The Nation Newspaper

Tag: political class

  • CSO: political class not ready for credible elections

    THE nation’s political class seemed not ready for an enduring democracy for constantly undermining the electoral process, a civil rights organisation (CSO), Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), has said.

    The group also expressed regrets that deployment and conduct of military personnel to identified flash-points across the country for the 2019 presidential and National Assembly election was unsatisfactory.

    The CSO, at a news conference from its Situation Room in Abuja yesterday, said while observing the presidential and National Assembly elections from across the country, it  discovered that the electoral laws and rules as set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were sabotaged by the politicians.

    The CSO’s Executive Director, Faith Nwadishi, who presented the preliminary report on the elections,  noted that connivance between officials of the electoral commission and politicians was also designed to impact the elections negatively.

    She said: “The conduct of men of the Armed Forces deployed to flash-points to ensure the security of lives and properties leaves much to be desired.

    “In many instances, men of the Armed Forces left their primary responsibilities and became participants in the electoral process. Cases of such involvement in the electoral process were reported in places like Rivers, Bayelsa and Yobe states.

    “Also, there were cases of men of the Armed Forces preventing election observers performing their legitimate duties, even after proper identification.

    “In some cases, we had reports of voters being turned away from accessing their polling booths as was reported in the riverine areas of Delta State, where water ways were blocked.”

    Nwadishi said deliberate subversion of the electoral process by the political class showed that  it was not ready for credible process.

    “The violence we witnessed during the election was not sponsored by the parents of the perpetrators, but by politicians and this was only targeted at subverting the election,” she added.

    Hailing INEC for its determination to conduct credible polls, the group praised Nigerians for their enthusiasm and determination to choose leaders of their choice in spite of the many challenges thrown their ways.

     

  • Role of judiciary, media and political class in 2019 elections

    Text of a paper delivered by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) at the yearly lecture of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), Ikeja Chapter

    In particular, The Punch Newspaper was very pungent in its editorial opinion titled “Nigeria Marching to the Precipice”; The Guardian was profound in its own opinion titled “Nigeria and the only way forward”; ThisDay Newspapers was very articulate in its own editorial titled “19 years of democracy: The Road Ahead”; The Nigerian Tribune was unequivocal in its own opinion captioned “19 years of civilian rule”; Vanguard’s comment titled “Nigeria’s Nascent Democracy at 18″ was very insightful; New Telegraph’s opinion tagged “Buhari: Three years in the saddle’ was sufficiently balanced; The Nation’s editorial captioned “Buhari at Three” was lucid; while The Sun’s comment titled “The need to Support Democracy” was penetrating, analytical and objective.

    It is hoped that the leadership of this country will soberly reflect on these snippets coming from our media houses; they honestly represent the feelings and yearnings of our people; they portray the minimum desiderata expected of any democratic government, more so as we approach the proverbial 2019.

     

    Now, to the political class and politicians

    Different leaders have sprung up and emerged on the face of the planet at different times and in different climes, who, through their commitment to humanity, rather than to self, have etched their names in gold, as well as the consciousness and sub-consciousness of their people, from generation to generation. A few examples are George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, J.F Kennedy, Winston Churchill, William Wilberforce, Chairman Mao, Lee Kuan Yew, Nelson Mandela, Julius Nyerere, Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello, Mahatma Ghandi, Kenneth Kaunda, Thomas Sankara, Kwame Nkrumah, Mo Ibrahim, Franklin Roosevelt, Napoleon Bonaparte, General De Gaulle, Mrs. Hindira Ghandi, Martin Luther, Harry Truman, etc.

    There is a world of difference between a politician and a leader. There is still a marked difference between a leader and a statesman. There is also a remarkable difference between a statesman and a world citizen. Nelson Mandela, though an African, rose to become a world citizen by his candour, pragmatism, charisma, knowledge, temperament, valour, humility, forbearance, integrity, unusual act of forgiveness, and steadfastness. No wonder the entire world celebrated him in life, as well as in death. Although dead, he still lives in the consciousness of all people and races. The entire American Congress rose up to appreciate his eminence when he paid a visit to the Capitol. Reviewing his memoir titled “Long Walk to Freedom”, Washington Post Book Review described him as “One of the most remarkable lives of the twentieth century”; while the Boston Sunday Globe expressed that the book “should be read by every person alive”. What a pride Nelson Mandela was to Africa and the entire human race! Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore was also an exceptional leader and world citizen. His book, titled “Singapore: From Third World to First World: The Singapore Story-1965-2000”, represents and demonstrates the sobriety of the inner workings of a dedicated and committed leader. Winston Churchill gave his all to his country. The examples are not only legion, but also limitless.

    4.3        Be that as it may, it is rather worrisome that the type of politics we play in Nigeria does not pretend to bring forth statesmen, how much more of world citizens. Since 1999, successive leaderships that have emerged have always been engrossed in political acrobatics, both from within their political parties and without. A sizeable number of the politicians that spring up are desperate people, who want power and positions at all costs, who see and perceive elections as a do or die affair, whose primary objective is not the service to the people but acquisition of ephemeral wealth, they do not harbour or tolerate any dissenting opinion, even from within their political parties, how much more from opposition parties.

    The truth be told, our democracy stands out as perhaps the most monetized democracy globally. Across political parties and lines, votes are purchased at every stage of election. What dividends of democracy do we realistically expect from elected politicians who have purchased the franchise of the electorate? All they do in most cases was, and is still to recoup, settle their debts, and make further or sufficient savings for future elections, by pilfering from the  public till, on assumption of office.

