proceedings of the conference of action congress overseas chapters

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PROCEEDINGS CONFERENCE OF ACTION CONGRESS OVERSEAS CHAPTERS HELD AT HARRY CADDICK COMMUNITY CENTRE CAMBERWELL LONDON SATURDAY 31 ST OCTOBER 2009

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Page 1: Proceedings of the conference of Action Congress Overseas Chapters

PROCEEDINGS

CONFERENCE OF ACTION CONGRESS OVERSEAS CHAPTERS HELD AT HARRY CADDICK COMMUNITY CENTRE CAMBERWELL LONDON SATURDAY 31ST OCTOBER 2009

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NIGERIA AS WE KNOW IT – A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN

BY DR AYODELE OWOADE Chairman Action Congress UK Chapter Being text of the welcome address at the Conference of Action Congress International Chapters held in London on 31st October 2009. National Chairman and my respected Leader Chief Bisi Akande National Secretary, Hon (Dr) Usman Bugaje The Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu The Speaker Lagos State House of Assembly Rt Hon Adeyemi Ikuforiji All State Chairmen and State Leaders here present All National and State Officers of our Great Party Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen This is the 1st International Conference of Action Congress Overseas Chapters. It is my utmost pleasure to welcome you all on behalf of Action Congress South Africa, Action Congress Republic of Ireland, Action Congress USA and the host chapter, Action Congress United Kingdom. As at the time of going to press, these were the four accredited foreign chapters of our great party. Our party’s constitution expressly provided for the participation of Nigerians resident abroad as full-fledged members. We as pioneer foreign chapters have been engaged in the promotion of the party to the larger international audience; and it is pleasing to note the emphatic endorsement of our efforts by the National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande in his recently published interview in the Guardian. We take this endorsement as a further call to duty and do assure that all the foreign chapters will always live to the party’s expectations

Our great party provides for foreign chapters in its constitution. In the history of politics in Nigeria, this is a novelty. Now those of us living outside the borders of our dear country can meaningfully be a part of the political process at home. If any one is still on the fence, that is by choice. Arm chair critics can no longer bemoan a lack of opportunity to put their ideas on the table. Activism is OK as a route for expressing your opinions. In the UK and other western democracies, activism provides a veritable platform for the re-engineering of social and political values. Nigeria is still a long way from this ideal; as ill-educated police and trigger-happy security agents will go out of their ways to frustrate any meaningful activism. My strong recommendation to any one with the desire to help in the efforts to regenerate Nigeria is to join the politicians in the act. We now have a platform through which our great ideas for the betterment of our nation can be channelled.

ARISE O COMPATRIOTS

This is the first line of national anthem. More than ever before, the nation needs all his compatriots to rise to the challenge of nation building. The challenges are serious and enormous. The masses wallow in abject poverty primarily because those charged with the responsibility of governance have failed in every sense of the word. Nigeria has never had it this great revenue-wise. So why should any Nigerian go to bed hungry, why should any Nigerian child die of easily preventable disease(s), and may I

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ask, yet again, why in the name of both Jesus and Allah should any Nigerian lack electricity, good road, security, education, health care and all the good things that you and I take for granted here.

Our fortunes as a nation have never been this great in terms of the revenue base available to the government. New oil reserves are still being discovered. We have enormous mineral and agricultural resources. Our nation is endowed and there is no reason why Nigeria should not be among the top ten nations in the world. Sadly, ladies and gentlemen, we also have the misfortune of being ruled by a bunch of visionless, witless, heartless, wicked and extremely corrupt bunch of Nigerians collectively referred to as Peoples Democratic Party PDP. In his sick judgement, President Umaru Yar Adua doesn’t see anything wrong in having convicted felons like Ibori and co pulling his strings. Yar Adua talks about the rule of the law and puts an Andoaaka as his Attorney General – what a joke! Under Yar Adua’s watch, corruption is now a given in almost all aspects of national live. It is like one is naturally expected to be corrupt. Nearly all levels of government have gone into a money-sharing mode. Cabinet and council meetings are held only for the purpose of sharing money. In this ocean of mess, I acknowledge the outstanding exception that is the Fashola-led Action Congress administration in Lagos State. Fashola’s achievements have received rave reviews all over the world and I plead not guilty to any charge of partisanship in my endorsement of this rare and visionary leader. In his 2009 report, the British Parliament’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Nigeria (APPG, p.12) singled out Lagos for praise amongst all the states in Nigeria.

