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Tag: courageous

  • CJN urges new Justices to be courageous

    Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen has urged new Court of Appeal Justices to be courageous in the dispensation of justice.

    He spoke after administering the oath of office and allegiance on them. The new Justices are  P. A. Mahmud; F. O. Ojo; I. A. Andenyangsto; G. O. Kolawole; B. B. Aliyu; Ebiowei Tobi; J. G. Abundaga; A. S. Umar; A. M. Talba; A. M. Bayero; A. M. Lamido and Mohammed Idris.

    Chief Justice Onnoghen said: “The Court of Appeal has now been enhanced with more hands to carry out its statutory responsibility of dispensation of justice to all, irrespective of their status, because the workload there is heavy.”

    He reminded the Justices, both old and new, that they are men of honour; adding that to whom much is given, much is expected.

    He said their elevation to the Appeal Court Bench was an invitation to more hardwork.

    He said: “Adhere to the code of conduct, the constitution and judicial precedent, then you can go home and sleep with your two eyes closed.

    “It is only when you apply shortcuts that you invite problems. Be courageous because everything in the country is on your head in terms of the dispensation of justice. When you adhere to the code and the constitution, the institution will be there to support you

    “You have to abide by the Constitution and the Code of Conduct, which actually is an extension of the oath of office that you have just taken.

    “When you adhere to your oath of office, the code of conduct, the constitution and the application of the law to the task before you, and abide by judicial precedent, you will be home and dry. You will continue to sleep and snore.”

    Chief Justice Onnoghen said the Bench needs to exercise even more caution as politicians get desperate ahead of next year’s election.

    “It is now time for politics. Things will be done to raise the temperature of this country within and outside of the political space.

    “You have to be very, very careful not to be used as instruments for settlement of personal squabbles and intra party disputes. Your duty is to look at the law and use the law to settle the matter.

    “One party must win and one party must loose; the two of them cannot win at the same time. You should be guided by judicial precedent, particularly in election and election related matters.

    “The responsibility of a judge is to resolve disputes in accordance with the dictates of the law and to always apply the law in resolving cases brought before his court, without bothering who wins and who loses.”

    He noted that the Financial Autonomy Bill to  states Houses of Assembly and the Judiciary, recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, did not just provide financial autonomy to the Judiciary as being erroneously implied, saying that the provision has always been in the Constitution.

    He said: “Section 121 of the Constitution has always been there. What has always been the problem is the absence of courage, political will in the executive arm of government to implement and enforce this provision. That is all. Some state governments have done the right things, others are ready to do. Those, who are yet to, we encourage them to enforce and implement this provision.

    “This is because the independence of the Judiciary, particularly its financial independence, is the bedrock of democracy itself. We have gone too far to go back.

    “We are under a democratic dispensation; a constitutional democracy for that matter. That is why I keep on saying that the rule of law is the solution to all of our problems.

    “If we operate under the rule of law and are bound by the rule of law, which is the bedrock of democracy, then impunity, which is the bane of our democracy, will disappear.

    “Please let the judiciary remains the last hope of Nigerians, whether a superman or a common man.”

  • Cleric seeks courageous, visionary leadership

    An Islamic cleric and university don, Dr. Asif AbdulAzeez Olatunbosun, has said only courageous and transparent leader can run the affairs of the country and restore it to peace and economic stability.

    The cleric, who is a Principal Lecturer and Chief Imam of Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu-Ijebu, Ogun State, said most Nigerian leaders lacked vision, courage, fairness, morality and financial transparency.

    These, he said, was responsible for the recent incident of ‘budget padding’ at the National Assembly and series of cases of diversion of public fund to personal usage involving some public officers.

    Olatunbosun spoke at the Central Mosque of The Wings Group of Schools, Iwo, Osun State.

    Speaking on Challenges of Leadership, Morality and Financial Transparency in Islam, Olatunbosun insisted that the present security and economic challenges facing the country would have been curtailed had President Goodluck Jonathan taken a courageous step towards curbing the menace of corruption before it escalated

    Enunciating some of the qualities of good leadership, Olotunbosun said a good leader must be honest; transparent, courageous, God- fearing, trustworthy and be personally endowed with the ability to foresee what is likely to happen in future.

