RIGHTS GROUP SUPPORTS BAYELSA, OGONI ON FLAG, AND SELF DETERMINATION

HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS' ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA, [HURIWA], a Civil Society Organization has thrown its weight behind the decision of the Bayelsa State Government to sign into law a state legislation titled Bayelsa State Symbols  and songs 2012 which authorizes the Bayelsa state Government to introduce a state anthem and flags for the people even as the Rights group has similarly backed the decision of a significant segment of the Ogoni People of River State to declare self government within the federation of Nigeria.

The Rights group in a statement by its National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Officer Miss. Zainab Yusuf said the decision by the Bayelsa State Government to so introduce the State symbols and Songs legislation has only fulfilled the social and cultural objectives embodied in chapter two of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria [as amended] and has in no way breached any extant provisions of the law or has it committed treasonable felony as wildly alleged by some critics. The group said the Bayelsa State decision should be applauded as one of the lawful ways to consolidate the correct and appropriate application of the principle of true federalism as encompassed in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 [as amended].

The Rights group dismissed as selfish, pedestrian and unfounded, the recent private opinion of the outgoing National President of the Nigerian Bar Association [NBA] Chief Joseph Daudu[ SAN] which was elevated wrongly as the general opinion of the Nigerian Bar opposing the Bayelsa State and Ogoni peoples' actions. The group said the outgoing National President of the Nigerian Bar Association lacks the moral high ground to take on the Ogoni people since he had served previously under a military dictatorship as Federal Government appointed private prosecutor in the celebrated matter involving the state murdered Environmental Activist- Mr. Ken Saro-Wiwa.

The Human Rights body also carpeted the Kaduna based Senior Lawyer Alhaji Yunus Ustaz Usman who wrongly branded the decision of the Bayelsa State Government as treasonable felony just as the group tasked him to redirect his attention to the Northern State Governments including Kano State that have violated section 10 of the Constitution by setting up state Government sponsored Religious Police to enforce the precepts of a particular religious group even when the supreme law is clear that no Government should elevate a particular religion as state religion.

HURIWA said the criticism of the Bayelsa State government's decision especially by elite of particular section of the country was sectional, selective, unfounded, biased and wrong-headed and therefore should be consigned to the dustbin of history as jaundiced and unsound. "Senior lawyers like Daudu and Yunus Ustaz should intervene and make the Governors of some of these Northern States to respect the Nigerian Constitution by stopping all policies that promotes religious bigotry and alienate segments of their populations on the basis of their divergent religious views. why for instance will the Kano state Government use tax payers' money including federal allocations derived from valued added tax from sales of alcohols in other parts of the country to set up and fund a religious police with the mandate to enforce aspects of the practice and precepts of a particular religion and senior lawyers from the North simply kept quiet as if there was nothing wrong with this unacceptable and unconstitutional practice?"

HURIWA further reminded the critics of the action of the Bayelsa State Government to read sections 17 and 21 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and also read part one Article one of the International Covenant on the civil and Political Rights which is an international law endorsed by Nigeria before rushing to draw conclusions that are half-baked, hypocritical, sectional, selective and absolutely defective in law and facts.

Specifically part one, Article One of the International Covenant on civil and Political Rights recognizes the right of any ethnic nationality to; "Self Determination including the rights to freely determine their political status, pursue their economic, social and cultural goals and manage and dispose of their own resources".

HURIWA therefore believes that neither Bayelsa State Government nor the section of the Ogoni people have breached any extant provisions of the Nigerian law since none of these entity has declared secession from the federation of Nigeria as presently constituted.

16/8/2012

HURIWA SUPPORTS STATE POLICE, CANVASS CREATION OF NATIONAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Worried by the unprecedented rise in armed insurrection, religious insurgency and sundry terror-related crimes without any effective remedy in sight, a democracy inclined Non-Governmental Organization- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS' ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] has advocated the creation of state and community policing institutions to replace the existing near-moribund Nigeria Police Force[NPF].

Conversely, the group also called for the creation of a national bureau of investigation similar to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and national policing ombudsman office to oversee the running of the state and community police in matters of crime investigation before prosecution to safeguard the new policing institutions to be created from political interference and abuses by the state Governors.

In a statement signed jointly by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Director of Media Affairs Mss. Zainab Yusuf, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] said the creation of these two policing institutions to replace the Nigeria Police Force is necessitated by the historical facts and evidence that the Nigeria Police Force as currently constituted has systematically failed to carryout effective proactive, scientific and forensic-based crime prevention, protection of the civil populace from criminals and crime fighting thereby exposing Nigeria and the citizenry to the horrendous regime of terror-related violence. The group said that some good operatives from the current Nigeria Police Force should be collapsed and recruited into the new bodies to be created to give Nigeria the best and most effective Policing Institutions while those found wanting should be dismissed and rehabilitated after thorough disarmament and debriefing sessions.

