Friday 5 July 2019

What exactly are we doing differently

I was watching Designated survival season five, a line droped and suddenly I became aware of the fact that we are n the 20th century. Isn't that strange? Never mind, am always in my head that sometimes I lost the sense of time even forget to breath most times. Well being alone and constantly thinking about how to change the world is burdensome especially when the world is filled with people like Nigerians, terrible people, terrible in  a fascinating way. Not so long it dawned on me that bachelorhood, being alone is mixed with beauty and burden. Not that I am complaining, some day I will test the water of marriage and see if it's much better than bachelorhood but until then nothing is more sweater than being free to explore your mind like a traveller and adventure who has sold his life for the pleasure of exploring the wonders and horrors of the world.

Yes it the 20th century, should I be glad, should we be glad. What exactly are we doing differently as youths. We label and store the dirt of blame at the door step of the ones before us as if we are not culpable, what exactly are we doing different. The good ones before us thought politics to be the past times of the unserious people so they left something as important as leadership to the rotten eggs among them and later complain about the direction of the country. When a sailor sleeps on duty and the good wind takes over the control of a ship can the sailor latter complain about the destination, where ever the wind takes him to.... What are we doing better in the 20th century as youth to prevent those we claim have failed us

I have a weakness, I don't know how to condemn or criticise.....I hate it but nature is not like a T.V set that can be changed and re changed. Every one is fallible and ancient wisdom thought me that every man  is a beast worst than his neighbor. So how does a sinner preach salvation to another sinner: still looking for an answer. My philosophy is strive to be better than what you were yesterday and the world will smile. You can't change or influence the course of thinking of another person but you can change yours. We condemn and criticise the leaders at the slightest opportunity we get when we ourselves are not different, the only difference is that we are not where they are. The youths can do better yet the youngest senator is a woman beater. What exactly are we doing different as youths. The sensible ones shy away from politics leaving some rotten eggs to take the reign of leadership and yet we complain, what exactly are we doing differently so as not to repeat the same mistake of those we constantly condemn.

Evil fester when the good ones dodge responsibilities

Monday 1 July 2019

Still on grazing settlement

We in the southwest consume over 10,000 cattle everyday brought mostly from the North. We hardly farm or rear cattle yet we feel we don't need Ruga. Some have even ridiculously suggested that Sambiza forest should be used for Ranching without considering the cost of shipping cattle from Sambiza to the west and the resultant effect on what the price of such cattle will be and the accompanying hardship that will birth.

To be fair, if there is settlement for this people, I have read that it is not limited to Fulani herdsmen but all cattle rearers regardless of tribe. Having such settlement in a region where majority of the cattle rearers by the Fulanis is being consumed Is not a bad idea at all, apart from the boost in trade exchange this will reduce the cost of cattle aid knowledge and fasten understanding of this people called Fulani. Part of our fear is just because we don't know them. It is common for man to fear what we don't know.

Just as I have said, the proposed solution by the federal government is the best solution yet that does not mean there are no other solution or the best that could be relied on. If there is any other solution please suggest and stop condemning a solution when you don't have a better one.

I must say this this; at times i wonder if we as a nation ever wanted solution to any problems facing is as a nation. We complain about problems and yearn for viable solution but the moment a solution is proposed we turn back again to condemn, criticise efforts. The truth is no solution to a problem is all encompassing because a solution always come with another unpredictable problem. In my year five in the university I did jurisprudence and I was exposed to  a particular philosopher's philosophy which says " the greatest good for the greatest number". Once a decision of a particular government is for the greatest good and it will positively affect the greatest number then a government can go ahead regardless of protest against such solution. Frankly, any steps taking to resolve insecurity and constant clash between farmers and herdsmen that has  led  to lost of lives is for the greatest good.

Again all those criticising me on my stand on this has not said the proposed solution is a bad one but all predicated their criticism on sentiment of fear of domination. Regrettably, even Yoruba leaders that apparently had a fall out with the president are also peddling this sentiment. When ever we have  Christian president or president from a different tribe the North don't raise issues of christenizing Nigeria or that of domination but the moment a Northerner becomes a president, this crazy sentiment raises is crazy head

Sunday 30 June 2019

THE DILEMA OF THE GOVERNMENT ON HERDSMEN GRAZING SETTLEMENT

A lot has been said about Ruga settlement for herdsmen. While I may not be among the decision makers proposing such  a solution to this incessant herdsmen problem I think I have a little understanding why it is being proposed. I must confess this solution may lead to a greater problem in the long run but it is better to propose a solution than to be insensitive to the people's yearning. No one knows, this may actually be a long lasting solution to the ragging herdsmen problem and it may not but is it not worth the risk.

The Governors opposing this move are hypocrites and some Nigerians speaking against it really don't know the legal issue underpinning the herdsmen grazing settlements in state across the country. For all those who said because the president is a Fulani man he is forcing state to give lands to herdsmen are mentally deranged and knows not what they say.

The law is clear, the state makes her own law and she is guided by those law. Though it is trite that when a law conflicts with an act, the act overrides the law but in some situations the act will have to persuade the law and not just oppress it.

The reason why I said Governors opposing it are hypocrites is this; land use act of 1978 despite been an act vest all lands in the state Government. They are the major beneficiaries of that law. The federal government does not have a land under that law. For what ever land the Fed. Govt. wants the Fed. will always consult with the state Govt. to oblige her. Had the law vest lands in the Fed. the way it does to states under that law, the Fed. won't even turn to the state to resolve a problem facing Nigerians as a whole. Nigeria is a Country, the state is what make up the country, why do we not always see ourselves as one first and then play politics latter.

The Governors have refused to give a viable solution to the herdsmen problem, the only solution is by enacting anti grazing law which can not work because Fulanis are Nigerians and the law that gives the states power to make such laws also gives the Fulanis the right to movement in any part of Nigeria and carry out their trade or businesses in any part of the country. Do we now see the  dilemma the federal government faces. The Fed. cannot prevent the state from making anti grazing law neither can she curtail the fundamental human right of the Fulanis without a cogent and justifiable reason.

The best solution yet is still the one proposed by the federal Government asking the state Governors to oblige the herdsmen some portion of land for grazing. This will curtail the seamless roaming of the herdsmen across states. Once you leave the portion of grazing land provided by the state for a private citizen's land then the state anti grazing law can take effect. Without this anti grazing law will not work.

Saturday 29 June 2019

THE INNOCENT GUILTY MIND



The elderly must have been frustrated and tired with the youths and their ways to make them with every opportunity they get to give opinion on the state of moral decadence among our youths, without mincing words they express thir utmost disappointment and disgust at the menace. Truly, morality in this generation is reducing and receding like a river sand filled at all ends.