A disaster waiting to happen!!!

Perhaps one should not blame the PDP for its reprehensible scheme to bleed the nation dry. Mind-boggling scams are daily revealed by probes after probes, yet the average Nigerian disinterestedly look the other way. So long as we remain timid and unassertive, so long will the corrupt PDP cabal continue to treat you and I with levity as they plunder their way to unimaginable stolen wealth.

Why let them get away with bleeding us dry; stealing our resources and denying us the right to freely elect our leaders. We should all now rise up to challenge this tiny clique of pen-robbers and ask them to explain the source of their sudden and stupendous riches. It time we Nigerians get bold to unleash the Georgian treatment on election riggers. It is time we borrow a leaf from our brothers and sisters in Kenya on how to fight and guard our vote. I challenge every one of my compatriots to be bold enough to say enough is enough. Being in government or in a political party is no licence to steal what belongs to you and me. After all, if a thief comes into your house to loot your hard earned property, you fight back. So why let the thieves loot away the resources that are legitimately yours. No power, no water, no education, no health, no security, shambolic infrastructures and corruption gone haywire. Fellow patriots, our dear country Nigeria is not working. I salute the perseverance of the Nigerian masses who are daily having to tighten their belts another notch tighter. Nigeria as it is today is a fastly failing nation and indeed a disaster waiting to happen.

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Compatriots, it is time to fight back. It is time to insist that every vote must count. It

is time to sweep out the rot that is PDP before they completely destroy Nigeria.

I wish you all a happy deliberation. Thank you. 31st October 2009.

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ACTION CONGRESS: THE JOURNEY SO FAR AND 2011

OPENING COMMENT BY

CHIEF BISI AKANDE THE NATIONAL CHAIRMAN OF ACTION CONGRESS

INAUGURAL CONFERENCE OF FOREIGN CHAPTERS OF ACTION CONGRESS HELD AT CADDICK COMMUNITY CENTRE, CAMBERWELL, LONDON ON SATURDAY OCTOBER 31, 2009.

Courtesies

I am quite excited to be standing before you this mid afternoon, an illustrious membership of our Party in diaspora, that had deemed it fit to accept the challenge of our Party to organize a Conference at which issues of policy and concern in our country can be clinically analysed and solutions proffered. Action Congress in diaspora is the second organ of our Party to take up this challenge after the National Executive Committee of the Party decided many months back to organize a National Party Conference that is preceded by zonal conferences and Action Congress diaspora conference. The South West zone held its own conference earlier this year.

I should therefore convey to you all, my hearty congratulations by greeting you in the way only our Great Party is capable of. Our greetings reflect our genuine commitment to peace, Justice, progress and the sustenance of democracy in our country. May I therefore invite you to join me in our traditional greetings to one another:

• AC refrain Justice • AC refrain Peace • AC refrain Progress • Action Congress refrain Democracy for Ever

Our Party, Action Congress was launched in September 2006 in response to the vicious and sustained attack on Constitutional democracy by the then incumbent President of the Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo and his ruling Party, the Peoples Democratic Party of Nigeria, comically referred to by our oppressed countrymen as “Peoples Destruction Party” or “Papa Deceive Pickin” party. The People Democratic Party intent on foisting a life president on the country knew that the smartest shortcut was through violating the Nation’s foible constitution and converting Nigeria into a one-party state. President Obasanjo, a retired General, who never really got tired of his uniform and command structure attacked opposition parties particularly the Alliance for Democracy which stood firmly against his tyranny in a ferocious manner, never before witnessed under civil rule in the country. His deputy, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku who was elected with him on the same ticket received as much bashing as Alliance for Democracy, along with it’s leaders, and in particular, governor of Lagos State at the time, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

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In confronting the monster of “third term”, the means by which General Obasanjo sought to extend his rule possibly for life, various political alliances were established by opposition political parties and other civil societies desirous of returning Nigeria to constitutional democracy. In the course of these efforts, some participants saw the need for the emergence of a new political party that has the potential to mobilize Nigerians towards a new dawn. Hence the ultimate birth of a political party, Action Congress.

