Democracy in Nigeria Essay

By May 2009, Nigeria’s nascent democracy should have been a decade. Thus, the thrust of this paper is an in depth analysis of the possibility of sustaining democratic values beyond any sudden reversal. The. paper however, takes a cursory look at the daunting challenges ahead and infers that unless the government increases social expenditure and truncate the current brazen corruption, the hope of democratic consolidation may eventually be a mirage. Key words: democracy, nascent, corruption, state law and order As rightly collated by Decalo1, the events in Africa took scholars by surprise, since most doubted Africa could move towards democracy. Even in the mid-1980’s, one argued that by reason of their poverty or the violence of their politics, African states were unlikely to move in a democratic direction. Another adding that â€Å"to have expected democracy to flourish would have been historical blindness†3, since ‘outside the core (industrialized states) democracy is a rarity, support for Tilly’s thesis ‘why Europe will not occur again – with a few exceptions, the limits of democratic development in the world may well have been reached4. However, despite the doubts and skepticisms openly expressed by scholars, Nigeria, like several other African countries, became democratic. On May 29, 1999 Nigeria became a ‘democratic’ state. Prior to 1999 political transition, Nigeria was under firm military autocracy and absolutism for close to 29 years (since 1966), when the military made their first incursion into Nigeria’s government and politics, following the collapse of the first republic5. It is vital to note that authoritarian governments were interrupted only by a brief period of civilian rule in the Second Republic (1979-1983)6. Thus, Nigeria’s march to constitutional democracy was a chequered one marked by anti-colonial struggles, crises, coups, counter-coups, and a thirty-month agonizing civil war between 1967 and 1970. So far, Nigeria has passed through several phases in her democratization bid viz: (a) era of colonial autocracy and absolutism, that is, period of formal colonialism till October 1st 1960, when the country gained ‘flag’ independence; (b) emergence of constitutional democracy – (1960-1966), (c) the return of military autocracy and absolutism – (1966-1979); (d) restoration of constitutional democracy – (1979-1983); and (e) the second coming of military autocracy and absolutism – (1983-1989) . 7 Since 1989, that Nwabueze made that observation, the polity has added more phases to her democratization bid. With the inglorious ‘stepping aside’ of General Ibrahim Babangida’s administration in 1993, an Interim National Government (ING) was put in place, headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan, handpicked by an unelected military President (General Babangida), thereby making the ING suffer a serious legitimacy crisis ab initio6. The interim contraption collapsed after eighty-two days, following the declaration that it was illegal by a Lagos High Court in a suit instituted by the assumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election – Chief M.  K. 0. Abiola. Cashing-in on the court verdict, General Sani Abacha staged a coup d’etat, dissolved all the extant democratic structures retained by the ING, and once again, returned the country to a fiilJ blown military dictatorship. It was in this state of confusion that Gen. Abacha died in June 8,’ 1998 in a mysterious circumstance. Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, who took over after the demise of Gen. Abacha, who h ad a transition programme reputed to be the shortest in the annals of military-midwife political transitions in Nigeria. Eventually, barring all odds, Gen. Abubakar handed over the reins of government to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (a retired general) in 1999. With the inauguration of Chief Obasanjo’s civilian administration in 1999, hopes were high once again that democracy would be sustained and consolidated. But alas, the military background of Chief Obasanjo became a serious liability on the system when the supposedly democratic government became a replica of dictatorship in its entire facet. By 2003, after the expiration of his first term, his administration conducted a general election, and handed over to itself. This election was generally perceived to have been massively rigged. 9 In 2007, at the expiration of his administration’s constitutionally mandated second term, another general election was conducted to usher in another civil government. This election was remarkable in a number of ways. First, it was after eight tumultuous years of democracy – the longest period since independence from the United Kingdom in I960. 0 Secondly, for the first time in the history of the country, there was a civilian-civilian transfer of power. It would have been even more remarkable if there had been a transfer of power from the ruling party to the opposition. † Meanwhile, the thrust of this paper is an indepth analysis of the major challenges facing the nascent democracy in Nigeria to prevent it from the threats of authoritarian repression or what David Beetham calls â€Å"reverse waves†. 