THE NATION TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2013
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LAW PERSONALITY
Do we need six-year tenure for president, governors? • Continued from page 30
cluding the legislature and political parties, distribute largesse and engage in executive lawlessness. “If you have a president who has unrestrained access to the nation’s wealth it is irrelevant whether he spends six or eight years. The Senate just found that Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, the late Umaru Yar’Ádua and Goodluck Jonathan misappropriated N1.52 trillion. “In 2011, alone about N2 trillion was cornered in the name of fuel subsidy. Do you know any president in any oil producing nation who can give oil blocks to friends and family members? Do you know any elected president in a modern state who assembles his ministers every week to share contracts? “By virtue of Decree 24 of 1999 otherwise called the 1999 Constitution, the President of Nigeria is the most powerful ruler in the world. The decree merely transferred the absolutist powers of a military dictator to an elected president. President Barrack Obama’s salary and allowances can be found in the internet. You can’t find those of our president anywhere. “He receives the highest estacodes and travels with the largest delegations in the world. He can deploy soldiers to kill unarmed people as was the case in Odi and Zaki Biam. He connives with the police to rig elections as we witnessed in the ‘do or die’ wuruwuru (fraudulent) elections of 2007. He controls the political party that sponsored him. He disregards court orders and violates the law with impunity. He is accountable to no one.
“The debate on the single term tenure is so diversionary and irrelevant. The debate should centre on how to democratise powers with a view to reducing the enormous powers of elected officials which enable them to exercise incumbency powers to remain in office or install their surrogates to spend six or eight years in power.” Taiwo said Nigeria’s problem goes beyond tenure. “The problem is quality leadership and commitment to combating corruption. What has been achieved in four years? Give a bad leader 10 years; he will still fail. I do not support one term of six years. Two terms of four years is okay for Nigerians to vote out a rudderless government. Let Nigerians make up their mind every four years!” Lagos lawyer Emeka Nwadioke described the proposal as dead on arrival. “It has been said that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the Nigerian Constitution. I agree. The same is true of the four-year renewable tenure as currently obtains. That arrangement has served other countries, notably the United States, well. However, the Nigerian politician has characteristically distorted this otherwise harmless provision, to the effect that campaigns for reelection starts immediately one is sworn in. So, fundamentally, what is required is an attitudinal change. “However, to the extent that the Senate Committee has proposed a single six-year term, this may look attractive at first glance. As argued, it may curb the tensions generated by re-election tussles. It has been argued that
•Nwobike (SAN) the current arrangement rewards performance, as the single tenure may encourage embezzlement. “But, who says that the office holder may not focus on embezzlement during his second tenure, having hoodwinked the electorate with ‘stellar performance’ during his first term? What we also need are strong institutions that make office holders pay fully for any malfeasance, whether during first or second term. “I am not certain that one option is fundamentally better than the other insofar as politicians refuse to see public office as an instrument to promote the commonweal. Otherwise, we will only be going round in circles. We need integrity within the political elite and transparency in the electoral process. “What is even more worrisome is the clause which seeks to “ban” incumbents from recontesting. Section 4(9) of the very Constitution we seek to amend frowns on legislations that tend to retrospec-
‘Environmental laws have failed’
• Continued from page 29
W
EDNESDAY last week was the World Environment Day, what is the theme for this years’ World Environment Day and how will this enhance the protection of global environment? The theme is ‘think, eat, save reduce your footprint.’ The goal is to reduce food loss and food waste. What is the relationship between the environment and poverty? Poverty deepens environmental problems, thus, food insecurity will worsen poverty. Again, food production, including harvesting, processing and so on contributes to increase in greenhouse gases (GHGs) which in turn is the critical factor in climate change and global warming. Reduction in food loss will invariably reduce food production, while reduction in food that is wasted will go a long way to reduce what goes to waste dump to similarly generate GHGs. On and on we can go on with the cycle and linkages. It is a reorientation that we all must embrace for a sustainable tomorrow. What is your appraisal of our environmental laws? How effective are they in addressing today’s environmental challenges? Nigeria’s Environmental Laws have not substantially moved her forward. We are still not able to effectively and appropriately meet the three core functions of environmental law , namely: preventive, compensatory and remedial functions. Further, environmental governance is still seriously challenged by problems of unequal inheritance in federalism, insufficient public participation, lack of co-operative governance, inability to mainstream integrated management and inability to balance environmental sustainability with economic goals among others. The
