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Tag: qualification

  • Basketball: Celta’s play-off qualification excites Ogoke-Ejiogu

    Celta Vigo’s Sarah Ogoke-Ejiogu has expressed joy over her team’s qualification for the play-off in the second division of the Spanish Women Basketball League.

    The D’Tigress point and shooting guard told NationSport that her team achieved the feat with four games to play in the regular season. “I am really excited about the qualification. I hope we can go on to qualify for the first division and play against top teams.”

    She said her team has an 18-4 record after defeating Barcelona (82-42) at the weekend. She stated that they are hoping to continue in that stride as they also hope to emerge champions of the regular season. “Playing against Barcelona is always an exciting experience. They are a big team with great structure so beating them twice in a season shows that we have what it takes to gain promotion.

    “The team plays as a unit and it has helped us greatly. Hopefully, we can stay focused and achieve our aim of playing in the elite division. We are in the championship mentality and I must say that I want the whole cow,” Ogoke-Ejiogu added.

     

  • ‘Courts, tribunals can exercise concurrent jurisdiction on qualification’

    ‘Courts, tribunals can exercise concurrent jurisdiction on qualification’

    A single decision of the Governorship Election Tribunal of Lagos State (here inafter referred to as the “trial tribunal”), in Petition No. Gov./EPT./L/15/2015, delivered on July1, 2015, gave birth to four extant appeals. This cross-appeal is one of them. It probes into the correctness of some portions of the decision; precisely the competence of Paragraphs 13(b) and 14 of the Petition as viable grounds to query the election.

    The facts of the petition, which transformed into the cross-appeal, are submissive to brevity and easy comprehension. The third Cross-Respondent, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC, for short), a body constitutionally assigned with the onerous task of conducting election in Nigeria, conducted election into the office of the Governor of Lagos State on April 11, 2015. In the said election, the fourth Cross-Respondent was the flag bearer of the Cross-Appellant, All Progressives Congress, (APC): a registered political party in Nigeria. The second Cross-Respondent, Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), another registered political party in Nigeria, had the first Cross-Respondent as its standard bearer during the election. At the end of the election exercise, the third Cross-Respondent, INEC, via the fifth Cross-Respondent, declared and returned the fourth Cross-Respondent as the winner of the election. The first and second Cross-Respondents were displeased with the result of the election. Hence, on 30th April, 2015, they beseeched the trial tribunal, by dint of a petition, and solicited for the some reliefs. In expected reactions, the Cross-Appellant and the fourth Cross-Respondent and the third and fifth Cross-Respondents filed their respective replies which joined issues with the petition. At the closure of pleadings, the petition and replies, the Cross-Appellant brought an application, wherein it entreated the trial tribunal to strike out or dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction on the grounds that:

    1. The petition was incompetent having failed to state any grounds recognised by law for presenting the petition and which grounds ought to be struck out brevi manu;
    2. While grounds (a) and (b) contained in Paragraph 13 of the petition are completely unknown to the Electoral Act, ground (c) contained on page 14 of the petition is a pre-election matter in respect of which the Tribunal has no jurisdiction;
    3. The petitioners did not meet all the conditions precedent to present the petition.

    The first and second Cross-Respondents, stoutly, registered their opposition to the application. Prior to hearing of the petition, exactly on 26th June, 2015, owing to the incompatible stands of the counsel for the parties, the trial tribunal had ruled that all the notices of preliminary objections and motions “shall be heard and determined in the pre-hearing session”. Sequel to that, the trial tribunal consolidated the Cross-Appellant’s application with other preliminary objections and fused their hearing. In a considered ruling, delivered on 1st July, 2015, the trial tribunal struck out the petition. The first Cross-Respondent was aggrieved by the decision and appealed against it in Appeal No. CA/L/EP/Gov/744/2015. This cross-appeal is the Cross-Appellant’s expression of its dissatisfaction with some parts of the decision.

    In the Cross-Appellant’s brief of argument, it distilled two issues for determination to wit:

    1. Whether the Tribunal was right in its decision when, having held that Paragraph 14 of the petition is a challenge against the nomination of the 4th Cross-Respondent, still went ahead to hold that the said Paragraph 14 of the petition is valid ground for presenting a petition.
    2. Whether the Tribunal did not err in law when it held that Paragraph 13(b) of the petition, which complained of “Irregularities in respect of the use of the card reader during the election”, is a ground recognised under Section 138(1)(b) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).

    All the Cross-Respondents, who filed briefs of arguments, adopted the two issues formulated by the Cross-Appellant.