    He added that a good leader must be committed to the needs of the people and live up to their expectations.

    Among the dignitaries in attendance at the occasion were the Aragbiji of Iragbiji Oba Abdulrasheed Olabomi, Dr. M.O. Aremu of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso, Oyo State and former INEC National Commissioner for South-west, Prof. Lai Olurode.

    The Chief Imam said any leader who lacks vision, knowledge, confidence, understanding, concentration, capacity, sense of security, courage, moral and ethical principles, character and passion to move the nation forward on a fast trajectory is not fit to govern the country.

  • Cleric seeks courageous, visionary leadership

    An Islamic cleric and university lecturer, Dr Asif AbdulAzeez Olatunbosun, has said only courageous and  transparent leadercan run the affairs of the country and restore it to peace and economic stability.   The cleric, who is a Principal Lecturer and Chief Imam of Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu-Ijebu, Ogun State, said most Nigerian leaders lack vision, courage, fairness, morality and financialtransparency.

    These, he said, was responsible for the recent incident of ‘budget padding’ at the National Assembly and series of cases of diversion of public fund to personal usage involving some public officers. Olatunbosun spoke at the 21st Ramadan Lecture of Ola-Olu Muslim Society of Nigeria held at the Central Mosque of The Wings Group of Schools, Iwo, Osun State.   The lecture was held in honour of  Sheikh Hamoda Tiamiyu Oyebode-Adisa.

     

  • President Buhari’s courageous budget

    President Buhari’s courageous budget

    Last week, on Tuesday, December 22, President Muhammadu Buhari presented his government’s budget estimates and proposals for FY 2016 to the National Assembly. In view of the falling revenues from oil and non-oil sources this year, it is a bold budget. The Federal Government intends to spend N6.08tr in the fiscal year, of which N1.84tr (more than 30 per cent of the budget) will need to be borrowed from internal and external sources. The FG is optimistic it can cover the deficit. As the president observed in his budget speech at the National Assembly, the budget deficit, though huge, is equivalent to less than three per cent of Nigeria’s GDP. But it will take our overall debt profile to 14 per cent of the GDP. This is well within the acceptable threshold of debt to GDP ratio.

    As it was his first after his election as president the budget was eagerly awaited by the public to see how the promised changes in the country would be reflected in it. Fiscal year 2015 had been quite bad for the domestic economy. It is estimated that the growth rate which had averaged seven per cent before 2014 dropped to less than five per cent this year. Revenue from oil exports fell sharply by nearly 70 per cent. In the course of the year, the FG resorted to huge deficit financing to the tune of about N1.5tr to keep the economy going. Twice, the outgoing PDP and the new APC federal government had to borrow from the CBN to pay salaries and pensions. Only a month ago the new APC federal government secured the approval of the National Assembly for a supplementary budget of N500bn. And last week the Finance Minister announced that funds available for sharing by the three tiers of government in November fell by N132bn from the previous month. The ECA has been virtually depleted. The SWF and the limited foreign reserves are facing pressures.

    Revenue/Expenditure Profile

    Revenue projection of the FG in 2016 is N3.86tr, a little over half of the proposed budget of N6.08tr. The FG intends to finance the deficit by a combination of domestic borrowing of N984bn and foreign borrowing of N900bn totalling N1.8tr. In both cases, it is going to be tough financing such a huge deficit. The crude oil benchmark is $38 per barrel but the price of oil in the global market has dropped to $32 per barrel. There is some expectation in official quarters that the oil price will rebound next year, but this is by no means certain. On account of this, the projected revenue from oil in 2016 is only N820bn. Non-oil revenues from Company Income Tax, VAT and Customs and Excise is expected to yield N1.45tr.

