The Nation Newspaper

Tag: system

  • Set to make his mark in life

    A FRESH graduate of Covenant University in Ota, Ogun State Kenechukwu Mbanisi has invented a robot manipulator. The Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduate said the device could be used to manipulate materials without direct contact. It’s Kenechukwu’s final year project at the university. He said the project was inspired by his desire to create industrial applications that are not repetitive and tedious.

    “Given the rising human reliance on robots for industrial applications, as engineering student, I attempted to carry out a proper design of a robot manipulator in order to obtain efficient execution of any task. The aim is to describe, analyse and construct a prototypical pick-and-place three-DOF robot manipulator,” he explained.

    Recounting how he came about the initiative, Kenechukwu said he started nursing the passion for robotics during his stint as an intern with an engineering firm in Dubai, where he served as a technical assistant. “I got exposed to robotic applications for repetitive functions in manufacturing industries and I was able to understand the relevance of robots in the industry. I studied their operational structure and worked for several manufacturing clients. This gave me the opportunity to understudy these machines in elaborate measures,” he stated.

    For over six months, Kenechukwu focused on ways to develop kinematic design and model of the manipulator as well as the mathematical analysis required. On completion, he and his partner, Samuel Majekodumni, developed a three-dimensional model of the robot, based on the application specifications. Later, they constructed a robot manipulator that could carry out “pick and place” application, a common application in the manufacturing industry. The duo chose Poly-methyl methacrylate, commonly known as plexiglass, as material for the construction.Explaining their choice of material, Kenechukwu said: “Plexiglass is a transparent thermoplastic often used as a lightweight or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. We chose this material for its ease of machining and aesthetic features.” He noted that the robot worked without human intervention, due to the embedded system designed within that allows the robot to be aware of its environment.

    Any challenge? Kenechukwu and Samuel contended with myriad challenges, including sourcing the components, actuators and servo motors. “We encountered a lot of problems in the course of actualising our vision. Most of the materials had to be sourced abroad because the specification we desired was not available in the country,” he explained.

    CAMPUSLIFE sought to know what kept the inventor going despite challenges, he said: “I believe that Information Technology is the future of Africa. I want to be a leading light for transforming the technological fortunes of the nation. This is just a tip of the iceberg.”

    He added that plans were already in top gear to embark on more research in robotics and development of sophisticated machines that would make manufacturing machines more efficient.

    During the presentation of the project, Kenechukwu said a customised robot work environment was constructed using field sensors as eyes for the robot to identify objects in the workspace. The testing of the manipulator was successful as it identified an object within a workspace, picked it and placed it in the predetermined position. He added that future research would involve increasing the degree of freedom of the robot and making it more sensitive to a changing environment with the aid of sensory systems.

    The young inventor said his new discovery would open a vista in robotic applications in Nigeria. He said: “I believe Nigeria is ripe for this sort of discoveries and I want young people to join the trend and reap from the technological revolution.”

    Kenechukwu told CAMPUSLIFE: “The project was inspiring for me and I kept learning new things every step of the way. I thank God for enabling me see the end of it. At the moment, the robot manipulator is at the university and it is ready for exhibitions.”

     

  • ‘Efficient public procurement system will curb corruption’

    ‘Efficient public procurement system will curb corruption’

    One of the easiest means of perpetrating corruption is through the award of contracts. The fact that billions of naira have been stolen in the name of contracts shows a failure of the public procurement system, experts have said.

    “Corruption has its roots in procurement and award of contracts,” emeritus professor of Law and former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Ayo Ajomo said.

    He was among speakers at NIALS’ Fourth Diaspora Scholars Lecture held in Lagos. It had the theme: Entrenching fairness and the rule of law in Public Procurement: Reflections and Lessons from South Africa.

    This year’s lecture was delivered by Prof Patrick Osode of the Nelson R. Mandela School of Law, University of Fort Hare, South Africa.

    Ajomo said he was on a United Nation’s (UN) panel in the 80s, which studied award of public contracts in Nigeria. Major contractors of the world were interviewed.

    “It was discovered that Nigerians have a propensity to own foreign accounts. And before any discussions are held on contracts, they ask contractors to pay money into those accounts,” he said.

    He blamed the government for treating corruption with kid gloves, decrying the fact that high-profile conviction for graft remains low despite heavy looting by public officials.

    Ajomo said rather than jail high-status persons found guilty of corruption, anti-graft agencies enter plea-bargain arrangements with them, thereby encouraging rather than deterring official sleaze.

    “Of all the nations in the world, Nigeria is the most notorious for keeping money in foreign accounts,” Ajomo lamented

    Osode said Nigeria’s performance is mediocre in governance and public procurement, adding that corruption makes it impossible to “mobilise the faith of the citizens, especially youth, around the Nigerian dream.”

    The effect, he said, is damage to the national brand and continuing dent to the society’s moral fibre.

    “When I hear that public funds are found in the basement of a public servant, it breaks my heart,” Osode said.

    He said through the 10 years he served as Dean of Law in his university, he never “saw” a Rand (South African money) out of the faculty’s budget.

