The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has dismissed Seventeen junior officers from the Service for offences ranging from drug addiction, certificate forgery, theft and absence from duty from January to September 2016.
The Public relations officer of customs, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, said in a statement today, Sunday that the appointment of two other Officers have been terminated for absence from duty while one officer was retired for drug addiction.
He said: “investigations into offences committed by the Officers in the senior category are now being concluded. Officers found guilty are expected to face similar stiff penalties.”
These disciplinary measures were taken after series of investigations and deliberations by the disciplinary committee and recommendations were made to the Management.
This process is a continuation of the reform agenda the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) promised upon his assumption of office which emphasized discipline, good conduct and transparency. [myad]
Information reaching us has indicated that bumper harvest has led to drop in prices of food items especially, grains in Kano State.
A survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in some markets in the state, showed that prices of the commodities, such as maize, millet, sorghum and local rice have dropped by about 40 per cent.
According to the survey, a bag of maize is now selling for N8,500 as against N12,500 sold last month, while a measure cost N350 as against its previous price of between N400 and N450.
The survey further indicated that the price of a bag of millet had equally dropped from N14,000 to N9,500. Similarly, a 100kg bag of local rice, which used to cost between N33,000 and N40,000 is now being sold at between N26,000 and N28,000, while a measure now go for N600 as against N750.
The survey also showed that a bag of sorghum which sold for N16,000 before the harvest now cost N13,000, while a bag of wheat N16,000 as against its former price of N24,000. Some consumers, who spoke with NAN, expressed optimism that the prices of food items would further crash before the year ends.
However, some traders at the markets attributed the situation to increase in the supply of the produce from the farms. A trader at Dawanau International Grains market, Alhaji Sani Ali, said prices of the commodities would further go down due to the economic situation in the country.
“I am sure the price will further go down due to low patronage by companies and individual buyers. Most of the companies now buy half of what they used to buy before because of the economic situation and some buy on credit.”
Another trader in the market, Malam Isa Sule, also expressed confidence that prices would further go down because the harvest season was not over.
“As farmers continue to harvest, the supply of the commodities will continue to flood the markets and this will push prices further down,” he said.
Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has recently completed the acquisition of Twister B.V., a company headquartered in the Netherlands as part of the effort to meet Nigeria’s gas requirements.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, said while acquiring the company that Twister’s cutting edge gas processing technology is fundamental to delivering the strategy to unlock about 3 bcfd of gas in order to meet Nigeria’s gas needs. This was even as Twister’s Chief Executive Officer, John Young said “we are delighted in the confidence DIL and First E&P have shown in Twister to be their core provider of gas separation solutions. After a very thorough due diligence our technology has been recognized as a key enabler to reduce gas project costs which is crucial in this current environment. We are excited to be part of the Dangote family of companies.’ Twister B.V. delivers reliable, high-yield and robust solutions in natural gas processing and separation to the upstream and midstream oil and gas sectors. Twister’s unique separation capabilities are designed for augmenting production and streamlining processes, to capitalize on high-yield gas processing for maximizing revenues.
Twister B.V. used to be owned by Shell Technology Ventures Fund 1, before its recent acquisition by DIL together with its partner – First E&P. Based on sophisticated patented technology, Twister gas plants are typically cheaper to build and operate compared to alternative technologies, and also deliver better performance levels. The company has customers in Nigeria, Malaysia, and South America. The acquisition complements DIL’s portfolio of investments in the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments of the Oil & Gas sector. The company will help design and build the gas plants which would be critical in processing gas from oil fields for transportation via Dangote’s planned sub-sea pipeline (EWOGGS) for ultimate consumption by various industries and power plants. It would be recalled that the refinery and fertilizer projects of Dangote Industries Limited is reported to have the capacity of creating a minimum of 235,000 new jobs, both direct and indirect jobs, as it becomes operational in the first quarter of 2019. President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, who revealed this recently, also stated that the projects would cost a minimum of $17 billion. Dangote said the $12 billion refinery would have a capacity of 650,000 barrels a day. He assured that there will be market for the refined products because even in Africa, only three countries have effective functioning refinery with others importing from abroad. Dangote named the countries with refinery as Egypt, South Africa and Cote d’Ivoire, saying “Our refinery will be ready in the first quarter of 2019. Mechanical completion will be end of 2018 but we will start producing in 2019.” When the projects fully take off in 2019, Dangote said it would help the country save $5 billion spent on the importation of oil into the country. The refinery, petrochemicals and fertilizer in one spot according to him is the single largest stream in the world. “This site is the biggest site in the world, the refinery is the biggest single refinery in the world, the petrochemicals are 13 times bigger than Eleme Petrochemicals while the fertilizer plant will be 10 times bigger than former National Fertilizer Company. He explained that the project with the $2 billion fertilizer unit was the funded through loans, export credit agencies and our own equity. [myad]
Public communication is one of the most delicate challenges that people in public life face, either in the corporate or the public sector. Many people suddenly find themselves in high places, and they become a source of news, a potential interview subject, and they get chased around by journalists and other media figures who want a story, in fact, not just a story, but a scoop. I used to explain in communication coaching classes and to the bosses whose media I managed, at one point or the other that they should never feel obliged to say things they do not want to say. No matter how aggressive the journalist may be, they should be careful what they say.
