The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), and Galaxy Backbone are set to bring more honour to Nigeria at the 2022 Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) holding in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Exhibition, which began today, October 10, will end on October 14. This year’s edition of GITEX, an annual enterprise technology and global digital transformation event, is taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, who inaugurated the exhibition pavilion of Nigeria at the Exhibition, said: “I am confident that the four Nigerian start-ups and innovators will surely give their foreign counterparts a run for their money. And will cart away the prizes at stake, during the grand finale of the exhibition”.
According to Professor Pantami, the Nigerian government, in the last three years, had launched several programmes, policies and projects that have boosted the Nigerian digital economy sub-sector. “We have recorded significant milestones and great accomplishments in our bid to drive Nigeria’s economy digitally. And our amazing successes are verifiable”.
Immediate past Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has described his exit from the anti-corruption agency as corruption fighting back.
Magu, who spoke yesterday, October 9 in Abuja at an award ceremony organised in his honour by Northern Female Students Association, said: “I am a victim of corruption fighting back, but I am happy that recent events are revealing the truth to Nigerians.”
The former EFCC boss, who was represented by his son, Mohammad-Saeed Ibrahim-Magu, thanked the association for conferring on him the award of “Achiever par Excellence’’ and said he was happy to receive the award.
The spokesperson of the association, which comprises female students of universities in the northern parts of Nigeria, Aisha Nasir, explained that Magu was unanimously chosen for the award for his dedication to national service.
“The anti-corruption fight in Nigeria is a binding moral duty that requires seeing beyond political affiliations or preferences.
“Love him or hate him, Ibrahim Magu took the anti-corruption fight to uncharted levels that many people thought could never be attained.
“Magu attracted continental and global commendations for tackling what had been described as the leading factor hindering the growth and development of African nations and economies.
The award came on the heels of the October 4 judgment of the FCT High Court delivered by Justice Yusuf Halilu.
Justice Halilu exonerated Magu of a false claim that Pastor Emmanuel Omale of the Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry, and his wife, Deborah laundered N573m for the former EFCC boss.
Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said that governments at all levels must put actionable policies in place to address the high costs of fuels and food in order to realise the goals of the 2023 budget proposal.
Reacting to the just presented 2023 budget, the Chamber in a statement by its Director General, Dr. Chinyere Almona, FCA said: “the high rate of inflation will continue to distort most of the budget assumptions and targets if not curtailed. Particular attention must be put on investing more on transport infrastructure in resolving the many logistical challenges that have impacted the movement of goods across the nation.
“Looking beyond oil revenues, we can enhance our forex earnings through increased inflow of foreign direct investments. We need to invest more in infrastructure and critical port reforms to reduce the bottlenecks in our export logistics and processes that will boost non-oil production and exports.
“The allocation of N470billion to revitalise the tertiary institutions and enhance salaries of university staff is commendable and at least a show of concern about the plight of the university community in recent times.
“However, we must accept that the current funding model for our universities is not sustainable in the face of the many revenue challenges being tackled by the government. A more sustainable way is to grant financial autonomy to the universities with a new emphasis on equity investments for infrastructure.
“In addressing the most significant components of human development, we urge the governments at all levels to remain consistent in funding education, health, infrastructure, and security. One-off funding cannot address the decay in these areas within a year. It must be a practice and tradition of seeking robust equity funding for these areas consistently.
“It is now obvious to us that we may not even be able to source debts from foreign investors as in the past. Many factors have diminished our debt ratings, and this should push the government to consider immediate issuance of wholesale equity investment at home and abroad to fund idle assets to finance the deficits instead if borrowing more.
“We must immediately block revenue leakages by curbing oil theft, pipeline vandalisation, and trimming excessive fuel, power, gas, and forex subsidies, as well as massive tax and duty waivers to lift revenue to N20 to N30 trillion thresholds from the present N6 to N10 trillion thresholds.
“The record 20.5 trillion Naira (or $47.3 billion) proposed expenditure by the Federal Government to run the economy in 2023 reflects the huge needs that exist in critical sectors of the economy. The proposed budget, which is 19% higher than the 2022 budget is expected to take effect from January 2023 to address economic growth, fiscal sustainability, and security.
