DONALD TRUMP: For better or worse, lesson for Nigeria -Afe Babalola

Donald Trump, who was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America last Friday, is undoubtedly a very outspoken man who does not bother about how anyone receives his comment. Indeed, why this trait in Trump offends the establishment, it appeals to the vast majority of the “forgotten Americans” who voted him into power.

During the 18-month campaign, I was the only one in my family and among all my friends and associates that saw victory coming the way of Trump because I believed in his campaign strategy. So when the news filtered out that he won, I immediately issued a press statement to celebrate the man of the moment and the new policeman of the world.

I must say for the umpteenth time that Trump’s victory did not come to me as a surprise bearing in mind the thrust of his campaign to make America great again, that he disagrees with the Nuclear Treaty signed by United Nations (UN) with Iran and that he will change America’s immigration policy to ensure that only those who have genuine business in America are allowed into America, which angered and infuriated many.

Others are that he would address the situation whereby America funds the UN so heavily and yet has become a toothless bull dog, a voiceless entity because some people enjoy the power of Veto and that he would raise the living standard of workers.

In all, Trump’s unexpected victory was the result of his appeal to nationalism and patriotism and I acknowledge his courage, doggedness and audacity to take on the drug barons, illegal immigrants and minorities even when some of his Party Leaders developed cold feet and vowed not to campaign for him.

IGBOS BE CAREFUL! - Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu Jr

   

The whole Nigeria is aggrieved,Igbos are tactically getting set up again to lead the pack for expressing the grievances......IGBOS BE CAREFUL!

Only few people remembered that the first Nigeria coup led by Nzeogwu,which is fraudulently tagged "igbo coupe" comprised of young chaps from practically all the regions in Nigeria and was a response to the chaos in the WEST as a result of the aftermath of 1965 elections, the active participants in that chaos later aligned with federal government to churn out deadly policies on you.....IGBOS BE CAREFUL!

If Nigerians are really tired of this non-working structure we have run for almost half a century,they should collectively come together and renegotiate the union, no body should make you the senior prefect of that agitation again. The last time you led and demanded for such restructuring, the whole nation fought against you to keep their "dear Nigeria" the way it is. I can bet they will do it again. I over heard some of your next door neighbours asking, "why are they really protesting".....IGBOS BE CAREFUL!

NIGERIA LAW SCHOOL RECORDS HIGHEST NUMBER OF FIRST CLASS

The Nigerian Law School has recorded 24 students graduating with first class from its August/September 2016 Bar final examinations results. The highest since the school was established.

In his address to the new lawyers, The acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Samuel Nkanu Walter Onnoghen, advised them to perform their roles as legal practitioners with integrity and competence.




Justice Onnoghen told the new wigs who have just completed their legal trainings from the various campuses of the Nigerian Law School to put into consideration the interest of their clients and the larger society while carrying out their judicial duties.




He warned the new wigs that the Body of Benchers would not hesitate to throw out any erring lawyer from the legal profession.

While reminding the new wigs of the rules of professional conduct, Justice Onnoghen urged them to shun any act that would bring the profession into disrepute.

He said: “As ministers in the temple of justice, it is never enough to solely protect the interest of your client. You must strive to attain justice above all and not derail its course even if it may not favour your client and avoid ‘sharp practices.’

“The role of lawyers are multi-faceted; it cuts across virtually every strata of the society. In all this, you are expected to maintain the highest profession standard of integrity and competence at all times. This should be your watch word.”

He further charged the new lawyers on professional development so as to keep themselves abreast of latest legal developments in the country and across the globe.

The threat of a new political party By Reuben Abati

When aggrieved politicians within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) decided to join forces with members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the All Progressives Peoples Alliance (APGA) to form the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013, they had well-defined, if not so clearly stated, even if poorly conceived objectives: to send President Goodluck Jonathan out of power, displace the PDP which had clearly become a dominating hegemonic party, exert vengeance and offer the people an alternative. The triumph of the APC in the 2015 elections resulting in victory at the Presidential level, in 23 states out of 36, and also in the legislature, state and federal, was propelled on the wings of the people’s embrace of this slogan of change. Change became the aphrodisiac of Nigeria’s search for democratic progress. The new party’s promises were delivered with so much certainty and cock-suredness. Those who were promised free meals were already salivating before casting the first vote.

