The Persistence of Street Justice in Nigeria

Even in traditional African cultures, there have been standard and acceptable legal procedures in addition to cases of persons taking the law into their hands which the culture also frowned against. This is because every African community had a judicial council where legal matters are heard and judgment passed. Thus if any form of justice was administered outside of the accepted legal council, it amounted to taking the law into one’s hands. The problem in Africa however, was how to draw a conspicuous line between accepted legal procedure and what was not acceptable. In addition to this, the heads of traditional African courts were kings who were autocratic. There were also no rooms for appeals. Most often, what was paid as fine belonged to the king. As a result, punitive measures were often disproportionate and selfish. These shortcomings were the weaknesses the modern legal practice was supposed fix.

The line between guilt and innocence is so obvious that even a two-year old can see it. It explains why even toddlers fight. However, the line between who should and who should not establish guilt and pass judgment is, sadly, hazy. As a consequence, the result has been acrimoniously, far-reaching. Thousands have been either maimed or killed and possessions in the order of billions of naira have been lost.

In October 2012, four students of the University of Port Harcourt were walked completely nude and eventually burnt alive in a neighboring village on suspicion of being armed bandits. As it turned out, the students were innocent.

Street justice is not new in Nigeria. When a petty thief is arrested in northern Nigeria he is beaten to death except where a policeman arrives fast to save him or a respected individual pleads with the mob. In the south the thief is beaten and then set ablaze while still alive. The case at the University of Port Harcourt drew a lot of attention because it turned out to be a high profile scenario at a time when internet accessibility became widespread thereby allowing other parts of the world to see something that is bizarre in the context of their own cultures.

In April this year,  a previously unknown cult group by the name Ombatse demonstrated the highest degree of street justice when it killed more than thirty policemen in the Nigeria’s central state of Nassarawa. The cult has been going around coercing people to become members. The police learnt about it and set out to arrest its leder for questioning. The group learnt about it and waylaid the police. The group ‘justified’ its action with the statement that they have been conducting their activities without bordering the police and wondered why the police should be concerned about its own business.

The problem of citizens taking the laws into their own hands has become a culture in Nigeria. From its persistence, one can conclude that authorities have failed to notice its gravity in terms of creating a dire atmosphere of chaos. It is the reason why nothing has been done with the aim of ending it. Thus when people join the police or any military organization, they transfer the culture into the force and explains why the police and members of the Nigerian army are not left out in the execution of parallel justice. We have seen high profile examples in Odi in Bayelsa State and Zakibiam in Benue State during the Obasanjo administration. Under the same administration, little known Islamic groups in the north of the country were crushed by the use of force rather than in court rooms. Some of those groups survived to become Boko Haram.

Apparently, many Nigerians across the many lines of diversity have failed to respect the establishment of guilt and passing of judgment as the exclusive mandate of legally constituted authorities. The National Orientation Agency, NOA, is shouldered with the task of educating Nigerians on the policies of government the citizens are ignorant of. The Director of NOA in Plateau State, Mr. Musa K Chantu said the dimension of the problem of street justice in Nigeria is so big that it transcends the limit of the resources of his agency. The root of the problem, according to Mr. Chantu, may not just be ignorance of the demands of the law. Chantu said that their job at NOA is based, largely, on budgets and what the budget for a particular year is meant to address. Currently, he says, the budget of the agency is meant to finance awareness programs on the Freedom of Information bill that has just been passed into law.

It is easy to see the credibility of the clarification by Chantu when he says the enormity of problem exceeds the resources of his agency and that the root of the problem may not just be ignorance of the law. Where all these cases of the usurpation of the duties of the judiciary have continued, it has been seen that the law has been, largely, inactive. 

People should be arrested, tried and sentenced where they take the law into their own hands. It is the only way the people can be properly and effectively warned against doing so in future. Sometimes cases of usurpation of the law are a result of frustration over a dormant judiciary. Hence where the police make arrests and hands criminals over to the courts, the dispensation of justice should be seen to be speedy. Anything contrary to this could lead to frustration among the citizens and the police who then resort to doing what the courts have failed to do.

Newly recruited members of the police go through basic training prior to commencement work. It is expected that during such training, he must be taught that his mandate as a police officer should not go beyond investigation and arrest of criminals. He should also be taught that should he go past the limit of his mandate, he himself would have become a criminal and will be treated as such.

