The Nation Newspaper

Tag: wrong

  • Christian lawyers to Buhari: CJN’s suspension wrong

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s suspension of Justice Walter Onnoghen as Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) did not follow due process, Christian lawyers have declared.

    They said the action was a flagrant rape of the nation’s constitution and carried out in bad faith.

    In a statement under the aegies of The Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria (CLASFON), the body said only reversal of the suspension would serve the course of justice.

    CLASFON’s National President, Arome M. Okwori, in the statement said: “CLASFON is of the considered view by the President decision, the executive arm of government under the supervision of the President has precipitated a needless constitutional crisis having regard to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances entrenched in the said Constitution”.

    The body suggested the President should have disciplined the suspended CJN instead of suspending him completely.

    “The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria1999 does not make express provision for the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria but this does not foreclose the exercise of disciplinary measures including suspension of the said judicial officer pending resolution of grave moral or criminal allegations against the holder of the important constitutional office.

    “The point we are making is that taking the radical step of suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria without recourse to the National Judicial Council (NJC) is a naked usurpation of the functions of that constitutional organ and a brazen violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which the President has sworn to protect and defend.

    “The Constitution, subject to its provisions on removal of certain judicial officers, has vested the NJC with power to exercise disciplinary control over all judicial officers,” the Christian lawyers explained.

     

  • What went wrong in Dapchi?

    What went wrong in Dapchi?

    Many women were sobbing, their hands on their heads. Some just sat there on the bare ground, dejected and disillusioned. Others were just gazing at nothing in particular, their arms clasped around their waists in total resignation to the fate that had befallen them. The men were also crying and yelling, even as they tried to console their distraught women. The full picture of the communal tragedy was unfolding.

    It was a day of agony in Dapchi, the Yobe State town where Boko Haram snatched off more than 100 girls in a night raid on February 19. Governor Ibrahim Gaidam was visiting to console the parents and offer them a shoulder to cry on. What a calamitous way for a humble town to hit global prominence!

    In Abuja, the President described the abduction as a national disaster. It is that and more – an assault on national pride and innocence of childhood. Abuja sent a delegation to the grief-stricken town to find out what went wrong. Just then the blame game began.

    Gaidam said the military’s sudden withdrawal from the town paved the way for the abduction. If the military had been there, the governor said, such a brazen attack would not have been possible.

    The army said it had driven the insurgents out of the area, handed over a peaceful town to the police and moved on to other operations. The police would not carry the can. It denied that it was ever handed the town to keep and guard against any assault.

    So, what went wrong? Who was in charge? Was Dapchi left to its own devices?

    The security agencies have set up a panel to answer this billion Naira question, which may linger for some time, even after our innocent girls have been brought – or bought – back. Again, what went wrong?

    What happened to good old community intelligence hands who would inform the authorities about such a looming tragedy before it landed at the door? The  goons were said to have come in about 11 trucks. How did such a convoy of evil roll all the way from Sambisa – sorry for that slip; we conquered that place a long time ago – or wherever into Dapchi without anybody raising the alarm?

    Is it true that the Defence Headquarters had warned about an impending attack before the terrorists struck? In other words, can we just rule out failure of intelligence? Was the army’s response to the abduction swift? Or did we just try to shut the stable after the horse had escaped?

    Who ordered the withdrawal of troops? On what basis? Was Dapchi actually out of harm’s way? Is the Area Commander still convinced that he took the right decision? Was there a deliberate action to embarrass the Muhammadu Buhari administration that has been touting security as one of its achievements, with Boko Haram’s defeat as its glittering trophy?

    Are there saboteurs in the military? Who are the facilitators of those ambushes against federal troops?  Did Dapchi result from sheer complacency? Incompetence? Fatigue? An error of judgment? Indiscretion? The devil-may-care attitude of our men?  (material here expendable).

    Winning a few battles is no indication that the war is over. In fact, there is also the peace to be won. We have heard that Boko Haram has been “defeated”, “decimated” and “vanquished”. Yes. Nevertheless, the war is not over. The group’s fiendish leaders are alive and kicking. So long as they remain on their feet, it will be premature and unhelpful to declare that Boko Haram has been crushed.

    President Buhari has promised that the girls will be back in the loving arms of their parents. When? Soon? Later? One month? One year? Years? We can’t really say. What seems clear is that the government is willing to pay any price for the girls’ freedom. Department of State  Services (DSS) chief Lawal Daura told the President while presenting some freed Boko Haram victims, including the University of Maiduguri teachers abducted while searching for oil in the Lake Chad Basin, that the agency negotiated the release of the abductees, because any attempt to get them out by force could endanger their lives.

    We have been inadvertently shelling out part of the cash that keeps the terror machine roaring.  Will Boko Haram stop now that it knows how lucrative its evil trade is?  (Material bordering on national security taken out)

    Is this an admission of the fact that force won’t work? If so, why don’t we set up talks with the terrorists, grant them a general amnesty and end it all? Will they agree to a ceasefire? What future for these enemies of peace who have sold their souls to Satan? Will they and their foot soldiers be normal again?

    Just as Nigeria was ruing the abduction of her girls, a woman was telling the CNN how she urged the police to do something about the gunman who mowed down 17 pupils in a Florida, United States school. The police told her nothing could be done since Nicholas Cruz,19, had not committed any offence. The police were caught in a dilemma.

    If they grabbed Cruz, they would be criticized for gross human rights abuse. If they did nothing and Cruz struck – as he eventually did – they would be accused of doing nothing. They erred on the side of caution.  The society paid dearly for that.

    Again, did we get any intelligence report on Dapchi? Was such a report ignored?

    To the PDP and the Dr Goodluck Jonathan crowd of merrymakers, it is time to gloat; isn’t it? Not so fast.  What did the Jonathan presidency do when the news of the Chibok girls’ abduction was broken? It responded with a roaring silence. By the time it decided to move, it thrust the former First Lady forward. She launched an inquisition that became the subject of a sickening but popular comic relief amid the unprecedented tragedy.

