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TRUMP’S PRESTIGE IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA: WHAT NIGERIA SHOULD LEARN FROM THE U. S.

Since the U. S. elections which saw President-elect, Joe Biden, returned as the winner, U. S. democracy has been in the eye of the storm. A situation which was heightened on 6 January 2021 as the supporters of President Donald Trump caused a riot at the U. S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the Congress from counting and confirming the Electoral College results. The awful incident led to the death of at least four people before the security agencies put it under control.

The Capitol incident seems to be the last push needed to finally deliver the prestige of Trump into the belly of the sea. It was reasonably believed that Trump’s comments which appear to be inciteful motivated his supporters into rioting. In reaction, Trump’s social media accounts were suspended or permanently banned by the social media giants, Facebook, Instagram  and Twitter, for offending platform rules and being allegedly used as a tool for inciting violence. The embarrassing development was such that on Twitter for instance, Trump’s account was not only banned, but some tweets from his account as the President of the United States (POTUS) was also disallowed.

World leaders such as the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson; Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian are some of those who condemned the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol.

Although President Trump has agreed that there will be peaceful handover of power to Joe Biden, the riot at the Capitol and its results have been registered in the bad page of the history book of the U. S. politics.

Lessons

As observed elsewhere, “The loyalty of a vice-president should not be squarely to the president alone, but to the nation. Where the president appears to set himself up against the Constitution of the nation and will of the people, the vice-president and every well-meaning member of his administration should not stand with him.”

The U. S. Vice President, Mike Pence, led by example. He bravely presided over the counting and confirmation of the Electoral College votes to the displeasure of his boss, Trump. In Nigeria, no Vice President has demonstrated such bravery. None has stood against any unconstitutional and unlawful acts of the President.

In Nigeria, retaining power and position is the ultimate desire of those serving in any administration. Virtually no kind of development will inspire resignation by any office holder as a mark of protest. But in the U. S. for instance, the aftermath of the Capitol riot saw the resignation of the U. S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao. Some others who resigned their positions include, the Deputy National Security Adviser, Matthew Pottinger; Tyler Goodspeed, the Acting Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers; and Ryan Tully, President Donald Trump’s top White House Adviser on Europe and Russia.

Rather than resign, office holders will go to any length to defend the indefensible. Even if it means rendering opinions that murders common sense.

The slogan in Nigeria appears to be, “Nothing will happen”. Impunities are executed and nothing truly happens. For instance, a sitting Chief Justice of Nigeria was evacuated from office by unconstitutional means and nothing happened. Live bullets were used on peaceful protesters at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos by the military and nothing happened. There are more, many more in this current administration and even past administrations.

Instead of receiving undue accolades, President Trump has received well-deserved criticisms within his fold for his conduct thus far. In Nigeria, a sitting President enjoys nothing but praises within his camp. Even if he defecates on the altar, persons in his outer and inner cabinets will use their clothes to wipe out the mess against all odds. 

Conclusion

Most Nigerian leaders seem to love their positions more than they love Nigeria, with the proud exception of President Goodluck Jonathan who proved otherwise. The high level of unpatriotism is sitting deep within the masses too. Office holders should bear in mind that their true allegiance in line with their oath of office lies with the nation and its constitution, and not with the President or Governor as the case may be.

Featured Image Credit: New Indian Express

This post was first published on Stephenlegal.ng January 9, 2021 by Stephen Azubike, legal practitioner, consultant and social entrepreneur.

The Truck Pusher

By Lillian Okenwa

Everyone knows them. Anyone who lived in Lagos or other western part of Nigeria knows the ‘omolanke’ pushers. Until government outlawed them in major parts of the city, these truck pushers were life savers. They cleared your waste when the waste disposal vans lose your house address. They supply water when your home is not on the list of those catered for by the water board or the taps generally stop flowing. The truck (or cart) pushers carry your goods in the market and swiftly ferry your heavy load to desired destinations.

It was the harsh beginning of life for Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN. There was no hope for him in those days. The future seemed bleak; but an iron-will to live and to succeed propelled him. That never-say-die attitude ultimately marked his life. A life characterised by multiple battles and a propelling force to triumph. A cart-pushing (omolanke) company eventually gave young Ebun-Olu a job opportunity. For over one year, he loaded local gin for sale in a neighbouring village and did a good job of pushing his cart. Sympathizers who witnessed his daily travails, prevailed on his father to bring him home to conclude his secondary education. Frankly, his story is not new but it is one worth retelling.

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, was born in the rural community of Ilaje, cut away from all developments in the riverine Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. His mother, pregnant with another child, died after enduring labour for three days as there was no hospital in the area. It was a breech pregnancy and she needed an emergency caesarean section. Young Ebun-Olu’s mother died inside a canoe on the way to their local government headquarters to seek medical care.

Being a marine community, canoes were the most popular means of transport.Though their major occupation was fishing and young Ebun-Olu learnt very early to fish, he would still follow his dad to the farm, trekking long distances and carrying back-breaking farm produce. Ebun-Olu’s father was also a founder of a local church (Cherubim and Seraphim) and so while still in primary school, Ebun-Olu was compelled to join him for outreaches and retreats outside the village.

