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Tag: Bad Governance

  • Why drug abuse is on the increase in Nigeria – Peter Obi

    Why drug abuse is on the increase in Nigeria – Peter Obi

    Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi has hinted at why drug abuse is on the rise in Nigeria.

    Obi, who is a former Governor of Anambra State identified bad governance, Nigeria’s economic woes, frustration and hopelessness as some of the factors fuelling drug abuse among the youths in the country.

    He made this known n a message to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

    The presidential candidate lamented that many Nigerian youths were taking to drugs as escape route from the harsh economic and political realities in the nation.

    “Nigeria today has the highest drug abuse prevalence in the world. While the global average is 5.5%, Nigeria battles with 14.4% drug abuse prevalence.

    “In 2021, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) found out that 40 percent of our youths, aged between 18 and 35, were deeply involved in drug abuse. What is more painful is that substance abuse is higher among youths in their productive age.

    “Accumulated leadership failure over the years in the country has continued to rob our youths of their bright future, thus deepening their addiction to substance abuse,” Obi said.

    While commending NDLEA for the good work they have been doing, Obi called on other relevant agencies to intensify their efforts against the ugly menace, and to continue with a widespread awareness on the dangers of drug abuse.

    He argued that the knowledge of the adverse effects of substance abuse will drastically reduce the scourge in the country.

    Obi also encouraged the youths to avoid all forms of substance abuse and focus on being productive and helping the country to grow, which, he added, could guarantee them a good livelihood and better future.

    The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is celebrated on June 26 every year.

  • We’re committed to winning, rescuing Osun from bad governance – Ademola Adeleke

    We’re committed to winning, rescuing Osun from bad governance – Ademola Adeleke

    Frontline governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun state, Senator Ademola Adeleke has restated his commitment to rescue Osun from bad governance despite campaign of calumny from certain quarters.

    Adeleke made the disclosure in response to the report of the PDP Appeal Screening Panel which again cleared him to contest the March 7th governorship primaries.

    In a statement released to newsmen by the Media & Strategy arm of Adeleke’s Campaign Organisation, the former senator was said to have expressed appreciation to the committee and the national leadership of the party for standing by truth and justice.

    The statement partly reads: “My ambition to govern Osun state is people-driven. We are not afraid to face the delegates at the primary and the people of Osun state at the general election. I urge my colleagues to take the contest like a sporting race.

    “As for me, I repeat: we are not enemies; we want to serve; our ambition should not be a do or die affair. Let the delegates decide the candidate ; let the voters elect the governor”, Senator Adeleke said.

    “We must be mindful of our actions as we belong to the same party and family. We must be getting set for a united front to defeat our common enemy (All Progressives Congress”, the guber aspirant advised.” He said.

  • Rotational Presidency, Not The Answer to Bad Governance, By Mack Ogbamosa

    Rotational Presidency, Not The Answer to Bad Governance, By Mack Ogbamosa

    By Mack Ogbamosa

    The agitations are rising. More than ever before, many Nigerians are debating the necessity or otherwise of rotating the position of president from one part of the country to the other. These agitations have created a division between our Northern governors and their Southern counterparts . Whereas Southern Governors are insisting that the next president in 2023 must come from the South in the interest of justice, fairness and equity, their Northern colleagues are kicking against it, saying that such a call is not only unconstitutional but undemocratic.
    While this writer agrees that there are some genuine reasons for the agitations, he does not believe that mere rotation of the Presidency can guarantee good governance in the country.

    REASONS BEHIND THE AGITATIONS FOR ROTATIONAL PRESIDENCY

    CONCENTRATION OF POWERS AT THE PRESIDENCY
    Without doubt, one of the major reasons for the calls for rotational Presidency is the concentration of powers in the hands of the President. . The President is like an emperor or monarch , who is in control of virtually everything. He is in charge of allocation of resources. He does not only have a hand in the appointment of those in executive positions but also the heads of the judiciary. He even influences the election of heads of the legislature.
    THE NEPOTIC NATURE OF OUR LEADERS
    It is the belief of many agitators that the President in the exercise of these powers practises nepotism. He appoints people to “principal, sensitive or juicy” offices without obeying the principle of Federal character as enshrined in Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution under: Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy. Section 14(3) of the of the directives says that” The composition of the government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the Federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity , and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethic group or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its agencies ”
    Have our presidents been complying with this provision?
    Unfortunately there is not much the citizens can do to make the President to do the right thing largely because the Constitution did not make it enforceable. Section 6(6c) of the same Constitution makes a provision to ensure that violation of this principle by the President cannot be questioned in Court.According to the Section, “The judicial powers vested in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Section ” Shall not, except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, extend to any issue or question as to whether any act or omission by any authority or person or as to whether any law or any judicial decision is in conformity with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy set out in Chapter II of the Constitution.”

