Zainab Ahmed’s ‘Generator Generation’

By Emmanuel Onwubiko 

When the President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari in 2016 commically made reference to some Nigerian Youths he categorized as lazy youths, he probably did not know that some of his younger cabinet level appointees are the very perfect embodiment, representations and depictions of this description of Nigerian Youths as LAZY. Additionally,  even the old appointees have substantially failed to prove that they are capable problem solvers using do it yourself mechanism. 

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday ( April 19,2018) criticised the attitude of some Nigerian youth, saying they were only hustling to get on the gravy train.

“More than 60 per cent of the population is below 30, a lot of them haven’t been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria is an oil producing country, therefore, they should sit and do nothing, and get housing, healthcare, education free,” Mr Buhari was quoted as saying by The Cable during a panel appearance with world leaders at the Commonwealth Business Forum in London.

The president’s comment adds to an earlier one he made criticising Nigerian youth.

During a February 2016 interview with UK Telegraph, Mr Buhari said some Nigerians in the UK, mostly youth, are disposed to criminality and should not be granted asylum there. He was fiercely criticised for the comment, with many saying it failed to convey the reality of Nigerian youth’s exploits.

However, a positive one on the Nigerian youths debunked this line of argument by President Muhammadu Buhari when an analysis by Rice University in the U.S. showed that Nigerian youth are the most educated of all migrants in the country. The institution credited the finding to a culture of relentless drive for education amongst Nigerians.

This Writer thinks President Muhammadu Buhari exaggerated this statement because most of the youths that I know are innovative problems solvers and are not lazy by any stretch of imagination except if the analyst is a mischief maker. But come to think of it. President Muhammadu Buhari may have said so going by the reality that most of the youngsters he empowered politically including some of his cousins he made Presidential advisers are actually lazy youths. 

That is not all. A closer examination of how some of his younger ministers have opted for already made solutions in their day to day affairs as public office holders without any deep thinking and due regards to the sense of innovation, introspection and solution politics , shows that the Nigerian President may have appointed into his cabinet a bunch of lazy youths. 

The President since he came on board and also when he took a second and final official oath of allegiance to the constitution of Nigeria, has made only very few appointments in favor of the very young Nigerians such as the person he sent to the ministry of finance, Budget and National planning, youths and sports, ministers of state for education and environment are all considered to be in their youthful ages. 

However, there are mixed messages coming from these strategic beats that President gave to the youngsters. 

Education sector has witnessed decline in development and the situation of facilities in public Universities are deteriorating with many of the public hostels becoming unfit for human habitation but yet the Education ministry has two ministers with the minister of state who is still within the age bracket of a youth. The Environment ministry is virtually moribund with little activities going on regarding the need to enlighten Nigerians on the impacts of climate change. Climate change is about the most debated issue around the World but in Nigeria there is almost no national remediation efforts going on to counter the consequences and effects of Climate change. The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs is headed by a youngster but not a lot is seen in the area of transparency and accountability in the deployment of public resources to solve disasters of all kinds. In Sports, Nigeria came last at the just ended Tokyo Olympics and the National football team lost a match to the central African Republic and indeed no sports development efforts are ongoing to engage the millions of talented youngsters to embrace professional sports. Nigerian youths are a bundle of sporting talents but the Federal Ministry of youths and sports headed by a youth is finding it difficult to engage the youths in constructive sport development engagements. 

Perhaps, the ministry that has so far manifested a dangerous inclination for easy solution to national problems is the ministry of finance, Budget and national planning. To her, the best way out of cash crunch is not home made but to go all over the World borrowing all kinds of loans which have made Nigeria a heavily indebted nation.  

We will speak more about how the young minister of Budget, Finance and national planning through words, actions and inaction, has shown a lack of the deliberate effort to pursue innovative ideas as a way of resolving the economic doldrums affecting Nigeria. 

But we will look at how academic experts define innovation and the evolution of ideas to solve everyday problems 

Wikipedia said these: “Do it yourself” (“DIY”) is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where “individuals use raw and semi-raw materials and parts to produce, transform, or reconstruct material possessions, including those drawn from the natural environment (e.g., landscaping)”.[1] DIY behavior can be triggered by various motivations previously categorized as marketplace motivations (economic benefits, lack of product availability, lack of product quality, need for customization), and identity enhancement (craftsmanship, empowerment, community seeking, uniqueness).

The term “do-it-yourself” has been associated with consumers since at least 1912 primarily in the domain of home improvement and maintenance activities.[3] The phrase “do it yourself” had come into common usage (in standard English) by the 1950s,[4] in reference to the emergence of a trend of people undertaking home improvement and various other small craft and construction projects as both a creative-recreational and cost-saving activity.

Subsequently, the term DIY has taken on a broader meaning that covers a wide range of skill sets. DIY has been described as a “self-made-culture”; one of designing, creating, customizing and repairing items or things without any special training. DIY has grown to become a social concept with people sharing ideas, designs, techniques, methods and finished projects with one another either online or in person.

DIY can be seen as a cultural reaction in modern technological society to increasing academic specialization and economic specialization which brings people into contact with only a tiny focus area within the larger context, positioning DIY as a venue for holistic engagement. DIY ethic is the ethic of self-sufficiency through completing tasks without the aid of a paid expert. The DIY ethic promotes the idea that anyone is capable of performing a variety of tasks rather than relying on paid specialists.

People, says the psychological expert, face problems every day—usually, multiple problems throughout the day. Sometimes these problems are straightforward: To double a recipe for pizza dough, for example, all that is required is that each ingredient in the recipe be doubled. Sometimes, however, the problems we encounter are more complex. For example, say you have a work deadline, and you must mail a printed copy of a report to your supervisor by the end of the business day. The report is time-sensitive and must be sent overnight. You finished the report last night, but your printer will not work today. What should you do? First, you need to identify the problem and then apply a strategy for solving the problem.

When you are presented with a problem—whether it is a complex mathematical problem or a broken printer, how do you solve it? Before finding a solution to the problem, the problem must first be clearly identified. After that, one of many problem solving strategies can be applied, hopefully resulting in a solution, according to Psychologists who know. 

A problem-solving strategy is a plan of action used to find a solution. Different strategies have different action plans associated with them, the expert argues. For example, a well-known strategy is trial and error. The old adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” describes trial and error. In terms of your broken printer, you could try checking the ink levels, and if that doesn’t work, you could check to make sure the paper tray isn’t jammed. Or maybe the printer isn’t actually connected to your laptop. When using trial and error, you would continue to try different solutions until you solved your problem. Although trial and error is not typically one of the most time-efficient strategies, it is a commonly used one. These were from a scholarly write up on psychology.

This tendency for easy way out of problems are not limited to Federal appointees. While begging southern governors to be their brother’s keeper and let the federal government keep collecting value-added tax, claiming Gombe residents could face acute hunger, Governor Inuwa Yahaya has been on a borrowing spree designed primarily to allegedly  help him accumulate personal wealth, documents obtained by Peoples Gazette show.

Since assuming office on May 29, 2019, Mr Yahaya has sought and received approvals to borrow N44.3 billion, according to state documents obtained by The Gazette. The governor also collected N11 billion that his predecessor Ibrahim Dankwambo applied for but which he was unable to receive before his tenure expired. The governor also has a new plan to borrow an additional N35 billion.

Checks by The Gazette revealed allegedly that the governor did not spend the loans on the projects he cited for their necessity. Instead, he cornered billions for himself, leaving a spectre of crushing debts on a state already beset by a dearth of health and education infrastructure and ranks high in poverty indices.

In documents reviewed by The Gazette, the governor was in October 2019 granted approval for loans of N10 billion and N2 billion respectively for the “provision of Infrastructural projects in the state and payment of counterpart fund requirements for accessing Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) donor funded projects.”

But Mr Yahaya did not settle the counterpart funding after the loan was approved by the House of Assembly but used the fund to execute projects within his own official residence and offices that were contracted to individuals in his pool of fronts. The conduits have consistently helped the governor syphone state funds to jurisdictions outside the state, officials said. I think this tells you how lazy politicians are around here. But the worst of them all is the finance Minister. Two things have made her the worst public office holder- Debts accumulation and the decision to buy foreign made generators rather than pursuing home made solution to our power energy poverty including the use of SOLAR ENERGY and conversion of WASTE TO ENERGY POWER which Countries like England, Japan, China have their home made solution and strategies to achieve.  

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has revealed why the Federal Government will continue to borrow money from other countries.

The Minister, during an interview with newsmen in Abuja revealed the government was borrowing to invest in infrastructure in the country.

According to her, the Federal Government’s borrowing is sensible and responsible.

“I have said it several times that the problem we have in Nigeria is that of revenue.

“We are borrowing sensibly and this is because we want to invest in infrastructures like power, water, roads and rails which are investments that are required to enhance business productivity in the country today.

“These businesses will grow, they will not only pay taxes, they will also employ people.

“If we don’t do this, we will regress even from where we are today. Borrowing is a necessary investment and we are doing it responsibly,” she said. These claims have no empirical supports. Let us see what President said he will do to turn around our energy poverty. 

President Muhammadu Buhari  said as the President of Nigeria he would work on an ambitious Energy Plan towards reducing the energy shortcomings by year 2030. 

Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s spokesman in a statement, said Buhari spoke in line with Nigeria’s role as a Global Theme Champion for the Energy Transition, theme of the High-Level Dialogue on Energy on the sidelines of the 76th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The president said: “Nigeria’s commitment to a just transition is reflected in our ambitious Energy Compact, which includes the Government’s flagship project to electrify five million households and twenty million people using decentralized solar energy solutions.

“This is a major first step towards closing our energy access deficit by 2030.

“Nigeria’s commitment is also reflected in the development of our Energy Transition Plan, which was developed with support of the UK COP26 Energy Transition Council.”

The Nigerian leader called for support from developed countries to unlock the financing needed to accelerate a just energy transition for all.

“The focus of our discussions on transition must now evolve how we help countries develop detailed energy transition plans and commitments to mobilize enough financing to empower countries to implement those plans,” he said.

According to him, the scale of financing required for Nigeria to achieve net-zero, amounts to over US$ 400 billion across the Nigerian economy in excess of business-as-usual spending over the next 30 years.

“This breaks down to US$ 155 billion net spend on generation capacity, US$ 135 billion on transmission and distribution infrastructure, US$ 75 billion on buildings, US$ 21 billion on industry and US$ 12 billion on transport.”

The president, however, said that gas would continue to have a big role to play before it is phased out, explaining that solid fuel cooking is still wreaking havoc in Africa. This promise has been breached because Nigeria has gone down further and worst in the area of power energy poverty. Now the minister of Finance has budgeted humongous sum to purchase foreign made generators. 

Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government will in 2022 spend an estimated N104bn on purchasing generators, fuelling and servicing them.

The N104bn which will be spent on generators due to the country’s unstable power supply exceeds the Internally Generated Revenue of about 24 states of the federation.

The details are contained in the 2022 budget proposal which has yet to be approved by the National Assembly.

Economic Confidential, however, reports that the figure may be higher as about 15 agencies including the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission, National Information Technology Agency, National Pension Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Central Bank of Nigeria, National Examination Council, Central Bank of Nigeria and others did not indicate their generator budgets. The next story is perhaps what makes this minister as belonging tothe generator generation. 

The story says Finance ministry wants N82bn for generators.

A review of the budget shows that the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning headed by Zainab Ahmed, takes the lion’s share of 80 per cent for generators as the ministry set aside N82.03bn.

The item under the heading, ‘Purchase of Fixed Assets- General’ reads, “Purchase of power generating set 82,030,000,000.”

As of press time, the Spokesman for the Finance Ministry, Yunusa Abdullahi, had yet to respond to an inquiry on why the budget for generators for the ministry is very high.

Meanwhile, a further analysis of the budget showed that among the agencies, the Federal Inland Revenue Service has the highest budget for generators.

The agency earmarked N250m for maintenance, N1bn for fuelling the generators and N550m for purchasing new ones, given a total of N1.8bn.

The Nigerian Army has the second highest budget for generators having earmarked N971.7m for generator fuel alone. The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency has the third highest budget for generators at N946m.

The Department of Petroleum Resources set aside N118.7m for maintenance, N666.8m for generator fuel and N120m for the purchase of generators in its offices in Sokoto, Kano, Makurdi, Yenagoa, Ilorin and Umuahia, bringing it to a total of N905.5m.

The agency with the 5th largest generator budget is the Nigerian Ports Authority which set aside N798.2m for the maintenance and purchase of generators.

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission budgeted N470m for the maintenance of a generator plant and N262.11m for the procurement of a generator, given a total sum of N732.1m.

The Federal Road Safety Corps set aside N529.3m for maintenance, fuel and purchase of generators.

The Nigeria Police formations and commands across the country are expected to spend N211.5m on maintenance and N309.8m on fuel for the generators, a total of N521.3m

Similarly, the Nigerian Communications Commission will spend N500m running generators next year having earmarked N190m for maintenance, N150m for the purchase of new generators and N160m for the purchase of fuel for generators.

The Bank of Agriculture set aside N420.5m for the purchase of a generator while the Standards Organisation of Nigeria intends to spend N412m on new generators and the maintenance of existing ones.

The Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria will spend N400m on generators.

The National Inland Waterways Authority earmarked N379.93m for the rehabilitation of a generator plant and N50m for the procurement of a generator while the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority budgeted the sum of N240.57m to maintain its generator plant and N124m to acquire a new generator.

Other agencies with large generator budgets include: the Nigerian Defence Academy (N373m), the Nigerian Navy (N344m), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (N342.2m); and the Accident and Investigation Bureau (N323m).

The Nigeria Immigration Service earmarked N296.91m for generator expenses out of which N86.9m would be spent on fuel while N144.8m and N65.09m would go to the purchase and maintenance of generators respectively.

The Nigerian Meteorological will spend N285m on purchase, maintenance and fuelling of generators in 2022.

The Nigeria Export-Import Bank will spend N217.67m for the maintenance, purchase and fuelling of generators in 2022 while the Nigeria Correctional Service earmarked N134.9m for generator fuel cost, N43.6m for maintenance, a total of N178.5m.

The Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation earmarked N157.8m for the maintenance, fuelling and purchase of generators in 2022 while the National Youth Service Corps set aside N100.2m for the same expenses. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission will spend N127.6m as well.

The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and the Nigerian Postal Service will spend N100m and N103.1m respectively on generators.

The Federal Ministry of Health and its agencies comprising 88 federal teaching hospitals, medical centres and agencies will spend N3.1bn on generators next year. The health agency with the largest generator budget is the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research which will spend N230m on purchasing generators, N5m on fuel and N1m on maintenance.

The Ministry of Education which oversees 197 federal secondary and tertiary institutions, departments and agencies earmarked a combined N2.8bn for generators. The agency under the ministry with the highest generator budget is the Federal Polytechnic Ekowe which earmarked N237m for the purchase of generators, N18.9m for maintenance and N8.2m for fuel, a total of N264.1m.

Earlier just after been sworn in, the Nigerian government’s ambitions for improving electricity supplies are “not remotely realistic”, a report by experts advising the presidency says, an early blow to one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s most important reform promises.

Chronic power shortages are one of the biggest constraints on investment and growth in Africa’s largest economy. Fixing the problem was one of the key battlegrounds during campaigning ahead of a presidential election Buhari won in March.

Buhari, 72, and his opponent Goodluck Jonathan both promised to massively increase power supplies, building on a relatively successful $2.5 billion partial privatisation in 2013.

Buhari’s All Progressives Congress pledged in its manifesto to increase supplies from 3,600 megawatts (MW) currently to 20,000 MW within four years and 50,000 MW within ten years, which would meet the demands of Nigeria’s 170 million people.

However, reaching 20,000 MW by 2020 is “not even remotely realistic” and “setting unrealistic targets dilutes discipline”, according to a 54-page report entitled “The Energy Blueprint” obtained by Reuters.

My conclusion is that Nigeria needs Problem solvers who believe in innovation,  ideas and do it yourself attitudes as ministers to get out of the economic mess that the poor policy framing and implementation in the last 6 years have pushed us into. This GENERATOR GENERATION OF MINISTERS lack the technological innovation,  HUMAN capacity and talents to take Nigeria to the Promised land. 

*EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO IS THE HEAD OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) and blogs @www.huriwanigeria.com, www.thenigerianinsidermews.com. 

NNAMDI KANU-: HURIWA ACCUSES JUDICIARY OF SURRENDERING INDEPENDENCE TO EXECUTIVE ARM:

PROTESTS MALTREATMENT BY DSS OF IGBO LEADER AND FORMER GOVERNOR OF ANAMBRA STATE CHIEF CHUKWUEMEKA EZEIFE

The failure of the hierarchy of the nation’s Federal High Court to defend her independence from the stranglehold of the Executive arm of government represented by the Department of State Services (DSS) that has kept barring Journalists, stakeholders and Human Rights activists from accessing the courtroom for the trial of detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (Ipob) Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, is disastrous message to the World that the judiciary in Nigeria is in chains and is being controlled by the Presidency.

This position was expressed by the prominent Civil society and pro-democracy group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) which carpeted the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court justice John T. Tsoho for abdication his authority and thereby allowing the operatives of the Department of State Services to dictate who should have access to the publicly funded Federal High Court Complex which contravenes the CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS as encapsulated in sections 4, 5 and 6 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

Besides, the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) said the denial of access to the courtroom of the respected Igbo leader and former governor of Anambra State His Excellency Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife shows the lack of equity in the administration of the Daura Katsina State born President Muhammadu Buhari and his entire internal security team headed by Northern Moslems with little or no respect for traditional, societal, prominent leaders of other Ethnicities such as the Igbo speaking Ethnicity because if the person of Chukwuemeka Ezeife was one of the prominent Northern Fulani leaders, the Department of State Services won’t subject him to the public opium of letting him sit on the barefloor outside of the Courtroom of the Federal High Court even when it is a notorious knowledge that he was nominated officially by the Igbo Ethnicity to stand in for the race to witness and observe the prosecution of one of the respected Sons of Igboland- Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. 

