The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria newspaper

  • Xenophobia and Africa’s entrepreneurial spirit

    I arrived South Africa on the 16th of July 2002; it was winter, the thick of it. I was brutally shocked by the intensity of the cold. But I came with a warm spirit. I was focused.

    My eye was on one thing alone. I wanted to be an entrepreneur; to add value to humanity, to create goods and services, to make a positive impact on the economic landscape of my host country and within Africa.

    The story of my sojourn to the rainbow nation reflects the story of migration of many of my compatriots and other Africans in South Africa.

    When I left Nigeria, I was only armed with basic high school education and skills acquired from my mentorship programme as a trader. For a Nigerian, that was more than enough “survival-tool-box”.

    It was up to me to add into the tool box; determination, resilience, creativity and emotional intelligence for me to navigate the reality of the South African socioeconomic terrain.

    As I soldiered on, I realised, like any other non-citizen that the political liberation of our host country was not automatic economic freedom.

    The onus was on me to confront an economic system stiffed in structured sectors and industries, white-controlled capital and infrastructures. I stumbled, fumbled, staggered and fell severally, yet, I refused to remain on the ground.

    Today, I have gained some financial stability. But it did not come to me because it was easy. I have three businesses and I have wonderful South Africans who work in those businesses, some have worked with me for as long as the businesses have started.

    Some of my shops are entirely in the hands of South Africans; my security outfit is managed by South Africans who decide what happen in the company’s operations. I am currently mentoring a young South African; using the same principle from my mentorship programme in Nigeria. I have spiced it with some degree of formality and, at 22 years of age, he runs his own IT firm from under my space.

    I tell my story to illustrate that the narratives which seek to vilify all foreigners ignore the fact that South Africa has the potential to be the melting pot for entrepreneurial creativity, ingenuity and collaboration by Africans.

    South Africa is multi-racial, hence, it is called the Rainbow Nation. It has the best of infrastructures on the continent and prides in a constitutional democracy, one of the best in the world.

    The epitaph, Rainbow Nation, denotes more than different pigmentation, it is supposed to be a reflection of diversity and ingenuity, therefore, the creativity from across the borders would add to the beauty and brightness of South Africa at the end of the day, if, the host country can tap into the positives brought by those from other countries.

    As a foreigner living in South Africa and a Nigerian in particular, I won’t keep quiet over this recent Afro-phobic attacks going on in parts of South Africa. I have the moral ground to speak because I have added value to South Africa: I boldly state that I have never indulged in any form of criminal activity to make money. Besides, I am married to a South African and her family has become mine.

    I am not the only foreigner or Nigerian with this kind of record. Crime is crime no matter who commits it. There is no crime that is only committed by only foreigners. Criminals are in every country and they should not be tagged exclusively as foreigners.

    When we call criminals foreigners we are saying that every foreigner is automatically criminal. Painting everyone with the same brush is dangerous and the ripple effect is what we are experiencing; where businesses of genuine entrepreneurs are destroyed because they are foreigners on account of wrong narrative which been allowed to gained currency, people who have something to offer will be forced to recline.

    It is true that there are foreigners whose activities are conducted in unpleasant and illegal ways. On the flip side, it is impossible for people from other nations to come to another nation to commit crime without aid from citizens.

    But intellectual laziness and populist stance have underscored the narrative which demonizes foreigners and, Nigerians in particular. Perhaps, we need to remember not to forget that Nigeria and South Africa account for almost one-third of the Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and, if businesses developed by entrepreneurs like me, and against the background of the challenges to grow small businesses; it would directly compromise the targets of the current clamor for intra-African trade.

    Instead of hasty generalisation and blanket labeling of small business owners from other countries, South Africa should put in place more pragmatic methods to deal with criminality. South Africa is a great country with tremendous potentials for development but the youths need to be better capacitated; they should be made to explore entrepreneurship and boost the rate of employment in the country.

    South African citizens have better opportunity to compete with foreigners and to even overtake them. The younger people should be motivated to imbibe the passion and determination to start their own businesses. The presence of foreigners like me who came with almost nothing should be an inspiration to the citizens.

    Institutions of learning should consider tilting their approach from emphasizing soft skills but also to capacitate learners on job creation. This is key because what we have today is a situation where there are limited job opportunities and educational institutions continue to produce job seekers instead of job creators. This vicious circle will continue and its adverse effect will increase if we don’t take proactive and drastic measures in creating jobs.

    In addition, we also need to look at South African families and how the role the families play in the challenges facing the country. Looking back at the struggle and what black South Africans went through; most of the youths did not grow in households where their parents or older relatives were entrepreneurs.

