Home Blog Page 475

Corruption’s Albatross: The Nigerian Reality

By Stephanie Sewuese Shaakaa

Corruption has become the albatross strangling Nigeria’s progress, weighing down its potential, and infecting every fiber of its society. In a country blessed with vast natural resources, abundant talent, and an industrious populace, the wheels of progress grind to a halt under the burden of corrupt leadership.

Politicians, who should be the harbingers of hope, have instead become merchants of greed, siphoning wealth and exploiting the vulnerability of the masses. They manipulate ethnic and religious divisions with precision, ensuring their continued dominance while the common Nigerian suffers the consequences of their unchecked ambition.

It is a common consensus that the country’s political elites are corrupt, with stolen wealth tucked away in foreign accounts and luxury lifestyles funded by the nation’s resources. The same leaders who cry for patriotism and unity are often the first to abandon ship when the going gets tough. The disconnect between the rulers and the ruled is stark, with leaders insulated from the suffering they inflict on the nation.

The story of corruption in Nigeria is not just about high-profile scandals and missing billions; it’s woven into the fabric of everyday life. Consider the plight of the informal sector, a crucial part of Nigeria’s economy that suffers from corruption’s ripple effects. Small business owners, who form the backbone of the economy, are forced to pay bribes for basic licenses and permits. These illicit payments add to the cost of doing business, stifling entrepreneurship and innovation. Local markets, once bustling centers of trade, are now battlegrounds for survival where the cost of corruption is counted in missed opportunities and shattered dreams.

This theft of resources also means a theft of time. Every year that corruption goes unchecked is a year that Nigeria falls further behind in the global race for development. Investments that could have driven the economy forward are instead diverted into self-serving projects, lining the pockets of those who already have more than enough. Meanwhile, small businesses struggle, entrepreneurs lose hope, and the country’s vast potential remains unrealized. It’s as if Nigeria is running a marathon with chains around its legs, unable to break free from the weight of corruption that drags it down.

But the damage goes beyond the economy. Corruption poisons society, creating a system where wealth and connections determine who gets ahead and who gets left behind. It turns government services into commodities that only the privileged can access. Ordinary citizens are forced into impossible choices bribing their way to better healthcare or watching their children suffer in overcrowded, underfunded hospitals. Corruption steals dignity, leaving people to navigate a world where merit is meaningless, and survival depends on playing a rigged game.

Politically, corruption erodes the very foundation of democracy. It turns elections into spectacles of deceit, where votes are bought, and the will of the people is subverted by those with deep pockets. The leaders who emerge from such processes are not there to serve the public; they are there to serve themselves and the interests of those who paid their way into power. And so, the cycle continues.

Corrupt leaders protect a corrupt system, ensuring that nothing changes.

Yet, amidst all this, there is still a flicker of hope. The fight against corruption in Nigeria is a battle for the nation’s future, a fight to reclaim the values of honesty, integrity, and service. This battle isn’t won by merely passing laws or setting up commissions; it’s won by changing the culture that allows corruption to thrive.

For instance, the emergence of grassroots organizations like “The Citizens’ Voice” has demonstrated the power of local advocacy in challenging corrupt practices. These groups, often comprised of ordinary Nigerians, work tirelessly to expose corrupt acts and demand accountability, often at great personal risk. Their courage exemplifies how collective action can challenge entrenched systems and drive change.

This is not an easy fight, nor is it a short one. It will require determination, resilience, and the collective will of a people who refuse to be defined by corruption. It will demand strong institutions that uphold the rule of law, leaders who lead by example, and citizens who hold their government accountable. And, perhaps most importantly, it will require a sense of urgency. Every day that corruption is allowed to continue is a day that Nigeria loses, loses opportunities, loses potential, loses hope.

Consider the story of Maryam, a mother of four from Bauchi. When her son fell ill with malaria, she traveled miles to the nearest public hospital, only to find that the medicines meant to be free had mysteriously disappeared from the shelves. A corrupt chain of officials had diverted them to private pharmacies for profit. Maryam’s story is not unique it’s the everyday reality for millions of Nigerians trapped in a system that prioritizes greed over life. Her story is our call to action.

The education sector is severely impacted by corruption and mismanagement. Despite the high percentage of the population living below the poverty line, significant resources are siphoned off, preventing adequate funding for education. This corruption diverts essential funds, exacerbating existing challenges and making quality education increasingly inaccessible.

The government’s inability to meet its financial obligations for education reflects a broader pattern of mismanagement, where essential services suffer while public debt and interest payments consume a large portion of tax revenues. This misallocation leaves many Nigerians struggling with inadequate educational opportunities, as the burden of costs increasingly falls on parents and communities.

The persistence of these issues may be driven by a strategy to maintain control over an uneducated populace, reinforcing a cycle of poverty and dependency. Corruption thus not only hampers educational progress but also ensures that the socio-economic gap remains entrenched, undermining the nation’s potential for growth and development.

The future of Nigeria depends on whether it can rise to this challenge. The stakes could not be higher. Corruption is not just an obstacle to progress; it is an existential threat to the nation’s future. If left unchecked, it will continue to undermine every effort to build a better Nigeria. But if confronted head-on, with courage and conviction, there is a chance just a chance that Nigeria can break free from its chains and finally realize the greatness that lies within its grasp.

Stephanie Shaakaa, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State

NBAAGC2024: Inauguration of Elected NBA National EXCO

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) will on Thursday, August 29, 2024 inaugurate of its newly elected National Executive Committee (EXCO).

