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Folarin Kehinde

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Why Nigerian Oscars committee Rejected Kunle Afolayan’s Anikulapo Movie

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

The Nigeria Oscars selection committee has disqualified Kunle Afolayan’s newly released movie, ‘Anikulapo’ from the nomination list of the Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars.

While announcing the development on social media, the Nigerian actor and producer also expressed his disappointment.

Kunle Afolayan said, “I am so pleased and delighted that the whole world has decided to tag ANIKULAPO film “a masterpiece “even though the Nigeria Oscar selection committee think it’s not worth submitting for the Oscars. Will keep doing my own thing”.

Despite the global reception that Anikulapo has received since its release, the Academy Awards does not deem it worthy to make its nomination list.

Last month, Nigeria’s Oscar Selection Committee announced they had received three Yoruba-language submissions: Aníkúlápó, Elesin Oba, The King’s Horseman and King of Thieves.

The selection committee ruled that the movies would not enter the competition as a majority of members voted that all three films were “non-eligible.

Afolayan had partnered with Netflix, and the movie was produced and shot by Jonathan Kovel at the recently launched KAP resort in a village in Oyo State.

Oscars awards are the Academy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry.

The award is regarded as the most prestigious and significant achievement in the entertainment industry worldwide.

The news has since upset many Nigerians and even global fans.

@Oginni_olu; Kunle built a whole village for the movie. Used best actors, the storyline was straight and clean.. yet wasn’t considered Oscar-worthy? Haba… what are the criteria really?

@Theresthat_; This is huge! You don’t need any committee’s validation or recognition. You did great work and viewers around the world love it thoroughly. That’s the real recognition. That’s all that matters! It’s my film of the year and I don’t even understand Yoruba.

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Nigeria @ 62: Nothing To Celebrate’ Some Nigerians Lament

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

As Nigeria celebrates her 62nd independence today, some residents of Awka in Anambra State say there is nothing to celebrate. According to them, Nigeria’s economic and education sectors are ‘dead’.

Osmond Onuh, a commentator on national issues, said, “There was high hope as the British High Jack was lowered for the hoisting of Green, White and Green. There was hope that Nigeria would be the giant of Africa and a beacon of hope for the entire black race. All is a mirage.

“What about the Nigerian economy? This is Nigeria that stood shoulder to shoulder with the so-called Asian Tigers and today struggling for breath economically. At the last report, Nigeria’s debt profile stood at $98 billion with debt servicing taking almost ten trillion naira of Nigeria’s budget.

“Naira, the Nigeria’s legal tender, seems to be the worst performing currency in the world. The purchasing power parity of the citizens has since diminished and today, a dollar is exchanged for N701. Naira has turned to almost a toilet tissue, apologies to Idiamin Dada of Uganda.”

Johnson Eze, a student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, said, “We are celebrating a basterdised ducation system in Nigeria. Our leaders do not believe in our education. That is why they send their children and wards overseas and allow our education system to die.

“I have nothing to celebrate. Maybe, I will celebrate my house rent piling up while I never occupied the room because of ASUU strike and refusal of the federal government to fund our education system.”

A trader, Mrs Okafor, said, “You mean I should celebrate that a bag of rice is N58, 000 presently. And after selling and you return to buy again, the price has increased? Or I celebrate that I can’t pay my children’s school fees any longer? Or that I can’t afford a bag of fertiliser? Tell me what to celebrate please.

“We are celebrating politicians who steal our common wealth returning to bribe us to vote for them in 2023. Afterwards, they will abandon us for another four years. We celebrate their find vehicles and long convoys. That is what we celebrate in Awka here.”

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Nigeria @ 62: 7 Things President Buhari Said In His Final Independence Anniversary Speech

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

President Muhammadu Buhari in the early hours of Saturday, October 1, addressed Nigerians on the occasion of this year’s independence anniversary.

