Merry Xmas and Happy 2017 in Advance.

FEUDALISM IS PRESENT IN NIGERIA.

ESEH-OKPU

FEUDALISM IS PRESENT IN NIGERIA.  DO YOU SEE ITS ROLE AS POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE ON THE DEVELOPMENT IN THE COUNTRY?  DRAW PARALLELS WITH EUROPEAN HISTORY

Feudalism refers to a hierarchical relationship between lords and vassals and also between vassals and peasants.  Feudalism is dated back to the medieval period in Europe.  Under the feudal arrangement, lords own lands and grant possession of lands to the nobles in return; the noble provides military service to the lords, and the peasants provide physical labour in return for protection.  This set of relationship between lords and nobles was used to maintain law and order.

The feudal structure was upheld in the old British Empire.  In the British feudal system, no lord could be sued in court which he held to try the cases of its tenants.  Similarly, the king of England as the apex of the feudal pyramid was not subject to the jurisdiction of the court in the realm.  This is the concept of “kings do no wrong”.  No action could be brought against the king without his consent.  However, the concept “the king do no wrong” means that the king has no legal power to do wrong.  The king’s legal position, his power


and prerogatives which distinguished him from an ordinary citizen is given to him by law and the law gives him no authority to commit wrong.

The immunity of the king arose from two reasons, one the fact that the court was his and so he cannot issue a writ against himself without him permitting the court to do so through his endorsement of petitions, two, the society does not expect him to do wrong so he do not have the legal capacity to commit it.   Following this, the government was responsible for fulfilling any obligation arising from his actions.  However, things changed in 1947 when the crown proceeding Act was promulgated.  Under this, the king became a subject of private law though not in his personal capacity, and a citizen can seek redress against the injustice committed against a state or its official by ordinary court procedure.

The feudal structure that was operational in England up to 1948 was transferred to Nigeria.  In Nigeria the rights of the
crown was vested in the head of Government by the provision of the Republican Constitution in 1963.  Following the adoption of presidential system of government in 1979 no civil or criminal proceedings can be instituted against the president, vice president, governor, or deputy governor during their period in office.  They can neither be arrested nor imprison during that period in pursuance of the process of any court or otherwise.  While they hold office, no process of any court compelling the appearance shall be applied or issued.  This is to say they are not liable for any civil or criminal act or omission done in their personal capacity while in office, it only means that action cannot be taken against them at time.  This provision is replicated in the 1999 constitution. 

The immunity of the crown does not envisage that a king can do wrong.  It never foresaw a situation where criminals will become king and kings becoming criminals.  The philosophy

that a king lives well above his servant is in his display of majesty and pride.  Hence, he will not condescend to the level of criminality. 

Thus, we have never heard until recently in Nigeria that a president of a nation or a governor of a state can reduce himself to the level of a thief.  Accumulating state wealth for personal aggrandizement.

In the relationship between king and wrong-doing, three situations can be discerned.  The first is that he lives above the level of wrong remains free of the consequences of the wrong doing.  In this regard, the immunity of the crown makes a lot of sense.  But what happens if the king does wrong?  That is where the remaining two options come into operation when he does wrong, it means that the immunity granted him has failed.  Under the presidential system of government, the constitution provide for impeachment clause which could be


invoked by the legislature after a procedure that ascertains his guilt is duly followed.

In Nigeria, the constitution relies on the impeachment clause to guard the executive against doing wrong and in removing him from office when he commits one.  Unfortunately in practice, it is used to settle scores between the executive and legislature or in the attempt of the later to extort money from the former.  The impeachment clause is used by the legislature to extort money from a wrong doing king.

Almost all the kings in Nigeria are wrong doers.  Whenever they learn about a wrong committed by a governor or a president; they raise the red card against him and behold he will give them money fro bribe.  Impeachment has failed to secure justice for Nigerians due the susceptibility of the legislature to corruption.

When the judicial system fails to check the excesses of the king, the citizens will resort to solution outside law.  When law fails, the state degenerate to anarchy.  People have found various ways of dealing with their problems.  Civil war is one often ending with the king as the loser as it happened in Charles 1 in 17^th century England, Revolution is another as it happened in France in 1789 against feudalism, Russian Tsar in March 1917 (Bolsheviks revolution).

