The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Forget

  • Abba: Lest we forget

    As usual, on Tuesday, May 12, I was anxious to listen to Channels Television’s 10pm news broadcast. This segment of the day’s news bulletin has been my favourite since the debut of the TV station many years ago. But on this particular day, I was much more eager to listen to the news because of the council of state’s meeting, the last to be presided over by the outgoing president, Goodluck Jonathan, which took place at the presidential villa earlier in the day. I knew there may be one or two important news emanating from that meeting. Besides, the newspapers had insinuated that Solomon Arase, who until that day was in acting capacity as Inspector General of Police, could be made a substantive IG at that meeting.

    The news that night opened with some video footage from  the Council of State meeting. In the group photograph which was featured at the tail end of the report, nine surviving former Heads of State – Generals Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Babaginda, Abdulsalami Abubakar, Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari, Chief Ernest Shonekan and Alhaji Shehu Shagari  – were featured. Of the lot, only three of them, including Dr. Goodluck Jonathan,  are civilians. The rest are military rulers. Some of them have come back as civilian presidents – Obasanjo and Buhari, who will be taking over the reins of government pretty soon.

    The highlight of the day’s news was the confirmation of the appointment of Solomon Arase as substantive IG after serving in acting capacity for less than one month. As the news scroll had it that day, it was “a record confirmation within one month”. It was in the process of confirming Arase that the president gave a little insight into the real reason why Suleiman Abba was summarily eased out of office last month after nine months in the saddle as IG. According to reports, Abba was eased out because of “noticeable indiscipline in the rank and file of the police under his command”. Though the report did not expatiate on what was termed indiscipline, the reason given by the government tallies with insinuations and speculations that greeted Abba’s sudden removal. The speculation then was that it might not be unconnected with the fall-out of the 2015 general elections particularly the presidential election in which the incumbent president was defeated. Since that defeat, many people in sensitive positions at the federal level have been sent packing. It is like a wounded tiger has come to town and has been baring its claws ever since.

    Like I pointed out in my column dated April 29, titled: “Abba: A Sacrificial Lamb”, the former IG had to be sacrificed for not superintending over a shambolic election which was what his paymasters had anticipated. We are all aware of the shenanigans that took place in Rivers State in the governorship election. That issue will soon become a subject of litigation. We are aware of the role played by some very important people in that election, from the INEC commissioner in the state to an empress who relocated to the state many weeks before the election. And of course, the issue of the deployment of senior police officers to monitor the state’s election and the counter-order or marching order issued to the officers. How the media blew the surreptitious moves open and the hullabaloo that followed in high quarters when all the secret manoeuvres leaked to the public.

    Then I remember that JamesF. Entwistle, the American Ambassador to Nigeria, visited the police headquarters in Abuja to give the “boys” a pat on the back for a job well done. The visit, which was aired on Channels TV’s 10p.m news on Monday, April 20, showed the footage of Abba, responding to all the good things the ambassador said on the police performance during the just concluded 2015 general elections. Abba said: “The elections were peaceful because my men went to the field and complied with instructions – be professional, don’t support any party and don’t be partisan in any way”.  According to him, “that was exactly what they did and this is responsible for the relative peace the country is now enjoying”. That sounds like a statement from a tough cop who knows his onions. As it is customary, Channels TV repeated the footage in subsequent news bulletins on that day, all through the night. Also, at 7:15 am the following day, shortly before the newspapers’ review, that is, during its News Track, the footage, once again, came on the TV station.

    Either by sheer telepathy or something else, when the footage came up again that morning, something in me told me that some people, somewhere, might interpret Abba’s innocent words to be an affront especially given the prevailing mood in high places after the ruling party was beaten silly in the elections. In any case, what Abba said on Channels TV was what really happened. It was a departure from previous elections when policemen will operate side-by-side or hand-in-hand with political thugs, taking directives from unscrupulous political godfathers, snatching ballot boxes, simulating arrests like was witnessed during the last governorship elections in Ekiti State and later, Osun State, including some other stupid things very unbecoming of law enforcement officers. In the last elections, nothing of such happened. If it happened at all, it was insignificant and too infinitesimal to raise eye-brows. That was why the Americans gave the police a pat on the back for a job well done as well as promising to assist the agency in strengthening their operational capabilities through training and all that.

