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Obi and Yusuf

July 14, 2022

in Opinion, Politics

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By Dike Chukwumerije

Nigeria only looks like a rich country, but it is not. Yes, in terms of the overall size of our economy, we are the biggest in Africa. But if you consider the size of our population – that is the number of mouths that economy has to feed – we drop down to the middle of the table. Yes. We are a middle-income country. At least on paper. In reality, we feel more like a low-income country, with high levels of poverty and unemployment. Because our modest income is not prudently managed.

Like this, we act as if we can afford private jets, and top government functionaries travelling out routinely for medical treatments. We cannot. Not when we are struggling to pay living wages to public servants in critical sectors like Education, Health and Law Enforcement. It is like a wage earner eating lunch every day at Hilton, wearing crocodile skin shoes and with frequent flyer miles on British Airways, but living in rented accommodation with all his children thrown out of school for not having paid school fees. That is how our country is run.

Yes. For a man with a duplex in Wuse will enter into Government and come out with mansions in Asokoro, while – government come, government go – the Government Secondary School remains without windows. What is that? That every minute, baby and mother die in childbirth for reasons like no light, no antibiotics, no water; while a Minister is using siren to push us off the road in the name of rushing to work. What work? That a police officer has three bullets in his gun, and is standing on the road in bathroom slippers, but the Chief of Staff is transferring money every month to coordinators of Governor’s political movement in every local government. What is that? That 10 million children are out of school, 20 million youths out of jobs – year in, year out – yet come next Wednesday we will be lectured on pedantry contracts awarded by FEC. To what effect?

If nothing else, this is what PMB – when he was still held out to us as Mai Gaskiya – was supposed to tackle. For of what use is it widening the mouth of the hose when the water is pouring into a basket? But now both the ruling party (selling forms) and kidnappers in the bush (selling ransom) are asking for N100 million-a-piece. Imagine? In an economy where 40 million people are shitting in gutters for lack of toilets. And yet there are people living amongst us who can close eye and pay. Why? Because the water has been sucked out of so many pipes, and the electricity has been squeezed out of so many meters, and the life has been pressed out of so many hospitals, so that one or two of us can become politics-made billionaires. But two trees cannot make a forest. And 10 politico-billionaires cannot make an economy. This system of sharing cash and patronage directly to supporters of a successful politician can never lead to Development. Instead, with each passing year, the army of youths, consistently under-served with education and jobs, will become more vicious. This is not a prophecy.

So, I am not interested in waiting another 8 years for the entitled to take their turn at the table. I am not interested. I am not interested in turn-by-turn even if it guarantees that 8 years from now we will have an Igbo President. I am not interested. How did Fulani president help Fulani? Or Yoruba president help Yoruba? Or Ijaw President help Ijaw? I am not interested. What I want is someone who will go there and do what Buhari was supposed to do. And that is, if nothing else, stop the wastage of public funds, starting from himself. Because body language matters. And if Aso Rock signals that what was done was done, but from today henceforth we will all fly Economy everywhere before we let our universities stay shut for 4 months, the message will trickle down. And everybody – North and South – will benefit. That is the only way to develop a society, not by sharing government money like it belongs to you, but by spending it prudently on the public good.

This is why me? I am voting Peter Obi and Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed. Let it be on my record please.

*Chukwumerije, poet of international repute, and human rights activist, wrote this piece.

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Suspension of Mike Ozekhome SAN: A Hasty Decision By The LPPC And The Prejudicial Effect Of Same

by Newsdesk Africa

June 26, 2026

By Sheriff. C. ADELE, Esq On June 23, 2026, the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC), at its 173rd General Meeting, approved the suspension of Chief Mike Ozekhome from the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). The suspension, announced pursuant to Paragraph 26(6) of the Guidelines for the Conferment of the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is to remain in force pending the final determination of disciplinary proceedings before the LPPC’s Disciplinary and Ethics Sub-Committee. While the LPPC asserts that the suspension is intended to "safeguard the integrity, dignity and prestige of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria", this decision raises profound concerns about procedural propriety, jurisdictional overreach, and the prejudicial effect it portends for both the legal profession and the administration of justice. This article critically examines the hasty decision of the LPPC, its implications, and why it constitutes a premature verdict that undermines the very principles of natural justice the legal profession is sworn to uphold. Chief Mike Ozekhome, a prominent constitutional lawyer and human rights advocate, is currently facing disciplinary proceedings before the LPPC’s Disciplinary and Ethics Sub-Committee. The proceedings relate to his involvement in a controversial property dispute in the United Kingdom concerning a property located at 79 Randall Avenue, London. Chief Ozekhome is also standing trial before an FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on a 12-count charge, to which he has pleaded not guilty. What is particularly significant and troubling is that the same issues before the LPPC are also pending before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), the body statutorily charged with the responsibility of sanctioning legal practitioners for professional misconduct. The LPDC is yet to make any determination on the substantive allegations against chief Ozekhome. Yet, the LPPC has proceeded to impose a suspension that, in practical effect, constitutes a pre-determinative sanction. The Distinct Jurisdictions of the LPPC and LPDC To appreciate the gravity of the LPPC’s decision, it is essential to understand the distinct and separate roles of the LPPC and the LPDC under Nigerian law. The LPPC is a statutory body established under Section 5 of the Legal Practitioners Act. Its primary function is to consider and determine eligible applicants for the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the LPPC is also empowered to make rules as to the privileges to be accorded to Senior Advocates of Nigeria. While the LPPC has disciplinary powers over SAN holders, these powers are ancillary to its primary function of conferring and regulating the rank. The LPPC's disciplinary authority is derived from its guidelines, including Paragraph 26(6) of the Guidelines for the Conferment of the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. However, this authority is limited to matters pertaining to the rank itself and the privileges associated with it. The LPDC, by contrast, is a committee of the Body of Benchers established under Section 10 of the Legal Practitioners Act. Its mandate is far broader and more fundamental: it is the primary disciplinary body for all legal practitioners in Nigeria. The LPDC exercises jurisdiction over all lawyers called to the Nigerian Bar and is empowered to investigate allegations of professional misconduct and impose sanctions ranging from admonition to suspension and disbarment. The Critical Distinction The distinction between these two bodies is not merely academic, it is fundamental to the proper administration of justice in the legal profession. The LPPC is primarily a conferring and privilege-regulating body. The LPDC is the disciplinary body par excellence. While the LPPC may have incidental disciplinary powers over SAN holders, these powers cannot supplant or pre-empt the primary disciplinary jurisdiction of the LPDC. When the same issues are pending before both bodies, as they are in chief Ozekhome’s case, the LPDC’s determination on professional misconduct must logically precede any disciplinary sanction from the LPPC. The LPPC cannot independently determine facts of professional misconduct that are the exclusive province of the LPDC. The Hasty Decision: A Premature Verdict The LPPC’s decision to suspend chief Ozekhome from the rank of SAN pending the conclusion of disciplinary proceedings is, with respect, a hasty and premature verdict that suffers from several fundamental flaws. Procedural Impropriety ...