Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has counselled the church leaders who are aggrieved over the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 on the steps to take.
On August 7, President Muhammadu Buhari signed CAMA into law.
Under the law, religious bodies and charity organisations will be strictly regulated by the registrar-general of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and a supervising minister.
CAMA provides that the commission may by order, suspend the trustees of an association or a religious body and appoint an interim manager or managers to coordinate its affairs where it reasonably believes that there has been any misconduct or mismanagement, or where the affairs of the association are being run fraudulently or where it is necessary or desirable for the purpose of public interest.
Many religious leaders, especially pastors, had rejected the law which they described as a declaration of war against the church.
David Oyedepo, presiding bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, had said the law was borne of out the government’s jealousy about the prosperity recorded by the church.
But speaking at the annual general conference of the Nigeria Bar Association on Thursday, Osinbajo asked those aggrieved over the law to approach the national assembly.
The vice-president, who is a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), said under democracy the church leaders can seek redress at parliament.
“We have a process by which this (CAMA law) can be redressed. Whatever the proposal for amendment may be, whatever the view of the leadership of the church may be, regarding the question of how the trustees, whether they are interim trustees or not, can be put into a proposal that will be brought to the National Assembly for consideration for amendment to the law, that is the process which is entirely opened and ought to be pursued,” he said.
“We are in a democracy and there is a process by which things can be done and that process is the one where you bring forward amendments to the National Assembly and they will do whatever is considered useful in the circumstance.”
On the southern Kaduna crisis, the vice-president said the federal government will ensure those perpetrating violence are brought to justice.
Osinbajo said major underlying issues including ensuring justice, fixing economic marginalisation will not be swept under the carpet while dealing with the situation.
“There have been judicial commissions and all sorts, but the problem remains. So, there is a need to address the underlying issues. You can’t sweep under the carpet, justice and the cries of economic marginalisation,” he said.
“The fact is that we must prosecute persons responsible for these murders or otherwise impunity will worsen. And also support those who have lost their breadwinners.
“The mindless callous killings in Southern Kaduna are heartbreaking.”
On Friday, February 28th, our kinfolk in the United States, standing shoulder to shoulder with their white compatriots of conscience who have repudiated, or are laboring to discard the privileged mores of a culture of racist disdain, will re-enact the great march on Washington that was once led by Martin Luther King. They will re-awaken the convictions that gave birth to the world acclaimed oration of the twentieth century, delivered by the militant preacher and advocate of non-violence.
Coming in the wake of movements inspired by the horrifying last utterance of one black victim after another – “I Cannot Breathe” – now known and shared across the world as BLACK LIVES MATTER, one’s mind compulsively wanders over certain portions of that speech. This is hardly surprising in my case, since – I here reveal – I once declaimed portions of that speech – and in French to boot! – in 1989, in Paris. That national event took place under the 200th Anniversary Monument to the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen’, a product of the French Revolution – a word I suppose we should use only with government permission these days!
Again, like millions of others on this continent, but most immediately within the Nigerian borders, I have mulled over that watershed episode over and over again. Within the past few days however, like millions of others, I have been compelled to re-phrase that earlier mentioned global litany to read: DO NIGERIAN LIVES MATTER? DO FARMERS’ LIVES MATTER? DO IPOD LIVES MATTER? DO INNOCENT LIVES MATTER? And most disturbingly: DO FUTURE LIVES MATTER?
One passage in Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” has leapt to the forefront as a warning that relates to that final interrogatory – DO FUTURE LIVES MATTER? And it does so in a most literal manner, one that MLK could never have envisioned! It persists in echoing through the mind, reinforced by the recent killings of innocent humanity – mostly youths – in Enugu, by state forces, under the pretext – shall we presume? – of preventing secessionist agitations? More of that in the fullness of mandatory and transparent investigation before the entire nation. For now, we must return to the MLK proclamation, one that is fortuitously pertinent to a structural provocation that is poised to rip apart the remaining shreds of pretense that continue to hold this nation together as one. The passage under reference goes thus:
“NO, NO, WE ARE NOT SATISFIED AND WE WILL NOT BE SATISFIED UNTIL JUSTICE ROLLS DOWN LIKE WATERS, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS LIKE A MIGHTY STREAM.”