“It must be noted however that the overall spending proposal of N20.51 trillion reduces to a non-debt spending proposal of N14.21 trillion once you deduct the proposed N6.3 trillion interest payments from the overall the spending plan. So, we do not have a N20.51 trillion spending plan on the table. We only have a N14.21 trillion spending plan.
“It must also be observed that the proposed revenue of N9.73 trillion does not reflect our peak revenue performance of N6trillion in 2021. It is unlikely that we are going to get that N6 trillion in 2022, as we reported only 1.6 trillion in the first four months. How we are projecting N9.73 trillion revenue in 2023 is therefore a mystery.
“Even if we are lucky enough to generate the N9.73 trillion, we must also discount the N6.3 trillion projected interest payments out of it to leave us with a N3.43 trillion net revenue against the N14.21 trillion non-debt spending. This explains why the President is proposing a deficit of N10.78 trillion.
“We are of the view that while nothing is wrong with the N10.78 trillion deficit, everything is wrong with the plan to issue N10.57 trillion (N8.8 trillion in new commercial loans and N1.77 trillion drawdown on bilateral and multilateral loans) new loans to finance the deficit, at a time that we are already placed on the watchlists of some of our foreign bondholders, and the world is still trying to process our president’s well-publicised call for debt cancelation at the last United Nations General Assembly.
“It is the exclusive use of debt to finance deficits that got us into the situation where we cannot keep the revenue we are earning today, as we use the bulk of our revenue to settle interest payments, and it is increasingly not enough to cover the interest payments. In the 2022 year-to-April, the interest payments were more than the revenue, and it is most unlikely that the revenue will be more than interest payments in in the full-year 2022 or even in 2023.
“It is comforting that the 2023 budget is still at the proposal stage. It behooves all well-meaning stakeholders to make constructive inputs to the Presidency and the National Assembly now.
“Can we consider more efficient alternatives to new borrowings?
“Can we issue equity to finance the deficit instead of using debt?
“Can we break from the path in which the Federal Government only approaches the debt markets at home and abroad and never approaches the equity market at home or abroad?
“Investors invest in debt. But they also invest in equity. Our approach should not be to continue issuing only debt, especially with the increasingly unbearable burden of interest payments that exposes our fiscal vulnerably.
“Massive equity financing is the choice we should all urge the Federal Government to consider now. Nigeria should henceforth use equity financing as an exclusive way of funding budget deficits.
“If we embrace equity financing, we do not have to make huge interest payments, and we can use some of the proceeds of our equity issuance to pay some of down debt, to make the fiscal situation more sustainable and rekindle much-needed confidence in our economic and fiscal resilience.
“It is not too late to use equity to fund the 2023 deficit proposal. The current administration should be encouraged to take advantage of the equity choice to bequeath a legacy that the incoming administration can build upon as we find our way back to the path of fiscal sustainability as a nation.
“We commend the early transmission, consideration and signing of the federal budgets in recent times. Just like in 2022, the Federal Government transmitted the 2022 budget to the national Assembly on 7th of October 2021.
“The 2022 budget, titled “Budget of Economic Growth and Sustainability” valued at N17.126 trillion, was transmitted to the President by the National Assembly, on Friday, December 24, 2021. We expect to see an earlier transmission by the National Assembly and signing into law earlier than last year.
“It is commendable to note the strategic objective of the expenditure policy which focuses on macroeconomic stability, human development, food security, improved business environment, energy sufficiency, improving transport infrastructure, and promoting industrialisation by focusing on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. Beyond the figures and policy statements contained in the 2023 Federal Government budget, the Chamber wishes to highlight some recommendations for implementation:
“We can improve the performance of the 2023 budget by studying how the 2022 budget has performed so far, looking at what has worked well, what failed, and what must be corrected in the implementation of the 2023 budget.”
