BUHARI'S CREDENTIALS: THE 'STAFF' MUST STOP

Much back in the days when the military was still in power,it was a common sight for a soldier in a commercial bus popularly referred to as 'danfo' whether in uniform or mufti,to reply a conductor's request for bus fares with the word 'staff'.Like magic,the conductor moves on to other passengers and lets the man be.It is one of the privileges of being a 'staff'.Lagos being Lagos,a lot of non-military personnel tried to 'staff' their way out of paying bus fares but the consequences of getting caught were very dire.Fellow Nigerians,it is time we catch Buhari in this 'staff' game of his.He has taken us on this ride for too long.The army Buhari still claims has his credentials has long said they only have a letter of recommendation from his school principal.Buhari has never attempted to disprove the army's claims that his file only has a letter from his school principal,he has never demanded that his credentials be handed to him and he has never written WAEC to re-issue him a new one.INEC must start to comply strictly with the provision of Section 131(1)(d) of the constitution which stipulates a secondary school leaving certificate or its equivalent as a requirement for election into the office of President.
By allowing President Buhari run without proof of a certificate,it is not only promoting unconstitionality but criminality as well.The all too familiar video of the military debunking Buhari's claim to being in possession of his credentials in 2015 has resurfaced online over the last few days and if Buhari has sworn to an affidavit still maintaining his credentials are still with the military then we may very well be watching the man commit perjury; lying under oath which is a criminal offence going by our laws.It is not INEC's responsibility to write to WAEC or the nigerian military,it is the President who has to prove to it that he has fulfilled that criteria.If not in abidance with the law then at least in the interests of transparency and integrity.He may have successfully gotten away with it in the past but it doesn't make it right.As things stand,President Buhari is not eligible to contest the 2019 Presidential election.
Those claiming he is qualified by virtue of the wordings of Section 318 of the constitution which defines 'secondary school leaving certificate or its equivalent' need to look a bit more closely at the the definition.Sub-head(c) states that he must have a primary school leaving certificate in addition to serving in the public or private sector in any capacity acceptable to INEC for 10 years,attending courses in institutions acceptable to INEC and ability to read,write and communicate in english language to the satisfaction of INEC.
Does Buhari have proof of a primary school leaving certificate?.The man has said his credentials are with the Secretary of the military board which the military has denied.So it is illogical for one to pick any of the accompanying criterias to the possession of a primary school leaving certificate and hinge his eligibility on that.

Buhari is not the first ex-military President we have had.As a matter of fact,President Olusegun Obasanjo got into the army before him and he didn't tell nigerians he left his credentials there.In law we have a saying-'Nemo dat non quot habet' (You cannot give what you don't have).Nothing suggests President Buhari has a school leaving certificate to present and INEC must stop perpetuating illegality.

AISHA BUHARI'S ADC AND LAWAL DAURA: FOR THE BUSH MEAT TO NOT MAKE THE HUNTER PREY..

It didn't make sense that Lawal Daura was acting without the knowledge of the Presidency when his operatives shut down the National Assembly on the 7th of August 2018.Particularly because the DSS with the help of some police officers had barricaded the residence of the Senate President,Dr Bukola Saraki and that of his deputy just days earlier.Nobody in the Presidency raised any eyebrows.What made perfect sense however was that the Buhari administration was put under immense pressure by the numerous inquiries by foreign governments as to the manner of national security threat that warranted locking out lawmakers who had reported to carry out their duties.Lawal Daura was the best possible scapegoat.You knew something definitely had to be wrong when the official narrative was that Saraki was using Daura to witch-hunt himself for 2019 purposes.Its been over 2 months now and if indeed the man had done anything wrong,he would have been before a competent court of law.

When news broke that Sanni Baba-Inna,the aide de camp of Aisha Buhari,
wife of the President of Nigeria had defrauded some undisclosed persons of the sum of N2.5b in her name,the spokespersons of the Police and DSS claimed to be unaware.The only thing holding everything together in the first few hours that the story broke was the fact that the newspaper alerted the world to Former finance minister,Kemi Adeosun's fake NYSC certificate and was generally known to be accurate in its claims.Lo and behold,the first lady confirmed the story herself and from then on,there had been more questions than answers.In addition to the denials by the spokespersons of the Police and DSS,the first report on the scandal also claims the IG of Police has been listed as being among those who were defrauded by the ADC to which he denied.Who exactly are those persons Baba-Inna swindled?.No one has managed to even as much as speculate as to that.This only lends credence to the notion that the man dipped his hands into the first lady's pie without her consent.He was part of some racket and started to grow some balls.

