harcourt last month and another slated for Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    He explained that only the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party can decide the processes for decisions, not governors or any other group of powerful individuals.

    He said this in his Ibadan home Thursday when former President Olusegun Obasanjo paid a private visit to the matriarch of the Akin-deko family, Chief Ebun Akin-deko.

    The PDP chieftain said: “I’m one of the people who went to court to stop the conventions at Port-Harcourt and Abuja, insisting that the party must follow its own constitution. The problem started in 2011 when some people especially from the South south insisted that former president Goodluck Jonathan should run for a second term. That impunity has been continuing since then and came to a head when the governors decided that they were going to impose Alh. Alli Modu Sherif on us. The grassroots members are resisting it thoroughly, that Alhaji Sherif cannot be there and that governors cannot impose a chairman on the party. Only the BoT can constitute the party’s working committee. Alh. Ahmed Makarfi is an excellent man. Fortunately, he is also a member of the BoT. Fortunately, he is a former governor. So, he is the bridge that the BoT will use to stop this madness that is going on right now where people are invading our Abuja secretariat as if we are going back to the old days of Wild, Wild West. Unfortunately, they are attacking themselves needlessly over an issue of principles.”

    He insisted that the suits would go on until the party sticks to its constitution.

    “We have insisted we will not remove that case from court until the party follows the path of the constitution. Nobody can walk in from the streets, from another party and try to impose themselves on those of us that have been patient for so many years to recover our party. Once the party elders, the founding fathers, have structured an agreement, then we will withdraw the cases from court,” he said.

    Akin-deko, however, believes that the crisis rocking the national leadership of the party would be resolved in a matter of days.

    On allegation that the PDP crisis is being sponsored by the All Progressives Congress (APC), he rather blamed the former for opening itself up for alleged attacks from other parties and even from disgruntled members.

    “If there is no rule of law in the country, anybody can pick up something tomorrow and start anarchy. That is what is going on in the PDP now. They must go back and observe the rule of law,” He insisted.

    On why Obasanjo visited the family, Akin-deko explained that the former president, who was a close friend of his late father, Chief Gabriel Akin-deko, came to see Mrs Akin-deko to ascertain her well-being in another step to ensure that the 92-year old woman was still in good condition after the sad incident in which two of her grandchildren died in an accident in Iyabo Obasanjo’s car about 13 years ago.

    Since that incident, Akin-deko said the former president has been finding time once in a while to see the Mama to ascertain her well-being.

    The late Chief Akin-deko was a Minister of Agriculture.

  • Day Aisha Buhari made case for bill

    Day Aisha Buhari made case for bill

    The two chambers of the National Assembly on Monday, May 9th engaged themselves with two high-profile public hearing on a bill to create the North East Development Commission.

    Entitled the North East Development Commission Bill, 2016, the sentiment attached to the bill is understandable given the need to fashion a platform to address the ruinous misadventure of Boko Haram insurgents in the zone.

    That the NEDC Bill has all the trappings of the Niger Delta Development Commission Bill that gave birth to the NDDC is not in doubt.

    Perhaps, the major difference in terms of funding is that while the NDDC arelies heavily on accruals from oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region for its funding, the NEDC, when passed, will draw its funding from federal allocation and payment by extractive and mining companies doing business in the zone.

    Laudable as the steps being taken to set in motion machinery to rebuild the ravaged North East, there appear to be disconnect between the Senate and the House of Representatives on how to go about it.

    Keen observers at the senate talk shop wondered why two separate public hearing on the same bill should be held same time, same day by the same parliament?

    The two chambers are known to have in the past harmonised their positions and conducted joint public hearing on an important bill such as the NEDC Bill, at least to save cost as well as to narrow areas of disagreement.

    Some say ego trip and unhealthy rivalry that have held a lot of legislative activities down in the National Assembly must have been at play.

    Again even before the crucial interventionist bill is passed and signed into law, a subtle fight over the headquarters of the commission seemed to have emerged among the North East states.