Sometimes, and in some unintended circumstances, words descend from their heights of rhetorical flourish to hit us right in the guts of daily survival and anxieties for future existence. From metaphor, they turn literal! Such are the implications embedded in those words:
“…until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream”
Nothing mysterious. Let me remind you of the ongoing diabolical scenario that justifies the evocation of that warning, near literally!
A roundly condemned project, blasted out of sight by public outrage one or two years ago, is being exhumed and sneaked back into service by none other than a failed government, and with the consent of a body of people, supposedly elected to serve as custodians of the rights, freedoms and existential exigencies of millions. This bill – BILL ON NATIONAL WATER RESOURCES 2020 is designed to hand Aso Rock ABSOLUTE CONTROL over the nation’s entire water resources, both over and underground.
The basic facilitator of human existence, water – forget for now all about streams of righteousness! – is to become exclusive to one centralized authority. It will be doled out, allocated through power directives from a desensitized rockery that cannot even boast of the water divining wand of the prophet Moses. If the current presiding genius – and this applies equally to ALL his predecessors without exception – had a structured vision of Nigerian basic entitlements, Nigerians would by now, be able to boast the means of fulfilling even that minimalist item of COVID 19 protocols that call for washing one’s hands under running water! As for potable water, for drinking and cooking, let us not even begin to address such extra-terrestrial undertaking!
What next for the exclusive list? The rains? I declare myself in full agreement with virtually every pronouncement of alarm, outrage, opprobrium, and repudiation that have been heaped upon this bill and its parentage, both at its first outing and since this recent re-emergence. It is time to move beyond denunciations however and embark on practical responses for its formal deactivation and permanent internment. Let all retain in their minds that, from the same source that preached the “streams of righteousness” is encountered the promise of “no more floods, the fire next time.” In any case, let the promulgators of this obscenity, high and low, understand that the placid waters they think to control unjustly and grotesquely, will turn to be Martin Luther King’s “ mighty stream of righteousness” that will overwhelm and sweep them off their complacent, and increasingly loathsome sectarian, conspiratorial heights.
One polluted stream of human existence compounds the next. A violation here joins forces with its tributary of resentment there yonder, all seemingly unconnected. Martin Luther King’s streams of righteousness turn into a mighty torrent of repulse that overwhelms the perpetrators but, alas, takes down much else as collateral, irreparable damage. That is the only cause for regret and – restraint. Hence our duty to position that anguished question frontally, and call the world to witness our open propagation of that challenge: DO FUTURE LIVES MATTER?
Let Buhari and his myrmidons ponder that question in the deepest recesses of their hearts and minds. They should not bequeath to future generations the harvest of the grapes of wrath!
Nigerian Government has postponed the resumption of international flights earlier scheduled to commence August 29th to September 5th.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Musa Shuaibu Nuhu, disclosed this at the ongoing Presidential Task Force COVID-19 briefing in Abuja.
Nuhu said airlines and airports were ready to operate, other non-aviation logistics prompted the one-week extension.
“We have other non-aviation logistics we are still working on, mostly the COVID-19 protocol tests and online platform,” he said. “We need to get these ready.”
Nuhu described September 5 as a “sacrosanct date”, noting that “the initial announcement was anytime from the 29th.”
“In due course, we will be announcing the protocols for the resumptions and we will be giving further details,” he said. “Hopefully early next week, we will release these.”
Nigeria started to restrict international flights in March as part of efforts to restrict the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The country eventually went into a lockdown.
The shutdown, which included ban on inter-state travels and closure of public places and schools, contributed to the decline of the country’s economic growth.
In July, the country resumed domestic flight operations with international flights scheduled to follow.
The postponement came barely 48 hours to commencement of international flight expected to start from Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
Manchester United midfielder, Paul Pogba, was omitted from the France squad announced Thursday for next month’s Nations League matches against Sweden and Croatia after testing positive for COVID-19, coach Didier Deschamps said.
