News
El-Rufai Is Right! Nigerians Think All Governors Are Thieves
By Joel Popoola
“Governors are the most suspected elected officials. Everyone thinks governors are just thieves… wasting state resources (and) not doing anything.”
The sort of opinion you hear all the time in the queue, and inside danfo – but not something you hear very often from governors themselves. But this week Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, publically addressed his and his colleagues’ “very negative image”.
He was right. Nigerians do think all governors are thieves. The statistics prove it.
Research shows 72% of us believe “most politicians are corrupt”.. 57% of Nigerians believe that nothing will ever change, no matter who wins an election.
And other countries agree – that’s why the international Corruption Perception Index ranks us amongst the most corrupt countries on earth. And 80% of Nigerians think that placing is deserved!
Regardless of your politics, no governor has done more to tackle the systemic and structural shortcomings of our democracy than Mr El-Rufai himself.
It was El-Rufai who trialled electronic voting in Kaduna in 2018, deservedly winning praise for his efforts to promote transparency and increase electoral integrity. Voters even reported enjoying going to the polls – which will hopefully encourage them to do so again in the future.
Even more strikingly, four Kaduna elections were won by the opposition rather than the incumbents – a statistical rare occurrence in Nigerian elections. People knew their vote would have an impact. So they voted.
After a recent governorship election in Edo where only one in four voters went to the polls, it is clear our nation needs to incentivise and encourage voters to vote more than ever before.
Its measures like electronic voting – which make vote-rigging and ballot-stuffing significantly harder – are so desperately needed across Nigeria if we are to fix our current democratic deficit.
A coalition of over 70 human rights organisations recently united to raise the alarm about increasing vote buying in Nigerian elections, with convener, Clement Nwankwo, quoted as saying:
“Politicians are increasingly investing money to buy votes with voters appearing to be willing to sell their votes.
“In the Edo State election, this practice was widespread with all of the major political parties engaging in this infringement”.
With only 25% of Edo voters going to the polls, it feels like the only people voting are the people who are being paid to. This is a bleak assessment of Nigerian democracy.
These allegations follow an election which has thankfully been described as “relatively peaceful” and “relatively credible” by the Centre for Democracy and Development.
But we Nigerians should expect more than “relatively credible” and “relatively peaceful” elections. I ask you, would you buy a car which is “relatively safe”? Would you purchase a pet which is “relatively harmless”?
Our democracy faces significant challenges. The first step to tackling them is better communication between electors and elected.
Mr El-Rufai has described the role of a governor as “one of the most difficult jobs in the world”. As both a Nigerian tech entrepreneur and as a digital democracy campaigner, I have seen firsthand how true this is. Local politicians are, for the most part, motivated only by public service and a profound love of their communities. They step up to take the hardest decisions for us, even when they do not like those decisions any more than we do.
But they need to explain themselves better. That’s why the digital democracy campaign I lead created Rate Your Leader, a free app which puts local officials in direct person-to-person contact with the people they serve. It also allows voters to contact them, helping them gain better insight into the needs and wishes of the people who elect them.
If politicians using the app are responsive and authoritative, and explain the decisions they are taking clearly and satisfactorily, their voters can give them a positive rating. If people see that neighbours who have interacted with their local politicians have all rated them highly, that builds trust in our leaders. And that in turn builds trust in our system.
Communication between the authorities and the public has never been more critical. As more and more Nigerian parents see their children returning to school after the disruption of Covid-19 they need to be able to trust institutions as much as they need to be able trust leaders. They also need to be able to receive vital public health messages instantaneously.
But with more Nigerians owning a smartphone than voting, the answer is literally in their hands.
Joel Popoola is a Nigerian tech entrepreneur, digital democracy campaigner and creator of the free Rate Your Leader app. You can follow Joel on Twitter @JOPopoola
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
There’s no doubt that human beings by nature are insatiable. When we get one opportunity, we always look for another. When we attain one height, we always look for another accomplishment. Isn’t it true that the end of one mountain is the beginning of another.
However, I don’t think it’s selfish for anyone to dare to succeed.
Being ambitious doesn’t make one an opportunist or disloyal. It all depends on one’s perception or outlook to life. It’s just natural for one to dream big. It’s only ugly when the process one chooses to achieve his desires becomes dirty and nasty.
According to a former Nigerian presidential candidate and seasoned Economist, Mr. Peter Obi, “if you must be referred to as “Your Excellency”, then the process through which you arrived in office must be excellent”.
If you desire to be reckoned with on the journey of existence, you must be legitimately hungry for success. One’s hunger for success will facilitate the drive to accomplish great tasks despite daunting obstacles posing as challenges.
