FREEDOM OF INFORMATION: THE SEEDS OF HOPE AND THE HARVEST OF DESPAIR IN OXFORD Oxford University is in Oxfordshire which shares a common border with the Cotswold arguably the most picturesque and scenic part of England. However, we were denied the indulgence of proceeding with our scheduled excursion to Burford the mini-capital of the Cotswold when His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammadu Saa’d Abubakar the Sultan of Sokoto delivered his address at the Africa Week: “It is the primary responsibility of the Government to safeguard the lives and properties of the people regardless of where they choose to live. Once a government fails in performing this obligation, it opens up the nation to chaos and violence. I appeal to all Nigerians to shun bigotry and work together for the national development. No nation can develop when the mode of communication among its citizens is through violence. Also, it is a matter of serious concern that Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children. We have no business accumulating illiterates if our nation’s resources are properly managed.” The Sultan was warmly applauded for his candour. Indeed, as if taking a cue from the Sultan, The Anglican Bishop of Kaduna, Most Reverend Josiah Idowu Fearan grabbed the bull by the horn and declared: EVERY FACET OF NIGERIA IS CORRUPT “Every facet of our communal life as a nation including the church, government, military and the civil service among others are infested with corruption. I advocate the passing of a bill in the National Assembly to fight corruption as a way of addressing the menace. The insecurity bedeviling the country today is as a result of corruption. I strongly condemn the manner in which corrupt officers are being celebrated in our country. There can be no meaningful development if corruption is not checked. We must all come together whether you are a Christian or a Muslim. We must all go back to our religion and know what our religions have to say about corruption. God hates corruption. Nigerians who are coming in as politicians, either as president, governor or any other position should be made to declare their assets before and after their tenure in office. Indeed, although it is not in the Constitution, bishops, general overseers and public office holders should be made to declare their assets publicly.” The entire hall burst into a frenzy of “Good Talk Bishop.” As confirmation that the legislature must have its say, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Tambuwal, walked briskly to the podium and declared: “Nigerians today live in a country of fantastic contradictions where there are great human and material resources, yet we are always on the list of countries with the worst poverty index. Our economy is alleged to be growing but the lives of the majority of our citizens do not convey this testimony. We have more places of worship per square metre than most nations on this earth, but corruption and violence threaten our very survival as a nation. We have some of the best agricultural lands in the world but we import food. We are the sixth largest producer of crude oil but we import fuel. The National Assembly is already at the forefront of charting a new course for our country commencing with the huge task of amending the 1999 Constitution, in order to entrench economic and infrastructural renewal.” Then he exploded in fury. He dropped a bombshell by calling for a revolution!! “Throughout history, the most compelling reasons for revolution have been injustice, crushing poverty, marginalization, rampant corruption, lawlessness, joblessness and general disaffection among the ruling elite – all of which are evident in the Nigerian equation. Successive governments have tried to deal with these issues but to no avail. The legislature has become increasingly concerned about the over-celebration of input-oriented budget that does not incorporate feedback mechanism for output and outcomes.” That was when it hit us that our country is in real trouble. Before the applause had died down, Chief Ladi Williams SAN an eminent lawyer whose father the late Chief F.R.A. Williams S.A.N. and grandfather as well as brothers and children are lawyers stepped up to declare: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IS THE SOLUTION TO CORRUPTION “For me, a desperate situation requires drastic steps to be taken. If you are a judge and you are found to be corrupt; if you bring shame to the judiciary, if you are a judge and have no integrity; or you habitually break the code of conduct of your office, we should apply the Chinese solution. That is execution. In China if you are corrupt, you will be executed because you are a danger to the larger community. Once you are convicted of corruption, it is not enough to say we have retired you. No. If you are corrupt you should be executed, otherwise this nation will not move forward. I think the law of the land should be revised to deal ruthlessly with corruption and nothing short of execution will stop corruption. There is no reason why the children of the poor must remain poor. There is no reason why every child of school going age should not be enjoying free education, free health care, and free transportation to and from school with the millions and billions of naira we are making from oil. It is wicked, inhuman for anybody who is put in a position of trust to be corrupt. That is why I think the death penalty, if only for a short while, let it be a short-term therapy and you will see that there will be change. There was once a time in this country in Nigeria during the Buhari-Idiagbon regime when people normally queued up to enter the bus. People started queuing on the streets because they knew the consequences. We need drastic measures, draconian measures even if just for five years. That is the only way Nigeria can move forward.” This was followed by a statement by Professor Daniel Babayi, Executive Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (19 Northern States): “Our country is being assailed by insecurity, particularly