HURIWA protested the ugly scenario whereby access to the courtrooms built by the contributions and resources of taxpayers is now out temporarily under the control of the executive arm of government under President Muhammadu Buhari which is the plaintiff in the same matter of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the government of Muhammadu Buhari just as the Rights group said this singular act of cowardice on the part of the Nigerian judiciary which ceded the authority to let Nigerians have access to the Courtroom to the control of the Department of State Services headed by a Northern Moslem has open the judicial process to critical doubts regarding the independence and objectivity of the process before the Federal High Court just as the Rights group has asked the Chief Judge to take back the control of the Court Complex.  

HURIWA lamented that the hierarchy of the Federal High Court out of fear refused to accredit representatives of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA to observe the judicial trial of the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) just as the Rights group accused the chief judge of the Federal High Court of failing to even reply to the written request it sent to his office over two weeks back. HURIWA recalled that in its application titled: “REQUEST TO MONITOR LEGAL PROCEEDING ON MAZI NNAMDI KANU”, it wrote as follows:

“We write to convey our readiness and intention to be offered access to the Court room to monitor the legal proceedings of global importance which involves the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
 
As members of the organized Civil Rights Community of Nigeria, we feel obliged to attend and watch the proceedings in this specific matter given the groundswell of claims that the management of the Court does not feel comfortable allowing members of the public to attend the proceedings. There’s also the suspicion that the Federal High Court has denied Nigerians access to the trial of Nnamdi Kanu for the reason that the process won’t be transparent and accountable and therefore violate section 36(5) of the Nigerian Constitution which complete categorises all accused persons as innocent in the eye of the law. The refusal of access to the venue of the trial is therefore not in tandem with Democratic principles of checks and balances.  
 
No doubt Sir, that Nigeria practices Presidential system of government even as Country is governed by a grund norm which states unambiguously that the people are the owners of the sovereignty of Nigeria as enshrined in section 14 (2) thus “  It is hereby, accordingly, declared that: (a) sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its powers and authority; (b) the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government: and (c) the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution”.
 
Sir, we remind your good offices that the public and the press have qualified First Amendment Right of access to Court proceedings and records. 
Although the first amendment does not explicitly mention the right of access say Emilies S. Kraft, the United States of America’s supreme Court has held that the right to attend criminal proceedings is implicit in freedom of speech and serves an important function in a democratic society by enhancing trial fairness and appearance.
We thereby write you this request so two officers from our organization will be given regular access to monitor Nnamdi Kanu’s trial because of its Human Rights related implications.
Whilst awaiting your rapid response, accept our highest consideration and regards.” 

HURIWA regretted that the office of the CJ of the Federal High Court which acknowledged HURIWA’s letter however failed to respond either in the negative or positive even as the Rights group said it was disgraceful that Lawyers, Journalists and activists were never allowed access to a public Court Complex.
HURIWA recalled that journalists were barred from courtroom as the trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, resumed on Thursday at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) barred journalists and some court officials from gaining access to the premises.

The frustrated court workers and journalists were seen milling around and wearing heavy frowns.

The media according to HURIWA were not told the reason for the denial because it was not made known by government officials, though a handful of reporters from a list produced by the stern looking DSS operatives were allowed into the premises.

DSS officials had set up a barricade at the entrance of the Court and prevented reporters and officials from entering, resulting in angry scenes and arguments. HURIWA described the behaviour of the operatives of the executive controlled DSS as a primitive recourse to self help effirt by the central government which will inevitably undermine fairness and fair trial. 

Most of the DSS operatives were masked as they were clad in their all black ensemble, reports the media quoted by HURIWA. 

Gathered outside were frustrated family members, supporters, civil rights groups, lawyers, journalists and other members of the public, who were not allowed near the court.

Nnamdi Kanu’s Special Counsel, Alloy Ejimakor while addressing journalists said the lawyers who accompanied him were also denied access.

HURIWA recalled that Mazi namdi Kanu is facing charges bordering on terrorism and treasonable felony charges brought against him by the Federal Government.

The Federal Government had filed seven amended charges bordering on treasonable felony and acts of terrorism against Kanu on Monday.

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, filed the charges on behalf of the government.

HURIWA has therefore advocated the take over of control of the Federal High Court Complex Abuja from the stranglehold of the operatives of Department of State Services by the hierarchy of the Nigerian Court system or it will drag the CJ of Federal High Court to the National Judicial Council for ceding independence of the Federal High Court to the Department of State Services which is unlawful and unconstitutional. “The DSS is under the control and command of the President. The President is behind the ordeals of Nnamdi Kanu and if there will be justice or semblance of justice the least physical evidence of it is the guarantee that the facilities of the Nigerian courts are controlled by staff of the Federal High Court who are judicial staff under the Judicial arm of government and not the same arm of government that has brought a citizen to court under some charges”.
 

HURIWA WARNS BUHARI NOT TO SHUT DOWN TURKISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS

As fears surfaced in diplomatic quarters that the visiting TURKISH President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would again ask the Nigerian government to close down schools linked to the Gulen Movement when he meets President Muhammadu Buhari during his ongoing four-day diplomatic tour of three African countries, leading civil rights advocacy group-: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari not to accede to such anti-peoole’s and anti-democratic demands if such comes up. 

HURIWA in a media statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, also expressed apprehension that the official visit of the President of Turkey to Nigeria may motivate Islamist and terror affiliated groups going by the allegations that the Turkish leader is an Islamist who backs terror movements operating in Libya and parts of Africa including the North East of Nigeria. 

The Rights group is not happy that since around 2016 that a certain Turkish Airlines flight was intercepted at the International Airport in Lagos with large consignment of guns and bullets including other sophisticated military hardwares, Nigerians are still not aware of the details of the investigation by Nigerian Customs on the ownership of those weapons just as the Rights group expressed worries that the Airline was never sanctioned by the Nigerian authority.  

HURIWA recalled that there are considerable suspicion that the Turkish government wants to take over the schools upon their closure by the Nigerian government going by fact that these schools are linked to the Gulen Movement, an international, faith-based civil society organisation, is led by United States-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethulah Gulen.

Gulen is alleged to be the mastermind of the July 15, 2016 bloody coup which attempted to remove Erdoğan from power.

Gulen had denied involvement in the coup but the Turkish government insists he was behind the coup which involved an assassination attempt on Erdoğan and loss of over a hundred lives.

The Gulen Movement owns a chain of 17 high profile educational establishments in Nigeria.The educational institutions owned by the Gulen Movement in Nigeria include: Surat Educational Ltd., Abuja; Nile University in Abuja; and the Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC), which was formerly known as Nigerian Turkish International Colleges (NTIC).The NTIC colleges, regarded as prestigious educational institutions, are located in several major Nigerian cities, including Abuja, Lagos, Kano, and Kaduna.

HURIWA recalled that the Turkish government’s clampdown on the Gulen schools forced the change of name in 2017, from Nigerian Turkish International Colleges to Nigerian Tulip International Colleges, but the management of the institutions had explained that the name change was informed by a desire to separate academic activities from politics.

The educational institutions, run by the Gulen Movement which the Turkish government had since designated as a terrorist organisation, have been operating in Nigeria since 1998. The Gulen Movement runs schools and universities in more than 160 countries.The organisation also owns the Nizamiye Hospital in Abuja.

HURIWA however stated that the schools formerly known as Turkish International Colleges in Nigeria have contributed massively to scholarship just as the Rights group said acceding to the political demands by the Turkish leader by closing the schools in Nigeria would undermine Nigeria’s Sovereignty and drastically lead to dwindling foreign direct investments into Nigeria because potential international investors won’t trust a Country that can play politics with investors assets to satisfy and whimsically massage the ego, whims and caprices of foreign dictators. 

HURIWA warned that President Muhammadu Buhari must never subject Nigeria to the global opprobrium of negotiating away the ownership of massive educational assets of genuine international investors who brought these huge assets with humongous values to Nigeria and established a World class educational brand in Nigeria that has produced dozens of academic scholars of Nigerian origin.

HURIWA also wants Nigerian President to demand reports on the accusations that Turkish Airline commercial flights are used to fly in weapons of mass destruction which are sent to Islamic terrorists in Northern Nigeria. 

#EndSARS Protests Anniversary-: HURIWA Wants National Assembly To Set Up Protests Protection Board

Describing as absolutely unconstitutional,  unlawful, despicable,  primitive and reprehensible the actions of the Lagos State’s Police Command for disrupting some PROTESTS and illegally clamping down of peaceful civil Protesters, the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has called for the unconditional release from detention of all the protesters arrested by police for marking the one year anniversary of the October 20th 2020 massacre of protesters by armed forces ofNugeria in Lekki Tollgate. 

HURIWA described those who participated in the anniversary protests as heroes of constitutionalism who rather than being victimised, humiliated, harassed or tortured should be awarded National honours of bravery and courageous defence of Constitutional democracy and the Rule of law which constitute collectively the bedrock of the human rights provisions enshrined on chapter 4 of the GrundNorm. 

Besides, the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA,  a Prominent pro-democracy and leading civil rights advocacy group,  has asked the National Assembly to create the NATIONAL BOARD FOR THE OROTECTION OF CIVIL PROTESTERS to be governed just like an independent and totally autonomous body of few experts and civil society leaders to provide advocacy platforms supported by corporate Nigeria to promote, advance, canvass and teach younger Nigerians on the essence of peaceful Assembly and protests and to monitor violations of the fundamental rights to civil protests by state security agencies and the Nigerian police Force. HURIWA upbraided the National Human Rights commission for spectacularly selling out to reactionary elements in government. 