    Osode said a poor public procurement system manifests in willingness of Nigerian families to tolerate illicit use of public funds by relatives.

    It is also evident in general lack of genuine respect for the law, legal institutions and public functionaries.

    “There is abnormal and inexhaustible appetite for conspicuous consumption and wealth accumulation by Nigerian elites,” Osode said.

    He said one way to ensure an efficient procurement system is to make it part of the constitution, as South Africa did.

    In the South African Constitution, public procurement is directly and indirectly stated, such as in Section 217 known as the Procurement Clause, Osode said.

    “Public institutions and functionaries are specifically mentioned as being bound by that section.

    “It is also justice-able, as no other law can supercede public procurement laws because it is in the constitution.

    “That way, public procurement is capable of being deployed on a mission of nation-building through the enhancement of social inclusion, which should in turn lead to greater levels of transparency,” Osode said.

    The law professor called for a review of Nigeria’s public procurement laws to remove the provision for administrative review which whittles down the influence of the court in such matters.

    “Administrative review is problematic. It confers quasi-adjucatory responsibility to the authorities.

    “The Administrative review indirectly insulates the tender process from judicial review, which hampers the growth of legal jurisprudence. Administrative review should be jettisoned,” he said.

    According to him, meaningful development will continue to elude Nigeria until its public procurement system is made effective.

    “If we are to increase the pace of development and restore public trust and confidence in the state, the quality of governance in public procurement will have to be improved sooner rather than later.

    “Therefore, effect amendment of the 1999 Constitution to incorporate public procurement as has been done by Kenya in its 2010 Constitution. Eliminate administrative review.

    “The effectiveness of the public procurement-related laws and institutions will depend on Nigeria’s successes in creating a socio-political environment that is conducive to the rule of law.”

    Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement, Mr Emeka Ezeh, represented by Dr Akanmu, said the Public Procurement Act (2007) empowers the bureau to regulate the entire process of public acquisition of goods, works and services.

    Their duty, he said, involves identifying the need and source of fund, and letting people know through advertisement that the government or its agencies want to make an acquisition.

    “The bid must be examined technically and financially. The winner of the bid should be the lowest evaluated, responsive bidder.

    “For any bidding firm to be responsive, it must be a legal entity,” Ezeh said.

    Professor of Law at NIALS, Paul Idornigie, decried the fact that since 2007, the National Council on Public Procurement, which should guile the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), has ceased existing.

    NIALS Director-General Prof Epiphany Azinge (SAN) said the purpose for establishing the Diaspora Lecture – to bring back the best brains abroad – was being achieved.

    “We are attaining the objectives and the goal of engaging people in the Diaspora. The lecture is a way of bringing our best brains home to make useful recommendations on how to move the country forward in various spheres.

    “Osode has been out for 25 years and this is the first time he is coming back home. We keep looking out for our colleagues across the globe.

    “They need to be brought back to contribute to the country’s development. We are achieving that objective through this forum, which is like an instrument to chart a path, so that our people, wherever they are, can be useful to the country.

    “We will, in conjunction with the relevant authorities, work to implement all the recommendations that flow from the lectures. If we can do that successfully, we will have achieved our aims.”

     

  • Risk managers advocate reform of legal system

    Risk managers advocate reform of legal system

    In recognition of the challenging security situation and the serious implications for the socio-economic and political development of Nigeria, the Risk and Insurance Managers Society of Nigeria (RIMSON) has reiterated the need for the implementation of its communiqué.

    RIMSON President, Mrs. Henry Akwara, disclosed this at the end of their meeting in Lagos.

    According to her, the communiqué seeks a law reform as the penalties for certain crimes are too low to prevent further occurrence.

    They also said there was the need for the government to support insurers to form pools and alliances on terrorism insurance to be able to underwrite the risk as it is the case in United States, United Kingdom and France.

    Besides, Akwara said there was need for synergy between Risk Managers, stakeholders and security agencies, where information is exchanged and worked upon to minimise security risks.

    She stated that rates of premium chargeable should be commensurate with the nature of the risks to be covered and there should be leverage on international brokers for cover at Lloyds on per risk basis (for large risk) while the local insurers’ retentions should be minimal regardless of the sum insured.

    She noted that response time in emergency situations is at present poor hence it should be improved upon.

    Also, “Security agencies should be insulated from undue political interference while government should sustain professionalisation of security services through improved training, strategic and tactical focus, intelligence gathering, increased numerical strength of security personnel, provision of additional logistics and requisite weaponry.

    “The risk managers also want clear policy guidelines on treatment of security risks like clarity of purpose and objectives,” she said.

    “Akwara further said that the communiqué urged the governments to exercise strong political will and commitment to tackle security challenges to logical conclusion, noting that the management of security challenges requires improved data base and effective utilisation.

    She said: “Thee government should concretise and domicile conventions and commitments entered into both at the UN, and AU levels including the evolution of political will to deal with terrorism.

