Vol 8 No 17 18th February 2008

The Editor’s Spark
Hi Friends,
How was your JUSUN - made holidays? Well the strike of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, which shut down courts for 9 days ended suddenly more or less as it started.
Our Cover Story is on a certainly retrogressive “Inclusion Policy” of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association. The so called “Inclusion Policy” is a double speak for an extension of an already controversial “Zoning Formula” which prescribes the rotation of the post of President among three loose regions of East, West and North.
Before Agbakoba’s ascendancy to the leadership of the NBA, the Zoning Formula was unofficial and **** only to the post of President, the most important office in the NBA. Now, the NBA president and his co-travellers want the ‘ZF’ official, permanent and even extended. This is the big agenda at the forthcoming meeting of the NBA in Makurdi this week, 20-21 February 2008. But will the scheme succeed? Our Squib feature pages are devoted to the reaction of one Mr. Moroof Lateef, to our Vol. 8 Number 3 (8th October, 2007 edition) cover story entitled “JUDGE SENDS BLASTER TO PRISON FOR 60 DAYS ONLY.” The ‘blaster’ in that write-up is none other than Moroof Lateef, a self described “Commercial Law Practitioner” who got the jail term from Honourable Justice Morenike Obadina of the Ikeja High Court, for contempt of court. Lateef feels oppressed however by the honourable judge, whom he has subsequently taken out a suit against. He also forwarded his reaction to our story. The reaction is published fully, with scant editing. Also re-published is the judgment of Obadina J. that landed Moroof Lateef in jail. Ademola Adewale Esq. a.k.a Professor perhaps the most consistent contributor in the Squib now has a column here. Fittingly, Adewale’s column is named - The Professor’s Podium. Every week, or fortnightly, starting from today the learned Squib’s ‘Professor’ of Law, a 1985 graduate of Law from the University of Ife will put on display his deep, histo-sociological cum intellectual appreciation of issues in the legal and judicial world. The Professor’s Podium is a very welcome addition to your Sweet Regulars (SR). This week, the Monitor, Book-excerpt and Squib Kudos are not in the SR line-ups. The other guys -Pavilion, Diary, Learned Squib, Case Law, Art Attack and Art-Quake are all in. You will enjoy them. True.
Well, until when next the parliament opens, do not take it easy. Don’t take your music to the grave. Give life your best shots. The Heavens Will Not Fall!