The Long Awaited Imo-North Rerun Election

THE LONG AWAITED IMO-NORTH RERUN ELECTION, ET AL

    Last time I painstakingly checked, the conduct of the awaited rerun election concerning the Imo-North senatorial district in Imo State coupled with a few state assembly polls in the state was long overdue that even those who fully understand the language of patience had become pessimistic. It’s pertinent to acknowledge that some other states across the federation like Anambra among others are currently passing through similar fate.

    It’s more worrisome to note that the 90-day ultimatum issued by the Nigeria’s apex court otherwise known as the Supreme Court regarding the said senatorial election likewise that issued against the awaited state assembly polls by the Appeal Court has elapsed. And pathetically, the Nigerian 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as the electoral Acts seems to be silent on the appropriate action needed to be taken in a situation like this. This indicates that the said constitution is earnestly calling for amendment in this regard.

    The aforementioned elections were scheduled to hold on Saturday 20^th of February 2016 but were outrightly cancelled by the electoral umpire, the INEC, barely twenty-four hours to the polls owing to a sensed act of criminality or electoral violence. I, personally, among other concerned citizens took umbrage as a result of that abrupt cancellation that seemed not unlike a mere mirage. And till this very moment, I’m still finding it very difficult to reawaken my precious nerves which were ostensibly paralysed due to the ordeal.

    My greatest worry remains that the polls were postponed indefinitely and till now, a fresh date is yet to be fixed for its conduct that is long overdue. This is what exactly informed the emergence of this critique having remained silent for awhile like a mere onlooker. It’s not anymore news that many of the affected citizens have reacted vocally towards this anomaly in various quarters, hence I thought it wise to reexamine as well as throw more light on the nauseous scenario.

    It’s to say the least, a thing of worry that the affected legislative seats are presently vacant in the concerned jurisdictions which include the Red Chamber of the National Assembly otherwise recognized as the Senate as well as the Imo State House of Assembly. This significantly implies that the overall people of Imo-North Senatorial Zone alongside those of Oru-East State Constituency among others – which is one of the constituencies affected at the state level, don’t currently have a representative at the Senate and the Imo House of Assembly respectively.

    We are not unaware of the socio-political and economic implications of the aforementioned lapse. However, let’s assume we have forgotten the consequence; hence such loophole indicates that, presently, the electorate of the affected senatorial district or state constituencies, as the case may be, do not have someone who is meant to speak on their behalf in the aforesaid legislative councils. This undoubtedly means that this set of persons is at the moment being shortchanged as regards the dividend of democracy due to them.

    Universally, democracy is for all concerned, thus no one or group of people is meant to be kept in the dark. Some persons cannot be enjoying the good side of governance while a few others would be asked to act like observers. Such phenomenon, which is an act of humiliation, is constitutionally wrong, hence unacceptable. Obviously, everyone or group deserves a fair treatment in any democratic setting; they must be treated equally.

    The above assertion remains the reason it is generally believed that no matter how bad a democracy is, it can never be compared to an autocracy, because freedom remains the greatest thing that would happen to mankind come rain come shine. Now, the Nigeria’s democratic setting is characterized by a change mantra initiated by its leaders; suffice it to say that every citizen of the country is clamouring for change. Such clamour requires the effort of all Nigerians towards its actualization, thus a situation where some groups are yet to boast of a federal/state legislator or representative does not augur well with the anticipation.

     I’m baffled that the individuals who are negatively affected by this scenario are seemingly docile; if not, why am I yet to hear that an organized peaceful protest has been taken to the INEC as well as the National Assembly or Imo Assembly as the case may be. Though we have heard that the Senate had mandated the electoral umpire to fill the vacant positions in the said chamber, but more vehement effort is still needed. You can’t be subjected to agony and choose to remain silent while the trauma lasts rather than speaking at the top of your voice. One of the most paramount moments in one’s life is acknowledging when he/she is being shortchanged.

