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The Six Principles of Stupidity

By David Brooks

This was the week in which the Chinese made incredible gains in artificial intelligence and the Americans made incredible gains in human stupidity. I’m sorry, but I look at the Trump administration’s behavior over the last week and the only word that accurately describes it is: stupid.

I am not saying the members of the Trump administration are not intelligent. We all know high-I.Q. people who behave in a way that’s as dumb as rocks. I don’t believe that there are stupid people, just stupid behaviors. As the Italian historian Carlo Cipolla once put it, “The probability that  a certain person be stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.”

And I am certainly not saying Donald Trump’s supporters are less intelligent than others. I’ve learned over the years that many upscale Democrats detest intellectual diversity. When they have power over a system — whether it’s

academia, the mainstream media, the nonprofits or the Civil Service — they tend to impose a stifling orthodoxy that makes everybody within it duller, more conformist and insular. If Republicans want to upend that, I say: Go for it.

I define stupidity as behaving in a way that ignores the question: What would happen next? If somebody comes up to you and says, “I think I’m going to take a hike in a lightning storm with a copper antenna on my head,” stupidity replies, “That sounds like a really great idea!” Stupidity is the tendency to take actions that hurt you and the people around you.

The administration produced volleys of stupidity this week. It renewed threats to impose ruinous tariffs on Canada and Mexico that would drive up inflation in America. It attempted a broad and general purge of the federal work force, apparently without asking how that purge would affect government operations.

But I’d like to focus on one other episode: the attempt to freeze federal spending on assistance programs, and Trump’s subsequent decision to reverse course and undo the freeze.

When announcing the freeze, the administration stated its clear goal — to defund things like the diversity, equity and inclusion programs that Trump disapproves of. A prudent administration would have picked the programs it opposed and focused on cutting those, through a well-established process known as rescission authority. But the Trump administration decided to impose a vague, half-baked freeze on what it claimed amounted to more than $3 trillion in federal spending. Suddenly, patients in cancer trials at the National Institutes of Health didn’t know if they could continue their treatments, Head Start administrators didn’t know if they could draw federal funds, cities and states across America didn’t know if they would have money for police forces, schools, nutrition programs, highway repair and other basic services.

This Trump policy was like trying to cure acne with decapitation. Nobody seems to have asked the question: If we freeze all grant spending, what will happen next? Once the ramifications of that stupidity became obvious, Trump reversed course. And this is my big prediction for this administration: It will churn out a steady stream of stupid policies, and when the consequences of those policies begin to hit Trump’s approval rating, he will flip-flop, diminish or abandon those policies. He loves popularity more than any idea.

But it is still true that we’re going to have to learn a lot about stupidity over the next four years. I’ve distilled what I’ve learned so far into six main principles:

Principle 1: Ideology produces disagreement, but stupidity produces befuddlement. This week, people in institutions across America spent a couple of days trying to figure out what the hell was going on. This is what happens when a government freezes roughly $3 trillion in spending with a two-page memo that reads like it was written by an intern. When stupidity is in control, the literature professor Patrick Moreau argues, words become unscrewed “from their relation to reality.”

Principle 2: Stupidity often inheres in organizations, not individuals. When you create an organization in which one man has all the power and everybody else has to flatter his preconceptions, then stupidity will surely result. As the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it: “This is virtually a sociological- psychological law. The power of the one needs the stupidity of the other.”

Principle 3: People who behave stupidly are more dangerous than people who behave maliciously. Evil people at least have some accurate sense of their own self- interest, which might restrain them.  Stupidity dares greatly! Stupidity already has all the answers!

Principle 4: People who behave stupidly are unaware of the stupidity of their actions. You may have heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect, which is that incompetent people don’t have the skills to recognize their own incompetence. Let’s introduce the Hegseth-Gabbard corollary: The Trump administration is attempting to remove civil servants who may or may not be progressive but who have tremendous knowledge in their field of expertise and hire MAGA loyalists who often lack domain knowledge or expertise. The results may not be what the MAGA folks hoped for.

Principle 5: Stupidity is nearly impossible to oppose. Bonhoeffer notes, “Against stupidity we are defenseless.” Because stupid actions do not make sense, they invariably come as a surprise. Reasonable arguments fall on deaf ears. Counter-

evidence is brushed aside.  Facts are deemed irrelevant. Bonhoeffer continues, “In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack.”

Principle 6: The opposite of stupidity is not intelligence, it’s rationality. The psychologist Keith Stanovich defines rationality as the capacity to make decisions that help people achieve their objectives. People in the grip of the populist mind-set tend to be contemptuous of experience, prudence and expertise, helpful components of rationality. It turns out that this can make some populists willing to believe anything — conspiracy theories, folk tales and internet legends; that vaccines are harmful to children. They don’t live within a structured body of thought but within a rave party chaos of prejudices.

As time has gone by, I’ve developed more and more sympathy for the goals the populists are trying to achieve. America’s leadership class has spent the last few generations excluding, ignoring, rejecting and insulting a large swath of this country. It’s terrible to be assaulted in this way. It’s worse when you finally seize power and start assaulting yourself — and everyone around you. In fact, it’s stupid.

David Brooks is an Opinion columnist for The Times, writing about political, social and cultural trends.

@nytdavidbrooks

Distraught mum reveals it was lawyer daughter’s birthday when she died in DC plane collision as she travelled back from deposition with colleague

  • Watch video of new angles of Wednesday night’s midair collision near Washington, DC

Two women who worked together at a Washington DC law firm, Sarah Lee Best, and her colleague Elizabeth Keys, have been identified as victims of the tragic crash between an American Airlines plane and Army helicopter.