The Rights Group dismissed the political apprehension raised by the Northern Governors forum and the retired Inspectors General of police who kicked against the overwhelming opinion of the majority of Nigerians for the creation through legislative process of state and community police for Nigeria and stated that the creation of a national ombudsman to supervise the investigative duties of the proposed community and Sate police would prevent insider abuses and other politically motivated control of the proposed policing institutions by politicians at the state and local government levels. The group said all over the World whereby state and community police are in existence there are scientific body of proof to show that crime fighting is easier, nearly error -free and indeed prospective criminals are dissuaded from committing crimes because they are aware that the chances of apprehending them and obtaining quality convictions in the competent courts of law is more than impressive.

On the proposal for the creation of a national bureau of investigation, the Rights group stated tha the time is ripe for an independent body of untainted experts in criminal investigation to be set up and equipped with modern state -of- the arts forensic laboratories and facilities to detect and arrest criminals and also stop would -be terrorists from tormenting and terrorizing the civil populace as is the case in most parts of Nigeria occasioned by the existence of a moribund, less than professional, inefficient and ineffective policing institutions. HURIWA condemned the inability of the security operatives to decisively defeat the armed Islamic rebels because of total lack of commitment and poor fighting materials, good intelligence and motivation just as it called on the Government to take workable action before Nigeria goes into full blown civil war. 

HURIWA also suggested that State Police was necessary so as to properly secure the international borders of some Nigerian states that have been identified as gateways for smugglers of firearms and weapons of mass destruction that are now deployed to commit atrocities across the country. The Rights group said the workings of the proposed state and community policing structures should be coordinated by the National Bureau of Investigation to prevent them from abuses and from endangering national security.

"We are shocked that the old Inspectors General of Police are speaking in condemnation of the proposal for a state police when they were the same people that ruined the current Nigeria Police Force. The former Inspectors General of Police were the same persons who messed up the Nigeria Police Force and have endangered the national security because of the fact that an underarmed Police force is unable to withstand the formidable attacks of armed insurgents. These former Police bosses should cover their faces in shame and allow the democratic aspiration of majority of Nigerians for a state police to see the light of the day. If Government is in doubt then it can organize a national referendum to ascertain the proper views of real Nigerians on the proposed State Police and community Police." 

16/8/2012

SOUTH EAST AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEFICIT By Emmanuel Onwubiko

The South East geopolitical zone made up of about five States namely Imo, Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi and Abia States is the heartland of the Igbo speaking nationality. This zone can boast of producing some of the finest intellectuals and top flight technocrats spread all over the world who are vastly respected in their diverse fields of calling.

The zone produces arguably the highest percentage of undergraduate university applicants yearly which goes to show the elevated scale in which learning/intellectualism has reached among the people of these vast geopolitical area.

But one thing the South East geopolitical area lacks is the needed and necessary federal presence and the strategic infrastructure that would enable the people to harness their natural and human resources to achieve collective economic growth and advancement of the area. This accounts for the presence of a lot of youth that are jobless and therefore restive. Even Aba that used to be the industrial hub of Southern Nigeria is in a total sorry state due largely to the criminal neglect of the basic social infrstructure by the Abia State Government successively. Onitsha in Anambra state that used to boast of having the largets market in West Africa is bereft of the basic infrastructure of even facilities as common as drainage system which the state and local Government areas can afford without waiting endlessly to the inept federal administation to do these basic things for the people who are constantly harassed by the state Government to pay tax.

Last week, I embarked on a two days scientific study of the current state of infrastructure in the South East with visits to Enugu, Onitsha, Okigwe and Aba with whistle stops at Owerri and Umuahia and without mincing words I can state categorically that South Eastern Nigeria suffers from monumental deficit of infrastructure far worst than what obtains in the other geopolitical zones which I have had the privilege to have lived and worked for years.

Apart from poor road infrastructure affecting virtually the entire federal; states and local government owned and maintained roads, there is the more serious problem of erosion which poses greater environmental threats to several communities including the home town of Nigeria’s second Republic vice President DR. Alex Ekwueme (Oko, Orumba North Local government in old Aguata, Anambra State).