    Arising from the foregoing unfortunate situation, is the fact that whatever efforts the Judiciary and the press make, or whatever positive collaborations emerge from the two institutions, not much can be achieved if Nigeria does not have statesmen as politicians, and if our leaders still assume that whenever they find themselves in positions of power, either through the wishes of the electorates or by rigging elections, they assume the role and positions of emperors and conquerors, or even tiny tyrants here and there.

    I want to repeat what I have been saying since the emergence of our present democratic experiment in 1999, that like the military dictators of the pre-1999 years, most of our successive leaders have been grossly intolerant, proud, dictatorial, autocratic, draconian, arbitrary, arrogant and uncaring. Not only that, vital institutions that make democracy work and tick and, by extension, sustain, nurture, water and nourish democracy, including the electoral umpire, whether INEC at the national level, or the states’ Independent Electoral Commissions, at the states’ level, have been hijacked, compromised, pocketed and often manipulated.

    The mantra among a sizable proportion of Nigerian politicians today is that with or without the electorates, they will ‘be returned’ as the successful candidates in any election, and the ‘losers’ are the ones who will go to Election Tribunals. Earlier in this presentation, I have reminded the audience of the constant boasting of some of our politicians that they will capture a particular seat, rather than winning at the polls. In my humble opinion, we are practicing democracy in a negative way; by and large, strangulating democracy and democratic institutions. These negative traits appear to be reaching a crescendo.

    Apart from INEC or SIECs, political parties themselves should evolve to the status of institutions, if our democracy must last. Any political party worth its name must have clear-cut ideologies, policies, ethos, ethics and traditions which are engrafted in the DNA of its members. In addition, it has to campaign and contest elections on the basis of clear manifestos. Members of political parties must also be sober and dedicated. It cannot be a question of ‘we are here today and gone tomorrow’. The United States of America has run a federal system of government since 1776, with a Constitution that has endured since then, subject to minor amendments. The two main political parties over there, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, have become institutions recognised all over the world. They even have teeming admirers and supporters globally, including Nigeria. Since 1828, when the Democratic Party emerged, and 1854, when the Republican Party berthed, each of them has alternated the production of American Presidents and control of Congress, based on their constitutions and manifestoes. Here in Nigeria, we know about the ideals of the Republicans as well as the Democrats. This also dovetails to the United Kingdom, where the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats are the main parties. Cross-carpeting or political prostitution or harlotry, as we have it here in Nigeria, is alien to their democratic culture. Here in Nigeria, we are facing an ugly situation whereby political parties, which should be potent institutions and harbingers of our democracy, have now been reduced to mere vehicles of strange bedfellows. A good number of leading politicians in our country today have migrated, without any qualms, from two to four political parties. Bereft of any ideals, or even the tiniest iota of principles, a good percentage of members of the political class of today alternate between parties in the same way, and with the frequency the British weather changes its moods. In as short a span as weeks, an average politician in today’s Nigeria could belong to three different political parties, depending on the exigency. Devoid of any moral fabric, these politicians engage in what I would like to call political osmosis, whereby once a party is out of power, or a candidate loses an election, they swiftly move allegiances to whatever party fits their mood. Yet, a good number of Nigerians, like the Biblical Pharisees and Sadducees, pretend as if all is well. Despite the Supreme Court’s decision in Abegunde v. The Ondo State House of Assembly , our politicians have learnt nothing.

    Preparing for party congresses is war, within the intra-party arrangement; while contesting elections along bi-partisan lines is a battle that must be fought with intimidating arsenals, including guns, machetes, acid, charms and I dare say, weapons of mass destruction. In my opinion, stealing of the people’s mandate, whether at intra-party level or at a bi-partisan level sits at the zenith of corruption. It is a crime akin to genocide, because it is a crime against humanity. Politics should not be a game of ‘the end justifies the means’ or ‘the means does not matter, provided the end is achieved’.

    4.8        Against the foregoing background, the statement credited to President Buhari by different national dailies on 30th May, 2018, admonishing Nigerians  to vote for who they want in 2019 was timely. In my view, the President was saying, let the votes count in 2019. This is how it should be, in theory and in practice. A corollary to the statement is that let the electoral umpires at both the state and national levels do their jobs un-teleguided, independent of powers at all levels, without any compromise, fear or affection. Let our elections be free of rancour, violence, victimisation, killing and maiming. Let the returning officers announce results as depicted by the votes cast and dropped in the ballot boxes; and duly counted in the full glare of the electorates. On no account should any electoral officer be kidnapped and made to announce any result at gunpoint. Security officers should not threaten or harass the electorates or disperse them while queuing to get accredited or while casting their votes or while patiently waiting for the votes to be counted. The truth must be told that for now, our democracy is one of the most militarised democracies in the world. We should remind ourselves that in nearby West African countries like Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Liberia, free and fair elections, globally adjudged as being so, have been held, with winners emerging, without rancour or strife.

    Another sad commentary of election rigging on the democratic process in Nigeria is that whereas when the democratic journey took off in 1999, all the governors were elected on the same day; but today, each of the states of Edo, Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti, Anambra, Osun and Kogi holds its governorship election on different and staggered dates from when the other states hold theirs. This has led to an unwholesome situation where and when Governorship elections are to be held in any of these states, substantial security personnel of the nation are deployed thereto, making it look as if exercise of franchise in a democratic setting is a warfare. My suggestion in this regard is that elections in the aforementioned states should be brought in conformity with the general elections for other Governors. I am not unaware of the Supreme Court decision in the celebrated case of Obi v. INEC , but the constitution itself will have to be amended, so that any chief executive who assumes office after the sacking by the Judiciary of another Governor should only spend the unexpired tenure of the sacked or deposed governor. This is what happens to members of the legislature.

