Opinion II Have You Collected Your PVC?

HAVE YOU COLLECTED YOU PVC?

        

The last time I checked, we were at the peak of the pre-electioneering era that everyone needed not to be told or reminded that he/she was meant to fasten the seat-belt towards averting any form of carnage.

        

Here in Imo, the Eastern Heartland, the story isn’t different. This is the reason you would observe that every dick and harry has inadvertently become perturbed as regards what the next second entails.

         

In every facet of the state, even in the market arena, the story remains the same. One may ask; what is the story in question? It is nothing but the fact that we are fast approaching yet another set of general elections, which is expected to take place across the federation.

        

Constitutionally, in any democratic terrain, elections can never be overridden by anything whatsoever. This implies that such a factor is invariably regarded as supreme by any sane and rational citizen, be it a leader or follower.

        

In the same vein, traditionally, it’s pertinent to acknowledge that there is a scenario that usually heralds any electioneering period. The preliminary era remains registration for, and collection of, voter’s card by every eligible citizen of the affected country or state, as the case may be.

        

But, who is an ‘eligible citizen’ as mentioned above? An eligible citizen in this case is no other than someone who is constitutionally empowered to vote or be voted for. As it is enshrined in the 1999 Nigeria’s Constitution, as amended, any Nigerian citizen who has attained the age of eighteen (18) has the power to cast a vote for any contestant and equally possess the right to aspire for some certain political positions.

         

However, it’s equally imperative to note that there’s a tool or device that authorizes any eligible citizen to cast his or her vote at the polls. The device is the voter’s card otherwise known and addressed as Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC). In other words, one without the PVC is not expected to be anywhere near a given polling unit let alone casting a vote for a candidate of his/her choice.

        

It’s indeed disheartening and mind-boggling that in spite of the high level of awareness so far created by countless civil society groups such as the revered Right Thinkers Movement, among others, thousands of Nigerians – Imolites in particular – are yet to collect, or even register for, their PVCs.

       

One would then wonder how they intend to effect the change they are clamouring for come 2019. It’s not anymore news that most of these Imolites are at the moment found in various quarters across the state and beyond discussing politics and governance, still virtually all cannot boast of the device that would guarantee them access to cast their votes at the polls. It suffices to assert that such persons have no electoral value. How do you reconcile this?

         

The news that got to my desk recently has it that about 480,000 PVCs are yet to be collected from the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) domiciled in the state. Funnily enough, the irony of the anomaly is that most of those uncollected PVCs ostensibly belong to the Imolites who have been making the greatest noise in regard to the impending elections.

        

You are unequivocally really deceiving yourself if by now you are yet to collect, or even register for, your PVC but you are deeply involved in the ongoing politicking or political brouhaha within the state. The truth is that you are not only deceiving yourself but perhaps also causing untold hardship for your entire generation.

          

The INEC had earlier informed the general public that registration cum collection of PVCs would be suspended as from Friday, 17^th August 2018. This is why the electoral umpire kept its offices open even during the weekends to enable everyone, irrespective of his/her nature of work, go for the collection of their PVCs. But despite all these measures, thousands of PVCs are still reportedly lying at the various offices of the INEC. Who is deceiving who?

         

Acknowledging the unfortunate situation, the INEC has graciously extended the registration cum collection period to 31st August 2018d 2018 with a view to ensuring that no excuse is further given by anyone as regards collection of, or registration for, their PVCs.

         

If you have registered before now but had lost or misplaced yours, you are supposed to walk up to any INEC quarters nearest to you and renew your registration as well as collect the PVC without much ado. You are equally required to conscientize others close to you or in your neighbourhood, such as friends, relatives, colleagues, associates and what have you, to follow suit for their own good.

          

Imolites and Nigerians in general ought to, therefore, avail themselves this golden opportunity towards doing the needful. They must understand that the power to usher in a better tomorrow strictly and solely lies in their hands. But it’s pathetic that they cannot exercise such power if they lack their respective PVCs.

        

On their part, the leadership of the various Imo women’s groups should also use the ongoing August Meeting in their various communities to sensitize their colleagues on the need not to relent with regard to registering and collecting their PVCs.

         

As I appreciate the INEC for this extension, I’m equally urging the governments at all levels to within their powers endeavour to provide mobility for the sake of those who cannot afford the transit that would convey them to the INEC offices in their respective jurisdictions.

       

All in all, the truth of the matter is that whatever change we, individually or collectively, yearn for begins from now and with us. Think about it!

