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13 Sep

Social inclusion (Sine qua non for peaceful co-existence beyond 2023) -Debo Adeniran

CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP FOR CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS & MEDIA EXECUTIVES.

30TH AUGUST, 2022

 

TOPIC: Social inclusion:

 

Sine qua non for peaceful co-existence beyond 2023. – Debo Adeniran

 

Table of contents

  • What is Social Inclusion and Exclusion?
  • Who are those Socially Excluded?
  • Consequences of Social Exclusion
  • Benefits of Social inclusion
  • How to Advocate for Social Inclusion
  • The role of CSOs and the MEDIA

 

What is Social Inclusion And Exclusion?

  • Social inclusion refers to a process by which efforts are made to ensure equal opportunities for all, regardless of their background, in order to enable full and active participation in all aspects of life, including civic, social, economic, and political activities, as well as participation in decision-making processes.
  • Social inclusion can be approached as a goal, an objective, and a process. Its process affects almost all societal activities, and should therefore be approached from various dimensions

 

  • Social exclusion is understood as the condition (barriers and process) that impede social inclusion.
  • Social exclusion is a process through which individuals or groups are wholly or partially excluded from fully participating in all aspects of life of the society, in which they live, on the grounds of their social identities, such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture or language, and/or physical, economic, social disadvantages.

 

  • Social exclusion may mean the lack of voice, lack of recognition, or lack of capacity for active participation. It may also mean exclusion from decent work, assets, land, opportunities, access to social services and/or political representation.
  • It may be described as a direct opposite of social inclusion.

 

Who are those Socially Excluded?

  • There is a substantial variation from country to country regarding which groups are subject to exclusion. In Nigeria:
  • Women and girls,
  • People living in rural communities,
  • Persons with disabilities,
  • Youth
  • Older persons
  • Ethnic and religious minorities;
  • Migrants and internally displaced people;
  • Sexual minorities,
  • People without official identification are particularly vulnerable to being excluded.

 

Consequences of Social Exclusion

  • Social exclusion robs individuals of dignity, security, and the opportunity to lead a better life.
  • It leads to agitations from the concerned group
  • Feelings of political distrust
  • It is an albatross to sustainable inclusive growth and popular political participation.

 

Benefits of Social inclusion

  • Every individual and member of society gains from a more inclusive society
  • It encourages and promotes individual development and supports empowerment.
  • Inclusive participation is quintessentially a bottom-up process where action is undertaken by ordinary people.
  • It enhances the quality, credibility and most importantly, ownership of the decisions taken.
  • Every one have a sense of belonging
  • It engenders social cohesion and reduces social vices and crimes.
  • That is why the principle of inclusive society or “society for all” is not an abstract notion but a very practical policy goal

 

The Role of CSOs and the MEDIA  in Engendering Social Inclusion

  • Become a voice for social inclusion in your own space
  • Ask political candidates for their stance on issues bothering on social inclusion since democracy is dependent on the participation and representation of all citizens in democratic institutions and processes.
  • Collaborate and form coalitions to advocate for social inclusion.

 

 

THANK YOU

 

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noimage 12 Sep

MEDIA TRAINING PRESENTATION by Adewale Adeoye, Executive Director, Journalists for Democratic Rights, (JODER)

Paper Presented by Adewale Adeoye, Executive Director, Journalists for Democratic Rights, (JODER) on 2023: Electioneering Activities: Setting the Agenda for Political Actors Through Reportage and Conversation at the workshop organized by CACOL with the theme : Election and the Troubled Democracy: The Role of the Media and CSO held in Lagos on Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

I think this is a timely workshop that fits into the current socio-political milieu. The media has a traditional role that includes to:

·        Inform

·        Educate

·        Entertain

·        If a may add: To Set Agenda for Local, National and Global Sustainable Development Goals

The above responsibilities should be discharged to the public guided by objectivity, truth and transparency in the promotion of the greatest good of the greatest number.

Historical Perspective:

 

The media has been part of Nigeria’s remarkable history, the country’s ups and downs, the country’s walk on valleys and in the mountains, through thick and thin.

 

Our society has a long history of media intervention which predated the 1914 amalgamation of Nigerian various ethnic groups.

 

I affirm that the media has performed creditably since December, 1859 when the first Newspaper, Iwe Irohin was printed in Abeokuta, now the capital of Ogun State, Nigeria. Long before Iwe Irohin, our ancestral communities employed traditional media to communicate and pass information to the people through the organs of traditional government and a vendor who broadcasted information in the night and day, in the market square or from home to home on the administration of the commonwealth.

From 1914, the media took a dramatic character with the publication of Iwe Irohin in 1859. Let me add that Nigeria has one of the most robust media traditions spanning close to two centuries.

The media played a leading role in the anti-colonialism campaign. After 1859, the Nigerian media mushroomed with speed of light. The focal point was a vigorous campaign against injustice, slavery and colonialism.

 

From 1880, since the outbreak of the Second World war, over 50 newspapers were published in Nigeria. Some of the newspapers were the Lagos Times, 1880,Lagos Observer, 1882, Eagle and Critic,1883, Lagos Weekly Record, 1891, Lagos Standard, 1894, Nigerian Daily Times, 1921. Indigenous newspapers were not left out. Some of the newspapers published in indigenous language were -Eko Akete, 1922, Eleti Ofe, 1923, Irohin Osose, 1925. and West African Pilot ( 1937). The publications were not restricted to the West of Nigeria  In the North, in 1939, the first Hausa Newspaper, Gaskiya Tafi Kwabo, based in Zaria, began publication. Even though the earliest journalists mostly had secondary education but they had deep knowledge about the challenges of their people. The sacrifices they made were enormous.

 

For instance, in 1909, there was Lagos Astrological Review published by Adeoye Deniga. He wrote his newspapers with his hand. It is important to mention that the newspaper industry flourished in the era of colonialism with chains of newspapers owned by private individuals. From 1940, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe controlled the largest chain of newspapers in Nigeria. He owned the following newspapers: Nigeria Eastern Nigerian Guardian (PH), Nigerian Spokesman (Onitsha), 1943; Southern Nigeria Defender, (Warri, 1943); Daily Comet (Lagos/Kano), 1944; Eastern Sentinel, (Enugu, 1955), Nigerian Monitor, (Uyo, 1960). He was for 16 years the Managing Director of Zik group of newspapers (Fred Omu-Journalism in Nigeria: Issues and Perspectives-Published by Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ-Lagos Council-1996)

 

It should be observed that many of Nigeria’s most outstanding anti-colonial leaders were media practitioners like Nnamdi Azikiwe, who established the West African Pilot, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who established Nigerian Tribune in 1948, Chief Anthony Enahoro who was Editor of Daily Times and reputed to have moved the motion for Nigerian independence, Ernest Ikoli, Herbert Macaulay and many others. This shows remarkable contributions of media practitioners to the emergence of the modern Nigerian state.