    Notwithstanding, two respected personalities in the country in the persons of Chief Athan Achonu of the PDP and Hon Benjamin Uwajumogu of the APC happen to be the most influential contenders in the long awaited polls, in that of Imo-North senatorial district precisely. The latter who has served as a Speaker of the reputable Imo House of Assembly understands what a day off in the legislative business is liable to cause or lead to, thus needn’t to be told to do the needful towards ensuring that the people of his district could boast of a representative in the Senate in no distant time.        

    The people of Oru East LGA of Imo State coupled with other state constituencies in the state whose absence are currently felt in the Imo Assembly are also not left out regarding doing the needful with a view to ensuring that the ongoing humiliation becomes a thing of the past in a few days time. Oru East indisputably remains one of the frontiers among all the 27 LGAs in the state, hence isn’t supposed to be relegated to the background like a benchwarmer.

     The electoral umpire (INEC) must do something very fast toward fixing a tangible and reliable date for the awaited polls, not just in Imo State but in other affected state across the federation. They are expected to remain independent as their name implies, patriotic, resolute, genuine and most importantly unbiased, regardless of the circumstance. Someone ought to tell them that this unsolicited delay is seriously getting out of hand. Or, if I may ask; what are they really up to? Think about it!

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor

(TheMediaAmbassador)

-Researcher, Blogger, Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-

Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research

& Career Development - Owerri

_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056

Twitter: @mediambassador 

  

Unauthorized Use of Sensitive Vehicular Gadgets

THE RISING UNAUTHORIZED USE OF SENSITIVE VEHICULAR GADGETS

    The last time I holistically checked, the unauthorized use of emergency-vehicle equipment like siren among other sensitive vehicular gadgets including tinted glass and customized number plate was on the increase in the contemporary Nigerian society that it forbade the use of a partisan measure toward its holistic eradication.

    Illicit indiscriminate use of the aforementioned devices by unauthorized motorists is, to say the least, mainly responsible for most traffic embarrassments and anomalies experienced in recent times on our various major roads that if severe and rigorous approach isn’t taken towards addressing it, I’m afraid one may wake one morning to hear that such traffic authorities in the country as the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), among others, have been taken over by a group of ‘bloody’ civilians.

    Siren, which is a popularly used emergency device in most countries across the globe, could be described as an instrument fitted to or carried by an emergency-vehicle other than the devices that a standard non-emergency vehicle is fitted with such as headlights, steering wheels, windshield, and windscreens. It is generally an acoustic device that concurrently exhibits coloured lights in the process.

    Siren was invented solely to be used by emergency vehicles to include the fire truck, ambulance, and the police car, because they are usually involved in hazardous situations including relatively not uncommon incidents like a road traffic collision. This set of vehicles is required to gain access to incidents as quickly as possible, thus in many countries likewise Nigeria, it’s given a preference as regards obeying certain traffic rules.

     For instance, suchlike vehicles may, or possess the immunity to, treat a red traffic light or stop sign as a give way, or be permitted to break the speed limit, as the case may be. Notwithstanding, emergency vehicles may not be able to equally treat a railroad crossing as a give way because a train cannot be warned in time to stop before the crossing to let the vehicle through; hence, an emergency vehicle might not enjoy its usual privileges when heavy land freight or passenger trains are involved.

    Thus, owing to the inevitable role of emergency vehicles in several countries including Nigeria, they are fitted with visual warnings to alert members of the public, particularly other motorists and road users, either as they approach the said vehicle or vice-versa. Visual warnings are generally classified into passive and active.

    The passive visual warnings are usually inherently linked to the design of the vehicle, and involve the use of high contrast patterns such as striking or unusual paintings, retro-reflective designs, flamboyant stickers, and what have you, directly on the vehicle. Another method is the inscription of the name or purpose of the emergency service organization such as Fire Service, Ambulance, Red Cross et al, boldly on the front of the vehicle. This enables drivers of other vehicles to easily identify an approaching emergency vehicle via their rear view mirrors.

