The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NBA conference

  • How government can overcome infrastructure deficit – Babalakin

    How government can overcome infrastructure deficit – Babalakin

    The nation’s quest for massive development of critical public infrastructure will remain a mirage without a change of attitude by public officers, renowned lawyer and businessman, Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), has said.

    He argued that the current practice where public officers do not respect terms of contracts and agreements, but see private investors in public infrastructure as either competitors or inferior partners, will continue to work against quest to overcome the current deficit in the provisions and maintenance of public infrastructure.

    Babalakin, who is one of Nigeria’s pioneer investors in public infrastructure development, spoke in Abuja, Monday, at a session organized by the Construction and Infrastructure Law Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

    The session was part of the activities lined up by the NBA for its ongoing annual conference in Abuja.

    The theme of the session was: “Ending The Scourge Of Abandoned Projects In Nigeria.”

    Speaking on a sub-theme: “The role of private sector and why there is failure in private infrastructural development,” Babalakin argued that the failure of most public and private sectors partnerships (PPP) in the development of public infrastructure was not due to inadequate funding, but because of deliberate acts of sabotage by public officials.

    He said it was impossible for government to fully meet the nation’s infrastructure need without the involvement of the private sector, particularly in the face of dwindling national revenue from oil sales.

    He argued that achieving success in this area requires conscious effort by the government to protect private investors from the activities of “self-centered public officials.”

    He noted that the current financial reality in the country requires that “we must find a way of creating wealth.”

    “We cannot continue to distribute largesse. And that the parameters for wealth creation must be well protected rather than threatened,” he stated.

     

     

  • How to end insurgency, corruption – NBA

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has urged the Federal Government to reorganise its intelligence gathering strategy if it must win the fight against insurgency.

    It said the government must be proactive in its efforts at tackling terrorism.

    NBA urged Nigerians to join hands with the government in the fight against terror, saying the battle should not be left to government alone.

    “All Nigerians must collaborate with the government and the security agencies in order to address the issue of the seemingly intractable security problems confronting the country, particularly the expanding escapades of the now dreaded terrorists called Boko Haram,” NBA said.

    These were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the association’s annual general conference held in Owerri, Imo State capital from August 24 to 29.

    The conference, which had the theme: “Nigeria: A 100 years after,” ended with the inauguration of a new executive led by Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN).

    NBA blamed insecurity and corruption on bad leadership, adding that values have also been eroded.

    “A major portion of our socio-political and economic problems are caused largely by lack of exemplary and visionary leadership,” it said.

    The association said the progressive erosion of core values in Nigeria leads to communal disintegration and insecurity.

    “There is need for national value re-orientation through leadership by example and the entrenchment of the rule of law and eradication of impunity,” NBA said.

    The association called for adequate protection for prosecutors and witnesses involved in terrorism cases as provided by the United Nations’ guidelines for prosecutors.

    It urged military hierarchy to caution its personnel on the overzealous display of anger and emotions in their duty so as not to violate human rights.

    On corruption, NBA called for a reinvigoration of the criminal justice system as a panacea for dealing with criminality.

    “There’s the dire need for the Federal Government to re-engineer and re-invigorate all the anti-corruption agencies as well as grant them more autonomy.

    “This is to ensure their impartiality and for them to exercise their powers and perform their functions without fear, favour or prejudice and without interference from any person or organ of state,” NBA said.

    To further discourage corrupt practices, the lawyers’ body urged judges to impose the maximum sentences provided in law rather than a mere “slap on the wrist” for those found guilty of graft.

    “Judges should be equitable and balanced in the administration of criminal justice in such a way that punishment is blind to status and class.

    “Cases involving serious crime should be assigned to very experienced judges in order to ensure that not so experienced judges do not tacitly encourage such crimes through faulty determination of such matters.

    “The imposition of fine alone is inappropriate for serious crimes. Punishment should combine both fine and imprisonment to reflect the societal revulsion of such serious crimes.

    “The Federal Government, through all stakeholders in the administration of criminal justice should establish a national crime data bank in order to keep information on fingerprints, identification and criminal records of every offender,” NBA said.

     

  • Nigerians celebrate corruption – Peter Obi

    Nigerians celebrate corruption – Peter Obi

    A former Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi, Wednesday said corruption thrives in the country because Nigerians worship money.

    He said the problem with the country is impunity, adding: “the level of greed is unacceptable.”

    Speaking during a plenary session of the ongoing Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Owerri, Imo State, Obi, who spoke on the topic: “Nigeria, Any Hope For industrial Revolution,” said corruption does more than harm development.

    “Corruption and greed kill entrepreneurship, hardwork and professionalism,” he said.

    Obi condemned greed among political office holders who assume power with the single aim of enriching themselves with filthy lucre.