2 It is to these anti-democratic forces that could lead to democratic reverse which had taken place in Mauritania recently via a military coup d’etat that we now turn to. (A) As I have argued elsewhere13, quantitative cross-national research on the economic determinants of democracy and democratization generally consistently reveals that a country’s level of economic development is associated positively and strongly with the extent to which the political systems manifest properties of democracy. There is, therefore, a two-way causal relationship between the economy and sustainable democracy; the state of the economy is the determinant of enduring democracy, but democracy is a key pre-requisite for sustainable economic transformation. The message is: ‘oroad-based economic prosperity sustains democracy, whereas widespread poverty and ignorance undermine it. To mimic President Clinton of U. S. when he was running for office in 1992, ‘it is the economy, full stop! ’14 No doubt. Nigeria is potentially Africa’s largest economy. Every year, the country produces over 200,000 graduates of tertiary institutions (including 65 universities), has the 6th largest gas reserves in the world, eighth largest oil producer (with abundant, but largely untapped natural resources – gold, limestone, among others), and with 60 percent of its arable land lying fallqw. In the words of Soludo (2005), Nigeria has also millions of its citizens in Diaspora (with estimated 100,000 Nigerian medical doctors and scientists abroad). Unfortunately, was not lucky in the first 40 years of its independence with sustained good political governance. In his perceptive public lecture, Charles Soludo, Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor,16 noted further that democracy has not been endured in Nigeria simply because the economic numbers did not add up; whereas, democracy and indeed any form of government must deliver tangible economic benefits to the generality of the citizenry to be credible and sustainable. In a seminal article on ‘What Makes Democracy Endure’, Prezeworski found the empirical evidence that: Once a country has a democratic regime; its level of economic development has a very strong effect on the probability that democracy will survive †¦ emocracy can be expected to last an average of about 8. 5 years in a country with per capita income under $2,000; 33 years between $2,000-$4,000 and 100 years between $4,000-$6,000 †¦ Above $6,000 democracies are to live forever. No democratic system has fallen in a country where per capita income exceeds $6,033. 17 Be that as it may, most African states have few economic potentials of any significance (many literally nothing) that could attract foreign risk capital, which is why entrepreneurs did not flock into them in the past, irrespective of ideology or level of democracy! And to rely on local capital to fuel development is to foredoom many to perpetual marginality. 18 Taking a cue from the same line of argument, Akintunde19, while rationalizing the reasons for the demise of democracy in the first republic, postulated that a democracy which is not founded upon a secure economic base is not likely to succeed because it lacks an essential condition of efficiency. It is unable to fulfill the expectations of its citizens; in the common parlance, it cannot deliver goods. So significant is the economic base that many people have surmised that even communist countries, as they become wealthier, will come to resemble western democracy more and more20. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, as in most of the developing countries, due largely to the poor economic base, the middle class is a very small minority of the population. Western democracy is, therefore, not securely founded because it lacks one of the essential ingredients of success – an influential middle class. This fact, which is sometimes a surprise to African leaders21, was well known to Aristotle more than two thousand years ago. According to Aristotle, ‘when democracies have no middle class and the poor are greatly superior in number, trouble ensues and they are speedily ruined’. The nexus between democracy and the strength of the economy reveals that those who are not rich usually confined to mere voting, political career thus become the privilege of those who are wealthy enough to afford the leisure to devote to politics in most western countries, until the advent of Trade Union M.  Ps. 23Thus, while blaming the politicians, it is worth repeating that, by embarking on western democracy on an inadequate economic base, the Fourth Republic was set on a death course, it was bound to be corrupt. 24 The same scenario is playing itself out in Nigeria presently. No doubt, it is a daunting task in the face of the aforementioned historical evidence to sustain democracy in an economy like Nigeria, where per capita income has been below the $1,000 mark. That, according to Prezeworsk25, poses a serious threat. Considering the nexus between democracy and the economy vis-a-vis the expectation of an average African, Claude Ake (of blessed memory) averred that: The ordinary people of Africa are supporting democracy as a second independence. This time they want independence not from the colonial masters, but from indigenous leaders. They want independence from leaders whose misrule has intensified their poverty and exploitation to the point of being life threatening. And they are convinced that they cannot now get material improvement without securing political empowerment and being better placed to bring public policy closer to social needs. [Nonetheless] democracy is being interpreted and supported in ways that defeat those aspirations and manifest no sensitivity to the social conditions of the ordinary people of Africa. Generally, the political elites who support democratization are those with no access to power and they invariably have no feeling for democratic values. They support democratization largely as a strategy of power†¦Ã‚  The people can (only) choose between oppressors and by the appearance of choice legitimize what is really their disempowerment. 