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Tag: dangerous

  • Masturbation: dangerous habit, dangerous addiction

    Masturbation: dangerous habit, dangerous addiction

    Olusegun Johnson explores the problem of masturbation amongst young people, highlighting the health and psychological implications.       

    Masturbation today as in generations past remains one of the most noxious habits perpetrated by young people all over the world. Many consider it harmless and sinless, as they feel they stand no risk of contacting any disease, and are of the opinion that they are in no way committing any sin – not fornication and definitely not adultery.

    Online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, explains Masturbation as “the sexual stimulation of one’s own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys or combinations of these.”

    A further explanation says “masturbation involves touching, pressing, rubbing or massaging a person’s genital area, either with the fingers or against an object such as a pillow; inserting fingers or an object into the vagina or anus; and stimulating the penis or vulva with an electric vibrator, which may also be inserted into the vagina or anus. It may also involve touching, rubbing, or pinching the nipples or other erogenous zones.”

    Masturbation can also be a mutual exercise by partners. This has been tacitly approved across ages, but it is not the focus of this piece.

    The primary reason many people ever get into masturbation has been acknowledged to be attainment of puberty and rise in libido level. Wikipedia explains libido simply as ‘sex drive’ or ‘a ‘person’s overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity.’ Many young men and women therefore get into masturbating as a result of puberty attainment and urge to enjoy sex outside sexual intercourse. Often it is influenced by exposure to negative information, peer pressure and influences from books, movies, internet and the social media. The initial motive usually is to ease sexual tension, but more often, addiction sets in, leading to other problems including health and psychological.

    Dangers of addiction

    Online health journal, Vaughter Wellness, states the side effects of masturbation to include “lower back pain, fatigue, thinning hair or hair loss, soft or weak erection, premature ejaculation, fuzzy vision, groin-or testicular pain and pains or cramps in pelvic area or tail bone.”

    However, it might seem like most people indulging in this trend are unaware of these dangers.

    Emmanuel 24 from Ikorodu, Lagos, confessed that he started masturbating at age 15. “I was not influenced by anyone, it just came up like that.” He confessed. “But presently, I find myself disturbed. I don’t really enjoy or see any good in it anymore. Recently I took a conscious decision to stop it, but suddenly realised I couldn’t. Now I’m 24 and still masturbating.”

    Emmanuel revealed that “I often get moved into the act anytime I see a girl in flashy or suggestive wears; and usually, what I do next is go somewhere private and masturbate.”

    Unfortunately, Emmanuel confessed that the habit has turned him into a recluse. “I no longer mingle with friends.”

    David, 21 who started masturbating at 18 said “I masturbate just to satisfy my urge, and it all started when I attained puberty I watch pornography movies a lot and this has been part of what is affecting me up till date.”

    Meanwhile, Julius for whom masturbation has literally replaced his emotion for females said “I started masturbating a year ago. It was first introduced to me by my friends in school and I have since found it hard to do away with it. Every time I indulge in it, it’s as I’m having sex.”

    Doctors on masturbation

    Is masturbation a true alternative to sex? Is it really a veritable avenue for relieving stress or tension?

    Doctor Onwuchekwa Chinwendu of Limad Hospital, Command, Ipaja, Lagos, in his response said, “To some extent, this is true. I say this because many who are emotionally stressed and do not want to go about meeting with prostitutes, usually embrace the option of masturbation to satisfy or ease their sexual urge. But in truth, masturbation does not really reduce stress and tension. When you begin to indulge in masturbation, it begins to increase your stress level and the need to satisfy yourself emotionally through self-inducement also gets on the high. Inevitably, this increases the stress and tension and gets your body asking for more. This eventually gets out of hand become a life habit.

    On dangers of masturbation, Dr Chinwendu said “Masturbation to some extent makes you free from sexually transmitted diseases, especially because sexual intercourse or canal penetration of the opposite sex does not take place. The downside however is that it has a tendency to make one a recluse, as they tend not to socialise with friends.”

    Medically, Dr Chinwendu said “It causes erectile dysfunction. I know of people who face this problem as a result of masturbation.