    So the first level of socialisation already places them at a disadvantage where they are not exposed to the knowledge and the confidence that they can create their own businesses. So, the idea of creating their own businesses is strange to many of them even when funding and business support structures are provided.

    In conclusion, there is a proverb in Igbo language that says if a child fetches more fire wood than his mates his mates will accuse him of fetching his from the evil forest.

    • Echie is the Acting President of Nigerian Community Western Cape (NCWC).

     

  • Insecurity

    Insecurity

  • ‘Why we set up Legal History Society of Nigeria’

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chief Anthony Idigbe has said the Legal History Society of Nigeria was set up to boost awareness of the country’s legal history and laws.

    He said this was the vision of the society’s major promoters, who include a former Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Olasupo Sasore (SAN), Prof. Fabian Ajogwu (SAN) and Mr Edward Keazor.

    Idigbe, who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the society, said the group would hold its maiden conference at Oriental Hotel, Lagos on October 10.

    He said: “The Legal History Society of Nigeria was set up to encourage the study and advance the knowledge of the history of Nigerian law. The society, which was formed in February 2019, is dedicated to enriching and preserving legal history in Nigeria and has a growing membership which is not restricted to legal practitioners.

    “The society wishes to announce its maiden conference which will hold in Lagos. The theme of the conference is: Does legal history matter?

    “Panel sessions at the conference will discuss topics relating to the relevance of legal history in Nigeria’s economic advancement; the relationship between legal history and politics and other scintillating matters of grave importance to the subject. The keynote address would be delivered by Prof Girard Philips; a renowned Professor of Legal History and co-editor of the journal, ‘The Legal History Society in Canada’. He is also a Professor at the Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.”

    Prof. Fidelis Oditah QC (SAN) will join Idigbe, Ajogwu, Keazor and Sasore as speakers and moderators for the conference.

    Idigbe added: “The maiden conference is intended to flag off the society’s existence and to showcase and create awareness about the relevance of preserving Nigerian legal history in a manner that meets with international standards.

    ‘’The conference is open to attendance by legal practitioners, judges, politicians, members of the police service, media personalities, historians, people interested in issues concerning Nigeria’s legal evolution, students, researchers, scholars and the entire public.”

     

  • Wanted: National arbitration policy

    In this article, Dr. Oluwole Akinyeye advocates the need for proactiveness in developing a new national arbitration policy, which will have its roots in Nigeria’s commercial relationships and dealings with foreign entities.

    The recent enforcement order relating to the sum of $9,000,000,000 (nine billion Dollars) made against Nigeria by an English High Court, which was based upon an arbitration award secured by a company, Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID), has generated a huge outcry.

    This development presents grave and far-reaching implications for Nigeria, as it means that the country’s assets could be attached in order to satisfy the award. The Nigerian government says that the P&ID’s oil and gas contract with Nigeria, which represented the genesis of the arbitration, was a scam perpetrated by the company.

    However, irrespective of whether or not the P&ID case was built on a scam, a crucial issue flowing from the case is that our present policy relating to the resolution of disputes arising from Nigeria’s Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) requires major review.

    Afterall, P&ID’s recourse to arbitration largely stemmed from its right as a foreign investor to resort to arbitration under Nigeria’s BIT.

    In fact, the current position is that all of Nigeria’s BITs provide that disputes between Nigeria and foreign investors will be resolved by recourse to arbitration to be conducted in international institutions of arbitration outside Nigeria.

    It is acknowledged that arbitration is a contemporary method of dispute resolution that has been embraced in commercial relationships all over the world and Nigeria’s BITs are not an exception, however, the contention is that the recourse to international institutions of arbitration in Nigeria’s BITs is totally unnecessary, considering that there are institutional arbitration mechanisms in Nigeria that are capable of undertaking the arbitration performed by their foreign counterparts.

    Suffice to say that Nigeria ought to be the seat of arbitration in respect of disputes arising from its BITs.

    Interestingly, the resort to foreign arbitration in Nigeria’s BITs is not peculiar and appears to reflect a continental trend.

    In this respect, the consideration of most African BITs will reveal provisions for dispute settlement by recourse to arbitration to be conducted by non-African institutions of arbitration such as the International Centre for the Settlement of Disputes (ICSID).

    This has meant that many arbitration cases involving Nigerian or African parties are settled outside Africa.

    The proponents of resorting to foreign arbitration in Nigeria’s BITs might argue that there are challenges confronting arbitration in Nigeria, which justifies the need to rely on foreign institutions of arbitration.

