Recently, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reportedly administered an oath of secrecy on its staff in an effort to control the flow of information within and outside the party. The Acting National Secretary of the party, Chief Solomon Onwe, allegedly supervised the compulsory oath taking, which was said to have taken many of the workers by surprise. Some reports indicated that the affected workers were also told that any of them suspected to be fraternising with journalists might be summarily dismissed if they are discovered to have leaked party information. While we recognise the right of the PDP to do whatever it deems fit to stop unlawful dissemination of sensitive party information, administration of oaths of secrecy on party workers smacks of cultism. It is also an infringement on the right to freedom of expression of the workers. Gagging workers under this guise is undemocratic. It is condemnable in modern day Nigeria. There are other civilized ways of enforcing discipline on workers, other than oath-taking. Ordinarily, all organisations take necessary steps to protect their secrets and ensure discipline among their workforce. It is expected that those who work for such organisations keep their rules. No organisation in a competitive field such as politics will tolerate its workers leaking its secrets to its opponents. Doing so will be counter-productive to its goals and aspirations. Leaderships of organisations have a right to say that their workers should not leak their secrets anymore and seek measures to enforce it as the PDP has done. But, oath taking is not an acceptable way of doing this. We believe that political parties can control corporate information dissemination by other civil means, without ramming strange oaths down the throats of their workers. As the biggest political party in Africa, the PDP should be a good example to all political parties in Nigeria. It should learn how to keep its secrets. It ought to have developed a crop of trusted people or staff who can be trusted not to divulge sensitive information. The party, and all other political parties, should be mindful of those that work for them. With the fierce competition in the nation’s political arena, the need for the parties to keep their secrets is understandable, but this must be done within the limits of reason. Let them find better ways of protecting their secrets. We sympathise with the PDP on this dilemma and urge it to sanitise its organisational machinery. The recourse to administration of oaths on workers is a sign that there are cracks in the party’s disciplinary machinery. This should be addressed in a more cultured manner. Apart from being undemocratic, oath taking, specifically, is contrary to Section 39 (1) of the 1999 Constitution which guarantees the right to freedom of expression and the press. This section states that “every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.” However, on no account should this section be used as an alibi by workers to leak the secrets of their employers. Workers who leak their employers’ secrets deserve to be disciplined, as no organisation worth its name will tolerate unfaithful workers who leak its secrets. Therefore, we urge the PDP to devise more refined and unobtrusive ways to keep its members in check. Oath taking, particularly in Nigeria’s peculiar political experience, could become diabolic. It is uncouth and strange to normal democratic practice. Let the PDP and all other parties put their houses in order and guard their secrets jealously, but in a more acceptable manner. Fairness and transparency in their operations will leave less room for secrets that their workers have to swear oaths of secrecy not to divulge.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:25:55 +0000
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