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Tag: Democracy

  • Nigeria@59: Nigeria should be beacon of hope, democracy, freedom – Atiku

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has said that Nigeria should be the beacon of hope, democracy and freedom, not only to the African continent but to the black Diaspora all over the world.

    In a statement released via his official twitter page, to commemorate Nigeria’s 59th independence, he said Nigeria belongs to all and Nigerians have a role to play in making the nation great.

    He said: “You see, when we put Nigeria first, we not only revive the Nigerian Dream, we also revive unity & faith, peace & progress, which were the ideals our founding fathers had in mind when they came together to put forward this new & independent nation 59 years ago on October 1, 1960”.

    Atiku, however, lamented the issues plaguing the nation, saying that “all is not well”.

    He berated the attack on the judiciary, level of extreme poverty in the country, clampdown on freedom of the press and other issues.

    He said rather than calling for prayers, he charged all Nigerians to believe in the betterment of the nation.

    He said: “So, rather than just call for prayers today, I am calling on all Nigerians to believe in Nigeria’s betterment, to work for Nigeria’s betterment, and to insist that no one in Nigeria, no matter how highly placed, shall be bigger than the laws of our land.

    “We all have a duty to support and defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And this we must do, so help us God,” he added

  • LESSONS FROM KENYA: How the Judiciary can save Nigeria’s democracy, By Clem Aguiyi

    In a sharp contrast to 2015 when there was nationwide jubilation, there were no celebrations on the streets when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared President Muhammadu Buhari winner of the 2019 Presidential Election.

    Instead, of celebration there were gloom, sadness and uncertainty everywhere, as people wore long faces. Even the inauguration and swearing in ceremony was low keyed and without fanfare.

    Domestic and international observers from Europe and USA now and again have expressed disappointments with the election which the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) claimed lacked transparency.
    In a recent report released by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), the centre observed that INEC was less transparent in the conduct of 2019 election than it was in 2015 and 2011 respectively.
    The Centre described collation and tabulation of results from the polling unit to Ward Collation Centers as chaotic, open to manipulation and in some cases badly disrupted and opaque.
    Ward level tabulation and collation is a critical aspect of the election process. How it was handled can increase and decrease the credibility of election. Its disruptions and manipulations give opportunities for opportunistic political parties and individual candidates to dispute election results, hence the litany of cases before the various National and States Election Tribunals.
    CDD report also detailed how political thugs and security agencies threatened collation officers and party agents with violence thereby disrupting the collation process in several polling units.
    Section 138 of the Electoral Act as amended, provided grounds upon which an election may be questioned: that a person whose election was queried was at the time of the election not qualified to contest the election; that the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or non compliance with the Act; that the person was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election; that the person whose election is questioned submitted to the Commission affidavit containing false information of a fundamental nature in and for his qualification for the election.
    Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution as amended provided that a person shall be qualified for an election to the Office of President if he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; if he has attended the age of 35 years; if he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by the political party and he has been educated up-to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.
    Each and every one of these laws requires proper interpretation. Every judge understands his duty to interpret the wordings of the law and to dispense justice in accordance with the letters of the law. Only a mystery will make the court to rule against the constitution. The Tribunals must allow the laws as stipulated to speak as the Judiciary also is on trial. How they interpret the extant laws in the face of national expectations will have far reaching effects, especially on the stability of democracy in Nigeria.
    Faced with similar situation like we do currently, the Kenya Supreme Court did not hesitate to apply the law and thus saved democracy in Kenya. In so doing the Supreme Court of Kenya created precedent for the entire Africa. The rulings of the Kenya Supreme Court could serve as a useful guide in our circumstances.
    For the avoidance of doubt, the Kenya Supreme Court didn’t hide under technicalities. The determined the petition on its merit and held as follows: ‘A decision is hereby issued that the elections held on August 8 were not conducted in accordance it the constitution and the applicable law. The results are therefore invalid, null and void. Election is not an event but a process. After considering the totality of the entire evidence, we are satisfied that the elections were not conducted in accordance to the dictates of the constitution and the applicable principles’
    The main reasons why the Supreme Court nullified the results were that the IEBC was not able to show that they had followed all procedures and that their servers were not hacked. The behavior of the IEBC has been suspicious and / or incompetent.
    They made claims that could not stand technical scrutiny of the expert panel appointed by the Supreme Court. For instance, IEBC declined to provide the internal configuration firewall to its server, arguing that it will affect the security of their system. The technical team was able to prove that the integrity of the system would not be affected at all by providing the firewall configuration. But IEBC did not do provide the firewall configuration anyway. That the IT boss in charge of the elections was tortured and murdered a week before elections does not give any comfort. The IEBC also made procedural lapses related to printing of ballot papers, having observers. They further refused to provide a trail of those who had accessed the system.
    All of this, in itself, made the court feel that something was amiss and they ordered a re-election.
    This is a great shot in the arm for independence of judiciary in Kenya. It is interesting to note that international observers declared the elections to be ‘fair’. They noticed some ‘discrepancies’ but then still declared the elections to be above board. But then the issue is that for international observers, elections are an event. In reality elections, as the Supreme Court observed, are a process.
    Winning elections is not about the Election Day, it is about planning and strategizing well in advance. It involves (1) ensuring that your people are in key positions, (2) your patronage extends to those who can make a difference (getting votes or raising money), (3) you convince people that you will win and that will be in their interests.
    The Supreme Court judges in Kenya come from the same society as the people. As proud members of the bench they did everything to stand firm on the provisions of the law. I would tend to go by their judgment and will expect our own judges in the Presidential Election Tribunal to deliver judgments without fear or favor.
    For some time now, the judiciary has come under intense criticisms and attacks, having also been accused of corruption and perversion of justice. Will the judges redeem the image of the judiciary? Will they deliver judgment based on facts or will they further capitulate and thus sink further the hope of the masses?
    The gravamen of the petition and cross petition before the Presidential Election Tribunal which must be determined by the panel of Judges bordered on the issues of qualification and corrupt practices that characterized the 2o19 presidential elections.
    Judges understands their duty to dispense justice and to interpret the letters of the laws as it applied to specific issues.
    As the fate of citizens wane and thin in the executive arm of government and the legislature, the judiciary despite all odds remains a source of confidence and fearlessness. And like they say the last hope of the masses. Can our Tribunals rise up to the occasion and like the Kenyan Supreme Court allow the law to speak and dispense justice without fear of favor?

