Those Faulting Arrest Of Judges By DSS Are Enemies Of Democracy – Adeniran

October 17, 2016

Comrade Debo Adeniran is the Executive Chairman, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL). In this interview with AUGUSTINE ADAH, he spoke on the arrest of some judges by DSS, the withdrawal of forgery charges against Senate President and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu and other issues. Excerpts:

Why do you think the federal government suddenly withdrew charges of corruption against the Senate president and his deputy?

I didn’t see any other thing beside political motive. I think it is based on political exigencies, especially as the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) suddenly came in and said that the forgery they said happened is no longer true. In my opinion, if there is no political undertone, when the case was withdrawn, I expected Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu to cry foul that the government embarrassed them and they would sue the government for some damages and cost they went through. But I can’t imagine if they did not commit the offence that the AGF alleged they committed, and without their knowledge, the same man would come to withdraw the case. We expected the federal government through the Attorney General or anti-graft agencies to be sure of their facts and when the case gets to the court. It should be prosecuted to its logical conclusion. But what we see is the degeneration in the legal pursuit in which the present Attorney General is embarking upon and it would embarrass the government on the long run.
Some people are also saying that the withdrawal of the case is an indictment on the war against corruption which the government claims is fighting. Do you believe it that way?
That is it. This leaves us with the doubt whether this government that we support in naming, apprehending and shaming corruption, would be able to fight the war without embarrassing us on the long run. If without any good reason they went back to court and say the court should not continue with the adjudication of the case, it leaves us with the doubt whether the present government would do things better than the past government. This is why we voted for change mantra. We thought the present government would do things differently. The different in strategy, tactic and methodology is what we expect. We don’t want a situation where agencies would file case that does not have substance where witnesses and evidences are lacking, so that at the end of the day, the case would fail and those we presume to be corruption suspect would now come to make jest of us saying after all, you accused us of wrongdoing but the federal government is saying we are not. We are embarrassed by the unwarranted withdrawal of forgery case against the senate president and his deputy. We know that several documents that got some of the elected or appointed politicians into office were forged. Many of them falsified even electoral results; many of them falsified the required document to which they got to office. If this is a signal to what would come in the near future, then it is going to water down our interest to fight along with the regime. But that would not reduce our own commitment to naming, nailing and shaming corrupt leaders anywhere we found them.

Some Nigerians criticised the arrest of some judges by men of DSS last weekend and described the action as a breach of law . Do you share the same view?

Those who criticised that strategy are the enemies of democracy because there wouldn’t be any gain from democracy that allows corrupt practices to fester. The worst violation of democratic value, norms and practices is when the public cannot rely on their judicial officers to dispense justice freely, fairly and transparently without being paid for. A situation where the revered judicial officers who are supposed to be custodians of morality degenerate to the level of asking suspected criminals to pay them with the view to get them off the judicial hook does not augur well for the development of social ethics. It doesn’t support the development of democratic ethos; it does not support the much needed patriotism from the citizenry. They would lose the support in the capacity of their government to protect them knowing full well that the purpose of the governance is to ensure the security and welfare of the people. Wherever judiciary dips itself into corruption, it exposes members of the society to socio-economic insecurity. The implication is that anybody can accuse them of anything and get the law enforcement agencies to arrest and charge them to court but because justice has been restricted to the highest bidders, the ordinary person would not be able to get justice. Only the super rich who acquired the wealth through corrupt practices would get justices. This is the situation we find ourselves now. Go to detention centres, reformation centres and prison yards, you don’t find those who are well to do in the society there, why because they buy their ways out. We have heard of cases in the past where fraudulent rich people were sent to various jail terms and they have to pay a token to ordinary members of the society to go and serve the jail term for them and they walk free promising to take care of the family of the hapless man. The man was frustrated by the hallowing economic situation which the corrupt person has plunged the country into. Those who are super rich especially those who became rich through corrupt means believe that that they can bribe their ways into freedom. The reason why they can pay heavily for election and litigations is because they did not work for the money. Those who get their riches through legitimate means would think twice before they can bribe corrupt judges with such a huge amount of money that we hear. They would want to use the legal means to prosecute whatever case they may have in court. Judicial corruption is the greatest tragedy that could befall any democracy. Lawyers that are handling the case can’t be trusted for not colluding with opposition in any case against poor litigants who are usually punished for the offence they did not commit. The end result of that is anarchy and people would resort into self-help because they know that they cannot rely on the government to protect them when there is need.

