Category: Opinion

  • Why The Court Of Appeal Is Right To Declare Dr Nentawe Goshwe As The Winner Of The Plateau Syste Governorship Election BY OKOI OBONO-OBLA

    Why The Court Of Appeal Is Right To Declare Dr Nentawe Goshwe As The Winner Of The Plateau Syste Governorship Election BY OKOI OBONO-OBLA

     

    I was reading a post and reactions on Facebook to a story written by Daily Trust Newspaper online concerning the judgment of the Court of Appeal Abuja in the Plateau State Gubernatorial tussle between Dr Nentawe Goshwe of the APC and Mutfwang of the PDP delivered on 19 November 2023; which declared Dr Nentawe Goshwe as the winner of the plateau State governorship election held on 25 March 2023.

    I felt despondent about the castigation of the judiciary by those who do not understand a whiff of the mechanics and intricacies of how the law works.

    Almost 80 % of the commentators were heaping insults and invectives on how the judiciary has been compromised.

    They were suggesting that the judgment was wrong because the Supreme Court had ruled that the nomination of candidates is a pre-election matter; and that the election tribunal does not have jurisdiction to entertain.

    They wondered therefore why the case of the case of Governor Caleb Mutfwang was an exception.

    I, therefore have undertaken the responsibility of writing this essay to demonstrate to the reading public the differences between the cases of Dr.
    Nentawe Goshwe and Mutwang; and Peter Obi, Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar & PDP against INEC, President Bola Tinubu; Senator Kashim Shettima, and APC.

    In Caleb Mutfwang’s case, the PDP in Plateau State was enmeshed in a factional and leadership crisis that culminated in a High Court action by one of the factions.

    The High Court issued an order restraining the caretaker committee set up by PDP in Plateau State y from conducting primaries to nominate candidates for all elective offices including the governorship.

    Caleb Mutfwang belonged to a faction of the PDP which the caretaker committee was disposed to.
    However, PDP violated the court order that a valid congress be conducted in the 17 local government areas of the State, by conducting congress in only five local government areas of Plateau State.

    In law, the plaintiff claims that the court will look to ascertain whether or not it has jurisdiction.

    When Dr. Nentawe Goshwe crunched his reliefs in his petition his lawyers crafted them creatively to confer jurisdiction on the election tribunal.

    Dr. Goshwe premised his case on Caleb Mutfwang and PDP breached section 177 of the Constitution.

    Section 177 (1) (a) (b)(c) & (d) of the Constitution provides as follows:

    A person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a State if:

    (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth;

    (b) he has attained the age of thirty-five 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 a School Certificate level or its equivalent.

    In the case of Caleb Mutgwang, the Petitioners (Dr. Nentawe and APC) grounded their petition on section 177(1) (d) of the Constitution which stipulates that a person shall not be qualified to be Governor of a State unless he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by a political party.

    It is glaring that Caleb Mutfwang was not sponsored by a political party because the primaries that produced the candidate of PDP were conducted by an illegal caretaker committee which the court had restrained but in flagrant disobedience of the court order went ahead to conduct.

    APC and its candidate Dr. Nentawe Goshwe also anchored their petition on section 134, subsection (1)(a)(b)(c)& (d) of the Electoral Act 2022.

    Section 134, subsection (1)(a)(b)(c)& (d) of the Electoral Act 2022 provides that an election may be questioned on any of the following grounds :

    (a) a person whose election was questioned at that time of the election is not qualified to contest the election ;

    (b) the election was invalid because of corrupt practices or noncompliance with the provisions of the Act or

    (c) the respondent was not elected by a majority of lawful votes cast at the election.

    Therefore the construction of section 177 (1) (a) (b) (c) of the 1999 constitution and section 134 (1) (a) of the Electoral Act 2022 confers jurisdiction on the Election Tribunal to hand a petition that contains an admixture of pre-election and post-election as in the Petition filed by APC and Dr Nentawe Goshwe.
    The Court of Appeal was therefore right to so hold.

    In Peter Obi, Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar & PDP against INEC, President Bola Tinubu, Senator Kashim Shettima, and APC, it was the nomination of Senator Kashim Shettima, the vice presidential candidate of the APC that was challenged by the Petitioners.