  • What Nigeria missed from Abiola’s presidency – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari has described the late MKO Abiola as a bridge builder who could have prevented the religious and tribal issues besetting the country now from happening, if he had been allowed to rule Nigeria.
    Speaking Tuesday, in Abuja, when he received Elders and Leaders of Thought from Ogun State at the State House, President Buhari said:
    “If MKO Abiola was allowed to rule, the religious and tribal issues now in Nigeria would not have been as strong, because he ran on a Muslim-Muslim ticket, chose his deputy from the Kanuri, a minority tribe and because of his personality, he went across Nigeria and was accepted.
    “He used his resources and energy to convince Nigerians that all he wanted was a solid Nigeria and nothing else.”
    President Buhari also said that he named the National Stadium, a national monument after the late politician because he knows that the youths would want to find out why such an important national institution was named after MKO Abiola in future.
    He expressed appreciation to Governor Dapo Abiodun for mobilising such a strong delegation to thank him for the gesture towards their illustrious son.
    The Ogun State delegation, led by the governor, had come to thank the President for the honour done the late MKO Abiola, an indigene of the State, by conferring on him the highest national honour, Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) for his ultimate sacrifice in enthroning democracy.
    The delegation, which presented a big talking drum to the President, also used the opportunity to solicit for the rehabilitation of some federal roads as well as other critical infrastructure in the State.
    The delegation believed that the rehabilitated roads will help decongest the gridlock occasioned by the movement of consignments along the Apapa – Oshodi expressway and improve the standard of living of Nigerians along the corridor.

  • 2019 polls: U.S. imposes visa restrictions on 'saboteurs' of Nigeria’s democracy

    The U.S. Government has imposed visa restrictions on “individuals responsible for undermining the Nigerian democratic process”.
    A spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State, Ms Morgan Ortagus, who announced this in a statement on Tuesday, said the action applied to those responsible for election-related violence.
    Ortagus said the unidentified individuals had “operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people and undermined democratic principles and human rights”.
    Recall that no fewer than 39 persons died in violence related to the last general elections in the country.
    The action, according to the spokesperson, is in fulfillment of the U.S. government’s earlier promise to consider sanctions against anti-democratic forces, including organisers of election-related violence in the country.
    “In a Jan. 24 statement, the U.S. government said that we would consider consequences – including visa restrictions – for individuals responsible for undermining the Nigerian democratic process or for organising election-related violence.
    “To that end, the Secretary of State is imposing visa restrictions on Nigerians believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Nigeria.
    “These individuals have operated with impunity at the expense of the Nigerian people and undermined democratic principles and human rights,” she said.
    The spokesperson emphasised that the restrictions targeted at specific individuals and not directed at the Nigerian people or the newly-elected government.
    She explained that the decision reflected the Department’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government in its anti-corruption crusade and efforts to strengthen democracy, accountability and respect for human rights.
    “The United States is a steadfast supporter of Nigerian democracy.
    “We commend all those Nigerians who participated peacefully in the February and March 2019 elections and have worked to strengthen Nigerian democratic institutions and processes.
    “As Nigeria marks the 20th anniversary of a return to democratic rule this year, we remain committed to working together to continue to advance democracy and respect for human rights and achieve greater peace and prosperity for both our nations.
    “We condemn those whose acts of violence, intimidation, or corruption harmed Nigerians or undermined the democratic process,” the spokesperson added.