On account of his father’s position as the founder of a local church, Ebun-Olu’s father was highly respected and so whenever education inspectors come for inspection, they lodged at their house. The senior advocate recalls; “My mother will ask me to go and sit by the table, so I could look at them. They were always looking well dressed and radiant and we all admired them. My mother wanted me to get an education at all cost. At that point, my father also became interested in ensuring that I acquired some form of education. But unfortunately, my mother died when I was in primary school. I was very young; clearly under 10 or so. She died in the course of child birth. It was very painful because I had to leave my domain to go and stay with my grandmother and that disrupted the kind of peace I was enjoying because it was a polygamous house. My step mother took war against me and never wanted to see me because I was excelling within the family. She would accuse me wrongly, and nothing I could do would ever please her. It became a hot place for me.”

Attempted suicide

When the hostilities of his step-mother became unbearable, young Ebun-Olu attempted suicide twice. “The first was in my father’s fish ponds at the back of our house. My step mother was always starving me and making false reports to my father. So one day, I went to the pond and drank the mud water till I became unconscious. The entire village was searching for me and finally found me inside the pond. They removed the water from my stomach and took me to a hospital far from our village and I was unconscious for seven days. In those seven days, it was my father that took care of me. I guess that was a lesson for him because he had to be there. On the seventh day I came back to life and he vowed that it would not happen again.

When I came back, I had a brief reprieve, but the woman started maltreating me again. For the second attempt, I decided to run away. Around noon, one particular day, I just walked very far into the forest and never looked back. By evening time, my father raised an alarm that I was not at home, so hunters gathered to search for me in the forest, but to no avail as I had walked several kilometres away from our town. Someone reminded them that there was a long bell for the Anglican Church which was what they used in waking up people for early morning service. It had a charming sound that attracts people and it goes very far. So they started ringing that bell continuously and I heard it as far away as I was. It was unusual to ring it at that time of the day, unless something had happened or a prominent person had died. So I started following the sound of the bell because by this time it was getting dark and I was afraid. About some miles to the town, I saw hunters who were searching for me. But looking back now, it could only have been God, because I could have been confronted by wild animals whilst walking around the forest aimlessly and alone.”

Boarding school

Barely 12 years old when he finished primary school, young Ebun-Olu was sent off to Ilaje Grammar School in far-away Atijere, a boarding school where he could be far from the hostilities at home. But his stepmother discouraged his father from visiting or sending provisions. Without supervision or mentoring, denied of basic supplies and financial support, something snapped inside the once pliable young boy leading to his expulsion from school.

Pushing truck

On being expelled from school, he joined a local gin company in a near-by town that conveyed local gin to different communities with a manual truck made with wood and tyres. “I became very well versed in that business and doing the truck pushing. That went on for about a whole year. In the course of pulling and pushing the truck, you had to taste some gin. I was involved in other juvenile activities and I forgot about schooling totally. It was about that time that I ran into somebody from my town; one Mr. Ayetoro Awojinrin. He knew that my mum wanted me to have education, so he went back home and told my dad that his son was not in school, but was transporting gin. That was how my father came and took me back home to complete my education right under his watch.” But the battle with his step-mother was not over. Having completed secondary school, Ebun-Olu’s father, not happy with the civil war between his wife and son, sent him off to Lagos to live with his younger brother and get tertiary education.

I didn’t want to die a timber man

On arriving Lagos, the uncle insisted that the teenage Ebun-Olu join the timber business. For five years he crisscrossed the forests of Ondo, Edo and Delta States, navigating through Ifon, Sobe, Owan, Iguobasuwa, Nikrogha, Koko, Sapele, in search of timber. All the while, his Economics, Government and English tutorial textbooks kept him company. He never lost sight of education. “I didn’t want to die a timber man”, the Senior Advocate said. He became so agitated at some point and told his uncle he wanted to go back to school. With a loan of N22 borrowed from a friend, Adegboruwa applied for GCE and JAMB. His first attempt to study Law, at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife was unsuccessful. A later attempt gained him admission into the faculty on merit.

Expelled again

Expulsion found him again when he led a protest at the university. He was expelled along with 61 other students. “When I look at my past, it could only have been by the grace of God that I eventually got to school and graduated. I would have continued as a timber man. In the university, I was expelled, when we had a student protest against the IMF loan in 1992. The university authorities were not happy and they expelled 62 of us. It was a career truncated.”

The late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) took up the case of the expelled students and got judgment. “After he got judgment, he followed us into the university to submit it and sat in the office of the Vice-Chancellor, insisting that we should be reinstated because examination was pending. So they reinstated us and we wrote the exams and passed and didn’t miss that academic session. Eventually, when I finished from university and came to the Law School, I was denied admission because the university wrote that I was not a fit and proper person because I participated in students protest. So, Chief Fawehinmi came to the Law School and insisted that since we got judgment, which had nullified our expulsion from the university, they could not use that same expulsion to deny me admission. Therefore, I was admitted and eventually called to the Bar.”

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, readily admits that looking back at his life, and all that he had freely benefited from the services of great lawyers, he saw a need to give back to the society through his legal calling. He remarks that, “as a senior lawyer, especially as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), I should now use my position as a model for other younger people and tell them that law is not all about money. Rather, we must see how we can use the instrument of law to challenge impunity, to challenge recklessness, to challenge lawlessness, and direct the path of society for common good.”

Senior Advocate of Nigeria

Along with 37 others, on September 23, 2019, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa was conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Trump: Nakedness of the ’emperor’ and lessons for Nigeria, By Dakuku Peterside

“Never has man reached his destination by persistence in deviation from the straight path.” – Mahatma Gandhi.

It was apparent to some from the outset when he declared his intention to run for the office of the President of the United States of America that Donald J. Trump lacked character. He lacked the moral values of a town union leader, let alone the ‘leader of the free world’, the most powerful man in the world.

