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The more than 100 journalists and media workers killed as of 3rd May, 2024 in the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, ignited by Hamas’ unprecedented attack against Israel on 7th of October 2023, makes it the deadliest period for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began gathering data in 1992.
This year alone, 25 journalists and media workers have been killed, including 20 in Gaza alone, according to the U.S.-based CPJ, a non-profit organization, that advocates for press freedom and the protection of journalists worldwide.
The Committee also says that it is investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt, or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes.
Globally, more than 35,000 Palestinians have been reported killed in Gaza and the West Bank, and 1,200 in Israel since the Hamas attack and Israeli retaliations.
Every death in a conflict is one too many, journalists are not special.
However, the CPJ Programme Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna posits that: “Journalists are civilians who are protected by international humanitarian law in times of conflict. Those responsible for their deaths face dual trials: one under international law and another before history’s unforgiving gaze.”
CPJ’s President, Jodie Ginsberg, put it more succinctly: “Every journalist killed is a further blow to our understanding of the world.”
Speaking on behalf of all advocates of press freedom she said: “(We) must work collectively to ensure that journalist killers are brought to justice … and that the public’s right to be informed is protected from those whose power is threatened by the scrutiny of reporting.”
In his speech to mark this year’s World Press Day or World Press Freedom Day, Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights paid tribute to the “countless, fearless individuals daring to question,” including “71 journalists and media workers killed and the 320 imprisoned, in 2023, the highest number ever.”
Describing 2023 as “a devastating year for journalism,” the senior UN official said: “It was a year characterized – again – by impunity. Only 13% of the murder cases have been investigated, he said, adding: “When we lose a journalist, we lose our eyes and ears to the outside world. We lose a voice for the voiceless.”
The 2024 World Press Freedom Day focuses attention on the climate and the environment under the theme “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of Environmental Crisis.”
Türk said the occasion was being marked “in an era of acute global turmoil and the profound fragmentation and polarisation of humanity,” with “conflict boiling over in many places – from Myanmar to Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza, and several other parts of the world – causing intolerable human suffering.”
According to him: “Disinformation is infecting our media and digital landscapes, fuelling hate and division. And as climate change batters our fragile planet, the lives and livelihoods of future generations are under the gravest threat this world has ever known.”
He acknowledged “journalists around the world who are working to hold polluters accountable for the damage and the devastation. They are driving open debate and critical thinking,” the UN official affirmed.
“And by separating facts from lies and propaganda, they are pushing for evidence-based policy decisions on the climate crisis that the world so urgently needs.
Environmental journalists need stronger commitments from their governments and their employers to protect them. Better and safer working conditions…
The dramatic consequences of inertia and inaction on the climate crisis are unfolding as we speak. This doesn’t have to be the case,” Türk added.
The World Press Freedom Day is observed annually on May 3rd. It was established by the UN General Assembly in 1993, following a recommendation adopted at UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991.
The day celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom, evaluates press freedom around the world, defends the media from attacks on their independence, and pays tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.
The date was also chosen to commemorate the Windhoek (Namibia) Declaration, on free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in 1991.
It emphasizes the importance of freedom of the press and reminds governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
As part of the commemoration, the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize is conferred on deserving individuals, organizations, or institutions that have made outstanding contributions to the defence and promotion of press freedom worldwide.
The prize is named after Guillermo Cano Isaza, a Colombian journalist who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper, El Espectador, in Bogotá in 1986.
Cano’s writings offended Colombia’s powerful drug barons, and journalists in other parts of the World face similar threats today.
According to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, Norway ranks the highest in press freedom, while Eritrea ranks the lowest.
According to the CPJ, of the 320 journalists and media workers imprisoned as of December 1, 2023, China with (44), followed by Myanmar (43), Belarus (28), Russia (22), and Vietnam (19), rank as having the highest number of jailed journalists.
*Ejime, a former War Correspondent, is a Global Affairs Analyst and Consultant on Peace & Security and Governance Communications
AFTER three months of bootless committee meetings in the comfort of air-conditioned offices at the cost of one billion naira (President Bola Tinubu approved 500 million naira to “start with… first”) and about a month after the expiration of the last minimum wage approved in 2019, the Tinubu government has not been able to approve a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers even when it wastes no time to approve policies that inflict maximum suffering on poor people.
On May 1, I woke up here in Atlanta to the news of an increase in the minimum wage of workers, which would be backdated to January 1st. Although it’s the legal thing to do, I was impressed nonetheless, not only because I’ve significantly scaled back my expectations about what the government can do but also because I know most Nigerian workers could use the relief that the increase and the arrears would bring.
So, I started looking for the exact amount of the new minimum. I scouted social media platforms and news websites. I had no luck.
It turned out that I was mistaken. The national minimum wage has not been increased even though the current one expired on April 17, which is frankly untenably criminal.
All that had happened, I later learned, was that the federal government had approved an increase of between 25 per cent and 35 per cent in the salaries of certain civil servants, according to the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC).
“They include Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS) and Consolidated Police Salary Structure (CONPOSS),”NSIWC’s spokesman by the name of Emmanuel Njoku said in a statement on April 30. “Others are: Consolidated Para-military Salary Structure (CONPASS), Consolidated Intelligence Community Salary Structure (CONICCS) and Consolidated Armed Forces Salary Structure (CONAFSS).The increases will take effect from January 1.”
That’s some impenetrable mumbo jumbo for those of us who are not civil servants or who are not tutored in the tortured, tortuous ways of the civil service. It’s obvious, though, that this is not the new minimum wage.
A 25 percent increase on the existing minimum wage, that is, 30,000 naira,would amount to a mere additional 7,500 naira, and a 35 percent increase is a mere additional 10,500 naira. That’s lower than Edo State’s new minimum wage of 70,000 naira.
This is both exasperating and unconscionable, especially given that this government, since its inception, has understood its role as consisting of merely conceiving, initiating, and implementing policies that squeeze the hope and life out of poor and middle-class folks.
The originative signal of the intensity of the hardheartedness of this government came from the precipitate, ill-conceived, thoroughly unjustified announcement of the removal of petrol subsidies on President Tinubu’s inaugural day.
He followed this up with the disastrous “floating” of the naira, which wiped out trillions from the economy, hemorrhaged existing foreign investments, and made nonsense of the pittance workers collected as salaries.
Not done, the government chose to hike tariffs on electricity (that’s barely there to start with) to amounts that regular people can’t afford. Fairly regular electricity will now become the exclusive privilege of people and companies that can pay extortionate amounts for it. This will, of course, exacerbate the existing cost-push inflation in the economy that was ignited by the removal of petrol subsidies.
Now life has become an unwinnable daily war for most people as a result of these policies. But President Tinubu brags that these life-sucking policies represent “courage.” By that, it is obvious he meant that these policies are so soulless, so callous, so predatory that normal people would violently revolt against them but that he damned that prospect and did what he did anyway.
He should be lucky that his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, laid the foundation for the current mystifying docility of Nigerians, for the emergent national culture of toleration of injustice without a fight, and for the absolute death of critically collective democratic citizenship.
As I pointed out in a previous column, preying on vulnerable members of society who have lost the will to resist injustice is no courage. It’s moral cowardice. And there’s no better example of the deceit and cowardice of the government than its inability or unwillingness to implement a basic minimum wage for workers after realizing trillions of naira from the removal of petrol subsidies (which has devalued the worth of the existing minimum wage by several folds).
The government has never ever needed a committee to implement policies that hurt the poor and the middle class. All it usually needs is Tinubu’s cowardly and preposterous presidential “courage.”
It only needs committees—which sit for extended periods because every sitting is a money-making venture—when any issues concern giving just a little welfare to beleaguered workers. Although the government is obligated by law to conduct nationwide public hearings as a precursor to increasing electricity tariffs, according to Femi Falana, the government chose not to be distracted by such pesky legalities in its haste to do what it seems to love to do best: make poor citizens squirm in torment and cry.
Accountable and socially responsible governments all over the world preoccupy their minds with finding ways to assuage the existential injuries that life episodically throws at citizens. But like the Buhari regime that preceded the current government, there appears to be a single-minded obsession by people in government with making life more miserable than it already is for everyday folks every day.
It seems to me that this government’s reason for being is to inflict pain and misery on Nigerians. It is what gives it its highs and delectations.
I get the sense that the strategists and tacticians of the government spend their time brainstorming on the next sadistic agony to visit on Nigerians. When they are out of ideas, they might choose to remove subsidies on the air Nigerians breathe, the land Nigerians walk on, and even the saliva Nigerians gulp.
By the end of this month, the Tinubu government will be one year old. Can it honestly point to a single thing it has done that has brought even a smidgeon of relief to our people, that has given ordinary people a reason to smile?
In less than one year, the Tinubu government has built a public image as a government that invests all its energy and resources into devising ways to hurt the people and to being a passive, unresisting servant of the IMF and the World.
We know that historically the IMF has always been opposed to increases in minimum wages. Last year, for instance, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the planned minimum wage increases in many countries in Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe (CEE) should be stopped because the “increases will result in more persistent inflation or lower employment, especially given relatively weak productivity growth in the region.”
The IMF always encourages, even compels, governments in Third Word countries to totally remove all subsidies that benefit the poor but warns them against increasing minimum wages.
Could the reluctance by the Tinubu government to increase the minimum wage of workers be inspired by its fear of the IMF, its lord and savior? I don’t know, but it’s worth exploring.
Well, as I pointed out in a previous column, Nigeria’s elite have a personal incentive to obey the IMF. The increased financial burden that IMF’s policies impose on poor Nigerians helps to keep them in check and renders them more docile and controllable. The poorer people are the less strength they tend to have to resist oppression and the more likely they are to be esurient for crumps from their oppressors.
So governance by sadism is rooted in the desire to keep the vast majority of the people dirt poor, miserable, ignorant, and therefore more manipulatable.
As Toyin Falola temporarily relocates to East and South Africa in the summer, giving lectures in Kenya, South Africa, Lesotho, Malawi, and Botswana, he moves into what one can describe as “the orbit of intellectual comparison.” He is not like the figures they are used to: Nurudeen Farah, Ngugi Wa Thing’o, and Wole Soyinka. He does not deal with the ambiguities of creative writing but the directness of intellectualism. He is a front-rank figure in African nationalist and political thought. As I prepare a public lecture on Toyin Falola, to be presented on May 13, 2-24, as part of an intellectual feast, I began to see how he resembles Wilmot Biden, Marcus Garvey, and W. B. Dubois. I eventually settled for an intellectual paradigm that linked him more to Ali Mazrui, who had tremendous respect for Falola while he was alive. At one time, Mazrui likened himself to John the Baptist while talking about Falola, whom he called Ndugu.
Intellectuals across different generations are known for the outstanding contributions they make to issues that concern the progress of their people in their ways. Through what they postulate and the ideologies that they project, they are drawn to a community of followers that identify the light in their engagements and decide to be associated with them because of their constellation of ideas that are useful for personal and even collective development. This occurs in every aspect of human endeavor. Shakespeare, for example, commanded a swath of literary disciples who wanted to be like him and postulate exactly like that great man. Interestingly, it was not only Shakespeare that attained that feat. In the field of philosophy, several individuals understand that Aristotle made intimidating accomplishments that are commonly used as the benchmark for quality intellection in the ages and centuries far after his own. Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, and Wole Soyinka, among others, have made such an indelible mark in the literary industry in recent years, and they have had a massive impact on a crowd of intelligent folks who intend to be like that and carry out similar lights in their endeavors. Toyin Falola is another bright scholar who has blazed the trail in historical writings, and his popularity is a product of his undying love for intellectual engagements involving human history, particularly African history, for a global overview. Falola is indeed a brilliant scholar who traverses many disciplines. In a world flattened by the thorns of partial criticism by Western scholars who are scarcely educated about African realities and history, Falola has erected himself as an irrepressible voice challenging newfangled rhetoric against Afrocentric ideas.
All these scholars in the category mentioned above and those who are unintentionally omitted have one thing in common: they are consistent in their ideological projection and committed to their life-long philosophy. At the heart of every writing is a philosophical argument made by writers for the purpose of bringing to the attention of people certain issues that can potentially challenge their sociocultural or ontological realities or educating them on the most effective ways to prevent unwholesome damage and challenges that could come to them spasmodically. To that extent, writers are considered the light of their society and would be looked up to when expectations of a refined social environment are rife. In the African legal discourse, such writers would include the Senegalese Jurist Keba Mbaye, who, after a good analysis of the state of (under)development in Africa, posits in his Inaugural Lecture back in the 70s that development is a human right or an entitlement. His ideas germinated, and today, not only is the right to development binding in the African human rights system, but it is also clearly provided in the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development. There is also currently a Draft treaty on the Right to Development for debate at the UN.
Falola, however, stands out and is very different in this category of African scholars for some very important reasons. He shares compelling attributes with the scholars in this category by using his intellectual engagements as a force to remedy the wrongs that the world has done against Africans. Just as Ali Mazrui employed history to demystify the negative perception that people have against Africans, Falola has used that discipline and others as launchpads for his shining ideas that primarily dislodge the poor notions that are generated and spread about Africans from the West to the world. Mazrui was popular for discrediting the untested hypothesis about Africans, and he was seen for who he was: an uncompromising individual channeling his ideas regardless of the circumstances, protests, and criticism that people hurled against him.
Toyin Falola explains to people how the deliberately (mis)constructed identity of Africans by the West has obstructed the people from actualizing their fullest potential. Although many people have always been critical of that position, it remains true to the extent that sufficient resources and evidence are provided to substantiate that position. All the works of man have always centered on the exploration of different aspects of African life so that they would assist in projecting the ideas that challenge the very negative remarks and overview that the world has about Africans through the reliance on Western history and historical narratives that are purely doctored to achieve a particular intention. Perhaps his resourceful intelligence is enhanced by the reality of his active participation in African cultural engagement; the understanding that he brings values to the table of discourse shows the reason why many people accept his positions in ways that challenge the superordinate projection of the universalists. Falola has researched African political history, and we cannot but marvel at how much evidence he has brought to the debate as to how the precolonial African societies were filled with organized political systems, effective economic templates, sound philosophical debates, and more, that helped to shape their corresponding families, settlements, and states. Contrary to the misconception that individuals peopled Africa without the quality intellection needed for the transformation of their societies, evidence abounds through Falola’s work that they really evolved intellectually just like other peoples of the world, and they erected vibrant and sound structures during the various phases of their growth. In one of his talks at UNISA, Falola problematized customary law to demonstrate that before the arrival of colonial masters, Africans were governed by their laws, customs, and traditions, which now characterized universalists to be customary vis a vis (Western law).
While we cannot deny that Africa regorges a massive amount of wealth and natural resources, central to the intellectual argument of Ali Mazrui is the fact that Africa’s most influential resources are the resources are people themselves, for they have amazing brainpower, which they translate into concrete results to transform any place where they find themselves. Falola equally holds such a view in a more instructive manner. Falola has been a vibrant voice in the diaspora, helping Africans who are indifferent to the core African values to reconnect to their background and claim their identity in positive ways. By his boldness and confidence in expressing the African truth in ways that accommodate divergent thinking, he has been able to unlock the gridlock of age-long stereotypic sentiment that has placed Africa and Africans in a subaltern position, thus denying a whole continent of people the opportunity to express confidence in themselves and their heritages. Falola takes a sharp departure from Mazrui’s approach here. Falola dips his intellectual fingers into African history, which has received maximum denigration from anti-African advocates or Afro-pessimists, and brings replicable evidence that is required to unsettle otherwise straight-jacketed positions that have held about the continent for a very long time. That Africans at different locations and places have begun to feel alive about their past is not unconnected to the fact that individuals like Falola have taken a frontline position in rendering the destructive or hegemonic narratives against Africans invalid by producing a more credible version of the true history backed by replicable evidence.