Click here for more detail

At 56, Nigerian ruling elite still united in corruption – Adeniran

October 6, 2016

0

With the mandate to use available means to cause relevant authorities to probe and bring to book all corrupt leaders both in public and private institutions, the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has been in the forefront in the fight against corruption in the present democratic experiment in Nigeria. Debo Adeniran, executive chairman of CACOL,…

Click here for more detail

NHRC’s report: FG must investigate, prosecute indicted culprits-CACOL

August 20, 2016

0

The Coalition against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, has lauded the National Human Right Commission, NHRC, for revealing the perpetrators behind the electoral fraud committed in the 2007 and 2011 general elections and called on the federal government not to relent until the culprits are judicially brought to book.

This came on the heels of a report by the NHRC that indicted the former governor of Delta state, Emmanuel Uduaghan; among other ex-governors, the former Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu and other government agencies, political institutions and security agencies, as participants in the electoral manipulations that occasioned the 2007 and 2011 general elections.

Other indicted persons and institutions include former Governor of Edo State, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, a former Acting Governor of Kogi State, Clarence Obafemi, and the Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in the 2015 election in Benue State, Mr. Terhemen Tarzoor.

Reacting to the development, the Executive Chairman of CACOL, Debo Adeniran wondered with dismay how a case of political corruption of such magnitude as revealed by the NHRC report be treated as if the acts allegedly perpetrated by the indicted individuals and agencies were of no consequence. Click Here…

Lagos has no social right to ban street trading — Adeniran

Debo In The Media

August 13, 2016

0

Executive Chairman of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, Mr. Debo Adeniran, tells BAYO AKINLOYE that Lagos State Government’s renewed enforcement of Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law 2003 is unfair and unwarranted

Why are you against Lagos State’s renewed enforcement of the Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law?

The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders is opposed to the promulgation of the anti-street hawking law in the first place because Nigeria, and Lagos in particular, has a preponderance of poor people who live on less than a dollar a day. The situation even gets worse when you realise that there are people who live on less than 50 cents a day. We said that all the facilities that are available for the people are far beyond their reach. We educated the previous administration on the need why such a law should not be promulgated. The concept of creating a megacity is not about making the environment look beautiful with flowers and other architectural projects and de-population; chasing out the poor from the city. It is about expanding the existing infrastructure to accommodate the mega population. The government needs to provide adequate structures and facilities that will enable every member of the state to realise their potential within the ambit of such provisions. Since there has not been any provision to keep people gainfully employed away from major roads, it is improper for the government to invoke a law that is, considering the present realities, against the masses’ welfare. True, we do not want anybody to constitute a nuisance on the road but we do not want a situation where the poor pay for the convenience of the rich. The ban on street hawking as it is today only satisfies the needs of the rich rather than the poor’s.

We also raised an issue back then that available markets in Lagos State are not within the reach of the people who hawk on the streets. Besides, many of the markets in Lagos are also not situated in places convenient for people who want to patronise them – many of the markets are usually dirty, muddy and rowdy. These markets don’t even have hygienic conveniences for would-be shoppers; coupled with the fact that there are hardly any parking spaces in those markets. We also advised the government that instead of trying to re-enforce the anti-street trading law, they should provide spots off the road with barriers where these street traders can be patronised. We are not civilised enough to ban street trading outright. If they want to copy what obtains in advanced countries they should also provide adequate facilities that ordinary people enjoy in those countries.

Are you saying the Lagos State government does not have the moral right to ban people from selling at major roads?

Exactly so; the Lagos State government does not have the moral and social right to do so. They have no reason in the world to do so because they have failed to create any sensible alternative to what they are kicking against. Enforcing the anti-street trading law is just an oppression of poor people.

But the argument is that no street trading is worth the life of anybody. Don’t you think the ban is a means of saving everyone from avoidable tragedies like the one witnessed recently?

