The Nation Newspaper

Tag: commendable

  • A commendable step

    A commendable step

    • It is good that govt has resumed trial of terrorism suspects

    The resumption of trial of the 300 terrorism suspects in Federal Government detention facilities is a welcome development. The lull in their trial, despite several promises by the immediate past Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, had ignited speculations in certain quarters on the sincerity of the Federal Government to bring the suspects to account for their deeds. The trial is reportedly coordinated by the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) Office of the National Security Adviser and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation.

    According to the Head of Strategic Communication, NCTC-ONSA, Abu Michael, the trial of suspected Boko Haram members would be conducted in line with the international criminal justice system. Last December, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, said the Federal Government secured a total of 366 convictions in the trial of Boko Haram terrorists in 2017. He also said 896 suspects were discharged for lack of evidence. Furthermore, in December 2023, the Federal Government secured the conviction of four Boko Haram financiers.

    We are hopeful that the 300 suspects would undergo their trial so that justice will be served. To allow their trial to be in limbo is to do grave injustice to their victims and the nation, considering that terrorism has become a multi-dimensional challenge for Nigeria in the past decade and half. Apart from the mayhem on citizens, they prevent economic activities, especially farming from taking place. Also, children are lured into their despicable acts. So, the trial of suspects should be the minimum deterrent by the state.

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    According to Mr Abu, “The ongoing trial, which is in line with the International Criminal Justice system is being administered by the Federal High Court of Nigeria with the Complex Casework Group of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, in collaboration with other critical stakeholders under the coordination and supervision of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Office of the National Security Adviser.” He reported that the Federal Government appointed five judges to resume the trial of the suspects, “in pursuance of its commitment to promoting social justice by entrenching a transparent administrative system.”

    We urge the security agencies to ensure the safety of the judges and the prosecution team. It will be double tragedy if those helping to bring sanity to the country are sacrificed through the inefficiency of the security agencies. Also, those on trial must be secured by the state, through well thought-out preemptive actions. Those in charge must ensure there are no prison-breaks in the correction centres where the suspects are kept. Considering the deadliness of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups fighting to destabilise Nigeria, the suspects must be kept in impregnable security facilities.

    There is no gainsaying that the North Eastern states would not regain their

    old agricultural cluster until terrorism is defeated in the region. And, without the return of farmers to their farmland, terrorism would continue to fester, as idle youths would continue to feed the terrorist mill. Again, where justice is not a just desert to those who take to terrorism, those resisting the allure of the ill-gotten benefits of the crime may be tempted to rethink their position.

    So, the Federal Government, through the office of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Office of the National Security Adviser and the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation should vigorously pursue the trial of the terrorism suspects to a logical conclusion.

    While pursing the trial of the suspects, the states in the region and the Federal Government must also pursue non-kinetic methods to defeat terrorism. The debilitating impact of terrorism is a contributor to the food crisis fuelling protests across the country.

  • Commendable tie-up

    •Deal between Innoson and Bayelsa State government will take militants from the trenches to the shop floor

    Amnestied Niger Delta militants who completed a training programme in automobile repairs and engineering at the assembly plant of Innoson Motors can look forward to putting their skills into practical use and gainful employment, following approval by the Bayelsa State Government of a proposal to build a motor vehicle assembly plant in the state.

    The proposal was presented to Governor Seriake Dickson by a delegation led by Brig-Gen Paul Boroh (rtd), Senior Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and Coordinator of the Niger Delta Presidential Amnesty Programme. Others on the delegation were Chief Innocent Chukwuma, chairman of the Innoson Group; Donald Wokoma, a Senior Special Assistant to the President on the National Economic Council, and the chief executive officer of JUMAB Global Services, Prince Jacob Momoh.

    Briefing Governor Dickson, Boroh stated that, at the end of a training programme for 100 ex-militants at the Innoson plant, he had asked whether Innoson could establish a “world-class” motor vehicle assembly plant in the delta, and that Innoson had readily agreed.