Recently I sought a clarity from the deepest place in my hearth I have never engaged and I asked series of questions

 Why is morality decreasing
Who is to blame
Is it poverty
Is it the parents, Government or who
What is the root cause

All of these definitely have a role to play no matter how small but the extent at which they influence the subject  matter I don't know. While consulting my innermost mind the reservoir of thoughts and opinions I really can tell how huge or deep they are. Out of a cluster of thoughts Like stars scattered across the sky, one thought kept winking at me doing her utmost to gain advantage and favour over all other. Like a natural beauty from the depth of the earth...so help me God, this thought is the most beautiful abstract thing I have ever felt. Since it cost less to yield to temptation than resist it, yes,I tried but I yielded but after engaging it I discovered that it is the reasonability and force her perspective contain that I yielded to not the beauty which ignorantly thought

The best way to invite chaos is to strike a God down with another God  just because you are angry or because you don't like the face of the God.

Culture is a repository of Moral values. It contain moral codes, tangible and abstract. There is no way we mortgage resident culture for foreign one and expect morality to maintain its original and natural form. Definitely, it will be shaken. Since culture is a way of life of a particular people and culture is a reservoir of morality, then morality is culture and culture is morality. Mother tongue then is 40% of our morals. You cannot choose to obliterate the 40 % of our culture for a foreign language and expect improvement on moral standard. It's like expecting the sun to cook a pot of rice. It is futile.

Majortity of the elders or people complaining bitterly about the sorry state of moral values on the part of this generation are as guilty as the youths they are complaint about. They speak foreign language to their children and are always happy when there children say " I understand Yoruba but I can speak it" some don't  even understand at all yet they complain bitterly about the decadence in moral standard.

Saturday 23 March 2019

Interdependency of Nations, key to survival

While in school there was a time I was obsessed with quotable quotes. In furtherance of my obsession I bought a book twice as big as Oxford advance learners dictionary. I studied the quotes from A to Z but out of all the quotes I memorized, there is one that comes to mind often. Angeloue Maya said on a piano....

"You can play a tune of sort on a black key, you can also play a tune of sort on a white key but for harmony you have to play it together" That does make sense doesn't it
The world is one vast place with different races and tribes. The architect obviously had interdependency in mind and  not for  one nation oppressing or dominating another, not one tribe feeling superior to another. We all are like the strings of a guitar that must be collectively used to produce a beautiful harmonious sound. We are individually and collectively essential for the survival of one another.

For instance, Africa have the resources but  bedevilled with bad and visionlvisi leaders who lack the mental ability to make the best out of the resources; the west have the brains and technological know how to transform our resources into wonders. You can see the interdependency. The west buys our resources to transform it, after transformation they sell it back to us and we use the money received for the raw materials to pay them for the by- product of the resources...look at the cycle of exchange, the interdependency... No nation has to be poor.

The middle East and too was blessed with some resources but above all the greatest gift given to them is religion. Regardless of the fact that there area is hot and can hardly produce crops, people will have to leave Africa, the west and  other Asian countries to journey to their country searching for the architect. Again, look at the Interdependency. The money Africa realised from the sale of raw materials to the west, the money the west realized from selling the product of the raw materials to the world will be spent on tourism to the middle East in search of the architect and the middle Eastern too will spend that money in return to get technology from the west to beautify and make coming to their country a memorable experience, the west in turn will turn to Africa to get raw materials with same money. The exchange is an endless one and the interdependency is very fascinating.

Why do we think one nation or country is greater or superior to one another when the main purpose of making nations less developed to   each other is to enable easy interdependency and survival of every nation. If every nation is equally developed then there will actually be a lot of poverty and hunger in the world. If Africa has the resources and the technological know how to transform the resources then there will be famine in the West....the same thing goes on for the middle East. A typical example of my Atotonu; recently, Paul Kagame of Rwanda ban second hand clothes from entering his country from USA, Trump sanctioned him on the ground that over 400 thousand of American citizen will loose their job if that is done. Imagine if all African countries follow suite Kagame.

Why can't we just embrace our uniqueness and crush our egos to appreciate the beauty of this interdependency orchestrated by the Architect. I even always find it funny when people say just because of geographical and complexion differences, one tribe or race is superior to one another. We all are homo sapiens with one life. As far as you don't have two lives then we are all the same. The geographical differences is just a means of boundary identification, the complexion differences is also a means of differentiation and identification, nothing more.

Coming to the realisation of the fact  that no one is superior to another no matter the level of development of some countries, that the dichotomy in level of development is actually for the best and survival of human race will stamp out hatred, and tribal and racial violence.

I decided to write this  because of the Newzealand massacre just because one person thinks his race is superior to other race. Superiority is a fallacy and it has no foundation.

I once again sympathize to the slain Newzealand  immigrants.......my prayers are always with you.

Monday 4 February 2019

THE CJN  AND THE TWO EXTREMES
1.00 INTORODUCTION

In all countries of the world the judiciary represent an important institution in protecting  the right of every individual and upholding the law which goes a long way at keeping the  moral probity of a state and every individual in check. Ideally, it should be an infallible institution where people of high moral standard should be found at all time. The  citizenry should be able to repose their trust in such institution and such institution should serve as  succour and last hope of the citizen, nothing more.  But when an institution as important as the judiciary is filled with people of questionable character and moral decadence, it will erode the sacrosanct  duty of the institution and the importance of such institution will be spent and will become low in the estimation of the citizen. If an institution is established to protect the right of the citizen and the citizen have no faith in such institution to start with then it is important to rid the institution of the rotten eggs assaulting the institution with their odious act.

It is indeed a shameful thing for our judiciary at this moment where two legal juggernauts the NBA president and the CJN are facing corruption cases.  I understand that they are innocent until proven otherwise by a competent court of law but the fact that they are entangled in such mess to start with is very unfortunate for the integrity of our noble profession. The tick dust raised by the petition written against the CJN has resulted into heated legal argument between learned minds and series of opinion are flying unguarded around. The  incident has however inadvertently created two distinct school of thought; The Moralist and The legalist.

1.1.0 MORALITY AND LAW
To start with, law and morality are not the same. Law is essentially a set of rules and principles created and enforced by the state whereas morals are a set of beliefs, values and principles and behaviour standards which are enforced and created by society. However, some laws mirror the majority of society’s moral view. In most Country, it is often the societal moral compass that directs and dictates what the law is, what the law should permit or refuse. Morality cannot be given a free reign in the interest of the society, hence the law, so, the law also cannot be made without taken moral values of the people into cognisance. Where a law is made without taking cognisance of the moral stream of the people the law will become ineffective, such law will at best create  a lot of willing criminals. Law and morality, though not the same but are interwoven and interdependent.

1.2.0 THE MORALIST VIEW.
Position and status in every society has its own responsibility and the society requires some level of moral standard to be attained by such person occupying a particular position. It is a necessary burden on such person to maintain some modicum of moral standard especially when the person is regarded as the highest moral force in the country. To the Moralist the CJN is the highest moral force in the country and his actions and inaction should reflect that.