    Unfortunately, back at home, what did Abba get? Less than 24 hours after the visit of the American Ambassador and his team, Abba got the boot. The whole nation was jolted. I am sure the Americans were, too. Of course, Nigerians are no fools. They can read between the lines. Talk of the African proverb: “The witches cried last night and today, a child in the neighbourhood drops dead….” Now, the removal of Abba is being couched in a deceitful garb. Speaking to newsmen last week on why Abba was removed, Mike Okiro, chairman, Police Service Commission, said; “Going by the explanation President Jonathan gave when one of the governors raised the question, the president took the action because of the gross indiscipline he noticed among the rank and file under his watch”. Hey, here we go again. Go tell that to the marines!

    It is on record that Abba presided over the most peaceful elections in Nigeria’s history. He probably read the mood of the nation correctly and knew that Nigerians will not take kindly to any attempt to rig the last elections. In fact, rigging an election such as the last one, could probably have thrown the country into a great conflagration the magnitude of which could lead to a major catastrophe. But thank God, the whole elections ended conclusively. Abba too, deserves praise. Not condemnation. Not blackmail. At any rate, whatever is said about Abba now does not matter. Nigeria has moved on.

    And talking about indiscipline in the police, it is an affliction of epidemic proportion. Over the years, the activities of the bad elements have continued to overshadow the good intentions of some of the finest officers in the system. Already, Arase said that he has let loose some units of mad dogs to go after the corrupt elements. Indeed, it looks like an impossible task. That department is damn rotten. Therefore, retrieving it from the abyss into which it has sunk requires a major surgical operation. Not grandstanding. Not any quick-fix approach. God help Nigeria, help Arase.

    ‘It is on record that Abba presided over the most peaceful elections in Nigeria’s history. He probably read the mood of the nation correctly and knew that Nigerians will not take kindly to any attempt to rig the last elections’

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  • Ordering Google to Forget

    Ordering Google to Forget

    In a ruling that could undermine press freedoms and free speech, the highest court of the European Union said on Tuesday that Google must comply with requests from individuals to remove links on search results pages to newspaper articles and other web pages that might cause embarrassment.

    The European Court of Justice ruled that an individual’s “right to be forgotten” was so strong that Google and other Internet search companies could be forced to remove links even if the information in question was itself accurate and lawful.

    The court said links could be removed if they were found to be “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant.” But the ruling provided little guidance to lower courts about how to decide when links should be removed. As a result, it could open the floodgates for people living in the 28 countries of the European Union to demand that Google and other search engines remove millions of links from search results. Such a purge would leave Europeans less well informed and make it harder for journalists and dissidents to have their voices heard.

    The ruling was based on a case brought by a Spanish man against a newspaper and Google. He argued that searching for his name led to two pages originally published in 1998 on the website of the newspaper, La Vanguardia, about his debts and the forced sale of his home. The Spanish Data Protection Agency did not require the newspaper to take down the pages, but it ordered Google to remove links to them. Google appealed that decision and the National High Court of Spain sought advice from the European court. The case now goes back to the Spanish court for resolution.

    In 1995, the European Union issued a directive to its members to protect the privacy of individuals. The directive did not explicitly establish a right to be forgotten. But the European court ruled that “after a certain time” individuals can argue that search links no longer comply with the directive and should be erased. The court, however, did not specify how much time has to pass for a request to be considered valid, presumably, leaving that question to Internet companies, privacy officials in European countries and lower courts to answer on a case-by-case basis.