  1. On the journey so far

Although the President admitted that Nigeria is far off its desired destination, he said the country, on his watch, had made “appreciable progress” in its focal areas including economy, insecurity and fighting corruption.

  1. On Insecurity

In the area of insecurity, Buhari said his government worked methodically in reducing Insurgency in the North East, Militancy in the Niger Delta, Ethnic and Religious Tensions in some sections of Nigeria along with other problems threatening the nation.

The President said as the nation continued to de-escalate the security challenges that confronted it at inception of this administration, newer forms alien to the country began to manifest, especially in the areas of kidnappings, molestations/killings of innocent citizens, banditry, all of which were being addressed by the security forces.

“At the inception of this administration in 2015, I provided the funding requirements of the security agencies which was also improved in my second tenure in 2019 to enable them to surmount security challenges. We will continue on this path until our efforts yield the desired results.”

  1. On Economy

Buhari said his administration has re-positioned the Economy by providing strategic interventions in core areas at both the Federal and Sub-National levels.

He said his administration efforts in re-setting the economy manifested in Nigeria exiting two economic recessions by the very practical and realistic monetary and fiscal measures to ensure effective public financial management.

The President added that “the growing contribution of non-oil exports, especially in agriculture, information and communication technology as well as the performing arts to our national economy will enhance our foreign exchange earning capacity.”

  1. On Sustaining Nigeria’s Democracy

The President pledged to bequeath a sustainable democratic culture which will remain lasting.

He said: “Fellow Nigerian, no matter what gains we make, without a good governance system anchored on electing credible leaders on the basis of free, fair, credible and transparent elections, our efforts will not be enough.

“It is for this reason that I have resolved to bequeath a sustainable democratic culture which will remain lasting. The signing of the Electoral Act 2021 with landmark provisions further assures us of a more transparent and inclusive electoral process.”

  1. On 2023 General Elections

The President promised that he will ensure fair, credible and transparent elections as the country elects its leaders next year.

According to him: “You will all agree that the recent elections in the past two years in some States, notably Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun have shown a high degree of credibility, transparency and freedom of choice with the peoples’ votes actually counting. This I promise will be improved upon as we move towards the 2023 general elections. ”

He further implored all candidates to eschew violence and maintain issue-based campaigns as they canvass for votes.

“As we begin the transition process to another democratically elected government, I want to implore all candidates to conduct issue-based campaigns devoid of hate speeches as well as other divisive tendencies.”

  1. On ASUU Strike

The President reiterated his call for the striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to return to the classroom, promising that his administration will continue to address the demands of the lecturers within the limits of the “scarce resources”.

He said ” I’m using this independence Day celebration to reiterate my call for the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities to return to the classroom while assuring them to deal with their contending issues within the limits of the scarce resources available.

“This administration has made appreciable progress in redressing these issues that have been lingering for over 11 years “.

“The federal government will continue to mobilize resources both internationally and nationally towards funding education to ensure that our citizens are well educated and secured in various vocations in view of the fact that education is a leading determinant of economic growth.”

  1. On Fighting Corruption

The President said his administration has tackled “endemic corruption” through strategic intervention leading to the recovery of “huge sums of money illegally kept outside the country”.

He also said, under his watch, there has been a surge in the number of prosecutions and repatriation of loot stashed abroad.

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NBAIS vs Senate Committee on Finance: A Great Learning Moment Missed by a Self-Seeking Committee

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

For every observer who has been following national assembly committees’ sittings vis-a-vis probes, oversight functions and public hearings, it is easier to observe that, in most cases, the substance is left to pursue shadow.

The same could be said to have played out when the senate committee on finance led by Senator Olamilekan Solomon Adeola in its usual grandstanding of putting the cart before the horse and apportioning blames ‘harsh-hosted’ the management of the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies NBAIS on the 19th of September, 2022.

I followed with utmost unease, the intimidation strategy and conscious manipulations of facts adopted by the committee members. NBAIS registrar, Prof. Mohammad Shafi’u Abdullahi on the orders of Senator Adeola was asked to switch off his microphone midway when he tried to clear issues of revenues and remittances of the agency.