An Islamic scholar, Sheikh Murtala Bello Sokoto has called on the Nigerian Military to as a matter of urgency, bombard all identified bandits’ enclaves in the forests irrespective of the collateral damage that may be incurred. Sheikh Bello made this call in a short video, said that the security forces are recording victories against the criminal elements and advised the government and military to intensify efforts towards ending the activities of terror bandits. The religious leader identified the activities of unpatriotic informants within the society who supply information to the bandits regarding troop movements as a major impediment to the success of military operations in Nigeria. “I am calling on the federal government and the military to fear Allah and do what is necessary to eradicate the activities of the criminals. “Not only civilians, but even security forces in Northern Nigeria are also now in a difficult situation and the government should do what is required to end this problem by just eliminating the enemies to end terrorism in the North. “There are many terrorists’ hideouts that need to be bombarded and level to the ground. Meanwhile, the few law-abiding citizens who are residing close to them [hideouts] should be asked to vacate the locations as soon as possible. “It is possible to cut a rotten finger in an attempt to ensure the well-being of the entire part of the body,” the cleric noted. source: By PRNigeria.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, appears to have ignored aggrieved members of the party led by the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike as he kick-starts his presidential campaign today, October, 10.
Atiku who has been at loggerheads with Governor Wike and his group over moves to remove the national chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, is scheduled to start the Presidential campaign in Uyo, capital of Akwa-Ibom State ahead of next year’s election
While Wike, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Governor Okezie Ikpeau of Abia State, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, former Ekiti Governor Ayo Fayose, and many others have pulled out of Atiku’s campaign, the PDP presidential candidate has decided to move on with his campaign activities.
A member of the Atiku campaign team who would not want his name mentioned in prints said: “Let me tell you the honest truth. As far as the Wike matter is concerned, there is an overwhelming sentiment that the campaign has moved on.
“So, if Wike or anyone in his camp shows the readiness of coming in, they will be accommodated but nobody is waiting for them again because they are not important enough to hurt the process. That is the honest, overwhelming impression.”
He dismissed calls for Senator Ayu’s resignation and the setting up of a caretaker committee for the party, describing it as not feasible, adding: “What they are talking about is not what anyone will count seriously. There cannot be a caretaker committee for the party and nobody will take that because it is illegal. If you follow what is happening in the APC, it is about the court saying whether their candidate is legal or illegal.
“The NWC of the party, as it is now, should be left alone because anything done now, may affect a lot of decisions that are critical. It is a gamble that nobody is ready to take; whether good or bad, it should be left the way it is.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) has drawn the attention of the public to high-impact threat of what it called “Blackbyte Ransomware” to Windows operating system.
According to it, Blackbyte Ransomware has the capacity to bypass protections by disabling more than 1,000 drivers used by various security solutions.
A statement today, October 8, by the Director of Public Affairs in the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Reuben Muoka, explained further that BlackByte ransomware gang, which is using a new technique that researchers called, “Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver,” is exploiting the security issue that allowed it to disable drivers that prevent multiple Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and antivirus products like Avast, Sandboxie, Windows DbgHelp Library, and Comodo Internet Security, from operating normally.
He recalled that recent attacks attributed to this group involved a version of the MSI Afterburner RTCore64.sys driver, which is vulnerable to a privilege escalation and code execution flaw tracked as CVE-2019-16098.
Muoka said that the “Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver” (BYOVD) method is effective because the vulnerable drivers are signed with a valid certificate and run with high privileges on the system.
“Two notable recent examples of BYOVD attacks include Lazarus, abusing a buggy Dell driver and unknown hackers abusing an anti-cheat driver/module for the Genshin Impact game.
“The NCC-CSIRT advisory recommended that system administrators protect against BlackByte’s new security bypassing trick by adding the particular MSI driver to an active blocklist, monitoring all driver installation events, and scrutinising them frequently to find any rogue injections that do not have a hardware match.
“The CSIRT is the telecom sector’s cyber security incidence centre set up by the NCC to focus on incidents in the telecom sector and as they may affect telecom consumers and citizens at large.
“The CSIRT also works collaboratively with the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT), established by the Federal Government to reduce the volume of future computer risk incidents by preparing, protecting, and securing Nigerian cyberspace to forestall attacks, and problems or related events.”
