It has again come to the
knowledge of the leadership of International Society for Civil
Liberties & the Rule of Law that the Igbo Southeast political
appointees occupying plum offices including ministries, parastatals and
agencies at the federal level, are sitting on a keg of gunpowder in Nigeria.
Almost all key Igbo Southeast appointive public office holders serving under
the present administration of President Jonathan are under threats. Already,
the likes of former Minister of Power, Prof Bath Nnaji, former Controller
General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Mrs. Rosemary Uzoma and the
immediate past Chairman of the National Population Commission, Mr. Festus
Odimegwu, have either been sacked or forced to resign. The major weapon used
for this “ethno-centric warfare” is the Nigerian media, controlled and
sectionalized by the Southwest Nigeria.
Apart from thickening
plans to restore the age-long Hausa-Fulani/Yoruba political slavery in Nigeria,
whereby other ethnic nationalities including the Igbo Southeast will
remain politically and economically enslaved under them ad infinitum; extensive
sectional media warfare has been massively deployed to weaken and frustrate the
priceless contributions of eminent sons and daughters of other
nationalities to the national development. Nigeria has three major tribes of
Hausa-Fulani, Igbo and Yoruba and two major concentrations of minorities of
southern and northern Nigeria extractions. In 1957, “the fears of the
minorities” forced the outgoing British colonialists to enshrine the
“fundamental human rights code” into the Independence Constitution of 1960.
In other to address
these fears of political and economic domination by the three major tribes,
particularly the Hausa-Fulani and Yoruba nationalities, the 1994/5 constituent
assembly divided Nigeria into six geopolitical zones with the mindset of
creating two zones for southern and northern minorities. While the minorities
of the south were successfully given one geopolitical zone, their northern
counterparts were further Balkanized. The mainly Christian minorities of the
north are supposed to be composed of southern Kaduna, Plateau, Benue, Taraba,
Adamawa, Kogi, Kwara and a part of Niger State. It was expected that the last
States and LGAs creation exercise of 1996 would have addressed these. But the
State creators and boundary adjusters of 1996 twisted the whole thing and
included Taraba and Adamawa States in the Northeast geopolitical zone instead
of North-central zone where most of others were included.
These arrangements were
gazetted and included in the Decree 24 of 1999, which is now called “the
Constitution of Nigeria 1999”. Section 14 (3) & (4) was inserted into the
Constitution to ensure that no particular zone, area or tribe dominates Federal
and State appointments and revenues. This was followed by the establishment of
the Federal Character Commission to ensure strict adherence to the geopolitical
equity principle. Yet, these provisions have been observed in reckless breach.
The Nigeria Police Force and the Police Service Commission, for instance, now
promote senior police officers without disclosing the names and geopolitical
identities of those promoted. While the Hausa-Fulani nationalities use violence
and political suppression to dwarf Igbo-Nigerians resident in the north as well
as its mainly Christian minority nationalities, the Yorubas of the Southeast
make extensive use of its media to hunt down top Igbo political appointees at
federal levels. The Yoruba media canonize Igbo clowns and destroy her upright
personalities.
Even where there is no
stain or scandal, one will be created using traps and sectionalized media
reports. To have their way if no scandal is seen, malicious subordinates and
personal aides are induced with scripts aided by malicious media arrangements
to blow open the scripted scandals. Today, Southwest political appointees at
State and federal levels are shielded from public scrutiny and where it rarely
occurs, media formations and legal technicalities will be massively and
consistently deployed to shield such appointees from criminal investigation and
prosecution.
In the case of, some
say, disgraced former Court of Appeal President, Ayo Isa Salami, the highly
sectionalized Nigerian media was strongly believed to have been massively deployed
to shield him, despite being reportedly caught in the act electronically.
Instead, the media attention was massively beamed on Hon. Justice Aloysius
Katsina Alu; a former CJN over his alleged unethical roles in the Sokoto State
governorship litigation. The learned jurist came from a northern minority
Christian nationality. Similar case was the in thing in the aborted trial of
one Tinubu Ahmed by a Code of Conduct Tribunal. The said ex public office
holder is neither guilty nor innocent because of mass deployment of sectional
media and legal technicalities. The trial was stalled and inconclusive.
Stella Oduah’s Alleged Fraud:
Though, we believe
strongly that Aviation Minister Stella Oduah is being hunted in the immediate
by the Yoruba media and their sponsors because of her efforts in making the
Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu an international one, but if at the
end she is competently indicted over rumors of fraud, not by the highly
sectionalized Nigerian media, but by competent administrative and criminal
investigative agencies, then she should not only be administratively sacked,
but should be diligently prosecuted as well. The intervention of the
Federal Government of Nigeria in this respect is a bold first step. The promise
made by the FGN to “set up 3-person administrative investigation committee” is
not enough. While the administrative enquiries or investigations only serve the
purpose of “administrative punishment or exoneration”, they do not serve the
fundamental purpose of criminal law. The issue of fraud is not purely an
administrative matter in Nigeria. Its mother name “corruption” is mentioned in
about 22 anti corruption agencies in Nigeria. In other words, corruption be it
fraud, bribery, over-invoicing, kick-backs, contract inflation, theft or
extortion, is a criminal offence in Nigeria.
Our Advice:
The entry gate of media
is report and the exit gate of media is also report. Punishment of any citizen
whether criminal or administrative based on media reports without proper
investigation, is the height of injustice. Many Nigerian egg heads, who
volunteered to serve their country, have been destroyed by the highly
sectionalized Nigerian media. This has scared away others who want to assist in
rebuilding their battered country. Nigeria has over 25, 000 professorial and
doctorial experts in US alone. The limits of media involvement in the scene of
crime and criminal investigation managements are universally pronounced. This
is because the potentials of the media to distort facts and destroy pieces of
vital evidence because of vested interests and unprofessionalism are very high.
In the world over, any
reports solely based on “media reports” are dead on arrival. Once media
uncovers a presumed social deviant act or crime, it stops and allows an
in-depth ethical and criminal investigation to unravel proper parties to crime
or deviant act and related others. In the eyes of criminology and criminal law,
no matter how investigative a media report is, it cannot be prosecutorial and
judgmental. It does not quality as basis for administrative or criminal
punishment, except where the accused openly admits. Other than the latter, it
amounts to “trial by ordeal” or jungle justice. Such an investigative media
report must be surgically operated by criminal or ethical (administrative)
investigative detectives. Keeping the NPF’s Force Criminal Investigations
Department redundant and inoperative is totally condemned. The Force CID should
go into the matter to look at the criminal aspect of it dispassionately.
Therefore, the Federal
Government of Nigeria must be careful and refrain from punishing Nigerians
including its political appointees based on highly sectionalized media reports
without proper investigations be they administrative or criminal. In Stella Oduah’s
case, all the characters mentioned in the alleged scandal or fraud must be
administratively and criminally investigated. The idea of forcing any political
appointee with tenure of office to resign on the basis of planted subordinates’
disloyalty or uninvestigated media reports must be done away with.
The unceremonious and
forced resignation of Eze Festus Odimegwu as the five years tenured chairman of
the National Population Commission as a result of his vow to make a difference
in the forthcoming census exercise, which has been mired in roguery since
Independence, is roundly condemned. The idea of replacing any sacked
political appointee with another from the same geopolitical zone, as was the
case in the NPC and the Power Ministry, is very commendable. But it is our
condemnation that this was not the case in issue of the Nigerian Immigration
Service boss.
We call on top political
appointees of the Igbo Southeast to always watch their backs because “their
enemies are within”. While they must be upright at all times and stay away from
any frauds, they should also be careful with the type of personal aides they
recruit to work for them including media aides. They should also work
harmoniously with their subordinates, but at the same time, watch them very closely
to thwart any moves by their hunters to plant or instigate any scandals that
may bring their downfall. All the those from the zone holding any command,
administrative and other appointive positions should have effective media
counter forces including reaching out to those in the social media to fight
back when under malicious attacks. They should also establish periodic
constituency consultations with formidable CSOs and other upright figures in
their zone.
Signed:
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chairman of the Board
International Society for Civil Liberties &
the Rule of Law
08033601078, 08180103912
Comrade Justus Ijeoma, Head, Publicity Desk
08037114869
juijeoma@yahoo.com
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