The United States Republican Party, known for it’s conservative principles and family values, was aware of the egregious stories around Trump’s personal and business endeavours. For a man who likes attaching his name to his business ventures, who had so many failed business ventures, it is surprising that he had enough brand equity to be a populist politician.

Before they overwhelmingly voted for him as President on 8 November 2016, most American Christians have heard the ‘Access Hollywood’ tape on which Donald Trump boasted of forcing himself on women, about his habit of sexually assaulting women. The GOP was aware of Trump’s racist credentials. They knew that he spearheaded the Birtherism Movement against Barack Obama. He expounded the insane conspiracy theory that he was not born in America. 

Trump did not pretend to have any modicum of decency or that he was a committed democrat. He levelled   insults at his opponents during the Republican Presidential Primaries in 2016; he lied without compunction, mocked a disabled reporter, and shattered all forms of decorum. During the presidential contest, he refused to commit himself to concede the election in the event of a loss. He insisted that he would only accept the results of the election if he were the winner.

It was all politics, and the United States Republican Party was only interested in capturing political power. Trump exploited the anti-immigrant fears of the American dominant Caucasian population and quite a percentage of Americans were tired of politicians and admired the anti-establishment candidate who promised to shatter the norms and ‘drain the swamp.’ Trump, the billionaire, positioned himself as a fighter for the oppressed Americans; however, many of his countrymen were swindled despite the paradox.

As President, most of Trump’s policies anchored on the themes’”America First”and “Make America Great Again”shattered norms. His immigration policies were blatantly racist as they targeted poor and Muslim countries. Trump placed a ban on seven Islamic countries from entering the United States – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Saudi Arabia was not on the list even though most of the terrorists that blew up the World Trade Centre in the infamous ‘9/11‘ debacle were Saudis. None of the citizens from the counties placed under Trump’s travel ban had ever committed an act of domestic terrorism in the United States. 

In the diplomatic arena, Trump pulled the United States out of the Iran Nuclear Deal and the Paris Climate Accord. He riled other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) members and issued a travel ban on some of the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges. Trump cuddled up to dictators and threw insults at fellow leaders. He famously called Africa a ‘shithole’ and reportedly disparaged President Muhammadu Buhari before his assistants during the latter’s diplomatic visit to the White House. 

Little wonder many people had cause to look up to German Chancellor, Angela Merkel as ‘the leader of the Free World’, a term customarily accorded every US President.

However, Trump lacked the moral character to be President of the United States of America. His traducers consider him as an embarrassment to Western civilisation. This lack of character later became his Achilles heels.

When he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden by huge margins – 7 million-plus popular votes and 74 Electoral College votes, he would have gracefully conceded as every American President in the past had done. In this way, he would have left office proudly with some remarkable achievements and his supporters would always revere him, even many who never liked his style. 

But, as a braggadocio demagogue, Trump continued to expound silly conspiracy theories to explain away his apparent electoral loss. He propagated lies, used insults and intimidation against American public servants overseeing the electoral process for merely doing their jobs and refusing to bend to his dubious will.

Even when his legal team lost over 63 court cases, and judges he appointed faulted his absurd legal filings, he continued to deceive his followers that somehow, he would continue in office for four more years. 

Trump did not care that his dubious antics cost his party control of the Senate, removing the last bastion of check his party would have had on the incoming Biden administration. He was only concerned with his grievances, his slippery, futile battle to cling on to the presidency. 

A power-drunk Trump called his followers to the US capital on 6 January to intimidate the legislators at the Capitol into upturning the American public’s will, something that would have ended the US as a constitutional democracy. He tried to intimidate his ever-loyal Vice President into exercising powers the latter did not have. He insulted Mike Pence, decried his deputy’s lack of courage, and tried to turn his deranged ‘MAGAites’ against the Senate’s ceremonial President. 

It should not be unexpected that Trump’s long indoctrinated followers felt they owed it a duty to their supposed demigod to teach the legislators who were trying to take power away from their leader a big lesson. So, they stormed the legislative building, sacked the lawmakers, and desecrated one of the most sacred edifices of democracy on earth.

Now the ’emperor’ is naked, and the long knives are entirely out. There are mass resignations, all-round condemnation, talks about invoking the 25th Amendment (through which members of his cabinet can remove a president on the grounds of incapacitation), looming unprecedented second impeachment, bipartisan calls for his resignation and the sudden death of ‘Trumpism’ as a serious political movement.

The Trump presidency will forever be defined not by the Christian-friendly posturing, anti-immigrant sentiments and policies, the tax cuts, the three conservative Supreme Court judges, the vast rallies or the enormous lies, bombastic talks, inane exaggerations, or unbridled insults but by the horrible events of 6 January 2021. It is a date when he egged on his followers to embark on an insurrection against America’s elected representatives. His name will be mired in infamy forever.

The events of the past three months in America underscore the importance of two ingredients of democracy. One is the importance of strong institutions. The second is the importance of the character of a leader. 

US institutions withstood the onslaught and barrage of assaults from Trump’s political machinery and his cronies. The judiciary threw out over 63 court cases. All the states certified the election results even when Trump called on some Republican States to rescind. Even when Trump’s mob attacked the holy chambers, the legislature stood its ground to complete its traditional function of accepting the Electoral College results. The Georgian governor, the Vice President, and many Republican Party officials stood their ground against Trump and his family members’ threats if they fail to do their bidding stalling the democratic process. Both institutions and actors in the political space allowed democratic principles to prevail against all odds. 

