Days after The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) embarked on indefinite strike, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) started a protest strike action over the non-implementation of financial autonomy for the judiciary.

Across the country, court activities are increasingly getting paralyzed as the strike action takes effect.

From Lagos to Kano, judicial workers have been forced to halt court processes, and the Supreme Court has been shut down.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) said the planned strike by JUSUN, which is as a result of the judicial arm of government literally begging for what belongs to it, will have a devastating effect on the country’s judicial process, and also interfere with the independence of the judiciary.

NBA President, Mr Olumide Akpata, said despite the clear constitutional provisions which consecrates the autonomy of the Judiciary, the executive arm of government, particularly at the state level, has customarily refused to comply with the provisions of the Constitution

‘‘The NBA is deeply worried that despite the clear provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as altered) which consecrate the autonomy of the Judiciary, the Executive arm of Government, particularly at the State level, has customarily refused to comply with the provisions of the Constitution, which are targeted at safeguarding the independence of the Judiciary.

‘‘The NBA is aware of the judgment of the Federal High Court of 13th January 2014 which unequivocally confirmed the autonomy of the Judiciary in line with the spirit and letters of the Constitution. While that judgment was followed by a Memorandum of Understanding between JUSUN and relevant stakeholders under which parties agreed to conscientiously give effect to the judgement of the Court, that has not been the case for seven years after the landmark judgment. This situation does not augur well for our constitutional democracy, as it suggests that members of the Executive arm of Government, who swore to uphold the principles of the Constitution, can flout it, with impunity.

‘’The Judiciary is an equal arm of Government relative to the Executive and the Legislature, and its independence is fundamental to the effective discharge of its mandate under the Constitution. A situation where the Judiciary literally begs for its resources from the Executive arm, as is currently the case across several States, cannot guarantee its independence, and constitutes an affront to the Constitution and the Rule of Law,’’ Akpata said.

But that’s just part of a system that the most populous black nation in the world has become famous for. In Nigeria, industrial action is a common feature that the government does not want to reckon with, and at the same time, would not take the necessary steps to stop from frequently happening.

It was in December that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) called off its ‘sequel’ industrial action that paralyzed academic activities in the universities for nine months. Last month, the academic body threatened to resume where it stopped due to non-payment of salaries and alleged victimization of its members.

On Tuesday, Anderson Ezeibe, president of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) announced that the union has commenced an indefinite strike.

ASUP said part of the reasons for the strike is the non-implementation of NEEDS Assessment report of 2014 in the sector nor release of any revitalization fund to the sector despite assurances since 2017.

And there is also non-reconstitution of governing councils in Federal Polytechnics and many state-owned institutions which has led to the disruption of governance and administrative processes in the institutions since May 2020.

These, according to the union, undermined the renegotiation of the union’s 2010 agreement with the government as such was unilaterally suspended by the government for over 2 years.

Over the years, Nigerians have come in terms with strike actions in the health and educational sectors. Therefore, most are not surprised that doctors embarked on strike in the face of the global health crisis, but there is a different sentiment with JUSUN strike.

Although there had been cases of some state judiciary workers going on strike in the past, it had never been on par with academic and health sectors’, which happen always at the national level with devastating impacts.

Nigerian patients are left to die in various hospitals as medical professionals down tools, students spend more years in schools as academic activities get put on hold periodically.

NARD president, Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, said on Tuesday that the government has only met one out of its 13 demands, and the association has not had any invite from the ministry of labor, that means, the strike continues.

With president Buhari in London on medical vacation, it is believed that the striking doctors will have to watch more Nigerians with medical needs die.

Okhuaihesuyi said “as a leader of the national association of residents doctors, a mandate has been given to me to continue the strike until the 13 demands are met. So the strike continues as it stands.”

The Minister for Labor, Dr. Chris Ngige said the government may implement “no-work no-pay” labor rule to force the doctors to return to work.

It is a faceoff, and like always, those who have been, without choice trapped in the system, will bear the brunt.

Patients will die, students will watch their academic future waste away. And as for the judiciary, Akpata said there will be serious consequences.

‘’Across the country, the Courts are trying to play catch-up for lost time, and it would be catastrophic for the administration of justice for the Courts to be shut down again. This is not to mention the adverse economic consequences for families and lawyers alike, who earn a living in one way or the other, by providing various support services to the Court system’’, he said.

The cryptocurrency rally has been consistent since late last year, increasing the price of different coins and the overall market value. Market capitalization hit an all-time peak of $2 trillion on Monday, according to data from market trackers CoinGecko and Blockfolio, following the surge in investment from both institutional and retail investors.

The crypto market cap hit $2.02 trillion by mid-afternoon to reach a new record, led by bitcoin, which hit its own milestone by holding the $1 trillion market cap for one whole week, surpassing most Silicon Valley big names.

The new cap. has also been attributed to the recent decrease in bitcoin volatility.

JP Morgan says that bitcoin’s volatility has decreased in recent weeks, making the cryptocurrency more appealing to institutional investors seeking low-correlation assets to diversify their investment portfolios.

The investment bank has also revised its bitcoin price target to $130,000.

“The recent change in the correlation structure of bitcoin relative to traditional asset classes will likely increase the institutional adoption of bitcoin,” JPMorgan explained. Based on the current gold price of $1,700 per troy ounce, the bank says, “Mechanically, the bitcoin price would have to rise [to] $130,000, to match the total private sector investment in gold.”