    “Someone is voted into office and had no house, no car, but in six months, the person has three cars, six houses, and the person organises a thanksgiving. Even the bishop is praying for him to make more money.

    “We have to start fighting those things that make industrial revolution impossible. We have to start by building a country where there is zero tolerance for greed and impunity,” Obi said.

    Meanwhile, the NBA President, Okey Wali (SAN), has called for a reform of appointment and elevation of judges and justices.

    He said nothing in law stops a qualified lawyer from being appointed a state’s Chief Judge, adding that a lawyer should also be able to go to the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court from the Bar without having to serve on the bench first.

    Wali also sought a review of the Constitution to divest governors of powers to appoint Chief Judges.

    He said, “Why should another arm of government appoint the head of another arm? Does the judiciary appoint the governor of a state? Do we appoint the speaker of the House of Assembly? So why should they appoint our head?”

    A former NBA President, Joseph Daudu (SAN), said the Chief Justice of Nigeria should not preside over the National Judicial Council (NJC) which has the responsibility of appointing and disciplining judges.

  • ‘Nigeria on verge of disintegration’

    Nigeria is on the verge of disintegration and requires drastic action to preserve its unity, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, Senator George Thompson Sekibo, said Wednesday.

    According to him, the military is not only overstretched in dealing with insurgency, it is also grossly underfunded.

    “I tell you as a politician and a lawmaker that I am seeing signs of disintegration of this country,” Sekibo said.

    He spoke during a session by the Military Law Forum of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at the 2014 Annual General Conference of the body in Owerri, Imo State capital.

    It had the theme: “The Nigerian Armed Forces in Internal Security Operations: Between Law and National Security Imperatives.”

    To Sekibo, a successful fight against insurgency will depend on how well the military is equipped, adding that Nigeria’s unity now primarily lies in the hands of armed forces.

    “As chairman of Senate Committee of Defence, I can categorically say that our military is drastically under-funded. If you’re sending a man to go to somewhere to fight, they cannot do with empty hands.

    “Our military is much overstressed. That makes me to ask: Is pipeline vandalisation an internal security issue for the military to handle? Is oil theft an internal security issue for the military as well ethnic crisis? I don’t see any reason why if we adequately train the other para-military forces like the police, they cannot handle such issues.

    “It means that we have to encourage the police and give them the relevant training so that they will be able to stop ordinary pipeline vandalisation, oil theft and some of these smaller issues, so that they military can face major crisis, even though they are internal, and bring peace to our land.

    “In this insurgency issue, if the perception of the people becomes stronger than what is happening, then destruction is imminent. For that not to happen, it is in the hands of the armed forces. They have to fight their best.

    “They have to make sacrifices to make sure that the insurgents are brought to their knees. If the insurgents come on their knees and beg the country, then law and the armed forced have met properly,” he said.

    Sekibo also urged the military to put the people first, and not violate human rights in a bid to please the government.

    “I think as a senator that the military is not the people’s military. The military is the government’s military. Unfortunately I’m saying so because I represent the people.

    “I think that if the military is for the people, then it should care about the people’s protection first, before the nation’s protection. We must make our military the military of the people,” Sekibo said.

    The Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Jos, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), said the police and other para-military agencies should be properly trained, equipped and motivated so as to minimise the army’s internal security responsibilities.

  • ‘Nigeria is Africa’s highest importer of generator’

    Nigeria topped the list of generator-importing countries for the fourth year in a row, having surpassed others since 2002, the Chairman of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company Limited (Vigeo Holdings), Mr. Gbolade Osibodu, said Tuesday.

    He said Nigeria accounted for 35 per cent or $152million of the total $432.2million spent by African countries on generator importation in 2005.

    The effect, according to him, is that nearly all surviving manufacturing companies run private plants, with more production costs being shifted to the consumers.

    Speaking during the plenary session at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference in Owerri, with the topic: “Nigeria, any hope for an industrial revolution?” Osibodu said development would continue to elude Nigeria until there is regular power supply.

    “Nigeria has all it takes – sufficient water, gas, manpower, etc – to solve the power problem in the country. Nigeria is faced with inadequate and unreliable power supply, making it difficult to achieve needed economic growth and development,” he said.

    Osibodu expressed optimism that the ongoing power sector reform would guarantee power supply, adding that post-privatisation challenges such as inadequate generating capacity and transmission limitation must be tackled.

    “Successful reform of the power sector will lead to revitalisation and growth of industries in Nigeria. To the question: Any hope of industrial revolution in Nigeria? The answer is Yes, but this will require the commitment of all stakeholders,” he said.

