Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Saturday 30th April 2022
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 30/04/22
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Veto: UN Dribbles Self In Search Of Relevance By Owei Lakemfa
THE United Nations Assembly, UNGA, deliberations and resolution on the veto power that was held on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, was two years in the making but was all hot air without substance.
It was a poor stage drama with a linear plot. The event was like a dog sharpening its teeth over two years for a great bite, only to realize it is toothless. The veto truth stood naked, but the 81 members who moved Tuesday’s motion preferred to wrap it in layers of beautiful words and an inelegant top lace resolution which even the movers cannot explain.
The General Assembly meeting was a waste of time, its resolution an exercise in self dribble and self deceit gave the mistaken impression that it was moving to address the veto issue while in reality it was engaged in mere motions without movement.
What the world needs, are not exhibition matches but a reversal of the veto provision that would give power to the General Assembly in line with democratic practices where the vote matters; where the minority will have its say while the majority, it’s the way. To ensure the UN is not misused, resolutions can be carried out or reversed by two-thirds of the Assembly. A case where one country’s vote is greater than the votes of 192 countries combined is unsustainable.
A situation where three European brothers: Russia, France and neighbouring Britain can team up with their first cousin, the United States, and China, the lone voice from Asia, to dictate to the world, cannot continue. In fact, to show that the Security Council is essentially a European racket, there was a 22-year period from 1949 when following its revolution, China was denied its seat in the Council.
The veto which essentially grants five countries proprietorial rights over the world body was inserted into the UN Charter at birth in 1945 after the collapse of the 1919 League of Nations. The League had collapsed under its own weight of vengeance against Germany leading to the second European war which was christened the Second World War, WWII. Then, most of the world was under European colonial occupation and the colonized were simply thrown into a war they knew nothing about. It was of no comfort to the colonized whether their oppressors were German, Belgian, Dutch, Briton, American or French.
The five countries which awarded themselves the veto when the UN was founded are often presented as the gallant victors who saved the world from Hitlerite Germany. The truth, however, is that China, which was under Japanese invasion, was not in a position to declare war against Germany. Russia, Britain and France were initially allies of Hitler, while the US was too timid to join WWII until 27 months into the conflict.
Britain under Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain sought to appease Germany in the 1930s to the extent of allowing it to seize territories. Britain in fact, regarded Hitlerite Germany as an ally with which it could go into a military alliance to destroy its main enemies: the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR (now inherited by Russia) and Imperial Japan.
The overwhelming populace of France and their government, supported Hitler and fought on the German side for four-fifth of WWII before switching sides. France which fought the allied forces, including outside Europe, only turned against Germany when it was obvious the latter was losing the war.
The US in the first two years of WWII declared it was neutral and its Congress refused to support either side of the war until December 7, 1941 when Japan was said to have attacked Pearl Harbour. Even at, it was against Japan it declared war and did not enter WWII until after Germany and Italy declared war on it for attacking their ally, Japan. One week before WWII started, the USSR declared its neutrality by signing the August 23, 1939 “Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics”. Also known as the Molotov- Ribbentrop Pact, the agreement which was planned to last for 10 years was a written guaranteed peace between both countries and a pledge not to aid the enemy of either side.
So effectively, the USSR was neutral in WWII until June 22, 1941, when Germany unilaterally terminated the agreement by invading it. While the USSR suffered the highest casualty rate in the war with 20-25 million dead, it inflicted the greatest casualties on Germany by killing 76 per cent of the total German military fatalities in WWII.
In the case of China, it was invaded by an ally of Germany, Japan, from July 7, 1937 –to September 9, 1945; so it merely tried to survive during WWII.
So the claims that the five permanent members earned their pips saving the world and guaranteeing world peace are not exactly correct. The simple fact is that they were those at the table when the UN was being founded while most of the world either lay in ruins or were colonies.
It was assumed that unless the five agreed, the UN was doomed; so they were empowered to make decisions that would be binding on all members, including levy war. On the over 200 occasions the veto had been applied, it had been abused; used merely to further political, economic or racial interests such as maintaining minority White rule in Zimbabwe, Apartheid in Namibia and South Africa and Israeli genocide in Palestine.
