Buhari, Yakubu, Atiku And The Death Of Trust

 By Tunde Olusunle  

If anyone had prophesied the retention of Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in that office to which he was appointed in 2015 by Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s president, beyond 2019, he would have been pilloried as a false prophet. Yakubu, a Professor of Political History and International Relations, was on the staff of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna before his appointment to that office.

*Buhari and Yakubu 

We run a country which naively confers seriousness, integrity and respectability on people simply on the basis of their often padded and advertised curriculum vitae. Just being a professor and coming from the geo-religiously “correct” extreme of the country privilege certain people for consideration and appointment into specific offices and the accrual of benefits therein. 

Whither The Nigerian President?

 By Sola Ebiseni

Nigerians are so shell-shocked at the degree of lawlessness that characterised the 2023 elections, wondering if this country is still under any government which is symbolised in the President. As the head of state, President Muhammad Buhari has nowhere to pass the buck, especially of the orgy of violence during the elections in all parts of the nation. He is inexorably accountable. The Presidential and National Assembly elections of February 25 set the tone for the horrendous occurrences during the gubernatorial election which was initially slated for March 11, but postponed by one week.

*Buhari 

Some of us had thought it was mischievous, as some suggests that the real reason for the shift was to buy time  for those caught unawares during the first elections to redeem their losses by all means. We were proved wrong. Even at that, Nigerians were still hopeful that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and particularly its Chairman, would strive to prove pessimists wrong that its sole agenda was to deliver the country to the ruling part unashamedly.

Avoidable Cash Crisis: Any Lessons Learnt?

 By Ayo Baje

Most important, the Central Bank must keep public opinion on its side, because the public is the ultimate source of its power and independence.” – International Monetary Fund (IMF) report titled: “Rethinking Monetary Policy in a Changing World”. 

On February 3, 2023, the media was awash with the report of an unidentified man who slumped and died after spending hours at a new generation bank in Agbor, Delta state in what turned out a fruitless effort to withdraw some money. 

Cash Squeeze: As Buhari Plays Pontius Pilate

 By Charles Okoh

Last week, Nigerians got some sort of relief as the Central Bank and Federal Government finally complied with the Supreme Court ruling on the lingering cash squeeze which practically squeezed life out of many Nigerians.

*Emefiele and Buhari 

I am not particularly interested in the debate as it concerns the independence of the CBN or otherwise or the right of the Supreme court to intervene in monetary policy administration. 

The arguments for or against, are neither here nor there, my pain is the unwarranted hardship which the federal government under president Muhammadu Buhari unconscionably subjected the people to. This level of hardship is unprecedented. 

Genetically Modified Foods, Business, And Health Effects

 By Timi Olubiyi

The common social concerns are the country’s high mortality rate, poverty, and malnutrition. But for health concerns, the advice is usually to reduce fats, cholesterols, and sugar intake, improve nutrition and a good diet, do not smoke and so on to avoid health issues. However, the fact is food is about health and healthy living, but less is heard about the need to promote organic food eating in a world where innovation is now widespread in Agric-Business and farming, with the genetically engineering of crops and foods.

Genetically Modified (GM) foods are foods that are produced from genetically modified organisms (GMO) that have had their DNA altered through genetic engineering. Genetic modification, also known as genetic engineering, it simply means having the DNA of crops and foodstuffs altered using genes from other plants or animals to achieve specific aims.

A Nation Where Everyone Is Oppressed

 By Owei Lakemfa

Nigerians have the next 70 days to survive a regime that has chastised them with whips and is promising to further chastise them with scorpions. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, last week not only renewed the Buhari regime’s threat to increase Nigerians heavy burden by piling far higher fuel prices, but also told the incoming administration to immediately raise the Value Added Tax from 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent.

While depleting all available resources and adding heavy local and foreign debts to the bargain, the regime seems determined to drain whatever finances are available. So, rather than wind down and start producing handover notes, it wants to conduct a census that promises to be controversial. But more importantly, the census will be used to legally take out N869 billion or $1.88 billion from our national coffers. It is like a retirement package.

INEC And Controversial Elections

 By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa

Year in and year out, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, conducts elections into various offices in Nigeria, either through the main general elections, the bye-elections or other elections. INEC has been involved in the conduct of elections for an unbroken period of twenty-four years on, from 1999 to 2023. It would seem however that there is still a lot to do to get the electoral umpire moving. For sure, INEC is the only statutory body authorised to organise or conduct elections in Nigeria, in respect of certain offices created by the Constitution.

