Issues
Human Rights Challenges In Nigeria
Fundamental human rights were first entrenched in the Constitution of independent Nigeria in 1960 as recommended by the Sir Henry Willink Commission of Inqury. Today the 1999 Constitution in its chapter iv, provides for fundamental human rights, Right to life, Right to dignity of human person, Right to personal liberty, Right to fair hearing, Right to private and family life. Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Right to freedom of expression and the press. Right to peaceful assembly and association, Right to freedom of movement, Right to freedom from discrimination, Right to acquire immovable property anywhere in Nigeria and Compulsory acquisition of property.
Inspite of these provisions, Nigeria confronts quite substantial problems of values, governance, citizenship and institutional capacity that together define the challenges for the realisation of human rights in the country. Nigeria’s human rights problems are also challenges of renewing the norms, institutions as processes of government. But this will be practically difficult because the government has been badly compromised by official corruption, indifference, cynicism and abuse of power which afflicts all echelons of governance, including those charged with ensuring accountability for such misconduct.
For the promotion and protection of human rights in Nigeria, accountability, compliance and prevention of impunity must be given priority. The pervasiveness of impunity has become a challenge for the promotion and protection of the rights to human dignity, safety and security. In Northern Nigeria today, at the beginning of every new week, there is news of renewed crisis either from the endless Jos crisis or the explosions of the faceless Boko Haram sect. People are daily losing their right to life. The high tolerance for violence in Nigeria is the reason for this.
Impunity has elevated corruption as a national way of life and those who are steeped in corruption are not only allowed to get away with it, but end up being celebrated, and even occupy the most important institutions in the country. According to former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the Fourth Academy for Enterprenural Studies, recently,
“Integrity is necessary for systems and institutions to be strong. Today, rogues, armed robbers are in the state Houses of Assembly and the National Assembly, what sort of laws will they make?
Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution made provisions for oversight role by the legislature.
S.88 (1) says that subject to the provisions of this constitution, each House of the National Assembly shall have power by resolution published in journal or in the official Gazette of the Government of the federation to direct or cause to be directed an investigation into:- (a) any matter or thing with respect to which it has power to make laws; and (b) the conduct of affairs of any person, authority, ministry or government department charged or intended to be charged, with the duty of or responsibility for – (i) executing or administering laws enacted by the National Assembly, and (ii) disbursing or administering moneys appropriated or to be appropriated by the National Assembly. In S.88(2), the powers conferred on the National Assembly under the provisions of this section are exercisable only for the purpose of enabling it to – (a) make laws with respect to any matter within its legislative competence and correct any defects in existing laws, and (b) expose corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by it.
It is on the strength of these provisions that the Farouk Lawan Ad Hoc Committee to probe the subsidy regime in Nigeria was set up.
The committee did its work, tabled its report and got it adopted, with a long list of defaulting companies. (Good job). But to the amazement of many Nigerians, the kettle used on a battered kerosene stove is calling his brother pot black. Our own Mr. Integrity, Rep. Farouk Lawan was caught in the wave of corruption that is threatening to overflow the Nigerian nation. Mr. Lawan was alledged to have demanded the sum of $3 million from Mr. Femi Otedola, Chairman of Zenon Oil and Gas to remove his companies names from the list. This was corroborated by the action of Mr Lawan when he told the House on the 24th of April, 2012, that additional findings had necessitated the delisting of Zenon and Synopsis, Otedola’s two companies, this he reaffirmed trice as the Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha asked. It was said that Mr. Lawan and the secretary of his committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo received the sum of $620,000 from Mr. Femi Otedola between April 21 – April 23, 2012 as advance payment for the $3 million earlier required.
It is embarrassing to note that nearly all oversight functions of the House are associated with allegations of blackmail and extortion.
In 2008, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu’s committee was widely acclaimed to have done a good job by unravelling corruption in the power sector, but shortly after, Hon. Elumelu and nine others were accused of being involved in the mismanagement of N5.2 billion earmarked for rural electrification nationwide. What of Dimeji Bankole who spent N400 million to renovate his official quarters and later sold it to himself for N100million. In 2010, former Speaker Bankole was alleged to have been involved in the N2.3 billion car purchase scandal, Remember the Hon. Dino Melaye group of progressive minded legislators who alleged a N9 billion contract scam against Speaker Bankole? In the words of Hon. Melaye, “we have documents to prove that some items approved by the Body of Principal Officers of which Speaker Dimeji Bankole is the chairman was inflated. A unit of 40 inch LCD TV set was purchased for N525,000 each contrary to the price list by the Bureau of Public Procurement and market price of N180,000 by Samsung while three bullet proof Mercedes Benz cars were bought for N57 million each.”