Dangote group and Kogi State government are accusing each other over the issue surrounding the Obajana Cement factory, with Dangote saying that governor Yahaya Bello’s unleashing of‘ ’Government Vigilantes or Government Hunters’ on the company is creating a lot of havoc to the staff and equipment.
This is coming even as the state government has accused Dangote group of planning to cause chaos across the state as a counter attack against the decision to get the state’s legally supported equity from the Obajana cement company.
In a statement today, October, 8, Dangote’s spokesman, Timilehi Oyedare said that over 500 Government Vigilantes invaded the Dangote Cement Plant located at Obajana on Wednesday at the behest of the State Governor and forcefully shut down its operations.
According to him, Cement trucks were also burnt, and many others were vandalized, as they forcefully hijacked Dangote buses and vans, adding that market and business activities have been brought to a standstill since the attack was launched.
“No fewer than 27 Dangote staff are currently in bad conditions after they were shot at by the invaders.”
The statement said that the control rooms have been forcefully shut down and equipment whose monetary value have not been computed have been vandalized.
It said that communication cords have been severed to bring production to an abrupt halt, saying that marauding invaders also blocked the roads, distorted vehicular movement, and restrict the movement of people all around Obajana.
“Since the criminal attack, our vehicles carrying diesel have been attacked along Anyigba road.”
The statement said that victims of the Government sanctioned invasion are currently admitted to the emergency section of the Kogi State Specialist Hospital in Lokoja.
This is even as the state Commissioner of information and communications, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, in a statement, said: “we have uncovered certain plans by the Dangote Group at a meeting held last night to cause chaos across the state as a counter-attack against the State Government’s decision to get its own legally supported equity from the Obajana Cement Company.
“The latest strategy stems from frustrations occasioned by the failure of the Dangote Group to misinform the general public and its shareholders as the State Government has consistently and continuously presented the facts of the matter to the public.
“A top Management Staff of Dangote Group erroneously called a top Government official as the said meeting was going on to hatch their satanic plans against the Government and people of Kogi State. The call which came in at 10.06pm went on for 28 minutes, 12 seconds, detailing how the Dangote Group intends to doctor documents to prove they own the cement company, 100 per cent; how they intend to use the DSS and other security agencies to arrest top Government Officials on frivolous charges; how they intend to use the EFCC to arrest some Government officials in order to cow them; how they also intend to use the media to promote falsehood against the Government and people of Kogi State and sundry other satanic plans against the people and Government of our dear state.
“Below are the resolutions at their meeting:
* Obliteration of the Agreement between the Kogi State Government and the Dangote Group.
* A plan to use the press to attack the Governor and the Government of Kogi State. Plan to deploy people to the major TV Stations in the country to attack the Governor and the Government of Kogi State.
*Plan to call the EFCC and DSS today to claim those who sealed the company on the orders of the House of Assembly stole the sum of N207m and that those agencies should arrest them.
*They also resolved to initiate both civil and criminal proceedings against certain Government officials.
*Lastly, they resolved to block all the major highways across the state with their trucks to make it impossible for the Governor to move out of the state capital. In their words: “We will prove to him that his madness cannot match our own. They said at the meeting that Dangote owns Nigeria and that there is nothing anyone can do to stop him.”
The commissioner said that the over 28 minutes recorded meeting typifies the mindset of an economic oppressor “who thinks he can use every apparatus of the Federal Government to fight our dear state into submission. Nigeria is what it is today because certain individuals think they own the country and can get away with any attrocity they commit.
“We make bold to say that if the Dangote Group attempts to carry out any of his threats or deny our claims above, which are supported by facts, we will release visuals and audio of the said meeting and the whole world will see the mindset and modus operandi of Alh. Aliko Dangote and his conglomerate. We are a people that cannot be destroyed by the whims and caprices of the capitalist dominance that the Dangote Group stands for.
“One of the plans hatched at the meeting was to use Dangote trucks to block all major highways in Kogi State from today to make life unbearable for the people of the state and also launch attacks on commuters across the state in order to cow the State Government into submission in the ongoing ownership determination battle for the Obajana Cement Company.
“We wish to inform the people of Kogi State that the State Government will stop at nothing legal to defend their rights to movement and safety.
