Public Affairs Analyst

“PDP, APC primaries: Dollar, Naira rain for delegates” was the screaming headline on the front page of Saturday Punch of December 13, 2014. In the elucidating new story, the newspaper reporters across the country gave graphic details of how party delegates that voted in the 2014 political party primaries were heavily induced with money to influence their choice of candidates.    According to the newspaper, amount ranging from N100,000 to $7,000 were shared out to some of the delegates. It reported that “The delegates that participated in the just concluded primaries of the ruling People’s Democratic Party and the opposition All Progressives Congress across the country have been laughing to the bank following the huge amount of money some aspirants reportedly paid to them.” The newspaper reported that the aspirants sent some of the money to the delegates through the leaders of their parties and that apart from the money, incentives such as promise of automatic employmen...

It’s the last day of 2014 and preparations are in top gear as Nigerians join the rest of the world to usher in the New Year 2015. Quite interestingly, it won’t come simultaneously as places like Australia and New Zealand that are hours ahead of the rest of the world would be the first to have a taste of the New Year. While New Zealand is some 12 hours ahead of Nigeria, Australia is +10 hours ahead of us. Well, it’s been a year of mixed grill in Nigeria. Whichever sector one picks to analyse, it’s a guarantee to find three things – the good, the bad and the ugly. The year opened with celebrations for Nigeria. We rolled out the drums and celebrated our centenary anniversary with pomp and pageantry. There were symposia, home and abroad, on the 100th anniversary of Nigeria’s amalgamation. There were photo exhibitions, gala and award nights where 100 eminent Nigerians were honoured, there was the N100 commemorative note and in Abuja, a Centenary Estate is being built in remembrance of th...

I am happy, very excited, not about tomorrow’s Christmas shindig but about the new National Health Bill which President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law on December 9, 2014. Health, they say, is wealth and a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. For those familiar with the “Israelite journey” of the bill at the National Assembly, its signing into law is a worthy Christmas gift from Mr. President to Nigerians. This is the second time the National Assembly will pass the bill as President Jonathan withheld assent when it was first passed, necessitating another legislative review of the all-important bill. All is well that ends well and I add my voice to hundreds of others who have appreciated the President for this wonderful act. What actually is the health Act all about? The Act, experts say, seeks to provide a framework for the regulation, development and management of a National Health system and set standards for rendering health service in the country. Some of the accruing benefits...

It is yet the season of the year many see as one of love, caring and sharing. I am sure many of my readers have received greeting cards (printed and soft copies), hampers, salary bonuses, and other gifts from family, friends, employers and well-wishers. It is also the season of carols as various music cantatas are organised to celebrate God for His mercies and blessings over our lives and situations. Father Christmas grottos have also sprung up as children tax their parents to sponsor their visits to see Santa Claus for their own seasonal gifts. In this season also, homes and houses wear new look as they are decorated in preparation for the Christmas Day in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Incidentally, it also a season of violence: both domestic and external. Externally, because it is a festive period, a lot of crimes and criminality also get committed. Bandits, rightly or wrongly, believe that a lot of people have money this season and make themselves unwanted guests at m...

Hearty congratulations to the new Comptroller General of Prisons, Dr. Peter Ezenwa Ekpendu. I do not envy him on this appointment coming on the heels of incessant jailbreaks and attacks on Nigerian prisons with the last one being at the Minna Maximum Prison on Saturday, December 6, 2014. Against these unhealthy developments, I think it is high time we fast tracked justice sector reform part of which is prison reform. I have two key suggestions. Let us privatise and decentralise Nigerian prison system. That is the norm and trend in some countries particularly in the United States of America which has federal, state and private prisons. Indeed, American private prisons are about 100 as of March 2014. I am therefore seeking the repeal of the Nigerian Prisons Service Act as well as a constitution amendment for these to happen. Why? There is a blatant inefficiency in the management of the Nigerian prison system. Jailbreaks have now become a recurring decimal so much so that it is no lo...

It’s the Yuletide season again when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus and everyone thereafter rejoices at the grace of seeing the end of the year and the beginning of a new one. While the world celebrates, I am sure the number of Nigerians who will roll out the drums has shrunk significantly, no thanks to the current high cost of living and the ceaseless acts of insecurity across the country, especially in the North-East. Many a time, I’ve been tempted not to listen to news or read newspapers again simply because of the large dose of negative heart-rending news Nigerians are daily being fed with by the media. But how will I be informed of happenings around me if I shut down on news? I know for a fact that this is the dilemma of many Nigerians. A majority of us are tired of the sad new stories we get every morning. This is not the breadth of fresh air this government promised us in 2011 before the elections. What we were told was that we would not need to buy or fuel generators...