The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has criticized the leadership of the National Assembly for suspending legislative activities in honor of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who recently passed away.

Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA’s National Coordinator, expressed disapproval over what he described as an unnecessary interruption of parliamentary responsibilities, particularly in light of numerous national tragedies that had previously failed to attract such official attention.

“The suspension of legislative duties can only come about when an emergency arises. The decision to call off their legislative duties by the National Assembly because of the demise of President Muhammadu Buhari who died at a very ripe age, is uncalled for and demonstrates a lack of respect for the sensitivity of their duties to Nigerians,” Onwubiko stated.

He questioned why the lawmakers did not take similar actions when citizens suffered from violence and natural disasters.

“Why did the National Assembly not suspend sittings when 400 citizens from Benue and Plateau states were killed by terrorists/herders? Why did the National Assembly not suspend sittings when over 200 citizens perished in the floods around Mokwa in Niger state?” he asked.

Onwubiko suggested that if lawmakers genuinely wanted to honor the late president, they could do so in a more meaningful way.

“The National Assembly can do better to honour the memories of Buhari if that’s what they intend to do. They can, for instance, recommend that the life and achievements, or lack of it, of the late President Muhammadu Buhari be studied as part of social studies in secondary schools.”

He further accused the legislators of using the mourning period as an excuse to avoid work, raising concerns about accountability and productivity.

“This suspension is very irrelevant and shows the laziness of the legislators who are looking for excuses to stay away from work. So what will the legislators be doing during this week-long ‘Buhari’s holiday’?

“Will the members be wearing black mourning clothes and be going to the prayer grounds to pray for the repose of Muhammadu Buhari, or will they observe a week-long fast? What exactly would they be doing for a week for which taxpayers’ money would be paid to do for failing to legislate within the timeframe they set for themselves, or will they cut off their end-of-year vacation by one week to make up for this one week holiday?”

HURIWA’s reaction comes amid a wider national conversation on the appropriateness and priorities of public institutions in moments of mourning and national transition.

Senator Tunde Ogbeha, a prominent figure in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, has officially left the party and pitched his tent with the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

In a resignation letter addressed to the Chairman of PDP Ward A, Lokoja Local Government Area, the former senator cited ongoing internal crises and leadership issues within the PDP as key reasons for his decision to part ways with the party.

“I write to formally inform you of my decision to resign my membership of the party with immediate effect. You may recall that over the years, I have remained firm and deeply committed to the ideals of the PDP,” Ogbeha stated in the letter.

“Even when nearly all stakeholders departed the party following our loss in the 2015 presidential election, I pledged to remain the last man standing.”

Senator Ogbeha, who has played a visible role in the PDP’s activities over the years, lamented the current state of affairs within the party.

He expressed disappointment that his dedication to rebuilding and stabilizing the PDP appears to have been undermined by persistent internal discord.

“I have worked steadfastly to rebuild, reconcile, and reposition the party, efforts which, without sounding immodest, helped restore the PDP to national relevance and made it once again a party of choice for many Nigerians,” he said.

“However, recent events marked by deepening divisions, persistent leadership crisis, and irreconcilable differences have reduced the party to a shadow of its former self, subjecting it to public ridicule.”

Following his departure from the PDP, Senator Ogbeha announced he would be joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

He described this move as a step toward contributing to national redemption through a new political platform.

“After wide consultations with my family, friends, and political associates, I have resolved to join the African Democratic Congress, ADC, as part of the collective effort to rescue our nation and preserve our hard-earned democracy,” he declared.

The Lagos chapters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Peoples Party (APP) have expressed strong dissatisfaction with the results of Saturday’s local government elections, rejecting the announced outcomes and alleging widespread irregularities.

According to the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) secured all 57 chairmanship positions and won 375 out of the 376 councillorship seats.

However, representatives of both the PDP and APP claim the results do not reflect the actual will of the voters.

Speaking on behalf of the PDP, the party’s Deputy Chairman for Lagos West, Sunday Olaifa, condemned the outcome, accusing the APC of manipulating the electoral process to its advantage.

“The PDP in Lagos State rejects in totality the outcome of July 12 council elections in the state. It is nothing but a mockery of democracy going by the manipulations and scenes of inducement of voters that we saw,” Mr Olaifa said.

“For a party that has been in power for over 20 years under various names to depend on rigging before winning a local government election, shows the party is already rejected. APC didn’t win that election.”

“The election didn’t hold in many polling units and results were written. For instance, at Ajao Estate of Isolo LCDAs, out of 36 polling units, till the close of the election, LASIEC officers were not in about 22 polling units. This happened in a few other areas.”

He also noted that the build-up to the election was marred by irregularities, including the disqualification of several opposition candidates.

He emphasized that the process fell far short of established democratic principles and predicted that Lagos residents would reject the APC in the 2027 general elections based on their discontent with the council polls.

Similarly, APP State Chairman Abiola Adeyemi criticized LASIEC for what she described as deliberate disenfranchisement of duly nominated candidates and other serious lapses.

“This election is not free, fair and credible by any standard. It is the worst election ever conducted in Lagos State,” she declared.

“Many candidates were not screened and their candidacy not validated by LASIEC for different flimsy reasons even after those candidates were duly nominated by their political parties.”

“How can an election where many candidates were disqualified by the umpire for no just cause and party logo missing on the ballot be regarded as credible.”

“We complained but the commission turned deaf ears to appeals to accept our candidates. Our logo, APP logo, was not even on the ballot paper in Badagry. LASIEC officers even came late to many polling units.”

She further lamented that the exercise had disappointed many political stakeholders who had hoped for improvements in the electoral process.

In response to the concerns, LASIEC Chairman Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile (retd.) acknowledged on Sunday that there were logistical challenges that caused the late arrival of officials and materials in some areas. She noted, however, that efforts were made to promptly address the issues where they arose.