A journalist would make you feel at home; he or she may even reassure you that whatever you don’t want published could be edited out, and that if you don’t feel comfortable with a question, you should feel free to keep quiet. But a good journalist knows how to push you into a corner and get you, through follow up questions, to say things you may not ordinarily want to say. By the time the tape starts rolling, and you are encouraged to feel like a star, and your own tongue starts rolling, you’d be surprised the kind of emphasis, what you consider an innocent remark, would receive when it is published. Point is: journalists, while on duty, are not working for politicians or big men and women; they are working for organizations that need stories that can sell. They want scoops that can make the headlines. That is what makes them journalists: getting the good story, the good comments, the good shots.
After reading the interview granted by First Lady Aisha Buhari on BBC Hausa Service, I was tempted to conclude that this is what may have happened. She could have said the same things in a more delicately phrased manner. I have always held the view that anybody at all in a public position should be sent for media training (including how to deliver speeches, poise, pronunciation skills, even basic grammar lessons) before they are unleashed on a Nigerian public that has learnt to subject the lives of public officials to utmost scrutiny. The Aisha Buhari interview also fell short in this regard. She just gave the BBC Hausa service a scoop, which in my view has done more damage to her husband’s politics than good.
Given the enormous effect that the interview has had on the public, I would have expected that by now, she would perhaps have tactically disowned it, put a spin on it somehow, and make it clear that it is not intended in any way to discredit, or criticize her husband’s administration. But nothing of such has happened. And what does that mean? That the interview was deliberate and that she is standing by every word she said. She has been called the “good lady in the Villa.” She has been praised for being a modern wife who can speak up, and exercise her right to free speech. She has been called fearless and assertive. The only thing I have not heard from some of the hypocritical commentators is that she would be a good Presidential candidate for 2019.
I have also been told that she must have spoken out of frustration and that her public outburst about the existence of a cabal in the Villa, which determines who gets what appointment, to the disadvantage of members of the All Progressives Congress is making APC members who feel left out of the power-sharing process, very unhappy. But her outburst is nothing but a poor understanding of power politics. There will always be cabals around the seat of power. Power is so potent the people around the corridor will never leave it alone to the President.
And if it is true that this cabal or the President has recruited non-APC members into the government, then that is a positive thing, it is also a positive thing that the President does not know many of the people he has appointed. He doesn’t need to know them personally as long as they come from all parts of Nigeria and they are competent men who can get the job done. The First Lady seems to assume that only card-carrying members of the APC should work for the Buhari administration. On a positive note, however, she doesn’t want anybody to hijack her husband’s Presidency and she believes those who are trying to do so do not mean well. But what does that say about her husband?
The First Lady is also of the view that if the present trend continues, she cannot campaign for her husband in 2019 should he decide to seek re-election. She sounded pleased with what is being done to ensure security in the North East, but she gave the impression that she doesn’t think her husband has done enough to merit a second term in 2019. Hear her: “What I fear is the uprising of 15.4 million people”. And consider this: “…Nobody thought it is going to be like this. But now that it is so…Sometimes when one is doing something wrong without him knowing, but when people talk to them, they should listen”. Who is that person doing something wrong and who does not listen?
Altogether, Mrs Aisha Buhari has passed the equivalent of a vote of no confidence in her husband, and the people around him. This is a kind of “home trouble” brought to the public. The biggest challenge a man can face is to have his own wife “fight” him in public. And what has happened is both unprecedented and significant considering that a Hausa-Fulani couple is involved. It is probably the first time a lady in this position would publicly upbraid her husband and his team. Is she furious because she has been scorned, ignored, rendered powerless?
Well, even if we were not privy to other details, she was publicly scorned when her husband sent a volcanic message from Germany that she should go back to her place in the “kitchen, the living room and the other room.” Feminists and critics of misogyny have protested over this, quite rightly too, at a time when women are leading countries and corporations, it is incorrect and insensitive to say that the best place for a First Lady is to be a cook, a living-room-soap opera-watching detainee and a bedroom object. But given the cultural circumstances involved, this may well be the future Aso Villa fate of First Lady Aisha Buhari. She could be marked out as an ambitious woman who wants to share power with her husband, and as a threat to her husband’s politics.