    Dickson embraced the proposal and instructed the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Trade and Investment to identify a suitable site for the project and begin the paper work immediately.

    The initiative is commendable and should be pursued to full consummation. It should not end up as just another declaration of good intentions, for its potential is vast. Not only will it afford the ex-militants opportunities for gainful employment, it will also constitute another significant step in their rehabilitation and integration into society.

    It will create jobs in an area where jobs are hard to come by, and will be a spur to the area’s economy by creating ancillary industries as well as a market for local raw materials.

    This kind of collaboration between a reputable indigenous private-sector entrepreneur and the public sector as represented by the Bayelsa State Government is a welcome departure from the entrenched practice of seeking out foreign partners for collaborative projects.

    Foreign partners may have the capacity to invest crucial resources in a business venture, but they tend to cut and run when bountiful rewards are not forthcoming. On the other hand, indigenous partners, if they are imbued with patriotism, are more likely to stay committed even in difficult times.

    The Innoson Group, an exemplar of indigenous entrepreneurship, has made its mark on the national scene through motor vehicle assembly and manufacturing. The proposed plant in Bayelsa cannot have a more qualified promoter. It is another chance for Innoson to consolidate its reputation and success while adding significant value to the economy.

  • A commendable refusal

    •Justice Adeniyi deserves kudos for not allowing his court to be used to ridicule the judiciary in the Omisore case 

    Ordinarily, we have no business commending anyone for doing his or her job diligently. But in a situation where anything goes, as in our courts where some judges throw caution to the winds by granting all manner of injunctions, or give contradictory rulings in even similar cases, a judge who does things differently and appropriately deserves to be commended.

    Here, we are referring to Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of an Abuja High Court who turned down the request by Senator Iyiola Omisore, former Deputy Governor of Osun State, to order the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to release him from detention, pending when a charge is formally entered against him by the anti-graft agency. He was detained by the commission on July 3, over about N1.3billion that he allegedly received from former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki.

    But Justice Adeniyi turned down the prayer because his detention was the product of a subsisting court order. He said the remand order that the EFCC secured permitted Omisore’s detention for 14 days in the first instance, pending the conclusion of investigation into the allegations against him. He backed his position with sections 293, 294 and 296 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, which permit the commission to renew the remand order for another 14 days if circumstances so warrant.

    “Having considered the totality of submissions of counsel in this matter, it has been established that there is a reasonable cause to remand the applicant in the custody in line with the provisions of the law.

    “At any rate, there is no provision for entertainment of any application for bail, when the remand order issued by the court subsists. In order words, the 14-day remand order granted by the court is to run its full course”.

    Since Omisore was detained on July 3 on the basis of a remand order, he could not have gone to court to quash the order (because that was what his prayer amounted to) until July 17, at least in the first instance. However, he went to court again on July 14, three days to the expiration of the court order, to seek his release on bail. This was something that could still be renewed under the law for another 14 days.

    We are surprised that Senator Omisore’s counsel could have gone to court to seek this kind of undue indulgence, being a learned fellow, thereby wasting the time of the court. Even if they would go to court for such a prayer, should they have taken the matter to a court with coordinate jurisdiction with that which granted the order in the first place?

    All these explain why we singled out Justice Adeniyi for praise because we have many examples of cases in parts of the country where the courts had failed to take cognisance of such matter and still went ahead to give what eventually amounted to contradictory orders. The one that readily comes to mind is Sheriff vs. PDP which created so many variants with each party approaching different courts with coefficient jurisdiction, with the hope of getting undue advantage over the other.

    As Justice Adeniyi noted, a request like Senator Omisore’s is “premature and incompetent”. Yes, the court has the power to admit a suspect on bail, but that is when there are sufficient reasons for it to do so. Even at that, such power, like most other powers, goes with the responsibility of ascertaining the legality of such orders.

