Nation
Ekweremadu Tasks FG On Fed Character
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has declared that President Muhammadu Buhari has violated the provisions of the federal character as contained in Section 14 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the appointments the President had made.
Ekweremadu, who spoke in a lecture at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, argued that Buhari violated that section of the Constitution in his initial appointments, contending that such appointments ought to reflect the diversity of the country.
He said the appointments “made so far by the current administration are clearly lop-sided that it left the South-East totally empty-handed”.
He added, “I think in this country that is just recovering from a most divisive and bitter fought presidential election in its history; in a country where vicious civil war had been fought and scars are fresh; in a country where a presidential election, believed to have been won by (someone from) a part of the country was annulled; in a country which has deteriorated from one that citizens held high political and civil service offices outside their places of origin to one in which they hardly do so anymore; and indeed in a country where there has been consistent outbreaks of militancy and restiveness by people who believe they have been short-changed, maltreated, and, therefore, better off outside the Nigerian commonwealth, I firmly believe from the depth of my heart and conscience that you do not even need a soothsayer or compulsion of the Constitution to know that you must necessarily carry every part of the country along.”
In his lecture entitled, ‘The Politics of Constitution Review in the Multi-Ethnic Society’, organised by the Faculty of Law, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Ekweremadu said it had become imperative to review the nation’s constitution on grounds of ambiguity and failure to make provisions for some critical matters of state.
He noted that difficulties in amending the constitution were caused by mutual suspicion of the elite as “mutual ethno-sectional and religious suspicions have become so ingrained in our body polity that even the most patriotic and altruistic intentions are almost always interpreted from myopic prisms of such sentiments and interests”.
Former Ambassador to the United States, Prof. George Obiozor, said it would amount to fallacy for anybody to say that Nigeria’s unity was not negotiable, noting that Nigeria had failed to learn the lessons of history.
Obiozor stated, “The reality over the years remains that in spite of the best efforts of all our leaders past or present, Nigerian unity is not guaranteed. It is simply at best, an aspiration and not yet an achievement.”
The ex-envoy advised that if the country would realise its potential, it must stop “the syndrome of self- delusion about Nigerian historical exceptionality”.
“Today, if the truth must be told, our diversity has turned into disorder, and our democracy is an invitation to incremental anarchy,” Obiozor said.
The Alliance Française Port Harcourt in conjunction with the Embassy of France Nigeria over the weekend joined the globe to campaign against the 2025 gender- based violence (GBV) with the theme: “16 Days of Activism Against Gender- Based Voice”
The event which took place at the event Hall of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt was in collaboration with the Female in Gaming Network, ( FIGN) and partnership with Nexal a body that seeks to promote online safety and responsible digital behaviour.
The Tide reports that the project which was aimed at promoting digital safety and girls inclusion in Gaming, with the initiative tagged ‘Gameover Gender- Base Violence’was part of the global campaign against gender- based Violence.
The activity which experienced a flavour of festivity was full of fun and excitements as participants took part in tournaments on popular digital games such as Mario kart and EAFC 25, with an intent to creating safer and more inclusive digital spaces.
The Director of the Alliance Française Port Harcourt, Mrs Marina Lacal said that these activities were designed to encourage inclusion of girls, team work and fair play on online gaming spaces, saying that the gaming world reflects these inequalities, where female players are often under represented.
According to her the main objectives of the initiative was to provide a supportive environment for girls and female in gaming network.
“GameOverGBV” is a project created to reshape this landscape by offering an innovative inclusiveness of girls on online digital Gaming community and digital environments that provide opportunities for creativity, learning and connection, but also fight against Gender-Based Violence Digital Gaming,”she said
She however, explained that the Digital Game, sport competitions, was launched to strengthen social and digital skills through games, workshops, and raise awareness among all young participants about respect, equality and digital citizenship.
The Tide News reports that in Port Harcourt, the competition brought together 100 young participants from three major universities: University of Port Harcourt, ( UNIPORT),Ignatius Ajuru University of Education(IAUE) and Rivers State University (RSU)as well as students from four selected secondary schools, Oginigba comprehensive Secondary.School, Vine lnternational, Virgo predicanda lnternational, and Excellent Montessori Secondary school.
“This is an approach where girls and boys can learn, play and collaborate in a more respectful and safe space for young women, while ensuring a safe, enjoyable and respectful digital environment. It also expose young women to cyberbullying, exclusion, sexist comments and online hate,” Mrs. Lacal said.
Earlier, a game developer Sophia Nei and her. team had engaged participants in an interactive session with the theme: “Can Video Games Be Safe Spaces For Girls?”
However, Mrs Nei and her team educated the girls on the benefits and violence on online digital gaming and urged them ( participants)to learn to say ‘No’ to Online hate, sexist and cyber bullying, while encouraging them(students) to stand up for themselves by reporting such issues to the appropriate authority.
Highlight of the competition was the awarding of prizes to winners by the Director of Alliance Française, Mrs Marina Lacal.
