Few days back, President Goodluck
Jonathan made series of high profile appointments into key federal government
agencies that got tremendous approval rating because of the caliber and
character of the Nigerians that were so nominated.
For the benefit of those who may not
be in the know concerning the appointees aforementioned, I will proceed to
give few names among the most prominent.
Erstwhile Senate President Mr. Ken
Nnamani, the Enugu State-born but United States of America’s trained
technocrat, who-spearheaded the defeat at the National Assembly of the then
infamous third term agenda/ plot by the then President Obasanjo to prolong
his stay in office beyond constitutional limit, was made the chairman of
Infrastructures concession Agency while former Inspector General of Police Mr.
Mike Okiro from the oil -rich River State was appointed the chairman of the
corruption-ridden Police Service Commission (PSC).
Perhaps, the icing in the cake
concerning the recent set of presidential appointments remains the picking of a
distinguished international human rights and Peace laureate-Mrs. Catherine Dupe
Atoki to be at the helm of affairs at the near-moribund Consumer Protection
Council (CPC) which in the last few years suffered monumental image deficit
following undue fraternization by the defunct management with notorious
violators of consumers human rights in the manufacturing and service sectors of
the economy.
The image of the consumer protection
council nosedived for the worst when the immediate past management embarked on
meaningless award given events to service providers in Nigeria even when
millions of Nigerian consumers are being consistently ripped off and
shortchanged even as I write.
The choice of Mrs. Atoki who has
worked variously as federal commissioner in Nigeria’s National Human Rights
Commission and the African Commission for Human Rights is viewed as symbolizing
a resolve by the current administration to put up formidable measures for the
effective protection and promotion of the fundamental human rights of Nigerian
consumers. Her appointment is viewed in critical quarters as a fundamental
departure by Government to put the intrinsic interest of Nigerian consumers on
the front burners of national life.
Before proceeding to give further
credence to my views aforementioned regarding the credentials and practical
experiences of the new Director General of Nigeria’s Consumer Protection
Council (CPC) Mrs. Dupe Atoki, it will be logical to state without fear of
contradiction that the new Chief executive has her job cut out for her given
the volume of complaints and protest from consumers from across Nigeria on the
flagrant disregard by service providers and manufacturers of the consumer
rights of the citizenry.
For instance, torrents of complaints
emanating from consumers of telecommunication services regarding the poor
quality of services by the private operators of the Global service of mobile
telecommunication (GSM) are never attended to and resolved effectively by both
the Nigerian communication commission (NCC) and the consumer protection
council. Ironically, most shareholders and/or owners of most of these
telecommunication service providers are foreigners from jurisdiction whose
government respect the consumer rights of their local population. Like in South
Africa where most citizens are aware of their rights and are ready to challenge
any infractions, the South African dominated service providers such as MTN and
DSTV treat their people with courtesy but the reverse is the case in Nigeria
which constitute some of the most profitable markets for these multinational
companies.
Consumers of all range of products
such as electronics and even services from state- run electricity providers
[NEPA or is it PHCN?] are constantly short changed yet the consumer
protection council behaves like a toothless bulldog that can only bark without
effectively biting and the thousands of staff of this agency draw salaries
monthly from public treasury.
The institution known as consumer
protection council is only known to Abuja and Lagos elites even as consumers in
most other places are left to the unfortunate fate of being cruelly treated by
service providers because the impact, offices and effectiveness of the consumer
protection council is almost non-existent. Some few years back, because of the
notoriety and ineffectiveness of the agency, a certain ill-mannered government
official beat up members of the management team of this federal agency that
were in that state to enforce provisions of the consumer protection council law
as it relates to selling suspected substandard rice to consumers in that state.