One of the most powerful instruments of this scholar is the advocacy for the embracement of African cultural history as their model of development. As I argue in my forthcoming book on Falola’s works, Falola maintains that Africa’s agency is inalienable and, as such, cannot be compromised. This means that, unlike Mazrui, Falola does not solely believe in depending on other people’s epistemic traditions for the safety of the African identity. In fact, rather than this, he has continued to voice his thoughts about African spirituality as a credible source of the people in challenging the crucibles of external power. His approach to liberation and emancipation is all-encompassing in that he continues to demonstrate how the reliance on African indigenous spirituality, such as Ubuntu (or the togetherness of Africans), would help bring several Africans to the awareness that their world has been invaded in ways that have detrimental effects, and consequences on other areas of their existence including socialization, political system, and also economic practices. Just like Mazrui, Falola does not reject Islam and is of the view that it can be practiced in Africa alongside other spirituality but not as a superior spirituality perspective to the pool of what Africans have available in their indigenous stores.
For this reason, he has beamed his searchlight of research and intellectual engagements in various areas where indigenous practices can be explored for common benefits and even exported without prejudice. Falola believes African spirituality contains a number of things, including a scientific approach that is waiting to scale through continental boundaries. Africans have maintained a strong scientific system for centuries and millennia thanks to their knowledge of science and approaches that they had in different dimensions. Their knowledge of sciences enabled them to build pyramids in Egypt, the Mandengue Empire, the Kingdom of Monomotapa, and the Bamoun people of West Cameroon to invent their specific writings.
Falola’s engagement in this way has, therefore, mandated a discovery of methods that are deserving of immediate incorporation into global intellectualism so that the world would have several alternatives to getting problems confronting the human family solved without further acrimony. Therefore, from being an exclusive historian, Falola is believed to have mutated into an epistemologist who uses his vast educational experience to draw information from otherwise marginalized areas and refine mined ideas until they become useful to humanity in many ways. It is, therefore, no coincidence that he has organized many conferences on the continent.
Of all the existing global academics, especially the ones that come from Africa, Falola stands out as one of those who have never compromised the global standard of knowledge production, and he does that in a frequency that would amaze anyone and everyone. For that reason, all the accolades directed towards him are not misdirected or ill-motivated. They are reflective of his unwavering determination and commitment to the resurgence of alternative knowledge in a world stoked by universalist fundamentals that crucify differences. Although preceding intellectuals have made efforts towards rescuing the dying epistemic heritages of Africa, which has suffered malignant damage courtesy of the absence of necessary materials that could serve as counterpoints, Falola has become an irrepressible voice in this domain today by giving his attention and seriousness to the resurgence of these knowledge items so that the world will be blossomed by the presence of alternatives.
Great man, welcome to our part of the world!
Nigerians are visibly facing hard times following reforms in critical sectors involving petroleum, power and foreign exchange issues. President Bola, Tinubu, the First Lady, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu and to a large extent, Vice President Kashim Shettima have quickly learnt how to show empathy to the suffering masses. They say they fully appreciate the gravity of the impact of the reforms on the masses while consistently appealing to Nigerians to be steadfast in support of the policies because of the expectations of a better tomorrow.
Although, no one is really that such golden expectations, would ever materialize, the compassionate posture and open support of those leaders for several palliatives, have made many people to remain silent in pain. However, any other top office-holder that does not appreciate the fragility of the silence makes a basic mistake.
Adebayo Adelabu, our current Minister of Power, is one such official who in addition to repeating the appeals already made by his bosses, engages in hurting and contentious communication that offend the sensibilities of a frustrated people. Perhaps Adelabu needs to learn a few lessons from Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development who speaks with a confidence that conveys hope. Alake is also talking tough but he restricts his threats to saboteurs and unpatriotic elements who are exploiting the nation. The other day Alake revoked 924 licences. In fairness, the assignments of both ministers differ just as Alake is in addition, a communication professional but no officials should take citizens for granted. For example, it is unfair to suggest that it is because of an alleged low tariff system in Nigeria that many Nigerians adopt a carefree attitude towards the use of the public power supply system.
Minister Adelabu’s viewpoint is not only incorrect but it is made in a clime where the most unreasonable and permanent situation is a public power system that has remained epileptic. It is not only ordinary citizens that greatly deprecate Nigeria’s power system, the elites similarly loathe the trend. Only last week, power supply was seized while Adelabu was fielding questions from senators at the investigative hearing on “the need to halt the increase in the price of electricity” organised by the Senate Committee on Power. It was an excellent opportunity for the minister to hear the experiences of wealthy Nigerians. Addressing Adelabu on the power interruption that occurred in his presence, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Enyinnaya Abaribe, said “You see what just happened. This is what we all experience. We the Senators experience it too and I am sure even the President does experience it at the Villa, just that he cannot speak out like we are.”
Certainly, Minister Adelabu cannot controvert the general view put to him by Senator Abaribe. If so, why did he have to threaten that Nigeria would be in darkness if the new tariff system is not implemented? When have we not been in darkness? In fact, 90 percent of Nigerians are not likely to understand the threat on darkness because almost every part of Nigeria has remained in darkness for longer than makes sense. The remaining 10 percent are out of darkness not because they get public power supply but because they have resources to get alternative power supply. To threaten Nigerians that there would be darkness except exorbitant tariffs are paid is a misplaced communication strategy because we all know that the power problem of our nation is caused by corruption. If the minister does not know this basic fact, then, he is probably in the wrong ministry.
It is therefore not irrational to imagine that perhaps Nigerians both high and low know more about the problems of power than its current minister. If our people do not know other details especially technical issues, it is an open secret that our power officials have made Nigeria become notorious for asking consumers to pay for even the tools that they work with. A few days ago, some citizens in Ilorin, Kwara State made public the demands on them to pay for multi-million-naira Transformers and even transport fares to fix faulty power facilities. Meanwhile, the relevant regulator, the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is aware of the law that forbids electricity distribution companies from asking customers to buy or repair electricity assets as a condition for the restoration of power supply, yet it does nothing about the Kwara story which is replicated nationwide.
To make matters worse, the tariff structure that officials want Nigerians to swallow is a 419 arrangement which explains why everyone is apprehensive about it. Whereas there are a few people would still evade tariffs even if the system becomes efficient, there is no doubt that no one is today satisfied with the power narrative which even reputable institutions have problem with. The communication between the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company IBEDC and the University College Hospital UCH, Ibadan is a case in point. Last month, the hospital threatened to shut its doors at 4pm everyday because power had been seized from the nation’s foremost teaching hospital. IBEDC’s case is that the UCH had been owing N400 million spanning some 6 years, but Jesse Otegbayo, UCH’s chief medical director (CMD), accused the company of giving the hospital industrial bills.
Neither the illegal trend of forcing consumers to pay for official working tools of workers of electricity companies as revealed in the Ilorin story nor the categorization of the UCH as an industrial site has been reacted to by those who specialize in blaming citizens for the problems in the power sector.
Instead, what seems to matter to both the regulatory body and the minister is a hurried tariff system that is put in place ahead of an inept service. It is like getting passengers to pay for a flight whose aircraft is undergoing repairs in the aviation sector. What makes the situation more irritating is that the electricity companies are making no effort to invest in the sector to make it ready for tariffs. Nigeria needs a power minister that can ensure that tariffs come after infrastructure is ready to deliver service. Before then, the current communication of the deaf by our power officials and their minister would remain ineffectual.
If the truth must be told, it is regulators and not the relevant minister that should monitor and manage the electricity companies for better performance. They should be compelled to do that forthwith while the minister holds-on strongly to policy. In other words, all efforts should be made to constitute an independent regulatory body for our power sector. The National Electricity Regulatory Commission NERC as currently constituted has not shown that it has the courage or expertise to call their agencies to order. Perhaps the problem may not be far from the situation in the last 8 years when friends and relations with little or no cognate experience in a business were mandated to regulate the same business. If so, government should pick competent hands into the NERC instead of seeing it as opportunity to give jobs to political supporters.
When Adelabu was appointed minister late last year he pledged to make a mark. There is doubt if he really understood the exact scope required to make a mark in a ministry that has become known as a giant killer. The legendary Bola Ige had to be rescued from the ministry in 2000 after spending just a year as its minister. Babatunde Fashola performed wonders as Governor of Lagos State but got humbled in the power ministry.
The only two ministers sacked by former President Muhammadu Buhari included Saleh Mamman who was Minister of Power. Since democratic rule was restored to Nigeria in 1999, no minister has exceeded the dismal 4MW of power coverage in Nigeria. If we cannot emulate Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia which have 100 percent coverage, Adelabu should find out how Botswana, Kenya and Senegal are fast moving towards the same feat. It can certainly not be through aggressive communication.
If I was a fly on the wall of the presidential quarters, I would whisper to President Tinubu that the streets are abuzz with the clamour for state police and that the current unitary policing system has outlived its sell-by date.
Without doubt, one of the greatest legacies the president can gift Nigeria is a new policing architecture that guarantees the protection of lives and property for both the mighty and the lowly alike. If he fails to do that, the security situation will continue to deteriorate and, no matter whatever else his government achieves, it will just be written off as inconsequential.
The House of Representatives has already set the ball rolling through a bill titled, “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to Provide for Establishment of State Police and for Related Matters (HB. 617)”. The proposed legislation was sponsored by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu alongside 14 co-sponsors.
The proponents argue that the establishment of state police forces is not merely a desirable reform but an imperative measure to address the burgeoning security challenges that threaten the nation’s collective safety. The bill envisages a transformative shift in Nigeria’s policing architecture, advocating for the decentralisation of policing powers by transferring the “Police” item from the “Exclusive Legislative List” to the “Concurrent Legislative List.”
This strategic amendment seeks to empower states to establish and manage their police forces, thereby introducing a dual policing system intended to enhance responsiveness and accountability at the state level.
Already, some shrill voices of opposition have emanated from serving senior police officers who frown at the idea of anyone balkanising their empire— even if that empire as presently constituted is but a pack of cards. A backward glance at history will educate nay sayers about the imperative of dismantling the current unitary system in preference for a more inclusive one.
Separation Of Powers
An important feature of federation is devolution of powers and in any federal state, the primary responsibility for law enforcement should necessarily lie with the federating units. The police as the first line of defence for the citizens should be very close to the people as much as possible, but in Nigeria the police authority is far removed from the people and this tends to limit the effectiveness of the Nigeria Police Force.
With 371,000 officers, the Nigeria Police Force is overwhelmed, and many parts of the country lack any permanent police presence. Insurgents of different hues have seized control of some far flung territories, imposing brutal, bloody rule over the locals. In response, the military is now deployed in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, a major distraction from its role of territorial defence. Sadly, the creation of additional combat divisions by the Nigerian Army to join the existing four has been primarily in response to internal security rather than immediate threats of external aggression.
In the 1960s, Nigeria operated a three-tier policing system comprising federal, regional, and local police. Community policing was the order of the day. The various tiers of government allocated adequate resources to ensure that police work at their various levels was effective. I knew the policeman whose beat covered our street. He knew every resident. The easiest way a visitor could locate an address or a family was simply by asking a policeman on the beat.
Now we have policemen who don’t know the names of the street on which their ‘toll gates’— euphemistically called check points— are located. That is why they behave like an army of occupation. Their instructions come from Abuja. The mentality is that of a force deployed to occupy the states.
While it is true that there were allegations of brutality, nepotism and double standards levelled against the local police in the First Republic, the subsequent centralisation of the force under the military government did not fare any better. Politicians abused their access to the police at that time as they do today.
The Us Example
The USA, whose presidential system of government Nigeria adopted in 1999, offers a template for a decentralised police structure with about 18,000 police departments, federal, state, municipal, county, village, college, campus and corporate organisations. (Punch, 2018.) State Police in the USA are also known as Highway Patrol, State Highway Patrol, State Troopers, all carrying out law enforcement activities including criminal investigations across the state. They collaborate with local police (county and village) to address complicated criminal cases.
In other words, policing in the USA involves an independent autonomous police system at different levels of governance in the country. This implies that law enforcement in the USA is decentralised and the Federal police authorities deal with violation of federal laws while states police enforce state laws (see https://socialscienceresearch.org/index.php/GJHSS/article/view/3993/8-The-Imperatives-of-State_html)
I have argued for decentralisation of the police over the years. I am firmly of the view that, the bulk of the present personnel of the police force should be transferred to their states of origin to form the core of the police service for the states while the federal government embarks on a massive recruitment drive for fresh hands to man the new federal police with a minimum entry requirement of a university degree or Higher National Diploma.
The on-going bombing campaign by Boko Haram and the threat of renewed violence by some elements in other parts of the country clearly show that the current structure of the police force under the ‘sole administratorship’ of an inspector general who reports to the president is unworkable. Each state should have its own police force headed by a police chief who reports to the governor of the state.
I have heard arguments about the possible misuse to which politicians could subject the state police. I think it smacks of intellectual laziness to just sit idly to parrot a cacophony of fears of the unknown instead of pooling ideas to neutralise those fears. The argument that state governors will misuse any security force under their power is fraudulent. The greatest champion of impunity and self-help in Nigeria over the years is the federal government — and no one has suggested that we should strip the federal government of the power to control forces of coercion.
The devil is in the details. The law enabling the establishment of state police should make it difficult for governors to hijack the body for selfish political purposes.
Mark The Boundaries
The federal police should be something like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States. That organisation is saddled with the task of protecting and defending the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats and to enforce federal laws. It currently has jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal law. The national security priorities are stated as terrorism, counter-intelligence and cybercrime while the criminal priorities are public corruption, civil rights, organized crime, white collar crime, violent crime and major thefts. We can replicate that to delineate the duties and limits of the powers of our new federal police.
The present nomenclature of inspector general of police should be converted to Chief of the Nigerian Bureau of Investigations to head the new body. The current crop of officers and men in the police force would have to be retrained to be useful to their states of origin before they are redeployed.
Some states in Nigeria are bigger and more populous than several countries in Africa and Europe. To argue that their governors are mere children who cannot be trusted with managing their own police service is fallacious and insulting.
Every state can afford to fund a police service if security is prioritised.
Thankfully, the House of Representatives has started the process of legislating state policing into existence. I urge President Tinubu to put the weight of his office behind the initiative because, as things stand now, we are all sitting ducks at the mercy of random merchants of terror.
NO one in a position of authority deliberately sets out to give himself a bad image. What usually happens is that aides, family members, friends, influencers, lobbyists, and those in the corridors of power deliberately or inadvertently crop up injuries or a bad image for their principals. Some do this to curry favour as they pretend to be more Catholic than the pope, crying louder than the bereaved. Others do it deliberately to feather their own nests. Still, there are those who act consciously to give their principal a bad image. They hold grudges or have axes to grind for one reason or the other. It is not everything that happens in government that the governors know something about. No man can be in more than one place at a time. The late MKO Abiola recalled that he once introduced his Foreman to his father and the old man retorted, “Mba, no man can be four-man or do the job of four men”!
