Monday, October 1, 2012

Independence: Should Nigerians celebrate?





There are things to celebrate
Dr. Osahon Enabulele, President, Nigerian Medical Association
“In spite of the challenges affecting Nigeria’s health sector coupled with the unacceptably poor health indices, it is important to note that there have been some achievements recorded over the years in the sector.
“For instance, whereas most other public/government parastatals and banks have either collapsed or are at the verge of collapsing, the managements of most public and private hospitals in Nigeria have survived the travails and systemic decay of the Nigerian society. This is an achievement in itself. Of course, one cannot forget the tremendous milestones recorded in Nigeria’s health sector in the 80s and early 90s with general improvements in Primary Health Care, as well as noticeable improvements in institutional and human resource development.” 

 This is time to mourn
Olumide Olusoga, 30, a graduate of Sociology, Tai-Solarin University of Education
“This is the time for us to mourn the failures of our leaders. We have not seen any development or improvement in the country. Most people are running away from the country because there is no hope for them.
“We can only celebrate social problems, Boko Haram, unemployment and prostitution. Nigeria would have been better without independence because I believe that the colonial masters would have performed better that the crop of leaders we have had in this country”, he said.

 Let’s reflect on our failures
Mr. Gomba Obey, lawyer
 “I do not think we have any reasons to celebrate the Independence Day.
“At Independence in 1960, the hope for a better Nigeria were pretty high. It was believed that we could handle our affairs better than any other person.
“The experiences we have had since independence show that our belief that we can run our affairs is wrong, our hopes that we will be a secure and prosperous nation is dashed, and our struggles for independence were pointless.
“What we should be doing now is to remind ourselves of our failure and engage our minds on how to succeed. It does not call for celebration because there is nothing to celebrate.”

 The industrial sector is dead
Dr. Philip Ugbodaga, National Chairman, Coalition to Save Nigeria
“We have nothing to celebrate after 52 years of flag independence. In 1960, we had powerful political leaders and statesmen with very robust pan-African credentials. Today, we see ourselves more from the veil and prism of ethnicity as Ibo, Hausa, Yoruba or Afenmai. The great heritage bequeathed to us by the sacrifices made by our founding fathers have been squandered and dissipated by successive Nigerian leaders.
“Although immensely blessed by God with amazing human and material resources, Nigeria is still grappling with challenges in virtually every sector. The agricultural sector is comatose, the industrial sector is dead.

 Nigeria is going backwards
Abbey Jefia, Medical doctor
I would not really say we should mourn during our independence anniversary, but the truth is that we don’t really have anything to celebrate if we consider the fact that for the past 52 years, we have not achieved anything. As I speak right now, there is no fuel in Port Harcourt and the roads are bad, bad government, power is horrible, education level has gone down and the level of unemployment is worrisome. Generally, I think we are actually going backwards. I think Nigeria has not been blessed with good leaders.

 The past and present leaders have really done nothing. I remember when I was in secondary school, we had no generator in school, we had no borehole because the taps were flowing and we hardly had blackouts. Today, we have actually gone backward. Look at Ghana; Ghana has left us and I doubt if we will ever get to the level Ghana is right now. Let’s forget about the western world and look at Africa. We are still the sleeping giant. So, I will say there is nothing to celebrate. But at the same time, I don’t think we should mourn because we are not dead yet. Personally, I think we need divine intervention for the country to change positively.

No tangible thing to celebrate
Elder Wole Oyelese, ex-minister and PDP leader in Oyo State
“As Nigeria marks her 52nd year of independence, there really is no tangible or reasonable cause for celebration. What we should be doing is to mark a day of thanksgiving rather than a celebration of our shame as a nation.
“Nigeria has a lot of things to thank God for but hardly anything to celebrate. That we are still one country though not a truly united people who trust one another is one miracle and a major reason to give glory to God.
“That the ominously dark cloud of the Boko Haram insurgency, the petroleum subsidy removal riots and others did not turn into ethnic conflict is also a cause to thank God. That despite the corrupt acquisition of the nation’s wealth by unrepentant public officers and political office holders, our economy has not totally collapsed is also a reason to be grateful to God. What really is there to celebrate? It will take a people without a sense of shame or remorse to roll out the drums to celebrate given the level of challenges currently facing the nation.”

 Nigeria is slave to corruption
Prof. Victor Adetimirin, Head, Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan
“Our nation is in a state of crisis. We took Independence from Britain in 1960 but we are really not independent. Our nation is in slavery to corruption, instability, poverty, bombings, senseless killings and bloodshed. In 2012, loss of human life is the highest for any year in peace time in the life of our nation.
“We do not manufacture simple item like bicycles. Tyres for vehicles are imported. Refined fuel is imported laden with corruption of unimaginable proportion.”

 We can get better
Mr. Ndubuisi Enechionyia, member, All Progressives Grand Alliance
“Of course, Nigeria should celebrate. There are many negatives but there are still things we should be thankful to God for. One is that there is still a giant country called Nigeria.
“Two is that this giant called Nigeria can be woken up anytime the right leadership emerges and we can move on like Brazil, China etc.
“Three is that we are in a democracy, which can only get better with continuous refinement. The 2011 elections were the first elections since 1999 where result sheets got to the polling booths, so there is hope for the future.