    Besides, the Jonathan administration plunked down millions for the Chibok girls to be freed. The cash went down the drain. It was duped.

    I was moved by the plea of Hajia Alkali Wakil (aka Mama Boko Haram) to the Abu Musab Al-Barnawi-led faction of the terror sect. She urged the terrorists to free the girls and surrender their arms.

    “I will go after them even if it will take my life to save these girls. They call me mummy but they don’t listen to me… Dear Habib, Nuru and others,” she said.                          “I was told you may be the ones responsible for the kidnap of these girls. I beg you to release the girls to their mothers. What kind of children will continue letting their mother to continue crying. Dear Habib, I pray Allah touches your heart and that of your colleagues to stop what you are doing.”

    Do terrorists surrender to emotions? Are their hearts not too clogged with evil designs? Do they have any space left for the plea of a woman they call “mummy”? Where are their biological mothers?

    When all else fails, what do we do?

    Just pray, like Hajia Wakil.

  • A wrong path

    A wrong path

    Nnamdi Kanu burst on to the scene from nowhere. Like Daniel Kanu of the Abacha for president fame, he saw an opening and grabbed it with both hands to change the course of his life. All we were told is that Nnamdi Kanu was one of the lieutenants of Raph Uwazuruike, founder of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). But he was said to have fallen out with Uwazuruike following irreconcilable differences.

    Kanu started his own movement. He had learnt the ropes from master. So setting up in business was not difficult.  He did what all people with such mission do. Kanu first established a radio station in London.  He jammed the radio wave of other stations back home in order to reach his people. His people were the Igbo at home and in the Diaspora. But he needed those at home more because he knew he could only realise his Biafra dream with their support.

    For you to believe in his cause, you must be part of the struggle at home, which he knew was not going to be easy. But he played on his people sentimental attachment to Biafra to rally them round himself.  The average Igbo man, whether old or young,  man or woman, is forever tied to Biafra. Even the youths among them who do not know the story of Biafra, the creation of the late Chukwuemeka Odumegu-Ojukwu, go gaga once the name, Biafra, is mentioned. What makes Biafra turn the head of the Igbo?

    The Igbo are not the only marginalised ethnic group in the country. If we look around us, we can even argue that their lot is better than that of many other ethnic nationalities. What will the almost forgotten minorities in the country say if the Igbo claim that they are being unfairly treated? The fact is the Igbo boxed themselves into the corner they are today.  They are the architects of their own problem.  Before Ojukwu came up with the Biafra idea in 1967, the  Igbo were at the commanding heights in every area of human endeavour.

    They were in commerce, politics and the military. Anywhere you turned to, you found the imprint of the Igbo.  But we live in an interdependent world. The Igbo thrived in what they did because they enjoyed the support and understanding of others around them. The Igbo did not depend solely on their fellow Igbo to survive.  They lived, worked and played with people from other parts of the country,  who extended their hands of fellowship to them. They broke that bond with Biafra. We may say that Biafra in 1967 was a child of circumstance; an accident of history,  but can we say that of the Biafra Nnamdi Kanu and his ilk now want to create?

    What Kanu does not seem to realise is that Biafra as a nation is dead and buried. He and his co-travellers can only ruminate on what would have been if Ojukwu had succeeded. Kanu is free to dream about having Biafra. And the truth is Biafra as a nation will forever remain a dream. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)  should stop deluding itself about recreating a republic of Biafra 47 years after the hurriedly put together nation surrendered to Nigeria. Biafra was defeated  in a war it instigated,  but today, it is not being treated as a conquered nation because of the magnanimity of former head of state Gen Yakubu Gowon.

    After the war, Gowon declared that there was no victor, no vanquished and initiated what he called the three Rs (reintegration, reconstruction and rehabilitation). The process is to ensure the reintegration of the Igbo into the society and that process has been on in the past 47 years. War is not a good thing. It took us three years to fight the civil war, but for nearly 50 years, we have been trying to make peace without success. This is why it is unwise of Kanu to have exhumed the ghost of Biafra. He did not think about the consequences of his action and the painful thing is that those who should have dissuaded him either kept quiet or tacitly supported him.

    Kanu took the wrong path and the elders of his region rather than call him to order to save their zone lined up behind him as their new found messiah. The young man has broken the laws of the land with his misguided mission. What does the Igbo want? Can they not bring their demands to the table? There can be no better time than now when the conversation is all about restructuring for the Igbo to make their grievances known. But, as we have argued in this space before,  secession, which Kanu is advocating, is not the same thing as restructuring.

    Secession is a treasonable offence and there is no government anywhere in the world that will allow that because once the secessionists succeed they will take over power. Fela did not do a quarter of what Kanu is doing today before his music empire – Kalakuta republic – was razed by soldiers in 1978. His offence : creating a republic within a Republic. There cannot be two captains in  a ship. That is not possible. How can there be a Biafra republic with its own head of state in a sovereignty like Nigeria? This is the implication of what Kanu wants to do.

    If the Igbo do not want to be part of Nigeria any more,  there are better ways of making their position known. And I do not think that Kanu or his creation, IPOB, can speak for the Igbo on such a grave issue. In any case,  many Igbo seem to be happy with their union with Nigeria. But unfortunately,  they are afraid of speaking out against Kanu for fear being attacked.  Is that the leader they want? A leader that will cow the young and old into submission?

    The Igbo do not seem to know what they want. If they do, they won’t have waited for Operation Python Dance before letting Kanu know that he was playing with fire with his romance with Biafra. Now, he has gone underground after creating a problem for his people. That is what they all do when their activities catch up with them. I appeal that we use this to pull his ears and allow him to return home or wherever he likes to pick up the pieces of his life.

  • What’s wrong with loving one’s country?

    SIR: I recall vividly then we had a booming economy, we were either the top or among the top exporters of timber, cocoa, rubber, palm oil, groundnut etc. in the world. Nigerians not only holidayed at home in their villages, at Yankari Games reserves, Obudu Cattle Ranch, Ihuezi Lake, Oguta Lake, Ikogosi Springs, Gurara Falls, Olumo rock, Mambilla Platueau etc.