Authority must be delegated – but the one who delegates has a duty to ensure that the power so delegated is not abused. Where delegated authority is abused, the one who delegates carries the can because the buck stops on his table. Anyone who abuses the power delegated to him is either whipped into line or the powers delegated to him are withdrawn. It is in this wise that I beseech Gov. BabajideSanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos state, to either whip LASTMA (Lagos State Traffic Management Authority) and VIO (Vehicle Inspection Officers) into line or withdraw/review the powers vested in them, which they have, in my view, exercised arbitrarily, thereby inflicting much pain and sorrow on Lagos vehicle owners. The way and manner these two agencies, plus their Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) counterparts, extort Lagos motorists must now come to the attention of Gov. Sanwo-Olu.
Not all presidents have the capacity to do what former president Olusegun Obasanjo was reputed as doing: taking time to read virtually every memo sent to him, rather than consigning them to aides to handle. Also, not all administrators can do what Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa perfected as his own style of government when he was the military administrator of Lagos state. Marwa double-checked, even triple-checked, any information he received before acting on them. He had reliable friends outside of the civil service structure and government circles that he bounced information and decisions off before making up his mind. Again, not all politicians will be like Ayodele Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti State. Street-wise, man of the garb, and man of the people, Fayose hardly allowed a day to pass walking the street and mingling with ordinary people. “E pele, e pele” he would greet the people as he mingled with the hoi polloi. He was not averse to sharing his telephone numbers with the man in the street. He was also fond of putting phone calls across to ordinary people to seek first-hand information about happenings in their locality. I witnessed him bounce proposed decisions on ordinary folks or recruit them to conduct opinion surveys for him on critical issues affecting their communities.
Every leader has his own style, which differs from one leader to another. I cannot claim to know Gov. BabajideSanwo-Olu’s preferred style. Therefore, I would beseech whoever has his ears or those closer to his media advisers and image-makers than I do, to kindly bring this information to their knowledge: LASTMA and Lagos VIO, through their ingenious but oppressive activities on Lagos roads, are giving the governor a bad name. Under the guise of performing official duties, they fleece the people. Three weeks ago they almost ruined the wake of the wife of my brother-pastor: there is this place at the foot of the Mile 12 bridge while driving to Ikorodu where a conglomeration of Police, LASTMA, VIO, name it, are to be found congregating and hibernating; once an unsuspecting motorist steps on what they call the BRT lane, they swoop on the victim. No plea moves them. No condition you are in sways them. You must bribe them, and they usually demand hefty sums. If a motorist not familiar with a route mistakenly steps on BRT lane, what is wrong if you educate him/her and direct him/her to the right lane? Not these scoundrels parading as law enforcers!
It is like they have been given a target to meet by their office or they are the ones that have set a target for themselves! The woman ferrying the snacks for the wake of my friend’s wife was arrested and they demanded a bribe. She would not give. So, they kept moving her from one location to another. My friend, exasperated and sweating profusely at the other end at Ijede where the wake was to be held, called me. I began to trace these felons – common criminals in official uniforms acting under the seal and authority of the Lagos State Government. When they saw that the woman would not budge, they took her to an office in the Ojota area where she paid N70,000 and was let off the hook. She almost missed the ceremony. A few days ago, another friend who recounted the ordeal of his acquaintance in the hands of the same hounds told me that the receipts they write for offenders paying fines are usually fake and that the money often ends up in private pockets. It doesn’t get worse than that! The victims lose and the Lagos State Government loses as well. Some miscreants in uniform and their accomplices smile at the bank at the expense of both.
There is a subsisting court judgment barring VIOs from demanding the certificate of road worthiness of private vehicles. There is another restriction on the operations of FRSC officials, limiting them only to Federal roads. These brigands spurn court orders and peddle their impunity in broad daylight. But their day of reckoning may just be around the corner! Have you seen the videos of irate citizens engaging PHCN officials who come disconnecting their lines? It may soon be the turn of LASTMA, FRSC and VIO officials to begin to have their own baptism of fire. We have seen isolated cases already. It may soon become more widespread and commonplace. Lessen the people’s burden! Stop adding misery upon misery on a population already lying prostrate. When the long-suffering people of Israel told Jeroboam, who succeeded to the throne after the death of his father, King Solomon, to lessen their burden and he refused, threatening instead to make the people’s suffering doubly sore, the people scattered from following him!
Tell Sanwo-Olu and his party, APC, that another General Election will soon be here! Have they forgotten so soon how they lost the presidential election but managed to escape with the skin of their teeth in the last governorship election? When penalties for traffic offences are insanely high, you end up aiding and abetting corruption. In the present dire economic situation, many will prefer to cut corners and save some bucks. Government loses at both ends: It loses the money it intends to make and loses as well the support and empathy of the citizens. No fine for minor traffic offence should attract the penalty of a fine higher than Five Thousand Naira (N5000). Before you compare the penalties for traffic offences in the United States and such other places (in dollar terms) with what you should replicate here, first compare the minimum wage here with the minimum wage in those other countries.
Gov. Sanwo-Olu should please withdraw the power of LASTMA to impound, arrest and impose fines on motorists. Their duty should simply be to direct traffic. When you see them crowd together at traffic lights, their main objective is for mischief. If the STOP sign (Red light) is on but they flag you on because there is no traffic on the other ends, you will be making a mistake to obey them because the installed camera will pick you as breaking the traffic light. In the next few hours, you will receive a notice on your phone that you have committed a traffic offence and should come to an office to settle your fine! But if they urge you on when the traffic light stops you and you choose to disobey them and obey the traffic light, they will swoop on you, taking fake photographs and accusing you of obstructing the free flow of traffic! Head or tail, you lose! Head or tail, they win! Have you noticed that traffic lights here do not operate as traffic lights operate elsewhere? They have tampered with them and have confused the way traffic lights normally work. This is one reason foreign countries usually advise their nationals, even those with dual nationalities, not to drive while in Nigeria.
The oppressive tendencies of LASTMA, VIO and FRSC on Lagos roads are becoming suffocating and unbearable. Something urgent should be done by the governor before citizens begin to take the law into their own hands. In this country, every layer of officials armed with guns or uniforms and licensed by the government usually results in another layer of oppression and impunity. I am beginning to reconsider my support for state policing!
There is a medication I buy for my 79-year-old mum every month. It was going for less than N10,000 per pack at this time last year. Today, it is N31,000. Although I consider it pretty expensive, I can still afford it. But each time I buy it, my heart goes to Nigerians living on the minimum wage and those surviving on pensions. How are they coping? My mum is fairly healthy for her age and uses only one prescribed medication. But what about the less privileged and less lucky Nigerians who have to treat hypertension, diabetes and organ-related ailments? How are they coping with the costs? Will they not become vulnerable to fake drugs and harmful options? Will some not simply ignore medications?
I was deep in this thought when Dr Henry Ewunonu, a physician and health advocate, asked me if TheCable — the online newspaper I founded in 2014 — would consider convening a public forum to discuss the escalating costs of medicines and medical consumables in Nigeria. He suggested that the diagnostic evaluation of the causes of escalating costs should lead to a prescription of actionable proposals by the forum. That was music to my ears. TheCable’s 10th anniversary was approaching and our mandate is “to deliver knowledge-driven journalism in the pursuit of Nigeria’s progress”. We just don’t want to be saying there is a problem — we also want to be part of providing solutions.
We immediately set sail. On first dial, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, founder & chairman, Juli Pharmacy Plc and former minister of health, graciously agreed to chair the event. Prof Ali Pate, coordinating minister of health and social welfare, instantly accepted our invitation. Dr Stella Okoli, founder of Emzor Pharmaceutical, did not respond, but we still formed a solid panel: Prof Moji Adeyeye, NAFDAC DG; Dr Uche Ojinmah, president, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA); Mrs Chisom Uchem, ES, Anambra Primary Healthcare Development Agency (APHDA); and Mr Frank Muonemeh, ES of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
I had plenty take-aways from the webinar, which was held on April 30. Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi set the ball rolling by pointing out how India moved from being an importer of medicines to becoming a global industrial giant in pharmaceuticals. “Industrialisation is the way,” he said, emphatically. This is more loaded than it appears. Nigeria imports about 70 percent of its drugs. Even the locally manufactured drugs rely 100 percent on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). As Prof Adeyeye put it, the only thing our pharmaceutical companies don’t import is water. In one word, Nigeria relies entirely on imported medicines or APIs. We are at the mercy of the forex volality.
The dependency on imported drugs comes with several issues. The forex challenge is probably the most obvious and impactful, but there is also the cost of patent payments which contribute in no little way to the price at which patients buy drugs. Let us return to India briefly. In the 1970s, they started preparing to solve problems associated with drug importation. They came up with the revolutionary Indian Patents Act (1970) and Drug Policy (1978) which stimulated local production of generic drugs, compared to the costly Western patents. In the 1980s, India had graduated from the sick position Nigeria is today to that of a leading exporter of drugs. Vision. Tenacity of purpose.
Preparations also met opportunity. In 1984, the US enacted the Hatch-Waxman Act to facilitate the production of generic medicines. Indian companies became perhaps the biggest beneficiaries. As Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi highlighted, they are now the leading exporters of generic medicines. They supply 20 percent of global demand. More than half of the world’s vaccines are produced in India. Drugs produced in India account for about 40 percent of generics used in the US and 25 percent of medicines sold in the UK. There are over 3,000 Indian pharmaceutical companies and they earned about $25 billion from exports in 2023 alone. Industrialisation. Why can’t we seize this opportunity?
Mr Muonemeh, the voice of Nigerian drug manufacturers at the webinar, listed the obstacles they face — from various regulators to revenue-collecting agencies. Things are not always as simple as you would think they should be. You would think that government would take as priority anything that has to do with health — especially given the critical role medications play in wellbeing. Nigeria is complicated. Muonemeh pointed the myriad of obstacles faced by local producers and proposed that local production of medicines be treated as a national security issue. I agree with him. The COVID-19 experience opened the eyes of many countries to this vulnerability, but did it really open ours?
Prof Adeyeye listed a number of policy measures being adopted by NAFDAC to ease the crisis, including fast-tracking the licensing process for imported drugs in order to address shortages. She also spoke about the Five + Five (5+5) Policy which is designed to migrate imported products to local production. This policy stipulates a timeline during which an importer/manufacturer must show plans to produce locally or partner with local producers. “If we do not focus on local manufacturing, we will continue to have drug insecurity,” she said, adding that there is nothing the multinationals produce that we cannot make in Nigeria — apart from the inhalers used to manage asthma.
Local manufacturing is a long-lasting solution that should kick in at some point in the future if the right policies are adopted and implemented. Dr Ojinmah, however, wants the adoption of both short-term and long-term strategies and measures. I find his suggestion that tariffs on imported drugs be reduced very fascinating. I thought that this should be the first policy reaction of the government when prices started going through the roof. We grant waivers on many imports but medicines that save lives are not considered worthy. There is a place for revenue for government, I won’t argue against that, but have we considered the dangers of Nigerians being unable to buy life-saving drugs?
The NMA president made a number of proposals. He wants things kick-started with the declaration of a state of emergency on the health sector, which I believe is a way of saying government should pay extraordinary attention to the challenges. He wonders why there are government banks for many sectors without any for health, specifically to help the pharmaceutical industry. “Nigeria should inaugurate a health sector development bank that will have different facilities for all the health care contributors and stakeholders, such that they can go to this bank and fulfil conditions which should not be as stringent as the fund at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” the dermatologist said.
“This will encourage pharmaceutical companies to go into production of drugs like antibiotics, anti-hypertensives and anti-diabetes. Government should reduce import levy on importation, equipment and production of these drugs to enable people bring in drugs into the country. We would be the greatest beneficiary as economic productivity will rise. Government should also bridge the gap between the rich and the poor in terms of access to medicines,” Ojinmah further suggested, while also emphasising the need for government to improve the health insurance scheme so that millions of ordinary Nigerians can have access to treatment without having to pay out of pocket.
An interesting proposal was put on the table by Mrs Chisom Uchem, the executive secretary of the Anambra Primary Health Development Agency (ASPHDA): encourage research into local herbs. The pharmacist oversees an agency that attends to medical needs at the grassroots and testifies that many people suffering from common ailments often come back to say they have used herbs and are back on their feet. Uchem wants the federal government to mandate the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) to play a lead role in that endeavour. China has done well in promoting use of herbs, even exporting them. Our own NIMR is one of the most poorly funded federal agencies.
“I’m looking at policies of government that will promote research enterprise,” Uchem said. “I’m thinking that if government will encourage clinical research, essential drugs will be affordable to the grassroots because this is the basic level of care. We can have our local brands, our local products. It will cut down on the prices of essential medicines. So, I’m thinking that amongst other things that we’ll do to cut the high cost of medication in Nigeria is that emphasis and premium should be paid on government supporting and promoting research enterprise… All of these lemon grasses, all of the guava leaves, all of the quinine, you know, this quinine, most of them are anti-malaria.” Fascinating.
I have always respected Prof Pate and I found his contributions reassuring. He said President Bola Tinubu was working on a comprehensive plan to address the issues affecting local manufacturing. He acknowledged the challenges: naira devaluation, power supply, technical know-how, supply chain and regulatory landscape. He said the government has been having a series of engagements with industry players, practitioners, and stakeholders on the escalating costs and hinted that an executive order was in the offing. While I was happy, a part of me was quietly praying fervently that MDAs will not frustrate the plan. As we know, they are always working at cross purposes. It is a Nigerian thing.
There were so many take-aways to curate and synthesize. TheCable plans to produce a comprehensive report and send to the appropriate authorities in the lawmaking, policy and regulatory chain as its modest contribution to the discourse on improving the state of the nation’s health care. One theme that rings through contributions is “medicine security”. We need to ramp up local manufacturing with tenacity. Who knows, we may even become net exporters. Didn’t India do it? It took vision and tenacity of purpose. In Nigeria, we are not short of good ideas. What we need is honest commitment to them. Implementation is where the devil always shows up in the details.
AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…
WAGE WAR
On Tuesday, federal government announced a pay rise of between 25 and 35 percent for its civil servants across salary structures. This has been rejected by the labour unions. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is insisting on a minimum of N615,000/month — more than 20 times higher the current N30,000. I think we can have a scientific solution to this perennial controversy over the minimum wage. There should be a mechanism agreed by all parties involved. Can we have certain benchmarks to create this mechanism? The simplest one that comes to my head straightaway is a proportional relationship between the wage and inflation rate. That can minimise the rift. Hopefully.
EFCC’S BELLOW
Nigerians have been treated to a spectacular face-off between the EFCC and Mr Yahaya Bello, former Kogi governor — quite similar to what they saw between the commission and Mr Ayo Fayose, former Ekiti governor, as well as Owelle Rochas Okorocha, former Imo governor, in recent years. Bello, who has mindboggling allegations lined up against him, needs to be a man and turn himself in. He can run but he can’t hide. It is a matter of time before he is captured. But am I the only one thinking the EFCC chairman, Mr Ola Olukoyede, went overboard with his press conference and threats? He needs to be calming down. I think this media drama is too much and not good for the commission. Caution.