    The petitioners in their petition have challenged the nomination of Senator Shettima because he was already a senatorial candidate at the time he was nominated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be his vice presidential running mate.

    The Supreme Court held that Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar have no locus standing to challenge the nomination of Senator Shettima because they are not members of the APC.

    The Supreme Court also held in the circumstances of that case, nomination was a pre-election matter that the Petitioners could not incorporate in a post-election litigation.

    In light of the above, it is clear that the facts and circumstances of Peter Obi, Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar & PDP against INEC, President Bola Tinubu, Senator Kashim Shettima, and APC on one hand and INEC, APC & Dr Nentawe Goshwe and Caleb Mutfwang and PDP are diametrical not the same.

    When the facts and circumstances of two cases are dissimilar the principle of stare decisis( which means in Latin stand by things decided) (judicial precedent) cannot be applicable.

    When a court faces a legal argument, if a previous court has ruled on the same or a closely related issue, then the court will make its decision in alignment with the previous court’s decision.

    I, therefore urge lay people who don’t know a scintilla of thing about law to spare us their jaundiced interpretation of court judgments and desist from painting the judiciary in bad light.
    They should also know that emotion and sentiments have no place in judicial deliberations.

    This is why Lady Justice is blind while holding the sword in her left hand and the scale in her right hand ready to deal with anybody with ill will or affection that is brought before her.

    @ Okoi Obono-Obla

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Okoi Obono-Obla and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

  • The Leonid Meteor Showers Have Been Taking Place This Past Week And Are Expected To Speak Tonight BY ENDURANCE OGRI

    The Leonid Meteor Showers Have Been Taking Place This Past Week And Are Expected To Speak Tonight BY ENDURANCE OGRI

    Culled From Vintage News

    In the pre-dawn hours of November 12, 1833, the sky over North America seemed to explode with falling stars. It was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before, and visible over the entire continent. Many witnesses interpreted it as a sign of the Biblical end times, remembering words from the gospel of St. Mark: “And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.”

    The Lakota people were so amazed by the event that they reset their calendar to commemorate it, and the Cheyenne people established a peace treaty with the Pawnee people. Even Abraham Lincoln, who was awoken by the shower, mentioned the event in a speech during his presidency.

    Scientists struggled to find an explanation for the event in 1833. Physicist and astronomer Denison Olmsted was most accurate in his description, publishing his findings in 1834, stating that the shower radiated from a point in the constellation Leo and speculated that it was caused by the Earth passing through a cloud of space dust.

    Today, we know that every November the Earth passes through the debris in the trail of a comet known as Tempel-Tuttle, thus causing the meteor showers we know as the Leonids. Although the meteorite shower is impressive every year, every 33 years or so they are especially striking, although very rarely being as awesome as the 1833 shower.

    The Leonid meteor showers have been taking place this past week and are expected to peak TONIGHT! ✨🌟💫

     

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Anne Endurance Ogri, and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent 

  • Lazy Servants: Own Up Your Mistakes And Take Responsibility For Every Of Your Actions BY PETER OBELE ABUE

    Lazy Servants: Own Up Your Mistakes And Take Responsibility For Every Of Your Actions BY PETER OBELE ABUE

    LAZY SERVANTS

    Among the many good qualities of a good wife recorded in the book of Proverbs 31:10ff is the fact that she is never lazy; instead she is like the great worker (vs 13 and 19). Many men and women who are lazy, blame their spouses for their misfortunes instead of settling down to work and contribute to creating a happy home together. They are like the lazy servants who deny the hegemony of a higher authority and hide their own talents. Such servants blame their master for every misfortune. Own up your mistake and take responsibility for your actions.

    God gives us all different talents (not equal talents) and expects us to work hard according to our abilities. Wake up and break that poverty cycle in your family by investing your talents for greater things to come your way. Do not say it’s too late to start. Do not say am too small to make a difference. Lame excuses like this, make the rich richer and the poor poorer. You must break that cycle NOW.

    Jesus applies this imagery to the larger picture of life (Matt. 25:14-30). He reminds us that God is our master and we are all his servants. We the lazy ones give all kinds of excuses for not going to church or practicing our faith, inspite of the enormous possibilities and enabling environment God has afforded us. Think about your good health, the company of friends (fellow Christians), nearness to worship centers, a wide array of spiritual materials like the bible and other sacramentals etc.