  • Celebrating democracy day with election rigmarole – Femi Aribisala

    Celebrating democracy day with election rigmarole – Femi Aribisala

     

    By Femi Aribisala

    The Nigeria of today is stranger than fiction. The government has just legally declared June 12 “Democracy Day” and proclaimed that, henceforth, it will be a public holiday when we will celebrate Nigeria’s hard-won democracy.

    Except that this celebration of democracy is at the instance of an undemocratic government that has done a lot in the past few months to destroy democracy in Nigeria.

    June 12 is in remembrance of that day in 1993, when one of Nigeria’s freest elections was maliciously annulled because the powers-that-be did not like the result. President Buhari is now trying to make political capital out of the matter by proclaiming government remorse over that act of brazen illegality. But the problem is that he himself is the architect of the annulment of an earlier election in 1983.

    In effect, President Buhari is making a song and dance out of apologizing for an election he did not annul; but he refuses to apologize for the election he annulled. And we are all supposed to pretend that there is nothing strange and suspicious about this.

    Moreover, the president, who is now celebrating the “birthday” of democracy in Nigeria, is at the same time orchestrating the “death day” of democracy in Nigeria by being at the center of the worst election in the history of Nigeria; the recently concluded presidential election of February 2019.

    We are all witnesses of this government’s contradictory style of democracy. The chaos, acrimony and shenanigans of the last few months happened in broad daylight. So, it is only appropriate to ask what precisely we are supposed to be celebrating in this new-fangled Democracy Day?

    Celebrating rigmarole

    Are we celebrating the fact that campaigning for nomination at APC primaries resulted in fisticuffs and killings? Are we celebrating the suppression of candidates by fixing the price of APC nomination papers at extortionate levels affordable primarily to those with questionable wealth?

    Are we celebrating the declaring of winners as losers and losers as winners at APC primaries, and the brouhaha and court-cases that have resulted? Are we celebrating the booing and stoning of even the president and his entourage by his party-members at APC rallies populated with rented crowds, some of them imported from neighbouring countries?

    Are we celebrating Mr. President’s conversion of polling-stations into battlefields with his directive that the military should shoot and kill ballot-snatchers without recourse to the rule of law? Are we celebrating the disorienting of voters, especially those who travelled back home to vote, by the tactical cancelling of the presidential election at the last minute and its mischievous re-scheduling?

    Are we celebrating the disingenuous buying of votes with “trader-monies,” or the enticement of voters with rice, garri and hard cash ferried around in trailer trucks and bullion vans? Are we celebrating the suppression of votes by threats and mayhem on election day, including the looting and sacking of polling-stations in opposition strongholds?

    Should we celebrate the president’s refusal to sign the electoral act, even after several entreaties; INEC’s declaration of fictitious results; and the fact that the election is now a major bone of contention in the courts?

    It is right to celebrate what Mike Ozekhome characterises as “acts of gangsterism, hooliganism and shameless ‘agberoism’ quite unbecoming of a ruling party.”

    The answer to all this is a capital “NO!” We cannot, we should not and we will not. No June 12 declaration as Democracy Day can obfuscate the rape of democracy we have just witnessed. What we have in Nigeria is not government of the people by the people and for the people; but government of the government by the government and for the government.

    Insult to intelligence

    The government’s June 12 proclamation as now Democracy Day is an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians. The enemies of our democracy cannot pretend at the same time to be the defenders of democracy.

    To celebrate this “new and improved” Democracy Day, the government gathered together a large retinue of African heads-of-state who came because they felt somewhat beholden to Nigeria. However, it could not get a single one of the former heads-of-state of Nigeria to attend. They refused, in one accord, to participate in this sham of an event and would not validate a clearly stolen mandate.

    In a most dramatic fashion that could not have been lost on the assembled foreign dignitaries, Nigeria’s former heads-of-state rained on the president’s elaborate parade.

    Verdict of failure

    We now have the verdict on the European Union Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the February 2019 election and it is certainly nothing to celebrate. As a matter of fact, it is quite damning. EU observers were of the view that INEC conducted an election that was definitely far below international best standards.

