Freedom and Justice

.Freedom for all is human right 

The Dalai Lama.

Remember this truths and know what to do.

Legal brief Africa

17 November 2014 Issue No 603 CONTENT LINKS • AFRICA FOCUS • NEWS BY REGION  • North Africa • West Africa • East Africa • Central Africa • Southern Africa • GENERAL • AFRICA INTERNATIONAL • LEGISLATION UNDER REVIEW • AFRICA ANALYSIS REGISTER NOW for a FREE subscription to LEGALBRIEF AFRICA Legalbrief Africa Links • Visit the Legalbrief Africa site • Subscribe • Unsubscribe • Contact Us • Advertise with Us • About IBA • IBA Membership • International Practice Diploma (Distance Learning) • Terms & Conditions Legalbrief Africa is supported by theOpen Society Initiative for Southern Africa andLegalbrief Quotes of the Week ‘We had information that the group has been planning an attack, and that is why the raid was conducted.’ – Mombasa police chief Geoffrey Mayek confirming that 200 people were arrested today (Monday) as Kenyan security forces raided mosques accused of links with Somalia’s al-Qaeda-affiliated Shabaab militants ‘Amnesty International firmly believes Shell knew the Bodo data were wrong. If it did not it was scandalously negligent – we repeatedly gave them evidence showing they had dramatically underestimated the spills.’ – Audrey Gaughran, Director for Global Issues at Amnesty International addressing a UK legal action against Shell brought by 15 000 people whose livelihoods were devastated by oil pollution in N igeria in 2008. The court action has forced Shell to finally admit the company has underplayed the true magnitude of at least two spills and the extent of damage caused. ‘Can it be said that the minister overstepped the bright line between meddling and oversight? There is no evidence that suggests that such a line was breached.’ – Lindi Nkosi-Thomas SC, in closing argument at the Farlam Commission of Inquiry into whether a conversation between former Lonmin non-executive director, now Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and then Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa was appropriate during the strike at Marikana ‘This would include motions which cast aspersions on the character of other honourable members, judges, or other office bearers... or which contravene the rules in any other way.’ – National Assembly Speaker Baleke Mbete explains the rules for submitting a motion without notice, as she turns down an Economic Freedom Fighters motion in which she is criticised ‘This crime was committed four years ago. There were lengthy extradition proceedings, statements have been made, video clips have been made, police have gone on television, Panorama programmes and other programmes about the State’s case. And now you are telling me that you are waiting for something as fundamental as primer residue?’ – Western Cape High Court Deputy Judge President Jeanette Traverso lambastes a prosecutor during the Shrien Dewani murder trial ‘These troubling developments are clear signs that Libya is descending on the wrong path on its transition to what was hoped would be a peaceful country that respects and pays homage to the rule of law, justice and accountability.’ – International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda expressing concern at the ongoing spate of assassinations, threats to journalists, human rights activists and women in particular as well as to prosecutors, judges and lawyers At a Glance * Former referee Clifford Malgas has been sentenced to four years in prison for corruption and perjury, the South African Football Association said. Malgas’ perjury conviction was related to his role in attempted match-fixing during the 2011 Safa Second Division play-offs in Cape Town, Safa said. With neither of the sentences suspended, Malgas is set to serve an effective four years behind bars. – News24 * A 20-year-old Zimbabwean man found dead in a wardrobe at Monash University in Johannesburg was the nephew of President Robert Mugabe. IT student Takudzwa Goronga was reported missing around two weeks ago. He was later found dead inside his wardrobe at the campus.  – The Times * The chairperson and chief executive of WBHO, Mike Wylie and Louwtjie Nel, were personally present at the meetings where construction companies colluded about contracts relating to the 2010 World Cup stadiums, the Competition Commission alleges. Elphus Mudimeli, the Commission’s chief investigator in the case, alleges in an affidavit that representatives of Murray & Roberts, Aveng, Group Five, WBHO, Stefanutti Stocks and Basil Read met twice to conclude unlawful agreements.  – Moneyweb BOOKSHELF Africa39 Various Bloomsbury. R250 In 2007, Britain’s Hay Festival collaborated with the Unesco World Book Capital project to publish Bogotá39, a literary collection that showcased the talents of 39 Latin American writers under the age of 40. The book’s resounding success led to a second anthology three years later, the more ambitious and equally acclaimed Beirut39which brought together the finest young Arab authors. Now, as Unesco bestows its World Book Capital title on Port Harcourt, N igeria, there comes another laudable cultural initiative.Africa39 – again, 39 writers under 40 – wisely reduces its selection to authors from south of the Sahara, or Africa’s diaspora. A cursory overview reveals a healthy variety. Some writers are familiar, some not. Some of the stories exist as stand-alone tales, some as fragments from novels. Several pieces are set on the writer’s home turf, others play out in adopted homelands. The majority was written in English, but a handful has been ably translated. N igerian authors preponderate, but there is an attempt to reach out to