Showing posts with label President Muhammadu Buhari. Show all posts
Showing posts with label President Muhammadu Buhari. Show all posts

Monday, December 25, 2023

A Court For Kangaroos

 By Chidi Odinkalu

“Because judges are part of government, acting on our behalf, we are entitled to require them to abandon their priesthood and to present their activities for assessment by laymen.” David Pannick, KC, Judges, p. 17 (1987)

The Guardian’s obituary on Bernard Levin, the celebrated Times columnist who died in 2004 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, described him as “a passionate and eclectic journalist with a legendary capacity for work, whose career made him a host of friends – and enemies.” Among these enemies, few were as determined as the legal profession.

David Pannick, KC, recalls that Mr. Levin’s settled view was that “the legal profession had an infinite capacity for deluding itself.” He had good reason. When Rayner Goddard retired as Lord Chief Justice in 1958, Bernard Levin’s evisceration of his judicial record inspired “a clandestine meeting at which the higher judiciary considered whether the uppity columnist might be done for criminal libel.” The idea was eventually dropped. 

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Nigeria: Time To Clean Up The Budget Process

 By Tunde Bamise

It is budget season again for Nigeria. In November, President Bola Tinubu assented to the 2023 Supplementary Budget, and, a few weeks later, presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly. Naturally, this has been followed by a lot of debate and conversation about the details of the budget.

President Tinubu, in his presentation speech to the National Assembly, described it as “Our Budget of Renewed Hope; a budget which will go further than ever before in cementing macro-economic stability, reducing the deficit, increasing capital spending and allocation to reflect the eight priority areas of this Administration.”

Friday, September 29, 2023

Nigeria: Go To Court, Or Go To Hell?

 By Andy Ezeani

It has not been too long ago that Nigerians celebrated the coming into being of Electoral Act 2022, the new body of laws for their electoral system. The Act replaced Electoral Act 2010, on which proceedings in the country’s electoral process had hitherto been anchored. 

The process that eventually culminated in the enactment of the new electoral law was not easy, by any means. The forces that preferred the continued reign of the hitherto existing electoral law, were determined to retain the status quo. The reason was obvious. The provisions of Electoral Act 2010 were more amenable to what politicians want than what the new body of electoral laws was promising. 

Monday, September 18, 2023

Mujahid Asari Dokubo And The Life Cycle Of The Law Of Rule

 By Chidi Odinkalu

On a Friday in July 2005, Bayo Ojo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, quietly absconded from work in an office in Victoria Island, Lagos, from where he functioned then as the president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA. The next working day, a Monday, he turned up in Abuja as President Olusegun Obasanjo’s fourth Attorney-General in five years. 

Less than three months after assuming office as Attorney-General of the Federation, on October 6, 2005, Mr. Ojo filed a five-count charge before the Federal High Court against Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo, at the time the self-proclaimed leader of the Niger Delta Peoples’ Volunteer Force, NDPVF. Asari was also a leading member of the Pro-National Conference Organisation, PRONACO. The crimes charged included two counts of treasonable felony, two counts of running an unlawful society, and one count of publishing “a rumour…. which is likely to cause fear and alarm”.

Thursday, August 31, 2023

East-West Road And Shame Of A Nation

 By Jerome Utomi

The world is aware that the Niger Delta area or the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria is prone to many negative influences as a result of successive Federal Governments’ neglect of the region. Some of these challenges are well known and glaring, yet no attention given to addressing them, even though they have a substantial impact on people, corporations and social levels.


A typical example of such monumental neglect is the shoddy state of the East-West Road, a strategic road connecting the country’s busiest and foremost commercial cities in the region. That is why it is baffling that successive administrations in Nigeria had allowed the road to degenerate to such a state of disrepair.

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

Akpabio Must Get Serious

  By Charles Okoh

Perhaps, the greatest reason good leadership has continued to elude us is because the executive has consistently cowed the other arms of government into total submission and capitulation. Such that the executive can effectively do without the necessary input of the other more critical arms of government; the legislature and judiciary.

*Akpabio 

Under President Muhammadu Buhari, the legislature and judiciary were reduced to mere appendages and branches of the executive. In fact, Ahmad Lawan’s 9th leadership of the Senate hit an all-time low in that regard. For Lawan, he was even proud to announce to a bewildered nation that under his watch, the senate would never have any reason to disagree with the executive. And that promise was kept until the end of Buhari’s second term. And for that he was rewarded with another tenure at the Senate in a move that would pass as the 8th wonder of the world.

Monday, August 7, 2023

Let Me Breathe, I Don’t Want To Die!

 By Owei Lakemfa

Two different but related cries ring in my head. “Let the Poor breathe” and “I don’t want to die.” The first is the cry across the country as the masses are being suffocated by inflation and over 90 million poor get hungrier.