    Among other things, the EU noted that the results forms and smart card readers were not packed in tamper-proof envelopes as required. We may well ask: “why not?” If mago mago is not intended, does anybody have to teach us about this requirement?

    The same goes for other INEC anomalies that are basic and not rocket-science. The EU noted that there were numerical discrepancies and anomalies on polling unit results forms. There was no clear system of record-keeping. There were inconsistent numbers during the collation exercise.

    There was lack of clear checks and explanations, and insufficient public information and this undermined the integrity of the elections. This means, in effect, the declared results were questionable.

    “Citizens did not have sufficient means to scrutinise results.” This is deliberate lack of transparency. “INEC did not provide centralised information on the declared results for the different locations and has not posted complete results data on its website.” We may well ask again: “Why not?”

    In addition: “there was lack of disaggregated results by local government, ward or polling unit, which would allow for thorough checking of results.” “The discrepancies and insufficient public information were not in line with international standards for access to information and public accountability.” “In cases, INEC even recorded more valid votes than the number of accredited voters.”

    The EU also decried widespread government pressure on the independence of the judiciary. It observed that Chief Justice Onoghen’s suspension on the eve of the elections did not follow due process, and maintained that his suspension shaped the poll’s outcome. It decried the violence that attended the elections, alleging that over 150 people were killed in the melee. It also noted that the polls were marred by acts of voter intimidation, including cases of security officials harassing voters.

    Only the blind, deaf and dumb will refuse to recognize that this is a major indictment of INEC and the APC government. The outcome of all this is that the 2019 elections turned out, as the government had planned it, as one big sham.

    Therefore, I ask again, what democracy exactly can the government now be celebrating with so much fanfare in Abuja? We must not allow ourselves to be deceived. The June 12 celebration, the Democracy Day proclamation, the assemblage of African dignitaries in Abuja, are all part and parcel of a big cover-up by the government of its stolen mandate. It is an attempt to validate an invalid election with subterfuge.

    Operation cover-up

    Make no mistake about it, the cover-up is on. A major bone of contention about the election has to do with whether INEC used or did not use a central electronic server to post results. The PDP claims it secured access to the INEC server, only to discover that the election result posted there is completely different from the one INEC announced to the public.

    INEC declared Buhari as the winner of the presidential election with a plurality of nearly 4 million votes, but according to the PDP, the result posted on the INEC central server indicates that Atiku actually won the election with nearly 2 million votes.

    However, INEC insists it did not use a central server where results were uploaded during the election. But this position is not credible because INEC told Nigerians in no uncertain terms beforehand that the 2019 election results would be stored in a central server. In the presence of the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmud Yakubu; Chidi Nwafor, INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, said:

    “Observations have shown that most election malpractices that take place do not take place at polling units. The challenge has been after the poll- between the polling units and the collation centres and at the collation centre. INEC has therefore decided to transmit results from all polling units to central database such that viewing access is allowed at wards and local government levels- which ultimately eliminates manual collation processes.”

    According to Chidi Nwafor, the new e-collation system has four procedures: “(1) Results from polling units will be entered into the e-collation application on the smart card reader; (2) Results are transmitted to a central server; (3) Results are auto-collated and can be viewed at the RAs (wards) and ECA8s can be scanned at that level; and (4) Result audit and confirmation takes place at collation centres at LGAs, state and national level.”

    Mr. Nwafor said the new system would be used for all elections, from local council polls which INEC conducts in the Federal Capital Territory to the presidential election. INEC chairman, Mahmud Yakubu himself is on video, telling Nigerians that INEC would be “deploying in the 2019 general elections a new platform for electronic collation and transmission of results.”

    He said manual results, copied into FORM EC8 A and E, will be used by e-collection officers at the wards to determine if there are any discrepancies.

    Out of the billions approved for the elections, no less than 237 million naira was allocated specifically for server-related expenses. Therefore, it is deceitful for INEC to now maintain they did not use a central electronic server in the election.

    Forensic audit

    Atiku is praying the court to grant access for him to inspect the INEC servers. Should the court approve, forensic audit would still reveal what was in them, even if they have since been deleted. If INEC does not have anything to hide, it would readily consent to this request. However, it is insisting Atiku’s request must be denied.

    The judiciary remains the only redeeming grace of this sordid drama. From the way cases pertaining to state governments and legislative elections have been adjudicated, it is clear that the courts have no favourites and have shown a high degree of integrity and impartiality.

    Therefore, whatever they decide on this delicate matter should be accepted by all and sundry. In all this election palaver, the judiciary remains the only institution in Nigeria that has deserved high commendation.