When one has this mindset, one will not be bothered by the noise which serves as obstacles and challenges along the way. Negative and weak minds are always concerned on why something won’t work. They tend to focus their energy and reasons on the obstacles facing them. But great and productive minds always focus their energy on the reasons why it will work. This is the spirit of an insatiable mind who is a goal- getter.
It’s instructive to note that we can’t please everyone. According to Bill Cosby, a famous actor, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.” Isn’t it true that when you talk, people will still talk about you, when you don’t talk, people will talk about you, so whether you talk or not, people will still judge you, so, do what’s best for you. There’s nothing you can do to please human beings. Your best option is to live your best life.
To understand how the insatiable nature of man works, one must be oneself. You don’t have to “please” anyone. Be yourself, and don’t try to be like anyone just to curry favour. It’s important to note that when you are yourself, the people that matter will come through for you, and the people that don’t matter will gradually find the bearing in another space because those that truly care don’t bother and those that bother don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Life has truly taught me to focus on the important things of life as opposed to the mundane things. It’s truly sad to see people spending more time on the little things of life, and spending little time on the important things of life. That’s just a misplaced priority.
When you are yourself, the best people can do is to copy or imitate your style. They can never imitate your creativity nor can take your originality from you.
We live in a world or society where people don’t generally care or show empathy. Most people tend to live around themselves, their family, and close associates. They generally find it hard to lift a finger to assist others for reasons best known to them. Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka once said, “we live in a wicked generation”, re-echoing the voices of a lot of people of the world. Some people in authority just have criminal expertise in amassing wealth of opportunities meant for the citizens without thinking of the citizens they are meant to serve.
It’s worthy of note that not everyone will like you nor support your work, but when you find people who truly care about you; please hold them tight. This is because despite having family members you have shown love and compassion, they might not still appreciate you even if you lay your life for them, they will still find something to say. Again, this is the insatiable nature of man.
It’s okay for everyone not to like you, normalize living your life for God, yourself, family and those that care about you. If everyone likes you, you have a problem.
Did you know that you can get a new family from friends, strangers, and acquaintances? These sets of people might appreciate you more than your own family members. They might not demand or under appreciate you like your family members and close friends or associates. Any little support you give them will be highly appreciated. Their focus is to see you do better.
In conclusion, as you desire to succeed in life, never give in to failure until you have made your last attempt, and never make your last attempt until you succeed. This literally means whatever you desire, dream it, think it, say it, and believe you can achieve it. This principle is generally applicable to relationships, businesses, family, personal and professional development.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design Your and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
A federal judge in the United States, on Thursday, put a temporary block on President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship.
The ruling imposes a 14-day halt on the enforcement of one of the most controversial executive orders Trump signed hours after being sworn into office for a second term.
It comes after lawsuits were filed by a total of 22 states, two cities and numerous civil rights groups.
“This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” senior US District Judge John Coughenour was reported as saying during the hearing in Washington State.
“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades, I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one is,” said Coughenour, who was appointed to the bench by a Republican president, Ronald Reagan.
Birthright citizenship is fundamental to America’s national identity, with the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution decreeing that anyone born on US soil is a citizen.
It says, in part: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Trump’s order was premised on the idea that anyone in the US illegally, or on a visa, was not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the country, and therefore excluded from this category.
AFP
The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State capital has upheld the death sentence of Ramon Adedoyin, a prominent businessman and hotelier, for his involvement in the murder of one Timothy Adegoke, a former postgraduate student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Delivering the judgment on Thursday, the court affirmed the earlier verdict of the Osun State High Court, which had sentenced Adedoyin to death.
“The judgment of the High Court of Osun State stands. Adedoyin’s appeal is dismissed in part,” the court declared in part.
The Court of Appeal, however, set aside some aspects of the lower court’s orders, including the forfeiture of the Hilton Hotel and the order for Adedoyin to pay for the education of Adegoke’s children.
Furthermore, the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction to impose penalties outside the statutory provisions
Adegoke’s death was reported in November 2021 after his corpse was found at the Hilton Honours Hotel in Ile-Ife, Osun State, where he had lodged.
The hotelier had travelled from Abuja for an examination at a distance learning centre in Moro, Osun State on November 5 of that year.
He had checked into the hotel but was reported missing after two days. However, Adegoke’s body was found days later, leading to a probe that linked his death to Adedoyin and others.
In May 2023, Adedoyin and others were sentenced to death after they were found guilty of murder and conspiracy to murder.
But dissatisfied with the judgement, Adedoyin approached the Appeal court to dismiss the sentence and conviction.
The court of appeal, on Thursday, however, upheld the conviction and death sentence of the hotelier.