We will take steps that are legal to resist the act of cowardice of the Dangote Group to harass, intimidate or harm the people of Kogi State for demanding their rights.
“Let it be clear to all that the Government and people of Kogi State are united against economic oppression under the leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello. Our resolve to right the wrongs of the past is bigger than those who think they own Nigeria and can get away with anything they do.
“We call on security agencies to be on red alert to forestall any breakdown of law and order.
It is our wish to ensure the agitation to reclaim our equity at Obajana is non-violent as we have all that is required to win the battle. Security agencies should resist the temptation of being used by the Dangote Group to harass officials of Government and our people as hatched at the ill-fated meeting.
“We also want to sound a note of warning to the Dangote Group that Kogi State will not condone any act of lawlessness and that perpetrators will be made to face the full wrath of the law, no matter how highly placed.
“Let it be clear to all that the present administration has overseen the heaviest influx of investments into the state as a result of the enabling environment created. But inasmuch as we crave investments and economic expansion in our dear state, it is our responsibility to protect the interest of the people in those investments.
“Our stand is just and fair. Our decision is to give what belongs to the people to the people and not seek pecuniary interest. That is why Dangote Group is being repeatedly exposed. The Group should do what is right and just to stop further drowning in the murky waters of ignominy.
“We urge the people of Kogi State to remain calm as the Government they elected is capable, ready and equipped to fight this economic battle successfully.”
History is replete with judges who shaped their days and nations, judicial officials who imprinted their footprints in front pages of national archives. In uncertain times, the nation needs an activist reformer, a man ready to crusade for a transformative judiciary, issuing federalist corrective landmark rulings, focussing on unanimity in apex court decisions and deploying the bench as a weapon of national restructuring. Is Justice Olukayode Emmanuel Ariwoola that man to remake the judiciary for this sacred national tasks?
Bernard Schwartzt in his “Supreme Court Superstars: The Ten”, listed John Marshall, Joseph Story, Roger Brooke Taney , Stephen J. Field, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louis D. Brandeis, Charles Evans Hughes, Hugo Lafayette Black, Earl Warren and William J. Brennan, Jr as top judges in American history. Justice Marshall was my favourite as a student journalist especially as he was responsible for constructing and defending both the foundation of judicial power and the principles of American federalism. I read through many of his judgements. His erudition on the bench serviced federalist reform, united the apex court and consolidated the powers of the Supreme Court as a respected equal arm of Federal Government.
In times of uncertainty about American governance modelling, an activist Jidge helped a struggling nation out. As Encyclopaedia Britannica put it, ” His (Marshall) own mind had apparently a clear and well-organized concept of the effective government that he believed was needed and was provided by the Constitution. He wrote with a lucidity, a persuasiveness, and a vigour that gave to his judicial opinions a quality of reasoned inevitability that more than offset an occasional lack in precision of analysis. His tenure gave opportunity for the development of a unified body of constitutional doctrine”. I am of the view that Abuja has among the 13 Supreme Court justices great minds with such capacities as Marshal.
Strangely, Nigeria is in need of a Justice Marshall who will re-assert the potency of the top court to checkmate the cabal of influence peddling legal practitioners, who will serve as agent of devolution of powers and who will re-instil the culture of incorruptibility within the judicial process. While Justice Marshal strengthened Federal Government, our own Marshall must empower the states for national survival. His task must entail that of sacrificial patriot who eyes the greatness of great juries in history, whose names remain indelible in national history.
Or let turn to the United Kingdom. Beyond UK judge, William Blackstone who was reputed to have influenced prominent American personalities like Abraham Lincoln, James Kent, Alexander Hamilton, and even John Marshall among others, Lord Denning stands out as the greatest British judge according to former Prime Minister Margret Thatcher. His judicial activism and extensive judicial pronouncement across all sub-sector of the legal field are breath taking. Even when controversial, Lord Denning remains a guiding light in judicial administration. Again, the Nigerian apex must produce her own Lord Denning in contemporary setting. Nigeria has had many great judges of immense accomplishments. Late Justice Fatai Williams, the suave scholar judge, was my favourite as a politics writer, going by his expansive contribution to jurisprudence. In Nigeria of today, we need an integrated reincarnation of a Lord Marshal, Lord Denning and Justice Williams to salvage the judiciary and weaponised it as a platform for national political, economic and social reform.