 

The growth in print media was trailed by broadcast media with the establishment of the Western Nigeria Television Station in December 1959, the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.  After WNTV, the South West region set up the Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service, (WNBS). The following year, the Eastern Regional Government established Eastern Nigeria Television in 1960. In 1962, the Nigerian Federal Authority established the Nigerian Television Service (NTS) which became the predecessor of the Nigerian Television Authority, (NTA)

 

Next was Wire Service. The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) was set by the Military Government in 1976 by Decree No 19 of 1976. The focus of NAN was purely information and news. Within a very short time, it became the largest wire service in West Africa and one of the largest in Africa. It grew to establish networks in all the major regions of the world including Asia, Europe and America providing first hand information about socio-political and economic developments in Nigeria to the world. NAN also played a major role in providing the platform for the advancement of Nigeria’s foreign policy which made Africa its centre piece as at that period. In 1992, NAN was empowered through Decree No 87 to engage in commercial activities and also to ‘Promote national unity and stability.’ The introduction of profit into its content was to ensure NAN was self independent as a long term strategy yet, the decline of NAN inability to balance commerce with public service remains a dark spot.

 

It should be noted that the National Broadcasting Commission, (NBC) was established in 1992 by Decree No 38 of 1992. The Decree empowered the Commission among others to advice FG on the implementation of the National Mass Communication Policy.

Today,   with some 33,071 television stations in the world backed with 193million hours broadcast, Nigeria has about 120 TV stations with some 96 networks belonging to the NTA. There are some 50 newspapers across the country and a countless chain of online media. There are some 625 broadcast stations in Nigeria. Only recently, President Buhari gave licenses to 159 new Radio stations.

 

Today, the print and electronic media have become the most dominant sources of information that influence the actions and inactions of Nigerians and also shape the past, present and future of the country. In Nigeria, about 40 percent of the people have access to TV in their homes while over 150million Nigerians have access to radio either through their phones, their radio sets or in their car. The radio is the most influential means of communication in Nigeria.

 

The Role of the Media is Democracy and Good Governance.

Governing a country is largely dependent on conception, distribution and interpretation of information by the people. Information dissemination shapes the form of stability, instability and sustainable development.

 

For more than a century, the Nigerian media has shaped the future of the country. The impact has been more positive than negative. The media has continued to set socio-political agenda for the country. The media on many occasions have come under vicious attacks from the state. During the era of military dictatorship, the media was a target. The media did not flinch. The media was one of the few bastions against tyranny and human rights abuses at a very great cost.  In the years that succeeded independence, the media took up the battle against the military which ran and ruined Nigeria between 1966 and 1999 with a democratic interlude between 1979 and 1983. In the 13 years of Gen Ibrahim Babangida’s tyranny, the media were shut down on many occasions, offices ransacked and journalists either were killed or disappeared.

 

The media will therefore continue to stand up to the face of repression, corruption and ineptitude that characterize governance in Nigeria.

 

The character of the Nigerian Media

The next 100 years after 1859, there was no single media owned by the government either print or electronic until the establishment of the WNBS in December 1959 by the Western Nigerian Government.

However, the first radio station in Nigeria was established in Ibadan in 1932 through Radio Diffusion System using wire linked with microphone. Kano followed in 1944. The first private radio station, Raypower was established in 1994 while the first privately registered Television station, Galazy TV, was established in May 1994.

 

The post colonial government also did not establish any flourishing print media until the forceful takeover of Daily Times and later New Nigerian Newspapers by the Military Government. While the Nigerian print media has been driven by private ownership, it is not the case for the broadcast media, until recently. There was no single privately owned TV Station in Nigeria until 1994 and there was no privately owned radio station in Nigeria until 1994.

 

Objectivity, Truth and The Nigerian Media

While journalism has made tremendous contributions to socio-economic and political history of Nigeria, there are challenges that we need to overcome. First, we must realize that the Journalist is a social animal, a human being and an ethnic subject. S(he) is from a particular location in time and space. S(he) naturally  own biases, emotion, feeling, aspiration that reflect culture, faith values and civilization. The temptation of substituting individual consciousness for that of the community is always there. There in the temptation to be subjective.

 

However, the profession of Journalism is to report phenomena without prejudice either personal or collective. The journalist is not working for himself but for the community. Today in Nigeria, one of the major challenges of sustainable development is the drift of journalism from objectivity to subjectivity. In the past one decade, journalism has suffered unprofessional viral infections and ailments that undermine the essence of the profession itself as the fourth Estate of the Realm. There are a number of factors responsible for this which I may not be able to exhaust in this presentation. I wish to state here some of the challenges that threaten the historical and professional obligations of the Nigerian media:

 

Reporting DIVERSITY in Nigeria

With over 180miliion Nigerians, majority of who are poor and vulnerable, the media need to design an interventionist framework that allows voices from the valleys to be heard. Some of the diversity issues relate to women, the physically challenged, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, women and children. Increasingly the media space is being dominated by the highbrow political class, the media space is being manipulated by the rich, by the ethnic majority, by religious majority and by the physically able and by men.

 

The media should realise that there are political minorities whose views needed to be heard to enrich the political discourse. In recent events, the media has focused strongly on its own understanding of the ‘big issues’ mainly  reflecting the opinion of influential politicians, high level personalities as if the whole world is all about them. Issues that affect the physically challenged, women, children and the impact of Government policies on vulnerable groups are largely submerged, reported as footnotes, not reported or viewed with contempt.  I provide here a checklist of diversity issues that the media should necessarily address.

 

ETHNICITY

How do we report ethnic issues without reflecting our personal biases? Issues of ethnicity should be reported within the framework of global standards that reflect conventions and treaties of which Nigeria is a signatory, in the absence of national and local laws that strengthen self determination.  For instance, the coverage of self determination activities including those who adopt peaceful means have been largely reported within the context of violence and banditry forgetting about global obligation of Nigeria to the universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ILO convention 169, the convention on biodiversity and the African charter on peoples’ right.

The media portray the issues as ‘banditry, unknown gunmen, hoodlums’ which undermined the very serious issues of self determination, exclusion, weak legal framework, absence of the rule of law, poverty and the growing resistance against over centralisation of power and politics in Nigeria. The media sometimes substitute ethnic consciousness with tribalism, supplants the right to self determination with official statements that emphanise ‘threat to Nigerian unity’ without understanding the importance of justice.