Truly, the root of the problem of administration of justice by the wrong persons in Nigeria can be largely traced to frustration from a dormant judiciary. Nigerians should not just be told what the law says but should be made to see what the law can do when it is disobeyed.

Education for Peace Building and Conflict Prevention In Northern Nigeria

Education is the development of the mind through acquisition of knowledge and skill for the progress of the individual and society.

The predominant religion of northern Nigeria is Islam. Nigeria first came into contact with Islamic education in the ninth century.  It was however in 1800s that Islam was firmly established in north of the country following a successful holy war by Othman Dan Fodio who was of Fulani extraction. His war was waged against the Hausa people that predominantly inhabit the north.  This led to the establishment of Sokoto town from where the religion further spread to other parts of the northern region.

Western education came to Nigeria in the mid-nineteen century. This was in the southern part of the country. It was only in 1907 that the first western-styled school was established in the north in the town of Zaria but lasted for only two years. An enduring western school was later established in 1909. There was, thus, a long period of maturity of Islam in the region between the 1800s when it was introduced and 1909 when the first conventional school found a foothold in the region.

Around the world, there is always rivalry between Arabic and Western cultures. In Northern Nigeria, this is not only the case but the rivalry appears very severe. This explains why introducing western cultural elements in the north has always been extremely difficult compared to doing the same in the south. The challenge in education is the same. The girl-child school enrolment rate according to a United Nations report of 2011 is as low as 20% and 25% in the northeast and northwest of the country respectively compared to 85% in the Southwest and Southeast.

The north of the country where there are these low school enrolment figures are among their poorest in the country. on the other hand, other states with high school enrolment figures are seen to relatively lower poverty rates and are also comparatively peaceful. Also nations with high level of educational enrolment and high literacy rates boast of high level of tolerance, progress and peace.

The fighting that broke out in Jos in 2001 was a result of a dispute over who should head the National Poverty Eradication Program (NAPEP) in Jos-North of Plateau State. The indigenous tribes felt a Hausa leader of the agency will not be fair to them while the Hausa settlers also felt an indigenous leader will not be fair to them. Thus poverty was the main drive that sparked the conflict that year.  One of the most effective way of avoiding poverty and preventing conflict is by educating and empowering the people to find good-paying jobs.

Educational institutions like schools bring people across tribal and religious lines into one classroom. Sitting in a common class for many years results in better understanding and trust for people across these lines of division. Being in the same class also builds a feeling of fellowship and ‘brotherhood’ among people from diverse backgrounds and minimizing chances of conflicts. This underscores the significance of integration in avoiding conflict and disturbing the peace of a community.

People with education are in a better position to travel widely around the world. The exposure enables them to study other nations to see how an overwhelming level of literacy has helped to entrench peace and prosperity in those nations. This realization is also possible through studies of the developed nations. Only educated people are in a position to get involved in such studies that help people to see the connection between education and peace.

Education also enables people to understand the laws and policies of governments and to try to comply with these laws and policies.  A recent incident that has, again, shown the linked between illiteracy and conflict was the killing of 23 policemen on May 9th, by a cult group named Ombatse in the central Nigerian state of Nassarawa. The group justified its action by saying that they were conducting their activities without bordering anyone and asked why the police should interfere with their activities by following them to their shrine with the intention of arresting their leader. Only education can help people to understand that nobody is above the law and that people are expected to cooperate with the police in its efforts to ensure safety and security in the land.

Education changes the mindset of people by making them disciplined, self-esteemed and orderly. Often they prefer to stay in quieter and peaceful parts of towns usually referred to as Government Reserved Areas (GRA).  The experience in Nigeria is that whenever there is a conflict, such parts of town are usually not affected.

 Educated people often have big dreams or ambitions. They plan their lives to enable them achieve such goals. They are aware that the absence of peace brings a chaotic atmosphere under which their dreams cannot be achieved. On the other hand, uneducated people are mostly despondent. This despondency is what often pushes them into causing disorder so that every one becomes a loser. At times criminal elements among the poor cause such disorders and use the disorderly circumstance to loot.

Prevention of conflict and engendering peace in northern Nigeria can only be achieved through serious and concerted efforts towards educating the people. This can be achieved through making education compulsory within the region and working hard to enforce the law backing such a policy.