    “We should be pro- active instead of being reactive. Appropriate counter terrorism actions should be taken promptly on intelligence reports. There should be massive campaigns and encouragement of the citizenry to expose criminals. Security agencies and the judiciary should evolve efficient means of proactively discharging their functions to curb criminal and terrorist activities.

    “The government should establish national counter terrorism framework and architecture upon which international support can lean and work with and engage the services of well trained counter terrorism operatives.

    “They should re-activate the disaster management trainees and establish rallying points for managers who should fit into counter terrorism infrastructure, reinforce the protection of national infrastructure against terrorist attacks.”

  • Ekweremadu faults unitary policing system

    The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday described the unitary policing system in the country as inadequate to tackle its security challenges.

    Ekweremadu spoke in Abuja at the opening of the Sixth National Development Summit of Traditional Rulers.

    The lawmaker said the way out of the present high rate of crime, which he described as “unacceptable and regrettable”, was to find ways of engaging the youth and diverting their energies to national development.

    He said insecurity goes beyond unemployment and poverty.

    Said he: “The rise in crime has also brought home the real message in the saying that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Churning out graduates that roam the streets without jobs is like servicing a machine gun and handing it over to the devil for custody.

    “Insecurity is not all about unemployment and poverty as the unitary policing arrangement has proved deficient in manpower, training, motivation and equipment or infrastructure to deal with our security challenges.

    “We must rethink and decentralise the policing system so that our traditional institutions, working with various sub-national police, can play greater roles in mitigating crime and youth restiveness where they exist.”

    Ekweremadu in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu, congratulated the royal fathers for their willingness to key into the youth empowerment strategies of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and the national and international efforts at minimising the causes and harmful effects of climate change.

    He added: “As people who live among and relate with over 70 per cent of the Nigerian population, our traditional rulers are positioned to lead the campaign on climate change.

    “They have the better language to interpret the message to their subjects and the authority to lead the socio-cultural revolution that will arrest practices that are harmful to our ecosystem.”

    The event was attended by hundreds of traditional rulers across the country, including the Chairman of the event, the Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom, His Royal Majesty (HRM), Emmanuel Sidso.

     

     

     

  • PDP wants to foist one party system on Nigeria, alleges CNPP

    The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has said it views the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) covert bid to register the African Peoples Congress (APC) as a bad omen for the country’s democracy.

    A statement signed by CNPP’s National Publicity Secretary, Osita Okechukwu, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to resist the temptation of PDP’s covert move to register the African Peoples Congress, adding that prior to the February 6 date when the All Progressives Congress (APC) was formed, there was no such application with INEC.

    It said PDP’s intention to register African Peoples Congress “is ignoble, subversive and meant to forestall the registration of the authentic APC, based on the flimsy argument that both possess the same acronym.” CNPP said: “PDP’s intention is to foist a one-party system on Nigeria and rule for 60 years.

    “We challenge INEC to publish the names of the promoters of African Peoples Congress. INEC should also investigate the allegation that the proposed APC is being floated by the PDP to foist a one-party system on the country.”

    Former head of state and three-time presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, alleged that INEC was in a merger with PDP to do the latter’s bidding.

    He accused INEC of corruption, among others, adding that the electoral body had not accepted or refuted the allegation.

     

  • Anchor mulls agency system to boost operations

    Anchor Insurance Company Limited has said it will re-invent the agency distribution system to deliver sales targets, improve efficiency and service delivery.

    Its Managing Director, Ademayowa Adeduro, who spoke at the agency’s retreat in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, said the strategy would afford the company the opportunity to reflect on its activities and consolidate on certain areas.

    He said the re-invention would further help the company to develop and publicise its service charter in line with the ongoing reforms.

    Adeduro promised that the company would continue to render world-class services to meet public expectations and also contribute towards the up-liftment of the quality of risks mitigation in the country.

    The company’s Head, Brand Management and Corporate Communication, Mr Kehinde Olaniyi, stressed the relevance of e-business in the industry, saying only about six per cent of the country’s population was insured.

    He said the firm is targeting the uninsured youths who are technology inclined through e-insurance.

    A Technical Consultant to National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Yemi Soladoye, said the agency aspect of insurance in the country, is not developed, and that it is only the brokering channel that has taken root. The brokers focus on the wholesale market, the government’s and the corporate accounts, he added.

    He said the retail market is hardly touched, warning that it is this market that holds the key in Nigeria and that when all chips are down, any insurance company that is not quickly expanding into the retail marketing, would find itself centuries behind because the wholesale market is very small and volatile.

  • Re-thinking Nigeria’s party system

    Re-thinking Nigeria’s party system

    One of the sources of contention in Nigeria’s current political system is the power granted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the constitution to de-register political parties that do not comply with the Electoral Act. In this regard, the commission recently reiterated its determination to ensure that parties meet requisite conditions before they are allowed to field candidates for elections. In the words of INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, “It is good to have a multi-party system and to allow as many parties as possible to register but we really need to sanitise the process of registering parties. This will ensure that only the most deserving in terms of programmes, their constitution and their physical presence in states and in localities that are registered”. Ordinarily, Jega’s position may be perceived as restricting the horizons of participatory democracy which many believe was broadened by the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s judicial success in de-regulating the registration of political parties. Those who reason this way see the existence of a multiplicity of parties as an end in itself – a demonstration of rights and an exercise of liberty. However, is there a nexus between a country’s party system and the broader goals of political evolution and national development?