*Dr. Vwaere Diaso

The second is the plaintive cry of young medical doctor, Vwaere Diaso, whose calling is to save lives. However, when her life was in danger with her limbs broken by an heartless system, her blood flowing from various parts and she knew her life was ebbing and she desperately needed help, her dying cry to her colleagues was: “I don’t want to die.”

Monday, May 22, 2023

As Nigeria Prepares For The Zoom Presidency

 By Chidi Odinkalu

Having gone to London to watch the crowning of England’s King Charles III earlier this month, a friend joked last week, that President Muhammadu Buhari extended his stay so his dentist could crown his teeth. That was how he read the line from the Presidency that Buhari had stayed back in London for a dental procedure.

*Buhari and Tinubu 

Ten days before the end of his presidency, on his return to Nigeria, Buhari commissioned the Presidential Wing of the State House Medical Centre, SHMC. Estimated to be worth N21 billion, this project provides an insight into the mindsets of Nigeria’s higher-ups. 

Friday, May 19, 2023

Saving Nigeria’s Manufacturing Industry

By Elvis Eromosele  

The manufacturing industry is crucial to a nation’s economy. It plays a significant role in generating employment, increasing productivity and driving economic growth. In Nigeria, the manufacturing industry is a critical sector that contributes significantly to the country’s gross domestic product, GDP, through job creation, wealth creation, and increased tax revenue for the government.

It has equally been identified as a key sector in the nation’s quest for diversification away from oil dependency. It can enable a country to reduce its reliance on imports, improve its trade balance, and increase its overall competitiveness. Manufacturing is almost all things good.  Unfortunately, the nation’s manufacturing industry has long struggled with a host of challenges that have prevented it from achieving its full potential. Some of these challenges have intensified in the last decade.  

Monday, May 15, 2023

Buhari’s Frivolous Medical Trips Abroad

 By Charles Okoh

When the presidency announced that the out-going (thank God) President Muhammadu Buhari would be visiting the United Kingdom for the coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as King and Queen Consort of the United Kingdom penultimate Saturday, something told me that the presidency was telling its usual lies and that the president ultimately was going for a medical trip. And I said that openly to those around me.

*Buhari 

Now, the president is human and like every other human being, is liable to fall ill and deserves all the best the country can give as a nation to its president. But I dare ask, must the best healthcare be delivered outside this country? What image is the president portraying of Nigeria to the larger world? That we can’t even treat his dental challenge locally?

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Buhari’s Apology Not Accepted

  By Charles Okoh

It is human to err. No mortal man, born of a woman can claim to be without blemish. Anybody who lays claim to being righteous is the biggest jester you can find anywhere on this planet earth. Therefore, when people err and beg for forgiveness; it’s to be expected that they be given a second chance. But when a man makes the same mistakes over and over again and begs to be forgiven then the joke is no longer on the man but he that forgives and forgets, especially when the atrocities of that fellow are outrageous.

*Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari, ranks as one of the two most fortunate Nigerians from whom this nation has invested so much on and from whom much more is expected. The nation has taken care of virtually all his needs in all his working lives. He was a minister of this nation, at a time when many of those who are reading this had not been born. Served as military governor and headed various military formations. And as he lives after the end of his second term on May 29, 2023, he remains a minister after over 40 years.

Friday, April 28, 2023

As Buhari Comes To Judgement…

By Sonnie Ekwowusi

President Muhammadu Buhari has come to judgment. After exercising presidential power, judgment follows. Pricked by pangs of conscience on the last Sallah Day, Buhari realised that he committed many injustices against numerous Nigerians during his eight-year reign. 

*Buhari 

Consequently, he apologised to Nigerians and begged for their pardon. “God gave me an incredible opportunity to serve the country. We are all human, and if I have hurt some people along the line of my service to the country, I ask that they pardon me… All those whom I have hurt, I ask that they pardon me,” said a seemingly remorseful Buhari.

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Buhari’s Valediction

 By Amanze Obi

President Muhammadu Buhari has begun his valediction. He is making all manner of statements that point to his imminent retirement. He is imagining that his attention will be needed by Nigerians when he leaves office.

*Buhari

He was quoted the other day as saying that he would move far away from Abuja in order to avoid the temptation of interfering in the affairs of the new government that is to come. He even added, for effect, that he would leave Daura for Niger Republic, if there is pressure on him in his Katsina home. Before then, the President had made a broad appeal to Nigerians. He asked those whom he may have offended in the course of his presidency to forgive him.

Monday, April 17, 2023

In Nigeria, Owners Of The Killers Are Back With Impunity!