    We had different car assembly plants Peugeot, Volkswagen, Anamco etc. Other nations admired Nigeria’s height and potentials.

    Today, Nigeria is in a state of nature, same spot for too long, most of our youth fritter away their precious times on frivolities watching European Sports, Movies, chatting irrelevances while the necessity and potentials decay. A country of 170 million fashion-conscious people has no textile industry to boast of.

    We have failed severally to develop products with global appeal. The highly popular Kingsway Stores of the past would have probably had a thousand outlet pan Nigeria, but today we have the likes of Shoprite and SPAR. I could go and on. Just think for a moment and you will agree with me that we are lucky that our exchange rate has not hit N1000 to the dollar yet. Don’t think that it can’t get there; just continue on your destructive choice and preference for imported goods to the detriment of our local products. If we are willingly and sincere, an incredible distance can be covered over time with tiny steps; no magic would change Nigeria for better if we don’t do the right thing.

    America was built not by politicians running for something, but by statement standing for something; it pays to love your country, because we shall be better off. Let’s put our lives in order, it is not too late to be great again, as we follow the river it shall take us to the sea. The wiser we are, the better we live.

    I challenge us as a nation to awake and have a re-think, dare illusions and imagination and embrace realities. Indeed it pays. God bless Nigeria.

     

    • Ifeanyi Everest,

    Anioma – Delta State.

  • What is wrong with politics?

    Most mothers may still want their children to grow up to be president but don’t want them to become politicians on their way there. Many people view politics as grubby, shallow, and dirty, built on distasteful compromises and promises meant to be discarded. That is not the full story. At its heart and in its results, politics is the great moving expression of our democracy. There are knaves and fools in politics, but the arena is also filled with people motivated by high ideals and great causes who work with skill, integrity and honour”  – Karl Rove, Courage & Consequences

    The aforesaid quote typifies most folks’ approach to politics: they look forward to its positive results, good governance and prestigious offices (appointed or elected), but not the politics (heavy lifting) required. However, it is a full package: benefit and detriment. You cannot take one without the other. There cannot be good governance without good politicians and policies. Good policies are largely accepted as good politics. Essentially, without good people joining politics, you cannot have good policies. Without good policies, good governance is a mirage; a fantasy. Good people must stop complaining, they need to step up. According to Innocent Idibia (Tuface), “nobody wan die but they wan go heaven.”

    So, why is it so unfashionable to be a politician, when the only way to a better Nigeria is through good politics and policies? Can good people reform the system by staying out? This piece posits that the only way to a new and better Nigeria is through the participation of good people in politics: New generation of politicians committed to One Nigeria.

    Not a few share the anti-politics sentiments. However, some of us have realized that every time we point one finger at or blame politicians, three points back at us for doing nothing. We realized that we cannot simply wish bad governance away by closing our eyes and opening it later in a saintly Nigeria. It would not work.

    Truth be told, the arguments against partisan politics are not unfounded. We are all living witnesses to many political assassinations. Chief Bola Ige, SAN, was murdered in cold blood. Chief Harry Marshall, Chief A.K. Dokubo and Funso Williams were all brutally assassinated.  The systemic fraud does not provide comfort: aspirants being told to forget primary elections after paying for nomination forms, going through the screening process and campaigned to participate in the primary election at great cost. The financial barrier to participation is considerably prohibitive. The most expensive input, in my little experience, is time. Politics is time consuming. It takes a lot of time. Your business or professional career will suffer. The government may cripple your business. Ironically, politics requires first class organizational skill, temperament, tolerance and other interpersonal skills not usually required in the corporate world. Politics is accepted as a contact sport. A war to some and they would stop at nothing to have their way. It is a war where the opponent does not die: he or she will live after his or her defeat to fight you again. Full and unequivocal family support for politics is also often elusive. A political associate’s wife once warned her husband: “politicians will chew you up and spit you out”.  It is also a selfless and thankless pursuit, in the case of scrupulous politicians, where the masses look at you with cynicism and suspicion. Even worse, if you are young, you will be referred to as a front for different people that you have never met before. In a youth movement, most of the cynicism and attacks will come from fellow young Nigerians. A lot of service providers want to charge you more than the normal rates because they think you have a bottomless purse of money from looting the treasury. The challenges and arguments against politics are endless. But what do we do? Generally, life itself was not designed to be easy but we live and soldier on. So, it must be with politics. You may not change the world but you can and must contribute your quota to make it a better place.

    However, most Nigerians are proud to state and flaunt their non-partisan status. But you have to be partisan to good or bad governance. You cannot sit on the fence. You either believe in small or big government; in taxing the rich to assist the people or believe everyone should be left to wholly eat what they kill by enjoying their wealth without any consideration for the poor.  The intelligentsia or elites prefer political appointment to elective political positions. This may be a waste of time because you are likely going to be shooting above the head of shallow politicians, who make the ultimate decision. There is nothing intellectual about abstaining from politics only to get appointment under people that you disdain and that may never get your point. Arguably, it is also unintellectual to think you can make far reaching and sustainable impact without political clout. The other intellectuals delving into partisan politics expect to be gifted the party ticket ‘a la carte’, without grassroots politicking or mobilization. They insist that they are not politicians even though they are contesting for elective public office. Even though their names are on posters pasted around town with their full authority!!

    They want a godfather to do the heavy lifting for them, with the effect of being in government but not in power. Invariably, they find it difficult to take far reaching decisions when in office or sustain their achievement after office.  There is a problem with this approach: how do you formulate effective policies with limited interaction with the electorates? How do you market good economic policies without reaching out to the masses? What is wrong with being a politician?