Vanderbilt University and Penn Law graduate Sarah, and her colleague Elizabeth Keys, both 33, were returning home from Kansas after completing a deposition.

Ms Keys’ mother tragically revealed it was her birthday on the day of the fateful crash.

American Airlines flight 5342 was moments from touching down when it collided with a Black Hawk Army helicopter.

It immediately went up in flames and both aircrafts crashed into the Potomac River below. Authorities say there are no survivors.

Elizabeth and Sarah

Sixty passengers were on board the flight, as well as four crew members. Three soldiers were on board the helicopter.

So far, 40 bodies have been pulled from the wreckage. Authorities will return on Friday morning to continue the search.

Ms Keys’ mother told WKRC her daughter was ‘a valedictorian and Varsity sailor’ who graduated from Georgetown University Law Center.

‘She loved deeply and was deeply loved. Liz was a warm, generous woman. She was so fun – and funny! Liz had a sharp wit and appreciated it in others. Gatherings were always better when Liz was there; she was filled with light and joy.

‘Her hugs were wonderful. Elizabeth was strong and fearless – she embraced life at full speed.’

She is survived by her partner David Seidman, who her mother described as ‘the love of her life’, and their Yorkie, Tucker.

‘Words cannot express how deeply Elizabeth, my Bitsy, will be missed. We are filled with unbearable sorrow and despair at our loss,’ she said. 

Keys and Best worked together at Wilkinson Stekloff litigation in the Washington DC office. 

Founder Beth Wilkinson said: ‘We are heartbroken by this terrible tragedy. Liz and Sarah were cherished members of our firm – wonderful attorneys, colleagues, and friends. 

‘Beyond being an excellent lawyer, Liz brought fearlessness, humor, and sharp wit to work every day, no matter the setting or circumstances. 

‘Sarah joined us just last fall and quickly energized us all with her boundless curiosity, kindness, and intelligence. 

American Airlines flight 5342 was moments from touching down when it collided with a Black Hawk Army helicopterAmerican Airlines flight 5342 was moments from touching down when it collided with a Black Hawk Army helicopter

‘It is hard to imagine the firm without them. We are keeping them in our memories and their families in our thoughts and prayers.’

On Thursday evening, rescue crews digging through the wreckage managed to recover two black boxes from the waters of the Potomac River. 

This will be of monumental assistance to authorities as they investigate what exactly happened in the moments leading to disaster. 

A preliminary report has said that air traffic control staffing at the airport was ‘not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic. 

Reagan National has been understaffed for many years, with just 19 fully certified controllers as of September 2023 – well below the target of 30 – according to the most recent Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan submitted to Congress.

At least 40 bodies have since been pulled from the Potomac River following extensive recovery missions by emergency teams. 

The bodies of all four flight crew members – including one who was mere months away from a promotion and wedding – were also recovered from the debris on Thursday. 

The pilots of the American Eagle jet were Captain Jonathan Campos, 34, and First Officer Samuel Lilley, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed. 

And both flight attendants who were on that tragic flight have been revealed as Ian Epstein and Danasia Elder. 

In an situation eerily similar to what happened on Wednesday night, a Republic Airways flight had to abort landing at the airport on Tuesday after a helicopter appeared near its flight path.

Flightradar data for the flight shows the plane had been travelling from Windsor Locks in Connecticut to the city and had to dramatically gain altitude shortly after descending on Reagan National Airport. It eventually landed safely.

Two videos obtained by CNN show new angles of Wednesday night’s midair collision near Washington, DC. In the videos, both aircraft can clearly be seen flying toward each other, then exploding and falling into the river. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Click here to watch the videos.

Credit :MailOnline and CNN

NBA AGC 2025 Early Bird registration ends in 28 days

In 26 days it will be over! The Early bird registration for the 65th NBA AGC which began on January 1, 2025, will end on February 28, 2025.

When it closes, regular registration will commence on March 1, 2025, and run through May 31, 2025.

This year’s conference will take place in the Garden City of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The NBA AGC is an annual event dedicated to exploring the latest developments in law and providing participants with the highest-level insights from leading experts in the field.

How to Register:
To register for the conference, please follow the simple step-by-step guide below:

1. Visit the registration portal at https://agc.nigerianbar.org.ng/register/event.

2. Click on “Register”.

3. Select the “Individual” option.

4. Input your details as prompted.

5. Preview your details for accuracy.

6. Click on ‘proceed’ to continue

7. After clicking proceed, a blank page may appear, if it does, please go back to the home page and click login

8. Input your email address and password

9. An email verification link will be sent to your registered email address (please check your spam folder if you do not see the email in your inbox).

10. Proceed to login using the verified details.

11. Click on “Make Payment” to complete your registration.

12. Once payment is made, you will receive a receipt and a confirmation email.

    Important Notes:
    • Your Supreme Court Number (SCN) will serve as your unique identifier throughout the registration and conference process.
    • QR codes will also be utilized for verification purposes during the event.
    • We urge all registrants to ensure their email details are correctly entered to avoid delays in receiving verification and confirmation emails.

    The NBA looks forward to welcoming you to this prestigious event, where critical legal issues and innovations will be discussed, and networking opportunities will abound. Act promptly to secure your participation at early bird rates, which will only be available until February 28, 2025. 