    INEC was reported in several national newspapers on Monday, June 4, 2018, to have emphatically stated: “No card reader, no election in 2019”. The use of the card reader was introduced by the Professor Attahiru Jega led INEC in 2015 general elections. But for the use of the card reader, the general elections of 2015 would have flopped abysmally. Three years thereafter, INEC is enthusing that there would not be any election in 2019 if the card reader is not used.’’

    With respect to INEC, this is no news; it is also not an improvement on what Jega achieved. Even with the deployment of the card reader in 2015, a lot of electoral malpractices were still identified. The least that Nigerians expect from INEC for the 2019 general elections is the deployment and use of electronic device, which would ensure substantial rig-proof elections.

    The combination of the use and activation of the card reader and electronic device will assure and reassure Nigerians that INEC is indeed and in fact, prepared for a free and fair election. INEC should not enter any caveat or give any alibi for not being able to deploy the electronic device, which is now in use almost worldwide.

     

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, these are my thoughts on this very important topic. The Judiciary and the Media have made, and continue to make, their humble contributions at midwifing our nascent democracy. Indeed, both institutions are more committed to the sustenance and growth of our democratic norms and ideals than the politicians who reap most of the dividends of democracy, a la Nigeria. This might be ironic, but it is the truism and reality on the ground. This paper is also a call on the politicians to allow democracy to thrive in Nigeria, particularly in their own interest, and generally, in our overall interest. Democracy should not be seen, taken or even pursued as a rat race, for according to Lily Tomline,

    “The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you are still a rat.”

    To the members of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents, I thank you for inviting me to make this presentation. The Judiciary Correspondents have always collaborated with the legal profession at ensuring prompt and graphic reporting of judicial proceedings in our various courts. The legal profession itself owes the Judiciary Correspondents a duty of collaboration, so as to ensure a seamless synergy between the legal profession and the Judiciary Correspondents in the pursuit and attainment of a fair, honest and undiluted reportage.

    A few years back, I volunteered to make funds available towards the training and continuous education of Judiciary Correspondents in Nigeria, and challenged the correspondents to key into the scheme. May I use this opportunity to remind the Judiciary Correspondents that the promise is still extant.

     

    • Concluded
    • Chief Wole Olanipekun, OFR, SAN, LL.D, FCIArb, FNIALS, Lagos,

     

  • Role of judiciary, media and political class in 2019 elections

    Being text of a lecture delivered by Chief Wole Olanipekun at the yearly lecture of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), Ikeja Chapter

    Introduction

    It would amount to self-deceit to restrict any discourse on our democratic journey, as it were, on the Judiciary and media, leaving out the major participants, who double as the major beneficiaries of our democracy, that is, the political class/elite, who cut across party barriers and delineations, and who also litter our political space, from Local Governments through to the State and Federal levels. To my mind, we cannot address or furrow into the success or otherwise of the 2019 general elections, as well as the sustenance of our democratic voyage, without this category of people. Otherwise, we would, deceptively, be acting Shakes-peare’s Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark. Let the reality be quickly recognised that in normal climes, where and when the political class plays and activates politics according to the rules of the game, not taking it as a do or die affair, or a means to an end, or an end in itself, or the core and crux of livelihood, or where politicians respect their respective national Constitutions, electoral laws, et al, the judiciary in particular, has a lesser role to play at midwifing such democracies.

    In modifying the topic, however, I kept on reminding myself that I must not lose sight of the very essence, meaning, intention and tenor of the original topic, hence the ‘amended’ topic, which is “The Role of the Judiciary, the Media and the Political Class in Midwifing the 2019 General Elections and Sustaining Nigeria’s Democratic Process”, which conveniently subsumes the original.

    In this presentation, permit me to do some random samplings or a sort of panorama, and in doing so, the first port of call will be the Judiciary, before moving to the media, and finally berthing at the doorsteps of the political class

    Nigerian Judiciary considered within the context of the discourse

    The last topical political case that agitated the entire labyrinth of the American Judiciary is the celebrated case of Al Gore v. Bush .  Before then, either at the state or national levels, there was a lull of election petition gymnastics in any of the superior courts in the United States of America, as it is very unusual for any politician or political party over there to think of doing or intending to do what our politicians here do. In effect, the Judiciary in America is not saddled with the unenviable and hazardous responsibility and thankless job of adjudicating on sensitive electoral matters, either to install a state Governor, a member of the Congress or President, or to nullify election results. Despite the ‘too-close-to-call’ nature of the last presidential election between the two candidates of the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively, Donald J. Trump and Hilary R. Clinton, the latter is not the petitioner or plaintiff in the action asking for a decree for the recount of the ballots in some areas. Be it noted that she and her husband, Bill Clinton, were conspicuously present at Donald Trump’s inauguration. India is reputed to be the largest democracy in the world, and my research of the number of election cases in that large country and democracy,  in juxtaposition with what we have in Nigeria            has continuously and consistently resulted in the truism that despite the fact that the political constituencies in Nigeria constitute a very negligible percentage of the ones in India, the number of election matters, whether pre or post elections, or whether arising from pre-election summonses or post-election petitions in Nigeria, dwarfs that of India. Let us pause here to ask a rhetorical question, that is, when last did we hear or read of a challenge to the election of a Prime Minister of India,? Or the Prime Minister of Britain? Or the President of France? Again, let us remind ourselves that the last snap election in Great Britain was also ‘too close to call’, and, indeed, the ruling Conservative Party did not have the requisite number of MPs to form a government; but within hours, concessions were made here and there, and based on democratic traditions which had evolved in that country for centuries, Queen Elizabeth II invited Theresa May to form the government. Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party did not approach any election tribunal or court to stop Theresa May from so doing.