How could one be expected to explain, and clear issues when no attempt was made to avail the person an opportunity to do so? How could facts and figures be proven when a head of a government agency was ordered to switch off his mic? It was a simple psychological warfare strategy aimed at taking your target off-balance and thus having an edge over your target.

The committee brandished figures without detailed knowledge of revenue that accrued, how funds were utilized and possibly how much of the expected revenue hit the purse of the NBAIS.

It was deducible that the committee attended the session with a ready mindset on what to do and what to say, striving fruitlessly to demonize ASUU strike by making unsubstantiated claims.

This is not to deny the fact that there are many government chief executive officers whose stewardships to the Nigerian people are still questionable.

But in the case of the senate committee on finance and NBAIS, the committee denied itself and Nigerians the opportunity to be availed that stewardship report by the management of NBAIS.
In my opinion, the committee allowed itself to be swayed by emotions and thus created room for any discerning mind to puncture its allegations with facts and figures.

Invariably, one could still believe that the intimidation strategy adopted by the committee was a deliberate action aimed at being heard, hailed, seen and held as a pro-people committee.

What played out in the said date to a large extent has validated the widely held belief that when diligence and fair-hearing are thrown to the winds, what is got is a self-seeking exercise targeted at stirring emotional impressions, sensations and sentiments.

Following the incident, I delved to ascertain if the claims by the senate committee chairman and his team during the agency’s budget performance hearing were anything to write home about. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the session was laden with more fuss than a fact-finding exercise.

The registrar of NBAIS, Prof. Safiu Abdullahi was one of the chief executives invited by the committee to make a presentation on the agency’s annual budget performance.

During the hearing, the committee had made several allegations suggesting injudiciousness in the management of funds that accrue to the agency. Senator Adeola alluded that ASUU strike was a result of reckless spending and a lack of accountability by university authorities.

He went as far as suggesting that the federal government should withdraw from funding the salaries of lecturers since according to him, the universities’ authorities have not been accountable for the revenues that accrue to them.

Everyone who watched what played out in the said sitting could easily deduce that the NBAIS registrar was handed a hostile atmosphere where he was demobbed from explaining the facts behind the figures.

Instead of explanation around the figures brandished by the committee, he was confronted with questions that did not seek to unravel the issues on hand, but were laden with sensational questions such as “Is it the Federal Government that funds your agency 100%”? A question that suggests that the committee did not fully understand the workings of the agency vis-a-vis revenue generation, utilization and remittance.

Even though the registrar accepted that the agency was fully funded by the government, the question was as irrelevant as the confrontation. Another question that tended towards sensationalism rather than fact-finding is the question of whether N410million were recorded as collected by the agency for the year 2022.

Also, connecting ASUU strike and the unwillingness of the lecturers to go back to classes to the issue at hand at that material point in time seemed to be aimed at stirring emotions on issues that should be fact-based.

Indeed the committee missed a glaring opportunity to understand how and where the agency funds come from.

Perhaps, the Distinguished Senator should have been schooled on the fact that most examination councils and agencies in Nigeria are heavily owed by some state governments. One would have expected the committee to study the documents presented to it by NBAIS leadership and hinge their questions and points from there. Instead, the chairman and his committee members hastily made conclusions and immediately opted to set up an ad-hoc investigation committee.

The right thing to do if truly the committee was out to know about the application of funds that accrued to the agency was to seek an explanation from NBAIS management on the actual amount that hit their coffers and how the fund was utilized.

If the committee was diligent and willing to get facts rather than arouse sentiments, they would have ascertained how the ‘controversial’ sum of N410million was collected from the state governments and private individual schools across the country.