HURIWA said the call for a creation of an independent,  autonomous but strong national agency to focus on Promotion of attitudes of positive, democratic and peaceful protests has become increasingly necessary as a way of mainstreaming the democratic virtue of civil protests which are critical elements for the sustenance and survival of Constitutional democracy in the Country. It said the body shouldn’t be another avenue to create jobs for the boys but should be a body to be constituted by less than 36 staff and hierarchy with offices in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. 

HURIWA condemned the medieval mindset of the Nigerian Police and other security agencies towards organisers and participants in civil protests just as HURIWA said that the continuous attacks by police and security agencies of protesters are weakening Constitutional democracy and turning Nigeria into a brutal tyranny and dictatorship which it insists must be resisted because dictatorship isn’t different from slavery. 

The Rights group called for the legal sanctions of Police operatives fingered in the multiple extrajudicial killings by SPECIAL ANTI-ROBBERY SQUAD of the Nigerian Police which was reportedly disbanded on paper as a consequence of the demands of protesters at last year’s #ENDSARS PROTESTS nationwide. HURIWA condemned the slow progress at the various judicial panels investigating the #ENDSARS PROTESTS just as it asked state governments to enforce the decisions reached by the panels. 

HURIWA said the so called disbandment of the notorious SARS was a smokescreen and a charade because the Nigerian Police are still protecting their operatives with blood of the innocent in their hands just as extralegal killings of suspects are still going on in most police detention centres. It called for the passage of a legislation to open up all detention centres to the visitation of civil society leaders and private members of the public so as to ensure that the use of physical torture and forced disappearances are curbed. 

In a media statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf,  HURIWA said: “HUMAN and CIVIL RIGHTS to protests are safeguarded under sections 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the Constitution. It is a fundamental human right of the people to voice out their displeasures, disappointments and frustrations.

The right to protest is the manifestation of first, the right to freedom of thought and conscience and religion (Sec. 38) which precedes rights to freedom of expression (Sec. 39) followed by the right to peaceful assembly and association (Sec. 40) and accompanied by right to freedom of movement (Sec. 41). Right to protest also “embodies the exercise of a number of indivisible, interdependent and interconnected human rights” like right to life (Sec. 33), right to dignity of human person (Sec. 34), right to personal liberty (35), right to fair hearing (36), right to private and family life (37), and right to freedom from discrimination (42). The Court of Appeal upheld the right to protest in the case of IGP V. ANPP (2008) 12 WRN 65 that “certainly in a democracy, it is the right of citizens to conduct peaceful processions, rallies or demonstrations without seeking and obtaining permission from anybody. It is a right guaranteed by the 1999 constitution and any law that attempts to curtail such right is null and void and of no effect.”

Under the International Law, the right to protest is equally protected. Articles 18, 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Right, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right and the UN Human Rights Council’s Resolution at its 38th Session on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the context of Peaceful Protests are quite apposite.

Principle 1 of the Resolution on Promotion and Protection of Human Right in the context of Protest recognizes that a protest can engage in actions targeting any audience, including public authorities, private entities or individuals, or the general public and may annoy or give offence to people who are opposed to the ideas. It also recognizes that protest may temporarily hinder or obstruct the activities of third parties.

Principle 2 then imposes obligations on States/countries to respect the right to protest. States should not prevent, hinder or restrict the right to protest; States should protect the right to protest and should undertake reasonable steps to protect protesters by adopting measures necessary to prevent violations by third parties; States should fulfil the right to protest by establishing an enabling environment for the full enjoyment of right to protest.”

HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has therefore called for the arrest and prosecution of the police operatives seen mistreating and physically attacking peaceful protesters because even under the recently signed Anti Torture law, nobody is permitted to inflict physical, emotional or psychological torture on citizens. 

Tone down insecurity reports about Nigeria, Buhari charges media

President Muhammadu Buhari felicitates with the Muslim Ummah, Nigerians of all faiths and the followers of Islam all over the world on the occasion of the Maulud-Un-Nabiyy, the birthday of the Holy Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him.

In a message to mark the occasion, Tuesday, 19th October, a public holiday throughout the Federation, President Buhari says, “I am delighted to send greetings of peace, unity and goodwill to the Muslim Ummah, fellow citizens and Muslims all over the world as they observe and celebrate Eid-ul- Maulud.”

The President urges Muslims to strive for “forgiveness and closeness to the noble life and teachings of the Prophet (SAW) whose birthday is being marked on this blessed day. On this auspicious occasion, I wish you all the blessings of today.”

The President uses the occasion to give a snapshot of the increased activities the Armed Forces, Police Force, and intelligence agencies have embarked upon to effectively respond to the security challenges in the nation.

He says the government fully expects and intends for these trends to continue, and calls on the media to address the tone, content, and standards of reporting into security and safety measures. Time has come to revise the prefixes “rising insecurity” with “declining insecurity.”

The President adds that increased cooperation and collaboration from the citizenry, coupled with reinvigorated, dynamic, and energized police, security and military leadership is helping the administration score more victories against terror, criminality, and economic sabotage. The reality of declining insecurity should replace the inaccurate narrative of rising insecurity in the country.

“While there is work to do, the men and women in uniform who are helping the nation to achieve this goal, desire our collective appreciation and encouragement to do even more. The whole country and its mass communications systems have a duty in this regard,” the President adds.

President Buhari concludes his message by appealing to road users to drive with care and avoid needless accidents. 

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media and Publicity)

October 18, 2021

[Gazette]

2023: Time For Businessman’s President

By

Emmanuel Onwubiko

Nigeria is obviously the biggest black democracy in the World but Nigeria has yet to adapt to those critical factors and practices that characterize a vibrant and viable democracy. There are practices within and without government that allows for leakages that lead to willful underdevelopment and these burdens of underdevelopment are instigated by a dearth of knowledge of how to govern a corporate political entity as a corporate business as are the cases with such developed societies like Great Britain,  Germany, Canada, USA, Australia.
For a Constitutional democracy to be assumed to be viable, there have to be some elements present such as the establishment of strong institutions, respect for rule of law and the supremacy of the constitution or the Grund Norm.
It is exactly because of the absence of the deep rooted practice of constitutionalism that gives rise to the perennial national conversations on the character of the national leader that Nigerians should elect as their President.
The debate on the character of who becomes the 2023 president of Nigeria has reached a frenzied dimension with a lot of focus on which between the North and South should the office of the president of Nigeria be rotated to in the next presidential election.
 
The debate on the zoning of the office of president of Nigeria in 2023 is not trivial as some persons would want us to believe.
This is because the tempestuous nature of our make up as a Country of diverse ethnicities makes it essential that the people should formulate a democratic ethos of rotating the office of president, governors and local council chairman amongst all shades and ethnicities. 
However, this reflection is basically about the very character of who should vie for the office of president in which case this writer is making a case for election of a highly successful businessman as Nigeria’s next president in addition to the need to zone the office of the president of Nigeria to the South of Nigeria for equity and balance.
As the debates over the next presidential poll heats up, the salient conversations that Nigerians are yet to start is the urgency of electing a successful businessman or business woman who will then kick start the governance of Nigeria in the same format that led to his or her emergence in the real sense as being rated as very successful. 
Nigeria is also lucky to have vastly successful businessmen and women who are also successful in politics.
If truth be told, of all the successful business executives who delved into politics and have successfully transited to successful political governance are the current Chief whip of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Senator Orji Uzor Kalu who also governed Abia State twice as Chief executive and made huge successes as the governor of the God’s own state of Abia. 
Closely following this versatile senator of the Federal Republic is the former Anambra State governor Mr. Peter Obi who is reputed to be incorruptible, erudite, accessible and frugal with resources.
As far as the 2023 presidential poll is concerned, Orji Uzor Kalu and Peter Obi are the two most successful businessmen and investors of rare ingenuity that are actually being considered to run for the office of the president of Nigeria. Orji Uzor Kalu has also tested the baptism of political fire by way of being subjected to largely politically motivated trial for alleged corruption. He was sent to prison and he spent 6 months and because he is a man of the people he survived this prison ordeals and came out a bigger and much more respected statesman who now has become an advocate for prisons reforms. The Federal High Court has just discharged and acquitted him of all charges of corruption after the nation’s Supreme Court freed him from wrongful imprisonment. So it is safe to say that he has no institutional baggage and impediments to run for the office of President of Nigeria in 2023, all things being equal. Currently, he is the most senior in rank of all Igbo Political office holders. He is knowledgeable about the diversities that make up Nigeria as he has spent time in the West, and in the North in addition to becoming teinterms governor of Abia State and now the Senator representing Abia North who defeated a sitting Senator of the PDP to become the only elected Senatotbof the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). So as a very successful businessman and and a good politician, he stands poles apart to be considered to run for the office if the President of Nigeria but the only obstacle is himself.  He has to decide if he will go for the bigger call to serve the Country in 2023. 
I will kick start by saying that the reason for emphasizing the material essence of letting a successful businessman/woman to become the next president is because the United States of America became what it is today by the virtue of the fact that the founding fathers were mostly successful businessmen who later got elected into office as presidents of the United States of America for successive terms and today America is the richest nation in the world in terms of economy and in politics, USA is the strongest democracy globally and in military term, United States of America is number one. 
No doubt it is the overwhelming desire of Nigerians in their multitude that Nigeria should be governed just like how successful private sector businesses are governed so the nation can have the fighting chance of becoming an advanced democracy and a big economic power house in the shortest possible time frame.
I will come to that but first, let me make the clearest and the most unambiguous case for the person of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu to consider running for the office of the president of Nigeria because of his invaluable achievements in both public sectors and the Nigerian economy.
Both senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Peter Obi who are about the most successful businessmen from the East with political tentacles spread across board, are some of the finest businessmen who should be persuaded to consider running for the office of president. 
Orji Uzor Kalu is quoted as saying that he has not yet decided to run for the office of president of Nigeria in 2023.
The Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzor Kalu has said he has no ambition to run for the presidency in 2023.
 
