Demanding Accountability

Most Nigerians do not know that it is our sacred duty to foster the cause of our great Nation. We search not for ways to engage government positively but rather let fate and crude leaders dictate our lives. This article profers a solution to that dilema, by learning  from history and great civil rights leaders of the past, I have come to the conclusion that civil disobedience is the only way to engage government successfully in a Nation like Nigeria.

 

The rule of law,is the foundation of a civilised society. It establishes a transparent process accesible and equal to all. It ensures adherence to principles that both liberate and protect. if Nigerians continue to circumvent the rule of law, our society would crumble like the head of humpty dumpty who sat on the wall and had a great fall. If we abuse our Rule of Law, our Nation would degenrate into chaos.

 

It is no longer news that the rights of Nigerians are trampled everyday by the very people who we thought would protect us;public officers and security agencies. The government is also as guilty as evidenced in some recent decisoions taken by the Executive and Judiciary arm of government. The Judiciary which should be the hope of the common man, is now selling justice to the highest bidder. When the Judiciary is not credible and active, parties would take recourse to violence in other to square with one another.

 

One major problem of Nigerians is the ability to suffer in silence, as the late music icon Fela put it "suffering and smiling". We lack the passion needed to demand accountability from our leaders. In protest of the dire standards in Africa, populations are beginning to revolt, questioning the system and challenging the government, Nigerians being in the forefront of the struggle. The year 2011 would be remembered as the year of the arab spring, 2012 just may be the year of the African Spring.

 

Nigerians are not new to civil disobedience, it has been practiced for years by agencies such as ASUU and NLC (nigerian labour congress), asking Nigerians to sit at home in protest of government policies and lecturers to stay away from lecture halls are examples of civi disobedience. Civil disobedience is completely non-violent and the most effective way of bringing the problems of the people to the attention of government.

 

The occupy wall street movement and its franchises are current examples of civil disobedience. Your form of civil disobedience may be hunger strikes, solidarity walks or just camping in front of your local government office, we must however bring our grievances to the attention of government.

 

Do you have grievances;bad roads, no water, no light? Stage a peaceful demonstration in protest in a good location. However, uphold the rule of no violence and prevent unscrupulous elements from taking advantage of your gathering, or else it defeats the desired results of civil disobedience.

Adedunmade Onibokun



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Civil Disobedience;tool of engagement

Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government. It is commonly, though not always, defined as being non-violent resistance.

Civil disobedience is a peaceful and open protest in which participants violate laws that they find unethical or unjust.

Civil disobedience was used by Gandhi and a host of other world renowned leaders who disagreed with the policies of government or the injustice against their citizens,a recent example is Anna Hazare who fasted for 12 days as a protest against the indian government.

Nigerians are eager to engage government and demand for accountability and good governance but they have not discovered the right strategy, I believe that CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE is that missing strategy, Wale Ajani a youth leader tried to achieve this aim when he scheduled a hunger protest to hold in abuja on 11/11/11 as a medium for criticising the removal of the fuel subsidy by the Nigerian government.

Civil disobedience must be embraced by all Nigerians because it is a non violent way of engaging government and drawing governments attention to the plight of the masses.

Here are a few tips on embarking on civil disobedience;

Some protests are best handled through getting the proper permits and obeying the laws about public assembly. Others, though, require the use of civil disobedience, especially if you're drawing attention to unfair laws and practices.

A peaceful protest using civil disobedience can help draw attention to injustice and change laws.

If you want to draw attention to a problematic law that you can readily break in public, your protest probably does merit civil disobedience. If you want to draw attention to other laws or issues, the legal route is the best one.

Gather a group of people interested in protesting using civil disobedience. Make sure they are truly dedicated to the cause you are pursuing and aren't just participating because they want to break laws. The people protesting should also be peaceful.

Break the law you find unjust in public as your protest. Your approach depends upon the law you're drawing attention to.

Stay peaceful and non-confrontational whatever spectators and law enforcement officials do. One of your main goals is to prove that the law you break should be done away with. If you become confrontational, you will have the opposite effect.

Realize that you will likely be arrested, or at least fined, for breaking the law. Before you break the law, investigate its consequences. All protesters must be willing to accept the consequences of breaking the law, and you must do so peacefully for your protest to be effective.

Repeat the protest, having new people use civil disobedience if you are imprisoned because of your actions. The more you repeat the action, the more successful your protest will be.

Hold your protest in a busy area of town, or in conjunction with another public event. Alert the media to your protest to make sure that it gets noticed.

Use civil disobedience to protest laws that are truly problematic. It's not worth the time and effort to protest laws that aren't unethical or unjust.

If spectators become violent, call the police for protection if you are not able to leave the protest site. Realize, though, that the police may not take your side.

Don't complain about getting arrested or being fined. Part of a protest using civil disobedience is accepting the consequences in a peaceful way.

Through Civil Disobedience we can bend government officials to do our biding. Embrace it now.
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Things you should know when purchasing land

A friend once came to me with the problem of having been swindled by dubious land sellers and he lost quite a huge sum of money. I also know that a lot people fall prey to this schemes daily.

This article is a brief summary of what every land buyer should know when contracting in landed properties.

The rule is that ownership of land is based on registration,everyone who own rights in landed property has to register it with the government.

Therefore the purchaser can discover from a mere inspection of the register whether the seller has the power to sell the land and whether or not there are interests on the land that may be investigated.

The property register contains detailed description and gives other information of the property that is registered while the proprietorship register contains the name, address, and description of the registered owner of the property. It also contains cautions, inhibitions and restrictions affecting the right of the proprietor to dispose the title.

When buying land the first procedure is to investigate title, the purchaser must approach the Registrar of Title with the following documents:
•A letter of consent or authority from the proprietor or a sworn declaration by the solicitor showing that he has consent of the proprietor to investigate the title.

•A copy of the land certificate which contains the particulars by which the property will be identified at the lands registry. The particulars the certificate usually contain are:
Title number;
District; and
The property.

•A declaration in court by the purchaser to the effect that the proprietor of the title actually granted the permission to conduct searches of the register.

•Only after being satisfied by the results of your enquiry should you buy the landed property,if not you may fall in the hand of swindlers.

If you ever need more information or help with regard to purchasing landed property, you should consult your Lawyer.


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