Madam Blogger Ma

I woke up to find Linda Ikeji trending as well as a hashtag #Lindagate created by a blogger, Kemi Olunloyo. There were numerous headlines that read “Kemi Olunloyo reveals HOW Linda Ikeji got/received N240m from #Dasukigate”. I clicked on the various links to read the said ‘revelations’ and what a disappointment that turned out to be! It turned out to be a series of tweet rants just making allegations and not revealing anything. She (madam Olunloyo) also promised to, at a certain time of the day, reveal the identity of the person who gifted Miss Ikeji with the property at Banana Island- it has been way past said time and we are yet to see anything or anyone!

This brings me to my point(s).

First, for a person who claims to be a trained journalist and who has been in the said industry for over twenty years, I am sure she must have come across the word “defamation” every now and then. You do not make such allegations without proof to back them up (as truth/ a belief in the truth of said publication is a defense in an action for defamation). If I was Miss Ikeji and there is no truth in these allegations as she has said, I would contact my lawyers and bring an action in defamation against this journalist and all such others publishing such information.

My second point is, assuming (without conceding) that she in fact received N240m for advertisement on her blog, this money would constitute payment for service rendered. Thankfully, the ‘blogosphere’ is not a monopoly as there are so many people with computers and access to the internet today who lay claim to the title of ‘blogger’. If they (potential clients) had found her rates to be too expensive, then they should have gone on to someone with cheaper rates. It is just how the market works.

Now to my third point, there is a Yoruba adage that says “bi isu eni ba ta, a’n fi owo bo je ni” (simply meaning “avoid ostentation”). One may recall the trouble that followed Miss Ikeji a while back when she displayed her then latest acquisition of a brand new Range Rover. I would have thought that a lesson or two would have been leant from that experience- apparently not! Miss Ikeji’s display of her new N550m property bought and paid for in full (according to her) attests to this fact. Various images of the interior and exterior of the property are put up on social media. This seeming show-off of wealth is bound to irk some people who have worn this title of blogger for years longer than Miss Ikeji. There is a reason we have these adages as they are coined from experiences and wisdoms of our forefathers. I quite appreciate the fact that Miss Ikeji believes she does this to encourage people to believe in and pursue their drams and never give up, however this could be done in other ways.

I really applaud Miss Ikeji on her achievements so far and must confess that I admire her- her tenacious spirit and her actualization of her dreams…and she has paid her dues! I would just advise that she keep herself out of harm’s way. I can almost guarantee that the ‘-IRS’ would soon be knocking on her door! I do wish her the very best in her future pursuits.

Addressing Her Dressing

I have always been confused and cautious about judging a person by how they dress or appear. It is a common saying that "you should dress the way you want to be addressed". It is also said that "you should not judge a book by its cover".

An aunt once stated her displeasure at seeing a married mother wearing a see-through blouse and I am certain that "baltimore mum's" extremely ripped jeans would not have sat well with her either. However, this mum has, by her actions, exhibited responsibility having demonstrated the training she instilled in and her expectations from her children.

The confusion therefore persists.

RAT RACE

I would try to make this piece as brief and concise as possible.

Section 131 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (the constitution) provides;

“A person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if…

a. He is a citizen of Nigeria by birth

b. He has attained the age of fourty years

c. He is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and

d. He has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.”

Section 318 provides;

“School Certificate or its equivalent means;

a. A secondary school certificate or its equivalent, or Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or

b. Education up to secondary school certificate level; or

c. Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and-

I. Service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the INEC for a minimum of ten years; and

ii. Attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the INEC for periods totalling up to a minimum of one year; and

iii. The ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English language to the satisfaction of INEC; and

d. Any other qualification acceptable by INEC.

Section 2 of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Act provides;

A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President or the National Assembly if-

a. He is a citizen of Nigeria;

b. In the case of the President, he has attained the age of 40 years

c. In the case of a senator, he has attained the age of 35 years;

d. In the case of a member of the house of representatives, he has attained the age of 30 years;

e. He has been educated up to at least school certificate level or its equivalent; and

f. He is a member of a political party and is being sponsored by that party.

Section 3 states 11 reasons for disqualification from contesting for office of the President or the National Assembly, none of which Gen Buhari has been accused of except perhaps paragraph (h) which is on the basis that;

He has presented forged certificates to the Commission.

Having cited these provisions, I do not see the cause for the uproar regarding General Buhari’s Certificate (or for some, the lack thereof). The Act establishing, enabling and empowering INEC is clear, as are the relevant provisions of the Constitution.

The Constitution is the grundnorm and every law takes its legality from the Constitution and where any law contains any provisions that are inconsistent with the constitution, such a law or provision in such a law is null and void to the extent of that inconsistency.

I am of the view that the various qualifications that cover the term “school certificate or its equivalent” is well covered. General Buhari had indeed produced his certificate and unless anyone can invoke the provisions of Section 3 (h) of the INEC Act on the basis of it (the certificate produced) being a forgery, then the matter is sufficiently rested. No proof of the said certificate being a forgery has so far been produced. Also, the man in question is a General in the Nigerian army. The various trainings received in the military (I believe) must include the provisions or qualifications provided for in Sec 318 (b). 