26 In line with the above postulations, Jerry Gana (a one-time Information Minister) admitted, too, that: You know the mentality of our people. If democracy does not produce clean water, if democracy does not produce good roads, transform agriculture, cultivate industrial development, sanitise society, give us power supply, democracy will lose credibility and they may say, na democracy we go chop? 7 The caveat is that where democratic processes do not yield economic returns, a regression to dictatorship cannot be ruled out. This point is clearly stated by Larry Diamond thus: †¦ Many new democracies in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa will probably breakdown in the medium to long run unless they can reduce their often appalling levels of poverty, inequality, and social injustice, and through market oriented reforms lay the basis for sustainable growth. When this is juxtaposed with the admittance by the Central Bank in its 2008 firs’; quarter report released to the public29, the economy is in perpetual crisis. The Apex Bank attributed the high rate of inflation in the country to the erratic power supply. According to the report, the inflation rate on a year to year basis was 7. 8 percent, compared to 6. 6 percent and 5. 2 percent recorded in the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of 2007. The report noted further that inflation rate on a 12-month roving average basis for the first quarter was 5. 8 percent compared with 5. percent recorded in the preceding quarter. Indeed, nothing can be more soothing to the nation’s debilitating power crisis, largely fingered for stunting the economy, rendering it comatose and occasioning a declining industrial sector, whose capacity utilization nosedived to a paltry 20 percent by the end of 2006. Epileptic power supply, a very prohibitive business climate and in consistency in government policies, have combined to smother the country’s industrial sector leading to the closure of multinationals, like Michelin, Panalpina, and other notable firms. The shrinking of the textile sector from 170 in the 60s, 70s, and 80s to 10 in the 90s, also evinces the acute nature of the problem. The recent disclosure by the House of Representatives Committee on Power, which probed the power sector that the country now generates less than a pitiable 1,000 megawatts, makes mockery of the country’s vision of becoming one of the 20 largest and most resilient economies by 2020, compared to South Africa, a country of 42 million people, which generates over 42,000 megawatts. Much of Nigeria’s investment in the power sector has been enmeshed in corruption and enthralled in the lust of the political elite for primitive accumulation. 31 The concomitant effect of poor economy is lingering with the poverty problem. Nigeria’s poverty conundrum has assumed a frightening dimension. In the words of Dr. Magnus Kpakol, Senior Special Assistant to the President and National Coordinator of National Poverty Eradication Program, in a public lecture entitled â€Å"Poverty Solution: The Role of Government in Poverty Eradication† declared that: The number of poor Nigerians could be, put at an estimated figure of 70 million †¦ n 1980, the figure was 28. 1 million. 1985, 46. 3 million; 1992, 42. 7 million; 1996, 65. 6 million and 1999,70. 0 million, 2004,54. 4 million. 32 He gave the statistical breakdown along the six regional levels to be â€Å"North-East, 72. 2 percent; South-East, 26. 7 percent; South-South 31. 5 percent; South-West 43. 1 perc ent; North-Central 67. 0 percent; and North-West, 71. 2 percent†. 33 Undoubtedly, something must be wrong somewhere, for a critical official poverty statistics, which revealed that over half of Nigeria’s 150 million population are poor, is unexplainable going by the abundant human and material resources in the country. The economy was so gloomy that 2007/2008 United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP’s) Human Development Index (HDI) ratings placed Nigeria at 158th position out of 177 countries. 34 No doubt, democracy is endangered in Nigeria more than ever before. Poverty, want, and squalor are anti-democratic forces in the polity. The only exception is Indian democracy, which has long baffled theorists of democracy. Democratic theory holds that poverty, widespread illiteracy, and a deeply hierarchical social structure are inhospitable conditions for the functioning of democracy. But the historical novelty of Indian democracy was noted by Barrington Moore: Economically (India) remains in the pre-industrial age †¦ But as a political specie, it does belong to the modern world. At the time of Nehru’s death in 1964, political democracy had existed for seventeen years. If imperfect, the democracy was no more sham †¦ Political democracy may seem strange both in an Asian setting and one without an industrial revolution. 36 To avert recapitulation, my earlier work glaringly with empirical data proved the pathetic downslide of Nigeria’s economy over the years with the attendant threat to democratic sustenance. 