BLAME GOVERNMENT FOR BRIBE-FOR-JOB IN NIGERIA By Emmanuel Onwubiko

Does anyone still remember how recruitment officials from the Nigerian Army randomly visited primary and junior secondary schools in the early 1980's in search of eligible Nigerian youth to be lured into enlisting to serve Nigeria in the Nigerian Army?  I, for one, will not forget in a hurry how often we were pestered then while in final stages of our primary school by large teams of military officers neatly and smartly dressed in their beautiful, powerfully starched military fatigues/uniforms, to be enlisted into the Nigerian Army even as most of us looked forward to seeing these agile and strong macho-looking young Nigerian soldiers to visit our schools in their usual search for persons burning with patriotic zeal and endowed with the strength of character, discipline, youthful zeal to learn and good health to be enlisted into the Nigerian military without any further pre-condition.

Sadly, I am told by most younger persons in primary and post-primary schools today that they have never set their eyes on these 'august' visitors from the Nigerian military who were frequent guests of our primary and post-primary educational faculties in the early 1980's. 

Unlike then, what we now have is the invasion of the recruitment exercise into the Nigerian military of some modern day entrepreneurs who successfully hood-winked the hierarchies of the various military establishments through the political administrators, that the institution of the Nigerian military can reap bountiful financial benefits by introducing the sale of scratch cards to prospective recruits into the different segments of the Nigerian military even as the management consultants would also smile home with their handsome financial gains from this commercially profit -driven idea that is totally bereft of altruism or patriotic love of Nigeria. 

Unfortunately, the Nigerian military institutions and their Para-military  sister agencies like the Nigerian Police Force; the Nigerian Customs; the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Nigerian Civil Defense Corp, not forgetting the National Drugs Law enforcement Agency [NDLEA] are now feasting on the millions of jobless Nigerian youth wandering around the streets searching for the scarcely available white collar jobs, by selling recruitment scratch cards to willing buyers who usually are far more than the number of required or expected recruits to fill up the vacant positions in those establishments.

So what we now know as purchase of scratch cards by prospective recruits in our contemporary Nigerian military institutions has created a situation of bumper harvest of profits by these military agencies who now smile to the banks with multi-million Naira profits from the marketing of recruitment scratch cards to prospective recruits most of whom are now made up of angry young Nigerian university and secondary school leavers who have wandered in the weather beating state capitals of Nigerian cities and the twin commercial and political capitals of Nigeria namely Lagos and Abuja without finding any employment with living wages. If I am not mistaken, this commercialized recruitment into the military institutions became rampant during the government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired General of the Nigerian Army who was generously recruited into the then Nigerian Army without any commercial pre-conditions as are the case unfortunately these contemporary times.

My take is that this marketing of scratch cards to all manner of characters most of whom are shady and may have criminal past was the single contributing factor to the speedy collapse of regimentary discipline in the Nigerian Military making it impossible for the Nigerian Army that is primarily set up by law to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria to be taken by surprise by the emergence of different classes of armed terrorists who have invaded our territory through the many porous international borders and have unleashed devastating violence on the civil populace and selected government institutions and operatives of the Nigerian security.

Herein lies also the beginning of the contagious bribe-for-employment racketeering that has taken over the public service sector of the Nigerian society because if Government has institutionalized the commercialization of the recruitment into the most strategic national institution like the military, those who now pay bribe to secure employment opportunities in the Nigerian public service have it at the back of their minds that it is lawful to give bribe to secure employment since even the Government openly auctions recruitment into the military and Para-military institutions. So don't blame the criminal phenomenon of paying bribe for employment by Nigerian youth on the prospective job seekers but rather locate the blame squarely on the door steps of the Nigerian government which actively introduced the marketing of recruitment scratch cards to such sacred national anti-crime and law and order institutions like the Nigerian Army and other security establishments including the National Drugs Law enforcement Agency that ought to fight drug barons from infiltrating our nation and flooding it with their deadly merchandise of hard drugs. Little wonder that Nigeria has become an international transit for hard drugs even with all the media propaganda by the anti-hard drugs agency to the contrary.