    Politics of other climes are populated by their intellectual elites. Singapore was driven from a third to first world country by a first class honours law graduate of Cambridge University, late President Lee Kuan Yew.  In Nigeria, Herbert Olayinka Macaulay, Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, Sir Tafawa Balewa, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, S.A.N., Mallam Aminu Kano, Chief S.L. Akintola, Chief F.R.A. Williams, Q.C.,S.A.N., Chief Remi Fani-Kayode, Q.C.,S.A.N.(Cambridge graduate and best result in his bar finals in the whole British Commonwealth), Mr Ernest Ikoli, Chief H.O.Davies, S.A.N., Sir Kofo Abayomi, Sir Adeyemo Alakija, Chief T.O.S. Benson,S.A.N., Chief Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe, Oba Samuel Akisanya, and  Alhaji ‘Femi Okunnu, S.A.N.,C.O.N., and others were all accomplished professionals and intellectuals. The list is endless. They all contributed a lot to our independence, nation building and politics in their youth through the Nigerian Youth Movement. We need to encourage exceptionally gifted young Nigerians to join politics. We cannot move the country forward with our 10th team.

    Youth Party, a new generation political association with a centre-left ideology is committed to grooming and educating future political leaders on politics and policies through the following ideology:  Expansion of democratic space by adherence to the principles of internal democracy and open primaries; generational change in political leadership;  selfless public service(not personal, ethnic or religious); free market with independent regulation free from political interference; equal opportunity to quality  education, healthcare and social housing; reduction of wealth inequality between the rich and the poor through provision of social safety nets; social integration and mobility; one Nigeria devoid of ethnic and religious divisiveness and intolerance, and transparent political leadership and followership that eschews money politics, bribery, violence, rigging, repression and corruption.

    Not a few have informed us why our party will fail. They have told us all the reasons why they cannot be part of politics or our party. However, we take solace in the few reasons they said it may work. Most importantly, we do not want to be guilty of failure to act. We want to look at our children and grandchildren in the eye later in life and state unequivocally that we tried. No one can say that, if they were never part of the political process. They are simply one of the reasons politics remain full of undesirable politicians. In short, politics is a necessity.

     

    • Adiukwu is chairman, Youth Party.

  • Investing in the wrong heart

    The battle line has been drawn and now it is going to be fight to finish. How can anyone take her silence for stupidity? How can this common intruder take over her emotional space while she continues to suffer in silence? Wait a minute! What has she done to merit this kind of rash treatment? Why does love crash when you least expect it to do so? Now, she is not just stunned but handicapped because she just does not know where to pick the pieces together again.

    Let’s scroll down memory lane and see how this love story took off. “We met at an interview and he looked really dull. For her it was love at first sight. She just liked him and found a way to start a conversation with him. He had this nice baritone voice and he was intelligent. When they got talking later that day, she discovered that he had been out of job for about a year. That obviously had affected him and she made up her mind to get him back on track. The only person she confided in about the relationship was her friend Lizzy. For Lizzy, it was important to tread with caution: “My dear, it is good to fall in love, but sometimes, it is better to look before you leap. A lot of the guys you have out there are gentle only when they want something from you. Once they get what they want, you can be sure that you will begin to see the other side. Please don’t fall in love, take your time and be sure that your heart is worth investing here. You know that you have been through so much already, you do not need another distraction again.”

    Luckily, he was one of the lucky few who got employed and she was so happy for him. The relationship took off almost immediately because they shared so many things in common. The two jolly good fellows loved themselves so much and they were always in each other’s company. They had been in the relationship for about three years and many thought they had everything going for them. The first two years was wonderful and it was a roller coaster of emotions.

    Love made in heaven? Maybe! It was a great experience for her because this was the first time that she was having a relationship with someone who was simple, easy going and down to earth. Bode just wasn’t like the other guys she had dated in the past. He was very emotional and didn’t appear to be too adventurous with the ladies. Tall and handsome, he was someone any lady would want to be associated with. The only snag was that she wished he could improve on his dress sense and look more attractive.

    They discussed it and he agreed to be the man she wanted her darling to be. This handsome bobo was, however, too plain, too ordinary and somehow her desire to brush him up and make him match her taste engulfed her. Passionately, she put all her energy into it and gradually the transformation began. First, they went on a shopping spree, all expenses on the initiator of the idea to look good and she was happy doing this for her man. She bought new clothes and accessories and the transformation was simply amazing. A look at the magnetic mirror for the most handsome dude in town and you find him in the picture. He looked really good and his level of self confidence also improved. Feeling fresh and exciting, he began to make heads turn. Now that we have changed this plain guy and moved him to the level of the most sought after, fresh trouble began. A number of emotional rats began to run to and fro the emotional corridor. This new look was exciting but it brought threats, big and small.

    “I knew from the first two weeks that I had lost my guy. He just could not handle this new look and he was mesmerised by the compliments and emotional partnerships that unfolded as the days went by. Can’t really blame him! They simply suffocated him with love, or was it lust? For someone who had been ‘dehydrated’ and longing for affection, this was time to indulge. He drank and drank from the affection stream and became confused. For the lover boy, it was indeed a season for flings, strange phone calls and threats to the heart that showed him real love. This just wasn’t fear; you don’t abandon a generous and caring heart just like this. Unfortunately, the word fair has vanished from the emotional lexicon, hearts do not reason this way.

    Unfortunately, our dear friend did not know that she was looking for emotional trouble. When you make someone or something you like very attractive, then you are bringing others to be partakers and they would go for it at all cost. Sadly, our dear friend was not thinking along this line and the Romeo was whisked away along the emotional corridor before she knew what was going on.

  • What is wrong with judging the judges?

    SIR: In a discerning society – ‘human beings are born equal’ and are treated as such irrespective of their social stratification. In such enclave, sanity is a way of life, while decency is the mother and guardian of such entity. In such defined boundaries, laws are made for every Tom, Dick and Harry; your status notwithstanding. Their laws are observed in strict compliance in defense of their value systems and institutions and not in breach like in ours. Their leaders in return replicate such feat by diligently submitting themselves to the course of law and order; leading to resignations and impeachments of major leaders across the world.

    But in Nigeria and Africa in general, even though we have seen a couple of politicians paraded and sanctioned for their indulgence in criminal activities, the arrest, arraignment, trials and prosecution of the heavy weight here still generate opprobrium and commotions as many still believe some personalities are simply above the law.

