The Nation Newspaper

Tag: watchword

  • ‘Make integrity your watchword’

    Lagos Chief Judge, Justice Opeyemi Oke, has absorbed 75 support staff ‘into the judiciary following their training as lawyers.

    She has appointed them as court registrars.

    At a workshop for them  at Peace Hall, Lagos Multi-door Court House, Igbosere, yesterday, she urged them to be fair and do their job with the fear of God.

    Justice Oke enjoined them to stand for what is right at all times and let integrity be their watchword.

    The chief judge said the difference now, as lawyers must be seen leading registrars in each court.

    Her administration, she said, was working to improve justice delivery by infusing into the system, professionalism, relevant skills, qualification and competence in courts.

    Justice Oke admonished the registrars to be efficient.

    She said: “Inefficiency on your part will constitute a clog in the wheels of justice. Judges and magistrates cannot perform their duties of hearing and determining cases without an efficient and functional support staff base, of which you are a major part. Your role is both administrative and legal.”

    Justice Oke said the registrars’ contribution to the smooth running of the court could not be underplayed, urging them to be diligent.

    She said their appointment could be the stepping stone to greater height.

    The training, she said, was to educate them on their role, open them up to what was expected of them in some areas and refresh their memory about what they already knew.

  • Transparency ’ll be our watchword in Plateau

    Transparency ’ll be our watchword in Plateau

    Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong was  Assistant Secretary of Jos branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). He was at the International Bar Association (IBA) conference in Vienna, Austria, where he spoke to select journalists. Legal Editor JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU was there

    The African Regional forum of the International Bar Association (IBA) urged African lawyers  to up their ante to the challenges of globalisation. How can this be actualised?

    We can do this through  discipline and upgrading our training in the profession. The issue of  mandatory legal education is now imperative. The legal profession is dynamic. The scope and dimensions of practice broaden every day. So, lawyers must be acquainted with these developments and must be ready to diversify their practice areas in order to fit into the world order. Not only that, we can achieve that through outreaches as well as embracing international best practices in all aspects of our practice.

    How did  the discussions  here affect us as a country?

    From the contributions made at the conference, you can see that we still have a long way to go in Nigeria. We need to upgrade our legal system and our level of practice. We now see ourselves in a global community and with the use of information technology, those are the things that we definitely need in the training of lawyers and in actual practice. The facilities too! It is quite sad that in Nigeria, when people are talking of high technology in practice for judges, we are still taking proceedings in long hand. Not only the lawyers, but the judges need this mileage to be able to compete in the global community.

    You have been on the saddle now for about six months as governor. What have been the challenges?

    When I was contesting for the governorship of Plateau State, I knew I was going to get a lot of challenges. Really there are lots  of challenges in the state, which include the issue of insecurity and inability to pay salaries.  I saw them as issues I was going to tackle and focus on if  I won the elections.

    How do you intend to  to transform the justice sector?

    Well, I inherited a judiciary that was on strike for over one year due to lack of payment of salaries. It was a  problem that emanated from a court judgment. We inherited a very seriously debilitated structures in the judiciary.

    So, what have you done to address these challenges ?

    Well,  I foresaw these when I was Speaker. We were going to pass a Bill to to review all our laws,  but  shortly after we were booted out of office. As it is now, it is part of my programme.  I have told them that I am going to embark on a very serious reform of the judiciary. Not only in the judiciary, but in other sectors. Already, a committee has been set up to that effect. I am waiting for the report of the committee. Once I get it, I will take off from there. In the main time, I am also in talks with the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) to see how we can take care of some of their issues. For the judiciary, we are already renovating the courts. If you go to Jos now, in the first 100 days, we are renovating them. We are also working on mobility for the judiciary. In fact, I will not be the one to talk about these things. If you meet lawyers and judges in my state, they would be the one to talk.

    Part of the reasons for the JUSUN strike was the issue of financial autonomy for the judiciary. What is your position on this?

    I have had cause to discuss that issue with some of the governors and we have a problem with that situation. But, however, on different levels, some governors are already implementing it. I am implementing some part of it, but some of the decisions of the court go contrary to the spirit and letters of the Constitution. The judgment said everything should be taken back to the judiciary. Who will be checking the judiciary? What would be the role of the executive? Is it not execution? Are you saying that for contract implementation, you take it to the judiciary? Why is there an executive then? You are saying there should be separation of powers without interference; that is not the concept of separation of powers.

    In Nigeria, there is a culture of secrecy in court proceedings such that trials cannot be recorded. What is your view on this?