 Nigeria working for few elite
 Yinka Odumakin, spokesman for Save Nigeria Group
“There is nothing  to celebrate as we have become an embarrassing nation to the world  as all our opportunities have been bungled by corrupt and visionless leaders.
“Nigeria is not working for the vast majority of its citizens because of the greed of its few elite.
“We are a showpiece for failed nations  and only shameless leaders would be  proud of what the country has become.

 Let’s revisit celebration of affluence
Eseme Eyiboh, former spokesperson, House of Representatives
The 52nd Anniversary of our Independence only reminds us as a people of our failure to take advantage of our enormous material and human endowments to develop and grow.
 It is a prompter to all of us as a people for our failure to give verve to Justice which is central to growth and development.
“The Anniversary is a wake-up call to revisit our current celebration of affluence in place of enterprise, to reverse the prevalent trend of leadership being taken as a gift instead of a responsibility earned and which must be accounted for
“On the whole, as a people, we have lacked the good conscience to continue to pledge to our nation Nigeria to be faithful, loyal and honest amidst the plethora of pervasive and self-inflicted astronomical rise in unemployment and powerty, insecurity and injustice, corruption and waste in governance.
“As a people, we have collectively lost the moral authority to continue to say “So help me (us) God!”

Nigeria should mourn, celebrate
Mr. Samad Sanusi, civil servant
“I believe Nigeria should both mourn and celebrate this Independence in the sense that the country is not what it should be after over 50 years of independence. We are not where we should be in terms of development. Our contemporaries like Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia and other Asian and even African countries have left us far behind. Ghana which some years back had almost collapsed is now back on its feet. It has celebrated for years now uninterrupted power supply.
“Can Nigeria boast of even one day of uninterrupted electricity? The other countries like Brazil have gone far technologically. They have produced their own cars but Nigeria cannot boast of producing her own bicycle. So really we have nothing to celebrate except that we are still alive to witness this independence celebration.”

 Nothing to cheer about
Akintayo Iwilade, lawyer
“The October 1 date hardly inspires the people since what ought to be the gains of independence have eluded the country for too long.
With deficits in progressive political systems and structures, an  unproductive economic system, a mindlessly exploitative wealth distribution system, an embarrassing lack of science and technology, among others there is nothing to cheer about. 
“The peoples’ apathy towards the hollow rituals of October 1 can be considered perfectly rational. However, we need not mourn since those failures are not expected to define the country’s future. But talking of celebration, there is not much to cheer about.”

 Our values have been eroded
 Gbenga Fatodu, Lagos civil servant
“I don’t think there’s anything to celebrate about our independence, because it’s been 52 years of fruitless governance, corruption, insurgency, stiff hardship and poverty…So sad to see how things are getting worse and our economic system in comatose! Series of human carnage and civil unrest as characterised by insecurity are some of the horrors terrorising our land and turning an average citizen to a stranger in the land.
“Our values have been eroded. There are no basic facilities for education, health care, lives and property with total neglect for infrastructure. Our road networks have become death traps
“The nation is replete with tendencies more divisive than they were during pre-civil war era.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Kajola Terrace Apartments for completion in 18 months



Kajola Investment Plc and Animasaun Group are set to deliver the Kajola Terrace Apartments, which comprises 12 units of four-bedroom flats in Ikeja, GRA in the next 18 months.

The project is a joint venture between Kajola Investment which provided the land and the Animasaun Group brings its expertise into play in the area of funds mobilisation and construction.

The Chairman, Kajola Investment Plc, Prof. Wale Omole, said during the turning of the sod of the luxury terrace apartments on Tuesday in Lagos that the partners have equal stakes in the project.

According to him, the Kajola Terrace Apartments come with unique features that stand each of the units out.

He said each unit would have four bedrooms and a servant quarter, adding that “the target of the project is top executives and high profile individuals with luxury taste, as well as expatriates and corporate institutions.”

“In designing the estate, careful attention has been given to parking facilities, setbacks, airspaces, height regulations, space control, safety regulations, landscaping, recreation area and waste management system, among others,” Omole said.

He described the apartments as a test case, following which the company would move into the low income housing segment in some parts of Lagos, and later, Abuja.

On his part, the Managing Director, Animasaun Group, Dr. Dapo Animasaun, said the indigenous firm of developers decided to go into the partnership because of its belief in the viability of the project.

According to him, the serene location of the project will make it an easy attraction for upwardly mobile executives, who desire good life and value good taste and choice.

He was, however, silent on the amount to be expended on the project and the price at which each unit would be sold.

Animasaun said his firm would complete the project within 15 months, following which Kajola Investment would begin the sale of the own units.

He said his company saw it as “a delightful joint venture project” because of the calibre of people behind Kajola Investment.

“These are people who have seen it all and do not feel threatened by our ideas. On our part, we see this partnership as an opportunity to align our vibrant ideas with the experience of the promoters of Kajola Investment,” he said.