    In their reasoning, such highly placed Nigerians ought to be treated preferentially differently from the rest of us with dignity, unfettered respect and love even when suspected to have committed crimes against the society.

    That is the feeling with the current invasion of some homes of some judges in the country, their arrest and eventual release on bail by the Department of State Security services (DSS). The DSS had few days ago, in the middle of the night, swooped on four of the Judges in the country, while carting away suspected packages of bribery, amounting to millions of naira in different currencies. And in addition, went forth to arrest their suspects, interrogated them for hours and then released them to their families, while warming up to arraign them for a possible prosecution soon.

    In all the angles and sides to the story, one thing is undisputable: every Nigerian believes the popular notion ‘corruption is official in Nigeria, and officials of government here, are corrupt too.’ It is also unarguable; corruption has permeated into the fabrics of the society, the nation’s judiciary inclusive.

    So if these grounds are strongly established and the Nigerian Judicial Commission, NJC has confirmed so with their recent wielding of the big stick and sacking of three prominent judges namely: Justice Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya, presiding justice of the Court of Appeal Ilorin Division; Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I.A. Umezulike and Justice Kabiru M. Auta of the High Court of Justice, Kano penultimate week over bribery and corruption, why the hues and cries about the recent development in the war against corrupt judges in the country?

    One is really worried Nigerians have been reduced to a chessboard in the hands of the political class here. We are made to think the way they want us to think, and act the way they want us to think. Otherwise, why the mounting opposition to the search, arrest and release of judges suspected to have committed crimes against you and I here? So it is now widely believed arrest, detention and convictions can only be done here with the poor alone?

    What is actually wrong with judging the judges anywhere in the world? As a matter of fact, the DSS, having acted based on a tip off, and having dully secured search warrants to invade those homes, now have a burden of proof hanging on their neck, having been aided with the materials collected from those scenes.

    Nigerians should therefore, allow the normal course of law to take its toll as conviction in any democratic society is a long journey. Democracy is a setting and set-up that allows fairness and fair hearing in times of accusations and counter accusations like this. It does not sieve from what it hears or entertains, but rather draws its strongest values and strength from its ability to discern between what is proper and what an aberrant act is. It is then it would release its harmer sledge on the guilty.

     

    • Gwiyi Solomon,

     Abuja.

  • A lot of Nigerian women wear WRONG bra sizes

    EX-COMMITTEE member of the Nigeria Economic Summit, Seun Balogun, and her husband, Ayo Tayo-Balogun, retail underwear through a popular online store known as Brief Essentials. It was not exactly a line of duty for the couple who were into paid employment until “one day,” in the words of Seun, “I was looking for underwear and lingerie for myself as a mum, and then we found that there was really no major store that focuses on varieties of underwear. We found some at a few places, but they were too expensive. The ones that were not expensive were not of the kind of quality we wanted.”

    For her, therefore, the need for quality and affordable underwear became a challenge that gingered her entrepreneurial spirit. “We went online for additional search but didn’t see where one could really buy lingerie. At that time, we knew that online business was kicking off in Nigeria. That was around 2010. There were stores that closed up, like Kalahari Books Online, and there was Sabunta (now Jumia). So it became something we wanted to do and make a difference in the online sphere. We realised that we could do it because to some extent, we are technology people. That led us to establish Brief Essentials.”

    Asked how she and her husband arrived at the corporate name, Seun said: “We deliberated on the name to call the business until my husband suggested Brief Essentials one morning. It made a lot of sense because the name represented what we wanted to do.”

    Although initially Seun went out looking for underwear for herself and control undergarments that could help her get back her pre-pregnancy shape, she ended up selling underwear to everybody.

    She said: “Our first online sale was in April 2011. So we are five years on now. And we do not just sell underwear, shapewear and breathtaking lingerie for mums, we have something for everybody.”

    So how has the couple fared after five years in lingerie business?

    “It has been good,” retorted Seun. “There have been challenges, but generally, it has been very promising. Nigeria’s e-commerce space is still growing. A lot of education is required to get more people to buy online. But again, what we have seen is that when people are actually shown how to buy online, they find it more convenient to do so. So sometimes, it is about knowledge too and we do share that as well, especially with our customers.

    “We take out time to educate our potential customers on how to buy online by simply clicking and shopping directly on the website. We also educate them about their sizes and what’s suitable for their shape and pain areas. For instance, from our experience, a whole lot of Nigerians wear the wrong bra size, and our aim is to correct that. Every female out there deserves a beautiful pair. Issues with wrong bra size could range from a band that is riding up or a cup that is too big or too small. We do this lingerie education on our social media platforms and all available avenues that can be harnessed. From how to choose the right bra, how to wear the appropriate underwear, and even the kind of underwear that can fit some kind of clothing.

    There is a particular underwear for every kind of clothing and occasion. We want people to look good underneath it all. That is why we have several options, colours, types, sizes from band size 30 – 50 and cups A to KK and Shapewear up to 15XL. Our plethora of options also include senior citizens.

    “With over 5000 different types of underwear, we are specialised in that area.”

    While Seun’s husband, Tayo-Balogun has electrical and computer engineering background with over 15 years experience in the IT industry, Seun has a background in the social sciences with diverse experiences in finance, economics, branding, marketing and a strong flair for computer applications, graphics and web design.

    “All this put together has really helped us as a couple in running our business. That is why I advise people to keep learning because, the things you’ve learnt could come handy at some point in one’s life. “I have about 13 years experience working in a corporate environment. That has also helped.”

    Have there been challenges in the past five years of business growth?

    “Yes, there have been challenges,” chorused the couple. “We have had issues with people hacking into our site, for instance. But thank God my husband is also an IT Security Specialist, we were able to bring the site back up within a short time. Imagine if we had to pay for all that. It won’t be cheap.

    “Initially, we were working from home. But early last year, we moved it out of the home to an office where people can come in and pick stuff from us. But we sell more online because online is our core model. As for deliveries, we do deliver to all the 36 states in Nigeria. We have delivery partners as well.”