7 Bruce Baker too in his perceptive piece emphasized much the strength of the economy and sustainable democracy. As a corollary to the aforementioned weak economy, the state, in terms of being weak or strong, matters to the study of threats to democracy both from within and without, as well as one of the common modes of failure of democracy and democratization. 39 Perhaps, the greatest manifestation of a weak state vis-avis sustainable democracy is that it cannot successfully administer a true and fair credible election which is the kernel of democracy. No doubt, one of the. fundamental problems that post-colonial African states are facing is that of how to sustain and consolidate democracy through credible elections. 40 In the whole continent of Africa, few states could lay claim to having genuinely conducted free and fair elections as universally perceived. Hence, election administration that will attain governmental legitimacy after polls has always been a serious concern to electoral scholars. 41 The reason for this is not far-fetched. It is well known that most new states in Africa, Asia, and Latin America are too weak for the assignment. This is why state capacity is one of the major prerequisites for democratic nurturing, sustenance, and consolidation. In the extant literature on democratization and state capacity generally, five elements are crucial to the strength of the state vis: (a) monopoly of the coercive power of society, that is, control of instrument of coercion; (b) the right to improve tax and collect revenue; (c) the power of legal enactment, that is, power to make laws; (d) sovereignty over territory and society; and (e) control of the institutions of the state or state apparatus, i. . bureaucracy. 42 These five elements taken together constitutes the basis of state power and they endow the state with the status of statehood. However, it needs be emphasized that nation states which qualify for the status of statehood may differ in their degree of stateness; some are strong states, and others are weak. No doubt, Nigeria falls into the category of weak or soft states. Like others in her category, Nigeria runs a system, one in which formal rules (laws, officially stated administrative rules and practices, etc. are applied copiously and in a lax manner rather than rigorously and consistently. It is one in which private advantage can be gained and private bargains struck concerning the enforcement or non-enforcement of the rules as when a businessman bribes a tax official. Besides money, another inducement is kinship sentiment while another is the favour of superiors. The consequential effect is that in several cases, individuals may be too powerful than the state in which the rule of law is abused with impunity. Cases of such were too numerous to be mentioned during the last Nigeria’s general elections in April 2007. 43 In a nutshell, the stronger the state in all ramifications, the better for deepening of democratic values in Nigeria. This can be achieved via the entrenchment of state institutions cum congruent political behaviour by the political elite. Perhaps the most crucial of all imperatives for the consolidation of Nigeria’s nascent democracy is the restructuring of the lopsided and structurally imbalance federal arrangement. As rightly noted by Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary General of the Commonwealth: At the heart of the several conflicts plaguing the Nigerian state today is the consequence of the failure of the practice of true federalism. The power shift debate that characterized the politics of transition from military to civil rule and which has persisted several months after, rose largely out of the frustration of large segments of the population with the structure of the political system that has shut significant sections out of the corridors of power for most of the post-independence period. 4 With Nigeria being one of the most complex societies in Africa, federalism was adopted to integrate the plural and divided societies. This is in line with the perception of early generation of students of inter-group relations or plural societies, which considered federalism an effective way of achieving and preserving both integration and stability in deeply divided societies. Whenever events seemed to demand that a compromise is affected between the necessity for unity and cooperation on a wide territorial basis, â€Å"the temptation is to proffer catch all management formula, such as federalism .. >>45 This tendency to see federalism as a magic wand that can channel irreconcilable inter-ethnic hostility into conciliation and federal cooperation was subscribed to by Carnell, thus: â€Å"in tropical area characterized by extreme cultural and ethnic diversity †¦ federalism comes as something of a political panacea†. 4 In a nutshell, federalism is considered the most appropriate framework for governing multi-ethnic societies. However, recent events in Nigeria clearly demonstrate that the polity is far from being a federation, or alternatively as has been suggested, that Nigeria is not a true or real federation. 47 Since 1954, when the foundation of classical federation for Nigeria was laid,48 the system is still far from being problem-free. The story is that of both ‘political and governmental instability’. 49 Worst still, Nigeria’s ethnic make-up remains what Furnival calls â€Å"in the strictest sense a medley (of people) for they mix but do not combine†.