     

    Arguments on the issues

     

    Learned counsel for the Cross-Appellant submitted that Paragraph 14 of the petition raised issue of nomination which was a pre-election for which the High Court or Federal High Court, not the trial tribunal, had jurisdiction. He referred to Sections 177(C) and 182(1) of the Constitution, as amended. He added that Section 85(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended, could not add or subtract from the qualification on those provisions. He relied on INEC v. MUSA (2003) 3 NWLR (Pt. 806) 72; (2003) LPELR-1515(SC) for the submission. He noted that the Constitution allowed the National Assembly to legislate on election matters in its Section 184(a)-(c), not the issue of giving 21 days notice of convention to INEC. He stated that the only situation where valid nomination could become part of qualification was as contained in Section 187(1) of the Constitution. He posited that the word “shall” in Section 85(1) of the Electoral Act should be construed as “may” because it had no sanction. He relied on Ifezue v. Mbadugha (1984) NSCC, Vol. 15, 15; (1984) LPELR-1437(SC), Monye v. PTFTM (2002) 15 NWLR (Pt. 789) 209; Section 85(2) of the Electoral Act for the point. He explained that valid nomination would be pertinent in a lawful exclusion from an election. He cited Section 138(1) (d) of the Electoral Act for the view. He noted that invalid nomination qualified as pre-election matter. He cited Dingyadi v. INEC (2011) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1255) 347; (2011) LPELR-950(SC) for the point. He explained that the purpose of Section 177 of the Constitution, as amended, was to avoid independent candidacy and not a basis for presenting petition. He criticised the decision in Wambai v. Donatus (2014) 14 NWLR (Pt. 1427) 223; (2011) LPELR-23303(SC) and distinguished it from the case in hand. He maintained that a person who did not contest a primary election had no locus standi to challenge its outcome under Section 138(1) (a) of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended. He referred to Bewaji v. Obasanjo (2008) 9 NWLR (Pt. 1093) 540 on the relationship between reliefs and locus standi.

    For the first Cross-Respondent, learned counsel contended that for the fourth Cross-Respondent to be qualified, he must be properly nominated under Section 85(1) of the Electoral Act. He insisted that the trial tribunal rightly applied the ratio decidendi in Wambai v. Donatus (2014) 14 NWLR (Pt. 1427) 223; (2011) LPELR-23303(SC). He reasoned that Paragraph 14 of the petition was a ground that could be addressed in the High Court and in a tribunal. He stated that a pre-election matter, like in the case in hand, could constitute a ground to challenge election. He postulated that a political party must comply with the provisions of Section 85(1) of the Electoral Act for its candidate to qualify as a candidate for an election. He explained that the Act was not in conflict with Sections 177 and 182 (1) of the Constitution, as amended.

    On behalf of the second Cross-Respondent, learned counsel aligned with the submission of the counsel for the first Cross-Respondent that the trial tribunal had jurisdiction in respect of Paragraph 14 of the petition.

    For the fourth respondent, learned counsel submitted that Section 85 of the Act could not be regarded as qualification issue as it related to nomination. She added that Wambai v. Donatus (2014) 14 NWLR (Pt. 1427) 223; (2011) LPELR-23303(SC) and Dangana v. Usman (2013) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1349) 50 at 89-90; (2012) LPELR-7827(SC) (CONSOLIDATED) were not applicable to the case. She reproduced Sections 177 and 182(1) of the Constitution, as amended, and persisted that they had covered the field on the requirement for eligibility as a gubernatorial candidate. She noted that sponsorship was not the case of the first and second Cross-Respondents in the trial tribunal and a Court should not make a case for a party. She adopted the submission of the Cross-Appellant who had the locus standi to question his nomination obtained in a primary election.

     

    Resolution of the issues

     