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An estate in Abuja

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Woman killed for driving into border patrol agent



Authorities are investigating the fatal shooting of a 32-year-old woman in the suburban San Diego area after she allegedly hit a Border Patrol agent with her car, ABC News reports.

Investigators said Valeria Alvarado ran down the agent with her car as border patrol agents were in a Chula Vista neighborhood to serve a felony warrant on Friday.

The agent said he had no choice but to defend himself and fired at Alvarado get her to stop the car.

Alvarado was hit by five bullets.

According to eye witnesses, the shooting left the mother of five with bullet holes in her face, arms, and chest.

“She literally ran our agent down, the agent actually was impacted, was hit by the vehicle and carried several hundred yards on the hood before fearing for his life did discharge his weapon to get the vehicle to stop,” said Border Patrol Deputy Chief Rodney Scott.

Alvarado’s husband, Gilbert Alvarado said he wants the shooting investigated.

“I want justice. Yes. Whoever shot my wife, that guy whoever that is, that guy needs to get shot,” he said.

Alvarado’s family called the killing senseless.

“Where’s the evidence that my wife threatened a trained officer? You know? He’s a trained officer to use lethal force, shoot my wife like that and just not even call an ambulance?” said Gilbert Alvarado.

The FBI and Chula Vista Police are investigating the shooting. Officials have not released the name of the agent involved in the incident.

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Blatter accuses S’Africa of poor World Cup preparation



FIFA President, Sepp Blatter

FIFA President, Sepp Blatter
| credits: File copy

Sepp Blatter has accused South Africa of being too busy dancing to properly organise the 2010 World Cup.

The Fifa supremo was speaking about the past failings of countries who have held the prestigious tournament, which is next being hosted in Brazil in 2014.

Blatter has revealed that the world footballing governing body had to push South Africa to persuade them to get to work on the World Cup.

“When we came to Africa, the Africans – they got the World Cup in May 2004 – they were dancing during one year,” he told reporters. “They were just dancing because they got the World Cup.

“Then we had to call them and say, ‘Please, start to work!’ and we had to push a little bit to start to work.”

Eight years earlier, South Korea and Japan had co-hosted the 2002 iteration of the tournament and, although he praised their enthusiasm, Blatter has admitted his disappointment at the vast array of unused stadiums in the East Asian nations.

He added: “In South Korea and Japan they were so eager to organise the World Cup that they could have done two!

“Because they were ready with so many stadiums in Korea and the same number in Japan, in my opinion it was overdone.

“And now, in one of the countries at least, they have some stadiums which are white elephants – this is not the aim of the World Cup.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo
Yakubu Aiyegbeni

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Four-year-old girl kidnapped in Ebonyi



A four-year-old girl, Faith Okorie, was on Saturday kidnapped by gunmen in Okposi, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

An eyewitness, who wished to be identified as Ijeoma, said, “It was like lightening; the young men numbering about five drove into the compound of the girls’ father, Mr. Chukwuka Okorie, with sophisticated guns.

“Before anybody could ask what the problem was, the criminals collected the phones of all members of the family at gunpoint. After collecting the phones, they snatched Faith and drove away with her.”

Ijeoma said the incident was reported at the Police Divisional Headquarters, Obiozara.

A family member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the kidnappers had contacted the family.

 “The kidnappers have established contacts with the family and they are demanding N5m ransom before releasing the girl,” he said.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Sylvester Igbo, said he had yet to be fully briefed by the DPO of Ohaozara.

He, however, said the criminals would be apprehended and brought to book very soon.

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Fire
Scene of the plane crash
Mgbemeje (3rd from left) with others during the campaign

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Judiciary since Independence




Nigeria's first female Chief Justice, Mariam Aloma Mukhtar
| credits: pmnewsnigeria.com
ADE ADESOMOJU, in this piece, writes  on  the prominent features of the nation’s judiciary since it became independent of English Privy Council in 1963.
Nigeria attains its 52nd year of independence today, but the independence of its judiciary only coincides with the period the nation became a republic in 1963.  The Nigerian judiciary had no independence until 1963 when the country finally proclaimed itself a republic. Prior to 1963, decisions from the Federal Supreme Court of Nigeria were not final as final appeals still had to be laid before the jurisdiction of the Privy Council of the House of Lords in England. That meant that final decisions of Nigerian courts were still subject to judicial views handed down from England- through the Privy Council. A case that changed that was the Akintola v. Adegbenro case in which the Privy Council gave a decision at variance with that which the Nigerian Federal Supreme Court gave. After that decision, Nigeria became a Republic and the independence of the Nigeria judiciary from Britain’s Privy Council was effected.