    In this regard, references might be made to issues such as the lack of belief in the neutrality of Nigerian arbitration institutions, negative perception of Nigeria as an arbitration destination and the foreign investor’s power to dictate the seat of arbitration.

    However, it is submitted that these purported challenges are old excuses that have since been overtaken by advancement in Nigeria’s arbitration development.

    This is because there has been a steady and appreciable growth in the legislative and institutional framework revolving around arbitration in Nigeria.

    With the P&ID case, it is crucial that we must become proactive in developing a new national arbitration policy,which will have its roots embedded in Nigeria’s commercial relationships and dealings with foreign entities.

    To give effect to the national arbitration policy, the Nigerian government will be expected to promote a policy that arbitration agreements in respect of all disputes arising from governmental contracts with foreign entities will have Nigeria as the seat of arbitration.

    This was the subject of a recent letter written by Dr. Olisa Agbakoba SAN to President Muhammadu Buhari, wherein he advocated that Nigeria should establish a national arbitration policy by the enactment of an Executive Order, which will commence the process and procedure of creating the policy.

    In this respect, the Executive Order may establish a National Task Force or Workgroup to develop the mechanics of the policy.

    It is important to stress that the proposed national arbitration policy should not just be directed to government contracts or dealings, but it should be extended to private commercial relationships.

    This is in light of the fact that Nigeria generates a significant volume of private commercial transactions.

    Unfortunately, a significant number of disputes arising from these transactions are ultimately arbitrated in foreign jurisdictions.

    Undoubtedly, the flight of domestic arbitration cases to arbitral venues outside Nigeria is unhelpful to our economic development as a country, and also to arbitration practitioners. This misnomer accounts for the loss of revenue on both levels and requires a national arbitration policy to reverse the trend.

    Importantly, Nigerian arbitration bodies should encourage and implement capacity building programmes that will assist with the development and advancement of the proposed national arbitration policy.

    This could be achieved by the provision of educational outreach, extensive training and programmes, conferences and workshops.

    With increased attention and improvement on the legal framework underpinning arbitration in Nigeria, as well as better resourcing and training, Nigeria can secure for itself, a place on the global arbitration sphere, through its national arbitration policy.

    In conclusion, the proposed national arbitration policy should be seen as presenting an opportunity for Nigeria to review the arbitration provisions in its BITs, which would position Nigeria as the seat of arbitration in respect of disputes emanating from Nigeria’s BITs and private commercial transactions. In this respect, the Federal Government must act with a sense of urgency to remedy the position whereby Nigeria is shortchanged under its BITs.

    • Dr. OluwoleAkinyeye Head – Maritime Unit Olisa Agbakoba Legal

     

  • Airlines’ role in developing airport hubs

    What qualifies an airport as an effective hub? Experts say it is beyond geographical location, population, operational infrastructure and the size of terminal facilities. The role strong carriers can play in achieving a hub for Nigeria has triggered a debate in the sector. KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR reports.

    Nigeria’s desire to achieve hub status for some of its airports in the last few decades has remained elusive.

    The drive to upgrade some of its airport terminals to hub status has engaged the attention of successive administrations with little to show for it beyond rhetorics. Terminal upgrade and remodelling initiatives conceived by many aviation ministers are yet to yield the expected results.

    But, the country is losing billions of dollars  in the West African region and on the continent due to the failure of the government to deliver on its target.

    Experts, including Chief Executive Officer Belujane Konsults, Mr Chris Aligbe; Chief Executive Officer, African Aviation Services Limited, Mr Nick Fadugba; Chairman  and Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON),Captain Meggison  said hub pursuit for Nigeria may take longer time until strong  carriers were put in place.

    Beside strong carriers, they said the government needs deliver modern airports with transit facilities for passengers to connect flight from one corner of the world to another.

    They said Nigeria will be better positioned to achieve hub status for its airport terminals if it takes advantage of its geographical location, population and other attractions.

    Besides geography, they say establishing strong carriers has a role to play in the development of effective airport hubs. They argue that such carriers should not be necessarily publicly owned, but could be private sector-driven, judging by the experience in other climes.

    Aligbe on his part identified the absence of strong indigenous carriers as one of the reasons Nigeria is unable to develop airport hubs. He said though Nigeria is blessed with with a good geographical location, it is not enough to make her airports natural hubs as hub development goes beyond geography encompassing strong carriers to distribute passengers.

    He said other countries in Africa were using their carriers to develop their airport into strong hubs for the distribution of passengers on the airline network they belong to.

    Aligbe said until the government designed policies that would promote strong  indigenous carriers, the ambition to develop some international airports into a hub will remain a mirage.