Who says that it is not possible that drug barons would have cashed in on the sale of scratch cards for recruitment to flood the agency with their foot soldiers since raising money to procure the scratch cards wont pose much problem unlike other genuine Nigerian graduates who would have to scratch their sun-beaten heads to raise the N2,000 usually charged for the cards? Not long ago, some members of the Federal House of Representatives debated on the floor of the so-called green chamber and stoutly opposed the charging of high fees for purchase of scratch cards for recruitment into these military institutions in Nigeria because according to those who spoke mostly from Northern Nigeria, their constituents are not only too poor but not technologically savvy to understand the intricacies of how to fill up the forms making use of the computers in places that mostly do not have electricity power supply much of the time. But the Federal House of Representatives allowed the commercial agenda of the innovators who introduced the scratch cards to override national security and national pride. Big shame!  

We are dealing with a very dangerous phenomenon whereby the national security may have been endangered. Was it not the current President who stated that the military has being infiltrated by agents of the dreaded armed Islamic terrorists-Boko Haram? Again, was the alleged mastermind of the dastardly criminal bombing of the Catholic Church in Madala, near Suleja, Niger State, Mr. Kabiru Sokoto not apprehended in the Borno state Governor's lodge in Abuja whereby he was allegedly conveyed by a serving Air force middle level officer who was reintegrated into the military after some unserious questioning? Was Obasanjo as the then President of Nigeria not quoted in the media to have alleged that armed robbers have now been recruited into the Nigerian Police Force just as this allegation emerged against the backdrop of sale of scratch cards to prospective recruits?

On this disturbing case of buying and selling of scratch cards for enlistment into the Nigerian military, I have asked questions and told by not less than a dozen United States based Nigerians who should know that recruitment into the United States marine and the United States of America's Army does not go with such commercial pre-conditions like the commercial sale of scratch cards to prospective recruits. I was told that the authorities in The United States are much more concerned about recruiting persons with clean record and who have met the educational, health and physical fitness test. And if you doubt me all you need to do is to browse from Google to search if other jurisdictions commercially markets scratch cards for recruitment into their military institutions and the fastest answer that will confront you is that Nigerian military sale scratch cards for recruitment.

This practice, according to what I also found out from my inquiry for over two months, is completely alien to most developed economies who cherish their national security and would do everything under the sun to maintain and preserve their time-tested and time-honored values of love of their nation above anything else.

For instance, http://www.goarmy.com/ is of the considered opinion that in the area of health qualification to join the United States Army, the potential recruit only has to be of overall good physical condition and is required by statute to pass a physical prior to enlistment as well as pass an initial strength test prior to being shipped to basic training just as it stated that educationally, the United States Army accepts enlistments from both those with high school diploma and those with the GED. There was no mention of purchase of recruitment scratch card before being enlisted into the United States Army.

Well, I stand to be corrected, if indeed Nigerian government officials borrowed this unusual practice of commercially offering for sale recruitment into the Nigerian Military from some foreign jurisdictions, then they have committed the unintended blunder of unleashing the demons of 'anything- is- possible' in these institutions even as the unintended consequences of young graduates now buying their ways to gain recruitment into the Nigerian public and civil service logically flowed from this evil practice that is obtainable in the recruitment exercise into the Nigerian military.

It would be recalled intellectually that Mr. George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, the German Philosopher of the 19th century espoused one of his finest theories which is known as the Hegel's Dialectics which I want to fall back on to explain the criminal nexus between the commercialization of recruitment into the Nigerian military with the incessant and disturbing criminal phenomenon of bribes-for-employment that has gained notoriety now in Nigeria.

Hegel believed that ideas evolved through a Dialectical process meaning that a concept gives rise to its opposite, and as a result of this conflict, a third view, the synthesis, arises. For him, the Synthesis is at a higher level of truth than the first two views. Following the Hegelian format, I will submit that the introduction of the marketing of recruitment scratch cards into Nigerian Military gave rise to the antithesis of bribe-for-employment and now the synthesis is the genuine clamor for this evil practice to be terminated so that we can once more sanitize the recruitment mechanism into all of our public and civil service institutions in Nigeria and by so doing institutionalize the virtues of merit, competence and professional excellence. 