Edgar Allan Poe Analaysis

Isaiah Mutakabbir Dille Senior English 2 23, March, 2013 Edgar Allan Poe Literary Analysis Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809, Massachusetts. Poe died at the age of 40. The cause of his death is undetermined and has been attributed to alcohol, drugs, cholera, rabies, and other agents. He is most known for his poems and short stories such as The Raven, Tell-Tale Heart, and The Black Cat. Poe was one of the early American practitioners of the short story and a progenitor of detective fiction and crime fiction.Poe used many different forms of figurative language in his poems but the one I find as his best and most used is his use of symbolism. Poe’s use of this literary element is seen all throughout his works. In one of his greatest poems, The Raven, symbolism is used very many times. Such as the main symbol in the poem which is a raven. It symbolizes never ending and mournful remembrance. Many others also agree that symbolism is Poe’s greatest form of figurativ e language is his use of symbolism. Such as Tyler G. who said that Poe â€Å"masters it in his every work. He also said that â€Å"in The Pit and the Pendulum, the whole story symbolizes the dark and rough time in the torture chambers. † Another critic named Christoffer Hallqvist agrees and says that â€Å"Poe uses several symbols to take the poem to a higher level. † In his online essay written about Poe’s use of figurative elements he is also quoted saying that Poe’s â€Å"way of interpreting signs that do not bear a real meaning, is one of the most profound impulses of human nature. † Though many believe that symbolism is Poe’s greatest literary element others believe that it is his use of foreshadowing that should be known as his best element.In an article on 123helpme. com it was written that Poe’s â€Å"most common literary element used †¦throughout many of his works is foreshadowing. † The article also stated that When Fortunato states, â€Å"I shall not die of a mere cough†, Monstressor enthusiastically agrees with him. If you read into this meaning behind this it is direct foreshadowing that he will not die of a mere cough, but starvation and dehydration caused by Monstressor burying him in a wall will be what kills him. Though this is a good example of Poe’s use of figurative language I still believe that it s his use of symbolism that should be accredited with being his most and greatest used literary element. Poe overall is one of the post modern pioneers of symbolism. Works Cited Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition, September 2006, p1, 10p â€Å"Edgar Allan Poe and His Use of Literary Devices. †Ã‚  Teen Ink. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. â€Å"Edgar Allan Poe. †Ã‚  A Brief Biography of including Selected Works to Read Online. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. â€Å"Literary Elements Used by Poe :: Essays Research Papers. †Ã ‚  Literary Elements Used by Poe :: Essays Research Papers. N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013.

Documentary movie that investigates health care in the United States Essay

Sicko is a documentary movie that investigates health care in the United States which focus on the people who are covered by their health insurance and others who are not covered at all . The film show the difference between the United States health insurance system with the universal health care systems of Canada the United Kingdom, France and Cuba . There are nearly 50 million Americans without health care insurance in the United States alone and 18,000 Americans will die simply because they’re uninsured. Moore talks to one person who lost his two fingers with a power saw and realizes he would need twelve-thousand dollars to save one and sixty-thousand dollars to save the other. Since he had no health insurance to save both of his fingers, he decided to keep paid the twelve thousand dollars for his ring finger. On February 17, 1971, Richard Nixon met with John Ehrlichman to discuss the Vice President’s position on health maintenance organizations and the next day, Nixon called for a â€Å"new national health strategy† that had four points for expanding the proliferation of health maintenance organizations, The United States was ranked number 37 as a health system by the World Health Organization.. Health care in Canada is to, completely free and Canadians live three years longer than Americas . That due to their quick services at the Emergency room and doctors office. Tommy Douglas, who pioneered Canada’s health care system, was heralded as most the nation’s singular most important person to help Canada Health Insurance .Moore follows a young American woman as she crosses north over the U.S.-Canada border and to obtain health insurance by marring a close friend who is Canadian. And one man say that he had to come back to Canada after enduring an pain injury in Florida because in Canada his treatment would be free. The health care system in Great Britain is free was well. After losing 42,000 civilians in eight months during a vicious bombing†¦