A statement issued by Chief Emeka Obegolu, SAN, PhD announced that the newly elected national Officers with Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN as President, will be sworn-in at The Ballroom, Lagos Continental Hotel, Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos State.

All guests are enjoined to be seated at the venue by 10:30 am. The event will always be broadcast live via Zoom.

Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, will be sworn in as the 32nd President of the NBA, alongside other EXCO members, succeeding Yakubu Chonoko Mailyua, OON, SAN, whose two tenure as President will expire on 29th August, 2024.

Zoom link details: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84236203069?pwd=EswSrnSxPbvTai08HjXB1KOC2Cr6tv.1

Passcode: 950544

“If your wife is Tobi Amusan, you’ll keep her at home cooking for you and managing with your N70k civil service salary?” Lawyer, Joe Abah, asks man who insists running the home is a woman’s role

Lawyer and public affairs analyst, Joe Abah has queried a man who disagreed with his suggestions on running a successful home.

Joe had shared his suggestion on X, telling husbands to do house chores, especially the physically tasking ones like lofting furniture’s to sweep underneath.

However, some X users disagreed with him and told him women’s traditional roles should be cleaning and cooking, not the men’s. They added that the men can only help if they wish to because home making is not men’s traditional role.

Reacting, Abah wrote: “That’s like saying a woman can earn money and but that it’s not her traditional role. Only a foolish man will not encourage his woman to earn money as part of her traditional role. Tradition evolves. As the Yoruba say, we employ tradition when we want to cheat a younger person.”


An X user replied to Abah, writing: “Good day sir. May your day be blessed. I believe a woman’s traditional role in a family is to take care of the household by cooking, cleaning and nurturing the kids. A mother can be a mother for 60 years without earning a single penny. It’s a man’s traditional role to provide.”

And Joe replied: “So, if your woman is a software engineer with a specialism in AI, or a cardio-thoracic surgeon, or a brilliant tax lawyer charging £1,000 an hour, or Tobi Amusan (the athlete), you’ll keep her at home cooking and cleaning for you and managing with your N70k civil service salary?”

"If your wife is Tobi Amusan, you?ll keep her at home cooking for you and managing with your N70k civil service salary?" Lawyer, Joe Abah, asks man who insists running the home is a woman

Nigeria’s 1st Olympic medalist dies

Nojim Maiyegun Nigeria’s first medalist at the Olympics Games died on Monday, August 26, 2024.

According to information gathered from multiple sources, Maiyegun, aged 85, died of natural causes in Vienna, Austria, where he had been living for years.

Known to be visually impaired for years, he was reportedly in and out of hospital in the past six months before his death, which was confirmed by another Nigerian, Stephen Ogboh, who is an acquaintance of Pa Nojim in Austria.

Maiyegun’s death came just a few days after the 60th anniversary of his feat of winning a bronze medal in boxing on 10 August 1964 at the Olympics in Tokyo.

He shared the bronze medal with Józef Grzesiak of Poland in the Light middleweight category.

At the time, the two losers in the semifinals were traditionally awarded the bronze medal, as there was no third place bout.

It was the first time since Helsinki 1952 that Nigeria had won a medal.

He thus ended Nigeria’s 12-year winless streak at the Olympics.

It is interesting to note that Maiyegun died in an Olympics year and just weeks after the Paris Olympics.

Sportsvillagesquare.com

What drove a respected border patrol agent, to become a serial killer?

It sounded like something out of bad fiction: a cop asked to investigate murders that he himself had committed. It was 2019, and I was writing about a series of vicious killings that had taken place in the border city of Laredo a year earlier. Over a period of twelve days, two sex workers had been picked up from what were known as “the prostitute blocks” on San Bernardo Avenue, taken to remote areas northwest of the city, and shot in the head. After another potential victim made a daring escape from the killer’s white pickup truck, she led police to his house. Two more women would be shot and killed before he was apprehended. The man turned out to be a U.S. Border Patrol supervisor, Juan David Ortiz, who was part of the law enforcement team that had been assigned to hunt for the killer. This week, after more than five hours of deliberations, a jury found Ortiz guilty of capital murder; he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

As I reported on the murders, everyone I spoke with who knew Ortiz, then 35, was flabbergasted. A former emergency medical technician for the U.S. Navy who had done a tour of duty in Iraq, Ortiz had joined the Border Patrol in 2009. One of his buddies from the Marines told me that “Doc”—that was Ortiz’s nickname—genuinely cared about the migrants crossing the border. “He wanted to use his medical skills to help migrants who had been traveling for days in the desert,” the Marine buddy said.

Texas Monthly; Ortiz: Danny Zaragoza/The Laredo Morning Times via AP; Laredo landscape: Getty

Ortiz was indeed a respected agent—dedicated and hardworking. There was only one complaint ever filed against him: a migrant accused Ortiz of stealing one of his cigarettes. But after an internal investigation, the complaint was dismissed. By 2017, Ortiz had been promoted to the position of “intelligence supervisor” at the South Texas Border Intelligence Center, in Laredo. In his spare time, he earned a master’s degree in international relations at St. Mary’s University, in San Antonio. He seemed destined for bigger and better things at the agency.

What’s more, people who knew Ortiz told me, he seemed to be such a good man. He and his wife, Daniella, were happily married. They and their two young children lived in a newly built, beige-colored stucco home. On Sundays, the family attended the First Assembly of God.