    The Court in determining issue 1 of the appeal considered the provision of Section 138(1) of the Electoral Act. The Court noted that the provision, which has fallen for interpretation in an avalanche of cases, donates to a party a right to challenge an election on any of the listed grounds, see Oshiomhole v. Airhiavbere (2013) 7 NWLR (Pt. 1353) 376; (2013) LPELR-19762(SC). The Court noted that the kernel of the Cross-Appellant’s grievance is that the averment in Paragraph 14 of the Petition amounted to a pre-election matter for which the trial tribunal was stripped of the necessary jurisdiction to entertain it. The Court stated that jurisdiction is the authority a Court or tribunal has to adjudicate over a matter submitted to it. Where a Court is drained of the requisite jurisdiction, its proceedings on a matter, no matter the quantum of diligence, brilliance, sophistry and transparency invested in it, will be trapped in the intractable vortex of a nullity, see Dangana v. Usman (2013) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1349) 50; (2012) LPELR-7827(SC) (CONSOLIDATED), Yar’adua v. Yandoma (2015) 4 NWLR (Pt. 1448) 123; (2014) LPELR-24217(SC. Thus, no Court would cherish indulging in a juridical exercise whose destiny is a nullity and, de jure, a wasted venture. The Court further stated that the provisions of Section 177 and 182 of the Constitution, as amended, explicitly, enumerate the conditions a person must meet in order to be qualified to contest election for the office of a governor of a state, see PDP v. INEC (2014) 17 NWLR (Pt. 1347) 525. The Court held that nomination connotes “appointment, a resolution submitted to the electors that the party named is a candidate for their suffrage for an office named”, see Dingyadi v. INEC (2011) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1255) 347; (2011) LPELR-950(SC). The Court further held that the law has classified nomination and sponsorship as pre-election matters. The Court held further that in the eyes of the law, qualification/disqualification of a candidate for an election is an amphibious incident in that it appertains to pre-election and post-election matters. Put simply, a challenge to qualification/disqualification of a candidate enjoys the status of pre-election and postelection matters, see Gwede v. INEC (supra); Akpamgbo- Okadigbo v. Chidi (No. 2) (2015) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1466) 124. Thus, the law has endorsed the hybrid status of qualification/disqualification of a candidate in an election. The Court then asked which Court has the jurisdiction to entertain a challenge to qualification? The answer the Court held is discernible from Dangana v. Usman (2013) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1349) 50 at 89-90; (2012) LPELR-7827(SC) (CONSOLIDATED).

    The Court held that it flows that the law allots/allocates concurrent jurisdiction to the regular Courts, Federal High Court or High Court, on the one hand, and election tribunal, on the other hand, to adjudicate over qualification/disqualification of a candidate to contest an election. If a party decides to visit the regular Courts for redress, then the law preserves his right to pursue his right beyond the holding of an election, see Ikechukwu v. Nwoye  (2015) 3 NWLR (Pt. 1446) 367. On the authority of Gwede v. INEC (2015) 242 LRCN 138, a party can approach the regular Courts on a pre-election matter even after election provided he acts timeously. The Court noted that the philosophical basis for this hallowed principle of law is to repel any injustice that may be inflicted on parties in electoral process. In sum, the Court held that the first and second Cross-Respondents did not insult the law by incorporating Paragraph 14, which questions the qualification of the fourth Cross-Respondent, in their petition.  The Court dishonoured the inciting and enticing invitation of the Cross-Appellant to ignore the decision in Wambai v. Donatus (2014) 14 NWLR (Pt. 1427) 223; (2011) LPELR-23303(SC) on account of per incuriam. The Court noted only the Supreme Court that is imbued with the jurisdiction to do so.  In the end, the Court resolved issue one against the Cross-Appellant and in favour of the first and second Cross-Respondents.

    The Court noted that the heart of issue 2 is that Paragraph 13(b) of the petition does not qualify as a ground to challenge the election of 11th April, 2015. In considering this issue, the Court situated the Paragraph with the prescription of Section 138(1) of the Electoral with a view to discovering its validity. The Court noted that indisputably, the law mandates parties to election petitions to adhere strictly to statutory forms in drafting their grounds of petitions. The Court noted that the case of Ojukwu v. Yar ‘adua (2009) 12 NWLR (Pt. 1154) 50; (2009) LPELR-2403(SC) lavishly and freely cited by the feuding parties to fetch the favour of the Court, allows a petitioner to “use his own language to convey the exact meaning and purport of the subsection”, at 121, per Tobi, JSC. The Court further noted the authority, also, gives a petitioner the licence to paraphrase the grounds upon which an election can be challenged. The Court held that the content of Paragraph 13(b) does not, in the least, fit into any of the grounds catalogued in the inviolate provision of Section 138(1) of the Electoral Act. Issue 2 was resolved in favour of the Cross-Appellant and against the first and second Cross-Respondents.

    On the whole, having resolved the two issues for and against the Cross-Appellant, the Court held that the appeal was partially-meritorious and succeeds in part. Consequently, the Court allowed the cross-appeal in part. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the portion of the trial tribunal’s decision declaring Paragraph 14 of the petition as competent and triable by it. The Court aside its part of the decision which approved Paragraph 13(b) as a competent ground for presenting the petition. In lieu of it, it struck out the Paragraph 13(b) of the petition on account of incompetence.

     

    • Edited by LawPavilion, LawPavilion Citation: (2015) LPELR-25668(CA)

     

     

  • 2016 CHAN QUALIFICATION: Imenger congratulates players, Salisu

    2016 CHAN QUALIFICATION: Imenger congratulates players, Salisu

    • Craves for more quality players
    • Wishes Oliseh quick recovery

    Lobi Stars Team Manager Banabars Imenger has praised home-based players for qualifying for  the 2016 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Rwanda.

