PERMANENT VOTERS CARD (PVC) Collection Deadline for 2023 Nigeria Elections
What you need to know
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has directed registered voters across the country that are yet to get their cards to go to their various wards for the collection of their Permanent Voters Card (PVC).
Click Link Below to Download the Full list of Permanent Voters Card Collection Centers……….
Each registered voter is expected to go to the state where he or she was registered, and locate the local government area (LGA) and the LGA code with registration area name (RA Name and code) and the collection center.
Voters who applied for PVC can go to their centers with any of their temporary voter card or photocopied driving license or photocopied National Identity Card or passport photo for collection of their cards.
This Exercise is to Hold From January 6th 2023 to January 22nd 2023.
What If You Are Unable to get yours by 22nd January 2023 ?
NOTE: After January 22nd, 2023, the exercise will revert to the local government offices of the commission until January 29th 2023. All eligible and valid registrants can collect their PVCs from 9.00am to 3.00pm daily, including Saturdays and Sundays.
Download Time Table and Scheduled Activities for 2023 General Election
Protests play an important part in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural life of all societies. It is simply the expression of disapproval and objection. It can come in different forms, verbal, written, physical, gesture, social media and others. Historically, protests have often inspired positive social change and improved protection of human rights, and they continue to help define and protect civic space in all parts of the world.[1]
One of the recently most abused rights in Nigeria is the right to protest entrenched in the right to peaceful assembly[2], freedom of thought, conscience and religion[3]and freedom of expression[4] under the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended and International human right framework. This is evident in the unjustified use of firearms, tear gas, unreasonable force, unlawful arrest of protesters and extrajudicial execution of protesters as a way of dispersing, suppressing, demeaning the right to protest and silencing the voice of citizens.
The End SARS Protest October 2020 is a classical example of the abuse of the right to protest in Nigeria. The End SARS Protest is a decentralized social movement against police brutality in Nigeria spear headed by the Nigerian Youth in the major cities of the country accompanied by vociferous outrage on social media with the Hash Tag #EndSARS, calling for the disbanding of the special Anti-Robbery squad (SARS), a notorious unit of the Nigerian police with long records of abuse and impunity.[5] According to the report by Amnesty International at least 12 people were killed at Aluasa and lekki Toll gate Lagos, and about 56 dead during the protest, hundreds severely injured and CCTV dismantled to prevent evidence which amounted to extrajudicial executions which were traced to be by the Nigerian police and Nigerian Army on government directives[6]. The recent ruling of the #EndSARS panel on November[7] also confirmed the actual use of force, ammunition and loss of lives occasioned by the government orders of the Arm forces at the Lekki and Alausa, Lagos amongst others. According to the report by Amnesty International, two years after the #EndSARS protests, over 40 protesters are still languishing in prisons across Nigeria, while panels set up to investigate police impunity have failed to deliver justice to hundreds of victims of police brutality. Another example is the excessive use of force and unlawful arrest of people in Abuja, Lagos, Abeokuta, osun and kano during the #revolutionnow protest on 5th August 2020 [8]and the Pro-Biafra agitation for a republic of Biafra.[9]
LEGAL FRAME WORK ON THE RIGHT TO PROTEST
Under the constitution of Nigeria and International legal frameworks, persons in any part of Nigeria have the fundamental human right to privately and publicly protest over any issue, any time and any day. Under Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)[10], every person is entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons. Section 45[11] permits these rights to be restricted in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health, or to protect the rights or freedoms of others. Section 38[12] provides for the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and Section 39[13] provides for the right to freedom of expression. The right to protest is a fundamental right entrenched by the 1999 constitution under these rights mentioned above. However the right to protest even though not absolute can only be restricted in line with the provisions of the constitution which must be either by a valid order of a court of competent jurisdiction or where there is a valid state of emergency or where there is a valid democratic law prohibiting protest.[14]
The right to peaceful assembly has also been provided for under international law. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)[15] which Nigeria is a state party to, in Article 21 provides for the right of peaceful assembly and that no restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society. The Universal declaration of human right adopted by the united nation in1948[16] which Nigeria is a signatory to also provides that everyone has the right of freedom of assembly and association.
On regional level, Nigeria is a State Party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights[17], Article 11 provides:
“Every individual shall have the right to assemble freely with others. The exercise of this right shall be subject only to necessary restrictions provided for by law in particular those enacted in the interest of national security, the safety, health, ethics and rights and freedoms of others.”
The right to protest is a fundamental right entrenched in the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and under the International legal framework
The Role of the State and Law Enforcement Agency in protest
The duty of the state and law enforcement agencies under local and international law is to facilitate protest and ensure the proper enforcement of the right to peaceful assembly and ensure maintenance of public order. It is the duty of the Nigerian police[18] and civil defense corps[19] in Nigeria to monitor and maintain internal peace and order as provided in relevant laws, they also serves as mediators and a neutral party in protest. Section 4 of the police establishment Act,2020 [20]provides for the role of the police force, amongst which is protection of rights and freedom of every Nigerian in accordance with the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, sec 83 (4)[21] provides for adequate security for citizens who participate in public meetings and rallies.
Principle 2 and principle 12 of the Resolution on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights[22] in the context of protest imposes obligations on nation state to respect the right to protest and ensure the protect the right to protest and adopt human right approach to police protest. In the case of All Nigeria Peoples Party & ors V. Inspector General of police[23]The court ruled against police permit as a requirement for holding protest, as it contradicts section 40 and 39 of the 199 constitution and section 11 of the African Chatter of human and persons right[24], unless the organizers wish to receive police protection.
The role of the military under the 1999 constitution by virtue of sec 217[25] is to defend Nigeria against external aggression, maintain its territorial integrity and secure its boarders from violation and act in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon to do so by the president which is usually in extreme cases. From the provision of the constitution the military do not have a role to play in protest except in extreme cases, however where the military becomes involved in protest the military must comply with international human rights law and standard on policing and principles on the use of force.[26]
The duty of the government and law enforcement agencies is to facilitate protest and ensure the proper enforcement of the right to peaceful assembly and ensure maintenance of public order.
Even though the police have the right to arrest under protest, such arrest and detention must be justifiable; any arrest done must be in the interest of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health or (b) for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedom of other person. It is clear that when a civil protest reinforces threats of violence, commission of crime, and threat to public safety, it becomes a threat to national security and must be aborted in order to ensure peace, in that situation police can arrest such individuals who pose such threat. In the same vein where a protest has no element of violence or crime in any form, the citizens should be allowed to exercise their right to express their grievances and enforce their rights and any form of arrest and detention would amount to unlawful arrest and detention
The use of force and fire Arms
According to the 1990 United Nations Basic Principles[27]on the use of force and fire arms by law enforcement officials it provides that, in the dispersal of assemblies that are unlawful but not violent, law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force or where that is not practicable, shall restrict such force to the minimum extent possible.[28]
Section 102 of the criminal procedure code[29] (applicable in the northern states) permits the use of force by police, but does not define the extent of the force to be used. Sec 73 of the criminal code[30] as amended (applicable in the southern states) allows the use of force reasonably necessary to overcome resistance to dispersal.
Secondly, according to the united nation basic principles 1990[31] a law enforcement official in dispersing of violent assemblies may only use a firearm against a specific individual where this is necessary to confront an imminent threat of death or serious injury or a grave and prominent threat to life. Sec 73 of the criminal code[32] provides that an officer dispersing an unlawful assembly/riot shall not be liable in any criminal or civil proceeding for having, by use of such reasonable necessary force, caused harm or death to any person.
The Police Force Order 237[33] rules of guidance in the use of firearms by police provides that police can use fire arms when necessary to disperse rioters or to prevent them from committing serious offence against life and property, furthermore 12 or more people must remain riotously assembled beyond a reasonable time after the reading of proclamation before the use of firearms can be justified. However paragraph 6 provides that fire should be directed at rioter’s knees and any ringleader at the fore front of the mob should be singled out and fired on. These laws violate international law and standard on the right to protest, as it allows for brutal use of lethal force.[34]
What happens when the custodians of human rights become the perpetrators of the violation of these rights?
The reoccurring abuse of the right to protest by the state and law enforcement agencies is a growing concern. It is also evident that even though the laws provides for protest, they are not efficient and there is a need for reform on some of the laws providing for the right to protest in Nigeria, especially on the use of force and fire arms, there is also a need to review the Security system especially the police system including a review of salaries and structures to give them more autonomy to carry out their duties independently, impartially and as neutral parties. Furthermore, the security/arm forces in carrying out their duties of protecting the rights of the citizens must not themselves be perpetrators of these violations, as it is ultra vires and amount to abuse of power. There is also an urgent need to educate law enforcement agencies on their role/responsibilities in protest, in other to protect and preserve the right to protest and citizens in the country. Summarily, the law enforcement agency must always see themselves as independent and neutral parties and must not allow themselves be used as puppets of human right abuse as it undermine the concept of a human right and the security of citizens in the Country.
Law enforcement Agencies must not allow themselves to be used as puppets of human right abuse as it undermines the fundamental concept of human rights and the security of citizens in the Country.
[26] Francis Odoh, The Consistent Failure of Law Enforcement Agencies in Proper Handling of Protest in Nigeria: A Rising Concern. (December 2, 2021) Legal Ideas Forum.
[28] The International Human Right Framework on the Right of Peaceful Assembly (10 may 2021) Right of Assembly Info, Laws on Right of Peaceful Assembly Worldwide.
This year’s International Youth Day theme highlights the importance and need for youth participation in achieving safe and sustainable food system. The main goal of Transforming Food System seeks at balancing health and economic policies, promoting healthy diets and nutrition, strengthening social protection policies and inclusion, integrating natural resource protection into food sector policies, and enhancing the contribution of the private sector.
Our Now: The Impact From Failing Income and Food System
Before the onset of the Corona Virus pandemic, food systems especially in developing countries already face serious challenges. COVID-19 has put the world further behind in achieving transformed food systems and reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially for a country like Nigeria which before then has been below poverty line. The aftermath of the COVID- 19 is evident in the high cost of food, food scarcity and insecurity. The loss of jobs, constant laying off of workers by employees leading to loss of decent means of livelihood and shelters has also worsened the effect of the pandemic on a lot of people.
The increase in poverty level has widened the inequality gap and the possibility of achieving the 17 sustainable development goals (SDG). Secondly the lock down kept a lot of farmers at home hindering them from utilizing the farming season, leading to food scarcity, gross shortage in food supply and distribution which has affected the quality of food as many distributors would do anything to increase their supply.
Secondly, the growing rise of insecurity ranging from Banditry, political tension, kidnapping, farmers/herdsmen clashes, inter-community clashes etc. pose high threats on our food system; farmers don’t feel save to go to farms anymore and others have been displaced from their communities due to the aforementioned insecurities.
Challenges like the lack of access to modern farm tools, absence of safe market system, bad roads, climate change and poor hygiene has also contributed to food insecurities faced. The marginalization and monopolization of market by big food distributors/ farmers against small scale farmers /distributors has also affected the heightened price of food and inequality in the food system.
Furthermore there is a wide gap between various food system stakeholders ranging from the government, various agricultural and food safety Agencies, groups: rural farmers, artisans, business women and men, market women, youths and health workers, not excluding LG Chairmen, traditional and religious leaders, rural food processors, marketers, value chain leaders and input service providers. Even though the government emphasizes the need to focus more on agriculture, there seem to be no effective policies and strategies that promote this agitation. There is a cogent need to create more realistic and effective mechanize/solution based food system policies, as part of the initiative to develop national pathways for food systems transformation.
THE ROLE OF THE YOUTH IN THE TRANSFORMATION FOOD SYSTEMS
Civil society organisations play a vital role in the cause to achieve food security and achieve the sustainable development goals (SDG). Young people can actively support the work of these civil societies either as grassroots catalyst, volunteers or as members. Young people can also use such platforms to take advantage of loans, grants and other support available that support sustainable transformation of the food system. . Civil Society Organisations both Local and international must also take up more projects that are geared towards achieving transformation in the food system……
I TOLD! So before you ask me to speak make sure you are not asking me to put a rope on my kneck so it cracks make sure the safety you promise Is not a lone den of affliction make sure justice holds it’s definition make sure Justice is not lost in finding why Instead of who!
NB: Most domestic violence victims don’t speak up😶 because of the attitude of the society towards victims of abuse, somehow Instead of finding help or looking for ways to ensure justice and healing, we put this victims in our laboratories and make them a mere case study to make a show of our wit and brilliant analysis without really facing and solving the actual problem at hand, we even go as far as stigmatizing victims. Most times we focus on finding WHY Instead of WHO🤷 i.e victim blaming. It is almost as if we just ask them to speak only to judge them but the truth is domestic violence have no justification, no religion, no gender and no tribe but it has a name so focus on finding the name.🙅
The only way to eradicate domestic violence is to encourage victims speak up and ensure justice is done. We must work on our perspective and reactions towards sensitive issues as domestic violence because one reaction may lead to the dying of many, both literal and psychologically.
🤗 A special thank you to everyone who read and contributed to this awareness of mine!!!!I just hope we all seek to create change at our different levels using every opportunity we have.✨💯
When we stepped into a novel year, we all realize we have no idea what that year holds. We certainly have not traded this path (before) heretofore and fortunately or unfortunately, we don’t get a practice run or a preview.