    On the other hand, active visual warnings are usually in the form of flashing coloured lights known as beacons or light-bars which are often accompanied by variety of sounds. The flashing coupled with sound attracts the attention of other road users including pedestrians as the emergency vehicle approaches; it equally provides warning to motorists approaching a stopped vehicle in a dangerous position on the road.

    On its part, tinted glass, which refers to any glass that has been specially treated with a material such as a film or coating that reduces the transmission of light ray through it, is purposely meant to block and/or reflect different kinds of light based on the needs as well as preferences of the consumers.

    One of the most common ways in which tinted glass is used is in automobile windows. Almost all vehicles come with tinting at the top of the windshield to reduce solar glare when the sun is low in the sky. Aside this, the windows of many vehicles, particularly cars, are tinted either at the factory or as an aftermarket add-on by the consumer, to provide privacy for the vehicle’s occupants as well as to reduce the build-up of heat in the vehicle while it is parked outside.

    As regards the functions of a vehicular tinted glass, apart from regulation of light or heat, the most rampant reason a tinted glass is used especially in a society like ours is provision of privacy for the vehicle’s occupants. Nevertheless, it’s paramount to acknowledge that, contrary to the wholesome attributes of tinted glasses, they prevent timely identification of the actual look of the vehicle’s driver alongside other occupants of the car, thereby creating room for various fraudulent or dubious acts.

    This is why the Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Acts regulate the degree to which vehicle windows can be tinted, especially the front windows. These limits are in place in order to enable the Police and other security agents to identify the driver and passengers of the vehicle in question, as well as to allow motorists to see through the windows of other vehicles in order to spot hazards that otherwise could not be noticed. Similar regulation or restriction is also accorded to the use of siren.

    Furthermore, customized or personalized number plate, which creates a unique identity of any vehicle it is applied on, is another sensitive gadget indiscriminately used by automobile owners in Nigeria. In essence, a customized registration number plate, which is really much easier to memorize, conceals the age of the automobile contrary to a general number plate that discloses the age of the vehicle that bears it.

    Summarily, a personalized number plate, which its use is equally controlled by the FRSC, is widely used for three main purposes, namely: creation of uniqueness, easy memorization as well as for concealment of the automobile age, as the case may be. However, in some quarters like the entertainment industry, most individuals use it to showcase to their fans or the public in general how influential they are, thereby ridiculing the prime essence of the device. Owing to this lingering abuse, the apt authorities had in various times banned or warned decisively on the continued use of these sensitive gadgets by unauthorized Nigerians.

    It’s appalling to observe that despite the incessant severe warnings, most Nigerians such as the politicos and what have you, still violate the law on a daily basis with impunity, thereby disabusing the public of the popular notion that ‘no one is greater than the law’. It’s more worrisome to realize that these persons received an unofficial or illegal authorization to make use of the devices from the top personnel or employees of the concerned law enforcement agencies such as the FRSC.

    Such preferential treatment invariably received by influential Nigerians from the above mentioned saboteurs in the name of ‘immunity’ really calls for a public outcry as well as a more stiff measure towards its eradication. Against this backdrop, any member of the FRSC alongside other relevant bodies caught in the act of sabotage or any form of criminality ought to be outrightly dismissed and thereafter be duly prosecuted no matter whose ox is gored. In the same spirit, any unauthorized citizen regardless of his/her status found wanting, is also meant to face the wrath of the law.

    Inter alia, there’s a compelling need to review most of the laws or Acts biding the use of sensitive vehicular devices to include siren, tinted glass and customized number plate, with a view to making amends where necessary. And such review needs to be done headlong without further ado considering the societal implications of the aforesaid uncalled lifestyle unabatedly displayed by various Nigerians who think they are beyond the law of the land that is invariably reckoned to be a respecter of nobody.

