By Bayo Oluwasanmi
As expected, the anti social media bill
sponsored by Senator Ibn Na'Allah (APC, Kebbi South) has gone viral. This is
what the bill proposes:
(1)
Up to seven years in prison or $25,000 fine for
“anyone who intentionally propagates false information that could threaten the
security of the country or that is capable of inciting the general public
against the government through electronic message.”
(2)
Up to years in prison or $10,000 fine or both
for anyone disseminating via text message, Twitter, WhatsApp, or any other form
of social media an “abusive statement.”
(3)
This also involves messages intending to “set
the public against any person and group of persons, an institution of
government or such other bodies established by law.”
The bill does not define “abusive statement
or messages.” The bill has passed the second reading. Take a look at the
abbreviated profile of the chief sponsor and the outspoken co-primitive sadists
of the anti social media bill:
Ibn Na'Allah (APC, Kebbi South):
He reportedly bought a private jet in 2009. According to a report on Nairaland
citing the Sun Newspaper, Na'Allah said it was cheaper for him to maintain his
aircraft than to maintain some cars in his garage. He was said to be a car
dealer before venturing into politics. According to Nigerian Insight, a recall
was launched in September 2015 and has received 30,000 signatures. He was once
a member of the House of Reps representing Zru/Fakai/Zawaba/Dawazuga federal
constituency of Kebbi State. He is the deputy majority leader in the Senate.
Bukola Mesujamba Saraki (Senate President,
APC, Kwara Central): Needs no introduction. He's the notorious Prince of
Thieves of the Senate Brotherhood of Thieves and the patriarch of the Saraki
Family Corruption Dynasty. His money laundering tentacles spread across the
globe. He vows that no amount of attacks arising from the bill would make the
Red Chamber abandon the proposed law. “People must be held responsible for
their action. I believe what has been raised is important,” says Saraki.
Dino Melaye (APC Kogi, West):
Bought a home in Abuja estimated at a whopping 1.3 billion Naira ($6.5
million). Melaye opened a foreign account illegally against the Code of Conduct
Bureau law for public officers. On December 4, he made a payment transaction to
a Kremlin-based cosmetic company MagnitKosmetik on his Bank of America debit
card ending with #8873. He has since 2010 illegally operated bank accounts in
the US. He was the most visible and vocal bodyguard to Toyin Saraki, wife of
Bukola Saraki, during Toyin's visits to the EFCC. When asked by SaharaReporters
correspondent how he paid for the mansion, Melaye refused to answer the
question, saying, “I am a distinguished member of the Federal Government.” When
asked that his assets were a matter of public interest, he ignored the
question.
Melaye, foaming from both sides of his
mouth on the floor of the Senate, castigates SaharaReporters: “Personally, my
person, my character, my privacy have been invaded severally by a reckless
media outfit called SaharaReporters and this is becoming unbecoming their
operation and activities and this is becoming outrageous calamitous.” Still on
the offensive and boiling with anger, Melaye says “These SaharaReporters and
others have commercialized their consciences and monetized their operation and
are now tools being used against perceived political enemies.”
“If there are no measures put in place,
this particular SaharaReporters and others have the capacity to drag democracy
into crisis because they have become reckless. They make laborious statements
that have no content of fact at all and because of Nigeria's perception it is
very important that we check their activities.” Melaye continues: “While I
celebrate the social media as one of our major actors, this senate should not
be blackmailed or cowed by operators of the social media. “You will read time
without number, SaharaReporters casting aspersion on the integrity of the
Senate. The Senate is a scared hallowed chamber,” says Melaye.
Which “scared hallowed chamber” Melaye the
tomfool is talking about? Which integrity? Integrity for the senate of thieves,
thugs, crooks, fraudsters, forgers. A
“sacred,” “hallowed” what? Hellooo Saint Kashamu Buruji the drug dealer, Saint
Mesujamba Bukola Saraki the forger and fraudster, Saint Dino Melaye the wife
beater and other apostles of looting and leeching in the most defiled senate
chamber in the world.
Why are these retarded knuckle heads afraid
of SaharaReporters? They love darkness more the light because their works are
evil. Who is fomenting crisis for democracy? SaharaReporters or the Melayes,
the Sarakis, the Na'Allahs the thieves? The answer is obvious.
Needles to remind my readers that
SaharaReporters have broken more news first than any other Internet Portal.
SaharaReporters have also been right on all occasions. SaharaReporters have
uncovered many skeletons and dirty secrets in the cupboards of Saraki, Melaye,
Na'Allah and other corrupt politicians who are now calling for the ban of
SaharaReporters, the social media, and other electronic medium.
This is hardly the first time a government
has responded to a crisis by cracking down on the Internet. In 2014, Reporters
Without Borders designated countries as “enemies of the internet” raging from
denial of service to walling their citizens off the global web. The countries
are Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, China, Vietnam, and North Korea. However, banning
of social media is not an enforceable law because users can use Virtual Private
Networks (VPNs).
Faced with allegations of
corruption, the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan banned the Twitter.
The Turks pushed back. Twitter facilitated the uproar by offering advice on how
to evade the ban with text messaging. Other users have turned to VPNs to
circumvent the blockage.
Turkey's ban on Twitter is as
porous as trying fill a basket with water. Erdogan's attempt to stifle social
media has not worked, rather it inflamed the opposition. Tunisia's Zine El
Abedine Ben Ali tried it and later got overthrown. Same goes for former
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. In Syria, the violence has only worsened
since President Bashar Al-Assad's attempt to smother the web.