For most of people, 2020 isn’t what they’ll want to talk about, even in years to come. The excitement of coming into a new year for these people will certainly be taken over by fear of a high magnitude. The rise of covid-19, the lockdown, ASUU strike, #EndSars protest that claimed so many lives, and the recent food- especially onion price hike (a friend will say so tey onion don blown before me)while a lot created humor out of it, these are all big blows to most people. As a result, a lot of people have their doubts and fears about what the coming year may hold, while others are afraid just for the “sake of being afraid.”
Life teaches us that nothing good comes easy. Matter-of-fact, there’s no real birthing without pangs and pains. For “as soon as Zion travails she brings forth her children.” what we’ve gone through are certainly labour pains in the process of our birthing of a new year, if you’re one that understands the mystery of times and seasons, a new year is not just a change in calendar, there is more to it.
In Gen. 26:18, life in Gerar was not easy. Every time Isaac would dig a new well, the Philistines would claim it as theirs. In one instance, Isaac named his well Esek, which means “contention.” Another time he dug a well and called it Sitnah, which means “enmity.” What a depressing trend! It seemed like two steps forward and three steps back. He wasn’t making any progress.
But then, Isaac journeyed just a bit farther. Genesis 26:22 says,
And he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said, At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.
Genesis 26:22
All of us will encounter multiple obstacles on the road towards our promise. The contentious wells of Esek and Sitnah tend to drain the life out of us rather than providing any refreshment. Their waters are bitter they are the hard places where we are most tempted to quit.
But the lesson here is simple: We must keep walking by faith, even when we feel trapped in Philistine territory. We must keep trudging ahead. We must go over the next hill. We must turn the next corner. There is a Rehoboth in sight!
Rehoboth means “broad place,” and it refers to the land of inheritance that only God can give and that the enemy cannot steal from you. The Philistines did not contend for Rehoboth. God kept them away.
Many of us have felt stalled in the dry places. This year has not been easy. You may feel that the devil has been contending for your family, friends, finances, ministry or your health. He threw all this discouragement at you to stop you from advancing. But I have learnt at the course of time that you can use them instead as your staircases to destiny.
No matter how much we want to cling unto it or its memories we will admit 2020 now is already history. It is almost completed, soon going to be over, and will be gone forever; but the expedient thing to do at the moment will be to prepare towards the coming year, 2021 by patiently waiting upon the Lord expecting a change of course, for He said He shall mount you up as eagle.
I want to prophesy to you: Keep going! Do not camp at the wells of contention! There is a Rehoboth down the road, and it is not only a place of spiritual fulfillment but also a garden of intimacy with God. Press into this New Year with faith and expect the Lord to fulfill His promise, and do not walk into 2021 without any spiritual insurance!!!
Most people have heard or have frequently used the idiom, “a ticking time bomb”, but how much do you understand about it? Here is a question for you; Can you excuse the human torture under any guise? I’m sure the answer is No. But, the police are holding a suspect who has the details of an imminent terrorist attack on your city, a market is about to be hit, your siblings and friends are in the market shopping, they could also be casualties, He is refusing to speak. Would you order his torture to save many innocent lives and even your family at that point? A TICKING TIME BOMB!
“The ticking time bomb scenario is a thought experiment that has been used in the ethics debate over whether torture can ever be justified.” Torture has been with man forever, but the reasons for torture have been different. Most times it is to extract information, other times it is used as a tool of punishment and or caveat to show the powers one commands. But, how far can you keep on with the inhuman acts until the suspect breaks? Most times it has always been between Ethics and Law. Between getting results or respecting human rights and dignity.
Experts have argued that the situation needs not be ethical, as long as it produces the desired results. Richard Posher legal scholar and judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, wrote in The New Republic (Sept 2002), “If torture is the only means of obtaining the information necessary to prevent the detonation of a nuclear bomb in Times Square, torture should be used–and will be used–to obtain the information…. No one who doubts that this is the case should be in a position of responsibility.” Others have argued that their families could be tortured if the ticking time bomb needs to be neutralized. Bruce Anderson writing in a column for the Independent said; “…Let’s take your hypothesis a bit further. We have captured a terrorist, but he is a hardened character. We cannot be certain that he will crack in time. We have also captured his wife and children’. After much agonizing, I have come to the conclusion that there is only one answer to Sydney Kentridge’s question. Torture the wife and children.”
Some human rights organizations, professional and academic experts, and military and intelligence leaders have absolutely rejected the idea that torture is ever legal or acceptable, even in a so-called ticking bomb situation. Torture can be criticized as a poor vehicle for discovering truth, as people experiencing torture, once broken, are liable to make anything up in order to stop the pain and can become unable to tell the difference between fact and fiction under intense psychological pressure. Everyone have the maximum threshold for pains, and once the elastic limit is exceeded, anything goes.
It is important to note that as humans, we have at various points in time subjected people to physical or emotional torture or have been on the receiving end of it. From our history as a country, especially during the military regime, citizens at some points reportedly gave up the ghost under torture all under the guise of a ticking time bomb, are we better for it today?
WRITTEN BY: Agbutun Sammozbi Ayalo
I am interested in your opinion
My response/opinion on this article
I read your article it’s beautiful…on whether torture is legal the law in Nigeria is clear on it’s illegality as the right against Torture is absolute meaning no interruption or violation of such right can be justified as it is degrading and inhumane…but on whether it right is something your Article draw our attention to, because torture itself has not be proven to be an absolute means of getting right information or truth from the victim as you rightly said victim may say anything or admit anything which does not solve the issue at hand, When related to whether justice has been done on the scenario painted in the Article above, i cannot say there is a direct answer to this but it is evident that In trying to get justice for the other party, or the family… another injustice has been occasioned? in such circumstance Last last no matter how imperfect the law may be… although there are exceptions in regards to almost every law, it still proves the most preferable remedy.
Faith Akatiki
Drop your opinion at the comment box below!!!
Am glad you stopped by, knowledge is power; always share with your friends.
Actually, I feel public proposal is a public manipulation strategy most a times by the guy: He orders the setting perfectly, sets up the lady against the camera, by and large the world, then leaves her to make a life changing decision within split seconds with people screaming and cheering on her to accept the ring. How has the lady been treated during the relationship? How prepared is the guy for the wedding? How prepared is he for marriage? The onlooking crowd “no send”, they just don’t care that the lady understands the situation and possible after-effects more than everyone present, to them, the lady must accept or she gets the blame.
Women are always going to be blamed if the engagement cast, but, the men should do better.
As a guy, your actions and words must command respect and responsibility towards your lady, you must motivate her towards seeing that you are indeed ready to take complete responsibility for her after that 💍 is placed on her finger. She should at least see it in you that it is just a matter of months before you take her home. Placing the ring should be the least of your worries but the ladies often love the public show anyway!
A responsible guy should at least try talking to his lady about the possibility of a public engagement someday. Sample her opinion on how she’d react in that case. “If her body language no dey encouraging and you still proceed later, na your self you just dey hungry to go disgrace.”
Have you ever sat and worried about a thing so much that before you realize you have spent so much time just simply worrying? have you had someone made you so angry that you didn’t get to do what you wanted simply because you kept rehearsing what the did wrong and how much it hurts without even realizing that they didn’t even notice you where hurting or have you wished so much to be something you never got to be or do something you always wanted to do because you spent so much time doubting yourself that you never acted?
My answer: Yes I have
I don’t know what your answer is but we all have had such moments at one point or the other in our life, so last year i had so much dreams/plans for my blog, my writing hobby and a lot of it, the year started so well, excited me wrote out neatly what i wanted to do and told my friends how i was going to write until my blood became ink (sounds like poetic lines you know) but that was how excited i was about the year but i never blogged through out the year, so many people would ask why? complex but simply because somehow i felt i was emotionally weighted down, may be depressed or did not have the energy to press forward, before i realized it i had spent the whole year doing almost nothing about the dreams i passionate had initially, i had blogged just once in the whole year…you can imagine and guess what? even at the end of the year i was still emotionally down and never got the motivation i thought i needed that was maybe going to fall miraculously from heaven.
Lesson learnt
Then i realized that our so called down moment would never go way voluntarily, even if the do there are other challenges that would be waiting just like a seedling waiting to spring up, so the bottom line is instead of waiting so long and putting so much to a hold, what if we instead rise above whatever it is we may be dealing with or perceive as obstacle? what if instead of waiting for our environment, the people around to motivate us, what if we become our motivation (simply called the act of being self motivated) you probably may ask why?so what if tomorrow never comes?what if the magical moment we wait for to take the stumbling blocks away never comes? what if when your tomorrow eventually comes you don’t have what it takes to be in it, the breath, the energy or may be the health, what if the perfect timing we so diligently await never comes?
What if it’s Breakout and not Breakthrough?
Instead of waiting for our breakthrough moment when something miraculously happen and everything changes automatically i learnt last year and over years that it is better we breakout, while Breakthrough is define as a sudden, dramatic, and important discovery or development, a Breakout is a forcible escape, especially from prison or a bondage. Breakthrough comes most times from external intervention while our Breakout comes from our conscious self propelled intervention; coming from our within, you may want to ask why struggle to breakout? it is simply because of the question “what if tomorrow never comes? what if the opportunity, intervention, the perfect timing we wait for never happen and we never get the privilege of getting even out lost opportunities again, We must understand importantly that time itself is a currency which if spent will never be recovered… my motivation to do most things; study hard, carryout an idea, chase a dream or some other things is simply but this most important question ringing in my head “what if tomorrow never comes?”
So while you sit waiting for your perfect moment I want you to have this question in mind and ask yourself daily what if tomorrow never comes? and what if instead of waiting and hoping for a breakthrough, you breakout instead?
Yesterday I couldn’t differentiate the shades of night and day because I married them lost in my thoughts of you because in you is my light to call day and in your absence is my darkness to call night. ✨✨
I closed my eyes but my visions so clear as Crystals your reflection the only vision I see in multitude my heart was lonely but with you Is my multitude your thoughts crowds my mind. 🌹🌹
If you will permit me, let me be the force causing the rising and falling of your chest. let me be the song your nostrils sing. let me bury myself in your lips create for me a shelter in your arm where my safety is. ❤️❤️
But only in my thoughts have you been trying to have a hold of you is throwing my arms to hold the wind. I closed my eyes but it was hot a tear of hurt to warm my cold lonely heart. 🥀🥀
Pouring my love on you was simply the art of filling a basket with water My vision has grown so dim covered by the tears you bred the night and day so far apart as I await the end of the other My bed has grown thorns as the are made of the memories We shared. 😔😔
In trying to unlove you love died. Yesterday I walked then I slipped and I fell out of your love Only then did I become free. then I realize that it wasn’t love that hurt me but it was simply you and your unworthiness. 🌹🌹
Inspired by @Lewis Capaldi Someone you loved 🎵🎶
Leave a thought or a line at the comment box below!
There is nothing more frustrating and exhausting than a moment where everything or the vision you pursue so passionately seem dry as a bone, empty and even dead but guess what? God’s plan is not for us to be dry, lifeless and scatterd but his plans for us is that we live a great army and have everything we venture and our life flourish. Wandering how i got to know this? then let me show you?
At first it was something i never understood until i embarked on this enlightening journey i want you to partake in, Journeying through the book of Ezekiel opened my eyes to what God is saying about those dead dreams, dry and hopeless situations in our life. Starting from verse 1
What Do You See?
The lord took hold of me and I was carried away by the Spirit of the lord to a valley filled with bones. He led me all around among the bones that covered the valley floor. They were scattered everywhere across the ground and were completely dried out.
Ezekiel 37-1-2
What image does that create in your mind?
For me is what may seem like a situation of hopelessness and wretchedness. This bones where not just ripped of their flesh but where also dry, imagine a bone that a was bone yet it was dry and not just dried and may be skeleton where you could probably get something to cover but where scatterd all over the place with no form of coordination…this was a glaring hopeless situation for me. And sometimes this is the situations of our lives, there are aspects of our life that has not just been ripped of every result but has gone so dry and hopeless beyond our imagination and it look so dry, helpless that we are forced to conclude that it was definitely a lost cause. Ezekiel was a man full of so many vision he carried and was even said by God to be ordained a man of prophesy and vision even before his birth but at this time the only vision Ezekiel could see was a dry, scattered and hopeless situation.
Dry bones are the ideas, dreams or vision, lying dead in us, deep within our thought; they are those things that didn’t work out how we expected it.
Akatiki
God asked a very interesting question that would normally trigger in me and most people a certain reaction if i was in Ezekiel’s shoes…
Then he asked me, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?” “O Sovereign Lord,” I replied, “you alone know the answer to that.”
Ezekiel 37:3
Imaging, a question like that in a very frustrating and hopeless situation, for me it will only stir a response of anger and frustration, my answer might probably be: ” God are you trying to mock me or something? or just imagine what the response an Agbero on the street of Lagos would probably be, At-least that is what a natural man will think, sometimes when we have so much hopeless and lifelessness, every confidence and faith we have is ripped off, it was such situation that led John the baptist who confirmed Jesus as the messiah and even baptized Jesus still questioned the validity of Jesus been the Messiah but Jesus never rebuked him, soit’s okay that Sometimes your faith may waver and you are even caused to question the glaring workings of God in your life.