One factor that has worked against educational progress in Nigeria is the lack of decent learning environments. Thus the Provision of the infrastructural base necessary for the improvement of education and constantly maintaining them to ensure a decent, attractive and conducive learning environment will go a long way towards encouraging school enrollment in the region.

Better education can also come from comprehensive curriculum. Thus upgrading the curriculum to improve the quality of education within the region will go a long way towards bringing the good returns of good education including peace.

Any ambition of providing education will not work in a society where the teachers lack interest in the job. teachers must be paid adequately and regularly to encourage them in their jobs and avoid a steady exodus of manpower in the sector as we have seen over the decades.

Nigerian electoral laws demands a candidate to, among other qualifications, possess a minimum of a School Certificate to aspire to any political position in the country. In view of the fact that the school system in Nigeria has been neglected for so long, many holders of such certificate are actually poorly educated. It is the reason why using education to build peace and prevent conflict must also involve the proper education of some of the leaders. Leaders must be educated to understand the significance of sacrifice by being contented with what is duly and legally theirs. It is the only way resources can percolate from the administrative offices at the top to the classroom at the bottom.

Since fairness and justice is imperative in peace building and conflict prevention, leaders must be educated to see the significance of non-interference in judicial processes when relations are involved. The steady pressure mounted on President Goodluck Jonathan by the northern leadership forum to grant amnesty to Boko Haramists that have killed about 4000 people in its bid to introduce Sharia Law in Nigeria from 2008 is seen by many as rocking the boat of justice, a situation which will only complicate the shattered peace in northern Nigeria.

 Leaders must be educated to understand the significance of integration of people. In places like Kaduna and Jos where conflict has led to the segregation of living quarters and markets for instance, the local and national political leaders seem to be doing nothing to bring the people together. This represents stagnation in efforts for peace and should end.  

Non-Governmental Organizations must continue to receive encouragement through funding to continue educating people on how to build peace and prevent conflicts that could occur in future.

It is only when these or some of these issues are earnestly addressed that a lasting peace could be attained in Northern Nigeria.

The Place of Traditionalists and Animist in the Nigerian Nation

Picture Source Urban Intellectuals

The Lagos State Government recently placed a limitation on the use of Hijab by students in public schools in the state.  Critical comments by some members of the society followed the decision. One critic was heard saying that Islam never said that the Hijab should be worn only at certain moments but all the time as long as the individual is outdoor.

A lot of Nigerians feel the Lagos State Government should not be seen to have done anything wrong. Rather the government of that state should have been commended for allowing some sort of usage of the veil. The Nigerian constitution says that the country shall be multi-religious but that it shall not use its resources to help the growth and development of any of the religions. From common sense, it could be seen that the law was designed to avoid friction that may arise from perceived discrimination where some religions could be unjustly treated.

The enormity of constitutional abuses in Nigeria has reached a dimension where people claim rights in situations where their actions are apparently in violation of the laws. The unending episodes of people claiming rights to constitutional violation have, over the decades, been encouraged by the actions or inaction of the different tiers of government itself. For instance, it is in public schools that Christian and Islamic Religious studies are taught using government school buildings, teachers and other academic resources. The situation is even worse in the north where Islamic Religious Studies is taught exclusively.

In any school where any single religion is taught, the laws of the land are infringed upon and the rights of other Nigerians are also violated. It should be a cause for grave concern if we understand why such laws were enshrined into the statute by our founding fathers.

The ease with which the government has continued to encourage violations of the law could been seen also in recent events within the country with the establishment of Islamic schools in the northern parts of the country in a bid to impose a limitation to the Almajiri problem that has become a nagging source of embarrassment and a huge security threat to the nation. Some argue that should ordinary Nigerians or even the other religions go to court, they will have a good case.

The Nigerian Television Authority and state government televisions corporations across the country, also public properties, have been used to support Islam and Christianity through sermons that are aired on Fridays and Sundays for Islam and Christianity respectively. There is the need to distinguish between paid religious programs like those from churches like the Chris Embassy, Redeemed Christian Church of God and many other similar ones who pay to have their programs aired and the others, particularly the orthodox churches whose programs are usually aired without them paying a dime. This implies that the government is paying for such programs. Along that line, animist, the new generation churches and traditional religious groups are cheated.