 The personnel of the Nigerian judiciary, including the Chief Justices and Judges, were reflective of the colonial past until the appointment of  the late Justice Adetokunbo Ademola as the nation’s first indigenous Chief Justice. That gradually paved way for the weeding out of foreign influences from the personnel of the Nigerian judiciary until what is today a judiciary peopled by largely Nigerians.
Also, prior to becoming a Republic, decisions and cases decided in England were largely binding on Nigerian courts by virtue of the influence of the Privy Council on the Nigerian judicial heirachy system. However, since 1963 and over the years, the Nigerian courts are no longer bound by decisions made in English courts or any foreign court for that matter. At best, decisions made in English or other foreign courts can only be cited in Nigerian courts for persuasive effect. They are not binding on Nigerian courts.
In the areas of jurisprudence and the espousal of legal principles, Nigerian courts have taken advantage of opportunities offered by some Nigerian cases to propound legal theories to suit our localised dynamics. For instance, the issue of ‘local standi’ now have Nigerian cases, such as Fawehinmi v. Akilu, Abraham Adesanya v. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Fawehinmi v. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,  etc; decided on the applicability of the doctrine in Nigeria; as against the former practice of relying on British cases and foreign jurists’ opinion on such matters.  Also, on the issue of judicial integrity and bias, the practice before independence was to rely on the views of English jurists, especially Lord Denning’s view in such cases like that of Metropolitan Properties Co. ltd v. Lannon (1963) 3 All ER 304 at 310. However, today, Nigerian jurisprudence has evolved and cases such as Adigun v. A.G. Oyo State (1987) 1 NWLR (Pt.53) 678 at 719 – 720, L.P.D.C v Fawehinmi (1985) 2 NWLR (pt.7) 300 at 346-347, have had Nigerian judges propounding brilliant theories on the subject of judicial bias and integrity such that recourse to English jurisprudence on the subject is now often dispensed with.
Generally, the question of the competence and integrity of judges was hardly in doubt as at the time of independence but it appears that as the system declined, the judiciary also commenced its downward slope into corruption.

Some factors have been argued to have contributed to the decline in both competence and integrity on the Nigerian bench since independence. One of such is the process of appointment of judicial officers. At independence, merit was considered more important than place of origin. It was such that renowned academics such as Dr. Taslim Elias, who was Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, got appointed to the Supreme Court and even went to the World Court as Nigeria’s representative on the International Court of Justice’ Bench. Today, appointments in the judiciary has been afflicted by the turn-by-turn syndrome of a decaying bureaucracy.

The country is being administered as a fragment of ethnic nationalities so its appointments to the judicial arm of government have witnessed an unhealthy rise of the primordial sentimental considerations which have caused a steady decline in the quality of judgments and the society is the worse for it.
Over the years, military rule also contributed to the corruption of the judiciary. The military decrees many times attempted to abrogate and oust the jurisdiction of the courts. The military largely turned the courts to toothless bull-dogs and even where judgments were handed down against arbitrary government actions, they were hardly obeyed thus contributing to the peoples’ apathy towards the capacity of courts to do effectual justice.
Nigeria’s judiciary has rendered capacity-building assistance to fellow African countries such as Liberia, Gambia, Sierra-Leone etc. For instance, the Late Justice Akinola Aguda was once the Chief Justice of The Gambia. Similarly, the incumbent CJN, Justice Aloma Mukthar, would have been the Chief Judge of another African country, but for the fact that she declined and otherwise preferred to continue to render her services to the Nigerian judiciary.

Petrova wins Pan Pacific




Russia’s Nadia Petrova beat defending champion Agnieska Radwanska 6-0, 1-6, 6-3 on Saturday to be successful on Pan Pacific Open.

Radwanska double faulted twice from the eighth game from the last set when Petrova broke her to go ahead 5-3 before winning the match in the following live game with a smash to the corner.

Petrova won her 12th title and for the 1st time in her career beat three best-10 gamers in the full week: No. 7 Sara Errani, No. 9 Samantha Stosur and No. 3  Radwanska.

The 17th-seeded Russian acquired a sore back again at the start of the tournament but got stronger & stronger with each win.

‘’Being straightforward with you, I don’t know exactly where I found the power and the willpower to combat in the third set,’’ Petrova claimed. ‘’This could be the main tournament I’ve previously won. That is an excellent accomplishment.’’

Radwanska was bidding to turn out to be the initial player right here to win back-to-back titles given that Lindsay Davenport in 2003-04.

Petrova acquired away to an excellent commence, breaking Radwanska in the initial game of the match following being down 30-love. She would break her opponent two a lot more occasions from the 1st arranged and appeared collection for a simple win.

But Radwanska bounced again in the second collection, successful the initial 5 video game titles though breaking Petrova twice.

The two gamers traded video games from the ultimate collection just before Radwanska’s serving difficulties inside eighth game led on the only break of the set.

‘’I believe I was just trying to do too much,’’ Radwanska claimed. ‘’For confident, I shouldn’t try this at that point within the match but there may be very little I can do about it now. ‘’

It was Petrova’s 2nd title of the season. She won a title earlier this 12 months at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in Netherlands.

Greek government in ‘basic agreement’ on cuts



Greek finance minister Yannis Stournaras says the three parties in the country’s governing coalition have reached a “basic agreement” on the austerity package for 2013-14, British Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The measures are likely to be presented to Greece’s international lenders on Monday before going before parliament.

The cuts are necessary if Greece is to continue receiving bailout funds.