See how much damage has been caused already by the President’s counter-response: The German Chancellor glared at our President when she heard that comment about “the kitchen, the living room and the other room.” She quickly ended their press conference. Angela Merkel is married, and she is Chancellor, but I don’t think her husband would dare tell her she is best fit for the kitchen and the other room. And imagine if Theresa May, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Oby Ezekwesili, Grace Alele-Williams, Omobola Johnson, Chimamanda Adichie, Joke Jacobs… had all been chained down in the “other room”. No wonder, President Buhari’s local opponents are already making big political capital out of his un-Presidential comments, and the German public is shocked that any world leader could be so politically incorrect. The number of jokes and memes that have been designed around this husband-wife exchange are thoroughly amusing. Mrs Buhari has also handed over to critics of this administration, speaking points that would be exploited all the way till 2019, and she may well end up not as a powerful force in the Villa but as a strong voice for women’s rights.
It is possible she may be advised soon to recruit spin-doctors to do damage control, but she may have left that rather late already. On the other hand, there is no amount of damage control that the President’s spin-doctors can sell to anyone. Whatever happens, she is cultivating a reputation as a different kind of First Lady. Since independence, every Nigerian Head of State or President has enjoyed the support of his wife while in office: strong, fanatical support. Mrs Maryam Abacha was so supportive of her husband, while everybody condemned him, and long after his death, she has continued to celebrate his memory. Before her, Mrs Maryam Babangida brought greater colour and celebrity status to the Office of the First Lady and added much value to her husband’s tenure.
Mrs. Fati Abubakar was a dignified presence behind her husband, the same with Mrs Margaret Shonekan. President Olusegun Obasanjo had as First Lady, the very elegant and beautiful Stella Obasanjo who mobilized support and goodwill for her husband. Turai Yar’Adua, wife of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was also so devoted to her husband’s cause, she was declared the head of the Aso Rock cabal. No one doubted her determination to protect her husband’s interest during those critical moments. You all know Mrs Patience Jonathan. She was as First Lady, her husband’s most vocal supporter. This brought her at loggerheads with some sections of the public who objected to her prominence and controversial statements, but not once did she or the other First Ladies before her, criticize their husbands in public.
Elsewhere, First Ladies also support their husbands. With all the reported cases of dalliance and cuckoldry during the Bill Clinton Presidency, Hillary Clinton stood by her husband. Michelle Obama has also proven to be a very good role model in this regard. Certain positions require careful grooming. Any form of tension in the home could distract a political leader and make him seem vulnerable in the eyes of the public. Mrs Aisha Buhari may have spoken her mind, but she should not make a habit of assuming the role of a radical, in-house critic, throwing her husband under the wheels. She ought to be thoroughly embarrassed by all the fun being poked at her husband because of that BBC Hausa interview she granted. How this matter is resolved between their kitchen and “the other room” is a family affair into which we cannot dabble. [myad]
He was born 15 days after Nigeria was granted political independence from British colonialists on October 1, 1960. At birth, the Heavens did not blaze the commencement of his earthly sojourn, but the young child who was later to be christened Femi David and born to the family of Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode carried the genes of astounding scholarly and cerebral greatness often associated with the family.
I first met with Chief Femi Fani-Kayode in 2003 when reporting for The Punch newspaper as its Chief Correspondent of its Sunday title at the Abuja Bureau. Before meeting him, like many journalists and members of the public, I saw in FFK the picture of “an arrogant fellow” whose Cockney accent attracted more envy than admiration. As Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to then President Olusegun Obasanjo, he faced the arduous task of replying stone throwers of the government. Obasanjo, who was then seen a lackey of the North, had turned against those who arranged for his emergence on the throne. The consequence was a backlash from the angry core north, as the roof was almost brought down on the government.
After granting an interview where he explained the president’s views on some key issues, he later called to express gratitude when it was finally published. From then, he became a constant source of response on issues concerning the government. Convinced that the public perception about his person was misplaced, I arranged with some colleagues from other media to have an interaction with him. Further to that, I convinced him to be a guest at a forum organized by the Correspondent Chapel of the FCT NUJ in 2003 where he really proved his mettle. Unlike other government officials, FFK has an uncanny way of striking relationship with reporters. He does not allow the tight schedules of office to keep him away from media practitioners. As former SA to Obasanjo, he has learned the virtue of keeping the media at close quarters and influencing media perspectives on contemporary issues. Realizing that information remains key in influencing people’s opinions, he reads a lot and seems to have answers to all questions on his fingertips. As the armor bearer of the Obasanjo Administration, he came under fire from critics opposed to the brashness of the Ota farmer in undermining democratic institutions like the National Assembly. In the Nigerian society that places much premium on hypocritical respect for elders, FFK never shied away from speaking the facts and allow Nigerians make up their opinions. After serving as SA to Obasanjo for three years, he was nominated for a ministerial position. He scaled the hurdle despite protest from some senators, and he was later appointed Minister of Culture and Tourism. Few months later, incessant air crashes made the government to redeploy him to the Aviation Ministry where he returned safety to air transportation.