Official statements are sometimes reported without a critical appraised within the purview of human rights and available data. For example, self-determination is protected in the United Nations Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights all of which recognize the right of “all peoples” as contained in  Article 1 of the UN Charter states ‘the right of self determination clearly while in Chapter 1 it also recognizes the integrity of the state. (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). We cannot discourse or report conflict and violence in Nigeria without a clear understanding of the history of our country, its emergence in 1914 and the various constitutional conferences, the post-colonial administrators who have failed to include the people in determining the nature and form of their constitution which is partly responsible for the crisis we have at hand today.

 

INDIGENIOUS ISSUES AND ENVIRONMENT

This is one of the major issues in Nigeria that demands the correct perspective of the media. Communities across Nigeria are showing deep resentment about the encroachment on their land, the threat to their language, their ancestral values and their heritage. This remains a source of conflict across Nigeria. The media has the historic responsibility to put in proper prospective the position of the indigenous communities and their ingrained fear.

 

The environmental is linked to the survival of the people which is connected to the prospect of peace or instability in Nigeria. Environment has to do with land, resources and spirituality.

 

The UN stated in the book Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity thus: ‘Spirituality it the highest form of consciousness, and spiritual consciousness is the highest form of awareness. In this sense, a dimension of traditional knowledge is not local knowledge, but knowledge of the universal as expressed in the local. In indigenous and local cultures, experts exist who are peculiarly aware of nature’s organising principles, sometimes described as entities, spirits or natural law. Thus knowledge of the environment depends not only on the relationship between humans and nature, but also between the visible world and the invincible spirit world. ‘Cultural and Spiritual Values of Biodiversity- A complementary Contribution to the Global Biodiversity Assessment-United Nations Environment Programme, (UNEP-By Darell Addison Posey-pg 4, 1999)

 

When reporting the environment and the economy, the media space should not be dominated by corporate institutions, multi-nationals and big time investors and their profit. Equally important are in what ways do their activities negate the livelihood of the indigenous communities, their land, their forest dependency, their spirituality and their language? How does the multi-billion dollar Federal Capital City (FCT) impact on local communities, the indigenous owners of the land? While the media report corporate activities on sustainable bases, the pains of local communities where corporate institutions make their money on a seasonal basis are undermined except when the communities have cultural festivals. Issues of environment should take into cognisance the international framework like the The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) which “is the international legal instrument for the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources” that has been ratified by 196 nations including Nigeria. Recently, the Indigenous Inhabitants of Abuja came out to speak on their agony. Their land was taken away in 1976 with stipend paid as compensation. Today, they are threatening brimstone. We owe Nigerians the obligation to report their travails in historic context with the right perspectives.

 

WOMEN AND YOUTHS

We cannot deny the improvement associated with the rights of Nigerian women in the past decades, but there are many rivers to cross. On paper, Nigeria  lay claim to being committed to women empowerment and there are laws that advance the course of women. But generally, the Nigeria woman remains constantly disempowered. For instance, women are employed as entertainers, cooks, dancers in political rallies. Their participation is used for photo opportunism, while political actors rarely present their actionable programmes on women rights. Politicians conceive of empowerment as giving out crumbs to women, providing cosmetic assistance that does not establish any sustainable and institutionalised policies.

 

The media should be the voice for women and youth empowerment. It should be the leading campaigner for greater inclusion of younger people who are today largely attracted to drugs, alcoholism and have provided a potential pool for constant recruitment by extremist groups. There are reports that some 84% of the newly registered 10.4m voters are young people, between the age of 18-30.

 

As the 2023 general election approaches, younger people have demonstrated their strength. Last year September, young people (18 and 34) recorded 71.33 percent registration out of which 40.63n percent were students. At the end of the last registration exercise, 8,784,677 young people newly registered out of the 12,298,944. Students were 4,501,595 out of the figure. This is an indication that reporting the place of youths in the democratic process is an obligation of the media.

 

Journalism and professional obligations

The journalist either conservative or progressive should discharge duties professionally. This means the journalists must never substitute personal consciousness for the consciousness of the people. The media should understand issues from their historic contexts. You cannot be a good journalist without understanding the history of your country’s political economy and the main actors. You cannot be a good journalist without a good and deep sense of history. You are not a good journalist if the people you are expected to educate are ahead, at all times and more knowledgeable than you are.

 

It means to educate, inform and entertain, the journalist requires constant reading, not just consuming internet information but the journalist must keep the mind open to history, to local and  global information, to the changing dynamics of socio-political economy so that the media actor will be able to properly educate, inform and entertain the people.

 

THREAT TO MEDIA INDEPENDENCE

Political and economy influence. The media ownership in Nigeria is skewed in favour of the rich, those who control the means of production and distribution, who are anxious and even desperate to protect personal interests and provide iron cast class-shield for themselves and their contemporaries. The media is constantly confronted with the desire to balance public interests with corporate and socio-economic and political interests of the ruling class.

 

Increasingly, in Nigeria, politicians, some of who are corrupt are taking over the media space not just as owners but also as managers  The Nigerian state has constantly provided the environment for the domination of media ownership by the affluence glaringly expressed in the form of the high cost of obtaining licenses for either radio or television. The political elite whose actions are expected to be challenged by the media are themselves investing in the media industry.

 

Public Media Institutions as Political instruments

There is also a major challenge in the way publicly owned media are administered. Even though State TV and Radio stations are owned by the public, financed from public funds, they are administered as if they are the private organs of the State Governors and State Officials. The same applies to media institutions owned by the Federal Government. State owned media at the Federal and Local levels fail to provide equitable access to vulnerable communities and the opposition political parties at the state and Federal levels.

 

Economic Meltdown

The media also faces sustained threats from economic depression which affects many publishers. Today, only very few media institutions pay sustainable wages while majority of them owe their workers. The consequences are high inter-labour mobility, brain drain, lack of access to working tools, low morale and diminishing interests of young graduates in journalism as a profession.  

 

The State, Terrorism and Free Speech

The media also faces increasing threats from intolerant regimes at the local and national levels which come in the form of arbitrary arrests, detention and even threats to life. The recent case is that of Mr Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters who has been grounded in Nigeria by the Nigerian state since his arbitrary arrest in 2019. These are also tricks devised to subdue free speech.

Apart from state sponsored attacks, the media is facing threats from mushrooming armed gangs, terrorists and bandits who recently have made the media their targets. With a state that cannot even protect her own top officials, how can such a state protect ordinary citizens?

 

Summary of What Agenda the Media Should set?