The bank says if bitcoin’s volatility continues to converge with gold’s volatility, its long-term price target would be $130,000.

In just over two months, the market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market has doubled. But the latest boost in the cryptocurrency market appears to have been driven by ether, the digital coin that powers the Ethereum blockchain.

Bitcoin was last up 1.4% at $59,045. Since hitting a lifetime peak of more than $61,000 in mid-March, bitcoin has since traded in a relatively narrow range.

Analysts said as long as bitcoin stays above $53,000, it will be able to maintain its $1 trillion market cap.

Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap, was up 1.3% at $2,103. Its market cap was $244 billion on Monday, while hitting a record high of $2,144.99 last Friday.

“Momentum and interest have begun to expand beyond bitcoin and ethereum,” said Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer, at crypto exchange Bitfinex.

“As the industry continues to mature, we expect more blockchain-based applications to be introduced to the world, and coinciding with that, a surge of interest around other alternative assets…as they become more market-ready,” he added.

Blockchain data provider Glassnode, in a research report, said the fact that bitcoin has held the $1 trillion market cap for one week is a “strong vote of confidence for bitcoin and the cryptocurrency asset class as a whole.”

It added that on-chain activity continues to reinforce bitcoin’s robust position, with a volume equivalent to over 10% of circulating supply transacting above the $1 trillion threshold.

Bitcoin has risen more than 100% this year, while ethereum has gained nearly 190%. Both have massively outperformed traditional asset classes, bolstered by the entry of mainstream companies and large investors into the cryptocurrency world, including Tesla Inc and BNY Mellon.

The declining volatility is attracting major investment banks that are now exploring ways to allow clients to get involved with digital asset investments.

In March, CNBC reported that Morgan Stanley became the first major U.S. bank to offer its wealth management clients access to bitcoin funds. Last month, Goldman Sachs also introduced a bitcoin desk, gearing up to launch its first investment vehicles for bitcoin and other digital assets to clients of its private wealth management group.

Recently, a Twitter user shared the list of things to provide for the traditional marriage rites of his cousin. This three-page list contained items that will be given to the bride’s father, her immediate family, the extended family, the youths, daughters born to the family (separate items), and then all the women in the extended family. In this list, there are items for these mentioned persons during the “knocking on the door”, “second stage of dowry payment”, and the “traditional marriage”, proper. Excluding dowry, which must be paid in cash after negotiation, and some gift items for the bride’s father (native dresses, trousers, shoes, etc.), the estimated amount for the items on the list was N557, 600. Note that this does not include entertainment for guests and preparation of the venue for the ceremony. 

These items are just what a young man has to provide for the bride’s father and her extended family before his marriage intentions are considered. If you consider how much this young man will spend for this marriage ceremony, you will have no other choice but to wonder if a traditional wedding has been turned into an extortion avenue.

The above wedding list is just one out of the majority we see every day. There are some you will see and shout. Some give the impression that the brides’ parents do not want their daughters to marry the grooms in question. Some lists look as if, after the items were provided, the brides’ families will open a retail business with the items as their first stock. Of course, people don’t question the essence of the contents of these lists because they (the lists) are insured by the word “culture” and the clause “marriage is not for children”. As a result, people are compelled to do what they do not wish for.

But, one may need to ask, “Are these lists a true representation of ‘culture’ and ‘test for manliness’?”

Marriage is sacred in African cultures. It is never seen as a trivial matter. Further, it involves the collaboration of family members from both sides because the union is seen as the union of two families. This is why, in Africa, a bride and groom are not allowed to meet and marry without the consent of their parents. In addition, the bride’s father is not allowed to give out his daughter in marriage without the consent of his kinsmen, just the way the groom’s father will not be entertained by the bride’s family if he does not show up with his kinsmen. 

This can explain why the list includes extended family members (both the males and the females): if none of them are “lobbied” and settled, the bride will not be given out. But that is where culture ends. The contents of the list has nothing to do with culture (at least, to a large extent). They were added and removed by kinsmen for reasons bothering around greed and test of the groom’s “manliness”.

Before a man is allowed to marry his wife, the bride’s family does background checks on him. This is where they scrutinize his behaviours and that of his family (including that of his ancestors). If he wasn’t found wanting, his ability to “handle” a woman will also be tested. Since a woman is not meant to provide for the family, the groom’s ability to take care of his wife and children is put to test. Different cultures have different ways of testing this. However, it is beginning to appear that the current way of doing this is by checking how far his bank account could be stretched. 

The way the size of a man’s farm, compound, plantations, and animal’s coops were checked in those days is just the way his wealth is checked today. This can only explain why many African communities continue to include items in the lists for traditional wedding rites.

The truth is that the reason behind providing gift items for kinsmen during traditional marriage ceremonies has been defeated. Those items are no longer provided to test the groom’s ability to support his family but have turned into means of making money and obtaining materials from the groom. 

Apart from that, people take loans to marry, so a man’s ability to fulfil the list does not guarantee his wealth. But from the look of things, this aspect of culture will soon phase out because families are beginning to conduct traditional marriages in the cities (instead of returning to the village) to avoid troubles with the kinsmen list.