    Transparency is the watchword. With what the president is doing now, they don’t need to tell you in each state to look at transparency as a cardinal principle. We are taking a gradual step. Although it might not be a one day thing, but we must start somewhere. The emphasis is that having come to this conference and listened, the emphasis should be to start practicing them. That is the advantage of going to conferences like this.

    You set up a committee to handle the disbursement of the bailout fund . Why did you do that?

    I set it up to maintain transparency. In everything that we do in my state, I will ensure that there is transparency. Before the bailout fund, I told my people that I would not wait for it; that we are going to do everything possible to solve the problem. Out of eight months that were owed them, we paid six. Some of them were asking me how I did it in a very short time with minimum funds. And I said it’s discipline. So, when the bailout fund came, I didn’t pick anything from it. I called them for a meeting.

    Before then, people were saying it was the bailout funds that I was  using, but they knew when it was released. I told them I needed to set up a committee immediately. And so, I set up a committee made up of labour and civil servants. Everything that was done was without me. They were the ones deciding how to apply the funds.  I was informed that they have exhausted the first part of the bailout. They have paid all the salaries and everybody is happy.

    The next bail out is coming because we applied for N10 billion, but ours was given in two bits. The first N5 billion came, which they have exhausted and we are waiting for the balance. So, the bailout is strictly within the committee for transparency. The governor is not involved at all.

    How do you monitor implementation?

    It is not only the payment. We told them that they should tell us what next after the bailout in order to sustain the civil service that we have. They have the mandate to work out how to raise revenue because the bailout will not be coming frequently. They are the ones to decide whether we would downsize or not. The bail out is a warning that something was wrong and not a luxury. We don’t want to continue with what was wrong.

    Before then, I also shared my view with them on what I think might be done to raise revenue to sustain the civil service and make them very comfortable. Not only the civil servants, I told them that there were so many people on the street looking for job. What are we going to do so as to create employment for them? Don’t think that the entire revenue of the state is going to be for the payment of salaries. We must also improve on infrastructure. We must provide health facilities, education, which is very important.

    My Head of Service is the chairman of that committee; the Accountant-General is there too. They are working hard, not only on the payment of salaries, but also trying to ascertain the workforce that we have. There are so many ghost workers.

    A committee was set up to do verification and for eight years, that committee did not bring any report. But I gave them one month, insisting that that committee must conclude both for the state and the local governments within one month and they turned in their report in one month.

    Now I know where those loopholes are. So, if we are able to block those loopholes, definitely there will be room for employment. It has to do with discipline and monitoring of what we have as our funds.

     

  • AUN President to Class of 2019: make excellence your watchword

    President of American University of Nigeria, Dr. Margee Ensign has charged the institution’s new intakes to rise above the inevitable hardships they must encounter and contribute to building a world-class university.

    Dr. Ensign was delivering her message to the Class of 2019 during the University’s Convocation (Matriculation) at the Main Campus.

    No fewer than 26 states in Nigeria are represented in the class, as well as students from the United States, the United Kingdom, Rwanda, and Cameroon.

    “There is no magic wand we can use to build a great university.   Having a wonderful digital e-library-probably the finest in Africa-won’t do it.   Having an astonishingly generous founder and benefactor won’t do it.  Being selective in our student admissions won’t do it.  Providing more scholarships won’t do it.  Faculty members doing even better research won’t do it.  Really, it all comes down to the faculty and to the students.   Only you can build a great university”, she told them.

    President Ensign’s speech harped on ‘excellence’ and ‘integrity’. She warned students against the cheap temptations of ‘short-cut’ to success.

    “‘Excellence’ and ‘integrity’ are not at all abstract.  They have everything to do with the future of this institution, with the value of your degree, with your future as graduates of this institution.

    “If AUN continues to be known throughout Nigeria as a place of high and uncompromising standards, of academic integrity and excellence, of genuine world-class education, then we have a great future,” she said.

     

  • ‘Unity remains our watchword’

    Oluwadare Adejare, 400-Level English and Literary Studies, University of Ibadan (UI), is the National President of the National Association of Students of English and Literary Studies (NASELS). He spoke to HAMMED HAMZAT (300-Level Educational Management) on his programmes for the association.

     

     

     

    How would you describe your victory at the last NASELS convention?

    I ascribe my victory to Almighty God. The convention took place at the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka. It was a keenly contested election. Three strong aspirants from three geopolitical zones contested against me. The election was properly organised and I was elected. It was a good outing for me.

    How do you intend to integrate some tertiary institutions that are not part of NASELS?