IMMEDIATE TASKS

Action Congress barely had seven months from its formal launch to participate in the 2007 General Elections which comprised of elections into the Houses of Assembly, the National Assembly, the state gubernatorial offices and the presidency. This naturally imposed vast obligations on the party and its leadership. First, the Party had to show through its Manifestoes and Programmes that it is different and has, not just the potential, but the capacity to solve the multifarious problems besetting the country. The Manifestoes of the Party were as valid in 2006 as they are today. Barring any modifications that may arise at the end of the Party National Conference, the objectives of the Party center around the following as clearly enunciated in the document:

• Reducing poverty to it’s barest minimum amongst the citizenry • Creating conditions and opportunities for nation-wide prosperity • Creating an orderly, disciplined and motivated society • Promoting the Rule of Law • Expanding individual freedom and liberty and • Deepening democracy

Having clearly evolved policy measures concomitant to the objectives spelt out above, the Party threw itself into the electoral process even though it was largely skewed against it. The Party’s presidential candidate, then vice president Atiku Abubakar was disqualified from the presidential race until five days only to the election. Many candidates of lower ranking were similarly disqualified. Different measures were applied to contestants and the anti corruption agencies became an instrument in the hands of perverted and compromised electoral and intelligence officials in stifling electoral fairness across the country. Yet our party believed it was better to participate and test the processes in order to expose the chicanery of the ruling party.

In the elections, General Obasanjo and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, left nothing to the imagination, as the elections declared as ‘do or die’ were openly violated, and as in previous elections, security agencies, particularly the police, became direct violators of the processes, and in the strict sense of it, violent enforcers. With the ‘do or die’ declarations intensely backed up by actions, the election results were predictable. What we had going for us as a party however was the total repudiation of the rigged results by Nigerians and the international community that

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observed the elections. Of course, we are all conversant with the general and specific comments by Nigerians and international election observers. Sampler:

• The 2007 state and federal elections have fallen far short of basic international and regional standards for democratic elections and the process cannot be considered as credible” Also, “In several places ‘there was orchestrated rigging’ and in others, very magic results” by Head, European Union Election Observers Mission, Max van Den

• In many places and in a number of ways the electoral process failed the Nigerian people. By US former Secretary of State, Madeline Albright

• We have come to the inescapable conclusion that on the whole the election was a charade. And did not meet the minimum standard required for domestic or democratic elections, by Mr Chukwuma, Head of Nigeria Election monitors

• The travesty was so monumental in its completeness that words, even the word “rigging” are inadequate to describe it. By Professor Ben Nwabueze in his book “How president Obasanjo subverted the Rule of Law and Democracy”

Consequently, the PDP purportedly victorious, had spent the last two years confronting legitimacy issues and rather than govern has devoted all agencies of government at subverting our party, Action Congress and a host of other opposition parties. Our party had stoutly resisted the various assaults, including the bait of Government of National Unity and the direct acts of planning and funding insurrection within our party. Other opposition parties have not really succeeded in withstanding the PDP assault and some have really succumbed, but we must thank our teeming members for standing firm, repudiating the Trojan horse gift of a GNU and in regularly bringing to the fore the intense subversion and coercive antics of the PDP.

Aside from resisting the destabilization efforts of the ruling despotic party, the last two years are being used to reposition the party in the states, and also to keep open dialogue with virile opposition parties under the auspices of the CNPP. Ladies and Gentlemen, it would be good that by your conduct, unity, and contributions in finance and intellectual property, you assist the Party to resist the daily assault on our collective goodwill by the PDP. It is not an exaggeration, to say that PDP would want our party dead for it represents the only party standing up to its antics and brigandage. This is food for thought, and due to your relative insulation from the problems in Nigeria, you are better placed to identify weak threads in the party/s ideological positioning and calling attention to it.

In recent times, particularly with the approach of 2011, some concerned Nigerians have come together with a view to forming a party they described as mega to be able to confront the PDP. Our Party believes strongly that while a political party should be dynamic sufficiently to accommodate various views, it should be bound by common beliefs in ideology and process of governance. It would be postponing the problem days if founding members of the party are unable to clearly define bounding philosophies.

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Consequently in preparing for the forthcoming elections, starting with the Anambra state governorship election in 2010 and the General elections in 2011, we will continue to dialogue and seek electoral alliances with parties that share our interest and love in the common people of Nigeria. However we as a Party have confidence in our party’s ability to win elections in a fair and level playing field, hence we are uninterested in any arrangement that require subsuming our identity to that of another party.

Confident of our potential, ability and capacity to deliver, we are devoting our energy to pursuing and getting the despotic ruling party to carry out the required electoral reforms essential for the smooth implementation of the electoral processes from now on. You are however all aware of the cat and mouse approach of president Musa Yar Adua to the issue of electoral reform in Nigeria. He had at the inception of his regime admitted the flaw in the elections that brought him to power and promised to carry out required electoral reforms. He of course set up a panel comprising of patriotic Nigerians headed by a retired Chief Justice of the federation, Mohammed Uwais, but had gone ahead to jettison the most crucial of the Committee’s recommendations. Nigerians of various hues including our party subscribe to most of the recommendations of Uwais panel, but is it not be understood that it would be difficult for the product of an illegitimate election to turn round and condemn the processes and institutions that imposed it on the people? That explains the failure and inability of president Yar Aradua and his government to accept the recommendations essential for correcting the mistakes of the past.

We do not refer to electoral issues only in isolation. It is because, it serves the common man the only opportunity to withdraw its mandate anytime a government or the elected is failing to deliver on promises. Yet more than at any time, this government has failed to deliver on promises. Its seven point agenda, remains only a cliché. Public power supply has all but collapsed, with grinding poverty enabled by ever growing unemployment levels. There is total insecurity of life and property, and unknowingly we may be contending for space with the failed state Somalia when issues of kidnapping, hijacking and piracy are in discuss. All Nigerians speak and wonder about this failure of governance and how we got here. Further elaboration on the issue of failure of governance may look like an overkill, for it is common knowledge.

We love our country. We believe the country may not survive if the people are denied the opportunity to reflect their frustrations over failure of governance in their votes, and that is, if electoral processes are not rendered free and fair at all times. We have therefore committed ourselves to advocating and ensuring the amendment and or passing into law of all required reforms that will ensure fair elections in our country. That is the immediate task before us all. For through this task we may bring once again hope, growth and development to our people. For now, it is our party that is at the vanguard of unleashing that hope, hope for the well being of our people across the length and breadth of our country

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As this is meant to be a short paper, I only need to end this with a short prayer; May Almighty God help us all and soften the hearts of the impostors in Abuja that they see the need to allow the wishes of the Nigerian people in having free and fair elections to come to pass in 2011. Amen

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KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY ASIWAJU BOLA AHMED TINUBU

(Delivered at the conference of Action Congress overseas chapters held on Saturday 31st October 2009 at Harry Caddick Community Centre Lilford Road Camberwell London SE5 9HN. Read by Alhaji Lai Mohammed, National Secretary Action Congress)

I am glad because this forum affords me the opportunity to rally the critical mass of Nigerians in the Diaspora to join ongoing efforts to halt the drift of our nation. In one of our numerous interventions as a party, we had a reason to warn that the ship of Nigerian state has dropped anchor, and that the captain has gone into a deep slumber. That was over a year ago. Today, as we speak, the captain has slipped into a coma, leaving the ship without control. That is how desperate things are. It is easy, and indeed expedient, for those in power and their supporters to dismiss our criticism as that of a disgruntled opposition party. But then we are not the only ones who are deeply concerned and worried at the total lack of leadership in Nigeria today. The British 'All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG),' which visited Nigeria in December 2008, said there is a disconnect between the government and the people, and that Nigeria is in great need of leadership. That's exactly what we have been saying now for the past two years. But unlike others, who have either chosen to jump aboard the grounded ship of state or feign total lack of interest, we have continuously screamed, like a lone voice in the wilderness, that things must change and change fast in the interest of our long-suffering people. We have continued to warn that the people may lose confidence in democracy as a system of government, if after 10 straight years of democratic rule, they are probably worse off than they were before the advent of democracy. WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES? Before going into what you, Nigerians in Diaspora, can do to help rescue the nation, let me give a quick background to how we have reached this sorry pass. As we all know, there can be no democracy without free and fair elections. People must be free to choose those who lead them, without hindrance. That is a Constitutionally-guaranteed right. The moment that right is abridged, democracy falters and, with it, good governance as well as accountable and transparent leadership.