    POVERTY OF THE POLITICAL CLASS.
    Perhaps, the most important reason for the calls for Rotational Presidency is poverty of our political class.Most of our political leaders are generally selfish. They ignore the fact that the primary purpose of their being in government is to ensure the security and welfare of the people they govern as clearly stated in Chapter II, Section 14(2b) of the 1999 Constitution. They behave as if they are in politics not for the people but for themselves. This has resulted in a situation where those in power engage in privatisation of the state leading to primitive accumulation for themselves and their families while the rest of the people wallow in material poverty. It is the belief of some people that those who become presidents from certain regions will enrich their people by giving them opportunities for material acquisition. .
    PARTISAN NATURE OF LOCATION OF PROJECTS IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE COUNTRY
    It is also the belief in some quarters that the president will locate projects in his own part of the country while ignoring other parts.
    It is argued that most of our political leaders tend to favour their areas of origin in deciding where to locate major projects. In their attempts to satisfy their regional and ethnic divisiveness, they jettison economic considerations in determining the right place for project location
    This has been evident in many cases.

    CRIES OF MARGINALISATION ESPECIALLY FROM THE EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTRY
    There are cries of marginalisation by people from some parts of the country whose indigenes have not been privileged to be at the helm of affairs under civil rule. This is coming particularly from those in the South East region of the country, who believe they are being “punished ” because of the Civil War fought between the region and the Federal Government between 1967 and 1970.

    CAN ROTATIONAL PRESIDENCY CURE THESE ILLS AND GUARANTEE GOOD GOVERNANCE?
    From the perspective of this writer, rotational presidency without considering the competency of the leaders cannot cure these ills and guarantee good governance.
    ETHNIC, SECTIONAL AND RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS
    Rotational Presidency has the tendency to stir up ethnic, religious and regional sentiments, thus promoting disunity and regional or sectional loyalty.
    LACK OF PATRIOTISM
    Rotational Presidency may not promote patriotism among citizens.
    EMPOWERS ONLY THE POLITICAL CLASS
    It is very likely to empower only the political class while the larger population remain marginalised. This can be seen from the trend of leadership we have had since our political independence in 1960.
    Despite the fact that the Northern region has produced most of the nation’s leaders since then , majority of its citizens are the poorest and most marginalised in the country. One of the outcomes of this state of affair is the high level of insecurity in this part of the country today.
    Even though Chief Olusegun Obasanjo ruled the country for about 10 years (both as a military and civilian head of State), the South West region , where he hails from, did not enjoy any special benefits from his long stay in power. In fact, he fought against the then Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, from his region by stopping local government allocation from the Federation account to the state since, according to him ,Tinubu violated the constitution by creating Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state.
    Jonathan Goodluck ruled for about six years but did not develop his region of origin, the South South.

    WHAT SHOULD BE DONE
    This writer believes that what Nigerians deserve is good leadership. A leader who loves to work for the people. It does not matter where the leader comes from. For many members of our generation, the best national leader the nation ever had is the late General Murtala Muhammed, who ruled for only 200 days. We were all proud to be called Nigerians during the short period of his being in power. We did not want to know where he came from.
    The challenges of governance in the country are mainly caused by the political elite.They are the ones that want to take advantage of the adoption of rotational Presidency for their selfish ends not for the interest of the generality of the people.
    An average Nigerian does not think of who is President. What concerns him or her is how to get food, education, employment, housing and security of his or her life and property . These are spelt out as fundamental objectives and Directive Principles of State Polcy in Chapter II of our Constitution. They are socio- economic rights which in my opinion, are as important as the fundamental human rights in Chapter IV of the Constitution. Let’s amend the Constitution by making provision for their enforcement.
    Rotational Presidency without consideration of competence and without enforcement of Chapter II cannot guarantee good governance in the country.

    Ogbamosa, a legal Practitioner/ Communications Consultant, can be reached via:mack_ogbamosa@yahoo.com

  • Journalists should expose corruption, bad governance – Sen. Sodangi

    A three-term senator, Alhaji Abubakar Sodangi, has urged journalists to expose corruption and bad governance to save the country from its negative consequences.

    Sodangi, who represented Nasarawa West in the Senate from 1999 to 2011 under PDP, made the call on Monday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nasarawa.