This Tuesday’s vote was primarily a farce because it in no way challenged the suffocating veto power; it essentially asks the member wielding the veto to explain its actions which in any case can neither be legally challenged nor overturned.
If under the new resolution, the General Assembly meets within 10 workdays to listen to why a veto was used and debates it while being aware it has no power to reverse it, is it to exhibit its impotence or a mere moral challenge? Even the Liechtenstein’s U.N. ambassador, Christian Wenaweser, who led 80 co-sponsors of the resolution, hinted at its impotence when she admitted that all it aims to achieve is “to promote the voice of all of us who are not veto holders, and who are not on the Security Council, on matters of international peace and security because they affect all of us”.
Such exercise in futility is like a dog barking at its owner; what can it do, bite? In any case, even if a dog is to bite, it must have teeth that the General Assembly does not have. Only the death of veto power can transform the United Nations from a rubber stamp assembly to a body reflecting the wishes of most of humanity.
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BREAKING: Nnamdi Kanu Appeals Court Judgement Retaining Seven Of 15 Charges Against Him, Alleges Miscarriage Of Justice
Nnamdi Kanu
The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has appealed a recent ruling of the Federal High Court which struck out eight out of the 15-count charge filed against him.Kanu had been standing trial on an amended 15-count charge bordering on treasonable felony.
Nnamdi Kanu
On April 8, Binta Nyako, the judge, ruling on Kanu’s application on Friday, struck out counts 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14.This means the IPOB leader is to stand trial on counts 1,2,3,4,5,8 and 15.But in the appeal issued on Friday and signed by his lead counsel, Mike Ozekhome, as obtained by SaharaReporters, Kanu prayed the court of appeal in Abuja to dismiss the remaining charges against him and discharge him.The separatist leader faulted Nyako’s ruling on the case, arguing that the judge erred in several areas which amount to a “miscarriage of justice”.It reads, “Ground one: error in law. The learned trial judge erred in law when he failed to consider, make a finding of facts and accordingly pronounce on issue one raised for the trial Court’s determination, relating to the extraordinary rendition of the Appellant, and thereby occasioned a miscarriage of justice.“Ground two: error in law. The learned trial Judge erred in Law, when he held that “the defendant is being charged under Section 1(2) of the Terrorism Act, which has been reproduced above, any offence alleged to have been committed “within” or “outside” Nigeria can be brought under the Act”, thereby occasioning a miscarriage of justice.”“Ground three: error in law. The learned trial Judge erred in law, when he held that although the status of the Indigenous People of Biafra as a proscribed organization is a subject matter before the Court of Appeal, but as long as the appeal has not been determined, the order of Court proscribing is still in force until set aside, and thereby occasioning a miscarriage of justice.“Ground four: error in law. The learned trial Judge erred in law when in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by Section 216(4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, suo motu amended count 15 of the charge, which is founded on an allegation of importation of a radio transmitter in Ubuluisiuzor in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, and proceeded to assume jurisdiction over offences allegedly committed outside its territorial jurisdiction, and thereby occasioned a miscarriage of justice.“Ground five: error in law. The learned trial Judge erred in law when he held that trials before the Federal High Court are summary, and consequently ruled that counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 15 show some semblance of allegation of an offence on which the Court can proceed to trial, and thereby occasioned a miscarriage of justice.”
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Sanwo-Olu Picks APC Nomination Form For Second Term As Lagos Governor
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday picked his All Progressives Congress’ nomination form to contest for re-election in 2023.It was learnt that James Faleke, a lawmaker, picked the form on behalf of the Governor in Abuja.
Sanwo-Olu is seeking another four years in office that will expire in 2027, while his re-election efforts are expected to be unchallenged within the APC.The Governance Advisory Council (GAC), the highest decision-making body of the APC in Lagos, had reportedly endorsed Sanwo-Olu, who is also heavily funding his godfather and former governor, Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambition.
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Opposition Party, PDP Screens 17 Presidential Aspirants, Disqualifies Two
The Peoples Democratic Party on Friday in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, disqualified two of the 17 presidential aspirants it screened.The Chairman of the Screening Committee, Senator David Mark, disclosed this to journalists shortly after the conclusion of the exercise at Legacy House, Abuja, at 7pm.