    A legitimate goal in a multi-ethnic, culturally complex polity like ours will be promoting national cohesion as a basis for political stability. It is obvious that a system of limited number of parties will more likely help achieve this than an unrestricted party system. What are the lessons of the June 12, 1993, presidential election regarded as the freest and fairest in the country’s history in this regard? Did the two- party system not play a part in the much celebrated national spread and success of the election – its pan-Nigerian character? Are we giving sufficient attention to the structure and administration of political parties? Arguably this institution is more central to the state than any other; it is the platform on which members of two critical arms of government – the legislature and the executive – emerge. Yet, parties continue to be run in a largely informal manner. This is unlike the Babangida administration’s transition programme during which parties were registered by government and had functional offices at all levels with party officials democratically elected and formally remunerated.

    Of course the idea of trying to ensure that all members of the government created National Republican Convention (NRC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) were ‘equal founders and joiners’ was largely utopian and unrealistic. Individuals have varying degrees of orientation to politics. The degree of an individual’s interest in party activities and public affairs depend on what students of political behaviour describe as a person’s ‘sense of political efficacy’. Some individuals are more willing to expend their time, energy, resources and energy on politics than others. These political personality types are more likely to participate more actively in and have more influence within the party and polity than others. In any case, a fundamental contradiction of the Babangida transition programme was that its Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) was widening social equality at the economic level while its Political Transition Programme (PTP) was seeking to equalize participation and influence in the political sphere! A logical impossibility.

    Yet, the institutionalization of a more formal party system with specified boundaries will demonstrably have a beneficial impact on the political system and there can be no better example than the celebrated June 12 presidential election. During the IBB transition programme, I was one of those who criticised the NRC and SDP as nothing but artificial parties and government parastatals. We attributed their quick capitulation after the annulment of the election to the fact that they were purportedly ‘inorganic’ parties. But if we follow this logic, why did the purportedly organic parties of the first and second republics – Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), Action Group (AG), Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) – literarily vanish into thin air when they were peremptorily banned by the military usurpers of political power. This is unlike the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, which survived and ultimately triumphed over apartheid after decades of persecution, harassment, torture and outright ban.

    Now, I do not want to be misunderstood. The IBB regime’s annulment of the presidential election exposed the motive behind the highly regimented party system, which created two parties, foisted manifestoes on them and located them by fiat ideologically a little to the right and a little to the left of the regime’s neo-liberal Structural Adjustment Programme. It needed a highly regulated and controlled party system to legitimate and consolidate its extreme deregulation of the economy, which had the consequences of dramatically increasing poverty and inequality. But the outcome of the election and the regime’s inability to contain the implications of the annulment only illustrates what the late Professor Aaron Gana described as ‘the limits of political engineering’. But whatever, its motives the truth is that the regime’s more formal and regulated party system facilitated the best and most pan-Nigerian election in the country’s history.

    The present chaotic party system is ultimately subversive of the national goal of deepening democratic development. it encourages a one-party dominant system where a veritable behemoth in control of the centre since 1999, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), profits from the existence of a multiplicity of largely unviable parties that compound the problems of evolving a cohesive, potent and viable opposition. A fundamental re-thinking of the current dysfunctional party system has become imperative.

    …Welcoming the Dame

    The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, looked quite radiant on her return to the country on Wednesday after a six-week stay in Germany. Her remarks were quite interesting, even impressive in parts. She told us everything that was not wrong with her. She does not have a terminal illness. She did not undergo cosmetic surgery. She did not have a tummy tuck. She was never in hospital. But where was she and why was she there? The nation remains in the dark. She faulted the logic of those who, citing Sani Abacha, Stella Obasanjo and Umaru Yar’Adua, say “that anybody that goes to the Villa or Aso Rock will die”. How about those who went there with their families and came out alive, she asked? Smart thinking. She sounded romantic: “My husband loves me as I am and I am pleased with how God created me, I cannot add to it”. She sounded spiritual: “God has said it all, that when two or three are gathered in His name, that he will be with them.” The Dame sure knows the scriptures. Shout Alleluia somebody! Above all, she sounded presidential: “God has given me a second chance to come and work with women of Nigeria, children and the less privileged. I have come to serve Nigeria. I have come to work with Nigerians. I am there for them”. Pray, who did we vote for? Are we blessed with two Presidents? All the same, it’s nice to have the Dame back. There surely will be no dull moment at the Villa.

  • Has the justice system failed?

    Has the justice system failed?

    The killing of students in Mubi, Adamawa State, soldiers’ alleged reprisal shootings, endless Boko Haram attacks and mob lynching of four undergraduates in Aluu, Rivers State, have left many wondering whether security agencies have run out of ideas on how to tackle insecurity. More worrisome is people taking laws into their own hands due to apparent loss of confidence in the justice system. How can this degeneration be reversed?