Bringing us back to the present is the Capital Market probe, where Hon. Herman Hembe was accused by Ms Arunma Oteh of demanding for a sum of N44 million for sponsorship of the probe of the Capital Market.
She also accused the lawmaker of collecting estacode and other travelling allowances for a foreign trip from the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) but neither went nor returned the money.
I could go on and on, but these are just a few corruption charges trailing different committees of the National Assembly. But my worry is that none of the past scandals went anywhere, will this also be the fate of the present? Well, while we wait for the outcome of the investigations, Nigerians cannot but bemoan the selfish nature of its elected representatives and the extent to which national interest had been sacrificed on the altar of wanton and insatiable greed. Suffice it to say that as the promise of common and equal Nigeria citizenship is unreal, so is the promise of human rights.
The Nigerian nation indeed needs DELIVERANCE for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Roman 3: 23), OH HELP US LORD.
Ewere resides in PH
Nkechi Bright Ewere
This is an open letter to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Your Excellency,
Sir, ordinarily, I would not be writing an open letter to you, but like a wise man once said, “Silence would be Treason.” So I prefer to stay alive than face the consequences of silence in the face of crime. With each passing day, and as the socio-political tides continue to turn, it has become more pertinent that more people speak up in a concerted MANNER to prevent the death of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as we appear to be, in the words of W. B. Yeats, “turning and turning in the widening gyre” heading for an end where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer
It is unfortunate that since losing control of the Federal Government, with the loss of President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued on a downward spiral. It is much more painful, that where it is expected that leaders within the party should rise to the challenge and put an end to this decline of our great party, some have instead taken up roles as its undertaker.
It will be hypocritical to claim aloofness to what I believe is your grouse with the PDP and I am not a hypocrite. It will be uncharitable on my part to discountenance the role you have played in strengthening the PDP from 2015 up until the last Presidential primaries of the party. It is my belief that your grouse against certain members of the party who you perceived worked against the party and abandoned it in 2015 and then came around much later to take control of the party, is justified. Also know that your decision to remain in the Party and stifle its progress on the other hand, as a sort of payback, stands condemned. For a man of your pedigree and stature, it is a dishonorable act, highly dishonorable and stands as testimony against all you claim to stand for.
At least, it can be argued that those who you hold this grudge against, abandoned the party completely and did not sit back while actively working to destroy it from within. But what then can be the argument on your own part, seeing that those you are currently working with against your party are the same people who set in motion, and executed surgically, the plans that not only ended our Party’s leadership at the centre, but ended up dislodging the first Niger Deltan to occupy Aso Rock as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Is this not akin to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face?” That will be worse than folly. Let us not throw away the baby with the bath water because we do not like the soap used in bathing the baby. It will be a grave mistake.
Honourable Minister, sir, it is rather unfortunate that of all people, you have also decided to play the role of an undertaker not only for our party, but for our dear Rivers State.
I will like to take you down memory lane a little. Let me remind you of your emergence as Guber candidate of the PDP in Rivers State, against all fairness and justice in 2014. You will remember that despite the reality being that you as an Ikwerre man was poised to replace a fellow Ikwerre man in Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in our multiethnic state, Rivers people overwhelmingly stood by you and pushed for your emergence as Executive Governor of Rivers State in 2015. I dare say that your popularity in the entire Niger Delta region was at an all-time high at this point.
I want you to understand why you were loved across board leading to your eventual emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015; it was because when it looked like all were against the second term ambitions of the first Niger Delta man to emerge as President of Nigeria, you became not just a pillar but a beacon of resistance by standing for Goodluck Jonathan. Rivers people, as grateful and rewarding as they can be, paid you back by ensuring your electoral victory against the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) led by your predecessor. On your emergence, where there were second term Governors in the region, you, a first term Governor, was seen by the people as not just the leader of the PDP, but the leader of the entire Niger Delta region. You earned it, and no one could dispute it.