    In an interview, Aligbe said in some parts of the world, some private carriers assisted in developing their airports into strong hubs.

    He said: “We cannot develop hub in our country. If you look at it globally  it is only two major places that private airlines have developed as hub.

    “You have it in Honk Kong, developed by Cathay Pacific, the airline was owned by a shipping magnate, but now it is a global airline.

    ‘’There is another airline that developed  a hub in Brazil after the collapse of Varig Air. So, airlines have a role to play in developing airport hubs. Other hubs were developed by national carriers. Most American carriers are privately owned.’’

    He further said: “Only national carriers build hubs. That is why Nigeria has not been able to build hubs. Four  or five years ago, there was an arrangement with Lufthansa to help build a hub in Abuja , but it did not happen. It will not happen, no foreign airlines will build hub for Nigeria. KLM built a hub in Schipol, Air France built Paris Airport, British Airways built Heathrow, not Virgin.

    “Nigeria is the best location in Africa to build a hub, yet we have not developed it.

    “The kind of  multiplier  effect a  hub has in economic development in any country is mammoth. Such  hubs as Dubai, Heathrow, France, Atlanta, do wonderful things. Delta Airlines has done a lot to develop hubs and contribute to the development of the economy.

    “We are not in a position to develop  that now, because we do not have a strong national flag carrier that can do this,” Aligbe added.

    Meggison in his view  said airlines have a huge role to play in developing hubs.

    He cited the roles Ethiopian Airlines has played in making Addis Ababa a strong hub in the Horn of Africa region, distributing passengers from all parts of the continent onto its global routes network, using its many global alliances.

    He said Kenyan Airways has also assisted  in developing Nairobi into a strong  hub for East Africa to distribute passengers around the continent.

    Egypt Air, he said, has developed a hub around Cairo just as South African Airways has also developed a hub  for Johannesburg to distribute passengers around the southern part of the continent. He said any country needed more than mere geographical advantage to become a hub.

    He said: “But a country needs more than the advantage of geographical location to become a hub.

    “Now, if you  take advantages into account, Nigeria ought to be a hub. But then what  really determines a hub is the quality and the capacity of the major carrier in that country.

    “It is not the population, it is not even the strategic location as it were. KLM is from Netherlands. How many people are in Netherlands? How many of the KLM passengers are going to Netherlands? But because the country has a very big carrier that has wide network, the airline has made Amsterdam a hub.”

    He said  Nigeria could become a hub if it has strong airlines that could distribute passengers from Europe, Americas, Asia and other destination outside the continent to various parts of Africa.

    “Nigeria can become a hub if it has two or three  airlines that are very strong. Even if one is not strong enough, but an airline  that can create a feeder network for passengers  to different parts of the continent.

    “Ethiopia is not strategically located  as it were, but because they have a very strong carrier, Addis Ababa has become a hub. So, it is the airline or the airlines that make a hub. For Lagos to become a hub, besides the facilities that will enable it to become a hub, like good airport, modern transportation facilities, the airline must be big enough to have network of routes and feed other airlines.”

    Despite its huge population,  Fadugba said Nigeria  lacks terminals that can accelerate seamless transit for passengers on domestic; regional and international flights.

    He said besides facilities for passengers’ transit; Nigerian carriers are not strong enough to attract global partnership to offer passengers reliable services on routes beyond point-to-point.

    Being a point-to-point carrier, Fadugba said was no longer fashionable among global carriers.

    In an interview in Lagos, Fadugba said the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja were yet to qualify as hubs for West Africa because they do not command the kind of facilities that would attract global carriers as transit terminals to connect passengers to any where in the world.

    Fadugba said global carriers are attracted to airports with modern facilities where turn around time is swift; services are reliable; airlines could refuel and enjoy economies of scale.

    He said the weak status of many Nigerian carriers with limited aircraft fleet; unreliable schedules and lack of capacity to share interline and codeshare agreements with global carriers continue to undermine the drive for hub status for its airports.

    Fadugba said airports in Accra, Cairo, Casablanca, Dakar, Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Johannesburg have developed modern infrastructure and processes to attract global legacy carriers with intimidating aircraft fleet and network; Nigerian airports needed to be reworked to accommodate attractive hub facilities.

    He said: “Nigerian airports still have a long way to go to become significant hubs in Africa ; because they have inadequate facilities that will facilitate seamless passengers’ transit.

    “The government needs to tear down and build a modern terminal at Lagos Airport with at least three runways that will facilitate seamless connectivity.