    For registration inquiries or further assistance, please contact Sadeeq at: [email protected] or 09129209903(Strictly on Whatsapp).
    Register today and join us for an unforgettable 2025 Annual General Conference!
    Signed;
    Chief Emeka Obegolu SAN, Chairman, AGCPC

    Barbara Omosun, Esq.
    Secretary AGCPC

    Police Service Commission approves retirement of officers over 60 years/ 35 years in service

    Amid the tenure controversy surrounding the Inspector General of Police ( IG), Kayode Egbetokun who has since clocked 60 years, the Police Service Commission (PSC) has ordered the immediate retirement of all senior police officers who have either exceeded 35 years in service or are above the age of 60.

    The directive was revealed via a statement on Friday by the PSC’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani.

    Ani disclosed that the commission reviewed its earlier stance from the 24th plenary meeting in September 2017, which allowed force entrants to use their date of enlistment instead of their initial appointment date.

    The statement reads:

    The Police Service Commission rose from its first extraordinary Meeting with the approval for the immediate retirement of senior Police Officers who have spent more than 35 years in service and those above 60 years of age.

    The Commission at its 24th Plenary Meeting of 27th and 28th September 2017 had approved that the Force Entrants should have their date of appointment in the Force against the date of their enlistment.

    The Commission has passionately revisted their decision and has come to the conclusion that the said decision in its intent and purpose contradicted the principle of merger of service in the Public service and it is in violation of Public Service Rule No 020908 ( i & ii) which provides for retirement on attainment of 35 years in service or 60 years of age.

    Accordingly, the Commission at its 1st extraordinary meeting of the 6th Management Board held today, Friday, 31st January 2025, approved the immediate retirement of those officers who have spent more than 35 years in service and those above 60 years of age.

    The Commission Chairman, DIG Hashimu Argungu, rtd, mni, presided over the extraordinary Meeting and had Justice Adamu Paul Galumje, retired Justice of the Supreme Court and Hon Commissioner representing the Judiciary; DIG Taiwo Lakanu rtd, fdc, Honourable Commissioner representing the Police and Chief Onyemuchi Nnamani, Secretary to the Commission in attendance.

    The Commission’s decision has been conveyed to the Inspector General of Police for implementation.

    Ikechukwu Ani
    Head, Press and Public Relations
    Friday, January 31st 2025

    [Video] Grieving father demands justice over death of two-year-old daughter in Lagos school

    A heartbroken father shown in a video published by Vanguard Newspapers is demanding justice for the death of his two-year-old daughter at Smiley Kids Montessori in Sangotedo, Lagos State.

    On Thursday, January 16, 2025, the child’s mum took to her X handle, @AbiaPrincess_X, to share the heartbreaking news of her daughter’s sudden death.

    According to the bereaved woman, her daughter, a pupil at Smiley Kids Montessori in Sangotedo, Lagos State, left home healthy but tragically returned lifeless.  

    The distraught mother stated that the school claimed her two-year-old daughter drowned. However, she alleges that further findings revealed the child was electrocuted, and her body was placed in the pool to make it appear as a drowning incident.  

    She also shared a photo of the pool, which features a high barricade designed to prevent access, questioning how a toddler could have scaled it. The mother has called on the Lagos State Government to thoroughly investigate the matter.

    When Vanguard visited Smiley Kids Montessori to get a response from the school authorities, they declined to address the media. However, it was observed that a meeting was held with other parents at the school. Additionally, there were no visible signs of any ongoing maintenance.

    Vanguard News

    DC Plane/Chopper Crash: Reports says at the time of collision, one air traffic controller was working two different tower positions 

    • Trump blames Biden’s administration for employing workers who “suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems…”

    Sixty-seven people including world champion figure skaters and the ‘future’ of the sport are believed to have died after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC, collided Wednesday night with a US Army helicopter midair, sending both aircraft into the Potomac River below, officials said.

    As of Thursday morning, 27 bodies had been recovered from the plane and one from the helicopter, according to Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly. By late that afternoon, more than 40 bodies had been recovered, multiple sources with knowledge of the recovery told CNN. There were 64 people on board the plane – which was flying from Wichita, Kansas – and three soldiers in the Army helicopter, according to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.

    “Sadly, there are no survivors,” President Donald Trump said in a news conference at the White House late Thursday morning.

    “This was a dark and excruciating night in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s history, and a tragedy of terrible proportions,” Trump said. “As one nation, we grieve for every precious soul that has been taken from us so suddenly.”

    Among the dead are American Airlines pilots Jonathan Campos and Samuel Lilley, two flight attendants and several members of the US figure skating community, according to friends, family and sports groups.

    President Donald Trump said he plans to meet with victims’ families, though he did not say when.

    Here’s what CNN further says about the crash – now the subject of a National Transportation Safety Board investigation and the deadliest aviation disaster in the US in more than two decades.

    Collision in notoriously busy skies

    American Airlines Flight 5342 was due to land at the Reagan National airport Wednesday night when the aircraft – a Bombardier CRJ700 regional jet – collided midair with the Army helicopter as the plane approached Runway 33, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and defense officials.

    Flight records showed the passenger plane was expected to land around 9 p.m. But at 8:53 p.m., DC police began receiving calls about “an aircraft crash above the Potomac River,” the agency said.

    The crash appears to have been a “very quick, rapid impact” and so far there is no indication that emergency evacuation slides were deployed, National Transportation Safety Board member J. Todd Inman said. He cautioned that the information is still preliminary.

    A video of the crash filmed by EarthCam shows what appears to be the helicopter and plane colliding in the sky, resulting in a fiery explosion.

    The collision occurred while the helicopter with the 12th Aviation Battalion was conducting a routine training for pilots who take part in “continuity of government” missions, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the White House Thursday.