The other repugnant pollutant observed in the recruitment into the various category of employment slots in Nigeria in both the private and public sector is what is referred as  'man-know-man' or favoritism which is in wide application all across Nigeria that has culminated in the evil phenomenon whereby the young Nigerian graduates searching for employment would have to obtain a reference letter from a prominent political office holder like ministers and national legislators and worst of all from the parents of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The sacrilege of alleged involvement of the family members of the number one Nigerian citizen in fixing employment slots for their choice candidates came to light when Mrs. Rose Uzomma, the first Nigerian Woman to head the Nigeria Immigration Service was sacked for alleged job racketeering and the media reported the allegation that the last recruitment she carried out was largely manipulated allegedly by the supervisory minister of Interior Mr. Moro Aba and the members of the First family who were alleged to have successfully secured juicy slots for their candidates. She became the sacrificial lamb because she was expected to have done everything within her power to maintain the code of silence synonymous with such high level job racketeering involving high profile political office holders and sadly, she gave way without crying 'blue murder' because she got the soft landing of being retired with full entitlements. Her exit ended that allegations even as nothing seems to have changed.

It is a notorious fact that appointments into public and top civil service slots in Nigeria are decided not just by Federal Character but determined and shared during nocturnal meetings by top political office holders like the Senate President, the Speaker and his Deputy and not forgetting the powerful Deputy Senate President and the ministers who call the shots in their areas of jurisdiction.

On good authority I was informed that a certain minister successfully secured juicy appointment for his new mistress who recently did her compulsory one year national service [NYSC] in the Nigerian Copyright Commission [NCC] and this little but beautiful damsel with little or no experience was posted to, I am told, strategic and juicy position. Then tell me how this kind of  important agency of government can perform her statutory role properly and rid the Nigerian markets of pirated materials of creative and talented entrepreneurs who are at the receiving end of the dare devil activities of these  commercial demons called pirates? The Public Complaint Commission which is solely supervised [oddly] by the National Assembly is filled up with commissioners that are recommended by powerful leaders of the National Assembly not minding if these characters qualify or not. How can this corruption infested Public Complaint Commission be competent and ready to handle the complaints from the Nigerian public when their position constitute serious complaint and a source of public outrage?

So I laughed to high heavens when newspapers reported that the current Senate of the Federal Republic was probing the widespread bribe-for-employment racketeering because the Senators are the single largest cause of the pollution of the recruitment process into the Federal Civil service because they misuse their oversight function provided for under the constitution to seek for favors from the Director Generals of agencies and ministers holding offices in the different ministries who usually come to them at the National Assembly to pad up their annual budgets and for sundry other public sessions usually staged to confuse undiscerning Nigerians that they are working for Nigerians. Deception has being elevated to a beautiful art form by the political office holders Nigeria. 

Recently, President Jonathan released the list of his nominees to some very sensitive slots in the nations tertiary institutions and health faculties and one of such persons appointed was the former Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives Mr. Salisu Buhari from Kano state who was indicted, prosecuted and jailed and later pardoned for certificate forgery. Jonathan who has a doctorate degree from University of Port Harcourt appointed this same man to head the governing council of a Federal University and his spokesman who has a doctorate degree in performance arts defended this obscene appointment.

Why then are we wondering how and when the rain started to beat us[ apologies to Chinua Achebe]?

We are the general cause of the problem of bribe-for-employment and the earlier we collectively decide to kill it then we need to take some bold steps including phasing out this mad rush to make profit from unsuspecting young Nigerians in the guise of recruiting them into the Nigerian military and the emphasis we lay on paper qualification rather than practical experience hasn't helped this matter either.

+Emmanuel Onwubiko; Head; Human Rights Writers' Association of Nigeria; blogs @www.huriwa.blogspot.com;  http://www.huriwa.org/. 

20/5/2013

HARD TIMES FOR MEDIA FREEDOM By Emmanuel Onwubiko

A major relic of the colonial era in Nigeria was the use of some draconian statutes to suppress press freedom and freedom of expression basically because of the inherent power of the media of mass communication to serve as effective tool for mass mobilization against the colonialists seen largely as oppressors.

