Elections As Crime Scenes: Decriminalising The Electoral Process

 By Owei Lakemfa

Twice did I hear Aisha Dahiru, alias Binani, of the All Progressives Party, APC, declared the winner of the Adamawa State gubernatorial elections and the first female to be elected governor in the country. Twice did this turn out to be a hoax – a sick joke played on Nigerians. The first time was the product of propaganda; the diet on which Nigeria is run.

After the March 18, 2023, elections, it was announced on some media outlets the next day that Binani had won the elections. Many, including Great Britain, fell for the hoax. The British High Commissioner in Nigeria, Catriona Laing, took to her verified Twitter handle, screaming: “Great news! Huge congratulations to Aisha Binani! I hope you will be a trailblazer for other elected female governors.”

Nigeria: Federal Republic Of Thuggery

 By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

Shamelessness is the vilest disease of the Nigerian establishment. The shameless mode of the leaders of Nigeria was activated in full force on February 25 and March 18, in this year of Our Lord, when so-called national elections were staged. 

It all turned out to be a sham, a charade that even the most mentally retarded child would scoff at. Yet, billions were voted for the exercises that the organizers never believed in at all in the first instance.

Nigeria And The Politics Of Hunger

 By Sunny Awhefeada 

My generation's first experience of hunger and its attendant crises was in the mid-1980s. My genera­tion here refers to Nigerians born after the civil war and attained teenagehood from 1983 onwards. We have read in history books of how starvation was one of the major tools that was deployed to fight the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970.

Pictures abound of chil­dren, youths and older people who suffered from the affliction of hunger. Not even the efforts of humanitarian agencies that tried to alleviate the hunger in the refugee camps that littered the secessionist enclave of Biafra alleviated the crisis. Hunger engendered dis­eases which in turn yielded deaths. Many still believe that starvation more than bullets and bombs was what made Biafra to capitulate when it did.

Nigeria: Must We Have This Census Now?

 By Adekunle Adekoya

It is no longer news that the Federal Government has activated plans to conduct a national population and housing census next month. The last time we had a census was March 2006. There is nothing bad in having a census; indeed, a lot of benefits will accrue if we really know how many of us are together in this country.

Historically, the first census was conducted in 1866 and this was followed by Censuses of 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901. However, all these earlier censuses were restricted to Lagos Colony and its environs. The 1871 census marked the beginning of decennial census in Nigeria in line with British tradition of census-taking every 10 years.

Setting Fresh Agenda In Fight Against Poverty

 By Stanley Achonu

The seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, made one of the most profound statements concerning humanity when he said, “Extreme poverty anywhere is a threat to human security everywhere.”

Like Annan, world leaders and public officeholders are increasingly aware of the devastating impact of extreme poverty on society and its potency to strip individuals of their dignity and push them toward hunger and deprivation. This understanding has birthed several global alleviation programmes to combat poverty and mitigate its impact.

Fascists? Look No Further Than The Ruling Party

 By Olu Fasan

As a creative writing scholar at Oxford University, I have been reviewing the legendary literature Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka’s latest book Chronicles from the land of the happiest people on earth. Reading the book, a political fiction, I’m enthralled by its linguistic and literary quality. Imagine my bafflement, therefore, when Professor Soyinka recently used the word “fascistic” to describe Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of Labour Party in February’s presidential election.

What drew Professor Soyinka’s ire was Dr Baba-Ahmed’s controversial interview on Channels TV. “Whoever swears in Mr Tinubu has ended democracy in Nigeria,” he said, adding: “Mr President, do not hold that inauguration. CJN (Chief Justice of Nigeria), your lordship, do not partake in unconstitutionality.” Baba-Ahmed argued that Bola Tinubu “has not met the requirements of the law”, having failed to secure 25 per cent of the votes cast in Abuja.

The Real Threat To Nigeria’s Democracy

 By Ikechukwu Amaechi

Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad,” says an ancient proverb. I agree completely. If you are in doubt, reflect on the bizarre actions of the suspended Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari.

It will only take a mad man, destined for destruction by the gods, to pull off a stunt, so foolish and dangerous, as Yunusa-Ari did on Sunday, April 16, when he usurped the powers of the Returning Officer to declare Senator Aishatu ‘Binani’ Dahiru, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, winner of the Adamawa governorship election even when the results of the supplementary election held the previous day were yet to be fully collated.

Nine Years Of Chibok Abduction And 96 Captive Girls

 By James Christoff, Matias Schmale and Cristian Munduate

The abduction of 276 female students from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, in 2014 brought the plight of children in Northeast Nigeria to the forefront of international attention. The Chibok girls became a symbol of the conflict’s devastating impact on children in particular girls, and their continued captivity nine years later is a reminder that the crisis is far from over.