For as long as one can remember, the use of public resources to send Christian and Muslim pilgrims to holy lands to perform religious obligations has been a tradition in the country. Politicians use this as a means of rewarding their relations or supporters whose ballots ensured they won elections. The use of public finances to send people to pilgrimage has even demonstrated what the founding fathers feared, which is that it will create room for easy discrimination to the ‘weaker’ religions. All one needs to qualify for sponsorship to the holy land is intimacy, in one way or the other, to a powerful member of the incumbent administration in your state.

It has been difficult to get clergymen, who together with their followers have been the beneficiaries of the unconstitutional tradition, to comment on the issue. All they do is to circumvent the issue and then drag you to other irrelevant issues.

The government has also encouraged claims of rights to constitutional breaches through their attitude of building chapels and mosques in government houses across the nation. In the predominantly Moslem north, state resources are used to, solely, build mosques. The reverse is true in the predominantly Christian south of the country where state resources are used to build chapels to the detriment of other religions.

Nigerian constitution is not against any religion. The freedom of religion implies that religious groups can use their own resources to build religious institutions for their followers.

There is no doubt that the ugly trend was encouraged by the long decades of military in the corridors of power. It was easy for them to do these things since they ruled by decrees and the gun. The suppression of the views of the people was the reason why some people fought and died, asking for democracy. If democracy will encourage rather than discourage these constitutional infringements, then democracy is yet to start in Nigeria.

There is the need for our leaders to look around the world to see how democracies are growing. Democracies do not begin and end with elections and swearing-ins of electoral beaters. This is rather the beginning. There is also the need for our leaders to understand that sustaining democracy is not a bed of roses but courageous undertakings that involve sacrifice. 

Our leaders can score a democratic point by directing that all chapels and mosques in government houses be demolished and that the teaching of all religious subjects in public schools, primary and secondary, should end.

Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission and Job Creation

One of the things the defunct administration of late General Sani Abacha did to encourage the creation of jobs and reduce unemployment was ensuring that registering a business name cost next to nothing. Sixteen years since the death of Abacha, it could be said that the problem of unemployment has become dire not because of the general assumption that the more we move into the future the difficult it becomes to provide jobs as the population is growing but because we are the Nigerians and know the reality in our own country. This explains why more needs to be done by taking even more rational and courageous decisions in our quest to tackle the problem of unemployment.

In Nigeria, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is the body shouldered with the responsibility of registration of companies. There are three categories of companies it registers. These include Business Names, Limited and Trustees categories. Registering a business name costs N5000. The Limited guarantee is again divided into sub-categories. The lowest costs N40, 000 while a trustee category which is for non-profit organizations like NGOs, churches and foundations, costs N120, 000 to register. Recently, CAC has announced increases in the cost of registration. The registration of business names has now gone up by 100%. The business name category is actually the most critical that the unemployed engage to help them start something that will generate income to themselves and eventually others. It thus amounts to a violation of the wise reasoning and out of tune with the current reality of chronic unemployment and the bitter consequences for our country.

The primary responsibility of every government is to make life comfortable to its citizens. The first step towards achieving this is by creation of jobs for the citizens. It explains why the cost of brand registration is cheap and affordable in most countries. In the United States of America, the wealthiest nation on earth for instance, registration categories are based on the limit of the territory of operation. A company may want to operate at the national, state or municipal levels. These cost $325 (N52, 000.00), $50 (N8, 000.00) and $25 (N4, 000.00) in that order. Thus N10, 000.00 for the registration of a business name in Nigeria clearly shows that the charge is skewed against the ordinary man.

The administration of Goodluck Jonathan, more than any else in the history of Nigeria, is faced with a stiffer challenge of job creation. The enormity of the problem is seen in the serious breakdown of law and order accentuated by kidnappings for ransom, terrorism, armed robbery and other grave vices in the country. As a result, increasing the cost of company registration is a very irrational decision. A lot of people are of the opinion that, given the current unemployment situation and its consequences, this decision may not have come from the administration but from within CAC and that the only reason why the commission would take that decision will be because some individuals within the commission stand to benefit from the decision. The implication is that there is a possibility not all the money goes to the federation. Along that line, corruption is suspected. If the federal government of Nigeria is paying the kind of huge salaries that is been paid today, workers have no reason to use government offices to engage in activities that badly hurt and frustrate the noble policies meant to support progress in the country.

