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  • NCC mulls strategy to tackle counterfeit phones, others

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)  is set with other stakeholders in the information communications technology (ICT) ecosystem to establish a Mobile Device Management System (MDMS). This is to combat unchecked importation and use of unregistered, cloned, substandard, counterfeit, stolen or non-compliant devices.

    It said these pose a threat to Quality of Service (QoS) and Experience (QoE) as well as security, among others, across the country.

    NCC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Prof Umar Dambatta, at the weekend, said the proposed MDMS would have the capacity to facilitate the mandatory registration of all subscriber identity module (SIM)-based devices, block all stolen, counterfeit, illegal or otherwise substandard SIM-based devices from operators’ networks and interface with the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), tax authority, security agencies, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and other relevant agencies to ensure full registration, payment of duties and taxes due on those devices and the protection of security and privacy of users in the country.

    Delloitte, in its 2018 Nigeria Cybersecurity Outlook, said cybercrime is estimated to cost the economy about  $500 million yearly.

    Consistent with the Commission’s regulatory mandate, several consultative fora were organised to enlighten stakeholders on the growing menace posed by the influx of cloned and fake ICT devices into the country.

    The stakeholders include the NCS, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), security agencies, SON, as well as equipment and solution vendors.

    Dambatta said after due consideration of input from stakeholders, the resolution was reached to deploy an end-to-end technology based solution in combating the influx of cloned and fake ICT devices into the country.

    “Essentially, the NCC and other relevant government agencies in Nigeria are going tough on fake devices. Therefore, the panel is expected to proffer seamless solutions to assist in eradicating the influx of cloned and fake phones and other devices, and curtailing the menace of existing cloned and fake phones and other devices on Nigerian shores. Cyber security is structurally composed of processes, technologies and practices devised to optimally mitigate the risks to computers, programmes, and networks, i.e. cyber crime,” Dambatta said.

    According to him, cybercrime evolves at a fast pace with malicious cyber criminals becoming increasingly more sophisticated and better organised using the same ICT infrastructure and systems that have made it easier for people to conduct e-commerce and online transactions, being exploited for criminalities.

    The Federal Government, being aware of the benefits of ICT to its citizens and the growing concerns about cyber security, therefore,  developed the National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy documents, and came-up with The Cyber Crimes ACT 2015, a measure to address the nation’s risk exposure in cyberspace.

    The NCC has provided the enabling environment for growth and a level-playing field for competition.

    “Counterfeiting is a global challenge that has elicited a common disquiet among stakeholders, especially in respect of the continued influx of counterfeit and illegal information communication technology (ICT) devices in both developed and developing countries.

    ‘’Nigeria is not immuned to this problem. The challenges posed by this menace are quite devastating, hindering the progress made so far in ICT usage and processes in terms of its economic, social, environmental and security impacts on the country,” he said.

  • Erosion of literacy

    •Need to check herdsmen’s attacks on schools

    Many primary and secondary schools in Odeda Local Government of Ogun State were deserted by students and teachers for about four weeks until a few days ago. They stayed away from school in Alabata village after herdsmen attacked and beheaded a 76-year village head in the village, Chief Akanmu Laisi, while another group of herdsmen stabbed 49-year-old farmer, Rafiu Showemimo, to death in Seriki village.

    After the attacks and desertion of schools in the community, the traditional leader of Alabata, Chief Sanusi Wahab, quickly appealed to authorities: “We need a police post in our community. The police post that is serving our community is in Harmony Estate close to FUNAAB and is far from most of the communities.”

    But the chief press secretary to Ogun State governor, Kunle Somorin, assured the press: “There’s no cause for deserting where people live. Government assures them of adequate security… Security has been beefed up to pre-empt and arrest those who might want to breach the peace of our people.” However, it took more than two weeks after desertion of schools for the community to hear from the spokesman who said: “The commissioner of police has held a security meeting with the villagers, Fulani herdsmen and resolutions have been made.”

    While congratulating the police commissioner for restoring relative peace in Alabata to the extent of attracting pupils and teachers back to school, we deplore the violent attacks by herdsmen on members of the community and the resultant suspension of educational activities in the area. It is understandable that children and teachers would have suffered vicarious trauma from such violence that could make them lose confidence in those presumably employed to protect schools, students, and staff.

    It is instructive that wanton killing by herdsmen inside rural communities has started to disrupt normal activities in specific communities, even at a time that the highways are not safe for motorists. Failure by the Federal Government and its agencies to stem the rate of violent crimes in rural communities where about 60% of citizens live can worsen the rate of school enrollment in a country with the largest population per hectare of out-of-school children in the world. It is also ironic that the same government that is ready to enhance children’s cognition through improved nutrition under the programme of feeding 10 million primary school children appears unable to provide security to protect pupils in their classrooms in Ogun, Edo,  and other places where students and teachers have withdrawn from school for feeling unsafe. More concerted efforts on the part of the federal and local governments are needed not only to respond fast to emergencies but also to engage in initiatives that can prevent violent attacks on innocent citizens.

    In addition, the rise in the spate of violent crimes in Nigeria’s communities, such as the one that suspended schooling in parts of Ogun State for weeks, calls for new strategic response. School children and teachers are major stakeholders in primary and secondary schools. Schools thus need special security to reduce violence in their communities. A system of rapid response to distress calls from schools is direly needed. If those who attacked Odeda communities have been apprehended and arraigned in court, such steps could have boosted the confidence of children and teachers in the process of maintaining public order. The abductions of 276 schoolgirls in Chibok and 110 in Dapchi still remain with school children, teachers, and parents for them not to panic anytime school communities are threatened by violence, as had happened in Ogun State.

    It is time for local governments to, as one of several strategies, embark on using technology to increase protection of school communities. For example, installation of solar-powered CCTV in schools may assist law enforcement agents to identify and apprehend criminals. Further, federal and state governments ought to respond to the perennial problem of herdsmen and farmers, by finding a lasting solution to nomadic cattle rearing. In modern societies, cows don’t wander aimlessly with their shepherds, such that they would disrupt learning in schools.

    Cows and herders should not have the freedom to drive – intentionally or unintentionally—students and teachers from the nation’s classrooms. Cattle and knowledge production can be turned into mutually reinforcing sedentary activities across the federation, as it happens in other democracies.

  • Solving the Diezani riddle

    Acting Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman Ibrahim Magu has deplored the United Kingdom’s failure to try former Petroleum Minister Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke or extradite her and others to Nigeria. He has also lamented the difficulties in repatriating the loot stashed abroad. JOSEPH JIBUEZE highlights some of the assets recovered from Mrs Alison-Madueke and seeks lawyers’ views on some of the issues Magu raised.