    On the expenditure side, the budget provides N1.8tr for capital projects, an increase of N557bn on the 2015 budget. The balance of N5tr will be accounted for by recurrent expenditure, still rising despite the government’s efforts to reduce the cost of governance. There is a special intervention fund of N200bn to take care of the government’s phased social welfare programme.

    A mildly reflationary budget

    The proposed FG budget did not elicit much surprise as it was, basically, a modestly reflationary budget, intended to give the spluttering domestic economy a short in the arm, Although many commentators thought it to be the biggest FG budget ever, it is not quite so. In 2014, the PDP federal government planned a bigger budget. It was forced to scale back the budget by prevailing economic realities. Its projected revenue was given as N7.33tr. In the current year it was N6.83tr. But there was a loss of some N1.5tr in revenue in the course of the year. The actual FG expenditure in the current year, including the deficit financing of some N1.5tr, is quite close to the budget proposals of N6.08tr for 2016. In spite of the fall in oil revenues the government recognised the need to increase public expenditure to stop the economy from going into outright recession. It was already stagnating. The approach of the new FG to the 2016 budget is neo-Keynesian. It is bold and it involves spending more to keep the economy afloat, even if it means a huge deficit financing, essentially more borrowing from domestic and foreign sources. The alternative to this mildly expansionist budget is slower growth, if any.

    However, some questions need to be asked regarding revenue projections. The obvious sources of additional revenues are company tax, customs duties and taxes, all of which are projected to rise in FY 2016. But I think that, in present circumstances, the optimism regarding revenue increases from those sources may prove illusory. In the case of customs duty, the prohibition placed on some imports will negatively affect total revenue from that source. This is one of the reasons that tariff increases are considered preferable to outright bans. In the case of taxes, revenue from company tax is unlikely to increase by much, if at all, as the manufacturing industry has slowed down in the last two years. With regard to VAT, an increase from five per cent to 10 per cent, will not lead to a significant addition to the national revenue as income from VAT represents an insignificant part of the total national revenue. An increase in VAT could also lead to a reduction in consumption and tax derived from it.

    Again, it was thought that savings from a reduction in the cost of governance would release additional funds for spending. Here, the savings will not be much as there are still 37 ministers. Though a commendable achievement, the reduction of federal ministries from 36 to 27 will not lead to much savings. The federal bureaucracy remains unduly large and President Buhari, understandably, does not want to stir up political and ethnic crises by applying a severe cut in the federal bureaucracy. A merger of some federal agencies is on the cards. While this has become necessary it may not lead to much savings. It was argued that privatisation of some public enterprises would reduce the cost of governance. It should have, but it has not as new FG agencies were started again.

    The Oil Subsidy

    Although President Buhari has carefully refrained from announcing the end of the so-called oil subsidy, it appears he has been finally persuaded that it is time for it to go. It is no longer financially sustainable. There is no explicit provision for it in budget 2016. Nearly 30 per cent of the total FG budget (some N1.5tr annually) was being spent on this subsidy. Even after the fall of global oil prices, the oil importers were still claiming subsidies on their oil imports. For instance, the price of diesel, long deregulated, at the gas stations has fallen by over 30 per cent. But not so oil. This shows clearly that the so-called oil subsidy was a massive fraud. Some of the fortunes made by the oil importers almost certainly found their way into the PDP electoral war chest.

    If a rigorous audit of the NNPC, a cesspool of corruption and theft, is done, it will be discovered that these oil importers were some of the biggest financial donors to the PDP in the recent presidential and general elections. If the subsidy is finally removed, there will be savings of some N1.5tr. This will substantially reduce the huge budget deficit of the federal government. It might not need to borrow more than N500bn in the next financial year. In fact, what the FG should do is to place oil imports on open licence. With competition among the importers the price of fuel in Nigeria will fall rapidly and significantly. It will then be seen clearly how, over the years, the nation has been massively defrauded by its oil importers.

    Sectoral Allocations of the Budget

    It is in the sectoral allocations of the budget that one can see a lot of bold initiatives by the Buhari APC federal government. Power, Works and Housing get a hefty N433.4bn, the highest ever. Considering Nigeria’s huge infrastructure deficit, this allocation is commendable. But though quite capable, many think that the Minister, former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, is being overloaded with responsibilities for three key economic sectors. It is better for him to handle power alone, the most critical of the three sectors, while an additional minister is appointed for Works and Housing.