    “You can also injure yourself in the process between orgasm and release of sperm because at that moment, you increase your effort of inducement on the instrument or hand on your private part, which can result in sourness or tear. And when this happens, you are exposing your private part to diseases. How clean is the instrument or hand you’re using for instance?

    So it may reduce sexually transmitted diseases, but you are at the same time exposing yourself to other diseases.”

    Asked if masturbation improves sexual relationships, Chinwendu said “There are two schools of thoughts. In the early twenties, the U.S worked on Masturbation and its Effects on Relationship. While one school of thought says it makes you relate well with your spouse and enjoy improved sexual life and relationship, the other absolutely negates it. One of the negative sides according to the other school of thought is that it can cause erectile dysfunction because you’re excessively over-working your sex organ. It increases your sex organ but also weakens it. Ultimately you will not be able to satisfy a woman in bed. This is the fact.”

    Can it be overcome?

    “First of all, awareness is needed.” Dr Chinwendu said.  “Does a victim believe it is wrong? Do they feel that what they are doing is wrong?  When it becomes a habit, it is difficult to stop. For example, smoking cannot be done away with easily. So there should be awareness in schools, in communities and in the media. People have to be informed of the dangers of this practice.

    “A sufferer should purposely delete or destroy instantly all those things that induce the practice such as pornography movies, pictures, discs and whatever. I know of a 16-year-old girl with more than 20 pornography movies and pictures, which her father eventually discovered. Imagine what would be going on in such girl’s mind!

    “Bad habits corrupt useful habits; if you have friends that are into such practice, cut them off, do not mingle with them. All materials used to self-induce yourself should be done away with.

    “Thirdly, this practice largely affects people who are on their own or lonely; so  sufferers should start socialising. When you start having the feelings to masturbate, call a friend and go out and mingle. That way, the habit starts to die and you will gradually leave it.” Dr Chiwendu said.

    Dr. Gbenga Adeyemo, a psychologist attached to a government health facility in Ejigbo, Lagos also spoke on the side effects of masturbation.

    “First, masturbation is a known form of sex throughout the world. It is the act of stimulating oneself sexually by use of one’s hand.” Adeyemo said

    He said “The reason for masturbation is mainly for sexual enjoyment, sexual achievement or means of avoiding unwanted pregnancy. What we hear, see, and our environment can affect us negatively to go into such act. For example, when you see a lady dressed half naked, what comes to your mind first is to have sex with her. And knowing that the avenue is not there, you would rather go and masturbate.

    “Also, the friends young people keep or their community is a huge determinant. 70 percent of people who practice this get involved through bad company.”

    On the hazards, Adeyemo said “when masturbation is you, you are masturbation; that is, if you can’t do without it in a day, you begin to stay on your own and prefer to do things secretly. Ultimately, it affects you when you get married because you as a male will not last in bed. If it is a female, you will prefer self-pleasing to sex with the opposite sex. That shows there is a problem.

    “Again if such person does not have an exposure to sex initially, they want to try sex on their own and when they touch their sex organ, it takes them along.

    “Also if you are fond of masturbating, it can become hereditary, whereby your children might be affected too, just like we have Polio, HIV and Laser Fever. We have seen situations like that.”

    Said Adeyemo, “What is common today is that it results into problems of quick ejaculation and memory loss or Down’s Syndrome. They may even begin to see nothing sexually attractive in any other sex partner other than themselves. So they create hatred for mutual sex.”

    On ways of stopping masturbation, Dr Adeyemo said “Masturbation should not be seen as diseases that you get admitted to the hospital to treat or that you are prescribed drugs to cure like malaria or headache.  First, it is important to know the things that move you into the act and how long you have been into it.”

    “One solution is for such person to mingle more with friends. He or she should avoid being on his own as much as possible. They should try to find something doing, that will occupy their mind and take them away from the act.

  • Poltergeist, armed and dangerous

    Rendered simply, poltergeist is an invisible force that can make a racket and move things about without being seen. It is a word of German origin which could also pass for a ghost that is albeit, noisy.