On the ninth anniversary of the abduction, the world is once again reminded of the devastating impact of the ongoing armed conflict in Northeast Nigeria on children.

96 Chibok girls remain in captivity, as well as a significant number of children abducted by non-state armed groups, notably, Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP). As a global community, we cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of these children. We demand their unconditional release.

2023 ANA Literary Prizes: Call For Entries!

 

Introduction:

The Association of Nigerian Authors [ANA] hereby announces a range of prizes for its 2023 literary competitions. The prizes are:

1. ANA / KMVL Prize for Poetry (Published) -500,000

2. ANA Prize for Prose Fiction (Published & Unpublished) – N 100,000

3. ANA Prize for Drama (Published & Unpublished) – N 100,000

4. ANA Prize for Children's Literature- 7-13 Years Age Range (Published Works Only and Open To All Categories Of Authors) - N100, 0000

Nigeria: Rule Of Terror On Steroid Loading

 By Ugo Onuoha

Nigeria’s federal government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its enforcer, the [In]dependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must be ruing their failure to stop by any means, fair or foul, Mr. Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP or Elup) from being on the ballot in the February 25th presidential and national assembly elections. If the numerous youths of this country had not been on the ballot through their chosen team— Obi and Datti-Ahmad – the President, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari regime and the APC would have casually walked away with the numbing electoral heists of February 25th and March 18th.

*Buhari 

If the presidential contest had been the about the usual Peoples Democratic Party represented by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar versus Alhaji Bola Tinubu’s APC, Tinubu and APC and their collaborators would have been celebrating since March 1st when INEC awarded them the presidential trophy in the dead of the night when majority of Nigerians were sleeping. Nigerians were expected to wake up to a ‘faith accompli’ and to the phrase of ‘go to court’ by INEC and APC to the candidates and political parties who believed that they were raped and robbed.

Soyinka: That Awful Somersault Of A Sage

 By Ike Abonyi

“If you're betrayed, release disappointment at once. By that way, the bitterness has no time to take root.” ― Toba Beta. 

The author of Master of Stupidity, Toba Beta, has timely advice for all Nigerians on what to do when we are bitter at betrayal. Not a few men of conscience feel that way in this country today. We are all concerned and disappointed that even our revered literary icon, and rights crusader, Prof Wole Soyinka could find himself entangled in the dirty side of our politics. 

*Soyinka and Tinubu 

Anybody who has been privileged to have aged parents or other relatives around should understand why the Obidient and indeed the rest of Nigerians should take it easy with Prof Soyinka who avoidably dragged himself into the murky waters of Nigerian politics. As a result, he found himself at the bashing end of the Obidient Movement and has understandably remained cranky since the electoral fraud of February 25 in which candidate Peter Obi was heading for victory but got thwarted by the devious actions of Prof Mahmoud Yakubu and his [not-so] Independent National Electoral Commission. 

Nigeria’s Incoming National Assembly May Also Fail

 By Tonnie Iredia

To say that the next set of Nigerian legislators may also fail implies that their predecessors had earlier failed. But considering that since 1999 when democracy was restored in the country, our lawmakers have become Nigeria’s wealthiest class, is it not contradictory to describe them as failures? But when the steady decline of Nigeria is considered against the backdrop of the failure to use lawmaking as a tool for the attainment of good governance, it becomes obvious that our successive lawmakers have consistently failed the people whose interest they were expected to represent.

On June 04, 2015, the 7th National Assembly(NASS) while marking the end of its tenure, passed 46 Bills in 10minutes. The Bills were first passed by the House of Representatives before they were forwarded to the Senate which simply skipped all the necessary law-making procedures and passed them, thereby technically entering the Guinness Book of records. 

Soyinka, Chimamanda And Other Burning Issues

 By Valentine Obienyem

The last election in Nigeria was the worst in its electoral history. Have you asked yourself why it was only APC and Sen. Ahmed Bola Tinubu that failed to condemn non-transmission of results from the polling booths to the central server even before the results were announced? The election has created  deep divisions among Nigerians, who belong to diverse ethnic and religious groups because Tinubu charged his supporters to secure victory for him by any means possible. Alas, we have seen how his followers used the ethnic and religious card, Ayo masquerade festival, guns, cudgels, threats, and psychological warfare to secure unmerited victory for him.

*Soyinka and Chimamanda 

 

The unconscionable  action of Tinubu was a clear example of his readiness to bring Nigeria down owing to his vaulting  political ambition. The practical disfranchisement of Nigerians had removed the mental stimulus that comes from free political activity and a widespread sense of liberty and power.