    On August 23, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will move a motion for the permanent forfeiture of 2,149 pieces of jewellery and a customised golden iPhone seized from former Petroleum Minister Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke.

    The application, like others before it, is unlikely to be opposed.

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on July 5 ordered the temporary forfeiture of the items.

    Several other assets and funds traced to Mrs Alison-Madueke have been forfeited to the Federal Government, without any objection.

    Mrs Alison-Madueke is named in several corruption cases. The EFCC claims she is on the run.

    In no fewer than two cases, those charged with her have been convicted; others pleaded guilty.

    The former minister is in the United Kingdom (UK), but according to Acting EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Magu, not much progress has been made towards trying her there.

    ‘No visible result’

    Magu is dissatisfied with the delay in trying Mrs Alison-Madueke in the UK.

    According to him, the matter “has dragged on in the UK for more than four years with no visible result and no end in sight”.

    Speaking when he received a team of International Criminal Police Organisation in Abuja last Wednesday, Magu said the amount involved in the case against Diezani in the UK is about $2.4billion.

    Earlier, on June 25, Magu had lamented the difficulties in repatriating stolen assets.

    “The process of repatriating money stashed abroad has been very frustrating and disappointing, yet we have done everything possible, gone out of our way to encourage our sister agencies, but cooperation is almost nil,” he said.

    Magu spoke when Country Director of an international development firm, DAI Nigeria, Dr. Joe Abah, visited him.

    Noting that “the Swiss have been more cooperative”, Magu observed that “the others never disclose their findings”, and are “very reluctant to get the proceeds repatriated”.

    Detectives storm Nigeria

    Magu’s complaints came after UK detectives visited Nigeria in June for what appeared a final lap of investigation ahead of Mrs Alison-Madueke’s trial.

    The detectives, who met with EFCC operatives, were said to have gathered more evidence and sought a few clarifications on some findings at their disposal.

    It was learnt that EFCC has traced N47.2 billion and $487.5 million to the ex-minister.

    The agency also claimed that Diezani has N23,446,300,000 and $5 million (about N1.5 billion) in various Nigerian banks.

    Some of the forfeited assets

    The EFCC has secured final forfeiture orders on some Diezani’s assets and funds.

    They include about $37.5 million Banana Island property; Heritage Court Estate, Plot 2C, Omerelu Street, Diobu Port Harcourt; 135 Awolowo Road/ Plot 808 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi; and 7, Hurnburn Street and 5, Raymond Street, Yaba, Lagos.

    The ex-minister, who was arrested since October 2, 2015, has been restricted to the UK with her probe said to be costing fortunes.

    ‘Temporary forfeiture of N14b jewellry’

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on July 5 ordered the temporary forfeiture of 2,149 pieces of jewellery and a customised gold iPhone seized from Alison-Madueke.

    The items, valued at $40 million (about N14.4b), were recovered from her Lagos home.

    EFCC, in an ex-parte application, said the items were suspected to have been acquired with illicitly acquired funds.

    The jewelry, categorised into 33 sets, include “419 expensive bangles and 315 expensive rings.

    Others are 304 expensive earrings, 267 expensive necklaces, 189 expensive wristwatches and 174 expensive necklaces and earrings.

    The rest are 78 expensive bracelets, 77 expensive brooches, and 74 expensive pendants.

    EFCC said: “The respondent’s known and provable lawful income is far less than the properties sought to be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

    ‘Loss of Port Harcourt land’

    On July 9, the court ordered the final forfeiture of a plot of land in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, belonging to Mrs Alison-Madueke.

    Justice Chuka Obiozor held that the property was illicitly acquired.

    EFCC said the land, measuring 7,903.71 – 8,029.585 square metres, is on Plot 9, Azikiwe Road, Old GRA (UAC Property on Forces Avenue), Port Harcourt.

    Neither Mrs  Alison-Madueke nor the other respondents – Donald Chidi Amangbo and a firm, Sequoyah Properties Limited – challenged the final forfeiture application.

    EFCC’s lawyer Ebuka Okongwu told the court that the interim order was published in The Nation of April 15, but that none of the parties filed any counter-affidavit.

    Ordering the forfeiture, Justice Chuka Obiozor held: “In the absence of any counter from the respondents, I have no reason not to grant this application.

    “The second and third respondents are not challenging the application and the first respondent (Diezani) opted out of the proceeding.”

    $4.760m penthouses lost

    On February 28, last year, ordered the final forfeiture of two penthouses valued at $4.760m allegedly belonging to Alison-Madueke.

    They are: Penthouse 21, Building 5, Block C, 11th floor (Bella Vista Estate) Banana Island, Ikoyi; and Penthouse 22, Block B (Admiralty Estate) also in Ikoyi, Lagos.

    Justice Mojisola Olatoregun said: “The second, third and fourth respondents have no objections to the application. I, therefore, have no hesitation in ordering a final forfeiture of the properties to the Federal Government.”

    Mrs Alison-Madueke, Donald Amangbo, Schillenburg LLC and Sequoyah Property Limited were the respondents.

    The commission said the companies in whose names the companies were acquired belong to the former minister.

    58 houses gone

    On October 11, 2017, the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the final forfeiture 58 houses belonging to Alison-Madueke.

    Justice Abdulazeez Anka held that the properties should be forfeited since no one came forward to claim or justify ownership after the interim forfeiture order was advertised.

    Mrs Alison-Madueke, Donald Chidi Amamgbo and three firms, Chapel Properties Limited, Blue Nile Estate Limited, Azinga Meadows Limited and Vistapoint Property Development Limited were the respondents.

    EFCC lawyer Ambrose Ozioko said the commission complied with the court’s directive to publish the interim forfeiture order in The Nation of August 28, 2017.

    Justice Anka held that since the forfeiture application was not challenged, he had no option than to grant it.

    N7.6b forfeited

    On August 28, 2017, the court ordered the final forfeiture of N7.6billion allegedly stolen and hidden by Mrs Alison-Madueke.

    Justice Anka held: “I’ve read the motion on notice seeking the final forfeiture of the sum of N7,646,700,000 reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity. I am of the view that the application has merit and is hereby granted as prayed.”

    EFCC’s lawyer Rotimi Oyedepo said the money was part of “huge sums” allegedly diverted by Mrs Alison-Madueke from various subsidiaries of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    According to him, it was “fraudulently converted from NNPC by Mrs Alison-Madueke”.