Now that these thieves, crooks, looters,
and corrupt senators are feeling the heat from SaharaReporters and the social
media, they want to ban SaharaReporters, Twitter, texting, Facebook, email,
etc. They are insanely enthralled especially with the fearless, fiercest,
vibrant, and lethal journalism of courage and investigative journalism of
SaharaReporters. You'll think these fools, idiots, and ignoramuses would know
better that shutting down the Internet/Social Media and other services on the
web, users would come after them.
The proposed bill by the sicko senators –
social media terrorists – reveals two significant facts about them: they are of
sub average intellectual functioning which is measured by an IQ test and they
are defectively limited in adaptive functioning. They all suffer from
intellectual disability that falls between IQ of 65 and 75. When other
lawmakers in civilized democracies guarantee free access to Internet and WiFi
in schools, colleges, and public libraries, the Nigerian lawbreakers want to
stifle sharing information, cross fertilization of ideas, knowledge, and
creativity in the market place of ideas.
They want to resuscitate the obnoxious
Decree 4 in a representative democracy. They want to replace Internet with
their ancient idea of suggestion box launched recently by the Akindanidani Senators.
I don't need to tell the lunatic Senators that the bill is a certified DOA –
Dead On Arrival!
Saraki is the Alexander the
coppersmith of Nigeria of our time. He's doing a great deal of evil to Nigeria,
and the Lord will repay him accordingly. Saraki has rejected conscience. He has
made a shipwreck of his leadership. He has done everything to contradict
everything good that humanity stands for. It does not matter to Saraki whether
this be for the common good or not. His own concern is greed, selfishness, and
self preservation.
Saraki will not only contradict the good
that President Buhari is trying to do, he will also struggle to get other
thieves on his side to abort Buhari's war on corruption. Saraki and his fellow
Alexander the coppersmiths are like the dog in the manger, they will not go in
themselves and they will prevent anyone from going in. We're coming after you!
Mr. President Weed Out The Corrupt
Judges! And Let's Hear From Mr. Jonathan
The war on corruption – the
signature program of President Muhammadu Buhari won't take off expeditiously
and successfully until he weeds out the corrupt judges. It is evident that
corruption is endemic at all levels of our justice system from police to
judges. Instance of financial and moral corruption in our judiciary have become
embarrassingly frequent over the years. The systemic rot in our judiciary makes
me to paraphrase Shakespeare's Hamlet and remark that something is wrong with Nigerian
judges. Corruption in the judiciary is
widespread at all levels. Corruption is seen as normal way to deliver justice
at all levels of the system. Judges take bribes to cause unnecessary delays,
unreasonable adjournments, and render unfair judgments.
Firing of corrupt judges is essential to
speed up the war on corruption and to get conviction against the criminals. It
will enhance the confidence in the system. It will establish functioning
judicial system where political power, status, money, influence, or other
interference would not be possible. It will also establish a system in which
inefficient judges will not be allowed to work. Removing corrupt judges will
ensure swift and proportional punishment in ensuring civilized behavior
especially among public and elected officials and maintaining the moral
equilibrium in the society.
Former President Goodluck
Jonathan's name has become a chorus featured prominently in all the scams that
bedeviled his presidency – Ekitigate, Armsgate, Oduahgate, Alamsgate. It is
important we hear from him. Let's hear from him what he knew, when he knew it,
and what he did. Mr. President, in the name of war on corruption, weed out the corrupt
judges TODAY and let Mr. Jonathan be a special guest of EFCC.
A Lawless Supreme Court Of Coward
Justices
The doctrine of the separation of
powers in our Constitution divides the institutions of government into three
branches: legislative, executive, and judiciary. The legislative makes the
laws, the executive put the laws into operation, and the judiciary interprets
the laws. The judiciary should stand out as the one element of this doctrine
which is relatively stable in its functioning. The Supreme Court is responsible
for hearing matters as the Court of Disputed Returns.
A Supreme Court packed with justices that
are against swift justice is at best unsuitable, at worst, incompetent. Such a
Supreme Court has no business in administering justice as an institution which
provides the ultimate balance in a democratic system. The two-month long
postponement of Saraki's appeal indicates that the integrity of the whole
judicial system is compromised.
The Saraki's case before the CCT is the
litmus test of President Buhari's war on corruption. Nigerians feel that the
extended life granted Saraki to answer to his crimes portrays the Supreme Court
justices as coward men who prefer to side and shield Saraki while they are
vehemently opposed to the Nigerian people, the Constitution, and the
President's resolve to rid Nigeria of corruption. It also shows the justices
lack tenacity and fortitude when the nation desperately looks up to them for
their wisdom and direction to resolve a simple and straight forward case.
This is the time when the Supreme
Court has the unique opportunity to uphold the rule of law, but doesn't. This
is the time when it has the chance to remind the lower courts that it, and not
they, are the final interpreters of the Constitution, but doesn't. The unduly
long postponement of judgment in the Saraki's case reveals the lawlessness of
the justices. A court that acts only when its actions will virtually have no
impact is a lackey court. The Supreme Court decision is appalling and petulant.
The action of the justices is uniquely countermajoritarian. They are out of
touch with the Nigerian people.
For now, as Saraki hangs on like a grim
death and cause a further serious decline in morale and confidence in our
judiciary, the nation is nervously waiting to hear from the Supreme Court come
February 5, 2016.
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