That is not true. While nothing, is worth the life of anybody, but a city that under-protects and under-provides for its poor will perpetually be under one threat or the other. Selling on the streets is a last resort for people because they have been chased into the remotest parts of the state to live whereas those who require their goods and services do not live in those places. What the government seems to be doing, and we are opposed to it, is to create markets for mega supermarkets like we have in Shoprite; we learnt that Wal-Mart is coming. The government wants supermarkets to sell everything the poor try to sell to earn a living from. Unfortunately, these supermarkets sell imported goods. How does that grow the economy and promote made-in-Nigeria products? The elitist administration of former Governor Babatunde Fashola and its predecessor tried their best to rid the state of poor people who were honestly struggling to eke out a living. It is an anathema that a government that should care for the poor is trying to get rid of them by hook or by crook. Where is the social welfare from the government? The purpose of governance is simply to cater for the people’s well-being and security.

Do you think it is worth the risk to hawk on the streets with a fine of N90,000 or a six-month jail term to contend with?

If those involved in street trading could afford to pay N90, 000, do you think they will be on the road to sell their wares? My guess is that they will engage in more profitable businesses. What the government will end up doing is to fill its prisons which are already congested with more hapless people; an unjust law is meant to be broken. And, of course, many of the people selling on Lagos streets and major roads are even homeless in the first place. Perhaps, they will find peace behind bars and get some free meals from the government – meaning that the government will be compelled to spend more money on prison inmates. It should be noted that a hungry man is an angry man and an angry man is a mad man in the making. I think many of these people are ready to go to jail in their bid to eke out a living. Is the government going to imprison those who are below 18 years old too? Does the government have enough facilities for these teenagers who are usually products of broken homes or homelessness? Why have our governments abandoned their basic responsibility of providing homes for its citizens? Citizens have right to shelter and right to food. We demand social justice from the government and this should be integrated into our national law. Banning street trading is unfair, ungodly, unwarranted and (the government is) reprehensible.

Does it not bother you that the possible risk of death is high when hawking on major roads?

Click here to continue

“MY VILLAGE, MY BEST HOLIDAY SPOT” …Social Activist, Debo Adeniran

Debo In The Media

August 12, 2016

0

Debo Adeniran, a consultant educationalist was the pioneer secretary-general, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights. He was the first general secretary, Gani Fawehinmi Solidarity Association and Inaugural Assistant general secretary, Campaign for Democracy (CD). In a chance meeting two weeks back with the Editor, FOLORUNSHO HAMSAT, the executive chairman of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), shares his affairs as an activist, human rights crusader, including his unknown soft side. Excerpt…

What do you honestly think of activists contesting for political offices and not making it; what is really wrong with the system?

It is not totally incorrect that activists don’t get elected when they contest in elections; contrarily in recent times, activists have won gubernatorial elections; National Assembly slots, and at the level of Local Government. However, it is clear that the state and ruling class that have subsisted for so long under bourgeois democracy always do try to ensure that activists are alienated from the process of governance using any means possible; including, but not limited to violence, monetary influence, intimidation etc. So the dominating ruling class and their underbellies consciously and constantly put ‘obstacles’ on the path of activists contesting in elections and this is because the state and ruling class know that if the activists get into power, the music will change and business will not be ‘as usual’. It should not, in anyway, be surprising as to why genuine activists seeking elective offices don’t always make it. Given the corrupt and often monetized atmosphere under which our political activities operate in this part of the world, activists’ incursion into the murky waters may just be like a fish out of water – in a strange environment, so to say. Furthermore, birds of the same feather flock together, they say. It shouldn’t, in anyway, be surprising as to why genuine activists seeking elective offices don’t always make it. He just doesn’t belong. The system has been so tailored to suit the whims and caprices of the bourgeois godfathers who have overtime held sway and have also succeeded in brain-washing and inducing the average electorate into doing their bidding. These ones often see the activist as a potential ‘spoiler’ to their selfish, exploitative tendencies and so would do anything to block his chances. They already know that the activist is most unlikely to tolerate their anti-people stance and not ready to compromise on most issues of governance. And because they would always want to ensure that the status quo is maintained and sustained to their selfish advantage, everything would be done to stop the already identified ‘enemy’.

How would you describe the relationship between the civil society groups and the government of the day?

In terms of relationship between the government and civil society, it can be described as flourishing. This position is, however, not general, as government at some levels remain hostile to the civil society. The relationship could rightly be described as the one between two partners in the same business but with clearly different callings, methods and approaches.