PUBLIC OFFICER
The Moralist contend that a public holds offices in any clime  in trust for the public and his actions  should mirror  that public trust everytime. As a public officer, his action should at all times conform with some high moral standard. His loyalty should first be to the society and not  to the government that pays his salary because his emoluments is always drawn from the tax deducted  from the citizen's earnings. The Judiciary ought to be the hope of a common man but how can a common man have such hope in the judiciary when the person occupying one of the highest position in the institution is corrupt.Since he has admitted the wrong, without any shenanigans he ought to excuse himself from the position. Since the trust reposed in the person who is suppose to be the highest moral force has been betrayed then the ideal thing for me is to excuse himself from the position to protect the integrity of the institution. Guilty or not, he should cast his trust in same institution to absolve him of all wrong. Once the judiciary of any nation has lost its respect in the sight of a common man, such judiciary has lost its potency and such nation has lost her respect locally and beyond the shores of her territory.

HARM TO OTHERS
In 1959 JOHN STUART MILL came up with a moral theory called "HARM TO OTHRS";
"He postulated  that the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised society against his will is to prevent harm to others. The Wolfenden Report said that the purpose of the law is to preserve decency.

HARM TO SOCIETY
Also Lord Devlin in the 1950 came up with another Moral theory known as , "HARM TO SOCIETY"
"His view is that a recognised morality is essential to the very essence and being of society. He enthused further that individual liberty and freedom should be curtailed in order to protect the fabric of society. Devlin arqued that society may use the law to preserve morality in the same way that it uses the law to safeguard anything that is essential to its existence"

APPLICATION
Obviously,it is clear that  the CJN's action is against the Moral fabric of the society. The allegation against the CJN which he has admitted is against the moral decency of the society, one capable of bringing our Judiciary institution into disrepute. of Course, his action has lowered  his co-workers colleagues from the highest cadre to the lowest in the estimation of the people. The harm refered to by John Start Mill and Lord Devlin must not necessarily be a physical harm, it could also be a psychological one, so, any action that denigrates our  judicial institution by those saddled with the responsibility  protecting and quarding its name is an assault to our institution and the law must act decisively to curtail the liberty  of such person and also act to preserve the public decency and morality.

In his book " The road to Justice,Lord Denim has this to say;
 "I would suggest that a judge in his own character should be beyond reproach, or at any rate should have so disciplined himself that he is not himself a breaker of the. Time and time again he has to pronounce judgment on those who have offended against the law. He has to rebuke the evil and support the good. He cannot well do this-he cannot without hypocrisy do it-if he himself has been found quilty of an offence against the law. I refer not to administrative offences like exceeding the speed limit but to grave offences which carry reproach in the eyes of the people, like being drunk in charge of a car. If a judge should be found guilty of such an offence, whilst holding office, most people would say he should resign but a very difficult question may arise if a man should have been found guilty some years ago and then afterwards be considered for appointment as a judge should the previous offence be a bar to his appointment? If he is appointed, will he not himself take a lenient view of those guilty of the like offence? Or else take a harsh view, so as to show that he is not affected by his past guilt? This raises a serious moral issue. It may be said that, if the offence is not known to the public generally, then the man can properly be made a judge. But is this a proper attitude to take? Even if it is not known to many, it is known to the few and it can at any time be made known to all the country through the medium of the newspapers. It can hardly be a contempt of court to make a true statement about it. The moral question seems to be the same whether the offence is publicly known or not. And upon the moral issue I would go back to Plato for he discussed this very matter over two thousand years ago in the third book of The Republic. He recognises that it is a good thing for a physician to have some personal experience of illness so that he can know better the feelings of his patients. Likewise it is good for an army officer to know what it is to carry a pack so that he can know what the men have to go through. But Plato says that it is not right for a judge to have personal experience of evil-doing. If you are appointing men to a police force you will not act on the motto “set a thief to catch a thief.” So also if you are appointing a judge you will not say appoint a man who has committed the whole catalogue of crimes on the theory that he knows best what crime is. You will appoint a good man whose knowledge should be his guide, not his personal experience. The reason he give is because vice cannot know virtue but a virtuous nature, educated by time,will acquire a knowledge of both virtue and vice. The answer would seem to be therefore that a man should not be appointed a judge if he has been found guilty of a grave offence against the law even though it is not generally known. And when it is publicly known it is worse because the people will then point a finger of scorn as they did long ago saying:
“Who made the ruler and a judge over us.” Such scornful remarks destroy the confidence which people should have in the judges. No one would doubt these principles: but the difficulty is to apply them to particular cases. Who is to say whether an offence is a grave offence which carries reproach in the eyes of the people? That is the responsibility of those who make the appointments. Much depends on their good discharge of it. To end this discourse may I remind you of the importance of these principles by quoting the words of Sidney Smith over a hundred years ago: “Nations fall when judges are unjust, because there is nothing which the multitude think worth defending; but nations do not fall which are treated as we are treated……… Any why? Because this country is a country of the law; because a judge  is a judge for peasant as well as for the palace; because every man’s happiness is safeguarded by fixed rules from tyranny or caprice"....

1.3.0  LEGALIST VIEW.
There are divided opinion by lawyers on the legality of the action of Government. As expected, when incidentthat demand legal expositions  arises it is usually an opportunity for lawyers to flex their knowledge of law for or against an incident that birthed the legal issue. Chief of the authorities relied on  are section 292 of the  Constitution, 3rd Schedule and the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. The proponents of those who oppose the action of the Federal government heavily relied on section 292 of the Constitution  to prove that the action of the Federal government is illegal, null and void. I will like to pitch my tent beside the faction that maintain that the action of the federal government is regular.
May I state that the reliance of those who oppose the Federal government action on the CJN on section 292 of the Constitution is apt and correct. In fact, the sub paragraph B of section 292 gives the NJC the disciplinary power to punish an errant NJC by making recommendations to the president on the steps to take after their investigation but does not state what should be done if the NJC refuses to act to a monumental breach of the law by the CJN neither does the section state the power to punish such errant CJN with respect to the offence he was charged is exclusive to the NJC. To my mind, section 292 (ii)(b) should be looked at from two different angles;
Offence  in official capacity as a Jugde
Offence outside the official capacity
It is an irrefutable fact that the CJN(Onoghen) is a member of a professional body, the judiciary and also a public offier.In the first above, section 292 give th NJC exclusive jurisdiction to discipline an errant CJN while in th second offense, section 292 does not give the NJC the exclusive jurisdiction to punish such CJN. This is so because the Constitution that gave the NJC power to discipline the CJN in falsification of asset declaration also gave another body, (CCT) the power to try the CJN(ONOGHEN) as  a public officer. This does not amount to  usurpation of functions or conflict, as the NJC will punish the CJN as a member of the judiciary or professional body in an administrative capacity while the code of conduct Tribunal will punish CJN(ONOGHEN) as a public officer.Also this would not amount to an abuse of Court process neither  will it result to a double jeopardy since one is a Court while  the other is just an administrative desciplinary body. To say  the NJC is the first point of call to discipline the CJN(Onoghen) when the two bodies empowered by the Constitution  to discipline the CJN will do such in different capacity is not true but as a result of misunderstanding and misinterpretation of section 292 and the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. The power of the NJC to punish the CJN(ONOGHEN)  lies in the fact that the CJN belong to a  professional body, the Judiciary while that of the CCT, because he  is a public officer. We often forget that the CCT is Sui Generis  specifically created by the Constitution to handle the infraction of the law committed by the CJN.
 Even if   both bodies empowered by the law  to look into the allegation of the CJN and lash out the appropriate punishment are suppose to carry out their duty in just one capacity, i.e as a public officer; is the power of an administrative body superior to that of a Court? The answer is obvious,since the law has given exclusivity to the CCT to try such offense the National judicial council cannot monopolize the power. To even say the NJC have the power to descipline the CJN is even exaggerating the power of the NJC,section 292 only give them power to recommend the desciplinary measure to be taken against an errant CJN. While the NJC can only suggest the  kind of punishment to be meted out to the CJN the CCT can in accordance to section 18(2) of the Fifth Schedule order a CJN to vacate his office if found guilty of the offence.Frankly, it is inconceivable to argue that an administrative  panel has equal power to a court or even more powerful than a court.