The News Tower was registered as a business name in 2006. The name search and its registration were completed in just two days. Today it takes not less than ten days for just name search to be undertaken. This shows that the commission is becoming less efficient. This is distressing for a nation that wishes to break into the rank of twenty most developed economies in the world in just seven years time. It takes competition to displace other nations within that bracket. The right competition involves taking rational decisions. Part of rational decisions for nations today is the decision to use available technologies. One wonders why the duration of registration of companies is taking longer at a time when the internet that can help accomplish such a process in one day is available.

With the right CAC website, people can register companies in just one day and without paying cash directly to any individual. The implication is that it will also work to prevent corruption and the frustration it brings to progress. With the right website, people can search the availability of company names and pay using ATM cards. The registration certificate is generated automatically or sent via email as an attachment. It is just like registering a domain name where you don’t get to meet your web host yet the job is done. This also prevents corruption since the government can decide to configuration the registration such that what is charged from the ATM card is paid directly into the federal government’s account rather than the commission’s account thereby cutting the commission from any cash transaction. Furthermore, it will limit the manpower needed in the commission since the bulk of the activity in the commission is undertaken by the client themselves.

Going back to the cost of registration of a company, one will say that lower charges will help the country in more ways than many people will think. One thing about the Information Technology (I-T) is that it has revolutionized every facet of life. I-T is one reason why there are more musicians for instance. This is a category of professionals that need property right protection for songs written and names adopted. The government can, for instance, make a law mandating owners of new songs to show evidence that they own the right to the songs and their own names before any radio station can play such a song. Thus a radio station that plays such music will be guilty of a criminal offence. Comedians are other categories of persons that can be compelled by law to register names before they can be allowed use those names to practice. These will generate more revenue for the nation as long as the charges are affordable. In addition, it will teach the young men and women the significance a lawful approach to anything they do. One ugly trend that we have had to live with in Nigeria is the tendency to ignore the law in our dealing and is badly shaping the mindset of Nigerians.

Competing in the era of I-T revolution cannot be successful without taking advantage of the technology as the other nations we intend to displace at the higher rungs of the ladder are taking advantage of it. There is the need for legislation to compel all government ministries, departments and agencies to develop websites to aid their services. In addition to the ability of the I-T to make operations easy, it is critical in a country like ours where corruption has become a huge stumbling block to progress.

Ahmed Musa Reunites with the Grassroots

Ahmed Musa was in town, the suburb of Bukuru in Jos, where he was born, raised and learnt football. He had trained at the muddy pitch of Aminci Football Club, his grassroots club, in the morning and was scheduled to come back for the evening session. We heard this and all gathered, waiting to see the guy that has made the town of Jos very proud with legs that unleash slug. The training was a special one meant to honor him. All players were unusually serious.

He was schedule to come later, when the training was already in progress, a mark of respect. So we waited... three local journalists, kids and unemployed youths who often spend their free time watching free football. I did not notice when a black Range Rover jeep arrived but noticed it when it was about to leave. It was clear that a personage had just arrived. I could see children crowding around an individual and looked critically to see that the star had arrived. He appeared so simple he makes you doubt if he is that guy that used to generate confusion in the goal mouth of opponents. He wore a black T-shirt and Super Eagles green shorts and prevented his aids from driving away children who crowded him.

After exchanging pleasantries, signing autographs and taking photos with fans, it was time for us the journalists. Musa talked about playing in the English Premiership League, saying that it is the dream of every Nigerian footballer to play in the Barclays Premiership League and his own position regarding that isn’t different. He said that he is aware that he is still young. The implication is that he has so many years of active football ahead of him and that playing in Russia is satisfactory but also provides an opportunity to be noticed by bigger clubs, a lot of which are in England. The star said that even though he is a fan of Arsenal, it does not mean that he must necessarily play for Arsenal alone as football these days is also about the money. He is going to wait and pray for the right time and the right club that destiny brings.

Musa referred to playing in the Champions League as a dream come true that also afforded him the chance to meet his favorite player, Christiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid with whom he had a photograph.