Sometimes, when we are faced with so much hopelessness and lifelessness, every confidence and faith we have is ripped off
Akatiki
One interesting yet baffling thing for me was the response Ezekiel gave; Imagine been in such a situation? that response was a response of brokenness and total surrender, Ezekiel did not just rely on his vision, limited thought and ability but totally relied on God”s sovereignty, with such faith and brokenness, who wouldn’t change that situation? sometimes we are too focused on our limitations and how much we have tried that we forgets God’s ability, it is not God’s desire to leave you frustrated, down, with everything scattered and so dry, its not his desire that you try so hard to figure everything on your own but he desires that you rely rather on his abilities and who he is for his guidance. God can not step into our situation or that vision you carry until you are broken and ready to totally surrender to him.
sometimes we are too focused on our limitations and how much we have tried so hard that we forgets God’s ability.
Akatiki
Your Dry Bones Will Rise Again
Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to these bones and say, ‘Dry bones, listen to the word of the lord! This is what the Sovereign lord says: Look! I am going to put breath into you and make you live again! I will put flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the lord.’”
Ezekiel 37:4-6
Ezekiel, totally surrendered and acknowledge the God sovereignty God only then did he receive a direction. The reward of brokenness is a direction and a way out of what may seem a bleak situation. “A change of outcome comes from a change of our belief”.
The Power in Spoken Words
What you say can change everything
I spoke this message, just as he told me. Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley. The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons.
Ezekiel 37:7
Gods wanted us here to know the power of our words, my questions is what are we speaking into the situations of hopelessness, dryness or the dead ideas, ventures or dreams in our life? you cannot speak hopelessness into a hopeless situation and expect to see hope.Our words are very powerful and have the ability to bring together what ever may seem dry in our life and situation. “God can change your situation but you must be ready to speak. God made the whole word by his words how much demonstration of the power of words is there compared to this? when Ezekiel spoken to the bones there was a rattling of the bones, then muscles began to grow until it became a body, for any change we desire it beginnings with a change of mindset and then a word. You must begin to speak not just your words or ability but begin to speak to those dry situations, ideas, vision and in your life, say to it what the lord has declared.
God made the whole word by his words how much demonstration of the power of words is there compared to this? for any change we desire to happen it beginnings with a change of mindset and then a word.
We are the sum of all our experiences the sum all together; the ups and down the lows and high life’s straight, bend and curves… at the centroid of all our experiences we are
Life tailor us to take a form peculiar to each and everyone of us at the end of it, good or bad be it may; our experiences are the brick that make us.
We are the unfolding of life’s realities; In every stage unfolding into a newer form to reflect what life has hidden in time
We are the sum of what life serve us each day the smile we wear, the confidence we put on, the weakness or cowardice that wreck us… we are refined products of our experiences; the product of the decision we make like a dice life throws it arrows like the coin we have our choices to make good or bad,right or wrong,to be strong or be broken.
You think you know her; her melanin tasty rich brown skin glows; a cup of chocolate overflowing it boundaries her sight compel your jaw to drop in submission leaving your red thin helpless tongue unclad and you think you know her?
Her thick hair dark of excessive Melanin so fine with it’s lines neatly outline with no single strand out of line pregnant with oil that it’s luminance shine and outshine the sun causing the sun to seek refuge from the rays of her blinding beauty.
Her intoxicating perfume chokes you like dark ash flames in the air making you stagger without stamina causing you to want her like butter to your heart’s bread and breath to your soul just a glimpse and you think you know her?
She smiles at you and you remitted her sweet lips red as berries soft and shaped like apples her teeth glows and her eyes sparkles as stars in the deep dark sky igniting this lust tearing your craving soul apart the entirety of her set you on fire now you want her.
“There is no greater path to liberation than knowledge and no greater slavery than ignorance”
It is only in our knowledge that our ignorance are purged, we must commit to learning on a daily basis, each day we learn it brings us to a new revelation and perspective of life and by that we view life in a broader and more objective perspective.
Knowledge is the food for our mind but sadly while we spend so much time trying to feed our stomach and our body making sure it is nourished we forget to also invest in our mind which is our power house. So the manifestation is while we look so beautiful on the outside our minds is drying up from mal-nutrition and sometimes little life’s winds shakes us off our balance…
What you feed your mind would inevitably determine what you become, how far you can go and how you handle everything day’s situations that confront you.
Feeding your mind or knowledge does not have to come from reading books only, it can also be from the movies you watch, the people you keep as friends and your daily conversation, it can be from what you listen to and what you spend most of your time on.
Sickle cell is a condition in which the red blood cells are not shaped as they should be. Sickle cell patients usually have pain when blood can’t get to parts of the body, these times are called pain crisis. These pains can make you cry uncontrollably like a child, it can make you want to just open up that particular place and bring out those red blood cells, it can make you get angry at yourself and everyone else around you…..but remember, in the middle of that crises, you are strong,your are brave, you are beautiful, and above all you are a warrior.
Born in a middle class neighborhood, Rukky, like other kids born there, had most of nature’s finest feel to themselves. Was it the orchard where they could pluck ripe fruits to eat? The mountains where they could go playing their hide and seek games or the streams just at the foot of the mountain that served as a pool for the kids? It was nature at its purest, as if a gift from God to the children, but, unlike the others, Rukky, from a very tender age was prevented from joining her peers in the escapades. Always on jackets. At a point, she never understood why.
💔. Haemoglobinopathy.
Much smaller in frame than her peers, always falling ill and for as long as she could remember, she was always encouraged to take drugs, she didn’t even know what for. But one particular event gave her an idea who she was and why she was different. At the age of 6, she fell ill with swelling of the feet and hand, she was weak and jaundiced, she was tired and lightheaded. She inherited the Sicklecells!
sicklecells
As the made way into the Hospital, she could remember her mother crying and while dashing in barefooted she was crying, and calling unto the doctor –save my child. The doctor look at her and said “the baby is in crisis again, and she would require urgent transfusion!”.
Anaemia.
Saved that day, she was. As she recuperated in the hospital, she remembered the doctor’s words “crises again”, but as she grew up, it began to dawn on her why she couldn’t live a normal life, why she wasn’t allowed to play like her peers and why she was always held so close to her mother’s chest. She had some opportunities to hear people discussed about pains, but she was pains.
Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), the most common genetic disorder amongst Black people, poses a significant psychosocial burden on the sufferers, the caregivers and their families. According to the UN, globally an estimated 5, 000,000 are born every year with this condition and sadly half of them will die before their fifth birthday.
It has been established that Nigeria bears the greatest burden of sickle cell disease in the world. There are forty million carriers of the gene in the country making it a significant public health concern in Nigeria. Owing to the fact that sickle cell disease is very symptomatic and requires constant care; parents of people living with sickle cell disease suffer untold hardship in the course of taking care of them. World Sickle Cell Awareness Day is celebrated on June 19th of each year to raise awareness about SCD and supporting Sickle cell patients.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. Healthy red blood cells are round, and they move through small blood vessels to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. In someone who has SCD, the red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a “sickle”. The sickle cells die early, which causes a constant shortage of red blood cells. Also, when they travel through small blood vessels, they get stuck and clog the blood flow. This can cause pain and other serious problems such infection, acute chest syndrome and stroke. Common symptoms include; episodes of pain, swelling of hands and feet, frequent infections, Delayed growth or puberty, Vision problems.
When blood like sickles attempt to harvest life from you I want you to know you are beautiful Not just in the way you appear But your existence here is beautiful
When pain bears it’s weight on you Know that not one of us is immune to it Sometimes it tears at our heart and on other days a broken arm is all the pain that weighs us down
When you go through episodes only you can understand When words don’t seem to express to all the things you want to say I pray we are expressive enough with our actions that we care I pray we find words enough to soothe the pain
You are loved And like a flower; bloom into everything you are meant to be.
Written By: Tsakpa Charles Junior
Tsakpa Charles Junior Is currently in medical school. He is a Writer, Mental Health Activist and Poet. He is currently working on a project that would sensitize people on the effect of Porn consumption especially as regard to the their mental health.
Leave a Line at the comment box below to encourage a fighter out there!!!
As a rule, SCD cannot be cured, so lifelong treatment and monitoring are needed. There are a number of different treatments which help to prevent sickling episodes, or prevent related problems such as infection.
Principles of treatment
You should be treated by a specialist doctor or team, experienced in treating patients with SCD. If the specialist is a long way from your home then some of your treatment may be with a more local hospital or doctor – but the local doctors should get advice from your specialist.
Because symptoms of SCD can start suddenly, you should be able to see a doctor and get hospital treatment urgently, as and when needed.
You can be shown how to recognise symptoms (in yourself or your child), so that treatment can be started quickly.
Treatment should be tailored to your individual needs.
It is important to take preventative treatments against infection and to attend your check-ups.
Stem cell transplant is the only available treatment that can cure SCD. It is only used for severe SCD. Its use is limited by side-effects of the procedure and the availability of suitable donors.
Staying healthy
A daily antibiotic is usually recommended (penicillin, or erythromycin if you are allergic to penicillin). This is especially important to protect against serious infections in children aged under 5 years.
Immunisations: all the usual childhood vaccinations are advised, PLUS you should have vaccinations against meningitis and hepatit B, PLUS a flu (influenza) vaccination once a year. These vaccines are recommended both for adults with SCD and for children with SCD.
Vitamin supplements: extra folic acid is usually recommended. This helps the body to make new red blood cells.
Travel: if you go to a place where there is malaria, be extra careful to take malaria prevention medication and to prevent mosquito bites (people with SCD can get very ill from malaria).
Avoid smoking (which is bad for blood vessels) and excess alcohol.
Avoid factors which can trigger sickling
Factors which can trigger sickling include:
Cold.
Lack of oxygen.
Lack of fluid in the body (dehydration).
Hard exercise.
High temperature (fever).
Infection.
So it can help to:
Drink plenty of fluid.
Take regular exercise(but avoid over-exertion) and eat a healthy, balanced diet.
Avoid getting cold; wrap up well. Avoid over-exertion.
Treat infections and fevers quickly. You will usually be given detailed advice about how to check for signs of fever or infection in yourself or your child, and how to get treatment quickly.
See a doctor quickly if you feel unwell. Tell doctors and nurses that you have SCD.
Treatment of sickling episodes
The vast majority of people who have a sickle cell crisis do not need to be admitted to hospital for treatment. If the pain is mild and there is no fever then it can be possible to be treated at home. Treatment usually involves:
Painkillers: Depending on the amount of pain, you can take various types of pain medication. Mild painkillers are paracetamol or ibuprofen. Moderate ones are codeine or dihydrocodeine. A strong painkiller such as morphine may be needed for severe pain – this is usually given in hospital.
Good hydration: This usually means drinking extra fluid, or sometimes a drip into one of your veins, which is needed if you are more unwell or cannot drink.
Oxygen: This is usually given to you through a face mask in hospital. If you are not getting enough oxygen then more of your red cells may become sickle-shaped.
Antibiotics: These are used if you have an infection, or when infection is suspected. (You will normally be taking a regular preventative antibiotic already, as explained above. However, if an active infection is suspected, you will need a different antibiotic in a higher dose.)
People with SCD should try to avoid any potential triggers for a sickle cell crisis as much a possible. For example, try to keep warm in cold weather, try to avoid becoming dehydrated and take precautions if you undergo extreme exercise.
What are the possible complications of sickle cell disease, and how are they prevented or treated?
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. Healthy red blood cells are round, and they move through small blood vessels to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. In someone who has SCD, the red blood cells become hard and sticky and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a “sickle”. The sickle cells die early, which causes a constant shortage of red blood cells. Also, when they travel through small blood vessels, they get stuck and clog the blood flow. This can cause pain and other serious problems such infection, acute chest syndrome and stroke.
Sickle cell trait (SCT) is not a disease, but means that a person has inherited the sickle cell gene from one of his or her parents. People with SCT usually do not have any of the symptoms of SCD and live a normal life, but they can pass the sickle cell gene on to their children.
• When both parents have SCT, they have a 25% chance of having a child with SCD with every pregnancy.
• When only one of the parent has SCT, they have a 50% chance of having a child with SCT with every pregnancy.
What causes sickle cell disease?
The cause is inherited (genetic). It is a change in the genes which tell the body how to make an important protein called haemoglobin. To get SCD, you need to have two altered haemoglobin genes, one from each parent. If you only have one of these genes, you will have sickle cell trait, which is very much milder.
The most common type of SCD occurs where you have two sickle cell genes (sickle cell anaemia). The medical shorthand for this is haemoglobin SS (or HbSS). Other types of SCD involve one sickle cell gene plus another abnormal haemoglobin gene of a different type. These include: haemoglobin SC; haemoglobin S/beta thalassaemia; haemoglobin S/Lepore; haemoglobin SO Arab.
The symptoms, diagnosis and treatment are similar for all the sickle cell conditions.
How do the sickle cell genes cause SCD?
Sickle cell genes affect the production of an important chemical called haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is located in red blood cells, which are part of the blood. Haemoglobin carries oxygen and gives blood its red colour.
The sickle cell genes make the body produce abnormal haemoglobin called HbS. (Normal haemoglobin is called HbA.) HbS behaves differently from HbA. Under certain conditions, HbS makes the red blood cells change shape – instead of the normal doughnut shape, they become sickle-shaped, like a crescent moon. This is called sickling. Conditions which trigger sickling are cold, infection, lack of fluid in the body (dehydration), low oxygen, and acid (acid is produced in hard physical exercise).
What happens to the sickle cells?
The sickle cells containing mostly HbS are harder and less flexible than normal red blood cells. So, they can get stuck in small blood vessels and block them. This can happen quite suddenly, causing various symptoms which are known as a sickle cell crisis. Repeated blockages can also lead to complications occurring.