BY CHOICE
The publicity-crazy Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has threatened to review the subscription rates announced by Multichoice for its DStv and GOtv packages. The FCCPC did not review the FX rate when it fell from N460/$ to N1400/$. Those guys don’t know that rights for foreign contents, such as the English Premier League, are paid for in FX. The FCCPC did not review Band A tariff when it was tripled despite power poor supply. They didn’t review the prices of life-saving drugs. But we hear “monopoly” when it comes to Multichoice. Is Pay TV a fundamental human right? Or are we just obsessed with South African businesses? Bullies.
NO COMMENT
You must have heard about the “housing estate” under the Dolphin estate bridge, Lagos. Each room was either 10×10 or 10×12 and the tenants were paying N250,000 per annum, according to Mr Tokunbo Wahab, commissioner for environment and water resources. There were no amenities such as power and water. Lagos state officials have made a public show of how they cracked down on the squatters and arrested some of them. Somehow, they do not know that the joke is on them. There is a serious housing crisis in Lagos state and what officials should be showcasing is what they are doing to address the issue, but they were busy shaming hapless squatters who were being exploited. Sad.
I really do wonder whether those great patriots that fought a long and bloody war against
British colonial rule and founded the United States of America (US) in 1776 like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and so many others envisaged what has happened to their beloved country today?
I wonder whether the Pilgrim Fathers and great and wise men of old who, by faith in the Living God, left the Old World, crossed the Atlantic ocean in hazardous conditions and went to the New to establish a new beginning and build a new nation founded on freedom, equality, the fear of God and solid good old fashioned Christian virtues and values, would believe what the beloved nation they toiled, prayed for, established and worked so hard to build has turned into today?
Would they not all be turning in their graves?
A nation that was once referred to by both friend and foe as the “land of the free and the home of the brave” is now neither free nor brave.
A mighty nation that delivered itself from its own internal prejudices, contradictions and demons by fighting a brutal civil war to free the slaves and that presented a great hope for those that dreamt of a world where all men and women could have equal opportunities, regardless of class, history, color, race or creed, has now lost its sense of decency, equity, honor and morality and turned into a corrupt, power drunk, morally bankrupt, blood-lusting, war-loving, terror-funding, egocentric and idiosyncratic collection of self-serving, self-seeking, cowardly and deluded individuals who serve the interests of not their own people but that of AIPAC, the Jewish lobby and the State of Israel.
A rich and powerful nation of over 300 million people that delivered the world from evil in both the First and Second World Wars, that defeated and dismantled the curse of Soviet Communism, that entrenched democracy throughout much of the world and that literally rules the waves today as the greatest super power in the history of humanity in a unipolar world, is now nothing but the lap dog of little Israel?
It seems so hard to believe. Yet true it is!
Like Lucifer fell from heaven, so you, O mighty America, has fallen from grace!
I weep for you.
Apart from your internal decay where the family system has been destroyed and traditional religious beliefs have been replaced by humanism and a godless philosophy in which the Lord is no longer revered, where men marry men, where abortions are encouraged, where homosexuality is adored, where Satanism is practised, where money is worshipped, where God has been banned from the schools and indeed every sphere of human endeavour and where the establishment of a New World Order is your ultimate objective, you have also, with the help of your servile and fawning vassals like the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Holland and others, debased and destroyed the fortunes and vision of many countries with your reckless and self-serving foreign policy and your insatiable thirst for power and world domination.
The number are legion but to mention a few, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia, Lebanon, Iraq, Sudan, Palestine, Ukraine and a number of others stand out.
You have literally left each of them in rubbles and turned them into a shell of their former selves simply because you insisted on misleading them, controlling them and imposing your values and will on them.
You are also attempting to undermine and destroy Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Turkey, Pakistan, India, South Africa, the Arab Gulf States, Brazil, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Senegal, Guinea, Egypt, Algeria and many others.
You wish to exploit them, enslave them, milk them, destroy them, bend them to your will and turn them into your pliant little acolytes and colonies but, thankfully so far, you have failed.
Slave master
Yet what exposes your monstrous, dark, evil and gluttonous degeneration more than anything else is the way in which you nurture, protect, feed, arm and support your little baby Israel and how that baby has now become your slave master!
You quiver and bow at her every command and you seek to justify and rationalise her barbaric behaviour even when she operates what is undoubtedly a racist apartheid state and seeks to exterminate and occupy ALL the land of those she considers to be a lesser people with a lesser faith from a lesser nation like the Palestinians.
For the last seven months, the entire world has witnessed with shock the way and manner in which you have not only allowed but openly encouraged her to commit mass murder, genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, violating every rule and norm of international law and subjecting the Palestinian people to a modern day holocaust.
This is unacceptable and you have as much blood on your hands as a consequence of your shameless complicity as the Israelis themselves.
The truth is they could not and would not have dared to indulge in this monstrous and cruel display of depravity and in this bloodfest and killing spree without your tacit approval and support.
This is bad enough but the worst aspect of it all is that when the world boils in anger, weeps and wails and attempts to bring your baby to justice for her wanton and willful display of utter madness whether at the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court, you bare your ugly fangs and growl like a wounded lion and you boldly tell us that we should know and MUST accept that your little Israel and the fascist right wing white and non-semitic European colonial settlers and Zionists that own and lead her are God’s chosen people, are above the law and are entitled to do ANYTHING they deem fit, including wiping out the Palestinians!
This disposition and open endorsement of pure and unadulterated evil is nauseating and sickening and it is a graphic reflection of the unconscionable beast that you have now become.
No fear of God
You do not fear God, you do not fear world opinion, you do not fear even those from your own nation that are protesting your madness and you do not fear your conscience!
The only thing you fear is your Lord and master Israel!
I am constrained to ask, who on earth has bewitched you and which invocations and spells of occult sorcery from the ancient Kabbala did the Jews invoke to capture and bind your spirit and soul and to make you behave in this slavish manner?
You are no longer the mighty giant that we once knew and revered but rather you are now what the Nigerian people would describe as a “woman wrappa” to your beloved Israel.
At the mention of her name your strength fails you, your knees bend, your heart beats faster, your soul melts, your emotions overwhelm you and you bow, genuflect, crawl and quiver before her like a young man before his first love.
Arrest warrant
Truly this is Satan’s work: you can no longer control your own will, you have been cursed, charmed and reduced to nothing and you are under a powerful spell.
I cry for you!
When the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague issues a warrant of arrest for other world leaders you rejoice but when they consider issuing the same for @netanyahu, the Israeli PM, you wet your pants, soil your diapers & threaten brimstone & fire!
Through one of your jittery officials at the State Department you went as far as to proclaim that ”the ICC has no jurisdiction over Israeli officials” and, therefore, has no right to even issue any arrest warrant on Netanyahu.
Putin
You forget that you were amongst those who clapped the loudest when a similar and active arrest warrant was issued on Russian President Vladimer Putin.
For that you believed that the ICC acted within its powers and in fact did a great job yet you believe it is “unacceptable” for them to issue such a warrant on Bibi Netanyahu.
Your hypocrisy and double standards beggars belief!
Again, you have just passed a law which violates your own Constitution, known as the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which outright bans free speech & which seeks to jail anyone that opposes, condemns or criticises the Jews, the Zionists or the State of Israel or that accuses them of being a racist, apartheid state or of committing genocide in Gaza or at any other place or time in their long 5000 year history including during the days of the Holy Bible!
Your Congress just voted to make it ILLEGAL to compare Israel’s genocidal actions to Nazi Germany and they have effectively banned the Holy Bible in a supposedly “Christian” nation.
Is this not evidence of a diseased mind?
To be clear, the new law makes it illegal to criticise, protest against or boycott Israel.
It also makes it ILLEGAL to preach or quote the portions of the GOSPEL & the Holy Bible where the countless & horrendous atrocities that were committed by the Jews against other nations thousands of years ago were listed!
The House of Representatives just voted to make preaching the FULL GOSPEL of the Christian faith ILLEGAL in America!
Let that sink in!
Megatron_ron captured it well when he wrote the following on X: ”The US House has passed an Act that totally bans speaking and protesting against Israel. “Even if you preach parts of the Bible that clearly states the days the Jews killed Christ you will be arrested.
“In response to campus anti-Israel protests, the House is rushing to vote on a new bill, HR 6090.
“This new Bill would officially define “Antisemitism”, so the Federal Government can sue, prosecute, or sanction more people, businesses, and universities for supposed violations of civil rights law.
“This Bill would make it illegal to compare Israeli policies to Nazi policies. It would make it illegal to describe Israel as racist. It would make it illegal to accuse an American citizen of being more loyal to Israel than to the United States”.
Is this not sad and amazing?
Is it not a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions?
Does it not make your blood boil and your skin crawl?
Are we not entering the Orwellian world that the British author George Orwell wrote about and predicted in his celebrated book many decades ago and that the writer and great visionary and intellectual @davidicke often refers to today?
Is America, a once great country that exalted justice, freedom and righteousness, not turned into a big fat turd that is now in the process of flushing herself down the Israeli toilet!
‘United States of Zion’
Surely she can no longer be referred to as the ‘United States of America’ but rather the ‘United States of Zion!’
On his part @Jakeshieldsajj, a highly respected American public affairs commentator and social media influencer, wrote the following on X: ”In the past two weeks, Congress has made anti-semitism illegal, demanded that anti-Israel protesters must be arrested, banned TikTok at Israel’s request, given $100 billion to Israel and Ukraine for war, approved warrantless spying on Americans, approved $3.5 billion aid for illegal immigrants and done nothing for the American people! It’s become clear they are not here to serve us.”
Jake has spoken the bitter truth.
Perhaps the most asinine and chilling contribution of all came from American Senator Ted Cruz, a one-time presidential aspirant, a ranking Senator and a man who, up until recently, I had immense respect for.
He said, “I condemn NOTHING that the Israelis are doing!”
Is this not evidence of mental illness!
People are slaughtering thousands of children on a monthly basis with weapons supplied by the American taxpayer which you as a Senator approved in your budget and you say you cannot condemn it?
Does that not make Cruz and those that think like him accomplices in the crime of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity?
People like him should tell me why I should condemn Hamas for what they did on October 7th if he refuses to condemn the Jews for the 1948 Nakba in which they murdered almost one million Palestinians!
They should tell me why I should condemn Hamas if they refuse to condemn the Israeli Army for the 2024 genocide in Gaza in which 40,000 civilians have been murdered in seven months and still counting?
Again Senator Cruz and indeed the entire American Congress claim that the phrase which the pro-Palestinian protesters and forces have come to regard as their signature tune and battle cry which boldly proclaims that “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” connotes the intention of the Palestinians to eliminate every single Jew in Israel yet they fail to apply the same standard, connotation and sinister intention when the Zionists themselves use the same slogan in respect of the same land and when they scream “from the river to the sea, Israel shall have sovereignty”.
Double standards
Permit me to ask, why the double standards?
When the Palestinians say it you claim that they want to kill every Jew in the nation but when the Jews say it you claim that they have no evil intentions for the Palestinians!
Is this not another example of the self-serving, infantile and puerile reasoning that most Americans and Europeans suffer from and have been afflicted with when it comes to the Gaza issue and does it not prove the fact that, as far as the majority of Americans are concerned, the Palestinians do not have the right to exist or to be treated like human beings whilst the Jews are treated like gods?
Is this fair? Is it rational? Does it make sense?
The Jews constitute only 2% of the American population and yet they have been singled out for such preferential treatment and protection whilst the State of Israel, a distant nation of only 9 million people, has been accorded the special status of being “God’s chosen people” and well above the law and is entitled to commit the most grievous and heinous acts of genocide, ethnic and religious cleansing and mass murder without criticism or consequence.
All this you have done for a people and a nation which comprises of a deluded and sociopathic horde of genocidal psychopaths that not only murdered Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, that not only wiped out the Amalekites 5000 years ago, that not ethnically cleansed the Midianites 4000 years ago, that not only exterminated the Agagites 3000 years ago, that not only butchered 1 million Palestinians during the Nakba in 1948, that not only eliminated millions of Arabs all over the Middle East in the last 75 years but that has also killed 40,000 innocent and defenceless civilians, including 20,000 children, in the last seven months in Gaza and are set to kill even more in Raffa!
Is this not madness? Pray tell us, I ask again, who has bewitched you?
I say woe unto you!
Your awesome power and mind-boggling wealth has driven you insane and far from God!
From being perceived as the leader of the free world you can now be best described as the fawning and pliant pit bull terrier of the Zionist state and the world’s leading genocide supporter and enabler!
The truth is that there can be no defence or justification for anyone or any nation, no matter how rich and powerful, that supports a country of genocidal maniacs and psychopathic child killers.
The Zionist state of Israel is the greatest evil that we have seen since Nazi Germany.
Apartheid entity
It is a vicious, savage, bloodthirsty, racist, apartheid entity that is led by a group of desperate and deluded European settlers and land grabbing colonialists and that has lost its right to exist.
The sooner it is wiped off the face of the earth the better!
Yet for America there is still hope and that hope lies in people like the Christian protesters who barricaded themselves at the cafeteria of the American Congress last week and who said that, as long as the people of Gaza could not eat, they would not allow the members of the House to enter the cafeteria to eat!
Again that hope lies in the courageous and gallant students, lecturers and academics who have demonstrated their commitment to justice, decency and humanity by vigorously protesting in university campuses all over the country.
As a former American presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders, rightly said those young demonstrators are “out there for the right reasons!
“They are out there not because they are pro-Hamas. They are out there because they are outraged by what the Israeli government is doing in Gaza!”
Sanders is right and permit me to add that those protesting students are indeed the saving grace of America.
Despite the fact that they have been subjected to the most brutal repression by the security forces who have raided the campuses injuring many in an attempt to disperse them and in spite of the fact that as at the time of writing this piece over 2000 of them have been arrested and detained in various police stations across the nation, they continue to come out in their thousands and stand for the people of Gaza.
They represent America’s pride and joy and the brightest and best of American youth and they are now all fired up and are marching the streets and university campuses for the Palestinians!
This is a truly remarkable moment in world history and it represents a seismic and monumental shift in the perception, hearts and minds of the younger people in a nation that has been in the pocket and under the control of the Jews and the Zionists since the end of World War 11.
Permit me to end this contribution with the following: Nothing symbolises the renewed hope that we are witnessing more than the beautiful and moving words of Professor Rashid Khalidi, who has been a Professor of Modern Arabic Studies at New York’s Columbia University for the last 22 years.
In an inspiring address to the students and in a speech that will reverberate throughout history he said, inter alia, the following: ”This is about a genocide being carried on with American money and with American weapons, against a people enduring generations of occupation. The students of Columbia fought against the Vietnam war when I was a student here many years ago. We protested against that war then and today we honor the memories of those who took part in that great struggle by doing the same for the Palestinians and the people of Gaza!”
May God guide and protect them all and may He grant the people of Gaza and Palestine victory!
•Femi Fani-Kayode, the Sadaukin Shinkafi and the Wakilin Doka Potiskum, is a lawyer, a former Minister of Culture and Tourism and a former Minister of Aviation.