I did hear one story about Ortiz that perplexed me. One of his Marine buddies said that Ortiz would occasionally send him texts about the rigors of the job. He wrote that he felt like he was back in Iraq, going to war every day. The Marine buddy suspected Ortiz was experiencing long-repressed PTSD. He suggested Ortiz get some help. And Ortiz did, at least for a while, go to Laredo’s VA clinic, where he was prescribed medication.

Still, none of his coworkers sensed Ortiz had any sort of dark side. No one had ever heard him say anything about a hatred of sex workers. In fact, according to the Webb County district attorney, Isidro “Chilo” Alaniz, the lead prosecutor at Ortiz’s trial, just before the killings began in 2018, Ortiz was told he was being considered for another promotion at the South Texas Border Intelligence Center.

So why did such a seemingly decent, successful man suddenly begin killing women who worked as prostitutes? I was hoping that his trial, which began on December 1, would provide an answer.

Alaniz had the jury watch a video of Ortiz being interrogated for nearly ten hours by a Texas Ranger and a captain with the Webb County sheriff’s department. (It was the first time the interrogation had been made public.) For a few hours, Ortiz denied everything. Finally, in a matter-of-fact voice, he acknowledged he had done the killings. He said that when he drove along San Bernardo Avenue, “the monster came out” and urged him to “clean up” the avenue by getting rid of the prostitutes, whom he called “trash” and “so dirty.”

But Ortiz also openly acknowledged that he had been a customer of most of the women he killed. According to one woman who testified at the trial, Ortiz was a regular customer. She liked him. He was “nice, smart, funny, a normal guy.” He would give her money to buy narcotics, drive her to a drug house, and then have sex with her in his pickup on the side of a road, or at a park, or even at his home when his wife and children were out of town.

It didn’t make sense. On one hand, he enjoyed the company of these women. Then he wanted to kill them?

During his interrogation, Ortiz said that he did indeed suffer from PTSD from his deployment in Iraq and that he did take prescription medication for depression and anxiety. Sometimes, he said, when he downed the concoction of medications with alcohol, he would black out completely. It was during those blackouts, he seemed to be implying, that he unknowingly did the killings.

But district attorney Alaniz said Ortiz knew exactly what he was doing. He not only plotted out the killings, Alaniz claimed, he did his best to hide his behavior from his fellow investigators who were trying to hunt down the killer. At one point, Alaniz told me, one of the investigators called in a request to the South Texas Border Intelligence Center, asking for help in finding a veteran sex worker named Claudine Luera, who occasionally worked San Bernardo Avenue and who had told others that she had an idea about who was behind the killings. The next day, Luera was found murdered.

Alaniz asked the jury: Did Ortiz, who was on duty that day, hear about the call asking about Luera? Did he hunt her down and kill her before she got a chance to talk to the other investigators and perhaps identify Ortiz? “Or was it coincidence she died that day?” said Alaniz. “I don’t think it was.”

Following the verdict, family members of the victims were allowed to take the witness stand and speak to Ortiz. They told him that he was the personification of evil. Ortiz kept his head down, and when the trial was concluded, he was escorted out of the courtroom by bailiffs.

Alaniz told me that he thinks Ortiz’s murder spree will always remain a mystery. “There are times when you find out why someone committed a crime, and there are times when you don’t,” he said. “All I know is that I’m thankful Ortiz was caught. He could have gone a long time killing women and hiding the evidence that implicated him. He was a brutal, relentless killer, and he wasn’t going to let anyone stop him.”

Culled from TexasMonthly

Tinubu: Overfed father of starving children

The unfailingly abiding emotional investment I have in the wellbeing of common people springs forth from my experiential and mediated identification with the twinge of hunger and misery that poverty breeds.

As people who read my columns know, my father, who died on December 31, 2016, was an Arabic/Islamic Studies teacher at a government-owned primary school for almost  four decades. His salary was modest and often not guaranteed both during military regimes and civilian administrations. So, my siblings and I grew up in relative deprivation.

But there were choices he made as a father that earned him our unalloyed filial respect, loyalty, and love in spite of our lack. He never ever ate outside for any reason. Even when he was invited to preside over naming or wedding ceremonies, as Malams of his stature often were, he didn’t eat the food he was offered at the venues of the ceremonies. He would always bring it home to us.

When his colleagues would ask him why he didn’t eat outside, he would tell them that he couldn’t bear to luxuriate in outside culinary treats when the children for whom he lived stayed hungry at home or ate inferior food. He thought it was unjustifiably selfish.

He also never had more meat on his plate than we had when we had lunch or dinner. Each time our stepmother gave him more pieces of meat than she gave us children, like clockwork, he would consistently share the extra pieces with us and would watch us like a protective mother hen as we ate.

If he didn’t have enough money to buy new clothes for us, he never bought for himself. In fact, he would often buy clothes for us at the expense of donning threadbare clothes. His fellow Malams were often better dressed than he—because of us.

And he always ensured that, no matter the circumstance, our school fees were paid—even if we couldn’t afford to buy all required textbooks.

We didn’t need to be told that he loved us with the entire fiber of his being. We could feel, even touch, his pure, total affection.

So, on days we had no food, or had food but without meat, and on festive occasions when we didn’t have new clothes like our agemates did, we were never resentful. We knew we would have anything if he could afford it. And even when he disciplined us severely—and he was a strict, stick-wielding, no-nonsense disciplinarian—for our youthful transgressions and indiscretions, we forgave him easily. As young as we were, he made us understand the concept of tough love without articulating it.