    He said the commission published an advertorial after the court ordered the money’s temporary forfeiture, but no one came forward to claim ownership.

    $153m forfeited

    On February 16, 2017, Justice Muslim Hassan ordered the final forfeiture of $153million allegedly belonging to Allison-Madueke.

    EFCC said the money was laundered for the former minster.

    The judge ordered the forfeiture of unclaimed sums of N23.4billion, $5million as well as $40million (N9.08billion).

    EFCC said all the laundered money was $153million, some of which was converted to naira.

    “I am satisfied that all the conditions in Section 17 (1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Related Offences Act have been met,” the judge held.

    The section makes a property that is reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful act forfeitable to the Federal Government.

    Co-accused convicted

    Mrs Alison-Madueke’s name features in various money laundering cases, in which some of his co-accused have been convicted.

    For instance, On January 25, Justice Mohammed Idris sentenced a former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Administrative Secretary in Kwara State Mr Christian Nwosu to seven year’s imprisonment.

    EFCC found him guilty of accepting bribe from Mrs Alison-Madueke.

    Also sentenced to seven years was a former INEC official Mr Tijani Bashir.

    EFCC said the convicts conspired to take possession of N264.880 million, which they reasonably ought to have known formed part of an unlawful act – gratification.

    Nwosu, who had initially pleaded guilty to receiving N30million bribe from Mrs Alison-Madueke, to rig the 2015 general election results at his arraignment on April 5, 2017, changed his plea to not guilty when he was re-arraigned.

    Justice Idris said: “Their actions were a disgrace to the institution and a threat to democracy …This country must not be allowed to descend into anarchy, despondency and political infamy by the conduct of an official of government.”

    Ex-INEC chiefs lose N387m

    On July 23, last year, Justice Hassan ordered the forfeiture of N387million found in the bank accounts of four former INEC officials.

    EFCC said the respondents allegedly benefited from N23billion which Mrs Alison-Madueke allegedly shared to influence the 2015 general election.

    They are Victor Chukwuani, Okesiji Adeniran, Gabriel Oke and Torgba Nyitse.

    Another INEC worker convicted

    On May 3, 2017, Justice Idris convicted an INEC employee Yisa Adedoyin for accepting over N70million bribe from Mrs Alison-Madueke to rig the 2015 general election results. Adedoyin pleaded guilty to the charge.

    Through a plea bargain with EFCC, Adedoyin paid N10million fine and forfeited a parcel of land measuring 100ft by 100 at Taoheed Road, Budo-Osho Village, Ilorin South Local Government Area in Kwara State.

    Oyedepo said EFCC received an intelligence in late 2004 that Mrs Alison-Madueke got gratification from various oil firms, such as Northern Bet Oil and Gas, Auctus Integrated Company and an oil magnate Adesanya Laitan.

    “The total sum received was $115,010,000. It was kept in the custody of a bank which received instructions to convert the sums to naira and distribute to the 36 states and the FCT,” the prosecutor said.

    Pending charges

    Mrs Alison-Madueke, who is said to be on the run, is named in the money laundering charges against former Federal Capital Territory minister Mrs Jumoke Akinjide and others, as well as those of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mr Dele Belgore and former National Planning Minister Prof Abubakar Suleiman, among others.

    Other assets linked to Diezani

    EFCC claimed in a document that Mrs Alison-Madueke allegedly bought choice mansions in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Yenagoa in Bayelsa State.

    The document said: “On plot 10, Frederick Chiluba Close, in the serene, upscale Asokoro District of Abuja, lies a tastefully built and finished duplex.

    “In the compound, there are also a guest chalet, boys’ quarters, an elegant swimming pool, fully equipped sports gym and a host of other amenities.

    “Investigators have discovered that the property acquired by the ex-minister in December, 2009, at the cost of N400 million was never declared in any of the asset declaration forms filed by Alison-Madueke.

    “Also linked to the former minister in Abuja is a mini estate at Mabushi. The estate located on Plot 1205, Cadastral Zone B06, Mabushi Gardens Estate, houses 13 three-bedroom terrace houses, each with one bedroom en-suite maid’s quarters.

    “It was purchased on April 2, 2012 at the princely sum of N650 million.

    “In Aso Drive, Maitama, Abuja, Alison-Madueke reportedly acquired a six-bedroom en-suite apartment made up of three large living rooms, two-bedroom guest chalets, two bedroom boys quarters, two lock-up garages and a car park. It was bought on July 20, 2011 for N80 million.

    “Down South in Nigeria’s oil city of Port Harcourt, the former minister’s acquisitive appetite took her to Heritage Court Estate, located on Plot 2C, Omerelu Street, Diobu Government Residential Area, Phase 1 Extension, Port Harcourt.

    “The Estate, which is made up of 16 four-bedroom terrace duplexes is equipped with, among other facilities, a massive standby power generating set. Mrs Alison-Madueke did not blink as she shelled out N900 million for it on May 30, 2012,

    “In neighbouring Bayelsa State, an apartment with two blocks of flats, all en-suite, and with a maids quarters were also traced to her. The house located on Goodluck Jonathan Road, Yenagoa is sitting on a large expanse of land. The apartments have four living rooms, eight bedrooms and gold-plated furniture.”

    Her bid to return

    In October 2017, Mrs Alison-Madueke filed an application in the Belgore/Suleiman case, urging the court to compel the Federal Government to bring her back to Nigeria to face trial.

    Through her lawyer Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), she prayed the court to give her an opportunity to defend allegations against her in the charge in which she was named.

    EFCC opposed the application, contending that it was a bid by Mrs Alison-Madueke to escape justice in the UK.

    It added that she was released on bail in the UK, and that investigations had reached an advanced stage and her trial imminent then.

    Dismissing the application on November 1, 2017, Justice Rilwan Aikawa referred to EFCC’s counter affidavit in which it was stated that while in the United Kingdom, Mrs Alison-Madueke was invited by the Metropolitan Police.

    ackling the challenges

    Experts believe that an effective implementation of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, which took effect from June 20, would enhance asset recovery and extradition of those on the run abroad.

    The Act has provisions that enable anti-graft agencies to identify, trace, freeze, restrain, recover, forfeit and confiscate proceeds, property and other instrumentalities of crime; obtain and preserve computer data, and obtain/render assistance from/to other countries.

    It is believed that the Act would assist Nigeria in the repatriation of looted funds and other proceeds of crime stashed away in foreign countries, among others.

    Beyond mutual legal assistance’

    Former international prosecutor Charles Adeogun-phillips said the issues around Mrs Alison-Madueke’s UK trial go beyond mutual legal assistance.

