PARTY MEMBERSHIP: OUR COURTS REALLY NEED TO GET IT RIGHT

To say the least,the attitude of our courts in cases bordering round party membership have been far from satisfactory since the new Electoral Act came into being on 25th February 2022.They appear totally oblivious of the fact this is a new law and court cases springing up in the first electoral cycle will form precedence.Courts have made very controversial decisions with regards to the mandatory and explicitly clear requirements of the Act that a party maintains a register of its members and that the register be presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission at least 30 days before the party primaries.Section 77 (2) and (3) of the Electoral Act read as follows:

77.(2)-Every registered political party shall maintain a register of its members in both hard and soft copy.

(3)-Each political party shall make such register available to the commission not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the party primaries,congresses or convention

With the absence of any proviso stipulating extenuating circumstances,the presence of the word 'shall' in these sub-sections shuts the window on any work-around.The only argument worth listening to is that the Act is silent on the consequences of non-adherence and as such,none can be fashioned out for it but then the Mischief rule of legal interpretation or the Heydon rule as some would call it,would come into play.Curbing the practice of hurriedly leaving a party just to contest elections on the platform of another is one of the things this Act seeks to achieve. 

The first high profile case regarding membership I came across was that of the Allied Peoples Movement V Peter Obi & the Labour Party.The Court of Appeal was elaborate in its probing of other issues but kept things light on the issue of whether Peter Obi was a Labour Party member having joined after the party had submitted its register to INEC.

Though the court rightly ruled that no copy of the register of members submitted to INEC was tendered in evidence in dismissing APM's appeal from the Federal High Court,asking APM to pay both Obi and his party N200,000.00 each in costs said more than anything that the court thought it a frivolous action.It may be incompetent but certainly not frivolous.APM had a good ground but just went about it the wrong way.

When the APC raised this same issue of Obi having joined his party after its register was submitted to INEC and could not be deemed a member of the Labour Party per the provisions of the Electoral Law,the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal ruled that 'Membership of a Party was a Party Affair'.That is erroneous to say the least.The Supreme Court has held that the concept of 'independent candidate' is alien to Nigeria.Section 131 (c) of the constitution says that only a member of a party can be presented for election as President and going by the provision of Section 77 (3) which essentially answers the question 'Who is a Member',anyone whose name is not on the register of members submitted to INEC at least 30 days before the party's primaries is not a member of that party.The validity of a candidacy per the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act is what is being challenged and that is way past the realm of 'party affair'.These are not criteria laid down by a party's constitution but the laws our land.

While bantering with some APC friends of mine ahead of the judgment of the Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal,I told them the real issue there wasn't whether or not Abba Yusuf won the election because anyone who was in Kano during the elections knows he did,it was whether or not he was an NNPP member in the eyes of the law with the APC having tendered a certified copy of the NNPP register of members from INEC.To my utmost surprise,it declared it a 'Party Affair' perhaps in line with the legal principle of judicial precedence.The Presidential election petition tribunal which had earlier ruled similarly on Peter Obi is effectively a Court of Appeal comprising justices from that cadre of the judiciary while State Governorship Election Petition Tribunals are comprised of High Court justices.

The tribunal based its decision in Kano to deduct 165,663 votes from Abba Yusuf in what has been widely perceived as a Get-him-out-at-all-costs mission on non-compliance with Section 60 (2) of the Electoral Act which requires a presiding officer to sign and stamp a result sheet but that infraction is remedied by a proviso in the form of Section 63 (2) which says the returning officer must rule out those unsigned/unstamped result sheets as not being part of the collection assigned to the presiding officer for them to be void.

Its always sad to see the real winner of an election get booted out for reasons other than whether or not they were the choice of their people but the Court of Appeal's reliance on Section 77 cannot be faulted.The APC unlike APM in Obi's case,presented a copy of the NNPP's register from INEC; the one bonafide custodian of the list of registered members presented at least 30 days to a party's primary.It is legally impossible to present a 'better' list unless of course INEC denies the tendered list as emanating from it.