more distant or less-covered countries (Ondjaki from Angola, Recaredo Silebo Boturu from the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea). Africa39’sselection comprises authors who have been picked not just on their current merit but also their future potential. They may or may not constitute the next generation of African writers whose work ‘promises to inspire readers for decades to come’ as the editor’s note gushingly proclaims, but what is clear is that all fully deserve to be read today. – Malcolm Forbes The views expressed in this newsletter are a reflection of those contained in the original reports to which they are linked, and are not necessarily those of the International Bar Association, Juta and Company Ltd or Legalbrief. Disclaimer Any information, including journalistic articles, in this electronic newsletter is not intended to constitute legal, financial, accounting, tax, investment, consulting or other professional advice or services. Before making any decision or taking any action, which might affect your personal finances or business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor. For more information, please read our Terms and Conditions. © 2014 Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd AFRICA FOCUS General: Turbulence in the corridors of power  It’s been an extraordinary week in Africa’s corridors of power as parliaments across the continent find themselves on shaky ground in the face of political turbulence. Legalbrief reports that the roles of these seats of governance are also being questioned, leading to an increasingly uneasy alliance with the state. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has warned that deep divisions in the Libyan Government have created a breeding ground for war crimes. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the UN Security Council that the violence in Libya had worsened over the past six months with the country now split between two governments and two parliaments vying for control. ‘There are, indeed, indications that crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court are being committed,’ Bensouda said. A report on the aljazeera.com site notes that she also expressed concern at the ongoing spate of assassinations in Benghazi, threats to journalists, human rights activists and women in particular, as well as to prosecutors, judges and lawyers. Full report on the aljazeera.com site Last week’s shambles in South Africa’s Parliament, which included fisticuffs, has brought threats of legal action, a defiant statement from the Speaker who says it is her duty to defend Parliament, charges against the police, and a warning from the opposition Democratic Alliance that it will no longer recognise the authority of Baleka Mbete, notes Legalbrief. Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema says the party will seek an urgent interdict against the riot police who entered the National Assembly during the heated session on Thursday. ‘It can never and will never be correct for the police to interfere with the proceedings of Parliament, because elected members of Parliament will always be in fear that whatever they say and do in Parliament will be subjected to the police,’ he is quoted as saying in a report on the News24 site. ‘Like in Marikana, the police have once more engaged in an illegal activity, demonstrating their incompetence and that they act on political instructions.’ Malema said the EFF had approached its lawyers with a view to asking a court to declare it illegal for the police to enter the chamber. Tempers flared in the House on Thursday when MPs of the governing African National Congress retaliated by objecting to motions the opposition tried to bring to delay the tabling of a report on upgrades to President Jacob Zuma’s homestead at Nkandla. Full report on the News24 site The DA will no longer recognise National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete, the party’s parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane said, according to a report on theIoL site. He said what happened last week had prompted a ‘fundamental change’ in the DA’s approach to the institution. ‘(Speaker) Baleka Mbete lost control of the House and destroyed her credibility as Speaker. Accordingly, we will cease to recognise her authority as Speaker.’ Every time Mbete presided over the House, ‘the DA will send only its Chief Whip, its deputy Chief Whip, and those members participating in the debate itself’. Maimane said he had written to the leader of government business, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, asking that he support the passing of a motion of no confidence in Mbete, and that Parliament elect a new Speaker. He had further called on Ramaphosa to take other steps to restore order in the House, including ‘that he supports the election of a member of the opposition as one of the presiding officers to restore objectivity in the position’. Referring to the events of Thursday evening, which saw riot police entering the House, he said Ramaphosa should also take steps to ensure that this never happened again. Full report on the IoL site In neighbouring Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T will approach the Constitutional Court appealing against Parliament’s rejection of its demands to withdraw 18 MPs until a competent judicial ruling determines who are the legitimate leaders of the opposition party. BBC News reports that the MPs to be recalled include former secretary-general Tendai Biti who is now one of the leaders of a splinter MDC calling itself the Renewal Team. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda, and Senate leader Ednah Madzongwe turned down MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora’s request to declare the seats vacant. But, notes the report, party spokesperson Obert Gutu expressed disappointment at Friday’s ruling ‘which did not consider that the party had held its congress which elected new leadership’. The party says it formally withdrew its High Court case on 7 November and the withdrawal papers were duly served to Biti and other respondents, the report states. Full BBC News report In Somalia, commotion overshadowed a parliamentary session where a motion on a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh was supposed to be tabled. A report on the allAfrica.com site notes that MPs who were opposing the tabling of the motion disrupted the session. They opposed the documents proposing the motion to be distributed among the MPs. A report on the mereeg.com site notes that Sheikh issued a statement saying that political disputes should be solved through negotiations. ‘Somalia has been through 24 years of conflict, famine and political crises that destroyed governance structures in the country. Taking lessons from the challenges we have been through, all of us have to stand together to free the country and the people from this past. We have to commit ourselves to the protection of the provisional constitution and other laws of the country,’ he said, according to the report. Full report on the allAfrica.com site Full report on the mareeg.com site Kenya’s National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi and his Senate counterpart Ekwee Ethuro have clashed over the role of the two Houses in the tabling of Bills. The Nation reports that Muturi has declined to refer several Bills to the Senate, maintaining that only legislation affecting counties can be tabled there. But Senate Speaker Ekwe Ethuro insists that the Bills at issue do concern the counties. The Bills in contention include Military the Veterans Bill, Parliamentary Society of Kenya Bill and The Value Added Tax Bill. The report notes that of the 38 Bills that have come before the National Assembly since April last year, only four have been referred to the Senate after conclusion in the Assembly. They are the Public Procurement and Disposal Bill, Statute law, Fertilisers and Animal Foodstuffs Bill and the Division of Revenue Bill, the report states. Full report in The Nation NEWS BY REGION  North Africa Sudan: UN official summoned over r ape allegations Sudan has summoned the head of the UN-African Mission in Darfur (Unamid) over reports government troops had carried out a mass r ape in the war-torn region. According to a report on the News24 site, Unamid claimed the Sudanese military had sought to intimidate villagers to suppress allegations that more than 200 women and girls were r aped. ‘We summoned the chief of Unamid to clarify the situation and I told him the general prosecutor in Darfur is carrying out an investigation’ into the r ape claims and the source of the reports, said government spokesman Abdullah al-Azraq. The Sudanese Government has repeatedly denied its troops carried out the alleged r apes, the report notes. Full report on the News24 site Egypt: Cairo targets foreign defendants Egypt’s President has issued a decree that allows him to deport foreign defendants convicted or accused of crimes in the country. According to a report on the News24 site, the decree by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was issued on Wednesday night and comes amid international criticism over Egypt imprisoning three journalists from the Al Jazeera. The presidency did not elaborate about the decree, which allows extradition whenever the President decides it is the best interest of the country. The journalists are currently awaiting an appeal hearing set for 1 January, according to the report which notes el-Sissi previously said he was unable to take action in the Al Jazeera case until after the final verdict. El-Sissi said he thinks the ideal way to deal with ‘transgressions’ by foreign journalists would be to deport them, the report states. Full report on the News24 site Meanwhile, an Egyptian court has sentenced three Germans and six Egyptiansto five years jail in for stealing fragments of a pharaonic artefact from Cairo’s Great Pyramid. According to a report on the News24 site, a court in Giza sentenced in absentia three Germans, who had claimed they were researchers for stealing pieces of an ancient scroll bearing the name of the Pharaoh Khufu as well as rock samples, the source said. The Great Pyramid is the biggest and most famous of the three Giza pyramids. It houses the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu. Six Egyptians, including three employees of the antiquities ministry, two pyramid guards and the director of a travel agency, were also jailed for five years for aiding the robbery, the report states. It says the crime was discovered at the end of 2013 by Egyptian authorities, who announced in August that the missing fragments had been recovered. Full report on the News24 site West Africa Burkina Faso: Interim president appointed The New York Times reports that a committee of political, military, religious and traditional today (Monday) named a former Foreign Minister and veteran diplomat to oversee a transition to new elections following the ouster of President Blaise Compaoré. Under pressure to cede to civilian rule, the military joined an electoral college of 23 mainly civilian representatives, which named Michel Kafando, a one-time ambassador to the UN, as interim president. His prime task is to oversee a transition to elections by November next year. The closed-door debate began yesterday (Sunday), hours before a deadline set by the AU to hand power to civilians or face sanctions that could have compounded Burkina Faso’s economic woes. A report on the News24 site notes that AU chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma praised the country’s leaders ‘for their political maturity and sense of responsibility’, and called for ‘a smooth transition under the direction of civil authorities’. Full report in The New York Times Full report on the News24 site Last week, military, civilian and religious leaders reached an agreement to return the country to civilian rule after three weeks of uncertainty. According to a report on the dw.de site, the accord was agreed unanimously. Three weeks after the ousting of Compaoré, Burkina Faso’s military leadership announced it had reached an agreement with opposition parties as well as civil and religious leaders to transition to civilian rule. ‘Today was the day of compromise,’ said Herve Kam, a member of the civil society group Balai Citoyen. ‘Both soldiers and civilians agree on a civilian transition. The institutions of the transition will be led by civilians.’ The report says the charter will return the small West African nation to civilian rule and provide for elections late next year. On 1 November, Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida proclaimed himself head of state after violent protests led to the resignation of Compaoré after 27 years in office, the report notes. Full report on the dw.de site Sierra Leone: Talk show host gets bail in defamation case A journalist held in Sierra Leone since 3 November after a guest on his radio show criticised President Ernest Bai Koroma’s handling of the Ebola outbreak has been released from jail. According to a report on the News24 site, David Baryoh, host of the weekly Monologue programme on the private Citizen FM station, was incarcerated at Freetown's notorious Pademba Road jail following an executive order signed by the President earlier this month. He has been granted $10 000 bail by the Criminal Investigation Department after giving a statement about the incident, the report notes. Full report on the News24 site Mali: HRW critical of peace plan Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticised a draft agreement aimed at establishing peace in Mali, saying the deal would not provide justice for abuses committed by opposing factions. According to a report on the News24 site, the accord has been accepted by the government and rebel groups ahead of talks scheduled to begin this week in Algiers. ‘The final agreement should include provisions to support the prosecution of war crimes, strengthen the truth-telling commission, and ensure the vetting of security force personnel,’ HRW spokesperson Corinne Dufka is quoted in the report as saying. She added that any deal ‘which turns a blind eye to the need for justice will not only disregard the rights of victims and their families, but also encourage further abuses and sabotage a truly durable peace’. Full report on the News24 site East Africa Kenya: Security forces raid radical mosques  One person was killed and 200 others were arrested today (Monday) as Kenyan security forces raided mosques accused of links with Somalia’s al-Qaeda- affiliated Shabaab militants. A report on the News24 site notes thatsecurity forces targeted the Masjid Musa and Sakina mosques in the port city of Mombasa. A 20-year-old man was shot dead by police during the raid in the Musa mosque after he tried to throw a grenade at officers, Mombasa police chief Geoffrey Mayek said, according to the report. It notes several Islamic preachers have been shot dead in Mombasa in recent years in alleged extra-judicial killings by security forces and power struggles between rival Muslim factions. Churches have also been attacked. Full report on the News24 site Last week, Kenyan police said they had arrested 10 suspected attackers, including two female suicide bombers, who had crossed into the country from war-torn Somalia. New Vision reports that according to police spokesperson Gatiria Mboroki ‘these 10 suspects were involved in recent terror attacks in Nairobi before they fled to Somalia, and now they have sneaked back’.Mboroki did not reveal the nationalities of those arrested or provide any other details, according to the report. It notes Kenya has been hit by a string of attacks in recent months blamed on Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab insurgents. Full New Vision report Kenya: Church claims vaccine used to sterilise women A Kenyan parliamentary committee has ordered an investigation into a vaccine which the Catholic Church claims is being used to secretly sterilise women. TheDaily Nation reports that Dr Robert Pukose, chairperson of the House Committee on Health, called for the investigation after observing that the Ministry of Health and the church appeared to get different results from samples tested. The report notes the church said the Ministry was either ‘incapable or unwilling’ to act to stop the ‘permanent poisoning’ of women through tetanus vaccines. A panel of the church’s medical experts claim it is laced with a human hormone (Beta Chorionic Gonadotrophin) which will make it impossible for women who have been vaccinated to conceive, according to the report. Full Daily Nation report Uganda: Lawyers take aim at ruling party A group of catholic lawyers have warned the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) that it risks embarking on a wild goose chase if it fails to rectify ‘irregularities’ in the current preparations for its national conference next month. New Vision reports that under their umbrella body, Uganda Ca