     

     

    Has Nigeria lost its war against insecurity? Is the country heading towards a failed state? These and more are some of the questions begging for answers.

    For many lawyers, despite the government’s claim that it is ‘on top’ of the situation, recent happenings say otherwise. News of killings have become a regular part of the menu, daily. Security agencies have been accused of not helping the situation.

    There seems to be no end in sight to security challenges posed by the Boko Haram sect. It was a black Independence Day celebration for inhabitants of Mubi Town, Adamawa State, as unknown gunmen, suspected to be members of Boko Haram, massacred at least 46 persons, mostly students of three tertiary institutions in the town at night.

    More horrific was last week’s lynching of four University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) students at Omuokiri village near the campus. Nigerians were deeply horrified by the depth of barbarism displayed by the mob. To describe the lynching as gruesome and stomach-churning is an understatement.

    Analysts are of the view that the insecurity is indicative of a failed justice system. Is Nigeria turning to a failed state?

    A group, the Human Rights Watch, in a report released last week, catalogued atrocities for which Boko Haram has claimed responsibility. It also explored the role of Nigeria’s security forces, whose alleged abuses contravene international human rights law and may also constitute crimes against humanity. The violence, which first erupted in 2009, has claimed more than 2,800 lives, it said.

    “The unlawful killing by both Boko Haram and Nigerian security forces only grows worse; both sides need to halt this downward spiral,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Nigeria’s government should swiftly bring to justice the Boko Haram members and security agents who have committed these serious crimes.”

    Since 2009, hundreds of attacks by suspected Boko Haram members have left more than 1,500 people dead, according to media reports monitored by the group. In the first nine months of 2012, more than 815 people died in some 275 attacks allegedly carried out by the group – more than in all of 2010 and 2011 combined.

    The government has responded to Boko Haram, which means “Western education is a sin” in Hausa, with a heavy hand. Security forces have allegedly killed hundreds of Boko Haram suspects and other members of the public with no apparent links to the group, in the name of ending the group’s threat to the citizens. But the authorities have rarely prosecuted those responsible for the Boko Haram violence or security force personnel for their abuses.

    During security raids in communities where attacks have occurred, the military have allegedly engaged in excessive use of force and other human rights violations, such as burning homes, physical abuse, and extra-judicial killings, witnesses told Human Rights Watch.

    Hundreds of people have been arrested in raids across the North, but many of them have been held incommunicado without any charge or trial for months or even years. In some cases, they have been detained in inhuman conditions and subjected to physical abuse or death. The fate of many of those detained remains unclear.

    Just last Monday, operatives of the Maiduguri-based Joint Task Force (JTF) reportedly killed up to 30 unarmed civilians and burnt down multiple houses (some reports say at least 50 houses and shops) as well as vehicles in Gwange, Maiduguri. Some of the victims were reportedly burnt inside their houses beyond recognition.

    The soldiers were allegedly protesting the death of a member of the task force and leader of the patrol team and injuries to other members following explosions caused by an improvised explosive devise believed to have been planted by members of the Boko Haram sect.

    The soldiers reportedly stormed Lagos Street, where the incident was said to have occurred, and began shooting sporadically and indiscriminately at residents and motorists. Some reports say the dead were set on fire by the soldiers.

    Condemning this development, a human rights group, Access to Justice (AJ), urged President Goodluck Jonathan and the Chief of Army Staff to arrest the soldiers who allegedly killed innocent persons, describing the killings as horrific.

    AJ, in a statement by its Executive Director, Mr Joseph Otteh, said it was saddened by the reported death of the leader of the patrol team and the injuries caused to members of the JTF. It, however, condemned what it called the mindless, barbaric killings of innocent, unarmed civilians by the soldiers.

    The statement said: “The shootings by the soldiers were mindless, irrational and completely unjustifiable. The soldiers were sent to the streets and communities to protect lives of residents from terrorists, maintain security and order and give residents the confidence to go from their houses and pursue their daily activities without feeling that their lives would be in danger by doing so.

    “To be deliberately targeted by the soldiers drafted to protect them and summarily executed is such unspeakable treachery, savagery and villainy. There was nothing to justify the shooting of unarmed, innocent persons who presented no danger to the members of the task force.

    “Access to Justice urgently calls on President Jonathan and the Chief of Army Staff to arrest the soldiers who perpetrated these acts of horrific barbarism and bring them to account. Government should establish clearly and unequivocally that it will not tolerate the impunity of killing innocent Nigerians arbitrarily or summarily.”

    Opinions differ on how to confront the myriad of security challenges facing Nigeria. The United States (US) has said that the problem would end if the government eradicates poor governance and addresses the rising security force abuses and impunity within the military and police.

    Briefing the US House of Representatives’ Foreign Assistance Committee in Washington DC, the Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, Mr Earl Gast, said poor governance remained an impediment to development and a major trigger for political violence and public discontent.