The sickle cells are destroyed more easily than normal red blood cells. This means that people with SCD tend to be short of red blood cells and have a moderate and persistent anaemia. A moderate anaemia is not usually a problem because the HbS (the different haemoglobin) carries oxygen well, and the body can compensate. However, you may get bouts of severe anaemia for various reasons. For example, if too much blood goes to the spleen, if too many red blood cells break down at the same time, or due to certain infections which stop blood cells being made. A severe anaemia can make you very ill.
CELEBRATING WORLD SICKLE CELL DAY with Adgidzi Akpus Immanuel🥰DO YOU KNOW?While love is a great thing to consider when going into a relationship, one important factor that must be considered yet neglected is Genotype…The effect of this is not faced immediately but in the future by family, friends and Victims…Follow the event on this page by visiting Event session to stay informed.CHEERS GUYS !!!! AND HAVE A LOVELY WEEK AHEAD.😘😘😊
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2020-06-19T17:58:00
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Celebrating World Sickle Cell Day With Akpus Adgidzi Immanuel
It’s amazing and quite interesting how months have gone by like a wild wind, some of this month which are as shadows and others are counted. I don’t know about you but I began this year with so many desires, goals, target and breakthrough I was going to bring about and so did many others, I was so excited, but surprisingly for me and almost everyone else most of this past month have being spent under lock down and here we are in the month of June; the mid year. it is of great realization that while the whole worlds has being held still by this pandemic, time has not seized to pass, in seconds, minutes, hours, days and now months, time keeps racing forward never looking and coming back, so what have you been doing in the past five months?
How we spend this time will go a long way to determine how we come out of it.
Akatiki
What steps have you taken into achieving your goals? If there hasn’t been any, what is your excuse? Are you sitting back and watching the whole world move on while you stand still probably waiting for the pandemic to go away or are you utilizing even this time, So I figured out we all have to learn how to move with time and its direction. sincerely this may seem like the worst time to try something new; low motivation, financial constrain, physical risk, temptation to sleep or watch movie all day… but Hey dear!!!, this is a great time to try something different at least something you have not really had time to do.
While you spend your entire time almost doing nothing and time ticks away someone is adding value and creating relevance.
Akatiki
So i realized that while a lot of us sit home doing nothing, a lot of people are coming up with ideas, innovation, developing their capacity and doing everything to adjust to the coming times, I forgot add that some people are making great money from sanitizers, producing masks, creating content to entertain people, making innovations and so many other things. All you need to be relevant is to create value, provide a solution to a problem people might me facing at a time like this or something to help with the post pandemic era and if necessary stop clinging to an idea people may not necessary need any moment now, may be an idea for probably 2020.
So It’s June, June is mid year (6 month) and for me it is my period of goal review and a period to see what my progress has been so far, see what need to be adjusted or changed. It is a period to retreat, look back and reflect on the journey so far and how I can best utilizes the time I have to achieve more.In case you feel so left behind, sad or maybe you didn’t even have a goal or idea or even a breakthrough to look back at,you don’t need to bother so much its mid years but it’s not too late you still got some time so you can utilize this time to look at how you can start adjusting to time and think about what you can do to add value too, this midyear can also be your period to reflect and adjust your goals if necessary to meet with time. DEAR YOU, it can also be a time make or write down some midyear goals and work towards them. Remember that you don’t have to build a space craft to add value or may be even create the vaccine for Corona virus; it may simply be something to help others adjusts to the situation, it may be something that requires less or even no capital at all. Remember that all you need to do is to create value and it takes discipline to do that; so I figured that discipline in a time like this is something very difficult to do, I also struggled with that when the lock down started but with time, commitment and determination i adjusted to a great extent. Note: Result are been created only by passion, discipline and commitment so while you make your goals or review them, you must put in mind this factors, it may not be easy at first but with time and determination you will also adjust. lastly you have to start looking inwards and look into that light that is blinking inside of you and make a deliberate and positive decision to make it shine instead.
So what about you, what thoughts does the month of June strikes in you?
I struggled at first about whether to say a word or continuously ignore the recent happenings; the killing of Rinji by the army, the recent Uwa’s rape and killing and Tina’s killing by a police. The saying “Silence is golden” might be true but “silent is also acceptance“, what we don’t condemn we accept impliedly. Am sharing my opinion and raising my voice not just because Owa or Tina and so many others whose cases has gone down the drain by our silent acceptance are women but because they are humans and must be treated as such irrespective of their gender.
A woman has full entitlement to her body just as a man does.
We should be Humanist
Rape and killing of any sort are acts that are grossly inhumane and must not be kept silent, there is no reason whatsoever to rape a woman no matter how she may appear. while we yell and caution our daughters to cover to their necks their body, we must also teach our boy’s self control because a man who can see a 3 year old girl child and loose self control will still loose self control even if a woman covers to the head. The implication of this one sided and bias caution is that first we place the blame of being raped on the woman; by asking questions like what was she doing out at night at the first place or in the church alone or in a man’s house? we point fingers at her for being the cause of her own rape impliedly and secondly it shows that we are raising our Guys/boys to become like dogs who can go at anyone, I believe our Guys/boys are not dogs or some sort of wild animals so the should also be taught self control and discipline and be thought most importantly that no matter how low a woman’s cloth are or how broad his shoulder is, she has full entitlement to her body just as he does and consent is a language of responsibility.
While we make so much noise about decency what happened to discipline and self control?
We should be Humanist
Secondly no one has the right to take the life of anyone unlawfully for whatsoever reason no matter who that person is and what he might have done, if such happens, such cases are not to be left unheard or be left to die quietly, raising our voices and creating awareness of such incident are excellent steps but when we are in positions that we can to do more than that to ensure Justice is not just a trend but is served in reality, we must take up such responsibilities and ensure justice is served in it real sense and not just in camera.
Silence is not always golden or else everyone would be slain and when our throat are being slit there would be no one left to speak out for us.
Speaking up is not just a right but an obligation
Silence is not always golden or else everyone would be slain and when our throat are being slit there would be no one left to speak out for us. Just because we are not affected does not give us licence to just pretend nothing is happening. Today is Uwa, Tina, and so many others, tomorrow it might be you or me, imagining if all the beautiful ideas or the dream you have in your head and promising future is been cut short because of someone’s irresponsibility or negligence, I want to ask at that time will silent be golden?
The yelling for justice will be a repeated song in futility if the act itself is not prohibited and the sanctity of the law is not upheld. We must not be silent at such times but must raise our voices to ensure the perpetrators are brought to book no matter who they are not just for justice but also to uphold the law and serve as deterrent to future rapist, killers and so on. Am not saying we should go against the laws and start riots or throw stones at the people in authority but we can use our various platforms and opportunities we have: be it writing, talking or even following up the cases,it takes a lot of courage to speak up but it is not just cowardice to keep quite but it is criminal and acceptance of an act to keep silent.
“Please help me” she called out with a feint hysterical voice, “I wish someone would save me she whispered” but no one heard because she was calling out only in her head, it was a cry only for the mind, her world has grown so dark, she was like a child in an abandoned thick cabin at the corner of this large world. She was in a dark room beneath a man, not just an ordinary man but a man who was familiar, familiar in body and in blood; she was his flesh and his own blood. The masculine figure with melanin skin, broad chest, broad face and thick lips have been persistently taking her to his shattered bed, shattered of this evil act.
Once he was done, he pulled up the Zip in his faded jean which was a moment ago almost falling off his knee, he hissed and slammed the door behind him. The poor girl on patterned skirt which was below her knees and polo which had inscriptions on it that read “saving the world for better” wished someone would save her too just like in the movies she has watched. She sat on the round abandoned small bed which their relations stayed at during visit with abrasion all over her delicate slim body. From the way it appeared this was not the first time, she was well accustomed with what to do and what not to do, she began to sob quietly placing her hands on her mouth shielding her sobs from his ears, she wanted to put an end to what was happening….He wasn’t just taking her to satisfy his undignified pleasure but he always started that with beatings because she would always fold her hands around her almost flat chest and fold her legs so tightly but like a bull will forcefully use his horn he always went for her making sure he had what he wanted. She was called Kemi, that was the name her grandmother called her before she passed on two years ago…
“Won’t you come out of that room and clean up this place?” he said hostile pushing the plates, books and clothes littered in the sitting room as he sat on the sofa pressing the remote on his dried palm, “and clean up yourself too, your mum is coming back this evening” He added faintly. She wiped continuously the tears that streamed it way down her chin as she made her way to the sitting room then to the kitchen room. When she came back the second time, he held her hand, she shrugged but he held on and placed her on his thighs and began to beg her, he said he loved her and was just showing her how much he does, he also said he wasn’t going to pay her school fee if she told her mum. She just listened, nodding her head in affirmation, unfortunately this time she was determined to let it out, to let everything out to her mum.
On that Friday evening, after much hesitation, Kemi walked up to her mother, who was at the sitting room, “what is the problem?” her mum asked not even raising her head to look at Kemi, she was so engrossed in what she was typing, “Mummy—I—I—want— to tell you something” she stammered, chewing her nails, “go on am listening” her mum said carelessly, with her eyes still fixed on the laptop and book consecutively. Kemi stood there for a while not sure of what to do, it was obvious her mum was not ready to give her the attention she required, so she decided to leave when her mum called out, “come back, you said you had something to tell me”, “yes” Kemi answered disappointed, “then am listening” her mum said and focused on the laptop again. Kemi had no Idea how to start, she had not spoken to her mum about her personal life for as long as she can remember, because her mum never even had the time to sit with her, she was a busy woman, so you won’t blame her, she provided more than half of the income that came into their home. “mu—–m–my Dad–dy is tou–ching me” she said dragging every word faintly expecting a reaction, Her Mum busted into laughter, turning around to face Kemi, she held her by the shoulder “Kemi I think you should go to your room and sleep” she said still laughing “he is your father Kemi, so you should expect him to touch you okay” She added laughing as whirled around to face the computer. The little girl, who was left standing, was left confused and disappointed, she tried to move her lips but it was so heavy and her eyes heavy in tears too, she just ran to her bed slamming the door behind her and as she sobbed. “Don’t be naughty Kemi, make sure you sleep”, the mum called out. Kemi just kept crying, allowing the tears its freedom, going to bed with her dad was a secret she was going to keep all her life, she couldn’t dare discuss this with her friends, who always talked about how their Daddy buys them so many gifts, still carry them on their back round the house without forcing them to his bed… “Mum does not even care, no one cares…” She sobbed quietly yet more bitterly, with her head still stuck on the pillow…
Children form an important part of our population. In recent times, the rate of child rights violation and violence against children have increased as children are put under degrading treatment and poor conditions of livelihood . Around the world, one out of five children lives in extreme poverty, living on less than US$1.90 a day.
In the early twentieth century, it was common for children to work alongside adults in unsanitary and unsafe conditions where there was no standard placed on how children should be treated. Growing recognition of the injustices of their situation, propelled by greater understanding of the developmental needs of children, led to a movement to better protection of children.
In that regards, many Conventions and Laws where brought about to curtail the injustices done to children and the poor and degrading standard of living. The most primary of such laws is the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and subsequently the African Union Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child to which Nigeria is a signatory to the treaty. The primary law governing Child rights in Nigeria Is the Nigerian Child Rights Act of 2003.
The need to protect children have advanced over the years but gaps remain in meeting those needs, as children have not ceased to be object in the hands of manipulators, terrorists and abusers.
Children and Child’s Right
The Nigerian Child Rights Act 2003 defines a child as “a person under the age of eighteen years” The Convention on the Rights of a Child defines Child Rights as “a subset of human rights with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to minors”. Some of these Child rights in Nigeria includes: Right to survival and development, Right to private and family life, Right to dignity of the child, Right of a child to free, compulsory and universal primary education among others. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) summarises this into: the rights to survive, grow, participate and fulfill their potential.
For everyone who waited for this post, I just want to start by saying sorry it wasn’t a proposal or probably what you where thinking okay but hey!!!! for waiting this long you have proven that patience is also your virtue okay, cheers!!!.
I started racking my brain one month before my birthday, about how it was going to be and all especially for the fact that this birthday was a kind of different because I was going to celebrate it far away from home or where I had very few friends with the Covid 19… So I resumed Law school at Lagos February and for some special reason I have been here till this time while my family are in Nasarawa which is not a big deal but this is actually my first time of staying far way from home for this long though, Unlike my days in the university when I went home almost every weekend. I remember a particular time I had to pretend i was sick so I could leave a Saturday fixed lecture to go home “amazing me you know” (chuckles), and I was even angry at my friends for not saying i was sick when the lecturer recalled the attendance list… I did that not because I was rich but because my Dad works in a local government off the town my school was and passed in front of my school gate every week to go home, so it was what we would popularly call “awuff”.
So back to the gist, a lot of thoughts clouded my mind about how this birthday was going to be, so I told my Cousin the son of My Aunty with whom I was leaving with, that this my birthday was going to be low key, lol but I lied I didn’t know what to do and brokeness wasn’t helping matters.
“Kay Kay, so this my birthday will just come and pass like this…” I will say sometimes “I don’t know but I don’t want to tell anyone about this my birthday, that day I will just sleep…” I will say other times, “I want my Birthday to be on a low key…you know am growing I don’t need all those birthday…” I will lie to myself few times.