Among the responses to last week’s column on Bobrisky was the surprise by one of the readers that there is so much difference between man and woman beyond the physical and the physiological. In the physical, the most obvious being in the reproductive features. A reader asked: “You mean there is so much that is disparate in the total make-up of women and that of men beyond the obvious?” From this reaction, one can see why we all encore the sing-song: What a man can do, a woman can do, indeed, even better”. We say this with such gusto and without reflection largely because we do not know enough about ourselves. From the enlightenment available on earth in these times, we can see there is so much we do not know about ourselves.
The ignorance has led man for centuries to wrongly conclude that woman is the weaker sex whereas man is only stronger, woman is the more powerful as she is closer to Nature and therewith the more connected with the power of the Almighty Creator, than man is. This is because she bears a peculiar endowment that makes her the bridge between the power of the Creator and man. The abundance of spiritual power she carries is lacking in man. Her special attributes enable her to draw virtues from On High which she uses to beautify and ennoble her community. By constituting the bridge, and mediator of sustained power, she forms the support, holding the balance in the family.
According to the ordinance of the Creator, with her intuition manifesting in the sharpness of her sixth sense the woman it is to make decisions and the man to execute them. This places the man in a situation that he is the more visible while the woman is quiet and gentle. All that has been altered by men as well as by women who, when their attention to their gifts is drawn, dismiss the hint as patronising. Once the bridge that the woman is collapses and the ordinance of the Creator is set aside, the world must be upside, a situation we can all witness has overtaken the entire world today. In the confusion, not a few women want to be men and quite a number of men are driven to wish to be women, as is the case with Bobrisky. Not only did Idris Okuneye express the wish to be a woman, he took practical steps to actualise his dream. He flew down to Dubai and went under the knives to transform himself into a woman.
With the intensification of thoughts in that direction by either the men or women their souls get distorted. The question may predictably be asked: How? Thoughts that we generate go out in radiation threads. The ethereal threads are woven into forms by invisible servants of the Most High that are called nature beings by those who are aware of their activities. They man the loom of life and weave forms in accordance with the content of the thoughts. These beings who are also called forces of nature set to work where procreation has taken place. From a single cell, as the body of the child develops, other cells begin to precipitate, differentiating as it were from one another to form different and individual organs of the body, such as the heart, the lung, the liver and kidney. At work are the said nature beings; they regulate them. Out of the cells are also formed the brain, the solar plexus and the lymphatic system concerned with corpuses.
They first construct the person’s astral body, the prototype of the garment the soul in the last wrapping puts on close to the earthly plane called World of Gross Matter. It is the astral design that the forming of the body in the womb of an expectant mother eventually follows. Indeed, we learn that it is part of lost knowledge to the modern man that for every child’s body developing in the womb, there is an astral model, that is to say a model of finer material invisible to the physical eye on which the gross material earthly body is formed. The astral prototype body takes account of the threads of fate of the waiting soul, its credit and debit balance. It is after the nature beings who attend to such matters have fashioned the astral form that the fertilized egg begins to divide, forming tissues and organs, systems and so on I referred to earlier. It is in their working that bodies are woven correspondent with what a person had wished for himself and his deserved karmic harvest. It should be made plain that soul is consisted of fine coverings around the spirit. It is these wrappings with the spirit as the core that make the spirit to be known as soul. It is, therefore, the soul that can be distorted and not the spirit which bears the burden of wrong volition. The choice of the spirit to be either man or woman upon setting out at the beginning on its journey to the earth even in its state as an unconscious spirit germ in quest of development in the school that the earth is, cannot be altered. It is a choice made for its entire existence.
It cannot, therefore, be for nothing that we are admonished to be wary of the thoughts we stimulate and send out. Speeches also take on forms. We live in a wonderful world, in the world of thoughts. All around us is a surge of activities. Even when we do not utter a word, all is living and active around us. Researchers who pre-occupy themselves with the study have revealed that thoughts have contents and they contain energy and measurable energy for that matter. Thoughts outflowing from us have no barriers and can be active, influencing at the other end of the world. They move from the physical to the unseen reaches of the Beyond where they take on form to uplift us and adorn us with beauty and nobleness of effulgent dignity, or drag down its authors to menacing demonic entities.
Back to the enquiry about the difference between man and woman beyond the obvious physical features, I feel obliged to recall my earlier publication on who woman is, captioned “The Mystery of Woman”, for those who might have missed it when it was published in 2017 and to refresh memories of those of us who might have seen it. As I said at the time, we can have a glimpse of the mystery of woman and her roles from what science seeks to elucidate despite its limitations. Science teaches us that two molecules of hydrogen and one of oxygen unite to give us water in the same way that sodium and chlorine, both splitting of a species, unite to form sodium chloride, the common table salt. I am not talking about the denatured salt but the typical one gotten from Himalaya Rocks or from the bed of the sea.
As I sought to explain, man and woman, like hydrogen and oxygen, are split species, each party seeking complementarity for balance and harmonious swinging. For batteries in our vehicles to work we have positive and negative charges. What science has validated is a union of elements to give fuller value of existence. Since the same law pervades and governs the universe, man and woman also being split species—man factor, positive and woman factor, negative—they drift as if by a pull, towards each other for a union in their search for complementarity. Spirit is magnetic. But why is it that it is the woman that pulls the man? That goes to give us a glimpse into what a woman is, a glimpse of which last week intrigued the enquirer. The woman does the pulling because she is endowed with richer spiritual make-up and everyone can feel the pervasive influence around him. In her power, and the man encircled in her grip, she gets the man to do whatever she wants!
It is the same power that uplifts her to the heights that presses her down to the depth when she falls. This, it is said, can be likened to the tragedy of a woman dropping from a 25-storey building and the man from the ground floor. While that of the woman can better be imagined than witnessed, the man merely bruises his knees, suffers some pains and he gets up. Such is the gap. Who then is woman? That Nature distinguishes a woman from a man is not a biological accident. The nature of each gender is a reflection of what each carries inside. The science of radiations has proved, at least, that every tangibility is a coarse manifestation of finer essence. In other words, the outward physical differentiation of man and woman merely reflects what must be substantial differences in the nature of their core, their being, their nature and their roles. Is it not instructive to note that, simply from the differences in words which in any case express meaning, woman cannot be the same as man? For that reason, also, the roles of a woman must have a purpose distinguishable from those of man and subversion or abandonment of which can bring only grave consequences. Neither man nor woman created himself or herself. As such neither created and assigned the roles, implying that the gender question goes beyond the wish or will of man or woman. For her roles, the woman is tender, fine, gentle, sensitive and perceptive. The man on the other hand is dense, rugged, coarse and aggressive.
Contrary to the widely held notion and conception in modern times, women are not men, not just in biological differences or connotation, but in the nature of the gender of each group of the human family. Similarly, contrary to generally-held belief, especially in modern times, it is not society that assigns roles to woman or man, but Nature. In most mobile creatures, we see male and female. And in plants to which I once drew attention, each part has its own roles which are akin to the different roles the genders of human race perform. The root of a plant, for example, is coarse, like man and like him provides the materials, the ingredients and water for the plant’s sustenance. The leaves, because of their fine and tender nature, prepare them to feed the whole, to nourish the whole, to beautify the whole. The leaves, because of their finer nature, collect rays of the sun which provides energy. They also collect carbon dioxide and turn them into oxygen through photosynthesis. These are fine activities. Fine as a woman’s caring and tending. But the root battles with tough, coarse, not fine activity; with rocks under the ground while at the same time, together with the stem, protects the leaves, the delicate part of a plant.
As I already stated in the foregoing men are closer to Nature than men are. This is as a result of her inner make-up which contains a part of higher spiritual essence which is lacking in men. With the higher spiritual make-up, she is put in a situation that she is a firm link and channel of radiations and influences from higher and purer Light Realm, that is Paradise. She is thus blessed with richer intuitive and perceptive faculties to sense the Will of God at all times and in every situation so that she can guide. She is put in the position to readily distinguish between right and wrong, between good and evil. Thus in women are converged the rays of love and the rays of purity. Woman, therefore, becomes the storehouse of power. Standing half a step higher than man, she is able to absorb the rays of power and mediate them to the dense man, thus passing strength to him for use in his coarse activity. Man senses some power emanating from woman, and he feels drawn to protect this inexplicable treasure. He also feels overwhelmed by woman. Man has encountered this overwhelming power in nature but has been unable to relate it to the nature of female species in whatever form in all levels of being. I said this much last week, which I sense must have prompted the response to last week’s column.
It is obvious that deliberately Nature has endowed woman with a finer essence which her body mirrors so that in the ensuing homogeneity with the finer and purer currents of life she may easily link up with these forces, and absorbing them, mediate strength to her menfolk, who being coarse and alien to these forces, cannot reach out to them on their own. On the other hand, the studier man is to reciprocate, for balance, with her protection and sustenance through the facility of his own coarser gifts. Where either forsakes its role and duty to the other, this structure inevitably collapses. Could the distress in the world today not have arisen from such imbalance in the weaving of the human species?
Through her sharp sixth sense, she is able to sense dangers readily even before they approach, and she alerts the man who gets ready to ward them off. She is able to notice fine spots in a child as well as anything untoward in his dress or his breathing, or even notice cobwebs or water on the floor or on the table which man in his obtuseness may not see readily if he sees it at all. With the gift of effortlessly knowing right from wrong, her sense of judgment is striking, direct and correct. She is in a position to guide her husband in business, who his business partners should be, in government his ministers, and senior functionaries.
In love and care, she can be absorbed in the care of others, her husband and children to the exclusion of her own comfort. In selfless love, she throws herself on the right of right with absolute disregard to personal consequences. To know a woman is when her child faces a threat of danger. Like mother hen she will throw herself completely into the danger with total disregard for her own safety, regardless of her level of education, her exposure or social standing. The leading role of Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti cannot be easily forgotten in the history of Abeokuta or in the defence of her son, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.
The woman is a life-long educator, the teacher, a moulder of character, the guide and the pace-setter. She begins to educate her offspring from cradle, indeed, from the womb until they are old enough to go their own way. Even then there is still a tie! Where she does it well there is no anxiety in life for her family or the entire community. If she sets the right agenda and tone, her society will not go astray but prosper. Where a woman stands aright, the society has ennobling and uplifting practices and cultures. In the Elizabethan Age, through the instrumentality of Queen Elizabeth 1 (the First), Great Britain reached the zenith of her cultural flourish; and at the time of Queen Victoria, it was the age of etiquette, propriety and prosperity.
Soothing words from a woman have healed wounds and ended hostilities between nations in the same way nations, communities have fought wars over woman. Cultured men instinctively open doors for women and heads turn in gatherings at their approach, paying homage. Indeed, men begin to adjust their ties, their dresses to appear to be correct and approved by the woman who may not even be aware of the fuss over her. Before an upright woman, a man must bow—whoever he may be.
If women have fallen and become oppressed, it is a consequence of lack of understanding of who women are and the perversion of their own roles. So is it that women divert their energies to wrong and harmful pursuits such as footballing, weight lifting, wrestling, crane driving, emulating men, excessive intellectual cultivation there is imbalance between the brains, the frontal known as cerebrum and the hind brain cerebellum. The hind brain is the spiritually receptive part. Thus with the paralysis of the hind brain, the over cultivation constrains, indeed, blocks the outflowing of the prompting of the intuition. There is the craving by women for political power whether as president, governor or minister manifesting today in cries for affirmative action. That is, to place women in governmental power and kindred executive activities which distort a woman’s nature, steeling it and thus causing imbalance in the order of life. By moving to a different sphere of activity, her volition changes and the womanly nature accordingly becomes dulled…the bridge breaks and the natural structure collapses. Evidence of the creaking or collapsing structure which serious-minded people may wish to ponder is the gynaecological difficulties more and more women encounter today. Do we wonder? Once the volition changes and the fine womanly radiations turn coarse, why will the reproductive system, the hormonal orchestra, no longer maintain radiations or response as they should.
When a river deviates from its course, it ends up forming a stagnant lake, giving its environment filth and fouled air. Eventually it dries up, unable to reach its destination, its goal for development. Nature has abandoned women to the disobedience of the laws that stipulate their roles. The penalty for this includes confusion in homes, in the society, in the world at large, in individuals and in failure of men to achieve enduring really great things. The penalty shows in the abandonment of children on refuse dumps, on the streets and rail lines. It shows in the emergence of child soldiers and the unbelievable aberrations we are all witnessing. It shows in brutalised man and lack of respect for women by men and for men by women!
He said he was fed up with life. He also said that the adult population was a fraternity of fraudsters living in denial. Religion and the spiritual did not mean anything to him anymore. “I have seen it all, Sir”, he said with an air of finality. Then he added: “It has to be greener pasture for me outside the country, or death”.
Chuckling, I assured him that suicide wasn’t such a difficult thing to carry out, if he was serious about it. Then I added: “Should you need assistance, I can use my knowledge of the martial arts to dispatch you to your ancestors with not more than two good blows; administered to where they would do maximum damage and make your demise a sure banker”. He burst out laughing, but quickly pulled himself together.
“I am dead serious, sir”, he said. “I know. It’s just that there are a few things you may wish to take into consideration before you take a final decision”, I replied.
As the discussion progressed, I said that since he was sure of his conclusions about life, and was also sure about the fact that he had nothing new to learn, discover, or live for, he could do what he liked and not bother talking to anyone about it. He stared at me for a while, and was about to say something, but I continued.
“I was once in the same situation as you are at the moment. That was in my time as a youth. At that time, I was sure of how much I understood the world. I was also sure that I had seen it all and did not need to listen to anyone. The only problem was that I had this nagging suspicion that I just might have something more to learn if I looked around me hard enough.
My conclusions about life at any moment may change in the face of new experiences. So, I advised myself to seek more knowledge first. But then it had to be such comprehensive knowledge as would enable me answer most of the very important questions of life”.
He was silent for a while. Then he asked: “What are these important questions of life?
I told him that it all depended on who was asking the questions and what answers he was looking for. For me back then, I was concerned about the meaning of life and similar things. Someone else may have been concerned about how to make as much money as possible, or even how to become the most popular person in his neighbourhood, or his social circles.
It was different for me and I was forced to move from my initial cynicism when it dawned on me that I was still too ignorant, too inexperienced and too insufficiently exposed to conclude with certainty that the world, religion and everything else could go to hell. It was a truly confusing and confounding time: that stage and situation in life that is described by the ancients as the Dark Night of the Soul.
I told the young man that my resolve changed from going about and saying that life was meaningless to quietly seeking insight and personal spiritual deepening. I told him of how I initially loved this statement of Waldo Emerson: “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment”, and how I also found it confusing.
Then he asked me what I found confusing about the statement. I explained that my resolve and desire to become my own person did not, at the same time, show me what was right or wrong to do in life. In other words, I still needed to resolve the question of truth and falsehood, based on true knowledge.
There is a difference between wanting to have one’s own values and convictions and being sure that those values and beliefs are correct, or true. That was my dilemma at the time. I can say “This is my authentic self”, but without interrogating that “self”. One is not necessarily right because one has said: “Look I want to be myself and do only what I believe in”. What if one’s beliefs are wrong and only driven by inherited opinions, peer exposure, and one’s cultural background?