    The God who created you in his own image and likeness is not a lazy God. He spent seven good days working at creation and at the end he found everyting ‘very good’ to behold. He means it more in a spiritual sense when he says to those who are lazy that even what they have will be taken away (Matt. 25:29). God forbid your very inheritance to be taken away from you by others. Wake up from your slumber of idleness and claim what belongs to you.

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is clearly that of the author, Peter Obele Abue, and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

     

  • The Risk Of Being A Calabar Man (I) BY JUSTIN UDIE

    The Risk Of Being A Calabar Man (I) BY JUSTIN UDIE

    THE RISK OF BEING A CALABAR MAN (I)

    First, who is a Calabar Man or Woman? Culturally and as it rings a bell, a Calabar man is an Efik person but in this context, I’m defining a Calabar man a little different from that and I mean both man and woman. Be patient and read on 😃

    In July 2011, I was preparing for the NYSC passing out parade at the Minna township stadium when my Big Uncle Xyztus Ikwun rang me up. I pulled out of the parade to meet him and because it was the first time, I couldn’t quickly figure him out among the bystanders. When I finally did, we greeted and he said “Your mother told me you’re here, how is Minna?” “Minna is fine sir. We are preparing to go” I responded. After a few minutes of other related discussions and intro, he asked me, “So what are your plans? Where are you returning from here?”
    “Well, I’m going back to Calabar” I responded confidently. My uncle looked at me with an expression of pity though not showing a sign of surprise. I could sense from his face that he didn’t like the idea or my decision or didn’t just make any sense. By that time, I guess he perceived the ‘Calabar man’ in me; born in Obudu, did my primary and part of post post-primary in Obudu and completed it at Govt Science School, Akamkpa; a few miles away from Obudu. I moved a few miles further and did my first ever undergraduate degree at the University of Calabar proper, where I even learned the Calabar language 😊

    Whilst that was running through my mind, Uncle XyZ asked a rhetorical question, “What is it about Calabar and our people?” At this time, I was a little bemused 🤨 He gave me several cases of Obudu people in particular that he knew were either trapped in Calabar or did everything they could to remain in Calabar for whatever reasons. And because of that, Federal Character quotas and opportunities for the ‘Calabar man’ get filled up by other people. His narrative and campaign was short and punchy to me. He was very plain and forward with his advice: “Don’t return to Calabar my kid brother. There is nothing much in that city for you and for now. Move into Abuja. Make no mistakes, there would be challenges. You must ‘swallow a dose of patience’ and after a while, you’ll figure it out”.

    Yeah, we did discuss a few more things and I was asked to ‘fall in’ back to the parade. I kept reviewing my Uncle’s piece of advice until after my POP, I decided I wasn’t returning to Calabar. His advice and my response turned out to be one of the best engagements in my life journey.

    I was a complete stranger in Abuja. Everywhere was honestly strange. The driving on Abuja roads, the hustling and bustling, the Culture and cosmopolitanism, and ultimately the mindset, was different. In Abuja, people are after connections and networks, meetings upon meetings, contracts, politicking and buying and selling ‘real’ real estate. One Oga is coming from Lagos, another from Kano or Taraba and they’re to approve one contract worth billions. The Kind of money I’d never heard even Donald Duke mentioned on TV that Calabar was discussed in Abuja gardens in the evenings over pots of spicy #isiewu and a mix of beer 🍻 and red wine 🍷 Abuja appeared well diversified, open and challenging unlike in Calabar where people seemed to be stuck with CRBC, the Governor his Commissioners and PAs. It was then I started recounting The Risks of being a Calabar Man! It dawned on me that I could have been anything in Calabar but like a Cat 🐈 that poses around at home because it hasn’t gone to the jungle to see how Lions 🦁 and Tigers 🐯 feed.

    What then are the overall risks and opportunities? Would you like to read Part II of this story?

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article are strictly that of the author, Justin Udie, and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

  • Mayotte: An Island That Lies In The Indian Ocean, Is Part And Parcel Of Our Dear Motherland – Africa BY OKOI OBONO-OBLA

    Mayotte: An Island That Lies In The Indian Ocean, Is Part And Parcel Of Our Dear Motherland – Africa BY OKOI OBONO-OBLA

    Mayotte:
    A lot of us do not that there is an Island that lies in the Indian Ocean which is part and parcel of our dear Motherland-Africa.