The lesson for Nigeria is that we must build strong institutions that can survive any onslaught by a radical political juggernaut or demagogue. Strong institutions make strong democracies. Imagine if one judge in one federal high court has issued a court injunction against the election, the drama and lies and subterfuge would have continued in the US. We remember that one of the reasons given for the annulment of the ill-fated 12 June 1993 election was the court injunction gotten by an obscure group stopping vote counting. In times of crisis, institutions should be guarded by national interest and democratic principles. Now is the time to strengthen these institutions to be in a good position to withstand pressures in future.  

Character is essential in leadership. Trump’s lack of good character has finally undone him. His despicable place in history is assured. However, people knew about his character and did not think it mattered before voting for him. 

Character is everything! Leaders with lousy character will eventually ruin the system or tarnish the image of the country. It does not matter how skilful or knowledgeable they are as leaders. Never in Nigeria’s democratic future should we fail to examine the character of whoever wants to lead us, nor ignore the evil nature of would-be leaders and vote them in. It will come back to haunt us. If there is proof of corruption, laziness, habitual lying, and tendency to be authoritarian for any would-be-leader, they must not be allowed any leadership position. Ignoring these traits in a leader will only spell doom for the country. 

The US is not only embarrassed by the events of the past few months, but they have lost the moral authority as the beacon of hope for democracy. How will the US have the audacity to question undemocratic actions and inactions in other countries? How will it, in all honesty, preach democracy to the world? Little wonder some described the events of the past few days as the death of democracy as we know it. We hope that Biden will restore brand USA as we have always known it and that the US will continue to lead western civilisation to greater heights.

Events of the past few days have shown that no democracy is perfect. It is a work in progress. Local actors and local circumstances define and reify the potency of the democratic system. However, the tenets and principles of a democratic system should be upheld at any cost no matter the political players or atmosphere. This saved American democracy at the end of the day. Men and women of goodwill in various institutions and non-governmental structures stuck to defending democratic values despite Trump’s pressures. Nigeria must force democratic tenets and principles into the fabric of our political culture, and all stakeholders must dedicate to adhering to them and protecting them when under attack. 

Trump’s Assault On US Democracy: Lessons For Nigeria

By Tony Eluemunor

As the TV showed a mob storming the United States of America’s national legislature Wednesday night, I bemoaned Africa’s weak democratic institutions. Had such a thing happened in any African country, something akin to a civil war would have ensued. There was President Donald Trump testing all the powers at his disposal except one, but the democratic institutions that have evolved over 200 hundred solid years in the US withstood all his attempt to overthrow American democracy. 

In case you call this an exaggeration please consider this: Trump blamed Vice President Mike Pence’s Chief of Staff, Marc Short, for advising Mr Pence to obey the US Constitution and disobey Trump. 

So, Trump had expected his deputy, tasked with overseeing a joint session of Congress on Wednesday in which the Electoral College votes, already certified by all 50 states, would be counted in a process that was supposed to be mere procedural. Trump had urged Pence to challenge the results during the session, even though poor Mr. Pence did not have the authority to do so and had vowed before the sitting: “It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not”. 

For that, the President criticised Pence in a tweet: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” Something akin to a coup was on, but it was foiled. But could such a coup attempt have failed in an African country, when that country’s big man instigated that coup attempt? 

Now and then, my “Big Sister”, Professor Tess Onwueme, she who has been nominated for the Literature Nobel Prize, that giant of African and world poetics, one of the purest diamonds that God decorated Nigerian intellectual firmament with, came across on the phone to ohhhhh and ahhhhh at the sorry sight and to point out the implications. 

Yet, though Obasanjo won that re-election bid, many of his so-called opponents were driven away from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), thereby weakening the party’s internal democracy and the PDP itself. Politicians were de-registered, the Adamawa PDP was hijacked by a certain Senator and the sitting Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, was de-registered. 

I think that what stopped Trump was this chief clause of the Insurrection Act: “An Act authorizing the employment of the land and naval forces of the United States, in cases of insurrections Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in all cases of insurrection… it shall be lawful for him to employ, for the same purposes, such part of the land or naval force of the United States, as shall be judged necessary, having first observed all the prerequisites of the law in that respect”. Unfortunately for Trump, his supporters, a mob really, were not able to sack the Senate and the House of Representatives, who were in a joint session. As they were holed within the Congress Hall, other Police formations began to trickle to help the Capitol Hill Police. Put differently, Trump could not impose the order and then later call on the Congress to ratify it; the Congress was actually not only in place but its members were already denouncing him on live TV. 

Ambassador George Obiozor (ah, another Prof), once told me at the Abuja Sheraton Hotel in 1999 that Dr Stanley Macebuh was Nigeria’s Immanuel Kant. At times like this, Nigeria misses Dr. Macebuh. Were he still alive, he would have given a stimulating insight into the insurrection and how it would later affect the US, and he would have spelled out the inherent lessons for Nigeria. Stanley was a philosopher; hey, he was already an Associate Professor at the City College of New York and Columbia University and was preparing to go and occupy a Professorial seat at Harvard (and retire as Harvard Prof Emeritus) when his dear friend, Dr Patrick Dele Cole, convinced him in 1977 to return to Nigeria. 

Kant, (1724–1804) still remains undisputedly the central figure in modern philosophy, despite the passage of the centuries. He once enthused: “Our age is the age of criticism, to which everything must submit” and that “Enlightenment is about thinking for oneself rather than letting others think for you, according to the essay, What is Enlightenment? There, Kant expresses the Enlightenment faith in the inevitability of progress; A few independent thinkers will gradually inspire a broader cultural movement, which ultimately will lead to greater freedom of action and governmental reform. A culture of enlightenment is “almost inevitable” if only there is “freedom to make public use of one’s reason in all matters”. 