Deadly gullies of huge proportions have enveloped other communities such as Uturu and Isukwuato all in Abia State. The question on the lips of most people interviewed is why the infrastructure in the South East have been allowed to deteriorate to this sorry state and people are asking whether the South East has political leadership that is charismatic, patriotic, selfless, nationalistic and corruption-free that can speak the mind of the South East and attract equitable federal development to the zone.

Interacting with people in the rural communities visited last week, I came out with the impression that the people of the South East are totally disappointed with the political leaders from the zone who have consistently betrayed the collective aspirations of the people for their selfish pecuniary goals.

The people for instance questioned the rationale in voting massively for the current President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in the 2011 election on the promise that the second Niger Bridge and other serious infrastructural deficits suffered by the zone would be addressed only to discover that these vital infrastructure are deteriorating further due to neglect by the Federal government.

To therefore read in one of the national dailies that the  ministry of works has claimed to have executed 98 percent of its capital projects in the 2012 Appropriation Act is one of the biggest fraudulent claims because in the entire South East there is virtually no proof of any completed and well maintained federal roads.

On the aspects of erosion, the people wonder why successive ministers of Environment since 1999 promised to address the situation but only to end up not doing anything but engage in political rhetoric while the political office holders of the South East at the federal level are only good at shedding crocodile tears over the bad state of erosion in the South East but refuse to use their influence to collectively ensure that South East gets better deal from the aspects of the Federal budgets that are eventually implemented.           

Only on Monday, media reports claimed that the House of Representatives’ committee chairman on Environment and member representing Anaocha/Dunukofia/Njikoka Federal constituency Mrs. Uche Ekwunife wept at the site of very serious erosion disaster in a part of Anambra state. Oh! what a crocodile tear?

Speaking at Nanka erosion site in Aguata Council Area of Anambra State when she paid unscheduled visit to the site at the weekend, Ekwunife, the politician,  expressed fears that the rate at which the erosion was escalating and encroaching into other communities was alarming and a threat to the entire state.

Mrs. Ekwunife further disclosed that most worrisome was the fact that the erosion had grown beyond the control of the contractor currently handling it, adding that it should be declared a special erosion site by the Federal Government.

“The Nanka erosion site should be made available to control it because as you have seen, it is encroaching into other nearby communities and if care is not taken, it will sack the entire Anambra State. The project demands special funding from the Ministry of Environment and more competent contractor should be given the project because as it stands now, it has gone beyond the control of the contractor handling it”, she reportedly stated.    

Media report said that she also disclosed that lack of prompt intervention into the control of the erosion site and other ecological disasters was responsible for the escalation of the erosion in the state, noting that the control of the erosion site could have been done earlier last three years when the disaster had not escalated.

Mrs. Ekwunife said that the Nanka erosion site and other serous active erosion sites within the state and South East in general should be declared special projects to forestall further natural disasters.

“We are going to make sure that Nanka project is considered a special project and special funding mapped out for it because if it is not tackled, it will wipe off the entire Anambra State because it is encroaching into other communities and it is only a company like Julius Berger that can handle it,” she said.

The House Committee Chairman also urged the state government to have good waste management scheme so as to control the disaster that according to her were often man made and called on companies operating in the state to have proper ways of channeling their waste products.

Mrs. Ekwunife, Nigeria's latest crying madam please note that the people are watching you and your other partners in the National Assembly to see if you would attract Federal attention to this serious enironmental threats of erosion in the South East.         

Still on infrastructure deficit of South East Emeka Nwosu who is a very senior media practitioner and is currently working in the media office of the Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives has strong opinion about it. He happened to have travelled to parts of the South East about the same period under review in this piece and his observation is as relevant as it is factual.

 
His words: “I just returned from a one-week trip to the South East which saw me traversing Enugu, Abia, Imo and River State. The Enugu Port Harcourt Highway has become an unqualified disaster; a national embarrassment. To move form Lokpanta at the Enugu-Abia border through Okigwe to Umuahia, Aba and Port Harcourt has become a huge problem”.

Emeka Nwosu who is also an Author and a columnist with Thisday Newspaper suggested the following solution: “A concerted action is needed from our political and traditional leaders to get President Jonathan to fix the roads”.

Unfortunately, the political and traditional institutions have collective betrayed the people of South East because majority of the political and traditional elite from the South East only visit President Jonathan to solicit for contracts and other personal benefits and do little or nothing to speak for the people.

The Youth and other professionals untainted by the lucre of political contracts should unite to fight for the interest of the South East geopolitical zone so that a scientific and comprehensive economic rescue/marshal plan for the region should be worked out and implemented because since after the civil war, the successive Federal governments/administrations have not deliberately implemented developmental projects to rescue the geopolitical zone from the devastating consequences of the 30 months civil war. The so-called political contraption called OHANAEZE group is largely populated by old contractors who have no interest of the South East at heart. They are therefore unreliable and are only seen shouting the idiotic song of IGBO PRESIDENCY while the South East zone remains backward economically due to skewed and distorted government policies at the federal level.