He however said that he would heed the call of Nigerians if it becomes a consensus that he should run for President and serve them in that capacity.
 
Kalu spoke while responding to questions from reporters after being conferred with a traditional title of ‘Kibiya’ (Arrow) of Argungu Emirate by the Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Mohammed Mera, in Abuja.
 
When asked if he would run for the presidency in 2023 in view of agitations in the South East, Kalu said: “There is nothing like that in my mind. You should understand that there are only two zones that have not been President of Nigeria – the North East and the South East.
 
“So I have never thought about going to run for President. But everywhere I go people are disturbing me talking about presidency.
 
“I have told my family members and political associates that I want to come back to the Senate.
 
“The four years of my tenure in the Senate would end in 2023. I would like to come and do another one. Possibly, after my second term in the Senate, I will retire from politics and go back to my farm.”
 
When asked if he would if Nigerians call on him to run, he said: “Nigerian presidency is not what one can say I want. They know how to arrange it.
 
“No one man can make himself Nigerian President. It takes a lot of consultation across the regions. If other regions agree it could be possible.
 
“I have the capability and capacity to do any job given to me by every Nigerian not by some Nigerians.
 
“I am not running for President. I want to come back to Senate and continue serving my people.
 
“This place (Senate) is a very interesting place to be. When I was a Governor I used to be in a big office alone. But in the Senate, if I am tired in my office, I will go and see the Senate President, Senate Leader, Senator Kashim Shettima or Senator Ibikunle Amosun. I find in this place a strong bond for Nigerian people.”
Those who should know have recorded that Prior to the election of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu on 9th January, 1999 as the second Executive Governor of Abia State after Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and his subsequent swearing in on May 29,1999, OUK has been in business. He had garnered at a very youthful age wealth of knowledge in business,( human and material resources management)and held several management positions wherein, he proved himself as a good Manager. As a Founder of over ten(10) gigantic Companies with Subsidiaries all over the globe, he remains the Chairman cum Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of these Companies.
These conglomerate of OUK’s Companies had and keep providing job opportunities for thousands of Nigerians and non Nigerians which record is yet to be beaten by any businessman who is of Abia extraction. No wonder the unabated envy , unfounded and spurious allegations against this illustrious, industrious, vibrant,active,philanthropic, energetic, committed ,versatile, responsive and responsible son of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has held many management positions, to wit: Chairman, Borno State Water Board; Chairman, Imo Marketing & Supply Agency Limited; Chairman, Co- operative and Commerce Bank(CCB)Ltd and even served as the Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Finance & Internal Affairs as well as the Promoter of the first International Bank Ltd in Gambia.
The above qualities mark him out as a very successful businessman who will inevitably govern Nigeria in the same success ethos he adopted in business. I had searched for the fundamental evidence to support my belief that having a Businessman President will bring out the Entrepreneurial Spirit in the Aso-Rock. 
Matt D’Angelo the Business News Daily Contributing Writer in a piece Updated Feb 14, 2020 gave us a run down of Presidents of the USA who were successful businessmen.  They are: George Washington (No. 1, served 1789-97) It turns out Washington, in addition to being one of the greatest presidents in U.S. history, was a savvy businessman. After completing his final term as president in 1797, Washington turned his talents to a much-enjoyed business at the time: whiskey. He opened a distillery on the grounds of Mount Vernon. By 1799, the distillery was producing 11,000 gallons per year, making it one of the largest in the country.
Of course, at that time, Washington’s business ventures were built on the backs of slaves, specifically six people who worked the distillery. His commercial success, like that of much of the nation’s early distillers, was due in large part to slave labor.
Next is Abraham Lincoln (No. 16, served 1861-65) and the writer says: “If Lincoln wasn’t a success of enormous consequence, his noble mug wouldn’t be on every $5 bill we pull out of our wallets. But Lincoln couldn’t hack it as a businessman. Long before he assumed the weight of the country’s deep divisions, Lincoln ran a general store – and not very well. He was 23 years old when he and a partner opened their store in New Salem, Illinois. Lincoln got out of the struggling business fairly quickly, but he did get stuck with his partner’s debt of $1,000. Andrew Johnson (No. 17, served 1865-69) Before Johnson entered political life, he was an accomplished tailor and real estate owner. The son of a seamstress, Johnson apprenticed as a tailor when he came of age. Once he was old enough, he started his own shop. It was in his business as an independent tailor that he began to teach himself to read and write, eventually leading him to political life and the presidency. Warren G. Harding (No. 29, served 1921-23) Dealing with the press has always been a cumbersome task for the president, but Harding had an advantage: He came from a newspaper family, learning the ins and outs of his father’s business from the age of 10. He studied the newspaper trade in college and – after dabbling in teaching, insurance and law – dove into the business full time. With partners, he cobbled together $300 to buy The Marion Daily Star in Ohio. He owned the paper outright by the time he was 21.
Owning a business wore Harding down, but he refueled at a local sanitarium and pursued his business aggressively. In 1923, the year he died, Harding sold his paper for $550,000. In today’s dollars, that’s about $7 million – not too shabby. Herbert Hoover (No. 31, served 1929-33) Hoover served during the country’s absolute worst economic period. It would seem ideal to have a businessman in charge at that point, but Hoover’s policies exacerbated the economy’s deterioration.
Before the economy tanked, Hoover succeeded in the business world. He worked as an engineer and invented a new process to extract zinc that was lost in the contemporary mining processes of his day. He started the Zinc Corporation in the early 20th century, and it later became part of a larger corporation. 
Then comes Harry Truman (No. 33, served 1945-53) described by the author thus: “Truman’s most lasting impression on history occurred within weeks of his taking office after President Franklin D. Roosevelt died. Upon taking the helm, he found out about the Manhattan Project. Within months, he made the decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan, effectively ending World War II.
The president had come a long way from being a local haberdasher. He remains the only president elected after 1897 who did not earn a college degree. Medical issues prevented Truman from getting into West Point, so he took some classes at a business college but never finished. Then he decided to get an education in hard knocks.
Truman opened his clothing store in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1919. He went bankrupt a couple years later and changed career paths, starting with positions in local government that ultimately led to greater offices. Jimmy Carter (No. 39, served 1977-81) In addition to being elected to the highest office in the most powerful country in the world, Carter started the Department of Education, won a Nobel Peace Prize and has written nearly two dozen books. Yet he’s still remembered as a peanut farmer.
Carter was serving in the Navy after graduating from the Naval Academy when his father died. He returned to Georgia to work on the family business. Agriculture proved a natural fit for Carter, and he grew the business successfully. And lastly Donald Trump (No. 45, served 2017-present)

Before Trump was a politician, he was a famous entrepreneur. He took over the family company and developed it into an international brand. He also invested in real estate and helped develop some of the world’s most luxurious hotels and casinos. A long line of products have borne the Trump brand, including Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump Shuttle and Trump Success Eau de Toilette.
Trump developed such a reputation as a businessman that he was cast in the American TV show Celebrity Apprentice, which started his famous motto: “You’re fired.” The fruits of Trump’s success are much debated by critics today, but it’s clear that Trump was an accomplished entrepreneur before he became president.
That journalist made the following legal imperatives: “Surveying the presidents reveals at least two prevailing characteristics among many of them: They were born rich and viewed the law as the best avenue to further their prominence. Perhaps the most privileged found work at prestigious firms or used their bar credentials to vault immediately into illustrious positions. But more than a few put up their own shingle and practiced on their own or with a partner, including Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Millard Fillmore, Benjamin Harrison and Gerald Ford.” We ned to remark that I the above compilations, Patrick Egan contributed to the reporting and writing in this article cited by my humble self who is making a case for a Businessman President for Nigeria  in 2023.
In subsequent editions, we will name and explain some other successful businessmen and women who could be persuaded to run for the presidency in 2023 from Southern Nigeria.  The next edition will commence with Peter Obi who was mentioned earlier. 
*EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO is head of the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) and was a federal commissioner at the National Human Rights commission of Nigeria.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Claims That 4.2M Nigerians Were Lifted Out Of Poverty Are Lies From The Pit of Hell: Says HURIWA

The claims by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar that the federal government has lifted 4,205,576 Nigerians out of poverty in the last two years through its various agricultural policies,  is a comprehensive assault to honesty and amounts to the worship of the goddess of falsehood, says the prominent Civil society and pro-democracy group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA).

HURIWA quoted the media as saying that the minister informed them that the ministry’s strategic policies and programmes including Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020 of the current administration, have seen agriculture as the alternative to oil for meaningful diversification of the economy.