Soyinka, Chimamanda And Obi-Dients: When Does Opinion Cross The Line?

 By Jideofor Adibe

In recent weeks Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, multiple award winning writer, Chimamanda Adichie, and supporters of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25, 2023 presidential election  (otherwise known as Obidients), have been trending. The backgrounds were an interview granted by Datti Baba Ahmed in which he was quoted as saying that whoever “swears in Mr. Tinubu has ended democracy in Nigeria”. Elsewhere, Dr. Datti Baba- Ahmed was also quoted as saying that Nigeria does not have a President-elect.  

*Chimamanda and Soyinka 

The conversation took a different turn when Soyinka criticised the comments by Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, saying: “I have never heard anyone threaten the judiciary on television the way Datti did I heard the kind of menacing, blackmailing language that we were treated to by Datti. That kind of do-or-die attitude and provocation is not what I think we have all been struggling for.”

Abuja’s Special Constitutional Status And Why It Is Not A State

 By Sola Ebiseni

Contrary to wild assumptions for and against, Section 134 (1) (b) or 134 (2) (b) which deals with the requirements of 25 per cent of the votes cast at the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, as a prerequisite for declaring a candidate winner of the Presidential election in Nigeria, has never been directly and purposely interpreted by our courts. This is because no one has ever been declared President without having scored 25 per cent of the votes cast in the FCT to invoke the jurisdiction of the court to interpret the section accordingly.

It is a cardinal principle of our jurisprudence that courts do not indulge in speculative or academic matters. Its authoritative jurisdiction is invoke to interpret live issues. Thus, none of the cases so far cited from the varied opinions is precedent for our purpose. As stated by the Supreme Court in a plethora of cases “the decision of a court must always be considered in the light of its own peculiar facts or circumstances. No case is identical to another, though they may be similar. 

Bloody Attacks Must Stop In Nigeria

 By Obiotika Tochukwu

An April 9, 2023, St Francis Xavier Catholic Church Owo, Ondo State, was reopened. This is 10 months from June 5, 2022, when a bomb attack and mass shooting took place during a service in the church; in which 41 persons lost their lives and several others sustained varying injuries. Up till now there are no suspects regarding those who carried out the dastardly act. Such attacks have been going on in the country in recent times. To worsen matters, the government only mourns and condemns attacks, afterwards nothing happens. How does one imagine the mindless killings and no one cares?

Before last Easter, there were cases of bloody attacks in Benue State. The attacks in Benue State are too many. In the past, the state government despaired and lost every confidence in the Federal Government’s inability to help it to tackle the episodes.

Ethnic Profiling In An Imperiled Republic

 By Hope O’Rukevbe Eghagha

Nigeria is currently plagued by a myriad of debilitating problems – insecurity, hunger and poverty, rights of minorities, economic mismanagement and exploitation, corruption, myopic leadership, and a weak governance structure. Some of these directly threaten the corporate existence of Nigeria.

There are too many unsettled issues about the conditions for mutual coexistence of the different ethnic groups in the country. There is a perception that the basis for national unity has not been negotiated and accepted. A master-servant relationship between a parasitic majority and the minorities is troubling the new generation of Nigerians.

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.

2023 Election: The Betrayal, The Tragedy, The Shame

 By Tony Eluemunor

First the betrayal: Presi­dent Muhammadu Buhari and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), without being prompted by anyone, repeatedly promised Nigerians a free and fair election in February 2023. Bu­hari promised that a transparent 2023 election would be his legacy project.

Yet, what happened? Local and in­ternational observers have derided both Nigeria and the elections. Both Buhari and the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu knew that giving Nigeria a flawless general election was doable. They knew that the money pro­jected to meet the logistics that would make the poll transparent was duly budgeted for and the monies were made available to the electoral agency. The computing systems that would make it possible to upload results real time, and so deny election riggers the opportunity of cooking the figures at the so-called collating centres, were bought and de­signed. The right laws were in place. 

Nigeria: The Followership Has Failed Us again, How Sad!

 

By Ayo Oyoze Baje

“Some praise at morning what they blame at night.
But always think the last opinion right” – Alexander Pope

They make the fantastic promises of the weaver bird, exude the sinister smile of the hyena, with the embrace of the gorilla, while executing the dizzying dance steps of the monkey, at the sight of bananas. As far as their own erroneously perceived Nigeria is concerned, the end justifies the means. Call it the Machiavellian doctrine; it does not matter to them.

Truth be told, what engages their mind most is the lure of the lucre-filthy or not. So, they kowtow to it, raining insults and innuendoes on anyone who has a different opinion to that of their paymasters. And that includes their townsmen, brothers, sisters, friends or associates. What a crying shame!