·        The responsibility of the media is to set agenda for peace and stability, sustainable development and livelihood based on truth, the rule of law and objectivity.

·        Set agenda for content and form of governance which includes but not limited to Environmental, economic, political and cultural issues.

·        The media should set agenda for reporting diversity, ethnic minorities, the national question, terrorism in historic context without overlooking the class variables. The media should not only deepen the debate but also enrich it.

·        The media should set agenda for the drastic reduction of corruption, electoral violence, work for ethnic conflict prevention and peace building.

·        The media should set agenda for the physically unable and the challenges they face in assessing polling booths, politics, power and the dividends of democracy.

·        Women and Gender issues

·        Youth political and economic empowerment while challenging under-aged voting, exclusion and ensure electoral accountability.

·        The administration of public media institutions to reflect the content and form of ownership.

·        Corruption in the electoral process. This is a major challenge for the media.

·        The Media should constructively engage the political aspirants not for the purpose of advertising their programmes but for the purpose of engaging them on their policies.

 

What is to be done?

·        In countering the offensive from repressive institutions and violent non state actors,  the media needs a very strong vision not only for collective action but for joint campaign for freedom, justice and media right.

·        The pro-media rights groups, the Nigerian Union of Journalists, (NUJ) need to strengthen their capacity, network with traditional allies like the Nigerian Labour Congress, (NLC) for collective democratic bargaining.

·        Training of journalists should be the kernel focus of all media institutions. Veterans should be engaged to share experiences with the younger generation of media practitioners.

·        Civil society groups should invest in media ownership to stop the monopoly of the media stake-holding by the political class.

 

As Nigerian trudges on through exceptionally tough and delicate terrain, the media should rise to the occasion to confront corruption, mismanagement of public resources, moral decline and ineptitude in high and low places. We do this not just for the society but also to the sake of the very foundation laid by the fathers of journalism, free speech and democracy in Nigeria. Ultimately,  a media that condones the errors of those in power end up as victims of the vicious system they nurture and promote.

 

Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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12 Sep

2023 ELECTIONEERING ACTIVITIES: ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS, DEMANDING SMART DELIVERABLES

(Being a remark presented at the “a day capacity building workshop for civil society organizations and media executives” organized by the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) on Tuesday 30 August 2022 at Rights House, 43, Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Off Oba Akran, Ikeja, Lagos State)

Protocols

I am delighted to be here, representing my Principal, Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, the Executive Director of the Corporate Accountability and Public participation Africa (CAPPA)  at this occasion organized by the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) to build the capacity of civil society and the media in Lagos State towards achieving the goal of bolstering support for anti-corruption and social inclusion among critical groups and strengthening policies and programs for anti-corruption at the state level as the country prepares for elections in 2023.

No doubt, the 2023 general elections will be a defining moment for Nigeria. If done right, the elections can help consolidate Nigeria’s democracy and serve as a shiny example for the West African sub-region which faces the grim reality of a recrudescence of usurpation of power by the military and other anti-democratic forces [1]’[2],[3].

Hence, this kind of initiative undertaken by CACOL is essential to help build citizens’ civic awareness of their civic obligations and capacity to engage critical stakeholders to ensure not only the integrity of the elections but also to guarantee that the government that emerges from this exercise work for the public good.  Right from its birthplace in Ancient Athens, democracy has always been underpinned and undergirded by citizens’ participation. Therefore, the health of every democracy is directly proportional to the quality of citizens’ participation and awareness. This is why I am particularly elated by the topic of my presentation which talks about “asking the right questions” and “demanding SMART deliverables”.

Nigeria’s democracy is marked by a gross deficit of governance[4],[5] Over the years, the performance of elected public officials has been seen to be below not citizens’ expectations. Also, campaign promises are rarely fulfilled once politicians are in power. This situation has led to widespread dissatisfaction and distrust in the political system. A study undertaken by the Pew Research Centre in 2019 found that “Only 39% of Nigerians are satisfied with the way democracy is working in their country, while 60% say they are not satisfied. Almost six-in-ten (59%) say the statement “elected officials care what ordinary people think” does not describe their country well. In addition, a 57% majority believes that no matter who wins an election, things do not change very much for people in Nigeria”[6]

Asking the right questions

A major factor responsible for unsatisfactory governance outcomes is the lack of productive engagement between the electorate and the political parties and their candidates. Instead of asking the right questions, many voters prefer to settle for inducement and other largesse politicians provide during campaigns. PVCs have now turned into means of earning free money during elections instead of a powerful tool for making transformative changes. Hence, voter inducement was widespread during the recent off-cycle gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun states[7],[8]. For the poorest of the poor in Nigeria, election day is an opportunity to earn enough to cook a pot of soup rather than a day to define the destiny of the nation. No doubt, this is a sad commentary on the state of democracy in Nigeria.

However, while poverty may explain electorates’ predisposition to inducement, several studies show that many citizens also lack the requisite knowledge to engage political actors. For citizens to ask the right questions, they need to be informed, organized, and active. They also must be equipped with the requisite knowledge “to make decisions about policy choices and the proper use of authority, along with skills to voice their concerns, act collectively and hold public officials accountable”[9].

For the purpose of this engagement, I have identified six (6) broad categories of questions citizens must always ask candidates and elected public officials. These are:

(1)   What is to be done? What are the issues?

 

(2)   How will it be done? i.e., budgeting process, mode of implementation (Public, privatization, or PPP), contract system, or public works? (Lekki Epe Tollgate)

 

(3)   Who will pay for it? i.e., will it lead to increased taxation? (E.g. Tollgates for New Roads)

 

(4)   Who will it serve or benefit? i.e., the rich, the poor, etc. (for instance, ultra-modern markets and housing estates which are often built at the expense of the poor and to which they have no access)

 

(5)   How will it extend to the next generation i.e., sustainability, does it come with usurious debt that will affect the next generation? Is it environmental-friendly?

 

(6)   How will women, youth, and other vulnerable segments of society be affected?

Obviously, the above six (6) categories do not exhaust the subject, nevertheless, they can provide an important framework for citizens to engage candidates and elected officials in order to make informed electoral choices.

SMART Deliverables

The acronym “SMART” stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. It refers to specific criteria to guide in the setting of goals and objectives for better results. The term “SMART” was first proposed by George T. Doran in the November 1981 issue of Management Review[10]. Particularly in the field of project management, the idea is that every project goal must adhere to the SMART criteria to be effective[11]. Therefore, when planning a project’s objectives, each one should be:

(1)   Specific: The goal should target a specific area of improvement or answer a specific need

(2)   Measurable: The goal must be quantifiable, or at least allow for measurable progress

(3)   Attainable: The goal should be realistic, based on available resources and existing constraints

(4)   Relevant: The goal should align with other business objectives to be considered worthwhile

(5)   Time-bound: The goal must have a deadline or defined end

What are SMART goals?