Quote of the day

“We build our marriages with endless friendship, confidence, integrity, and by administering and sustaining each other in our difficulties.”
— James E. Faust

Who will lead rivers State?

                 AS THE POLITICAL RACE BEGINS, WHO WILL LEAD RIVERS STATE?

This is the time Rivers People should chose their leaders as the Political Parties select or elect their flag-bearers. Rivers People, I presume know what they want and should be able to know who can deliver by way of actualizing their aspirations. I Further wish to state that it appears we Rivers People most be more diligent this time around to  avoid personalities that will unnecessarily mix our growth and development with his or her personality ego trite. It is now, I repeat that the choice has to be made because as soon as the Political parties announce their flag- bearers, it will be difficult to make amend.

Having observed as in the above, some of the things Rivers People should clamor for  in a candidate irrespective of the Political Party among others include:

1. We need a new industrial base, whether it be cottage industrious it will be more empowering of the citizenry than motorcycles and tricycles. Consider the number of people a tyre factory, Aluminum factory, Glass and bottle factory, a canning industry and Plastic industries will absorb of Rivers youths in two years time. 

2. Livestock cottage farms including goat farms, fish pounds, poultry farms and related businesses can revolutionaries Rivers State in two years. Let me illustrate from experience. You need about #400,000  to buy a tricycle and about #100,000 to buy a motorcycle. These automobiles support the transportation of goods and services but do not generate any growth outside the operator who cannot employ another person. But with #400,000.00 a goat farm of 10 she goats and 4 he goats built in a backyard will every nine months reproduce an average of additional 20 goats. These goats will provide, milk, beef, direct and indirect employments for others, families will be feed, and cared for and it grows. The feeds for these goats is every where, grasses, at least we have them in abundance. This is just one example. We have to therefore look out for a leader who can teach us to fish not giving us fish.

3. Is there an aspirant among the lot who will embark on a massive housing project in collaboration with the private sector? For example is anything wrong for the government to acquire land and give it out to private developers and when they recover their fund it revert to the government under the management of the private sector? If that is not wrong and such a leader is found among the aspirants, we have to root for him or her whather as a Governor or legislator.

4. The above issues takes me to the leader with the will power to embark on the geographically decentralization of seat of power and development of other towns outside Port Harcourt and it's environ. I want to ask if among the aspirants, we found the house builder who will build every year 1000 housing units in each local government in collaboration with private developers and exercise executive power to create ten administrative centers outside Port Harcourt, will we support him or her to have in these administrative centers all the ministries in the State? The impart of this initiative cannot be quantified in monetary terms because it will be in quantum. 

5. We also have to look very carefully among the aspirants irrespective of Party who will make education affordable, credible and efficient. The schools brings a turn around in the growth and development of any people and because government is a continuum whatever that is on ground in the Educational sector has to be built upon. As education is an industry of it own an efficient management of the sector can generate revenue for the state and still develop the peoples potentials.

6. Employment is now a necessity of life and we most look out for leaders who will marshal out a plan of action to tackle unemployment in addition to the plans above as this is the key to the reduction of insecurity in the state. 

The above will help us find out the motives and desires of those who have shown interest to lead our state. In these inquiry, the attitude of the leader can be detected for us to know whether to trust them or not with our state. I most admit that majority of us most be involved positively in this effort. Mistakes will be made along the way but we most make amend and reconcile issues for the interest of the generality of the state.

I am conscious of the fact that some readers will call this a mere sermon. But I believe that if we give it a trial it will make a difference because we know that a competent and purpose driven Governor will make a great difference in the life of our State. And what is on ground is selecting that Governor. We also know that a thinker and planner legislator can make a difference no matter the level because he or she participates in making laws that will control our lives as citizens. And what is on ground is selecting these legislators. So this is serious business and lives will be imparted. I therefore do not think this should be purely politics, tribal sentiment and feeling docile. As me and you know that the single function of government  is to protect our rights and freedoms and these rights and freedoms can only be meaningful if we have housing, food, cloths and employment. And this government that will protect these rights and freedom have to be headed by human beings and these human beings in all ramifications will be politicians, but we the citizenry select them in elections that is around the corner. We can make a difference at least letting the aspirants know it is not business as usual.