In 2019, when your re-election bid was being challenged ferociously, Rivers people once again stood solidly behind you. Many were killed in the process of defending your votes. Do you remember Dr. Ferry Gberegbe that was shot and killed while trying to protect your votes in Khana Local Government Area? There are many more unnamed and unrecognised sons and daughters of Rivers State who sacrificed their lives so that you could emerge as a second term Governor of Rivers State.
In 2022/23, Honourable Minister, you oversaw a party primary across board that saw some candidates imprisoned and internal party democracy jettisoned for your wishes, leading to the emergence of flag bearers of our party all singlehandedly picked by you. You have on more than one occasion publicly stated that you paid for all their forms. Even those shortchanged in this process licked their wounds and continued to play their roles as party members to ensure the success of the party at all levels. In what will go down as one of the most keenly contested elections in recent Rivers history, with formidable candidates like Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the vibrant youth driven Labour Party (LP), PDP emerged victorious across board except for Phalga Constituency 1 that was lost to the Labour Party. (Not that you did not loose in some other LGA’s but let’s stick to the official figures declared by INEC).
It begs the question, why then do you want to burn down Rivers State, when everyone who now holds political office emerged through a process designed and endorsed by you? Is it that you do not care about Rivers people and you are all about yourself? If so, I am forced to believe that those around you are not telling you the truth. The truth being that in a state where your words were law; where houses and businesses could be demolished or closed down without any recourse to legalities, where Executive Orders could be deployed to stifle the opposition, that your popularity is now at an all-time low. Probably because they are afraid of you, or of losing the benefits they gain from you, they fail to tell you that what you might perceive as a battle against your successor, has slowly but gradually degenerating into a battle against Rivers State and Rivers people. You know, there is a popular saying that, a man can cook for the community and the community will finish the food, but when a community decides to cook for one man, the reverse is the case.
LEAVE FUBARA ALONE
You have gone on and on about being betrayed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. You point fingers forgetting that some of those same fingers quick to spot betrayals point straight back at you. It is not Governor Fubara that has betrayed the PDP by working against it in the just concluded General Election, and working with the opposition at the State and Federal level to destabilise the party. It is you, Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that betrayed Rivers people by instigating a political crisis with propensity to escalate ethnic tensions in Rivers State. It is you Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that has declared himself God over all in Rivers State and has no qualms with burning the state to the ground to prove a point. It is you Honourable Minister. It is you Honourable Minister who told the world that the APC was a cancer and you can never support a cancerous party. It is you Honourable Minister who ended up facilitating the emergence of the same “cancerous” APC that has accelerated the economic decline of this country and further impoverished our people with no remorse. All so you can be a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory? The lack of self awareness is gobsmacking.
Some days back I came across a video where you talked about death and how you do not cry when you hear about the death of some people because you have no idea what might have caused it considering many a politician swear “over dead bodies” and still go back on their words. Those words made me think, and I could see the reason behind them. You see, in chosing to be God in the affairs of Rivers people, you have closed your eyes and ears to reason; you see nothing and hear nothing that can cause you to rethink on the path you have chosen. In your quest to “show Fubara” you have unwittingly united a vast majority of Rivers people behind him, so much that even those who despised him because of you, now like or love him, because of you too. In your scheming, I will advise you not to forget that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Note that the war which you have or are waging against Governor Fubara, has gone beyond being merely political as you might see in your minds eye. It is now one that, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, has evolved into a war against Rivers people. It is good to point out that no one has taken a stand against Rivers people and won. No one has gone against God and won. In your defiant characteristic manner, it will be unfortunate if you believe your own hubris and that of those around you on the possibility of you being the first to successfully go against Rivers people. It will be a needless gamble; one where if you win you create more enemies for yourself than you can withstand on your political journey, and if you lose, your legacy becomes an inglorious and irredeemable one in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. For your sake as regards posterity, it is my greatest wish that you have a moment of sobriety and a deep reflection and introspection on this path you have chosen.
Honourable Minister, sir, what is left of your legacy is on the brink of being completely desecrated and relegated to the dustbin of our political history, and it will be a sad end to what I will say has been a wonderful political career that many can only dream of. The ball is in your court, and may God Almighty have mercy on us all and forgive us for our shortcomings.
Gabriel Baritulem Pidomson
Dr Pidomson is former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and former member, Rivers State House of Assembly.
In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Tele Ikuru