HURIWA recalled that The minister stated this in Abuja while observing this year’s World Food Day, themed, ‘Our Actions Are Our Future. Better Production, Better Nutrition, A Better Environment And A Better Life’ even as he noted that investment in agriculture can guarantee food security with the potential to be a major contributor to job creation and save foreign exchange required for food imports.

The minister spoke further: “our various empowerment initiatives along production, processing and marketing of agricultural commodities, we have lifted a total of 4,205,576 Nigerians out of poverty in the last two years, this is going to continue as part of Mr. President’s promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within the next 10 years. In the area of capacity-building, the minister maintained that a total of 2,205,576 farmers/youths/women were trained and empowered on different agricultural value chains. 

Reacting to what it called the mere political figment of imagination of the minister of AGRICULTURE who is sounding sycophantic to please his political master and avoid the fate that befell his predecessor recently dismissed by President Muhammadu Buhari,  the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has tasked the minister to publish the names of the citizens and their exact locations who he claimed to have lifted out of poverty just as the Rights group said the Minister even contradicted himself when in that same speech he acknowledged the devastating impacts to farming productivity by the heightened state of insecurity in the Country. 

Besides, HURIWA noted that so much of the farming activities that hitherto went on before the coming of the current administration have all but disappeared due to the insecurity created by boko haram terrorists who upped the ante of their attacks since the coming of the present administration just as the armed Fulani attackers are on constant rampage in all parts of the Country destroying farmers crops and killing farmers with Southern Kaduna as the major flashpoint just as the Federal Attorney General,  the Inspector-General of Police and the heads of all strategic security agencies who are Fulani or Northern Moslems have failed to arrest and prosecute these terrorists destroying farms across the Country. 

HURIWA said international organisations have even documented evidence that terrorists have driven farmers away from their farms in the North East and North West of Nigeria just as the activities of terror groups masquerading as armed Fulani herdsmen have destroyed many farms in Benue and Nasarawa States in the last five years.

HURIWA said that credible reports have it that in the northeastern Nigeria, the Boko Haram insurgency has led to heightened levels of displacement and food insecurity. While humanitarian access is improving, most displaced families still rely on vulnerable host communities for basic needs, including food. This has put already impoverished host communities under extreme pressure, leading to increased exposure to food insecurity and malnutrition. Lootings and fear of attacks have prevented many farmers from working in their fields, leading to the loss of harvests and productive assets, and extremely reduced purchasing power. 

Still quoting internatiinal reports by Food and Agricultural Organisation, HURIWA stated that the fact is that alarming food insecurity situation in northeastern Nigeria titled “The latest Cadre Harmonisé analysis (November 2019)” study indicates that there is an estimated 2.6 million people who face severe food insecurity in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, a reduction of nearly 300 000 people from June 2019. However, if no humanitarian support is provided, a projected 3.6 million people in the three states are likely to be severely food insecure from June to August 2020 – traditionally the lean season in the North-East.

HURIWA further recalled that FAO made the following factual claims-: “Immediate support to affected populations In order to respond to the immediate needs of the affected population, FAO has launched a full scale corporate surge response. A dedicated team of experts is based in Maiduguri and works closely with partners on the ground. FAO’s priority is to provide immediate livelihood support to vulnerable pastoralists and agropastoralists, including returnees, IDPs and host communities. ” 

HURIWA  maintained that Nigerian farmers have quantified their production losses occasioned by the level of insecurity across the country to about 50 per cent just as the farmers described the development as precarious, the farmers expressed fears of imminent food crisis should the Federal Government still fail to check Nigeria’s worsening security situation. “Although it is difficult to quantify what farmers have lost as a result of the precarious security situation in Nigeria, the truth remains that our losses are very huge,” the National President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Kabir Ibrahim, said.

The Rights group recalled that the National President, Nigeria Cassava Growers Association, Segun Adewumi, said cassava farmers were being threatened by herdsmen who often invade their farms. “This, of course, is another form of insecurity and our losses due to this cannot be quantified because it is so enormous,” he told our correspondent. He added, “The greatest challenge we have in cassava cultivation is the activities of herdsmen. You know that during the dry season, cassava is the only crop that stays wet and remains green.

HURIWA said the claims of the Agriculture minister is unreal and amounts to a phantom political statement of exaggeration because Nigeria has maintained the infamous position as the poverty capital of the world, with 93.9 million people in Africa’s most populous country currently living below the poverty line. Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited and a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC), Mr. Bismarck Rewane, has stated. Quoting a World Bank data, Rewane, in a presentation at the monthly Lagos Business School’s economic breakfast meeting for September 2021, stated that seven million Nigerians fell into extreme poverty in 2020. The report was titled: “Re: Growth Spikes (5.01 per cent), But People are Hungry?”

HURIWA recalled that Nigeria, with its 200 million plus population, was first declared world’s poverty capital in 2018 in a report by the Brookings Institution, knocking off India from the position. The report had then stated that the number of Nigerians in extreme poverty increases by six people every minute. The Brookings Institution’s report had stated in 2018, “At the end of May 2018, our trajectories suggest that Nigeria had about 87 million people in extreme poverty, compared with India’s 73 million. What is more, extreme poverty in Nigeria is growing by six people every minute, while poverty in India continues to fall.”

HURIWA is therefore appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari and his cabinet to implement result oriented economic development programmes that will promote jobs, industrialisation, adequate food security and infrastructural revolutions across boards and to desist from bandying and propagating fake figures and making exaggerated claims that are provocative,  senile, infantile and dubious whereas the costs of living keep skyrocketing with the cost of Gas cooking infrastructure going beyond the reach of virtually 100 million Nigerians who are now absolutely poor.

The Rights group said it is economic satanism for the government to introduce policies that lead to the hike of the purchasing prices of such basics like bread, fuel, gas and agricultural products just as the Rights group accused the Federal Government of pampering the daredevil armed Fulani terrorists that are destroying farmers crops and taking over the property of natives all over the Country. HURIWA said the policy of reintegration of terrorists of boko haram genre back into the same society they destroyed will not allow local farmers in the North East to resume their farming activities.

Hundreds Of Sudanese Storm Khartoum To Protest Against Failed Government

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Khartoum, Sudan’s capital on Saturday demanding the dissolution of the transitional government, saying it had failed them economically and politically.

The development comes amid divisions in the country’s Sudan’s political scene steering the country through a rocky transition following the April 2019 ouster of President Omar al-Bashir after mass protests against his rule.

Saturday’s demonstrations were organised by a splinter faction of the Forces for Freedom and Change, a civilian alliance that spearheaded protests against Bashir.

A 50-year-old protester, Abboud Ahmed, said, “We need a military government, the current government has failed to bring us justice and equality.”

AFP reports that the protesters carried banners calling for the “dissolution of the government”, while others chanted “one army, one people” and “the army will bring us bread.”

“We are marching in a peaceful protest and we want a military government,” a lady, Enaam Mohamed in central Khartoum said.

On Friday, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok warned that the transition is facing “the worst and most dangerous” crisis.

Support for the transitional government has waned in recent months mainly following a tough raft of IMF-backed economic reforms.

It slashed subsidies on petrol and diesel and brought in a managed currency float, measures deemed by ordinary Sudanese as excessively harsh.

The government has also been beset by protests in east Sudan where demonstrators have blocked trade through a crucial Red Sea port since mid-September.

On September 21, the government said it thwarted a coup attempt which it blamed on military officials and civilians linked to Bashir’s regime.

[Saharareporters]

Your Metropolitan Authorities Are Unconstitutional & Won’t Stand Legal Tests – Barrister Ephraim Tells El-rufai

A PDP chieftain in Kaduna state, Barrister J.D Ephraim has this to say with regards to the recent creation of three metropolitan Authorities by the Nasiru El-rufai led Kaduna state government.

Barrister Ephraim who was a founding member of the APC in Kaduna state said the creation of metropolitan Authorities have no legal basis compared to local governments created by the constitution.

In a WhatsApp message he shared using his mobile number, the 2011 Deputy Governor candidate for the CPC in Kaduna state wrote;

“Do the three Metropolitan Authorities, created by El-Rufai, ( even, if they had the blessing of the Kaduna State House of Assembly ), have any legal basis, as to be compared, with the Federal Capital territory, and the Local Government Areas ( constitutional creations )? No, they are not.

“In the FCT, and the local government areas in the country, there are no unconstitutional usurpation of powers of any state, from which the territory was legally carved out. It is a separate territory, no conflicting jurisdictions with any state, or local government of a state, from which it was carved out and recognised by the constitution. He said

Ephraim said El-Rufai’s ‘carving out’ of territories is unconstitutional and therefore null and void.

“If El-Rufai purports to carve out, and grant a territory, powers, and functions, which derive therefrom, such act is illegal, ultra-vires the constitution, null and void, to the extent of the contravention.

“It does not need any court to declare it so.” He said

He also questioned whether Governor El-rufai seeks advice from good legal advisers before implementing his policies.

“Some times, I wonder if at all, El-Rufai, avails himself of any good legal advice. “
The Southern Kaduna born lawyer concluded by saying that

“While the concept of metropolitan Authority is good and desirable in its self, it can only, in the circumstances, be handled, when our grund nom, recognizes such administrative action.

“The defunct Kaduna Capital Territory functioned and was only legal to the extent, there were no constitutionally recognised local government areas, in the former northern region.