Before frontline activist and convener of the Concerned Nigerian movement,Adedeji Adeyanju paid a visit to the family of the detained ADC,a lot of us have been privy to rumours of the first lady collecting huge sums from prominent ex-office holders under EFCC investigation and eager to avoid prosecution.Adeyanju's visit was unravelling.Family members told him in as much as they know he has made a statement to the authorities denying the commission of the offence,they know he did it and that he would never relinquish possession of the money.The family said they knew he collected bribes on behalf of the first lady and was more or less her front.He helped her buy some properties in Asokoro and in Maitama,Abuja for her daughters.

He is also in the know of a property she recently acquired in London and had photocopies of documents bordering on the transactions.Baba-Inna was said to have dared his interrogators to ask the first lady how he came about the said sum (from who he got it).The family further told Mr Adeyanju that he had started to divert money he was collecting on behalf of Aisha Buhari and had gotten wind of plans to replace him which may have prompted him into taking the said N2.5b which became an issue only when he blatantly refused to return it.If this is not the truth then it is not far from it.

The ADC of the first lady has still not being charged to court in what clearly suggests that someone somewhere is afraid of what he may disclose in public.

Daura and Baba-Inna are ordinarily people the Buhari administration would be in a hurry to prosecute.Asides from adding a much-needed tinge of credibility to the President's anti-corruption war,their cases would serve as a deterrent to the most crucial class of office-holders; those that weild power and influence at the highest levels.

Daura and Baba-Inna know too much and their oppressors are scared of putting them in a position to say all they know.Things are better this way.For the bush meat to not make the hunter prey.

BUHARI'S EXECUTIVE ORDER 6 IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

The legality of President Buhari's Executive Order 6 (EO6) has been affirmed by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Abuja Federal high court and right now the most cries against EO6 seem to be centred round Buhari's cronies not listed among the 50 persons banned from travelling outside the country but a careful look at the constitution viz-a-viz EO6 would show Justice Ojukwu erred in her decision to uphold the constitutionality of the President's EO6.

The exception to the constitutionally guaranteed Freedom of Movement which the President's EO6 purports to breathe life into is Section 41 (2a) of the constitution.

S.41.— Right to freedom of movement - Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and reside in any part thereof; and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereto or exit therefrom.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society—

(a) imposing restrictions on the residence or movement of any person who has committed or is reasonably suspected to have committed a criminal offence in order to prevent him from leaving Nigeria;

I base my submission on the unconstitionality of EO6 on Section 36(2a) of the constitution.

36.— Right to fair hearing

(1) In the determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question or determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality

(2) Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions of this section, a law shall not be invalidated by reason only that it confers on any government or authority power to determine question arising in the administration of a law that affects or may affect the civil rights and obligations of any person if such law—

(a) provides for an opportunity for the person whose rights and obligations may be affected to make representations to the administering authority before that authority makes the decision affecting that person ; and

(b) contains no provision making the determination of the administering authority final and conclusive.

Section 36(2a) clearly provides that any law which confers power on government or any authority to determine questions pertaining to the civil rights and obligations of persons is legal only to the extent that it affords those persons an opportunity to make representations before the administering authority.And don't for once think Section 41(2a) which EO6 is hinged on and Section 36 (2a) is one of those instances where the constitution appears to be contradicting itself.It is not.

The word 'reasonably' in Section 41(2) implies an intention for the determination of the restriction placed under Section 41(2a), the President's EO6,to be a fair one.It has always been within the exclusive confines of the court to determine who is the 'reasonable man'.That above every other thing should warn our courts as to the intentions of the draftsmen to connote fairness rather than arbitrariness.Having said that,the reasonability of the circumstances warranting the imposition of such an order can only be determined if the other party is allowed to make representations before whomever the administering authority is.Going by the very explicit provisions of Section 36 (2a).