NEMO JUDEX IN CAUSA SUA
The petition written against the CJN was in the pubic domain for over a month , one should wonder why the NJC did not deem it fit to issue a statement before now with regard the allegation against the CJN. It will not be tenable to say the matter was in court and as a result they are not permitted to say anything because the matter against the Federal government was not as to the substance of the petition by as to procedure embraced  by the federal government which goes to jurisdiction. But how can the NJC issue a statement or look into the allegation against the CJN(ONOGHEN) when the ruler is the Jugde, when the CJN(Onoghen) as the chairman of the NJC hand pick 20 out of the 23 members of the NJC. It is the law that a judge should disqualify himself from hearing a matter he has the slightest interest in. How can the CJN( Onoghen) not understand this.

1.4.0 CONCLUSION
From both the Moralist and the legalist views the best decision would have been for the CJN to resign in this situation. His resignation would have gone  a long way to draw sympathy from the people, save face, protect what is left of his name, protect the state from further embarrassment and the institution he sworn to protect t from further falling into disrepute
S PHILLABLE
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Monday 19 September 2016

LOOKING AT NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE PRINCIPLE OF SOCIAL CONTRACT

 In line with social contract principle the function of Government transcends making of  law to create an enabling environment for the citizen to attain prosperity. It involves the provision of infrastructure and  basic social amenities to make the achievement of prosperity less difficult; because it is in this provision of an enabling environment and social amenities coupled with the protection of lives and properties that it can be said that the principle of Social Contract agreement is in full swing. while law is essential to regulate  the state measures too must be taking by the government to make life enjoyable for the citizen and to make the detection and prevention of crime easy so as to achieve the ultimate goal of Social Contract.   A bad Government is likely to enact a bad laws and a bad law is that which hinder the growth of the citizen and leave it stunted. Bad laws with the coercion of obedience by the authority will achieve nothing than to turn the citizen into rebels. A bad Government is that which disregard the bringing into effect the intendment of the principle of Social Contract when the citizenry have furnished consideration.

The foundation of a state society was predicated on the theory of social contract. Social contract itself was predicated on two principles. Namely,

  • Pactum Unionist
  • Pactum Subjectionist
Both principles came into being as a result of the same reason----- a stateless society where man live in a state of nature with no law and protection to protect individuals. As a result of this violence and oppression reign supreme and in other to put a check on the excesses of individuals they all agreed to surrender their rights  to a central authority for protection from themselves.
As reasonable as the contract is, scholars who propounded the theory were unable to agree as to the cause. for example;
Thomas Hobbes was of the opinion that life in a state of nature was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. this necessitated why man entered into an agreement to surrender all his rights and freedom to an authority to command obedience.

John Locke on the other hand disagree with Hobbes on his violent picture he painted in a state of nature and stated  that man in a state of nature enjoyed  peace and liberty, he further stated that  life in a state of nature was a Golden age wherein peace, goodwill, mutual assistance and preservation reign supreme but security for property necessitated the agreement of Social Contract. Unlike Hobbes, Locke argued that man did not surrender all their right to single individual but surrendered the right to preserve or maintain order and enforce the law of nature while maintaining  the rights to life, liberty and to hold estate as this right were considered natural.

Jean Jacques Rousseau concurred with John Locke on the state of life  in pre-state formation but argue differently on what necessitated the Social Contract agreement. In his explanation, J.J.R argue that greed and competition as a result of the introduction of private property made man fall from the elevated position of the state of nature. This fall made man surrender his rights to the community as whole termed  the 'General Will'. Through social contract a new form of social organization- the state was formed to assure and guarantee rights liberty and equality.

Despite the differences in what necessitated the social contract agreement, they all agree that at a point in time an agreement was reached which ushered man from life in a state of nature or stateless form to an organized society where rights where surrendered  to an authority for protection in return. It will appear that the surrender of the right gave right to another problem which was how do we protect the right of the citizen and ensure equality. To pay back the sacrifice of man, the authority must put some things in place that will ensure or aid the protection sought by the citizen and to do this finance is important. This singular reason must have gave birth to TAXATION, a process whereby man will not only surrender their rights but must also collectively contribute to the authority to enable even development in other to ensure equality.

 In the words of John Locke,

"The purpose of the Government and law is to uphold and protect the natural rights of men. So long as the Government fulfils this purpose, the laws given by it are valid and binding but, when it ceases to fulfil it, then the laws would have no validity and the Government can be thrown out of power."
If the sacrifice of the citizen is not reciprocated by the authority then there can never be a contract meaning it will appear that there was never a submission of right.The citizen can either throw the government away of revert back to the state of nature as a result of lost of confidence in the government. This can explain the reasons for crime in the society-even if not expressly stated, it represents an implied reversion to the state of nature where Thomas Hobbes theory holds true.

APPLYING THE SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY TO NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT

The quid proquo principle embedded in the principle of social contract makes it incumbent on the parties to the contract to perform their respective part of the contract without which the contract will breakdown.. What makes a contract complete is the understanding of the roles of the parties to a contract and the willingness of  both to respect the terms of the contract either  oral or written and see it through. There cannot be one sided contract as it takes two to tangle; once consideration has been furnished the other party is not expected to renegade or rescind from the contract otherwise the party that furnished consideration will enforce it against the party in breach.
 Nigerians have always furnished consideration and perform their side of the contract under social contract agreement but the Government have always  been found wanting. The payment of tax by the citizen is an evidence of the commitment of the citizen to Social Contract agreement which was not or merely reciprocated. Payment of tax is an avenue to energize the Government with financial muscle  so as to achieve the protection of live and property on the first hand and the provision of development and social amenities which will make the protection sought for achievable. Taxing system without the concordance of the citizen under the social contract agreement is at best an extortion' even with such concordance if the result sought for  after the relinquishment of the rights from the other party is not met it will still amount to an extortion. That said, the protection of the citizen against the savagery of one another necessitated the collective relinquishment of right by the citizen to the authority and the protection must be far reaching. if such protection is not met then the authority has failed the citizen
The Nigerian Government has failed under the social contract agreement; though we are practicing a democratic form of government and Social Contract is at the base of democracy but  we have not completely break free from the state of nature.  The inability of the Government to provide adequate economic security, qualitative far reaching social  amenities and adequate  protection of lives and properties  is a mockery of social contract agreement. The spirit of the Social Contract lies in the equal protection of the citizen before the law  and life can be easily protected when provision of social amenities or development  is spread evenly to all places in the country and benefited by  every individual irrespective of status. The failure of the Government  to ensure this will take the country back to the state of nature has explained by Thomas Hobbes and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