The young man was pensive for a while, after the above observations. Then he asked: “What does it mean to be authentic and real?
In response, I referred him to a section of an article which appeared on this page two years ago, under the title, “The Call for Authenticity”; wherein it was said: “The simple issue here is about reality and illusion, truth and falsehood. criminality and good behaviour. To be authentic is to be real. An authentic wooden chair is different from a fake plastic chair that is given a coat of paint in order to pass it off as a wooden chair. A person is said to be authentic when he is what he claims to be at any particular time, and completely so. To be inauthentic, on the other hand, is to have your identity, values, statements and avowed beliefs contrived to present “what is not” as “what is”. It boils down to the absence of any true identity. A chimerical being. The “Not this” that claims to be a “this”.
He paused for a while and then asked: “So, what are the essential attributes of an inauthentic person?
Again, I read from another section of the aforementioned article, thus: “The inauthentic person will rather strive to create an illusion and present same as truth, than take steps to remedy a perceived lack. It is all a question of doing everything possible to ensure that popular opinion and made-up reality create a shroud for the non-being to hide inside and masquerade an identity”.
“But my worries, as well as my decision to do something about my life, must be seen and taken as clear signs of Authenticity. Don’t you agree? He asked me.
“In a manner of speaking, yes” I replied. Then I drew his attention to yet another section of the two-year old article under reference here. “When an inauthentic person makes statements, or claims, about right, wrong, etc., it is all likely to be grounded on assumptions, expectations, views and ideas whose prevalence is mistaken for indubitability. Personal conviction is rarely ever part of the equation. Such a person will say ‘I know’, but will not bother to ask what it means ‘to know’. While one person will say ‘I know’ and mean ‘Mr. X told me…’, another will say he knows while he means ‘It is generally said and believed that…’, or even ‘I have the impression that.. ’. See?
“Tell me, sir, is it possible for one to know if one is the victim of an inauthentic life? He queried. “Listen to this”, I said; as I read out once again: “The victim of an inauthentic life may not be aware of his predicament at all. He will be absorbed in his everyday concerns, feeling quite important and indispensable amidst it all. Yet he is dispensable in every sense of the word, without the world being the worse for it”.
I continued: “What the inauthentic person takes himself to be is very often the agglomeration of claims, conjectures, flatteries and opinions put out by himself and his ‘factory workers’; as he sits in the conventional boat of his environment, his financial status and what is generally called public opinion”. And that is why what is said by a misguided person or public can never habour the truth?
“So, an inauthentic person cannot really speak of truth or know, as such?” He asked, almost inaudibly. I replied, quoting a paragraph in the article I mentioned earlier , where it was pointed out that the inauthentic person will rather be saying “What will my people think of such a thing”. His nakedness is there beneath the perfectly imaginary clothing of artifice. But it is precisely this artifice that is being marketed as reality, in the firm belief that all will be well in the end”.
“But this your inauthentic person is not under any visible compulsion, so where is the fear coming from? He queried, looking quite perplexed.
The response came thus: “Yet he seems to be the victim of some kind of ethereal tyranny, as he falters and stabilizes involuntarily. He is always afraid of what people would say if he did this, or failed to do that. He is worried that they may consider him foolish, unserious, etc.
“Yes! But who is this “they”? The young man asked.
I replied that this amorphous “they” cannot be individualized, since it does not really refer to this person, or to that person. “It does not even refer to all the people put together; or to everyone except me. It is not something like a universal subject from which the individual can be abstracted, no! But there it is! “They” want this and not that!
“And I ask again, sir, how does this differ remarkably from the reflexes of your authentic person?” Was the next question.
This was the reponse, as drawn from three paragraphs in the article: “Unlike the authentic self which has taken hold of itself, and which consciously determines its own possibilities, a “they” self is not localized. That is why it is true to say that to have your day-to-day life defined by the ‘they’ is to have all your genuine possibilities annulled; because your life is dispersed into undefined channels, as you wallow in the anonymity of collectivism. When an inauthentic person says “I”, he actually means “the others, whose ways prescribe mine”. Pitiful, is it not? That the amorphous group, the self-enclosed homogenous group, with its unthinking rhetoric, buries personal volition.
If you doubt that the inauthentic person unconsciously, and often totally, depends on the “they”, watch out for the constant care he takes to see how he differs from others; and whether that difference is one that should be maintained or evened out; whether he is lagging and needs to catch up, and whether he has some advantages he must strive to maintain. It is a desperate struggle for a life defined by average everydayness. A life lived with very little self-possession.
This is how the tyranny of the “they” unobtrusively robs people of their individuality. The choices about pleasure and displeasure are dictated by the prevailing preferences. It just happens to be “the done thing”. Thus, does true knowledge get undermined and undervalued. Nobody then needs to justify anything he says or believes, other than by saying that everyone is in the same boat. Thus, you find people strutting about as leaders, statesmen, chieftains, influencers, on air personalities, etc., either after they have held public office, or because they have read a few books and talked a lot”.
“But it will all ruin any form of genuineness”, he said in dismay.
I answered in the affirmative, and continued thus: “It is sometimes in this way that the impetus to free thinking and independent enquiry is either dampened, or extinguished completely for many people. That is because ‘they’ articulate the referential context of the significance of everything. Thus, it gets spread around that there is no need to be different. Evasion of self and ignorant presumption become the norm. “Just drift along”. Do not make a nuisance of yourself, by raking up issues that will make people think, reflect, or ask questions. As Martin Buber said: “Having become uneager and inept for such living intercourse that opens up a world, they have imprisoned the person in history and his speech in a library”.
“Hmmm”, he heaved; his shoulders sinking a little lower. Then he seemed to straighten up a bit from within. I said nothing. He heaved again and then said he had a lot to think about. I nodded in agreement.
I ended my exchange with the young man thus: “Anyone who thinks, or says, that many Nigerians are not either confused, suffering or simply not sure whether they are sane or not is living with his eyes closed. Anyone who is not aware that every step, and decision, he makes in life could aid or abort his purpose in a particular earth life should wake up to that fact. Look at the life of many great men and women, and also look at history, before you decide your next steps in life”.
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Anyone who thinks, or says, that many Nigerians are not either confused, suffering or simply not sure whether they are sane or not is living with his eyes closed. Anyone who is not aware that every step, and decision, he makes in life could aid or abort his purpose in a particular earth life should wake up to that fact..
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The nation has been agog with news of the ongoing face-off between the EFCC and the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and the others over the (EFCC)’s attempt to arrest Bello in connection with alleged official corruption involving the sum of 80.2 billion naira which he allegedly misappropriated while in office for eight years as Kogi State Governor.
Accusations and counter-accusations have raged back and forth between both camps (with not a few officious by-standers proffering gratuitous, ill-informed advice in the guise of opinions). As usual, the truth is always the first casualty. In this case, it is worsened by the fact that the matter is the subject of on-going litigation before at least two different courts: a High Court in the former Governor’s home State of Kogi and the Federal High Court in Abuja. The situation has been compounded by the order of injunction granted by a Kogi State High Court restraining the Commission from arresting or attempting to arrest the former Governor. The alleged breach of the order so irked the judge who issued it that he apparently had no option but to cite the EFCC boss for contempt. That order has been stayed by the Court of Appeal. Because these proceedings are ongoing, no more will be said on them.
Let me stress here that I am neither on the side of Yahaya Bello, nor that of the EFCC, or the Government of Kogi State whose funds are allegedly at the heart of the dispute. I will not cry more than the bereaved. My intervention here is limited to the legal ramifications and propriety of the steps taken so far by both sides of the divide.
BACKGROUND
Before Bello’s Abuja house was raided in a gestapo-like manner on April 17, 2024, Bello had, believing that his fundamental human rights were being threatened, approached a Kogi State High Court seeking an interim restraining order against the EFCC (Commission) pending the determination of a substantive suit before the court.
Justice Isa Abdullahi (presiding), who was satisfied with the grounds upon which the relief was sought, on February 9, 2024, gave an interim restraining order against the EFCC from taking any action against Bello, pending the determination of the substantive matter.
The Commission, dissatisfied, approached the Court of Appeal, Abuja, on March 11, 2024, requesting the appellate court to set aside the interim restraining order. It argued that the lower court lacked the requisite jurisdiction to assist Bello escape his deserved justice. It also argued that Bello could not stop the Commission from carrying out its statutory duties, nor use the lower court to escape its invitation, investigation and possible prosecution as the court’s order directed.
The Appeal Court adjourned hearing to April 22, 2024, while refusing to hear EFCC’s application for a stay of the order of interim injunction. In further affirming its earlier interim orders, the Kogi State High Court on April 17, 2024, delivered judgment in the substantive suit and directed the Commission to first seek the leave of the Court of Appeal before taking further steps against Bello. It granted some injunctive reliefs against the Commission “from continuing to harass, threaten to arrest or detain Bello”. The court directed the Commission to file a charge against Bello in an appropriate court if it had some reason to do so. The Commission later obtained a warrant of arrest against Bello from the Federal High Court presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite. On April 22, the anti-graft agency filed a notice of withdrawal of its appeal, predicating it on the ground that events had overtaken the appeal; while admitting that the appeal was filed out of time.
Bello’s team promptly challenged the arrest warrant by the Federal High Court and Justice Emeka Nwite has adjourned for his ruling on the propriety of his warrant of arrest against Bello.
WHEN AND HOW TO SUMMON A SUSPECT FOR INVESTIGATION BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
I condemn any brute and sensational arrest of a suspect such as Bello. It does not matter the station of life of such suspect, whether high or low. Hooded DSS operatives once did it to some Justices of the Supreme Court and other Judges on 8th October, 2016, when they viciously and savagely broke into their homes in the wee hours of the morning. I had condemned it in very strong words. (See https://www.bellanaija.com/2016/10/falana-ozekhome-melaye-react-to-arrest-of-judges-by-dss/) (October 10, 2016). Some of the victims like Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, JSC (of blessed memory) never recovered from the shock. He later died. Others took early premature retirement. Was the Commission therefore right in attempting to arrest Bello in the manner it did as some commentators have approved in their writeups? I think not. The relevant provisions of the law such as Sections 8(1) of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017; Section 6 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 (applicable in Abuja, the FCT); and Section 35(2)&(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, the sum total of which enjoin the fair and humane treatment of a suspect whether during his /her arrest, investigation, detention pending trial and arraignment. Was a bench warrant necessary against a suspect on whom charges had not been served as in the Bello scenario? I think not. Let us look at some decided cases on this.
In USANI V. DUKE [2006] 17 NWLR (Pt.1009)610 the Court of Appeal held thus:
"A bench warrant is a discretionary power of a court invoked to secure the attendance as in this case of an unwilling witness under the threat of contempt of court to give evidence on any area of a suit within his knowledge. It is not a discretion which is exercised as a matter of course. The court has to be satisfied that there is absolute necessity to procure the appearance of the witness in court. The lower tribunal based its refusal to issue bench warrant on non-compliance with section 229(2) of the Evidence Act." Per ADEKEYE, J.C.A. (P. 38, paras. B-E)”.
In APUGO V. FRN (2017) LPELR-41643 CA, the Court of Appeal eruditely held that:
“Section 382 (4) and (5) of the ACJA provides for how to serve a Charge and notice of trial on a Defendant, who is not in custody, … In this case, the Respondent had filed a motion exparte under section 382(5) of the ACJA 2015 to serve Appellant by substituted means. That motion was not argued, but the trial court jumped the gun and ordered for the bench warrant to arrest the Appellant: and when it found out that that was wrong, it suspended the implementation of the bench warrant (instead of setting it aside) the trial court yet still ordered the Appellant to appear on the next adjourned date to answer to the Charge against him, pursuant to section 87 of the ACJA 2015. As earlier discussed and held above, I do not think the trial court had the vires to make such order, in the circumstances as I think it went beyond its role as impartial adjudicator, to that of the Prosecutor or Police or EFCC to forcefully produce the Accused person, without serving him with any charge or notice of trial. See NWADIKE v. State (2015) LPELR- 24550 (CA), Ededet v. State (2008) 14 NWLR (Pt 1106) 52. I do not think section 87 of the ACJA 2015, can apply without recourse to section 382 of the same Act which requires a Defendant to be served personally or by substituted means with the charge or information and notice of trial. I believe it is upon compliance with section 382 (3) (4) and (5) of the Act where there is a pending charge, that the trial court can have the powers to apply the section 87 of the Act which says: “ A court has authority to compel the attendance before it of a suspect who is within the jurisdiction and is charged with an offence committed within the state Federal or the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, as the case may be or which according to law may be dealt as if the offence had been committed within jurisdiction and to deal with the suspect according to law”. Per MBABA J.C.A J.C.A (Pp. 46-48, paras. F-F)’’.
See also sections 113, 131, 394, 398 and 399 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.
These domestic laws are reinforced by a regional (in fact, continental) statute - the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights - Article 7 of which obliges the State (and all other persons) to respect the rights of every individual to have his (or her) cause heard. This right encompasses the following, inter alia:
(i) The right to appeal to competent national organs against violating his fundamental rights;
(ii) The right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent tribunal;
(iii) The right to defence including by Counsel of one’s choice;
(iv) The right to be tried within a reasonable time by an impartial court or tribunal.
The importance of this statute is often overlooked by many Nigerians because, apart from the Constitution, it is superior to virtually every local or municipal law - including the EFCC (Establishment) Act itself. See ABACHA VS FAWEHINMI (2000) 6 NWLR part 660, pg 228, where the Supreme Court held that the Charter possesses “greater vigour and strength than any other domestic statute… (accordingly if there is a conflict between it and another statute its provisions will prevail over those of the other Statute”)
It is in this context that I believe the Commission’s tactics in attempting to arrest Bello ought to be situated. While no one quarrels with the Commission’s full mandate to tackle economic crimes, the way and manner in which it does so must however, not portray any impunity or suggest that it is above the law. After all, the Commission’s motto is “No one is above the Law”. To that extent, the fact that the person at the centre of the present controversy is a former Governor is irrelevant: it merely hugs the headlines for that reason. Afterall, he has since lost his immunity under section 308 of the 1999 Constitution, upon vacating office. However, once a person has been charged to court as Bello has, he becomes the subject of the court which becomes seized of the matter. His availability in court is thereafter controlled by the trial court, and not another through a bench warrant.
Many a time, it is argued that the court cannot restrain government agencies from arresting, investigating or prosecuting suspects. This is far from the truth as it depends on the facts of each case. For example, the Court of Appeal in OKEKE v. IGP & Ors (2022) LPELR-58476(CA) 1 at Pp. 9 paras. A, Per NWOSU-IHEME, J.C.A (as she then was), relied on a decision of the same Court to hold that the Police can be restrained from the improper use of its powers. In the unreported case of LUNA V. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE RIVER STATE POLICE COMMAND in Appeal No CA/PH/216/2004, the Port-Harcourt Division of the intermediate court held:
“... Notwithstanding the power of the Police as spelt out in Sections 4 and 24 of the Police Act, where this Power is improperly used, the Court can stop the use of the power for that improper purpose, as that would no longer be covered by Section 35(1) (c) of the 1999 Constitution. In other words, an order restraining the Police from arresting on some particular occasion or for some particular improper purpose may be made by the Court.”