    “Tragically, last night, a mistake was made,” Hegseth said. “There was some, some sort of an elevation issue that we have immediately begun investigating at the DOD and Army level.”

    The battalion is currently on an operational pause, pending a review, Hegseth said. An investigation will seek to determine whether the helicopter was in the proper corridor and at the right altitude at the time of the collision, he said.

    Newly sworn-in Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy had earlier indicated both the helicopter and the American Airlines flight were operating in “standard” flight patterns.

    “At this time, we don’t know why the military aircraft came into the path of the PSA aircraft,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said Thursday morning.

    At the time of the collision, one air traffic controller was working two different tower positions and was handling both local and helicopter traffic, an air traffic control source told CNN. The source described the set-up as not uncommon. However, the New York Times reported that an internal preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report says staffing was “not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic.”

    The Blame game

    Meanwhile, Trump blamed former President Joe Biden’s administration for encouraging the Federal Aviation Administration to recruit workers “who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative.” He added that the program allowed for the hiring of people with hearing and vision issues as well as paralysis, epilepsy and “dwarfism.”

    Trump did not share any evidence that unqualified people were being put in critical positions like air traffic control, and he acknowledged that there was as yet no indication that air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport made any mistakes.

    Asked why he was blaming diversity initiatives, Trump said, “because I have common sense, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t.”

    Trump said air traffic controllers needed to be brilliant to ensure safety.

    “They have to be talented, naturally talented geniuses,” he said. “You can’t have regular people doing their job.”

    Trump complained specifically about Pete Buttigieg, who was Biden’s transportation secretary and was a contender to challenge Trump for the White House in 2020, calling him “a disaster.”

    “He’s run it right into the ground with his diversity,” Trump said, adding profanity to his description of Buttigieg.

    Buttigieg responded in a post on X, calling Trump’s comments “despicable.”

    “As families grieve, Trump should be leading, not lying,” he added.

    As if to underscore Trump’s point, the White House invited reporters into the Oval Office to watch him sign another executive order that officials said would stop “woke policies” in federal aviation. Trump had already signed an executive order ending diversity initiatives at the FAA last week.

    “We want the most competent people,” Trump said. “We don’t care what race they are.”

    Asked if he plans to visit the crash site, Trump said he would meet with family members of the victims.

    “What’s the site? The water? You want me to go swimming?” the president said.

    The FAA’s diversity efforts aren’t new. Before Trump’s administration removed them from the agency’s website this month, they were promoted there since at least 2013, including during Trump’s first term in office. Substantially similar language about seeking candidates with disabilities was on the site during both Biden’s term and Trump’s first term, according to snapshots from the Internet Archive.

    Former FAA administrator Michael Whitaker responded to accusations that the agency was prioritizing diversity over qualified candidates last year, saying that while the FAA seeks qualified candidates from a range of sources, each must “meet rigorous qualifications that of course vary by position.”

    The plane crash was the first major disaster of Trump’s new term, and his response evoked his frequent — and controversial — briefings on the COVID-19 pandemic. His handling of the pandemic helped sour voters on him as he failed to win reelection in 2020.

    After telling the families of the dead that “our hearts are shattered alongside yours” and leading a moment of silence, Trump proceeded to speculate about what had occurred. “We do not know what led to this crash but we have some very strong opinions,” he said.

    Trump wondered if the helicopter pilot was wearing nightvision goggles, declared that “you had a pilot problem” and that the helicopter was “going at an angle that was unbelievably bad.” He questioned why the Army pilot didn’t change course, saying that “you can stop a helicopter very quickly.”

    He also mused about the air traffic controllers, saying of the two aircraft, “for whatever reason they were at the same elevation,” adding “they should have been at a different height.”

    Even as Trump rushed to publicly ponder reasons for the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board was more circumspect as it begins examining what happened.

    “We look at facts, on our investigation, and that will take some time,” said Jennifer Homendy, the board’s chair.

    Democrats criticized Trump’s remarks on Thursday.

    “It’s one thing for internet pundits to spew off conspiracy theories, it’s another for the president of the United States,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

    Vice President JD Vance, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth all lined up behind Trump to praise his leadership and echo his concerns about diversity programs and hiring.

    “When you don’t have the best standards in who you’re hiring, it means on the one hand, you’re not getting the best people in government,” Vance said, “But on the other hand, it puts stresses on the people who are already there.”

    Trump made a point to tell Duffy, who was sworn in on Tuesday as Buttigieg’s replacement, “It’s not your fault.” Duffy took the White House podium alongside Trump and declared, “When Americans take off in airplanes, they should expect to land at their destination.” Duffy added, “We will not accept excuses.”

    Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. They have cited issues with competitive pay, long hours, intensive training and mandatory retirements for contributing to the staffing shortages.

    “While these events are incredibly rare, our safety system is showing clear signs of strain that we cannot ignore,” Homendy told lawmakers in 2023. Aviation experts issued a report around the same time saying that the FAA needs better staffing, equipment and technology.

    Credit: CNN and AP

    New law new grants personhood to New Zealand mountain

    A mountain in New Zealand regarded as an ancestor by Indigenous people was on Thursday recognized as a legal person after a new law granted it all the rights and responsibilities of a human being.

    Mount Taranaki — now known as Taranaki Maunga, its Māori name — is the latest natural feature to be granted personhood in New Zealand, which had previously ruled that a river and a stretch of sacred land are people.

    The pristine, snow-capped dormant volcano is the second highest on New Zealand’s North Island at 2,518 meters (8,261 feet) and a popular spot for tourism, hiking and snow sports.