EFFECT OF BREACH OF SOCIAL CONTRACT AGREEMENT BY THE AUTHORITY

The breach of the social contract agreement will most definitely return the post- state of nature back to the state of nature. Breach of the trust  collectively given by the citizen by the state will occasion a lack of believe in the institution of Government or authority by the citizen and will only breed contempt and chaos. The state of Nature as explained by  Thomas Hobbes and Jean Jack Rousseau will most likely be the lot of a state in the post state of nature state when the  citizen have lost believe in her to deliver  on the promise of Social Contract. Social disobedience,  disregard for the law, rebellious attitude, chaos and insurrection will be the other of the day in such country. The lack of believe by the citizen of Nigeria in her Government is evident in the Boko Haram insurgency, The Shite uprising and the agitation for the independent state of Biafra.
Though Nigeria has embraced democracy as a form of Government and Social Contract is one of the foundation of democracy but a democratic form of government without  the application of the principle of Social Contract has not attain full maturity. Under the power of the authority it is not enough to protect the lives and property of the citizen as envisaged by the contract by punishing the recalcitrant citizen disturbing the peace of the state but also to provide economic security, far reaching development, provision of social amenities, shelters and other things to make living worthwhile and an enjoyable experience for the citizenry. It can be argued that these aforementioned duty of the government  takes precedence before the protection of life and property. Besides, if these aforementioned things are not put in place what is there to protect.
It can well be argued that a government in breach of the Social Contract when the citizen have furnished consideration cannot justify her application of law against the unruly citizen disturbing the peace of the state when the lack of trust or believe in such authority can be argue to be at the base of the unleashed terror by such citizen. From the angle of Social Contract, a government in breach and still applying the law against a recalcitrant citizen, such action of the Government can be described as oppressive  at best.

To reduce the rebellious tendencies and chaos in Nigeria, the Government must brazen up and start to perform her own side of the contract.










 


LOOKING AT NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE PRINCIPLE OF SOCIAL CONTRACT

 In line with social contract principle the function of Government transcends making of  law to create an enabling environment for the citizen to attain prosperity. It involves the provision of infrastructure and  basic social amenities to make the achievement of prosperity less difficult; because it is in this provision of an enabling environment and social amenities coupled with the protection of lives and properties that it can be said that the principle of Social Contract agreement is in full swing. while law is essential to regulate  the state measures too must be taking by the government to make life enjoyable for the citizen and to make the detection and prevention of crime easy so as to achieve the ultimate goal of Social Contract.   A bad Government is likely to enact a bad laws and a bad law is that which hinder the growth of the citizen and leave it stunted. Bad laws with the coercion of obedience by the authority will achieve nothing than to turn the citizen into rebels. A bad Government is that which disregard the bringing into effect the intendment of the principle of Social Contract when the citizenry have furnished consideration.

The foundation of a state society was predicated on the theory of social contract. Social contract itself was predicated on two principles. Namely,

  • Pactum Unionist
  • Pactum Subjectionist
Both principles came into being as a result of the same reason----- a stateless society where man live in a state of nature with no law and protection to protect individuals. As a result of this violence and oppression reign supreme and in other to put a check on the excesses of individuals they all agreed to surrender their rights  to a central authority for protection from themselves.
As reasonable as the contract is, scholars who propounded the theory were unable to agree as to the cause. for example;
Thomas Hobbes was of the opinion that life in a state of nature was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short. this necessitated why man entered into an agreement to surrender all his rights and freedom to an authority to command obedience.

John Locke on the other hand disagree with Hobbes on his violent picture he painted in a state of nature and stated  that man in a state of nature enjoyed  peace and liberty, he further stated that  life in a state of nature was a Golden age wherein peace, goodwill, mutual assistance and preservation reign supreme but security for property necessitated the agreement of Social Contract. Unlike Hobbes, Locke argued that man did not surrender all their right to single individual but surrendered the right to preserve or maintain order and enforce the law of nature while maintaining  the rights to life, liberty and to hold estate as this right were considered natural.

Jean Jacques Rousseau concurred with John Locke on the state of life  in pre-state formation but argue differently on what necessitated the Social Contract agreement. In his explanation, J.J.R argue that greed and competition as a result of the introduction of private property made man fall from the elevated position of the state of nature. This fall made man surrender his rights to the community as whole termed  the 'General Will'. Through social contract a new form of social organization- the state was formed to assure and guarantee rights liberty and equality.

Despite the differences in what necessitated the social contract agreement, they all agree that at a point in time an agreement was reached which ushered man from life in a state of nature or stateless form to an organized society where rights where surrendered  to an authority for protection in return. It will appear that the surrender of the right gave right to another problem which was how do we protect the right of the citizen and ensure equality. To pay back the sacrifice of man, the authority must put some things in place that will ensure or aid the protection sought by the citizen and to do this finance is important. This singular reason must have gave birth to TAXATION, a process whereby man will not only surrender their rights but must also collectively contribute to the authority to enable even development in other to ensure equality.

 In the words of John Locke,

"The purpose of the Government and law is to uphold and protect the natural rights of men. So long as the Government fulfils this purpose, the laws given by it are valid and binding but, when it ceases to fulfil it, then the laws would have no validity and the Government can be thrown out of power."
If the sacrifice of the citizen is not reciprocated by the authority then there can never be a contract meaning it will appear that there was never a submission of right.The citizen can either throw the government away of revert back to the state of nature as a result of lost of confidence in the government. This can explain the reasons for crime in the society-even if not expressly stated, it represents an implied reversion to the state of nature where Thomas Hobbes theory holds true.

APPLYING THE SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY TO NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT
The quid proquo principle embedded in the principle of social contract makes it incumbent on the parties to the contract to perform their respective part of the contract without which the contract will breakdown.. What makes a contract complete is the understanding of the roles of the parties to a contract and the willingness of  both to respect the terms of the contract either  oral or written and see it through. There cannot be one sided contract as it takes two to tangle; once consideration has been furnished the other party is not expected to renegade or rescind from the contract otherwise the party that furnished consideration will enforce it against the party in breach.
 Nigerians have always furnished consideration and perform their side of the contract under social contract agreement but the Government have always  been found wanting. The payment of tax by the citizen is an evidence of the commitment of the citizen to Social Contract agreement which was not or merely reciprocated. Payment of tax is an avenue to energize the Government with financial muscle  so as to achieve the protection of live and property on the first hand and the provision of development and social amenities which will make the protection sought for achievable. Taxing system without the concordance of the citizen under the social contract agreement is at best an extortion' even with such concordance if the result sought for  after the relinquishment of the rights from the other party is not met it will still amount to an extortion. That said, the protection of the citizen against the savagery of one another necessitated the collective relinquishment of right by the citizen to the authority and the protection must be far reaching. if such protection is not met then the authority has failed the citizen
The Nigerian Government has failed under the social contract agreement; though we are practicing a democratic form of government and Social Contract is at the base of democracy but  we have not completely break free from the state of nature.  The inability of the Government to provide adequate economic security, qualitative far reaching social  amenities and adequate  protection of lives and properties  is a mockery of social contract agreement. The spirit of the Social Contract lies in the equal protection of the citizen before the law  and life can be easily protected when provision of social amenities or development  is spread evenly to all places in the country and benefited by  every individual irrespective of status. The failure of the Government  to ensure this will take the country back to the state of nature has explained by Thomas Hobbes and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