    He said: “Unless Nigerians begin using their substantial human and natural resources to address these challenges, the destabilising influence of violent extremist groups, such as Boko Haram, as well as inter-communal conflicts in the Middle Belt and Niger Delta, will continue to undermine Nigeria’s aspirations toward development and its desire to play a greater role on the world stage,” he said.

    The shocking lynching of the four students has raised the question of whether the justice system, in which the police plays a critical role, has failed. The video of the killing, which went viral, shows four men stripped naked, with tyres around their necks, being beaten by a mob with wooden sticks, before being set on fire. The students were accused of stealing laptops and mobile phones.

    Some analysts believe inefficiency of the police has led to increase in lawlessness. Nigerian Bar Association President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Okey WAli (SAN) said recent events point to “a state of total systems collapse.”

    “The system has definitely collapsed. A situation where people will parade some suspects some hours before they are eventually killed and there was no intervention from the law enforcement agencies is an obvious indication of the system’s failure.

    “If we have anything called security system in the society, those deaths would have been prevented because, from where those boys were beaten till when they died, from what we heard and read from the papers, there was sufficient time for the police to have intervened,” Wali said.

    On the solution, the NBA President said: “That is why we call for state police because that will lead to better policing and protection of lives and property. It will lead to better policing; it will lead to more intelligence. The police are not well funded; they are not well equipped, so they are unable to match the criminals in the society, whereas if state police is the answer to the problems, so be it. Why not have it?

    “The NBA condemns what has happened. It is a total disgrace to our society, our values or our security system, that those young boys were beaten to death and people were applauding, taking photographs and nothing happened. This cannot happen in any civilised society. It will only happen in a jungle where there is no law to protect the citizens.

    “We have always said, as contained in the 1999 Constitution as amended, that the protection of lives and property is the primary responsibility of government, that is what makes all the difference between civilisation and primitiveness where you have jungle justice as they call it.

    “This has shown clearly that the police have least capacity to handle situation like this. Look at what happened in Mubi, Adamawa State where they had something like gangster trial. People were brought out one by one, selected, those who would be killed were shot and no security man came.

    “Can this happen in a civilised society? Can this type of thing go on for seconds, minutes and hours, yet police do not arrive the scene? This shows that there is no effective policing in Nigeria. The entire policing has failed,” he said.

    On what to do with the police who have the constitutional role of protecting citizens, Wali said: “Obviously, it will need the amendment of the Constitution, and thank goodness we are in the process of amending the 1999 Constitution. An amendment would be needed to introduce state police.”

    Reminded that some states opposed state police, Wali said: “That is the problem of the kind of federation we are running. We are supposed to be in a federation. In a federation, the federating units are at liberty to do what they want to do. The obvious fact is that some people do not need the level of security that others need.

    “So, I can understand those not in dire need of such security not seeing the need for such responsibility because, of course, if we go for state police, it means more expenditure by the states and each state would now need to protect itself.

    “Those who feel protected sufficiently by what is going on now should remain with that and those who want to go ahead with funding and policing of their states should go ahead and do it. That is the essence of a federation,” Wali said.

    A professor of Law and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ado-Ekiti, Akin Oyebode, said Nigeria was becoming a failed state.

    “Nigeria is surely manifesting symptoms of a state of anomie. It is at least a failing state if not indeed a failed state with all the consequences arising therefrom,” he said.

    Former Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate in Kwara State Dele Belgore (SAN) said only a strong and visionary leadership could end insecurity.

    His words: “The degeneration in our values and the high level of insecurity in the country can certainly be reversed with a strong, purposeful and visionary leadership. I have said this several times: we must put the country first, above politics, ethnicity and religion.

    “The arguments on whether we should have state police or not must be viewed from the prism of what is best for our country. The country requires strong institutions within a strong and properly functioning legal framework where the rule of law prevails.

    “Think about it; where there is justice there will be peace and security; where the rule of law prevails, treasury looters will not escape; election riggers will not succeed; public and elected officers will be accountable and the background for development would have been solidly laid.”

    “So, it’s the big picture we should look at and target and then specific problems will be easier to tackle,” Belgore said.

    Prince Adesegun Ajibola (SAN) said: “I think that we have allowed a very bad idea to cultivate for too long and it is now coming near and that is why we now feel we should do something about it and the sooner we do something very serious about it, I think all of us are in trouble. It came too close for comfort, that is why we had all these outcry. Otherwise, no sane society would ever allow such devilish thing to happen in its confines.

    “It should never have been allowed to start, it should never have been allowed to continue to this very bad point of which we are talking about. There is a lot of lessons for us to learn from these incidents. There is a lot of arrangements that need to be put in place to secure our lives. Perhaps the time has come for us to address the issue seriously. It is unfortunate that this heinous events had to happen before we woke up to realise that we are playing with fire.”

    Asked whether state police can assist in curbing the trend, Ajibola said: “I am not too sure that state police is the answer to these event. The force is only as good as its efficiency. We are talking about efficiency here. That is the essence of having a Police Force, not necessarily whether it is state or federal owned. As a way of dealing with the kind of problems we are talking about, I don’t think the absence of a state police has anything to do with it.”