They would have understood firsthand that owing to the non-payment of the students’ examination fees by some state governments from 2018 – 2021, the agency was plunged into huge debt burdens with their contractors, and suppliers of examination materials. I, as an individual, was been able to unravel that as a concerned citizen. Why didn’t the committee unravel that and possibly aid the agency in its efforts at debt recovery from the state governments running into hundreds of millions of Naira?

Furthermore, the information I was able to obtain further revealed that within the said years under review, examiners were not paid their allowances, thereby putting the management of the agency in a fix where they were only able to pay around 40% of their debt obligation.

A fraction of those arrears of debts owed by some state governments only came in 2022 from information available. NBAIS, was able to settle some arrears of debts, conduct its June-July 2022 examination which gulped about N85million and still remitted about N35million to the federal coffers. The committee failed to understand that the bulk of the money that should have accrued as revenue is currently debts owed to the agency by some state governments and this ugly situation plunged the agency into owing its contractors, examination material suppliers and the examiners themselves.

It is only expedient that the committee should see itself as a partner in progress by liaising with NBAIS and other examination councils and bodies to prevail on the owing states to pay the huge debts owed to the Federal Government through these agencies. It is common knowledge that some states heavily owe most of the examination bodies in Nigeria, a trend that has consistently eroded the revenue generation and remittances of these examination boards and councils.

It was further unveiled, upon investigation that the management of NBAIS did not fold its hands over those debts owed to them. The information available showed that the supervisory ministry – ministry of education has been duly informed of this predicament the agency has been having with some state governments and that efforts have been made by the ministry to reach out to the executive governors of those states to pay up the monies their governments owe the agency.

In conclusion, despite the check and balances that brace the tenets of democracy, it is pertinent to mention that synergy is needed between the national assembly and government agencies, especially the examination bodies and councils to boost and recover debts owed to them by state governments.

Shedrack Iheoma writes from Abuja and can be reached via lightsheddie26@gmail.com

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Mass Housing and Deforestation: Of the Nigeria’s Ineptitude

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

Kenny Folarin, Abuja

Nigeria, one of the developing nations in the globe has witnessed exponential growth since independence in all sectors ranging from economy, health, education, information and communication technology (ICT) and Agriculture to mention but a few.

With over 200 million inhabitants of the country, the nation still battles with issues of insecurity, quest for political power, poor educational system and a host of others.

Meanwhile, the issue of housing in the country is of greater worry due to rising cases of building collapses that is always recorded on yearly basis especially during the raining season, despite interventions by the federal government and regulatory bodies to nip this to the bud, the story still remain the same.

The federal government in a bid to ensure decent shelter began housing policy as a measure aimed purposely at solving the housing problems in Nigeria, like other policies, it has its specific goals and how they can be achieved. In this regard, the main goal of the national housing policy is to make decent shelter available and affordable to all Nigerians.

Fallen Trees, Airport Road Abuja.

State governments, Financial Institutions, Non-governmental Organizations are not left in this housing mirage as many of them birthed programs to ensure that all Nigerians have a decent shelter.

To achieve this especially in major cities like Lagos, Abuja and Porthacourt, estate developers are are contracted to deliver on housing units that would suit the financial statuses of Nigerians with different payment options available to choose from.

However, a fast growing city like Abuja is now the center of attraction for estate developers as almost every nooks and corners of the city is littered with one estate development or another, would this be one of the master plan of the city?

Whilst the city and many others witness this growth, Nigeria has thrown caution to the wind as trees falling (deforestation) has now become the order of the day, the annual rate of deforestation in Nigeria is 3.5%, approximately 350,000-400,000 hectares per year.

A Gbagi Woman Cutting Wood For Sale in Abuja

According to a report by reuters, from 2001 to 2021, Nigeria lost 1.14 million hectares of tree cover, equivalent to a 11% decrease in tree cover since 2000 and equal to 587 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, according to Global Forest Watch, a platform that provides data and monitors forests.

Consequently, President Muhammadu Buhari told a COP15 meeting in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on May 9 that Nigeria had established a national forestry trust fund to help regenerate the country’s forests.