    The Island is known as Mayotte.

    Unfortunately, Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France located in the Indian Ocean.

    It is situated off the southeastern coast of Africa and is part of the Comoros archipelago.

    Mayotte is geographically closer to Mozambique and Madagascar than it is to the mainland of Africa.

    Mayotte is a melting of diverse cultures and peoples.

    They are Bantu people, Malaysians who have intermarried with African Bantu people, and elements of Arabs.

    The population of Mayottee is about 270,372(2019).
    French colonization is one of one of the most pernicious, retrogressive, and painful.

    I wonder why the United Kingdom and France would be owning territories in Africa in this modern era.

    Why would international law allow colonization at this time?

    The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and the African Chapter on Human and Peoples Rights, loudly proclaimed the right to self-determination of every indigenous people that have been colonized.

    These two international instruments must be invoked to send both the United Kingdom and France packing out of Mayotte and St.Helena.

    The decolonization process of the African continent would not be complete till St Helena and Mayotte Island become part of the African Union and sovereign countries.

    @ Okoi Obono-Obla

  • Bob Marley Was So Right When He Said……

    Bob Marley Was So Right When He Said……

    Bob Marley was so right when he said…..💚🌿

    “You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters?

    She’s not perfect—you aren’t either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can.

    She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break—her heart. So don’t hurt her, don’t change her, don’t analyze and don’t expect more than she can give.

    Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she’s not there.”
    🙏👏
    Class dismissed 🥂

  • On The Unpredictability of Things BY RICHARD INOYO

    On The Unpredictability of Things BY RICHARD INOYO

     

    There are those who came to us with opened arms and demand we give them all we have, for hunger has found refuge in their pouch and their soul is tormented with want of food. Some, with arms they approach residence and offices and loot what isn’t theirs and justify the terror. Not many has seen the boundary of raw rage in the absence of opportunity to earn, feed, cloth and shelter. As a country, the notion that the doctrine of survival is a textbook exercise and has no real bearing to human unpredictability as regards new danger or old terror is questionable and misleading. If there is one thing evolution taught earliest humans is that humans will feed on humans in the absence of alternative meal.

    Cannibalism isn’t necessarily the societal construct of humans eating other human flesh and getting drunk in the blood and liquidates of fellow humans, rather it is the sociopathic manifestation and reminder that in the absence of shared affection and care, new terror and old danger abound. The epistemology which occupies the realm of thought and imposes the thinking that man can’t degenerate into confrontation, arm conflicts and eventual destructions of his own race has dominantly failed to capture war history into the bricks that lay the groundwork for such ahistorical conclusion. We call on all to proceed with caution and offer care when it’s truly needed, in such we survive self-destruction.

    The Nigerian government should act with all urgency to end the looting of our sovereign wealth by its leadership, lest the public arms in the care of military and paramilitary institutions may fail them as they rest their protection on such. 340,000 police men and an equally rough population of all military forces combined may not prevent the keg of gunpowder which they have concluded won’t explode to explode. Make hay while the sun is seen for the N5Billion Presidential Yacht and N160million SUVs are exceeding the boundaries of the Nigerian patience and public anger. We condemn the brutalization of NLC President, Mr. Joe Ajaero.

    Signed.

    Richard F Inoyo,
    Country Director,
    *Citizens’ Solution Network*

  • Who Is A Fearless Man? BY AGBA JALINGO

    Who Is A Fearless Man? BY AGBA JALINGO

    Who Is A Fearless Man?

    Fear is one of the most basic emotions embedded in the nervous system. Not just that of man, but in every creature that has nerves. All creatures that have nerves are equipped with the survival instinct necessary to respond with fear when we sense danger or feel unsafe. It is a warning or signal to be careful and to escape from danger. The reason you run when you see an oncoming vehicle is because of that natural fear instinct. So there is no such thing as a fearless man or woman.