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

13/8/2012   

PLAGIARISM: THE STORY OF SANUSI AND ZAKARIA By Emmanuel Onwubiko

Fareed Zakaria and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi are two young professionals that progressively rose to the pinnacle of their different professional callings.

While Fareed Zakaria became one of the best known and recognizable television presenters globally from his United States base, the other young person from Nigeria in the person of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who is a banker eventually got elevated through political might of the president of the federal Republic of Nigeria to become the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria against all odds.

Incidentally, both men have in the past couple of years received accolades from certain quarters for what those nominating them for such awards regarded as their very remarkable achievements as technocrats in their own fields.

Both men are equally said to be fairly well educated even though Mr. Fareed Zakaria seems to have attended better graded and World rated Ivy League Universities in the United States than Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who is reported to have read at the post-graduate level in one of the remotest and little known universities in Sudan, a war ravaged country.

Fareed Rafiq Zakaria who was born in January 20th, 1964 and rose to become one of the finest Indian-American journalists and authors is a distinguished international public policy analyst who has used his media visibility to gain some personal milleage. From research conducted online, he was said to have worked as a columnist in the internationally reputable Newsweek and editor of Newsweek international from the year 2000 to 2010.

Zakaria became editor-at-large of Time Magazine in the year 2010 and also the host of the cable News Network’s 'Fareed Zakaria GPS' [a must watch] and a frequent commentator and author about issues related to international relations, trade and American Foreign policy. He is loved and admired by younger intellectuals from across the World including this writer.

Fareed Zakaria received a Bachelor of Arts from the highly respected Yale University where he also held the prestigious position of the yale political union’s president and editor-in-chief of the yale political monthly. He later earned a Doctor of Philosophy in political science from Harvard University in 1993 where he studied under Samuel P. Huntington and Stanley Hoffmann, as well as international relations theorist Robert Keohane. Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia therefore rates Fareed Zakaria as an original thinker prior to his latest plegiarism controversy.

From the above loaded history of the enormous scholarship attained by Mr. Fareed Zakaria one can comfortably deduce that he is one of the finest learned minds among contemporary youth. But something has gone wrong that threatens to puncture his illustrious educational, academic and professional meteoric rise. This threat is related to the accusation that he plagiarized the Newspaper piece of one of his reporters and passed it on as if he was the author. He humbly owned up and profusely apologized in what is seen as grave human error.

On Sanusi Lamido Sanusi the other personality who is equally rated very highly by his contemporaries as one of the best bank administrators of his time, there is a connection between him and Mr. Fareed Zakaria in the unfortunate fact that he is also facing charges and accusations of plagiarism by an American-based Nigerian born scholar who has even proceeded to institute a court litigation at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division which is still being heard.

The only difference is that while investigation is yet to be completed in the plagiarism case involving Mr. Fareed Zakaria which is largely administrative, he (Zakaria) has apologized for the human error and has been suspended from work by the Cable News Network in Atlanta, United States of America and the Time Magazine but Sanusi Lamido Sanusi still holds forte as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria even when such a damaging allegation of plagiarism has being slammed on him and a court case instituted.

The failure of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to resign or be suspended by the federal Government pending the determination of the subsisting court case is not all together surprising because in Nigeria public office holders do not resign even when they are accused of committing grave atrocities.

Nigerian public office holders always hold on tenaciously to the excuse that section 36(5) of the 1999 constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which states thus; “Every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty”.

But why are Nigerian public officials shying away from throwing in the towel whenever their integrity is questioned and why is the government of Nigeria not showing good example by asking public office holders facing such damaging accusations such as plagiarism to step down pending final determination of the matter in the competent court of law?

Again, where is Sanusi Lamido Sanusi drawing the legal fees that he pays his legal team who are defending him at the federal High Court, Abuja Division in this instance?

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who was born in July 31st 1961 graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University earning Bachelor of Science degree in Economics in 1981 and earned a degree in Islamic law from the international university of Africa, Khartoum, Sudan. As stated earlier, he is currently facing the court litigation bordering on alleged plagiarism which was instituted by Professor Victor E. Dike who is a lecturer at the School of Engineering and Technology, National University of Sacramento, California, United States of America.

Dike, who is also the CEO and Founder for Social Justice & Human Development, claims that he is the original author of the article titled: “Review of the Challenges Facing The Nigerian (Is National Development Possible Without Technological Capacity?).