Whilst the government possesses the mantle of authority and resources to govern and to provide for those elements of growth and development for the benefit of the people in their domain, the civil society, on its own part, serves as a watchdog, snooping at every step of the government, watching closely with keen interest, diligently and critically scrutinizing every policy, action and pronouncement of the government with a view to either give support where necessary, provide checks where the former appears to be digressing from the set goal of providing good governance, commend or condemn as the case may be. Simply put, they serve as the voice of the masses. It must, however, be noted that as to whether these two partners would relate as friends or foes at any particular time or stage, is naturally determined by how pro-people government’s policies and actions had proved to be.

People are saying since the death of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, real activism has literally gone to sleep. Do you share this view?

I don’t share the view that activism died along with Gani Fawehinmi; the legendary chief relied on the present crops of activists to carry out his socio-political agenda while his activism lasted. That is why we still see activists criticizing and engaging the evils of the society till date. So I would not subscribe to that view. Yes, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, in his days, was exemplarily vibrant, bold and courageous; a brilliant and articulate mind, no doubt. However, I dare say that his exit, rather than leave behind an unfilled vacuum, had only broadened the scope of activism in the country. The indices are there to evidently prove that, the masses overtime have become more mature and informed politically; the last general elections evidently attested to this fact and this development, in turn, has equally paved the way for the emergence of various civil society organizations and as you might have noticed, each tending to specialize or focus, if you like, in one particular aspect or the other. For example, today, we have some, focusing mainly on electioneering issues, others on government budgeting and implementation, good governance and constitutionality and of course, anti-corruption which is one of our own thematic area; I can go on and on. So, while the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi and his likes would always enjoy a place of relevance and reverence in the history of activism in this country, I can assure you that those of us still alive will continue to keep the flame aglow.

What does the civil society in Nigeria most need by way of support or other interventions from the international community?

What the civil society in Nigeria most need by way of support or other interventions from the international community is solidarity which can be by

Click here to continue

Saraki should get the Ibori’s treatment – Debo Adeniran

Debo In The Media

August 12, 2016

0

Embattled Nigerian Senate president Bukola Saraki on Tuesday brushed off allegations of wrongdoing concerning his wife’s offshore assets revealed in the Panama Papers as he defended himself in court Tuesday against fraud charges. The latest graft claim to hit the senate president emerged from the “Panama Papers” investigation into a trove of 11.5 million tax documents leaked from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which specialises in creating offshore shell companies. Saraki is alleged to have failed to declare at least four offshore assets listed under his wife Toyin’s name that appear in the leaked documents, according to investigation media partner Nigerian newspaper Premium Times. Under Nigerian law, it is mandatory for the president, the vice-president, state governors and their deputies to declare their assets along with those of their wife and children under 18 when they take office and before stepping down. But Saraki said he did not do anything illegal and argued that the assets are listed as part of his wife’s “family estate.” “I’ve fully complied with law on asset declaration,” Saraki said in a statement issued on Monday posted on his website.

Click here to continue

“MY VILLAGE, MY BEST HOLIDAY SPOT” …Social Activist, Debo Adeniran

Debo In The Media

May 27, 2016

0

Debo Adeniran, a consultant educationalist was the pioneer secretary-general, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights. He was the first general secretary, Gani Fawehinmi Solidarity Association and Inaugural Assistant general secretary, Campaign for Democracy (CD). In a chance meeting two weeks back with the Editor, FOLORUNSHO HAMSAT, the executive chairman of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), shares his affairs as an activist, human rights crusader, including his unknown soft side. Excerpt…

What do you honestly think of activists contesting for political offices and not making it; what is really wrong with the system?

