Straight Talk with Chukwudi Obi

Atita's corner Guest Columnist Chidiebere Collins Today, marks a watershed in the annals of the history of the National Assembly  under the mantra of fight against or for corruption. Today, the number one law maker will be arraigned before a court of law for allegedly breaching the code of conduct for public officers. There is the additional charge of willful absence from attending court for which there is a bench warrant. These are mere allegations but they are weighty. It is important to underscore that a fundamental principle of law is that every accused person is presumed innocent until found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. Our law is predicated on the principle that he who alleges must prove. Today, Senator Bukola Saraki will go and have that proverbial handshake with the law for which it is a popular aphorism that nobody is above the law. Nobody is indeed above the law. The matter is for all intents and purposes a criminal trial and the accused will be requ...

POLITICS:  Former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu has said his greatest undoing during his eight year stint at the government house was alienating the elites in Abia state. This is even as he has hinted that he lobby for a one term of six years for presidents and governors. The ex-governor who said he will champion sustainable democracy and fight corruption in the country through his nongovernmental organization, the Orji Uzor  Kalu foundation was reacting to question in a programme Views From The Top aired on Channels Television. Kalu who lamented that his greatest mistake as a governor was not carrying the elites along, noted that he only cared about the masses on the street as a governor. Dr Orji Uzor Kalu. Orjikalu.com  “Maybe I was very young when I was a governor. I was 38. Maybe I was only thinking about the masses on the streets. I was not thinking about the comfort zone of the rich people. I was all out for the poor people on the ...

Ahead of the April 11 elections, politicians have been advised not to use thugs to cause mayhem, fraud and violence so that the country will have a hassle-free and transparent transition. This is as plans are underway to support and empower women and children who have been displaced by insurgency in the north east region of the country.    President and founder, Rescue Votary International, RVI, a Non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation, Mrs. Violet Davidson Uwakwe, who stated these in a chat with newsmen recently, called on Nigerian youths to stop offering themselves to politicians to be used as thugs and mercenaries. “Thugs and fraud should be ruled out so as to achieve a credible democratic transition in accordance to the Nigerian Constitution.  The politicians are expected to condemn any form of violence as it undermines the democratic system. Whatever their belief is, every politician should seek the opinion of God about him, through ferve...

The dawn of the internet age opened up many more opportunities across the globe. The impact it has had on the country in the last decade is not only resounding but significant. Nigeria is among the top ten countries using mobile devices and internet. According to Professor Cleopas Angaye, DG NITDA and guest speaker at the 2014 edition of Nigeria Internet Governance Forum, Nigeria ranks seventh in the world with 167,371,945 mobile devices in use in the country. It might be even more since it is estimated that one in every three Nigerians uses two mobile phones. The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) in its official publication, The Communicator had said the country’s mobile subscriber database had hit, 167,371,945 with GSM technology contributing 7.76 per cent to the nation’s GDP. The Commission said subscriber’s teledensity rose from 86.62 per cent in September, 2012 to 92.14 per cent in February, 2014. As at February 2014, the commission said the total number of interne...