So this became My regular anthem, My cousins where obviously tired of hearing different versions of it…
Okay the real gist now…on Sunday my sisters called me, I was excited to talk to them as usual then just out of the blues my sister said she wanted to at least talk to our cousin (they have not met or spoken with them before), I felt reluctant, I thought it was awkward to just walk up to my cousins on a hot afternoon and just stretch out my phone to them without pre-informing them or something, so I told my siblings okay the next day I will allow them talk. At about 9 am the next day my phone rang and as usual i was excited to hear from home again and boom!!!! it was as if i had started a tornado that was going to disrupt my peace for God knows when, ” Faith What about what you said yesterday…can we talk to them now?” my sister was on the phone again and i was like “am in my room now they are also in their rooms” and that was how I started hearing voices from the background, my kid brother and other sisters obviously, “stand up and go give them the phone!!!!” I kept saying no and at a point i was shouting at the top of my voice (what crazy siblings can make you do lol) So I managed to tell them i was going out to give them the phone, so i rested few minute and there my phone went again “Fa—-i–th, are you with them? okay give them the phone” they didn’t even wait to hear my response, poor me was still lying on my bed….and there the went,” Faith we are not asking to talk to your boy friend please we want to talk to our cousins…” this time I said all my cousins went out lol it was obviously a dumb lie but i just wanted my peace. I managed to get them out of the phone and fell asleep but few minute into my sleep came the sound of my phone like a crying baby, tried to ignore but it kept ringing over and over again, there we go again I murmured in my head, their nagging drove the sleep out of my head, I decide to just go out and give my cousins the phone and the spoke and I did not know what was special to them about that but the ended the call after gisting by requesting my cousins phone number and he said he was going to give the number to me to send it to them( it certainly was their fault…).
prior to this I remember asking my cousin( the one whose number the needed) to give me his number and he refused, his respond was like he wasn’t going to give me his number because its not necessary… so I felt it hurt my feelings and pride for reasons only my village people know, so I said I wasn’t going collect his number. So when that Monday evening he gave me his number to give my sister, I vehemently refused and reminded him of what he said to me earlier but he still gave me the number but I received saying I won’t send until he apologized which he obviously said no laughing so I insisted, the next day my older cousin gave me the number again to send but I recounted what transpired between me and my other cousin and insisted he should apologize before I send it because he was going to be talking to my sister and the number was passing through me, at least I had something to raise shoulder with I thought, he reluctantly refuse laughing, saying I should delete the number after sending it but no my pride won’t let me, my older cousin also intervened asking me to just send it and be the bigger person that I should just let it slide but I insisted feeling myself and being all petty, at-least I was having fun been that way I thought until now…
The Most Important Gift We Have Received: The Gift of Eternal life
What Does Eternal life Mean to You?
I know a lot of people have wandered what is meant, Some have even deliberated on the possibility of it meaning “never drying” or “Living Forever”. A large populace view it as the life after the present life we are living. I.e the life beyond this life…Believers hold a similar view to this. To Christians eternal life is God’s precious gift to his children through the death and resurrection of Christ.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
When Jesus died for us he took the judgement of God concerning us along side with our sin, before now man was headed for eternal damnation. But when Jesus died, he broke the power of death, he died to our sinful nature that caused death and resurrected to life, giving us a new life. Jesus didn’t just give us a new life but he gave us a life that is eternal; the nature of the life we received is not temporal, even at dead those who have been saved continue to leave with the father because the have overcame the power of death.
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
John 5:29
As believers we have this new, refreshing assurance of life after death that just as Jesus Christ died and resurrected, we also resurrected with him and at the end of the world we will yet resurrect to live forever. Believers!!! as we live on earth: those who have truly accepted Gods salvation, we no longer live in fear of death. Apostle Paul wished to communicate the value of life after death to believers, when he said in the book Philippians:
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21
There is no greater gift and there is no greater meaning to the death of Christ than the gift of eternal life through the death of Christ, it is out of love that Jesus Christ sent his son to die for our sins, God did not want us to perish so he sacrificed his son so we may have eternal life, I called a a gift because we did not earn it, neither did we ask for it but God did it out of his love for us, even when we were still sinners He gave his son to die for our Sins. So even as we live daily we must not take this for granted but must work towards securing this gift.
What Responsibility Does Christ Death Place on us?
Written by:Adgidzi Immanuel Akpus
(Guest Writer)
The death of Jesus Christ took place some 2000 years ago before many witnesses who told others of the incident that happened before them. Aside what was seen in the physical that day, the scripture explains that there were things that occurred as a result of that death that was witnessed that day.
Some of these spiritual occurrences include:
When Jesus died, He went down to hell.(Acts 2:31, Ephesians 4:9)
He killed the flesh (human nature) and its lustful desire. (Galatians 5:24)
He also disarmed and made a public display of the forces of darkness. (Colossians 2:15).
Seeing what Christ has done by His death and as He said “It is finished”, signifying that He would not repeat the process any longer. As a Christian it is therefore expected (as a responsibility for me):
Accept the death of Christ upon my flesh (Dying to sin daily and living to Christ). I ought to die to worldly pleasures of sin. I ought to die to lust, lies, fornication, orgies, alcoholism,stealing and the likes.
The death of Jesus Christ should bring to me as a believer the responsibility of telling others about God’s faithfulness in fulfilling what He promised that Jesus would die for the sins of man as seen in (Isaiah 53:1-9)
The death of Jesus Christ should confer on me the desire to repent from sin and be baptized(Romans 6:3-4)
It should put a responsibility on me to live a righteous and holy life knowing that Christ died once and for all. (Hebrews 10:10).
The death of Christ places on me the responsibility of living in freedom, for i am no longer a slave but a son of a king who has giving me a mandate to rule. We are kings and Queens in Christ Jesus, so we must rule in whatever sphere of life we find our self; by his death, the responsibility of leadership has been placed on us.
Another great responsibility we must keep up with daily is love, we must love one another just as Christ loved us, we must remember that we didn’t deserve any of this but Christ did all these for us out of his love for us. We must extend this love to one another the same way Christ did to us unconditionally. You must love your neighbor as your self which is the greatest commandment.
Finally thinking of the responsibility the death of Christ has placed on me point to nothing but the great commission.
The Great Commission
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Matthew 28: 16-20
In conclusion, the whole essence of this one week exercise is not to waste your time going over what you probably have the best Knowledge of, but to help us have a another look at the Cross very deeply and remind ourselves of what the cross did and what it really means to our life. This also is for us to really reflect on and begin to point our area of our life that we have constantly ignored in relation to this and trust the Holy Spirit to work on it. Personally for me, In the course of this one week journey I have reflected on every of this word and have made personally decisions to work on myself to become better and i think you can do that too.
Important: Thank You so much for reading this far, “Get Inspired Today” Loves You and Appreciate your every effort … check back more often. I am working on a new website and would communicate the link to you very soon, so you can, follow and subscribe to it…YOU can comment below and follow this blog to get more updates!!!
Written by: Faith Akatiki and Akpus Immanuel Adgidzi
Guest Writer: An Aspiring Pharmacist, University Of Jos, Plateau State. He loves Reading mostly and Writing. He has followed this blog from Day One.
Am glad you stopped by, knowledge is power; always share with your friends.
Every year as Christians, we celebrate Christ for the price he paid on the cross for us all. His death and blood that was shed which set us free from sin and death and brought us into reconciliation with the Father.This single act of love brought us into a new identity in Christ.
Who We Really are in Him?
As Christians, we are those who have been brought into a spiritual union with Christ, what’s known as being “born again”! The Spirit of the living God lives within you and you are sons and daughters of the living God, bought and paid for at a high price which is by the precious blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. When we are given new life in Jesus, we participate in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. This life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me
Galatians 2:20
When God call us to himself, we take on a new spiritual identity: in Christ; we become a new creation in Him, the old has passed and the new has come, upon Christ death we became an entirely new being, the implication is that our sins, addictions, inadequacies and all that is to former self is let go off and we assume an entirely, whole, new and sinless image. here God gives us the opportunity to start all over again
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Upon Christ death and our acceptance of Him, we have been baptized into his death,(Romans 6:3). In Colossians 3:3, Paul tells us that “you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” In Ephesians 2:6 we are told that God has “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Also, the Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to Sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”(Romans 8:15). We are no longer servants! But friends of God. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you (John 15:15).
God called us into his kingdom as priest and as kings/Queens because we are his heir, we are no longer slaves but Royalties and we belong to God’s royal priesthood, God has put his kingdom on earth under our control and desire us to do his will on earth as it is heaven. he has giving us a mandate of rulership, so you are not an ordinary person. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.
We are God’s masterpiece!!!! He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago, long before we where born.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:10
Before we were in Christ, we were destined for death and destruction, for our iniquities worked out death for us and eternal damnation, we were destined for despair, degradation, and poverty. Now we are destined for eternal life, in Christ, we are destined to have life and have it moreabundantly. God doesn’t want us to just live an Average or manageable life, he wanted us to live a right and abundant life in fulfillment,prosperity and contentment.
And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
1 John 2:25
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Holy trinity; God the father, God the son and God manifest himself to us in this three ways. The Holy Spirit is the gift of God’s spirit to us through the death and resurrection of Christ, when Jesus Christ was going to live the earth he proclaimed the gift of the Holy Spirit, which was manifested in the Acts of Apostle on the day of Pentecosts. The Holy Spirit is an intercessor, a guardian and a counselor, the Holy Spirit does what Christ would have done in his physical form, it is Gods spirit living inside us. the Holy Spirit bears witness of Christ, of who Christ is and what he has done for us.
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
John 14:16-18
What the Holy Spirit does
The Holy spirit convict
The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, the presence of the Holy Spirit convicts us when we sin, it makes us see how sinful we are and the need to reconcile with the father. The Holy Spirit helps us to live with the consciousness of sin. The Holy Spirit does not just convict us and leave us to suffer with our guilt and shame: the Holy Spirit helps us to overcome our sin because on our own we cannot defeat the power of sin but the Holy Spirit quicken our bodies and mind to resist and defeat sin.
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.
John 16:7-8
The Holy Spirit Intercedes
We all have times we feel weak and don’t know what to do. The Holy Spirit helps us line up with God’s will during those times by interceding for us. For our human flesh does not know how to please the father but the Holy Spirit intercede for us, even in our communication with God through prayer, the Holy Spirit teaches what to pray and how we should pray even through the gift of tongues the Holy Spirit intercede for us.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Romans 8:26-27
The Holy Spirit is a Counselor
The Holy Spirit is also a counselor, it instructs us on what to do and what not to do, the presence of the Holy Spirit direct us on the right path of our life in things like marriage, Jobs, Appointments, where to go and what is sin or not. The Holy Spirit brings to action grace, because the Holy Spirit makes things easy for us, for if we know the right way to go we wont be going about doing trial and error. for example if you are writing an exam, the Holy Spirit may counsel you and direct you on topics to focus on, that way you don’t have to read the entire course, which would yield you focus and more efficiency.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.
John 16:13-15
The Holy Spirit Protect
The Holy Spirit is our defender, he fights our spiritual battles for us, he fights things or forces of Darkness that we might not see. The Holy Spirit also protect and deliver us from physical enemies,so we know the we don’t need to fight battles physically but through the Holy spirit.
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places…
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith…the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
God’s love is not just an emotion, it is a compelling force and an expression of unconditional love; God did not even wait for us to come to repentance to earn his love , he called us to himself through his love such that while we were sinners he died for us . Gods love is unfailing and does not cause doubt or confusion, it is clear and restorative in nature. God loves us so much that he knows the number of hair on our head, he even engraved our name in his palm, we are precious in his eyes, Isaiah 43:4.
What Christ did for us; He loved us and gave himself for us
God loved man so much that even when He sinned against him he still had a plan to redeem him to himself, Christ is the bridge that reconnected us with the father so that we are no longer slaves but Sons. He sent his only begotten son so that he may live among us and be subjected to the flesh for our sin. Like the prodigal son we erred and wandered so far into the wilderness and the pleasure of the world, so arrogantly and ignorantly, yet God waited patiently for us to return to him and when we where reconciled to him God rejoiced counting not our sin.
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.”
John 3:16-17
Christ was the Shepard and we were the lost sheep, he left all 99 sheep (the riches of his kingdom) just to look for a single us, so that we can be reconcile to the father, that is how important we are to him. Like a sheep Christ was led to be slaughtered , he would have opted out or have begged or apologized to the pharisees or even bribed Herod but no!!, Jesus Christ endured our sin, he endured the pain, shame, burden, guilt and forsake so that through him we could experience what love truly is.
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Freedom in Christ mean different things to different Christians, to some it means freedom and independence from the doctrine of the church and the rules that governs it, to others freedom means total licence to do as the want with no restrictions even when sometimes it might not glorify the father. To the More passionate Christians freedom means being set free from the oppression of sin, guilt and condemnation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Captives (Romans 1:28-32)
The death of Christ brought about liberation of man. when man sinned against God he fell short of Gods glory and was in bondage of sin, fear and the law. We where sentenced to death for our sin, sin brought on us death and eternal condemnation. To walk in sin is to be dead, to be enslaved to dark powers and to be separated from God, man had no true dominion because he was nothing but a slaved and sinned ruled over him, he had no knowledge of his power, inheritance… God forsook Man for his sin so he had to pay for his sin, he had to bear his own cross, humiliation, his guilt and shame.