Strict Censorship Policies of Google Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strict Censorship Policies of Google - Case Study Example The world’s largest search engine then announced redirecting to an uncensored version located in Hong Kong in the hopes of circumventing mainland China’s laws which only heightened Chinese officials’ ire. Furthermore, regardless of Google’s act of leaving China, it remained to be a far competitor from the Haidu, China’s most popular search engine. In the same vein, Google did not lose as much revenue as the Chinese market represented only a small fraction of what comprised the company (Heft and Barboza). As reported by the prevalently government lenient news agency, Xinhua, the government sees that â€Å"regulation on the Internet is a sovereign issue† and that Google has no right to attempt or to impose its own standard on what the government should and should not censor (Na, Yunlu, and Hao, par. 5). There seems to be a great disparity between the conception of human rights as viewed in a Western concept especially among Americans and the en cumbrance of Chinese law which majority of its citizens tend to dismiss. To reiterate, it is difficult to point out people’s rights when they are in fact unaware that such rights do exist.The world’s largest search engine then announced redirecting to an uncensored version located in Hong Kong in the hopes of circumventing mainland China’s laws which only heightened Chinese officials’ ire. Furthermore, regardless of Google’s act of leaving China, it remained to be a far competitor from the Haidu, China’s most popular search engine. In the same vein, Google did not lose as much revenue as the Chinese market represented only a small fraction of what comprised the company (Heft and Barboza). As reported by the prevalently government lenient news agency, Xinhua, the government sees that â€Å"regulation on the Internet is a sovereign issue† and that Google has no right to attempt or to impose its own standard on what the government should and should not censor (Na, Yunlu, and Hao, par. 5). There seems to be a great disparity between the conception of human rights as viewed in a Western concept especially among Americans and, the encumbrance of Chinese law which majority of its citizens tend to dismiss. To reiterate, it is difficult to point out people’s rights when they are in fact unaware that such rights do exist. A country’s business climate must be understood by a business professional in order to have a greater perspective on how to conduct one’s self and how to carry out one’s business in a certain location. This would be applicable on specific matters as people and cultures are diverse. More than this, laws are also an integral part that must be kept in mind to avoid complications that could lead to lawsuits and legal dilemmas. The instant case presents us with two sides of an argument where a company’s very own principle goes against a country’s law and regulations. What may be a common practice in one country may be absolutely prohibited in another and where a company cannot make amends with this fact, then there is inevitably the meandering situation where things are bound not to work out.  

Banking Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Banking - Case Study Example The Trust is governed by the terms of the trust document which are usually written and in a deed form. It can be said that trusts continues to play a significant contribution in all common law systems all over the world. In the United Kingdom, there are five main kinds of trust which come into being along side the transition with respect to laws and court cases. Among them are Interest in Possession trusts, the Accumulation and Maintenance trust, the Discretionary trust, the Bare trust and the Charitable trust. Amidst these transition and improvement of the legal system, in general, a trust necessitates for the following: There must be a clear intention to create a trust; the subject matter must be unmistakably identified; and the beneficiaries of the trust must be evidently identified or at least ascertainable. Aside from the foregoing, there are additional formality required in express trusts as provided for in the Wills Act of 1837 which provides that all testamentary trusts must be in writing, signed by the testator or by someone in his presence and by his direction and be attested by two witnesses. The Law of Property Act of 1925 provides that a declaration of trust regarding any land or any in terest therein must be manifested and proved in writing signed by some person who is able to declare such trust or by his will and with respect to shares of stock, the Companies Act of 1985 in general states that a share transfer from must be executed and delivered with the share certificates followed by entry of the name of the new owner in the company books. Aside from the foregoing, it is also noteworthy to generally discuss the concept of Constructive trust. This type of trust is not created by an agreement as mentioned before. A constructive trust is made obligatory by the law as an equitable remedy. A Constructive trust takes place for the reason of some wrongdoing, where the wrong doer get hold of the legal title to property and cannot be allowed to stand benefited from it. It is essentially a legal fiction, which arises by operation of law as a rejoinder to certain occurrences. The Case of BCCI Overseas and ICIC Overseas v. Akindele (2000) In the case of Bank of Credit and Commerce International (Overseas) LTD (BCCI Overseas for brevity) and International Credit Investment Company (Overseas) LTD (ICIC Overseas for brevity) v. Chief Labode Onadimaki Akindele (Akindele for brevity) is a claim of liquidators under the knowing assistance and knowing receipts of a constructive trust. The main issue of the instant case is whether or not there is Akindele was liable to BCCI Overseas and ICIC Overseas for the amount of US $ 6,679,226.33 plus interest as a constructive trustee and alternatively by way of damages for conspiracy to defraud. The transaction has to do with an investment of Akindele of US$ 10 million through ICIC Overseas in the purchase of 250,000 shares of BCCI Holdings of the fully paid up value of US$10 each, made in 1985. Claimants BCCI and ICIC Overseas alleged that both the