    He said: “I have practiced in the area of white collar criminal litigation in the UK, Nigeria and at international courts at The Hague for over 25 years.

    “I can assure you that the lack of cooperation is simply because the evidence being made available is not enough to support a prima facie case, let alone, capable of discharging the burden of proving the case beyond all reasonable doubt.

    “Magu is an investigator, not a prosecutor. In Nigeria, he makes decisions on which cases to investigate and prosecute despite the fact that he has no burden to discharge.

    “He needs to understand that those jurisdictions do not work the way we do here.

    “In the UK, the investigating authority such as the UK Crime Agency refers the results of all its investigations to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for review. And it is only the Prosecutors at the CPS that can decide whether to prosecute a suspect or not.

    “And in so doing, there are certain criteria that they must follow because they are utilising public funds derived from UK tax payers to conduct these trials.

    “There has to be something in it for them also. So, they will examine if it is in the public interest to conduct such a trial.  Or they will examine if the cost of the trial can be recovered.

    “To that end, he needs to also understand that criminal trials in those jurisdictions cost a lot of money to conduct.

    “As such, no prosecuting authority will be willing to stick their necks out in that regard, unless there is a very reasonable prospect of not only securing a conviction against the defendant, but also the prospect of recovering and/or securing the forfeiture of substantial assets located in that jurisdiction, which could help towards offsetting the substantial cost of prosecuting the case in that jurisdiction.”

    Adeogun-Phillips added that Nigeria’s criminal justice sector situation was also a factor.

    “Those jurisdictions will not transfer suspects located in their jurisdictions to Nigeria because of the plain and obvious fact that there are serious concerns about the fair trial rights of suspects and defendants in criminal proceedings in Nigeria.

    “Magu has to understand that the world is watching us. He needs to understand that these jurisdictions have embassies in Nigeria that follow press reports of how we abuse the fair trial rights of suspects in Nigeria.

    “The well-publicised arbitrary arrest of suspects and in some cases even their lawyers do not speak to Nigeria as a jurisdiction that affords and/or guarantees fair trial rights in criminal proceedings.”

    The Founding Partner at Charles Anthony LLP also believes that the Federal Government’s reluctance to obey court orders cannot portray Nigeria as a jurisdiction where the rule of law prevails or is observed.

    He referred to President Muhammadu Buhari’s comment that national security overrides the rule of law.

    Adeogun-Phillips added: “Magu has to understand that it is the same evidence that he has collected in Nigeria and that he has shared with the UK and other places that has been found to be incapable of supporting criminal charges against suspects located in those jurisdictions.

    “So, if the evidence is not good enough for prosecutors in London, how can they be good enough for EFCC prosecutors here? So, therein lies the problem, not one of Mutual Legal Assistance or a lack thereof.”

    Way forward

    Adeogun-Phillips said the perceived delays regarding Mrs Alison-Madueke’s UK trial may not be unconnected with the two countries’ prosecutorial approaches.

    “I guess maybe because in Nigeria, investigators and prosecutors get away with shifting the burden of proof on the suspect or defendant to demonstrate their innocence. But that is not the law.

    “The law says that it is duty of prosecutor to prove the case and if the defendant is able to raise any doubt in the prosecutor’s case, such doubt must be resolved in favour of the defendant.  That is the current state of the law in the UK, Nigeria and before International Criminal Courts.

    “So, what Magu needs to do is to seek international financial help to train and build the capacity of his people so that they can operate based on these international standards.

    “There are plenty of international agencies and governments that I know will give the EFCC money to train their staff and will even fund international criminal prosecutors like me to train his staff. That is the kind of assistance that he needs.

    “If these governments see that he is working with the calibre of seasoned prosecutors that have a reputation and that they can identify with, they will give him all the assistance that he needs because they can see that he is proceeding in the right direction,” Adeogun-Phillips said.

    We must reform our system first’

    Special Presidential Investigation Panel on the Recovery of Public Property Chairman/Special Assistant on Prosecutions to the President Chief Okoi Obono-Obla said Nigeria must get its act right first.

    He said: “We cannot rely on foreign nations to fight corruption for us or bring into book those who have pillaged and plundered our resources and common patrimony.These foreign nations are not really serious in helping us to fight corruption.

    “These foreign nations are playing politics as far the issue of fighting corruption is concerned! Their attitude is ambivalent and patronising. They say one thing and do the other.

    “They condemn corruption in the day but in the night they fraternities with corrupt people and provide safe havens for these corrupt leaders to keep their loot.

    “They then impose very technical and nearly impossible conditions when we want to take back looted resources taken to their countries.

    “My experience with a foreign nation which my Panel tried to partner with to bring into book those who took resources out of this country leaves much to desired. It taught me a lesson.All these mutual legal assistance agreements or treaties are mere platitude.”

    Speaking on the need for reforms, Obono-Obla said: “We must reform our systems, including judicial system and the law enforcement systems! The government must invest heavily in these sectors!

    “There must be judicial reforms! Brilliant, progressive, intellectually inclined, honest, industrious judges must be appointed.Judges of high probity must be appointed. The legal profession must also be reformed.”

    ‘We must develop our institutions’

    Asked if there is anything Nigeria can do to force the hands of those holding onto the loot abroad, Obono-Obla said: “There is nothing Nigeria can do. You don’t expect Nigeria to start to meddle in the domestic affairs of foreign nations or in their judicial systems.Doing that will be at variance with international law.

    “Look no foreign nation can help us develop.We must make a conscious and determined effort to develop our institutions, systems and indeed our country.

    “The relationship with foreign western powers with countries in Africa, Asia and South America over the centuries has been paternalistic and exploitative.

    “China was not developed by foreign powers. Japan was not developed by foreign powers! Singapore was not developed by foreign powers! You have to develope in your own terms in line with your historical experiences and peculiarities.

    “So, there is nothing Nigeria can do to force the hands of these foreign powers.

    “Indeed, when you seek their help to prosecute looters who have fled from here to there, they tell you that you must first show that you have prosecuted them here,” Obono-Obla added.

    Shittu: treaties must be respected

    Law teacher and prosecutor Wahab Shittu said extradition is a legal, political and complicated process involving rigorous procedures.

    He added: “There is need to study the treaty regime between the UK and Nigeria, especially the Mutual Legal Assistance treaty between the two countries on criminal matters.

    “ls there a formal extradition request from Nigeria to the UK authorities on Dieziani by the AGF? If yes, have we fully complied with the treaty arrangements and provisions? Have we furnished the requisite details and particulars to the UK authorities?