THE EVILS OF MEDIA TRIAL
The Yahaya Bello case evinces a clear case of media trial which should never be. The notion “Media Trial” or “Trial by Media” got its name in the United States of America during the period of 19th Century and became familiar with the Indian legal system in the famous, case of K.M Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra AIR 1962 SC 605.
I have, on my part, always kicked against media trial, for it presumes a person guilty even before his trial in open court. At the first National Anti-Corruption Stakeholders’ Summit held in 2017 with the theme, “Building national anti-corruption consensus in a multi-agency Environment”, which was organised by the Commission at the EFCC Academy, Karu, Abuja, I made the following remarks:
“…. All my life that is what I have done. I take it very seriously when we talk about the issue of rule of law. I do not believe in media trial. For example, a case is being investigated in EFCC, the suspect is being interrogated, tomorrow it is in a particular newspaper as to the statement made by that suspect. That suspect may never be tried. Even if he is arraigned and tried, he may never be found guilty but you have destroyed his image, his reputation. We should run away from that, it is not good. There is the need in this anti-corruption war to make an example; just one example with one person in government. I am aware of many, many petitions against people in this government”. See Nigerian Tribune edition of 28th March, 2017. (https://tribuneonlineng.com/stop-media-trial-suspects-ozekhome-tells-efcc/).
I had also in 2017, written to the Commission and presented a paper at CACOL Roundtable, titled “The A-Z and 24 “Dos” and “Don’ts” of how to fight corruption”. (See Daily Times of 24th April, 2017 – https//issuu.com/dailytimes. ng/docs/dtn-24-04-17/19). This paper is still relevant today, as it represents my contribution to the fight against corruption which I personally believe in. But, such war must be within the confines of the law. At the time of my lecture, the Commission under Ibrahim Magu had not made any attempt to try government functionaries; and I challenged it to do so. I do not know, whether it was my wakeup call that made the Commission to finally start charging people in government, especially Governors and Ministers, to court. Or, do you? I had also clashed with the former Chairman, Magu, on this sore issue on 19th December, 2017, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, at its end of year event. (See: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/12/anti-graft-war-magu-ozekhome-clash-fhc-end-year-event/)
THE DANGER INHERENT IN MEDIA TRIAL
Media trial which has become the order of the day in Nigeria is simply the act of using media coverage to vilify and portray a suspect or an accused person as a criminal, even without trial. In the context of Nigerian jurisprudence, a trial is an avenue to challenge the innocence of an accused person. A Media trial is an improper use of the media to tarnish the image of an accused person before, during or after a trial. It is used to dampen the resilient spirit of an accused person. The Commission used this craft greatly, especially during the tenure of Ibrahim Magu; and it greatly chipped away some nobility in its patriotic war against corruption.
The public applauds media trial. The downtrodden guffaws when the rich also cry. With this, there are more media convictions than actual convictions in the courtroom. Unfortunately, Yahaya Bello, has become the latest victim of media trial. If he is eventually acquitted, people will attribute his non-conviction to “a complicit judiciary”, (the whipping orphan).
Bello’s present ordeal may have undoubtedly brought some people immense joy. This submission has been tacitly corroborated by the Commission’s Chairman, very hard working and dedicated Mr Olanipekun Olukoyede, who stated, in a now-viral video, that the former Governor of Kogi State declined to come to the agency’s office because he complained that a female Senator had allegedly gathered journalists together to humiliate him anytime he appeared in the office of the agency for interrogation. Obviously, Bello was scared of media trial; so he avoided it. The evils of media trial are galore.
Media trials, especially in places like Nigeria, can be highly dangerous and prejudicial to a fair trial for several reasons:
1. Presumption of Innocence: Under the provisions of Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution, every accused person is presumed innocent until he is found guilty. Media trials often disregard the principle of “innocent until proven guilty.” When suspects are portrayed as guilty before they have had a fair trial, it can prejudice public opinion and undermine the legal process. The Muhammadu Buhari government specialised in this Goebel’s propaganda style under its “Name-and-shame” mantra. Such removes the Anglo-Saxon accusatorial system we operate and whimsically substitutes it with the French inquisitorial system.
By the provisions of section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution, every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. This is unequivocally the position of the law, and has not changed. Article 7(1) (b) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 1981, also guarantees the presumption of innocence when it states as follows: every individual shall have the right to fair-hearing, that is; to have his cause heard including a right to an appeal, to be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court or tribunal, and also the right to defence, including the right to be defended by Counsel of his choice. These are provisions that guide the trial of any person suspected to have committed a crime. It further extends to the right to be tried within a reasonable time by an impartial court or tribunal Thus, the presumption of innocence is the legal principle in criminal cases that one is considered innocent until proven guilty. This therefore means that until a judicial pronouncement is made, a suspect or defendant as the case may be should be treated with dignity as an innocent citizen. Anything to contrary would amount to a breach of the fundamental rights of the individual. See the cases of Tosin .v. State (2023) LPELR-59635 (CA); Onyeka .v. State (2023) LPELR-60520 (CA) and OLALERE .V. STATE (2022) LPELR-58103 (CA).
2. Mob Mentality: Inflamed by sensationalized media coverage, the public can form strong opinions and even resort to mob justice. This can lead to violence, whether against the accused or others associated with them.
3. Interference with Legal Proceedings: Judges do not live on the island, Venus, Moon, Neptune or Mars. They live on earth and interact with members of the society. Media attention can influence judges, potentially leading to unfair trials. It can be difficult for a defendant to receive a fair trial when public opinion has been heavily influenced against him by biased media coverage. In the case of Rajendra Jawanmal Gandhi v. State of Maharashtra, (1997) 8 SCC 386, the Supreme Court of India noted that a trial by press, electronic media, or public agitation is the exact opposite of the rule of law. It held further that Judges should protect themselves from such pressure and scrupulously adhere to the rule of law since failure to do so could result in a miscarriage of justice. Parties are entitled by the Constitution to a fair trial in a court of law by an unbiased tribunal that is not swayed by popular culture or media coverage.
4. Violation of Privacy and Dignity: Suspects, especially those who are later found innocent, can suffer irreversible and irreparable damage to their reputation, mental health, and livelihood due to intrusive media coverage. See section 37 of the 1999 Constitution.
5. Impact on Investigation: Media trials can jeopardize investigations by prematurely revealing sensitive information or influencing potential witnesses or suspects.
6. Undermining Trust in the Justice System: When the public perceives that justice is being served through media sensationalism rather than through fair legal processes, it can erode public confidence and trust in the judiciary and law enforcement agencies. This is the situation our judiciary has found itself. When a wealthy man who is accused of looting the state treasury is acquitted of corruption-related charges, some members of the public readily accuse the judiciary of complicity. Because some Nigerians do not trust the judiciary, they believe, courtesy of media trial, that the judiciary is a tool of the ruling class to consolidate or legitimize their hold on power and the society.
7. Political Manipulation: In some cases, media trials may be used as a tool by powerful interests to manipulate public opinion, discredit political opponents, or distract from other issues. The ongoing trial of the former CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, is a perfect example. Virtually all the bad economic policies of the President Buhari government have been attributed to the leadership of the apex bank under Emefiele and the Bank Managing Directors. Was this really the case? Was Buhari not in charge?
There are many instances when suspects who had been subjected to needless media trial were later vindicated by courts of law. Let us see some examples:
(i) The siege and break-in through the roof on the residence, ‘abduction’ and subsequent arrest and arraignment by the EFCC in a clearly orchestrated media trial of former Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State. He was later discharged and acquitted.
(ii) The trial and subsequent discharge and acquittal, only last month, by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, of the former Director-General of NIMASA, Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi, after over eight years on trumped up charges of conspiracy, stealing and fraudulent conversion involving the sum of ₦8.5billion. The court, coram, Justice Ayokunle Faji, upheld his Counsel’s no-case submission that the Commission had failed to make a prima facie case requiring him to enter his defence in respect of four out of six charges laid against him by the Commission. This was after eight years of gruesome trial and media hype, with Akpobolokemi, being physically dragged on the ground in one instance.
The discharge and acquittal earlier this year of the erstwhile Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice under the Administration of the former President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke and some companies by the Federal High Court, Abuja (Ekwo, J) and the High Court of the FCT (Kutigi J), on charges of money laundering and abuse of office after over four years of hyped media trial which the latter court strongly condemned and for which it excoriated the Commission for the slip-shod manner in which it undertook what, to all intents and purposes, was a persecution rather than precaution. The investigation into the alleged offences was anything but diligent, forcing the Commission’s own Counsel (to his credit) to throw in the towel and admit that he could not, in all honesty, support their continuing trial. I had gotten vacated and set aside the Bench warrant earlier issued against Adoke by Danlami Zama Senchi (now of the Court of Appeal). I was the one who also argued Adoke’s bail applications before Justices Inyang Ekwo and Idris Legbo Kutigi.
Also apposite are the nasty experiences of former Senator Dino Melaye whose cases I also handled; and that of the Supreme Court Justices way back in 2016 (even though the latter was perpetrated by a sister agency, the DSS) .
What about late High Chief Aleogho Raymond Dokpesi? He was later discharged on a no case submission after over eight years of horrid trial in which I secured his bail in 2015! The cases of Col. Sambo Dasuki, El Zakzaky and Elder Godsday Orube are well too known to enlist elucidation here.
The Commission surely had full knowledge of the ex-parte order made by the Kogi State High Court which had restrained the Commission from arresting Yahaya Bello. Yet, it laid a siege on Bello’s Abuja residence. The entire drama (which played out in the full glare of television cameras) was nothing short of disdain for the rule of law and the sanctity of court orders. It is trite law that, until a valid and duly issued court order is set aside either by the same or another court of superior or co-ordinate jurisdiction, it must be obeyed and complied with to the hilt.
The proper remedy open to the Commission which disagreed with the order was to challenge it and seek its reversal at the appellate court as it later did, and certainly not to flout or disobey it under any disguise. Needless to say that disobedience to court orders is a feature of self-help only in a society where anything goes; where life is poor, solitary, nasty, brutish and short, to quote the English Philosopher, Thomas John Hobbes. We must never allow Nigeria to degenerate to such a nadir state where government institutions disobey court orders with impunity. That is a ready recipe for organized disenchantment.
Indeed, so important is obedience of court order that it is given constitutional imprimatur in Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution.
In this regard, in FCDA V KORIPAMO-AGARY (2010) LPELR-4148 (CA), Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, J.C.A (as he then was) held that:
“The Court frowns at disobedience of its orders; particularly by the executive branch of government and has used rather harsh language such as 'executive lawlessness', in describing such acts of disobedience. On the application of an aggrieved party, the Court has in appropriate cases, not hesitated to exercise its coercive power to set aside such acts done in disobedience of its order and restore the parties to the position they were before such disobedience. The rationale for this course of action by the Court is to ensure the enthronement of the rule of law rather than acquiesce in resorting to self-help by a party. The Court also has the power of sequestration and committal against persons disobeying its orders. It is an overgeneralization and therefore wrong to say that an act done in disobedience of a Court order is an illegality”.
See also ALL PROGRESSIVE CONGRESS & 2 ORS V HON DANLADI IDRIS KARFI & 2 ORS [2018] 6 NWLR (Pt 1616) 479, 493 SC and EZEKIEL-HART V EZEKIEL-HART [1990] NWLR (pt 126) 276. where the Supreme Court upheld the same principle.
By the same token, it is also settled that once the court is seised of a matter, it becomes dominus litis (master of the proceedings) and no party is allowed to take any step that will either overreach the court or the other party or present the court with a situation of fait accompli or complete helplessness in which whatever orders it makes might either be rendered nugatory or unenforceable. Such will be an affront on the court. See Ojukwu v. Governor of Lagos State (1986) 3NWLR (Pt 26) 39.
CONCLUSION
The judgment delivered by the High Court of Kogi State on April 17, 2024, finally vindicated Yahaya Bello on this issue as the court pointedly held:
"Thus, the serial action of the Respondent, dating back to 2021, right up to 2024, targeted against the applicant, has corroded their legitimate statutory duties of investigation and prosecution of financial crimes. These collective infractions on the rights of the applicant border on infringement of his fundamental right from discrimination”.
Central to the court's rebuke is the condemnation of the anti-graft agency's reliance on media sensationalism, characterized as a form of trial by public opinion. The court firmly asserted the principle that the agency's role is not to act as both prosecutor and Judge simultaneously; but rather to present evidence within the confines of due procedure. This critique underscores the imperative of upholding the rule of law and granting individuals, including Bello, their rightful day in court devoid of extrajudicial influences.
Beyond the specifics of Bello's case, there is need for a paradigm shift whereby agencies such as the EFCC, Police, ICPC, DSS et al, adopt a more public-friendly stance akin to their counterparts in advanced jurisdictions such as the United States, the United Kingdom and many European states. The importance of viewing law enforcement as a Service rather than as a Force, underscores the necessity of cultivating public trust and confidence through transparent, law-abiding practices. I hereby emphasize and advocate (as I have always done), strong institutions; not strong men.
We must, therefore, strike a balance between reporting matters that are of public interest and respect for the dignity of persons. In India, the Law Commission in its 200th report, “Trial by Media: Free Speech versus Fair Trial under Criminal Procedure (Amendments to the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971)”, has recommended a law to debar the media from reporting anything prejudicial to the rights of the accused in criminal cases, from the time of arrest to investigation and trial.
No individual, regardless of his position or authority, is above the law. There is no exception in the sense that even those who are protected from prosecution by the immunity clause in section 308 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, will after vacating the office be answerable like all other citizens and subject themselves willingly or unwillingly to the law. By holding both governmental and non-governmental actors accountable to the law, a commitment to fostering a culture of accountability and respect for individual rights is built and maintained.
Be that as it may, the laid down procedures must be followed accordingly. Where such laid down procedures are not tenaciously complied with, it will become an agency of government dictating its own rules, procedures and modus operandi. This is only typical of an autocratic, despotic and dictatorial government which we do not operate. It is in the light of this that the Commission and all other agencies established by laws must ensure that they conduct their operations within the ambit of the laws that established them. The concept of rule of law entails that all actions of government must be carried out as spelt out by the law without any form of self-help. In an ideal society where everyone, the leaders, the followers and the law enforcement agencies follow the law, a pattern develops where there can be a reasonable expectation of what will occur in any given situation. And ultimately, this provides security and safety as people do not need to panic out of uncertainty or feel worried about any situation since what will happen is readily predictable.
In the light of these considerations, there is need for a reevaluation of law enforcement practices and a renewed dedication to upholding the rule of law. There must be a balance of the imperatives of justice with the protection of individual rights, particularly in the face of media scrutiny and public pressure.
For now, citizen Yahaya Bello wears the toga of victimhood and not of aggression. He should be allowed to have his fair day in court without the present needless ruckus and brouhaha.
WHEN queues started growing at petrol stations some two weeks ago, one initially thought it was because of the nature of the market. Since subsidy removal was announced last May 29, the cheapest price at which petrol could be bought was N568, at NNPC-owned filling stations. Other marketers sold above that, and in the Lagos area, often as high as N665, depending on which part of Lagos. Thus, most of the time, marketers other than NNPC had their attendants snoozing at the pumps, while NNPC stations recorded a surfeit of buyers. That is an anomaly deserving of discourse later.