“That may not be enough as the country loses forests at a faster pace”.

Nigeria has lost 96 per cent of its forest due to deforestation, according to the Director-General, Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Dr Muhtari Aminu-Kano.

He said the country currently has only four per cent of its original forest cover.

“About 96 per cent of our original forest have been lost; it is catastrophic.

“It is sad that we are losing vegetation cover and there is absolute need to make concerted effort to grow more trees because the more the merrier not only in Lagos but across the country”.

Broken Wood, Ready for Sale in Abuja.

The impact of tree cutting on climate change is overwhelming,
Sustainable Development Goal 13 is about climate action and is one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015
with the official mission statement of this goal is to “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”.

Whilst trees in their millions are fallen for estates to be built especially in city like the federal capital territory and other major cities in Nigeria, none of the trees are being replanted for replacement.

Of greater worry is the high cost of renting and purchasing of these houses which makes many of them vacant for years and others uncompleted due to lack of financial resources.

Every year in Nigeria, despite early warning signal from Nigerian Meteorological Agency and other weather forecast agencies, the numbers of houses ravaged with flood with properties and lives lost is alarming, “We are now acustom to the fact that despite early warning signal, flood will ravage some parts of the country”.

To finally nip this to the bud, it is time Federal Government of Nigeria sit up and stop the falling of trees, sensitization in this area is key and regulatory bodies should man up to punish offenders who violate this rule, until this is done, Nigeria is yet to know what has befallen her and should be ready to face the negative impact of climate change vis-a-vis tree falling.

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Dangote Cement Forged Tax Receipt, Kogi Govt Alleges

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

The Kogi State Government through its agency Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS) has accused Dangote Cement Plc Obajana of forging its tax receipt.

The acting Chairman of KGIRS, Salisu Enehe, disclosed this on Monday during the ongoing investigative hearing by the State House of Assembly ad hoc Committee on revenue at the Assembly Complex in Lokoja.

Enehe was responding to the claim by the committee that the company had paid over 14 billion tax to the Agency between 2016 till date.

According to the state revenue boss, most of the figures the company claimed to have paid are totally incorrect, urging the company to check its record.

He said despite the billions of naira that company is making from the state monthly, it has failed to pay taxes that are due the state and Lokoja Local Government Area.

Enehe said instead of doing the needful, the Dangote company approached the court to stale payment of taxes that are legally passed by the state assembly and assented to by the governor.

He noted that the lack of tax payment has slowed down the development of the state.

Also speaking, the Commissioner of Commerce and Industry, Gabriel Olofu, said Dangote company has refused to pay for business premises in the last two years.

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TCN Confirms National Grid Restored after Monday’s Collapse

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed that the national grid has been restored after its partial collapse on Monday.

TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, made this known in a statement in Abuja.

Mbah explained that the national grid experienced partial system disturbance at about 10.51am earlier in the day.

It was caused by a sudden drop in system frequency, which created system instability.

She said that the restoration of the affected grid commenced immediately at 11.55 am with Osogbo/Ihovbor, followed by Jebba/Osogbo, Kainji/Jebba, Benin/Onitsha, Shiroro/Kaduna, Shiroro/Katampe and Alaoji/Ikot-Ekpene.

Others are Lokoja/Gwagwalada, Odukpani/Ikot Ekpene, Benin/Omotosho, Oke-Aro/Ikeja west, Egbin/Oke-Aro and Kaduna/Kano.

She said the grid restoration has almost been completed, adding that the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) regrets any inconveniences caused.

Mbah promised that the National Control Centre would launch a full-scale investigation “to establish and ascertain the cause of the partial disturbance as this unwholesome event has resulted in aggregated generation loss.”

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Nigeria’s Election Peace Accords: More Signatories Needed

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

With only 72 hours to the official commencement of the 2023 general election in Nigeria, the National Peace Committee headed by Abdulsalam Abubakar retired Army general and former Head of State must be warming-up for the signing of the next set of peace accords.