    Anytime we encounter anything we fear, whether physical or emotional, the brain immediately transmits the information to the nervous system. The nervous system then prepares you to either flee or fight. The preparation process usually includes faster heartbeat, intense breathing, perspiration, sensation. Blood pumps with increased pressure to the muscles to prepare the body for physical action.

    Because the fear instinct is programmed to protect you, it is activated faster than the thinking faculty of the brain, which processes the information. As soon as the brain evaluates the information and gives an all clear signal, the fear instinct is immediately turned off. All this process is completed in seconds.

    We all have our different fears. People fear situations or things that make them feel unsafe. People fear the uncertainty of the future or the next moment. And there are many people who prefer to avoid their fears. It usually seems like an easier path. But it is simple knowledge that you cannot overcome what you avoid. We overcome our fears by giving ourselves the chance to learn about and gradually get used to those things or situations that make us fear.

    Tourists who visit a zoo may be afraid of lions, but the care givers who tender the lions have overcome that fear. If you are not a trained paratrooper, you will be afraid of jumping from heights. That fear helps to keep you out of danger. But if you receive the training, you gradually overcome that fear and become adept in para-trooping.

    So in essence, a fearless man is not the one that does not have fears, it is the one who has learnt to overcome his fears. We all have fears. Those things that suddenly increase our blood pressure. But whether these fears are sudden or prolonged, it is by staying very determined to confront them that is the most formidable path. Face that fear today!

    Yours sincerely,
    Citizen Agba Jalingo.

     

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article are strictly that of the author, Agba Jalingo and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

  • Grow Above Offenses, Maintain Relationships With People BY PETER OLADELE FATOMILOLA

    Grow Above Offenses, Maintain Relationships With People BY PETER OLADELE FATOMILOLA

    GROW ABOVE OFFENCES

    Maintain Relationships With People

    It is childish and immature to pick offence at every provocation or perceived wrong and then start keeping grudges as a result.

    Grow above it.

    Someone did not invite you for their celebration (s), you pick offence with them.

    Someone didn’t wish you happy birthday, you pick offence with the person

    They didn’t like your facebook post, you pick offence.

    They didn’t support you in a disagreement you had with someone, you pick offence with them.

    They are junior and they have the audacity to talk or oppose your opinion. You pick offence with them.

    They said NO to your request, you pick offence and malice starts.

    You asked them for money, they said they didn’t have it, you pick offence with them.

    You are even keeping a record of people who came around when you were grieved, so you can know who to pick offence with.

    See!!!

    Everyone has battles you are not aware of.

    Those who you need help from are also looking for help.

    Not everything is Personal and intentional.

    Not everyone hates you and never hate anyone.

    Sometimes, people are just caught up with their own lives, struggles, human weaknesses and limitations.

    Learn how to manage being disappointed by people and still be on talking terms with them. It will save you a lot of UNNECESSARY grudges and save you some Friendships you may need in future.

    Grow above offences.

    Peter Oladele Fatomilola

  • Calabar And Insecurity: An Expanding Concern Yet To Be Addressed BY RICHARD INOYO 

    Calabar And Insecurity: An Expanding Concern Yet To Be Addressed BY RICHARD INOYO 

    Calabar And Insecurity: An Expanding Concern Yet To Be Addressed

    Monday, 13th November, 2023 | 9:27AM

    She had gone to Holy Family Catholic Church in Big Qua Town to worship, on coming out to pick something from her car less than 9minutes of parking the car, she came out and discovered someone had entered and started the car. In shock, she shouted, “thieve! thieve!!”. Confidently the car thief reversed the car, head towards highway, and the rest they say is history.

    When I ran into her, she was still in pains three months after her car was stolen, nothing has been heard about her car. She was quick to remind me that, that car made it possible for her to move around and to carry her kids to school not even mentioning the fact that her gratuity of service was what that car represented. A retiree who now treks due to a car crime in Calabar that has spiralled out of state control.

    Ededet Effiong, whose car was equally stolen just last month, on the 5th of October around 2pm, ran into me a week ago before I traveled. He decried the frustration of his car that was stolen. And in his raw and expressive pain, he was of the view that it is completely depressing to know that nothing tangible has come out from the search exercise one month after and neither the police force nor any paramilitary institutions have been able to solve this car theft problem as he narrated to me that, just two weeks ago another car was stolen opposite the Redeemed Christian Church of God at Akim Timber Market.