He, however, refused to disclose the identities of the disqualified aspirants or the reasons for their disqualification.Mark simply noted that the aspirants did not meet the requirements.The Chairman also affirmed that the report of Friday’s screening will be transmitted to the PDP National Working Committee for consideration tonight.
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Why Are Ethnicity, Zoning Dominant Issues Of 2023 Elections? By Fredrick Nwabufo
Fredrick Nwabufo
A plus ca change. Leadership fails, followership fails; society atrophies and nothing changes. Why? We keep reinventing purgatory because we are either too complacent or too self-absorbed to interrogate the real issues of leadership, divorcing provincial proclivities. We want change and good governance but have refused to levitate above the insular mentation that has kept us bound in the abyss of retrogression.
Why are concerns over ethnicity, region and religion the nominators of conversation on the 2023 elections? Why are these societal retardants the leading matters of debate on the elections? In every election cycle, these misnomers have become the fundamental benchmark for selecting leaders by political parties and for electing the same by citizens?
Are we predestined to remain on this primrose path? Is there no hope for a change? Why are conversations not primarily on proven administrative competence, but on which region, ethnic group and religion the next president must come from? Yes, even if consideration should be given for the ethnic and religious backgrounds of the next president, this should only be secondary. The priority should be on who can deliver the goods for all Nigerians? Who are those candidates that can nurse and heal a divided Nigeria back to health? Who are those candidates with more than smattering knowledge of everything – security and economy especially? And these individuals must have proved their worth, capacity, character and competence in previous offices. Antecedents matter.
Fredrick Nwabufo
While we fixate over primordial concerns, we lose sight of the most important matters. We dispense too much energy on trivialities, and leaving little to interrogate those who have come forward to represent us.
Many Nigerians, regardless of ethnicity and religion, belong in the axis of competence. Political parties should zone presidential ticket to this “region”. Character, antecedents, history of demonstrated patriotism and respect for diversity, proven leadership competence should be the leading issues as we head for the 2023 elections.
There is a winning argument for inclusion as regards zoning of political offices, but in our case, it appears zoning is just an end and not a means to better governance.
As I said earlier, even if ethnicity, region and religion are to be criteria for selecting Nigeria’s next president for the sake of ‘’justice, equity and fairness’’ as propounded by those calling for an orbiting in the geography of power, this should not take precedence over the principal issues of leadership.
On Wednesday, I shared my thoughts on variegated issues leading to the 2023 elections on the popular television programme, “Village Square Africa” on News Central TV, hosted by veteran and award-winning broadcast journalist, Sulaiman Aledeh.
I will reproduce a bit of what I said here.
Sulaiman: On the issues guiding the elections, what do you have to say on what is playing out in the country?
Fred: “It is an interesting time; I believe we will have an election in 2023 where an incumbent president will not be running, and it makes it much more interesting because it is an open ticket. Any party or anybody can take it because the power of incumbency is limited in this case. We have clamours for political parties to cede the presidential ticket to the south, and of course, it has been a back and forth. There are arguments for and against that.
“Personally, I believe what we should be talking about now is competence. Political parties should zone their presidential tickets to the geography of competence. If I should rephrase that, political parties should zone their presidential tickets to the axis of competence, capacity and character.
“This is the problem we have had over the years. We emphasise ethnicity and religion. Some of the presidential hopefuls that have shown interest have been toeing this path. We have a problem of putting emphasis on what should be secondary and not on primary matters of competence, character, ability, antecedents and proven track record of leadership — which should ordinarily be the issues that should guide the 2023 elections. But unfortunately, we are seeing religion and ethnicity being the topmost issues in this season. The questions are — what has zoning done for us over the years? How has zoning changed Nigeria?
‘’The problem is when you cede a presidential ticket to a particular zone on the basis of ‘it is our turn’, the person who is coming to contest is coming to represent his region and not Nigerians. We should be talking about a Nigerian president not an Igbo president. That is why I totally repudiate the phrase — Igbo presidency — it is wrong to say Igbo presidency. These are some of the things we need to correct.