“For the so- called Kaduna Metropolitan Authorities, to enjoy the same status with either the former Kaduna Capital Territory, or Abuja, the FCT, it has to be recognised by the constitution.

“Without further arguments, the purported Authorities, can not enjoy the protection of our constitution, and at best, their functions, are a mere extention of the acts of the state Governor, just as we have KASUPDA, KADRA, KADIPA, etc, etc.

“They are not thesame, in so far, the Metropolitan Authorities would not function state-wide, but have clearly delineated territories, and boundaries, all within the state No, neither the Governor nor the state House of Assembly, has such powers. Their powers are as provided for in the constitution.

“The metropolitan Authorities can not even be clothed the same way, as the ministerial authorities of the state, which are supposed to cover the whole state.” He said

It would be recalled that Governor El-rufai within the week while swearing in Administrators for the metropolitan Authorities in Kaduna, justified the creation of the three metropolitan authorities.

“It’s obvious that some people do not understand the concept of metropolitan authorities . Our major cities are bigger than the Local Government Councils in which they have been balkanise.”

“The Kaduna Capital Territory did this job until the late 1970s for those old enough to remember, Kaduna was always administered by an administrator. Who was the administrator of the capital Territory.

“Things worked much better then, the replacement structures that came
after the 1976 local government reforms have not worked as well as the
capital territory administrative structure did. This is why we are going back to it,” he explained.

HURIWA To Anambra Voters: Do Not Allow Political Lightening To Strike You Twice, Make A Sustainable Choice, Opt For Peace, Development

The prominent Civil society and pro-democracy group- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct free, fair, transparent and trustworthy election in the Anambra state gubernatorial poll to avoid throwing the South East of Nigeria into uncontrollable spin off of upheavals because how well the Anambra State’s governorship election is conducted will determine the political, economic and futuristic health and well being of the Igbo speaking people all around the World. 

The front line Civil Rights Advocacy Group said it is heartwarming that the Anambra State electorate have some of the most finest statesmen, industrialists, job creators, wealth creators and astute God fearing persons running for the office of the Governor of Anambra State in few days time just as the Rights group said it was disappointing that the All Progressives Congress has consistently manifested a frightening proportions of desperation and political avarice to grab the office of governor of Anambra State by hook and crook. The Rights group tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to play the role of a Statesman like he did when Willie Obiajo if All Progressives Congress won a Second term and avoid the temptation to manipulate the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria to steal the votes of the People of Anambra State to be donated to the All Progressives Congress (APC). 

The Civil Rights Advocacy Group-: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) said it will be a political tragedy of gargantuan proportions should INEC be used and manipulated to return victory to the All Progressives Congress which has a candidate that had once been railroaded into the same office by the then INEC controlled by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo during whose short and inglorious tenure a lot of political disturbances that led to the destruction of Anambra State owned infrastructures and assets occurred.  HURIWA believes that the voters won’t let the political lightening to strike them twice devastatingly just as the Rights group accused the governor of Anambra State of alleged collusion with the Presidency to probably allow the Independent National Electoral Commission to once more railroad the desperate All Progressives Congress into power in Anambra State going by the massive scale of subterranean programmes by the All Progressives Congress to steal the votes in the coming election.  HURIWA has challenged the people of Anambra State to safeguard their votes if they hope to have good governance from November.  HURIWA pointed out that although the All Progressives Grand Alliance has a Sound candidate for the poll, but the infighting within the party and the alleged sale out by the party to the Presidency may sabotage his chances therefore HURIWA has stated that the voters have the opportunity of their life time to election am astute, young pro-democracy activist and a Cultural activist who is passionate about Igbo cultural , economic and political advancement in the person of the erstwhile Chief executive officer of the most prosperous hotel group in Nigeria-  TRANSCORP HILTON – MR. VALENTINE OZIGBO of the Peoples Democratic Party.  

We have perused the blueprints of all the candidates and found the developmental framework put forward by Valentine Ozigbo and that of Charles Soludo to be very articulate but the voters need to make a clean sweep from the past by electing a totally NEW BREED YOUNG POLITICIAN WITH NO BAGGAGE but only sustainable and enduring plans to expand the horizons of industrialisation of Anambra State. We read his visions for EDUCATION,  ECONOMIC SECTOR, COMMERCE AND TRADE, YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ABD SOORTS ABD SCIENCE ABD TECHNOLOGY and we found out that he has what it takes to be the next PETER OBI of Anambra State who as we know remains the BEST GOVERNOR OUT OF NIGERIA SINCE AMALGAMATION OF NORTH AND SOUTH OF NIGERIA IN 1914. 

Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Valentine Ozigbo, had promised to develop Governor Willie Obiano’s Local Government Area, Anambra East, if elected governor.

Ozigbo also promised to pay adequate attention to development issues in all the LGAs in that part of the state that make up Omambala, saying that he would transform the area into the biggest agricultural hub in the country.

The governorship hopeful made the promise while speaking at his campaign rally in Aguleri, Obiano’s hometown, which was held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church field

“My dear people, I will not abandon any project left uncompleted in your area by my predecessor. My government will bring transformation here and do everything your son and brother could not do for you. I’m in the race to wipe your tears”, he promised.

Ozigbo, who spoke glowingly about his Ka Anambra Chawapu blueprint for the state, expressed worry over the failure of the current state government to give the Omambala area the attention it deserves.

The immediate past President and Group CEO of TRANSCORP Plc said that the Omambala area, which is the food basket of the state, has remained a mere subsistence farming zone, “even when one of your own occupies the position of number one citizen in the state.”

He said: “By the grace of God, my administration will concentrate greater efforts, attention and resources on areas with unique economic potentials, such as the Omambala area.

“We want to harness the agricultural and tourism potentials of the Omambala area and ensure that it becomes viable sources of internally generated revenue.

“The four local government areas which Anambra East is one, will be an agricultural hub that will go beyond mere production to processing of agricultural produce”, Ozigbo promised.

Former state chairman of PDP in the state, Chief Ejike Oguebego, who serves as the Director of Inter-Party and Intra-Party Affairs for the Governorship Campaign Organisation, in his remark, expressed confidence that his party would win the election.

Oguebego, a prominent political leader in Anambra East LGA, recalled that “When we started this journey, I told people that Valentine Ozigbo would win the PDP primary election, and he did. Today, he is standing before you with a promise to make your life better if elected governor.

“I can assure you that by March 2022, he will be inaugurated as governor through your hard work and prayers”, Oguebego said.

Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the November 6 guber election in Anambra State, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, has decried the level of infrastructure decay in the state presently and said Anambra needs a man who can totally overhaul the situation for good.

Speaking in Awka as part of his return to the state after the appeal court victory and INEC listing of his name as the authentic candidate of the party, Ozigbo described his governorship project as a divine mandate which when elected into office will right the wrongs of the present government in the state.

“Entering Anambra, I had a first-hand experience of the decay in the state with the terrible condition of the road in Amansea. That road is an example of the dearth of infrastructure in Anambra.

“There’s nothing to be proud of in Anambra presently. Roads are bad, healthcare is non-existent, education is moribund, security is at an all-time low, add this to the state’s debt profile, and you will agree that Anambra needs a total overhaul.

He said the priority of the party and his campaign council is to mobilise and convince people to vote, noting that with the massive support of the people, he will emerge victorious on November 6.

“If we don’t start now, we might never get it right. Our freedom must begin now. November 6 is our date with history, and we are ready to march to victory,” Ozigbo added.

Also speaking at the party secretariat in Udoka Estate, Awka where hundreds of party members were on hand to welcome him, Ozigbo affirmed his readiness to run a winning campaign.

“The party at the centre has been making moves to undermine the democratic process, but Anambra is not Imo. They attempted to keep non-sensitive materials for the election in Imo State, but we rejected it, and that decision has been rescinded.

Some supporters at the scene said Ozigbo is widely regarded as the favourite to win the Anambra guber election after his revolutionary Ka Anambra Chawapu message sparked one of the biggest political movements in Nigeria.

Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Valentine Ozigbo, has expressed sadness over the ugly events that have taken place in the state.

He said that he was deeply pained that the people of the state have been devastated by the negative occurrences in the state,saying that they’re also suffering as a result of the poor governance of the state.

“I feel pained; pained because when you listen to the people on the streets; when you look at the younger ones we are leaving behind, when you look at the women, when you go round and ask how they feel, it is about pain and suffering.

“Anambra deserves more. We, indeed, deserve more. I am certain that if the right things are done with the type of resources that we have; with the people that we have; with the intellect that we possess; we can do a lot more.

“We can take care of the basics and we can actually, indeed, begin to shift our mindsets to Anambra becoming an exemplary state where we can all be proud of”, Ozigbo said.

The governorship hopeful said that he crafted his manifesto from the feedbacks he received from the people during his engagements with them

“My manifesto is a product of my engagement with Ndi Anambra. I toured the 21 Local Government Areas, and in most cases, over seven times. And when I did engage our people, my simple question used to be ‘what do you need or want from your next governor?’

“From the feedback, we were able to decipher that indeed what we need in one LGA is different from what we need in another. What our younger generation needs is different from the needs of our elders. And what our men need is different from what our women need.