Comrade FDN Nwaozor

National Coordinator, Right Thinkers Movement

_________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056

Twitter: @mediambassador            

            

Opinion II When Lawmakers Become Lawbreakers

WHEN LAWMAKERS BECOME LAWBREAKERS

        

The last time I checked, various legislatures across the contemporary Nigerian society had in one occasion or the other violated or broken the law which they are bound to safeguard.

        

The most popular phenomenon in this regard is impeachment saga, which has abruptly become a norm. Currently, one would hardly wake without hearing that a certain state assembly speaker alongside other principal officers of the House is about to be impeached, or has already been shown the way out, probably for a frivolous or selfish purpose.

         

Sometimes you would hear that a particular deputy governor or even a governor is passing through suchlike fate or ordeal in the hands of the legislators. This uncultured practice has continued unabated that most concerned Nigerians have wondered if the so-called impeachment process took place during the midnight at one of the lawmakers’ abode.

          

The Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, as amended – likewise the laws of the various states – categorically stipulates the procedure through which any intending impeachment could be actualized, but it’s very baffling that some so-called lawmakers would wake one morning to inform the general public that they had ‘successfully’ impeached the governor, deputy governor, or speaker, as the case may be.

           

Funnily enough, the clerk of the affected house would welcome or assent to such unconstitutional and nauseous conduct, thus agree to swear-in the beneficiaries of the baseless impeachment who had claimed to have taken over the leadership of the assembly.   

         

The most recent of the unfortunate circumstance were the ones that transpired in Benue, Imo and Kano States. Pitiably, like what happened in Enugu State barely few years ago in the case of the former Deputy Governor of the state, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, the judiciary – owing to prolonged delay in prosecution – would only reverse such wrongful act after the tenure of the affected officer has elapsed.

          

This, therefore, implies that there’s a compelling need to strengthen the country’s judiciary in its entirety. There ought to be duration for any ongoing prosecution irrespective of the circumstance. The prosecution of a certain lawsuit should be meant to constitutionally last within a stipulated period of time. Such approach would tremendously save plaintiffs from unsolicited prolonged wait.

        

Aside impeachment, sometimes you would observe the lawmakers acting funny such as dodging a certain plenary, indulgence in a fracas,  and creation of inconsequential factions, among other forms of contempt.

          

A legislature is the lawmaking ambit of a political unit that has power to amend and repeal public policies. It’s an assembly of persons that makes statutory laws for a municipality, state, or nation, as might be the case.

         

A legislative body constitutionally deserves to be well respected in any society where it exists because it creates a complex interaction between its individual members, committees, political parties, rules of parliamentary procedure and informal norms.

         

A legislature is the embodiment of the doctrine of popular sovereignty, which recognizes that the people are the source of all political powers. In advanced democracies, citizens choose via popular votes the persons that would serve them as their legislators or representatives because they understand the sensitive nature of a legislator’s responsibilities.

         

The representatives are expected to be sensitive to the needs of their constituents and to represent their common interest in the legislature, thus they need to take cognizance of the people’s feelings regarding any action they intend to carry out.

         

In view of these facts, the legislators at all levels who are expected to control, criticize, supervise and scrutinize the administration or activities of the executive as well as influence the policies of the government aren’t meant to at all cost indulge in any thought, action or inaction that would attract public criticism or condemnation.

         

The existing political parties that remain the primary political homes of these lawmakers have a very vital role to play in this aspect since every legislator is an affiliate of a certain party. It’s their duty to call any of their members to order when the need arises, make them acknowledge that they are not just representing their respective constituencies but also the party as well as suspend them indefinitely if need be.

         

The lawmakers ought to be the first class constitution activists, thus the constitution should always guide every move they make, their utterances and how they relate with the public. They are invariably expected to speak unanimously because the same tool or principle is guiding them.

          

It’s noteworthy that due to their inability to establish one voice in most occasions, their positions are often abused by the members of the executive arm, thereby ridiculing their stance or immunity.

         

We need to wake up from our slumbers. It’s high time we told ourselves nothing but the gospel truth. Our democracy has suffered an untold hardship because we refuse to face the reality. The reality remains that every democratic state must be guided or controlled by the language of the constitution. The rule of law must be observed as a priority, hence shouldn’t be maltreated by anyone in a position of authority.

          

Why would you attempt to break what you took your precious time to make, rather than safeguarding it? Think about it!

Comrade FDN Nwaozor

National Coordinator, Right Thinkers Movement

_________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

Twitter: @mediambassador            

TechDeck I Has ICT Replaced Human Brain?