    That is three car gone, Citizens’ Solution Network hasn’t mentioned theirs nor provided the full list of what is plaguing the state due to the absence of strong leadership to end this crime.

    Charles Eyo, a renowned journalist, yesterday being Sunday was explaining to Agba Jalingo how armed robbers with machetes, guns, sticks, etc took over the Calabar-Itu road and dispossessed travelers and commuters of their belongings yesterday, and that they operated for hours and no security or law enforcement agency came to the rescue of these hapless citizens.

    This is the situation we find ourselves in the State, where citizens are left to suffer under the encouraged crime-ribbon that is spreading across every part including homes, offices and roads, yet every month, billions of Nairas come to Cross River State as State and Local Government Allocations not even listing security votes amidst huge internally generated revenues. Question is, what are all these money used for? Security and welfare are the first score cards, outside propaganda what can you point to?

    Too often those of us asking that something reasonable, responsible and responsive be done are considered the problem, they just want citizens to endure the pain, suck it up and die in their frustration. And what happens too often? Jungle justice becomes the order of the day in the visible absence of State coordinate response to growing and expanding insecurity in the state. The question is no longer if, it’s when someone else becomes the next victim. I was at Rwanda sometime back and I discovered that, every major street has cameras, I mean Rwanda, that is an African country and they ain’t wiser than us and the credit to a large extent is due to what the governors and mayors are doing than what the media want people to believe that all credit goes to Paul Kagame.

    There has been sustained calls by activists sent to the State Government to use technology and proper funding of the State Police Command to deter these crimes, because from all indications, Calabar has fast become the safest haven to steal car, kidnap hard-working professionals like Prof. Ephraim and go scot-free, and then plan the next attack since nothing on ground suggests deterrence, counter intelligence and rebalancing of the fear matrix against the criminals who now move freely with the audacity to steal cars, rob whosoever they please and even kidnap who they target with little or no cameras and intelligence to track where they are, living citizens to pay money to continue the search and retrieval process of either their stolen items or loved ones respectively.

    As they say, the cost of insecurity can be unquantifiable; as I remember the woman whose car was stolen in her pains and Mr. Ededet’s suffering since that incidence happened just to mention a few; someone was quick to bring to my attention that, the funeral procession that happened in the Dome at the Calabar Municipal Council last month, was that of one of the patients of Prof. Ephraim_ the neurologist who was caring for the stroke patient until the doctor was kidnapped, and the patient had to die in the absence of her care giver who happened to be Prof Ephraim. But that isn’t all, the sister of Prof. Ephraim had long suffered psychological breakdown since she had come to the frustration of her sister’s kidnapping that has entered months without closure from a so called community project government_ that says voting them into winning their election is a community project that all citizens should join hands to achieve for them during the election, and now, since they got into Peregrino Government House in Calabar, all you see is the tightening of their own personal security with escorts, and arm guards while public security is treated with utter disregard thereby causing organisations like mine to suffer car theft and others to go through one insecurity pain or the other. So, who is fooling who? During election, they come with the mantra of community project, and afterwards, all citizens are abandoned to fed for themselves as they suffer irresponsive leadership to their plight.

    It is the primary responsibility for Government to protect citizens and their assets using public wealth and arms in their disposal from insecurity. That responsibility in itself is the bargaining chip for faith in government and political survival. Hence the need for the government to prioritize public security in the same measure they fund and supply the need of their private guards as overseen by state resources. The lamed press release that says insecurity is a national problem and commonplace should be discarded_ nobody elects any person to keep doling such expired and dysfunctional justification for ineptitude in the face of new crime estimates.

    *Citizens’ Observatory*, the research wing of Citizens’ Assembly and Citizens’ Solution Network, will continue to investigate, document and report this abandonment of citizens to their travails as they suffer from possible suicidal silence from insecurity especially as nothing as regards Victims’ Funds and Crime Victim Support Centre isn’t set up to help cushion the financial and distabling psychological burden that comes with their losses, pains and frustration due to insecurity in the State, and to enable victims get back on track with the belief that their government shows up when they are in pains through such proposed victim’s support funds and centre.

    Signed

    Richard F Inoyo,
    Country Director,
    Citizens’ Solution Network