That’s why I miss my father sorely every single day, and why he continues to be my most important role model.

There is a parallel between being the father—or mother—of children and being the president of a country. Just as selfless, responsible parenting automatically inspires filial respect and love, compassionate, responsible governance engenders patriotism and makes possible national self-sacrifice from citizens.

The more I read stories of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s profligate expenditures and vain acquisitions amid the once-in-a-generation cost-of-living crisis that ordinary Nigerians are going through as a direct consequence of his economic policies, the more I think of my late father.

If my father had splurged on himself while his children starved, would we have been as emotionally attached to him as we were—and still are posthumously? Would he have been able to persuade us that we didn’t have the fine things of life because he lacked the means to buy them for us?

Nigeria has one of the world’s highest poverty rates. Most Nigerians now live in way worse poverty than I lived in when I was growing up. Yet Tinubu’s economic reforms consist basically in denuding citizens of some of the subsidies we had taken for granted—relatively cheap petrol (which leads to affordable transportation and food costs), subsidized education (which allows the son of a primary school teacher like me to go to university), etc.

The justification for these “reforms” is that Nigeria is too poor to be able to sustain programs that help the poor to survive and thrive. So, sacrifice is required to rejig the economy. Money saved from the (temporary) withdrawal of the state from the lives of the people will be invested to ensure a greater, brighter, more prosperous tomorrow. Untrue, but fair enough.

But why is the sacrifice a one-way traffic? At the time that everyday folks have been told to contend with unsustainably extortionate petrol price and electricity prices, which have had a domino effect on all aspects of life, President Tinubu bought for himself a new presidential jet worth $150 million, which is the equivalent of more than N150 billion!

This is aside from the fact that the sum of N12.7 billion has been allocated in the 2023 supplementary budget for the maintenance of the presidential air fleet. A country too poor to provide much-needed subsidies for its poor shouldn’t have a president who flies in an expensive plane or an air fleet that guzzles that much money to maintain.

The UK is a much wealthier country than Nigeria, which gives its citizens the sorts of subsidies that Nigerians have been blackmailed into accepting that they are unworthy of, but the UK Prime Minister had no dedicated aircraft until 2016 when a plane was purchased for the Prime Minister (and “other ministers and senior members of the royal family when they travel on official engagements”) at the cost of $15 million.

UK government officials, including the Prime Minister, used to charter commercial jets for official travels. Until 2016, the “United Kingdom was, in fact, the only one among the Group of Seven industrialized countries without a dedicated government VIP jet,” according to the Points Guy website.

Recall that Tinubu caused a well-deserved national stir when he ordered the purchase of a presidential yacht worth N5 billion sometime in 2023. It also came to light that he bought for himself a bulletproof Escalade SUV worth N1.5 billion, among other examples of indefensible epicurean lavishness.

In response to my last week’s column, a government apologist (who knows if he is a government appointee?) pointed out to me that, “The price of petroleum [in Nigeria] was the second lowest in the world (in dollar terms) by the time the subsidy was (partially) removed.”

He said this as an indictment. He is miffed that Nigeria had the second lowest petrol price in the world. I doubt this is even true, but even if it were true, what’s wrong with that? It’s like a wealthy but stingy father who splurges on himself telling his starving children that they don’t deserve the crumbs he throws their way because there are poorer neighbors with way hungrier children than they.

So, the rich but penny-pinching father stops the crumbs to the children but continues to luxuriate in conspicuous opulence while telling his children to learn to sacrifice for a greater tomorrow. That’s not a father worth respecting or obeying.

A president who indulges in the kind of primitive acquisitiveness and conspicuous consumption that are becoming the trademark of President Tinubu at the expense of subjecting the broad masses of the people to the most extreme deprivation that Nigeria has witnessed in living memory has no moral right to expect patriotism or willing sacrifice.

If President Tinubu and members of this government are serious about “sacrificing,” in light of the fact that Nigeria is “broke,” they should first give up their own “subsidies.” There is neither honor nor dignity in being the overfed father of starving children.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria as a Court of Law and Policy: A-G Federation vs. A-G Abia State & Ors. (A.K.A Local Government Autonomy Case) Revisited by Dr. Alex Aigbe Izinyon, SAN, PH.D, OFR

On 11th July, 2024, the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered a landmark Judgment relating to what is now commonly referred to as the Local Government Autonomy suit.  Indeed the Supreme Court in this epocal and jurisprudentially laden judgment made far reaching pronouncements on many issues relating to the Federation, the States and Local Government Area Councils in relation to accessibility of funds statutorily provided for the Local Government Areas.  The joint account for the State and the Local Government Areas and the economic conundrum that have befallen the disbursement since 1999 was another thrust of the suit.  This is the case of A-G FEDERATION  VS. A-G ABIA STATE & 35 ORS (UNREPORTED) SC/CV/343/2024 DELIVERED ON 11TH JULY, 2024.

As expected the decision attracted several accolades from  laymen, jurists, scholars, legal pundits and legal practitioners.  However, as expected also there is the other side of the divide who differ entirely. Their contention primarily, is that it amounted to judicial legislation and making pronouncement against the principle of Federalism.  Even politicians also had their day and say.

_____________________

Dr. Alex A. Izinyon, SAN, Ph.D, OFR is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and practicing in Abuja.