The permanently opportunistic players in Nigeria’s private sector could be seen trading across the lines as they have always done. Everyone knew the PDP had too much internal baggage to deal with.

The opposition exploited this to the fullest and they were helped in no small measure, not just by the party’s implosion, but also the offensiveness of the claims by certain elements within the PDP that their party will rule Nigeria forever. This arrogance had gone down the rank and file resulting in bitter conflicts among the various big men who dominated the party.

The party failed from within, and even after losing the 2015 elections, it has further failed to recover from the effects of the factionalism that demystified it and drove it out of its hegemonic comfort zone. It took the PDP 16 years to get to that hubristic moment. It is taking the APC a much shorter time to get to that same moment.
The displacement of the PDP gave the impression that Nigeria’s political space, hitherto dominated by one party, and a half, out of over 30 political parties with fears of a possible authoritarian one-party system, had become competitive. But the victory of a new party over a dominant political party in power such as occurred in 2015, has not delivered the much-expected positives: instead, questions have been raised about the depth of democratic change and the quality of Nigeria’s political development. The disappointment on both scores has been telling.

TRUMP AND UNKEPT PROMISES

Donald Trump made a string of promises during his long campaign to be the 45th president of the United States.
Many of them made headlines - from banning all Muslims entering the US, to building a wall along the border with Mexico.
But as he and his team prepare to take power he has shifted his stance on a number of key issues.

Prosecuting Hillary Clinton
Before: "Lock her up" was one of the main rallying cries of Mr Trump's supporters.
They wanted to see Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in prison over the use of her private email server while secretary of state.
And Mr Trump was more than willing to back their calls for, at the very least, a fresh investigation. During the debates, he told Mrs Clinton: "If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation."
After: The President-elect's tone changed almost as soon as he had won, describing the woman he had said was "such a nasty woman" as someone the country owed "a debt of gratitude". Later, he said he "hadn't given [the prosecution] a lot of thought" and had other priorities.
And in an interview with 60 Minutes, he said he was "going to think about it", adding: "They're good people. I don't want to hurt them."

Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Chase Last-Minute Support On Eve Of The Election

The U.S. presidential campaign neared its end on Monday in the same angry tone it began, with Republican Donald Trump calling Democrat Hillary Clinton a “phony” and Clinton accusing him of splitting the country, as a new Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll showed Clinton with a strong chance of winning.

Clinton and Trump raced through several battleground states in a last-ditch attempt to encourage their supporters to show up and vote on Tuesday.

Clinton sought to capture more support from Latinos, African-Americans and young people, while Trump looked to win over disaffected Democrats and rev up a middle class that he said has been sidelined by the political establishment.

The Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project gave Clinton a 90 percent chance of defeating Trump, seeing her on track to win 303 Electoral College votes out of the 270 needed, to Trump’s 235.

With surveys indicating a tight race in Michigan, which Democrats have long counted on winning, both candidates made campaign appearances there. Pennsylvania, another vote-rich state, was also seen as fertile ground by both camps in the closing hours of their campaigns.

WikiLeaks’ Gift to American Democracy

                                               

You sure have to hand it to the Russians.

They understand the power of free-flowing information, how it can upend government and politics.

It’s why they don’t let information flow too freely in their own country. And it’s why, if United States intelligence assessments are correct, they have worked so hard to send it roaring through ours.

There is a certain kind of brilliance to the way the Russians are said to have hacked the email accounts of senior Democratic officials and gifted the contents to their BFFs at WikiLeaks.

The Russians seem to be using the United States’ free press — a great symbol of our democracy — against it while setting up an impossible choice for American newsrooms: Run with the stolen and in many cases unverified correspondence and potentially assist an audacious Russian attempt to disrupt a presidential election, or decline to print it and betray their mission to combat the great political fog machine.

Declining to cover the emails would play into accusations that the media is censoring news that would be helpful to Donald J. Trump. In that case, the Russians get a nice consolation prize: fodder for their disingenuous argument that if any system is “rigged,” it’s the United States’, so judge not lest you be judged. Khrushchev would be proud.