    This audience might be wondering about these excursions into the democratic records of some foreign countries when we are dealing with the Nigerian political process. Let me make myself clear. The President of the Court of Appeal in Nigeria, is the equivalence of the Master of the Rolls in Great Britain. The high office of the Master of the Rolls is not saddled with the pitiable responsibility of constituting election tribunals and their memberships, as the President of the Court of Appeal in Nigeria does regularly and intermittently, even whenever there is a by-election to fill a vacancy in a state House of Assembly. The Chief Justice of Great Britain or the Chief Justice of the United States does not have anything to do with the constitution of election tribunals or panels. Unlike these countries and their judiciaries, the Nigerian Judiciary has lost most of its cherished dignity, prestige, honour and glamour, as a result of its continuous involvement at deciding high-tension election and electoral matters. When election tribunals are empaneled, the Judges constituting the panels are selected from different parts of the country and posted to States different from theirs. The Chairman and a member of the Tribunal constitute the statutory quorum; while a full panel consists of three judges of the High Court. In most jurisdictions in Nigeria, an average judge has between 14-16 cases on his cause list daily. Section 285(6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), mandates the Election Petition Tribunal to deliver its judgment within 180 days of the filing of the petition. This means that depending on a variety of factors like number of polling unit results being contested, number of witnesses being called, modalities adopted for the calling of witnesses, an election tribunal may very well expend the entirety of the period allocated to it by the constitution in deciding a petition. In doing so, the Judges are uprooted from their courtrooms to the locus in quo. Not only that, pending trials and applications, will consequently be kept in abeyance and sacrificed on the altar of election petition expediency.

    • To be continued next week

  • Letter to the political class

    Letter to the political class

    The heading or title of this letter is chosen for the purpose of reminding ourselves that our lives, our health and well-being and our fortunes and future are all in the mighty hands of Allah our creator and sustainer. We can neither know nor control what happens tomorrow and the rest of the days, months and years ahead. So, our own future is in the domain of Allah the creator and sustainer of the universe.

    If we always take note of this reality of our limitations, inadequacies and imperfections, we will act with caution and moderation. This is particularly true of those in leadership positions. It is in their best interest to constantly remember that they will certainly be called upon to account to Allah for everything they have done in their various positions – and there is no appeal, for Allah has all the evidence of our actions in this world.

    Now to the unending crises and difficulties in our country. These are due largely to our attitude and character in matters relating to government, politics, religion, ethnicity and business. It’s like having many good cars and handing them over to bad drivers, the result is many accidents on the roads, because of the bad attitude of the drivers.

    Both India and Nigeria got their independence from the British and started self-governing with parliamentary system of government. India made success of the parliamentary system. In our own case, we were unable to continue with parliamentary system because of the pain, the disruption and turmoil caused to the political system and process by the really unfortunate military coup of January 15, 1966. The killings, the civil war and the long period of military rule pushed the country out of the political learning curve.

    Again the military in Nigeria decided to create the next political dispensation in their own image and decided on the Presidential system along with the constitution and handed over in October 1979. The American Presidential system is very expensive because all the processes – from primaries, to campaigns, to lobbying, to colonies of staff of all categories that run the system. Also, the Presidential system depends on the strict adherence to the division of authority among the three arms of government the executive, legislature and judiciary. Once these checks and balances are not properly observed, the result is particularly, dictatorship, either of the executive arm, or the legislative arm.

    The problems, difficulties and crises we are now having in the operation of the Presidential system of government arise because of our attitude to politics and government. It’s a fact that the Nigerian economy depends to the extent of 70% – 80% on government activities and expenditure at all levels of the government. This means that unless those who are running the government reduce extreme partisanship, millions of people can be denied their livelihood on account of their political affiliation.

    So, our attitude to politics and government of winner takes all, revenge, all sorts of vendetta, vengeance, exclusion and even sadism always leave millions of people behind with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Businesses are run down because of the political affiliation of their owners. Right now millions of people are hungry, angry, bitter, desperate and hopeless because of our attitude to politics and government, business, religion and ethnicity. So attitude is very important.

    Again the fundamental objectives and directive principles stated in our constitution are to be actualised by the three arms of government. This means that the three arms must necessarily work together. Democracy must produce progress and prosperity to the people, must ensure safety and security of lives and property, must ensure accountability, transparency and rule of law, must guarantee individual and press freedom, human and people rights.

    Therefore, the three arms of government must realise that time is of essence. As the saying goes, time and tide wait for nobody. Therefore, technicalities, hairsplitting, vendetta and other distractions should not be allowed to take precedence over the substance of the matters at hand. Otherwise, about 80 per cent of the legislative, executive and judicial time will be taken away from substantive issues and matters.

    The present trend we are witnessing between the three arms of government gives room for a lot of improvement. So there is urgent need to halt this trend and a well moderated and collaborative system with sanity and synergy created and used by all concerned.