    Constitutional lawyer Fred Agbaje believes state police is the solution. He said: “Whatever the misgivings about state police, it’s still the best option in this season of social malady and extra-judicial killings.

    “Coupled with this anomie is the failure of the justice system, with so many awaiting trial inmates, slow speed of justice delivery, more corruption cases in court and lesser convictions arising from lack of logistics and tools to enhance justice delivery.

    “Absence of good governance and the wicked culture of impunity are cascading our political, economic and social landscape. Mass revolution as witnessed in the Arab world would be a perfect answer,” Agbaje said.

    Executive Director, Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) Mr. Felix Morka said Nigeria is witnessing a tragic escalation in violence.

    “It is a total collapse of our security system. I think it is indicative of what has gone wrong with our security system. But more importantly, it is an expression of the failure of the state and federal government. Nigeria is in a very serious situation when it comes to political leadership at the federal level, the state and the local government level.

    “People can be very surprising. As Nigerians , we gathered around other Nigerians , setting them ablaze, killing them like they are not humans ! Then, people were watching them with their telephones, taking photography of the dastardly act. This indeed showed that our tolerance for inhuman animalistic behavior has really, really increased.

    “It is particularly surprising that nobody intervened. Even I watched and listened to some of the comments that were said by the spectators, it showed they prepared to kill. Throughout the whole incident, where were the police?”

    On how law can be used to combat the spate of violence, he said: “It is so easy. Law is the framework for resolving matters like this. The laws are there in the books but in reality, these laws cannot function without being implemented. People have lost faith in the justice system and in the legal system. Sometimes you go to the police station to complain and you become the criminal when you are supposed to be the victim.

    “So , people don’t know where to go again to get justice. The judiciary is almost like in a coma. Our judiciary has become comatose and they are not able to respond to the needs of the people”

    Rights activist Bamidele Aturu and Otteh described the lynching as unfortunate and outrageous, calling for the prosecution of those behind the dastardly act.

    Otteh said: “These killings are unfortunate, enraging and outrageous. The action of the mob was callous, barbaric and inexcusable. How does anyone justify a mob killing for unproved allegations, such as theft of mobile phones where people are still standing trial for the theft of many billons of naira of public and even pension funds, and no one has lynched them?

    “How do you begin to compare the disparities? Those who carried out these barbarous actions should be sought out and brought to justice. Certainly, the mob may have felt that it was useless taking this matter to the police.

    “Bystanders may have felt there was no point communicating the danger the young men faced to the police as they were being beaten by the mob. Even where the police got a tip-off, it was unlikely they would have responded. Everyday, we see compelling reasons why we must overhaul the police or disband it and start afresh.”

    Aturu said the perpetrators must be brought to justice. “It is an act of barbarism and those behind it must be fished out and tried,” he said, adding that the mob action amounted to a vote of no confidence by a section of the public in the efficiency of the justice system.

    The Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) called for the trial of all those involved. In a statement by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Media Officer, Miss Zainab Yusuf, the group condemned the vicious show of shame demonstrated by the mob.

    “We hereby condemn in totality the show of bestiality, and the crude enforcement by an angry mob of the most irrational and unconstitutional penalty to a group of young Nigerians caught for allegedly offending the law.

    “Nigeria being a nation governed by law and not by the whims and caprices of mobs, HURIWA hereby gives the Federal Government and the River State Government 78 hours to apprehend and prosecute those mass murderers for the dastardly crimes against humanity to serve as a deterrent to other would-be mass murderers in any part of Nigeria.

    “If the Nigerian Government fails to carry out this legal obligation, we will begin a series of campaign in the mass media, drawing the attention of the world to the reign of impunity with government’s tacit approval in Nigeria.”

    However, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, said insecurity would be curbed if all security agencies collaborated.

    Speaking at an event at the Police Service Commission (PSC) at Jabi, Abuja, Abubakar said: “My dream is to lead a police force that will enforce the law of the land, a police force that will not harass and molest the citizens, and a corruption-free force that will ensure that people’s lives and property are well protected. We are working towards these, and by the grace of God, we will achieve it all.

    “Nigeria is a very large country and to fight and reduce crime to the barest minimum, all security agents must work together. We must bury any hatchet or grudges we might have been holding against each other and collaborate against insecurity if the primary aim is to protect lives and property of the citizens.

    “I am using this medium to solicit for the security agencies’ support, assistance, and collaboration to fight the current surge of insecurity in the country,” Abubakar said.

     

  • Strengthening our varsity system (2)

    Strengthening our varsity system (2)

    I am aware that at least once every five years, the Federal Government constitutes Presidential Visitation Panels to all Federal Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education to understudy the state of affairs in these institutions. Membership of the Panels is made up of professionals and distinguished Nigerians who are not involved in the management of the tertiary institutions as either chief executives or council members at the time of their appointment. The purpose of the visitation is to review the performance of the institutions over a five-year period and advise the government accordingly. Their terms of reference cover; condition of physical infrastructures, quality of instruction and instructional facilities, management of finances, and relationship between the management on the one hand and staff and students on the other.