EFFECT OF BREACH OF SOCIAL CONTRACT AGREEMENT BY THE AUTHORITY

The breach of the social contract agreement will most definitely return the post- state of nature back to the state of nature. Breach of the trust  collectively given by the citizen by the state will occasion a lack of believe in the institution of Government or authority by the citizen and will only breed contempt and chaos. The state of Nature as explained by  Thomas Hobbes and Jean Jack Rousseau will most likely be the lot of a state in the post state of nature state when the  citizen have lost believe in her to deliver  on the promise of Social Contract. Social disobedience,  disregard for the law, rebellious attitude, chaos and insurrection will be the other of the day in such country. The lack of believe by the citizen of Nigeria in her Government is evident in the Boko Haram insurgency, The Shite uprising and the agitation for the independent state of Biafra.
Though Nigeria has embraced democracy as a form of Government and Social Contract is one of the foundation of democracy but a democratic form of government without  the application of the principle of Social Contract has not attain full maturity. Under the power of the authority it is not enough to protect the lives and property of the citizen as envisaged by the contract by punishing the recalcitrant citizen disturbing the peace of the state but also to provide economic security, far reaching development, provision of social amenities, shelters and other things to make living worthwhile and an enjoyable experience for the citizenry. It can be argued that these aforementioned duty of the government  takes precedence before the protection of life and property. Besides, if these aforementioned things are not put in place what is there to protect.
It can well be argued that a government in breach of the Social Contract when the citizen have furnished consideration cannot justify her application of law against the unruly citizen disturbing the peace of the state when the lack of trust or believe in such authority can be argue to be at the base of the unleashed terror by such citizen. From the angle of Social Contract, a government in breach and still applying the law against a recalcitrant citizen, such action of the Government can be described as oppressive  at best.

To reduce the rebellious tendencies and chaos in Nigeria, the Government must brazen up and start to perform her own side of the contract.










 


Sunday 18 September 2016

The beauty of interdependency of nations


While I'm school there was a time I was obsessed with quotable quotes. In furtherance of my obsession I bought a book twice as big as Oxford advance learners dictionary. I studied the quotes from A to Z but out of all the quotes I memorized, there is one that comes to mind often. Angeloue Maya said on a piano....

"You can play a tune of sort on a black key, you can also play a tune of sort on a white key but for harmony you have to play it together" That does make sense doesn't it
The world is one vast place with different races and tribes. The architect obviously had interdependency in mind and  not for  one nation oppressing or dominating another, not one tribe feeling superior to another. We all are like the strings of a guitar that must be collectively used to produce a beautiful harmonious sound. We are individually and collectively essential for the survival of one another. 

For instance, Africa have the resources but  bedevilled with bad and vision less leaders who lack the mental ability to make the best out of the resources; the west have the brains and technological know how to transform our resources into wonders. You can see the interdependency. The west buys our resources to transform it, after transformation they sell it back to us and we use the money received for the raw materials to pay them for the by- product of the resources...look at the cycle of exchange, the interdependency... No nation has to be poor.

The middle East and too was blessed with some resources but above all the greatest gift given to them is religion. Regardless of the fact that there area is hot and can hardly produce crops, people will have to leave Africa, the west and  other Asian countries to journey to their country searching for the architect. Again, look at the Interdependency. The money Africa realised from the sale of raw materials to the west, the money the west realized from selling the product of the raw materials to the world will be spent on tourism to the middle East in search of the architect and the middle Eastern too will spend that money in return to get technology from the west to beautify and make coming to their country a memorable experience, the west in turn will turn to Africa to get raw materials with same money. The exchange is an endless one and the interdependency is very fascinating.

Why do we think one nation or country is greater or superior to one another when the main purpose of making nations less developed to   each other is to enable easy interdependency and survival of every nation. If every nation is equally developed then there will actually be a lot of poverty and hunger in the world. If Africa has the resources and the technological know how to transform the resources then there will be famine in the West....the same thing goes on for the middle East. A typical example of my Atotonu; recently, Paul Kagame of Rwanda ban second hand clothes from entering his country from USA, Trump sanctioned him on the ground that over 400 thousand of American citizen will loose their job if that is done. Imagine if all African countries follow suite Kagame. 

Why can't we just embrace our uniqueness and crush our egos to appreciate the beauty of this interdependency orchestrated by the Architect. I even always find it funny when people say just because of geographical and complexion differences, one tribe or race is superior to one another. We all are homo sapiens with one life. As far as you don't have two lives then we are all the same. The geographical differences is just a means of boundary identification, the complexion differences is also a means of differentiation and identification, nothing more.

Coming to the realisation of the fact t that no one is superior to another no matter the level of development of some countries, that the dichotomy in level of development is actually for the best and survival of human race will stamp out hatred, and tribal and racial violence.

I decided to write this  because of the Newzealand massacre just because one person thinks his race is superior to other race. Superiority is a fallacy and it has no foundation. 

I once again sympathize to the slain Newzealand  immigrants.......my prayers are always with you.

THE MAKING OF A SUPER HOT IRRESISTIBLE LOVER, CONT'D UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS......SERIES 1


Yeah, yesterday i wrote something on the physical part of romance and the knowledge needed. I also said something about romance being an art not science needing practical not theory. yesterday post was just a precursor to something more pristine.
To start with, anything emotional is psychological. Though love may include some physical activities but its root is psychological. The intercourse between psychological nature of love and the physical can never be separated, they always go together. Have you heard about a woman with a very healthy sexual life will always be a happy one.why? simple, the physical part of love robs on her psychological part.How they interact is a complex mechanism that cannot be fully explained with words. Well that's not where am headed i just want to emphasize the relationship between the two
Now the main thing, romance is an art that requires skill. is it entirely so? No, it is also science, science in the sense that every guy that the happiness of his BAE must be able to ANALYZE.. Analysis has to do with Pre-erotic stage and even the erotic and post erotic stage; the stage where the relationship is just starting to take form, the stage where love is the leading Horse while the Tortoise of trust is annoyingly far behind. At this stage you need keen observation and analytical lens is needed in every thing she does in other to get an insight into her psyche. Put simply, you need to know her beyond her physical appearance, the food she likes or the color of the clothe she likes to wear on a sunny day . You need to transcend her physical wall and enter her psychology
.
Trust, not in terms of behavior but that one that makes her open up to you entirely is needed. Its one thing for a lady to trust you with her heart, it's another thing for her to trust you with her body. She may open her heart to you quite alright, but in that open heart you would still find some close doors. To have access to that door she must be prepared to trust you with her heart and body and to achieve that as a guy it takes a lot of understanding and scientific skills in other to have a comprehensive view of the intention of her every act,; so as to see beyond her actions.
some of the mistakes guys make is we quickly want a lady to trust us with her body to open that inner closed door to us when the outer is closed. Once the door to the heart which is the path way to other doors is closed access to others is impermeable.
it would seem both artistic and scientific skill is needed... yes. at the early stage of the relationship scientific skill is much more needed then after maturity a synergy of the two is required. To keep her happy you need artistic skills, to be able to paddle the canoe of the relationship successful away from the ocean storm scientific skill is needed..

