Politics
Nigeria: Need For Right Electoral Environment
In every society, there are deviants and these deviants are as a result of what leadership has done overtime. Nobody is born of God or a criminal. My belief is that God created man, and man created the kind of society he has and society created its deviants.
Historically, the ordinary people of this country are good people. They are law abiding and are willing to follow good leadership. But overtime, that patriotism had been destroyed perpetually by their leaders. If you come closer to the transition that moved us to where we are today, you will find out that since 1999, the problem has not been the people of Nigeria. It is always easy for people who lead bad governance and their entourage to begin to blame the people for their ineptitude.
It is the absence of good leadership that has kept us where we are. I have, as a leader of HRHL organisation, led the monitoring of elections, since 1999, in the Niger Delta. What we noticed, in practical terms, is that the people of the Niger Delta for instance and you can replicate this across the country are aware of what it means to vote. They are aware of what it means to obey the rules and on how to conduct themselves.
For instance in 1999, people came out to exercise their franchise, but the leaders and those who represented them at the polling units messed up the exercise. The people want to go positive, the leaders and their group want to go negative. And in such an environment, it is either you are forced and you agree to the force or you leave. And at the end of the day, they will say ignorant of the people.
Democracy did not begin in Europe. If you look at our local governance or communal institutions overtime even to the present day, you will see elements of democratic principles. People in my community do not reach decisions without hearing from both sides. The whole idea of due process, fair hearing is there. But today, what we get is a situation where young people now dictate how things should be. The reason for this is because of institutions and the character of the regime that we have at the moment.
So, the people are not to be blamed. What Nigeria needs is good leadership, it is what has been lacking; the absence of effective leadership is what has kept us where we are. When we get the right leadership, people will naturally follow. Educated people within my age bracket in Nigeria do not take the leadership seriously. Rather, they as much as possible do things that will not get them into trouble.
In every society, there are deviants and these deviants are as a result of what leadership has done overtime. Nobody is born of God or a criminal. My belief is that God created man, and man created the kind of society he has and society created its deviants. There are people in criminal activities today not because they want to be criminals. This is not a justification for them, but because we have not had the right leadership. Such bad leadership, would want to have a reservoir of individuals that they will use for evil purposes.
The deviants will help you to rig election and kill people during election and then they are abandoned to eat their own dividend. What are they expected to do? You have taught them criminality. They will continue to criminalise society. In essence, majority of Nigerians are not criminals while the few that are criminals can be managed if we have the right leadership. So when you don’t have the right leadership, the court system will not work, the police formation can’t work and the same is the social services.
So we need the right electoral environment and the right leadership as well as the funding of institutions to make things work. Institutions like electoral system is not something you do from year to year.
You invest and build the capacity of that institution so that it becomes self sustainable over time. And any individual that gets into that place will see what is on ground and apply him or herself in that direction. As President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed an INEC chairman, Nigerians will look at that person and if he has a track record and they think he can deliver, he might not be perfect human being, but they see that that person can deliver through his track record you will see how things will change.
In comparative terms, the people of this country are very good people. Look at Latin America, Asia, even Europe in history, no country is as tolerant as Nigeria. Some of the that have happened, if it were in Latin America, the country would have been burnt down. But people are very resilient in Nigeria.
Terrible things are happening in Nigeria yet the people are smiling and the leaders are taking advantage of that to exploit the people. Nigerians are well aware of their rights and their responsibility. They want an opportunity to serve their country in whatever capacity. Nigerians are hard working, see what they do in a very heinous situation to survive.
The leadership should put in place effective electoral laws, the Uwais committee has given us that, if it is turned into law, Nigeria will be a different place in 2011 because then, there will be rules for the game and you don’t circumvent a good law by putting wrong implementers of the law.
Before the next elections, there is need to get rid of all the JTF personnel in the Niger Delta region because they have instrument of violence not law enforcement. Across the Niger Delta region, the police has become so militaristic, and it will be in our best interest to say any police personnel that has served in the Niger Delta for about three years should be re-deployed out of the Niger Delta. This is because some of them were engaged in doing evil.