The then colonial masters became jittery when pro-independence campaigners like Alvan Ikoku, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ojike Mbonu, Kingsley Mbadiwe; and Obafemi Awolowo to mention only but a few, began gaining control of the local media in which they used it so well to preach nationalism and to enlighten the people on the essence of self government.

Azikiwe who was schooled in the United States of America returned during the colonial era to establish a chain of newspapers including the Nigerian Pilot that generated a lot of interest across the then British colony in West Africa. Awolowo was instrumental to the establishment of television stations in Nigeria and he was behind the establishment of Tribune group of newspapers that remains the longest serving privately published print medium in Nigeria.

From a work titled “African Nationalism and the struggle for freedom” published in http://www.pearsonhighered.com/ we were told the simple truth why nationalism and anything related to it evoked fear in the ruling colonial elites before Nigeria gained independence in 1960.

According to this social historian “African nationalism is a subjective feeling of kingship or affinity shared by people of African descent. It is a feeling based on shared cultural norms, traditional institutions, racial heritage and a common historical experience”.

Soon after Nigeria gained political independence thanks to the vibrancy of the activities of locally run print media among other patriotic activities, the military struck and controlled the machinery of governance for nearly forty years and the first casualty was media freedom. The common denominator that linked these military dictators of post- independence Nigeria with the colonial rulers, who retreated back to Britain from Nigeria on 1st October 1960, was the resort to the use of many draconian anti-press laws left behind by the Colonialists to suppress media freedom.

The history of how the then General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime persecuted and imprisoned some three Journalists for alleged treason is a notorious fact even as one of Nigeria’s famous journalists Mr. Dele Giwa was killed by suspected/alleged State sponsored killer gang at that time for his fearless journalism practice which gave the military dictators sleepless nights.

In 1999 when civilian rule returned up until now, the expectation of most Nigerians is that freedom of the media and other fundamental freedoms enshrined in the constitution would be jealously guided, protected and promoted.

But the opposite seems to be the case especially with the current administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in which several instances of press antagonism from the armed security operatives has assumed frightening dimension.

Apart from the Nigeria police Force and the State Security Services (SSS), the federal government under the current dispensation has been accused of manipulating the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the National film and video censors Board (NFVCB) to suppress media freedom as against several constitutional provisions which ought to serve as safeguards against these types of primitive attacks by the Nigerian State against the media.

Before delving into the historical account of the many brutal encounters the media practitioners of different media houses have experienced over the last few months in the hands of the security agents, I will hereby state some of the fundamental constitutional provisions that specifically protects media freedoms.

Section 22 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) provides thus; “The press, radio, television and other agencies of mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this chapter and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people”.

Chapter four of the constitution is replete with related provisions in which the basic freedoms of expression and the media are promulgated and are therefore binding on government to protect.

For the specific purpose of this reflection, section 39 of the constitution comes in handy and will remain relevant. That section aforementioned provides thus; “(1) every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference’.

But under the current dispensation, three ugly events have happened which signpost hard times for media freedom in Nigeria similar to the experiences of the founding fathers of journalism prior to the emergence of independence.

On Tuesday February 12th 2013, The Guardian of United Kingdom ran a story of the prosecution by the Nigerian police of three Kano-based Journalists for allegedly inciting murders of polio workers.

The reporters who anchored a live program on the privately owned Wazobia Fm radio Station in Kano State were picked up and charged to court for airing a program that was critical to the polio vaccination program of the federal government only hours before nine polio vaccinators were gruesomely murdered.  

The killing of the nine women volunteers conducting the polio vaccination program in Kano state received national condemnation from a cross segments of Nigerians particularly because of the ugly fact that Nigeria is one of only three remaining countries in the World alongside war -torn Pakistan and Afghanistan where the wild polio still afflict children.

The National Broadcasting commission [NBC] swiftly clamped down on the Wazobia Fm radio station in Kano for allowing the airing of this program which linked the polio vaccination program wrongly with a so-called sinister plot of the Western powers to depopulate Northern Nigeria – whatever that means!      

