Public Affairs Analyst

  On Friday, August 23, 2024, history was made in Nigeria as the second female Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, was sworn in as the 23rd CJN by President Bola Tinubu. At 66 years of age, she is said to be the youngest woman and the fifth female Supreme Court Justice in Nigeria. Other female justices of the Supreme Court are Aloma Mukhtar, Helen Ogunwumiju, Mary Odili, and Clara Ogunbiyi. All things being equal, she will occupy that exalted position for four years. She’s expected to retire at the age of 70. The first female CJN was Hon. Justice Mariam Aloma-Mukthar who occupied that position from 2012 to 2014. I do hope the new CJN will build on the worthy legacy of her predecessors while avoiding their pitfalls. There is no gainsaying that the judiciary is one of the pillars of democracy globally. It is one of the three arms of government and the one where occupiers are not elected but appointed. For instance, the new CJN was nominated by the National J...

  It is said that 60 per cent of the Nigerian population is made up of youth between 18 and 35 years old. Unfortunately, this is an estimated figure as Nigeria has not conducted any population and housing census since 2006. Attempts to have it done last year by the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari did not come to fruition as he postponed it indefinitely. President Bola Tinubu hasn’t come forth with a new date. There is no gainsaying that the youth of every nation is the strength of that country. They form the bulk of the students, military and other security agencies, sportsmen and women, entertainers, bureaucracy, farmers, innovators, artisans, traders and the like. Youths are citizens with valour, creative ideas and are goal-getters! Do you know that half of the people on our planet are 30 or younger, and this is expected to reach 57 per cent by the end of 2030?   Do you know that a survey shows that 67 per cent of people believe in a better futu...

  Nigeria has been on tenterhooks in the last one week since the commencement of #EndBadGovernance (or anti-hunger) protests on August 1, 2024. What started as a child’s play has resulted in humongous economic and social costs to the country. While the demonstrations were largely peaceful in the 17 states in southern Nigeria, it was bloody in many parts of the North. Fatalities were recorded in states like Niger, Borno, Kano, Jigawa and Kaduna. Some of the state governors have to declare curfew (in part or wholly) in order to stem the wanton destruction of public facilities and private property. Most shocking is the call for military takeover and hoisting of the Russian flag in some cities of northern Nigeria. In the 34 years I have been involved in media advocacy, I have been protesting against bad governance through my commentaries in print and broadcast media. As of the last count, which was Saturday, August 3, 2024, my views have been expressed in 73 print media (newspapers, ...

  President Bola Tinubu last Wednesday, July 24, 2024, brought the number of development commissions in Nigeria to four by signing the North-West and South-East Development Commissions bills into law. Recall that the Niger Delta Development Commission was the first to be established in 2000 with the core mandate of bringing development to the oil-producing states of Nigeria. This was followed by the setting up of the North East Development Commission in 2017. Muhammadu Buhari assented to the North East Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2017 in October of that year. The then Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, made this known in a statement. According to him, the Act establishes the North East Development Commission. He noted that the commission had the mandate to receive and manage funds allocated by the Federal Government and international donor agencies for the resettlement, rehabilitation, integration and recon...

  I was shocked to learn that the Nigerian Senate is planning to establish a federal agency for the conduct of local government elections. The bill, sponsored by Senator Sani Musa (All Progressives Congress, Niger East), is titled, “Local Government Independent Electoral Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2024 (SB. 531).” It passed the first reading at the plenary on Thursday, July 18, 2024. The draft bill read in part, “To establish the National Independent Local Government Electoral Commission responsible for conducting elections to the office of the local government chairman and councillors, and any other matter thereof to do with local government as a third tier of government. The National Independent Local Government Electoral Commission is hereby established as an autonomous body mandated to organise, oversee, and conduct elections for the offices of local government chairman and councillors across all states.” The proposed legislation listed the functions and powers of NIL...

  “It is the position of this court that the federation can pay local governments allocations directly to the local governments or through the states. In this case, since paying them through the states has not worked, justice demands that local governments allocations from the federation account should henceforth be paid directly to the local governments,” – Justice Emmanuel Agim on Thursday, July 11, 2024. Nigeria’s federation rests on a tripod: federal, state and local governments. However, over the years, local governments have operated as a mere appendage of the state government. By virtue of Section 162 (6) of the 1999 Constitution that created a joint state/ local government account, state governors spend money due to local government on their behalf. They award contracts on behalf of LGs in their states and make any other deductions they deem fit. Local government administration has been left comatose as workers of LGs are owed a backlog of salaries, sometimes up to a y...

  “To enable Nigeria to finally take advantage of livestock farming, we have seen the solution and opportunity for this adversity that has plagued us over the years and I believe the prosperity is here in our hands.” – President Bola Tinubu while announcing the creation of Federal Ministry of Livestock Development on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Introduction On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, President Bola Tinubu announced the creation of Federal Ministry of Livestock Development. Following the approval, he said the Federal Government is fully prepared to cover the cost of acquiring lands to ensure the peaceful co-existence of pastoralists and farmers. This came as he inaugurated the Renewed Hope livestock reform implementation committee at the State House, Abuja. While President Tinubu will chair the committee, a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru Jega, is the deputy chairman. The committee is expected to propose recommendations aimed at fostering a ...