This is quite understandable and permissible in jurisprudence as it allow for various schools of thoughts for and against.  Afterall, these are the thesis and the antithesis which produce the synthesis in any society which crystalize into new proposition.   Apologies to the German Philosopher Friedrich Hegel’s dialectics of a thesis that leads to its reality, an antithesis that contradicts the tension between the two and is resolved by a synthesis.   Thus in common parlance there cannot be joy without sadness, laughter without cries, bad without good etc.  It would be a miserable world and monotonous, if it is just one way traffic – positive without negative following the Hegelian construct.  Therefore there must be argument for and against.   It is in this light, that the beauty of those in support and against this suit can be appreciated. This is the beauty of democracy in a balanced society.

However, this write up has taken up on another dimension, the synthesis, to wit: the perspective of the Supreme Court as a court of law and policy in the course of balancing the socio-economic and political issues, in reaching the final decision in the interest of justice.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria indubitably and constitutionally remains the final court of the land.  They are final in all ramifications of finality in any dispute that are brought before it. This is because there is no other Appeals after their Judgment, except to God Almighty, where no mortal can file processes and argue same and return to us mortals, alive.

This brings to mind the words of the famous Jurist and legal icon Hon. Justice Oputa, JSC of blessed memory, quoting the American jurist Hon. Justice Robert Jackson in ADEGOKE MOTORS LTD V. ADESANYA & ANOR (1989) 3 NWLR (PT.109) 250 AT 274, PARA G  on the finality of the Supreme Court’s Judgment where he puts it pungently thus:   

“We are final not because we are infallible; rather we are infallible because we are final.”

The Supreme Court of Nigeria as a court of law and policy, over time even though final, have taken into consideration social, economic and political factors or called it the reality of time in arriving at certain decisions as a policy court.  These are decisions that have a larger touch on the society as a whole, like the Nigerian citizens as a whole.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria over the years had given laudable Judgments as a policy court.  These can be located in books and articles which are not the task of this space.  I shall however pick a few to drive home this issue – the Supreme Court as a policy Court.

We are grateful to providence that since 1999 the boat of democracy is still on course at the high sea despite its short comings.  However, among the three tiers of Government, the Federal, the State Governments and the Local Government Are, it seems only the Federal and the State Governments are visible so to speak in many respects.  The Constitution makes provision for 774 Local Government Areas under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) in the First Schedule and they are expected to be autonomous.  It is no longer news that apart from the few State Governors who had kept to this autonomous nature of the Local Government, others have swallowed them up as part of their departments and in most cases dissolved the democratically elected Local Government Area Councils and appointed Caretaker Committees.  Are we not as Nigerians eyewitnesses to these happenings in the last 25 years of democracy?    No soothsayer or Prof. Peller of blessed memory is needed, to tell us so.

It was only during the military regime that Local Government Area Councils were visible by reason of developments.  From 1999, these Local Government Councils after dissolution by the Governors, are replaced by their lackeys and surrogates to carry out their whimps and caprices.  We cannot pretend about that.  Have we forgotten despite the Supreme Court’s pronouncements on the illegality of such practices – that the Governor of a State cannot dissolve a democratically elected Local Government Council and appoint Caretaker Chairman when the tenure of the office holder as Chairman has not expired – their song and beat continued non-stop? 

Have we forgotten so soon that apart from some few States, no election has been held in many of the Local Government Areas, but run by Caretaker Committees in Nigeria for over 10 years.  Indeed have we forgotten the case of A-G LAGOS STATE VS A-G FEDERATION  (2004) 18 NWLR (PT. 904) 1 where despite the clear provision of Schedule 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) which listed out 20 Local Government Areas for Lagos State, the then Governor of Lagos State created additional Local Government Areas which prompted the then President to withhold the entire Lagos State allocation, which included the Constitutionally 20 Local Government Councils and the additional created Area Councils?  The Supreme Court in that case on ground of policy as a policy Court held that the President had no power to withhold the State allocation or suspend it and that the State was entitled to the said allocation to be so released but tied to the 20 Local Government Councils created by the Constitution and not the additional Local Government Areas created.  The decision was unanimously on this issue. 

The court from 1999 has never kept quiet on this.  Under the 1979 Constitution, one of such reported cases to be first delivered by a State High Court was the case of SENATOR VICTOR AKAN & ANOR V. A.G CROSS RIVER & 7 ORS. (1982) 3 NCLR 881 where Esin J. held that a Governor has no power to appoint any person or body of persons into a Local Government Council where a law by the State House of Assembly provides for Local Government Councils that are democratically elected.

Indeed under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 the courts have never hidden their disdain for the unconstitutional acts of the State Governors dissolving democratically elected Local Government Chairmen and appointing Caretaker Committees in their stead.  The cases are numerous. 

Let us pick some of them to drive home this point.  One of such cases is EZE & ORS. VS. GOVERNOR OF ABIA STATE (2014) 14 NWLR (PT. 1426) 193.  Recall in that case, the Plaintiffs were elected democratically as Chairmen and Counselors for their respective Local Government Areas for a period of three (3) years.  However in June, 2006, the Governor dissolved the Local Government Councils and appointed Caretaker Committees.  The Plaintiffs sued and Judgment was given by the High Court on the 10th October, 2007 in their favour.  The trial court substantially granted their prayers but refused to return them to finish their tenure as their remaining tenure had elapsed during the pendency of the suit, but only entitled to be paid their salaries and allowances. They were not satisfied insisting the trial court should have declared that they finish the remaining part of their tenure.  They therefore appealed to the Court of Appeal which said Court allowed the appeal, granted all their reliefs but refused relief 8 relating to their reinstatement.  Still dissatisfied, they appealed to the Supreme Court.   Judgment was delivered on 11th July, 2014 (about 8 years of litigation).  The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, declared that the dissolution was unconstitutional, illegal and void.  In one of his pronouncements, Hon. Justice Akaahs, JSC, painted the ugly scenario thus at page 220, Paras. C – H:

“The frequent dissolution of Local Government and appointment of Caretaker Committee by State Governor in the country is not only illegal but highly undemocratic as section 7(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigerian guarantees the existence of democratically elected Local Government Councils.” (Emphasis mine)   

For lack of better expression, here are some of the excerpts of the Judgment.  At Page 214, Paras. E – F:

“On a careful reading of the above it becomes clear that it is the duty of the Governor to ensure that the system of Local Government continues unhindered. Dissolving Local Government councils and replacing them with caretaker committee amounts to the Governor acting on his whims and fancies, unknown to our laws, clearly illegal. It is the duty of the Governor to ensure their existence rather than being responsible for destroying them”

At page 215 – 216, Paras. G-A:

“All courts in the land are courts of law and equity. Elected persons for a fixed term of years can only be removed from office if found to be in breach of the rules governing the office or for infamous conduct. If such a person is removed from office in a manner the court finds to be wrong, he shall be entitled to all his entitlement, to wit: salaries, allowances etc. A court of equity will not allow the executive to get away with wrongful acts rather it would call the executive to order and ensure that justice is not only done but seen to be done. Judges are expected at all times to decide according to the justice of the case and what is right, and always lean towards equity instead of strict law.”

This was justice according to law and policy and the Supreme Court acted as a policy Court in this regard.  Imagine after 8 years, when other set of Local Government Area Council Chairmen and Councilors would have been elected and tenures running, it would be a setback to sack those democratically elected to vacate their seats, without being paid their salaries, allowances, etc for the 23 months which were the remainder of their tenure of office but for the illegal dissolution. 

The Governors never took heed to these pronouncements despite their respective States being manned by Attorneys General and Commissioners of Justice. 

Again on the 7th May, 2021, same issue, same Governor’s illegality and unconstitutionality in the dissolution of Local Government Area Councils came for adjudication in the case of APC  V. E.S.I.E.C (2021) 16 NWLR (PT. 1801) 1.  Excerpt from the apex Court at Page 59, Para. A, per Hon. Justice Kekere, Ekun, JSC (as he then was) puts it pungently thus:

“A Governor who occupies his office as a result of a democratic exercise has a bounden duty to preserve, in all its ramifications, the existence of democratically elected Local Government Councils. It boggles the mind that the product of a democratic exercise would seek to deny others the benefit of the same process.”

Page 62, Paras C – D it was held further thus:

“In view of the powerful and authoritative pronouncements of the Court of Appeal and this court on this same point; I should think the option available to the respondents’ counsel, as officers of the courts, was to have, guided by rule 32(2)(j) & of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2007, tried fervently and honourably, in aid of administration of justice not be seem to promote a case which to their knowledge was false. Such display of professional courage and candour would have saved costs to all concerned, including the courts (from the trial High Court through the Court of Appeal to this court).”

Other cases decided by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court maintaining the said sacrosanct positions that no Governor has the Constitutional right to dissolve democratically elected Local Government Council and appoint Caretaker Committee were cited by the Supreme Court in the case under discussion.  They cited all these cases before arriving at this position.  These are the cases of AJUWON  V. GOV. OF OYO STATE (2021) LPELR 55339 (SC); GOV. OF EKITI  VS. OLUBUMO (2017) 13 NWLR (PT. 1551) 7; EZE  V. GOV. OF ABIA STATE & ANOR (2014) 14 NWLR (PT. 1426) 191, FRIDAY V. GOV. OF ONDO STATE (2022) 16 (NWLR) (PT. 1857) 585 AT 642; BARR. ENYINNE ONUEGBU & ORS.  V. A.G IMO STATE (2012) LPELR 19691 (CA).  

With all these before us, if the Hon. Attorney General of the Federation on behalf of the Federal Government decided to approach the Supreme Court, would it serve the interest of the generality of Nigerians to throw away this case because of strict legalism since the constitution provides for the said joint account and that it is only the National Assembly that can legislate to remedy if there is any wrong and therefore throw away the case?  That cannot be justice 

In all these years, where is the National Assembly after the Supreme Court decision in A-G LAGOS STATE VS. A-G FEDERATION (SUPRA) to correct by legislation or amendment that the joint account referred to are for the State and the Local Government Areas, created by Schedule 1 of the 1999 Constitution.  Despite the pronouncements of the Supreme Court on the unconstitutionality of the Governors’ sacking duly elected Local Government Chairmen and their Counselors in the cases just cited over these years, has the National Assembly risen to the challenge urgently to remedy this situation? They did not and may never. 

The Supreme Court of Nigeria, in exercise of its powers as a court of law, must also take into consideration as a policy court where there is need for the protection of the interest of generality of Nigerians, take into consideration, social, political, economic and other exigencies of the time to give justice a humane face instead of hiding under any façade of “law is law” and that “their hands are tied”.  The Supreme Court in such circumstances must untie its hands in the interest of justice as alluded earlier in those cases that had been decided by the Supreme Court particularly relating to the illegality of the sacking of democratically elected Local Government Council which decision with respect, were phyric victory.  This is because in most of those cases their tenure had long expired due to years of litigation except for the monetary compensation that may have been awarded.  In this circumstance, the essence of justice in the case has been defeated.  They never enjoyed the office they were elected into.  Therefore in the face of these lapses, when the issue of the Local Government Autonomy came before the Supreme Court, it would have been a traversy of justice to throw the baby and the bath water away on the altar of sheer legalism or judicial usurpation of legislative power or judicial restraint.