Earlier, Greece announced plans to sell most of its 34 per cent stake in the gaming monopoly Opap.

Stournaras said there were “very few details left to work out” on the austerity package.

The deal comes the day after 50,000 anti-austerity protesters took to the streets of Athens.

The spending cuts are reported to be worth at least ¤11.5bn ($14.8bn; £9.1bn) and are a condition for Greece to receive the next ¤31bn instalment of its international loans.

 

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Army foils Independence Day attacks



The Nigerian Army on Sunday said it foiled a plan by the Boko Haram sect to carry out massive suicide bomb attacks on Zaria, Kaduna and Suleja.

The army spoke in reaction to the killing of two suspected Boko Haram operatives in Gaskiya Layout of Tukur-Tukur, Zaria on Sunday morning by a joint team of State Security Service agents and soldiers.

The National Emergency Management Agency said two suspected extremists were killed while the injured were rushed to hospital.

Several people, including a woman, were arrested during the operation and the troops seized and destroyed a building which was heavily loaded with explosives, online medium, Saharareporters reports.

A statement signed by the Army Public Relations Officer, Cap. Ibrahim Abdullahi, said the gunfight took place in the early hours of Sunday when the militants engaged the joint team in a fierce gun battle in Gaskiya Layout.

Abdullahi said the engagement followed a tip-off that Boko Haram was planning a major suicide mission in Zaria, Kaduna and Suleija to coincide with Monday’s Independence Day celebrations.

A joint operation was then launched on a residential building in Gaskiya Layout to flush out the extremists.

The statement did not say whether any innocent people were killed, or whether the militants were the only residents of the building.

Abdullahi said the IEDs were intended for the various operations the sect was to carry out, and to inflict maximum casualty on army troops.

“As a result, a controlled detonation was carried out by Army Engineers so as to save other law abiding residents of the area and to stop further planning and execution of the nefarious, destructive, criminal and deadly activities of the sect,” the statement said.  

Investigations will determine the extent of the involvement of the individuals who were arrested during the operation.

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UK builder unveils management services company



Leading United Kingdom builder, Barratt, has announced that it is to launch an in-house management services company for London developments.
Called Barratt Residential Asset Management, the firm said it aims to ensure Barratt’s customer service is extended through the life of the company’s developments.
Barratt London is the first developer outside the retirement sector to launch an in-house management company and this builds on the company’s commitment to customer service which already includes Barratt’s unique five year warranty, according to propertywire.com.
The objective will be to give the company a competitive edge in large leasehold developments where the management of common areas and service charges can become an issue. It is structured not to be profitable in its own right.

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Energy fuels euro inflation



Euro zone inflation accelerated in September as energy costs soared but core prices stayed low, likely leaving the European Central Bank on track to cut interest rates soon, Reuters reported.

Consumer prices in the 17 countries sharing the euro rose 2.7 per cent year-on-year, the European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said on Friday in a first estimate that marked a rise from 2.6 per cent in August.

Markets had expected inflation to ease to 2.5 per cent.

Energy prices jumped 9.2 per cent after a 8.9 per cent rise the previous month.

Core inflation, excluding both energy and unprocessed foods, fell to its lowest level in a year of 1.7 per cent in August, the latest month for which the data has been published.

Together with recent data indicating that the euro zone economy entered a recession in the third quarter, Friday’s inflation reading kept intact expectations that the ECB will not wait long before delivering a growth-boosting rate cut.

“It seems highly likely that the ECB will take interest rates down from 0.75 per cent to 0.50 per cent in the fourth quarter,” said Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight.

“While the ECB could act as soon as its October meeting next Thursday, we lean towards the view that they will probably hold off to November.”

Just 14 of 73 economists polled by Reuters this week expect the ECB to cut rates when it meets next Thursday but a majority expect the bank to have lopped off 25 basis points by the end of the year.

The ECB kept its main interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.75 per cent at its meeting earlier this month, taking another policy-easing route by agreeing to launch a new and potentially unlimited bond-buying programme.

More Stories in International Business

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

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Judiciary since Independence



Nigeria's first female Chief Justice, Mariam Aloma Mukhtar

Nigeria's first female Chief Justice, Mariam Aloma Mukhtar
| credits: pmnewsnigeria.com

ADE ADESOMOJU, in this piece, writes  on  the prominent features of the nation’s judiciary since it became independent of English Privy Council in 1963.

Nigeria attains its 52nd year of independence today, but the independence of its judiciary only coincides with the period the nation became a republic in 1963.  The Nigerian judiciary had no independence until 1963 when the country finally proclaimed itself a republic. Prior to 1963, decisions from the Federal Supreme Court of Nigeria were not final as final appeals still had to be laid before the jurisdiction of the Privy Council of the House of Lords in England. That meant that final decisions of Nigerian courts were still subject to judicial views handed down from England- through the Privy Council. A case that changed that was the Akintola v. Adegbenro case in which the Privy Council gave a decision at variance with that which the Nigerian Federal Supreme Court gave. After that decision, Nigeria became a Republic and the independence of the Nigeria judiciary from Britain’s Privy Council was effected.