    The Nigerian side forced Burkina Faso to a 0-0 draw in the second leg of the qualifying tie at the Stade du 4 Août, Ouagadougou on Sunday to book a place in the championship.

    The first leg in Port Harcourt a week ago ended 2-0 in favour of the home-based Eagles.

    Coach Salisu Yusuf led the Eagles to Ouagadougou in the absence of the team’s coach Sunday Oliseh who missed the trip due to illness.

    Imenger in a chat with SportingLife expressed confidence in the ability of the team to win the competition  next year.

    “Congratulations to the players and the coaches for making Nigeria proud. They have scaled the first hurdle and they should go ahead to win the cup,” Imenger told SportingLife.

    Imenger charged the coaches to find time to monitor league matches and discover more talents that can help the team achieve their target.

    “It is a new team and now that they have qualified they should prepare well for the tournament. The competition is in February and they have enough time to work on the area where the team is weak and strong.

    “Salisu Yusuf is a local coach and he knows the players very well. He should look for more players in the league. They should not rely on managers or coaches, match commissioners for the selection of players. The coaches should go to the league matches and watch the players .

    “They should not be sentimental about  the selection of players. When they rely on recommendation of people to pick players it is laziness, they should try and choose the players that will help them achieve their target.”

    The ex-international also prayed for the quick recovery of the team’s head coach Sunday Oliseh.

    “I wish him well. I pray that he will recover very quick and come back to continue his job.”

  • Basketball: Olympic qualification still possible – Nnaji

    Basketball: Olympic qualification still possible – Nnaji

    After finishing third at the Afrobasket and failing to qualify automatically for the basketball event of the Rio Olympic Games, D’Tigress coach, Scott Nnaji has stated that the team can still qualify for the Games through the Olympics Qualifying Tournament (OQT).

    At the end of the Afrobasket in Cameroon at the weekend, the  winners, Senegal secured the automatic ticket to the Olympics, while second place and their place finishers, Cameroon and Nigeria booked their tickets to the OQT, Which will involve teams from other parts of the world.

    However,Nnaji’s spirit is not dampened about the prospect of facing European teams at the tournament, saying that his team has the wherewithal to play against top sides at the event.

    “The Olympic qualifying tournament is another chance for the team to fight for a ticket to Rio. It would have been good if we had qualified automatically, however, finishing third has given us another opportunity to continue our battle for an Olympic place.

    “The men’s team, D’Tigers did it once and hopefully, we can make it happen considering that we have foreign-based players, who understand the European style of play,” Nnaji added.

    Speaking on the team’s experience at the African Games (AG) in Congo Brazzaville and the Afrobasket, Nnaji commended the players for giving their best and proving that there is future for basketball in the country.

    The coach also lamented that going straight for the Afrobasket after a grueling outing in Brazzaville took its toll on the players in Cameroon and noted it would have been different if they had few days to rest before the tournament.

    “Most of the teams, including mine, were tired after the AG and it became more strenuous for the teams that advanced far in the competition. The Cameroonians who beat the Nigerian team in the semi final couldn’t give a good showing in the finals against Senegal, while the Malians, who won at the AG, failed to make an impact,” he added.

    Nnaji also blamed the referees for not finishing the tournament the way they started, questioning some of the calls in the semi finals game. “When you play the host at that crucial stage of the tournament, you expect a tough duel, but the referee did not help our course with their questionable officiating.”

    The coach, however, assured that the team would be ready to play at the OQT. Apart from Cameroon and Nigeria, others that have made it to the OQT are Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela (Americas), China, Korea (Asia), France, Spain, Belarus, Turkey (Europe) and New Zealand (Oceania).

  • Much ado about Buhari’s educational qualification

    Much ado about Buhari’s educational qualification

    The ruling Peoples Democratic Party has been unrelenting in its claim that the All Progressives Congress (APC) standard bearer – Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) – lacks the educational wherewithal to seek election as President. But a. Emeritus Professor of Science and Civil-Military Relations, Prof J ‘Bayo Adekanye, says the former Head of State is more than qualified.  Prof Adekanye, who is a Fellow, Social Science Academy of  Nigeria, insists the fuss is unnecessary and that those lacing their argument with constitutional provisions misread the Statute Book. 

    Over the last one month or  so, the news media, including the various social media platforms, have been inundated with the controversy over whether or not the presidential candidate of the opposition party,  Gen. Muhammadu Buhari possesses the minimum educational qualification to run for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the impending February 14 elections.

    The controversy reached its crescendo over  the weekend when  a legal practitioner, who is a top member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  campaign organisation  called a world press conference to publicise the matter about this alleged “certificate scandal.”