World Cup winner Pogba has been replaced by teenager Eduardo Camavinga, who was called up for the first time alongside Lyon midfielder, Houssem Aouar, and RB Leipzig defender, Dayot Upamecano.
Mali’s new military rulers have said that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was detained during the country’s coup on August 18, has been released.
The junta, which calls itself the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), said on Facebook it was “informing public and international opinion that former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been released and is currently in his residence”.
Keita’s release had been a key demand of Mali’s neighbours and international organisations, including the African Union and European Union.
“President IBK is free in his movements, he’s at home,” a spokesman for the junta, Djibrila Maiga, told AFP news agency, referring to Keita by his initials, as many Malians do.
A Keita relative, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the 75-year-old former leader had returned overnight to his house in the Sebenikoro district of the capital Bamako.
Released after ECOWAS mediation
Keita, prime minister Boubou Cisse and other senior officials were seized by rebel troops led by young officers who staged a mutiny at a base near Bamako.
In the early hours of August 19, Keita appeared on national TV to announce his resignation, saying he had had no other choice, and wanted to avoid “bloodshed”.
The release of Keita and other leaders has been demanded by Mali’s neighbours and allies and international organisations.
Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, heading a team from the regional bloc ECOWAS, was given access to Keita last Saturday, and said he seemed “very fine.”
Several Chelsea players have not returned for pre-season training after testing positive for COVID-19, according to reports in British media.
The reports did not name the players and Chelsea did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Players who test positive have to self-isolate for 10 days and return a negative coronavirus test before they can take part in training.
Sheffield United, Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United were among the other English Premier League clubs to report positive COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, the Times said.
Frank Lampard’s side, who finished fourth last season, kick off their campaign against Brighton on Sept 14.
TikTok Chief Executive, Kevin Mayer, has quit after just two months in the job ahead of an impending ban by US President Donald Trump.
The Chinese-owned firm has been accused of being a threat to US national security by the Trump administration.
Mr Mayer joined TikTok in June after leaving his role as Disney’s head of streaming services.
TikTok was given 90 days to be sold to an American firm or face a ban in the US.
“In recent weeks, as the political environment has sharply changed, I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for,” Mr Mayer said in a letter to employees.
“Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company,” Mr Mayer added.
Both TikTok and Chinese messaging app WeChat face bans in the US as tensions rise between Washington and Beijing over a wide range of issues including national security concerns about Chinese tech firms.
“We appreciate that the political dynamics of the last few months have significantly changed what the scope of Kevin’s role would be going forward, and fully respect his decision. We thank him for his time at the company and wish him well,” a spokesman for TikTok said.
Kevin Mayer was brought into TikTok to help give the Chinese-owned app an American image.
The thinking was that the former Disney man would be able to negotiate with a tough-on-China Trump administration better than perhaps a Chinese chief executive and that would help smooth TikTok’s path into one of its biggest markets – the US.
Instead, the intense pressure from the Trump administration on TikTok only grew.
President Trump claims TikTok is a national security threat because of who it is owned by, Chinese internet firm ByteDance.
Earlier this month, he signed an executive order that would effectively ban TikTok’s operations in the US if it wasn’t sold to another company by mid September.
All of this is not what Mr Mayer signed up for when he left Walt Disney to take on the role at TikTok.
And after just two months in the job, he is now departing.
Executive Order
President Trump’s executive order prohibits transactions with TikTok’s owner ByteDance from mid-September.
The firm has gone to court to challenge the ban.
Officials in Washington are concerned that TikTok could pass American users’ data to the Chinese government, something ByteDance has denied doing.
TikTok said the Trump administration’s move was motivated by politics, not national security.
US tech giant Microsoft has confirmed that it is continuing talks to purchase the US operations of TikTok.
The Canadian government has appointed a Nigerian-born Canadian, Kaycee Madu, as the justice minister and solicitor general of Alberta, a province in Canada.