The article was published in the Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa (volume 12).

He claimed that the CBN Governor, in a public lecture delivered at the Eight Convocation Ceremony of Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo state on 26 November, 2010, titled Growth Prospects For The Nigerian Economy, copied verbatim and pasted from his academic articles he published without referring to him as the original author of the work.

The plaintiff averred that Sanusi copied from pages 98,99 and 100 of his work titled, ‘Review of the Challenges Facing the Nigerian Economy: Is National Development Possible Without Technological Capacity?’

He stated the copied lines as follows: “The challenges facing the economy is ineffective institutions and dilapidated infrastructure (bad roads, erratic power supply, limited access to potable water and basic healthcare, and ineffective regulatory agencies, etc). The plethora of reforms and policies are ineffective due to institutional failure (Hoff, 2003)”.

The above is just a few sentences from one of the publications in which Lamido Sanusi is alleged to have plagiarized.

At another lecture delivered by the nation’s Chief Banker at the Convocation Square, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi where he presented a paper titled ‘Global Financial Meltdown and the Reforms in the Nigerian Banking Sector’, Prof Dike alleged that Sanusi also copied verbatim articles originally written and published by him without acknowledging him as the author of the works from where he sourced the materials for his lecture.

He also stated that Sanusi on different occasions copied his materials without acknowledging him as the original author of the works.                           

The plaintiff subsequently asked for the modest sum of N15 million as compensation, the cost of filing the suit and the cost of travelling to Nigeira.

The United States based Nigerian born University don is also asking the court to declare that Sanusi plagiarized his works and breached his copy right.

Professor Dike further asked the court to issue a perpetual injunction restraining Sanusi form citing his papers as his (Sanusi’s).

He asked the court to direct the CBN Governor to retract the papers from the public by removing them from the CBN website.

The plaintiff asked the court to make a publication in a national daily denouncing the authorship of the articles.   

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has already entered appearance through his team of lawyers led by a senior Advocate of Nigeria Chief Kola Awodein. He has filed preliminary objection to the suit and is praying for the dismissal of the entire case. The matter is pending. 

Just like Sanusi Lamid Sanusi, Fareed Zakaria was accused of copying aspects of the work of Jill Lapore without citing the proper author in compliance to standard Journalistic practice.

An introspective look at these two cases therefore compels me to urge the federal government to stop promoting impunity by allowing public office holders with damaging court cases that borders on their person to remain in office and probably draw fund from the public treasury to service the professional fees of his team of lawyers in a matter that such a public office holder should bear the entire cost on his/her own. There has to be an investigation to ascertain the sources from which the legal team representing Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi draw their professional fees.

The best possible thing for the Nigerian government would have been to suspend the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria until such a time that the nation’s court system finally reaches an unassailable determination of the pending matter. Plagiarism is a very serious allegation that ought to be sufficiently cleared by the person so accused before he could go about his official duties which demands unimpeachable integrity. When will Nigerians ever learn from Americans and Europeans?   

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

13/8/2012

BOKO HARAM: HURIWA CANVASS NIGERIA/UNITED STATES' DEFENCE PACT

A foremost civil society group-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has again called on President Goodluck Jonathan to provide effective, and decisive leadership in tackling the widening scope of armed insurgency in parts of Nigeria and stop the wanton destruction of precious lives and property of Nigerians.  

The group  which called the gruesome mass killing of scores of worshippers of the Deeper life Bible Church in Kogi State recently as ‘heinous crimes against humanity’ and the worst manifestation of terror-violence also asked the Federal Government to immediately sign defence pact with stronger military powers such as the United States or United Kingdom so as to acquire the most efficient security architecture and Professional intelligence-driven skills to check the spread of terrorism in Nigeria. The group also wants Government to erect formidable electrified fences around Nigeria’s international borders to stop armed importers from infiltrating the country with assorted weapons of mass destruction which are now being used by armed insurgents.

In a statement jointly endorsed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Director of Media Miss Zainab Yusuf, the Rights Group condemned the lack luster and ineffective approach of President Jonathan towards implementing practical, pragmatic and comprehensive steps to stop the ongoing killings by armed Islamic fundamentalists in Northern Nigeria which unfortunately is spiraling out of control. The Rights Group also blamed the total and systematic collapse of the Nigeria Police Force for the spread of terror-related violence and other forms of crimes even as it urged the Federal Government to begin the long awaited police reforms.