    Ordinarily, as a thorough-bred academic, and not given to intervening in patently partisan political debates, this writer would have kept quiet and allowed the political process, including waiting for the Supreme Court, ultimately, to pronounce on the matter. But the obligation one feels he/she owes to the Nigerian public as a whole, makes it incumbent upon one to share one’s knowledge and expertise regarding the matter.

     

    Allegation unconstitutional

     

    I submit that the so-called non-possession of educational qualification up to “School Certificate level or its equivalent” allegation against Gen Buhari is a non-issue for the next month’s elections, as the allegation is incorrect, not sufficiently constitutionally informed, and therefore irrelevant to the campaign for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the elections.

    The reasons for asserting this are as follows:

    Firstly, whereas the retired General  might not have possessed a Secondary School Certificate but obtained OCS Mons qualifications from England before being commissioned into the Nigerian Army officer corps, and whereas all Nigerian Army officers of his generation and those before him, who had attended Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot, United Kinddom (UK), were also most unlikely to possess Secondary School Certificate (and in sharp contrast to their counterparts, who having gone to Sandhurst, UK, were in all, likelihood to have had Secondary School Certificate), this does not mean that, through attendance at courses and training in other recognised institutions in the course of their professional career, such officers had not subsequently added other educational qualifications that placed them way beyond the level of the Primary  School Leaving Certificate holder.

    Secondly, Buhari’s entry into the Nigerian Army Officer Corps (combatant), coincided with the time of introduction of the quota system of selection (May 1961), which was intended among other things, for accommodating some of the lesser-qualified candidates from the North, rather than have the officer corps dominated wholly by candidates from the South.

     

    Standard in military

     

    Before 1961, Nigeria had maintained considerably high educational standards for selection into the army officer corps. Up to that year, a potential officer was required to possess the minimum academic qualifications of credits in four subjects, including English Language, at the West African School Certificate level, or for their equivalent four ordinary passes at General Certificate of Education (GCE, London). It was also during that period that there were recruitment for “combatant commissions.” The six university graduates to be recruited into the officer corps were:  Chuckwumeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Victor Banjo, Olufemi Olutoye, Emmanuel Ifeajuna, Oluwole Rotimi and Adewale Adegboyega.

    After May 1961, however, and with the introduction of the quota system, the alternative qualification of Teachers’ Grade II Certificate, or the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), Stage II Certificate, was stipulated, obviously to accommodate some of the lower-qualified Northern candidates; although, as it turned out, candidates from the South also benefitted from the considerable lowering of standards that resulted from operation of the quota system.

    The practice of recruiting graduates into the corps was discontinued by the Alhaji Tafawa Balewa government. And that was the situation for many years after the Civil War (1967-70).

     

    Military trainings not for dropouts

     

    are Thirdly, by the end of 1960, when Nigeria gained independence, the Nigerian Army had as many as 17 members of the emergent national officer corps, possessing Mons OCS qualification or its equivalent. Among the senior officers (combatant) of retired Gen Buhari’s generation or the generation a little before who, like him, had had Mons qualifications or their equivalent were: Olusegun Obasanjo, Olu Bajowa, Joseph Garba, Ibrahim Babangida, George Innih, David Mark, Mohammed Sani Sami, and Sani Abacha. Among the Army’s senior officers (combatant) of retired Gen Buhari’s generation or the generation a little before him, who had gone and passed through the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst (RMAS) training or the equivalent, were: Chuckwuma Nzeogwu, Yakubu Gowon, Illiya Bissala, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Murtala Mohammed, Alani Akinrinade.

    Of course, apart from the university graduates given “combatant commissions” already referred to, there were those who, having been recruited from the other professions  and commissioned into the various technical arms and support services such as medical cum dental, signals, electrical and mechanical engineering, teaching, accountancy and law, would have come in with much higher academic and professional qualifications. Officers in the latter category, who went into the armed forces medical corps for example, included Henry Adefope and Adeniyi Austen-Peters.

    But it would be disingenuous to claim that any of these categories of officers, particularly those with OCS Mons qualification or its equivalent, did not have educational qualification that went beyond the Primary School Leaving Certificate level, especially if they had spent more than 20 years in service and risen through the ranks from the first and second lieutenant grade through captain and major to colonel and brigadier and ultimately to general.

     

    Self development after retirement

     

    TrainingIs it impossible that a retired general of Buhari’s generation or the generation before his, having initially possessed OCS Mons type certification or its equivalent at the entry-point of gaining a commission, would have even after retirement, obtained additional educational qualifications such as diploma from one college/accredited institution or the other, a university degree, masters, or even a PhD. This is best illustrated by the most celebrated case of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, an initial ex-Mons graduate, retired general since 1979, and subsequent holder of a number of higher degree certificates including one Diploma and a Masters from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). He is currently registered as a PhD candidate at the country’s premier University of Ibadan (UI), Ibadan, Oyo State. He is an accomplished author, two-time  head of state (including being the first President of the Federal Republic in second post-military restoration era), and a world statesman, besides being a successful and big-time farmer.