    After we came on board, the association worked tirelessly to accommodate other institutions that are not under the umbrella body. We have been able to achieve some progress with institutions such as Babcock University, Veritas University, Covenant University, Madonna University, Tai Solarin University of Education joining the national body. Very soon, Ajayi Crowther University, Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo and the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo will be part of us. Without fear of contradiction, I can say NASELS remains a fast growing association at the departmental level in terms of structure, size and responsibilities.

    What are the challenges confronting the association?

    Well, there is no gain without pain. I can say that funding has been the greatest challenge before us. The bulk of the money used in financing the association’s activities comes from dues collected from all chapters. But then, some chapters would remit their dues late. This hinders the progress of the association. The leaders of the association will have to travel to all schools across the six geopolitical zones in the country to ensure active participation of its members. We do this to ensure that unity which is the hallmark of the association thrives.

    How did your association receive the news of the death of Chinua Achebe, a literary icon?

    In fact, we are sad by the death and we share in the grief of Achebe’s family. His death is a great loss for all literature students. The fact remains that Prof Achebe used his pen to correct some of the beliefs people have about Africans. His book, Things Fall Apart, will continue to be exemplary in creative writing. It is not an understatement to say the whole world will miss Achebe.

    What should members expect from your administration?

    We are working hard not to leave the association the way we met it. Presently, we are working on integrating all higher institutions into the national body in order to strengthen the association. In terms of programmes and policies, we are changing the tradition of the association where the national executive will wait for one year before it can organise the International Conference of Students of English and Literary Studies (ICOSELS). This has been our major focus. We want to change things by encouraging creativity through the organisation of a programmes that will engage the minds of members. To this end, we are organising the maiden edition of Prof Remi Raji Inter-varsity Oratory Contest between June 26 and 28. We are looking forward to host about 40 tertiary institutions at the University of Ibadan. The programme is to engage the minds of the youths in critical thinking towards the development of our country.

  • Success should be students’ watchword

    Success is the expectation of every determined and industrious man. One of the famous quotes of Michael Jordan is: “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career, I have lost almost 300 games in 26 times, I have been trusted to take the winning shot and I have failed over and over again in life and that is why I succeed.”

    A progress in life takes a steady heart and committed soul to achieve. Pastor William Kumuyi said: “Failure occurs at every stage of life; failing is not the issue but what one does with it.”

    This expression should remind us that life is full of miseries. Things happen inexplicably to man, which bring out their true character, understanding and ways of dealing with problems.

    Although race, language, culture and religion can shape the habit of man and how much endurance in he can muster in the face of challenges. In life, the difference between success and failure is doing the right thing at the right time and hoping that one day one will be rewarded for his efforts.

    People of this present generation always fear to fail not minding that failure can be a stepping stone for greatness. It can build up the courage, strength and determination to reach the zenith that people ever desire in life. One must not fear failure but to be afraid in losing totally in a game.

    Why does beginner or novice need to be afraid in losing a game to the competent, professional and expert? I think people should cure their mind with aforementioned words of wisdom of Pastor Kumuyi and Michael Jordon. People we call great leaders may have initially failed at stage in their lives but then, they would have retraced their steps from failure by the words of wisdom of those who have won.

    The likes of Prof Wole Soyinka could have encountered various challenges but despite the problems, he still became the first Nobel Laureate in Literature on African continent. Marie Curie became the first female Noble Laureate in Physics in 1903 due to her determination to surmount every challenge in life.

    Some students try to avoid failure but they never prepare to overcome the challenges. I wondered how students preparing for a crucial examination want to be successful through cheating.

    In tertiary institution, there is popular saying among girls that “use what you have to get what you want”. In doing so, girls engage in all forms of bad acts including sacrificing their bodies just to get C grade. Male students, who do not want to use their heads to think, bribe lecturers with money and gifts. But these people don’t know they are only fooling themselves. Why did they not graduate with First Class since they can use what they have to get what they want?

    Students want to pass, to have good grade but never read their books. How does it possible to get good grades by being unserious. Failure is now limited on campus because students have deviated from their primary aims of being on the campus.

    Dave Roberson said: “Getting off the starting block, then improve your position and also the greatest test of courage is to bear defeat without losing heart”. This quote can redeem the steps a man on the verge of failure back to consciousness and stand up to any difficulty. Success is the main purpose of our being. We must endure and learn through harsh conditions. Everybody wants to embrace and accept success but nobody wants failure.

    When you believe, certainly you will surely see the real success. Winston Churchill said: “Success outshines failure; making the story difference at the early stage in order to bring out the success within you and never thinking of giving up”. People should believe in themselves and work harder to achieve their goal because anything successful is never achieved through an easy means.

     

    Olushola, 300-Level Agriculture, UNILORIN