    “The government needs to urgently look at land facilities at the Abuja Airport and at least build two runways for easy connectivity.

    “Developing an airport hub is not by accident but through careful planning and strategy. To achieve this, the government should look at airport size, and the readiness of the airspace to accommodate the exponential traffic that it will trigger if modern facilities are put in place.

    “This is what other countries have done by empowering their airlines; modernising their fleet; securing operational agreements and partnership to position them as catalyst for economic development.”

    He  said: “And we do not have any airline to cut on, put together all the airlines we have if we tell them to come together to form one airline, they are still not large enough to contend with South African Airways, Kenya Airways or Ethiopian Airlines.

    “We cannot develop hub in our country. If you look at it globally only two major places that private airlines have developed as hub.Even though most American carriers are privately owned.Look at all the hubs built globally, they were built by national carriers. Only national carriers build hubs.

    “That is why Nigeria has not been able to build one. Because of economies of scale for airlines in terms of fuel costs, insurance and other benefits for airlines that belong to network globally.

    “These are the things we are not benefitting. Aircraft utilisation in Nigeria is low, at least six hours as opposed to 12 hours.”

    Meanwhile, remodelling of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos is aimed at making it the preferred West African hub that would attract more international flights, President of new aviation think tank Stakeholders Square Table, Captain Balarabe Usman (rtd.) has said.

    Usman said when work is completed at the airport, it would meet all the necessary conditions for its certification by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and would be designated as a regional hub because the highest number of passengers in West and Central Africa still emanate from the Lagos airport.

    According to him, with the expansion of the terminal facility, installation of new conveyor belts for quick dispensation of baggage, upgrading of the cooling system and overall rehabilitation of the infrastructure at the terminal would entirely improve and hasten facilitation and attract more airlines into the country.

    In an interview, President/Chief Executive Officer, Sabre Travel Network, Gbenga Olowo said government could create deliberate policy to support  aviation activities, including airlines, airports, catering, fuel and ground handling services.

    He said: “Nigeria ought to be  a hub with its geographical location in West, Central Africa  with its large population.

    “Lagos could be a formidable hub in West Africa if it has facilities that guarantees  a  functional airport with transit facilities , provision for aircraft leasing , aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul facility , an   aerotropolis and other  supporting amenities built around  flag  carriers or a national carrier.

    “One of the steps to achieving this is ensuring  effective infrastructure management and development  as well as improved air connectivity.”

  • FIDA condemns child abuse, urges government to prosecute offenders

    The International Federation of  Women Lawyers (FIDA), Lagos State chapter has condemned rising cases of child abuse across the country.

    It urged the government to prosecute all suspected offenders as a deterrent to others.

    The group spoke against the backdrop of the recent case of a woman who locked up a 10-year-old boy in a dog’s kennel in Lagos as punishment.

    Its chairperson, Mrs. Philomena Nneji, who spoke for the group, said news reports suggest that child abuse has been on the rise across the country.

    She said: “It is very disheartening that children are seen on the streets hawking, begging and, more often than not, used as house helps in many homes.

    “The 14th day of  August  2019 was a day of horror for Lagos residents as well as other Nigerians when the  video of one Mrs. Onyinye Mbadike torturing a boy of 10 went viral on social media.

    “The video also showed Mrs. Mbadike locking the boy up in a dog’s kennel, thereby subjecting the boy to share space with dogs.

    “This is  not the first time  hapless children have been unjustly maltreated, beaten, or injured by their supposed  relatives or guardians over trivial issues  such as  house chores, eating, hawking, etc.

    “The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA),  Lagos State chapter, condemns the barbaric and wicked act of Mrs. Onyinye Mbadike, who does not have  respect and feelings for mankind.

    “In matters regarding children, the interest of the child is always of paramount importance under the law and therefore should always be respected by all and sundry.’’

    She  regrettable that “children are easily subjected to  torture, gruesome and inhuman  treatment in the name of discipline.

    “Such treatment, in most cases,  end up leaving indelible marks on children in utter disregard of the provisions of the law.

    “These are heinous crimes against innocent children and, therefore, totally unacceptable.”

    The group, she added, “unequivocally… abhors and condemns such inhuman treatments in all its ramifications.

    “We recommend that concrete steps  be taken to curb this menace in our society.  We are very passionate about women and children and have zero tolerance on issues of  this nature.

    “As an organisation that promotes, protects, and preserves the rights and wellbeing of indigent women and children, particularly in Lagos State,  we  demand for justice for this  10-year-old boy.