    I want to now draw the attention of all our people to the fact that no human society can survive and progress and prosper without some form of moral or ethical code of conduct. Within this moral code what is good is obvious and what is bad is also obvious – like killing somebody, stealing, cheating, telling a lie, breaking established laws, rules and regulations, oppressing people and all acts of transgression and intrusion. Most of these moral codes are observed in our daily lives as part of our common sense. Chaos and moral corruption result when things happen contrary to common sense and established ways of doing things regularly. Therefore, it’s advisable to use our common sense whenever we are confused in our daily lives.

    Now the way forward. Since 1960 we have had or tried world-class systems of government, constitutions, policies, laws and rules & regulations without achieving our lofty aspirations and objectives as a country with so many natural resources with large talented and industrious human resource.

    Certainly we have world-class technocrats, experts and professional class, human and natural resources. What we seem to be missing is getting nation builders in really sufficient numbers. Since our founding leaders like Sir Ahmadu Bello Sarduana of Sokoto, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Belawa, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the great Zik of Africa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, left the scene, nation building has not progressed with required momentum, focus, vision and even sincerity of purpose. The process has since been retarded by individual and ethnic materialism, religious bigotry, mal-administration/bad governance, severe poverty, massive unemployment, absence of real middle class and increasing income inequality and shortage of sufficient numbers of political elite to depend and promote national interest and public good in all their ramifications.

    Therefore, we should all pray to Allah, our creator and sustainer, the Almighty and All-Knowing, to give us nation builders through reliable and comprehensive leadership recruitment process in sufficient numbers, people with right attitude and character to nurture this our unfortunate country through the political, economic and social stages/processes we are now and have been passing through.

    We urgently need in the political and management class sufficient number of people who sincerely believe in this country and are prepared to work for the progress and prosperity of the people. We have wasted so much time, energy and resources and opportunities arguing about who is right and who is wrong. From now on let us ask and know what is right and go ahead and do it, and let us ask and know what is wrong and avoid it or prevent it.

    Now I will like to offer the following advice to fellow politicians and others concerned: –

    Right now, for reasons unknown to the vast majority of our people, more than two years after the general election, unending political rhetoric and partisanship, extreme bitterness, hatred and acrimony among the political class throughout our dear country are at the highest level.

    God commanded us to be our brother’s keepers, but we abandon this important commandment of God and adopted Satan’s commandment of everybody for himself/herself and God for all of us.

    The result is that we have now ended up with the vast majority of the people left behind and are desperate and frustrated and impatient and may act in anger with rage of burning fire.

    It’s very important to remind those in authority that the Nigerian economy is dependent on government activities and expenditure to the extent of about 70% – 80% as our private sector is still growing.

    Therefore, too much partisanship as we are now witnessing will exclude millions of Nigerians from earning their daily bread because they do not belong to the party in power at the federal or state levels.

    Accordingly, for the sake of God, justice and fair play and good governance, governments at all levels should be fair to all under their jurisdictions and should deliberately and urgently take adequate measures to drastically reduce extreme partisanship in governance matters and processes.

    Again, it will improve matters a lot if our politicians at all levels embrace politics without bitterness, hatred and acrimony without further delay. This is the only way to prevent Satan the devil from entering our affairs.

    After the political class have purged themselves of this extreme bitterness, hatred, acrimony, selfishness and injustice, all our anger, along with Satan, will disappear, our prayers will be accepted by God and God’s blessings and guidance will spread to all over our country and then we will start to prosper in peace, unity and security and with subsequent development in all sectors.

    Finally, as the borderline between constitutional democratic order and dictatorship can sometimes be blurred, the three arms of government need to be very careful so that our great country does not unwittingly find itself in the hands of some executive or legislative or even judiciary dictators. This can be avoided by always taking their actions and decisions based on public good and public interest and national security and unity. Once there is justice and fairness there is enough for everybody.

     

    • Abba-Gana is former FCT minister   
  • Our Girls; 10yr Passport & Driving Licence; DL to 75yrs; Assassination Of Nigeria By Political Class

    Our Girls; 10yr Passport & Driving Licence; DL to 75yrs; Assassination Of Nigeria By Political Class

    Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. What hope?

    We want true ‘devolved’ federalism! Where are the TRUE NIGERIANS? Not those with undeserved prefixes like ‘Dis-Hon-Ex’ ‘winning’ or ‘taking’ elections and holding posts used to destroy Nigeria for personal gain. Certainly monitored by ‘live’ TV and the media, TRUE NIGERIANS are a tiny minority in politics.

    Time out from the ridiculous self-centred political scenario in NASTY NASS mired in ‘PREMEDITATED BUDGET FRAUD’ alias PADDING FOR FRAUDULENT PURPOSES. The innocent members are standing up. Nigerians must support transparency, investigation and prevent punishment of whistleblowing members! What is an internal affair when the smell of corruption permeates the NASS and is external? Nigerians expected NASS to face front and work for 20+% of pension funds for mass housing, increase the life of a Driving Licence to 10 years and raise the driving age limit to 75 or 80years and introduce ‘longer life’ 10 year passports.

    Ignore politics if possible and make concrete plans to take adequate evasive action for you and your family to survive the ‘ASSASSINATION OF NIGERIA AND NIGERIANS BY THE NIGERIAN POLITICAL CLASS’. If you sat in a five hour + traffic jam at Berger Bridge/causeway on the way to or from the Family’s 10TH YEAR MEMORIAL OF LATE ENGINEER FUNSO WILLIAMS’ you will be stressed –but take it easy. You die; you die; only family go really cry! Funso was killed in an ‘unsolved’ murder. President Buhari has reopened the Williams, Daramola, Uncle Chief Bola Ige and other cases. Only your family cares long after your ‘friends’ have ‘killed you’ and, like Elvis, have ‘left the building’.