(1)   Specific

The goal should target a specific area of improvement or answer a specific need. Because it is the first step in the SMART goal process, it is important to be as clear as possible. For example, note the difference between “I will make lunch” and “I will use wheat toast, peanut butter, and strawberry jam to create a tasty sandwich for myself to eat”. See how specific it is? This example also illustrates the importance of word choice. Not only are you noting which ingredients or tools will be used to achieve the final goal, but you are also articulating who benefits. Details like these color your goal description, making it easier for collaborators to visualize and align intentions with your project.

(2)   Measurable

The goal must be quantifiable, or at least allow for measurable progress. In this step, you’ll choose what your progress markers or project KPIs are and how you’ll measure them. This might mean adopting the right tools or restructuring your KPI’s to something that you can easily monitor. You’ll also need to define who is in charge of measuring your progress, when these measurements will take place, and where the information will be shared.

(3)   Attainable

The goal should be realistic and based on available resources and existing constraints. Typical project constraints include team bandwidth, budgets, and timelines. Project managers should look to data from similar past projects for insight into what’s achievable this time around.

(4)   Relevant

The goal should align with other business objectives to be considered worthwhile. You can also break your project goal down into smaller, equally relevant goals that will keep the whole team focused. Be diligent about eliminating irrelevant goals and subgoals to save significant time.

(5)   Time-bound

The goal must have a deadline or a defined end. This can be measured in hours and minutes, business days, or years depending on the project scope. To set your project timelines, get feedback from major stakeholders about their deadline expectations, and compare it to team members’ inputs.

How does it relate to citizen engagement of political actors?

The SMART criteria provide a framework for engaging political actors whether they are candidates or elected public officials. Oftentimes, politicians make outlandish pronouncements and promise that they do not intend to implement. Sometimes, a newly elected public official announces they are unable to fulfill campaign promises because of the state of finance of the government they have just been elected to lead. By using the SMART criteria, citizens and electorates can be armed with a tool for productive engagement and for making informed political choices, and demanding accountability.

Therefore, SMART deliverables can be defined as a set of government priorities and projects that meets the criteria of specificity, measurability, and attainability and that are relevant and time bound. For example, in the area of public education, citizens must demand government projects or programmes that are:

(1)   Specific: How many school buildings will be renovated or built anew and how many students are targeted to be enrolled? How many new teachers need to be recruited?

(2)   Measurable: How will the project be implemented, how much will it cost and what are the Key Performance Indicators?

(3)   Attainability: What is the status of the resources of the state? How will the project be funded?

(4)   Relevance: What are the present level of school enrollment and the condition of school infrastructures and how does this project align with the overall objective of the state.

(5)   Time-Bound: How long will this project last? Is it within the financial year or within the four-year tenure?

 

 

Conclusion

I do hope that I have within the limited time available been able to increase our awareness and knowledge of the tool and skills to engage and promote active citizen participation in the political process. Obviously, these discussions and engagements are so crucial and therefore ought to continue beyond the 2023 general elections. Once again, I thank CACOL for inviting me and hope for greater collaboration between CAPPA and CACOL in the effort to promote anti-corruption, social inclusion, and accountability in governance and political processes.

Thank you

 

Zikora Ibeh

Policy and Research Lead

Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa

 

 

 

 

[1] https://theconversation.com/why-west-africa-has-had-so-many-coups-and-how-to-prevent-more-176577

[2] https://guardian.ng/news/four-coups-in-west-africa-leave-doubts-over-return-to-democracy/

[3] https://fragilestatesindex.org/2022/07/08/breaking-the-cycle-military-coups-in-west-africa/

[4] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2158244019865810

[5]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269751287_Democratic_Deficit_and_Political_Economy_of_Critical_Citizenry_Nigeria_in_Perspective

[6] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/12/as-elections-near-nigerians-view-their-countrys-economy-and-political-system-negatively/

[7] https://dailypost.ng/2022/07/15/osun-2022-a-scramble-road-through-vote-trading/

[8] https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/06/26/vote-buying-and-credibility-of-ekiti-governorship-election/

[9] https://www.ndi.org/what-we-do/citizen-participation

[10] Doran, G. T. (1981). “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives”. Management Review. 70 (11): 35–36)

[11] https://www.wrike.com/project-management-guide/faq/what-is-smart-in-project-management/

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2 Aug

CACOL LAUDS ICPC OVER PLAN TO PROBE COVID-19 INTERVENTION FUNDS

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has hailed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for its planned investigation of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies for infractions on COVID-19 intervention funds and other procurement abuses.

 

In a release issued by CACOL and signed by Tola Oresanwo, the anti-corruption organization’s Director, Administration and Programmes on behalf of its Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, he stated, “It would be recalled that the ICPC Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN), disclosed this at the 2022 African Union Anti-Corruption Day in Abuja. The 2022 African Union Anti-Corruption Day has as theme “Strategies and Mechanisms for the Transparent Management of COVID-19 Funds”. The ICPC boss stated in his remarks that the commission had observed discrepancies and infractions in the procurement and payments made by some ministries and agencies after the release and appropriate disbursement of COVID-19 funds.”

 

The commission, he added, also observed that in some instances the distribution of relief materials or palliatives was chaotic, disorderly and uncoordinated. He also said, “Some implicated MDAs refused the monitoring team access to their records thereby impeding the successful inquiry into their activities. These MDAs are flagged and will be investigated for breaches and infractions of the law and COVID-19 intervention funds guidelines and other procurement abuses. Reports, according to the ICPC chairman, also showed selective distribution, favouritism, nepotism and other biases in the allocation and distribution of relief material or palliatives as well as the high jacking of palliatives by political actors, their proxies, cronies, and affiliates.

 

“During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, CACOL had earlier called on relevant anti-graft agencies to probe the intervention funds disbursed to various government agencies and MDAs. We all know that Nigeria was among the first set of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to identify COVID-19 (coronavirus) cases and implemented strict measures to contain the spread of the virus. The Government’s policy measures such as travel restrictions, lockdowns, and restrictions on economic and social activities, aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, negatively affected the livelihoods and food security of most Nigerians especially those occupying the lower and middle-class strata.”