    Is this another ghost story? Well, we may say so but surely of a different kind. Just as the poltergeist is not a common specie of ghost, so is this a different kind of ghost story.

    So let’s dig into it. Early this month, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun told the nation that 80,000 of the 371,000 officers and men on the payroll of the Nigeria Police Force are ghosts. She was briefing journalists on the latest findings of the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA)

    This meant that about 25 per cent of the Force were ghosts, nay poltergeists.These are men (and women too) who have supposedly undergone some specialized trainings including handling of firearms. These people are legitimately armed to maintain peace and order across the country.

    You may wonder at what point they morphed into ghosts? During recruitment, during training, or post-training period when they are already full-dressed armed troopers?

    We ask because this may explain a lot of things concerning the conducts and behavior of the average policeman/woman out there. Why would a properly trained and self-respecting policeman choose to demean himself by dressing up for work just for the sole purpose of agglomerating squeezed pieces of the lowliest currency notes?

    Why do we have policemen as major clients of Indian hemp dens? Why do we have their guns often discharging stray bullets and hitting innocent people?

    Why do they almost always unsettle us and make so much racket instead of granting us peace of mind as they were trained to do? Could we conclude that they are truly poltergeists, the unsettling ghost?

    It is said that roughly N22 billion was lost monthly through this ghoulish scheme. To add up the numbers and get a total for one year would amount to troubling one’s soul for some number are better imagined than worked out. For how long had this been on?

    This type of money is enough to raise an entire army or two police forces. The hierarchy of the Police Service Commission (PSC) would lose their tongues or turn to ghosts if they swear they have no knowledge of this.

    In fact Hardball wagers that everyone who has a jowl in the entire Ministry of Finance should be arrest to explain how he acquired such valuable asset. But this may explain why none has ever been prosecuted in this land of multitudinous ghost workers – everyone must be in on it!

    If the police lived with 80,000 poltergeist s, the entire military and security corps would be peopled with drones and zombies.

     

  • ‘Croatia should be wary of dangerous Nigeria’

    KAA Gent goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic has revealed that he has been discussing the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group D fixture between Nigeria and Croatia with his club teammates Anderson Esiti and Moses Simon, positing that underrating the West African nation will be a mistake if Croatia must qualify at the expense of Nigeria, AOIFootball.com reports.

    Kalinic, who is expected to make Croatia’s final squad for the global tournament which is scheduled to be hosted by Russia between June and July 2018, said Simon and Esiti have given him a hint on how Nigeria will play at the World Cup.

    ”I have the impression of being underestimated by Nigerians, and I have Simon and Esiti in the club -two young Nigerian players who are already great players.

    ”They said the guys are powerful and fast, but very responsible, quality players and they told me that this is how the whole team is,” Kalinic said.

    The Croatia shot stopper further added that his team must avoid a defeat against Nigeria to stand a realistic chance of making the second round in Russia.

    ”I know Nigeria will be very tough, so any one-and-a-half percent loser approach ahead of the match with Nigeria can be crazy,” the 27-year-old concluded.

  • NECA: budget passage delay is dangerous

    NECA: budget passage delay is dangerous

    The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has expressed displeasure over the National Assembly’s delay in the passing  the 2018 budget.

    Its President, Mr. Larry Ettah, said at the end of its Governing Council meeting in Lagos, that the development could drag the nation into a state of inertaia.

    “It appears to have become a tradition in this democratic dispensation for the budget to be unduly delayed thereby plunging the economy into a state of inertia, particularly in the first quarter of the year.

    “In December 2016, the President presented the 2017 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly. However, the National Assembly did not pass the bill until May 11, 2017, almost six months after it was presented. We recollect that President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2018 budget to our Legislators in November 2017,” he said.

    He implored the two arms of government to mutually agree on a time frame that would ensure that the budget for the following year was passed into law before the end of every current fiscal year.

    Reacting to the Land Use Charge 2018, Ettah accused the Lagos State government of being insensitive and inhuman to corporations and residents.

    According to him, the recent amendment to the Land Use Charge Law was a classical case of insensitivity, alienation and gross disregard of the wellbeing of corporate and individual residents.