    The legal recognition acknowledges the mountain’s theft from the Māori of the Taranaki region after New Zealand was colonized. It fulfils an agreement of redress from the country’s government to Indigenous people for harm perpetrated against the land since.

    But how can a mountain be a person?

    The law passed Thursday gives Taranaki Maunga all the rights, powers, duties, responsibilities and liabilities of a person. Its legal personality has a name: Te Kāhui Tupua, which the law views as “a living and indivisible whole.” It includes Taranaki and its surrounding peaks and land, “incorporating all their physical and metaphysical elements.”

    A newly created entity will be “the face and voice” of the mountain, the law says, with four members from local Māori iwi, or tribes, and four members appointed by the country’s Conservation Minister.

    What is so special about this mountain?

    “The mountain has long been an honored ancestor, a source of physical, cultural and spiritual sustenance and a final resting place,” Paul Goldsmith, the lawmaker responsible for the settlements between the government and Māori tribes, told Parliament in a speech on Thursday.

    But colonizers of New Zealand in the 18th and 19th centuries took first the name of Taranaki and then the mountain itself. In 1770, the British explorer Captain James Cook spotted the peak from his ship and named it Mount Egmont.

    In 1840, Māori tribes and representatives of the British crown signed the Treaty of Waitangi — New Zealand’s founding document — in which the Crown promised Māori would retain rights to their land and resources. But the Māori and English versions of the treaty differed — and Crown breaches of both began immediately.

    In 1865, a vast swathe of Taranaki land, including the mountain, was confiscated to punish Māori for rebelling against the Crown. Over the next century hunting and sports groups had a say in the mountain’s management — but Māori did not.

    “Traditional Māori practices associated with the mountain were banned while tourism was promoted,” Goldsmith said. But a Māori protest movement of the 1970s and ‘80s has led to a surge of recognition for the Māori language, culture and rights in New Zealand law.

    Redress has included billions of dollars in Treaty of Waitangi settlements — such as the agreement with the eight tribes of Taranaki, signed in 2023.

    How will the mountain use its rights?

    “Today, Taranaki, our maunga, our maunga tupuna, is released from the shackles, the shackles of injustice, of ignorance, of hate,” said Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, a co-leader of the political party Te Pāti Māori and a descendant of the Taranaki tribes, using a phrase that means ancestral mountain.

    “We grew up knowing there was nothing anyone could do to make us any less connected,” she added.

    The mountain’s legal rights are intended to uphold its health and wellbeing. They will be employed to stop forced sales, restore its traditional uses and allow conservation work to protect the native wildlife that flourishes there. Public access will remain.

    Do other parts of New Zealand have personhood?

    New Zealand was the first country in the world to recognize natural features as people when a law passed in 2014 granted personhood to Te Urewera, a vast native forest on the North Island. Government ownership ceased and the tribe Tūhoe became its guardian.

    “Te Urewera is ancient and enduring, a fortress of nature, alive with history; its scenery is abundant with mystery, adventure, and remote beauty,” the law begins, before describing its spiritual significance to Māori. In 2017, New Zealand recognized the Whanganui River as human, as part of a settlement with its local iwi.

    How much support did the law receive?

    The bill recognizing the mountain’s personhood was affirmed unanimously by Parliament’s 123 lawmakers. The vote was greeted by a ringing waiata — a Māori song — from the public gallery, packed with dozens who had travelled to the capital, Wellington, from Taranaki.

    The unity provided brief respite in a tense period for race relations in New Zealand. In November, tens of thousands of people marched to Parliament to protest a law that would reshape the Treaty of Waitangi by setting rigid legal definitions for each clause. Detractors say the law — which is not expected to pass — would strip Māori of legal rights and dramatically reverse progress from the past five decades.

    Only an Alteration of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution Can Effect the Appointment and Tenure Extension of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP): The Hon. AGF got it wrong about tenure extension of the IGP

    By Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja

    The current Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice is a lawyer for whom I have absolute respect for.

    My respect for him is rooted in his capacity for legal research and legal advocacy to identify aspects of our legal system and jurisprudence that requires changes and to follow through with such changes.

    It is in this spirit that the AGF, in his erstwhile position as a lawyer for Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi (RCA) made an indelible contribution to the jurisprudence of Nigeria in the case of Amaechi vs. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and others (2008) In that case the Supreme Court of Nigeria ruled that votes belong to the political party and not to a candidate, that is how CRA was installed as Governor of Rivers State although he never featured or contested in the Governorship election.

    It is in this same spirit of making contributions to the jurisprudence of Nigeria, that I am writing this open letter to the Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

    This letter is an appeal for the Hon. AGF to reconsider his previous position where he stated as follows:

    “The appointment of Egbetokun which took effect from 31st day of October, 2023 would have come to an end on his attainment of 60 years of age on 4th day of September, 2024,” the statement reads.

    “However, before his retirement age, the Police Act was amended to allow the occupant of the office to remain and complete the original four-year term granted under Section 7 (6) of the Act, notwithstanding the fact that he has attained the age of 60 years.

    “This has, therefore, statutorily extended the tenure of office of Egbetokun to and including the 31st day of October 2027, in order to complete the four-year tenure granted to him.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, Egbetokun’s continuous stay in office is in line with the provisions of the Police Act amended in 2024 which allow the occupant of the office to enjoy a term of four years effective from the date of his appointment as IGP, in this case, 31st day of October 2023.”

    Contrary to the foregoing assertions by the Hon. AGF, I hold the view that it is only through an alteration of Sections 214, 215 and 216 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as altered) that the tenure of the Inspector-General of Police can be extended.