We need fresh hands that will relate with ordinary people and study communities. The ones here now want to remain and continue their loot. They only way to increase their loot is by violating the rights of ordinary persons, trump up charges against innocent ones to make their people pay through their nose. Some police here are so close to criminals so that they obey criminals more than their superior officers.
Anyakwee Nsirimovu is the Executive Director of Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (HRHL).
Anyakwee Nsirimovu
Politics
PDP Crisis: Wike Accuses Makinde Of Betrayal, Instigating Party Members Against Him

Amid the seemingly intractable crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, has accused Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, of betrayal, accusing the governor of instigating party members against him.
In a statement at the week-end, Chief Wike said the party had been enmeshed in a protracted crisis due to dishonesty and lack of trust amongst key stakeholders, with efforts to address issues and “enthrone fidelity to agreements” for the party’s progress.
“To this end, a meeting of the G5 was held in Lagos. In that meeting, I made it clear to the governor of Oyo State, HE Seyi Makinde, that he was the architect of our problems, pointing out to him that non-adherence to agreements reached was the bane of the party and that he was the chief culprit of this anomaly. At the end of the meeting, we resolved to bury the hatchet and make progress,” Chief Wike said.
The minister referenced an expanded meeting attended by the party’s key stakeholders, where he alleged that Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State was serially reneging on agreements.
“At the end of the meeting, we came to some resolutions, including (a) That Senator Samuel Anyanwu remains the national secretary of the PDP in tandem with the Supreme Court judgment; (b) All legal matters relating to Rivers State must be withdrawn by the national legal adviser; (c) The suit on the state of emergency be withdrawn forthwith; and (d) Nobody should deviate from the agreements so reached,” he said.
Chief Wike claimed he was begged to attend the stakeholders’ meeting at the Bauchi Government Lodge, which led to the formation of the reconciliation committee headed by former Senate President Bukola Saraki.
Alleging the violation of agreements reached before the Saraki-headed committee was constituted, the minister accused Mr Makinde of conniving with Peter Mbah of Enugu State to orchestrate the meeting of South-East leaders to recommend that if Ude Okoye was not adopted as secretary, they would pull out of the PDP.
The former Rivers State governor said, “Again, Seyi Makinde organised some people in the national secretariat to insist that the deputy national secretary should act as national secretary, in violation of the agreement earlier reached. To attempt to give credence to this farce, a letter was written by the deputy national secretary, calling for a meeting of the NEC of the party.
“Furthermore, the letter confirming the candidacy of the governorship candidate of the party in the forthcoming governorship elections in Anambra State, duly signed by the national secretary, Senator Anyanwu and the acting national chairman, was portrayed as rejected by the party through a rebuttal letter signed by the national publicity secretary, acting on the orders of Seyi Makinde and Peter Mbah.”
Chief Wike said a well-publicised and properly attended zonal elective congress of the PDP slated to be held on May 24, 2025, was aborted because the party’s deputy national secretary signed the letter inviting INEC to the congress.
He added, “INEC refused to attend because the proper signatory recognised by law, that is, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, was not a signatory to the invitation notice.”
The minister described the development as provocative and annoying, stating the actions completely violated agreements.
Meanwhile, Chief Wike announced his withdrawal from all the agreements reached earlier and insisted on fighting until justice was served.
Politics
He Is God’s Gift To Nigeria, Arthur Eze Says Ahead Tinubu’s Second Year In Office

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Atlas Oranto Petroleum, Chief Arthur Eze, has described President Bola Tinubu as “God’s gift to Nigeria,” commending his leadership style, reform-driven governance, and dedication to national unity.
In a statement over the weekend, the Special Adviser to the President, Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, said Chief Eze praised Tinubu in an upcoming State House documentary commemorating President Tinubu’s second anniversary in office.
Chief Eze noted that President Tinubu represents the bold, God-ordained leadership Nigeria requires at this critical juncture in its history.
“God doesn’t make mistakes. That man, Tinubu, was created for a purpose. God gave him the power to change lives.
“Tinubu has no enemies. He is a unifier. He speaks with humility and honesty; that’s why we admire him”, he said.
Drawing from his experiences during the Nigerian civil war and his strong ties to the south-east, Chief Eze said President Tinubu has shown unparalleled dedication to inclusivity and development in the region.