Football fans will recall that Ahmed Musa joined the Nigerian Senior National team, The Super Eagles under Coach Samson Siasia who was eventually sacked when we could not make it to the Nations Cup. Siaisa was replaced by former national team captain, Stephen Keshi. Musa told us that his fortunes had remained the same under the different coaches. Siaisa, according to Musa, kept encouraging him, telling him that he’s got what it takes and can play anywhere around the world. With Keshi, it is the same thing, he says. Keshi has continued to encourage him to help him bring out his best.

Musa expressed disappointment with the inability of the Super Eagles to qualify to play in the last Nations Cup. He said that one of his immediate dreams is to play in the Nations Cup and as such he was devastated when the national team failed to qualify for Africa’s premier football tournament. This time, he says, he believes they are going to qualify. Already, he says, they earned a point when they played a 2-2 draw with the Liberian National Team and sees no reason why they will not defeat the Liberians in the return leg in Calabar.

In the past, Nigerian footballers like Julius Aghahowa had frustrating times playing in Russia because of severe low temperatures. Ahmed Musa said that though the weather in Moscow is colder than in Jos where he comes from, it has not posed any treat or frustration to his career over there. As a matter of fact he is enjoying playing in Russia and looks forward to even better days there. 

Also waiting to be discovered.

Isa El Buba Builds a Skyscraper in Jos

The Edifice that Isa El Buba is Building

Anybody that has been a movie freak in Jos back in the seventies and eighties will definitely remember there used to be a movie theatre by the name of Scalar Cinema along Kashim Ibrahim Street. Changing times let to diminishing interest in movie watching in Nigeria. Consequently, cinema houses started experiencing reverses in their fortunes, leading to the closure of some of them. As a result, former Scalar building was taken over by a church known as Christ for all Nations. Eventually the building itself was demolished. In its place now is a tall building whose construction is ongoing. When I counted the number of floors, there were about ten of them.

In the whole of Jos, it is possible to count the number of towering structures that go beyond seven floors but not higher than eight floors. There is the Standard Building, PIPC building along Murtala Mohammed Way, The Federal Secretariat at Tudun Wada and the Plateau State Ministry of Education building at Joseph Gomwalk Secretariat of the Plateau State Government. If this building along Kashim Ibrahim Road is completed, it would have set a record as the highest building in the city of Jos. In addition, it will be the only such building to be owned by an individual. All the other ones listed are owned by either the Plateau State Government or the Federal Government. This individual is a clergy man that goes by the name of Isa El Buba.

The name Isa El Buba first rang a bell in my mind earlier in the year 2007 when he organized a well publicized evangelical crusade that was attended by the Plateau State Governor, Jonah David Jang, the year Jang became the Plateau State Governor. People came to know him as a man from Borno State that was formerly a Muslim, a fact that seem to explain the presence of the prefix “el” in his name. It appears El Buba has taken a decision to make Plateau State his home as he has managed to weave himself into the brotherhood of the Plateau people so much that he is said to have written a popular jingle praying for Plateau State and which is played each time the television and radio arms of the Plateau Radio and Television Corporation, PRTVC opens or closes for the day. Some years back, civil servants had to pick up a quarrel with El Buba for sticking his nose where it was not wanted when he dabbled into a labor misunderstanding between the Civil Service and the State Government.

It is rumored that El Buba plans to establish a school of theology and the towering building is meant to house the school. This leaves me wondering. First, the noisy nature of the street along which the structure is been erected makes it unsuitable for learning. Secondly, the conditions of similar buildings in the city are enough to warn Pastor El Buba of the waste it will amount in putting millions into its erection. The top floors of these buildings are virtually uninhabited due to absence of elevators as a result of the difficulty of maintaining them and the unpredictable electric power situations that has made the use of elevators risky in the country as a whole. Secondly, should one decide to sell such a structure, it will be difficult to find buyers for the same reasons. Where someone decides to buy at all, he will under-price it, knowing the top floors will be of no use. On the other hand, the worth of the structure will only appreciate with time, had the floors of the building been spread over a large expanse of land as is expected of a conventional school, just like The Theological College of Northern Nigeria located in the outskirts of the city.

A lot of people however believe that the pastor knows the rational bankruptcy associated with the erection of that kind of edifice and that he is only doing it to serve a more important purpose which is, primarily, to demonstrate to himself and onlookers, what he is capable of achieving.