We have to look out for who will lead us to continue the contribution of the present and previous leaders. 

Rivers State is on the move again….

By Ike Ake Esq.

MOREGOOD : WHO WILL SAVE PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN FROM HIM...

MOREGOOD : WHO WILL SAVE PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN FROM HIM...: WHO WILL SAVE PRESIDENT  GOODLUCK JONATHAN FROM HIMSELF? It is not the intention of this writer to delve into the unpredictable arena of par...

WHO WILL SAVE PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN FROM HIMSELF?

WHO WILL SAVE PRESIDENT  GOODLUCK JONATHAN FROM HIMSELF?

It is not the intention of this writer to delve into the unpredictable arena of partisan politics in Nigeria, but as a watcher and a law abiding citizen I sincerely wish to express these opinions that are personal and I feel entitled to them since they have  being bothering me fore sometime now because of the recent happening in our polity. Thus, I ask, who will save President Goodluck Jonathan from himself? The political forecasters galavanting the capital cities of Nigeria predicting who knows what are they telling him the truth? Where is the place of ethnic envy and jealousy in this whole drama? Are there political broods and novice claiming to be masters in center stage? There are definitely more questions that I can attempt answers. But definitely, An attempt I will do with all sincerity.

Ones upon a time in Nigeria we were our brothers brother as well as Sisters Sister. Particularly during military rule and the two years civilian interruption, Political leaders kept to their words. The political leaders felt they had one common enemy, the soldiers in power, their cohesion was solid and they pushed and pushed harder these men on uniform underrating their tactics.

The dices was cast in 1998, the transition to return to civilian rule midwifed by a General as a necessary evil actually worked, the military politicians sent for one of their own to metamorphosis in Agbada, this time in Aso Rock, not Dodan Barracks. Chief Olusagun Obasanjo, the General with nine life's, known by all Nigerians emerged our democratically elected President. He became a decimal point since 1999 and with the  other Generals, they discuss us in their sitting room as numbers and figures to be manipulated. That is the irony, the pro democracy advocates pushed the military tacticians  harder to the kitchen to dish for themselves the choicest meals which in the first place is the reason for all the fight, political power. However, ten years after, a child of circumstance was born by cesarian operation code named by another General ‘doctrine of necessity-’ President Goodluck Jonathan, being the oil rich minority states slot in power before the oil wells drys up.

The main challenge now is 2015. All the active partisan Generals are sitting by the fence abandoning this child of circumstance but pouring oil on his path that makes the child slip and fall one scandal after the other, one sleep of tongue after another and one miscalculation after the other. All parties from all the political divide in this country acknowledge the fact that of right the foundation has being laid for this president to achieve greater  potential by Chief Obasanjo and Yar ‘Adua, but that appear not to be the case.

The fantasy of office brought in many untrained hands  who spoiled the cooking. Their idea of a minority as a President is still new to the minorities, so to them under any condition President Goodluck Jonathan most hang on, after all “it is our turn”and by the way what will President Jonathan tell the Ijaw Nation and the people of the South South that made him not to contest in 2015. This intimidation, cajoling and threat, broadcasted on National TV actually is tensing the polity day after day. And our President has succumbed and has purchased his forms.

There is no doubt these novice gladiators who are thinking of creating a niche for themselves have with them innocent passengers in these fast moving train and they fail to sustain and support their master to arrive safely from his six years trip on the bumpy road called Nigeria and they covered the train windows with blinds that their special passenger could not read the signposts by the rail side.  Now many of  his co passengers have jumped out of the train to their various states to run their own agenda which may not be transformative. These unpatriotic co-passengers actions smacks of greed, lack of loyalty and lack of believe on the Presidents transformation agenda and in an in-depth analysis an indictment of their master. This lack of calculation is one of the bane of this administration that makes nobody trust the President, even his own ministers thereby knowingly and unknowingly making mockery of the entire system.  

Talking about miscalculation, we go to Rivers State, a miniature Nigeria, with it diversity, where the President could not gulp over a ball of eba since the Governors Forum election as he took with the eba a strong bone called Chibuike Amaechi, himself a ‘miscalculator’ who claims errors of judgment as genius.