  • June 12 signifies soul of democratic struggle in Nigeria – Atiku

    Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has said the June 12, 1993 presidential election signifies the soul of Nigeria’s democratic struggle and a threshold in the life of the nation.

    Atiku noted that the significance of celebrating the June 12 presidential election was a reminder of a national history to becoming a democratic country.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja, the nation’s capital, by his media adviser, Mr Paul Ibe, the former Vice-President recalled how Nigerians, on that day, voted for democracy against the jackboot notion of oppressive totalitarianism.

    The statement said: “The collective decision by Nigerians to elect democracy on that day was not to aggrandise the political elite or to replace military dictatorship with civilian autocracy. No! The choice of democracy was to restore power to the people.

    “Suffice it to state that the idea of June 12 is not merely to declare it as a Democracy Day – much as celebratory and commendable it might seem. The idea behind the event of June 12, 1993 embodies something much more bigger than that.

    “It was a threshold moment in our national life, which demands of us as democrats to do a soul-searching and ask the salient question of all time: how better off are Nigerians?”

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23 election, noted that it is not enough to declare June 12 a Democracy Day when the government of the day is disrespectful of the rule of law and wantonly disregards court orders on issues that border on fundamental human rights.

    Atiku said: “It is not enough to declare June 12 a work-free day when the ordinary people of Nigeria still don’t have the freedom to find a better life from the suffocating grip of poverty, when Nigeria is now the global headquarters of extreme poverty.

    “It is not enough to declare June 12 a work-free day when a disproportionate number of citizens are not sure of where their next meal will come from and when the sanctity of their lives is not guaranteed.

    “It is not enough to declare June 12 a work-free day when freedom of the press, and of speech, fundamentals of democracy is being assailed.

    “As a compatriot who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the icon of the June 12 struggle, Chief M. K. O. Abiola of blessed memory, I know first-hand that the choice of HOPE, as his campaign slogan, was not merely a populist tokenism.

    “He (Abiola) did not mean to deceive Nigerians with a hope he could not deliver upon. And, today, the minimum requirement for any June 12 convert is to demand of them wherever they may be – either in government or in private lives – to deliver on the promises they made to the people.

    “It is, therefore, not acceptable that an administration which had an opportunity of four years to deliver the promise of change to Nigerians, not only reneged on that promise, but propelled the country into a near-comatose state will lay claims to being a true friend of the June 12 struggle.”

  • June 12: Let’s protect our hard-earned Democracy – APC

    June 12: Let’s protect our hard-earned Democracy – APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged Nigerians to join hands and help protect the country`s hard-earned Democracy as the country celebrates its Democracy Day.

    Malam Lanre Issa-Oninu, the party`s National Publicity Secretary gave the charge in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja as the party joins in the celebration of the country`s first Democracy Day on June 12.

    He urged Nigerians to continue to appreciate the importance and significance of the occasion, by guarding jealously the country`s democracy, while nothing that many compatriots paid the ultimate sacrifice.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Democracy Day in Nigeria is being celebrated on June 12 in 2019 for the first time instead of on May 29 endorsed few years back by President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration.

    The change carried heavy symbolism for the country because it had known more years of being ruled by military men than by democratically elected leaders.

    President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Democracy Day Bill into law on June 10, the law specified that June 12 now replaced May 29, which was introduced in 1999 as the official Democracy Day.

    By this piece of legislation, the new date would also be recognised as national public holiday by the Federal Government henceforth.

    Following the signing of the law, May 29 would only be marked as a day for handover and inauguration of new governments in the country.

    “Today’s celebration is not only significant in the annals of our political history, but also momentous in all ramifications.

    “The President Buhari-led APC government has once again demonstrated its avowed commitment to correct past injustices and celebrate true heroes and heroines that paid the supreme sacrifices for the democratic freedom that we all cherish and enjoy today.

    “In correcting past injustices, the APC-led government is also committed to equitable administration of our commonwealth for the benefit of all Nigerians, “ Issa-Oninu said.

    He noted that in the world over, democracy in its various forms and with its inevitable imperfections, remain the most representative system of government.

    He assured that the APC-led government would continue to commit itself to the finest ideals of its democratic values and ethos by its progressive actions and programmes for Nigerians.

    NAN further reports that June, 12, 1993 would have marked the return of democracy in Nigeria but was truncated as actual result of the poll was not released.

    The day carried huge significance for older Nigerians.

    This was especially so, because it was on this date in 1993 that presidential elections were held for the first time since the 1983 military coup.