    While Senators from Borno State, the center of Boko Haram insurgency, want the headquarters of the commission to be cited in Maidugiri, lawmakers from Yobe and Bauchi states are campaigning for the headquarters of the commission to be cited in their states.

    Yobe State governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, represented by Education Commissioner, Mohammed Lamin, at the House of Representatives version of the public hearing, did not hide his desire to have the headquarters of the commission cited in Damaturu, his state capital.

    The question on the lips of some stakeholders is whether there is any need to work at cross purposes on a bill that has one objective, the rebuilding of the badly damaged North East geo-political zone?

    Apart from these avoidable downsides, the NEDC Bill has had a smooth sail in both chambers.

    No doubt, the presence of the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, at the House of Representatives public hearing was a huge boost for the bill. Her presence however gave the impression that the bill has become, for all intents and purposes, a done deal.

    The First Lady was reported to have declared in a memorandum she personally submitted at the public hearing, “I believe that for rapid development to come to the region, a concerted effort must be made. I am Aisha Muhammadu Buhari and I support the NEDC Bill 100 percent.”

    On his part, Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, gave the Senate Joint Committee on Special Duties, Establishment and Public Service up till May 25, 2016 to complete work on the bill and report back to plenary.

    Saraki, who gave the charge while inaugurating the public hearing, insisted that what had been witnessed in the North East demanded special attention from well meaning Nigerians and not just from the government.

    Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Abdul-Aziz Murtala Nyako, had promised that his committee would work assiduously to ensure that the report on the bill was laid and read the third time on May, 25, 2016.

    Following Nyako’s remarks, Saraki concluded that though time was running out, he would hold the committee to its promise to turn in the report on the bill to plenary on May 25.

    For Saraki, it is imperative to pass the bill quickly to mitigate the precarious situation of those affected by insurgency in the North East.

    He said: “We must all rise up and say never again. We have seen families wiped out, children orphaned, incomes plunged below a tenth of what they were a decade ago. Families that have survived this onslaught have largely survived with little to live by and now rely directly on handouts for food rations.”

    He said the importance of the bill becomes more germane since the war against insurgency cannot be won by might alone.

    Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Mohammed Sani Sidi, in his presentation disclosed that over 800 repentant Boko Haram insurgents are currently undergoing skill acquisition training as part of efforts to rehabilitate and reintegrate them into society.

    Sidi said the skill acquisition exercise is being handled by the military and monitored by the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

    While responding to the comment by a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kaka Kyari Gujbawu, who called for general amnesty for repentant Boko Haram insurgents, Sidi said: “It is not true that the Federal Government has no amnesty package. There is what is called safe corridor. I do know that 800 plus (Boko Haram) have been registered. I don’t want to be specific. They have exited Boko Haram through the window. They are currently receiving various skill acquisition training. The military is handling it. It is being monitored by the Office of the CDS.”

  • Judge strikes out dead witness’ name in case

    Justice A. A. Babawale of the Sagamu High Court in Ogun State has struck out the  name  of the late Prince Obafemi Awoyade in the suit filed by Prince Adetayo Odunsi challenging the nomination of Albert Mayungbe as the Odemo of Isara-Remo.

    Justice Babawale struck out the late Awoyade’s name, who was the second defence witness, following an application by the defence counsel, Mr. A. O. Odusanya seeking to substitute him.

    Odusanya, representing the first to 13th defendants, had at the resumed pre-trial conference of the parties, reminded the court of their pending application to substitute the deceased who until his death early this year,  was the Head of the Erinsiba/Ayoledoye Ruling House of Isara-Remo.

    Earlier, the claimant’s counsel,  Olumuyiwa Obanewa said out of the 11 documents filed by the defence, he found five to be contentious, stressing that about three of the documents were not written in the language of the court.

    Responding to the enquiry of the court, Odusanya explained that the defence would make use of an interpreter in respect of the documents.

    He said the defence found three of about 12 documents filed by the claimant contentious.

    Justice Babawale told the parties that the court had taken note of the contentious documents in its record and adjoined the matter to May 5 and 12, 2016 for definite hearing.

