A few days after his inauguration, Governor of Anambra state, Professor Chukwuma Soludo cried out over the impoverished state of the state’s treasury.

Speaking in an interview with Arise News, Soludo said he inherited almost an empty treasury with debts running into hundreds of billions.

“In terms of debt I inherited, it runs into hundreds of billions of naira. In terms of cash, we met about 300 million naira only. In fact, let’s not talk about it. Our treasury is funny. But I hope we shall make money henceforth to help us fulfill our promises for infrastructure and development of the state. But in terms of what I met in our coffers, my brother, it’s pathetic. Please, let us not go there, God will help us,” the governor said.

Soludo said the audited statement published December 31st, which is a matter of public record, indicates that Anambra State is in debt to at least, the tune of N109 billion. He explained that the fund available to the state is about N300 million to N400 million, but that however, the fund is the baseline as they would need to look into other contingencies like contractor debts, draw the line from there and then move on.

The interview came on the heels of his predecessor, Willie Obiano’s arrest by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Obiano’s administration was riddled with allegations of malfeasance. He was accused of not only squandering the huge fund he inherited from his predecessor Peter Obi, but also borrowed fund, internally generated revenue and funds from the monthly federal allocation, FAAC.

The EFCC has accused Obiano of misappropriating N5 billion Sure-P fund in addition to N37 billion security votes withdrawn in cash.

This development poses a big challenge to Soludo’s administration that is widely believed to be the panacea to Obiano’s widely criticized eight-year administration.

Anambra State is largely underdeveloped and has been starved of sincere leadership for long. It is said that a change in the status quo began when former Anambra State governor, Chris Ngige, who was in office from 2003 to 2006, defied the unscrupulous elements holding the state to ransom. His successor Peter Obi followed suit, leaving as much as N75 billion behind in the state’s treasury. The footsteps believed that Obiano should have followed.

Soludo has promised to effect the needed changes in Anambra, by using the state’s funds judiciously.

“I pledge here again to devote every kobo of your tax money to work for you. This is your government. I am only your employee. I commit to a transparent, accountable, judicious, and impactful use of your tax money,” the governor had tweeted.

As the first step in walking his talk, Soludo has halted all revenue collection in Anambra, with the aim of blocking revenue leakages that only enrich the corrupt. It is hoped that Soludo will be able to generate enough revenue to shoulder the hefty responsibilities he has inherited.

The right to protest is embodied in different sections of the constitution and it cut across right to the right to freedom of thought and conscience and religion as provided in S 38, and also embodies the rights to freedom of expression and voicing of different opinions as provided in S 39 followed by the right to peaceful assembly and association as also provided in S 40 and it is finally crowned by S 41 which provides for the right to freedom of movement. 

These constitutional provisions were again clearly made and re-emphasized by the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday having declared that the arrest of the renowned activist Mr. Omoyele Sowore during his 2019 “revolution now” protest was illegal and conflicts with his fundamental human right of freedom of association, freedom to join or organize a pressure group, freedom of movement, right to peaceful assembly as all provided for in Sections 38, 39, 40 and 41 of the constitution. 

The court at the course of the judgment also went ahead to rule that the clamp down on the 2019 “revolution now”  protest led by Omoyele Sowore by the Department of State Security and other security forces of the state was unlawful and unconstitutional. 

Every citizen of Nigeria has it as his or her inalienable right to publicly register his displeasure with the government using the pressure group as long as the activities do not breach any security apparatus of the state and this right should never be taken away from citizens.

The Department of State Services (DSS) had arrested Sowore with some of his comrades on August 2, 2019, after using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the group and abort their protest. Sowore was subsequently granted bail by the court but despite being granted bail by different courts, the agency refused to honor the court bail to release the activist from their detention until December 2019. 

In response, Mr. Sowore through his lawyer filed a suit praying the federal high court to award him the sum of N500 million as monetary damages against the DSS for the “violation of his fundamental human rights, unlawful arrest and detention by the security forces, illegal violation of his fundamental right to life, violation of his right to dignity of his person, violation of freedom of movement and violation of freedom of association as all provided and guaranteed by the Constitution. 

The Federal high court yesterday, ruled in the favour of the applicant and held that the actions of the law enforcement agencies against his person did amount to the breach and violation of the applicant’s fundamental human rights and 1 million naira was awarded as monetary damages in his favor against the DSS as a compensation.