Significantly, the British media house-The Guardian widely interpreted the prosecution of these three reporters as another instance of government persecution of the press.

Opinion, is however split on this particular case, because of the obvious fact that precious lives of innocent women volunteers were ruthlessly wasted by terrorists.

The guardian of Britain saw the prosecution of the three Kano journalists in the following way; “The allegations against the journalists working for Wazobia FM illustrate the continuing struggle over free speech in Nigeria, a  nation that only came out of military rule in 1999 and where simply taking photographs on the street can get a person arrested. Attacks on journalists remain common and unsolved killings of reporters still haunt the country.”

The three journalists so charged but later granted bail are Suleiman Gama, producer of the Hausa program; Sandar Girma, and Yakubu Musa; also, Mr. Mubarak Malam, a reporter with the same Wazobia Fm was also quizzed by the police.

On March 10th 2013, local media reported the arrest from the state owned radio Nigeria station in Kaduna by the Kaduna police command of the opposition Senator from Zamfara state and former governor of that North West State of Zamfara – Mr. Ahmed Sani Yerima.

Senator Yerima, who was a guest was on the radio programme was reported to have said if the Independent National Electoral Commission failed to register the  newly formed All Progressives Congress, leaders of the party would embark on a peaceful protest to the Eagle Square, Abuja until INEC registered the party.

The statement drew the ire of the state Police Commissioner, Mr. Olufemi Adenaike, who stormed the radio station with his men and whisked Yerima away to the police headquarters where the former governor was held for three hours.

It was learnt by the local press present in Kaduna state that supporters of the Senator later mobilised themselves to the police headquarters but were resisted by the policemen on guard even as Yerima was however released after being interrogated by the police.

At the police headquarters, the former governor was made to write a statement on what he said during the radio program.

The statement as reported by Journalists read in parts: “My name is Senator Ahmed Rufai Sani former Governor of Zamfara State, a Nigerian and now a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria Kaduna invited me for a phone-in programme which took place today March 9, 2013 at 10am and ended at 12pm. I was asked if there is any move not to register our new party, APC, what can we do? And my response was that if we met all the legal requirements and INEC refused to register us, we shall embark on peaceful protest to INEC until we are registered. Then, the moderator asked me what I meant by peaceful protest? Then I responded by saying just like it happened in Egypt.

“We can go to Eagle Square together with Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Sardauna Kano, Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau, and others to mobilise people without using any weapon for a peaceful protest until our party is registered.”

The arrest of this politician is a clear infraction by the police of the freedom of expression of this Nigerian citizen and this is also another grave attempt to muzzle press freedom.

As if the above instances of media repression were not sufficient to warrant change of heart by the government officials, the local press has also reported the alleged ban by the Nigerian film and video censors board of a 30 – minutes innocuous documentary program on the devastating effects that theft of fuel subsidy fund by the powerful cabal with links to government has wrecked on the nation’s economy.

Titled “fueling poverty” ,the documentary film titled “fueling poverty” in the considered assessment of open society foundations, a United States – based Non-Governmental organization, is an attempt to examine the corruption and mismanagement of oil wealth in Nigeria.     

Mr.. Ishaya Bako’s film “fueling poverty” was set against the backdrop of the January 2012 protests after the removal of the fuel subsidy.

According to Open Society Foundations, the documentary is a story that brings to life the plight of every day Nigerians, caught up in the reckless policies of a government where corruption is the norm, rather than exception, and impunity reigns. This is a home truth.

The reported ban of this beautiful documentary which I have watched with admiration on the internet[YouTube] is not only an attack by the Nigerian state against press freedom but also a negation of the constitutional duty incumbent on government to fight corruption.  

Section 15(5) of the Nigerian constitution obliges government to fight corruption in all its ramifications and by all means possible including production by both government and good citizens of Nigeria of any enlightenment media program that will generate interest among Nigerians to fight corruption.

That provision aforementioned stated specifically that; “The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.” This film by citizen Bako is a sincere attempt to expose corruption.

Lastly, the recent arrest and detention by the police of four reporters of the Leadership Newspaper over a story on a presidential directive which was repudiated by presidency officials, is a return to suppression of the media reminiscent of military dictatorship.  