    The logic behind this argument is that, the office of the Inspector-General of Police is a direct creation and established by the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria therefore, it is only through an alteration of the said Constitution that changes can be made to the tenure of office of the said Inspector-General of Police.

    For the avoidance of any doubts, Section 215, of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution is reproduced hereunder:

    “Appointment of Inspector-General and control of Nigeria
    Police Force

    (1) There shall be –
    (a) an Inspector-General of Police who, subject to section 216(2)
    of this Constitution shall be appointed by the President on
    the advice of the Nigeria Police Council from among serving
    members of the Nigeria Police Force;”

    In support of my assertion that, an alteration of the Constitution is the ONLY method to achieve tenure extension of the IGP, I respectfully urge the Hon. AGF to consider the Fifth Alteration Act, No.37 of June 8th 2023 wherein the 1999 Nigerian Constitution was altered to provide a uniform age of retirement and pension for all judicial officers of the courts that were created by the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.

    The reason is because the offices of the judges of all the aforesaid judicial officers were created by the said 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as altered), therefore changes to their age of retirement must equally be effected through an alteration of the same 1999 Nigerian Constitution.

    Respected Hon. AGF knows fully well that by an application of the BLUE PENCIL RULE and Section 1 (3) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as altered), the said Section 7 (6) of the Police (amendment) Act, 2024 which purports to extend the tenure of the IGP is unconstitutional to the extent of its inconsistency with the provisions of Sections 214, 215 and 216 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as altered).
    This view is supported by the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the case of Attorney-General of Bendel State vs. Attorney-General of the Federation (1982) NCLR 1

    There is an additional issue that I respectfully urge the Hon. AGF to consider. This view was canvassed in a recent case when we (Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners-ALDRAP) filed a law suit at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria to challenge the attempt by the National Assembly to enact a law to extend the age of retirement of the Clerk to the National Assembly from 60 to 65 or from 35 to 40 years of service whichever comes first.

    In that lawsuit, we argued as follows:

    “Nigeria public servants in established and pensionable cadre of the Federal Government Service do not hold their offices at the pleasure of the Federal Government. Rather, their appointments are based upon rules and regulations, statutes, or memoranda of appointment, citing Morakinyo v. Ibadan City Council [1964] 1 All NLR 219 and paragraph 11(1) of Part I of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution.

    That since the Public Service Rules, statutes, or memoranda of appointment, all derive from the Constitution, they all have constitutional force, citing Olaniyan v. University of Lagos [1985] 2 NWLR (Pt. 9) 599 and Shitta-Bey v. Federal Public Service Commission [1981] 1 SC 40; [1981] LPELR-3056(SC).

    That by virtue of the Public Service Rules 2021 (as amended), the compulsory retirement age for all grades in the Service shall be 60 years or 35 years of pensionable service, whichever is earlier. Accordingly, that no officer shall be allowed to remain in service after attaining the retirement age of 60 years or 35 years of pensionable service, whichever is earlier.”

    Following from the above, by enactment of the Police Act, 2020, the IGP and all other police officers are now classified as “public servants” by virtue of the definition of”public servants” as provided under the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, therefore, it logically follows that their age of retirement is the same with other public servants as defined by the same Constitution, which pegs it at 60 years of age!!!

    On this note, I rest my case and await your re-consideration of your stance on this matter, failing which we (ALDRAP) shall file a lawsuit at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria to seek a clarification on this subject matter!!!

    Yours faithfully,
    Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja,
    Secretary, ALDRAP,
    31st January 2025.

    Re: Supreme Court rules that husband remains legal father of child born out of wife’s adultery in valid marriage despite biological evidence, By Prof. R.A.C.E Achara

    One can arrive at the same conclusion without using an entirely tortured and irrational basis as the reason!

    Many customary laws… have this provision that is based on a different presumption or reason.

    The traditional presumption first arose from the usual desire to claim a child as an asset by the paternal family (not restricted to the father as a single unit) on the force of the bride price they had paid and which entitles them to any and every fruit of the womb covered during the validity of the price they had paid. And, peripherally, a lack of technology to conclusively determine paternity.

    The Evidence Act follows these customary law foundations to expand the presumption to a rebuttable (not conclusive) presumption that the fruit of the womb even beyond traditional marriages belongs to the putative father and discerned mother in a statutory marriage when born by the wife within 280 days after dissolution of the marriage.

    The important focus is that it is merely a presumption but one which is rebuttable by evidence especially from the advances wrought by technology!

    Note that even under the tortured reasoning offered by the court as shown by your headline report of the judgment, the court had even inadvertently reduced the amplitude or vista of the presumption under both the customary laws of many communities and for the Evidence Act extensions for all marriages by holding that their decision has effect only if at the time in question the putative parents were still married and had access to each other.

    This shows that, confusingly, the honourable court had suggested that paternity is based solely on the privacy considerations of the putative parents and dignity considerations of the baby regardless of the outcome of biology and actual truth, on the one hand. Yet, on the other hand, later in the same reasoning, the honourable court still, as it were, insists on biology by invoking the necessity of access to themselves of the two putative parents during the relevant (gestation) period.

    On the article, What if a DNA test showed you weren’t really the father?

    The difference between sociology and biology.

    Biology addresses the question whether you’re actually the father of the child you’ve been bringing up since birth as yours.