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Since 1999, elections have been getting progressively worse in Nigeria. Let me support this with some quick statistics. After the 1999 general elections, there were about 10 election petitions. In 2003, it went up to 500. By 2007, more than 2,000 election petitions were filed and, as we speak, many are still winding their ways through the courts. To put things in perspective, remember the 1992 governorship elections under the military-created two parties – SDP and the NRC? There were less than five petitions, while the 1993 presidential election that was annulled by the Babangida Administration would probably have produced no petition at all, because it was widely adjudged to be free and fair. Now, the simple answer to all these problems is Electoral Reforms. Yes, the government has set up a committee on this, and the committee has submitted its report, which was widely acclaimed. But the real work has just begun. The government has watered down the report prepared by the Justice Uwais committee, and the National Assembly has only been paying lip service to electoral reforms. In the meantime, INEC Chairman Maurice Iwu has continued to hold sway, ensuring that even re-run elections ordered by the courts are worse off than the ones that caused the petitions in the first instance. That is the situation of things today. What those who are enjoying the chaos that we have in Nigeria today want is for the current selections masquerading as elections, to continue to such an extent that only one political party will remain standing at the end of the day. We make bold to say that, but for the doggedness and determination of our party, Nigeria would have slipped into a one-party state. WHAT NEXT? You must have heard of the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER). That is the vehicle formed by concerned democrats to spearhead local and international pressure for the reforms of our electoral reforms. Simply put, Nigeria is doomed without electoral reforms, and this is not an exaggeration. And this is where you come in. There are over 10 million Nigerians in the Diaspora, and those of you here constitute a key nucleus of that group. In your own neck of the woods, you must drum international support for electoral reforms. You must convey the clear message that our country, Nigeria, is a key player in Africa and the world, and that whatever happens in Nigeria has impacts around the world. The urgency of the situation cannot be overemphasised, because the 2011 general elections are around the corner. We cannot afford a repeat of the 1999, 2003 and 2007 electoral heist! Finally, you must also make yourselves available, since Nigerians in Diaspora constitute a great resource for institutional capacity building in Nigeria. To paraphrase and adapt President Barack Obama of the US, Nigeria

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does not need strong men, what she needs are strong institutions. I thank you!

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Why Every Vote Must Count - The Struggle for Electoral Reform in Nigeria1

By

‘Kayode Fayemi, Ph.D. Action Congress Governorship Candidate, Ekiti State

PROTOCOLS Let me start by thanking the leadership and members of our Great Party – the Action Congress in the United Kingdom - for giving me the opportunity of this reflection in a gathering of Nigerians abroad. I lived in this country as a graduate student, an odd jobber, an activist and an academic for twelve years. I know of your challenges, the trials and travails of an average migrant in a foreign environment. But I also know how important your input is to the on-going struggle for change in our beleaguered country. I can tell you how important ours was to the pro-democracy struggle in terms of ideas, tactics and strategy for the prosecution of the struggle against military dictatorship and the restoration of the June 12 election in the 1990s. When our leaders from home also needed a safe haven, many of them came out here and operated from here till the restoration of civilian rule. So, getting involved is important because we have to organise ourselves and stop agonising about a land that has failed to meet expectations. I want you to know that if what you are doing is not critical to the party, the distinguished delegation you have here this morning would not be here. But you are going to hear the cynics – and there is always a constituency abroad that is at least sceptical of change in our country, even if not out-rightly cynical borne out of their individual experience. That constituency will tell you that whatever you do will not matter to the leadership in Nigeria, and that you’d better concentrate on having a good life here, rather than pine over a future that is, in their view, unattainable in Nigeria in our lifetime. Without wishing to discount the value of the experience that has turned many of our citizens to migrants in foreign lands, I will tell them that they are wrong and history does not back up this cynical claim. Just cast your mind back to the independence struggle on the African continent and the leading lights spent a great deal of time outside. The same is true of the post-cold war struggle in the late 1980s and early 1990s leading to the current spate of democratisation on our continent. Even recently, it was the struggle of Nigerians in the diaspora led by the likes of Dr Isa Odidi, Mr Hakeem Bello and Professor Bolaji Aluko that has resulted in such landmark rulings in the Nigerian courts that our citizens abroad have the right to vote and be voted for. And even if you don’t want to be concerned for any altruistic reasons, getting involved as true citizens in seeking for change in your environment is always a good thing even at a personal level. It is for these reasons that I welcome your engagement in the struggle for democratic development in Nigeria and in the quest for good governance in our country. Now, to the subject that you have asked that I speak on. I guess what qualifies me to speak on the struggle for electoral reform in Nigeria, apart from being a member of the Action Congress is the simple fact that I have experienced first hand, and continue to experience, the evils of a broken electoral management system. I have won election