    “Consequently, we appeal to the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in  Lagos State to use his good offices to expedite action in the investigation, arrest, prosecution  and bringing  the perpetrator of this heineous crime to book  to act as a deterrent to others like Mrs. Mbadike.

  • iDAF unveils iAspire fellowship

    A group, iDAF, has unveiled iAspire Data Science Fellowship Programme in the country.

    Data Science entails a combination of data inference, algorithms, and technology that solves complex problems.

    The core of this technology is data that is initially raw, then is streamlined, and stored in a data warehouse to help generate significant business values.

    Co-founder/CEO of iDAF, Theophilus Medeiros, said the programme will offer a comprehensive curriculum for participants and designed for the industry.

    He said:  “iAspire Data Science Fellowship is about the only data science program in Africa that offers the most comprehensive curriculum and a guaranteed cloud certification. The curriculum is designed and is being constantly updated to cater to industry needs by experienced data science practitioners and professors

    “The programme creates a portfolio of 10 mini-projects and a capstone project across industries of your choice to showcase your skills and knowledge and will definitely offer participants knowledge about the theory of current data science technologies with hands-on experience.”

    To participate in the programme, he said interested candidates are to visit iDAF’s website (www.idaf.ng/apply) and submit their application not later than October 5.

    “Therefore, we get you up to speed as quickly and deeply in just six months of current topics. Interestingly, the faculty is a mix of Top Data Scientists working for Fortune 50 companies who are passionate in teaching,” he added.

    Another co-founder, Prince Ogwuru, advised the government to develop policy frameworks and structures on which Artificial Intelligence can thrive, and position Nigeria as the leader of Artificial Intelligence in Africa.

    Leading organisations bring their Data Science and Business Intelligence practices together for timely and centralised access.

    To this end, the iDAF’s flagship programme aims to train and prepare Nigerian bright minds to use Artificial Intelligence and advanced machine and deep learning concepts to tackle business and social problems.

  • Bamgbose leads NBA Women Forum

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has appointed Prof Oluyemisi Bamgbose (SAN) as the chairperson of the NBA Women Forum.

    Bamgbose, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan (UI), will lead other members of the Forum.

    The NBA stated this in a statement signed by its president, Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN).

    Usoro said: “I am pleased to announce the constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association Women’s Forum with the following distinguished executive members:

    “Professor Oluyemisi A Bamgbose, (SAN) – Chairperson; Mrs. Chinyere Okorocha – Vice Chairperson; Mrs. Nsidibe Aideyan – Secretary;  Hajia Safiya I. Balarabe – Treasurer”

    He thanked the “distinguished  ladies” for accepting to serve.

    Usoro added: “Professor Bamgbose, apart from being a frontline Professor of Law at the University of Ibadan, holds the distinction of being the first female academician to have been elevated to the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria based on her academic work.

    “I should add that she has deep passion for gender-related issues which, with her other outstanding accomplishments, place her in good stead to steer the affairs of the Forum diligently and aright.

    “Professor Bamgbose will be assisted in the leadership of the Forum by Mrs. Chinyere Okorocha, the Vice Chairman of the Forum and a very cerebral and accomplished private practitioner who serves as a Partner in the upscale commercial  law firm.

    “Chinyere is a woman of passion and drive, with over-whelming interest in the upliftment of women, qualities that she brings to bear on her various leading roles in the NBA Section on Business Law and also at the recently concluded NBA Annual General Conference where she served as the co-chairperson of the Finance Sub-Committee of the Technical Committee on Conference Planning.”

    He explained that A “blue-ribbon Council” has been constituted to assist the Forum’s executive in an advisory capacity,

    The council comprises Mrs Anna Isiyaku, wife of the Taraba State governor; Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs. Maryam Uwais; Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and activist, Professor Joy Ngozi Ezeilo; Mrs. Dorothy Ufot, SAN; Chief Registrar, Borno State Judiciary Hajia Hadiza D .S Magaji; Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Justices, Florence Fiberesima,  academician, gender activist and NBA 2nd Vice President; Dr. Foluke Dada, and Chief Compliance Officer, Oando Plc, Ms. Ayotola Jagun.

    “I must finally state, on behalf of the National Officers of our Association, that we would do all that is necessary and required to assist the Forum in its workings and activities,” Usoro added.

  • Overcoming the perennial water scarcity in Yauri township

    Sir: Considering the natural strategic location of Yauri, its economic potentials as well as the rate at which its population continues to grow among several other factors, Yauri Township deserves to be a major focus of attention for any government that really intends to put the state as a whole on the fast lane for rapid socio economic transformation.