    Quality comes with a price. So how expensive are Seun and Tayo’s online products?

    “Our lingerie are not expensive,” replied Seun. “That is because when we compare it with other similar stores selling the kind of things we sell, I believe we are doing it right for the customers. To start with, everything we sell is top-notch. Besides, what you see in the big stores when you travel to the US or UK is what we sell.

    We have the big brands in our store and our prices are much better. Sometimes, we have a gap of up to 50% difference in our prices in comparison with similar items in the market. That is because our vision from the beginning was to sell lingerie online at affordable prices. Prices that Nigerians will be able to afford.

    “We believe that everybody has the right to wear beautiful lingerie, and it shouldn’t be too expensive. Seeing a lot of people coming back to buy repeatedly from us really means they are satisfied with their purchases.

    “I have realised that since we started five years ago, most of our customers’ way back are still our customers today. That really amazes us and it also means so much. They have been with us and they are still with us. That tells us that whatever we are doing is a niche product, which is giving value, and people are happy with whatever they are buying, and that is why they keep coming back.

    “So, our customer’s retention has been quite high, and that is what we are happy about and we really give God the glory.”

    Apart from being online and selling offline as well, Seun and Tayo acknowledge the importance of holding a fashion fair. “We are actually having one in a few days’ time,” Said Seun. “We had one in July at Intercontinental Hotel in Victoria Island (Lagos). It was an opportunity to meet some of our customers who live around us or are presently in the country.

    “By blending both together, we realised we would be able to deliver better results. There, we helped them to know their sizes, what was suitable for their body types, their body shapes and fitting for the kind of clothes they are wearing, that goes a long way to improve on the personal touch to our products. More importantly, meeting our customers and talking to them is something that we are happy doing and shall continue to do.

    “However, this is Africa. We have a culture that thrives on sanity. We do not like exposing our private body parts in public. So, during our shows, we do not use real models as such to display our products. We have a way of placing it on racks, use brochures, mannequins and so on. But at the same time, the real model live shows would have to depend on cultural acceptance before we can do it at some point.

    Do the lingerie they sell have African flair or they are limited to the regular Oyinbo stuff?

    Seun responded: “That’s our next phase. We are working presently on that. We are looking to experiment with some African styles and we know we will make it happen sooner than expected.”

    Asked what running an online business is like, she said: “It is easier to start an online business. The challenge is staying online, because when you need to scale, it becomes expensive.

    “If you are able to work out a great strategy that will enable you scale quickly online, then go for it. Online is good. You do not have to wait for customers. You can search. If you have a good search optimisation, you can get an edge.

    Seun also shared with us one of her best moments as an entrepreneur.

    “Sometime last year, I missed my flight to Lagos while I was returning from the Nigerian Economic Summit 21. So while waiting for the next flight, I decided to do a bit of marketing to some ladies at the airport lounge. While we chatted, I introduced brief essentials, but they apologised and replied that they already had places where they bought their underwear and that they were contented with the place.

    “Out of curiosity I asked them where they buy from and they told me they buy from Brief Essentials. That was amazing. That was when I told them that I didn’t even have to market to them anymore because I represent Brief Essentials. One of them said she had been buying from us for four years. Such stories keep us going. We feel we have done something unique that people appreciate. We are indeed very grateful to God that we created this idea that people have found beneficial.

    “We sell to everyone—male, female and children underwear, shape wear, bridal underwear, accessories, anything that is related to underwear—and that is necessary to solve several fashion dilemmas.

    Asked what it is like doing business with one’s wife, Tayo-Balogun said: “Even as a wife, I see her first as a partner and when it comes to business, I treat her like anyone I do business with. The distinction is necessary for business growth.

    On how often they sit together to discuss about their mutual business, Tayo-Balogun said: “Well, as it is, I am currently employed and I really have a tight schedule. But whenever I am available, we deliberate on the business.

    On who takes charge of stock of their products, he says he is contented allowing Seun to do it “One of her responsibilities as the person who runs the business is also locating suppliers and manufacturers,” he said, adding “I am comfortable and more relaxed doing business with my wife.

    “At a point, I had to insist that she should take complete charge, because in the beginning, she was on paid employment and it was becoming too stressful.

    “The business would have grown more than this, but because she was in paid employment; her first loyalty was to her employer; a situation I also encouraged. That is because I have employees too and I would want them to be loyal to me even if they have their private things they do.

    “So I am comfortable that she is in the family business. With her, I don’t have to worry about somebody robbing me of profit. If she mismanages our funds, it comes back to her (laughs).

    “I am really favoured to have a wife who understands the importance of business. No offence to other women, there are some women who would rather do something else, while some other women prefer to be in paid employment and aspire to be powerful in the boardroom. There is nothing wrong with that if their husbands are comfortable with that.

    “A husband and his wife have to sit together and discuss and be sure that a family business is really what they want to do. And if that is what they want to do, by all means, it is better to have my wife in business with me than having total strangers, especially with the issue of trust.”

    He prefers to describe himself as “someone who put a lot of value on giving value. Work makes me happy and relevant, I am also passionate about helping people. If I know something, I feel that it is my responsibility to let others know same. If I see a need, I usually see it as my responsibility to pass the information around.

    “I love family. I believe the family is the bedrock of the society and I think that everyone who aspires to have a family should cultivate the family and teach the children. There is a reason why God gave children to us and didn’t make them fall from trees.

    “So I’m interested in a better Nigeria. We should be interested in politics instead of leaving it to people some think are not qualified. I like privacy at my quiet moments, to read.

    Seun also sared the experience of working with her husband: “Yes, we work together and we also play together (laughs). My husband is a very amazing man and I enjoy working with him. He listens and we are able to talk about our issues and always find a way out.

    “If he were not the kind of person that he is, it would have been tough. The beautiful part of it is that he allows me to do whatever I want to do. If I tell him something, he asks, ‘Is that what you think? Okay, go ahead and do it’.

    “He is so supportive. He doesn’t want me to make mistakes. He is always ready to provide lots of insight and he always has insight. I appreciate him.