The group said the failure of the federal and States Governments especially in the North to effectively end the killings is a monumental constitutional breach since according to it, the most fundamental lawful duty of the federal and state administrations in our contemporary times is to provide security of lives and property of Nigerians.

The Rights group expressed sadness that President Jonathan and the Governors of the 36 states have embarked on the frenzy of media propaganda and political rhetoric rather than take immediate, verifiable, practical and result-oriented measures to stop the spread of terror-related killings across the country and warned them that they stand the chance of being dragged before the International Crimes Court for crimes against humanity after their statutory tenure as political office holders.
HURIWA said there is no sign that the current administration at the Federal level has adopted concrete measures to fortify security at the various notoriously porous international borders to stop armed importers and terrorists from the ongoing flooding of Nigeria with sophisticated weapons and explosives which are illegally deployed by armed non-state actors and terrorists to cause maximum chaos and horrendous mass killings.

HURIWA therefore canvassed immediate signing of defence pact with developed friendly nations such as the United States or the United Kingdom as a short and long term measure to curb the continuous extra-legal execution and mass killings of Nigerians by armed insurgents. “This defence pact is imperative because from the abundance of evidence regarding the ongoing mass killings, the Nigerian Government as currently constituted is incapable of providing effective security to the lives and property of Nigerians”.
The group which urged President Jonathan to quickly convoke top security summit with leaders of the National Assembly to work out modalities on the most rapid way of achieving effective signing of a defence pact with the United States or United Kingdom in line with section 12(1) of the 1999 constitution (as amended), said posterity will judge the current Jonathan’s federal administration harshly if the ongoing genocide by armed religious rebels are not effectively checked and perpetrators made to bear the full weight of the law.

The Rights group stated that; “It is clear that the failure by this government to stop the ongoing genocide by armed non-state actors and terrorists is a serious constitutional breach of section 14(2) (b) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. We hereby appeal to government to among other urgent security and intelligence-motivated steps, to sign defence pact with the United States of America”.   

9/8/2012          

MARK’S EPISTLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA By Emmanuel Onwubiko

David Alachenu Mark is a retired senior military officer who left as Brigadier General after serving Nigeria in different capacities.

A salient attribute which is so well known to be an inherent part of David Mark both within and without his military Profession is his knack for honesty and 'saying it as it is' tendency not minding whose ox is gored.

Since the emergence of  civilian rule in 1999, David Mark has played very active role as a notable national politician who has consistently represented his ethnic nationality as the Senator of the Federal Republic in the National Assembly and he has enjoyed the confidence and trust of his colleagues who have favored him with the position of Senate President in two different sessions of the Senate since 2007 which makes him one of the most experienced political office holders in the National legislature of Nigeria.

In his capacity as the current senate President, David Mark is noted for making some remarks that some persons who may not have the temperament to read through the said statements, as controversial. Most people believe that David Mark's middle name is controversy.

I have had the opportunity to always read through any of the presentation that he makes with the hope of digesting the contents and possibly analyzing the merits and demerits of such public presentation by the man who has built a formidable reputation for himself as a courageous and brave political office holder who speaks out his mind at every given time.

David Mark was in his elements when he recently lampooned Northern political, traditional and religious elite for not doing enough to stop the genocide and mass killings going on in the North by the armed irreligious extremists. He understandably  came under attack by certain reactionary forces who wrongly concluded that he was being clever by half by washing the dirty linens of Northern political establishment when he (David Mark) is one of the greatest beneficiaries of the Northern political hegemony.

My take on this unnecessary debate is that Senator David Mark was right to have spoken out his mind at a time that the unity and corporate existence of Nigeria is currently facing the worst threats from the terror-related violence tearing apart the North and gradually spreading to other parts of the corporate entity called Nigeria. It is right and just for David Mark to have cautioned the Northern elite to do more to restore law and order in the North and stop the bloody violence because as the philosophers say “the only thing that would make evil to thrive in a society is for good men to do nothing”.

On July 26th 2012 in Umuahia, the Abia State Capital, the Senate President took the opportunity of the retreat program of the Senate media team drawn from diverse media houses across the country to raise alarm about the unethical and unprofessional activities of some persons who are making bad use of the social media to slander/libel and defame some persons in and out of government. The Senate President also canvassed the strict observance and adherence to the professional ethical code by media practitioners. But shortly after he delivered his speech, some media houses reported that the Senate President has canvassed that the noose be tightened around the use of the new social media in Nigeria.

I took the intellectual pain to go through the speech in question and I found it difficult to pin point any place whereby the Senate President stated that tighter restrictions be imposed on the use of social or new media.