    The June 12 1993 Presidential election was still viewed as the freest, fairest and most peaceful election ever held in Nigeria.

    On the day, an estimated 14 million Nigerians irrespective of their ethnicity, religions, class, and regional affiliations, came out to elect their president with the hope of ending eight years of military dictatorship.

    The euphoria was however, short-lived as the results of the election was never released.

    However, unofficial results gathered from various polling stations by civil society groups across the country, indicated broad national support for the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Chief MKO Abiola.

    Abiola was a business man, publisher, politician and aristocrat of the Yoruba Egba clan from the West of Nigeria.

    The then military ruler, retired Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, decided to annual the results of the election and justified his action by claiming the annulment was on the grounds that it was necessary to save the nation’s stability activities preceding the election were inimical to peace and stability in Nigeria.

  • June 12: Sacrifices made my heroes of democracy should not be in vain – Lar

    June 12: Sacrifices made my heroes of democracy should not be in vain – Lar

    By Jonas Ike
    The Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology Hon. Beni Lar has called for hilarious celebration of this year’s Democracy Day on June 12, 2109 noting that the sacrifices made my heroes of democracy should not be in vain.
    She said that Chief MKO Abiola who she described as the hero of this democracy should be honoured as he deserves such honours on this year’s celebration.
    The lawmaker also said that some other prominent Nigerian heroes also deserve special recognition on the role they played that birthed this special day.
    The lawmaker a daughter to a former gorvernor of Plateau State said that her late father Chief Solomon Lar and others who made contributions to national development deserves to be celebrated on this day.
    She added that the Nigeria democracy day celebration signifies the birth of a new nation with high hopes for greatness in the comity of nations.
    End.

  • Nigeria will not survive 2019 election – Femi Aribisala

    By Femi Aribisala

    For those of us who had hoped against hope, the 2019 presidential election has proved to be the last straw. We are now convinced that Nigeria is a hopeless case. This country is not just a major disappointment; it is decidedly firmly on the trajectory of a future break up.

    Today, the silence in the Nigerian political space is deafening. Just look back to 2015 and before, when there was vibrant debate about almost everything under the sun. But now it is “siddon look.” We just had an election that was no election and more like selection. It was even more a mini civil-war, characterized by killings, voter-suppression and intimidation, ballot-snatching and falsification of results.

    There was even a case where the electoral umpire claimed he was made to declare a false result at gunpoint. But in spite of the bogus outcome of the elections, nobody is fighting anymore. Nobody is burning tyres today or demonstrating in the streets. Instead, people are watching and waiting to see what will happen. Surely, this cannot be the end of the matter.

    Phyrric victory

    The so-called victors are jubilant, reading the eerie silence as mission accomplished. However, the omen is bleak and dire. It is always better when people express their feelings freely. That way, you know exactly where they stand. But when everything is bottled up as it is now, then you know we are in for trouble. Sooner, rather than later, the dam will burst.

    There is definitely a cold war currently going on in Nigeria today, and it is a lull before the storm.

    Only those who have been bought, or political sycophants looking for scraps of the stolen pie, are talking. They are giving back-slaps and high-fives to the phyrric victors. Meanwhile, wisdom and reason have concluded that Nigeria is a lost cause. No point waiting for another farce in 2023. Now is the time for all good people to leave the country; either physically or psychologically.

    It is now clear that those who believe they have a future have no part in this failed and discredited state called Nigeria. To your tents, O Israel!

    Those who make peaceful change impossible, make forcible change inevitable. But that is not to suggest military intervention is the answer. We have already done that and got the t-shirt. All the military did, in all their years in power, was to drag Nigeria through the mud. There is no point putting any hope in them again, after all, it is the same military men who hijacked the democratic system simply by taking off their uniforms and putting on agbadas.

    Things fall apart

    Seeing the template established in this fraudulent 2019 election, the inevitable conclusion, at least to me, is that this Nigeria cannot survive. The message of the 2019 election is that Nigeria is doomed to disintegration. Things have fallen apart and the center cannot hold.

    The message is that the powers-that-be are determined that we must be satisfied willy-nilly with incompetence. They say we must put up with economic failure. They insist our new status as the poverty capital of the world is to be commended. They tell us returning Nigeria to major debt status is next-level achievement. They tell us to celebrate abject failure as glorious success.

    If you were to believe the lie, our leaders have resuscitated the naira. They have nullified power blackouts. They have removed the petroleum subsidy. They have reduced the pump price of petrol. They have created millions and millions of new jobs. Our hospitals are no longer consulting clinics. Life and property is now secure in Nigeria. Our agricultural sector has been suitably revamped.