At a time all leading presidential candidates are pro-restructuring, an activist CJN is imperative to navigate the hurdles of reforms, to speed up slimming down of the over-bloated centre, entrench a culture of fair and just justice administration and to fight corruption in leaps and bound. As the sitting president aspires to deliver, judicial stumbling blocks wont be on his way as no agent of status quo would get a cover from the bench. If the fear is about self-preservation and post-service survival, a pro-reform president may actually consider extending tenure of a Supreme Court collective which commit to a new Nigeria. Apex court justices can then be guaranteed of adequate funding for judicial reform especially the modernisation and digitisation of the court processes.
My intention is pontification. I watched the confirmation hearing of the new CJN. His answers to questions from distinguished senators were quite refreshing. With his immaculate style, he advanced a new vision of Nigerian judiciary where administration of justice will be seamless, fast and just. His take on digitisation of court procedures was a 21st century postulations, positioning the apex court as a potential beneficiary of donor funded justice sector reform. Fluent and passionate, his immediate creation of an inclusive leadership through a committee system signals likelihood of unanimity judgement going forward within the court. His idea of a collaborative agenda among the three arms of government indicates interest to contribute to the question of federalist reform.
Based on the confirmation hearing and recent development at the apex court, Nigeria appears to have a reformer on the revered seat of Chief Justice of the Federation. While the extent of his reformist mind can’t be fully determined now, his inclination towards a robust internal reforms especially of court procedures is reassuring. The Kenyan Supreme Court used only a week to hear and deliver judgement in the Presidential election disputes. The new CJN looks strongly like a thinker along a faster pace of court hearings even though he hinged his plan on judicial technological innovations and applications
If Justice Ariwoola is not aspiring to be a ‘table shaker”, historical necessity may force him to have a rethink. If he is not a Justice Marshal known for his federalist advocacy, imperative of the time imposes a responsibility to safe the troubled federation from falling apart. As things stand, history beckons on him and his colleagues that time is now for a bailout to Nigeria from the judiciary. The moment is now to remake the recent dark past where some lord justices are dragged and humiliated for being part of the national rot.
Nigeria needs landmark rulings to set the tone for national restructuring. Unanimous judgements in service of federalist reform are much needed impetus a President needs to foster life saving changes. In this delicate time, lord justices must wear the activist robes in a conservative institution, to write their names in gold and to provide urgently needed national direction in this era of political emergency. Our justices must put an end to majority and minority judgements as much as such judgements are tailored towards serving national interest especially restructuring of the lopsided federation.
Several nations experience national emergencies; such tumoil throw up new leaders; heroes are made and history are written. What is to be feared? What should one be scared of? The call to national duty is a sacred task ; embracing it is a consecrated imperative. After all, at the apex of one’s career, what is compelling is the urge to leave an enduring legacy.
Oyo Yoruba CJN is on the threshold of history. His agenda from the confirmation hearing confirms a leader ready to innovate for a new bar and bench. What legacy will he bequeath on the Supreme Court, the Judiciary and the nation at large?
Olawale Rasheed, CEO, Sahel Consulting and a public affairs analyst, wrote in from Abuja. He can be reached on iwogoke@gmail.com
A None Governmental Organization (NGO), known as De Noble Club 10, Kogi Central, is planning to hold Education Summit on the challenges facing education in the area.
At its monthly meeting today, October 8, the Club appointed a six-man committee to plan the Summit, which is planned to involve all stakeholders.
The committee, headed by an educationist, Yusuf O. Ahmed, has as members, Engineer Shuaibu S. Salami, Saidu O. Yusuf, Editor-In-Chief of an online newspaper, Yusuf Ozi-Usman and Engineer Shuaibu Salawu, while Isa Sule Dania is to serve as secretary.
Members of the Club expressed concern over the trend where candidates sitting for the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and similar examination bodies are made to buy their ways through while the said candidates are left with daft brain.