    “Has the UK authorities responded to our request and in what manner and specifics? ls there a reluctance from the UK authorities to respond to our request and if so on what grounds? Are such grounds for alleged refusal in the context of the provisions of the treaties?

    “I raise these posers because treaty obligations are binding on parties who are signatories under international law based on the principle of pacta sunt servanda, meaning all agreements must be respected.”

    He expressed the hope that the UK authorities will do the needful in due course.

    “The general view is that the UK legal system works compared to the delays associated with our justice delivery system here.

    “Generally, mutual legal assistance treaties on criminal matters cover broad areas, such as intelligence gathering, information sharing, technical assistance, international cooperation and prosecution.

    “And given the international attitude, which regards corruption as a crime against humanity, such mutual assistance treaties are taken very seriously where there is proven evidence and particulars of corruption,” he said.

  • Nigerians in Diaspora

    •That they remit huge amounts home annually should not lure the govt to sleep

    WITH an estimated population of between five and 15 million people, Nigerians in Diaspora constitute one of those strategically placed groups with immense potential of contributing maximally to the country’s development . The trickle of Nigerians leaving the country to live and work abroad grew into a deluge as from the late 1980s and early 1990s as a result of the country’s deepening economic crisis and the worsening levels of poverty, unemployment and incessant inflationary spirals, among others. In particular, highly trained manpower in the professions sought jobs abroad not just for more lucrative pay but also for a conducive working environment that guarantees them the requisite facilities to perform optimally and enjoy a sense of fulfillment.

    Although this exodus of highly skilled Nigerian professionals in search of greener pastures abroad has been widely lamented as the ‘brain drain’ that can have only negative consequences for the country’s developmental aspirations, there has also been an unanticipated positive side to the development. This is the remittance of humongous amounts of money to their dependents back home, by Nigerians in the Diaspora, to the benefit of the economy. Indeed, but for such regular remittances, it is hard to imagine how the recipients would have coped with the ravages of Nigeria’s protracted economic crisis. It has been estimated that Nigerians in Diaspora repatriate not less than $20 billion annually to the country.

    It is certainly in recognition of the critical role that Nigerians in Diaspora can play in the developmental process that the Muhammadu Buhari administration established the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), which has the mandate to mobilise and harness the human capital and material resources of Nigerians living and working abroad to participate in various policies, projects and programmes designed for the country’s socio-economic, cultural and political development. The declaration by the Federal Government of July 25 as the country’s National Diaspora Day will, without doubt, go a long way in helping to consolidate the ties between this category of Nigerians and their fatherland.

    The Diaspora Day will be commemorated annually by NIDCOM in collaboration with such organisations as the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa and the Nigerians in Diaspora Alumni Network. It is our hope that this initiative will not just be another occasion for jamborees and funfair but will also feature imaginative and creative activities that will help the country maximally tap the potential of its citizens in Diaspora. In this regard, the theme for this year’s commemoration, ‘The power of the Nigerian Diaspora for National Development’ is well thought out and commendable. It is important that recommendations that come out of such talks are well disseminated, carefully documented and painstakingly implemented.

    Enthused by the recognition accorded Nigerians in Diaspora by the government, many Nigerians abroad have offered suggestions on how the country can best tap their potential. These include creating opportunities for Nigerian academics abroad to undertake their sabbaticals in the country’s tertiary institutions, better facilitation and coordination of the recruitment of foreign-based Nigerian professionals to work in the country, making Nigerians in Diaspora aware of savings and investment opportunities for their remittances as well as fast-tracking the process of making it possible for Nigerians in Diaspora to vote during elections.

    Of course, it is not a success story for all Nigerians in the Diaspora. There are also those who are stranded, unemployed and live from hand to mouth on the streets of foreign countries and who receive no succour from the country’s embassies or high commissions abroad. We urge NIDCOM to also make it a priority to come to the aid of such distressed Nigerians by assisting them as much as possible to come back to the country.

    Furthermore, the remittances of Nigerians in Diaspora should not lull the Nigerian government into complacency. Rather, everything should be done to create the necessary conditions back home to encourage highly trained Nigerians to return to the country and contribute their quota to the quest for rapid development.

  • Wanted: Law on sickle cell management

    Speakers at the first sickle cell management summit have called for the enactment of the Sickle Cell Disease (Prevention, Control and Management) Bill. They also called for fair labour practices, reports JOSEPH JIBUEZE.

    Legal experts and stakeholders have called for the enforcement of rights of those living with sickle cell disorder.

    They also want an end to workplace discrimination against them.

    Speakers at the first Sickle Cell Summit, which held in Abuja, urged the government to do more to protect those living with the condition.

    Its theme was: Achieving a sustainable policy for the management of sickle cell disorder in Nigeria: challenges and prospects.

    It was organised by TonyMay Foundation Sickle Cell Aid in partnership with Crimson Bow Sickle Cell Initiative, Sickle Cell Aid Foundation and Dr. Sickle Cell.

    Tonymay Foundation is chaired by a lawyer, Chief Andrew Otokhina, who lost two of his children to sickle cell anaemia within six months.

    His first son Anthony, a graduate, died on the eve of his 29th birthday. His daughter Mary died barely six months later –  a week to her resumption at the Nigerian Law School in Abuja.

    At the event were Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), represented by Dr. Nicholas Audiferren and the Educational and Cultural Affairs Officer at the United States Embassy, Abuja, Sterling Tilley.

    The keynote speaker, Prof. Iheanyi Okpala, called for the passage of the Sickle Cell Disease (Prevention, Control and Management) Bill.

    He said the bill, when passed into law, will provide for funding for comprehensive sickle cell programmes, research and NGO support towards reducing the burden.

    He added that the law would provide for a small percentage of company tax to support the management of sickle cell disorder in Nigeria, while there should be a national database of people living with the disorder.

    Besides, Okpala said there is the need for the government to implement the existing Sickle Cell policies.

    A labour law expert, Daniel Onwe, suggested that since sickle disorder is considered a disability, those living with it should join the mainstream disability community so their voices can be heard.

    During a session entitled: Encouraging an inclusive policy for people living with Sickle Cell Disorder in the work place, speakers noted the fact that the Fourth Amendment of the 1999 Constitution requires the court to address issues of unfair labour laws, including discrimination against people living with sickle cell disorder in the workplace.

    They called for better implementation of the law to protect the rights of people living the disorder.

    Participants shared experiences of how they almost got relieved of her jobs due to conditions.

    Onwe said those living with sickle cell must stand up for their rights, including enforcing them in court.