Knowing FFK in the last 13 years has revealed to me the awesomeness of his character. When convinced of a course of action, he puts all his energy to achieving the set objectives. When he was convinced to join the Obasanjo regime, he worked so hard to ensure that he was not merely a number in the cabinet.
Afraid of what I described as his then “blindfolded loyalty” for Obasanjo, I once cautioned him against following the Ota Farmer on all issues, but he responded, “I am loyal to President Obasanjo and shall do everything to discharge such loyalty for the interest of my country.” I was worried when his name came up on the N5.6 billion Aviation intervention fund scandal during the early months of the Yar’Adua government. When I finally met him, he dismissed my apprehension and said he was not guilty. Five years or so, the court would dismiss the charges and set him free. Fani-Kayode was later to part ways with the PDP to join the APC in a rainbow coalition against the then ruling party. His appointment as Director of the Jonathan Campaign Organization and his roles in the campaigns are well documented to warrant a repeat.
As he celebrates 56 years on earth today, FFK is being accused of spending government funds for campaigns. His constant bashing of the Buhari Government, which initially was considered as the trait of an irredeemable opposition figure, is slowly attracting a cult-like followership. He is certainly the only Nigerian politician that has, in almost equal measure, the oratorical and written prowess in advancing national discourse. With these traits, his articles on social media and newspapers enjoy tremendous readership.
My Muslims friends and brothers have had cause in the past to call my attention to his anti-Islam posturing in some of his writings. “Please tell your friend FFK that he is too much for this anti-Islam posturing. Please he should stop it. Advise him to speak and write on national issues”, a few advised me. When I later met him on the matter, he replied, “But Simon, you know that I am not opposed to Islam. I have friends among Northerners and Muslims, and I believe they mean well for this country. No one can accuse me of being anti-North or anti-Islam. I stand for the truth and state it as it is.”
Having known and keep close taps on the thinking of FFK in the last 13 years, the former Minister is pained that despite launching 1,000 troops to tackle cattle rustling in the North-west, the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to set up similar military operations to stop the genocide in some states of the North-central states and Middle Belt zone that are predominantly Christians. He is worried that the government has failed carrying all sections of the country in the affairs of the nation. He is upset of what he perceived as clear cases of marginalization of certain sections and religion in advancing what he sees as clear signals for national dangers. The resurgence of Biafra and the return to the trenches by the Niger Delta militants are sign posts that all is not well with Nigeria. He sees the absence of national consensus in tackling these problems as a danger that should be avoided at all cost.
Like many Nigerians, he feels anguished at the cascading poverty that has become the lots of our people and reducing the populace into fright victims. The frightening uncertainties and thick clouds of trouble in the nation’s skies keep him awake and he is always caught in apprehension over what the future holds for the people. As a father, he is clearly in agony over what a troubled country will mean for his son, Aragon. His public views are distress calls for the nation’s leaders to put things back on tracks. Instead of faulting his style, FFK believes that government should look at the substance of his writings and discourse.
Despite his writing sometimes laced in pessimism, the FFK I know believes in the greatness of the Nigerian state. But he also believes that such greatness cannot be achieved in the atmosphere of violence and intimidation. Restructuring of the nation seems to be the viable option in order to ensure regional autonomy for fiscal federalism.
As Chief FFK celebrates his 56th birthday, here is wishing him long life and continued struggle to ensure a free society where all voices count. May his cherished dream of justice to all not remain too long unfulfilled! Happy Birthday!