Even in Abuja and Lagos whereby the
agency is usually sparsely mentioned in the electronic and print media for
attending social functions organized by the same alleged violators of the
consumer rights of Nigerians, instances abound whereby Nigerians whose consumer
rights are violated with reckless abandon do not receive remedy. Consumer
protection council for now is as unpopular as the Nigeria Police Force
[NPF] except that the staff have yet to degenerate to the gutter level of
collecting N20 bribe by the use of force as the NPF is known for
For the purposes of providing
empirical evidence, a man in his late sixties approached the Human Rights
Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) in Abuja to complain of violation of
his consumer right by a dealer of electronics in Wuse Market, we quickly referred
him to the head office of the Consumer Protection Council but two months after,
his protest was still not redressed.
Cases also abound of how government
agencies in Abuja and Lagos breach the consumer rights of Nigerians without the
consumer protection council living up to its institutional mandate thereby
creating an impression in the minds of most Nigerians that the agency is
another of those offices created by powerful government officials at the
Federal level to create jobs for the boys similar to the notorious Public
Complaints Commission which is under the supervisory purview of the
Senate/National Assembly. This impression becomes compelling when it is viewed
against the back drop that the governing board is so unwieldy with dozens of
person appointed to represent the 36 states of the Federation as if to say that
the place is meant for the sharing of the proverbal national cake. How does
government then expects the agency to work?
From the above analysis, it is now a
notorious fact that the job for which Mrs. Dupe Atoki is saddled with by
President Jonathan is no child’s play since she is expected to bring her
formidable legal and human rights experiences to bear in meandering through the
twists and turns of bureaucracy and navigate through this institutional murky
water of politics in order to achieve the mandate of attending to the
overwhelming complaints of Nigerians concerning the groundswell of unattended
and unresolved consumer rights breaches by manufacturers and service providers
whose only mantle is profit making with scant regards for human rights of
consumers.
Born on October 10th 1955, in Kabba,
Kogi State, Mrs. Catherine Dupe Atoki schooled variously at the Ahmadu Bello
University in Zaria, Kaduna State, American University, Washington, United
States and the prestigious Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Some of her significant national and
continental assignments from Nigeria and the African Union [AU] included
her stints at the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria and as
commissioner representing Nigeria at the African union commission on Human
and Peoples Rights (The African Commission).
It must be noted that the African
commission is the foremost continental organization mandated to monitor and
ensure observance of human rights by member states of the African Union in
accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
At the African Commission, this
distinguished legal expert from Nigeria was made chairperson of the influential
committee for the prevention of torture in Africa and a special
rapporteur on prison and places of detention in Africa.
She became the first woman from
Nigeria to chair the African commission on human and Peoples Rights.
Ms Catherine Dupe Atoki is a human
rights lawyer and activist with wide and varied expertise and experience on
issues of Human Rights
and has been in practice since 1978.
Those conversant with her activities
in the legal profession say her legal training and passion for the rule of law
is premised on her conviction that enjoyment of human right as a panacea
for peace upon which democracy and good governance thrive.
As member of the Nigerian Human
Rights Commission she served relentlessly to ensure that the rights
of Nigerians were fostered. Also appointed by the Government to serve in
several Presidential Committees including those on the review of laws
discriminatory to Women and on the reform of investment law.
Atoki's involvement in
monitoring/observing elections in several countries in Africa particularly
those emerging from conflict including Democratic Republic of Congo- 2006,
Sierra Leone -2007, further concretized her credentials as a consummate lover
of freedom and democracy.
As Chairperson of the African
Commission she carried out many promotion missions across the continent and was
received by several Presidents and Heads of State of Africa. Such missions
provided the opportunity to engage them and other high government officials on
their obligations to ensure the enjoyment of human rights by their citizens.
Globally, Mrs. Atoki worked
vigorously to ensure that African voice is heard at the United
Nations (UN) through her engagements with the various UN organs
including the Human Rights Council and the High Commissioner for human rights.
She has also delivered several papers
in and out of Africa on diverse human rights themes including their impact on
peace. Recently she won an international peace prize in the Philippines.
Nigerian consumers could not have
asked for a better person but the bottom line is that a lot is expected from
her during her tenure at the consumer protection council of Nigeria.
+Emmanuel Onwubiko is head, Human Rights Writers'
Association of Nigeria and blogs @www.huriwa.blogspot.com;http://www.huriwa.org/.
05/06/2013
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