    Fourthly, while in service, Buhari had added to his vita other educational and professional qualifications, through attendance of numerous training courses. He had also written a number of promotion examinations to earn his advancement from lower-officer cadre (beginning from cadet, second and first lieutenant) through the middle ranks (captain, major) up to the rank of colonel (that is, if we discountenance with his promotion from colonel through brigadier to general.

    In fact, a cliché from the civil-military relations literature has it that in peacetime, there is no real criterion for measuring a soldier’s ability especially after the level of colonel, since promotion after that level is inclined to be by seniority, tempered by sycophancy and nepotism.

    Besides, in the Nigerian case, by the time Gen. Buhari reached the rank of colonel, most issues about promotion as well as retirement within the Army, especially after the level of colonel, tended to be regulated by largely political considerations.

    Since his retirement from the force, Gen. Buhari has had many honours, distinctions and awards conferred upon him for various meritorious services.

    Apart from the steady rise he enjoyed in his military career to the topmost rank of full General and the many key command posts he held in the Army from 1963/64 up to July 1975, the previous political positions, combined with military appointments, which Gen Buhari had held to-date, include having been Military Governor, Northeastern State of Nigeria (August 1975 – March 1976); Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources (March 1976 – June 1978); Military Secretary, Army Headquarters (July 1978 – June 1979); Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces (December 1983–August 1985); Member, Council of State, being one of the country’s highest advisory bodies (since August 1985 and till date); and Chairman, Petroleum Trust Fund (1995 – 1998).

    Although most of these appointments, particularly the last set, could be described as political and as having been made and received under a period of military rule, there can be no disputing that schedule of duties involved would have required of any occupant of those positions and offices to possess considerable experience and judgment, as well as the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English Language, plus the possession other qualifications beyond the level of Primary Six School Leaving Certificate. Would anyone say Gen Buhari did not possess even these minimal qualifications? But ultimately, is the combination of qualities as earlier  stated, not what the educational requirement prescribed for election to the office of the President reduces to?

    The latter set of questions, arising from the fourth point just made, leads naturally to the fifth and last observation, which perhaps, is also the most crucial point that I must make for capping the foregoing counter-argument of my intervention in the debate regarding the alleged “certificate scandal”.

    It is that Gen Buhari more than satisfies the constitutionally stipulated educational criteria requiring him as a candidate to have “been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent”. For, although Article 131 (d) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) states among other requirements for election as President that “a person shall be qualified for election to the office of President” if she/he “has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent”, that provision is not meant to be taken in the literal sense or taken out of context, but rather interpreted according to the meaning originally intended by framers of the Constitution. The meaning of the phrase “School Certificate level or its equivalent” is to be found in the Interpretation, Citation and Commencement part of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which begins from Part IV, Article 318 (1), and is meant to have been read alongside Article 131(d).

     

    Constitutional interpretation

     

    In that Interpretation, part of the Constitution can be found defined what the framers of the Constitution meant and intended by that provision, which ought to be read by anyone seeking a fuller understanding of the phrase regarding “School Certificate or its equivalent”.

    Curiously, I have not seen or heard anyone make reference to this part of the Constitution in the raging controversy regarding Buhari’s alleged “certificate scandal”.

    To quote from Part IV, Article 318 (1) of the Interpretation section of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) expressing the meaning given by the framers in full, then, by the constitutional provision in Article 131(d) requiring any candidate for election to the office of President to have “been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent”, the framers of the Constitution are understood to have meant the possession of any of the following credentials:

    “(a) a Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, or Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or

    (b) education up to Secondary School Certificate level; or

    (c)  Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and –

    (i)         service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for a minimum of ten years, and

    (ii)        attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable  to the Independent National Electoral Commission for periods totaling up to a minimum of one year, and

    (iii)       the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English Language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission; and

    (d) any other qualification acceptable by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

    Thus, constitutionally, the ultimate test about Gen Buhari’s educational qualification rests on whether or not he possesses “Primary Six School Leaving Certificate” plus “the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English Language.” In the raging debate on the matter, one has not heard anyone on the contending side of the argument to state that even this minimum qualification, the retired General does not possess – that is, if we discount everything else about his professional career life, including the Mons OCS qualification; the various tests and examinations he had written and passed in the course of his advancement through the ranks and up to at least the level of colonel; the many courses and training he had attended at home and abroad both while in service and since retirement; all the previous military and political posts held to-date; the sheer experience, and above all, the record of exemplary public service.