For the sin of this one Man (Adam)* caused death to rule over many…
Easter is one of the most important event in Christianity which is probably nothing new to you reading this post, for me I knew what Easter was since when I was growing up as a child, not in detail though but I took into cognisance that it was a period for me when i was going to get new clothes from mum and dad, may be eat new food and go to church and have the preacher scream at his voice the story of Jesus crucifixion. In reality both Christians and non-Christian look forward to Easter for some reasons: some because that is the first holiday after the new year had begun, for them, it is a period to rest, go for holidays and may be even throw parties, while others (most likely Christians) see it as that moment to cast their thought to the shadows of history past, to the period where Jesus Christ was crucified either to celebrate or have a sober reflection on that.
Beyond all that there notable significance of Easter, so that we can all enjoy the gifts of God through this wonderful and remakable event. we will be going through this significance, considering each one daily in this week to reimind and refresh our minds. in this regard that brings me to the question: what does Easter mean to you?, What does the death of Jesus Christ mean to you?
What does the death of Christ mean to you?
Day one: Reconciliation
What is Reconciliation?
Generally reconciliation means to end a conflict or disagreement with somone and start of a good relationship again. To christians reconciliation means a positive change in the relationship between God and Man or man and other creation. When Man in the garden of Eden sinned against God there was a disconnection between Man and God, a disconnection in the relationship that existed between them, it was at that point that man started to trade his path into condemnation and darkness, Man was condemed to death, he couldn’t hear God and had no direction or identity, He couldn’t identify with God as his son, freind or his heir because no relationship existed between them, the bond between them was broken and a thick dark veil seperated them.
What caused the disconnection?
Not to bore you the disconnection between God and man was cause by sin or let me say disobedience. While man loved sin God hated sin; God could not behold sin so He sent man away from his presence, as a result man was cut off, he had no access to the father. So man wandered into his own wilderness, into condemnation on his own, alone and shattered.
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear you.
Isaiah 59:2
Man sought after his own righteousness, struggling to reedeem himself through the law, laws he made for himself and those that where giving by God, but God’s law was giving so that man could see how sinful he was for the law brought to light man’s condemnation. So man failed in redeeming himself through the law, it was hard for the flesh to keep God’s law because God was a spirit and man could not understand the things of the spirit.
for if you are trying to make yourself right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut-off from christ! you have fallen from grace…
Galatians 5:4
God’s plan B (Jesus Christ)
Even though man had sin God still loved him… God’s love would be talked about in the course of the week in day three (3). So God sent his son Jesus Christ to die for us so we can be reconciled to the Father and be redeemed by his blood. The effect would be that when God looks at us he sees not our righteousness or iniquities but the blood of Jesus which intercede for us, So that we are forgiving of all our unrighteousness. That was the significance of the tearing of the veil at the temple when Jesus died on the cross…the veil was torn so that we can now have direct access to the father and we could hear God directly for our selves and see his glory revealed to us.
And Jesus cried out again with a loud vioce ,and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was thorn in two from top to bottom…
Matthew 27:50-51
The Reality of our lives
The reality of our lives today is that we suffer alot of disconnections from God, through sin or the occurrences in our lives, which can be: the hard times we go through, the lost of our loved ones, Jobs, Contracts, ungodly addictions, sin, and habits. Sometimes for reasons we may not point we waver, even though we have the knowledge of Christ’s death for us, our faith still waver… sometimes we struggle with things we ourselves can’t discern, we wander in thoughts and physically, trying to work out our righteousness, but even though we keep every law we ought to, we still feel that disconnection and sometimes its as if God is not there anymore, there are times we get frustrated, we feel so alone, shaterred and condemmed because even though we are trying it’s as if nothing seem to be working, the only thing we see is our brokeness, guilt and unworthiness. I personally have gone through this can kind of situation too, but here is what we are missing out…
What gives a salt value is its taste, once its looses it’s taste it becomes useless and needless...Imagine a salt that has lost it’s tastiness of what good will it be? except to be thrown and trampled on on by men, at least that was what I understood from the book of Matthew 5:13…
I would love to describe us as salt, So in the world and our relationship with people we are like a salt, the taste or value we add to their lives determine our durability in their lives, and the value we add to the world determine our relevance in it, the presence of a salt is being felt wherever it is, the spice and taste it has gives it that value, but what happens if the salt loose that tastiness or it’s value?Sometimes the only reason we are relevant or needed in a relationship is because we add value to that relationship be it friendship, romantic relationship, family, office or otherwise, so what happens if the reason people are attracted to us is not longer there? I will won’t be strict to literally say as the Bible that we will be trampled on but I will say you may simply become boring, unattractive and needless. Imagine having a cloth which is a trend and rated very expensive am sure the value you will attach to it will be so much but imagine what happens when it stops being a trend or becomes old fashion; you will notice an abrupt springing of uninterest in the cloth and sometimes you might even get rid of it in whatever way necessary, most times we even get very angry at its sight because it has lost it’s value, it’s saltiness, it’s sense of attraction and as a result it’s relevance.
Sometimes why all of a sudden we feel a sense of abundance or a withdrawal from our friends, colleagues, and so forth is because we have lost our value and as a result our relevance.
Faith Akatiki
Have you ever been friends with people or worked with people and all of a sudden you feel so left out or abandoned, or begin to have a feeling of rejection or simply feel invincible? Personally at some point in my life I have felt that way, sometimes we even suffer depression as a result of this and for me I learnt that we struggle, lament and worry too much to fit in forcefully or get peoples attention while we should simply be standing out and working on ourselves; the truth is people won’t value you until the need you or you posses something the need, simply put; your relevance is determine by your needfulness.
To remain relevant just like the salt we must add value, to remain needful in our circle of friends, work, clubs, and the world at large we must constantly maintain our value, our tastiness. sometimes to get that attention we desire, we must take deliberate actions and determine to be value adders wherever we find our selves, we must continue to work on ourselves, learn new things (might be a relevant skill: personal, soft or hard skill), learn new ways of doing even old things and make a commitment to be a solution not a mere burden.
Please a thought below!!!
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Am glad you stopped by, knowledge is power; always share with your friends.
“Just because something is negative doesn’t mean it can’t have a positive impact in your life…” Motivation is what makes you do something, that is the force that keeps you going. According to Newton’s law of motion it states that
Every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force.
The key point here is that if there is no force acting on an object then the object remains at rest and If an external force is applied the velocity will change because of the force. Applying the Newton’s law to life now, in the course of living our life there is a force that keeps us pushing be it abstract or concrete, external or internal, which I call motivation. Motivation is very important because it constitute the force that drives us, Imagine a life without a motivation, it will be so stagnant or slow because without a reason to do something, doing that thing will be meaningless and almost impossible.
Your motivation can be a feeling, thought and it can also be a person or what someone said to you…Motivation doesn’t have to be positive, your motivation can be negative or positive. The negative occurrence in our life, like the things that did not work out, failed exams, failed jobs, failed relationship or the struggles in our families, jobs and life in general can be a motivation. Our motivation can also be the positive things in our life that keeps us on our toes, pushing us forward, they can be the positive actions of people we admire, our zeal to keep the people in our life happy and the need to remain where we are or get better…
Negative or positive, there is a force that keeps us going but it depends on the interpretation we give to them, sometimes in misconception we view those things as frustrations and discouragement when they can be what could ignite the fire in us and stir us to the destination we desire and where God want us to be. That someone said something hurtful to you or treated you badly or that you didn’t get what you wanted because of your skills, looks, race, gender, status, nationality or background does not always have to have a negative effect on you, you can turn that into a force. You don’t have to device means to get back at them or drown into depression as a result of these things, you can simply use that to heat up your energy to become a better you at your area of inadequacy (at least they helped you identify your weakness).
So at this point I want to ask you, What is Your motivation in Life? what is the force that keeps you going? reflect in your life and point out those things that cold seem a motivation those things you have viewed as obstacles or discouragement and begin to see things, people and circumstances in your life differently.
Please leave a thought below!!!!
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They say love is beautiful, charming and adorable but to Richey love is like a black magic casted on her. The young seemingly fleshy, fair lady on tattered cloth sat, renting her body to the cemented surface littered with flies attracted by the rain that fell that day, her eyes were red and swollen as if they had encountered pepper from repeated sessions of bathing her chin with the rivers vomited by the socket above her nose, after a while, she stood up walking to and fro with her hands on her head and wailing, she had Carttah flowing from her nose complementing the tears that found solace on her chin. I, mum, other tenants and the man and woman that brought her home were watching, we all watched in pity, wishing we could help her but the young lady was far from needing our help. “Arinze!, where are you? A–rin–ze I love you” I watch her collapse to the ground in tears, “please am sorry, come back Arinze” she added hitting the ground as if to break it with her body. This Arinze, I said to my self, this guy that has led her to this condition, this guy that has abounded her and left her like this, she didn’t even still hate him a bit, she still call him love and begged he comes,” this is not love, this is madness, love is a spell” I buzzed in disbelieve, this pretty girl was now looking like a zombie…before we knew it she was throwing her wide short legs to the gate to look for her lover obviously, that was when people began to beg and restrain her but she showered us with insult and insane talks, she was drunk, yes bastardly drunk and acting stupid, all for love, “what stupid love?” I yelled, this is madness and this young lady was obviously insane.”Daddy, honey, love…”she would always call the guy who look from all indication, very young in age and a flirt. Jane offered him her heart, her body and her salary, she thought he would take her to the alter. she always announced to everyone that he was her husband and they where going to get married next month, next month that never comes.
I remember how many times she would get drunk and make a whole lot of trouble but even in drunkenness she recognizes him, Arinze! he was her master and she was more of a slave to his love than his partner, because this love was not beautiful, it was unfair, partial and not good for you, even for me, because I remember how many times he will render punches on her as if she was his punch bag and press her neck as if to deprive her of life but yet she would still go after him, maybe begging him to beat her the more, she preferred to be with him in pain than to be without him, she was so in love with him, may be let’s call it dark love, this loves like an Angel’s Trumpet flower my mum always talk about, it was beautiful yet toxic and poisonous.
I recall that what resulted to her condition this evening is that the guy she calls a lover borrowed almost a hundred thousand from her, which she collected from her customers because she worked in the bank, he had been unable to pay her back and the customer who were impatient like a child waiting for food had reported her to the manager and now her job, even her salary was at stake. I remember the previous evening when they had argument in that respect, I watched them through my window quietly because my window was directly facing theirs and the light in the room was so bright that it expose their figures and the thin, slim curtain, was so light that it could not cover this awful secret. I watched her yell at him and I watch how so many times he held her mouth as if prevent her from talking further, he didn’t even use the kissing method everyone use to talk about to shut her up but his hands, I was somehiow terrified as I watch her struggled for air like a dying chicken but on and on he went preventing her from talking further, until she fell asleep, I watch with my heart racing because I had no clue about what he was doing, just immediately my mum interrupted and when I got back there, I placed my face on the window holding the burglary to watch ,I saw him doing something, so creepy and terrifying, he was moving around searching her things, “oh my God” I whispered lost, he whirled abruptly, so I quickly jumped on my bed, my head buried on my pillow left to my imagination until this morning, wandering what love this was.
The next morning when I saw the girl who was yelling for her money, crying like a child beaten and begging this young man she called husband, lover and of all her life, I knew everything was not okay. She kept telling him he was everything she had and she would die if he left, she wasn’t even asking for the money, so irritated I thought quietly gluing my ear against my window, I didn’t know what to think because I could only imagine what was happening, I was so scared he was going to harm her may be even kill her. “what is happening here!?” My mum was Standing in front of her door, “nothing mummy,he is not doing anything to me, am just begging him “she pleaded defensively, concealing the tears on her face with her palm, what pissed me off was his response, I could read the disgust in mum’s face, “she is not hearing word, I want to teach her a lesson “I heard him say, this was the same person that is indebted to her, disgusted I wandered who was suppose to be taught a lesson, of course it was him who deserved such lesson because he didn’t respect love neither her. To cut the story short even dad at a point that day went there to warn them because he continuously heard rustles from the room and plates falling, may be he was also scared that they were going to harm themselves, I didn’t have a word to say because I was still stunned at the love that was displayed before my eyes. This Lady spent her whole day on the carpet, asking this guy not to be angry, she sat with her breast and bare thigh without even an under cover…as my mum later explained begging this guy who sat on the bed directly facing her with his legs wide open, his hands resting on them and his shoulder high like lion king or something watching Richey sitting messy like a trash with no pity or remorse and this was called love, even when my dad interfered the young lady was ready to receive all the blame like Jesus Or Mohammed, she denied that the guy was even hurting her in anyway but I saw it pasted her face that she was hurt and had been crying till that afternoon but she was carried away by love, while dad threatened I watch the lover boy with wide head likened to an Amoeba’s shape, broad lips, bony chin and thin body, blamed the lady for everything, I watched him wear his shoes and walked towards the gate, while she raced after him with only wrapper and her breast dangling as she followed but you know the guy outsmarted her and I didn’t really know what happened but I saw her walked back barefooted cleaning the Carttah that raced it way from her nose with her palm and her eyes with her wrapper, poor girl I thought but am sure she didn’t see it the way, may be she didn’t even see anything wrong with what he was doing to her because she was in love.
