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Showing posts from January, 2009

Election Petition Tribunal and Effective judicial System

A close study of political landscape today on the approach of politicians to politics, convey that a lot still need to be done to enable us have election which is free and fair as referred by sections 15 – 18 of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria. The major set back on our elections has been a direct effect of corruption in the land, which has metamorphosised into a full fledge poverty among the masses in the society. A poor, illiterate citizen is myopic as regards his future. He would rather be contended by accepting #20 bribe from politicians to meet his immediate needs. Section 16(2) (d) of 1999 constitution enjoins the state to ensure that suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of disabled are provided for all citizens. In a situation where all these are not in place as we currently have in Nigeria, elections are far from being free and fair! Since elections are virtually fair, disputes a...

Nigeria and its short lived satellite

Barely eighteen months after the Nigeria communication satellite (NigComSat1) was launched from the Sichuan province of China on may 2007,it was observed that the satellite which allegedly gulped a whooping sum of sum of forty billion naira ($256 billion) has malfunctioned and had to be packed in orbit in order to avoid damage to other satellites. The major concern about the NigComSat1 is its negative impacts on the Nigeria economy and perhaps other African countries on its bands; This is because the NiComSat1, a so called super - hybrid geo – stationary satellite was designed to operate in Africa, middle east and southern Europe. It has been tradition in Nigeria that whenever something of technological and economical importance is done, one must wonder whether it was that sane thing some people somewhere did long ago without a rat in the nest aftermath. We‘ll keep on asking that is it not a satellite like that of Russians and the United States since 1960s, that stood the test of time?...

CHALLENGES OF THE YOUTH AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

It is of vital placement that the strength for development of a nation is a sole function of its youth. The bright future of any country is always predicated on its present youth force. A society with a mirage youth force is not far form abyss of serious irreparable damage. It is therefore imperative that government should not wait for a soothsayer before embarking on program policies that can impact positively on the youths. The challenges of Nigeria youths are many. These have grown into a hydra headed trouble which if possible may require a state of emergency. Nigeria youth are the direct victims of the current moribund economy situation. It is no longer news today that most people involved in criminal activities fall in the youth age bracket. Unemployment, unfavorable policies, inefficient education system, lack of basic attitude to think and excel, negligible parental guidance have been the major challenges militating against the youth. The basic fact about this problem i...

LOSS OF BAKASSI PENISULA:THE ROUGH ANTECEDENTS

I watched it live on my afforded cable transmission on 14th August 2008 as the federal minister of Justice Hon. Andoakaa exchanged a signed document with the Cameroon defence minister. I also observed simultaneously as flags were exchanged. Then I mumbled to myself that it has finally happened, the oil rich Bakassi is gone. Nigeria no longer have access to that special area of land almost surrounded by sea and projecting far into the sea. Several citizens of Nigeria believed the international court of justice (ICJ) ruling of Oct 10, 2002 should be reversed which may eventually end up in not really ceding the oil rich region to Cameroon. What most people that suggested this do not know is that the reversion of the judgments would have serious implications on Nigeria. We will be definitely be seen as international outcast. This is because we are part of the United Nations system and besides, we have submitted to the jurisdiction of the ICJ. Hence we are bound by its verdict, which is...