    What Justice Adeniyi has done is to take charge of affairs in his court. This is what is lacking in some of our judges who allow lawyers call the shots in the courtrooms, thus giving many Nigerians the impression that the courts are working against the government’s anti-corruption war. Judges do not have to abdicate their responsibilities to lawyers or politicians. Both often work at cross-purposes with natural justice, especially when politically-exposed persons are involved in matters pertaining to corruption.

  • Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade ‘commendable’

    The President and Chairman of Council of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), Dr. Nat Ofo, has described as commendable the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari, saying it will greatly reduce the wanton looting of the treasury.

    He also said Nigeria should not be the poorest country because of its vast resources, adding however, that the impact of these resources are not felt “because they are mismanaged”.

    Dr. Ofo stated these while briefing newsmen on this year’s annual conference and dinner awards of the institute slated for  September 10 and 11, at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.

    The ICSAN president also said that the corruption war of the present administration would not only bring to the barest minimum the rate of the scourge which has eaten deep into the fabrics of the society, but also go a long way in letting the resources of the country go round.

    “Nigeria should not be the poorest country because of our resources- oil and others. But because these resources are mismanaged, their impacts are not felt. We should have a system to ensure prudency in financial resources. By having this, the impact will be widely felt.

    “President Buhari’s fight against corruption is okay and it will make our resources have impact on the people. Corruption is a major issue that should be dealt with so that the people will feel the impact of the resources we have in the country.

    “Government should be accountable to the people so that more dividends of democracy will be felt from the little resources we get”, Ofor stated.

    He also stated that: “Disclosure and Transparency: A Paradigm Shift in Corporate Nigeria” is the theme of this year’s conference, which has as its sub-themes: “Responsibility of independent Non-Executive Directors in Corporate Nigeria”; “Duality of Audit Committees in Nigeria: A critical Appraisal” and “Opportunities for Chartered Secretaries and Corporate Governance Auditors”.

  • Commendable example

    Commendable example

    Other clerics should learn from Catholic bishops’ intervention on nation’s security

    In a marked departure from the widespread and disturbing tendency of religious groups across the country to associate without discrimination and hobnob uncritically with political office holders, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, last Thursday, visited President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa in Abuja to speak some home truths to power on the state of the nation. The group’s president, Bishop Ignatius Kaigama, told the press after their closed-door meeting with Dr Jonathan that their message was simply that all was not well with the country.

    According to Bishop Kaigama, “We feel that things are not right. Territorially, our land is being taken away; the people we look after are displaced, their homes, their villages and towns are captured and they are internally displaced, being refugees in their own land. We thought this is not right. We have families that are just stranded. We thought that the president should know. As Catholics we have laid a good structure for relief and taking care of such situation, we want the government to collaborate with us”.

    This kind of constructive engagement between the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria and the Federal Government to find solutions to critical national problems is most commendable. It is the way to go. If the church and the state at all levels are to be genuine partners in progress, they must cultivate a healthy relationship predicated on truth and not sycophancy or hypocrisy. We are not surprised that the Catholic bishops are showing a positive example to others in this respect. The Catholic Church had acquired a reputation for speaking in defence of justice, human dignity, the rule of law and good governance even during the dark and dangerous years of military rule. It has retained its integrity in this dispensation, thus largely fulfilling its scriptural mandate of being the salt of the earth.

    Unfortunately, the same thing cannot be said particularly of the relationship between many Christian groups and the Jonathan presidency, which has not hesitated to exploit religious sentiments in a divisive manner for partisan ends. Under the leadership of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, for instance, it has become difficult to distinguish between the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). CAN therefore, suffers from a pathetic paralysis of being unable to offer any constructive criticism of the Jonathan presidency. Only recently the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, conferred a curious Primatial Award of Excellence in Christian Stewardship on President Jonathan at the Presidential Villa. The award, said to be in acknowledgment of Jonathan’s fair distribution of the nation’s resources, clearly has no logical, empirical, scriptural and moral bases.