Friday 15 April 2016



The budget sent by the executive to the national assembly which was mutilated beyond recognition is a an act of disrespect to the people of Nigeria who queued in the sun to put them there for due representation of their interest. This should qualify as a criminal offense committed against the people  of Nigeria because of the harsh consequences on the  powerless majority of Nigerians will be subjected to if the budget that was designed to ease the suffering of the same was altered to do otherwise. I do not need to start going into analysis before anyone could understand the benefits of Lagos to Calabar rail project on movement of people, ease of trading activities and the transportation of our natural resources to its destination on time  that was removed. As if that is not enough, there are other key sectors of the economy needing attention or quick fix adequately provided for in the budget by the executive that was altered or removed totally by the Senate. once again this insidious and pernicious activities of the national assembly has shown once more their insensitivity towards the suffering of Nigerian citizen.

  Below are the current fraud uncovered so far:


1) 4 billion naira removed from Ministry of Health Budget and added to Code of Conduct Tribunal
2) 60 billion for Coastal Rail Project completely taken out of the budget
3) A total of 80 new projects added to Works budget – apart from the fact that no design had been done for the roads, 30 of them were not Federal at all.
4) Allocation of huge sums of money to Works budget for purchase of Tricycles
5) Allocation for completion of Transmission projects in Power budget removed and diverted to tricycle procurement and construction of Town halls, among others.
6) 73 new projects added to Education budget – no designs available for the projects, and no tenders conducted
7) Appropriation to scholarships to indigent students slashed by 50% in Education budget

However, read another exclusive revelation posted by APC Page on Facebook

• Ministers stop Buhari from signing ‘mutilated’ budget
• NASS tampers with key projects
• FG spots eight key defects in budget details
• Legislators slash allocations for completion of major road projects nationwide
• Ministers end scrutiny of details, send package to Udoma

The Presidency and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) have identified eight major ‘assaults’ by the National Assembly on the 2016 Appropriation Bill sent to President Muhammadu Buhari last Thursday for his assent, The Nation learnt last night.
The infractions were detected by the ministers at their Friday’s emergency meeting called to vet the budget details.
This development is now stalling the signing into law of the bill by the President until his return from a week-long trip to China.
But he plans to engage the National Assembly in talks with a view to resolving the issues, sources familiar with the matter said.
In contention are funds proposed by the executive for key infrastructure projects but which were either removed from the budget or slashed drastically by the National Assembly in the details presented to him.
One of these is the Coastal Railway project which the President plans to discuss with the Chinese government during his visit.
He is departing Abuja today for Beijing at the start of the visit.
Government earmarked N60billion counterpart funds for it but the NASS removed it completely from the budget details.
It was gathered that Buhari had planned to assent to the Appropriation Bill yesterday but the “strategic and fundamental errors/ oversights” in the details may now delay it by a week.
The Presidency also found that the NASS:
*Expunged the Calabar – Lagos rail line project from the budget details;
*Reduced allocation to the completion Idu-Kaduna rail project by N8.7b;
*Slashed allocations for the completion of all major road projects across the country;
*Proposed new roads for which studies have not been conducted;
*Dropped proposals for the purchase of essential drugs for major health campaigns like Polio and AIDS;
*Cancelled or reduced allocations for diversification projects under Agriculture and Water Resources; and
*Diverted funds for rural health facilities and boreholes for which provisions had been made elsewhere.
Throwing light on the issue, a well placed source said: “The National Assembly transmitted the details to the President on Thursday, April 7, 2016 and because he was desirous of giving assent to the Appropriation Bill before leaving for China, he directed that the Ministers should review the provisions/appropriations of their respective ministry to fast-track the process.
“The document was distributed same Thursday to all ministers and a meeting was agreed for Friday to get everything sorted out for the President’s briefing and assent. That was why the Vice President, who is the Head of the Economic Team presided over the meeting and not the President.
“At the meeting, it was noticed that some very key aspects of the Budget, which have to do with government’s core infrastructural focus were removed. One of which is the subject of the President’s trip to China – the Coastal Railway project – for which a counterpart funding of N60b was provided, but which was completely removed by the National Assembly.”
The Executive is working on two major rail arteries, among other rail projects, to service the northern and eastern part of the country – the Lagos-Kano line and the Calabar – Lagos line.
The source said that while the provision for the Lagos-Kano rail line was left untouched, the Calabar – Lagos line was removed entirely.
Both projects are to be funded jointly by China and Nigeria. The source said that the amount proposed for the completion of the Idu-Kaduna rail project which “has reached an advanced stage was reduced by N8.7b, a development which will make it difficult for the project to be completed.”
Continuing, the source said: “The other fundamental area noticed was in respect of completion of on-going road projects. While the Executive had provided for the completion of all major road projects across the country, the National Assembly reduced the amounts provided and instead included new roads which studies have not even been conducted.
“The amounts provided by the National Assembly for the projects can neither complete the on-going road projects nor the new ones proposed. At the end of the year no significant progress would have been made.”
Asked of the next step, the source said: “Because of these observations, the President is engaging further with the leadership of the National Assembly to resolve them and hopes that it would be resolved by the time he returns from his trip to China.
“The President is desirous of signing the bill into law so that the implementation of the provisions could begin in earnest for the benefit of the people.
“That is why the moment he received the document on Thursday, a meeting was convened for Friday to immediately start work on it.”
Another source in the cabinet said: “We have all completed the review of the budget details sent to the Presidency by the National Assembly.”
All ministers were directed to send their observations (if any) on their allocations to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma.
The Ministry of Budget and National Planning will thereafter compile all observations and comments in line with the proposals of the Executive arm and guide the President accordingly.
Another reliable source spoke yesterday of how ministers and members of the president’s economic team stopped him from signing the ‘mutilated’ budget.
The ministers, according to the source who was at the Friday meeting, lamented the “reckless mutilation” of the original documents which the President tendered to the National Assembly, noting that the details were clearly un-implementable.
The source disclosed that Buhari, who had earlier been scheduled to address the nation after signing the budget had to call off the broadcast.
He said: “All the ministers, aside the Defence Minister who was a bit positive about the figures appropriated for his ministry, totally kicked against the so called budget details.
“They said it was mutilated beyond recognition and therefore cannot be implemented under the present condition. Notably, the Minister of Health told the gathering that what was returned to his ministry was even worse than what he kicked against when he went to defend the budget in the National Assembly.
“As a matter of fact, the budget details made nonsense of the planned visit of the President to China because the lawmakers removed that aspect of the loan completely from the details that were scrutinized by the ministers yesterday (Friday).”
Asked what steps the Presidency would take next, the source said two options are open for the President. He said the documents may be sent back to the lawmakers with a detailed note on the mutilation and a call for rectification or he may be persuaded to sign the budget and then ask for modifications.