The Police Force Headquarters said the three reporters that anchored the story and the Group News Editor of the Paper were required to appear before the Deputy Inspector General of Police for interrogation on Monday April 8th 2013 but when four reporters from Leadership Newspapers responded to the police summon they were immediately clamped into detention for failing to disclose the source of their information on the said Presidential directive.

Following public outcry and a claim by the publishers of Leadership Newspaper that the arrest and detention of the now freed four Journalists was on the instruction to the police by President Jonathan, the presidency denied but insisted that the police did the right thing.

The presidential Adviser Dr. Reuben Abati had defended the police thus; “... President Jonathan did not have to issue any order before those who have as much constitutional responsibility as the media, the police to see the need to act in the public interest”.

But the sacred fact is that Nigerians roundly condemned the police harassment of the leadership Newspaper not necessarily because the media is above the law but because police arbitrary intimidation of the media and the use of psychological torture to extract confessional statement from citizens are fundamentally unconstitutional, illegal, and tyrannical and must be eradicated if Nigeria’s democracy is to advance.

The presidency’s erroneous comparison of the Lord  Justice Leveson inquiry in the United Kingdom in the phone-hacking scandal of 13th July 2001, with the recent arrest and illegal detention of the four journalists in Nigeria  is inherently faulty even as the fact remains that unlike in the United Kingdom whereby the Metropolitan police used civilized and rights – based approach to obtain statement from the British Journalists indicted for breaching privacy laws in their reportage, Nigeria police operatives believe and indeed practice the use of crude tactics of psychological torture to compel confessional statements from persons allegedly in conflict with the law.

As a signatory to the universal Declarations of Human Rights [UDHR], and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, and as a candidate for consideration to join the United Nations Security Council [UNSC], Nigeria is obliged to respect media freedom and the police must be compelled to use fair means to investigate alleged breach of extant statutes by Journalists.

* Emmanuel Onwubiko is head, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA and blogs@www.huriwa.blogspot.com.

15/4/2013

CONSTITUTION REVIEW AND LAND SWAP By Emmanuel Onwubiko

Emeka Ihedioha, the urbane looking gentleman politician from a humble but deeply religious Mbaise, Imo State background has caved a unique niche for himself as one young patriotic Nigerian that believes in  using his innate talents to serve the public good of Nigeria and the citizenry.

The Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s Federal House of Representatives has on more than one occasion proven his mettle as a man in a hurry to ebb his good name on the political landscape of Nigeria. The latest evidence is the completion of a national assignment given to him alongside his legislative colleagues to collate the report of Nigerians’ views on critical areas that require fundamental amendments in the 1999 Constitution in conformity with section 9[1] of the constitution and in keeping with the yearning and aspirations of Nigerians.

I have decided to make brief comment on the outcome of this national exercise supervised by Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha which is adjudged as one of the best executed national assignments by the political class in the last two decades.

In this same piece, the move by the professional Journalist turned politician – Senator Bala Mohammed the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, to introduce an innovative approach to radical infrastructural development known as land Swap would also be featured in very brief terms hoping that this column will in subsequent editions handle the two thematic areas in more broader perspective.

The thread that binds the two events together is the fact that they passed the test of international democratic best practices of seeking the opinion of the citizens who own the process.

Writing in the book 'DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE AND INTERNATIONAL LAW' edited by the duo of Gregory H, Fox and Brad R. Roth, Mr. Thomas M. Franck who did a chapter titled "legitimacy and the democratic entitlement" stated clearly thus; " Democracy as etymology suggests, concerns the role of the people in governance. The right to democracy is the right of the people to be consulted and participate in the process by which political values are reconciled and choices made..."

 

On the specific issue of constitution amendments which on Thursday April 18th 2013 witnessed the epochal public presentation of the outcome of the nation-wide public debate on areas of amendments, a particular revolutionary idea which sailed through the series of national debate conducted in each of the over 364 federal constituencies, was the collective decision of Nigerians to upgrade chapter two of the constitution which is the fundamental directive principles of state policies to the exalted status of justiciability just like the chapter four of the constitution. 