In order not to be misunderstood, I will say straight away that I have had issues in recent times with certain positions adopted by the Senate president and I have had to write to critically state my position as against the well known positions canvassed by the Senate President.

For instance, I kicked against the total absence of women senators in the top hierarchy of the Senate currently and I questioned the gender sensitivity of senate President David Mark and I even suggested that one woman Senator be made a member of the ruling hierarchy in the current Senate. I also opposed the decision of the David Mark-led Senate to pass the legislation on payment of property tax in Abuja which I still believe will work against poor tenants because Home owners  like the Senators will simply transfer the burden on their tenants who are mostly struggling law abiding Nigerians.

But on the ethical question raised by David Mark, the Senate President, on the abuse of the social media by most untrained minds, I think his position is sound, qualitative, objective and should therefore not be dismissed as canvassing for tighter laws on use of social or new media in Nigeria similar to what obtains in China and places like Iran or even Saudi Arabia.

The Senate President stated thus; “The emergence of social media like facebook, twitter, blackberry messenger, YouTube have changed the face of media practice by making information sharing easier, faster and quicker. But this is not without its demerits. Social media has become a threat to the ethics of media practice and good governance because of its accessibility and absolute freedom. Every freedom carriers a responsibility. Even in advanced democracies, where we all agree that good governance is practiced, there is no absolute freedom.”

He spoke further; “I therefore believe that there must be a measure to check the negative tendencies of the social media in our country. I say this because media practice, particularly journalism, the process f its news gathering and dissemination also operates a feedback mechanism and where the practitioners err there is room for rebuttal. But in the social media a faceless character can post any information that is absolutely false and misleading but will never retract it. At the end of the day one is bombarded with questions over what one has no business with.”

David Mark suggested a simple solution thus; “I suggest that schools of mass communication and journalism should review their curricula to include the operations of social media.”

The Senate President, who profusely praised the Nigerian media for working to promote good governance, stated rightly that a duty imposed on the media by section 22 of the Constitution as the Vanguard of the nation also imposes greater responsibility to abide by extant laws and professional ethical code of conduct.

I completely agree with David Mark who rightly stated thus; “Press freedom, freedom of speech and civil liberties are indices for good governance. In a developing nation like ours, these alone are not the only requirements for good governance. Other freedoms such as freedom from hunger, poverty, diseases and ignorance are just as important.”

The Senate President tasked the media to work for social justice thus; “For instance a nation that is full of poor, hungry and ignorant people cannot claim to be on the path of good governance. It is therefore the responsibility of the media to use every avenue to educate the masses about their rights to food, security, shelter, education and healthcare. These are the freedoms and rights that the media can also fight for the strengthen our democratic institutions for good governance.”

As a pro-establishment officer David Mark said: “As you fight for these rights and freedoms that we are entitled to, you must balance out these rights of the individual against other rights of the State and other members of society because any right cannot be absolute or superior to the other. The rights of journalistss' must coexist with other group rights.”

Senator Mark sounded excessively pro-government when he stated thus; “In fact, the government also enjoys the rights to govern according to the mandate given to it by its citizens and the laws of the land. Such rights must also be respected.”

He candidly condemned media corruption thus; “On the other hand, if media practitioners connive with corrupt public officers, receive gratification that influences their editorial judgment or fail to promote public good at the expense of the fact, which is regarded as sacred in their profession, the media cannot be said to be propagating good governance.” As a journalist who has actively practiced for about two decades, I know that the fear expressed therein by the Senate President is germane and factual and it behoves on media workers to clean up our acts and resolve to be ethically correct in our journalism activities.

I will be among the persons that would stoutly oppose any subtle moves through legislative process to muzzle or scuttle press freedom and we are prepared to go out on the streets not minding any military or police threats if the current or future Senate attempts to transform the use of social media to look like what obtains in China or Iran.

But from available evidence the Senate President only raised his patriotic concern on the ethical questions and challenges that have emerged with the emergence on the global stage of the social media and I think trained media professionals are also as concerned as any right thinking person that there is absolute need for ethics to be observed in the use of the new or social media. The problem is that new or social media has made it possible for untrained minds to become major actors in the dissemination of information and the inherent danger i this is that the basic ethical code of conduct that ought to operate as checks and balances have been thrown to the dogs so to say. Do we sit bak and allow these charllatans to destroy our hard earned profession as media workers? Your reply is as good as mine if you trly love journalism.

From www.ojr.org we will learn that a lot of international media scholars have also raised concern regarding the ethical questions on online journalism and these scholars have canvassed respect and observance of the professional ethics of total avoidance of plagiarism; total disclosure of sources of information and the total avoidance of allowing bribery and gratification to influence what is posted online. Honesty is also an important aspect of the ethical code.