    More so, the various military cum paramilitary organizations in the country ought to be extremely careful whenever they are recruiting new members into their respective confraternities with a view to ensuring that no person of any questionable character benefits from the exercise as long as it lasts. They must be conscious of the fact that the membership of such bodies isn’t meant for everybody or all Nigerians. Unarguably, the ongoing alarming pace of sabotage witnessed in several quarters in Nigeria is mainly attributable to harbouring of frauds, albeit ignorantly, by various sensitive societies or corporate bodies across the country.

    The President Buhari-led administration that possesses a high integrity profile against corrupt practices is expected to act very fast toward ending this alarming rate of heresy, before we’ll wake one morning only to realize that the FRSC and its likes have been taken over by a group of ‘bloody’ civilians. Think about it!

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor

(TheMediaAmbassador)

-Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-

Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research

& Career Development - Owerri

_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056

Twitter: @mediambassador 

The CBN's #50 Stamp Duty Charge

THE CBN’S #50 STAMP DUTY CHARGE

    The last time I painstakingly checked, the Nigeria’s regulatory bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had introduced a fifty naira (#50) stamp duty charge on deposits and transfers of one thousand naira (#1000) and above. This implies that henceforth the sum of #50 would be deducted from any functional bank account in Nigeria, regardless of its (the account’s) type, whenever such account enjoys a deposit of or receives a minimum of #1000 either via the counter or online/ATM transfer.

    It’s not anymore news that in various quarters across the federation, a lot of criticisms, mixed feelings as well as counter reactions had greeted the aforementioned abrupt and harsh measure which is targeted to serve as a form of tax. Such mode of tax suddenly imposed on the citizenry, which is currently yearning for a compelling review by the apt authorities, is to say the least a thing of worry to anyone who truly thinks well of Nigeria and Nigerians at large.

    We reportedly learnt that the funds to be raised from the bizarre charge or exercise would be sent to the federal government to help boost revenue for the country. No doubt, we are not unaware that Nigeria is presently faced with severe economic meltdown accompanied with several political crises, hence seriously in need of assistance from not just her teeming citizens but any individual or corporate organization that wishes her well, but we ought to acknowledge that there are so many ways to kill a monkey without hurting the poor and innocent crops.

    Even if Nigeria’s hope as regards her revenue generation is currently mainly dependent on taxation, she can boast of a robust economy without taxing the poor masses inconsequentially provided an adequate and reliable tax payment policy is maintained in the system. Unequivocally, tax evasion or avoidance remains the greatest plight plaguing tax administration in Nigeria in its totality thereby posing an unprecedented threat to the country’s economic status.

    To start with; tax is a civic contribution imposed by the government of any country on its subjects, both individuals and corporate organizations, with a view to raising adequate funds required to finance its statutory responsibilities of ensuring optimum public welfare in all ramifications to include socially, economically and politically.

     Nevertheless, for decades now, effective administration of tax system in several countries across the globe has been bedevilled by various challenges including tax evasion. The aforementioned societal canker among many others is presently argued to be the most challenging practice in developing countries like Nigeria.

    The ugly phenomenon of tax evasion, which is described as a deliberate illicit attitude involving a direct violation of tax laws cum Acts to avoid payment of taxes, is conspicuously harboured in every society or locality across the federation that it requires a non-human face toward its complete eradication. If such leakage alone is holistically addressed, there won’t be any need for the recently introduced #50 stamp duty charge by the CBN.

    In spite of the enormous control measures put in place by the apt authorities, some individuals or corporate bodies manoeuvre their ways and break government’s policies in such a manner that one may wonder if the citizens are greater or more powerful than the government. Funnily enough, such set of persons is usually the prime beneficiaries of governance in a country like ours where good governance is rarely enjoyed by a common man.

    The lingering tradition of manoeuvring tax laws is considered illegal, thus requires to be duly tackled headlong by such concerned authorities as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the various Finance ministries, among others, in collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other related agencies. Unarguably, the quest for a renewed political will toward checking tax evasion in Nigeria has become paramount and inevitable owing to the pace of the ongoing economic meltdown in the country.