One of the reasons often given for “appropriate pricing” of petroleum products (read that to mean increment in price) is that the product will always be available as the higher prices will guarantee steady supply. That is bunkum, as experience, both current and latent, have shown. Over just one weekend (the last one), people woke up to find that filling stations have locked their gates against customers. Those who left their gates open had only diesel and cooking gas to sell. The usual nightmare began last Sunday, with many motorists virtually scavenging for the product. The transport system immediately and viciously responded by doubling or tripling fares. As a result, commuters on shoestring budgets got stranded and resorted to trekking long distances to their destinations. Of course, prices of food items recorded upward notches, all in response to the scarcity of petrol. The situation worsened prevailing experience with energy: fewer people could afford to power their generators as a result of scarcity; remember, we’re in blackout town! Where petrol was available, black marketers were in charge, offering a five-litre keg of petrol for sale at between N4,000 and N5,000. That is about N800-N1,000 per litre. Is that going to be our next destination in terms of pricing? Lamentations ruled the lips of many Nigerians with the refrain: For how long will our country continue like this?
All the while, the state’s petroleum monopoly, NNPC, continued to churn out the rhetoric that petrol is available, and that shortages at the filling stations were due to “logistics challenges.” These challenges, NNPC Ltd said, have been resolved, but that normalcy will take some more days to restore. This position was countered by the association of independent marketers, which said that petrol scarcity will linger for at least two weeks. Their position was hinged on the fact, according to them, that many refineries in Europe from which products are sourced are currently undergoing maintenance. Since we run on imported petroleum products, there seems to be more credibility in the position of the marketers.
As the suffering continued, the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources, Downstream and Midstream weighed in, announcing that the nation has in her storage facilities 1.5 billion litres of petrol, which is expected to last at least 30 days. So, the next question is: Where is the petrol? In fact, who and what are making petrol unavailable to Nigerians? Nigerians who ply the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway daily, like me, can see queues of tankers lined up from as far as Ilasamaja, through Berliet Bus-Stop, Cele, Ijesha, onwards through Mile 2 towards Coconut Bus-stop, where you begin to see fuel depots. For nearly two weeks, the queues have not shortened. If anything, they seem to be growing, indicating there are issues with access to the depots or availability of the product at the depots.
Just what is happening? Is the situation attributable to European refiners undergoing maintenance or the logistics problems which it was claimed have been resolved?
One thing is clear: Nigerians do not know why they can’t get petrol to buy, and they deserve to know why, because they are paying for it through the nose in all areas of life.
As the situation is with electricity, this round of petrol scarcity is one that should make everybody in government hide their faces in shame, starting with the petroleum ministers. I am of the bent that many people employed in the petrol supply chain have not done their jobs as well as they should have, despite the handsome rewards for their employment. If it is about European refiners shutting down for maintenance, somebody should have known about that and worked ahead to ensure that the nation is not left in the lurch as a result. If, again, as the House of Representatives Committee said that we have no less than 1.5 billion litres in storage, then the issue might be that the “logistics challenges” have not been properly resolved as the NNPC Ltd claimed. Don’t know what to believe again. But whatever the truth is, I am convinced that some people have not done the job for which they were employed very well, the consequences of which is the harrowing experience Nigerians are going through now. In the private sector, it would be a major disaster if this kind of thing happened, and heads will roll without remorse because of the bottomlines that will be affected.
Since this is government work, I KNOW nothing will happen to anybody. In fact those asking questions are doing so as “eye service.”
As is usual with our people, we opt to see the better side of situations, no matter how bad. I saw one cartoon on the internet, which people are sharing furiously. A character in the cartoon asked why the Federal Government has not handed NNPC over to Nigerian Breweries. The other character in the cartoon asked why such a thing should happen. The reply was: “Have you ever heard of beer scarcity?” TGIF. Where we go block, since beer scarcity never happens?
It was former Presidential Spokesperson, Dr Reuben Abati that wrote an article about demons in Aso Rock Villa, and this has remained a reference.
Demons are spirits which are not visible and cannot be felt by anyone. They are in our midst at all times either as our friends, brethren, blood relatives or our very close associates. In other words, a demon is a complex being.
Just like the demon, corruption is in our midst all the time. It is a complex being too.
Perhaps, it was in his realization of the existence and potency of this corruption demon in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that its Chairman, Mr Ola Olukoyede, lamented publicly about what he called "the craze for gratification, and quest for bribes by some of the commission’s investigators."
Olukoyede alluded to the fact that EFCC investigators were corrupt and he could not hide it. He said "Public opinions about the conduct of some of our investigators are adverse. The craze and quest for gratification, bribes and other compromises by some of our investigators are becoming too embarrassing and this must not continue."
He went on to sound a note of warning, saying that he will not hesitate to wield the big stick against any form of infraction by any staff of the Commission, adding that "the image of the Commission is too important to be placed on the line by any corrupt officer."
That was in January this year, three months after he assumed office. We are in May now, no big stick has been wielded against anyone in the EFCC. It is still business as usual.
Apart from labeling EFCC investigators as corrupt, Olukoyede also harped on the need for the anti-corruption agency to conform with international best practices in law enforcement, saying, "We are a civilised anti-graft agency. Arrest and bail would henceforth be done in line with the rule of law."
Olukoyede, a former Executive Secretary of EFCC cannot be said to be oblivious of happenings in the Commission. He worked with Ibrahim Magu and saw how Magu was arrested in a Gestapo-like manner at the entrance of the Wuse II, Abuja office of the anti-graft agency.
After he was removed from office as EFCC secretary, Olukoyede saw how Magu's successor, Abdulrasheed Bawa, was arrested and detained for over 100 days. He also knew how previous EFCC Chairmen before Magu, were humiliated out of office.
Therefore, Olukoyede wanted the EFCC under him to function in accordance with the rule of law. He even ordered in November last year, that sting operations at night be stopped in all the commission’s commands. He gave the directive in reaction to the raid of off-campus hostels of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile Ife by operatives of the agency in which 69 students were arrested.
But it appears that the demon of corruption in the EFCC have made Chairman Olukoyede to forget all that he said few months ago. If he has not, he will not be the one to mount the podium and stand in front of television cameras to defend the April 17 invasion of the Abuja residence of the former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, despite the pendency of a Court Order restraining the anti-graft agency from arresting him.
If not for those demons of corruption in the EFCC, I am sure that as a lawyer, he will know that once a court gives an order, it must be obeyed until set aside by a higher court. He will also be mindful that after appealing against a decision of the court, anything that will amount to overreaching the court must not be done by all parties.
He will also know that once an accused person is charged to court, he or she 7can no longer be arrested or declared wanted by the prosecuting authority except the court so directed.
Most importantly, someone who was sermonising about the EFCC operating in line with the rule of law will not stand before the press to discuss charges already filed in court against an accused person, thereby acting like he was inciting the public against the accused person and indirectly passing judgement on him.
On Yahaya Bello, it is on record that no formal invitation was made by the EFCC. Rather, the Chairman only called the former governor on phone and offered to bend the rules for him by allowing him into the Chairman's office as a VIP.
Also, in seeking to protect his reputation and fundamental rights, Yahaya Bello filed Fundamental Rights Enforcement in Kogi State High Court on February 8, 2024 and on February 12, 2024, the Court granted an order restraining the EFCC from inviting, arresting, or prosecuting Yahaya Bello pending the determination of the Originating Motion.
Despite this order, the EFCC filed Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/98/2024 against Yahaya Bello on March 6, 2024 and went ahead to obtain a warrant of arrest on April 17, 2024.
As at today, EFCC is at the appeal court, challenging the April 17, 2024, judgement of Justice I.A Jamil, in suit no HCL/68/M/2020, restraining EFCC from arresting, detaining and prosecuting Yahaya Bello except as authorised by the Court.
Also, application to vacate the warrant of arrest issued against Yahaya Bello, will be determined by the Federal High Court in Abuja on May 10, 2024.
Methinks if the EFCC will follow the position of its Chairman on the rule of law, no further action will be taking on the matter until the court decides otherwise.
There will also be no need for the Commission to be at the defensive as it is now, defending why it had to disperse pro-Yahaya Bello protesters while according those who protested in its support a red carpet reception.
This is more so that emotion and sentiment apart, Yahaya Bello cannot be said to be running from investigation and prosecution. He is only using provisions of our laws to protect himself, and no one can blame him for that.
Perhaps, Yahaya Bello is acting like an antelope that was fleeing when he saw the Central Police of the Animal Kingdom pursuing a goat. When the antelope was asked why it was scared since it is not a goat, the antelope said; "With the way our law enforcement agents operate, by the time I am arrested, humiliated and detained for two weeks, I will look like a goat in the eyes of the public when paraded."
It is therefore the EFCC that needs to focus on proving its allegations against Yahaya Bello in court and in doing this, the anti-corruption agency must operate within the ambit of the laws and stop engaging in campaign of intimidation and harassment against Nigerians. After all, an accused is presumed as innocent until convicted by the court.
But will the demon of corruption in the EFCC allow common sense and the rule of law to prevail, at least for once?
Olayinka, a journalist writes from the topmost part of Oke Agbonna in Okemesi Ekiti
Earlier this week, I teased on my social handle about my encounter with a deity. Of course, not in the sense that one might meet a deity in the groove of a village forest.
Yet, those who have met this man – who know him – might agree that Sam Amuka, fondly called Uncle Sam, is a deity of sorts. The trail that forged the seasons of his career goes back many decades to his years at Daily Times which at its prime, was Africa’s leading journalism shrine.
On Sunday I went to see Uncle Sam, to talk about my new book, Writing for Media and Monetising It. I had dispatched a copy to him in advance, but the ritual would be incomplete without a libation.
So, I took along an extra copy and went to his Anthony Lagos residence, where he has lived like a regular Joe for many decades. As I waited for him upstairs on the balcony of his house, I glanced back and forth between the Sunday newspapers strewn on a cane table, and a silver tray with a big flask, teacups, a box of Lipton and assorted teas, a bottle of honey, skimmed milk and over a dozen of packets of Kemps cracker biscuits.
It wasn’t long before Uncle Sam emerged from the corridor, his imminent presence announced by the barking of a puddle that first accosted me when I climbed the stairs. The puddle was not here when I visited a few years ago.
“Superstar!” Uncle Sam teased, as he came out.
I replied, smiling, that 88 was good on him. He corrected me: “I’m 89!” He then tore a packet of Kemps crackers and sat on the bed-shaped cane chair to my right, waiving the young man who had followed behind to make him some tea.
The young man took out two Lipton tea bags, and after pouring hot water from the flask went on to add not one or two, but I think three teaspoons of honey. Then, he grabbed the tin of skimmed milk. I looked at Uncle Sam, thinking the young man was mistaken and expecting he would ask him to stop. He didn’t. Instead, he looked approvingly, even expectantly, munching his Kemps.
At 59, in my obsession to live a long, healthy life, only God knows how many things I have given up. I can’t remember the last time I used any sweetener, gluten-free or not, for my tea or pap, much less milk. I was puzzled to see an 89-year-old man having his tea not just with plenty of honey but also topping the brew with spoonsful of milk.
Uncle Sam smiled as he took the steaming teacup from the young man, stirred it gently, and took a sip. As if to create the perfect ambience for his refreshment, he turned on music stored in a flash drive that was plugged into a player.
“You don’t know I’m called Daddy DJ?” he joked in response to my puzzled look.
Sam Amuka, I know. Uncle Sam, I know. Who doesn’t? He is the Jimmy Breslin of Nigeria’s journalism. Writing about Breslin, who died seven years ago at 88, Tom Wolfe described him as, “The greatest columnist of my era.” And that, from Wolfe, a master of the craft in his own right, says a lot.
In a tribute to Breslin, The Guardian wrote that he was the champion of the trials and troubles of the ordinary people in New York. “He filled his columns with gangsters and thieves, whom he knew first-hand from drinking in the same bars. He told stories that smacked of blarney behind their anger.”
And Breslin himself once said, “Rage is the only quality which has kept me, or anybody I have ever studied, writing for newspapers.” That was Sad Sam, the tempered version of which we now know as “Uncle Sam.”
But “Daddy DJ?” I was meeting him in that incarnation for the first time this Sunday morning. Yet, it made no difference. I could see a common thread of empathy and humanity binding the three persons in one man. I was happy and comfortable to share the story of my new book, in-between sips of my own tea – sugarless, milk-less – and yes, also in-between mouthfuls of Kemps cracker biscuits which I had not tasted for a very long time.
I did not start out to write a self-help book. As my career as a journalist crossed the 35-year mark and I inch closer to the sixth floor of life, it became increasingly difficult to ignore suggestions to share my experience in a more permanent form. I’ve been writing for the media since I was 22 and even managed to write a book on Nigeria’s anti-corruption war in 2008. But the urge to share more has increased.
In yielding, I wondered what I could do differently. In recent times, I have been invited by universities and professional groups to speak on the challenges facing journalists and young writers, especially in light of the extraordinary explosion in the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, at school and at home.
Decades after TIME magazine famously predicted that journalism could be on its death throes and it turned out that the death was exaggerated, the technology appears to have sparked the second panic wave.
So what? I thought perhaps it might be useful to combine my speaking experiences with decades of writing a weekly column now enriched in both audio and visual formats to serve the needs of a younger generation of content providers, especially students and those in the earlier stages of their writing career, trying to find their way. And not just trying to find their way – but also, trying to earn some extra money or attract value, while doing so.
The book title clearly suggests a media bias – media here meaning traditional and social media. That is deliberate as audiences in these areas are my primary focus. Whether you are still in school, just starting out on a writing career path or are, in fact, in the middle levels of your career, you would find this book useful.
It draws not only on my personal experience – struggles and triumphs – I also interviewed professionals across age brackets who generously shared their experiences with me.
For me, writing this was like walking back through the years of my career, beginning from when there was even no career but just the dream to become a writer someday, to my schools when I was formally introduced to the craft, through many changes along the way, a good number of which I didn’t even see coming.
You don’t have to wear my shoes or tread my path. But this book is a good guide for common obstacles many literary content providers face in the new world as they try to find their own way.
I set out to do an online course largely on journalistic writing for value, not to write a book, but ended up with a resource that will benefit a much larger variety of audiences than I had envisaged.
Uncle Sam listened patiently. When I finished, he asked one question, with a worried look: “How will you get this book out, and get people to read it?”
No easy answer. Research increasingly suggests declining interest in reading, especially among younger populations. I replied that I did what I could to make the book simple, anecdotal and relatable.
“I’m hoping,” I told Uncle Sam, “that young people would see something of themselves in my stories and the stories of others across a generational spectrum and from it, chart their own course.”
He didn’t seem fully persuaded, but he was in earnest for me – for us – to find a way.
How can one claim to be a journalist, for example, without reading Peter Enahoro’s You’ve Gotta Cry to Laugh, Babatunde Jose’s Walking a Tightrope or Alade Odunewu’s Allah De? Or even the more recent Battlelines: Adventures in Journalism and Politics by Olusegun Osoba, to mention a few?
What is in a book is the thing that might just change your life; but you’ll have to read it to find it. On that, deities whether in journalism, carpentry, medicine or the good old craft of fortune-telling, might agree.
Azu Ishiekwene is the Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP.