In this interview with LEKE BAIYEWU,
lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, argues that the reason for which Afenifere leaders endorsed
President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term is wrong
As a
prominent Yoruba man, would you agree with the Afenifere and some
Yoruba leaders who have recently asked that the people of the South-West
should vote for Jonathan on the basis that he would implement the
report of the last confab?
Afenifere, like other socio-cultural
groups in the country, is perfectly entitled to declare support for the
re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan. In other words, the
Afenifere members have the fundamental right to support the continuity
of the status quo under the Jonathan-led administration. But the
impression should not be created that the implementation of the
resolutions of the National Conference will confer any special advantage
on the Yoruba people. How many voters are aware of the confab
resolutions? The Afenifere should open up and admit that the Yoruba
agenda taken to the confab was defeated.
The agenda wanted the restructuring of
the country, return to parliamentary system, unicameral legislature,
fiscal federalism, special status for Lagos and removal of the Land Use
Act from the constitution, etc. These items were defeated at the confab.
The Ohaneze Ndi’gbo wanted an additional state for the South-East
region but the agitators for state creation recommended 18 more states,
three per geopolitical zone. Mind you, such recommendations are designed
to bring government nearer to the political elite in all the
geopolitical zones. Such reactionary policies cannot benefit the masses
in Yorubaland and other parts of the country. With virtual collapse of
the economy, can anyone talk of creating new states now?
The elders have insisted that their position is not self-serving but in the interest of the Yoruba race. Do you agree with them?
For goodness sake, which Yoruba race? The
Yoruba people have never mandated Afenifere to speak for them. The
Afenifere was reckoned with in the past because it held on tenaciously
to the ideals of Awoism. The Afenifere people claim to be Awoists.
Why are they not talking of the national question, as opposed to the
ethnic question? Why are they not talking of influencing the federal and
state governments to return Nigeria to a welfare state? (The late Chief
Obafemi) Awolowo never demanded for restructuring for the ruling class.
Awolowo wanted a federal system of government on account of our
diversity in culture and religion, and to give the minority groups a
sense of belonging. He lived all his life talking about the right of
every child to education, the right to basic health care, the right to
employment, the control of the national economy in the interest of the
country, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Awolowo knew that
these ideas could not be achieved under a neo-colonial capitalist
arrangement, hence, he opted for democratic socialism. Did (Samuel
Ladoke) Akintola not accuse Awolowo of turning Western Nigeria into a
socialist state? Instead of fighting for positions for the political
elite in Abuja, Awolowo devoted his time and energies to the provision
of education and other social services. In the Second Republic,
President Shehu Shagari invited the Unity Party of Nigeria to serve in
the government of national unity. Awolowo insisted on the adoption of
the four cardinal programmes of his political party. It was not about
the number of Yoruba people holding important political posts in Abuja
or lifting oil or benefiting from duty waivers. Today, those who call
them Awoists are celebrating the reign of market forces for imperialism
and its local lackeys.
Regrettably, the limited gains of the
confab are not being celebrated by Afenifere and other socio-cultural
groups. Awolowo led the campaign for the justiciability and entrenchment
of socio-economic rights in the constitution. But since 1979, the
ruling class has made them non-justiciable. The most important
recommendation of the confab is that Chapter 2 of the (1999)
Constitution be made justiciable and enforceable. The implication of
that is that citizens who are denied education and health care and young
school leavers who are neither employed nor paid sustenance allowance
should be able to drag the government to court.
The Western Region government led by
Awolowo was the first to implement minimum wage for workers. The confab
voted to retain minimum wage and labour matters in the Exclusive
Legislative List. The confab recommended that the 35 per cent
representation for women in political and government positions be
entrenched in the constitution. The confab recommended the establishment
of electoral offences tribunal; removal of immunity clause in respect
of criminal offences, etc. Delegates unanimously agreed and recommended
the separation of the state from religion and that the government should
not be involved in the sponsorship of pilgrims to Mecca, Jerusalem and
other holy sites. Right now, these recommendations are being subverted
by the Federal Government.