    Sodangi, who is now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said that the call become imperative considering the negative effects of corruption to societal development.

    “You are to expose corruption, you have a role to expose bad governance and be fair to all.

    “What we need is good governance and good leadership, what we need are good leaders saddled with the responsibility of steering the affairs of the country.

    “To have leaders that have the fear of God so that nobody will go crying, nobody will go hungry, may God bring us good leadership and may God spare our lives,” he said.

    Sodangi also advised journalists to adhere strictly to the ethics of the profession in the interest of peace and national development.

    “I want to call on every Nigerian to be our brother‘s keepers, live in peace irrespective of our affiliation and continue to pray and work for peaceful co-existence among ourselves,” he added.

    He further called on Nigerians to pray and supports leaders at all levels to enable them succeed in moving the nation forward.

    NAN

  • Nigeria has joined comity of countries used to illustrate bad governance – Jonathan

    …advises Buhari to resist pressure to rig Ekiti and 2019 general elections

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said Nigeria under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari has joined comity of countries used to illustrate bad governance.

    He cited recent instances when the Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, mocked the poor state of security in Nigeria and the naira’s weakening status.

    Jonathan spoke at the inauguration of the first bridge built by Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, on Friday night.

    The former President lamented that things were so bad in the country that Nigeria had lost its respect in Africa.

    He said, “He (Ghanaian President) said Ghana is not like Nigeria where cattle roam the streets. At another occasion in the United Kingdom, he made scathing remarks about Nigeria’s currency.

    “I feel ashamed as a former President that the president of a neighbouring country used Nigeria as negative examples.

    “If a neighbouring African president will use Nigeria to make negative examples, then we as leaders must know certain things are wrong in the country. That means we as leaders must change the way we do things.”

    The former President, therefore, urged Nigerian leaders to show serious concern, noting that many things had gone wrong in the country.

    Jonathan also advised President Muhammadu Buhari to resist pressure to rig the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State and subsequent elections in the country.

    He praised the people of Ekiti for their support for the Peoples Democratic Party, urging them to support the youthful candidates of the party in the election.

    The party has elected 50-year-old Deputy Governor, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, and 39-year-old Deji Ogunsakin as his running mate.

    Jonathan described Fayose as an exemplary leader and loyal party man, who had done the PDP proud in all areas.

    He said, “I don’t believe anybody can defeat the PDP in Ekiti if election is going to be held.”

    He said, “I use this opportunity to call on Mr. President because I was there before. When you are there, there is so much pressure on you to use your power to subjugate democracy.

    “Don’t do that because when you are going; the only thing you leave behind is your good name. If you use it wrongly, posterity will haunt you. I call on Mr. President to use his power to strengthen democracy.”

    Jonathan also defended Nigerian youths, saying they were one of the best in the world and should not be branded lazy as recently remarked by Buhari.

    “We must encourage young people to work hard. I don’t think Nigerian youths are lazy, I have worked with some of them in my cabinet as governor and president. Nigerian youths are great people with intelligence,” he said.

    At the event, Governor Ayodele Fayose said the 77-member election committee raised by the All Progressives Congress for the Ekiti governorship election showed the desperation of the party to win at all costs.

    “I will defeat them by the grace of God,” he said.

     

  • Nigeria plagued with poor leadership, bad governance – Osinbajo

    Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said that Nigeria suffered for too long under the dictates of bad leaders who nearly ran the aground with their poor leadership skills.

    Osinbajo noted that the country is yet to recover from the negative effects of the poor leadership.

    He stated this in Abuja at the book launch of the biography of late Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari titled: ‘The First Regular Combatant: Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari”

    Osinbajo, who was represented by the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu said: “so dominant has appalling examples of poor leadership and bad governance been that our youth can be misled into feeling that there is a total absence of idealism and heroism in our society.

    “Yet, nothing can be further from the truth, in our past and in our present, we can find exceptional examples of selfless service and notable deeds with which we can inspire in our youth.”

    Osinbajo added that “the example of Maimalari, particularly, his growth from humble beginnings, through diligence and hard work, to the dizzy heights of public service success is worth sharing. History can thus be a useful tool in the propagation of good examples. ‘“History as a subject in our schools has become fairly infamous, with students often feeling that the subject has no practical value.

    “Yet, without a grounding in history, how do we know we who we are, where we come from, and more importantly, as a people, where we are going to?

    “As a government, we have been concerned with the decline in the society and the study of history and this has seen us recover history from the place where it has been ignored for too long and placed it back firmly in school curriculum.”