So, how much reason goes into governance? Or put succinctly, why did reason not tell US President Donald Trump that his opponent in last year’s election, Joe Biden, had won the election clean and square? 

What lessons lie for Nigerians in the sacking of the US Congress? What if President Olusegun Obasanjo had lost the 2003 presidential elections to Buhari? What if Obasanjo’s Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar had won the 2007 election, would Obasanjo have allowed that result to stand? What if the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari had lost the 2019 election? What would have happened? 

I ask these questions because if any supporters of any Nigerian President had stormed the National Assembly as we saw on TV on Wednesday night, blood would have flowed across Nigeria as it would have assumed ethnic and religious colourations. 

Nigeria stood at the brink of the precipice when Obasanjo lost the Third Term bid. But I will forever thank Obasanjo for knowing where to stop once the Senate voted down the scheme. What if he had dared everybody? What if some tough official in his administration had employed real strong arm tactics against say, the National Assembly? 

What if former President Goodluck Jonathan did not concede defeat to Buhari but had attempted to stop or reverse the release of the results which did not favour him? Nigeria would have gone up in flames. 

Please consider this: At 3:33 a.m., Thursday morning, Mr. Joe Biden received 270 Electoral College votes. At 3:39, the count was finished. Sen. Amy Klobuchar read the results – Mr. Biden’s victory – to a standing ovation from both sides of the aisle. The final results are 306- 232 for Biden. Vice President Mike Pence completed his duties and announced Mr. Biden as the winner just after 3:40 a.m. And Pence is VP to Trump. Get the meaning? Mr. Pence had said he would obey the US Constitution … and he did. The US Congress had sat from 1pm on Tuesday till 3; 40 am. Trump was President but he could not send the FBI, the Police or the Army to sack the Congress. 

Trump did not know where to stop. He tried to uproot the foundations of American democracy but failed. Now he is reaping a foul reward; he is being excoriated all over the world. Would the members of the Buhari administration know when to stop if things went against them? Of course, I remember how a sitting Chief Justice was treated and a security agency invaded the National Assembly, but who has checked the effect of such on Nigerian democracy? An aide to Obasanjo, when it looked like Dr Alex Ekwueme would win People’s Democratic Party nomination to contest the 2003 presidential election, asked me pointedly: “what if Obasanjo would invite the military to take over power? Who will stop him”? That aide, from Delta state, is in Britain now. What I have just written is a fact of life. 

Yet, even though Obasanjo won that re-election bid of his, he still went after his so-called opponents, drove many away from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and in that bid, destroyed the PDP. Politicians were de-registered, the Adamawa PDP was hijacked by a certain Senator and the sitting Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, was de-registered. 

The constitution was spat upon when Obasanjo declared a state of emergency on Plateau State, when there was no reason for it, and went, as the Ben Nwabueze’s of this word held, beyond the constitutional provisions by suspending even the state Governor. But was the matter challenged in court? Bah, it was handled the Nigerian way. 

I shudder at such scenarios. Democracy is fragile; Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida annulled a free and fair election and that still haunts Nigeria. One American lady, Dr. Patricia Chaudhuri, on a visit to Chinua Achebe at Annandale on Hudson, Upstate New York, USA, kept peppering me with questions on that annulment: “How could one man, just one man, annul an election”? “Didn’t people vote”? Did the annulment stand”? “How”? “Are there no men in that country?” I wonder where she would be now…if I knew I would have sent my own questions about Trump: “How”, Dr Chaudhuri? 

To Nigeria’s fault lines add Buhari’s suspected one-sidedness, killer herdsmen issue, disappearing Naira value. The issues will fester. Leaders’ shortsightedness bear disastrous results. But don’t ask how Americans elected Trump; ask the same question of yourselves and your country. 

America is already addressing its Trump problem. The man seen on TV carrying Pelosi’s lectern during Capitol riots has already been arrested in Florida, thousands of kilometres from Washington DC. A book publisher has cancelled a planned book by Senator Josh Hawley, who objected to Joe Biden’s presidential election win and backed baseless claims that the vote was stolen. A widely seen photo, taken before the occupation, shows Hawley raising a fist in solidarity to the crowd. Compare this to the treatment those soldiers who supported IBB in annulling the 1993 election received. They became Senators. 

What if a Nigerian Trump were to ask the courts or our National Assembly today to reverse an election result? I shudder; our democratic institutions are really fragile and when we humour dictators we enable them and enfeeble democratic institutions. National legislators and state Governors were more democratic and independent under Obasanjo than today. What about the judiciary? What about the concept of Federalism? And is that not retrogression? Ah, history will terribly condemn some leaders for debilitating, instead of strengthening, our democratic sinews. 

(independent)

[UPDATED] Girl whose private part was removed by ritualists survives, responds to treatment (Video)

Video: 

The little girl in Bauchi whose sexual organ was removed by suspected ritualists has survived the assault and is responding to treatment at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) in Kano’

The Bauchi State Police Spokesperson, DSP Ahmed Mohammed Wakil told PRNigeria that she was rescued and admitted in Kano where she is now recuperating with a very good chance of survival.

Independent Investigation by PRNigeria confirmed this, as the little girl was found actively playing on a mobile phone when sighted.

Also speaking to PRNigeria on the matter, Hajiya Hauwa Inuwa Dutse, the Public Relations Officer, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, said that the facility is doing everything possible to administer adequate treatment on the victim in order to enable her go back to her normal life.