 

The anti-graft czar added, “Alleviating the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis is vital for preventing poverty from deepening and increasing in Nigeria; before the crisis, approximately 4 in 10 Nigerians were living below the poverty line, and millions more were living just above the poverty line, making them vulnerable to falling back into poverty when shocks occur. Hence, it was so strange to notice the abysmal strategies adopted by these agencies of government in the distribution of palliatives and spending of the intervention fund that was meant to cushion the negative effects of the pandemic on Nigerians. We cannot forget in a hurry the rate of hoarding and diversion of palliatives that later led to the raids by famished and already impoverished people in different parts of the country of facilities or locations warehousing palliatives. Some of such also created widespread violence.”

 

“We at CACOL are happy that the ICPC is beaming its searchlight on these erring agencies now, though it is coming a bit late but it is better late than never.  We hope the anti-graft agency would carry out a thorough investigation of the agencies concerned and if found wanting, the officials involved should be made to face the full wrath of the law.”

 

 

 

Tola Oresanwo

Director, Administration and Programmes, CACOL

cacolc@yahoo.com

08141121208

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noimage 1 Aug

EX-CJN RESIGNATION OVER ILL HEALTH: CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS LEVELED AGAINST HIM MUST BE THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED – CACOL

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has reacted to the recent resignation of Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad over ill health.

In a release issued by CACOL’s Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo, on behalf of the Centre’s Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, he noted, “The recent report about the resignation of the 17th Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad is very laudable. First and foremost, we would like to commend the courage of the outgone Chief Justice of Nigeria for taking a bold step that is not too common in this part of the world. Although he resigned due to ill health, we hope other public office holders will take a cue from this action of the Ex CJN by quitting at the right time, especially when they have been alleged to commit some official infractions or what is popularly referred to as gross misconduct”.

It should be recalled that, Muhammad’s resignation followed quickly on the heels of the allegations of mismanagement of funds leveled against him by 14 justices of the Supreme Court. It was reported that the justices of the apex court, in a joint petition, accused the Ex CJN of poor welfare, among other ill-treatment being meted out to them. In the leaked petition, the 14 justices accused the CJN of abandoning his responsibilities and diverting funds meant for the running of the Supreme Court. This is an unprecedented development in Nigeria’s judicial history and it will go down in history as one of the highlights of the tenure of the outgone CJN. But the man in the eye of the storm Justice Muhammad in a statement by his aide, titled, ‘Re: State Of Affairs In The Supreme Court And Demand By Justices Of The Supreme Court’, denied the allegations.

“We at CACOL would like to state expressly that all the allegations leveled against the outgone CJN should be thoroughly investigated by the Nigerian Judicial Council (NJC), the Code of Conduct Tribunal and the various anti-corruption agencies in the country, swift prosecution should as well follow and he should be punished if found guilty of any of the allegations so as to deter others”.

The CACOL Boss added, “We would also like to congratulate Justice Olukayode Ariwoola on his appointment as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria. We urge him to live above board and write his name in gold by carrying out extensive reforms in the judiciary that will facilitate speedy dispensation of justice like we have in other climes while carrying along other supreme court Justices”.

Tola Oresanwo

Director, Administration and Programmes, CACOL

08141121208

cacolc@yahoo.com,cacol@thehumanitycentre.com

For more press releases and statements, please visit our website at

www.corruptionwatchng.com, www.cwatch.thehumanitycentre.com

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noimage 1 Aug

CACOL ON ICPC’s RAID OF ABUJA PROPERTY BELONGING TO MILITARY CONTRACTOR

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has reacted to the recent raid of an Abuja property belonging to a military contractor for alleged money laundering by officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

In a release issued by CACOL’s Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo, on behalf of the Centre’s Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, he noted, “The recent report about the raid on an Abuja property, is one that is bound to generate a measure of public comments and interests, due primarily to the kind of society we have inadvertently turned Nigeria into overtime and because it is coming at a time like this when the game of politics is being played all over the country.

However, crime has no other name, especially when it bothers on financial impropriety which we all agree is single handedly responsible for the downward socioeconomic situation of things we are facing today, as a country. This is why we need to commend the sense of responsibility, promptness and due diligence with which the ICPC responded to this case.

Although the Commission has come out to say the investigation is still ongoing, facts available for the time being indicate that the property is owned by the owner of K Salam Construction Company, a military contractor. From the raid, the Commission recovered money and other items from the property namely: N175,706,500; $220,965; G-Wagon; 2022 editions of BMW and Mercedes Benz cars; customized mobile phones; several designer wrist watches, including three Rolexes, and some property documents. Operatives of the Commission also arrested the Managing Director of K Salam Construction Company Nigeria Limited, Mr. Kabiru Sallau.

“We at CACOL would like to implore the anti-graft agency to intensify its investigation into the case involving this military contractor and come out to tell the Nigerian populace the gospel truth about it. We would like to know if truly the company is associated with anyone currently serving or who has served in government. It is a known fact that impunity and the ability to engage in crime without being punished are largely responsible for the current sorry state the nation has found itself. We believe that it is the moral duty of all Nigerians to be well informed and acquainted in cases such as this. We have always posited that the issue of corruption is too weighty to be swept under the carpet, irrespective of whose ox is gored”.

Tola Oresanwo

Director, Administration and Programmes, CACOL

cacolc@yahoo.com

08141121208

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1 Aug

OWO MASSACRE:  CACOL CONDEMNS ATTACK OF INNOCENT AND UNARMED CITIZENS

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has condemned the unprovoked attack and killing of innocent worshippers at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State on Sunday the 5th of June, 2022.

In a release signed by the organization’s Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo on behalf of the organization’s Chairman, Comrade Debo Adeniran he noted that “It would be recalled that some gunmen attacked worshippers of St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State on Sunday maiming and killing scores of them in the process.”

The attack of these innocent worshippers is senseless, barbaric, condemnable, unacceptable and uncalled for. It is another sad tale of the security situation in the country.  It is so unfortunate that the security situation in the country has degenerated to an abysmal low level making all efforts aimed at restoring the lost glory of the security situation to be counterproductive.

“We were particularly saddened by the report that the two Police Divisions in Owo town and Area Command have no official patrol van to get to the scene of the crime despite having almost 50 men standby at the ACPOL, Owo. This is very sad going by the annual budgetary allocation to Security year in year out.”

“We at CACOL would like to call on the government to find a lasting solution to the menace of insecurity in the country by having a proactive approach which will prevent further atrocities of this nature.  Since the security of lives and properties is the responsibility of the government, the government of the day should also look into the possibility of completely overhauling the security architecture of the country. We would also use this medium to call on the security agencies to use all legal means to bring the perpetrators of this dastardly act to book”.

We also express our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, the Catholic Church, the government and the people of Ondo State over the incident.