result is that environmental decision-making, standard setting and enforcement strategies are operating in chaos. You were recently inaugurated as the chairman of Lagos State Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal. What do we expect from your Tribunal? The mandate of the Lagos State Local Government Election Petition Tribunal is clear: to do justice in accordance with the Constitution, relevant laws and due process. We will strictly adhere to this. Climate change and the attendant global warming is one of the topmost issues on international political agenda, how do we factor environment friendly programmes into our policies and regulations? In the absence of appropriate policy and legal frameworks, climate change governance will be a mirage. It is these frameworks that will assist to mainstream mitigation technologies and adaptation strategies towards the development of an economy that results in human wellbeing and social equity. How can we balance man’s desire to develop with the imperative need to preserve and protect the environment? The balance will come when we have appropriate policies and laws, and we faithfully implement them. It is widely believed that the quality of legal education in the country has dropped drastically, what is you reaction to this? Rather than say that quality of legal education has dropped, I would say it is more of the fact that standards are being compromised. This is what is resulting in poor products and output. Visit any tertiary institution in Nigeria today, you will see the clear process for admission of students, recruitment of lecturers,
•Edegware tively ‘punish’ persons, though this relates to criminal matters. It would seem that this extends in principle to even civil matters. “It is equally ludicrous that the proposal seeks to bar a Vice President who has only served out, for instance, two months of a joint ticket from contesting. These issues touch on the fundamental rights of citizens and must not be treated lightly, as they have far-reaching and long term effects. We must pull back from our propensity towards expediency. “The spirit of every constitution enlarges than shrinks basic rights. A better option may be to encourage the political parties to dissuade such persons from running. At any rate, with The Presidency already kicking against the clause and in-
cumbent Governors pulling strings at the various state Houses of Assembly should the proposal sail through the National Assembly, it seems to me that the proposal, whatever its merits, is dead on arrival.” President, Coalition of Lawyers for Good Governance (CLGG), Mr Joe Nwokedi, said rather than sixyear tenure, the present four years should be reduced to three. “I don’t think we need a single term of six years. We cannot because of the challenges we usually face during re-election, delve into an issue that will spell immeasurable doom to us. It is tantamount to throwing away the baby with the bathwater. Single term of six years will produce more embezzlers, insensitive and incorrigible leadership in our country. “It will also extirpate the little checks and powers the electorates often exercise during re-election of our leaders. Proponents of such ideas should also consider its enormous demerits. They can reduce the tenure of governors to three years instead of four years. Reelection is a very essential component of any successful democracy. “Our leaders can grow wild, ruthless, heartless and dangerously arrogant with single term of six years. Some will embark on ceaseless embezzlement from the day of swearing in to handover. In my humble opinion, I think it is not a welcome initiative to our democracy. We can triumph over our present challenges with time.”
LEGAL JOKES You won’t go to jail A man who had been caught embezzling millions from his employer went to a lawyer seeking defense. He didn’t want to go to jail. But his lawyer told him, “Don’t worry. You’ll never have to go to jail with all that money.” And the lawyer was right. When the man was sent to prison, he didn’t have a dime.
Question and answer jokes
•Prof. Fagbohun
regular development of the institution in accordance with a development plan etc. All these are usually structured in line with global standards. Where then do we encounter problems in the development of our educational development? Where you encounter a problem is in relation to implementation. We are simply not faithful to implementing laid down standards and this is what is ending the country up in chaos. For the few Institutions that are keeping faith, their products are able to compete in other jurisdictions. What is the environmental component of the current security situation in the country, how do we resolve this? The insecurity situation in the country has resulted in disruption of people’s lives, and destruction of infrastructure. All of these have serious implications for the environment. So, what is the solution to this problem? The solution is sincerity of purpose, and a desire by the political class in particular to want to do things right.
Q: How can you tell if a lawyer is well hung? A: You can’t get a finger between the rope and his neck! Q: If you are stranded on a desert island with Adolph Hitler, Atilla the Hun, and a lawyer, and you have a gun with only two bullets, what do you do? A: Shoot the lawyer twice. Q: How can you tell when a lawyer is lying? A: His lips are moving. Q: Why won’t sharks attack lawyers? A: Professional courtesy. A command was given to a dog: “SPEAK!” The dog said in return: “Not without my lawyer present!” Q: Why is going to a meeting of the Bar Association like going into a bait shop? A: Because of the abundance of suckers, leeches, maggots and night crawlers Q: What’s the difference between a lawyer and a herd of buffalo? A: The lawyer charges more. Actual stupid questions asked Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, in most cases he just passes quietly away and doesn’t know anything about it until the next morning? The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he? Q: She had three children, right? A: Yes. Q: How many were boys? A: None. Q: Were there any girls? Q: I show you Exhibit 3 and ask you if you recognize that picture? A: That’s me. Q: Were you present when that picture was taken? Q: You say that the stairs went down to the basement? A: Yes. Q: And these stairs, did they go up also? Q: Now then, Mrs. Johnson, how was your first marriage terminated? A: By death. Q: And by whose death was it terminated? Q: Do you know how far pregnant you are now? A: I’ll be three months on March 12th. Q: Apparently then, the date of conception was around January 12th? A: Yes. Q: What were you doing at that time?