“We need a Nigerian president not a president of the south-east, the south-west or the north. A president that will represent all Nigerians; that will be for all Nigerians.
“We have been through this path before. When you start ceding or start amplifying ethnic agenda and issues, the person who emerges will want to favour his own side of the country because he believes that he is at the presidency to represent his region.”
If we want to do better, we must know better. Making the 2023 elections about an ethnic group or region is reinventing a bogey. We should elevate our thinking and conversations beyond the crude and primitive.
By Fredrick Nwabufo; Nwabufo aka Mr OneNigeria is a writer and journalist.
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Bus Conveying Corps Members To Passing Out, POP Goes Up In Flame
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Some members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) narrowly escaped death on Thursday in Warri, Delta State as the coaster bus they boarded to Asaba for the passing out parade (POP) exploded at a filling station.According to a report by an online medium, Grassroot Reporters, the incident occurred at a filling station close to the Nigerian Navy Headquarters in Warri.
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The corps members reportedly hired the bus which belonged to the College of Education Warri to convey them to Asaba for their final POP after the completion of their service year.One of the corps members, Daniel told the medium, that the bus ran out of fuel shortly after the journey began and had stopped for a refuel before the unfortunate incident.”The driver stopped at a filling station close to Nigeria Navy Barracks in Warri to refuel the bus. While we were inside, and the filling station attendant was dispensing fuel into the bus, we heard a deafening sound, and everywhere was covered with smoke.”Many of the corps members reportedly sustained serious injuries, while a female corps member had a serious dislocation and was rushed to an undisclosed hospital.It was gathered that the corps members lost their phones, bags and other personal effects.The cause of the fire is unknown but a source said the driver of the bus allegedly failed to switch off the bus while it was being refuelled.On Thursday, corps members of the 2021 Batch A, Stream II, had their passing out parade in different states across the country.
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Ruling Party, APC Member Seeks Court Order Barring Central Bank Governor, Emefiele From 2023 Presidential Contest
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele
The 2023 presidential ambition of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has suffered another setback after a member of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State approached the court to stop him from contesting.SaharaReporters learnt that the suit was filed on Thursday at the Rivers State High Court seeking an order of the Court to disqualify the CBN Governor from participating in the upcoming APC Presidential Primaries on the grounds of his non-eligibility to participate in the Primaries.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele
The Plaintiff, Naapah ThankGod Bariledum, who is an APC member in Ward 4 of Khana LGA in Rivers State is asking the court in the suit number, PHC/1371/CS/2022 to disqualify the CBN Governor from participating in the primaries on the grounds that he was not eligible toparticipate in the process in view of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the APC Constitution and the CBN Act which he has already violated.
The Plaintiff is seeking for an ex parte order to restrain the Governor from participating in the primaries pending the final hearing of the suit.According to a platform, New Galleria, the Plaintiff argued among other things that the CBN Governor had not fulfilled the provisions of the CBN Act which would have allowed him to have the legal right to have a valid membership of the APC before participating in the Primaries. He asked the court to declare any interest in the Presidential race by the CBN Governor a nullity. The court is also being asked to hear the matter urgently to avoid jeopardising the APC Presidential Primaries and the entire party.The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi and his successor in the Rivers State Government House, Governor Nyesom Wike are being speculated by Emefiele supporters to be behind the suit as both men from Rivers State and are also Presidential aspirants in both the PDP and APC.Other defendants in the Suit are the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC sued as the 2nd and 3rd Defendants.The Plaintiff is seeking also to via ex parte application which is like to be heard this week to stop the CBN Governor.
DOCUMENT: APC Member Seeks Court Order Barring Central Bank Governor, Emefiele From 2023 Presidential Conte… by Sahara Reporters on Scribd
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BREAKING: One Killed, Many Injured As Lawless Policemen Open Fire On Shiites During Rally In Kaduna
At least one person was killed while many others were injured when policemen opened fire on members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), popularly known as Shiites during annual Quds Day rally in Zaria, Kaduna State.Quds Day, which uses the Arabic name for Jerusalem, is a Palestinian solidarity day held every year by IMN members on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
An eyewitness, who spoke with SaharaReporters, disclosed that the IMN members were peacefully going about their protest when policemen emerged all of a sudden and began firing live bullets at them.He said others who sustained bullet wounds and are currently battling for their lives in hospital.
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E2%80%93-minister Nigerian Government To Procure Aircraft To Tackle Large-Scale Fire Incidents – Minister
The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has said the federal government is planning to procure aircraft in the six zonal bases of the Federal Fire Service to combat large-scale fires requiring aerial attacks.He disclosed this on Friday while speaking at the decoration ceremony of the new Controller General of the Federal Fire Service (FFS), Jaji Olola Abdulganiyu, in Abuja.
Aregbesola urged the new FSS boss to live up to expectations including combating wildfires, bushfires and other large-scale fires.He said, “We have initiated an arrangement with the Nigeria Air Force to use their planes to water-bomb fires of that nature from the air. It is my sincere hope that you will see this through. Our projection is to have our own aircraft in the six zonal bases.”The minister added that security personnel would be accompanying firefighters to fire scenes to prevent attacks on personnel and equipment by hoodlums.He charged Abdulganiyu to take fire advocacy seriously as he begin his tenure as the CG of the FFS, saying the public needed to know more about firefighting and managing emergencies.“It is very necessary that you include fire advocacy and public enlightenment in the operational services of the FFS. The public needs to know, among others, that the work of the FFS is more than firefighting,” he said.While reminding the controller general of his duty to preside over human resources to achieve organisational goals, the minister urged the CG to be on top of his game and act in the best interest of the service.Aregbsola said. “The welfare and professional development of the officers and men under your command should therefore be put on the front burner.“Their emoluments, allowances, promotion, training at home and abroad and other perks should not suffer.”
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E2%80%99-attacks Hundreds Of Zamfara Residents Flee Homes Ahead Of Sallah Over Terrorists’ Attacks
Hundreds of residents of Magazu and Marke communities in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State have fled their homes over the incessant raids and attacks of gunmen, locally called bandits.According to Premium Times, Magazu, one of the biggest wards in Tsafe, is deserted.
According to sources, tired of the unrelenting attacks by the gunmen, people began deserting the town on Thursday evening. By Friday morning, almost everyone in the town has fled.Bandit attacks in Tsafe Local Government are more frequent than in other parts of Zamfara, which is plagued by worsening insecurity.The gunmen, who operate across Nigeria’s north-west region, have killed thousands of people and injured even more. They sack villages, and farmlands, and rustle livestock. They impose levies on communities before they may farm and defaulters are either killed or abducted.The gunmen also operate a widespread kidnap-for-ransom operation across the entire region. They specifically target travellers, students of educational institutions, and government offices.Experts say their kidnap-for-ransom operation is perhaps the worst in the country’s history.As the government fails to protect residents of the areas, many communities have set up vigilante groups to resist the bandits.However, this has worsened the security challenges in the area as it has given rise to an explosion of tit-for-tat killings between the bandits (who are mostly of Fulani extraction) and the vigilante groups set up by the majority of Hausa communities in the area.Abubakar Magazu, a villager said residents of the towns unanimously decided to leave.He said residents unanimously decided to leave after some bandits raided the town on Wednesday and abducted more than 30 people.“Let me be honest with you, these people will never allow us to rest. They’ve stopped us from going to farms and markets and now, they’ll not even allow us to live in peace.“On Wednesday, they came to our town immediately after the Iftar (Muslim break of fast) and abducted over 30 residents and looted property. As big as this community is, nobody has more than two goats or any domestic animals in his house because the bandits have stolen them,” he said.He said the bandits attacked the town again Thursday night but did not abduct anyone.“We’re always in fear,” he said. “After Wednesday’s attack, we decided to leave the town. Some people started leaving yesterday (Thursday). They attacked again those of us who slept in the town yesterday, but I think they were there to scare us because they took nothing or anyone,” he said.A youth leader in Tsafe, Samaila Usman, said the residents from Magazu and Marke have been trooping into the local government headquarters as of Friday afternoon.
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