Today, the world observes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls. On the 20th of December 1993, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and, on 7th November 2000, officially designated 25th November of every year as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Nigerians have been jolted by the news that the bank accounts of 20 alleged supporters of the #EndSARS protests have been frozen by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The apex bank had obtained a court order to freeze the accounts claiming it was conducting an investigation into the accounts. In one instance, one of the supporters was prevented from travelling by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) while others were being targeted for arrest.
We condemn without equivocation the attack on unarmed and peaceful protesters in Lekki as well as the looting, destruction of government and private properties, assaults on police stations and policemen, prison-breaks and attacks on innocent Nigerians by thugs. The wanton violence unleashed across Nigeria in the past few hours following the shooting of unarmed protesters at Lekki by people in military uniform, is harrowing and disheartening.
We have received the just announced dissolution of the Special Anti Robbery Squad SARS by the Inspector General of Police with considerable contentment. This is an acknowledgement that the voice of the masses matter and should continue to matter in the light of the continued protests against the brutality and impunity that SARS became known for.
The National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) felicitates with Nigerians on the country's 60th Independence Day anniversary celebrations. The ritual of Nigeria's yearly independence celebration has over the years deteriorated into a jaded and hollow observance.
Indeed, the first few years of the nation’s existence were quite remarkable, with giant strides in the areas of agriculture, education, communication, health and so on. Agricultural exports, including Groundnut from the Northern region, Cocoa from the Western region and Palm oil from the Eastern region were the major sources of revenue for the young nation.
In Nigeria's 60 years of self-rule, her democratic journey has been chequered. From the First Republic government which took the reins from the colonial administration to the present Fourth Republic, Nigeria's attempts at democratic rule have been interrupted by a cumulative 29 years of military interregnum. The country is currently enjoying her longest unbroken spell of democratic rule since 29 May 1999.
As the world marks this year’s International Day of Democracy, with the theme ‘Democracy under Strain: Solutions for a Changing World’, and this year’s celebration coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, emphasis should be to support human rights, the rule of law, peace and stability, which are all critical democracy development indicators.
On Monday, September 7th, 2020, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) published a press release titled “Matters of Urgent Attention”, in which it x-rayed the state of the national economy and expressed a number of reasoned concerns over the poor state of performance of some critical economic indicators affecting the country. Treatises like the release have become, for several years now, a common feature of the country’s dialogue on the economy. They serve an extremely useful purpose because these publications permit individuals and organisations that embark on this course, not only the opportunity to ventilate important, topical, subjects in the widest possible manner, but also to enable those views come to the attention of several organs of governance responsible for policy formulation and implementation.
It is also the case that the reaction to these exercises would often be gauged by the credentials of the author whose antecedents will, typically, determine the depth and appreciation of the reading audience. That thermometer reading, therefore, is dictated by credentials of the author. The more accomplished; the greater the interest in the contents. This, it appears, is what happened following the public circulation of the NESG press release.
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