As soon as the government released a list of persons it labelled looters; people not so adjudged by our courts,some of us were quick to warn on the legal implications of doing such.Its a clear case of defamation of character.As it turns out,High Chief Raymond Dokpesi and Prince Uche Secondus have instituted cases against the government demanding billions.The judiciary must guard against aiding this goverment perpetrate illegality.

Without a knowledge of legislation stipulating procedures and ones governing the evidential arm of law,even the non-lawyer can key into the 'spirit of the law'.The reason why they get a lot of things lawyers get wrong,very right.Just like you can't call anyone who hasn't been so proven by our courts a looter.The non-lawyer's view on it not being right for the President to have it within his power to ban people from travelling is very much in order and should be a topic when next our constitution is amended.

A just law ought to reserve such powers for the courts but until then,the law as it stands is that he has no powers to decree such except those persons make representations before him.

HOW WILL ATIKU CREATE JOBS?

For the second consecutive presidential election,a lot of nigerians are yet again saddled with the choice between 2 frontline contenders they would rather not vote for.President Buhari was elected into office largely due to public discontent for the Jonathan administration than any sterling quality he may possess.We were that lady who had just suffered a heart break and sought comfort in the arms of another man.In the desperation to ease her pain and feel loved again,she allows his words sweep her to the realm of no second thoughts.'Buhari will end boko haram in 2 months'.Of course he can.He was an army general. 'Buhari will make N1 equal to $1'.Yes,he lived in times when the exchange rate was just that.The man's gross incompetence aside,a lot of people are now ashamed they fell for such words.To put Buhari's performance in one sentence,it is the worst by any nigerian president dead or living.

The very urgent need to rid ourselves of this administration has made separating the ideal from the pragmatic highly imperative.A lot of nigerians are going to vote for the PDP because they don't want to take chances.They don't want Buhari in office when his tenure lapses.The Sowores,Moghalus and Durotoyes would have stood a much better chance in a different time and under different circumstances.

At the start of Atiku's campaign,as far back as 2016 (unofficially i must add),it only seemed possible he would be president not only if he was running against Buhari but also as his main opponent.He has managed to get himself in place.

Yet another president thrust at us by the discontent for an incumbent?.Most likely.We are again the metaphorical heart broken lady and Atiku has chosen 'jobs' as his soothing melody.Yet again,nobody is asking the comforter any questions.

With external debt having risen by $11bn to an unprecedented high of $22bn and President Buhari planning to take a fresh $3bn loan,how will Atiku create these jobs he talks about?.A video was going round this week of his speech at Chatham house,London and Atiku spoke of engaging the private sector and proposing a mass recruitment drive on their end while they get some tax reliefs.Government's lost revenue in taxes paid by those private companies, he intends to recoup in personal income taxes of the new employees.This reasoning is faulty and if its the best he can do then its best we already start to lower our expectations and console ourselves with the fact that he likely won't turn out a leader to justify every agitation for a separate state with a 95%-7% dividend formula or one who would tell us he needs to reward his loyalists instead of appointing competent hands.

Atiku's private sector partnership can't generate more than 70,000 jobs at the very most for the simple reason that these companies are already going the extra mile to cut costs due to the harsh economic climate and it would be catastrophic to keep cutting down government revenue to make it work.

To take him up on giving companies a tax rebate,Nigeria generated N680bn in the first 6 months of 2018 in company income tax.It is safe to say we will earn approximately N1.3trn off that by the end of the year.Say the Federal government gives a N300bn tax concession to these companies and each of about 70,000 employees make N720,000 per annum at best and pay a personal income tax of N130,000.If you multiply that by 70,000 employees you get roughly N6bn.How does losing N300bn to gain N6bn make any sense?.Especially in a place contending with reduced oil income which is its primary source amidst huge debt commitments?.Governments in developed countries are in much better positions to grant concessions to companies to generate employment because they don't face our type of problems.Simply put,they are richer and have less burden than us.If this administration doesn't increase the minimum wage,Atiku would be pressurized to do that.More financial commitments.

In as much as we all want to see Buhari leave,it is important we ensure we aren't taken for fools or experimental lab rats.Atiku has been screaming jobs too loud not to get asked some very good questions on how he intends to make them happen.