    As a concerned ‘Yaurite’ I am obliged to voice out my organised observation as a continued silence has so long proved unwise, an awkward approach and a potential threat to societal norms and values that stipulate growth, development and progressive advancement.

    Yauri, by my personal observation, has not for decades, enjoyed its deserved placement among the sister emirates, several regimes right from the creation of Kebbi State seen not to recognise the fruitfulness of harnessing both human and material resources of the unique emirate and particularly the Yauri metropolis.

    It was just recently when I came to realise the horrible situation of the health care delivery in Yauri community that was when I received a distressed phone call from my brother, a primary school teacher in Yauri local government who informed me of the urgent need to provide drugs for patients of hepatitis especially himself, this situation a complex situation, he is directly affected and yet he is the focal point of attention for the other patient and ‘salt upon injury’, he does not got enough money to by the drugs prescribed for him, I was obliged to assist with the little I had, in fact l had to join him in the ‘self-jihad’ at the medical shop (pharmaceutical store), it was another task as the one has to join a seemingly indefinite queue of people who were there for similar purpose.

    I was forced to require from the store attendant why the crowd was and why was everyone there for treatment of either hepatitis or Typhoid in a brief statement he informed that those were the main health problems mostly affecting Yauri community due to lack of healthy water, this is a surprise as, the water in Yauri, a natural provision, is enough to serve the whole state industrially and domestically if only the natures free gift will be appropriately harnessed.

    Due to Yauri strategic location, it is continuously increasing population potential center for commercial activities which favor more the small scale business. The revenue derived by the local government from the shop owners, hawking traders etc., with suffix the provision of potable water for the Yauri community and end up the perennial problem of both hepatitis and typhoid which has come to stay in the metropolis. This is, as a matter of fact, a serious issue which the authorities and the institution concerned most give priority.

    Yauri metropolis is a home of not less than one hundred thousand people mostly they engage a different commercial activities and contribute immensely to the development of not only the community but the state and the nation at large.

    Among the past regimes some have made an efforts towards ensuring provision of water, when the pipes which were supposed to circulate the water were laid, people were happy and full of hope, unfortunately the effort usually dies off with the burial of the pipes as if the contract was the one literally committed to the mother earth. Now people have to rely absolutely on the barrow pushers and the water peddlers whose water tanks have continued to increase in number as if on daily basis despite their attendant problems-blockage of roads and destruction of water ways (gutters) with every impurity.

    This we suffer today while our ancestors lived in midst of healthy and health providing water, the ruling powers of their time shifted them above to their present location and promised to make good provision of all they would lack in their new environment and save them against environmental harshness that, the government of their time did to facilitate the construction of kainji dam which has served the nation since then and generated apart from the power, revenue for national development at the detriment of the development of their descendants.

    We in Yauri have suffered for years whereas the water is there it has been naturally provided a gift from Allah (S. W. A) The complimentary effort of the appropriate persons, groups or associations is what is required and the community is free from any water borne disease, the ministry of health will also be free from emergency intervention due to outbreak of dangerous diseases.

    I am therefore directing my clarion call to the present government of the state to play its role and fulfill its expectation with regard to provision of healthy water for Yauri community. In an estimation by the World Health Organisation (W. H. O) 12.5 million cases of typhoid fever is recorded annually globally, this results in death of about 12800. Nigeria suffers more from malaria and typhoid fever when compared to other diseases, however, the case of Yauri community is peculiar in that the water is there, but the needed intervention from the policy makers is always the major problem.

    Now that we have once again voted our beloved governor for the second time as the chief executive of the state we are filled with hope, Joy and good will as we are sure Senator Abubakar Bagudu will not fail the promise he made to Yauri community to fix our perennial of water shortage.

    • Hassan Sani Takware,

    Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.

  • Mugabe: Garlands for the old wizard of Harare

    The Iroko tree has fallen and there was tremor in Harare and the entire Zimbabwe stood in awe.  The echoes reverberate the length and breadth of the globe, the old wizard of Harare has gone home.  Comrade Robert Mugabe, the charismatic and eloquent  former President of Zimbabwe, un-arguably an accomplished revolutionary and about the only  pan- Africanist of the 20th Century still living has bowed out.  He has just been declared a national hero in Zimbabwe which is well deserving.  He came, he saw and he conquered.

    He was undoubtedly one of the most cerebral and educated Presidents the world has ever known.  He was brave, courageous, fearless, and confronted the colonial imperialists without consideration of his personal safety.   He paid the prize for it when he was jailed and remained in prison for over a decade and came out to become the first Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.  He was a founding member of the Zimbabwean African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) which was the arrow head of the liberation struggle that fought for the independence of Zimbabwe; formerly Rhodesia.  Mugabe was therefore, a product of an ideological driven organization that was to pilot the affairs of his country.