 

 

Tola Oresanwo

Director, Administration and Programmes, CACOL

08141121208

cacolc@yahoo.com

Attachments area

 

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noimage 1 Aug

$800m Ogoni Cleanup Funds: CACOL calls on HYPREP to give account

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has thrown its weight behind the calls for probe into the activities of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, implementing agency of the United Nations Environmental Programme, UNEP, recommended cleanup of oil polluted Ogoni land, Rivers State.

 

In a press release issued by the organization’s Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo on behalf of Mr. Debo Adeniran, CACOL’s Chairman, he noted, “It would be recalled that Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, MOSOP, recently called on the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, a federal government agency saddled with the task of cleaning up the polluted Ogoni environment to account for a whopping sum of $800million fund meant for the exercise.

 

President of MOSOP, Fegalo Nsuke made the call in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital on Thursday to mark the six years anniversary of the official flag-off of the Ogoni cleanup programme by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at Bodo on June 2, 2016, said there is little or nothing done so far. Nsuke was quoted as saying “Not much has been achieved but corruption, mismanagement and embezzlement. HYPREP has received over $800 million and additional N6 billion for water supplies. What we have seen is bribery and looting of the cleanup funds”.

 

The CACOL Boss hinted “The Ogoniland area of southern Nigeria is one of the most polluted places on Earth. The crops are burnt to a cinder, ash and tar smother the land and the wells are polluted with oil, making the water totally undrinkable. Entire communities have suffered as their way of life has been destroyed by the oil industry and pollution has become the norm in the Community”.

 

“The effect of pollution on the Nigerian delta has been great.  As a result of oil spills and industrial waste dumped into the Niger River Delta, fishing as a means of supplying food for the tribe is no longer an option because very few fish remain in the river. The groundwater is contaminated and is not safe for drinking. The most immediate threat to Ogoni people is oils spills, which have damaged their land dramatically. At least one hundred pumping stations and pipelines crisscross Ogoniland. The pipelines run over farm land and through villages; leaks and spills are a common occurrence. The UN says it will take 30 years of effort to clean up the mess. Amnesty International accuses the Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell of turning a blind eye to or even helping the military’s use of rape, torture and unlawful killings amid protests against pollution and poverty back in the 1990s”.

 

It was a huge relief when the federal Government decided to implement the United Nations Environmental Programme, UNEP, recommended cleanup of oil polluted Ogoni land by the establishment of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project HYPREP under the Federal Ministry of Environment to achieve the under listed functions in Ogoniland and other impacted communities:

 

  1. investigate, map and evaluate hydrocarbon polluted communities and sites in Nigeria referred to it by the National Oil Spill Detection Response Agency (NOSDRA) or the Federal Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and make recommendations to the Federal government.
  2. implement the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report on Environmental Restoration of Ogoniland (UNEP Report) as directed by the HYPREP Governing Council.
  3. Initiate, and develop work programmes aimed at restoring all hydrocarbon impacted communities and sites referred to HYPREP
  4. Undertake a comprehensive assessment and mapping of all environmental issues associated with hydrocarbon pollution, in collaboration with NOSDRA
  5. Provide guidance data to undertake remediation of contaminated soil and ground water in Ogoniland and such other impacted communities as may be referred to it
  6. Technically evaluate alternative technologies to be employed to undertake remediation of contaminated soil and ground water
  7. Make recommendations for responding to future environmental contamination from hydrocarbons
  8. Ensure full environmental recovery and restoration of Ogoni ecosystem services for Ogoni people and other impacted communities.

 

 

 

It is so unfortunate that till now the performance of HYPREP in Ogoniland is nothing to write home about. The agency has not lived up to expectations. The situation in the Community has not improved even with the huge financial resources committed to the agency.

 

The facts are not just embarrassing but criminally so. How could we have discovered crude oil in Olobiri since 1955, yet, we are left behind by other nations especially the Arabian countries that were blessed with the resources years after us? How can we be proud of our record as the sixth oil producing country in OPEC yet the people of the oil rich communities wallow in abject poverty and deprivation worsened by a very inhuman state of environmental degradation?

 

We at CACOL believe that it is a tragic narration on our nation, Nigeria that despite the huge resources allocated for projects, when it comes to execution of the project, it becomes a sad story. We want to call on the management of HYPREP to account for all the money collected so far and the positive impact they have made in Ogoniland, if any. As an Agency of government, they must respond to the yearnings of the people of Ogoniland and justify the huge resources they have collected.

 

 

 

 

Tola Oresanwo

Director, Administration and Programmes, CACOL

08141121208

 

cacolc@yahoo.com,

cacol@thehumanitycentre.com 

 

For more press releases and statements, please visit our website at

www.corruptionwatchng.com

 

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Meditating Mood 27 May

NYSC CERTIFICATE SCANDAL: CACOL CALLS FOR RESIGNATION AND IMMEDIATE PROSECUTION OF STELLA ODUAH

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has challenged the lawmaker representing Anambra-North senatorial district, Stella Oduah to resign if she cannot respond to the allegation of perjury leveled against her.
CACOL, in a statement signed by the group’s Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo on behalf of its Chairman, Debo Adeniran said, “It is no longer news that Stella Oduah did not complete the mandatory National Youth Service. In a letter by the Director-General of the NYSC which was signed on his behalf by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa, the agency said Oduah commenced her NYSC programme in 1982 but absconded. The letter was in response to an inquiry by a group known as the Concerned Anambra North PDP Stakeholders.

It was reported that in her CF001 forms submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission in 2019, Oduah claimed that she completed her NYSC but her certificate was missing along with other credentials. An affidavit she deposed to read in part, “Sometime in 2010 while in transit from Akili Ozizor in Ogbaru local government area to Abuja, I discovered that some of my personal belongings were missing. “The missing documents are the originals of my West African School Certificate of 1978 from Zixon Secondary School Ozubulu, First School Leaving Certificate from St. John Odoakpu Onitsha; Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Certificate 1982 from St. Paul’s College Lawrence Virginia USA; National Youth Service Corps certificate 1983, national identity card, United States of America Social Security card with numbers in it.”

If she absconded from service where on earth did she see the NYSC certificate she claimed and swore on oath that is missing? Did she print the certificate by herself? Did she lie on oath? This even to a layman is known as perjury.
The CACOL Head further stated that, “What should not be encouraged, under any guise, is a reign of impunity as the country steers towards consolidation of its democratic culture. This scandal in which Mrs Stella Oduah is currently enmeshed is another major, monumental and massive disgrace not only to the hallowed chamber of the Senate where she is currently representing her constituency but to the country at large.