    To say the least, a good and viable tax system attracts numerous national and individual benefits among which are enhancement of government’s revenue, adequate regulation of macroeconomic variables, redistribution of income inequality among the citizenry, just to mention but a few. Obviously, a reliable tax system has been proven to be a tool for the proper regulation as well as stabilization of erected human attitudes or reactions in an economy.

    Since taxation has been noted to be a significant instrument in government’s fiscal policies in any developed society, there’s a compelling need for the Nigeria’s governments at all levels to treat it as such. Even the likes of Lagos State whose major revenue is being derived from taxation could testify to the fact that regular payment of taxes plays a very vital and unavoidable role towards the sustenance of a robust economy in any existing society in the world.

    Without mincing words, the Nigerian tax system indicates that the authorities responsible for managing as well as overseeing taxation have not been transparent or appropriately accountable to the government or the electorate in general. This anomaly has been a global occurrence as evidence indicates that tax personnel who are expected to promote transparency in tax payment as well as detect fraudulent acts regarding the exercise end up using their expertise to facilitate tax evasion.

    It’s more worrisome and disheartening to acknowledge that those who invariably dodge payment of taxes in Nigeria are mostly millionaires. A painstaking survey shows that these persons are not even found in taxpayers’ census; needless to insinuate that this set of unscrupulous and unpatriotic individuals or investors, either indigenous or foreign, often connives with the so-called tax personnel or professionals towards actualizing their selfish and dastardly desires.

    On the other hand, touting as witnessed in several quarters including motor parks, airports, seaports, the FRSC, market arenas, various borders, and what have you, has seriously hampered adequate regular tax payment in the affected sectors at the expense of our dearest economy. Touting that has in recent times been observed as an activity that is ostensibly acceptable by the Nigerian state has succeeded in ravaging every facet of the country’s tax administration.

    Hence, the Mohammadu Buhari led administration that’s deeply concerned about the dangers inherent in corrupt practices ought to look inwards towards blocking all forms of lingering leakages occurring in all levels of the country’s tax administration with a view to salvaging the poor masses from any unfair treatment in the name of ‘taxation’ among others such as the newly introduced #50 stamp duty charge, the abrupt 45% increment of electricity tariff, and many other trivial charges currently taking place in the banking sector which are really telling on the said group of people.

    First, we need to from time to time have a thorough census of all citizens of the country including the working class and the idle ones. Similarly, there’s need for the Federal Ministry of Finance to have a data that would boast of a comprehensive list of all the legitimate consortia operating in the country; in the same spirit, any organization operating in the country but yet to be duly registered with such relevant agencies as the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), et al, as the case may be, should be outrightly shut down indefinitely till the owner abides by the rules. This measure alone would go a long way towards maintaining a functional and reliable tax payment system in the country.

    Inter alia, forensic tax payment system ought to be introduced and regularly utilized by the concerned authorities. We need to advance in technology as regards the country’s tax administration. And most importantly, we must as a matter of urgency review most of our fiscal policies related to taxation with a view to making amends where necessary.

    Besides, apart from the leakages witnessed in the tax arena as mentioned above, there are numerous leakages presently taking place in such various other sectors as, but not limited to, the civil service and the petroleum industry, that if holistically addressed, would tremendously help to finance the country’s proposed capital projects as captured in the 2016 budget. Indeed, there are several ways to kill a monkey without hurting the poor and innocent crops in the farm.

    However, as much as we are not unaware that making out time to pay our taxes is a worthwhile and commendable civic responsibility, the government on its part ought to equally endeavour to utilize the tax payers’ money judiciously come rain come shine. Think about it!

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor

(TheMediaAmbassador)

-Researcher, Blogger, Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-

Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research

& Career Development - Owerri

_____________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056

Twitter: @mediambassador