That was the same evening she came back drunk, after much deliberation we decided to go get her Arinze because she kept running towards the gate in the name of going to look for him, I was fed up with her and her insult but I tolerated it, wishing I could spank her with a wood on her head because to me she was acting stupid. Thanks to the woman who knew where Arinze lived. When he got there, I watched the young Lady’s switch of countenance, as usual even in drunkenness she recognized him, I watch her smiled pointing at him like a psycho, “I told you, this is my husband “she said walking towards him, I and my mum startled, exchange glances, as the young man authoritatively told her to come and with no objection she did swinging her short legs stylishly and excitedly, he held her in the hand and ask her to go to the room, you would think she would object but she didn’t, she was loyal to his love, he asked her further to sit and lay on the bed and she did, she was smiling but he wasn’t, his face was straight and that irritated me the more, she did everything he wanted her to do without complain, I watched scared of what this love really was, if this is love then let it be far from me I concluded disgusted and angry. Other people watched too, my mum, other tenants, the man that picked her dead drunk from the road did too. I watch everyone dispatched one after the other until it was only I and my mum, mum just hissed and entered inside the house, I manage to sit at the verandah, imagining how comes he was the only who could calm her down, I guess he had put her to sleep. I was so scared for her, people called it love but this wasn’t love to me, it was more than that, may be it was a charm or something, in fact I think this lady had serious psychological issues and needed not love but therapy, she was too beautiful to be treated that way, I didn’t know what was wrong with her but all I know up till this moment is she needed help, I don’t care what anyone would say but I know I can’t love like this because love to me is a mutual feeling shared by both parties, it is impartial, rational, love is meant to be felt with the heart not just body and meant to bring laughter not tears, if I will love, I will love with my heart and head, I don’t know about you but I don’t want to love like this enslaved to a dark, bitter love.
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There is no right that is more fundamental than the right to life, it is sacrosanct and constitutes the basis of human existence.
The concept of capital punishment, is a sentence of death passed on a felon who has been tried and convicted of an infraction of prescribed law of state authority. In other words, it is the legal infliction of death by the state on a convicted criminal, for an injurious crime, after due process of law. The termination may take any form such as by hanging, execution by firing squad, crucifixion, stoning, and lethal injection as may be prescribed in the enabling statute.
Over the years, the propriety or not of the death penalty and the need to abolish it has been a subject of intense debate. Those against its retention contend that it is inhumane and its deterrent effect serves no useful purpose in a world moving towards restorative and rehabilitative justice. In line with this argument, countries like Norway, Denmark, South Africa, Togo, Finland, Netherlands, France, and New Zealand amongst others, have abolished the penalty of death. However, Nigeria is one of the countries that does not prohibit its application and still retain the death penalty in their statute books.
The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN), which is the supreme law of the land, provides for the right to life in section 33[1]. However, this right is not absolute; section 33(1) permits the derogation of the right to life ‘…in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which a person been found guilty in Nigeria’. Thus, the application of the death penalty is legal and constitutional in Nigeria. In support of this the Supreme Court in Onuoha Kalu v State (1998)[2] held that the application of the death penalty is constitutional in Nigeria. In justifying the legality of the death penalty in Nigeria, the court held in Akinyemi v State (2003)[3] that: ‘The sentence was well pronounced for the capital offence. It has the semblance of the Law of Moses: ‘an eye to an eye’. It is a good law to serve as a deterrent in a mundane society where heartless and dangerous citizens abound in plenty.’
LAWS PROVIDING FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT LAWS OR DEATH SENTENCE IN NIGERIA
There are many legislations in Nigeria on capital punishment, some of these include, the Penal Code (northern states), Federal Provisions Act of 1959 (the Penal Code), and the Criminal Code Act of 1961 for southern Nigeria (the Criminal Code). Here, the death penalty is provided for offences such as murder, treason, felony, and instigating the invasion of the country. Others include armed robbery, culpable homicide, incest, zina, and so called sodomy– the latter three are under the new Sharia Penal Code.
Notwithstanding the laws backing capital punishment, certain categories of offenders are exempted from serving a death sentence.
These are pregnant women, by virtue of Section 368 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Act and section 300 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code; underage or juvenile offenders, by virtue of section 368 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Act; demented persons, by virtue Section 28 of the Criminal Code; and nursing mothers. Where a woman found guilty of a capital offence is pregnant, the sentence of death shall be passed on her but its execution shall be suspended until the baby is delivered and weaned. This is in accord with the African Convention on Human and Peoples’ Rights Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa which Nigeria is a signatory to.
THE IMPROPRIETY OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN NIGERIA
Capital punishment has been globally discredited due to so many reasons, especially the infringement of the citizen’s rights to life, and freedom from torture, inhumane or degrading treatment. The irreversibility of death, judicial errors, death row phenomenon, and barbaric mode of execution, have also been identified as the albatross of capital punishment.
The central notion of the concept of ‘right’ is entitlement. That is, to say that you have a ‘right’ is to assert that you are entitled to it. The right to life, a fundamental right guaranteed under section 33(1) of the 1999 CFRN, is the fulcrum which animates all other rights and the pivot upon which all other rights attributable to the individual are premised. There is no right that is more fundamental than the right to life, it is sacrosanct and constitutes the basis of human existence. Therefore there is the need to preserve this right by making it indestructible. Though writers and philosophers like J.J Thomson, John Locke and W.D Ross hold the view that there is nothing sacrosanct about the right to life and that whoever kills has forfeited his own right to life, an overwhelming majority of writers, jurists and philosophers, however, hold a contrary views. They contend that human life is sacrosanct and inviolable.
There is no right that is more fundamental than the right to life, it is sacrosanct and constitutes the basis of human existence.
Secondly, the right to freedom from torture, inhumane or degrading treatment, which is one of the offshoots of the revolutions, is the cornerstone to the right to human dignity in Nigeria guaranteed under section 34 of the 1999 CFRN. Inhumane treatment has been described as such treatment that lacks the moral and human qualities of kindness or pity, and is extremely cruel and brutal. It is termed barbarous, uncouth and cruel; falling below moral standard and with no human feeling on the part of the person inflicting the barbarity or cruelty.
Hence, there is no justification for taking another’s life no matter the crime committed. Hugo Adam Bedau, in upholding this states ‘…it follows that even murderers must be treated in the light of the value of their lives, a value not erased by the harm and injustice which their lethal violence has caused the innocent and that supposedly rules out the death penalty.’ In addition, Sane has argued that deliberately killing someone violates the most basic of all human rights (that is, the right to life) and has no place in today’s world. Therefore even a murderer has an indisputable right to life, which has to be respected and protected in the same way the right to life of a non-murderer is respected and protected.
A murderer has an indisputable right to life, which has to be respected and protected in the same way the right to life of a non-murderer is respected and protected.
The proponents of the abolition of the death penalty usually cite cruelty and man’s inhumanity to man as the reason why it should be abolished. Even though the constitution and other laws in Nigeria provides for death penalty, the inhumane modes of executing the death penalty such as physical torture, hanging, electrocution, the gas chamber and firing squad is not and cannot be justified under the constitution. As such, it is immaterial whether the state has the constitutional right to impose death penalty for any offence.
The laid down procedures/pre-conditions preceding the execution of a convicted prisoner in Nigeria and the attitude of governors towards signing the death warrant can also be argued to amount to torture on the person. This is because those condemned to death often suffer acute anguish and trauma physically and mentally before their execution. Whether the prisoner is intimated of the date of execution beforehand or not, the stress they suffers can be great enough to cause psychosis. Even the relatives, families, and friends of convict who have been sentenced to death are usually psychologically and mentally affected by the sight or knowledge that their loved one is about to be killed or had been killed by the state authorities That is to say, the death penalty, when preceded by long confinement and administered bureaucratically, dehumanizes both the agents and recipients of this punishment and amounts to a form of torture that should not be justified in a society moving towards civilization.
In Peter Nemi v Attorney General of Lagos State & Anor (1996), the Court of Appeal held that: ‘A convict on death row is entitled to challenge torture, inhumane or degrading treatment arising from a prolonged delay in executing him.’ In other words, though convicted and sentenced to death, the condemned prisoner is entitled to be treated with dignity and should not be subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment. Lending credence to this view, Uwaifo, J.C.A said: ‘The aspect that a condemned prisoner has no right to life, therefore, is as good as dead and cannot enforce any fundamental rights is quite perturbing. Does it mean that a condemned prisoner can be lawfully starved to death by the prison authorities? Can he be lawfully punished, by a slow and systematic elimination of his limbs one after another, until he is dead? Could his legs be soaked with petrol and set on fire under a pot to boil rice by someone wearing a smiling face while this is going on since he is as good as dead and without fundamental rights? Would any of these amounts to inhumane treatment or torture? Is a condemned prisoner not a person or individual? These are questions which gravely touch not only the heart but which also bring section 34(1) (a) of the constitution into focus even in cases of condemned prisoners.’
Thirdly, the notion that the death penalty would serve as deterrent to potential criminals; that is, reduce crimes to the barest minimum, and serves the concept of retributive justice founded upon the notion that he who harms another is to be inflicted with equal degree of harm is another justification for capital punishment. The reality, however, is that the death penalty, in line with retributive justice, hasn’t really served any useful goal as an instrument of deterrence, neither has it helped in curbing crimes, rather the crime rates is still on the increase exponentially despite the legislation backing it, especially in Nigeria. Today, kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorism, rape and other capital offences are still increasing in greater magnitude, and assuming a daring and fierce dimension by the day. Hence, the idea of deterrence has been defeated as capital punishment hasn’t served that purpose.
In the case of Josiahv.State (1985), the Apex Court held that: ‘Justice is not a one-way traffic. It is not justice for the appellant only. Justice is not even only a two-way traffic. It is really a three-way traffic: justice for the appellant, accused of a heinous crime of murder; justice for the victim, the murdered man, the deceased, whose blood is crying out to heaven for vengeance; and finally, justice for the society at large–the society whose social norms and values had been desecrated and broken by the criminal act complained of.’ Suffice to say, therefore, that the concept of retributive justice is outdated and its obsolescence in the twenty-first century’s global justice system goes without saying that the world today is tilting towards restorative, reformative and rehabilitative justice. Retributive justice is not true justice as it does not remedy the wrong in its actuality but merely does another wrong. This accounts for why many countries are gradually doing away with capital punishments in their administration of the criminal justice system; the emphasis presently is on reformative and rehabilitative justice.[4]
The fact that the death penalty imposes an irrevocable sentence because once an inmate is executed, nothing can be done to make amends if a mistake has been made is another argument against capital punishment. Generally, the availability of evidence, the competence of a defence, and the result of police investigation are some of the variables that determine the judgment of the court in a case. But, in Nigeria, the processes of investigation, trial and conviction are often faulty and biased, leading to an unfavorable judgement, which may include the death penalty, and therefore a competent order of the court may not be competent which may lead or have led to execution of innocent persons. A classic example is the case of Nafiu Bellov Attorney General of Oyo State(1986),[5] where the accused appellant was executed while his appeal was pending. Though the supreme court condemned the action of the administrators and awarded damages to his family, but the deceased is already dead and cannot be brought back to life which is a pointer against death penalty as it is a sentence that determines the finality of the accused life and cannot be reversed or corrected, therefore, the possibility of executing an innocent person requires the abolition of the death penalty.
Another point of concern in this respect is that the court, in deciding cases, sometimes allow extraneous issues not related to the case to influence it. This is to say that the personal idiosyncrasies and biases of the judge may affect his judgment in some cases, as judges are humans, with emotions, perspectives and believes. Edmund Okoro, in Edmund Okoro & Ors v State (2003),[6] maintains that he was sentenced to death not on the strength of evidence before the court but simply because they were accused of threatening the life of the judge during the trial.
Moreso, the death penalty in Nigeria has been used as a political tool to quell oppositions. The death of Ken Saro Wiwa, an environmental rights activist who got on the bad books of the then military government because of his fight for the respect of the environmental rights of the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta, a major oil producing community in Nigeria; and the legislation that prescribes the death sentence for anyone found guilty of hate speech, offer good examples.[7]
CONCLUSION
Though capital punishment is constitutional, it violates a citizen’s rightsto life and the convicted person’s freedom from torture or inhumane treatment. This is based on the fact that human life is sacrosanct and that right to life should be inviolable. While we canvassed the futility and cruelty of capital punishment. It is submitted that the evolution of other sophisticated methods, beyond the lethal injection, would rather result in a placebo, rather than a panacea. The solution, therefore, lies in outright abolition. It is contended that by her foreign policy objectives, Nigeria has undertaken to respect international law and treaty obligations amongst others which has been domesticated, therefore the continued legalization of capital punishment in Nigeria is against the tide in International Law and Practice as over two third of the 192 countries in the world have outlawed it. This writer is, therefore, calling on the government to abolish the death penalty and explore other mode of deterrent punishments like life imprisonment.
The Girl Child/Woman is entitled to be treated as worthy of respect and concern, even when she err at the sight of the law, due process, caution, and respect must be taken in responding to such situations.
The girl child is entitled to be treated as worthy of respect and concern, even when they err at the sight of the law, due process, caution, and respect must be taken in responding to such situations, the girl child should not be subject to degrading and inhumane treatment as it undervalues the girl child, reduce their sense of security, diminishes their self-esteem and pushes that girl far down the ladder of equality and society as a whole.
Just recently the internet was flooded with videos of a lecturer of the federal university of Lafia and his daughter assaulting and stripping a student of the Federal University of Lafia. It was reported that as a result of the out roar of people condemning such action the Nasarawa State Police Command has arrested the lecturer/father, Dr. Fred Ekpa Ayokhai, and his daughter Emmanuela for the said assault. Preliminary investigation revealed that Emmanuela and the victim had a misunderstanding over a man named IG. The victim had accused Emmanuela of snatching her supposed boyfriend and assaulting her after refusing to delete his number from her phone, which was evidenced in a video that went viral earlier. In retaliation, Emmanuella mobilized her family, went after the victim, and assaulted her as well. She was hit with a stick, flogged, and stripped. The Commissioner of Police directed that those arrested be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation at the State Criminal Department, Lafia.