By this decision which in itself constitute a revolution by Nigerians, the people have loudly told the Federal House of Representatives to include safeguards which will compel public office holders to become legally accountable and responsible to the aspirations and yearnings of the citizenry in the area of democracy dividends and/or delivery of developmental projects to the various constituencies equitably to positively transform the living standards of Nigerians.

Another good decision by Nigerians is the amendment of the draconian and undemocratic immunity clause of section 308 which according to Nigerians should only apply to civil proceedings while the elected governors/deputy governors, president and Vice president serve out their respective terms. Now if the decision reached by Nigerians at the public debates by the Federal House is concurred by the Senate, then public office holders hitherto covered by the immunity clause can be brought to justice for any crime of corruption committed.

Sadly, Nigerians reportedly were too slow to permit the creation of state police which in my thinking is one of the best solutions to the unprecedented rise in social crime which the current federal policing institution has failed to keep in check. Since the Nigerian police Force has failed why not try state and local policing institution?

 

Now we move briefly to the important issue of land Swap in the Federal Capital Territory which is currently buffeted by a groundswell of opposition by the indigenous ethnic groups who are seeking for inclusion in the ownership of the newly worked out memorandum of understanding between the government which will have 40% and prospective investors for the land swap who would have 60%.

My first reaction when I was told by the hard working and forward-looking  media aide of the minister of the Federal Capital Mr. Nosike Ogbuenyi about a public event planned by the FCT minister, is to say that land is a spirit and so it is not a very easy thing to deal with.

My take is that the indigenous owners of Abuja lands which are to be swapped must be adequately carried along by the ministry of the Federal Capital Territory even as I support any reasonably humane move to bring about radical infrastructural development.

The FCT minister said Land Swap is being introduced because resources for infrastructure are dwindling and that government won’t remain “Father Christmass” forever. But I ask, what is inherently evil in being ‘FATHER CHRISTMASS’ as long as the very poor who have no sustainable livelihood are given social housing to promote their constitutionally protected fundamental human right to dignity of the human person? Happily, though, Bala Mohammed who is trained and practiced journalism before venturing into politics should know that the human rights of the weak ought to be protected in every government policies.    

At the recently held town hall meeting, we were told the following facts concerning the concept of land swap.

"The policy of land swap which is a development initiative recently introduced by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) involves the granting of land to competent real estate developers who will in turn provide infrastructure, such as good roads, electricity, portable water, storm water drainage, sewer lines and communication ducts to the residents, without any financial or technical demand to the government."

Further, we were told that; "The Land Swap approach to infrastructure funding is not new in the world. It is a land-based financing of infrastructure, which the World Bank has endorsed as suitable for any country that is experiencing budget crisis. Many developed and developing countries like France, Japan, the United States, China, Denmark, Egypt and India found it necessary to adopt land-based financing techniques during periods of rapid urban growth like we are experiencing now in Abuja. The underlying basic philosophy is infrastructure development to keep pace with urban growth".

Even the most hardened doubting Thomas will agree that any initiative aimed at bringing about development in any human community is acceptable but at what cost to the ecosystem and the original inhabitants who would be dispossessed of their ancestral landed property to be awarded to private sector investors whose primary goal is profit? Will the FCT administrators introduce legal framework to protect the ecosystem and stop these private sector investors from destroying some economic trees that promote green environment?

 Another question is what has become of the Justice Akinola Aguda report on the FCT which stated that Abuja is not a “no-man’s-land” but is a land for all Nigerians? Why did the past administrations failed to complete the compensation and resettlement agenda built into the original plan for the Federal Capital Territory? Did government officials embezzle these compensation packages meant for GWARIS and if yes who are the culprits and why are they [thieves who stole the compensation money] still not in Kuje prison?

Importantly, there is a political fact that the six area councils are led by indigenous tribal persons, why have they failed to empower their people with quality primary and post-primary education and why are the original Abuja inhabitants so educationally disadvantaged inspite of the fact that their sons and daughters have over the past decade run the six area councils in Abuja?

 

 

*  Emmanuel Onwubiko, Head; Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, blogs@www.huriwa.blogspot.com.

 

29/4/2013