“We are closely taking care of her medically and monitoring to ensure that she is stable without other underlining medical ailments or issues which may include depression or infection. We have to rule all these out in such cases before taking other necessary line of action.” She said.

Further checks by this medium revealed that the Bauchi State Governor, Dr. Bala Mohammed has directed that no external help be sorted on the girls behalf as the state government will take care of all her bills.

Two suspected ritualists arrested for allegedly removing the private part of a little girl in Bauchi State said they committed the dastardly act because of N500,000.

The suspects, Abdulkadir Wada and Adamu Abdulrauf, in an audio clip obtained by PRNigeria, said while been interrogated that, they were asked to bring the sexual organ of a female by a ‘native doctor’, who promised to give them the money.

The two criminals, who are from Jama’are Local Government, were nabbed by men of the Bauchi State Police Command.

NATIONAL ACCORD had on Saturday, reported how two suspected ritualists arrested for allegedly killing and removing the private part of a little girl in Bauchi State said they committed the dastardly act because of N500,000.

The suspects, Abdulkadir Wada and Adamu Abdulrauf, in an audio clip obtained by PRNigeria, said while been interrogated that, they were asked to bring the sexual organ of a female by a ‘native doctor’, who promised to give them the money.

The two criminals, who are from Jama’are Local Government, were nabbed by men of the Bauchi State Police Command.

Speaking in Hausa, Wada, the chief culprit, said both he and his accomplice, Abdulrauf, had gone to Kwata, the area where the later’s elder brother, who is married, is staying.

Upon reaching the area, they waylaid a little girl into an uncompleted building and strangled her to death.

“Abdulrauf then removed a knife from his pocket and cut off the girl’s private part. It was a marabout, who is now at large, that asked us to get him a female sexual part in return for N500,000,” he said.

On his part, Abdulrauf, denied killing their victim, saying: “It was Wada who came and met me in our house. He told me that he and one of his friend went to a spiritualist who promised them N500,000 if they bring a female vagina. But I told him I am not interested.

“So, I discussed with one of my friend called Musa who advised me to avoid Wada. The next day, while I was in my shop doing my mechanic work, I met Wada at the garage. He then gave me an amulet (charm), which I threw inside my pocket. Later on, we met and he asked me to accompany him to a place called Kwata.

“When we got to the area, we saw two young girls at a location. We stopped and called them. Wada now removed a handkerchief from his pocket and flashed it on the face of one of the girls. After the girl had slumped, he took her into an uncompleted structure, and removed her organs, as directed by the native doctor.”

The remorseful ‘ritualists’, during the interrogation, further advised desperate and idle youths to shun ritual killing and be wary of bad friends.

Meanwhile, the Bauchi Police Spokesperson, DSP Ahmed Mohammed Wakil told PRNigeria that the suspects would soon be arraigned in court after the completion of investigation. (PRNigeria/National Accord)

African man creates messaging app that is faster than whatsapp

A US-based Sierra Leonean, Hafiz Alhassan Kanu has created an app called Supfrica.

The app is a replica of WhatsApp but also 2× faster than the popular app when features like message, voice and video calls were compared.

The app was released on Google Play Store last year, December 11, 2020, by Techfrica, a company owned by Hassan Hafiz Bakarr-Kanu Sr.

The App became popular to Sierra Leoneans when Salone Messenger broke the silence on the 5th of January in a Facebook post which went viral on Facebook and off Facebook.

The app has reportedly reached over 19,000+ downloads on Google Play Store; making it the fastest app made by a Sierra Leonean to climax that far, and the most talked-about app in Sierra Leone and Africa as a whole.

The app is also rated number 1 on Google Play Store Top Free Apps; leading the world’s top messaging apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, Telegram, WeChat, etc.

African Man Creates Messaging App That Is Faster Than WhatsApp

Some of the features of the messaging app, Supfrica are;

– Supfrica’s voice call and video call is faster, cheaper, and audible.

– You can forward messages to more than 20 contacts at once, unlike WhatsApp.

– With Supfrica, you can create a Supfrica group and add an unlimited number of contacts to your group, unlike WhatsApp

– With Supfrica, you can use 2G, 3G, and 4G perfectly without scrambling when calling voice and video calls.

Here is the link to download the app on Google Play Store; https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.supfrica.Appsfrica

(Alexei.com)

“How we killed, removed girl’s private part for N500,000” – arrested Bauchi ritualists

Two suspected ritualists arrested for allegedly killing and removing the private part of a little girl in Bauchi State said they committed the dastardly act because of N500,000.

The suspects, Abdulkadir Wada and Adamu Abdulrauf, in an audio clip obtained by PRNigeria, said while been interrogated that, they were asked to bring the sexual organ of a female by a ‘native doctor’, who promised to give them the money.

The two criminals, who are from Jama’are Local Government, were nabbed by men of the Bauchi State Police Command.

Speaking in Hausa, Wada, the chief culprit, said both he and his accomplice, Abdulrauf, had gone to Kwata, the area where the later’s elder brother, who is married, is staying.

Upon reaching the area, they waylaid a little girl into an uncompleted building and strangled her to death.

“Abdulrauf then removed a knife from his pocket and cut off the girl’s private part. It was a marabout, who is now at large, that asked us to get him a female sexual part in return for N500,000,” he said.

On his part, Abdulrauf, denied killing their victim, saying: “It was Wada who came and met me in our house. He told me that he and one of his friend went to a spiritualist who promised them N500,000 if they bring a female vagina. But I told him I am not interested.