Do you think President Jonathan will keep his words and implement the report of the last confab?
When the report of the confab was
submitted to President Jonathan on August 20, 2014, he announced that
the Federal Government would immediately embark on the implementation of
the policy recommendations, while it would send the recommendations
which require legislative amendments and constitutional review to the
National Assembly. But to the utter dismay of the 494 members of the
confab, the President set up a seven-member ministerial committee whose
terms of reference included in-depth study of the report, articulation
of the recommendations therein, and development of appropriate
strategies for its implementation. In other words, the committee was set
up to recommend the implementation of the recommendations of the
confab. That committee, which was set up seven months ago, has yet to
submit its report.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly, which
was then considering the fourth amendment to the constitution, has since
concluded the exercise. As if that was not enough, some of the
recommendations of the conference and judgments of the courts which
support them are not being complied with by the government. For
instance, in November 2009, the ECOWAS Court directed the government to
educate every Nigerian child up to junior secondary school. I handled
that case for the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, a
non-governmental body. While the confab was in session, the Federal High
Court ruled in my favour to the effect that the Nigerian Education Bank
be established to provide loans to indigent undergraduates in tertiary
institutions. The order was made pursuant to the Nigerian Education Bank
Act. The Federal High Court also ordered the Federal Government to
restore the Peoples’ Bank to give loans to underprivileged citizens.
These judgments and similar ones have been treated with disdain. The
Jonathan-led administration has set up more committees than any regime
but the recommendations of such committees have hardly been implemented.
With respect, the implementation of the Confab report does not have to
wait for the election. Given the political will, the recommendations
pertaining some changes in the policies of the government can be
implemented today.
Some people recently stated
that certain Yoruba politicians have deviated from the pursuit of
restructuring of the country after they have been made wealthy by
democracy since 1999. As one of the activists in the days of the locust,
do you share this view?
The parasitic political system operated
in the country has produced a tribe of rich people and another tribe of
poor people. Any restructuring that excludes the youths, women, peasant
farmers and workers is bound to fail. With respect, the debate should
not be limited to political development in the South-West region, as the
other zones are running a similar parasitic system for the benefit of
the political elite. The beneficiaries of the neo-colonial capitalist
restructuring since 1999 are drawn from all the regions and religions.
For instance, through the instrumentality of a body called Asset
Management Corporation of Nigeria, the government has written off the
toxic debts of the rich from all geo-political zones. Regardless of
political parties, members of the National Assembly have no fundamental
or ideological disagreements over the nature of economy. That is why it
is so easy to pass the budgets. In Ekiti State, a group of seven
legislators (out of 26) passed the budget in less than 10 minutes. In
other words, the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic
Party’s legislators believe in the control of the national economy by
market fundamentalism.
It has been argued in certain
quarters that even though General Muhammadu Buhari may be an upright
man, he has been surrounded by people of questionable character. Do you
think any President can govern a country successfully in this
circumstance?
The constitution has conferred enormous
powers on the president of the country. Any elected president that is
determined and committed to the genuine eradication of corruption and
official impunity has to form an organic link with the people.
Otherwise, the members of the ruling class will gang up against the
president and can even go to the extent of assassinating him. When
President (Olusegun) Obasanjo assumed power in 1999, he raised the hopes
of Nigerians when he told those who had bankrolled his access to power
that theirs was a bad investment. But, he later derailed when he handed
over the government to economic saboteurs and political buccaneers. If
Buhari wins the election and he wants to succeed, he has adequate
executive powers to deal with people of questionable and shady character
around him. But that can only be made possible if he is prepared to
empower the people economically and politically. More importantly, he
has to appreciate that a neo-colonial capitalist system is nurtured and
sustained by corruption.
Copyright PUNCH.
No comments:
Post a Comment