    I travelled thousands of miles by train and road abroad in the last five weeks. No pot-hole threatened my life or blocked highway, no power failure, no cancelled train. Travel on the Lagos-Ibadan road has been a ‘slap in the face’ insult by governments on defenceless citizens for the last 20 years mainly because they NEVER FILL POTHOLES before they kill. Built in the 70s, development strategies suggest there should be six other express roads into Lagos and not just ‘A SINGLE POTHOLED ROAD REMNANT’ suffering from politicised contractor somersaults denying millions comfortable travel. It is now worse again as the good contractors, RCC and Berger, move back to site and close off lanes paralysing the travelling public in the name of finally finishing 120km road –hardly nuclear physics – using a well utilised third world vicious development strategy ‘YOU MUST SUFFER IN ORDER TO SMILE’. Road agents can keep traffic funnelling into a ‘FIRST COME FIRST PASSED’ to prevent queue-jumpers driving beside roads only to jump in-front of lane drivers! Do the contractors care about the 20km five-lane-deep traffic queue or discuss ‘CONTINUED SMOOTH TRAFFIC MOVEMENT’ with the supervising ministry and road agents? Development must not be punishment!

    The coming ‘change’ National Policy on Corruption Prosecution should ‘change’ emphasis to the French style where the defendant must prove he is not corrupt or ‘guilty until proven innocent’. Accounting for assets must never be the responsibility of the prosecution!

    Lagos State engages the Japanese in a belated Monorail Revolution. Remember Jakande Rail supervised by Funso Williams but aborted by Buhari in 1983 or so for which $184m was paid as contract termination penalty instead of completing the project? How much did Obasanjo get government to pay in order to disastrously terminate the World Bank contracted Lagos-Ibadan upgrade that subsequently floundered for 10+ years while Obasanjo and the CONTRACTOR DANCED TO THE TUNE OF MASSIVE TRASPORT MISERY!

    Meanwhile Oyo State engaged the same Japanese in building ‘common’ classrooms with a $6m grant. Imagine what that $6m would have bought as equipment upgrade for Polytechnics and Science Schools. Pity!

    Saraki’s call on ambassadorial nominees to be ‘patriotic’ is an insult as he speaks for a pathologically selfish generation of politicians of no known patriotism and politicians questionable moral standing and an avaricious attitude to government coffers.

    I have repeatedly warned that the management of IDP camps is a yard stick for judging Nigeria and this government. IDPs are not HIV/AIDS victims who we can cheat out of Bill Gates and Global Fund Grants. Why do IDPs especially children face malnutrition as if they are neglected foreign war prisoners. IDPs should run their own camps eliminating greedy thieving personnel from government agencies who should prosecuted. After being driven from your home, are you to be starved by the CINS -Incompetence, Incompetence, Neglect and Selfishness of Nigeria and its irresponsible agencies? NEMA et cetera must be probed. Or is this another case of the people in the field being starved of the tools to help IDPs while the bosses say all is well?

    Happily Nigeria’s accountant generals are looking into speedy trial for corruption offences. For those accused by EFCC, who have suspected stolen money of assets bought with such money in their or their relations and friends possession, the onus of confirmation of source of the questionable funds and property must be changed to be on the owner, as in France, and not the government or court, as in England. This would quickly allow the forfeited funds to return to the nation’s bank accounts. But who will judge and jail those whose corrupt actions and policies have ruined Nigeria’s rise to statehood? We are still not ‘pothole free’ or in the top 1000 universities.

     

    • Sorry… Back to stress next week.   tonymarinho.com/blog
  • Blame political class for inconclusive elections-INEC boss

    Blame political class for inconclusive elections-INEC boss

    * PDP crisis may endanger Edo, Ondo guber elections-CSOs

    The Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu Friday  blamed the activities of the political class for the recent inconclusive elections in the country.

    Yakubu said the desperation by most politicians to win elections at all cost usually lead to massive irregularities and electoral violence with innocent citizens killed and maimed in the wake.

    He further explained that the determination of the commission not to overlook the infractions in the conduct of elections in line with the tenet of electoral law, was another reason for the spate of inconclusive elections in recent times.

    INEC Boss who spoke at one-day civil society/stakeholders roundtable on INEC and inclusive elections organised by the Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group (ISDMG), however said  inconclusive elections were not peculiar to the six months of his assuming office as INEC Chairman or the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, as people are made to believe.

    Yakubu, who was represented by the Director Voter Education at the Commission, Mr Oluwale Osaze Uzzy, also advocated for a 10-year ban on politicians who are guilty of electoral offences from aspiring to any public office.

    Meanwhile, the Civil Society Organisations have raised fears that the current leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if not urgently resolved might endanger the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo States.

    In a discussion paper presented by the INEC Chairman entitled “Inconclusive Elections: The Facts and The Myths, Yakubu, said Sections 26 and 53 of the Electoral Act empower the Commission to declare an election inconclusive if there is likely to be breach of peace and over voting as a result of irregularities.

    He noted that disruptions by way of violence, intimidation and bribery of poll officials and voters, the scepter of inconclusive elections were likely to hang over on the electoral processes if the political class continues to see election as “do or die”.

    Yakubu said, “Where there are no such disruptions or distortions by the Political class, inconclusive elections will all but be eliminated, save for elections into the office of Governor or President where no candidate meets the Constitutional criteria or in cases of natural disaster or other emergency.

