That ‘no vacancy for first lady’
First Lady Patience Jonathan went to Mbaka’s Adoration Ministry church in Enugu at the weekend to seek help for her husband’s success in the 2015 election. Instead of telling her to go and tell her husband to work at pleasing Nigerians so that they will give him another chance to rule, Mbaka mystified the whole […]
First Lady Patience Jonathan went to Mbaka’s Adoration Ministry church in Enugu at the weekend to seek help for her husband’s success in the 2015 election. Instead of telling her to go and tell her husband to work at pleasing Nigerians so that they will give him another chance to rule, Mbaka mystified the whole thing by releasing into the air four white birds that he said will go and fight for the actualisation of Jonathan’s bid.
He did not even stop there. The priest now told Nigerian women that anyone of them that is angling to become the first lady in 2015 should wait because there is no vacancy! How low priests get these days. They even outdo praise singers. Reverend Mbaka told Mrs Jonathan, “You are the First Lady and you are going to be that again in 2015. Any other woman who wants to be the First Lady now should wait until you are through with the second term.”
Which second term? Assuming, as Reverend Mbaka is doing that President Goodluck Jonathan will win another term in 2015. If he does, where is it written in the constitution or in any other law that Mrs Patience Jonathan also has a term as first lady from 2015 to 2019? What if the First Man brings in another wife? You see Mr Priest, please do not deceive a woman simply because you want her to donate something to your church.
E-court as in e-fertilizer?
Retiring Chief Justice of Nigeria [CJN] Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar launched the Case Management System, or what is called e-court, at a ceremony in Abuja on Monday. It was said that the system is designed to improve the efficiency of courts and that it came about as a result of growing concerns over the slow dispensation of justice and the huge backlog of cases in the courts. Under the new system, it was said, courts will be automated and they will be operated through electronic devices.
Madam Chief Justice, Candid Joe is not trying to spoil your retirement but I do not want you to leave us with an albatross hanging over our necks while you are enjoying your retirement. You said at the launching that the automated court “aligned with the vision of transforming from the current manual court processes and its attendant weaknesses to technological solutions tailor-made for the Nigerian judiciary.”
Where did I hear that before? I remember now: Minister Akinwumi Adesina’s e-wallet for fertilizer distribution. It is not only court process that is slow, ponderous and ultimately frustrating in Nigeria. Backlog of fertilizer demands is even more so and the Agriculture Ministry came up with an e-solution. It wanted to give telephones to 10 million farmers so that they could send a text message and get fertilizer. Up to now I have not seen any farmer who got fertilizer by sending a text message. My question to CJN therefore is, are you going to distribute telephones to us citizens so that we can get justice by sending a text message?
I was impressed by what the chairman of the Judicial Information Technology Policy Committee and Chief Judge of Borno State Justice Kashim Zanna said at the ceremony. He said it is designed to improve court efficiency, improve access to justice and transparency and increase public trust and confidence in the courts. Oga CJ, how can a computer or any other electronic device improve justice? Is it not what people say, garbage in garbage out? Is it a computer that will deliver the court ruling? How will a computer improve public confidence in a court? A litigant is sitting there manually, looking at the judge and he did not get justice, how can he get it through a computer or a smart phone? I beg, we don’t want this one to become like Minister Adesina’s e-fertilizer.