    At independence, it was the determination of the ZANU PF to dismantle and drop the vestiges of the colonial heritage and named their  country Zimbabwe.  Zimbabwe took off on a very high note in the 1980s pricing education very highly and with Mugabe himself having a doctoral degree.  The country had almost 100% literacy rate becoming an example to many other African countries which to date has not been matched.

    Like every revolutionary with human frailties, Mugabe did not feel that anybody was capable of replacing him.  He became infected with African leadership malaise like a feudal overlord and did not groom any cadre for seamless succession.  Mugabe became too obsessed with power.  This became his albatross, diminishing his stature in the history of the greats in political leadership not just in Africa but the world over.  He became too obsessed with power.  His failure was the failure of the leadership cadre of the ZANU PF who did not find courage to give honest and objective advice to sustain the momentum of what the party represented.

    Comrade Mugabe remained inflexibly principled to the end as he was noted to have told his family members that whenever he dies, he would not like to be buried in the Heroes Pouch in Zimbabwe given what he perceived was a couple against him in 2017 when he was edged out of power through the military wing of his party.  He also became too gerontocratic with amnesia and started scheming for his young wife, Grace Mugabe to succeed him in defiance to the succession plan of the party which caught the ire of the hawkish element in the party; also hungry for power.

    Where other African leaders capitulated, Mugabe stood firm against the stormy sanctions of the west which virtually paralysed the economy of Zimbabwe.  He did not give up; he was loud.  He took a solo campaign to fight western conspiracies which made Zimbabwe a pariah state for many decades making the country’s currency to become worthless that workers started demanding their wages and salaries in United States Dollars.

    Mugabe rejected the hemlock of structural adjustment programme and other alien economic policies of the World Bank which the imperialists prescribed as remedy for African politico-economy.  We may not have found an alternative African economic model,  but the truth remains that you cannot transport the reality in one clime to another lock-stock-and-barrel.

    Of the few notable African revolutionaries, Mugabe was about the only one that succeeded in leading his country to independence and this remains to the credit of his uncompromising leadership quality. Apart from the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, ZANU PF remains one of the longest political parties in Africa that fought for the liberation of their countries from colonial oppression.

    There is decline in global leadership index.  There are no internationalists any longer who could stand for human essence and defend the atrocious onslaught of perverse leadership who slaughter their people to remain in power.

    Mugabe was in power for about 37 years of his country’s independence. It was a failure that he could not develop the health sector in his country after three decades in power and had to die in a hospital in Singapore.  I am not sure many of his countrymen and women other than the pilfering politicians could afford medical tourism in any Asian country like him.  Mugabe showed remarkable disdain to the imperialists west to the end of his life and did not bother to take solace in their health facility for whatever it represented.

    Today, just like Comrade Mugabe, there is hardly any African political leadership that has made deliberate and conscious attempt to build human capital and infrastructure to reduce capital flight and develop African economy and health sector.  Our leaders have gone beyond medical tourism to developing appetite for exotic foreign gastronomy to the neglect of the abundance nature has endowed us with.

    With the kind of political leadership that we have which has become an anathema, our youths will continue to die in the Mediterranean Sea and victims of xenophobic attacks even  in the back waters of African countries that were beneficiaries of our generosity and largesse in the recent past.  History may not judge Mugabe so harshly as he cannot be said to be a villain although he may not have been a hero to all.   The name Mugabe has since become synonymous with resistance, stubbornness and opposition to imperialist dominion.  Today, we are struggling with local insurgency that has blossomed into full fledge terrorism because of leadership lethargy.  Today, banditry and insecurity are the defining features of our countries across Africa and our leaders are busy cringing from coast to coast begging for aids to fight crimes and criminality that they have become complicit.

    Today, malaria is killing our people because of poor leadership that does not see the need to invest in infrastructure, human capital and healthcare.  Today, our leaders deliberately promote divisions amongst tribes and tongues and fuel ethno-religious tensions.  Today, the lives of citizens are not worth more than a cow as we slaughter ourselves at the slightest provocation.  Today, tribal leaders and activists   give evacuation orders to our brothers and sisters who had hitherto lived with them in harmony in their regions.

    While we send garlands to Comrade Mugabe, the old wizard of Harare, there should be a peer review mechanism of what leadership should be like to save the next generation of Africans from the infantile leadership that dots the continent.  Adieu comrade Roberts Mugabe ad infinitum.

    • Kebonkwu, a lawyer, writes from Abuja.