“So, we crafted what we call Ka Anambra Chawapu manifesto. How do we do things differently? How do we leverage the power inherent in Anambra people? How do we begin to challenge the status quo?

“We can’t keep doing the same thing all the time and expect different result. I am here to tell our people, indeed, that Anambra can do more and achieve more”, Ozigbo stated.

By and large HURIWA and over 205 other affiliate bodies in the NIGERIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMUNITY have hereby ENDORSED MR. VALENTINE OZIGBO AS THE BEST CANDUDATE FOR THE NEXT OFFICE OF THE GOVERNORS OF ANAMBRA STATE,  SOUTH EAST OF NIGERIA. 

THIS is the report on Anambra state and what the  Human rights watch stated few years back-: Case Study B: Anambra State

“Anambra is a very hot place, a place where everyone has to be very careful.” 

—PDP “Godfather” and Board of Trustees Member, Chris Uba, Enugu, February 12, 2007

Anambra State lies near the geographic heart of Nigeria’s Igbo-dominated southeast. Since 1999 the violence, corruption, and “godfatherism” occurring elsewhere in Nigeria have run rampant in Anambra. But Anambra also evinces some examples of the tenuous reasons for optimism that systemic abuses could be reversed if the federal government would support far-reaching reform.

Godfatherism in Anambra State

A wealthy member of the powerful Uba political family, Chris Uba is an iconic example of the godfather phenomenon in Nigeria.226 When Human Rights Watch visited his home in Enugu (situated on a street named after himself) in early 2007, he proudly displayed a large collection of luxury vehicles and a police car with blacked-out license plates that he said belonged to him and not to the police.227 Security men with handguns tucked inside of their belts wandered about the compound.

Chris Uba, a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, was at the apex of his power during the 2003 elections, when he “sponsored” PDP candidates and rigged their election to office across Anambra. After that election he publicly declared himself “the greatest godfather in Nigeria,” noting that “this is the first time an individual single-handedly put in position every politician in the state.”228

Among the politicians Chris Uba “sponsored” in 2003 was PDP gubernatorial candidate Chris Ngige. The terms of their relationship were spelled out in remarkably explicit fashion in a written “contract” and “declaration of loyalty” that Ngige signed prior to the election. Chris Uba provided Human Rights Watch with a copy of this document to bolster his contention that Ngige later failed to live up to the terms of their agreement.

Ngige promised in writing to “exercise and manifest absolute loyalty to the person of Chief Chris Uba as my mentor, benefactor and sponsor” and agreed to allow Uba control over all important government appointments and the awarding of all government contracts. The contract referred to Governor Ngige as the “Administrator” and to the unelected Uba as “Leader/Financier.” It also empowered Uba to “Avenge himself in the way and manner adjudged by him as fitting and adequate” (emphasis in original) in case of any breach by Ngige that could not be settled through mediation.229 These documents, which spelled out the subordination of the Governor to Chris Uba in some detail, are printed as an annex to this report.230

In an interview with Human Rights Watch, Ngige did not deny that Chris Uba rigged his election into office but claims that he tried to break away from Uba’s control immediately after the 2003 election.231 This was no easy task; Ngige said that from the moment he assumed office, Uba was continually “making personal demands that I go to the treasury and take money and give it to him.”232 Ngige also claims that shortly before his inauguration, armed men broke into his home and forced him, at gunpoint, to sign a pledge that he would pay Chris Uba the sum of N3 billion ($23 million) immediately after assuming office.233 In an interview with Human Rights Watch, Uba denied that he ever demanded cash payments from Governor Ngige.234

Relations between Ngige and Uba deteriorated rapidly. In July 2003 Governor Ngige was kidnapped by armed policemen and forced at gunpoint to sign a “letter of resignation.”235 In an interview with Human Rights Watch Ngige alleged that Uba was responsible for this and cites the episode as illustrative of why, even as governor, he could not turn to the police for help against Uba’s attempts at extortion.236 Uba dismissed the allegations of extortion as being completely without any basis in fact.237

Ngige’s “resignation” was eagerly accepted by the State House of Assembly despite the circumstances under which it was obtained. One Anambra State legislator told Human Rights Watch that at the time most members of the legislature were “in bondage” to Chris Uba in much the same manner as Ngige.238

Ngige successfully petitioned to have his “resignation” thrown out by the federal courts and remained in office but quickly found himself under siege yet again. In 2004 thugs armed with firearms and crude explosives attacked Government House in Awka and burned part of it to the ground while policemen stood aside and watched.239 Other gangs then staged several attacks on other government buildings throughout the state.240 As many as 24 people were killed during the ensuing violent clashes and looting.241

Ngige—like much of the Nigerian press and many civil society groups—alleges that Chris Uba was behind the attack.242 Several well-placed sources told Human Rights Watch that Chris Uba had recruited an Ogoni youth leader from Rivers State to help organize the attack on Government House in conjunction with thugs sourced locally in Anambra.243 Chris Uba denied any involvement in the matter.244 The police’s failure to investigate who was behind the attack, and specifically Uba’s alleged involvement, stands as a stark example of the impunity he has consistently enjoyed.”   WHY ANAMBRA VOTERS CHOICE MUST BE RESPECTED BY INEC AND BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT:  

Election is regarded worldwide as a fundamental human right. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, recognizes the integral role that transparent and open elections play in ensuring the fundamental right to participatory government.     

There are various electoral laws in Nigeria that govern the process of electing people into political offices. The major laws governing the electoral process in Nigeria are as follows:

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999

The Electoral Act 2010;

The INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2019.

Some of the crucial provisions of the above laws will be examined individually in detail.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA 1999

The major law that governs the electoral process in Nigeria is the 1999 Constitution (as altered). The Constitutional provisions relating to elections in Nigeria will be highlighted below;

Right to Peaceful Assembly and Association- Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution provides for the right of persons to form a political party or association. It states that every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he may form or belong to any political party, trade union, or any other association for the protection of his interest, provided that the provisions of this Section shall not derogate from the powers conferred by the Constitution on the Independent National Electoral Commission concerning the Political Parties to which that Commission does not accord recognition.

Qualifications for Election- Section 65,105 and 131 of the Constitution provides that a person shall be qualified for election in the various elective offices if he;

He is a citizen of Nigeria and has attained the age of 35years.

A member of the House of Representatives if he is a citizen of Nigeria and has attained the age of 25years.

He has been educated up to at least a secondary school leaving certificate or its equivalent;

He is a member of a political party and he is sponsored by that party.

Disqualifications- Section 66,107, 137,182 of the Constitution provides that no person shall be qualified for election to the Senate or the House of Representative if the following exists;

He has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria or has declared allegiance to such other party.

Under the Law in any part of Nigeria, he has been adjudged to be a lunatic or declared to be of unsound mind.

He is under a sentence of death imposed on him by a competent Court of Law or Tribunal in Nigeria or is under a sentence of imprisonment or fine for an offense involving dishonesty or fraud or for any other offense imposed on him by any court or tribunal or substituted authority.

Within a period of less than ten (10) years before the date of the election to the office of the President, he has been convicted and sentenced for an offense involving dishonesty or he has been found guilty of contravention of the code of conduct.

He is an undischarged bankrupt, having been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in Nigeria or any other country.

He is a person employed in the civil or public service of the Federation or State and does not resign, withdraw or retire from the employment at least 30 days before the date of the election.

He is a member of any secret society.

He has been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by a judicial committee of inquiry or an administrative panel of inquiry or a tribunal and which the indictment has been accepted by the Federal or state government.

He has presented a forged certificate to the independent national electoral commission.

Supervision of Election- Section 78 of the Constitution provides that the registration of voters and the conduct of elections shall be subject to the direction and supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Restriction on Formation of Political Parties- Section 222 of the Constitution provides for the restriction.      

Fair Hearing in Election Petition Cases in Historical Perspectives 

The case of Paul Unongo v. Aper Aku & Ors44 quickly comes to mind. This case emanated from the governorship election held all over the country on the 13th July, 1983. The appellant contested the said election with the 1st respondent who then was also the incumbent governor of Benue State. The 1st respondent was returned as having been elected as the winner of the election. Aggrieved with this decision, the appellant lodged a petition to the High Court Makurdi claiming that the 1st respondent was not duly returned and that it was the appellant who should have been declared the winner instead. All sorts of technical objections were put in the petitioner’s way. The High Court struck out the petition on the grounds that the joinder of the governor was unconstitutional because he enjoys immunity under the constitution. The court equally stated that the non-inclusion of the name of the occupier of the address of the petitioner for service was fatal to the petition. On appeal to the Court of Appeal, their Lordships did not waste time in upturning the decision of the court below on all grounds. However, the court could not grant the consequential relief of “restoring the petition and ordering a resumption of hearing in the trial court” on the ground that such an order would run foul of the provisions of section 140(2) of the Electoral Act which prescribed a time limit for the determination of an election petition. On appeal to the Supreme Court, the effect of section 140(2) of the Electoral Act 1982 on the jurisdiction of the court and the principle of separation of powers were strongly canvassed. The Supreme Court stood firm to uphold the constitutional right to fair hearing of the litigant under section 33 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1979 and asserted the independence of the judiciary and the supremacy of the constitution.

Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko:

National Coordinator:

HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) and ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN WRITERS ON HUMAN AND PEOPLE’S RIGHTS (AFRIRIGHTS).