    Given all the foregoing, it is hoped that this matter about Gen Buhari’s  non-qualification for election to the Office of the President  will have been finally settled and permanently laid to rest.

    It is in fact a non-issue for campaign purposes and irrelevant to the forthcoming elections.

    Possibly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) authorities, including those working in their legal department, already know this.

  • 2015 AYC: CAF confirm Flying Eagles’ qualification

    The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have confirmed the qualification of Nigeria to the 2015 African Youth Championship in Senegal.

    On Saturday, the Flying Eagles walked over Lesotho in a final qualifying match in Kaduna.

    Lesotho apparently stayed away from the match after they had expressed concerns over the outbreak of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease in Nigeria.

    “We have finally received a letter from CAF informing us that we have qualified for the African Youth Championship next year in Senegal after Lesotho failed to turn up on Saturday,” Flying Eagles secretary Aliyu Auwal Ibrahim said.

    “As a result of this decision, the team have been decamped on Monday and will resume in line with the coach’s build-up programme for Senegal 2015.”

    Hosts Senegal and Nigeria have thus qualified for the eight-team tournament, while six other countries will book their passage in a fortnight after first leg qualifiers were staged at the weekend.

    The top four teams at the 2015 AYC in March will qualify for the 2015 FIFA U20 World Cup in New Zealand.

  • FIFA U17 World Cup… Manu promises qualification

    FIFA U17 World Cup… Manu promises qualification

    Golden Eaglets’ coach, Manu Garba has promised that Nigeria will go past the group stage at the forthcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

    Eaglets were placed in Group F alongside Iraq, Mexico and Sweden after the official draw on Monday.

    And Garba is very sure his boys will go past the hurdle of his group opponents to advance to the next stage when the competition gets underway.

    “With all sense of humility, we would do our best to qualify from this group because it is our aim to do well at the World Cup. We are not going to underrate any team starting from our first game against Mexico.

    “Though Sweden and Iraq are coming to the tournament for the first time, we cannot dismiss them too because every team at any tournament comes with the prospect to emerge champions. So, we just have to take one step after the other in order to realise our ambition at the World Cup,” he added.

    The Nigerian U-17 team will play the Group F with their centre in Al Ain at the Championship taking place between October 17 and November 7.

     

  • Society and its obsession with paper qualification (2)

    For a well educated citizenry is of great advantage to any nation particularly a developing one like ours. Besides the skills acquired, formal education broadens the mind, opening it to a world full of new possibilities and vistas. It also emboldens, as it gives one the confidence to face life boldly and the ability to cope with the challenges of a modern world. Perhaps it’s for all these reasons that there’s the saying, ‘An educated mind is difficult to enslave’.

    But the reality is that not every one can have a university degree. And this has nothing to do with class or elitism but the issue of ability. Academic work is for serious minds with the intellectual and mental capacity to cope with the rigors of academia. Not everyone has that capacity and it’s not because they are not intelligent. Perhaps, their talent lie in other areas, such as in creating things with their hands or inventing stuff that can be of benefit to society. Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world was a university drop out. He left Harvard to pursue his dream of making computers that would have a profound impact on the world in the field of info tech and communication.

    What his story shows is that a degree is not the only road to success in life. There are other routes to achieving something with one’s allotted time on earth. But in our society, most people have been brainwashed to believe that the only way to a successful life is by getting a degree from a higher institution. It doesn’t matter how you acquire the degree; just get it and your way through life will be paved with gold.

    That is why many do all sorts including cheating, buying exam questions, paying invigilators to look the other way and all kinds of exam malpractices and scams to get admission into the university. Sadly, some misguided parents even aid their children in this cheating game. The JAMB exams is a case in point. Yearly, we hear of candidates who scored very high marks in the exam but fail woefully in the post-UME that some universities organise to as a lecturer friend put it, ‘separate the wheat from the chaff.’ Despite that, some academically deficient candidates still manage to smuggle their way in and the result of this is that our campuses all over the country are filled with all sorts of students, many of whom have no business being there in the first place. Unable to cope with tough academic work, they pay their way through school by settling some crooked lecturers in ‘cash or kind’.

    And by the time they graduate and enter the real world, it’s the society that now bears the brunt of this mess. Most are largely unemployable and barely literate like the ‘graduate’ of Electrical Engineering posted to a bakery for his primary assignment for the NYSC programme. And there are many like him out there. What this means is that the piece of paper that the degree is written on is worthless if it cannot be defended by whoever owns it. It’s what is in the brain that matters, not some paper.