Before this August judgment, earlier in December 2021, Justice Anwuli Chiekere, of the  federal high court sitting in Abuja, had ordered the DSS to pay the sum of N2 million as general damages to Sowore over the unlawful seizure of his phone in 2019 and tampering with his right to privacy and his property without not just cause

March 22 each year, World Water Day is being commemorated. The international World Water Day is held annually across the globe as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

The theme of World Water Day 2022 is “Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible”. The theme aims to highlight how important groundwater is to our environment.

Water is a clear, colourless and transparent liquid that has no taste or smell, and that is required for the survival of all plant and animal lives. In the same vein, a large amount or area of either natural or manmade water such as lake, pond, pool, river, sea, ocean, and so on, can be referred to as water or waters.

Water, which is as old as the world, is consumed as food by both animals and humans, and it is also required in various fields of endeavour or human activities including, farming, cooking, manufacturing, sports, bath, hand washing, brushing of teeth, laundry, sanitation cum other forms of domestic and environmental activities, just to mention but a few.

The functions of water in the body ranging from cell life, to chemical and metabolic reactions, transport of nutrients, body temperature regulation, elimination of waste or toxic substances, among others, are numerous and innumerable.

Water is a carrier that distributes essential nutrients such as minerals, vitamins and glucose, to cells. Furthermore, it removes waste products including toxins rejected by the cells through urines, sweats and faeces. It also participates in the biochemical breakdown of whatever we consume.

Inter alia, water has a large heat capacity which helps to limit changes in body temperature in a warm or a cold environment. It allows the body to release heat when ambient temperature is higher than body temperature. Most importantly, water is an effective lubricant around joints; it also acts as a shock absorber for eyes, brain, spinal cord, and even for the fetus through amniotic fluid.

Water is indeed at the centre of life. This is why nobody can live more than three to five days without any water intake. It suffices to say that its role in the body is not just important, but inevitable. It has succeeded in proving to mankind that it is the most important form of food among the six classes of food in existence.

Considering the agricultural sector; the absence of water would simply cripple the entire activity in the aforementioned area thereby terminating the lives of crops or livestock, as the case may be. Same is obtainable in the manufacturing industry, like the pharmaceutical firms, bakery and breweries, that requires water as one of the basic raw-materials for its day-to-day activities.

The positive impact of water on cooking and other household cum industrial works, is another factor that cannot be taken for granted whenever the societal importance of water is discussed. It’s noteworthy that without water, most other forms of food or diet would not be prepared or provided.

On the other hand, swimming, which is one of the most lucrative kinds of sporting activities in recent times, wouldn’t have been founded if water was not obtainable.

As it is widely noted that the significance of water to mankind cannot be overemphasized, it is also worthy to note that intake of dirty or impure water remains one of the primary causes of several diseases or infections such as, typhoid, diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, staphylococcus and other sexually transmitted diseases, experienced across the globe.

Without mincing words, statistics show that over sixty percent (60%) of death rate recently is attributed to consumption of unclean water as well as residing in an unsafe environment. We shouldn’t forget that accommodating dirty stagnant water such as gutters, pools, et cetera, in our environments or vicinities attracts mosquitoes, which remains the sole cause of a killer disease known as malaria.

According to the United Nations (UN) findings, 768 million people worldwide lack access to improved water sources while 2.5 billion persons have no improved sanitation.

As the global community commemorates the 2022 World Water Day, all relevant stakeholders and the civil society are urged to pledge to develop the policies needed to ensure that sustainable water and energy are secured for the many and not just the few as it is presently the case in Nigeria and other developing nations. In this regard, they should ensure that their respective communities are provided with adequate and safe water sources.

On their part, the various ministries of Water Resources and their Environment counterparts across the federation, ought to ensure that adequate and reliable boreholes are sunk in every community that is related to them and also endeavour to sponsor series of radio/television jingles to sensitize the populace on the unavoidable role of clean water as well as safe environment. The various Water Corporations are also expected to live up to the expectations.

Similarly, there’s equally an urgent need to monitor borehole drilling by residents in various quarters with a view to avoiding any future manmade disaster such as earthquake or what have you. People must be made to understand that improper sinking of boreholes, among other related activities, poses environmental threat to the affected dwellers.

Among all, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) ought to, from time to time, endeavour to checkmate the activities of the various registered water companies. Also, it should not hesitate to sanction or close down any one that is set up illicitly.

Most importantly, in our individual capacities, we ought to endeavour to properly boil any water we intend to drink, and also adequately sanitize any stagnant pool of water within our surroundings as well as fumigate the said environments when necessary.

This action will guarantee purity and thorough sanitary, thereby boasting the safety and well-being of our bodies. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.