    “In reality, the new law will expect property owners in Lagos State to pay at the very minimum, a monstrous, appalling and callous increase of over 200 per cent and in some instances over 500 per cent in Land Use Charge. It is not as if the income of a property owner has gone up significantly to justify this outrageous law,” Ettah said.

    Moreso, he argued that the real estate sector had continued to wallow in deep recession with high vacancy rates.

    “How on earth would any decent authority increase taxes overnight by over 200 to 500 per cent when in reality government should be doing more to stimulate the sector to come out of recession? To compound matters, there is a repugnant and odious penalty payment ranging between 125-200 per cent, if payment is not made between April and August,” he said.

    He said the Organised Private Sector (OPS) found the law intolerable and brutish, adding that the OPS would do everything legal and legitimate, including social resistance to challenge the unfair and unjustifiable law.

    “We put Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on notice that this law in its current form is not acceptable and the OPS will fight this law by social resistance and any other legitimate means at its disposal to get the government to ameliorate the harsh impact of the abhorrent law on residents.

    ”We believe in the context of a democracy that it is important that truth is spoken to power. We hope the government will not be obdurate and see reason as to why this law is unfair,” he said.

    The NECA boss, who commended the government for the constitution and re-constitution of some boards of parastatals and agencies, is, however, worried over the lateness and non-reconstitution of some other boards, which, he said, portends danger for good governance and a negative image for the country.

  • Syphilis a dangerous STI , says medic

    Syphilis a dangerous STI , says medic

    Syphilis is one of the most dangerous sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that could destroy man’s sexual power,  an expert has said.

    It is usually contracted through indiscriminate sex. And if not properly treated, the disease could make a man impotent and the woman barren.  Worse still, if you become pregnant while you have untreated syphilis, you have a 50 per cent chance of miscarriage or stillbirth.

    According to Dr Olanrewaju Balogun of Kukab Nature Therapy Nigeria Limited based in Omole-Ogba, Lagos, syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). It is not as common as some sexually transmitted infections, but if left untreated, it can cause very serious health problems in both men and women.

    Symptoms

    Balogun said out of ignorance,  many victims of syphilis often mistake the disease for gonorrhea, but the first symptom when you contract syphilis is a sore that looks like pimple, boil or blister on your genital organ, three weeks or more after sex with  a carrier.

    “This sore disappears under one week, giving the victim the impression that he is okay but he is not. Weeks after, sore throat, fever, skin rashes, serious itching and joint pains begin to manifest,’ he added.

     

    Effect

    And if left untreated or poorly treated, syphilis could cause weak erection, paralysis, watery sperm, low sperm count, premature ejaculation to the sufferer and all these will make him to be unable to impregnate a woman. And in case of woman, she won’t be able to take in. even if she manages to take in, the baby could end up with deformity, he explained.

     

    Treatment

    According to Balogun, the best thing to do when you notice any symptom of syphilis is to see an expert who will diagnose and cure you properly.

    “Kukab is a well-known expert, who has been treating serious sexual diseases for some years. Before treatment, he will first make sure you are tested to reveal your real sexual problem. For proper treatment of your syphilis and other sexual problems, we use indigenous herbal traditional medicines. With Kukab, your sexual problem is gone for life,” he assured.

     

  • A dangerous precedent

    •It is ominous for a mob to force a judge to vary his order 

    A caricature of a rabble could as well replace the blindfolded lady with the gavel or sword, as the symbol of justice, going by the decision of Justice David Oladimeji of the Osun High court, sitting at Ede, to vary the detention order made against Prof Anthony Elujoba, the former acting Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, following the outlawry of the defendant’s supporters at the court premises, last week.

    Following protests by students and staff of the university, who consider the accused a victim of high-wire politics, the judge, who had ordered that the accused be remanded at the IIesa prison, varied the order by changing the detention facility to that of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the date for ruling on the bail application, to assuage the rioters. We deprecate the unruly behaviour of the supporters of the former vice-chancellor, who sought to use violence and intimidation to secure his release.