CASE STUDY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

CASE STUDY - Essay Example George also needs to realize that it is not his wife’s fault and it is not due to her negligence that their daughter is unable to perform the basic activities of daily life. Among the primary things that he will have to realize is that he will have to step up and help his wife and child in this time and most importantly realize that without his support and patience, his family will suffer even more. Apart from George, I would want to see his wife Teresa and if possible, their children. In the case of Teresa, it is evident that she is suffering from severe depression which might have had an onset after the delivery of her daughter J.J. It is possible that she suffered from a severe case of Post-partum depression which was never treated and worsened into the depressive state that she is currently in. George has indicated that his wife shows an inability to remain emotionally calm and is often crying when he reaches home at night with L.B, his older child. This is indicative of the fact that Teresa is having trouble coping and due to the fact that she receives absolutely no moral and psychological support from anyone, her condition is worsening with time. By talking to Teresa, I would perform a depression assessment using discourse. I would also want to see George’s two children, L.B and J.J. The couple’s daughter three year old daughter is reportedly suffering from autism. The child supposedly cannot speak even though she is 3 years old. By seeing her I would like to confirm this prognosis. I would use the Psycho-educational Profile Revised (PEP-R) assessment for this child. For Teresa, the chosen assessment tool is discourse. This is due to the fact that her symptoms are clearly indicative of the fact that she is suffering from major depression and talking things out in depth with her is going to help me get to a concrete prognosis much quicker. The reason I

The military, political and social importance of the castle in King Essay

The military, political and social importance of the castle in King Stephen's reign - Essay Example own territories from the rivals, both Matilda supporters and King’s force started establishing fortifications on their own style of motte, bailey designs and fen-edge castles. â€Å"Meanwhile in England both parties were compelled to keep armed forces permanently in strong castles, if necessary building new castles or increasing the fortifications of old ones.†1 In the period of King Stephen various new fortifications were established and the existing ones were reconstructed. Stone built castles played a major role in the military and political spheres of the country. â€Å"Developments in castle-building certainly did not arise from the exigencies of war but to provide an appropriate lordly residence – offering security, not terror, to dependents.†2 Royal castles were built to maintain and control the township and the forests while the baronial castles were used by the lords in controlling their widespread territories and estates. In addition, the authori ties also excised power over baronial castles and placed restrictions on its construction. The baronial castles, of that time were considered as a threat to the public, due to their extensive control over the land and people, and so it was curbed by the monarchic authority by the castle policies and forfeitures. â€Å"There was a distinct ‘Angevin castle policy’ under which, by a careful strategy of building and forfeiture, the ratio of royal to baronial castles was altered to enhance royal power over that of the aristocracy.†3 It was during the period of King Stephen that these numerous castle building created a greater chaos to the social life of the people. The society was greatly affected with the castle-building of the powerful people. This included the ‘adulterine castles that are so prominent both in... The researcher states that in the period of King Stephen various new fortifications were established and the existing ones were reconstructed. Stone built castles played a major role in the military and political spheres of the country. â€Å"Developments in castle-building certainly did not arise from the exigencies of war but to provide an appropriate lordly residence – offering security, not terror, to dependents.† Royal castles were built to maintain and control the township and the forests while the baronial castles were used by the lords in controlling their widespread territories and estates. In addition, the authorities also excised power over baronial castles and placed restrictions on its construction. The baronial castles, of that time were considered as a threat to the public, due to their extensive control over the land and people, and so it was curbed by the monarchic authority by the castle policies and forfeitures. â€Å"There was a distinct ‘Ange vin castle policy’ under which, by a careful strategy of building and forfeiture, the ratio of royal to baronial castles was altered to enhance royal power over that of the aristocracy.† It was during the period of King Stephen that these numerous castle building created a greater chaos to the social life of the people. The society was greatly affected with the castle-building of the powerful people. This included the ‘adulterine castles that are so prominent both in modern times as well as in the chronicles which is probably considered as the root of all the evils of the reign.