The Club observed that surrogates have made nonsense of proper acquisition of knowledge amongst the students and youths in the area, adding that most of the candidates who come out with purported good results in external examinations with some scoring A in all subjects, get into the universities only to be found to be completely empty headed.
The Club said that for a long time, hundreds of students have simply refused to concentrate on their books thereby ending up not been able to go to the next level in their educational pursuit and are not employable.
The President of the Club, Alhaji Abdulrazak Leramo charged the committee members to turn in the report by December, adding that people in the government, other NGOs, traditional institutions, educationists, representatives of the external examination bodies and many others are expected to attend the proposed Summit.
The National Chairman of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyorchia Ayu, has made it clear that his job in the 2023 elections is to return the party to power instead of some squabbles that are threatening to make him lose focus,
“You may be reading many things and expecting my reaction. If we don’t always talk, it is because we want to maintain and build cohesion in the party.
“We don’t want continuous altercations in the PDP family. Our eyes are on the big picture — winning the 2023 general elections.”
Senator Ayu was reacting to the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who had last month, accused him of corruption. He spoke when the forum of PDP ex-officio members visited him in Abuja.
Senator Ayu said: “The PDP was not founded to be in opposition. We founded the party to access power and develop the country. And my historic task is to return the party to power. I won’t be chairman forever. For now, my preoccupation is to return the party to power. I did not come to steal. My public service record is there.”
Speaking on the allegation of corruption, the PDP leader said: “I have been a leader of the National Assembly. I have been a minister many times. As a person, I have many faults, but stealing is not one of them. I am conscious of my place in history, and the NWC that I lead is guided by the twin principles of transparency and accountability.”
Governor Nyeson Wike, had told journalists in the Government House in Port Harcourt recently that Senator Ayu collected a bribe of N1 billion from one of PDP presidential aspirants and refused to remit the funds to the party’s coffers.
He also threatened to reveal more if the PDP chairman deny the claim.
There were also allegations that Ayu credited the accounts of members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) with certain amounts of money in a bid to retain his position.
Four members of the NWC returned a total sum of N122.5 million to the PDP account last month.
The party, however, said the funds were part of house allowances given to the party executives.
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The Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) has drawn the attention of the public to high-impact threat of what it called “Blackbyte Ransomware” to Windows operating system.
Dangote group and Kogi State government are accusing each other over the issue surrounding the Obajana Cement factory, with Dangote saying that governor Yahaya Bello’s unleashing of‘ ’Government Vigilantes or Government Hunters’ on the company is creating a lot of havoc to the staff and equipment.
CJN Ariwoola: Searching For Nigeria’s Marshall, By Olawale Rasheed
Bernard Schwartzt in his “Supreme Court Superstars: The Ten”, listed John Marshall, Joseph Story, Roger Brooke Taney , Stephen J. Field, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louis D. Brandeis, Charles Evans Hughes, Hugo Lafayette Black, Earl Warren and William J. Brennan, Jr as top judges in American history. Justice Marshall was my favourite as a student journalist especially as he was responsible for constructing and defending both the foundation of judicial power and the principles of American federalism. I read through many of his judgements. His erudition on the bench serviced federalist reform, united the apex court and consolidated the powers of the Supreme Court as a respected equal arm of Federal Government.
In times of uncertainty about American governance modelling, an activist Jidge helped a struggling nation out. As Encyclopaedia Britannica put it, ” His (Marshall) own mind had apparently a clear and well-organized concept of the effective government that he believed was needed and was provided by the Constitution. He wrote with a lucidity, a persuasiveness, and a vigour that gave to his judicial opinions a quality of reasoned inevitability that more than offset an occasional lack in precision of analysis. His tenure gave opportunity for the development of a unified body of constitutional doctrine”. I am of the view that Abuja has among the 13 Supreme Court justices great minds with such capacities as Marshal.
Strangely, Nigeria is in need of a Justice Marshall who will re-assert the potency of the top court to checkmate the cabal of influence peddling legal practitioners, who will serve as agent of devolution of powers and who will re-instil the culture of incorruptibility within the judicial process. While Justice Marshal strengthened Federal Government, our own Marshall must empower the states for national survival. His task must entail that of sacrificial patriot who eyes the greatness of great juries in history, whose names remain indelible in national history.