Are we saying that the Supreme Court cannot adopt one of their enumerated approaches when construing the Constitution by giving it both liberal and purposive approach in order to attain justice?  This they can, and they did so clearly in this judgment and stated so unequivocally.

The Supreme Court possesses the legal imprimatur in the prevailing circumstances, having regard to previous antecedents, social, economic and political factors, in giving purposive interpretation instead of waiting for the National Assembly to do the needful in such a time that will never come. Apologies to Lord Denning MR that such days may never come. Whether by judicial activism or usurpation, the bottom line is on ground of policy (public policy though an unruly horse but the rider can tame it), it was in the interest of grass root democracy which is rooted in the Local Government Areas of Nigeria, that the Supreme Court of Nigeria had to give flesh and life to, on this issue of joint account which have unleashed untold deprivation on the 774 Local Government Areas of the country for over two decades. 

The Supreme Court as a policy Court in this particular case went into their legal archive and decisions where they had declared that the dissolution of a democratically elected Local Government Council by a Governor of a State is unconstitutional and illegal.  It was not therefore surprising that the Supreme Court went into details to review the antecedent of what had been happening.  It interpreted the provision of Section 162(3) of the 1999 Constitution, and that it cannot mean that the State Governors would hold and disburse the funds on behalf of the Local Government Council the said money coming from the Federation account, as sub sections (6),(7) & (8) of the said Constitution stipulates that all monies belonging and due to Local Government Council from the Federation Account,  should be distributed to the Local Government Council in the State.  This view is to cure the mischief by judicial fiat as a policy court, the incurable injury that has been done to the Local Government Area Councils for two decades without the National Assembly doing the needful.

The Supreme Court eloquently re-echoed it long line of decisions on the provision of Section 7(1) of the Constitution that expressly provides for democratic elected Local Government Council and if that is the case, it should be Local Government Council that should control and manage this fund including allocation from the Federation belonging to the said Local Government Council for the wellbeing and development of the said Local Government Area.  It was on this platform the Supreme Court referred to its earlier decisions where they held that a Governor of a State cannot dissolve a democratically elected Local Government Council. 

Let it be said that the Supreme Court has always risen to the task when it involves policy as a policy court, to make decision in the interest of justice by adopting a more purposive approach in the interpretation of any provision of the law especially the Constitution.  In 1979, the Supreme Court in AWOLOWO VS. SHAGARI (1979) 6-9 SC 51 adopted a more liberal and purposive approach in statutory interpretation by adopting the pronouncement of Lord Reid in JONES V. DPP when it said.

“The construction that two-thirds of 19 States in the Federation is 12 2/3 States may be correct in the abstract but in relation to the Constitution and the Electoral Decree, it is unreal. Certainly, in relation to the Presidential Election now the subject of appeal, the Fedeco did not delimit any two-thirds State, whether in Kano or elsewhere. Fedeco used 13 States as a criteria for voting and calculated two-thirds of the total votes cast in the 13th State to ascertain whether the votes cast for the 1st respondent in the whole 13th State was up to 25% of two-thirds of the total votes cast in the whole State. This is a departure from justice in mathematics and is a serious violation of the Electoral Decree 1977 as amended. It constituted a flight from the truth and it is the truth the Court seeks in all matters in dispute. Where there are two possible meanings conveyed by the words of a statute, it is the most reasonable one that should be adopted. Where the other meaning leads to absurdity or evinces internal contradiction, that meaning should be dropped for the first as the legislature never intends to be absurd or contradictory. The word ‘each’ in the Sub-section (1)(c)(i) of Section 34A qualifies a whole State and not a fraction of a State and to interpret it otherwise is to overlook the disharmony between the word “each” and the fraction “two thirds”. Two-thirds of nineteen, to avoid any disharmony, gives thirteen.”

In 2022, when Nigerians were groaning under harsh economic hammer following the redesign of the Naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria as ordered by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Supreme Court of Nigeria as a court of law and policy came to the rescue and made notable pronouncement having regarding to the economic situation of the hour. That is the case of ATTORNEY GENERAL OF KADUNA STATE VS. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION (2023) 12 NWLR (PT. 1899) 537.  It threw away all the legal technicalities that, according to law, would have defeated the substance of that case.  Legally speaking how can only the Governors of 10 States as Plaintiffs on behalf of 36 States and all Nigerians be suing the Attorney General of the Federation and two other States who were joined as co-Respondents?  Indeed the Supreme Court in this case held that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria and as a policy court granted the Plaintiffs’ reliefs.  Those reliefs were not only for the Plaintiffs’ who were 10 States but for the generality of 36 States of the Federation and the FCT and indeed all Nigerians, which were all under the prevailing economic hardship of the notorious Naira redesign.

In other jurisdictions, the Supreme Court has made pronouncements as a policy Court.  In GEORGE BUSH VS. ALBERT GORE 531 US 2000, as a policy court it refused the strict adherence to recount of ballot manually. There is no doubt that the Supreme Court of Nigeria in delivering its Judgment in the suit at hand, has taken into account that even though the constitution provides for this joint account and its modality involving the National Assembly in view of what has been canvassed, it must do the needful in the circumstance.    After all, the cases referred to this piece where the Governors have been sacking unconstitutionally, the democratically elected Local Government Councils of the States, nothing had happened to correct these illegalities for many years by the National Assembly.  Would it have served the interest of justice to allow the perpetual bastardisation and economic iniquities against Local Government Area Councils by these Governors?  The emphatic answer is a NO.  The Supreme Court as a policy court indeed considered this issue rightly. 