“It is saddening to note that it’s fast becoming a norm for public office holders and representatives of the people to parade fake credentials and with brazen arrogance and confidence still go ahead to swear on oath with bogus credentials in their possession. Although, we know that a Federal High Court had already ruled that possessing an NYSC certificate was not a condition for holding public office but what happened in a situation whereby the person lied on oath”.
“We at CACOL hereby call on the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party, headed by Senator Iyorchia Ayu, to immediately disqualify Oduah who has been screened to contest in the primary from contesting”.

“We also want to implore our election monitoring body, INEC, to intensify the process of screening political aspirants before they are cleared to contest elections. A joint and collaborative effort of all the security agencies would have helped to nip a national embarrassment like this in the bud”.

“Our current situation as a nation demands that public officers and representatives of the people should be seen to be above board and not people who are inclined to crime. It is in this regard that we, therefore, call on the lawmaker representing Anambra-North senatorial district, Stella Oduah to resign with immediate effect and we are also calling on the anti-graft agencies to start her prosecution without further delay”.

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noimage 27 May

LIBERALIZATION OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA: CACOL BEMOANS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S STATE PARDON FOR CONVICTED EX-GOVERNORS

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has faulted the Council of States’ decision to grant state pardon to the former Governor of Plateau State, Senator Joshua Dariye and ex-Governor Jolly Nyame of Taraba State, who were both imprisoned for stealing public funds entrusted in their care to the tune of N1.16bn and N1.6bn respectively and other sundry offences bordering on corruption.

The recent announcement by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, that the Council of States has endorsed the granting of clemency, pardon and prerogative of mercy to 159 out of 162 applications presented to it for consideration among whom are the former governor of Taraba State, Jolly Nyame, and former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye, came as a surprise to us. We have always used these two convicted ex-Governors as a reference point for the seriousness of this administration’s war against corruption but since they have now been left off the hook, the whole anti-corruption stance of this administration has been messed up, botched and turned into a huge joke.

We are also conversant with the recent corruption cases that were determined by various courts of competent jurisdiction whose judgments we find amusing considering the humongous amount of money involved and the punishments imposed on these offenders. In some cases, part of the money they were accused of stealing was returned to them while some were handed minimum jail terms even with the option of fines.

We can mention the case of John Yakubu, a former Federal Director of Pensions, who was sentenced to six years imprisonment. Yakubu was imprisoned in 2018 by the Abuja Court of Appeal for defrauding the Federal Government of N22.9bn Police Pension Fund. Recently, The Supreme Court of Nigeria upheld the 2018 decision of the Court of Appeal which sentenced him and also ordered him to refund N22.9bn to the Federal Government. Going by the huge amount of money involved in this case we would have thought he would bag a longer jail term but he was lucky to bag just six years.

The case of Abdulrasheed Maina, a former chairperson of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), is another interesting one. The Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Maina, to eight years’ imprisonment for money laundering offences involving N2billion in pension funds. The judge, Okon Abang, jailed Mr Maina after convicting him and his company, Common Input Property and Investment Ltd, on all the 12 counts filed against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The judge sentenced Mr Maina to various jail terms ranging from three to eight years, which are to run concurrently. It implies that Mr Maina will spend the longest sentence which is eight years in jail. Justice Abang stressed that though the law made provision for a maximum sentence of 14 years, he said he was moved by Maina’s plea for mercy. This is another case of a criminal that deserves maximum sentencing but was lucky to bag eight years.

The case involving Andrew Yakubu, a former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is another one that must be mentioned. The Federal High Court in Abuja, recently discharged and acquitted Andrew Yakubu of fraud relating to $9.8 million seized from his home in 2017. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), acting on a tip-off in 2017, stormed Mr Yakubu’s residence at the Sabon Tasha area of Kaduna State and found $9,772, 800 and £74,000 in a safe.

The commission arraigned him before Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on March 16, 2017, on six counts of money laundering and other offences. The trial court struck out two of the counts. Dissatisfied with the refusal of the court to dismiss all the counts, Mr Yakubu had further appealed at the Court of Appeal. But the Court of Appeal, ruling on a no-case submission filed by the former NNPC boss, struck down the charges to counts 3 and 4, which border on money laundering offences.

The judge agreed with Mr Yakubu’s defence that the funds were received as gifts in aggregate form and not as a “whole” that could have offended the Money Laundering Prohibition Act of 2011. Mr Mohammed dismissed the EFCC’s argument that the funds were proceeds of crime because they did not go through a financial institution. As a result, the judge ordered the immediate refund of the confiscated sum of $9,772, 800 and £74, 000 to Mr Yakubu. Although, this case may have been lost by the EFCC due to lack of diligent prosecution, the trajectory of most of the high profile corruption cases shows that they are either lost at the courts, or the accused bagging minimum sentencing, lost due to technicalities or granted state pardon even after being found guilty and convicted.
All these are very sad developments for the anti-corruption war, our nation cannot make progress with situations like these. If indeed the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy saddled with the responsibility of visiting the country’s correctional facilities and making recommendations to the President on the exercise of his power of mercy and compassion, to either grant pardon to those that had been convicted, clemency, or some other form of concessions by way of reduction in sentence and term recommended these sets of corrupt politicians for state pardon, we would have expected the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption (PACAC) established in August 2015, with the mandate to promote the reform agenda of the government on the anti-corruption effort, and to advise the present administration in the prosecution of the war against corruption, to counter that move and advise the president against such move.

Prior to this, we were thinking that the sentencing of Cecilia Ibru, Lucky Igbinedion, Tafa Balogun and the rest of them were too little and a mere slap on the wrist, the present one is like a reward for committing corruption crime and a disincentive for the fight against corruption by civil society organizations who are using their hard earned personal money to struggle to expose corruption, report corruption and advocate for the prosecution of corrupt elements and after that is done, somebody somewhere will just recommend them for forgiveness and they would be told to “go and sin no more”. That means that others that are presently serving different jail terms should also be looking forward to state pardon. It is even better for the federal government to throw open the gates of the Correctional Centres because there is no point in detaining petty thieves while mega thieves are being left off the hook. Moreover, these are people that will go to the field, contest elections and win since they already have the wherewithal to buy their way through and once somebody is corrupt, he’s always corrupt and will want to corrupt anything and anybody s/he may come across. It is disservice to the socio-political development of the country. As CACOL, our main concern remains a total commitment and unrepentant avowal to find, name, nail, shame and shun corrupt leaders anywhere, everywhere! Merciless corruption criminals don’t deserve states’ mercy. Anyone who shows mercy to confirmed criminals is complicit in criminality. Whoever is good enough to commit crimes must be good enough to serve the term.

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