After reading the lengthy NJC statement in reaction to the DSS’s arrests of some Judges, I was left nonplussed. The NJC struggled to state its case making heavy weather of its “exclusive disciplinary powers and jurisdiction” and invoking technicalities. But for me the lesson of the NJC’s reaction is contained in the figures the statement displayed. In the 16 years since it first met (2000-2016) aggrieved members of the public have filed 1808 petitions against judicial officers. Of this number, the NJC reprimanded 82 judicial officers, recommended the compulsory retirement of 38 others and dismissal of 12. In other words, out of 1808 judicial officers petitioned, only a total of 50 (38+12) were forced out of the judicial system through retirement or dismissal. Going by this record, the following may be inferred: statistically, there is a 1 in 47 chance that a judicial officer petitioned will be retired. 1 in 150 chance that he will be dismissed, 1in 36 chance that he will be retired or dismissed, 1 in 22 chance that a judicial officer petitioned will be reprimanded and a 1 in 13 chance that a petition will merit any action at all and not get tossed out entirely. These are sobering statistics. The low probability of sanction impression suggested by the NJC figures is more likely to embolden rather than deter judicial officers inclined to corrupt conduct. A wholistic picture is this: out of 1808 petitions treated by NJC in 16 years only 132 merited some form of disciplinary action (reprimand, retirement or dismissal) and the remainder, a whopping 1676 petitions were tossed out or trashed. Clearly, anyway you slice it, specific action categories or wholistically, the picture that emerges doesn’t look good. The 1676 petitioners who lost out will feel despondent and will spread negative vibes in the public space about the NJC and the Judiciary. The 1676 Judges who survived any form of disciplinary action from those petitions will likely gloat about the frivolity of public petitions. Either of these likely scenarios ought not be the take home point from NJC’s disciplinary action or inaction but rather a feeling that justice has been served in each individual case by the winners and losers alike. A disciplinary system that routinely tosses out petitions without any form of disciplinary action will not command public trust and respect. The truth is that fellow Judges, Judiciary workers, lawyers and public stakeholders know the few bad eggs amongst them that are corrupt. They are talked and murmured about in hushed and not so hushed tones. An effective NJC disciplinary system will be a huge relief and big service to the overwhelming majority of good, upright Judges who unfortunately and unfairly walk in the dark, tainted shadow of a “corrupt Judiciary” that is cast over them by the few bad ones. Regrettably, rather than view the DSS anti-corruption arrest of some Judges as a learning experience and opportunity to review its “comfort zone” modus operandi, the lengthy NJC statement adopted a defensive posture, asserting its exclusive disciplinary powers and jurisdiction turf as well as upholding its administrative procedures as a basis for charging the DSS with violation and breach of its exclusive powers and procedures. Unlike the US Constitution which did not expressly provide for judicial review in Article 3 and it took the courage and creative genius of Chief Justice John Marshall to assert and read that exclusive review power into the US Constitution in the now locus classicus case of Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803), our Constitution on the other hand makes plenary provisions on judicial powers, Chapter 1, Part II, Section 6(6). It is clear that the DSS arrests will end up in court where the allegations of substantive violations and procedural breaches asserted by NJC in its statement will be examined judicially, so why didn’t the NJC wait to have the courts set it straight in this matter? Wouldn’t a subsequent judicial decision upholding the NJC’s position be viewed negatively as self-serving or self-preservatory? The public mood in Nigeria right now is decidedly anti-corruption. All arms of government especially the judicial arm as well as private business and the citizenry ought to key into this mood. One more historical example from the US will help in this regard. President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted “New Deal” legislation aimed at getting the US out of the Great Depression but was being obstructed by a conservative Supreme Court that upheld Laissez faire economic philosophy (unregulated freedom of contract, exploitation of child labor, onerous contract terms, exploitative wages, etc environment) and consistently struck down New Deal legislation that were challenged, which sought to regulate labor and business practices (child labor, minimum wage, work hours, etc laws and regulations). Fed up with the court’s obstructionism President Roosevelt moved to sidetrack it by sending to Congress a Court-reform bill (that became known as the Court-packing bill) which would have authorized him to increase the number of Supreme Court Justices from 9 to 15 and thus pack it with Justices who would have neutralized the conservative block in the Court. Sensing that impending fate the Court made a dramatic jurisprudential switch to avoid it (a switch that became known as “The switch that saved the Nine) in the now famous case of West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, 300 U.S. 379 (1937) in which the Court against a long consistent record of routinely striking down New Deal legislation that was challenged upheld it instead. As it was in America in 1937 with the New Deal so it is in Nigeria now with anti-corruption. The public mood is not sympathetic to the usual comfort zone, business as usual obstructionism and if the President is compelled to pursue reforms to overcome it there will be a huge reservoir of public support for them. The better and preferable approach in my sincere opinion therefore, is for pertinent arms and agencies of government to make the necessary switch to fall in step with the anti-corruption fight by reviewing weak laws, regulations and procedures that negate the waging of an effective fight against corruption. Agor, a corporate attorney, writes from Abuja. [myad]
Almost two years after President Muhammadu Buhari was elected into this government, it appears as if things are not going well, the people are complaining. Where do you think the problem is? From my own observation, being a housewife, I think security wise, we have relatively achieved more than 100 per cent. Being someone that comes from the North East, I knew when almost nobody sleeps in his or her house. But now, people sleep with their two eyes closed. The hardship that people are going through now was anticipated, knowing what we inherited. It is not going to be a smooth journey; but I think so far so good. The only thing that almost everybody is not happy with, including myself, is on those that really suffered for this journey and now people who do not even have registration cards are guiding us, which is so unfair and unfortunate for the journey that we started more than 13 years ago.
