#NigeriaAt55: PICS: Miss New Nigeria Continental 2015 Unveils Independence Pictures

Lovely. See more pictures below:

#NigeriaAt55: Ayomikun Soyombo: Except we begin to travel at the speed of love (POETRY)

1.We will burn

Forever,
Tears from our eyes
Filling our streets,
Redundant
And wasted
Our lives
Will become,
We won’t smile
When the sun sets,
Except we begin to travel
At the speed
Of love!

2.Power
Will fail,
Change
Will crumble,
Democracy
Will gasp for breath,
Corruption
Will thrive,
We won’t smile
When the sun sets
Except we begin to travel
At the speed
Of love!


3.We will remain
Champion
Of third world
Nations,
Maybe even drift
To join the
Fourth
And fifth,
We will keep
Carrying laurels
When it comes
To corruption indices,
And poverty indices,
And terrorism indices,
We won’t smile
When the sun sets
Except we begin to travel
At the speed
Of love!


4.The world
Will pass us by
While we keep screaming
“Federal character,”
Abductions will continue
As none will be another’s
Keeper,
A tribe
Will silently
Continue to nurture
Thoughts
Of cessation,
As a cancer
We will destroy
Ourselves,
We won’t smile
When the sun sets
Except we begin to travel
At the speed
Of love!


5.Love is waiting
For us to
Beckon,
Ready to teach us again
How to treasure
Each of Nigeria’s
Rare seeds,
Ready to help us
Break the mighty
Walls
Still separating the North
From the South
And the East
From the West,
Ready to help us
Heal the wounds still bleeding
From Biafra,
Otherwise we won’t smile
When the sun sets
Except we begin to travel
At the speed
Of love!


6.Nigeria can live
Nigeria can soar
She can become home
Again,
Our daughters from Chibok
Can walk free
Again,
Mubi can become
Indeed serene
Again,
Maiduguri can smile
Happily
Again,
Naira can
Swell
To prominence
Again,
We can
Breast the tape
When the sun
Sets
As the best
Among nations,
Only if we begin
To travel
At the speed
Of love!
——————-
Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija
Soyombo Ayomikun tweets from @alabaster85

Check Out This Year’s Nigeria’s Independence Google Doodle

Google’s doodles have a long history of celebrating different things from historical birthdays to notable events and much more. Every year, since 2010 with the exception of 2011 & 2012, Google has celebrated Nigeria’s Independence Day with a doodle.

Nigeria’s Independence Doodle – 2015.

Even our 2015 general elections was marked with a doodle and of course, a soccer match against France in the 2014 World Cup.
Just in case you don’t know what Google Doodles are, they are the fun, surprising, and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists.
Here are the Nigeria-related doodles from the doodle archives.

Nigeria’s Independence Day – 2010.

2013

2014

2015 General Elections

World Cup 2014 – France vs Nigeria.

Happy Independence Day celebrations to Nigeria and Nigerians all over the world!

#NigeriaAt55: Democracy, human rights and rule of law

While Nigeria celebrate her fifty-five years of independence without pomp and pageantry celebration – based on the outline of events – and the citizenry non-display of high intensity of feeling excited, there is need to reflect on national democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Democracy is the most popular form of government in the world today.