    Based on the Panel’s report, white papers are prepared by the Federal Ministry of Education and forwarded to the institutions’ Governing Councils for implementation after approval by the President. With this process in place, it shows that the government is fully aware of the state of our public universities, but why are things then left the way they were, or even worse than they were before the visitation panels? The simple answer is that these are oftentimes only “white paper” not meant for “implementation” to move the system forward.

    One area that has been a source of friction and concern in our universities is funding. Rather than bemoan the paucity of funds, I would want to see a situation where university administrators widen their horizon and develop creative abilities and legitimate initiative to generate funds to supplement insufficient grants from the government. Universities situated in state capitals are at an advantage here, this is however not to say that those in “rural” areas cannot be creative. This could be through efforts to access research funds from donor and project management finance agencies, collaboration with industries that need the theoretical outcome of researches carried out by the academic community, parent’s contribution, endowments, alumni support and other forms of private sector support.

    Diversifying their resource base will definitely make them less dependent on government subvention, which greatly weakens their capacity to meet their overall mandate. Management strategy is arguably one of the most important things a university employs, enabling all of its core activities of teaching, research and wider social and economic services to be optimally achieved. It involves a thorough knowledge of the institution’s present strengths and weaknesses and making of choices about the future. Good analysis and intelligent choices will ensure the exploitation of opportunities, the avoidance of disaster and improved reputational positioning.

    Apart from poor funding, another serious problem facing our universities is lack of good maintenance culture for the few facilities available. It is high time that the federal and state governments become more concerned in creating conducive environment for learning and research in our universities. Our universities should also rethink their missions, objectives and strategies to turn threats into opportunities if they really want to have a respected position within the global academic community. It is known fact that time plays an important role in the perception of education as an agent of progress and change. Education system of a given society could remain static and stagnant if it does not respond to change as dictated by time. Thus, all the stakeholders should contribute, cooperate and discharge their responsibilities diligently in order to make both our public and private universities globally competitive and locally relevant to the needs of our socio-economic development.

    For quite some time now there have been calls for full autonomy for universities, there are two schools of thought here. Some believe that full autonomy will make managers of the universities proactive; knowing that they have to source funds to pay lecturers’ salaries, improve structures, fund research, cater for students’ welfare etc. Others are of the view that it may be impossible for “backwater” universities to source for funds to pay competitive salaries to attract lecturers.

    This, to me, is where positioning and creativity comes in. A creative and forward looking Vice-chancellor, whether he runs a “backwater” university can position his institution by the level and relevance of the research done in his university. With these, he can source the funds required to run the university, pay salaries, encourage the students, attract scholars, and ensure that scholars are productive. I want to liken the state of our universities to the current trend where all the States run to Abuja to collect their cheques from the federation account without having an inkling on how to move their states forward. This, we can all agree, has killed creativity and led to indolent lifestyles.

    If we are honest with ourselves, we will agree that our university system is currently at a crossroad and incapable of supporting Nigeria’s development. Look around, we have thousands of graduates from our universities every year, but these graduates cannot find jobs because the nation does not presently have an industrial base. Tell me any nation that has made progress without an industrial base, this is where our universities are expected to look inward and explore ways of making graduates productive before they graduate. I believe that there is a direct correlation between the quality of education in a system and the welfare of the people; our welfare is poor because the quality of our education is also poor.

    In basic Economics, we were taught the theory of comparative advantage. This can be transferred to the area of autonomy as well. A University of Port-Harcourt should be strong in the area of Petro-Chemical studies because of its proximity to oil, while an Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University; Bauchi should take up the challenge and find solution to why lead is killing people in Zamfara State because of its close proximity. My point is that universities should invest more in areas of competitive advantage and concentrate on programmes that would be of immense benefit to their immediate environments. In doing this, they can attract funds for their studies from those that will benefit from the outcome of such research.

    I started this piece with how I went to the university tuition free, but times have changed dramatically and today fees has gone up making the issue of autonomy scary because of its close correlation to fees increment that many stakeholders have argued against: Given our present predicament, is there a way that tuition can be free again? This is where we have to make a choice between having an education and paying for it. We should explore creative ways of paying for education that will not kill the students.

    We can borrow a leaf from the United States of America and establish a system for funding education for indigent students who, due to the gradual commercialization of education may not have the opportunity of having a university education. At the college and university level there are avenues for student loan funding which is split in half; half is managed by the Department of Education directly, called the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP). The other half is managed by commercial entities such as banks, credit unions, and financial services firms such as Sallie Mae, under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP).

    There is also the Pell Grant which is money the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor’s degree or who are not enrolled in certain programs, through participating institutions. A Pell Grant is generally considered to be the foundation of a student’s financial aid package, to which other forms of aid are added. The U.S Department of Education uses a standard formula to evaluate financial information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine the student’s expected family contribution (EFC).