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GEJ Insist Problem of Africa, the Making of Leaders Who Fail to Respect Laws

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GEJ Insist Problem of Africa, the Making of Leaders Who Fail to Respect Laws

By: Michael Mike

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has decried that the problems of Africa is the making of leaders who do not respect their nation’s laws, calling on the electorate to elect only leaders who will respect the laws of the land.

Jonathan, who is ECOWAS special envoy, made the call on Tuesday while officially opening the second annual retreat for special envoys and high officials representing Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on Constitutional Transitions and Unconstitutional Changes of Governments, organised by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in collaboration with Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

He said: “I believe that we need to elect leaders who will respect their laws. If our leaders – Presidents, Prime Ministers, the parliament and the judiciary – would respect our laws, I believe that 70 per cent of our problems would be solved.”

The former Nigerian President while commending the organisers of the summit, enjoined them to get leaders involved, stressing that: “I have always said that for us to move forward, key political leaders need to be involved.

“Sometimes, these conversations are very brilliant but how do we make sure it works? It is like the debate between having strong institutions and having a strong man. No matter how strong the institutions are, there are some kind of characters that trample on the institutions and nothing will happen.

“So, we need somebody who means well for the people, and who can make strong institutions work. There will be two forces jamming; the force of the president and the force of the head of an institution and the head of an institution can not stand the president, especially in African countries.”

He advised the organisers to bring African presidents and other leaders together to make key decisions on how to bring inclusivity to their governance process.

Jonathan while admitting that the theme of the event was timely given the pace of rising insecurity, mounting social tension, and the number of unconstitutional transitions and unconstitutional changes of governments in Africa, expressed optimism that concrete and actionable recommendations would be generated from the retreat to respond in a sustainable and inclusive manner to these complex situations.

The former ruler who emphasized the need to sustain democracy in Africa, said: “I have always said that there is a strong connection between democracy and development, hence the need to deepen democracy, make it more inclusive and strengthen the institutions of governance, towards building a stable and prosperous society.

“A dialogue on inclusivity should explore the process through which RECs and Special Envoys are responding to constitutional transitions and Unconstitutional changes of governments, and the need to strengthen structures for credible elections, peace mediations and good governance.”

Earlier in his remark, Secretary-General of International IDEA, Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora, said the key finding emanating from the organisation’s signature publication, the Global State of Democracy Report which assesses democratic performance in 173 countries shows that this is the sixth consecutive year of democratic deterioration globally, the longest such sequence is witnessed since our records started in 1975.

He added that: “Over two-thirds of the world’s population now lives in non-democratic regimes or in countries where democracy is visibly retreating. Our report documents the considerable pressures faced by democratic governments everywhere: rising populism; declining trust in institutions; runaway polarization; unmet social expectations; pressing environmental challenges; and an increasingly toxic information environment.”

Casas-Zamora also said: “We document in our report the visible rise in unconstitutional changes of government, particularly in West Africa; the increase in violence in so many places in the continent, including, in tragical fashion, in Sudan; and the problematic presence everywhere of an increasingly naked geopolitical competition and of widespread dissatisfaction with the workings of democracy.”

In his keynote address, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdul-Fatau Musah noted the excuse of insecurity used by military juntas to overthrow democratically elected leaders was not tenable against the backdrop that insecurity has continued to grow under them.

He added that it become more untenable considering that it is the sector that is saddled with security that are putting up the claim, which in actual fact should be seen as their failure.

He said it has become imperative not to leave the transition position back to democratic rule in this hands of juntas, insisting that they should be made to vacate power and put in place a transition government made of civilians.

GEJ Insist Problem of Africa, the Making of Leaders Who Fail to Respect Laws

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Zulum bans thuggery in Borno state

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Zulum bans thuggery in Borno state

By: Bodunrin Kayode

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has said that thuggery has since become a thing of the past in the state.

He said this while inaugurating the new Governing Council of the Borno state owned Kashim Ibrahim University in Maiduguri recently.

Speaking during the occasion, he said that his administration has achieved giant strides in the education sector as a whole adding that his administration is making unprecedented investments in this all important sector.

” We have constructed 139 new mega schools, rehabilitated many others and recruited thousands of teachers to keep the sector going.

“We are establishing six centres of excellence and have banned political thuggery to redirect the energies of our youth towards scholarly and vocational pursuits”. He posited.