Or let turn to the United Kingdom. Beyond UK judge, William Blackstone who was reputed to have influenced prominent American personalities like Abraham Lincoln, James Kent, Alexander Hamilton, and even John Marshall among others, Lord Denning stands out as the greatest British judge according to former Prime Minister Margret Thatcher. His judicial activism and extensive judicial pronouncement across all sub-sector of the legal field are breath taking. Even when controversial, Lord Denning remains a guiding light in judicial administration. Again, the Nigerian apex must produce her own Lord Denning in contemporary setting. Nigeria has had many great judges of immense accomplishments. Late Justice Fatai Williams, the suave scholar judge, was my favourite as a politics writer, going by his expansive contribution to jurisprudence. In Nigeria of today, we need an integrated reincarnation of a Lord Marshal, Lord Denning and Justice Williams to salvage the judiciary and weaponised it as a platform for national political, economic and social reform.
At a time all leading presidential candidates are pro-restructuring, an activist CJN is imperative to navigate the hurdles of reforms, to speed up slimming down of the over-bloated centre, entrench a culture of fair and just justice administration and to fight corruption in leaps and bound. As the sitting president aspires to deliver, judicial stumbling blocks wont be on his way as no agent of status quo would get a cover from the bench. If the fear is about self-preservation and post-service survival, a pro-reform president may actually consider extending tenure of a Supreme Court collective which commit to a new Nigeria. Apex court justices can then be guaranteed of adequate funding for judicial reform especially the modernisation and digitisation of the court processes.
My intention is pontification. I watched the confirmation hearing of the new CJN. His answers to questions from distinguished senators were quite refreshing. With his immaculate style, he advanced a new vision of Nigerian judiciary where administration of justice will be seamless, fast and just. His take on digitisation of court procedures was a 21st century postulations, positioning the apex court as a potential beneficiary of donor funded justice sector reform. Fluent and passionate, his immediate creation of an inclusive leadership through a committee system signals likelihood of unanimity judgement going forward within the court. His idea of a collaborative agenda among the three arms of government indicates interest to contribute to the question of federalist reform.
Based on the confirmation hearing and recent development at the apex court, Nigeria appears to have a reformer on the revered seat of Chief Justice of the Federation. While the extent of his reformist mind can’t be fully determined now, his inclination towards a robust internal reforms especially of court procedures is reassuring. The Kenyan Supreme Court used only a week to hear and deliver judgement in the Presidential election disputes. The new CJN looks strongly like a thinker along a faster pace of court hearings even though he hinged his plan on judicial technological innovations and applications
If Justice Ariwoola is not aspiring to be a ‘table shaker”, historical necessity may force him to have a rethink. If he is not a Justice Marshal known for his federalist advocacy, imperative of the time imposes a responsibility to safe the troubled federation from falling apart. As things stand, history beckons on him and his colleagues that time is now for a bailout to Nigeria from the judiciary. The moment is now to remake the recent dark past where some lord justices are dragged and humiliated for being part of the national rot.
Nigeria needs landmark rulings to set the tone for national restructuring. Unanimous judgements in service of federalist reform are much needed impetus a President needs to foster life saving changes. In this delicate time, lord justices must wear the activist robes in a conservative institution, to write their names in gold and to provide urgently needed national direction in this era of political emergency. Our justices must put an end to majority and minority judgements as much as such judgements are tailored towards serving national interest especially restructuring of the lopsided federation.
Several nations experience national emergencies; such tumoil throw up new leaders; heroes are made and history are written. What is to be feared? What should one be scared of? The call to national duty is a sacred task ; embracing it is a consecrated imperative. After all, at the apex of one’s career, what is compelling is the urge to leave an enduring legacy.
Oyo Yoruba CJN is on the threshold of history. His agenda from the confirmation hearing confirms a leader ready to innovate for a new bar and bench. What legacy will he bequeath on the Supreme Court, the Judiciary and the nation at large?
Olawale Rasheed, CEO, Sahel Consulting and a public affairs analyst, wrote in from Abuja. He can be reached on iwogoke@gmail.com