 The personnel of the Nigerian judiciary, including the Chief Justices and Judges, were reflective of the colonial past until the appointment of  the late Justice Adetokunbo Ademola as the nation’s first indigenous Chief Justice. That gradually paved way for the weeding out of foreign influences from the personnel of the Nigerian judiciary until what is today a judiciary peopled by largely Nigerians.

Also, prior to becoming a Republic, decisions and cases decided in England were largely binding on Nigerian courts by virtue of the influence of the Privy Council on the Nigerian judicial heirachy system. However, since 1963 and over the years, the Nigerian courts are no longer bound by decisions made in English courts or any foreign court for that matter. At best, decisions made in English or other foreign courts can only be cited in Nigerian courts for persuasive effect. They are not binding on Nigerian courts.

In the areas of jurisprudence and the espousal of legal principles, Nigerian courts have taken advantage of opportunities offered by some Nigerian cases to propound legal theories to suit our localised dynamics. For instance, the issue of ‘local standi’ now have Nigerian cases, such as Fawehinmi v. Akilu, Abraham Adesanya v. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Fawehinmi v. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,  etc; decided on the applicability of the doctrine in Nigeria; as against the former practice of relying on British cases and foreign jurists’ opinion on such matters.  Also, on the issue of judicial integrity and bias, the practice before independence was to rely on the views of English jurists, especially Lord Denning’s view in such cases like that of Metropolitan Properties Co. ltd v. Lannon (1963) 3 All ER 304 at 310. However, today, Nigerian jurisprudence has evolved and cases such as Adigun v. A.G. Oyo State (1987) 1 NWLR (Pt.53) 678 at 719 – 720, L.P.D.C v Fawehinmi (1985) 2 NWLR (pt.7) 300 at 346-347, have had Nigerian judges propounding brilliant theories on the subject of judicial bias and integrity such that recourse to English jurisprudence on the subject is now often dispensed with.

Generally, the question of the competence and integrity of judges was hardly in doubt as at the time of independence but it appears that as the system declined, the judiciary also commenced its downward slope into corruption.

Some factors have been argued to have contributed to the decline in both competence and integrity on the Nigerian bench since independence. One of such is the process of appointment of judicial officers. At independence, merit was considered more important than place of origin. It was such that renowned academics such as Dr. Taslim Elias, who was Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, got appointed to the Supreme Court and even went to the World Court as Nigeria’s representative on the International Court of Justice’ Bench. Today, appointments in the judiciary has been afflicted by the turn-by-turn syndrome of a decaying bureaucracy.

The country is being administered as a fragment of ethnic nationalities so its appointments to the judicial arm of government have witnessed an unhealthy rise of the primordial sentimental considerations which have caused a steady decline in the quality of judgments and the society is the worse for it.

Over the years, military rule also contributed to the corruption of the judiciary. The military decrees many times attempted to abrogate and oust the jurisdiction of the courts. The military largely turned the courts to toothless bull-dogs and even where judgments were handed down against arbitrary government actions, they were hardly obeyed thus contributing to the peoples’ apathy towards the capacity of courts to do effectual justice.

Nigeria’s judiciary has rendered capacity-building assistance to fellow African countries such as Liberia, Gambia, Sierra-Leone etc. For instance, the Late Justice Akinola Aguda was once the Chief Justice of The Gambia. Similarly, the incumbent CJN, Justice Aloma Mukthar, would have been the Chief Judge of another African country, but for the fact that she declined and otherwise preferred to continue to render her services to the Nigerian judiciary.

 

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Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Philips.
Femi-Falana_-2-jpg

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Jonathan to address Nigerians on Independence Day



Nigeria @ 52: President Goodluck Jonathan tis expected to make a national broadcast on Monday, October 1 at 7a.m, as part of Nigeria’s 52nd Independence Day celebration.

There will also be a ceremonial Change of Guards by the Nigerian Army at 9.30a.m at the State House.

On Sunday, Jonathan attended an interdenominational service in Abuja, where he declared that God would see Nigeria through its current challenges.

More details later.

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EFCC advises travellers not to exceed $10000 forex limit



Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Sunday advised persons travelling out of Nigeria not to exceed the statutory $10,000 foreign exchange limit.

EFCC Secretary, Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye, who gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, said any traveller carrying any amount above the limit should be prepared to declare it to Customs.

Akomaye blamed Nigeria’s fraud, terrorism, money laundering and drug vulnerability on its cash-based economy and commended the National Assemby for showing commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws.

The commission on Thursday arrested a 24 year-old Nigerian, Abubakar Tijani Sheriff, for allegedly attempting to travel out with the sum of $7 million (N1,120,000 billion).

He was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos as he was trying to travel to Dubai aboard a United Arab Emirates flight.

After his arrest, he said that he had a total sum of $4.5million.

But when he was thouroughly searched, he was found to have $7,049,444 on him.

He later confessed that he was a courier for 20 individuals who hired him to take the money for them to Dubai.

Authorities said they were working on the theory that he was a money laundering courier.

He has reportedly named 20 individuals who sent him on the errand.