In the United States and United Kingdom, people who use the social media to libel some persons have recently faced the wrath of the law because the federal Bureau of Investigation and the Policing institutions are so sophisticated and competent to tackle these emerging challenges. Nigeria is not an exception because as a nation governed by law, those who practice the new online journalism or those who use social media must be aware that there are laws against libel and defamation which can b e used to check their excesses. The question remains whether our grossly incompetent police would be able to enforce the extant laws without breaching the time tested freedoms and media rights of these practitioners?

*          Emmanuel Onwubiko, Head, HUMAN Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, blogs at www.huriwa.blogspot.com.

6/8/2012 

MARK’S EPISTLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA By Emmanuel Onwubiko

David Alachenu Mark is the Senate President of Nigeria.

A salient attribute which is so well known to be an inherent part of David Mark both within and without his military Profession is his knack for honesty and 'saying it as it is' tendency not minding whose ox is gored.

In his capacity as the current senate President, David Mark is noted for making some remarks that some persons who may not have the temperament to read through the said statements, as controversial. Most people believe that David Mark's middle name is controversy.

On July 26th 2012 in Umuahia, the Abia State Capital, the Senate President took the opportunity of the retreat program of the Senate media team drawn from diverse media houses across the country to raise alarm about the unethical and unprofessional activities of some persons who are making bad use of the social media to slander/libel and defame some persons in and out of government.

The Senate President also canvassed the strict observance and adherence to the professional ethical code by media practitioners. But shortly after he delivered his speech, some media houses reported that the Senate President has canvassed that the noose be tightened around the use of the new social media in Nigeria. 

But on the ethical question raised by David Mark, the Senate President, on the abuse of the social media by most untrained minds, I think his position is sound, qualitative, objective and should therefore not be dismissed as canvassing for tighter laws on use of social or new media in Nigeria similar to what obtains in China and places like Iran or even Saudi Arabia.

The Senate President stated thus; “The emergence of social media like facebook, twitter, blackberry messenger, YouTube have changed the face of media practice by making information sharing easier, faster and quicker. But this is not without its demerits. Social media has become a threat to the ethics of media practice and good governance because of its accessibility and absolute freedom. Every freedom carriers a responsibility. Even in advanced democracies, where we all agree that good governance is practiced, there is no absolute freedom.”

He spoke further; “I therefore believe that there must be a measure to check the negative tendencies of the social media in our country. I say this because media practice, particularly journalism, the process f its news gathering and dissemination also operates a feedback mechanism and where the practitioners err there is room for rebuttal. But in the social media a faceless character can post any information that is absolutely false and misleading but will never retract it. At the end of the day one is bombarded with questions over what one has no business with.”

David Mark suggested a simple solution thus; “I suggest that schools of mass communication and journalism should review their curricula to include the operations of social media.”

  

He candidly condemned media corruption and canvassed global best practices.

As a journalist who has actively practiced for about two decades, I know that the fear expressed therein by the Senate President is germane and factual and it behooves on media workers to clean up our acts and resolve to be ethically correct in our journalism activities.

I will be among the persons that would stoutly oppose any subtle moves through legislative process to muzzle or scuttle press freedom and we are prepared to go out on the streets to protest vehemently.

 I think trained media professionals are also as concerned as any right thinking person that there is absolute need for ethics to be observed in the use of the new or social media.

The problem is that new or social media has made it possible for untrained minds to become major actors in the dissemination of information and the inherent danger in this is that the basic ethical codes of conduct that ought to operate as checks and balances have been thrown to the dogs so to say.

Do we sit back and allow these charlatans to destroy our hard earned profession as media workers? Your reply is as good as mine if you truly love journalism.

Media scholars have canvassed respect and observance of the professional ethics of total avoidance of plagiarism; total disclosure of sources of information and the total avoidance of allowing bribery and gratification to influence what is posted online. Honesty is also an important aspect of the ethical code.

In the United States and United Kingdom, people who use the social media to libel some persons have recently faced the wrath of the law because the federal Bureau of Investigation and the Policing institutions are so sophisticated and competent to tackle these emerging challenges.

Nigeria is not an exception because as a nation governed by law, those who practice the new online journalism or those who use social media must be aware that there are laws against libel and defamation which can b e used to check their excesses.

The question remains whether our grossly incompetent police would be able to enforce the extant laws without breaching the time tested freedoms and media rights of these practitioners?

*          Emmanuel Onwubiko, Head, HUMAN Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, blogs at www.huriwa.blogspot.com.              

6/8/2012