It is not totally incorrect that activists don’t get elected when they contest in elections; contrarily in recent times, activists have won gubernatorial elections; National Assembly slots, and at the level of Local Government. However, it is clear that the state and ruling class that have subsisted for so long under bourgeois democracy always do try to ensure that activists are alienated from the process of governance using any means possible; including, but not limited to violence, monetary influence, intimidation etc. So the dominating ruling class and their underbellies consciously and constantly put ‘obstacles’ on the path of activists contesting in elections and this is because the state and ruling class know that if the activists get into power, the music will change and business will not be ‘as usual’. It should not, in anyway, be surprising as to why genuine activists seeking elective offices don’t always make it. Given the corrupt and often monetized atmosphere under which our political activities operate in this part of the world, activists’ incursion into the murky waters may just be like a fish out of water – in a strange environment, so to say. Furthermore, birds of the same feather flock together, they say. It shouldn’t, in anyway, be surprising as to why genuine activists seeking elective offices don’t always make it. He just doesn’t belong. The system has been so tailored to suit the whims and caprices of the bourgeois godfathers who have overtime held sway and have also succeeded in brain-washing and inducing the average electorate into doing their bidding. These ones often see the activist as a potential ‘spoiler’ to their selfish, exploitative tendencies and so would do anything to block his chances. They already know that the activist is most unlikely to tolerate their anti-people stance and not ready to compromise on most issues of governance. And because they would always want to ensure that the status quo is maintained and sustained to their selfish advantage, everything would be done to stop the already identified ‘enemy’.’

Click here for more detail

Dr. TUNJI BRAITHWAITE: A MAN OF MANY PARTS BUT GENERALLY HUMANE ON ALL PLAINS. A DOGGED REVOLUTIONARY, A HUMANIST AND HERO OF THE PEOPLE!

April 24, 2016

0

The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL mourns the passage of Dr. Tunji Braithwaite; a Nationalist, a consistent and persistent fighter against all forms of oppression and repression, a supporter and motivator of our Coalition in the war against corruption. His passage represents a colossal loss to the activist and revolutionary community.

Dr. Tunji’s monumental contributions to the struggle for an egalitarian society are immeasurable and invaluable. He lived and died for the struggle to liberate the poor and oppressed in spite of his ‘privileged’ background.

As far back as 1978, he formed the National Advance Party, NAP, a political party with the mission of prioritizing the welfare of people in governance; he was of the ‘Awoist’ school of thought, an ardent and outspoken defender of the voiceless and the poor.

His passage is particularly painful for us in CACOL, for the roles he played in supporting actively the activities of our coalition including being the Chairman of our past 5 Annual General Meetings; intellectual support and guidance.

A strong advocate for the restructuring of Nigeria Federation, defender of women and human rights; Dr. Tunji dared and confronted the military with every ability he had, until the Khaki boys were kicked out of power and remained intolerable to civilian dictatorship afterwards, especially during the Olusegun Obasanjo regime; this informed his active participation in foiling the illegal and infamous third-term bid of the retired General.

As a humanist, his ideology was inextricably bounded with humane acts in personal, socio-political, economic and cultural relations. And his humanism was revolutionarily unrepentant and consistently against the sub-human experience Nigeria and Nigerians had been forcefully made to pass through for so long. He was persistently calling for a revolution, a system change that would rid Nigeria of ‘cockroaches and rats’ (a popular cliché of his that he regularly used to depict the rot, decay and corruption in the system).

Dr. Tunji was also a bridge builder that related with a broad section of virtually all active organisations, groups and participants in the struggle for liberation of the oppressed class. He was instrumental to the formation of Movement Of the People (MOP), led by Fela even though he was not a member, he participated in the collective struggle on other broad platforms like National Intervention Group (NIG), Nigerians United for Democracy (NUD) etc.

He thoroughly believed that only the oppressed could achieve their emancipation via struggle which informed the motto of the party he formed – ‘Our destiny is in our hands’. As revolutionary humanist he shunned irredentism and sectarianism keeping his focus of what he was convinced to be good for the vast majority.

The pains of his passage lies only in the reality that the Nigeria of his dream and the struggle to radically alter the subsisting and hitherto existing system, have neither been achieved nor consummated; the hope lies in the lessons we learnt from his contribution to the struggle, as they will continue to guide our actions in the struggle against the subsisting corrupt, oppressive and exploitative system.

Looking at the state of the nation as we celebrate the heroic passage of Dr, Braithwaite, we reiterate that Nigeria remains in a state of catastrophic equilibrium stemming from the systemic failure that has always been the bane and the clog in the wheel of progress of the nation and people; a state or situation, which Dr. Braithwaite was stoutly against till death.

It is no gainsaying to state that at the moment, Nigerians are groaning in pains under a situation where every aspect of the country’s body polity seems to be in quagmire and doldrums. The double dose of tragedy represented in the present crises in the energy and power sectors have taken majority of Nigerians to the peak of pains where life is steeply becoming more and more frustrating and hellish.