    But we are also deeply concerned about the allegations that Prof Elujoba is a victim of high-wire politics. According to the protesters, the vice-chancellor is being victimised for, among other reasons, paying the university workers the arrears of their entitlements running into over a billion naira. The protesters also claimed that despite several petitions against Prof Bamitale Omole, a former vice-chancellor of the university, the EFCC has not charged him, but they were eager to latch on the spurious allegations against Prof Elujoba, for reasons they consider untoward.

    These allegations should be properly investigated by the relevant authorities. While the courts are already seised of the case against Prof Elujoba, is it true that weightier allegations against Prof Omole have been ignored? Even while not lending credence to the claims of Prof Elujoba’s supporters, which appear to be the majority of the university community, it may do good to the credibility of the EFCC, if a different batch of operatives from outside take a second look on the findings against the accused.

    Even while urging for a review of the investigation, those responsible for the unruly conduct within the high court premises, for whatever reasons, must be reprimanded. Even if their claim is unassailable, the resort to self-help and attempt to overawe the judicial process is indefensible. If they get away with that outlawry in the present case, who says a similar fate cannot be visited on another court, in a different circumstance, by a person or group who may have learned from their action?

    Something close to that happened when Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State sacked courts in Ekiti, which he accused of having been recruited to undermine his election. As we did then, we urge for respect of the sanctity of the judicial process. Even when a party may feel the process may have been circumvented, the right thing to do is to appeal to a higher court for redress. In the instant case, arguments for bail had been taken, and it was the judge’s prerogative to assign a date to deliver his ruling.

    As we have also argued on the granting of bail, a more definitive standard needs to be put in place. Where standards are in place, the applicable bail bond and terms would be known and upon meeting it, an accused is allowed to go home, knowing that the state has secured his/her attendance to the trial. After all, the essence of a bail is to secure the attendance of an accused person to his/her trial, and nothing more.

    The other important issue that must be addressed is the presence of adequate security at the courts, to secure the impartiality and independence of judges at all times.

  • Dangerous delay

    The National Assembly should work on the appropriation for the sake of all

    It is absurd yet it is real. We are already in May and this year’s national budget, still an appropriation bill, is yet to pass the National Assembly.

    The Senate and House of Representatives have stalled on this matter, and it is hard for any Nigerian to understand why. The Buhari Administration atop the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) hierarchy promised that the era of procrastination would yield to a business-like alacrity once his party took over in 2015.

    The Jonathan era was marked by a dilatory cynicism that was also perceived as an excuse for corruption. So, when the Buhari and APC took over the nation expected a different attitude. But it has been a painful reenactment of past failures.

    The Senate and the House of Representatives had not only received the budget proposal promptly last year, it had undertaken a dance of activities, summoning ministers and other top officers who could account for portions of the bill.

    Then it hit a stalemate that has not, up till now, been explained to the Nigerian people. It all became quiet on the budget front. Month followed month, and it became clear that the National Assembly had not taken its responsibility with the gravity it deserves.

    They started to put off the day to pass it until a twist entered the drama. The report had it that the police had raided the home of Danjuma Goje, the chairman of the Senate appropriation committee. The raid, according to the report, gave up documents that were related to the appropriation bill along with sums of money.

    The admission that the police raid rid the Senate and House of Representatives of the materials of the bill shows how unserious the lawmakers have been. If the senate chairman has the details in his home, is he the only one permitted to have it? Is there no back-up?

    The raid took place April and we are well into May, why has the National Assembly not been able to summon its powers to order the police to return those files germane to the passing of the bill? This sort of negligence has led some analysts to believe that it is not just ineptitude that is at play but also political brinkmanship by a senate that has been at odds with a presidency on a number of issues, including the confirmation of Ibrahim Magu as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), or the spat with the comptroller general of the Nigeria Customs, Hameed Ali.

    Budgets are supposed to be time sensitive. On their part, the National Assembly is cold-blooded. The law permits money to be appropriated in the event the appropriation bill is delayed. But it only allows for the release of money for basic business. That is, it forbids government to shut down.

    That is not consolation for a country that has hit a snag economically, especially when the government itself announced the economy had slipped into recession. Technically, we learned that we slid out of the same recession without passing the budget. In actual fact, though, there is great suffering in the land.