    He said: “To be declared a winner, a candidate must satisfy all conditions stipulated by law.  He or she must satisfy all legal requirements – score the majority of lawful votes cast at the election in which all eligible voters have been given the opportunity to exercise their franchise and, for executive positions, the stipulated spread in the Constituency.

    “Where no candidate satisfies this requirement, the election is said to be inconclusive. Where an election is scheduled, but there is likely to be a serious breach of the peace or it is impossible to continue with the election or it is impossible to conduct the election due to a natural disaster or other emergency, the Commission should postpone the election.

    “Sub- section 26 (2) states that “there shall be no return for the election until polling has taken place in the area or areas affected.”

    On over voting he said by virtue of Section 53 (2), “When the votes cast at an election in any polling unit exceeds the number of registered voters in that polling unit, the result of the election for that polling unit shall be declared void by the Commission and another election may be conducted at a date to be fixed by the Commission where the result at that poling unit may affect the overall result in the constituency.”

    According to him, inconclusive elections were not peculiar to the six months of his assuming office as INEC Chairman or the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, as people are made to believe.

    He cited instances of 1979, UPN argument in the Court challenging the Presidential election ((Awolowo V. Shagari); 1999 Rivers State Governorship Election; 2011 – Imo Governorship  Election; 2014 – Anambra Governorship Election and I2015 – Taraba, Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa Governorship Elections respectively.

    He, however, disclosed that INEC had proposed to the National Assemmby on the amendment of the Electoral Act that politicians who are convicted of electoral offence should banned from contesting in an election for a period of 10 years.

    Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu, who spoke from the independent observer’s perspective, expressed fears that the currently leadership crisis if not resolved would negatively impact on the conduct of the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Edo and Ondo States.

    He disclosed that INEC has conducted 129 election in the last six months and still have 31 more by July, it inherited 49 rerun in 16 states.

    He said: “Professor Yakubu  grapple with the challenge of late arrival of election material (there’s been improvement on this lately), lack of technical capacity of the ad- hoc staff, under age, voting, lack of adequate enlightenment of prospective voters, unfavorable terrain my view is that these challenges are surmountable but nothing challenge this INEC board like impunity,  use of violence, harming and killing of  election officials and the absence of  institutional mechanism to punish electoral offenders.”

    He called for revisit of the recommendation of the Justice Uwais led electoral reform committee particularly recommendation for the establishment of Electoral Offences Commission and Political Party Registration and Regulatory Commission.

  • Political class welcomes Buhari’s directive on withdrawal of police orderlies

    Political class welcomes Buhari’s directive on withdrawal of police orderlies

    Politicians across the country have welcome President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to the police to reduce the number of their personnel attached to politicians and other ‘big men’.

    Buhari said during the week that policemen so withdrawn should be deployed to provide security for the generality of Nigerians.

    Senator Kabiru Ibrahin Gaya, representing Kano South said by phone yesterday that the directive is timely.

    He said Nigeria has had enough of siren blowing by police escorts attached to politicians.

    Some politicians,according to him, have been misusing the privilege by disturbing public peace.

    Gaya advocated that ministers should not be allowed to use police escorts and only the President, the Vice President and the Service Chiefs should be accorded that privilege in view of the sensitive positions they occupy.

    Dame Judith Amaechi, wife of the immediate past Governor of Rivers State, in her reaction in Port Harcourt yesterday through her Media Assistant, Dike Bekwele, described the decision as a welcome development,while the immediate past Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, called it a step in the right decision.

    The Kwara state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chair Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo is also in agreement with Buhari on the move,saying: “We have no problem with that. If that is what the president said we will obey and we have no cause for alarm.

    “We on our side will not rest on our oars to make arrangement for alternative security,” he said.

    The Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu said the police authorities are “ already working on the President’s directive and the police will come out with the details very soon.

    “In the meantime, police will continue to assess requests from members of the public, with the view to determining the appropriateness or otherwise of such requests. Frivolous requests will not be given consideration.

    “We have always been working to address security fears that necessitate police protection by members of the public. It does not matter whether such fears are expressed by the rich or the poor.

    “We are duty bound to respond to security threats, whether the request is coming from the rich or the poor. We are there to protect every law abiding citizen, regardless of their social status”

  • Political class and Nigeria’s future

    SIR: Members of the political class, who comprise of power-brokers and those governing, represent the soul of any country as they are the building blocks of leadership recruitment. By virtue of their calling, politicians are expected to show leadership and live up to their promises. They are also obligated to uphold and promote fundamental national values concerning political, economic and social imperatives. Part of these imperatives are representative democracy, good governance, popular participation, political stability, national unity, peaceful coexistence, law-abiding and dutiful citizenry, constitutionalism, due process, the rule of law, separation of powers, respect of basic human rights, social justice, sense of inclusion, equal opportunities, thriving economy, sustainable development, human welfare and international respectability.

    More importantly, members of the political class or elite should stand for national cause at all times, notwithstanding their party, ethnic, religious, cultural or ideological affinity. In this case, unifying and stabilising factors like pan-nationalism, patriotism, statesmanship, national unity, corporate existence, nation-building, national integration, multiculturalism and bi-partism (or even multilateralism) should be their watchword. No doubt, these factors and similar ones encapsulate the spirit of the guardian class whose enlightened members are driven by the impulse of national interest, which is paramount, not personal or sectional interest that has been the bane of politics and governance in many developing countries, including Nigeria.