“What Tinubu has done for the Southeast, nobody else has. He gave us the Minister of Works, the Minister of Science and Technology, and the Southeast Development Commission. This is an opportunity for the Igbo to unite with the rest of Nigeria,” he said.
Commenting on the Renewed Hope Agenda, the business leader expressed confidence that President Tinubu has honoured his commitments.
He emphasised that the president assumed office during a period of economic fragility and political uncertainty but has displayed the wisdom and determination needed to guide the nation toward progress.
“God has given him the wisdom to change Nigeria for the good of the present and future generations,” Chief Eze said.
The Atlas Oranto CEO called on Nigerians to support the president in fostering stability, growth, and future prosperity.
“He’s not a man of division — whether Christian or Muslim, he respects all. All he asks is that we pray to God and work together,” he said.
Additionally, Eze prayed that “may God guide Nigeria and President Tinubu,” adding that “he gave him this power and will help him complete the job”.
Politics
Electoral Reforms: Group Seeks Partnership, Collaboration With NUJ

A civil society organisation, Kimpact Developmental Initiative (KDI), has briefed the national leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on various initiatives it (KDI) has undertaken to engage critical stakeholders such as the National Assembly members with regard to the implementation of the much needed electoral reforms for the advancement of the democratisation process in the country.
The Programme Director of KDI, Sannom Sarki, accompanied by the Senior Programme Officer, Gbemisola Adebowale, said this when the National Democratic Institute of the United States and the KDI paid a courtesy visit to the National Secretariat of the NUJ in Abuja, recently.
Lady Sannom explained that KDI has been collating feedbacks from its engagements across the six geopolitical zones, part of which included a national survey of over 4,000 youths across the country that focused on the youths evaluation and assessments of key aspects of the country’s electoral processes which has the ultimate goal of promoting electoral reform and effective governance.
She solicited the support and collaboration of the NUJ in achieving these objectives, emphasising the importance of enhanced relationship between the two organisations.
According to the leaders of the NDI Nigeria and the KDI, Mr Bem Aga and Sannom Sarki, the visit was aimed at strengthening the existing collaborative relationship between their organisations and the NUJ, and to explore ways of discovering new frontiers, especially in the area of electoral reforms.
Mr Aga, Programmes Director of the NDI Nigeria, who led the delegation, expressed his organisation’s readiness to work closely with the Alhassan- led administration of the NUJ to achieve shared collective goals.
He also emphasised the importance of the mutual relationship between the NDI and the NUJ and stressed the need to further strengthen the partnership to achieve greater shared objectives.
Mr Aga also underscored the significance of the developmental initiatives being undertaken through its partnership with KDI which is aimed at orientating Nigerian youths towards participating actively in the democratic governance of the country.
In his response, the NUJ National President, Comrade Alhassan Yahya, who warmly welcomed the KDI and DNI delegations, pledged to work closely with the two organisations.
Comrade Yahya gave the assurance that NUJ would do all it could to fully collaborate with the NDI and the KDI, leveraging on the Union’s structures across the 36 States of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
Comrade Yahya also extended an invitation to the NDI and KDI to the upcoming National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Union for the purpose of making a presentation.
It is hoped that this successful visit will mark the beginning of a renewed partnership between the NUJ, NDI, and KDI. It is expected that the renewed collaboration will yield positive outcomes, particularly in the areas of governance, youth development, and robust media engagements.
The highpoints of the occasion included presentation of mobilisation materials and group photographs.
-
Rivers1 day ago
Don Advocates ‘Okanaa’ Theory For Ecological Survival
-
News2 days ago
Ibas Calls For Prosecution Of Oil Thieves
-
Niger Delta1 day ago
Gunmen Kill Woman, Abduct Husband In Edo
-
Oil & Energy1 day ago
Nigeria Loses More Crude Oil Than Some OPEC Members – Nwoko
-
Features1 day ago
NDDC@25: Making a Difference Through Foreign Scholarship Scheme
-
Rivers1 day ago
Oil Spills: Association Slams SPDC Over Non-Inclusion Of More Communities
-
News2 days ago
RSG Announces Phased Rehabilitation Of State Secretariat
-
Niger Delta1 day ago
Oborevwori Upgrades Delta NYSC Camp …Prioritises People-Oriented Governance