“So, I discussed with one of my friend called Musa who advised me to avoid Wada. The next day, while I was in my shop doing my mechanic work, I met Wada at the garage. He then gave me an amulet (charm), which I threw inside my pocket. Later on, we met and he asked me to accompany him to a place called Kwata.

“When we got to the area, we saw two young girls at a location. We stopped and called them. Wada now removed a handkerchief from his pocket and flashed it on the face of one of the girls. After the girl had slumped, he took her into an uncompleted structure, and removed her organs, as directed by the native doctor.”

The remorseful ‘ritualists’, during the interrogation, further advised desperate and idle youths to shun ritual killing and be wary of bad friends.

Meanwhile, the Bauchi Police Spokesperson, DSP Ahmed Mohammed Wakil told PRNigeria that the suspects would soon be arraigned in court after the completion of investigation.
(Source: PRNigeria)

Death of Florida Doctor After Receiving COVID-19 Vaccine Under Investigation

A Florida doctor has died several weeks after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, although it’s not yet clear whether his death Monday was related to the shot he received on Dec. 18.

Dr. Gregory Michael, 56, an OB-GYN at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, died after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke apparently resulting from a lack of platelets.

Miami medical examiners are investigating his death, the Florida Department of Health said in a statement.

“The CDC and FDA are responsible for reviewing COVID-19 vaccine safety data and presenting that information for federal recommendations on vaccine administration,” communications director Jason Mahon said in an email. “The state will continue to provide all available information to the CDC as they lead this investigation.”

In a Facebook post, Michael’s wife, Heidi Neckelmann, said he sought emergency care three days after the shot because he had dots on his skin that indicated internal bleeding. 

The condition she said led to his stroke, called thrombocytopenia, results from a lower-than-normal number of platelets, which help the blood clot.

In extremely rare cases, the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has been linked to thrombocytopenia in young children, according to a 2003 study. The condition can also be caused by cancer, anemia, heavy drinking, viruses, some genetic conditions, toxic chemicals and medications such as diuretics and the rarely used antibiotic chloramphenicol. 

Pfizer, which along with its partner BioNTech made the vaccine the man received, said in a statement it is aware of the death. 

“We are actively investigating this case, but we don’t believe at this time that there is any direct connection to the vaccine,” the statement said.

There is no indication – either from large clinical trials or among people who have received the vaccine since the government authorized its use last month – that it could be connected to thrombocytopenia, the company said.

COVID-19 vaccine makers are required by the government to monitor health problems that occur close in time to vaccination and investigate whether they are likely to be connected to a shot.  

“It is important to note that serious adverse events, including deaths that are unrelated to the vaccine are unfortunately likely to occur at a similar rate as they would in the general population,” according to the statement, which ended by saying: “Our immediate thoughts are with the bereaved family.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement late Wednesday that it and other federal agencies regularly review vaccine safety data, as does an independent committee of vaccine safety experts.

“It’s been a difficult year as each of us grapple with a worldwide pandemic,” the statement reads.

Five million people have already been vaccinated against COVID-19. “Use of COVID-19 vaccines is the next step in our efforts to protect Americans and reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement said.

In her Facebook post, Neckelmann described Michael as the “love of her life,” and blamed his death on the vaccine.

“He was a very healthy 56-year-old, loved by everyone in the community, delivered hundreds of healthy babies and worked tireless through the pandemic,” she said in the post, which had received more than 1,400 comments as of 8 p.m. Wednesday.

She said a team of doctors from across the country tried for two weeks to raise his platelet count “to no avail.” He was conscious until suffering a hemorrhagic stroke “that took his life in a matter of minutes,” she wrote.

Michael was a vaccine advocate, his wife said, before raising doubts about its safety.

“I believe that people should be aware that side effects can happened, that it is not good for everyone and in this case destroyed a beautiful life, a perfect family, and has affected so many people in the community,” she wrote. “Do not let his death be in vain please save more lives by making this information news.”

According to his professional website, Michael was a Miami native who practiced at Mount Sinai for 12 years.

After college, he lived in Japan for several years, traveling extensively and learning the language. He also was fluent in Spanish. 

Michael went to medical school at St. George’s University in Grenada and completed his OB-GYN residency at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey.

He and his wife have one daughter, and he was an avid tournament and big game fisherman as well as a rescue-certified scuba diver.

– USA Today

FG Introduces N50 Levy On Electronic Money Transfer Of Up To N10,000

The Finance Act 2020 recently signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, imposes N50 levy on electronic transfer of money deposited in any bank or financial institution on any account on sums of N10, 000 or more.

The revenue, according to the Act, is to be shared based on derivation 15% to FG & FCT and 85% to states.

The new law which introduces over 80 amendments to 14 different laws and takes effect from 1st January 2021, however, cancels out stamp duty charge on electric transfers.

The Act, among other provisions, notably exempted workers who earn N30,000 minimum wage or less from personal income tax and excempted commercial airline ticket from value added tax (VAT)

These are some of the key highlights of the Act as identified by the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).

The notable changes introduced by the Act, as identified by the firm include: “Compensation for loss of office up to N10m exempted from capital gains tax. Tax due on excess above N10m is to be deducted by the payer and remitted within the time specified under the PAYE Regulations.

“Minimum tax for companies in respect of returns for years of assessments due between 1st Jan 2020 and 31st Dec 2021 has been reduced from 0.5% to 0.25% of gross turnover less franked investment income.

“Cost of donation made in cash or kind to any fund set up by government in respect of any pandemic or natural disaster to be tax deductible subject to a maximum of 10% of assessable profit after other allowable donations.