    European lawmakers and courts have a long history of protecting privacy. In March, the European Parliament approved a new data protection law that, among other things, includes an explicit right to be forgotten. European governments still need to sign off on that legislation before it can be finalized.

    The desire to allow individuals to erase data that they no longer wish to disclose is understandable. For example, there are good reasons to let people remove embarrassing photos and posts they published on social media as children or young adults. But lawmakers should not create a right so powerful that it could limit press freedoms or allow individuals to demand that lawful information in a news archive be hidden.

    – New York Times

  • Activist to Jonathan: forget second term

    A human rights activist, Phrank Shuaib, yesterday urged President Goodluck Jonathan to jettison his second-term bid and quit the stage in 2015 in national interest.

    He also advised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to resign from office, for peace to rein in the party.

    Shuaib told reporters in Lagos that merit and performance of presidential candidates would determine their acceptance at the general election, adding that the President may not have concrete achievements to advertise.

    He said Tukur has lost the support of the PDP faction chaired by Alhaji Kawu Baraje and urged him to make a sacrifice in the interest of the party. In his view, if these concessions are made, peace would return to the troubled ruling party.

    Shuaib blamed President Jonathan for not resolving the Rivers State PDP crisis, lamenting that the controversy stirred by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) chairmanship election has now consumed the mainstream PDP, led by Tukur.

    He blamed the President for his tacit approval of the undemocratic steps taken by Tukur, including the suspension of Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, the exclusion of key members from the delegate’s lists for the controversial national convention, expulsion of national officers by the Rivers chapter, and victimisation of perceived foes.

    Shuaib said: “My advice is that President Jonathan should look at the mirror and see if there is any reflection of a President. The surest way to re-election is performance in office. A successful one-term is better than 15 years in office. The President is not pursuing the aspirations of the people”.

  • Forget Chipolopolo — Kalu

    Forget Chipolopolo — Kalu

    Bring on the Chipolopolo, defending champions are easy prey, Eagles must pick a medal in South Africa,” according to the former Abia State governor Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, who believes the Nations Cup Draw is a good deal.

    He said,”Eagles have a way round defending champions. From Zaire in 1976, Ghana in 1984, Cote D’Ivoire in 1994, Cameroon in 2004 to Tunisia in 2006, Nigeria beat all Cup holders. The only time that record was dented was at Angola 2010, by Egypt. Playing defending champions Zambia should not scare anybody. And records show that any time the Super Eagles confronted Cup holders, they returned with a medal.”

    Kalu described Zambia as a good meal for Nigeria. “For 22 years now, Eagles have had them for lunch at the Nations Cup. They lost at Algeria’90, fell at Tunisia ’94 when they made a fairy tale grand-finale appearance, and lost again at Angola 2010.”

    The former governor blamed the Zambians for their plight. “Zambia drew Eagles’ wrath when their 5-1 victory in 1973 not only booted Nigeria out of the Egypt ’74 qualifiers, Gen.Yakubu Gowon had to disband the team, August 2 1973. Coach Joe Erico can tell this story better. In 1982, Nigeria travelled to Libya as defending Champions. In their all-important final group match, Zambia disgraced us. After conceding two goals, goalie Peter Fregene just kicked the ball into his own net to complete the shame at 3-0. The same Zambia stopped Nigeria from playing at Egypt ’86. That was Patrick Ekeji’s last time as Eagles coach and Muda Lawal’s sad farewell.”

    According to Kalu, “the South Africa 2012 group reminds me of Ghana ’78. Nigeria, Zambia and Burkina Faso [then Upper Volta] were in the same group. Eagles defeated the Burkinabes 4-2, and drew 0-0 with Zambia. Also, it takes me back to Libya ’82 where they played Ethiopia and Zambia in same group. That was Stephen Keshi’s first Nations Cup. He got a brace in the 3-0 demolition of Ethiopia.”

    Kalu wished the Eagles well, urging them to prove they were no more on Ground Zero in the eyes of Nigerians.