Some have also argued the fact that the certificate is not in question but rather the fact that it was not attached to the INEC Form submitted by Gen Buhari to signify his candidacy for the office of President on the platform of the APC. They argue that the fact that Gen Buhari failed to attach his certificates to the INEC Form invalidates the Form itself and must therefore be disregarded.

I beg to differ.

The Constitution again clearly states in the aforementioned Section 131 that “a person shall be qualified for election to the office of President if…” There is no ambiguity whatsoever in this provision. The Constitution is based on the premise that upon satisfaction of the requirements of Paragraphs (a) to (d) of Section 131, such a person SHALL be qualified for election. It is simple.

On this basis therefore, I do not see why time is being wasted on attacking the man (who by the way has run for the office of the president at least three times before) and/or his certificate(s) rather than focusing on issues currently affecting the polity. I believe that priorities are misplaced.

What this unwarranted attack and distraction only goes to show is the fact that the ruling party (the PDP) at this time admits the strength and the possibility of the opposition winning the presidential elections and merely seek to oust him on a purely technical ground. This is not serving the PDP well.

EQUALS 'SIR'

 

I was this morning on my way to the Federal High Court on Oyinkan Abayomi at about 8.30am with my colleague and we came across three (white) women jogging.

“Wives and girlfriends of expatriates” he said.

I was not completely surprised or disappointed. I had become somewhat used to hearing such chauvinist statements from him and some other people I had cause to encounter in my daily life. However, as usual, I did not let it just slide.

“How do you know these women are not the expatriates themselves and not wives of expats”? I asked.

He responded, “At this time?”

I pointed to him the fact that he did not know their resumption time or work schedules; the fact that these women live in Ikoyi and their places of work could very well be very close to home and hence there wouldn’t have been a need for them to hurry to work (unlike some of us who have to face every day transit from Okokomaiko to Victoria Island); I also mentioned the fact that they could very well have been on their annual leave and not have had to go into work at all.

“Lai Lai, how can all three of them be on leave at the same time?!” He exclaimed.

I must state I realized then that the argument was not going anywhere.

It was utterly disappointing. This was not the first of such arguments we had had in my office (we had in the past argued about, among sooooo many other things, why it is considered proper for women to be chaste and faithful to their partners while the same requirement wasn’t as rigid or as strict for men; why women were expected to cook and clean when they were going to work just as much as and bringing in just as much as men, or even in some cases, more than the men; why women were expected to look after children as if women had by themselves just gone to the market and come home with the babies) and it was very disappointing that despite these arguments we had every so often and despite pointing out the distasteful views had of the place of women in the world, my colleagues’ views of the world and the women in it had not changed.

When we got back to the office, we had to again discuss a brief we had received. Our client (the only son of his father) had been given the bulk of the properties left by his father (about 4 or 5 properties) while the girls had been given one each. As everyone is free to do, the deceased had made these gifts to his son in his Will. I however thought to make my reservations about the deceased’s actions known. The same colleague I had been arguing with earlier in the day then explained that the deceased was probably very traditional in his ways and his custom and traditions were just being manifested in his Will (the client comes from a part of Nigeria where male children are considered somewhat superior to female children). He went on to state that not every Nigerian man would do same to his female children and then he (ironically) cited himself as an example.

This led me to point out the earlier occurrence of the day to him and his earlier statement which had shown just how myopic his view of women was. He tried to clarify by stating that his views are a function of the ‘society’ as the ‘society’ moulds all individuals within that ‘society’ and he is a product of ‘society’. I deemed it proper to then ask him who made up this seemingly abstract “society” which he refused to answer. I also asked that whenever a person commits any wrongdoing premised on prejudice, it’s not the society but rather the individual who is held accountable. I cited the happenings in the USA regarding race and explained the fact that despite the existence of racism, anyone found culpable was held individually accountable. This was to simply point out the fact that despite the existence of a societal wrong, it is the responsibility of any progressive individuals (at least those who consider the necessity for righting such wrong) therein to remedy such a wrong.

I believe that the fact that many Nigerian men and sadly some women (I restrict my opinion to them as they are the men I know) do not see themselves in this retrogressive/ backward-thinking light is the reason many women are still not being accorded their due respect. The fact that many men consider themselves educated, enlightened and progressive when they are in actual fact the opposite is why we still have women being ‘gifted’ 2nd place where they are in fact equal to anyone else-man or woman.

It is rather sad that in the day and time we now live in, these prejudices still exist. It is even more saddening that this undesirable ‘torch’ is being passed on to and by the new generation of ‘men’ who are supposedly progressive.

That said, I believe that the time for complaints is past. It is rather the time to take action and speak up. It must be that wherever and whenever such prejudices are manifested, anyone who is forward thinking (you do not have to wait to be the victim) and witnesses such wrong-doing and would like that all people be treated as equal, speak up against such wrong- this even more so, where it happens in the midst of children (as I have come to see that these crucial years are the periods when such misconceptions are allowed to fester and grow). Every person is created equal. Even though the Nigerian Constitution guarantees this, I do not see it in operation. In any event, I would prefer that it be ingrained in every individual and not have to be pronounced by law or directed by the courts to see it in operation.