    Going down memory lane, our nationalist heroes and founding fathers who featured prominently in the politics of the First Republic (1960-66), such as Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowo (all of blessed memory), in spite of their human frailties, set a shining example of what are required from a model political class like selfless service, human touch, national fervour and integrity. For example, Dr. Azikiwe (the Great Zik of Africa as he was fondly called) was a tireless exponent of dignity of man, national unity and pan-African co-operation. On the other hand, Sir Tafawa Balewa was a grassroots and self-effacing political leader who espoused unity in diversity in Nigeria, just as Chief Awolowo (Awo) as he was popularly known) saw the future of the country as being inextricably tied to true federalism.

    If truth must be told, the aforementioned personages had shown through their laudable feats that they were in a rendezvous with destiny as they strove to shape the future of their expectant people. With our fatherland now at a crossroads in the face of dire political, economic and social challenges, members of our political class could be said to be in a race against time. Irrespective of their affiliations, they are called upon to soften their rhetorics and close ranks for the sake of the Nigerian future that is currently threatened by intense political wrangling, violent religious extremism and ethnic militancy.

    So, as we inch towards the decisive presidential and national polls on March 28 and those of the governorship and state legislative houses on April 11, our politicians owe it as a moral duty to help defuse the rising tension and uncertainties in the land over the possible outcome. Accordingly, they are implored to shun political mudslinging, hate speeches and inflammatory remarks that could lead to violence, bloodshed and depredation. In conformity with the spirit and letter of the Abuja Peace Accord for non-violent elections signed by various presidential candidates on January 10, 2015, all the political aspirants in the forthcoming polls in the country should drum home the normative message of this agreement to their staunch supporters and admirers who, in most cases, are the foot-soldiers of inter-party thuggery.

    May God save and bless our dear fatherland.

    • Okechukwu Emeh

    is a public analyst.

  • Ahmed cautions political class

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, has enjoined the political class, especially those in leadership positions, to always exercise their authority with humility and piety in recognition that power flows from God.

    He added that those in positions of authority must always remember that attainment of such positions was the will of God.

    Governor Ahmed said governments should embrace the concept of wealth distribution as a pragmatic way of tackling poverty and promoting harmony in the society.

    He spoke yesterday in Oro, Irepodun local government area of the state at this year’s Ramadan lecture organised by APC’s spokesperson, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    “Charity is very important and Zakat, a wealth distribution mechanism, which if embraced, will ensure that there is no poverty in the land. If mankind imbibes the spirit of Zakat, there will be no poverty in the land. So we must see how governments across the world imbibe it; it is not about Islam, it is about a system of wealth distribution that ensures people can get the benefits of life,” he said.

    Ahmed also called for the understanding and cooperation of the populace, so that governments can deliver policies and programmes that will ensure the emergence of a polity where quality of life is enhanced.

    He drummed support for the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government in the state.

    Governor Ahmed urged students and APC supporters in the state to participate actively in the forthcoming Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) voter registration exercise.

    He said active participation in the exercise, which comes up this month will ensure that they are not disenfranchised in the 2015 general elections.

    In his remark, Alhaji Mohammed said Nigerians must imbibe the spirit of brotherliness, even beyond the month of Ramadan.

    The guest lecturer, who is the chief imam of Offa, Offa local government area, Sheikh Muideen Husseni enjoined APC supporters to rally round the Governor Ahmed administration to succeed.

    He admonished APC supporters, loyalists and sympathisers to eschew all pull-him-down tendencies, adding that “the reigning person in Kwara State today is Governor Ahmed.”

    Sheikh Husseni urged Nigerian leaders to spare a thought for the less privileged as hunger and poverty are everywhere in the country.

    He warned the governor to be wary of sycophants, adding that “you need the support of all for your administration to succeed. Be focus and carry all along in all that you do; don’t be distracted by side-talks and hearsays.”

    The leader of the APC in the state and Senator representing Kwara Central at the National Assembly, Dr Bukola Saraki was represented by the Majority Leader of the House of Assembly, Alhaji AbdulGaniyu Abdulkareem.

  • ‘Blame Africa’s failure on political class, academics’

    ‘Blame Africa’s failure on political class, academics’

    A former Ghanaian ambassador to United States (US), Prof Kofi Awoonor, has said Africa’s failure can be traced to its political class because most of the continent’s politicians were products of colonial masters’ dung-heap with voluble promises.

    The celebrated poet noted that the African university system also failed to be part of the solutions to the African malaise.

    Prof Awoonor spoke in Malete, Moro Local Government Area, when he delivered the first convocation lecture of the Kwara State University (KWASU).

    He said: “We must blame the politicians because they came out from underneath of the colonial dung-heap and made voluble promises. We followed them through the streets, mesmerised by the booming voices coming from the propaganda vans, the party songs and indeed the flamboyance of the flags swaying in the afternoon as we waited for the top man.

    “The African university’s failure to be relevant in the continent’s quest for answers to its long enduring problems is founded in a number of self-inflicted wounds and ailments which incapacitate it and prevent it from discharging its share of the historic promises it made to the people who keep it in wigs and gowns.

    “First, the African university has not developed the capacity to take a close look at its immediate environment. The African university seems to be inoculated against the social infections that afflict the rest of the nation. Because it believes that it is not part of the problem, it is not equipped to be part of the solution.

    “Our various communities are labouring under social burdens as a child abuse, environmental degradation, endemic illiteracy, breakdown of the family structure, juvenile delinquency and gansterism, urban poverty etc.

    “Where is the African university in this multiple complexity of unacceptable human conditions in our new republics? How does the African university relate to the state institutions that are supposed to address these problems?