 By Chidi Odinkalu

Mbabai, the village where Tarnongo Mike Utsaha was buried on April 1, 2023, used to be part of the municipality of Makurdi, the capital of Benue State. It only became part of Guma Local Government Area in Benue North-West in 1987. Current governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, also comes from Guma.

The LGA derives its name from River Guma, which empties into the River Benue, part of a network of fresh water sources that have historically defined that part of Nigeria as the nation’s food basket. With arable land drained by an abundance of freshwater sources on the foothills of the rainy season, this is a neighborhood that should ordinarily bustle at this time of year.

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Goodbye To The Culture Of Impunity

 By Ayo Oyoze Baje

One of the most significant factors that define and drive the engine of democratic processes is respect for the rule of law. That explains why constitutions are drafted and approved, with the aims and objectives to protect human rights and freedom of association and expression. In its full essence, the Constitution prevents the government and its officials from abusing power.

It also specifies the functions of the arms of government, be it the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. As for the 1999 constitution of Nigeria (as amended) it is predicated on promoting the principles, norms and ethos of democracy.

With it, Nigerians are supposed to be separated far from “The law of the jungle” which as an expression has come to describe a scenario where “anything goes”. In fact, the Oxford English Dictionary defines the Law of the Jungle as “the code of survival in jungle life, now usually with reference to the superiority of brute force or self-interest in the struggle for survival”.

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Remembering Deborah Samuel

 By Julius Oweh

The toxic mixture of religion and politics is the distinguishing trademark that has beggared Nigeria's development and progress and until our leaders get the priority right, poverty and instability shall remain the signature tune of the country for a long time to come. I may be wearing the garb of a doomsday prophet but the realities are so stark and revealing. 

*Deborah Samuel

The butchering of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto State by fellow students is a tip of the iceberg. It is not going to be the last time religious zealots nurtured by poverty and insane religious ideology shall continue to make a mockery of the secular nature of the country and a bad reason for Nigeria to attract international media attention. 

Thursday, April 6, 2023

Is Nigeria A True Democracy? Far From It!

 By Olu Fasan

President Muhammadu Buhari recently said this year’s general elections showed that “Nigeria’s democracy has truly matured.” But speaking on Arise TV, Barry Andrews, Chief Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission to Nigeria, said: “It’s difficult to point to progress being made in terms of the democratic story of Nigeria.” Basically, he’s saying Nigeria’s “democracy” is too rudimentary to be called a true democracy. Or, as the Financial Times said, “Nigeria remains a democracy, but only just.” Put simply, Nigeria is a Democracy in Name Only, DINO!

But why does Buhari think differently? Well, a former dictator turned “democrat”, he sees democracy through the narrow prism of “voting” in “elections”, with little interest in what happens before, during and after the process. For him, provided there’s “voting”, it doesn’t matter if elections are not free, fair, transparent, and credible; if the will of the people is obstructed through vote-buying and voter-intimidation; and if people’s votes actually don’t count due to ballot-snatching and manipulation of results. 

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Stop Blackmailing Peter Obi, NAC Tells FG, APC

 

*Peter Obi and his wife, Margaret, after casting their votes during the 2023 presidential election

The Neo Africana Centre (NAC) has frowned on the treason allegations leveled against Mr Peter Obi by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, describing it as baseless, malicious and in bad taste.

Mohammed, while addressing some international media organizations and groups in Washington DC on the 2023 general elections, accused Obi of treason. He told his audience that Obi was promoting insurrection in Nigeria by inciting people to violence over the outcome of the February 25 presidential elections. 

Monday, April 3, 2023

Nigeria: DSS Can’t Afford Frivolity

 By Amanze Obi

The other day, the Department of State Services (DSS) had cause to talk tough. It said through a press statement that there was a plot by some Nigerians for the installation of an interim government at the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure on May 29. The service said it has uncovered those behind the burgeoning scheme. It frowned seriously on the plot and warned those behind it to retrace their steps.

The reaction from the DSS was predictable. It was its immediate response to the petition brought before it by one of the defenders of Bola Tinubu’s contentious election victory, Festus Keyamo. The Tinubu apologist had alleged that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25 election, Mr. Peter Obi, and his running mate, Festus Keyamo were promoting insurrection and civil disobedience. Keyamo asked the DSS to arrest them and charge them for incitement and treasonable felony.

Why Crucify Chief Iwuanyanwu?

 By Charles Okoh

Penultimate weekend, the Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, celebrated his first 365 days in office. To mark the anniversary, he pulled some very important dignitaries to Awka, the state capital. Topmost of the distinguished personalities that graced the occasion, was former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

*Iwuanyanwu 

Also present on the occasion were notable Igbo personalities like former governors of the state, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, and Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last presidential election; Chairman, Council of Elders of Ohanaeze, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, amongst others.