    Both Education (N369.6bn) and Health (N221.7bn) have also received reasonable allocations, while Transport will get N202bn, not unreasonable in our present difficult financial situation. However, it is doubtful that the continuing rehabilitation of the railways, the completion of the southern coastal road, the Lagos-Ibadan highway and the second Niger Bridge, can be fully addressed within these limited financial provisions for public transportation, unless it is the intention of the FG to resort to external borrowings for these huge capital projects. Alternatively, these projects may be included in the medium term plan and executed over five or more years. It is unlikely that foreign investors will show any interest in these giant projects, or lend funds for them. China and India have both been forced by the global economic slow down to cut back on their investments in Africa.

    Defence will get only N294bn. This is strange in view of the ongoing insurgency and other internal threats to the security of our nation. However, interior/police will get N145bn. When added to the defence vote, this is as high as the vote for Power, Works and Housing. It is also possible that the new APC federal government has found ways of increasing defence spending in the current fiscal year, including the $1bn it had planned to raise abroad.

    The Proposed Welfare Package

    To redeem its electoral pledge, the APC federal government will introduce two new welfare packages next year. These are the feeding of school children once a day and a welfare payment of N5,000 per month to the poorest in our country. The cost of these has not been shown in the budget. But it is likely to be minimal. First, there are less than 100 federal secondary schools in the country. The programme will not extend to the states, some of which have similar programmes. Equally, the number of the poorest to benefit from the N5,000 per month largesse will be kept pretty low, far less than the 25 million originally planned. If not, the two commendable programmes will be unsustainable. The President also deserves commendation for his plan to recruit some 500,000 university graduates as teachers in federal institutions. This will have a positive impact on the situation of mass unemployment that is a source of concern in our country, as it has the potential of fuelling social conflict.

    Altogether, this is a courageous budget reflecting official concern for the poor in our country. It points the way to the development of a more compassionate society. As usual, the implementation of the budget will be difficult, as there will be some major constraints, one of which is that Nigeria does not yet have the executive capacity for such a huge budget. Some aspects of the budget, such as the removal of oil subsidy will be resisted by Labour, which is also asking for an increase in the minimum wage. The government has to find a way of mollifying Labour on these issues to avert damaging industrial disputes and strikes in the country.

  • Missing in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Courageous political leaders on both sides

    Missing in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Courageous political leaders on both sides

    There is a depressing familiarity to the events unfolding in the Middle East. Israel bombs Hamas’ rocket launchers and kills some of its senior leaders, just as it did in 2008-09 and again in 2012. Cease-fires come and go. The number of dead climbs each day, but in a lopsided manner. Israelis huddle in bomb shelters and Gazans take refuge with the United Nations or wherever they can. Israel mulls a ground attack, which would be a significant escalation, even as a truce is discussed.

    Why is this happening? Israeli leaders say — as they did in 2008 and 2012 — that they have no choice but to take on Hamas. Would the United States take no action if rockets from Mexico were dropping on Washington or New York or Los Angeles, they ask? Of course not. And why so many civilian deaths? Because Hamas hides itself in residential neighborhoods. Because Hamas rejects reasonable truce offers.

    The Palestinians’ arguments are also familiar: Israel is using disproportionate force; nine days in, it has killed more than 200 Palestinians, most of them civilians, while only one Israeli has been killed by Hamas. Besides, they say, the assault will ultimately solve nothing because the underlying problem doesn’t have to do with the Hamas rockets that are falling, mostly harmlessly, in Israel, but rather with the nearly 50-year-old occupation of Palestinian territory and all that connotes: Israeli security forces and checkpoints in the West Bank, sieges and embargoes in Gaza, restrictions on movement for Palestinians. Hunger. Poverty. Despair.