    Our leaders have achieved self-sufficiency in food production in Nigeria. They have killed corruption in the land. They have rebuilt our roads and bridges. They have defeated Boko Haram and rescued the Chibok girls. They have restored the reputation of Nigeria in the comity of nations. As a result of these glorious achievements, the current government not only won re-election, it did so with a resoundingly bigger majority than before.

    Dashed hopes

    All this makes 2019 a major watershed in Nigerian political history. For some reason, hopes were rekindled during the campaigns; only to be dashed ruthlessly. The times are so bad, our situation so worrisome, that many presidential hopefuls came out of the woodwork. It was time to rescue Nigeria. It was time to change the dismal trajectory of the nation’s history.

    Surely, even the blind can see that we cannot go on like this. Surely, these crop of current Nigerian leadership will be thrown out by a despondent electorate. It was time for a new page; a new departure. What we needed was our very own Mercutio proclaiming a plague on both the houses of our delinquent political establishment of the APC and the PDP.

    So out came a new panoply of ambitious political mavericks, talking up public policy, debating the issues, offering new ideas for the renewal of the national mandate. Among these were Kingsley Moghalu, Oby Ezekwesili, Tope Fasua, Fela Durotoye and Omoyele Sowore. I shared their delusion in thinking the Nigerian political system was amenable change. I believed with them that we are all fed up with the status quo.

    So they formed new parties, toured the country, pumped flesh, marshalled new agendas; only to meet their Waterloo at the discredited polls. They obtained, or were awarded, an insignificant fraction of the millions of fabricated votes. So completely were they crushed that there is even talk now of making it difficult, if not impossible, for other parties to contest in future elections apart from the tweedledee and tweedledum of the APC and the PDP.

    Failed Nigeria

    The message of our Caesars in Abuja is without ambiguity: there is no room for change in the politics of Nigeria. Under no legal circumstances will those who have ceased power by deception and subterfuge willingly relinquish it for the sake of some nebulous construct called democracy. To hell with power to the people, they insist in one accord. Power belongs to the professional politicians in Nigeria, and forever so shall it be.

    The Nigerian electorate itself is no better inclined. God says in the scriptures about the Israel of old: “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and my people love to have it so.” (Jeremiah 5:31).

    The 2019 elections show that a substantial number of Nigerians, especially in the North, are convinced this failed country called Nigeria is the best that Nigeria can be. Indeed, if the verdict of the doctored polls were to be believed, then most Nigerians are very much in love with this malignant Nigeria.

    They love a Nigeria that is poverty-stricken, where our leaders are thieves, armed-robbers and pen-robbers, where beggars and vagabonds roam the streets, where the illiterate and the uneducated are the champions of public policy, where human life is worthless and people are massacred in numbers every day. Nigerians, according to INEC, adore a Nigeria where truth has fallen in the streets and justice is an orphan.

    Death-knell of democracy

    Never again. If there is anything to be learnt from the experience of the failed new idealists who ran for president in mushrooming parties this time around and lost their shirts; it is that Nigerian politics is a complete waste of time. The electorate has apparently never believed in the polls. They know their votes will not count. They know the only time politicians have any regard for them is during election campaigns.

    So, if they can get a small bag of rice or garri from the charlatans running for office, or maybe even just 1,000 naira for their thumbprint, that will do just fine. If you can give them even more so they can attack polling booths in opposition strongholds and make away with the ballot boxes, they are ready. If you can give them lunch so they can incite a riot so an election being lost is declared inconclusive, they will do it. Thereby, the victor becomes the vanquished.

    As a result, we will not see the idealism of 2019 come 2023, should this misnomer we call Nigeria still exist by then. The newcomers are once bitten, twice shy. Even now, by the time we came to the gubernatorial elections, after the farce of the presidential, Nigerians had lost all interest in democracy. Most people did not even bother to come out to vote again.

    Of course, this did not prevent states like Kaduna from recording more fabricated votes in the gubernatorial election than even Kano did fictitiously in the presidential. In short, what we witnessed in the recently concluded election was the death knell of democracy in Nigeria.

    So what is the answer?

    Goodbye Nigeria

    More and more people are going to vote with their feet. The industrious and the enterprising are going to seek greener pastures elsewhere, having concluded Nigeria is a lost cause. They will go to Canada, to Australia, to those countries where merit is rewarded and excellence is the watchword. The smart ones who stay behind will start insisting on the dismemberment of this bogus contraption called Nigeria.

    What the 2019 election tells me, in no uncertain terms, is that the future of Nigeria lies in the breakup of Nigeria. It is not what I want. It is not what I desire. But it is there in the cards.