    Sociology addresses the impact of the bond you both have since developed during this upbringing and whether or not it ought to force you to sever that link solely on your discovery of the truth of a wicked woman who lied to both her husband and son about the real truth of their biological dissonance…

    The withdrawal of legal actions against Dele Farotimi, a victory for truth and the matters arising

    By Rev. Fr. John Odey

    I believe that the regular readers of the articles I post in different social media platforms must have observed that I post each part of the series every four days. It is also pertinent to point it out that while the articles always bear the dates they are posted, they are normally written one or two days before they are posted. On January 27, 2025, I posted my article, Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System: The Book That Made Dele Farotimi an Epic Celebrity. About two hours later, I read on the social media what I am in the best of dispositions to describe as a Happy Coincidence. It is this: Afe Babalola Withdraws Suits Against Farotimi. The first paragraph of the article explained:

    “Aare Afe Babalola SAN, the Founder of Afe Babalola University in Ado Ekiti, announced in the early hours of Monday his decision to withdraw the legal actions against activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi…Farotimi faced trial for alleged criminal defamation at the Ekiti State Magistrate Court and for alleged cyber-bullying at the Ado Ekiti Division of the Federal High Court. However, following the intervention of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and other prominent traditional rulers during a midnight meeting, Babalola declared at ABUAD that he would instruct his lawyers to withdraw the criminal case.”

    The journalist who reported the incident gave the names of many prominent and respectable Yoruba traditional leaders who prevailed on Babalola to withdraw the suits. Other people who are also reported to have persuaded him to settle the case out of court include former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the man that every peace-loving Nigerian would be happy to associate with and to listen to, Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese. Among other reasons, having been disposed to withdraw the suits, the legal luminary, Afe Babalola, SAN, is reported to have given the following as his reasons for the withdrawal:

    “There is nothing I am going to gain from his imprisonment. There is nothing I am going to gain from so-called damages. I am not in quest of more wealth, rather how to spend what I have for the benefit of others. The only time I am happy is when I give. The request is simple; take away this criminal case in court. When Obasanjo wrote, he came here, I said no, when Kukah phoned and came I said no, but on this occasion, I say yes. Thank you, Kabiyesis. I will speak to my lawyers to withdraw it.”

    This is good news. Many thanks should go to all the prominent Nigerians who brokered peace by making the withdrawal of the suits from the court possible. Many thanks should equally go to the legal luminary, Afe Babalola, SAN, for being modest enough to accept the appeal made by a horde of respectable Yoruba and other people. The Yoruba traditional leaders have sufficiently displayed the wisdom for which they are known. Afe Babalola has equally proved to Nigerians that he deserves all the respect given to him. The decision to withdraw the suits clearly demonstrates his wisdom.

    However, in addition to the reasons Babalola declared I am more inclined to believe that there are more fundamental reasons for his decision to withdraw the suits. In my first article on this issue, Dele Farotimi: A Martyr For Truth And Justice, I recalled the warning that was given to the British by Prof. Gilbert Murray of Oxford University which was cited by Louis Fischer, an American journalist, in his book, Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World. Winston Churchill who was then the British Prime Minister and Gandhi’s chief antagonist in his fight for the freedom of his people from British oppression was warned that he would lose the battle because he was fighting with a man who did not care for anything in the world except for what is right and just.

    Gandhi did not care for sensual pleasures. He did not care for comfort. He did not care for praise. He did not care for slander. He did not care for adulation. He did not care for insult. He did not care for demotion. He did not care for promotion. Above all, he was a man who, once he made up his mind to do what he believed to be right only death could stop him. The only thing he feared on earth is moral transgression. For this reason, the British were warned that Gandhi was a dangerous and uncomfortable person to deal with by any enemy because he had crossed the Rubicon of fear. Gandhi eventually won. He single-handedly secured political independence for India.

    Anybody who carefully listens to Dele Farotimi each time he talks about the endemic decay in Nigeria, the hopelessness that decay spreads through the very essence and foundation of our being, and his readiness to surrender his life, if the need arises, in his battle against the decay, should understand that he is not a man to be taken for granted. In my first article mentioned above, I recalled certain statements of his which should have informed whoever decided to deal with him that he was dealing with a man who had conquered fear and so should have been circumspect. Let me refresh the reader’s mind with those statements once more. He said:

    1. It is alright to have fears, what is wrong is to receive the fears in one’s spirit, and to then allow these fears to dictate your actions and inactions. When fears stand in the way of your purpose, you must find the grace to discount such fears, except reason advises otherwise.
    2. Fear narrows perspectives and thereby limits your capacity to see your options clearly, enforcing tunnel vision on the afflicted; flight or fight. Look again; those are only two of the several options available to the unafraid. Get rid of you fears, your fears, fear you.”
    3. Tyrants do not scare me, and I am completely unfazed by their kept dogs, be those in uniform or out. Faced by those shorn of fears, they are naught but scarecrows. Men of straw in need of darkness to be men!

    For those who have not seen and have not read the controversial book, it has only 96 pages in all. This must have accounted for its description as pamphlet by Afe Babalola during his meeting with the Yoruba leaders. All the same, the contents of this pamphlet have shaken the nation’s judiciary to its foundation and made every corrupt judge in Nigeria jittery. The book is small but mighty. It is a small axe that has felled a mighty and dreaded Iroko tree.

    Anybody who carefully listens to Dele Farotimi each time he talks about the endemic decay in Nigeria, the hopelessness that decay spreads through the very essence and foundation of our being, and his readiness to surrender his life, if the need arises, in his battle against the decay, should understand that he is not a man to be taken for granted. Granted that what he has been saying about his readiness to surrender his life and everything in the cause of truth and justice if the need arises were not enough to convince his detractors that he was not playing on words, he reiterated the same in the book in the following two remarkable statements:

    1. I have absolutely no problem with meeting every single writ that anyone might care to issue for libel and the evidence of the truth that I have told are largely in the courts’ records.
    2. There are times in the history of men and nations when the purpose, personal or corporate, becomes more important than our own lives. The truth of the putrefaction of our country as typified by the stinking corruption of the judiciary is urgent and by far more important than my personal convenience and or life. If I must self-immolate for you to behold the extent of the rot, so be it. But I urge you, my dear audience, not to allow my sacrifice to be made in vain.