The fact that the Electoral Act is a new law and that the courts are laying precedence with these fresh batch of cases cannot be over-stated.There is a need to apply the law as appropriately as possible because whatever a superior court decides in law is binding on a lower court.The ridiculous notion that it is a 'party issue' when the validity of a candidacy as laid down by our laws and not a party's constitution is questioned needs to be corrected in the best interest of justice.

ENFORCING THE BAN ON UNAUTHORIZED POLICE PROTECTION: A CASE FOR THE PRIVATE SECURITY SECTOR

The Minister of State for Police Affairs,Imaan Suleiman Ibrahim on Monday at a 2-day retreat at the Ministry said the police high command will execute President Tinubu's directive for the withdrawal of all policemen on VIP special duties.No one will be blamed for taking his statement with a pinch of salt because that is not the first time Nigerians have been promised such.Muhammadu Buhari shortly after being sworn-in as President in 2015 issued the same directive which was never really complied with.

Three years later the AIG of the Zone 5 Police command in Benin,Rasheed Akintunde was in the news for saying only 20% of Nigerian Policemen are involved in their core duties of protecting lives and properties while 80% are on guard duty to prominent people.We had barely digested that when another revelation came just a few days later.The Police Service Commission put the total number of police personnel guarding VIPs and other unauthorized persons at 150,000.Asides robbing Nigerians of quality enforcement of law and order,the practice of security operatives being available to guard whoever can afford it has not allowed the private security business in Nigeria grow past uniformed guards manning doors and heavily built persons moving around with clients as body guards.

This is an industry with a global value of about $230 billion.One can't help but think how these businesses would create jobs and boost the economy in a place like Nigeria.Once the right laws are in place to permit the right persons to carry firearms and create further steps to generally ensure a more conducive climate for these businesses to operate,the sky will be the limit.Guards with military or policing experience earn up to $100 an hour in the US while those in the UK get as much as £1000 daily.Our companies may not charge as much but they would sure make a tidy profit providing services to a clientele no longer dependent on our communal resources; the Police,Army and DSS in this case.

An expected outcome of such a move would be the high and mighty agitating more than any of us ever would,for a more secure Nigeria because of the very 'costly' implications.As is the case overseas where these companies thrive and depend on profits to survive,they keep evolving to tackle prevailing security challenges.Clients will ditch them if services aren't top notch and they are very much aware of that.President Tinubu's transformative antecedents are a strong reason why I supported his Presidency bid and he proved true to type when he reeled out an elaborate blue print on tech.

With Nigerian start ups like Flutterwave becoming multi-million dollar companies and billions of dollars of foreign investors' money now up for grabs as seed funds for tech start ups in an increasingly digitalized world,it is only right that strong emphasis is placed on that sector.Of all the candidates on display,only Tinubu did that.The security industry is also one with a potential for exponential growth and I can only hope a visionary like him will see that.His directive that policemen be withdrawn from unauthorized persons needs to be implemented to the fullest.

We have seen cases of some of these VIPs even adding military men and DSS agents to their entourages.A second directive was issued for withdrawal of policemen during President Buhari when embarrassing videos and photos of them acting as errand boys to some VIPs became rampant.This necessitated police investigations into long-being-asked questions as to the sources of wealth of two of such persons.It is no secret that quite a number of people inappropriately enjoying the protection of our security agents are widely known as criminals eager to show off wealth and affluence as is customary to do in their world.

That quite sadly, will inevitably rub off on the younger generation we intend to dissuade from towing that path.They are now inspired by not just latest Mercedes Benz purchases and dollar spending at night clubs but also by these role models driving round town in long convoys of policemen,soldiers and DSS operatives.The merits of vigorously enforcing this ban aren't just economic,there are other far-reaching ones as well and it is my hope that this administration sees that.

WHY AFRICA ISN'T YET RIPE FOR A GRAMMYS CATEGORY

"Don't doubt me,I go bring home grammy"

These were the words of Abolore Adegbola Akande better known as 9ice.Any avid lover of Nigerian music when 9ice recorded Street Credibility with 2face Idibia would agree there was really nothing special about these lines because just about every one of his peers was promising or aspiring to a Grammy in their own words.It was so coveted a prize the wins of 'Foreign Nigerians'; Seal and Sade Adu were celebrated as ours.We rooted hard and were heart-broken each of the 4 times Femi Kuti was nominated and lost in the World Music Category.