Since the demise of the Nigeria’s first civilian republic in 1966, the constituent units of the federation have increasingly lost their autonomy.  In practice they are now administrative extensions of the federal government.  Historically, the constituent units have always been creations of the central government, and this has always given the later a measure of superiority.  The years of military rule further strengthened the authority of the federal government and led to the subordination of state governments as is consistent with military organizational norms of unity of command and

hierarchical authority.  For their part, state has not let go their autonomy without a fight and in several instances, this has led to conflicts between the forces of centralization and non-centralization.  However, the forces of centralization are winning.

In present-day Nigeria, election results are predetermined and the people votes do not count.  What really counts are the reciprocal agreement those in power and the electoral officials appointed by them (in return for their appointment these electoral officials are required to influence elections in favour of their masters).  The people’s participation is necessary only to validate the process.  Given that the people’s vote do not count, those “elected” are not likely filling any need to be accountable to the people.  Since the electorate votes do not count, election do not serve as a means to rotate power, but to promote corruption in government thereby increasing the gap between the rich and power on one hand, and the masses on the other hand.

Neo-feudalism is reminiscent in Nigeria today.  It boost a very wide gap between the “haves” and “have not”.  Feudalism can only give way, when there is a proper justice in delivery system, where the people votes really count and their leaders in turn accountable to them, then Nigeria will be on the pathway to ending feudalism.

LOYALTY THEORY

Loyal is not a word, is a lifestyle...

Nigeria to host D8 trade talks February On November 23, 2012 · In News 11:30 am

Nigeria to host D8 trade talks February

On November 23, 2012 · In News

11:30 am

 0 ISLAMABAD (AFP) – Nigeria will host trade talks among the Developing Eight in February as part of efforts to increase business within member states and Africa, Nigeria’s trade and investment minister said.
“I will be hosting the trade and industry ministers from the D8 countries sometime around February next year to come up with a strategy plan on how we can increase trade within the D8,” Olusegun Aganga told reporters.
Aganga, who held talks with his Egyptian counterpart on the margins of the D8 summit in Islamabad, said there were also plans to boost trade within Africa. Nigeria and Egypt are the only two African members of the D8.
“The outcome of our meeting is that we felt it was important that the ministers of trade and industry come together to look at how we can work together to promote trade but first within the D8 countries,” Aganga said.
Aganga said African intra trade is very small at 12 percent, compared to Europe at more than 60 percent and about that or more in Asia.
“We thought there was a need for some of these countries in Africa to come together and come with a strategic plan to first of all create the right environment for trade to thrive within Africa,” Aganga said.
He said Nigeria has also agreed to host a meeting with Egypt, Kenya and South Africa next year to look at how to remove bottlenecks and increase trade.
“This is an opportunity for Africa to come together and increase the intra trade in Africa. It must also be a target to significantly increase the intra trade within D8.”
Aganga said he met his Pakistani counterpart on Thursday and that the two countries agreed to collaborate in sugar manufacturing and textiles.
The D8 groups Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey, with an estimated total population of one billion.

CSR ( Cooperate Society Responsibility).

The aim is both to enhance positive impacts – for example through the innovation of new products and services that are beneficial to society and enterprises themselves – and to minimise and prevent negative impacts.

 It also the impact of a company's action on a society. CSR means a company should be held accountable for any of its actions that affect people, their communities and their environment.

CSR mandates that the cooperation has not only economic and legal obligations, but also certain responsibilities to society that extend beyond these obligation.

 

THE 2 PRINCIPLE OF CSR:

Charity 

Stewardship

 

CHARITY: Business should give voluntary aid to society needing person. Example voluntary action to promote social good .

 

STEWARDSHIP: Business acting as a public trustee, should consider the interest of all who are affected by business decision and policies.

 

Acknowledging business and society involve depending, balancing the interest and need of many diverse rule in a society.

 

CSR: Arguments For

 

Addresses social issues business caused and allows business to be part of the solution. 

Protect business self-interest.

Limits future government intervention.

Address issues by using business resources and expertise.

Addresses issues by being proactive. 

the concept of "ethical relativism." Ethical relativism is the theory that holds that morality is relative to the norms of one's culture. That is, whether an action is right or wrong depends on the moral norms of the society in which it is practiced. The same action may be morally right in one society but be morally wrong in another. For the ethical relativist, there are no universal moral standards -- standards that can be universally applied to all peoples at all times. The only moral standards against which a society's practices can be judged are its own. If ethical relativism is correct, there can be no common framework for resolving moral disputes or for reaching agreement on ethical matters among members of different societies. Most ethicists reject the theory of ethical relativism. Some claim that while the moral practices of societies may differ, the fundamental moral principles underlying these practices do not. For example, in some societies, killing one's parents after they reached a certain age was common practice, stemming from the belief that people were better off in the afterlife if they entered it while still physically active and vigorous. While such a practice would be condemned in our society, we would agree with these societies on the underlying moral principle -- the duty to care for parents. Societies, then, may differ in their application of fundamental moral principles but agree on the principles. Also, it is argued, it may be the case that some moral beliefs are culturally relative whereas others are not. Certain practices, such as customs regarding dress and decency, may depend on local custom whereas other practices, such as slavery, torture, or political repression, may be governed by universal moral standards and judged wrong despite the many other differences that exist among cultures. Simply because some practices are relative does not mean that all practices are relative.