“FIRS may prescribe the form of accounts other than audited financial statements for small and medium companies as defined under CITA.

“Service of notice of assessment and objections under CITA may be done via courier service, email or other electronic means as may be directed by FIRS in a notice. Tax Appeal Tribunal may conduct its hearing remotely via virtual means, using such technology or application as may be necessary to ensure fair hearing.

“Public character for the purpose of tax exemption requires an organisation or institution to be registered in accordance with relevant laws in Nigeria and does not distribute or share its profits in any manner to members or promoters.

“A small or medium company engaged in primary agricultural production may be granted pioneer status for an initial period of 4 years and an additional 2 years (making a total of 6 years).

“Gross income for personal relief purposes has been redefined as income from all sources less non-taxable income, exempt items and income on which no further tax is payable. In the case of an enterprise, less all allowable business expenses and capital allowance.

“Exemption of low-income earners earning minimum wage or less from personal income tax.

“Goods liable to excise duties have been expanded to include telecommunication services provided in Nigeria as may be prescribed in the law or an Order issued by the President.

“Reduction of import duty on Tractors from 35% to 5%; Mass transit vehicles for transport of more than 10 persons and Trucks from 35% to 10%, and reduction of import levy on Cars from 30% to 5%.

“Taxable supply with respect to goods is defined to include where the beneficial owner of the right in or over goods is a taxable person in Nigeria or the goods or right is situated, registered or exercisable in Nigeria. Services include those consumed by a person in Nigeria whether rendered within or outside Nigeria excluding employment; and in respect of incorporeal, includes exploitation of a right, acquisition of or assignment of rights by a person in Nigeria and incorporeal connected with tangible or immovable asset located in Nigeria. Goods exclude land and building, money or securities.

“A non-resident person that makes a taxable supply to Nigeria is required to register for tax and obtain TIN, include VAT on its invoice, and may appoint a representative in Nigeria for the purpose of its tax obligations. The FIRS may issue guidelines this purpose.

“Exemption of commercial airline ticket from VAT, and hire or lease of agricultural equipment for agricultural purposes.

“Deletion of electronic bank transfer as transaction liable to stamp duty and introduction of electronic money transfer levy of N50 on electronic transfer of money deposited in any bank or financial institution on any account on sums of N10k or more. Revenue is to be shared based on derivation 15% to FG & FCT and 85% to states.

“Accountant General for the Federation to open dedicated accounts for each tax type for the payment of tax refunds to be administered by the FIRS and funded based on annual budgets for tax refund for each tax-type as may be approved by the National Assembly.

“For companies operating in the free trade zones, exemption from taxes is subject to compliance with tax filing and returns obligation to the FIRS under section 55(1) of CITA.

“Establishment of a Crisis Intervention Fund of N500b or other sums as may be approved by the National Assembly; and by way of trust, as a sub-fund of the Crisis Intervention Fund, an Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund.

“Unclaimed dividends in a listed company and unutilized amounts in a dormant bank account outstanding for 6 years or more to be transferred to the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund as a special debt to the Federal Government to be managed by the Debt Management Office and shall be available to the shareholder or account holder at any time together with the yield thereon.

“Balance of operating surplus of a corporation shall be paid to the CRF of the Federation on a quarterly basis. Finance Minister may effect a direct deduction from TSA or other accounts of a corporation to enforce compliance. Also, it is prohibited to reduce contract values or splitting of procurement to evade the use of the appropriate procurement method.”

(thepodiuimmedia)

Buhari’s Aide, Dele Momodu Fight Dirty on Social Media Over ‘Failed’ Govt

Ovation Publisher, Dele Momodu, and a Social Media Assistant to the President, Lauretta Onochie, on Friday, exchanged bitter words over the ‘failed’ government of Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).

Momodu and Onochie expressed their anger in a series of tweets on Friday.

Trouble started when the veteran journalist described Buhari’s regime as a failure, saying, “I did not bring Buhari. I did what most reasonable democrats would have done in the circumstance of PDP’s failure after 16 years in power by trying the next most electable candidate and when he failed, I tried the next, Atiku, and that is the essence and risk and flaw in democracy!!”

But Onochie quickly responded, saying Momodu was only angry because Buhari refused to give him money.

“He (Buhari) ‘failed’ because he won’t dish out cash for photos that can easily be obtained on Instagram and other picture apps. #BabaNoDeyDrop. Because #BabaNoDeyDrop, your ego-massaging, ostentatious and filthy-wealth-flaunting customers, can no longer afford you. Try diversification!”

Momodu, who apparently felt insulted by Onochie’s words, retorted by taunting her as an aide who lacks access to her boss.

He said rather than focus on projecting Buhari’s achievements to counter negative narratives, Onochie decided to indulge in name-calling.‌

The Ovation Publisher said he contributed financially to Buhari’s campaign in 2015 and asked Onochie where she was while such politicking was ongoing.

“My attention has just been drawn to a reaction to one of my tweets from a troublesome lady called Lauretta… who have no access to their so-called bosses.

“She went their usual route of cheap blackmail that ‘Buhari has failed because he’s not paying us cash. Lauretta picked on a wrong customer once again. When a child buys a pair of shoes for his one-legged dad, he should be ready to hear some true tales. I’m not a government jobber since she’s never done any business in her life, she assumes we are all scavengers.

“Your boss Buhari was my colleague in 2011 when we were both Presidential candidates. I spent my hard-earned money on Buhari’s campaign without asking for anything. Please, where were you?” Momodu queried. (thepodiuimmedia)

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