1 Being paper presented to the Action Congress Diaspora Conference held in London, UK on October 31, 2009.

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twice within the space of two years to become the Governor of my State but the people who voted overwhelmingly for me are still being deprived of the benefits of the rescue mission promised when I campaigned for the job. Instead, I have spent a huge part of that period running from one court to the other, paying huge sums of money to lawyers and managing a party and a people violently assaulted by a system that was meant to value and protect them in the first place. While the April 2007 election was blatantly rigged and widely condemned locally and internationally, many had thought that the opportunity provided by the re-run election in Ekiti in April 2009 offered a redemptive hope for our election system and the future of our democracy as as a country. It turned out that the optimism was rather misplaced with the ‘Idiocies of Ido-Osi’ and sundry other egregious infractions of the electoral process. Consequently, Ekiti has become the metaphor for all that is wrong with the electoral system but it also serves as a metaphor for resistance on the part of the ordinary people in our country. There is no doubt that Nigeria’s quest for democracy is now in retreat in spite of superficial developments like the banking and civil service reforms and the so-called ‘amnesty’ in the Niger Delta. The development in Anambra State in the last month is more powerfully indicative of the reversal of fortunes and the refusal of the forces of reaction to respond to the yearnings for a more accountable and transparent political culture in Nigeria. But it is also now clear that in that retreat lie the opportunity for transformative change and AC has the potential to play a major/central role in these emerging developments if we are properly positioned. The absence of any semblance of governance today due to a visionless, clueless, and mischievous political leadership – many of who are beneficiaries of stolen mandates, is what is responsible for the dangerous precipice the country is being pushed towards, a situation which may inexorably lead towards imminent systemic collapse if we don’t take remedial action. In the face of all these odds and the gloomy prognosis, what then should be done?

Almost everyone agrees, including the leading beneficiaries of the electoral fraud in our country, President Yar’adua inclusive – that the reform of the broken electoral system is the single, most important remedial action needed in our country today. This is what has informed on our part in the political society with the critical stakeholders in civil society like the Alliance for Credible Election (ACE), the formation of the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform (CODER). The primary objective of CODER is really to assist the President in a non-partisan manner to ensure the full implementation of the recommendations of the Justice Uwais’ Electoral Reform Committee. As a member of the National Working Committee of CODER, rather than re-inventing the wheel, I think the best thing is to share with you the highlights of our campaign as a pressure group trying to mobilise Nigerians across the country behind this cause. We in CODER believe that without a fundamental electoral reform, the future of multi-party democracy in Nigeria will not only be in jeopardy but also the faith of the people in democracy as a representative system of government based on ballot will considerable wane. Clearly, if a people’s wish to elect representatives of their choice has been continuously thwarted and electoral outcomes manipulated - all patriots and lovers of democracy at home and abroad must mobilise and insist that a thorough