    During the session on Strengthening the relationship between the patient and the health care worker: a healing therapy, the guest speaker, Donna Mc Curry, noted that compassionate care and competence can save lives.

    According to her, healthcare practitioners need to realise that people living with the disorder go through physical pain with an attendant psycho-social effect on them.

    She said it is necessary for healthcare workers to have closer relationship with their patients to prevent depression or substance abuse.

    Speakers acknowledged that there is a consistent lack of compassion by healthcare workers in Nigeria, adding that there is urgent need to address it through adequate training.

    They emphasised the need for healthcare workers to refrain from labelling those living with sickle cell disorder as “drug addicts” but to help rehabilitate those who abuse medications.

    Resolutions

    It was noted that most organisations silently marginalise or deny people living with sickle cell disorder job opportunities.

    Participants resolved that people living with sickle cell disorder should be considered under special cases in their workplace.

    It was recommended that they should be allowed to work from home as technology has made life easier, and that employers should be trained to know that people living with sickle cell disorder can be valuable assets.

    It was further resolved that people with the disorder should be given sick leave as often as possible.

    Those whose rights are violated were urged to seek legal remedies, through human rights lawyers and relevant government departments, such as the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, which is said to have expressed willingness to take up such cases.

    Speakers recommended that an online forum be set up for people living with sickle cell disorder in Nigeria so that “warriors” (those with the disorder but doing great in their various endeavors) can mentor others and to give them a voice.

    Speakers agreed that funding is a major issue in the management of sickle cell disorder and that non-governmental organisations must speak with one voice in demanding funds for its management in the national budget.

    It was resolved that there is the need for improvement in treatment and that health care workers and the public should be educated about the existing sickle cell policies.

    Speakers advocated the establishment of more sickle cell disorder centres in every state.

  • Forwarders deplore Customs portal

    The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has expressed dissatisfaction with it called the slow pace of the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS 2). It also described the platform as “static“, ”inept” and “retrograde” in operation.

    It urged the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to engage stake-holders in port operations before embarking on innovations to boost trade facilitation.

    NICIS is a portal introduced by the Customs to enhance,  secure and facilitate trade. It is aimed at  harmonising and integrating trade chain.

    Since its introduction in 2017, it has aided trade facilitation and the ease of doing business at the ports.

    But to NAGAFF president Dr Increase Uche, NICIS 2 has failed to meet stakeholders’ expectation in the clearance of goods from the ports.

    According to him, the only way to improve on facilitation of trade is to embrace the right portal.

    Uche noted that during ASYCUDA’s era, the traders and Customs zones, facilitated trade.

    He said:”You can’t be subjecting all the cargoes to physical examination; you have to provide scanners because it is long overdue. Since 2012, the portal has remained the same. Customs could not continue from where the service providers ended.

    “Even the new system that customs introduced from NICIS 1 to NICIS 2, it has not really worked as we expected.

    “Whether they are still doing the pilotage stage. But if indeed they have started full implementation of NICIS 2, we need to see change, we need to see it reflect in the pattern in which things are done and the way businesses are conducted in the port.

    “As at the last time, I was still telling them that we are yet to see the impact of NICIS 2 because what we saw during ASYCUDA 2.7 and 3.0 seemed to be better than what we are seeing today.

    ‘’In NICIS 2, there has not been a clear departure from what obtained before it’s introduction.

    “Formally, when we had the traders zone and customs zone, some of these non-compliance were almost reducing.

    “All of a sudden, the NICIS 2 came up and the trader zone was terminated and every other thing was jampacked and there was no more clear cut procedure.

    “Immediately you do your declaration, you wouldn’t know where you are going until you bring the container out.

    “Everything you see in terms of interruptions from intelligence unit, investigative unit and others up to nine of them.”

    It has never been like this before.

    “What we are advising is that stakeholders input have to be included before introducing these current regimes.” he stressed.

  • Lagos local govts get child’s rights committees

    British Council Child Justice Consultant Dr Willy Mamah explains the role of the newly inaugurated Child’s Rights Implementation Committees. JOSEPH JIBUEZE reports.

    The British Council, as part of its Rule of Law and Anti-Coruption (ROLAC) programme, has set up Child’s Rights Implementation Committees in Lagos.

    It is the first in Nigeria, and was done in collaboration with the Lagos State’s Ministries of Youth, Social Development and Community Affairs.

    The committees were inaugurated in five pilot local government areas: Agege, Alimosho, Ikorudu, Surulere and Shomolu.

    The Committees were tasked with driving the implementation of the Lagos Child’s Rights Law (CRL) from their local areas as stipulated in Section 252 of the law,  to end violence against children.

    The lead British Council Child Justice Consultant for the project, Dr Willy Mamah, noted that the law was inspired by the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the follow-up domestication instrument in Nigeria – the Child Rights Act (2003).

    “It is the most imaginative, most collaborative and most forward-looking piece of development law to be enacted in this country in the past 100 years,” he said.

    According to him, the Child’s Rights Law tackles the roots of powerlessness in a power-saturated country.

    In his views, the law departs radically from pre-existing conceptual framework of over-protection, which viewed children as “appendages” of adults.

    The law, he explained, rather recognises the “personhood of the child”, requiring that children be treated as human persons, equal in rights and dignities with adults.

    Illustrating what he considers a significant movement in the conceptual framework of child rights,  Mamah called attention to the overriding principles of the 1989 UN Convention, the African Charter on Rights and Welfare of the Child (adopted by OAU in 1990 and came into force in 1999), the Child Rights Act (2003), and the CRL of Lagos State (2007) as amended in (2015).

    The overriding principles in all of them, he said, include non-discrimination (under which discrimination against children on the basis of sex or circumstances of birth has been outlawed), that the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration in all matters affecting children, and the right of the child to life, survival and development.

    Other overriding principles include the right of the child to be heard, the right to be treated in accordance with their dignity and worth, and the prohibition against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

    Mamah said in addition to the principles, the CRL identifies the need for multi-disciplinary collaboration in tackling social problems, providing systems that cut across the legal and social spectrum, as illustrated in the leading role assigned the youth ministry, the composition of the Family Court and the use of Social Inquiry Reports, among others.

    He explained that the notion of parens patria in the law, which allows the state to step in as parents of children, is quite innovative with high capacity to promote child development.

    He referred to its “therapeutic jurisprudence” (philosophy of care), which he said, underlies the law’s criminal and civil justice.

    Problems to solve

    Mamah said the CRL, like other great laws, suffers from inadequate structures for implementation.

