Public Affairs Analyst

For some time now there have been heated debates on how Nigeria can fix her deplorable road network. Many are of the opinion that government is not doing enough to give Nigeria drivable roads. It is perceived as a double standard for the law to empower Vehicle Inspection Officers to certify vehicles road worthy and impound rickety ones from plying the road while relevant government ministries, departments and agencies are not held responsible for the bad roads which in no small measures contribute to damaging vehicles that drive on such roads. There have been several agencies set up to undertake road maintenance at federal, state and local government levels. I recall the existence of Public Works Department as an agency under Ministry of Works and Transport in the 60s. More recently, we have Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA). Yet, a trip on some Nigerian roads is like embarking on suicide mission given the depth of despoliation on such roads. They are filled with potholes, gull...

It was a rare honour and privilege to be part of the august gathering of communication experts from across the country that gathered on October 17 and 18, 2016 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru near Jos. It was a rainbow coalition of sort. Participants were drawn from the Academia, Civil Society Organisations, Political Parties, Regulatory Agencies, Media Professionals, Research Institutes, Professional Bodies and Security Agencies to brainstorm on Nigeria’s National Communication Policy and Strategy. Some 29 years ago, precisely in 1987 at Administrative Staff College of Nigeria in Badagry, Nigeria produced her first draft National Mass Communication Policy which effectively came into operation in 1990. Efforts were made in 2004 and 2013 to revise the policy; unfortunately, this is yet to be consummated. According to NIPSS, last week’s conference was aimed at providing a platform for stakeholders to dialogue on the need for a comprehensive Nationa...

Periodic and credible election is one of the pillars of democracy. Others are independent judiciary, free press, vibrant civil society, strong political parties, etc. Nigeria’s electoral democracy dates back to 1922 when Clifford Constitution came into existence. Many political observers have opined that Nigeria is yet to experience flawless election as each one conducted by the election management body ends up being hotly disputed with myriads allegations of uneven playing field, rigging and all sorts of chicaneries. There are two major actors in the electoral process. They are the election management bodies and the political parties. While the EMBs set the rules of engagement, timelines, codes of conduct and actual conduct of the polls; the political parties field candidates to contest in the elections. In order to ensure credibility of the electoral process, the EMBs accredit the media, civil society and the security agencies to help ‘police’ the process. The legislature set up ...

The United Nations had declared every October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child. This year’s theme was Girls' Progress = Goals' Progress: What Counts for Girls. Though there are 17 Sustainable Development Goals, SDG5 speaks of Gender Equality while SDG10 talks of Reduced Inequalities. The Nigerian girl child needs both. The United Nations says: “Only through explicit focus on collecting and analysing girl-focused, girl-relevant and sex-disaggregated data, and using these data to inform key policy and programme decisions can we adequately measure and understand the opportunities and challenges girls face, and identify and track progress towards solutions to their most pressing problems”. Spot on! In Nigeria, credible data has been a serious challenge. More often than not we rely on data provided by international agencies. Such data themselves might be based on projections and not actual figures, hence not totally reliable for planning purposes. Truth be told, ...

Last weekend, precisely on October 7 and 8, 2016, the unprecedented happened in the history of Nigerian judiciary. Homes of seven Judges were invaded by the operatives of the Department of State Security Services better known as DSS. The exercise which was carried out at night in a Gestapo like fashion led to the arrest of Justices Sylvester Ngwuta and Inyang Okoro, both of the Supreme Court; the suspended Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, Justice Mohammed Tsamiya; Justice Kabiru Auta of the Kano State High Court and Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Others arrested were a former Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike, and Justice Muazu Pindiga of the Federal High Court, Gombe Division. Opinions are divided among Nigerians about the propriety or otherwise of the purported sting operation of the DSS against the affected judges. Many Nigerians who subscribe to the notion that judiciary is the most corrupt arm of governm...

One of the canons of President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign promises in the lead up to the epochal 2015 general elections was anti-corruption. Nigeria has consistently ranked low on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index.   Just few months back the immediate past Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameron remarked that Nigeria is ‘fantastically corrupt’. Since his inauguration last year, President Buhari at more than one occasion lamented the frustration of his anti-corruption crusade by Nigeria’s judiciary. There were hints that the president was shopping for upright judges to help fight corruption in the country. The president also set up a presidential advisory committee headed by the constitutional lawyer, Professor Itse Sagay,    to perhaps come up with a roadmap for him. Sixteen months after coming into office, the current administration doesn’t seem to have made much headway in its campaign against corruption.   With a low public confiden...

According to information gleaned from its website, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organisation (UNESCO) proclaimed October 5 to be World Teachers’ Day in 1994, celebrating the great step made for teachers on that date in 1966, when a special intergovernmental conference convened by UNESCO in Paris adopted the UNESCO/International Labour Organisation recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. The recommendation sets forth the rights and responsibilities of teachers as well as international standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, teaching and learning conditions. Since its adoption, the recommendation has been considered an important set of guidelines to promote teachers’ status in the interest of quality education. This year World Teachers’ Day marks the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. It is also the first world Teachers’ Day (W...

From the blues came the information that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari had identified 24 Nigerians to be led by a former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, to embark on another voyage of electoral reforms. A statement released to the press on Sunday, October 2, 2016 by Salihu Isah on behalf of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said, “The committee is expected to review electoral environment, laws and experiences from recent elections conducted in Nigeria and make recommendations to strengthen and achieve the conduct of free and fair elections in Nigeria.” With due respect, I do not think this is a priority issue now. Even if it is, it’s a right thing being done at the wrong time. In August 2007, former President Umaru Yar’Adua, seeing the deeply flawed election of that year, set up Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais 22-member committee to reform our electoral process. The committee sat for 16 months and came up with 83 recommendations which many ...

Hearty congratulations to fellow Nigerians on this auspicious occasion of our dear motherland’s 56 independence anniversary! Nigeria, the giant of Africa gained independence from Britain, her colonial master on October 1, 1960. Prior to that, she had experienced over two hundred years of slavery and hundred years of colonial rule. Many are quick to say that those two issues contributed in no small measure to our underdevelopment. Yet, the country is arguably the giant of Africa being the most populous Black Country in the world, the country with the biggest population in Africa and indeed one of the most endowed with natural resources. I have granted three interviews prior to today to two news media – Galaxy Television and Nigerian Television Authority (a programme called Frontiers and another special report). In all the interviews I have been asked if Nigeria has anything to celebrate and my response has been in the affirmative. Truth be said, the country has greatly underachie...