The Afro-Beats genre had been popular overseas since the days of his late dad,the great Fela Anikulapo Kuti thanks a whole lot to the ingenious instrumentation so it was easy for him to tour the world and keep the global spotlight on himself in a way his colleagues who were doing contemporary music couldn't.But then over time,modern day Nigerian and indeed African music has evolved albeit under the Afro-Beats moniker.Artistes have gone from trying to make the most of features by music super stars intrigued by our sound to recording high-selling albums and Billboard certified hits.People aren't just listening to us play instruments any more.

Burna Boy not only won us the much elusive Global Music Album category with modern day Nigerian music,his last 4 albums have been nominated back to back.Wizkid's Essence is currently double platinum (2 million units sold) in the US and paved the way for his collaborator,Tems who went on to feature on Future's Wait4You; effectively winning the Grammy alongside him when the song won Best Melodic Rap Performance.

Burna Boy is nominated in that category this year for Sitting On Top Of The World featuring 21 Savage making him the 1st 'truly' African artiste to be nominated in a main category.That is a huge win.Nigerian music is 90% of African Music or even more as 12 out of the 19 Most streamed African songs ever being Nigerian songs will show so pardon the heavy emphasis on Nigeria.

Yes,African Music has grown beyond these shores but is it ripe enough to own a category at the Grammys?.No,not yet.

Opening up Global Music to include a Global Music Performance category in addition to that for an album is really just as far as the Grammys should have gone for now.There is the legendary Angelique Kidjo who is all but certain to win any Global Music nomination and a Femi Kuti who has been a 'customer' of the Grammys for reasons other than that he is making waves but a careful look at the nominees for the preceding 4 years will reveal that just 2 other African acts worth mentioning have been in the fray-Burna Boy and Wizkid.

They were the only ones who really stood a chance and both are not only ranked the 2 biggest African Acts in the world but also the best.That says that only Africans that have conquered the world make it up there not just to complete the numbers.Though Arooj Aftab's Mohabbat beat Wizkid's Essence to Global Music Performance in 2022,it didn't go platinum and didn't make it to Billboard 200 like Essence did.

The Grammys is transcendental and anyone in Africa who has ever dreamt of winning it has always known they would have to pull off something extraordinary.Wizkid in addition to having a double platinum track in the States and first African song to be on Billboard 200; top 10 as a matter of fact, also has an album with Gold certifications in the US,the UK,the Netherlands,Canada and Switzerland.Take out Mama Kidjo and that is the only level of quality from the motherland capable of disrupting Burna Boy's Global Album Grammy choke hold.The exploits of the African Giant are well known and need not be told; he is the biggest African artiste for a reason.

Excluding Queen Angelique Kidjo who will enjoy 'honourary' status till she retires,how many other African artistes asides Wizkid and Burna Boy can truly be referred to as Global artistes?.I can only count Rema who doesn't just have the first African artiste-led track to reach 1 billion spotify streams in Calm Down featuring Selena Gomez but also has the most streamed African album in Raves & Roses & is being heavily played across the world.Yes,African Music has gained the world's attention but a lot still needs to be done in comparison to Latin Music; the other 'foreign music' to own categories in the Grammys in addition to having its own seperate Grammys; the Latin Grammys.

African Music needs to have at least 5 artistes going platinum in the biggest music markets in the world and selling out big arenas before we should talk about an African Music Performance category otherwise a Grammy would go from that prestigious plaque every African artiste wet dreams about to what is up for grabs for even one hit wonders doing shows at obscure night clubs in Malta or Finland in the name of touring.If just a handful of artistes are known by music lovers outside Africa and are recording hits people play then I am sorry but we can't really say we have arrived yet.Its best to allow the Grammys retain its mystic quality and not drop it in the realm of standard-issue.