What is left is for the National Assembly to proceed with the enabling legislation to give teeth to this profound decision and make other adequate safeguards by legislation to ensure proper accountability and the relevant authorities to beam their search light in case the Local Government Councils fall short of this golden opportunity.

Dr. Alex A. Izinyon, SAN, Ph.D, OFR

How Mariah Carey lost mother, sister same day

Popular American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress, Mariah Carey, has announced the tragic passing of both her mother and sister on the same day.

The singer shared the devastating news on Monday, expressing profound sorrow over the sudden loss of her loved ones.

“My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend. Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day,” she stated

The singer expressed gratitude for the time she recently spent with her mother, adding, “I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed. I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.”

As of now, the causes of death for Patricia, 87, and Alison, 63, remain undisclosed.

However, Alison’s close friend and carer, Dave Baker, revealed to The U.S. Sun that Alison had been under home hospice care in her final weeks, struggling with health issues, including problems with her internal organs.

“Beneath a tough exterior, Alison was a highly intelligent, warm, and sensitive person.

“I have known her for nine years and as her friend and, in recent months, her carer, I will miss her greatly. Farewell, Alison. May you now find peace, your tortured soul forever free from earthly pain,” ” Baker shared

The Fantasy singer’s relationship with her mother, Patricia, was known to be complex.

Patricia, a former opera singer trained at Juilliard in New York City, also worked as a vocal coach and was previously married to Alfred Roy Carey, who passed away in 2002.

The couple divorced when Mariah was just three years old.

In her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, the pop legend opened up about the complicated dynamics with her mother.

“Like many aspects of my life, my journey with my mother has been full of contradictions and competing realities .

“It’s never been only black-and-white — it’s been a whole rainbow of emotions. Our relationship is a prickly rope of pride, pain, shame, gratitude, jealousy, admiration, and disappointment. A complicated love tethers my heart to my mother’s,” Mariah wrote.

Dometv.net

Azinge coronated the 14th Asagba of Asaba

By Austin Ndubuisi Biosah

Erudite scholar and professor of law, Obi Professor Epiphany Chigbogu Azinge , a Senior Advocate Of Nigeria SAN; a recipient of the presidential merit award of Officer Order of the Niger OON ; a former Director-General and Fellow, Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies FNIALS and President of the Commonwealth Arbitrary Tribunal sitting in London was on the 24th of August coronated the 14th Asagba of Asaba in an elaborate oath taking cum Ima Nzu ceremony that saw him visit two of Asaba sacred groves, the Opechi and Orji Ogbeafor.

The oath taking processes which were anchored by Ogbueshi Agbalanze Ikediashi of Umu Opechi and Obi Ubaka Attoh ,the Onihe of Asaba respectively was witnessed by ndi Eze, ndi Olinzele, Otu-Ihaza, Ochokolome, Okwulagwe and Umuada. It was an epochal and historical experience as 80% of umu Ahaba present at the events have never witnessed the processes of the coronation of an Asagba. With the coronation and the official salutation of ‘Nna Agu’ three times by all classes of ndi Ahaba, Obi Azinge traditionally becomes the oldest and most revered man in Asaba as Asagba and Agu na eche obodo.

He will henceforth be referred to as Asagba Professor Epiphany Chigbogu Azinge SAN OON FNIALS, the Asagba of Asaba, with the official greeting of Nna Agu !!!

It is the prayer of ndi Ahaba of all classes both home and the diaspora that the reign of Nna Agu Azinge will bring good tidings to our land, peace and development as never seen before. It is also our prayers that the Almighty God shall grant him sound health, wisdom and the grace to carry on the task of leading ani Ahaba to greater heights, in Jesus name…AMEN!!!

Nna Agu !

Nna Agu !!

Asagba Ahaba Agu ooo !!!

Viral Video: Ibadan taxi driver explains why he wore wife’s outfit to drive passengers

An Ibadan based taxi driver, Afeez Adedigba, who went viral for wearing his wife’s clothes while operating a ‘Micra’ taxi in the Oyo State capital city has revealed the reason behind his surprising choice of apparel.

Adedigba was spotted in a viral video driving while wearing his wife’s clothing.

In an interview with a media personality, Ayo Adams, on Monday, the driver explained that his clothes were soaked by the rain, so the quickest solution was to wear his wife’s dress, which was readily available.

He said, “This is not the only cloth of my wife that I have. They are about two. The first time I took the dress, it was raining heavily, and all my clothes were drenched. I had no choice but to take hers since I was still interested in working that day.

“So now, I wear the dress when it rains and put on mine when it stops. That’s why it is always in my vehicle.’

He revealed he was unfazed by passengers’ comments, adding that he was focused solely on earning money and delivering it to the vehicle’s owner.

“It has been quite an age I’ve been driving this micra. And I only seek God’s favour on the job. I moved to driving when I couldn’t raise funds to start the sales of tyres that I learnt at a tender age,” he said.

Adedigba also shared that he has one wife and four children, who motivate him to work hard to provide for their needs.

Watch the video on X.

Vanguard

1...474475476...1,402Page 475 of 1,402

TIPS

Load more