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going reform must commence NOW and be concluded before the next set of general elections can take place. Whilst we are not unmindful of the need for roots and branch constitutional reform in the country, and we are in agreement with those who put this as the pivotal and central issue to focus on, it seems to us unrealistic to concentrate exclusively on this now. Indeed, our belief is that credible electoral reform is the necessary vehicle for the attainment of wholesale constitutional reform. CODER has put forward ideas and recommendations that we believe will reinforce the central thrust of the Justice Uwais’ Electoral Reform Committee on (a) Mode of Appointment of INEC Chairman and Commissioners; (b) Constitution of Board of INEC (c) Registration of Voters; (d) Mode of Voting (e) Determination of Electoral Disputes (f) Funding of Elections (g) Conduct of Future Elections (h) Custody of Election Materials (i) Establishment of Electoral Offences Commission (j) Role of Security Agencies (k) Election Results (l) State Independent Electoral Commission and Constitution of Board of SIEC. Let me quickly run through those ideas and the rationale behind our proposals. (Copies available and we are also setting up a website especially for the external audience) In the last month, CODER leadership has presented these ideas to the Public Hearing session of the Senate, to the leadership of the House of Representatives – the two bodies that are primarily responsible for changes to the Electoral Act. We have also been on a media tour over the last week to sensitise the Nigeria media on the CODER agenda. We plan to organise zonal mobilisation tours in the next month and this visit provides us with a golden opportunity to exchange ideas and receive feedback from a critical constituency of Nigerian stakeholders in the diaspora. Indeed, in the course of this trip, we have met with the All Parliamentary Party Group on Nigeria in the House of Commons led by John Robertson MP and hope to continue to engage critical constituencies like yours until we accomplish this all-important, non-partisan cause of making every vote count. Our expectation is that this constituency too will push very hard with us on issues that are germane to you in our quest to deepen this democracy. Let us all be the change that we demand. Don’t let us leave it to others to accomplish on our behalf. I thank you for this opportunity.

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Reform or Revolution the Fallacy of Change in Nigeria without True Federalism!

Text of speech delivered to the Conference of foreign chapters of the Action Congress Party organized by the AC United Kingdom Chapter in London on 31st October 2009

BY Kayode Ogundamisi

I want to start by thanking members of the Action Congress UK for inviting me to speak on the topic of true federalism in Nigeria. I must confess that I am an unusual guest to your event as I have been very vocal in my condemnation of the absence of internal democracy in mainstream Nigerian political parties especially the monstrous Peoples Democratic Party. Permit me to add that that the Action Congress Party cannot but be included in the list of the parties that needs to improve its commitment to the enthronement of internal democracy within all of its platform from wards, state, Local government and the federal level. Political parties are the building blocks of a democratic society.

The situation where you have to rely on one man or a cabal to determine who gets what, where, how and when is a disservice to the democracy Nigerians clamor for and the democracy so many people paid the supreme sacrifice for in Nigeria. But one thing is certain; your party has blessed Nigeria with one of the brightest hope amongst the political class in the person of the Lagos State governor Babtunde Fashola. I join Nigerians in acknowledging and commending his good work but would also want to emphasize that more is still expected from him especially from the rural parts of Lagos and the teeming poor massed in those hinterlands of Ayobo/Ipaja, Ajegunle, Ebbute Metta, Agege and other’s, the poor also want to feel the effect of the “Fashola Magic”.

I humbly admit that I am a small fry compared to the other speakers in the person of Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola , Professor Bolaji Aluko and Senator Bola Tinubu. But I will attempt to speak from my heart I may not be able to tell you what you want to hear but I will tell you the truth as I see it.

Federalism and the ordinary Citizen.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to be involved in the struggle for a just Nigeria from different stages, first in the Nigerian students movement in the 1980’s trough to the June 12 struggle of 2003 and then the self determination movements so speaking on True Federalism should not be a strange terrain, however looking back at the premise of my involvement in the June 12 struggle and the opportunity to serve as the then secretary general of the O’dua People’s Congress, you can rest assured that the thoughts I will share with you tonight are from the archives of a soul that’s traversed the nooks and crannies of our turbulent political landscape. A soul that’s not only familiar with the cries

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of hungry children in the junk yards of Agege but has also been teased with the mind blowing reckless affluence of the Nigeria’s version of the privileged.

However, if I do not do the anticipated justice to the topic please pardon my inadequacies. I am not going to speak as an academic but as a Nigerian who loves his country, was blessed to have been involved in the struggle to make his country a better place and still believes that in the darkness that cover our country, the light of Liberty will shine to lead us to freedom, Justice, Equity and Everlasting Peace. And may I add that whatever I say here is my personal thoughts and should not be taking as an official position of the Nigeria Liberty Forum, the organization I am now privileged to serve.

The Quest for true Federalism in Nigeria.

Various scholars have defined Federalism and because I have promised not to make this an academic exercise I won’t bore you with their definitions of federalism. I will simply depend on a rustic but powerful definition of federalism as it was given by a Pan Yoruba activist Late Pa Popoola who was unfortunately killed during the inter OPC fracas of those dark days of our struggle. A couple of years ago when I was invited by Dr Frederick Iseotan Fasehun to come and serve the Yoruba People of South West Nigeria as the Secretary General of the O’dua People’s Congress; the then South West Nigerian self-determination group.