At the end of a meeting of the members of his committee held 4 days ago in Minna, Niger State, Abdulsalam made it known that his committee would once again require top political leaders to sign an accord to maintain peace ahead of the 2023 general elections.

He attributed the expectation of his committee to the fact that during electioneering campaigns in Nigeria, politicians and their supporters create incitements which could endanger the country’s peace.

In the words of the committee chair, “the pattern of public communication among political actors, their publicity agents, spokespersons, and media consultants always amplify the potential for personal attacks, insults, and incitement.”
 
It is difficult to disagree with Abdulsalam’s observation because in Nigeria’s elections, there have always been reports by many people who witnessed attacks by politicians and their supporters on their opponents – a trend which had for long shifted focus away from issue-based campaigns to the politics of thuggery in the country.

Sadly, the situation has not changed since 2015 when the peace committee began its principled mandate of seeking to establish a reasonable level of civility and decency in public discourse and debates associated with electioneering.

Peace accords notwithstanding, the National Human Rights Commission, reported in 2015, a total of 61 incidences of election violence in 22 states in which at least 58 people were killed in different parts of the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Perhaps because the situation did not improve, the peace committee became more specific 4 years later.
 
The thrust of the committee’s demand as documented in the accord they prepared for the 2019 elections was for the political leaders to commit to run issue-based campaigns and refrain from statements that have capacity to incite any form of violence.  

Where any breach occurred, the same leaders were expected to forcefully and publicly speak out against provocative utterances. This clear documentation was not adhered to in spite of the peace accords that were signed by the respective party leaders.

A good example that Nigerian political parties perceive the peace accords as mere rituals which they would never follow is the case of Kogi state where some unknown persons in 2019 barred the SDP candidate from entry into the hall in Lokoja where the peace accord was to be signed. Is it politicians who can bar an opponent from the venue of the signing of a peace accord that would in all sincerity respect the so-called accord?
 
Whether or not the peace accords have continued to be observed in the breach or whether the situation has improved can best be understood from events of the last few months in which governorship elections were held in Ekiti and Osun states respectively.  In Ekiti state as many as 5 of the 16 parties shunned the peace accord signing ceremony.

According to the media, several violent clashes between rival political parties had made some of the parties and even voters to lose faith in the contest. Campaigns in the last few days to the election had been reportedly rancorous between the leading parties to the extent that deaths and injuries were recorded. In Osun state, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and candidate of the Labour Party, Lasun Yussuf, was conspicuously absent at the signing ceremony. His absence  was said to have been influenced by an attack on him by unknown gun men late at night a few days earlier. One of his aides revealed that Lasun was still nursing fears from unending threats to his life as at the point of the signing of the peace accord, especially as he received no assurances of his safety from the law enforcement agencies.
 
From the above reports, it is now obvious that some political parties are increasingly beginning to see the peace accords as mere formalities as the more powerful candidates belonging to the ruling parties display more interest in the use of force to intimidate opponents. To start with, in virtually everywhere, such powerful forces do not allow for a level playing field.

They always deprive others of the use of public spaces like stadium for rallies just as they direct public broadcast stations to not transmit opposition campaign materials. This is particularly provocative as the electoral law specifically directs such organs of mass communication to provide equal opportunities to all parties. In Osun for example, the ruling party disallowed the opposition parties from using both the Osogbo stadium or the Freedom park to hold their mega rallies. What type of peace accord would endure under a circumstance in which different parties to the so-called accord are not equally positioned?
 
There are two issues which illuminate the fact that each of our peace accords in Nigeria is ill-fated. The first is the timing of the accord while the second is its scope. The problem with the first issue is tied to the erroneous impression that an election is in every respect the same as voting. In reality however, pre-voting issues such as party primaries and campaigns are part and parcel of election.