Education must not fail another generation by Obasanjo

By OLUSEGUN OBASANJO

MY life was utterly changed at the age of eight when I was sent to school – a journey that saw me abroad for further and higher education.
This precious education meant I could return to my country and support efforts to improve the lives of future generations and make meaningful contribution to development process all over the continent of Africa.
This was more than five decades ago. Today, as the publication this week of UNESCO’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report shows, we the world continue to fail our children.
The UNESCO report shows that one in five young people in developing countries have never completed primary school. In Nigeria where I grew up, we have more children out of school today than we had at independence.

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo

Education is not merely a problem for the education ministries to solve. In today’s global economy, failing to provide proper education will undermine economic growth and reinforce social inequalities.
Africa has some of the world’s fastest growing economies, as we highlight in our 2012 Africa Progress Report, and this pace looks set to continue for the coming years. But oil and minerals alone will not sustain this economic growth. And development indicators suggest the growth figures are much less impressive than they initially seem.
Places like the Republic of Korea and other East Asian ‘tiger’ economies teach us that a meaningful and sustainable growth surge can only be maintained by emphasizing the development of our youth with skills and education.
At the Africa Progress Panel, we talk about a “twin crisis” in Africa’s education. The numbers of children out of school may have dropped significantly between 2000 and 2009 but Africa is still on track to have 17 million children out of school in 2025, a decade after the world’s 2015 target date for universal primary education.
Meanwhile, many African children are receiving an education of abysmal quality. Far from equipping themselves for a globalized economy, millions of Africans emerge from primary school lacking basic literacy and numeracy skills.
They face the prospect of marginalization, poverty, and insecure unemployment. They easily fall into crime and squalor.
UNESCO’s Global Monitoring Report shows that investment in schoolchildren and students represents a sound financial opportunity.
If 75 per cent more 15-year-olds reached the most basic benchmark in maths, then economic growth could improve by 2.1 per cent, and 104 million people could be lifted out of poverty.  An African NGO, Camfed (The Campaign for Female Education), supports poor girls from rural areas with grants and training in business management, for example.
Young women’s businesses
More than nine in ten of the young women’s businesses are now making profit as a result of the work of this NGO. Governments and their partners must make it easier for more children to go to school, no matter how disadvantaged they are – and to ensure they receive a better quality education when they do.
As we make clear in this year’s Africa Progress Report, governments should target those who have been left behind. A child’s education should not depend on whether they are male or female, or on whether their parents are rich or poor, urban or rural. Public spending should target disadvantaged schools and regions. Financial transfers aimed at keeping children in school – and young girls out of child labour or early marriage – all have a role to play.
Second, we need to find more teachers and equip them to teach. Too often, our children are being subjected to rote learning by teachers lacking the skills to deliver effective instruction, and lacking the support to improve their performance. And too often they are sitting in classrooms lacking benches to sit and textbooks. This cannot be an effective way of learning.  Children are more discouraged than encouraged to learn within the environment and quality of teachers provided.
Third, we need to see more attention paid to the education crisis in conflict countries, where conflicts that last a decade or more can set back education by a generation. Fourth, donors must spent less time talking about commitments and more time acting on those promises. We need US$16bn a year just to keep the Education for All promise made in 2000 that by 2015 all children are able to complete their primary education. To achieve universal lower secondary school enrollment would cost a further US$8bn.
For those who have seen the school system fail them already, we need ‘second chance’ programmes to ensure young people have the skills they need. There are encouraging signs here. In Malawi, where only half of children manage to complete primary school, as many as 10,000 students have taken part in such a scheme; half of those so far have either completed the course or returned to primary school.
I was given my chance to succeed with the education received more than sixty years ago. And for today’s small girls and boys we have to take action now. By 2030 there will be three and a half times as many young people in sub-Saharan Africa as there were in 1980.  We cannot afford to fail another generation.