    All too often, various denominations have made their altars available for unscrupulous politicians to make partisan pronouncements. This kind of behaviour devalues the integrity and credibility of the church. It has become imperative for the Nigerian church to regain its voice. Like the biblical John the Baptist, the voice of the church must be heard loud and clear in the wilderness of impunity, corruption, inequality and recklessness that Nigeria has become. The Catholic bishops have taken the right step in sensitising the Jonathan presidency to the seriousness of the security challenges confronting the country.

    However, the church has a responsibility to do more. She must speak up boldly and uncompromisingly against the incompetent, irresponsible and immoral governance on which insecurity thrives. It is important for our clerics to know that what is at stake is the corporate existence of Nigeria. A church that compromises with a venal state in condoning iniquity will be destroyed along with the country.

  • Oriire LG educational policy commendable

    SIR “Appreciation of the good contributions of others humanises us all. When you recognize the goodness in others, you are actually laying the building blocks that will make mankind endure and survive, it does not diminish you, and the world is increasingly richer for it”.

    It is in line with this submission of a prominent journalist, Kunle Ajibade that I want to use this medium to appreciate the giant strides of Hon. Jacob Bamigboye, chairman Interim Management Committee, Oriire Local Government, Ikoyi-Ile Oyo State in the educational sector of the local government since he became the chairman. The local government is one of the largest local governments in Oyo State in terms of land mass and population. It is rural and agrarian. Hitherto, previous administrators had unconsciously maintained the status quo ante by empowering the people in the local government through the provision of farm implements, commercial motorcycles and vehicles at a subsidised rate to encourage major occupation which were farming and transport services. Inversely, little effort was made to change the perception of the people towards education which can lead the local government out of the woods. If efforts were made, they did not yield much impact in terms of candidate’s performances in the WAEC/NECO examinations, student’s admission into tertiary institution and increment in the number of indigenes in the workforce of Oyo State. It is so pathetic that Oriire Local Government has just two of its indigenes in the workforce of the Emmanuel Alayande College of Education and in the lowest cadre.

    However, the appointment of Bamigboye as interim management chairman of the local government has brought about a major change in the educational policy of the local government. He was a teacher before his appointment. This in fact could be said to be a contributory factor to the priority he gives education and for the huge success he made in this wise. As a matter of fact, the administration has been paying the SSCE NECO/WAEC fees of the SS3 students of the local government since 2011 when he became the chairman. In addition, he made it a duty to distribute writing and other learning materials to pupils and students of both public primary and secondary schools in the local government at the beginning of a new session. Besides, many blocks of classroom have been built or renovated in the last two years. Most importantly, two strides that forced me to write to commend him perhaps are the distribution of new benches and tables to all primary schools in the local government and payment of bursary to the students of Oriire origin in the nation’s tertiary institutions. The former is significant because the previous table and benches were withdrawn from the schools. The latter is equally important because of the number of beneficiary and the amount paid. In actual fact, students pursuing courses like medicine, engineering and law were paid N20,000 each, while students in other discipline got N10,000 each. Although, the allowance may be meagre in view of the inflation in the country, the motive of the chairman which is to encourage educational advancement of Oriire is commendable.

    Obviously, a new chapter has been opened in the local government as far as educational pursuit is concerned with the giant strides mentioned above which is unprecedented. It is hoped that the parents would grab the opportunity and give education of their wards the priority it deserves and to stop using them as labourers in the farm, wheel-barrow pushers in the market and conductors for pick-up vans and other articulated vehicles.

    • Adewuyi Adegbite

    Apake, Ogbomoso.

  • Southwest regional integration commendable, says Maduekwe

    Southwest regional integration commendable, says Maduekwe

    Nigeria’s Ambassador to Canada, Ojo Maduekwe, has hailed the efforts of governors in the Southwest at fostering regional integration and development in the area.

    He said the development was compatible with the ideals of federalism and should, therefore, be encouraged.

    Maduekwe spoke at the launch of the Canada chapter of Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG-Canada).

    The event also featured the maiden edition of the Southwest Investment Conference of ARG-Canada.