    “He is also an amazing father to our three children. Anytime he is not at work, he is with the family. He takes care of his family. He doesn’t joke with that. I thank God for having him and I thank his parents for bringing him up rightly.

    “We have a family support system which is wonderful. I am the CEO of the business, but most of the time, every decision I take is something that we have both agreed to do. As the CEO, I provide a lot of oversight, but we are a combination of two people who are passionate about something, and doing what they believe in.

    “In fact, being my husband makes it more interesting because the family that does anything together stays together, because a lot of things continually blends us together. Personally as a mum, I love to be around my children. I like to have time for them. That I have achieved by working for myself. And my husband also likes that. So I can say that we are all comfortable with the family arrangement.

  • Making the wrong choice

    A number of times, we like to be nice to the other person. At such moments, we believe that our silence would be golden. Unfortunately, this is not always the case because the other person continues to take you for granted.

    Too bad, how come what you have been avoiding is happening to you? Could it have been better if you had had the confrontations earlier on? Is it a fallout of the words you aren’t saying, the red flags you’re ignoring or those eggshells you’re tiptoeing around? If our happiness is chronic and unending, then maybe we aren’t addressing something that needs to be seen.

    He had put in so much in a relationship that turned out to be the worst experience in his life. He got blamed for things he knew nothing about and just when he thought it was better to tell his own side of the story, he got reprimanded again and again. His heart certainly had been raked over the coals and he just does not know where to start from.

    Friends and foes all think he must travel that route again and they begin to give him tips and likely options. His heart was still blank. Naturally, an old flame came to mind. Great idea, they had some unfinished business that was interrupted by a rude heart. It was a sad experience because the intruder did not fill the vacuum that he left behind. Instead, he created a bigger hole in the heart of the girl he really loved and abandoned her in a lonely emotional corridor.

    Yes, he was still in love with that babe but again so many ‘stinking’ waters have passed through these emotional waters. The truth of the matter is that Cynthia is not likely to be the same again. Her heart has been battered so badly and then she may also be feeling guilty about making the wrong choice. Those who have seen her recently also say that she has become a shadow of her former self and it won’t be easy rediscovering love in this battered terrain.

    So, he concluded that it was better to move on and allow this sleeping ’emotional ‘dog to find love elsewhere or rest in emotional peace.

    To survive on the emotional terrain, you just have to keep the flame burning nicely. Two wonderful hearts at the beginning have warmth, but as time goes on the warmth within may just not be enough to keep you going and soaring to your dream heights.

    You must replenish with coals that would make you glow and burn nicely. You can only do this when the heart that you are cruising with is compatible and when the charcoal of affection is of good quality. The heat from such this emotional tangle must be mild, warm and soothing. However, if the heat is harsh and wild, then you are in for trouble. You are not likely to find emotional peace except you get a fire extinguisher to set you free.

    Now, it was obvious that he had been chasing shadows and that earned him so much criticism and frustration. A new emotional flame certainly sounds better, fresh, as well as untainted. This sounds better and he just cannot afford to go though the experience he had been through in the past. Falling in love with Cynthia had actually cost him so much and at a point he almost thought it would be impossible to move on with the pieces.

    When you rake someone over the coals, you criticise them severely for something that they have done. You reprimand them for some wrongdoing.

    Raking people over the coals was something that was practiced in Europe a few centuries ago. If people suspected that you were practicing witchcraft, or that you didn’t believe in things that the church said, then you were accused of being a heretic and dragged over red-hot coals of a slow fire. If you survived the ordeal, then you were declared innocent. If you didn’t, well it was just too bad.

    It is therefore important to understand the issues as well as how to handle it properly. If you’re keeping score in your relationship, then there will always be a loser. You’ll never have a 50/50 split, right down the middle, through each and every season. And if your scorecard is full of markings and deductions from the past  like that time he stormed out and you felt abandoned, then you’re sowing the seeds of resentment. It’s better to let go, and let it be.

    One important fact is that every relationship requires sacrifice and compromise. It also includes taking care of yourself, enforcing your boundaries, making time for the things and people who bring you joy, and prioritising your needs.

  • Where exactly did Buhari go wrong?

    President Muhammadu Buhari is in deep problem with a set of social media-savvy critics who just would not see anything good in what he does, says or refuses to say. Good intentions or not, it is one battle the President seems condemned to lose if recent events are anything to go by. By the way, this set of critics is doing everything within its reach to make sure that Buhari beats the unenviable records set by former President Goodluck Jonathan as self-acclaimed “most criticised leader’ in the world. To them, every step taken to recover stolen loot, address the gaping infrastructural deficits, strengthen the dwindling fortunes of the Naira, make government transparent and accountable or empower institutions to discharge their responsibilities without fear or favour by Buhari often manifests the crying incompetence of his leadership. That’s the illogical logic they subscribe to. If they are not attacking his policies, they swoop on his gait, his body language or even the hidden message encrypted in his traditional attire. They have become powerful leeches that not only stalk the President but also test the inelastic patience of the former no-nonsense military Head of State.

    Do not get me wrong. No one is saying that the President should not be criticised, harangued or even vilified in order to make him walk his talk. Even ordinary Knucklehead enjoys doing that. What is condemnable is the disturbing trend in which criticism now flourish in the waters of mischief and banal calumny. While I acknowledge the need to caution the President against making statements that may project the country in bad light, it is despicable that certain elements who are yet to come to grasp with the reality of a Buhari Presidency would stop at nothing to grind his nose on rocky stone. It is even more dangerous when otherwise respectable individuals ingloriously peddle falsehood – all in an attempt to denigrate a man they love to hate. Like I once noted on this page, no citizen should be under any compulsion to love or hate any particular leader. However, what I found repulsive is the way and manner the characters that have coalesced to nail the President have been going about their vengeful campaign.