*Yakubu 

INEC is one of the federal executive agencies of the State established under section 153 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, with its functions stated in paragraph 15 of the Third Schedule of the said Constitution. Under and by virtue of paragraph 14 of the said Third Schedule, the Chairman of INEC should be at least forty years old, he must be non-partisan, he must not be a member of a political party and he must be a person of unquestionable integrity.

President, Governors Disown The Poor!

 By Dele Sobowale

“Fish rots from the head.”

If you want to know how good or bad a country is, just take a look at the top politicians. It is now becoming an axiom of political science, that it is almost impossible to have a great country with absolutely atrocious leaders in charge. It all starts from the President or Prime Minister. 

*Buhari

Was there an African or black person anywhere who was not proud when Nelson Mandela was President of South Africa? Who else among the mob that was elected and ruled in Africa who has given us that sense of pride in being African and black? Mandela achieved everlasting fame, universal acclaim and respect in just five years. See what we have got in Nigeria after seven and a half years of Buhari. Surely nobody would be dishonest enough as to call him a great leader – given the legacies he and the First Lady, FL, are likely to leave behind.

As Nigeria’s Judges Get Set To Begin Voting

 By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

This week, the opening salvo will be fired to signal the onset of the final round of voting in Nigeria’s electoral marathon. This is not a reference to the state-level ballots that occurred around the country on Saturday, March 18. I refer instead to something far more consequential.

Democracy may be about choices and decisions by citizens in theory. As practised in Nigeria, however, citizens are mostly spectators. In every election, Nigeria’s judges have the final votes.

2023 Elections: Do We Still Need Political Parties?

 By Adekunle Adekoya

The online version of Encyclopaedia Brittanica describes a political party as “a group of persons organised to acquire and exercise political power”. Political parties originated in their modern form in Europe and the United States in the 19th century, along with the electoral and parliamentary systems, whose development reflects the evolution of parties. The term party has since come to be applied to all organised groups seeking political power, whether by democratic elections or by revolution. 

*Obi, Tinubu, Atiku, Kwankwaso

Another online resource portal, Wikipedia defines a political party “as an organisation that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country’s elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or policy goals. Political parties have become a major part of the politics of almost every country.”

Peter Obi Writes Nigerians, Says: A New Nigeria Is Again Possible On The 18th Of March!

 

On 25th of February 2023, millions of Nigerians from all walks of life, across generations and backgrounds, from Bornu to Lagos, Port Harcourt to Sokoto, Kano to Enugu, Taraba to Ondo voted strongly and resolutely to take back their country. They voted for Labour Party; they voted for a New Nigeria!  I most sincerely continue to thank all Nigerians for their genuine belief and commitment that a New Nigeria is possible through us. And indeed, it is possible and has started!   

Nigeria: Thoughts On Our National Trauma

 By Steve Azaiki

For Nigerians, these are not the easiest of times. Happy faces are rare, because the mood is indignant. Adults—male and female—have stripped naked inside banking halls, demanding their cash. Fights break out routinely on queues before ATMs that dispense only miserly amounts. Small businesses have quietly folded up, at least in the meantime, because of low patronage occasioned by the cash crunch. 

Fuel queues disappear for only a few days, and then the filling stations run dry for weeks amid official explanations that don’t quite make sense to anyone any more. Nor do citizens feel safe and secure in cities, on the farm, or on the highways. Add the epileptic public power supply and the excruciatingly high cost of living, and it is easy to read the nation’s mood.

INEC: Nigeria’s Institutions Act Irresponsibly With Impunity… Sad!

 By Olu Fasan

Every nation fails or succeeds on the quality of its institutions. But every institution is as strong as the quality of its personnel, their competence and professionalism, their values and norms. Unfortunately, Nigeria is a country where state institutions utterly malfunction, bereft of any sense of responsibility, and where public officials have perverse norms and values, lacking a sense of purpose to serve the national interest.

*Yakubu

The latest instance of institutional failure in Nigeria is the abysmal performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, which dashed the hopes of millions of Nigerians, and the expectations of the world, by conducting a presidential election universally condemned for woefully failing the basic tests of transparency and credibility. INEC’s failure reinforced the global perception of Nigeria as a failing state.

Toxicity Of Tinubu’s Lagos Politics

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

As I reflect on the happenings in Lagos State since the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections, I cannot help but see the spectre of the 1994 Rwanda genocide unfolding before our very eyes. In the years leading up to the 1994 genocide, the Hutu-led government used all its propaganda machinery to spread bigotry and hatred against the Tutsi, painting them as a threat to Rwanda, exactly the same way a section of the Lagos community is inciting hatred against Ndigbo, portraying them as enemies of the Yoruba.

*Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu in Landon
“For genocide to occur,” Kennedy Ndahiro, Rwandan journalist wrote on March 13, 2014, “it must be preceded by the dehumanisation of a group … dehumanisation removes the individuality of a person. There is no difference between the group and the individuals. When done well, pity for the 'other' becomes impossible and extermination becomes the natural next step.”  In the last three weeks, Ndigbo have been grossly dehumanised in Lagos. They have been portrayed as ungrateful migrants – never mind that they are Nigerians – who want to appropriate Yoruba heritage. 

A Toast To Odia Ofeimun At 73

 By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

There is no better way of introducing Odia Ofeimun than pointedly stressing that “Odia Ofeimun is Odia Ofeimun!” Enough said. 

*Ofeimun

Poet, publisher, editor, activist, polemicist, mentor, politician, columnist, factory worker, writer, dance-drama exponent, public intellectual, critic etc, Odia Ofeimun has packed uncountable lifetimes into one tumultuous lifespan. 

Igbo And The Battle For Lagos

 By Bisi Olawunmi

With governorship elections slated for Saturday, 18 March, 2023 there is tension in many states where the elections have become too close to call. Lagos State is the economic jewel of the nation and one where Saturday’s election will be an epic battle, given the emergent Youth Revolt which catapulted Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to a landmark victory over Lagos Landlord, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Obi garnered 582,454 votes to Tinubu’s 572,606 votes with perennial presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, of the People’s Democratic Party trailing by a paltry 75,750. For the PDP candidate, it was literally a wipe -out. Atiku, the Turaki of Adamawa simply ‘ tukasile ‘ (fell apart) in his Lagos outing. The Obidients even claim that they had a wallop of votes close to one million.

Nigeria: A Dangerous Trend

 By Sunny Ikhioya

From the outcome of the February 25 elections, it is clear that our politics will never be the same again. Our youths have answered the clarion call by taking up the challenge to take back their country and, this is clear for all to see. Even with this, some people are refusing to accept the reality of our situation. You know, those who do not want to play by the rules always find reasons for their failure. The election was substantially flawed and has drawn negative criticism from far and near. 

Ultimately, it is the court that will decide. But whatever the outcome, the real change in our democracy has come to stay. This is an election that our sitting President, after casting his vote on election day, displayed his ballot to the whole world, an action that is against the Constitution and the Electoral Act. By so doing, he has demonstrated that our leaders have no respect for the rule of law, and a few misguided leaders followed in his footstep. 

To The Nigerian Youths Of Lagos

 By Sola Ebiseni  

To start with, I belong to the OBIDATTI Movement with undying conviction that a new Nigeria is possible and that the combination of Peter Gregory Obi and Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed is the best for its realisation. My conviction is also anchored on the fact that it is the turn of Southern Nigeria and specifically the South-East to produce the next President of Nigeria after the eight years of President Buhari from the North as a guarantee for equity and the imperative peace of the federation.

Nigerian youths, in spite of the INEC shenanigans, remain the heroes of the on-going electioneering processes. From the outset, they were unpretentious about their interests. They resolved to break away from the evil that has befallen Nigerians, particularly in the last eight years in all aspects of life and more worrisome, the issue of insecurity which places our country in the category of failed states.

Creating Safe Digital Spaces For Women

 By Sefa Ikpa and Zikora Ibeh

International Women’s Day, celebrated every March 8, is a day to commemorate the achievements of women and gender equality advocates. This year’s theme focuses on innovation and digital technology for gender equality, recognising the rising influence of technology, and the important role it plays in society today, including the negative and positive effects.

Over the last two decades, digital technology has had significant impact on global industrialisation, knowledge democratisation, access to power and opportunities, and networking. Indeed, the growth of digital technology has revolutionised human experiences and social interactions across the world.

Presidental Election 2023: Demonstration Of Craze

 By Ighodalo Clement Eromosele

The expectation by Nigerians of a free, fair, transparent and credible presidential election; the hope that results from the polling units will be transmitted directly to INEC Result Viewing portal (IReV); the enthusiasm kindled in Nigerians, many, first-time voters to perform a civic duty of voting have all been eroded by processes characterized by multiple irregularities, foremost of which was the failure by INEC officials to transmit results for the presidential elections directly from the polling units in accordance with the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act and with the much publicized INEC election guidelines.

INEC has arrogated the failure to do so as arising from glitches in the electronic systems. Yet, the results for the National Assembly Elections were transmitted by the same systems. This contradiction is befuddling and it is a trust deficit for INEC.