But some will say whenever you are elected into government, you have to bring in professionals, experts who know how to do the job and not just politicians…. Yeah; but if you look at the journey that we had, after the merger, we didn’t call it merger or APC again, we called it a movement because it was a collective effort of millions of people, only for us to find out that the government is being operated by a few people. Very few, in the sense that we have may be four to six people that really started the journey with us in the system. Unfortunately, the people that are occupying the seats, I don’t think they have any expertise that our supporters in APC do not have. We have supporters all over the world. Those who really supported APC and felt that enough is enough, let us have sanity in the society; it was a real collective effort. Nobody will say that ‘it was as a result of my hard work that I brought this government’; it was a real team work and we wish that the team work should continue. Everybody knows what my husband wants to achieve in four years. But having new set of people on board that were not part of us, they don’t really know what we promised Nigerians and that is the thing we are facing now.
Who are these four to five people you are talking about? People like Ogbonnaya Onu, (Rotimi) Amaechi, (Babatunde) Fashola, after the merger it was a huge group that came together and started the struggle again. It is sad that very few are in the system now. Though I heard that they are about to announce like 3,000 names as Board members, we feel that those that have started the struggle should not be limited to Board members. They should be in positions like heading agencies that will impact positively on the lives of Nigerians. Knowing what we have campaigned for, only for us to bring people that are busy telling people that they are not politicians but they are occupying seats that were brought in by politicians. This is a huge disrespect for politicians. Knowing that we are just starting, we have not got to 2017, talk less of 2018 and then 2019 for us to go back to the polls. You understand what I mean?
Who are these very few people as you said surrounding President Muhammadu Buhari, and have you spoken to him about this? Yeah. Not only me in person, because after receiving complaints upon complaints, I decided to tell him. But all the same, a lot of people have been coming on their own and also collectively to tell him that things are not going the way it should when it comes to putting people in certain positions. Because most of those that are occupying positions in agencies, nobody knows them and they themselves don’t know our party manifesto; what we campaigned for; they were not part of us completely. People were sitting down in their houses, folding their arms only for them to be called to come and head an agency or a ministerial position. They don’t have a mission or vision of our APC. You understand what I mean?
Whose fault is this? It’s the fault of 15.429 million people because they are the ones that brought in the government. It’s their fault!
But theirs is just to elect APC and President Muhammadu Buhari and he is the one that is supposed to be in charge. Is he not? Because they elected him, that’s why he is here. If they can stand firm and strengthen the party and tell everybody that ‘No! We can’t take this, we can’t take you because you are not a card carrying member, you don’t know what we want to achieve within so and so time’. Fifteen point something million people is a huge number that can control a country.
Somebody listening to this will feel like President Muhammadu Buhari is not in charge of this government…. It is left for the people to decide whether he is in charge or he is not in charge. People actually accepted his ideology and decided to follow him for the past 13 years. That is what brought him to this current position.
As his wife, what will be your advice to him going forward? My advice is to the whole people that voted for him. They should strengthen the party and whoever is not part of the party should not have control over fifteen point something million people. We are in a democracy and not military era, so we have to play it well and leave a legacy.
What you are saying is that if things continue like this, you will not leave any legacy? As a person, I have my right to say how I feel about something. If it continues like this, me I am not going to be part of any movement again, because I need to work with the people that we started the journey with collectively so that we can achieve what we want to achieve, so that he would leave a legacy.
Have you told your husband all these? Yeah! He knows! At my own level, I have done it personally. I have also listened to people’s complaints and I tried to tell him what they are coming to tell me so that if there is anything to be corrected; it can be corrected.