In Nigeria, neither is there any leader who does not wish to be seen as a democrat or a regime that does not seek to be described as full-fledged democratic. D.B. Heater in Political Ideas in the Modern World, 2nd Edition, suggested five basic elements of democracy: equality, sovereignty of the people, respect for human life, the rule of law and the liberty of the individual. It is fallacious to admit the actualization of these elements in Nigeria.
On attaining independence, Nigeria’s constitution was modeled after Britain. To this end,  the Nigeria model of democracy was and is still the ‘‘liberal or representative democracy’’.
This model includes elected government; free and fair elections in which every citizen’s vote has an equal weight; a suffrage which embraces all citizens irrespective of distinctions of race, religion, class, sex and so on; freedom of conscience, information and expression on all public matters broadly defined; the right of all adults to oppose their government and stand for office; and association autonomy – the right to form independent associations including social movements, interest groups and political parties, according to David Held in Prospects for Democracy.
Applying this to the Nigeria terrain, democracy was some years ago in complete darkness as a result of military despotism and has yet to be fully realised presently. It has been difficult to sustain after the ordeals of creating it. Yet, the Nigeria at fifty-five seems to be struggling to attaining democracy in the real sense of it but nepotism, favouritism and corruption amidst other factors are hindrances.
In 2014, the World bank President, Jim Yong Kim, restated that Nigeria is one of the top five countries that has the largest number of poor – seven percent of world’s population. This is an indicator of a poor economy. One of the many ways resolve this is to pay adequate attention to the socio-economic rights. Unfortunately, these rights are unjusticiable. In Stanley Ibe’s Beyond justiciability: Realising the promise of socio-economic rights in Nigeria, ‘‘there are two parallel regimes of socio-economic rights existing in Africa.
The first, represented by South Africa, is that which specifically makes socio-economic rights enforceable in the courts. Under this regime, individuals and organisations alleging that their rights have been violated may approach the courts to seek redress. The other regime aligns with most of the Western world in the claim that socioeconomic rights are ‘no more than pious wishes’. Accordingly, states have adopted the Indian-styled fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy.’’
Nigeria belongs to the latter. This is stated clearly in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, they are unenforceable in the courts unlike in Indian jurisprudence, which has established precedence for applying the integrative approach ensuring that violations of socio-economic rights can be remedied by reference to their relationship with civil and political rights.
This India-Nigeria distinction can be understood with the aid of decided legal matters. The court held in Mohini Sain v. State of Karnaketa Air (1992) SC 1858-1864, that right to life necessarily includes right to a means of livelihood as well as other rights that make enjoyment of rights to life meaningful In Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation (2007) CHR 236 where some slum dwellers approached the court to restrain government from evacuating them from their shelter without provision of alternative accommodation on the grounds that their eviction would deprive them of their right to life because their shelter were the only place that is close to their employment.
The court held that the important face of right to life is the right to livelihood. The deprivation of livelihood would not only denude the life of its effective content and meaningfulness but would make life impossible to live.  In sharp contrast, the outcome of Nigeria events went otherwise.
In Archbishop Anthony Okogie v A.G Lagos State (1981) 1 NCLR 218 HC, 2 NCLR 337, it was held that Section 13 of the Constitution makes it a duty and responsibility of the judiciary among other organs of government to conform to and apply the provisions of Chapter II, Section 6(6)(c) of the same Constitution make it clear that no court has jurisdiction to pronounce any decision as to whether any organ of government has acted or is acting in conformity with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy.
Also, in A.G Ondo v. A.G Federation (2002) 9 NWLR 9 pt 772 at 222 , the courts cannot enforce any of the provisions of Chapter II of the Constitution until the National Assembly has enacted laws for their enforcement, as has been done in respect of Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution.
In Nigeria, economic and social rights deserve as much emphasis as political and civic rights. The struggle for basic human rights must seek to actualise not only the right to participate in the government process and basic fundamental human rights, but also, access to the basic necessities of rights.
As Professor Itse Sagay noted in Nigeria: Democracy and the Rule of Law, ‘‘there can be no democracy without rule of law and vice versa.’’ Rule of law is bound with the practice of democracy.
Not that the doctrine of rule of law – the supremacy of the law including judicial decisions over all persons and authorities in state; the supremacy of the constitution; the independence of the judiciary; the right to personal liberty and; observance of democratic practices – is non-existent in Nigeria. But, the application is debatable. Whether the rule of law is detested or not, it must be recognized fully. In the past, it was a national gory.
Conclusively, there is need for Nigeria to attain the full realization of the tenets of democracy because it has the potential to accelerate the pace of development. There is hope for a better nation. We can make it happen.
Better Nigeria and Happy Independence Day.
———-
Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija
Farouk Ayorinsola Obisanya is 400l Law student at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State. You can connect with him via Twitter @fabobisanya and obisanyahayor@gmail.com

7 Interesting Ways Nigerians Celebrate Independence Day

 

Nigerians markins another Independence day today, October 1. There are different ways Nigerians are planning to mark the day. In celebrating Nigeria at 55, some citizens will mark the day in one or two of these 7 interesting ways.

1. Going to recreation spots
Some Nigerians will go to different recreation centres come Independence day. This include going to the beach. Others will go to amusement parks with their children.
2. Sleep and rest
Due to the stress some Nigerians pass through between Mondays and Fridays, they will use the public holiday declared for Independence to sleep. Such people will not leave their house.
3. Visitation
Nigerians love visiting themselves. Some people have not had the time to even say hello to their friends for some time now. The celebration will afford them to pay for this.
4. Engagement with social media
Lovers of social media like Facebook, Nairaland, Twitter and the rest will spend a good time chatting with their social media friends.
5. Partying
Nigerians love parties. It is not only when there are marriages, birthdays or naming ceremonies that Nigerians party. Some people will organise concerts and get together tomorrow to mark the Independence anniversary.
6. Watching Television
People will not just listen to the president’s speech or the march past, they will also watch different TV programmes to relax themselves. This is one of the 7 interesting ways independence day will be celebrated.
7. Sports
This is common with men and the youths. Neighbourhoods without football pitches will have the streets turned into football fields. This is a form of enjoyment and a way of felicitating that Nigeria is 55.
Which will you indulge in?