    “Despite the innovative nature of the Child’s Rights Law of Lagos State, the reality that we confront everyday is the increase of heart-breaking cases of physical, emotional and sexual violence against ‘children’ defined in the interpretation Section 261 of the law as ‘persons under 18’.

    “The situation in Lagos State is reflective in varying degrees of the situation in the whole of the country, raising the question, what is the essence of a great law with great provisions that end up not being implemented?” Mamah asked.

    Such laws, in the consultant’s view, do not qualify as ‘laws’ as they continue to exist in the realm of conjectures.

    On the poor level of implementation and consequent impunity, Mamah cited a recent Violence against Children Survey, a collaborative study of National Population Commission, UNICEF and US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

    It found that six of every 10 children would suffer one form of violence before 18.

    The consultant called attention to the growing spate of physical abuse, incest and sexual violence against children in Lagos.

    “What the social realities tell us is that there is impunity with regard to Child’s Rights Law.

    “Twelve years after the passage of innovative Child Rights Law of Lagos State, budgeting for its implementation, at best, remains epileptic and meagre.

    “Many people, including key operators of the law, continue to lack knowledge of this law and act as if it does not exist at all,” he said.

    ‘What can we do?’

    Mamah said the question of what can be done led to the inauguration of the Local Government Child’s Rights Implementation Committees.

    “Laws cannot implement themselves. Structures are needed to give meaning to the wordings of the law.

    “The Child’s Rights Law envisioned a multi-stakeholder approach to implementation, hence Section 247 provides for state Child’s Rights Implementation Committee, which is already functional in Lagos, unlike many other states.

    “The gap in Lagos was at the Local Government Areas, where families with children live.

    “Following the inauguration of the committees in five pilot Local Government Areas, the gaps have begun to be filled,” he said.

    Mamah said committee members would need to be supported by government and international donor agencies to be able to discharge their roles as laid out in Section 252 of the law.

    “It is also important that these committees be replicated across all the Local Government Areas in Lagos State.

    “Continuous training of committee members on the law and child protection systems/processes would also be critical to success,” Mamah said.

    According to him, protecting children’s rights is crucial to development.

    “No country or state can be said to be developed if it does not prioritise the interests of children who carry the genetic codes of what it truly means to be human; to advance, to become.

    “The Local Government Child’s Rights Committees are critical in driving the implementation of this laudable law at the local level, close to families and homes.

    “It is hoped that with the inauguration of the local committees, Lagos State would maintain its leading place not only as a centre of excellence for economic growth in Nigeria but as place of distinction in child protection and human development,” Mamah added.

  • Jumia boosts education

    Leading online shopping firm, Jumia, has donated books approved by the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) for junior secondary school curricular to Agidingbi Junior Grammar School, Ikeja.

    It said it was part of activities to celebrate its seventh anniversary in the country.

    The donation held at the company’s Ikeja warehouse; two teachers and about 20 student representatives were on hand to receive the materials.

    Jumia also organised a career talk for the student representatives on the opportunities within the e-commerce landscape and what they could do to start and grow a career in the sector.

    Jumia Nigeria’s Public Relations and Communications Manager, Olukayode Kolawole, said the gesture, which aligns with the company’s education-focused corporate social responsibility (CSR) project, was aimed at increasing access to quality educational materials and promoting good reading culture among secondary school pupils in the country.

    He said: “Education is an integral part of our corporate social responsibility programmes at Jumia Nigeria. We remain focused on our mission to use technology to improve the quality of everyday lives in the country, and by extension Africa. Increasing access to quality educational materials for young secondary school students who are the leaders of tomorrow aligns with our mission. We continue to build the next future tech leaders, and at the heart of this endeavour lies the need to equip these future leaders with the right information and guidance on how to build a career in the fledgling Nigerian e-commerce industry.”

  • ‘Smugglers are after us for spoiling their business’

    Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection Aminu Dahiru led the destruction of N14.8 billion worth of tramadol in Sagamu, Ogun State. He spoke with reporters on the sidelines of the event. Muyiwa Lucas was there.

    How do you react to the destruction of prohibited drugs by Customs?

    What you see here is a product of teamwork. We are cooperating with ourselves to fight crimes and overcome the illicit trade in prohibited drugs. This is one way to protect the lives of our citizens from destruction and save the society from the many dangers of criminality associated with trade and consumption of illicit drugs. What you are seeing here is a product of uncompromising enforcement coupled with diligent investigations by customs officers from various commands where these seizures were made. In the course of our anti smuggling assignment, some of our men came under attack, rejected bribes, got wounded and some even died in the line of duty. We are not deterred. We are forging ahead and will remain resolute in this battle against drug smuggling and any form of smuggling. By the grace of God, we shall continue to be victorious.

    For this destruction, I am congratulating members of my committee for carrying out this national duty. Because this is beyond state, it is a national duty, service to humanity and as service to humanity don’t forget, it’s service to God. I sincerely appreciate them and I equally appreciate the Controller-General of Customs as well as Director-General of the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for giving us the entire enabling environment to carry out this assignment. At the initial stage, we were scared that we may not be able to do it, but with the assistance of other sister agencies like Nigerian Army, we have made history and I want to congratulate Nigerians for being part of this. I said sometime ago that Nigeria Customs Service has promised hence forth to be celebrating Nigeria at every moment and this is exactly what we are doing.

    Is this the first time you are destroying drugs of this magnitude under this administration? 

    Yes. This is the first time we are destroying such an amount of tramadol. If these seizures were not made and dangerous drugs of this quantity were allowed into the society, we will have huge problems on our hands as a people and a country.

    How would you describe the synergy between Customs and other regulatory agencies?

    It is very good and has continued to improve. The synergy that has been existing between us and other sister agencies has been commendable. There is this cooperation that where a regulatory body is concerned with a seizure or importation, Customs draw their attention to it. When  we  have a seizure or consignment meant for them we normally hand it over to them. For example, when we seized items that have anything to do with the ecosystem, we hand over to the National Environmental Standards Regulatory and Enforcement Agency (NESREA), likewise any hard drugs like marijuana, we hand over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Now this is for NAFDAC to regularise. So that is why we are partnering with them for this destruction. The drugs being destroyed today is a meagre volume compared with the cumulative quantity we have been handing over to NAFDAC and NDLEA over the years.

    Are these all the drugs seized nationwide or your committee has more seizures in other parts of the country?

    We are starting the destruction here because of the high volume of seizures made in the South West where a lot of Customs activities take place. We shall be doing similar destructions in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Bauchi where we have Customs zones. Residents and stakeholders in these areas should await our invitations soon. Even as we are here, some of our anti-smuggling officers have been receiving threats for their exploits. Smugglers of these drugs are unhappy because we stopped them from making money through destruction of lives.