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US greets Nigeria at 52



United States has sent a message of congratulations to Nigeria on its 52nd Independence anniversary.

The message was delivered by US Secretary of State, Hillay Clinton, and made available to PUNCH in a statement issued by the Department of State.

Nigeria marks its 52nd anniversary on Monday.

The message reads,

“I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of Nigeria as you celebrate your Independence Day this October 1.

“The strong ties between Nigeria and the United States are grounded in our shared values and mutual interest in fostering good governance, increasing economic growth, and promoting regional stability. We value this partnership and remain dedicated to working together to meet the challenges of the future.

“On the 52nd anniversary of your independence, I wish all Nigerians a peaceful and prosperous year.

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Nine-year-old boy killed, three others injured as terrorists attack church in Kenya



A nine-year-old boy was killed and three other children wounded when a hand grenade was thrown into a Sunday school session in a church in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, police and medical staff said.

Kenya has suffered a series of grenade attacks since it sent troops across the border into Somalia last October in pursuit of Islamist al Shabaab militants who it blamed for kidnapping its security personnel and Western tourists.

The attack on the church came days after Kenyan troops launched a surprise offensive on the southern Somali port of Kismayu, the last stronghold of the al Shabaab, forcing the rebels to flee, Reuters reports.

Police said attackers threw the grenade into the Sunday school service in St. Polycarp’s church on Nairobi’s Juja Road.

The grenade exploded, spraying the children with shrapnel and fatally injuring the boy.

“We suspect this blast might have been carried out by sympathisers of al Shabaab,” said deputy police spokesman Charles Owino.

“These are the kicks of a dying horse since, of late, Kenyan police have arrested several suspects in connection with grenades,” he added.

Masked assailants launched simultaneous gun and grenade raids on two churches in the northern town of Garissa in July, killing at least 17 people.

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Saturday, September 29, 2012

I travelled by road from London to Nigeria — Newton Jibunoh



Newton Jibunoh

Dr. Newton Jibunoh is a man of many parts. An arts enthusiast and environmental activist, the 74-year-old founder of Didi Museum and Fight Against Desert Encroachment, a Non Governmental Organisation, wears his passion like a badge.

Surrounded by art in different forms at Didi Museum, venue for the hour-long chat, the former chairman of Costain West Africa, speaks animatedly about his interests that have since become his identity.

On the museum, he says, it is an educational institution which he traces its genesis to a small room in Apapa.

“As a child, missionaries referred to these artifacts as taboos and tried to get my people to get rid of them,” he recalls. “What shocked me was that the missionaries were taking away some of those things. When I got to London in the early 60s and visited the British museum, I found most of these works there. So, I decided to start a campaign to keep our history. When I returned to Nigeria in 1966, I started collecting works. Moreover, because I was also finding myself in the midst of artists like Segun Olusola, Akin Yuba, Wole Soyinka, Dr Ekpeyong, I learnt a lot from them.

“Dr Ekpeyong, who was the director-general of the National Museum, would come to my house and see the works. He always commended them and urged me to show it to the public. That was how I started from a parlour exhibition to a room exhibition and to what it is now.”

Famous for his trips across the desert, Jibunoh rhapsodises on his first trip which he made when he was in his 20s. “When you are in your 20s, that is what I will regard as your formative era, when you decide who you are and where you are headed. One of such examples was the arrest and trial of Nelson Mandela. He said on the day he was sentenced, ‘this is my cause, this is what I believe in, and I will continue to do so even if I die in the process.’ The other statement was that of John .F. Kennedy, who was challenged for trying to explore the space and the moon because of the huge amount of money America, was investing in it. He told his opponents that it was only by doing hard things that good things come out. That also stayed with me and that inspiration started in earnest. I decided that I was going to be part of my era and the only way to do that was to try the impossible. It took me six months to get to Nigeria from London.”

You wonder why he still takes the risk of going on expeditions at his age. In a fit of amusement, he enumerates the reasons for his sustained interest.

“It is like going to the moon and what they have achieved by going to the moon. To go on an expedition like this, you have to put your life on the line and be ready to die. You do not do things like this for nothing; you have to have a course because many times people have asked what this whole thing is about. It is about the air we breathe, it is about the water we drink, the food we eat and it is about the land we came out from and will go back to when we die. How much are we doing to protect and preserve the land that is so important for life?”

Recounting his several near-death experiences, he tells without mincing words that he is undeterred. “If you are stuck in the sand and you cannot get your car out of the sand and you do everything (maybe for four or five hours) and you are 600 miles from help, what do you do? You just stay there and die. Alternatively, when you are attacked by bandits, they wonder why you are there, and they want to kill you, what do you do? You either surrender or try to talk them out of it.

“I have gone through so many near-death situations but somehow, I think it is the fact that once you are ready to die for anything, death stays away from you. It is when you are scared of dying and you are faced with death that you panic.”