    Buhari may not be anyone’s poster boy for oratorical prowess but he has not been found wanting in articulating his points. Slow in his pitch and sometimes drab in speech with diction that tests the wit of the most patient interviewee, Buhari has never failed to articulate his points to the best of his understanding. And so, when the social media went viral with the news that Buhari had done the unpardonable by labelling all Nigerians as criminals in an interview he granted a British newspaper, “The Telegraph”  during his last visit to the United Kingdom, I had to tread on the path of caution.

    A full transcript of the interview on the newspaper’s website includes President Buhari’s statement that: “Some Nigerians claim is that life is too difficult back home, but then again some Nigerians have also made it difficult for Europeans and Americans to accept them because of the number of Nigerians in different prisons all over the world accused of drug trafficking or human trafficking. I don’t think Nigerians have anybody to blame. They can remain at home.”

    At least, common sense, which is a rarity among his growing band of traducers, dictates that one ought to go through the ‘vexatious’ interview before taking a position. It is pointless to note that if Buhari had specifically described all Nigerians as criminals, as some allege, he would have automatically become the nation’s Number One criminal at the world stage. This thinking, more than anything else, fired my interest in sourcing for the full text of the controversial interview especially when the issue had become a hot topic on the Twitter handle of a serving Senator who prides himself as making common sense, oftentimes outside the Red Chamber.

    In a society where tasteless rumour catches faster than wild fire, it did not take long before these ‘patriotic’ Nigerians came up with the hash tag “###I am a Nigerian, I am not a criminal” which turned out to be the greatest hoax of this year. At least, for now. And so, right before our very eyes, a silly, denigrating kite flown by a delusional relevance-seeking senator about the leader of his country resulted in the herd mentality in which common sense took a flight and buffoonery was writ large on the canvas of hatred. They were out to criminalise the President’s statements but they ended up fooling themselves. By the way, how come no one bothered to take some time off the lunacy on the social media to find out if their target of bile actually label over 160 million Nigerians criminals? Could it be because of a blind desire to see Buhari fail?

    Curiously, Buhari said many things which those who would want him to roast in the sun ignored. Naturally, he couldn’t have been playing to their script when he said all efforts to negotiate the return of the abducted Chibok girls had come to naught because the security forces do not have “any evidence of a credible leadership” within the deadly Boko Haram sect as there was “conflicting information on the status of Abubakar Shekau”, it’s most prominent leader in the Jonathan era. Those answers were simply not the ones the opposition sought, to  latch on with the aim of demonise the President.  Not even Buhari’s veiled response to questions regarding the form of foreign military interventions that the country would get could elicit the kind of excitement one had expected from this band of critics. It mattered not that the President told the foreign media that Nigeria-trained soldiers now battle the insurgents with some degree of successes unlike in the past where the government hired mercenaries from South Africa and other countries. Yet, these were the same Nigerian soldiers who “had a good record across West Africa” before allocations to the military find their way into private pockets culminating in the current probe of $2.1bn arms money allegedly diverted by former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.). As far as they are concerned, Buhari was merely ranting when he expressed regrets about “how the mighty has fallen.” Who cares if it stays fallen forever anyway?

    So what exactly could have drawn their ire and led to the twist in the tale in that interview? Well, they were miffed that the President failed to tell a lie or, at most, justify the craze by some Nigerians to seek asylum abroad under the pretext that their lives were under threat back home. Asked if it was “legitimate” for this set of Nigerians to use migrant routes to the UK to claim asylum saying that their lives were under the persistent threat of the Boko Haram insurgents, Buhari retorted: “Some Nigerians claim is that life is too difficult back home, but then again some Nigerians have also made it difficult for Europeans and Americans to accept them because of the number of Nigerians in different prisons all over the world accused of drug trafficking or human trafficking. I don’t think Nigerians have anybody to blame. They can remain at home. Their services are required to rebuild the country. If their countrymen misbehaved, the best thing for them is to stay at home and encourage the credibility of the nation.”

    To the senator who started it all and his twittering community, the President stands condemned for daring to deplore the criminal intents of those tarnishing an already battered image in which hundreds of our fellow citizens are serving terms for different kinds of offences. For them, common sense demands a diplomatic dribble around the question. Instead of “criminalising” all us, he could have blamed anyone else but Nigerians for risking their lives through illegal routes to get to Europe, for engaging in the dangerous world of drug trafficking, for packaging vulnerable young girls for sex slavery across the globe, for laundering billions of dollars for privileged Nigerians in high places, for engaging in shady businesses and all other dangerous ventures. As a President of Africa’s largest gathering of black people, he should have kept mum about the fact that, as at May 2015, prisons in Asian countries are swarming with over 130 Nigerians on death row over drug related offences; that the UK harbours a former influential state governor in Nigeria in its prison facility; that some are languishing in the same facilities in the United States and even in some African countries.

    That, I presume, is where Buhari missed it. He is a complete failure when it comes to living in self-deceit. His greatest undoing remains his brash commitment to saying the truth. He needs to spice it up with what those who felt criminalised by his responses would rather call diplomatese – covering the lie with some sweet fragrances of untruth. Buhari needs to learn the art of wowing his audience with hollow sophistry that leads to nowhere. For now, he is yet to learn the logic in that principle as being espoused by the senator and his deluded followers. And that’s why it would take more than a denial for The Presidency to wash off this latest allegation that he criminalises a whole nation. But it is not too late to make amends. The path to self-delusion can begin as soon as the President resumes duty. When next he flies to Europe and asked questions touching on whether Nigerians have an image problem abroad, he should fire back with an emphatic “No” instead of the long-winding response he gave in The Telegraph’s interview where he said: “Certainly. But we are on our way to salvage that. We will encourage our countrymen to stay at home, work hard and make a respectable living at home.”

    He could, if he wants, add that the people back at home have been salvaged from the shackles of poverty and are living like kings and princesses in an atmosphere devoid any deadly attacks by terrorists, arsonists and pure criminals. That’s the only way to assuage the fears of the pretentious lot that wax lyrical on the social media about common sense logic that they never get to live in real life. Unfortunately, it’s that sort of political correctness that has left us in this quandary as the criminals run when no one is pursuing them. Do they give a damn? Shame!