Zulum bans thuggery in Borno state

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ISPON Pushes for Stronger Safety Education Reforms in Nigeria

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ISPON Pushes for Stronger Safety Education Reforms in Nigeria

By: Michael Mike

The Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria (ISPON) has renewed calls for comprehensive safety education reforms across the country, stressing the need to instill a culture of safety in workplaces, communities, and public spaces.

The call was made at the Abuja Safety Summit themed “Safe Cities, Sustainable Tomorrow: Pathway to Responsible Development.”

ISPON President, Chief Udezi Stephen, emphasized that membership of the institute is a statutory requirement for anyone practicing as a safety professional in Nigeria.

“ISPON membership is a must for anybody that wants to practice as a safety professional in Nigeria,” he declared.

Udezi warned that there are legal penalties for individuals and organisations that fail to comply with the ISPON Act.

“For an individual, it is 100,000 Naira… For an organization that employs a person that is not a member of ISPON, that organization can be fined a minimum of 500,000 Naira,” he explained.

Highlighting the institute’s role in streamlining safety training nationwide, Udezi stressed the need for proper accreditation of training bodies.

He noted that: “The body that is licensed and qualified and asked to do safety training in this country is the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria.”

He further underscored the importance of building a safety-first culture across Nigeria.

He said: “If we have safe cities, then you can go home, close your eyes and sleep… We must start with talking to ourselves, getting educated, being trained, so that once we have been trained and we are doing things correctly, it forms part of what we call the culture of what we are doing.”

Also speaking at the summit, the Director-General of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Barr. Oluwaseun Faleye represented by Technical Director, Dayo Alawo, stressed that safety must be seen as a national commitment rather than just a policy.

He said: “Safety is not just a policy, it is a commitment. A commitment we owe to every worker who steps into a factory, every driver navigating our highways, every builder on a construction site and every citizen walking the streets of our federal capital territory.”

Faleye explained that NSITF’s approach to workplace safety rests on three critical pillars.

“Our philosophy is rooted in three pillars which is safety. Prevention. This is our first and most critical line of defense. Compensation. Rehabilitation… to restore human potential,” he explained.

Calling for stronger partnerships, he added:

“Collaboration. Safety is a shared responsibility No agency, institution or company can achieve it alone.”

On the role of technology, Faleye urged the adoption of data-driven safety systems.

“By embracing technology and strengthening data collection, reporting and analysis, we can anticipate risks before they happen or escalate into issues and design interventions that save lives,” he said.

In her remarks, ISPON Abuja Chairman, Mrs. Ifeoma Okpara, outlined the summit’s purpose of building safer cities through collective action.

“As our theme implies… we’re looking for collaboration. We have regulators, policymakers and all of them within this space, all to create a better space and create a safety culture among the citizens of Nigeria, Abuja in particular,” she explained.

Okpara noted that progress has already been made in Abuja through multi-stakeholder cooperation.

She said: “We have done a good length, we have a lot of good collaborators… There are a lot of audits going on, inspections and sensitization, awareness and policymaking going on in the area of safety.”

She further revealed that ISPON plans to expand safety awareness campaigns beyond urban areas into rural communities.

“We are working on campaigns, we are working on sensitization sessions, even to the extent we want to bring some things down to local languages… We’re going to the market spaces, we’re going to the villages, we’re going to communities, we’re going to be advocating for all types of safety,” she stated.

The summit reinforced the urgent need for coordinated reforms, stronger enforcement of safety standards, and wider outreach to build a truly safety-conscious society in Nigeria.

ISPON Pushes for Stronger Safety Education Reforms in Nigeria

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Bandits abduct, rape victims in Zamfara community

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Bandits abduct, rape victims in Zamfara community

By: Zagazola Makama

Suspected bandits have abducted several women in Maniya forest, Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State, with some of the victims alleging sexual assault.

Sources told Zagazola on Wednesday that 39 women and girls had gone into the forest on Monday to fetch firewood but were attacked by armed men.

According to sources, 11 of the victims managed to return home the following day, while the rest remain in captivity.

The returnees reportedly said they were sexually assaulted before being released. They have since been taken to hospital for medical examination.

Efforts by security forces, local volunteers and vigilante groups are ongoing to trace the abductors and rescue the victims still being held.

Bandits abduct, rape victims in Zamfara community

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