    I have written severally that Nigeria should remain united. I said again and again that Nigeria cannot do without the Igbo. I have shouted in the wilderness that Nigeria cannot do without the North. But I have now reached the conclusion that, under the present circumstances, the breakup of Nigeria is inevitable. It is just a matter of time.

    This is not a prediction: it is a warning. It is a call to arms. It comes from the realization that the Nigerian political system has now been programmed so that every election will now be decided by those whose votes can be bought with 30 pieces of silver.

    The system has been rigged so that every election in Nigeria will now be determined by those who have filled the voting register with underage voters. So doing, your chances of being elected to high office are excellent if you are incompetent, a crook, or a thief to boot. Otherwise, you don’t stand a chance.

    I congratulate all those who won infamous victories in the just concluded elections. But “send not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.”

  • Nigeria now ranks among leading democracies in Africa – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said that Nigeria now ranked amongst the leading democracies in Africa and in the Commonwealth 20 years after it began to experience uninterrupted democratic culture.

    President Buhari was the visitor at the final day of the 50th Convocation Ceremonies of the University of Lagos, which also served as the convocation for the 2017/2018 academic session.

    The president was represented by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Rasheed Yakubu.

    “With the 2019 general elections that had come and gone, we as a nation have once again reiterated our choice of democracy as the system of government by which we hope to imbibe an all-round development.

    “ Our administration is committed to ensuring that the sacredness of that choice is preserved. With this policy enunciated and every programme instituted, we shall ensure that our democratic culture takes firmer roots and legacies further consolidated.

    “Let me reiterate that my administration will not waver in its commitment to following due process, preserving the sanctity of the rule of law, battling grand corruption, securing the lives and property of our people and rehabilitating or upgrading our critical infrastructure.

    “We will continue to be unrelenting in enthroning hard work, honesty and place the welfare of our citizens above everything else.

    “ We must all join hands to take Nigeria to the next level of progress,’’ President Buhari said.

    According to him, his administration will continue to encourage Nigerian universities to build closer and better relationships with the industrial sector.

    He said this would help to bridge the gap between theories and practicality with a view to addressing some of the most required needs of the nation.

    He added that his administration believed in the imperative of sound educational system for national development.

    “We recognise the place of our intellectuals to undertake cutting edge researches that will address the challenges of development and contribute to making lives better.

    “ We acknowledge that our advancement as a nation will be driven by a robust human resource base.

    “ It should, therefore, be our collective determination to do our best to guarantee a peaceful and stable future for Nigerians through education.

    “ We shall continue to interface with the unions of universities in our bid to ensuring that we have a stable higher education sector that contributes to the nation’s global competiveness,’’ he said.

    While congratulating the graduating students, President Buhari charged them to make their impacts felt in matters of national development.

    “As you make your ways into the world beyond this ivory tower, let me assure you of our administration’s commitment to ensuring that the skills and knowledge you have acquired are put to use and be productively engaged.

    “While many of you will be gainfully employed in the public and private sectors, some of you may choose to explore the entrepreneurial route by founding and co-founding small and medium scale businesses.

    “In a special way, the knowledge and competences you have developed in the course of acquiring Nigeria’s degrees, diplomas and certificates are to be applied to the noble course of national development,’’ he said.

    Earlier, the Chancellor of the university and the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar El-kanemi, said that the tertiary education sector in general and the university system in particular would enjoy renewed attention with the release of the graduands.

    “Having said this, I must say that it is necessary for us to put in place, more support for policies, programmes and finances to keep the ivory towers at par with their counterparts globally.

    “Many globally renowned feats by our faculties and students make a case for my appeal,’ he said.

    Giving a break down, the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, said that 5,405 postgraduate degrees consisting of 150 Ph.D holders, 4,771 Masters and 484 postgraduate diplomas would be awarded in various disciplines.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that four eminent personalities were conferred with Emeritus Professorship and honorary degrees in recognition of their roles in developing the country.

    The honorary doctorate awardees included: Mr Jim Ovia, businessman and founder, Zenith Bank Plc, Alhaji Lateef Okunnu, and Dr Daniel Olukoya, the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries worldwide.

    In their acceptance speeches, Ovia emphasised the need for the private sector to join hands with the Federal Government in the funding of education in the country.

    He, however, called for the licensing of more private universities in order to enhance the academic standard of the country.

    Olukoya in his speech, emphasised the need to encourage the development of country’s youths on how to be self reliant after school.

    He also said that there was the need for the Federal Government to institute a compulsory course in universities on life after school.

    Olukoya said the course should encompass integrity, hard work, honesty and relationship.

    “If students fail the course, they should not be allowed to graduate,’’ he said.