USA Africa Dialogue Series - SPECIAL INVITATION TO THE 5TH ANNUAL LAW AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT LECTURE

3^rd October, 2012

 

SPECIAL INVITATION TO THE 5^TH ANNUAL LAW AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT LECTURE

We are pleased to invite you specially to this year's Law and Social Development lecture taking place on the 29^th of October, 2012 at 11 a.m. at the Banquet Hall, Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

The topic for this year's lecture is Social Security: Taking the Lives of Nigerians Seriously.

As Nigeria marks the 52^nd year anniversary of its flag independence, the abject conditions of existence of an overwhelming majority of our people compel attention. For democracy to be meaningful it is universally recognized that it must satisfy basic developmental needs and material aspirations of the people. However, in Nigeria the story, to say the very least, has been quite depressing.

Absence or decay of infrastructures, comatose public service, collapsed educational system, high incidence of insecurity and crimes, intolerably high infant and maternal mortality, untimely deaths, deformed political system, electoral malpractices, energy and power crisis et cetera combine to make life hellish for the poor. The philosopher might have had Nigeria in mind when he said that life was 'short, nasty and brutish'.

Certainly things cannot continue the way they are at the moment. The masses must be protected from the greedy emasculation of the few who have concentrated and are concentrating the wealth of the country in their hands in spite of constitutional injunctions to the contrary. It has therefore become urgent for us to focus on the need for social protection of the poor. What is social security? Is there any form of social protection or security for the marginalized? If there is any, is it adequate or sustainable, and what are the strategies and mechanism for ensuring social protection? In what context and by what means can social protection be actualized? Are there inherent limitations in liberal democracy that militate against social security? Is a system of social security a means of entrenchment and consolidation of democracy? What are the implications of a regime of social security on governance structure in the country?

Professor Adele Jinadu, one of Africa's most respected political scientists and a deep intellectual has kindly agreed to deliver this year's lecture, in spite of his extremely busy schedule.  He will help us to navigate through the posers identified above. It is our hope that the lecture and contributions of members of the public will be published as usual in monograph form as our contribution to the struggle for genuine democracy and in further fulfillment of our maiden promise of using this series to 'promote cross-fertilisation of ideas that is so fundamental to creating the correct solutions to problems besetting our people'.

The monograph for last year's Conference on Security and Welfare-The Historical Disconnect in Nigeria presented by Professor Yomi Akinyeye shall be distributed free to participants at the Conference.

The Conference will be chaired by Mrs Ayo Obe, a leading Nigerian lawyer and decent lady of extraordinary moral credentials. She is a highly respected role model for the youth on account of her impeccable civil and public sector records.

We shall be eternally grateful if you find time out of your busy schedule to attend this year's event.

Although we intend to send by post or courier a formal invitation, kindly accept this as a sufficient invitation in the event that you are unable to receive any other before the event.

Thank you and God bless.

 

Yours faithfully,  

sgd

Bamidele Aturu Esq

Bamidele Aturu & Co

 

*****************************************************************
BAMIDELE ATURU & CO.
24, MBONU OJIKE STREET, OFF AYINDE GIWA STREET,
OFF ALHAJI MASHA ROAD, SURULERE,
LAGOS STATE. NIGERIA. 

TEL.NO : +234-1-8043418, +234-8023128967,+234-8055999888,+234-8033375796. 
E-MAIL:aturulaw@yahoo.com
WEBPAGE: www.bamideleaturuandco.com