    If the ministries and government agencies had new initiatives and projects for the new year, they cannot take flight without the passing of the budget.

    It makes the National Assembly a cauldron of paralysis. They have not been interested in innovation, in the dynamics of a modern state that pushes people to test new frontiers of development. It is sad.

    We are still expecting the National Assembly to save the economy, and not tie down a country with potential because of pettifogging quarrels with the executive.

     

  • Dear CJN Onnoghen: Delay is dangerous

    And it’s the danger inherent that this place will sound out.

    Growing up in the north, one thing that is completely unmistakable is the fatalistic view to life. Death is – the will of Allah.

    Coming down south is a contrast there, with the sense of extreme anguish, grief, sorrow, mourning, wickedness to widows, etc. The widows are victims but the extreme anguish I seem to understand now as an adult.

    The Ibos are an industrious set of folk. Traditionally their social system involves minimal dependence on government, rather they have a desire to do something for the government.

    The businessmen have an established system of trading involving being apprenticed for several years in an existing shop or business. Here they work morning to night 6 days a week save in Ibo Supermarkets where they work for 6½ days. At the end, their master sets them up with money, consignment of goods and all that it will take to branch out in that business independently. From his profit, he takes care of everything – his extended family, in-laws and always contributes to his homestate community. The same goes for the Ibo businesswoman.

    So the loss of one Ibo trader is equivalent to the loss of One Nation. The loss of a female Ibo trader as happened to the Apo Six translates to the potentials for creating 60 more “Vampires” – ruthless kidnappers, killers and underworld kingpins who gruesomely murder household breadwinners.

    And then is justice delayed.

    The role of government is only to slam them (traders) with a tax menu – they pay. Push their business places far out of town and with no good road – they commute day and night, rising early, returning late. Government’s customs, excise and relevant departments are notoriously corrupt and make Ibo businessmen their target – the Ibos always ‘settle’.

    The minimal obligation these defenseless, hardworking ones would expect from government is protection of lives and property – like all other citizens of the federal republic. No. They are the ones the trigger happy policemen slay, as they return from ‘market’. Tragic!

    The Apo Six case is my antithesis. Tunji Adegboyega in The Nation titled his piece thus: “At last, Apo Six killers to die.” He says ‘It is difficult to believe that the Apo Six were killed 12 years ago. The incident was well reported in the media, making it compelling for the authorities to be concerned. Perhaps it would have passed off as one of those extra-judicial killings by some of our trigger-happy policemen.’

    This reminds me of another celebrated but inconclusive killer-police case. This one involved a very senior police officer who, after a romp in a hotel with one of his junior wives, shot and killed her for making an unreasonable financial demand of him – his confession.

    Almost makes the Apo Six killer policemen seem unlucky!                                  Still quoting Adegboyega “One can be sad that it took 12 long years …that justice is coming the way of victims’ relatives is still something to cheer.”

    The sentence by Justice Ishaq Bello of the Abuja high Court 12 years after confessional statements were made by the killers will likely only kick off another long process. It could go something like this: upon appeal, the case would then be referred to the Appeal Court where the procedure would be required to be started all over again.

    12 – 15 years later maybe, it would then land at the Supreme Court: Woe betides us if that year is an election year. All pending cases will be set aside for 1 ½ years till more important election petition matters would have been handled.

    By this time though, the children of one of the victims, Augustina Arebon would have grown up as motherless babies – without a mother who was most likely the bread winner in that family, under this harsh economic climate.

    Worse still, more trigger-happy cops would have attacked and killed countless more defenseless citizens in the interim – knowing the worst thing that could happen would be spending some time off in jail before the case would die down, like others before. Just last week a nursing mother was brutalized and assaulted by policemen at a road checkpoint.

    Or where is CLIFORD ORJI TODAY? It is against this grim background that I have situated the Onnoghen confirmation saga, so it does not die down too. Section 231 (1) of the  ’99 constitution says the appointment to the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC) subject to confirmation by the Senate.