through the evil activities of Boko Haram Islamic sect. We object strenuously to any talk of amnesty for Boko Haram as it would be tantamount to rewarding evil doers. We urge compensation for victims of Boko Haram and we demand that Sharia Law should be expunged from the national Constitution or in the alternative Christian Canon Law should be included in the Constitution. The scourge and menace that is Boko Haram continues to cast long shadows over our nation’s affairs. In the second quarter of 2013, the Federal Government finally accepted the inevitable and placed the struggle against terrorism in the country on a quasi-war footing; a State of Emergency was declared in Bornu, Yobe and Adamawa states in the north-east of the country. Since the declaration of a state of emergency the terrorists in those 3 states have come under severe and sustained pressure and have been placed firmly on the back foot. The tales and testimonies of woe that have emanated from people of all faiths provide ample evidence of the cancerous and debilitating nature of life under siege from Boko Haram. A notable effect of the state of emergency is that the terrorists have targeted other soft underbellies in an attempt to keep up the pressure; they have also shown themselves no respecters of the state with some particularly outlandish attacks in Baga and Bama. While congratulating the federal government on taking overdue steps, we would counsel that the ambit of the use of a state of emergency be kept continually under review both in terms of its modus operandi and its geographical spread. No longer is kidnapping restricted to particular enclaves of the country; it has become the crime of preference for a growing army of misfits and malcontents. Carried out with various degrees of violence, it is a new threat to the rule of law and another manifestation of a society at war with itself. It is the duty of both federal and state governments and the citizenry to shine a light into the dark corners from whence this evil and dysfunction emanates. We deliberately place the onus of responsibility on both the government and citizenry because that sense of civic duty that is an essential block for true and enduring nationhood is sorely lacking in our country and its restoration is a necessary precondition for redemption, even where we cannot be our brother’s keeper, we must be his overseer.” The intervention of Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth was very measured and thoughtful: “Administrators in every country are the linchpin of development. They are the very group on whose shoulders the task of implementing policies rests. These can be the national policies of Governments, or the policies of organizations in the private sector or the civil society. In this age of technology and specialized operations managed and directed by appropriate specialists, there is a growing need for administrators whose task, especially at the top level, is to coordinate the multi-faceted activities of a government or a private corporate organization. The present structure of 36 federating units with an all powerful centre compels a disproportionate deployment of the national resources on recurrent expenditure; and worse still, compels a destabilizing competition for the control of the centre, a competition that fans the embers of the peoples’ primordial ethnic and religious sentiments.” Perhaps, it was inevitable that Dr. Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan and his colleague Dr. Doyin Okupe, the Senior Special Assistant would jointly step up to bat for the President: “Jonathan did not create corruption. Those who say this administration is not fighting corruption are not speaking on the basis of facts. The Jonathan administration did not create corruption in Nigeria. It is an inherited problem. Corruption is also not limited to Nigeria. Even the countries and individuals who shout most about corruption, you will see that it is a challenge that they too have to deal with. President Jonathan had admitted recently that corruption is present in Nigeria as it is elsewhere but that is a challenge his administration is tackling. There are many concrete ways in which this administration is fighting corruption. This administration took up the challenge of the fuel subsidy scam headlong. People will collect allocation to bring in fuel, they will not own any vessel, they will not import any fuel and they will still collect government money. Over the years, previous governments have created a community of rent collectors and this administration said this is pure economic sabotage and it must end. But the propaganda machineries of the beneficiaries and their collaborators insisted that it won’t work. The biggest forms of corruption you can have are at the level of economic sabotage and second are political corruption. Once you allow political corruption, you will create a lot of problems. This President decided to fight political corruption by insisting that elections must be free and fair. It is only when elections are free that those elected can be accountable. The 2011 general elections were acclaimed to be free and fair. Every subsequent election conducted under this President’s watch have been free and fair and so adjudged by both local and international observers. In Adamawa, Kogi, Sokoto, Edo and Ondo, there were no problems when elections were conducted in those states. The truth of the matter is that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission made it clear that last year alone, it secured over 200 convictions. Nobody is noting that they are looking at the cases that have not been resolved. The truth is that there is a clear doctrine of separation of power. Once the agency has initiated action, it is for the judiciary to look into those issues and we all know that in Nigeria the wheel of justice grinds slowly. Those who say this administration is not fighting corruption are not speaking on the basis of fact; they are speaking on the basis of emotion and selective reasoning.” We were