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Solomon Asemota, who chaired the session, said industrial revolution in Nigeria would depend on the immediate ending of the ideological war between liberal democracy and Sharia

    “Sharia is the direct opposite of the industrial revolution with the policies it tries to enforce as is with Boko Haram and its desire of a world caliphate through violence and force.  It is feudalistic and retrogressive.

    “The enforcement of Sharia is in fact the protection of a system that perpetuates oligarchy because the oligarchs are the interpreters of Sharia. It is essentially politics of the stomach typified by Boko Haram. We have remained stagnant over the years because of our dual ideology.

    “Brazil, India, Indonesia, China and others with whom Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product effectively competed in the 1960s and have one ideology have made progress.

    “Until Nigeria develops democracy as its ideology, industrial revolution will only remain a mirage,” Asemota said.

  • There’s no evidence of economic growth – Tambuwal

    There’s no evidence of economic growth – Tambuwal

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Monday questioned the Federal Government’s claim that the economy is growing.

    Figures from the recent rebasing of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product placed the country as Africa’s largest economy and the world’s 26th.

    But Tambuwal said there is nothing to show that such a claim is true.

    Nigeria, he said, is full of paradoxes, as corruption and violence threaten its existence despite the churches and mosques that abound everywhere.

    He said this in his keynote address at the Eight Annual Business Law Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL).

    It has the theme: “Exemplary governance: enhancing economic development in Nigeria.”

    Tambuwal, represented by Mr. Moyo Onigbanjo (SAN), said only good governance can rescue Nigeria.

    He said: “We live in a country of inexplicable contradictions. We have great human and material resources yet we are always on the list of countries with the worst poverty index.

    “Our economy is alleged to be growing, including the recent rebasing, but the lives of the majority of our citizens do not convey this testimony.

    “We have more places of worship per square meter than most nations on this earth yet corruption and violence threatens our very survival.

    “We have some of the best agricultural lands in the world but we import food. We are the sixth largest producer of crude oil, but we import finished petroleum products.

    “We have lived together as a nation for over 100 years yet daily you hear stories of threats of our breaking up.

    “Only good governance and true development can unravel these paradoxes which are clear indices of underdevelopment.”

    Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) said there cannot be good governance when Nigerians refuse to vote in elections.

    He said during his re-election, only 31 per cent of the registered 6.4million voters turned out.

    “Do we vote? In India, 73.3 per cent of registered voters turned out to vote. In South Africa, 72 per cent turned out to vote in their last election. But I can’t recall when last up to 50 per cent of registered voters in Nigeria came out to vote,” Fashola said.

    According to him, such indices send negative messages to investors, adding that it takes the votes by the electorate to choose good leaders.

    “Do we deserve to ask for good governance when we stay away during election?” Fashola asked.

    The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, said exemplary governance is critical for economic development.

    She said economic development also hinges on strict observance of the rule of law, and an efficient and independent judiciary.

    For Justice Phillips, represented by the Head Judge, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, good governance entails a system that encourages transparency and accountability.

     

  • Terrorist attacks affect cost of governance – AGF

    Terrorist attacks affect cost of governance – AGF

    The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) on Monday said terrorist attacks have been affecting the cost of governance.

    He also said the interventions of the courts have saved the nation’s democracy and constitutional evolution.

    He, however, warned politicians against abuse of freedom of expression to incite violence in the country.

    Adoke made the submissions in an address at the 2013 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at the International Conference Centre in Calabar.

    In the address, which was released to journalists in Abuja, the AGF urged Nigerians to support the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    He said: “In Nigeria, the challenges of nationhood are more pronounced in the areas of security, fostering of national unity and democratic consolidation.

    “The threat of global terrorism hitherto considered an alien phenomenon has unfortunately found a place in our nation.

    “Media reports of terrorist attacks on innocent citizens, members of the armed forces and police and our critical infrastructure have continued to weigh heavily on the cost of governance and the ability of the citizenry to carry out their social and economic activities with grave consequences for the nation.

    “In its determined effort to combat the insurgency; government has had to impose a state of emergency in three states in the northeast geopolitical zone, (Adamawa, Borno and Yobe).”

    The AGF also said the interventions of the courts have saved the nation’s democracy and constitutional evolution.

    He said: “There is no doubt that any society, which desires to bring about social justice and development, will ultimately address the functionality and centrality of law. In my respectful view, social justice and a developmental perspective to nation’s legal system require that the rule of law must be sacrosanct.

    “This fundamental concept entails that rights (including economic rights) are protected and that arbitrary powers of the State are curbed by the prescription of rules and codes that regulate and sanction.

    “By the same token, in a constitutional democracy like Nigeria, the rule of law connotes not only that the judiciary is independent but that judicial orders and judgments of courts are obeyed and enforced. This is more so when only the courts of law are mandated to state with finality the position of the law as it governs the affairs of the society and the nation.