    Many observers have thrown up their hands in frustration, stating that the situation, like many things that have gone wrong in our society, is beyond redemption. I still believe that something can be done. First, this fixation or obsession with degree acquisition needs to change. Those without university qualifications shouldn’t be made to feel inferior or lesser human beings, that there’s something wrong with them or they are not good enough. Every child came into this world with a skill or talent which can be nurtured in different ways and not by the four walls of a Uni alone. That is why there used be technical or vocational and skills training centres in the past. But many of these are no longer functioning because everyone now wants to be a university graduate even if they have to ‘buy’ the degree and cannot defend it if called upon to do so.

    Our educational policy needs an overhaul with less emphasis placed on paper qualification and more on skills acquisition.

    And in the long run, is it not better to acquire a skill that will be useful to one throughout his life time rather than ‘getting’ a degree through dubious means that one can’t even use to get a job? There are so many unemployed and unemployable graduates these days some of whom have spent as long as ten years or more seeking non-existent jobs. Some, out of frustration and to meet up with their peers take to criminal activities like armed robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking and others.

    Perhaps, it might be late for those who have already graduated with their dubious degrees but for the young ones still at the foundation school level and the future generations, something can still be done so we don’t keep producing too many deficient ‘graduates’ with degrees that are useless to them and the society at large.

    •Concluded

     

  • Edo: Why Airhiavbere can’t challenge my qualification – Oshiomhole

    Edo: Why Airhiavbere can’t challenge my qualification – Oshiomhole

    Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday explained why the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Charles Airhiavbere cannot challenge his educational qualification.

    Oshiomhole said Airhiavbere lost the opportunity to do because it is not contained as a ground in his (Airhiavbere) petition against his victory.

    Since he did not specifically raise the issue, the governor said the apex court should not allow the petitioner to ambush him by raising the issue in his argument.

    Oshiomhole spoke through his legal team led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) at the hearing of his appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Benin, Edo, which ordered fresh hearing of Airhiavbere’s petition.

    On the governor’s legal team are Ricky Tarfa (SAN), Niyi Akintola (SAN), Femi Falana (SAN), Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN).

    Adopting his written address, Olanipekun said there was no basis for the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

    According to him, the petitioner grounded his petition on corrupt practice and none compliance with the Electoral Act 2010, but not on Oshiomhole’s non qualification.

    Besides, he berated the petitioner/respondent for asking the tribunal to declare him as the winner of the election after claiming that the election was invalid.

    He wondered why Airhiavbere wants to benefit from an exercise he claimed was fraudulent.

    Olanipekun pointed out that the Respondent is challenging results in only five of the 18 local governments.

    Responding, counsel to Airhiavbere, Chief Efe Akpofure (SAN) asked the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgment of the lower court.

     

     

  • Obuh promises 2013 AYC qualification

    Obuh promises 2013 AYC qualification

    Coach John Obuh has promised that the Flying Eagles will qualify for next year’s AYC in Algeria after they drew 1-1 with South Africa in Nelspruit on Friday.

    The Flying Eagles are the defending African champions having won the 2011 competition in South Africa and they maintained an unbeaten record in the qualifying tournament for the 2013 edition after they fought back from a goal down to tie with a good and spirited Amajita of South Africa.

    The return leg match will be played on Sunday, October 7, in Ilorin with the overall winners advancing to the eight-nation AYC in Algeria in March.

    “It won’t be an easy game in Ilorin against a good and fast South African team, but we will qualify. I’m okay with the draw in South Africa as well as the overall performance of the team. We gave away the ball rather easily at the beginning, but we later settled down and took the game to them,” declared Obuh.

    Six-time African champions Nigeria will be the favourites to beat their South African counterparts in Ilorin, but Obuh warned that playing in front of the home fans would not count for much against a good team.

    “These days there isn’t such a thing as home advantage because a good team can play anywhere and win. Football has changed and so we can’t relax to ensure we finish off the job in Ilorin.”

    Amajita coach Solly Luvhengo said after the draw at the magnificent Mbombela Stadium that they were up against a very good Nigerian team, but will still hope to get a result on the road to reach Algeria 2013.

    “We played against a very good side, who showed they are the defending African champions. We had a chance to score at least two goals early in the game, we put them under pressure, but could not really hurt them,” Luvhengo remarked.

    “However, Nigeria came back at us, we took the pressure, but I was disappointed we let in a goal even though at that moment Nigeria deserved a goal. The return leg in Nigeria will be very difficult, but we will fight there. They are a good team but we will fight them. We just need to score in Nigeria and the pressure will be back on Nigeria. That is our target.”

    The South Africans will play on an unfamiliar astro turf pitch, but the coach insisted it will enhance and not affect their passing game.

    “It’s very good that we are playing on such a pitch, at least it won’t be bumpy pitch,” he reasoned.