    The organisers – Dr Lateef Adewoye, Dr A. G. Ahmed, Dr Sola Womiloju, Ezekiel Fasheyiku and Olanrewaju Rasheed – led by the Coordinator of ARG-Canada, Mr. Bayo Aregbesola, a Manager at Natural Resources, Canada, in assembling a cast of distinguished speakers and guests.

    The theme of the event was: Investment Opportunities in Southwestern States of Nigeria.

    Among the distinguished speakers at the conference were Nigerian High Commissioner to Canada, Ojo Maduekwe; Ekiti State House of Assembly Speaker Albert Adewale Omirin, who represented Governor Kayode Fayemi; Mr Ayo Afolabi, ARG National Secretary-General, who represented Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesole;, Mr Kunle Famoriyo, ARG National Publicity Secretary; Mr Tokunbo Ajasin, who represented ARG National; and Prof Nour El Kadri of Ottawa University, who represented Jim Karygiannis of the Canadian Parliament.

    The ceremony was anchored by Penguin Prize for African Writing laureate, Prof Pius Adesanmi of Carleton University. Also present were representatives of Egbe Isokan Yoruba, Ottawa; Ekiti Kete in Canada; Nigerian Professional Business Network, Ottawa and ARG-USA.

    Maduekwe listed the benefits of regional economic integration, being pursued by Southwest state governments on the basis of DAWN – Development Agenda for Western Nigeria.

  • Airports remodelling commendable

    Airports remodelling commendable

    SIR: Critics of the on-going remodelling exercise at the nation’s airports agree that something is wrong with the airports and the facilities therein. They agree that a lot is rotten with the system of operation. They also agree that the human component too needs to be addressed. So, a listening President said, Oh something needs to be done urgently to address all the issues that people are raising concerning our airports. And pronto, he set in motion the process of bringing back the glory of the airports. Hardly had he taken the first step that bullets of abuse started to fly. From the President to the ebullient Honourable Minister of Aviation to all the chiefs at the Aviation agencies, none was spared. This is not fair. We must learn to appreciate whatever a sitting government is doing right.

    It is not a secret that a lot had gone wrong with the airports, but here is now a conscious effort to put those things right and some people are not satisfied. What do these critics want the government to do? Close down all the airports? No, that cannot be the answer. What the Aviation Minister is doing right now about these airports should be commended. For example, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos and the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa in Rivers State which are always the reference point in these caustic attacks were commissioned in 1979; that is 34 years ago. The facts are there for all to see. People passed through the airports and lamented that we are probably a cursed people. That our airports were not better than bread ovens, so some said. People said unprintable things about past ministers and those at the helm of affairs at the aviation agencies. Critics at every turn called for the heads of everybody to roll.

    But this administration listened to the genuine cries of airport users and has begun a major restructuring and remodelling of the nation’s airports. What is going on today in the aviation industry in Nigeria is unprecedented.

    There is a massive construction work going on simultaneously at not less than 11 of the nation’s airports. Users of these airports can attest to this fact that no administration in the history of this nation had had this kind of stoic determination to make a difference in the aviation industry and thus embark on the kind of work going on at present at the nation’s airports. It is rather unfortunate that instead of praise, what the critics are heaping on the President, the Honourable Minister of Aviation and everybody that has anything to do with the industry is abuse.

    For God’s sake, can’t we for once, appreciate a good that someone is doing for our country?

    The wisdom of not closing down the airports for the remodelling should be appreciated. What the nation is going to lose if they are closed down could only be imagined. Definitely jobs would be lost. Families would be affected and the perennial cry of increasing unemployment would reach a crescendo. The popular saying ‘’No gain without pain’’ will suffice here. It is like the pains of a woman going into pregnancy and after nine months is delivered of a baby. The pains are there but the relief after the pangs of childbirth and the joy of a baby in the home bring satisfaction.

    Nigerians will in a short while begin to see the result of this dynamism when the remodelled airports begin to work.

    • Ola Ogundolapo

    Omagwa, Rivers State