German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has sympathized with Nigeria over the economic crisis that has led to many of its citizens migrating to other countries. Chancellor Merkel, at a joint press briefing with visiting President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria in Berlin, noted that while countries like Syria have migrants as a result of war, Nigeria’s migration is as a result of economic crisis. This is why, she said, her country is interested in offering vocational and educational training to young people. “My point in this is that we need to see to it that human traffickers are out of business; we have to strengthen legal migration to also create jobs in Nigeria, jobs possibilities for vocational training, possibilities in education. Also in the context of migration partnership, we will also talk about re-admission agreement. “Germany has hundred’s of people who will have to be returned to Nigeria and our first interest will be how to help the young people to get job or find a job.” She commended President Buhari’s effort in fighting corruption, crime and terrorism in Nigeria, adding: “You see first the successes of this policies and you also see great readiness of partners in ECOWAS and in the region to participate in this good fight and this good course. “Today’s exchange made our relationship closer. There is great potential we still need to tap and particularly in this difficult time, we want to stand by your side. “Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and has great potentials for economic progress and this current crisis due to low oil price has to be overcome so that your GDP can be boosted and not in decline as is the case right now.” On German government’s effort to help Nigeria recover stolen funds, Merkel said: “Well, I do appreciate him and if he has any indication as to where those funds are, we will obviously immediately follow up. Anything the president indicates to us in this respect, we will take up. We want to fight corruption with him. “Our foreign minister for example, has been instrumental in establishing international exchange. Our finance minister has worked on this as well, so in the future, it will be very difficult to get money out of the country to hide them. We will work together with you on this.” Merkel promised that her country would inject 18 billion euros for Lake Chad Basin region and 50 billion euros for the overall area in a bid to recharge the Lake Chad. Merkel said that the Lake Chad region is of great priority to Germany and that Nigeria is part and parcel of the region. “In terms of cooperation, we said we will earmark 18 billion for lake Chad region area and 50 billion for the overall areas. “The Lake Chad region is in alarming situation. There are 11 million people displaced, some of them are starving there. Only 10 per cent of the Lake Chad is left, which obviously erodes source of livelihood. “The President has in his delegation, the governor whose province is ravaged by Boko Haram. We are gratified to note that there have been progress in combating them.” [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has, for the first time, made reference to the multi-million Dollar Rolls Royces car which a Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye was said to have acquired recently. The President, who did not however mention name of the owner of the car, spoke to a cross section of Nigerians living in Germany before he left for Nigeria after a three-day official visit to that country.
Nigerian media recently exposed Senator Melaye who was said to have bought the car two years ago from Las Vegas in the United States of America, at the cost of about $400,000, with registration number “MELAYE 2.”
President Buhari, who commended Nigerians for supporting his government’s war against corruption. said: “Nigerians are virtually supporting us in our fight against corruption, security and the economy.” He referred particularly to “Rolls Royces,” recently discovered in the home of certain government official, as a clear reference of the rot in society and the fact that the war against corruption in the country is working. President Buhari told Nigerians in the Diaspora that it was regrettable that over the years, oil marketers had colluded with banks to defraud Nigeria of much needed revenue from the commodity. “One third of the activities of the oil marketers are fraudulent; you can see how some of us Nigerians are wicked. “They just take the money, stamp some papers without bringing the product and this fraudulent activity was between bankers and businessmen.” The President said that his administration will continue to to be very hard on corruption, in addition to encouraging more Nigerians to pay their tax. “If you work hard and get your money we will try and see how much tax you can pay us. But to take money from government and get away with it, no more.” The President underscored the importance of his three-day visit to Germany, the largest economy in Europe, saying that he was upbeat on improved trade ties between both countries because of new investment incentives offered by Nigeria. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari took time off today, to visit, in Berlin, German, a serving Nigeria soldier, Brigadier General Mohammed Sani Aliyu, who was flown to that country for medical attention after a ghastly auto crash in Nigeria. Brigadier-General Mohammed Sani, who is the Acting Commander of the 3 Division of the Nigerian Army, Jos miraculously survived the accident in the course of a duty tour in the North-East. His colleague, Major-General Yusha’u Abubakar, head of Training and Operations of the Nigerian Army, who was in the same vehicle with Mohammed, died in the crash which occurred on Maiduguri-Damaturu road. A statement by the senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu said that President Buhari was accompanied by the Governors of Borno and Imo, the National Security Adviser, NSA, the Minister of Interior and that of Foreign Affairs. He quoted the President as congratulating General Mohammed for the progress he has made in his treatment in the last six months in hospital. The President and his delegation wished him a quick recovery and an early return to his family and duties in Nigeria. He gave a further assurance that his administration will continue to accord priority to the health and wellbeing of service personnel. Doctors in the hospital told Buhari that General Mohammed could barely move his head when he was stretchered into the hospital, with the rest of the body torn and broken in many parts. They said that now, he can move around with very little assistance. The recuperating General thanked the President for his visit, saying his spirit to serve Nigeria remains unbroken. [myad]
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Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has recently completed the acquisition of Twister B.V., a company headquartered in the Netherlands as part of the effort to meet Nigeria’s gas requirements.
German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has sympathized with Nigeria over the economic crisis that has led to many of its citizens migrating to other countries.
President Muhammadu Buhari has, for the first time, made reference to the multi-million Dollar Rolls Royces car which a Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye was said to have acquired recently.
President Muhammadu Buhari took time off today, to visit, in Berlin, German, a serving Nigeria soldier, Brigadier General Mohammed Sani Aliyu, who was flown to that country for medical attention after a ghastly auto crash in Nigeria.