  • Baba Kekere

    Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande (LKJ) may have turned 90.  He did on July 23.

    But in the Awoist cosmos, with their pantheon of social democrat greats, he remains Baba Kekere.  This is neither a diminution of his age; nor scoffing at his great feats.

    It is just that, on that progressive canvas, he is next only to Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Baba Agba himself, in implementing, with spectacular success, the progressive ethos in government.

    Of all the progressive Titan-governors of Second Republic (1979-1983) Western Nigeria, he is the only one still alive.  Chief Olabisi Onabanjo (Ogun), Chief Bola Ige (Oyo: now Oyo and Osun states) and Chief Michael Adekunle Ajasin (Ondo: now Ondo and Ekiti states) are all gone.

    So, is Prof. Ambrose Alli (Bendel: now Edo and Delta states), who completed the famous LOOBO — Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Bendel and Ondo — Gubernatorial 5, of 1 October 1979 to 30 September 1983.  Even LKJ’s Deputy, Alhaji Rafiu Jafojo, has also joined his ancestors.

    But had LKJ been the first of the lot to pass, he would probably still have been the first to emerge a legend — thanks to his superlative, people-driven performance, as 2nd Republic, nationally acclaimed, Action Governor of Lagos.

    It was the pre-1st Republic Awo come alive all over again in Lagos, the then federal capital, under the satisfying watch of the avatar himself.

    LKJ shared the Lagos space with the conservative Shehu Shagari National Party of Nigeria (NPN) presidency.  But he ran rings round the federal Leviathan, with his policy brilliance, people-focus and the sheer zest to serve, at a lightening pace!

    Now, by nature’s munificence of long life, LKJ is the last of the Titans still standing.  At 90, therefore, LKJ is a living legend to an appreciative people.  That much was clear from the Who-is-Who, patrician or plebeian, at the LKJ 90th birthday bash.

    But that is only dress rehearsal for the main show.  As Awo, the progressive avatar eternally lives in our hearts, so surely shall  Baba Kekere, after his time is up, on account of his Lagos exploits.

    Indeed, between Awo and LKJ are exciting parallels.

    In seven short years (1952-1959), Awo’s revolutionary policies, epitomized by the epochal universal free primary education, transformed the Yoruba Western Region.

    In four short years, as Lagos governor, the LKJ legend was made.

    Unlike many of his Awoist peers — and even some Awo biological children — to who the Awo name is nothing but ceaseless bounty of democratic feudalism, LKJ seized, with both hands, four years to earn his stripes as a solid social democrat.

    By that, he emerged the most promising Awo reincarnation, even with the avatar himself alive and beaming with approval!  Baba Kekere!

    Nobody needed to name anything after him.  The masses instantly did: witness the “Jakande” housing estates: Ije, Adeniji-Adele, Ojokoro, Agege, Isolo (Oke-Afa), Iponri, Mile 2, etc.

    Ay, the designs of those houses were humble.  But for many poor denizens of Lagos, and even the then vanishing middle class, “Jakande” was their first essay at decent own homes — and to think those structures just sprang, from virtually nowhere, in four years!

    And the Lagos schools shift system! From the late 1960s down to October 1979, you had to do afternoon shift, at least in the mid-classes (between primaries 2 and 4).

    But then came October 1979 and the shift system just vanished!    Cynics, back then, wailed and cursed.  In holy rage, they poked fingers at classrooms they dubbed “poultry sheds”

    Again, the classrooms were not pretty.  But the Lagos public school villages were a post-Jakande legacy.  Those “poultry sheds” were, therefore, opening tactics en route to a vibrant strategy in public education.  Talk of mocking a humble beginning!

    Besides, were these critics to go back into history, they would have seen how earlier cynics had mocked “Awolowo school”, as the new low in public education!  But how many today remember those cynics, fast to pose questions, sluggish to provide answers!  Baba Kekere! 

    Even the Lagos Metroline, a classic Awoist vision, would have saved Lagos much of its current traffic snare.  But multiple conspiracies stalled it: North vs South; military vs civilian; conservative vs progressive — the classic sterile Nigerian realpolitik!

    It’s amazing too, how the LKJ quiet contrasts with, say, the Obasanjo racket, as leadership model, for befuddled Nigerians.

    LKJ did four years and three months as governor.  Aside from the Sani Abacha months — the only smudge in his public service career; and that, not on quality of service but by peers’ ideological disowning — he had retired into his public space.

    Obasanjo, on the other hand, did more than three years as military head of state, another eight years as elected president, and even essayed a rogue attempt at “third term”.

    Yet, to remain in the public mind, he feels obliged to make periodic, petulant rows; that paint others bad, so he could stay good.

    Why the other day, the former president beamed, as newly enthroned “Father of Modern Nigeria”, courtesy of some “youths”, with a N1 million prize money! Didn’t the bible say the poor would surrender the little they had to the rich?

    After a Presidential Library of suspect moral source, the N1 million cash prize would appear unfazed ode to holy parasitism.

    The LKJ persona is the direct opposite: legacy, quiet but incandescent, eternally glowing in the heart of a grateful people.

    LKJ, as governor, never rode government cars.  Never lived in government house.  Never moved from his Bishop Street, Ilupeju, Lagos, neighbourhood, to some plum hillside mansion to validate his new post-gubernatorial status.  Indeed, never extorted a gubernatorial library, from contractors, in full public glare!

    Yet, he has more community value in one tiny fingernail than others would ever have in their grubby beings!

    In the progressives ranks, LKJ continues to teach some of his excitable peers the essence of a true Titan.

    Ripples is again pleased to recall how the Greek Titan gods gracefully yielded space for their Olympian successors; and thus retain the love and awe in Western modern hearts.

    The likes of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a piquant symbol of the succeeding Lagos class that upstaged LKJ as Lagos progressive lord of manor, were at the LKJ @ 90 bash — all praise and awe.

    LKJ, a true Titan, knew how to quit with grace, no matter how difficult.  Besides, if your motive is service, why would you force yourself on people — particularly with a legacy that continues to tell your story?

    That can’t be said of many.  For willy-nilly relevance, they would curse, swear and screech.  Canonize new friends; demonize new foes, to suit their new fit.

    Rather than fade away with grace, they assume the neo-Samson.  They must pull the house down — with everyone sinking with them.

    At 90, LKJ is different and refreshing.  Happy birthday, Baba Kekere.  You will forever live in our hearts!