    The NJC had duly recommended Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen to the President one month before the former CJN’s retirement date on 10th Nov. 2016. But Onnoghen was simply sworn in, in acting capacity and not referred to the senate for confirmation. Constitutionally, the CJN can only remain in acting capacity for 3 months: this ended in February 10th. I just wonder how did Onnoghen feel; how did he feel throughout his waiting period, with no positive signal in sight?

    In that interim another name (Ibrahim Magu) was repeatedly sent for another office (EFCC Chair) to the senate for confirmation: how did THAT STRIKE Onnoghen?

    Note that between 10th and 28th February a constitutional lacuna was created: Onnoghen’s acting tenure expired, the NJC did not recommend his continued stay, neither did they recommend the person next in seniority to the position.

    So the law refused to act on the law on itself. 

    All through, no reason was given by the executive for the aberration which could have resulted in a crisis in the judiciary, with speculation rife all over the polity, giving the lapses ethnic undertones that were both mindless and needless.

    The four month delay in forwarding the nomination was long, but not nearly as long as the one hundred and forty-four (144) month long delay by the courts in sentencing the Apo 6 killers.

    See, all those 12 long years the courts continued to sit, and high profile cases, big cases of political bigwigs were being dispensed while the relatives of the Apo 6 were kept waiting in suspense.

    Maybe this is the way, though seemingly tough, that providence has chosen to galvanize Nigeria’s top judges; all the judges to see in living colour, the grave injustice of justice delayed.

    Let that CJN saga be taken as a salvo, a call to action, a shakeup, a wake-up; the push we have all been yearning for in this nation to see speedy dispensation of justice in Nigeria. Only then would all the trauma have been resolved.

  • Rivers governor’s comment on rerun dangerous, says INEC

    Rivers governor’s comment on rerun dangerous, says INEC

    The  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has condemned Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike for accusing the commission of conniving with some people to rig next Saturday’s rerun in the state.

    INEC said the governor’s comment was dangerous and capable of inciting the people to commit violence.

    Wike had accused INEC of releasing a list of ad hoc workers of allegedly being dominated by All Progressives Congress (APC).

    According to him, INEC included an APC ward chairman and ward secretaries as assistant presiding officers.

    But in a statement by its Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi, INEC said: ”The commission condemns, in very strong terms, the relentless false allegations, provocative and dangerous comments being made by some political actors, especially the Governor of River State, Mr. Nyesom Wike, against the commission, all of which are capable of inciting people to commit violent acts that could derail the election.

    “We appeal to stakeholders to henceforth refrain from making pronouncements that could either overheat the state or instigate their followers to violence. We also appeal to all the political parties and their supporters to abide by extant laws governing the electoral process.

    “We wish to reassure all Nigerians that the commission will remain impartial and committed to conducting credible, fair and transparent elections at all times.”

  • ‘It’s dangerous for PDP to abandon zoning’

    ‘It’s dangerous for PDP to abandon zoning’

    Sola Ebiseni is a former Commissioner for Environment in Ondo State. He is among the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirants, who picked their nomination forms from the Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction, ahead of the November 26 election. In this interview with reporters in Akure, the state capital, he speaks about zoning and the party’s crisis. LEKE AKEREDOLU was there. Experts.

    What will you do differently from the present administration, if you become the governor?

    I am proud of our achievements under Dr Olusegun Mimiko, my leader, elder brother and friend. I come not to abolish the law but bring it to greater fulfilment under a fresh anointing, combining the experiences garnered under previous administrations. Every administration has its own priorities defined sometimes by its peculiar challenges. While issues of access to quality education and health services are given, I intend not to pay lip service to the diversification of the state economy in this critical times. My experiences being in charge of the Ministry of the Environment and Mineral Resources, which spread across the state, is a plus. Our territory is replete with all conceivable minerals ranging from quarry rocks from Ore through Idanre, Ondo, Akure, Itaogbolu, Ifon, Supare, Ikare, lime stone at Okeluse and iron at Akunu not to mention our bitumen and crude oil and agriculture in which we undoubtedly have comparative advantage. We have the longest shoreline among the littoral state. Yet, we are the only state yet to explore and exploit its coastal advantages and resources a factor which makes states like Lagos and Rivers thick. Proximity of Ogun to Lagos gives Ogun its industrial advantage and revenue from basically two local government areas  of Ado Odo/ Otta and Ifo. It is amazing to know that Ondo state to Lekki along the coast is less than an hour drive. Our unique state drags the Yoruba into the Niger Delta territorially and ranks fifth among the nine oil producing states. In our development blueprint to be launched as soon as we secure our party’s ticket, we intend to demonstrate in details how these resources will be translated to our advantages as a state.