Still On The Matter Of The Arrested Judges, Joey Terna Agor
In the 16 years since it first met (2000-2016) aggrieved members of the public have filed 1808 petitions against judicial officers. Of this number, the NJC reprimanded 82 judicial officers, recommended the compulsory retirement of 38 others and dismissal of 12. In other words, out of 1808 judicial officers petitioned, only a total of 50 (38+12) were forced out of the judicial system through retirement or dismissal.
Going by this record, the following may be inferred: statistically, there is a 1 in 47 chance that a judicial officer petitioned will be retired. 1 in 150 chance that he will be dismissed, 1in 36 chance that he will be retired or dismissed, 1 in 22 chance that a judicial officer petitioned will be reprimanded and a 1 in 13 chance that a petition will merit any action at all and not get tossed out entirely.
These are sobering statistics. The low probability of sanction impression suggested by the NJC figures is more likely to embolden rather than deter judicial officers inclined to corrupt conduct. A wholistic picture is this: out of 1808 petitions treated by NJC in 16 years only 132 merited some form of disciplinary action (reprimand, retirement or dismissal) and the remainder, a whopping 1676 petitions were tossed out or trashed. Clearly, anyway you slice it, specific action categories or wholistically, the picture that emerges doesn’t look good.
The 1676 petitioners who lost out will feel despondent and will spread negative vibes in the public space about the NJC and the Judiciary. The 1676 Judges who survived any form of disciplinary action from those petitions will likely gloat about the frivolity of public petitions. Either of these likely scenarios ought not be the take home point from NJC’s disciplinary action or inaction but rather a feeling that justice has been served in each individual case by the winners and losers alike.
A disciplinary system that routinely tosses out petitions without any form of disciplinary action will not command public trust and respect. The truth is that fellow Judges, Judiciary workers, lawyers and public stakeholders know the few bad eggs amongst them that are corrupt. They are talked and murmured about in hushed and not so hushed tones. An effective NJC disciplinary system will be a huge relief and big service to the overwhelming majority of good, upright Judges who unfortunately and unfairly walk in the dark, tainted shadow of a “corrupt Judiciary” that is cast over them by the few bad ones.
Regrettably, rather than view the DSS anti-corruption arrest of some Judges as a learning experience and opportunity to review its “comfort zone” modus operandi, the lengthy NJC statement adopted a defensive posture, asserting its exclusive disciplinary powers and jurisdiction turf as well as upholding its administrative procedures as a basis for charging the DSS with violation and breach of its exclusive powers and procedures.
Unlike the US Constitution which did not expressly provide for judicial review in Article 3 and it took the courage and creative genius of Chief Justice John Marshall to assert and read that exclusive review power into the US Constitution in the now locus classicus case of Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803), our Constitution on the other hand makes plenary provisions on judicial powers, Chapter 1, Part II, Section 6(6).
It is clear that the DSS arrests will end up in court where the allegations of substantive violations and procedural breaches asserted by NJC in its statement will be examined judicially, so why didn’t the NJC wait to have the courts set it straight in this matter? Wouldn’t a subsequent judicial decision upholding the NJC’s position be viewed negatively as self-serving or self-preservatory?
The public mood in Nigeria right now is decidedly anti-corruption. All arms of government especially the judicial arm as well as private business and the citizenry ought to key into this mood. One more historical example from the US will help in this regard. President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted “New Deal” legislation aimed at getting the US out of the Great Depression but was being obstructed by a conservative Supreme Court that upheld Laissez faire economic philosophy (unregulated freedom of contract, exploitation of child labor, onerous contract terms, exploitative wages, etc environment) and consistently struck down New Deal legislation that were challenged, which sought to regulate labor and business practices (child labor, minimum wage, work hours, etc laws and regulations).
Fed up with the court’s obstructionism President Roosevelt moved to sidetrack it by sending to Congress a Court-reform bill (that became known as the Court-packing bill) which would have authorized him to increase the number of Supreme Court Justices from 9 to 15 and thus pack it with Justices who would have neutralized the conservative block in the Court. Sensing that impending fate the Court made a dramatic jurisprudential switch to avoid it (a switch that became known as “The switch that saved the Nine) in the now famous case of West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, 300 U.S. 379 (1937) in which the Court against a long consistent record of routinely striking down New Deal legislation that was challenged upheld it instead.
As it was in America in 1937 with the New Deal so it is in Nigeria now with anti-corruption. The public mood is not sympathetic to the usual comfort zone, business as usual obstructionism and if the President is compelled to pursue reforms to overcome it there will be a huge reservoir of public support for them. The better and preferable approach in my sincere opinion therefore, is for pertinent arms and agencies of government to make the necessary switch to fall in step with the anti-corruption fight by reviewing weak laws, regulations and procedures that negate the waging of an effective fight against corruption.
Agor, a corporate attorney, writes from Abuja. [myad]