In a statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Nansel Rahman, all the suspects were arraigned before Justice Aisha Bashir-Aliyu, the Chief Judge of Nasarawa State in Lafia. The statement which reads in part said: “Dr. Fred Ekpa-Ayokhai, 53-year-old; Emmanuela Ayokhai, 18-year-old; Bob Praise Ayokhai, 23-year-old; and Saint-Dan Ayokhai 21-year-old were on October 26, 2022, arraigned at High Court 1, Nasarawa State before Justice Aisha Bashir-Aliyu, the Chief Judge of Nasarawa State on six (6) count charge of criminal conspiracy, housebreaking, and criminal force or assault to a woman with intent to outrage modesty, Kidnapping and Inflicting Physical Injury on another.” The offenses listed above are punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code Law of Northern Nigeria, Section 3(1) and 4 of the Nasarawa State Kidnapping (Prohibition) Law, 2019, Section 268 (2) and 354 of the Penal Code Law of Northern Nigeria and Section 3 (1) of the Nasarawa State Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2019.
In all of this, the dignity of women is challenged despite the avalanche of laws and international human rights instruments that protect women’s right to dignity as members of the human family. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights even though is just declaratory, enshrined human dignity in its preamble thus: ‘Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights [ACHPR] recognizes that human beings are inviolable and that every human being is entitled to respect of his life and the integrity of his/her person. Similarly, in our local instruments, every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity inherent in the human person, and this includes the prohibition of all forms of torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment or treatment. Importantly, the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria proclaims the right of the dignity of the human person in the social objectives in Chapter Two of the Constitution, it provides that in furtherance of social order, the sanctity of the human person shall be recognized and human dignity shall be maintained and enhanced”. However, the provisions of Chapter Two of CFRN cannot be enforced. Among the range of rights provided for in Chapter four of the CFRN, the right to dignity of the human person comes next to the right to life to underscore the importance attached to human dignity. The 1999 Constitution provides as follows:
Every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of the human person, and accordingly –
(a) no person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment;
(b) no person shall be held in slavery or servitude; and
(c) no person shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labor.
Lastly, The Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 (VAPPA), even though applicable only in the FCT, in its explanatory memorandum, also prohibits all forms of violence against persons in private and public life, and provides maximum protection and effective remedies for victims and punishment of offenders. From the above provisions, it is clear that the right to dignity of individuals including the girl child in Nigeria is recognized and guaranteed. However, when it comes to actual enforcement, it appears that Nigeria has not done enough to ensure the protection of the right to dignity of the human person especially women given the recent incidents like the incident above and the more recent occurrence of the Enugu Widow Mrs. Anthonia Okwonkwo who was beating and stripped by some youth as reported by Vanguard November 4th, 2022 for allegedly stealing snails to sell from the sacred forest. Therefore, there is an eminent need to appraise the violations of the right of women that occur in Nigeria daily and the extent to which law has responded to ensure that women’s dignity is respected in Nigeria.
The right to dignity of women as members of the human family, is a fundamental right entrenched in the 1999 constitution and other legal and international instruments.
Get girls equal opposes patriarchal systems that seek to control the lives and sexuality of girls and women, lower their status and are used to justify violence against them.
The Girls Get Equal Nasarawa State has also discovered on research, that the incidence of sexual abuse, sex trade, sexual exploitation, and indecent exposure of young girls as young as 13-18 years old has also led to incidences of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and assault, growing astronomically in especially the north, and Nasarawa state has not been exempted from this trend, there is growing concern by parents, adult and the Girls Get Equal at the rate at which young girls are exposed sexual practices and sex trade (having sex with older men for money called Hook Up) leading to sexual exploitation, rape, abuse, and assaults. A conversation with a middle age young lady revealed how her younger sister who was 13 years was engaged in this practice. Another interview revealed several others engaged in this practice as well, while others claimed their motivation was making money to take care for their need and their family others revealed it was peer pressure. With great emphasis and concern, this has exposed girls to more risk of being sexually abused, exploited, and assaulted, and has also led to the objectification of women as commercial objects, as a result leading to an increase in the power and influence of a patriarchal system, resulting to more gap between both sexes and leading to continues increase on how girls are undervalued, undermined and underestimated. This has led to more depth to be closed up in achieving the mission to get girls equal and empower them, because where young ladies have power in all decisions affecting their lives; they are safe to speak up without fear and harassment.
Girls and Women have the right to bodily autonomy and to control their sexuality.
in conclusion, The Get Girls Equal opposes patriarchal systems that seek to control the lives and sexuality of girls and women, lower their status and are used to justify violence against them. We recognize that girls and women have the right to bodily autonomy and to control their sexuality. To end gender-based violence, we believe that these prevailing systems of power must be challenged and changed. Together with this is the need to enforce penalties on perpetrators of violence to serve as a deterrent.
REFERENCES
1. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
2. ACHPR 1981. It entered into force on 21 October 1986.
3. The Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 (VAPPA).
4. 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (C.F.R.N) as amended
As the world continues to advance technologically, the internet and social media has become the most used means of communication, used to share opinions and perspectives on issues of concern without the fear of physical attack and threat while giving credit to how fast and far information could be passed. The Internet and Social Media have become vital communications tools through which individuals can exercise their right to freedom of expression and exchange information and ideas on a Public platform; it has become a platform by which citizens air their opinion, grievances, and unhappiness on the conduct of governance and the activities of public officials who they may not have access to due to protocols and policies. The Interpretation Act defines a public office holder as a person who discharges any duty, in the discharge of which the public is interested, more clearly if he is paid out of funds providedby the public,[1] in Chief John Eze v. Dr. Cosmas I. Okechuckwu[2] the court opined that a public officer is a holder of a public office.
In a constitutional democracy, like Nigeria the right to freedom of expression is a fundamental human right guaranteed by the constitution and other international frameworks in section 39 of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended,[3]Article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights[4] and Article 19 on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.[5] Sec 39 (1) CFRN provides:
Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.
Sec 39 (2) CFRN[6] allows every person to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas, and opinions, however, restriction is placed on owning and establishing or operating a television and wireless broadcasting station for any purpose by persons other than the Government of the Federation or a State or any other person or body authorized by the President on the fulfillment of conditions laid down by an Act of the National Assembly. The freedom of expression even though it is fundamental is not absolute and carries with it special duties and responsibilities therefore it may be subject to certain restrictions and regulations provided by law. Social media come with potential problems, as well as gains, one important issue is how to ensure that Internet regulations do not strangle freedom of expression and how to ensure individuals do not abused this rights as well. In Nigeria, the authorities have continued to propose laws that regulate social media and restrict the right to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom, including through legislative bills popularly known as the “The Social Media Bill” formally known as “The Frivolous Petition (Prohibition, etc.) Bill 2015” which died as a result of criticism and outcry from the masses and Civil Society Organization and other laws like The Cybercrime Act, 2015,[7]Terrorism Prevention Act (TPA) 2011[8] as amended and sections, 114, 392, and 3999, 417 and 418 of the penal code Act 1960[9] have been relied on by public officials to restrict and regulate the right to freedom of expression.
Some states have adopted Internet blocking, filtering, or takedown procedures or Internet surveillance (including compulsory data retention), or even shut down national networks, in an attempt to regulate or restrain users’ freedoms. And in many other democratic countries, blocking is nowadays frequently used to prevent specific content from reaching a final user or to prevent certain content put out by the user from reaching other users which can be individuals, public officials, organizations, and other Public bodies.[10]
Can A Public Official In Nigeria Block A Citizen On Social Media While Discharging His Function As a Public Officer.
It is now common practice for public officials to make major policies announcement and share pieces of information on public issues relating to their offices or governance on Twitter and other social media platforms, this has allowed them to better engage the public, inviting public discourse and debate with the benefit of bringing the government closer to the people and facilitating easy communication and gives individuals the platform to voice their concerns, criticism, and frustration, which raises important questions as to who can view this announcement/information? Who can comment on them? And what happens if certain individuals are blocked from accessing and commenting on important social media feed? Since most social media feed, also gives public officers and agencies the ability to block members of the public i.e. to exclude such individuals from receiving directly such information and airing their views in the interactive component of the account such as the comment section.[11]
When public officials block individuals based on their viewpoint first it denies their right to access to information that is generally made available to the public and secondly it violates their freedom of expression by preventing them from speaking on a platform that has been generally open for public communication with the government through its officials. This is protected by the Constitution of the United States Amendment 1 (First Amendment),[12] in the recent case of Campbell v. Reisch,[13] where a Twitter account belonging to Missouri state representative Cheri Reisch blocked her constituent, Mike Campbell after retweeting a comment critical of her, the Eighth Circuit Court Joined other Federal Courts in acknowledging the public has the right to access official communication on social media, even if it’s a private account so long that account is used for a public purpose by the public official, the decision of the Second Circuit court of appeals in the case of Knight First Amendment Institute v. Trump,[14] on the use of social media also held that even government officials’ nominal private accounts can be used for official purposes, in which, it will violate the first amendment for these accounts to block members of the public based on their viewpoint.[15]
In Nigeria, there are currently no laws that expressly relate to blocking a member of the public by a public official while carrying out his duties, however, it is the general duty of the public official to maintain peace and order, section 45 CFRN[16] allows the right to freedom of expression to be restricted in the interest of public safety, public order, public morality, and public health or for the protection of the right and freedom of other persons, therefore creating room for, libel, slander, and hate speech. Therefore where a comment is likely to threaten public peace, public order and incite violence, or violates the right of other persons and the right of the public official when he acts in a personal capacity, the Public Officer can delete or obstruct such information from being published. However, Part 1 of the first schedule of the 1999 constitution on the Code of Conduct for Public Officers in section 1,[17] provides that a Public Officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities. Section 24 (1) and (2) of the Cybercrime Prevention And Prohibition Act[18] provides that no person shall send or cause to be sent a message through computer or other networks that are gross, insulting or false, to annoy, danger, obstruct, insult, cause criminal intimidation, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not me than 7millin or imprisonment of 3years or both. And the Electoral Act also prevents political campaigns or slogans that are tainted with abusive language directly or indirectly, likely to injure religious, ethnic, tribal, or sectional feelings. However nothing in this law provides expressly that a public official can block a citizen in his constituency based on opinions, expressions of frustration, and criticisms by citizens towards the public officers in his official capacity, since Nigeria is a democratic system.
It is noteworthy, that Public officials are still entitled to the right to privacy, creating some gray areas. So if a public official is using an account based on their capacity for personal purposes such as photos of family or personal interest, then they are entitled to the right to privacy under section 37 of the 1999 CFRN[19] and consequently the right to Block or restrict anybody on their space, but where they act in their capacity as public officials carrying out their official duties, they cannot block a citizens from accessing, commenting, and sharing their views regarding a public matter in a public forum or a personal forum used for official purposes, as it violates the citizen’s right to freedom of expression and access to public information.
Whether It Can Enforced
Where a citizen is blocked by a public official in a public forum or a personal forum while carrying out his duties as a public officer, such a citizen cannot directly sue the public officials on the grounds of blocking him, since there are no laws expressly providing for that, however, a citizen can sue such public officials for the violation of his human right specifically the right to freedom of expression and information under section 39 of CFRN[20] at any time; even though the Public officers protection act provides in section 2 that actions brought against a public official must be brought within 3 months, The Fundamental Right Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009[21] in Order III Rule 1 states that the procedure for enforcing fundament right shall not be affected by any statutes of limitation whatsoever, allowing a victim to enforce his right anytime. Order II Rule 1 of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Rules[22] provides that any person who alleges that any of the fundamental rights provided for in Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution or African Charter on Human and people’s Rights (Rectification and enforcement) Act and to which he is entitled has been, is likely to be infringed, may apply to the court in the state where the infringement occur or is likely to occur for redress. Section 46 of the 1999 CFRN[23] provides that a person seeking to enforce his fundamental right violated in a state may apply to the high court in that state for redress, this section gives original jurisdiction to the High Court to hear any matter made according to this section, where it involves a public official in a federal level the federal High have jurisdiction. A lawsuit in respect to this can be instituted by anyone acting in his interest, acting on behalf of another, as a member of an interest group, anyone acting in the public interest or an association acting in the interest of its members.[24]
Secondly when a person whose rights have been infringed does not wish to go to court, that person can explore the options of petition written to the Human Rights Commission by way of the complaint, the African Union, or the United Nations requesting interventions, letters can also be written to authorities within the country or a state to bring to their knowledge a violation going on within their territory e.g. a letter can be written to the National Assembly, the President, the Attorney General or Governor. Lastly, parties can also use social media advocacy and campaign through human right NGOs to ensure the enforcement of their right. [25]
Conclusion
Even though there are no laws in Nigeria expressly providing as to whether a public officials can block a citizen on social media while carrying out his official responsibilities, a public official cannot block a citizens from accessing information and commenting on public forum where public information published, even where it is a private forum used for official purpose, as it will violates the citizens fundamental right to freedom of expression and information by preventing them from accessing information and speaking on a platform that has been generally open for public communication with the government through its officials except where such comments or the act of the citizen would disrupt public safety, public order, public morality, and public health or for the protection of the right and freedom of other persons.
Street Tribe 