    Co-defendants in the suit are the late head of the ruling house, Prince Obafemi Awoyade now substituted by another; Secretary, Remo North Local Government;  Oliwo of Isara, Chief Ajibowu Ogunfowodu; Apena of Isara, Chief Jimoh Soyombo; Chief Ladipo Ogunyemi; Ogbeni Odi of Isara, Chief Olajubu Osibote; Ekeji Asipa Odi, Chief Tunde Kalejaiye; Asipa Odi of Isara, Chief Owuye Logba.

    Others are Ekeji Asipa Odi of Isara, Chief Efuwape Sotikare; Olori Emo of Isara, Chief Bashiru Awoniyi; Ekeji Olori Emo of Isara, Chief Korede Ogunwole; Asipa Emo of Isara, Chief Nosiru Sodipe; Ekeji Asipa Emo, Chief Adewole Sopitan; Governor of Ogun State; Executive Council of Ogun State; the State Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Local Government and the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice as second to 18thdefendants.

    Prince Odunsi , who claimed to be a direct descendant of the late Oba Oyemade Mayungbe and progenitor of Erinsiba-Ayoledoye Ruling House, averred that he is the one lawfully entitled to the stool of Odemo of Isara-Remo.

    Odunsi sought seven prayers and orders against the defendants: “a declaration that the first defendant is not a member of the Erinsiba-Adyoledoye Ruling House and therefore not qualified to contest for the stool; that under native law and custom applicable in Isara and Remoland generally, an Odi (servant of the king) or  any of his descendants is not qualified to contest for the stool of Odemo of Isara; that the first defendant’s late grandfather and father, late Ogunsakin and Oyekunle Mayungbe were Odi  to the late Oba Samuel Akinsanya and late Oba Adeboboye Osideinde  and therefore not qualified to aspire or to be considered for nomination to the stool.

    He, therefore, sought an order of the court setting aside the nomination exercise of Erinsiba/Ayoledoye ruling house held on February 21, 2011 at which meeting the first defendant emerged as one of the candidates for the Odemo of Isara chieftaincy; an order setting aside the decision of the kingmakers selecting or electing the first defendant as the candidate for the Odemo of Isara chieftaincy among other prayers.

    In their statement of defence and counter claim, the first, second, sixth to tenth and 14th defendants admitted some of the averments of the claimant and deny others.

    The first defendant, Albert Mayungbe, insisted on being a “bonafide member  and descendant of the Erinsiba/Ayoledoye Ruling House and that the late Oba Mayungbe, aside from being a trader, met and married Arobo in Akure where Ogunsakin, his grandfather, was born.

    They  prayed the court for an order of mandamus compelling the 15th and 16thdefendants to give approval to the appointment of the first defendant as the new Odemo-elect of Isara-Remo.

    But the claimant, in his reply to the statement of defence and counter claim of the first, second, sixth to tenth and 14thdefendants, had contended that the first defendant is not a bonafide member and descendant of the Erinsiba/Ayoledoye Ruling house.

  • Bill Cosby: Email may derail case against entertainer

    Bill Cosby: Email may derail case against entertainer

    Former district attorney in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, claims he agreed more than a decade ago that his office wouldn’t use a civil deposition given by Bill Cosby in any criminal matters, an email obtained by CNN shows a revelation that could call into question the viability of the criminal case against the comedian.

    The 2015 email sent by former District Attorney Bruce Castor to successor Risa Vetri Ferman — details an apparent verbal agreement the prosecutor had a decade earlier with Cosby’s attorneys for Cosby to testify in a civil sexual assault case brought against him in 2005. In the email, Castor writes that his intent in making the deal was to create an atmosphere in which Cosby accuser Andrea Constand would have the best chance of prevailing in her civil suit against the 78-year-old comedian by removing the prospect of Cosby invoking his 5th Amendment right.

    CNN reports that the email was sent three months before criminal charges were filed against Cosby in Montgomery County in December, and could call into question the viability of the case, CNN has learned.

    In it, Castor writes to Ferman: “I can see no possibility that Cosby’s deposition could be used in a state criminal case, because I would have to testify as to what happened, and the deposition would be subject to suppression.