Therefore, to assume that the best time to appeal to politicians and voters for peace is the eve of voting is rather simplistic. Arrangements to short-change opponents that are made before voting day are usually too many and too devilish to be overlooked when they mature. Indeed, party members who had been cheated during party primaries are ever so willing to partake in whatever it takes to undo their party flag bearer who got the fag by fraud.

So, the National Peace Committee ought to be told that no Nigerian politician relies on peace accords to win an election and none believes that participating in the signing of a peace accord means adhering to its tenets.
 
The second issue at stake referred to as scope concerns the number of persons and groups that ought to sign the accord. Here, the belief that politicians are the only persons obstructing electoral peace in Nigeria is again a weak conclusion.

If the truth must be told, ample damage that impedes peace is the handiwork of some societal institutions that are sometimes invited to witness the signing of the accords. Peace certainly loses value if those who can stop unknown gunmen from hijacking ballot boxes are themselves overwhelmed. Indeed, on the day the SDP governorship candidate who was an accredited signatory was stopped by unknown gunmen from entering the venue of the Lokoja peace accord, our official gunmen who should have stopped them were not only on ground, their foremost boss, the then Inspector-General of Police was personally in attendance.

If unknown gunmen can successfully determine participation in the signing of an agreement, who will supervise the attainment of peace? My considered opinion is that it would make more sense if the police boss would also sign the accord committing his team to maximum enforcement of law which ensures peace  
     
Apart from what we see during the settlement of election disputes especially courts that wrongly grant injunctions and assume jurisdiction, there is plenty of evidence that the judiciary contributes greatly to political violence in the country. Here, it is hard to forget the revelation by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Stanley Shenko Alagoa, that “some judges collect bribe from politicians and traditional rulers to pervert the course of justice.”

Considering that using the judiciary to win elections subsists in Nigeria, it is time to invite the relevant heads of courts to sign our famous peace accords committing themselves and their teams to ensuring peace through proper dispensation of justice. It is similarly in order to invite relevant INEC bosses to commit themselves and their colleagues to end insider abuses in the electoral body which always provoke violence.

If we are not prepared to go the whole hog, our peace accords would remain mere rituals notwithstanding that those who conceived the noble idea are transparently people of honour.
 
By Tonnie Iredia

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Flooding: Group tasks Akwa Ibom Govt on Climate actions

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

A Non-Governmental Organisation, League of Queens International Empowerment, has called on the government of Akwa Ibom State to develop an action plan towards mitigating climate change impacts.

The group made the call during an advocacy meeting held with relevant government stakeholders on climate change impacts such as flooding, rising sea level, Greenhouse Gas emissions, etc in the state.

The meeting comprising of 30 young women, four officials from the state Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Womens Affairs were present at the meeting, held over the weekend in Uyo.

In a statement issued by the NGO’s Programme Coordinator, Idongesit Alexander, the aim of the meeting was to know the plans of the ministry on the issue of climate change in the states.

During the meeting, the women group, while presenting an advocacy statement described climate change as a global issue that would continue to stress the community ecosystem, already described as very fragile.

“Climate change affects farming resulting in low crop yields. Climate change affects food production. We all know that our land has been badly affected by oil and gas activities which has caused pollution and destruction of livelihoods.

“Flooding has become an annual occurrence. When floods happen its affect people in all aspects of their lives. Thus, climate change deepen poverty for women and makes survival very challenging,” the statement reads.

Speaking on the gender impact of climate change, the group stated that womens’ domestic roles often make them disproportionate users’ of natural resource such as water, fire wood and other forest product. Climate change, the group added, has negative impacts on the environment and aquatic life, and when carbon emission increase, the ocean water gets hotter which results in a release of solid methane deposits on the sea floors.

“We also plead for our government stakeholders to increase sensitization among citizenry and also train the youth at the secondary level, to inculcate the habit of protecting the environment.

“Government and private agencies should carry out effective sensitization on proper waste disposal while the citizens should dispose their refuse appropriately. Encourage planting of economic trees to restore the ecosystem and the mangrove,” the statement added.