caught totally unawares by the military intervention by Major-General Sam Momah (Rtd), former Minister of Science and Technology under late General Sani Abacha: “As a former Adjutant-General of the Nigerian Army, it is my patriotic duty to warn against the breaking up of Nigeria. The repercussions would be too disastrous. I must make it clear that it is better for Nigeria to remain a united country despite its many contending tribal, ethnic and religious entities. Although we managed to survive a civil war (1967 to 1970), we would not be able to survive disintegration. A disintegrating Nigeria is an unthinkable prospect. However, should it occur, the war that would ensue may last for over fifty years like that of Sudan which lasted for fifty-eight years. But the glimmer of hope is that since Nigeria has survived for 100 years, what is required is for her to build on that success utilizing her enormous resources. In doing do, Nigeria would restore hope, gain her pride and respect in Africa and the rest of the world”. Major-General Momah pondered on the contradictions that had dogged every facet of the nation’s life, pointing out that Nigeria remained the only place where US $16 million could be spent on electricity, with the nation still wallowing in darkness. He also said it was an irony for the country to be spending a fortune in security vote only to reap more security challenges. He lamented that the nation was planning a centenary celebration jamboree while its N640 billion textile industry remains comatose. The Governor of Nassarawa State, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura’s concern was directed at education: “I advocate the declaration of a state of emergency in respect of our nation’s education sector. It is a necessary step towards addressing the overwhelming problems in public schools. The level of infrastructural decay in government-owned schools has reached an alarming rate. I have said it before; those public schools are now heading towards emergency situation. I said emergency because virtually all the infrastructure needed in schools are non-existent and that is the reason there is no attainment of excellence in public schools.” The entire hall was overcast with gloom until our Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy doused the tension: She vigorously denied that she ever said that the Nigerian economy will shut down by September if the National Assembly failed to pass President Goodluck Jonathan’s amendment proposals to the 2013 budget. She insisted that the economy is strong, robust, and that despite what she called “short time challenges”, due to oil theft, the government was focused on resolving the problem and soon the several pipelines that have been shut will be restored to their full capacity. The finance minister insisted that she had warned that the government will not be able to pay salaries if the appropriation was not passed, insisting that it was a fact, urging that time should not be wasted on discussing “misleading headlines”. She also denied the allegation that she was working to pit the National Assembly against the executive arm of government. The National Assembly had on Tuesday accused Okonjo-Iweala of deepening the row between the executive and the legislature over the 2013 budget amendment proposals. The House of Representatives had summoned her to appear before its joint committees on appropriation/finance and legislative compliance on Tuesday, next week, to “throw light on her utterances.” The Senate spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe, said they did not take Okonjo-Iweala’s comments kindly. According to him, the National Assembly found the statement by the minister that the government would shut down if the budget amendment proposals were not considered unacceptable. He noted that because of the volume of the proposals sent by the president, more time to study them and make a good judgment was required. Abaribe said, “We find it not to our liking when a comment is made that tends to say that government will shut down if the National Assembly doesn’t do anything. We do not agree with that”. Okonjo-Iweala said, “At no point in time did I say that the government is going to shut down or the country will shut down. The economy is strong, it is robust, we have our short term challenges, as you know we are dealing with reduced revenue due to the issue of oil theft which Mr President is focusing on and is solving. There is a committee of governors that he and the vice president have set up to try and deal with this issue. We are confident that we will be dealing with it and bringing several pipelines that have shut down back into play when we work with oil companies. What I did say is that we will not be able to pay salaries and that is a very different situation from, we are talking about. So this was a very misleading headline from a newspaper and we should not spend the time of the National Assembly to debate on non-issues. At no time did I say the country is going to shut down. I said we will not be able to pay salaries and that remains a fact. It is absolutely untrue, we are not pitching anyone against anyone, we have been working with Senators and House of Representatives members in a very cordial manner. We are working with them. This headline was put out mischievously, but that was not the correct or appropriate headline. We are working with them because we do have to solve the problems that will enable us to move forward and it is being done in a collegial manner. So this is why the media has to be careful about the type of headlines they put on.” During the lunch break that followed, we headed for the Bay Tree Hotel in Burford, which nestles in the centre of the Cotswold – ever resplendent in its glory in utter defiance of the epigram by the Frenchman, Serge Gainsbourg: “Ugliness is superior to beauty because it lasts longer.” “No” is no in both English and French — beauty and serenity are superior to ugliness and turmoil.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 10:11:41 +0000