    Irrespective of the reasons given by Afe Babalola for withdrawing the suits, a more critical assessment of the situation persuades me to believe that these two statements and the following other factors constitute the real reason for the withdrawal.

    We saw the moving video where Dele Farotimi was overwhelmed by emotion and cried in appreciation of the breathtaking solidarity he got from Nigerians during the 21 days when he was incarcerated in Ekiti prison. We saw how he thanked Nigerians for not minding his ethnicity and religion but stood with him and spoke for him. We heard him speak about the chains which corrupt judges and corrupt politicians have fashioned to hold us down as their helpless victims while they continue their insatiable plunder of the country’s wealth to our collective detriment. He said:

    “We stopped being humans because we became Nigerians. They divided us and we fell for it. Because you would not see me as a Yoruba man, you spoke for me. You would not see me as a Christian, you spoke for me. Because you spoke, Nigeria could not happen to me. You found your voices, I became you and in our collective, we could not be silenced.”

    Meanwhile, Emmanuel Champers, Afe Babalola’s law firm, wanted the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) to disbar Farotimi from legal practice for their so-called unethical conduct. But the LPDC refused, assuring his detractors that the allegations against him had to do with the book he wrote and not with his practice as a lawyer. Farotimi is a lawyer who is committed to using the instrumentality of the law to dethrone injustice and enthrone justice. Why should he be debarred? Like the Socrates of old, he is the stinging gadfly that Nigeria needs most if she must ever come out of the current asphyxiating criminal justice system. Instead of debarring the only one we currently have, more Dele Farotimis are urgently needed to sting back to life the dead consciences of corrupt judges and politicians who in all vanity imagine Nigeria to be their personal property while the rest of us are mere slaves labouring to maintain their luxury.

    These are the real reasons Babalola had to withdraw the suits. He is a big fish. But he discovered that it is dangerous for him to swallow Dele Farotimi. Farotimi made a mockery of fear. He became so daring in the face of threat that fear began to fear him. The worst thing anybody can do to a man who feels that he is so powerful that people must either praise him or keep their mouths shut even when he is wrong is to confront him squarely with his wrongdoing. A small fish like Dele Farotimi publicly declared that tyrants do not scare him, that he is completely undeterred by those in uniform who play the role of personal watchdogs to tyrants and terrorise innocent Nigerians. Farotimi is so daring over the issue at stake that any reasonable person engaging him in a battle, no matter how powerful he is, should learn to apply all the brakes.

    Whether one has read law or not, the basic meaning of libel as defined by the English dictionary is that it is “a false and published malicious statement that damages somebody’s reputation.” Let us break down this definition to see if it can help us understand what has happened between Afe Babalola and Dele Farotimi. The keyword in the definition is False. If it is true that what Farotimi published in his book about Babalola is false, he would be charged as guilty in the court for damaging his reputation. In that case, the court would determine the amount of money he would pay as reparation to the man whose reputation he damaged, or how long he would be jailed. On the other hand, if it is discovered that what Farotimi wrote in his book about Babalola is True would Farotimi still be considered as being guilty? In that case, my layman’s understanding of the law tells me that Farotimi would not be said to be guilty in that case since what he said in the book is true. In other words, if what he said is true, if there is any damage of reputation emanating from that, it is the person who did what he should not have done, which is written in that book, that damaged his reputation and not the person who told the world what he truly did.

    The truth is that the withdrawal of the suits is not an act of magnanimity on the part of Afe Babalola. Knowing that Farotimi would have exposed him more in the court and seeing how determined Nigerians, irrespective of religion and ethnicity, were in their solidarity with Farotimi, he had no option than to look for a way to wriggle out of the battle he suddenly discovered he was bound to lose. He certainly crashed against a formidable rock in the person of Dele Farotimi. But the Yoruba leaders in their wisdom rallied round in the nick of time to save whatever vestige of his reputation that had not been destroyed by the controversial book. He is very lucky. As the saying goes, the reader should use his tongue to count his teeth.

    Corrupt judges and corrupt politicians have destroyed Nigeria. But as Martin Luther King Junior said in his book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? “When evil men combine, good men must unite. When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb good men must build and bind. When evil men conspire to preserve an unjust status quo, good men must unite to bring about the birth of a society undergirded by justice.”

    Dele Farotimi has demonstrated to good people in Nigeria that there is an urgent need for them to unite; that they must plan to thwart the evil plot of corrupt judges and politicians; that they must unite to fight the conspiracy of corrupt judges and politicians that are bent on perpetuating the preservation of unjust status quo; that they must unite and fight the endemic decay in the judicial system in order to bring about the Nigeria of our good dreams where truth, justice and peace will reign.

    Nigeria needs two-pronged battle, the battle of wits and the battle of courage, to pull her out of the judicial putrefaction where corrupt judges and politicians have lured it into. By combining wits and courage, Dele Farotimi has shown us that Nigeria is not beyond redemption. But the battle is too cumbersome for him alone. I want to believe that the unprecedented solidarity that Nigerians have been giving to him since December 3, 2024 when he was arrested in Lagos and extradited to Ekiti State is a proof that many people, particularly legal representatives, are prepared to fight the battle with him. We pray let it be so.