With the new appointment, he replaces Doug Schweitzer, the new minister of jobs, economy and innovation.
“Madu is the first Black Man to occupy either Provincial or Federal Justice positions of the Justice Minister, Attorney General or Solicitor General,” Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) said in a tweet.
The 47-year-old was born and raised in Southeast Nigeria. He graduated from the University of Lagos with a law degree in 2001. He has practised law in both Nigeria and Alberta.
Madu was first elected as a minister in Alberta in the April 2019 general election.
Prior to his current appointment, Madu was a member of the Legislative Assembly of the province, representing the district of Edmonton-South West after winning the 2019 Alberta general election.
Based on the current state of affairs in the province, Madu is expected to spearhead the changes in the Police Act, and provincial election finance laws proposed by the Select Special Democratic Accountability Committee.
Reacting to the appointment, Madu stated that the importance of carrying the new ministry forward amid difficult social and economic times weighs heavily on his mind.
He said that his fundamental belief in equal access to justice has always informed his legal work, and that will never change.
“I spent my entire professional career fighting for those who lacked means, including at Legal Aid Alberta, Labour, Immigration, and Human Rights Tribunals, and in the courts. My views on the application of justice and equality will always be integral to who I am as a father, husband, citizen, lawyer, and politician.
“I am determined to make sure our justice system represents all Albertans in a way that is fair and accountable. In particular, I believe Modernizing the Police Act will be a necessary step towards ensuring equality for marginalised people before the law, and I look forward to that important work ahead,” he noted
According to CBC News, he and his wife relocated to Canada in 2005.
On April 30, 2019, he was appointed to the Executive Council of Alberta as the Minister of Municipal Affairs.
Madu, a member of the United Conservative Party, is the first Nigerian-born cabinet member in Alberta.
Premier Jason Kenney on Tuesday said the appointment of Mr Madu makes a powerful statement at a time when Albertans have grown more sensitive to racial prejudice.
“[Madu] is a man who has experienced racial prejudice firsthand and can bring that sensitivity to this important role,” Mr Kenney said.
The NBA postponed Wednesday’s three play-off games after the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted their fixture in protest at the shooting of Jacob Blake.
Blake, a black man, was shot several times in the back by police on Sunday.
The incident took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin, 40 miles from Milwaukee.
The Bucks’ senior vice president, Alex Lasry, tweeted “Some things are bigger than basketball. The stand taken today by the players and organisation shows that we’re fed up. Enough is enough.”
He added: “Change needs to happen. I’m incredibly proud of our guys and we stand 100% behind our players ready to assist and bring about real change.”
The Bucks were due to play the Orlando Magic. After the postponement, a statement on behalf of the Magic and their owners, the DeVos family, read: “Today we stand united with the NBA office, the National Basketball Players Association, the Milwaukee Bucks and the rest of the league condemning bigotry, racial injustice and the unwarranted use of violence by police against people of colour.”
The Houston Rockets’ game against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers’ match-up with the Portland Trail Blazers were also postponed, and will be rescheduled.
The Lakers’ LeBron James tweeted: “We demand change. Sick of it.”
Prior to the scheduled game, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said: “Myself, my players and our organisation are very disturbed by what happened in Kenosha.
“It is a great challenge to have an appreciation and a desire to want change, to want something different and better in Kenosha, Milwaukee and Wisconsin, and then to go out and play a game.”
The Athletic reported that NBA players are scheduled for a meeting in Florida later on Wednesday to determine their next steps, with NBA TV saying that some players are contemplating leaving the NBA bubble near Orlando.
Earlier on Wednesday, NFL’s Detroit Lions cancelled their practice session. Players then gathered in front of the team facility, holding signs which read: “We Won’t be Silent” and “The World Can’t Go On.”
After the NBA boycott, the NHL are expected to hold a ‘moment of reflection’ before the games between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning in Toronto, and the Dallas Star and Colorado Avalanche in Edmonton.
Computer engineers and scientists have made a case for the professionals in advancing the prospects of Nigeria’s digital economy.