HAS ICT REPLACED HUMAN BRAIN

         

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has unannounced seemingly taken over from the human brain. If this observation holds water, one would begin to wonder how an artificial possession can override the natural one knowing full well that the latter unarguably begets the former.

         

Considering the ongoing trend whereby, for instance, an average student would in most cases prefer to make use of a calculator rather than his or her brain, you might subtly concur that the human brain is gradually going into extinction.

          

Of course, one may not hesitate to insinuate that the human brain is not anymore needed, since ICT has proven beyond doubts to be the ‘messiah’ when it calls for information sourcing or data storage.

           

Undoubtedly, the impact of ICT on man’s daily activity cannot be overemphasized, especially when considered that it can carry out a certain work expressly – and at anytime – without causing much stress for any of the beneficiaries of the work done.

          

Unlike the brain that might not be very active at a given time. For example, you cannot wake someone from sleep and therein ask him or her to help you with a certain information or task. The brain needs to be relaxed before carrying out such required task. On the contrary, an ICT equipment/system is invariably ready to perform its work unless when faulty.

         

Little wonder, in various Mathematics classes, you would hardly see pupils or students – as the case may be – making use of their brain. They are now quick in using their calculators, or handsets, when the former is not at their reach, even in cases concerning elementary arithmetic let alone basic algebra or geometry.

         

Those days, candidates who enrolled for external examinations like the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) could not attempt to enter the exam hall with any ICT gadget including calculator, cell phone, or what have you. But nowadays, the exam board (JAMB) itself provides the candidates with such equipment, particularly calculator.

         

This policy, which doesn’t augur well for our educational system, implies that even the teachers as well as examiners encourage the students to overlook the use of their brains. This is why most students often laugh at others who try to deploy their brain while in classroom or at their respective homes.

         

Parents and guardians too would stop at nothing to ensure that their wards do not ‘stress’ their brain by providing them with any requested learning material. ICT has apparently dominated the modern generation otherwise known as the ‘digital age’ and perhaps replaced the human brain.

         

Lest we celebrate that we need not bother our brain any longer in issues pertaining to learning, routine office works, or as might be the case, let’s not forget in haste that the human brain remains the only endowment that does the thinking – which ICT can never do – not even for a second.

          

The gospel truth is that the brain can engage in an extensive and rigorous thinking towards proffering the required remedy to any given plight, or providing sound and reliable ideas that can stand the test of time.

        

The human brain can store as much information as possible. Your brain might have only a few gigabytes of storage space similar to the one in your iPod, USB flash drive, or computer hard-disk.

         

But neurons, also known as nerve cells, combine so that each one helps with many memories at a time thereby exponentially increasing the brain’s memory storage capacity to something closer to around 2.5petabytes – equivalent to a million gigabytes.

          

Similarly, research indicates that the human brain is thirty times faster than the best supercomputer in existence. Moreover, knowledge acquired wholly with the use of the brain gives self-confidence, and such is always reliable irrespective of the circumstance.

         

It’s pertinent to acknowledge that ICT itself was invented solely by the brain, and any existing IT gadget such as computer is programmed mainly by the effort of same human brain. Inter alia, such IT equipment as any computerized gadget provides information on a daily basis based on what it receives from the human brain; it is called ‘garbage in, garbage out’ in the computer world.

          

Above all, whenever an IT gadget/network gets infested or ceased to perform, it is the human brain that would fix the anomaly. Needless to say that the day-to-day thrive of ICT cannot be adequately effective and efficient without involving the brain.

         

The truth is, ICT which remains manmade, can fade at anytime whereas human brain will never. This is the reason we must not make attempt to relegate our brains to the background; else, we shall all live to regret it. There’s, therefore, a compelling need to revisit the existing policies towards mandating the learners to invariably make use of their brains.

          

Believe it or not, ICT can never be compared to the ‘almighty’ human brain, because the latter is arguably yet to have a rival. Survey shows that no computer can compete with the brain of the dullest human on Earth. Hence, we are advised to believe so much in ourselves by finding reasonable time to work on our brains, proudly use it always, as well as endeavour to handle it with absolute care.

         

Though the functions of ICT cannot be overemphasized as earlier stated, the role of the human brain remains limitless. The former was invented to serve as an aid to mankind’s daily activity, and not to replace the latter. Think about it!

Comrade FDN Nwaozor

Chief Consultant, Docfred Technologies

___________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

+2348028608056 

Twitter: @mediambassador