Other areas climate change has affected human survival includes the destruction of livestock, poor farm harvest, food insecurity and severe heat due to deforestation and bush burning.

However, in her remarks, Alexander emphasised on the need to empower young women and girls on leadership, socio-economic and environmental rights.

She listed thematic areas of the group to include: gender base violence, climate change issues, and womens human right.

“The organisation is currently campaigning against the impact of gas flare on women and girls; the need to build livelihood opportunity for young women and girls in the Niger Delta.”

The dignitaries at the event include: Ini umoh, a Director from the ministry of environment, Dr Atim Okoko, Director for fishery, ministry of agriculture and Itoro Benson from the ministry of women affairs and social welfare.

The event was organized by league of Queens International Empowerment with support from Urgent Action Fund

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FCT: “Okada” Ban and Dispatch Riders Invasion

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

By Kenny Folarin, Abuja

Motorcycle, popularly called “Okada” business in the Federal Capital Territory is among the fastest growing business owing to large number of villages and streets in the federal capital territory.

The business commonly found among the hausas, and fulanis from Niger and other neighboring states is lucrative, averagely, an Okada rider makes close to ten thousand naira on daily basis after paying all the dues and maintenance.

Following the rising cases of insecurity in the country, the federal government on July 2022 proposed a ban on Okada Nationwide, the government after a security meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, informed the media that terrorists use Okada to abduct people for ransom.

They also engage in illegal mining to raise money for their operations and according to him, government considers these bans as the appropriate response to the problem.

Mixed reactions however trailed this intended pronouncement as many believed that baning Okada will not solve the issue but worsen it.

Some asserted that handling the lawlessness of Okada operators is a matter of competent governance.

Nigerians noted that can be trained, licensed and allocated to an area of operation, they can be made to belong to unions that are accountable to government so that lawbreakers can easily be nabbed. These unions can quickly identify any strange operator in their jurisdictions and report accordingly.

Others believed that in parts of the country where motorcycles have become the mode of transport for terrorists and other criminals, tricycles, bicycles and mini-buses can be used to replace motorcycles, at least for now. Thus, terrorists on motorcycles can be easily isolated.

However, the federal capital territory is not left out of these argument as the administration on several occasions have impounded and crushed thousands of seized motorcycles, this act has made some of them restrict operations to the villages rather than highways, but most worrisome part is how the Okada riders metaphormosed to dispatch riders.

Like wind storm, the dispatch riders have suddenly taken over the city with no recourse to traffic rules, they hardly wait for the traffic lights to turn green before they zoom off in high speed in order to meet up with their deliveries at the expense of motorists and other road users.

Worried by this lawless, the federal capital territory administration noted that all dispatch riders must be duly registered with the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO)latest by the first week of August or face sanctions.

In January, 2021, over 50 dispatch riders were arrested the Director, FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services DRTS, Alhaji Wadata Bodinga warned that the conduct and activities of dispatch riders in the city would no longer be acceptable by the Federal Capital Territory Administration and the motoring public.

“Just between Tuesday and today Wednesday, over 50 motorcycles and dispatch riders have been arrested for various offences, because majorly they are the major culprits when it comes to beating traffic and riding on one-way in the city which is not acceptable because they are toying with their own safety and the safety of other road users,” Bodinga said.

According to him, the directorate had directed all the people arrested for following one-way and those beating traffic to go for emotional evaluation at recognised hospitals in the FCT.

Dispatch riders operating in the FCT must register with the FCT Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) latest by the first week of August or face sanctions.

While the administration is doing all it can to sanitize the city and curb the excesses of dispatch riders, many of the dispatch riders ride under the influence of alcohol as no one can easily recognize them while riding, some even put on headphones and operate freely on expressway, to restore more sanity in the territory and obedience to traffic rules, stiffer and corporal punishment should be melted on them to have a safer and saner FCT.

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