In spite of all these, he still finds time to relax. “I do relax but maybe when I go to that six feet beneath, I will relax. I do many things and I cycle around a lot. When I am in London, I use my bicycle to go everywhere because there are bicycle tracks. In my village in Delta, I ride my bicycle. The same applied in Amsterdam, wherever I go to visit my daughter and grandchildren. In Lagos, I don’t ride often and when I have to, I take my bicycle to some island or one of these estates where it’s a lot safer.”

Bu his childhood was not as pleasant. Hear him: “I did not know I was an orphan until I was seven years old. What my sister and I were told was that our parents travelled. Family and friends offered to put us up here and because of that, I went to so many schools.”

His educational sojourn brought him to Lagos. “After secondary school, I came to Lagos, where I did a number of courses at the emergency science school now known as YABATECH. First, I got a job with the Federal Ministry of Works and I found out that I could sit for scholarship examinations. I failed the first time and passed the second time. That was how I travelled out of Nigeria to study building engineering in 1961 and I graduated in 1965. I then came back to Nigeria in 1967 and went back to the Ministry of Works where I worked for a little over a year. I found that I was not sufficiently challenged and I left there for a private sector organisation, which was like a subsidiary of Costain. From there, I moved on to Costain and whilst there, for 36 years, I worked there — I was CEO for 16 years.”

Married to Elizabeth, he remembers their meeting many years back. “It was a Christmas day. I did not have what you would call a family, so, I liked moving around during Christmas. That Christmas morning, I saw two young women and it turned out that the other lady had spent the night at my wife’s place. So, she escorted her to her parents’ place to explain why she spent the night.

“On my way back, I saw my wife alone and I greeted. She ignored me but I repeated my greeting and I followed her. She continued to ignore me and I followed her to the house where she just walked in. At night, I went back to that same house and met her mother, who was pleased with my honesty. Today, we have five children and nine grandchildren.”

Ask him what he would like to be remembered for and he stares back at you in amazement and says, “Anytime I am asked that question, I am at a loss. When I am gone, I am gone. I think it is my legacy that will determine. I do not think I want to predict. First, I do not know when I am going and I do not know how I am going to go. When I hear people talk about what they would like to be remembered for, I am not impressed.”

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Minister warns publishers against corruption



Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has warned publishers against conniving with schools to sabotage Federal Government’s efforts at improving the quality of education.

He gave the warning in Abuja on Friday in a meeting with publishers awarded the contract to produce free instructional materials for the Universal Basic Education programme.

“I summon this meeting just to let you know how serious we are and that it is no longer going to be business as usual. Every effort being made by Federal Government to improve quality of education at the basic level is being sabotaged by various people,” he said.

The minister explained that the meeting became necessary as the government had awarded contract for the purchase of materials for core subjects for public primary and junior secondary schools.

Wike pointed out that government was aware that publishers colluded with State Universal Basic Education Boards to sabotage government efforts through corrupt practices. He added that most times, the usual number of books that were supposed to be supplied were not supplied, saying, “Instead, cash is being exchanged,” he said.

He warned the publishers to refrain from such act, as the government had set up monitoring teams that would supervise the supply of the books in the states.

“This will also check what the Universal Basic Education Commission is doing; we want to actually know if the commission is part of the sabotage.”

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N’Assembly should stop funds for 511 LGs — Igini



Hon. Speaker, House of Representative, Aminu Tambuwal

Hon. Speaker, House of Representative, Aminu Tambuwal
| credits:

The Cross River State Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mr. Mike Igini, has urged the National Assembly to stop the monthly allocations to 511 local government areas across the country that are being run by caretaker committees.

Igini, who stated this in an interview with our correspondent in Calabar on Friday, said it was against the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the affairs of LGAs to be managed by unelected officials.

He lamented that the widespread use of caretaker committees by governors to run the affairs of LGAs was a movement away from democracy, saying it is for that reason that majority of the LGAs had remained unaccountable to the people.

Igini said if the National Assembly could take the step of suspending the allocations to LGAs run by caretaker committees, there was the likelihood of the grass roots being back on the track of democracy.

He said, “Nigeria is under partial democracy. We have three tiers of governance; the federal, the state and the local government tiers, but evidently, the LGs have been turned into vassals of the states held in thrall by party and executive structures that have confiscated the local government tier and strangulated development at the point where it is nearest to Nigerians.

“Of the 36 states and the FCT, only 13 have elected local governments, namely, Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Sokoto, Cross River, Ebonyi, Kwara, Taraba, Jigawa, Ogun, Niger and Zamfara,other states are therefore in breach of section seven of the constitution; an impeachable offence with the implication that a whole 511 LGAs where Nigerians are domiciled do not experience democracy at the moment because it is only 263 LGAs out of 774 that have elected councils.

“The setting up of caretaker committees is a movement away from democracy and this has resulted in the failure of that tier of government. Accountability in all its facets must start from the LGAs. The National Assembly should ensure that there are no allocations to those LGAs in order to reverse the trend.”

The REC said there was an urgent need to review state electoral laws and electoral management at local government levels to reflect the aspiration of voters at the grass roots.

For instance, he said governors should not be the determinants of what the budget the state independent electoral commissions should be.

According to him, this urgent and crucial governance deficit justifies the need to tackle it to a logical conclusion.

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