    Both sides’ arguments have some merit, but they don’t move the situation toward a solution. If events proceed as they have in the past, the assault will continue until civilian deaths become so great that Israel has little choice but to halt in the face of world condemnation. Its public image will continue to deteriorate and Palestinian resentment and hopelessness will grow. Hamas, an Islamic militant group that has been responsible over the years for many terrorist operations and which rejects Israel’s right to exist, will re-arm and re-emerge.

    It’s easy to grow fatigued and cynical about the impasse between Israel and the more moderate Palestinian factions that have committed themselves to a two-state solution. But it’s important that the U.S. not disengage, in part because of the continuing tragedies the conflict brings — such as the recent slayings of three Israeli boys, the revenge killing of a 16-year-old Palestinian and the deaths of four Palestinian cousins ages 9 to 11 in an Israeli strike on a Gaza beach Wednesday — and partly because solving the conflict is a critical element in the creation of a stronger, healthier Middle East.

    One narrative posits that the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority can’t reach a broader peace deal because neither side wants it badly enough. Can that be true? Can it be that the politics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government or the politics of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ standing in opinion polls are blocking the way to a two-state solution?

    Many people have by now read the words of Yishai Frenkel, whose nephew was among the slain Israeli boys. After the their deaths and the revenge killing of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, Frenkel said: “There is no difference between those who murdered Mohammed and those who murdered our children. Those are murderers, and these are murderers. And both must be dealt with to the full extent of the law.”

    Those are rational, heartfelt, brave words. Where are the Israeli and Palestinian leaders with comparable courage and empathy to end the cycle and bring both the short-term assault and the long-term conflict to an end?

     

    – Los Angeles Times

     

  • A courageous soul departs

    A courageous soul departs

    Bamidele Aturu’s many ideologically deep analysis were laden with sincerity. He is not known to espouse one thing in public and thereafter do things fundamentally opposite in private practice.

    To him, service to God was essentially to be found in how well you serve humanity’s cause especially those of the cheated, dispossessed and impoverished. His practice of Law was thus dedicated to ventures that advance these noble ideals.

    He was courageous and genuine.When he percieved there were a ‘catalogue of errors’ in the circumstances that knitted some sort of degeneracy into the judicial crises in Rivers State- he spoke frankly, and ably identified where he felt each participant went wrong, without mincing words or being needlessly patronising. On the need for democracy at the Bar, he spoke very frankly against what he termed ‘Cabalisation of the NBA’.

    Though an ultra-conservative may disagree with him, prescient thinkers can well tell that Bamidele Aturu would be proved right  someday that there can be no progress without genuine democracy.When he saw a need for the Justice system to learn from the conduct of the South African system in the ongoing Oscar Pistorius Trial, he drove home his points on gender equity, Counsel and Judicial conduct etc, in his characteristically firm, unpatronising manner. It is public knowledge that he has taken up countless cases in defence of many dispossessed workers and oppressed artisans. His Chambers also organises an annual Law and Social Development Lecture Series which are part of his efforts at driving home the point that Law is only useful, if it is used in the service of the people.His regular interventions will surely be inspiration for many as the details of his life and times gradually engender deeper reflections in the years ahead. He has lived his principles from the time of his first notably recorded intervention, i.e; his courageous refusal to accept a handshake from one of the then symbols of democratic subversion as represented by Military Administrators, during his National Youth Service days.

    So, one may sum up, among many other imperishable deeds, that the golden threads running through Aturu’s forthright messages are: (i) Imperative of the military to remain subject to civilian authority.  (ii) True democracy as a condition precedent to be enthroned in every facet of public life to achieve real development and (iii). The dismantling of all retrogressive policies and laws that foster primitive income and social inequality within the society. All these clearly testify to an activism driven by deep ideological convictions.In all, I think the deliberate under-development of this Country by those ruling it obviously put pressure on those who have taken it upon themselves to shoulder the difficult burden of trying to agitate and raise public consciousness to avert an imminent collapse. One of those who sincerely shouldered such burdens of conscience was Aturu. May his courageous soul be free of burdens. May he rest in undisturbed peace and may those inflicting under-development on Nigerians never know peace until the mass of the people eventually find their voices, and if need be, also their arms and ideas, to take back their country’s dignity and to restore the humanity of all its citizens.