On his 69th birthday today, Sunday, 13 July, we say to a truly outstanding African who long ago was decorated with the World Bank/IMF African Scientist of the Year Award: Ad multus annos

Nnaji represents not so much contrasts as a tapestry. It was once widely thought that excellent sports people wouldn’t do well academically.

He excelled in both at the national level, enabling him to win a full-funded scholarship to the United States, where he also set a record in both areas.

It is still believed in some quarters that scientists are crazy people, or wacko professors as the late President George Bush called them, but Nnaji is thoroughly organised, cultured, humane and socially engaged.

It is widely thought that scholars can’t be successful businessmen, but Nnaji is now an internationally recognised entrepreneur.

On Tuesday, 1 July, while travelling with him from Enugu to Aba, his phone kept on ringing endlessly. Typical of him, Bart Nnaji took every call and addressed each caller patiently, carefully, and politely. One call struck me in particular. It was a widow from his rural community, who reported that her husband’s kinsmen had decided to seize her village compound, leaving her and her grown-up children with no ancestral home.

Wondering why the local folks should take such an oppressive step, he quickly made inquiries which revealed that the kinsmen were not keen on seizing the widow’s land. They were not happy that since she lost her husband, a successful and well-educated professional, about 10 years ago, she and her children have not been visiting home, though they live in Enugu, which is only 20 minutes away.

So, the kinsmen pulled the stunt of property seizure to force her and the children to start coming home regularly and identify robustly with their community and its people.

Why did this widow turn to Nnaji for intervention? Probably because the former minister of Power, who has also been the minister of Science and Technology, is the most prominent and influential person in Umuode in Nkanu East Local Government Area, one of the smallest communities in Enugu State.

But it is more likely because, unknown to most Nigerians, Nnaji, recipient of four national honours, is the chairman of the community’s land committee, an office he takes with utmost seriousness, just as he does with his chairmanship of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Prize for Science Committee and his chairmanship of the Bells University of Technology Governing Council.

It’s one of the reasons why he travels to this rural community at least every two weeks and holds endless meetings with peasant farmers, cleaners, palm wine tappers, gate men, civil servants, failed traders, university lecturers, professionals, etc.

This position must be one of great trust because land disputes are a major source of communal fights in the South-East, Nigeria’s smallest geopolitical zone by land mass. Some land cases from the South-East have lasted in courts for up to 100 years, with most getting to the Supreme Court.

Four days to the widow’s distress call, Nnaji was in Abuja to attend the 25th anniversary of the African Export-Import (AfriExim) Bank, where he was on the panel of experts that included former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to discuss the strategies for Africa’s rapid development.

He has a more than a passing interest in AfriExim Bank affairs. The continental bank provided the $50 million facility used to resuscitate and complete the $800 million Aba Independent Power Project by Geometric Power, a company he founded and leads as the chairman.

The Aba project is today the biggest single investment in the South-East and Nigeria’s foremost power integrated power project.

Whereas Sahara Energy owns both the Egbin Power generation company in Lagos and the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, the power produced from Egbin is supplied to the national grid, unlike in Aba, where electricity generated from the Geometric Power Plant in Aba is used in the Aba Ring-fenced Area, comprising nine of the 19 local government areas in the state.

The fact that Nnaji can immerse himself in very local matters and at the same be a most respected player in Africa and beyond — he brought Jeff Immelt, then the CEO of General Electric, which was the world’s most capitalised and admired firm, to Nigeria in 2012, his first and only visit to Africa — is a rare attribute.

Following a study that spanned 25 years involving thousands of participants, David Rooke of Harthill Consulting in England and William R Torbert, a leadership professor emeritus at Boston College, a leading Jesuit university in the United States, developed the theoretical framework of seven leadership action logics, the most effective of which is called the alchemist action logic.

Alchemists handle contrasts seamlessly, and very few people in the world can do it. In a well-anthologised article published in Harvard Business Review of April 2005, the authors described the alchemist as a person “with an extraordinary capacity to deal simultaneously with many situations at multiple levels.

The alchemist can talk with both kings and commoners. He can deal with immediate priorities yet never lose sight of long-term goals.”

In this essay, which Harvard Business Review editors selected in 2011 as one of the best 10 articles on leadership ever published in the journal, Rooke and Torbert were able to identify only six alchemists in the 25-year research, the most prominent being Nelson Mandela. Only Mandela could attend the World Rugby competition and wear the Springboks cap and shirt, a symbol of Apartheid South Africa.

Before anyone could wonder if he had sold out, President Mandela raised his clinched fists and raised them to the crowd, symbolising Blacks’ resistance to racism and oppression.

Rooke and Torbert quote Tokyo Sexwale, a top ANC activist as observing that “only Mandela could wear an enemy jersey. Only Mandela would go down there and be associated with the Springboks… All the years in the underground, in the trenches, denial, self-denial, away from home, prison, it was worth it. That’s all we wanted to see.”

Nnaji represents not so much contrasts as a tapestry. It was once widely thought that excellent sports people wouldn’t do well academically. He excelled in both at the national level, enabling him to win a full-funded scholarship to the United States, where he also set a record in both areas.

It is still believed in some quarters that scientists are crazy people, or wacko professors as the late President George Bush called them, but Nnaji is thoroughly organised, cultured, humane and socially engaged.

It is widely thought that scholars can’t be successful businessmen, but Nnaji is now an internationally recognised entrepreneur.

On his 69th birthday today, Sunday, 13 July, we say to a truly outstanding African who long ago was decorated with the World Bank/IMF African Scientist of the Year Award: Ad multus annos.

C Don Adinuba is a former commissioner for Information & Public Enlightenment, Anambra State