NIGERIAN BUDGET OF CHANGE: Another Budget FRAUD Exposed Again...



The budget sent by the executive to the national assembly which was mutilated beyond recognition is a an act of disrespect to the people of Nigeria who queued in the sun to put them there for due representation of their interest. This should qualify as a criminal offense committed against the people  of Nigeria because of the harsh consequences on the  powerless majority of Nigerians will be subjected to if the budget that was designed to ease the suffering of the same was altered to do otherwise. i do not need to start going into analysis before anyone could understand the benefits of lagos     Read below the current fraud uncovered so far:


Here are highlights of what Nigerian Lawmakers Highjacked from ‪#‎Budget2016‬ sent in by President Buhari.
‪#‎BudgetHijackByNASS‬

1) 4 billion naira removed from Ministry of Health Budget and added to Code of Conduct Tribunal
2) 60 billion for Coastal Rail Project completely taken out of the budget
3) A total of 80 new projects added to Works budget – apart from the fact that no design had been done for the roads, 30 of them were not Federal at all.
4) Allocation of huge sums of money to Works budget for purchase of Tricycles
5) Allocation for completion of Transmission projects in Power budget removed and diverted to tricycle procurement and construction of Town halls, among others.
6) 73 new projects added to Education budget – no designs available for the projects, and no tenders conducted
7) Appropriation to scholarships to indigent students slashed by 50% in Education budget

However, read another exclusive revelation posted by APC Page on Facebook.


Budget showdown looms as Buhari withholds assent


• Ministers stop Buhari from signing ‘mutilated’ budget
• NASS tampers with key projects
• FG spots eight key defects in budget details
• Legislators slash allocations for completion of major road projects nationwide
• Ministers end scrutiny of details, send package to Udoma
The Presidency and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) have identified eight major ‘assaults’ by the National Assembly on the 2016 Appropriation Bill sent to President Muhammadu Buhari last Thursday for his assent, The Nation learnt last night.
The infractions were detected by the ministers at their Friday’s emergency meeting called to vet the budget details.
This development is now stalling the signing into law of the bill by the President until his return from a week-long trip to China.
But he plans to engage the National Assembly in talks with a view to resolving the issues, sources familiar with the matter said.
In contention are funds proposed by the executive for key infrastructure projects but which were either removed from the budget or slashed drastically by the National Assembly in the details presented to him.
One of these is the Coastal Railway project which the President plans to discuss with the Chinese government during his visit.
He is departing Abuja today for Beijing at the start of the visit.
Government earmarked N60billion counterpart funds for it but the NASS removed it completely from the budget details.
It was gathered that Buhari had planned to assent to the Appropriation Bill yesterday but the “strategic and fundamental errors/ oversights” in the details may now delay it by a week.
The Presidency also found that the NASS:
*Expunged the Calabar – Lagos rail line project from the budget details;
*Reduced allocation to the completion Idu-Kaduna rail project by N8.7b;
*Slashed allocations for the completion of all major road projects across the country;
*Proposed new roads for which studies have not been conducted;
*Dropped proposals for the purchase of essential drugs for major health campaigns like Polio and AIDS;
*Cancelled or reduced allocations for diversification projects under Agriculture and Water Resources; and
*Diverted funds for rural health facilities and boreholes for which provisions had been made elsewhere.
Throwing light on the issue, a well placed source said: “The National Assembly transmitted the details to the President on Thursday, April 7, 2016 and because he was desirous of giving assent to the Appropriation Bill before leaving for China, he directed that the Ministers should review the provisions/appropriations of their respective ministry to fast-track the process.
“The document was distributed same Thursday to all ministers and a meeting was agreed for Friday to get everything sorted out for the President’s briefing and assent. That was why the Vice President, who is the Head of the Economic Team presided over the meeting and not the President.
“At the meeting, it was noticed that some very key aspects of the Budget, which have to do with government’s core infrastructural focus were removed. One of which is the subject of the President’s trip to China – the Coastal Railway project – for which a counterpart funding of N60b was provided, but which was completely removed by the National Assembly.”
The Executive is working on two major rail arteries, among other rail projects, to service the northern and eastern part of the country – the Lagos-Kano line and the Calabar – Lagos line.
The source said that while the provision for the Lagos-Kano rail line was left untouched, the Calabar – Lagos line was removed entirely.
Both projects are to be funded jointly by China and Nigeria. The source said that the amount proposed for the completion of the Idu-Kaduna rail project which “has reached an advanced stage was reduced by N8.7b, a development which will make it difficult for the project to be completed.”
Continuing, the source said: “The other fundamental area noticed was in respect of completion of on-going road projects. While the Executive had provided for the completion of all major road projects across the country, the National Assembly reduced the amounts provided and instead included new roads which studies have not even been conducted.
“The amounts provided by the National Assembly for the projects can neither complete the on-going road projects nor the new ones proposed. At the end of the year no significant progress would have been made.”
Asked of the next step, the source said: “Because of these observations, the President is engaging further with the leadership of the National Assembly to resolve them and hopes that it would be resolved by the time he returns from his trip to China.
“The President is desirous of signing the bill into law so that the implementation of the provisions could begin in earnest for the benefit of the people.
“That is why the moment he received the document on Thursday, a meeting was convened for Friday to immediately start work on it.”
Another source in the cabinet said: “We have all completed the review of the budget details sent to the Presidency by the National Assembly.”
All ministers were directed to send their observations (if any) on their allocations to the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma.
The Ministry of Budget and National Planning will thereafter compile all observations and comments in line with the proposals of the Executive arm and guide the President accordingly.
Another reliable source spoke yesterday of how ministers and members of the president’s economic team stopped him from signing the ‘mutilated’ budget.
The ministers, according to the source who was at the Friday meeting, lamented the “reckless mutilation” of the original documents which the President tendered to the National Assembly, noting that the details were clearly un-implementable.
The source disclosed that Buhari, who had earlier been scheduled to address the nation after signing the budget had to call off the broadcast.
He said: “All the ministers, aside the Defence Minister who was a bit positive about the figures appropriated for his ministry, totally kicked against the so called budget details.
“They said it was mutilated beyond recognition and therefore cannot be implemented under the present condition. Notably, the Minister of Health told the gathering that what was returned to his ministry was even worse than what he kicked against when he went to defend the budget in the National Assembly.
“As a matter of fact, the budget details made nonsense of the planned visit of the President to China because the lawmakers removed that aspect of the loan completely from the details that were scrutinized by the ministers yesterday (Friday).”
Asked what steps the Presidency would take next, the source said two options are open for the President. He said the documents may be sent back to the lawmakers with a detailed note on the mutilation and a call for rectification or he may be persuaded to sign the budget and then ask for modifications.