They submitted that the merit of the digital economy is underscored by its rise to many new trends, start-up ideas, and breakthrough advancements.
According to stakeholders in the computer engineering and science fields, the professions make important contributions to the economy, both from direct addition to economic output from the work they do, and the contribution of the sectors in which they work.
They made these observations during a webinar, themed: “The roles of Computer Engineers and Computer Scientists in a Developing Digital Economy,” organised by the Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE).
They also used the opportunity to reaffirm the relationship that exists between engineers and scientists in the computer space, saying no feud within the rank.
Prof. Francisca N. Ogwueleka of the Department of Computer Science and Cyber Security, Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, said computer science and computer engineering have similarities, as both have overlapping study areas that work side by side.
Advancing the digital economy, Ogwueleka explained that this is also known as web economy or the Internet economy, which is one collective term for all economic transactions that occur on the Internet.
According to her, with the advent of technology and the process of globalisation, the digital and traditional economies are merging into one through the aid of the computer engineer and computer scientist.
She said the digital economy focuses on digital technologies and is based on digital and computing technologies, adding that it covers all business, economic, social, cultural activities that are supported by the web, and other digital communication technologies undertaken by the computer engineer and computer scientist.
Besides, she said one can also consider the long run return to the economy of improvements in physical infrastructure, in which both computer engineers and computer scientists have played a vital role, and the contributions they make to the knowledge economy and to sustainability.
According to her, computer engineers deal with the creation, improvement, and protection of the environment, providing facilities for living, health, industry and transportation. Others include infrastructure, applications and services in different fields such as large buildings, hospitals, roads, bridges, canals, railroad lines, airports, water supply systems, dams, irrigation, harbours, and other science and engineering facilities within a given region which produces high economic values.
“An example can be seen in this pandemic period where there were a lot of collaborations between the engineers and scientists in creating health facilities, automated programmes, robots, ventilators, hospital beds, among others to assist the medical personnel in the fight against the Covid-19,” she stated.
Ogwueleka said the backbone of the digital economy is hyper connectivity, which means growing interconnectedness of people, organisations, and machines that results from the Internet, mobile technology, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
She identified three main components of digital economy, namely, the e-business, e-business infrastructure, and e-commerce, adding that these components are made possible by the computer engineer and computer scientist.
The NDA don submitted that going forward, computer engineers and computer scientists will have to join forces with biologists, chemists, meteorologists, economists, planners, political scientists, and community leaders in unprecedented ways to lead society on a sustainable economic path.
Ogwueleka noted that in many situations, computer scientists and computer engineers work side by side to design, maintain and build computers, software and hardware.
However, in terms of their roles in developing the economy, she said these vary, depending on the nation’s level of development.
According to her, in an underdeveloped nation (e.g., any of central African nations), computer science role is a relatively minor supporting technology and the best use of resources is to develop infrastructure and the economy, while in the form of IT, can improve efficiency, but such countries will primarily depend on software developed elsewhere. The most advanced nations (U.S., many European countries), according to him will find more uses for software and will be major producers of software.
“But until a nation has a strong, advanced economy, software will play only a supporting role in development. The role of computer science in developing countries would be to build an online infrastructure, so all sectors and even the government can operate online. You can deliver information at a faster rate than ever possible, and having an infrastructure to support a growing country will definitely improve the overall condition of that country,” she stated.
Simplifying the distinction between both fields in advancing the digital economy, another NDA scholar, Prof. Samuel John, said computer engineers will focus on computer aided drafting and design (CADD), mobile device engineering, sustainable green energy, and biomedical engineering, among others.
From his perspective, Principal Member of Technical Staff (AT&T Labs, Middletown, NJ USA) Godswill Oletu, said computer engineers and scientists are by nature problem solvers, therefore their roles and responsibilities should revolve around solving national problems.
For their roles to be adequate, Oletu, an engineer, said there should be good enabling laws, act and legislation; sound regulatory bodies’ policies and programs; basic educational foundation with relevant contents, and basic enabling environment and access to information.
