Citizens need to know
Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State is a very unconventional host. When he spoke as the host-Governor at the closing ceremony of the retreat of the National Assembly management personnel that held in Kaduna, El-Rufa’i, instead of the usual exchange of niceties, went on the offensive to berate the National Assembly for lacking transparency in […]
Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State is a very unconventional host. When he spoke as the host-Governor at the closing ceremony of the retreat of the National Assembly management personnel that held in Kaduna, El-Rufa’i, instead of the usual exchange of niceties, went on the offensive to berate the National Assembly for lacking transparency in budgeting and also for obstructing the anti-corruption efforts of the federal government. Usually in this part of the country we are known for treating our guests with the utmost civility hardly uttering any unkind word throughout their stay with the hosts. But anyone who had closely observed El-Rufa’i would not be surprised with what he said at the event. His public utterances in the offices he held whether as DG, Bureau of Public Enterprises or FCT Minister, support this assertion. He had never been one to shy away from saying unpleasant things when necessary. In this instance, he was reported to have told his surprised guests that there is ‘no transparency in your budget, nobody knows your budget, how much you are paid – – I think you can do something about that to clear all the rumours and remove all the evil stories -‘.
The guests also turned out to be just as unconventional when the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara expressed unhappiness at the utterances of the Governor and pointedly told him that, ‘instructions had already been given to the appropriate quarters to publish the budget of the National Assembly’. The Speaker then challenged the Governor to champion the call for transparency in other arms of government. He said, ‘we want to see clearly how chief executives of states are paid, what they spend monthly as security votes, and also publish what happens to local government funds’.
These are good, open, exchanges between very high-ranking elected officials, albeit from different levels of government. The exchanges help to inform us the on-looking citizens of how government is performing. If the National Assembly cannot ensure transparency in its own budgeting process, how do we then as citizens expect it to ensure that every budget, from the Executive or the Judiciary, that comes before it is dealt with the degree of openness required? In the same vein if we do not know how much our State Executives are paid, what they expend as security votes or what happens to local government funds in their hands then we have set the stage for large scale corruption at that level of government. Honestly we do not expect ready answers soon but the exchanges between Speaker Dogara and Governor El-Rufa’i have once more helped to bring to the fore those nagging issues hidden away in the closets of those levels of governments. And it raises the need for a forum where citizens could readily question their elected leaders on issues pertaining to their wellbeing.
Many of those with whom I raised this issue of opaqueness in the conduct of government business directly point at our constitution for not providing such a forum where citizens can regularly see their government in action, and prod it when it slackens. We are left to admire a presidential system such as South Africa’s, where we regularly see President Zuma and his ministers giving account of their government and also being taken up by their robust opposition when there is a problem. In the United Kingdom the Prime Minister’s Questions Time (PMQs) is now an international must-see live show on Sky news channel every Wednesday at 12 noon where the entire parliament with the Prime Minister, her cabinet, the shadow cabinet is shown in an open session answering not only to mundane constituency questions but also reporting on national and international issues affecting the country.
It is a pity we lack such a forum. That’s why many citizens are in the dark about what the government is doing or not doing on their behalf. Our elected officials hardly come out to engage us in discussions. Besides the perfunctory visit to lay his budget before the National Assembly, one hardly ever sees any interface between the President and members of the National Assembly on live television or the radio. This is replicated at the state level where in many cases Governors hardly even acknowledge other elected officials, lest engage them in an open discussion. Without this forum where members of our Assemblies can regularly ask questions on behalf of citizens, government is reduced to something akin to a cult. We see elected government officials visiting each other’s offices, they hobnob at functions and pray in close proximity in mosques and churches, but the vast majority of citizens are left out of this interaction. Despite the valiant efforts of their appointees there is a dearth of information about major happenings in government.
Let’s visit a good example. Very early last year the President made a celebrated visit to United Arab Republic to sign a wide range of agreements that would have attracted quality investments from that very rich country, reputed to have a Sovereign Wealth Fund put officially at $800 (but unofficially at over 3 trillion dollars). The agreement also covered assistance on security matters particularly on the repatriation of looted funds.
What attracted attention when the agreement was signed, was the part that dealt with security matters, because it would have immediately boosted the government’s anti-corruption efforts. After all, many Nigerians are reported to have hoarded a huge amount of ill-gotten wealth in that country. However, the huge investments that were expected to come to agriculture, oil and gas sectors, renewable energy, aviation, aluminium production, banking and defence sectors would have made a significant difference to the fortunes of this country.
A month later in February the President made a similar visit to the Kingdom of Qatar where similar agreements were signed with that rich country. Since the return of the President, and the releases of the ‘major takeaways’ by President Buhari’s indefatigable Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, it has just been silence. Other relevant agencies of government have not been briefing us on the progress of what the President sought and won from both United Arab Emirates and Qatar for the benefit of the citizens of this country.
The citizens need to know. We demand to be informed.
…a loss to Nigeria and to Keffi Old Boys
The death of General Emmanuel Abisoye has robbed this country of a fine, brave soldier and a nationalist. One of the civil war heroes, Abisoye was once Adjutant General of the Nigerian Army. He was GOC of the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Division of the Nigerian Army. He was also a Minister of Health. General Abisoye is chiefly remembered for the dynamic role he played in the aftermath of the Dimka-inspired attempted coup of February 1976 that resulted in the death of the Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed. He chaired the Investigative Panel into the attempted coup whose members included Lt. Cols. Mamman Vatsa, Mukhtar Mohammed, Joshua DogonYaro, Navy Captain Olumide and Adamu Suleiman.
As for those of us who are old boys Government College, Keffi, we remember the General as the permanent President of our Old Boys Association a function we all admit he delivered with total dedication.
A few days before the death of General Abisoye, Keffi Old Boys Association also lost the vice-president too. He was Babatunde Oyelola, a top executive of PZCussons as well as serving for many years as the Vice-President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria. Tunde was a part of my set of 1967. A brilliant student, who acquitted himself very well academically and also rose to be the Head Boy of the college in 1973. Such was his attachment to Keffi College that Tunde very recently spent millions of Naira to renovate some hostels in the college.