    What’s your take on the clamour for the zoning of the ticket to a particular senatorial district?

    Honestly, that is an issue I would ordinarily not want to discuss because Iam involved. Yet, like I said earlier, certain ingredients are becoming noticeable in our political culture, which any political party may ignore to its own peril. Such ingredients like zoning as a  guarranty of equitable access to power by stakeholders in the polity are rooted in the peoples political consciousness in both our traditional and democratic political practices.  In my experience as a lawyer, I have seen and been involved in  protracted chieftaincy litigations against monopolistic tendencies. In my area I know a chieftaincy that has been vacant since 1989 and the ruling family in court on issue of zoning. In our modern politics, particularly in this state, there are unwritten conventions engraved in the minds of the people of every council rotating their chairmanship, and their parliamentary positions. In all states, except where a group is dominant and takes such advantage like Ibadan in Oyo state, Igala or Kogi East in Kogi State or Tiv in Benue, there is understanding among stakeholders for equitable access to the governance of their respective states. Even in a seemingly monolithic and urban state like Lagos, after the tenures of Tinubu and Fasola who are Muslims, there was subtle agitation for both a Christian successor and for a Lagos East consideration. In spite of his known grip on Lagos politics, Asiwaju kowtowed to the sentiments of the people culminating in Ambode’s governorship from Epe. At a time, Tinubu had to jettison his ambition for the Senate in favour of Ganiyu Solomon to put an end to the disquiet in his party. The greater consideration for support for Jonathan’s second term presidency by all groups in the Southsouth was what made particularly the Ijaw and other riverine people of Rivers State tolerate the succession of Amaechi by Wike, his Ikwerre compatriot. Jonah Jang was not that lucky on the polyglot Plateau when he went for a successor from his senatorial district after his own eight years. The people showed their resentment by voting PDP in other elections, except the governorship. That was similar to what happened to our party, the SDP in Lagos in 1992 when Sarumi was given the governorship ticket, instead of Agbalajobi favoured by party members. The resultant was Otedola of the NRC.   Ondo, more than any other state, has shown determination against dictatorship and the incumbent governor in his political career has been a veritable source of inspiration to those averse to lack of internal democracy.

    The national leadership of our party PDP has just come up with its zoning arrangements for the National Convention such that both the presidential candidate and the National Chairman shall not come from the same zone, North or South. The rise and fall of empires and even modern states are almost directly attributable to agitation for justice in access to governance. Even in America, blacks and the coloured all over the world celebrated the election of Barack Obama.

    The people of the South are clamouring for the governorship slot. do you see the party giving the ticket to the area?

    That agitation is legitimate. The party members and ultimately the electorate will decide the tenability of such agitation based on the political history of our state and other criteria. In addition to verifiable issues in our political history, as it is in warfare or even in soccer, it behoves  every political party to consolidate its stronghold. That is what the South represents as the soul of PDP in Ondo State. In all of these, the place of a free and fair primary, if we still can have one, is fundamental.

    If you fail to win the primary, would you opt out of the party or support the candidate of the party?

    Interesting. Primary or delegates’ election is a technical one that is almost  predictable. All things being equal, particularly ensuring free and fair process, there is no way we won’t win.

    Your recent  resignation from office as Commissioner was sudden and dramatic. Any special reason for that?

    Well, I don’t understand what you meant by sudden. It was a political and not a civil service appointment and required no statutory or administrative notice. Besides, part of creating level play ground for all aspirants is ensuring that no one has undue advantage using government facilities or resources either for his own use or in mobilizing stakeholders.