It is the humiliation that President Jonathan and his Party will receive in Rivers State ( if he does not make amend on time ) that will change the political equation of Nigeria. The political dynamics of Rivers State is not just in the city center, Port Harcourt but on the nook and crannies of the entire state, unlike the ‘tanning’ in the city centers for Mr. President, a Rivers man before Bayelsa State creation and now a great in-law to Rivers State. A big shocker awaits him come 2015 unless he remove the bone in his ball of eba right their in his neck, Chibueike Ameachi. Reconciliation! Reconciliation! and Reconciliation! is the language because it is the stain spot in a white shirt that is visible. And as along as Chibuike Amaechi remains Governor every mistake will work for the good of the opposition and that will be attributed as ‘genus’, for example the Judiciary in Rivers State has being under lock and key for almost five months now and and settlement is not contemplated. This means no complete government in Rivers State as one constitutional arm of government is not functioning frustrating thousands of pending matters as well as custody matters.

These gladiators, Mr. President has sent to Rivers State who claim to be on the ground and those who left him to come to Rivers State are not sufficiently trained to ‘deliver’ Rivers State as it where for Mr. President, not talking of PDP in the state which is one of the albatross of the President if nothing is done and there are no functioning Courts to resolving some of this issues on their own independently. 

Sir Peter Odili, for example, that political strategist and master of Chibuike Ameachi is not domiciled in Rivers State, he would have made a great difference if he was in town, but like the saying goes ‘out of site is out of mind’ basically, because the political landscape in Rivers State has drastically changed by Odili’s pupil, Ameachi in a strong effort to erase Odili’s mark and declare himself Socrates. It is a debilitating blow as Odili and his first eleven are in ‘exile’. Today the people of Orashi are facing persecution under Governor Amaechi because of Sir Peter Odili. And because of the poverty prevalent in the region, the vote of Orashi surprisingly is for sale to the highest bidder. I hope Mr. President knows about this truth so that he should not expect a miracle from the two man State Executive of his Party lead by the son of Orashi, Felix Obuah, the maverick Mr. Go-Round. The question now is will he be able to go - round now?

This is the last issue that I will use to conclude this selfie sort of. Today in Rivers State as is in Pan ~Nigeria, there is tremendous envy of the Ijaw Nation by all the tribes in Nigeria. And they want to lead Mr. President to the slaughter like a lamb. The Ijaws have come a long way in Nigeria and I most say they have paid their due. The people of the South–South are hypocritically shouting “GOODLUCK TO NIGERIA” but truly not from the bottom of their heart, they wished he is one of their son, more competent, agile, decisive, articulate, courageous and quick to observe and act. But like the saying goes ‘ a bird at hand is worth two on the tree’ they feel they have no option but chorus the usual tribal sentiment, ‘it is our turn!’. This is what is playing out in Rivers State, the Uplands want to hold on to power out of envy of the Ijaws both in Rivers State and Bayelsa State, that is why the zoning formula in the PDP constitution is jettisoned in the state with the excuse that the Ijaw have the  President, they Ijaws have a state of their own with an Ijaw Governor’. This intimidation of the President if I can use the word with respect, is the reason for the silence of Mr. President and this is one of the strength for the opposition to morally  deal a blow on the Presidents ambition and the Ijaws will be escape goat in Rivers State and the Ijaws will fight themselves.  The opposition is not a political party par sa, it is people anger rightly or wrongly coupled with revenge of sort even by some Ijaw sons and daughters. And this opposition has state power in Rivers State and the presidency should not under rate them, they ‘might win’. This is why I ask, how will President Goodluck Jonathan save himself? Because even if he wins as President in 2015 with opposition majority in the National Assembly and more opposition States Governors including Rivers State, how will he succeed? 

I sincerely say President Goodluck Jonathan may be conspiring against himself without knowing with the Boko Haram denying ‘ cease fire’ and capturing the home town of his Defence Chief. It is time to stop this jamboree and carnival for the corporate development of Nigeria and plan, for he who fails to plan has planned to fail. 

I believe that Nigerians are too united to be distracted. It is true they may belong to opposing camps, for the politicians, that is their stock in trade. I also believe that Nigeria is too favored by God Almighty to fail no matter what those who manipulate the system try to do.

By Ike Ake Esq.