    “I cannot believe any state court judge would allow that deposition into evidence. …. Knowing this, unless you can make out a case without that deposition and without anything the deposition led you to, I think Cosby would have an action against the County and maybe even against you personally.”

    The deposition is a key piece of evidence, cited by prosecutors as the impetus for reopening the case.

    At the center of the case are allegations made by Constand, a former Temple University basketball employee, who says Cosby sexually assaulted her in his home in 2004.

    Dolores Troiani, an attorney for Constand in 2005, told CNN’s Jean Casarez on Friday that she never knew about any such agreement between Cosby’s attorneys and prosecutors.

    Castor, when asked by CNN about the email, declined to comment.

    The current district attorney, Kevin Steele, who was elected in November after serving as Ferman’s longtime top deputy, told CNN on Friday: “There is a specific legal method to grant immunity. That was not done in 2005.”

    Steele also noted that in Castor’s 2005 press release declaring there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Cosby that Castor himself said he would “reconsider this decision should the need arise.”

  • A case for ministers

    • Not ‘noise makers’, but policy geeks to give bureaucrats direction

    The nation heaved a sigh of relief when President Muhammadu Buhari forwarded the list of his nominees as ministers to the Senate for approval.

    However, long after the list had been in the possession of Senate President Bukola Saraki and its content declared, words of the President in France that ministers are mere noise makers, while bureaucrats run government departments continue to reverberate.

    At a point, that declaration tended to overshadow the qualities of the 21 men and women that made the list. It did not matter to some Nigerians, including senators, that on the list are former governors, former political party chairmen and ex-senators. They felt, by the statement of the president, ministers would not occupy a pride of place in the administration.

    This would be unfortunate. Ministers are key officials of state who assist the Chief Executive in the formulation of policies and explaining the position of government to the populace. They sit in the Federal Executive Council and have a general overview of the philosophy of the government; and use that in performing the task of reorientation of lower officials and bureaucrats in their departments.

    To claim, therefore, as the president did, that the work of governance is performed by the bureaucrats is misplaced. We believe it was Freudian slip, if jocularly made. It came in response to the pressure for ministers to be named in accordance with provisions of the constitution.

    It is expected that those to be appointed ministers are men of integrity; qualified in their own rights to run the administration of the country. They are men and women of stature who have distinguished themselves in other spheres of life and might have contributed immensely to the making of the government. To dismiss them as noise-makers is to lower their esteem in the eyes of the public and the civil servants.

    We expect so much from President Buhari and his team of ministers. During the election, the president and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) promised to give the entire gamut of public administration a facelift. He pledged himself to offer change. Many of those whose names have appeared on the list before the Senate were involved in the campaign.

    There can be no excuse for failure. We hope the presidential slip would not lead to unnecessary competition and friction between the ministers and the top bureaucrats in the ministries, especially at a time that the president has also promised to restructure the ministries, departments and agencies. They have to work in harmony and it must be made clear that the ministers are the bosses.

    We call on President Buhari to seize the opportunity offered by the administration of oaths  on the new ministers to clear the air. The task ahead is quite enormous. All the ministries must begin to work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals which the developed world has already achieved; and moved to attaining the newly launched Sustainable development Goals.

    Aside probity that President Buhari promised in his inaugural speech, and to which the world has identified him, clearly formulated policies and efficiency are also expected in a bid to make the country a real giant of Africa.

    The president’s denigrating remark must have informed the view of some senators that the minister-nominees are crooks. This was done without adducing a shred of evidence. Anyone found to be  a crook among them should be dropped during the screening period that we expect to be thorough.

    We support the Senate in committing itself to putting an end to the “bow and go” syndrome. But, as many as pass the test deserve honour. For too long cynicism has trailed the performance of every public official from the day he is sworn in.

    President Buhari has a duty to end this. He needs to assure the country that he was able to come up with the best materials after four months of search, if an anticlimax. It is on this template that he stands any chance of declaring after four years that he has delivered.