    Adieu Aturu.

  • Terrorism: Ekweremadu urges Nigerians to be courageous

    Terrorism: Ekweremadu urges Nigerians to be courageous

    Deputy Senate President Senator Ike Ekweremadu yesterday urged Nigerians to be courageous in facing up to the realities of Boko Haram insurgency and other security challenges confronting the country.

    Ekweremadu spoke in Abuja in the maiden lecture/award dinner organised by the Senate Press Corps.

    Speaking on a topic, titled: Courage in the Times of Extreme Danger, the senator noted that “although individuals, groups, and nations face one form of danger or the other once in a while, it becomes most worrisome when it turns extreme or becomes a pattern of life”.

    He regretted that Nigerians are in peculiar times in which terrorism, violent crimes, moral decadence, corruption and impunity in high places were taking their tolls on the nation.

  • Aregbesola urges judges to be courageous

    Aregbesola urges judges to be courageous

    •Swears in Acting CJ

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola yesterday described judges as representatives of God and urged them to ensure justice in their pronouncements.

    He spoke in Osogbo, the state capital while swearing in Justice Gloria Oladoke as the state’s Acting Chief Judge.

    In his speech, entitled: “Justice is a universal purpose”, Aregbesola said: “Injustice is the major cause of conflict in human societies. A situation where 90 per cent of societal resources are concentrated in the hands of one per cent of the people is gross injustice that can only breed class antagonism between the rich and the poor. The rich risk violent revolts from the poor.”

    The governor said the oppression of the poor is unacceptable.

    He warned that persistent denial of the people could portend danger for the nation.

    Aregbesola said: “Oppression of the weak, forcible appropriation and expropriation by the strong, obscene consumption pattern and vulgar display of wealth by the rich, as well as the abuse of power by the powerful would only elicit proportionate response from the weak and powerless.

    “The resultant effect of this is an unending struggle in which the poor have nothing to lose and the rich have everything to lose.

    “One basic reason good governance has eluded Nigeria is rigging, otherwise referred to as electoral injustice. Too often, election results do not reflect the true choice of the people.

    “The declared winners are often imposed on the people with impunity. Even when people protest this injustice, the response they get is the rolling out of the tanks and crushing patrol on the streets.”

    The governor said his utmost desire is to “enthrone justice in the land and ensure that every citizen obtains justice in every area of life”.

    He said: “I am a beneficiary of justice. God-fearing Justices of the Court of Appeal in Ibadan restored my mandate and kicked out the impostors, who had held the state by the jugular and subjected our people to all manner of oppressive and barbaric treatment.

    “Since that day, you will agree that peace has returned to our land. The fear of being arrested, falsely accused and clamped in illegal detention has vanished. Our people now sleep with their eyes closed. We give thanks to the Almighty for this great justice.

    “What we are doing today is symbolic of the quest for justice. An oath is a sacred thing. It is an affirmation of oneness with the universe in the pursuit of the universal purpose.

    “When a judge takes the Oath of Office, he or she is pledging never to deviate from the universal objective of providing justice for all, irrespective of class and estate.

    “Such judges have vowed that they would accept any retribution that comes with the subversion of this purpose. This is not a light matter. It carries the highest sense of responsibility.

    “I urge our sister and every judge in the state Judiciary, from the Customary Court to the High Court, to uphold justice, which is the end of the law and work towards the realisation of the universal purpose.

    “The saying that the Judiciary is the last hope of the common man is still sacrosanct. Let us say with Lord Denning that no man should leave the court doubting whether the cause of justice has been served.

    “It is popularly said that ‘fear not the law but the judge’. This is because the law is what the judge says it is. Bring, therefore, to your work uncommon wisdom, unusual insight, deep scholarship, lion-like courage and divine grace. This is what will expose you to the world and recommend you for higher service.”