A critical and objective look at, and appraisal of the state of the Nigerian Nation at this moment reveals fogginess and confusion as the country remain in that situation where the poor ordinary working and toiling people which constitute the majority are writhing in pains almost on all plains; with a rich ruling class and their underbellies that are impervious to this reality and apparently does not ‘give a damn’.

More than 9 months after the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal government, it is pertinent to come to terms with what is real and what is fad or farce. The worst thing may not be so much about where we are coming from but much more about in which direction we are going, we dare say. And as things stand, Nigerians are more concerned with the direction the Nation is moving. And the only direction they want to go is that direction which will guarantee that the ordinary Nigerian can feed; have shelter, have access to gainful employment, education, good health care and security and to live in harmony, as simple as that, and it is for those reasons that government was instituted in the first place!

On our part, we believe the onus is on us (the oppressed poor and their organisations) to pick up the gauntlet; rededicated and recommit ourselves to the cause of the struggle as we unrepentantly continue to organise and mobilise for fundamental change in the system.

We call on and encourage all compatriots not to rest on their oars, as the struggle to liberate our country and people is a protracted one involving processes and stages. The struggle is not an event, we make bold to say! We must mobilize, organize and educate the masses to rise up against bad governance for our destiny lies in our hands.

We support the on-going anti-corruption war as we recognize corruption as a bane that has permeated almost every aspect of polity as country, a cankerworm that is deeply embedded and must be excised. The drive must continue and this is regardless of the class, social, ethnic, political or religious status of individuals or groups involved. Impunity must end!

Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, indeed was a rare kind and in a class of his own; comparable to Fela Kuti, Beko Ransome Kuti, Gani Fawehinmi, Alao Aka Bashorun etc. who were his ideological soul-mates and like them, he cannot die, for revolutionaries don’t die!

Viva Tunji Braithwaite!!

Debo Adeniran,

Executive Chairman, CACOL

08037194969

dadnig@yahoo.com

www.deboadeniran.com

Being the Valedictory Tribute to Dr. Tunji Braithwaite as delivered by Mr. Debo Adeniran, the Executive Chairman of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, at his Funeral Programmer, 24^th-28^th of April, 2016

THE PRO-CORRUPTION BILL AGAINST THE ANTI-CORRUPTION WAR AND THE CODE OF CONDUCT BUREAU IS SHAMEFUL, IMMORAL AND RETROGRESSIVE! – CACOL

April 18, 2016

0

Comrade Debo Adeniran is the Executive Chairman of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL). He speaks about the impasse over the 2016 budget and the anti-corruption war. TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE reports

It is almost a year that Nigerians voted for President Muhammadu Buhari but there seems to be a lot of discordant tunes over the state of the nation. What is your take on this?

It is no gainsaying to state that at the moment, Nigerians are groaning in pains under a situation where every aspect of the country’s polity seems to be in quagmire and doldrums. The double dose of tragedy represented in the present crises in the energy and power sectors have taken majority of Nigerians to the peak of pains where life is gradually becoming more and more frustrating and hellish.

A critical and objective appraisal of the state of the nation at this moment reveals fogginess and confusion as the country remain in a situation where the poor which constitute the majority are writhing in pains almost on all plains, while the ruling class and their underbellies that are impervious to this reality and apparently does not give a damn. More than 10 months after the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal government, it is pertinent to come to terms with what is real and what is fad or farce.

The worst thing may not be so much about where we are coming from but much more about in which direction we are going. As things stand, Nigerians are more concerned with the direction the nation is moving. And the only direction they want to go is that direction which will guarantee that the ordinary Nigerian can feed; have shelter and access to gainful employment, education, good health care, security and to live in harmony. These are the basic reasons why government was instituted.

Click here for more

Anti-graft group seeks life jail for corrupt politicians

April 18, 2016

0

AMID overwhelming allegations of corruption preferred against some political leaders, the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has proposed life jail for convicts who stole above N1 billion from government coffers. Making the recommendation during a press conference in Lagos was CACOL chairman, Mr Debo Adeniran who also said that such individuals should not be treated with kid gloves serving their jail terms. According to the activist, the convicts should wear prison uniforms and be paraded before youths whenever they visit the prisons on excursion.

To humiliate them further, Adeniran said that government must ensure that the portfolios they held while in office be inscribed at the back of their uniforms.