I was overwhelmed by the grassroots nature of the organization and in making my decision to contest elections in the OPC, it was not the smooth talking England educated Fasehun that convinced me that the OPC was worth a try it was the grassroots Pa Popoola; a man who “educated” folks like us will describe as an “illiterate”.

In that one meeting with Pa Popoola he said to me “son our struggle has been painted as a struggle to break up Nigeria that is not true your arrival is to help communicate our message devoid of any confusion, our struggle is a struggle for a truly federal Nigeria where every ethnic Nationality would be allowed to move at its own passé. “ our struggle is simply “ki olukaluku je oruko Baba e sugbon ka ma di ota ara wa” .

Drawing from the 70 year old Yoruba artisan’s address to me on federalism and in Yoruba Language and I hereby attempt define federalism as the system of government built under the understanding and foundation that those who make up the federating unit will share power and also recognise, accommodate, preserve and promote the distinct identities of the ethnic nationalities that make up the larger political union, their rights to resource control, freedom, justice and equity amongst many other’s As I look at the Nigerian union today it is everything but a Federal Republic.

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The only evidence of an attempt at true federalism in Nigeria is in the propagation of corrupt practices in the ranks of the ruling elite. Thus mechanisms such as “rotational presidency”, “quota system” and others are put in place to guide their tendency to plunder, enrich and entrench their caprices. The symbolic gesture of a “Yoruba presidency” for instance did produce General Olusegun Obasanjo who in practical terms represented the interest of the core of the Yoruba ruling class people; created billionaire friends leaving the vast majority of the Yoruba people and Nigerians in worst situation as they were under a Hausa-Fulani presidency. In the same vein former Hausa-Fulani Presidents General Sanni Abacha, General Ibrahim Babangida and others - did not make life any better for the average people in Northern Nigeria. Your duty as a party is to change the trend and turn the tide.

So when the likes of Pa Popoola are talking about true federalism they speak in relative to how the competitiveness of the geo political zones lead to the promotion of development to all regions of the Nigerian federation and enhance good governance, the Nigerian political elites are thinking of true federalism in terms of how to enhance their greed, ambition and lust for power. Your duty is to change that.

The first step in our quest for true federalism is for politicians to first understand the importance of true federalism as it relates to good governance rather than as it empowers them to plunder more. Thus there must be an alignment of understanding between the rulers and the ruled. In that way no one will be suspicious of our campaign for a true federation in Nigeria.

The Travesty called the Constitution

To start with, we have to renegotiate the foundation for our nationhood. Running away from the issue keeps our country roaming around the orbit of a treacherous infamous vicious cycle of political infamy and economic profligacy. The “we the people “inscribed in the Nigerian constitution should be expunged forthwith.

A renegotiation of Nigeria is the first step towards a truly Nigerian Revolution. We should be courageous about the reality that all the various constitutions operated from the moment the British packaged us together till date are nothing more than reinventions of the conquest document imposed on the people before Nigeria was created. Before then, it did not matter if you were from the North, South, West or East; pre colonial Nation-States had sovereign relationships, fought wars, resolved crisis and related as equal partners. The Kingdoms in the North, South, West, East are what in modern days could be referred to as States with sovereign rights, distinct border, and constitutional government either in a parliamentary form as in the Old Oyo Kingdom, or the Oligarchy in the North or the collegiate system in the east. The fact that the British Colonial masters

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characterize our system as “crude” and “native” does not make an amalgamation without consultation with the people right. We must renegotiate our nationhood but with the yardstick that Nigeria must not disintegrate.

If the Soviet Union can renegotiate with the federating units, South Africa dealt with post apartheid era, we can tackle our problem head long I do not see any reason why we cannot honestly seat down as a people and re-negotiate Nigeria on the basis of equal partnership; a partnership that must be in the overall interest of the poor people of our Country. Our constitution is a unitary document disguised with misrepresentations of federalism and it should not come as a surprise because even as students of history we know that the people who make up Nigeria were never and have never been genuinely consulted when those documents are drafted and imposed by the rogue minority in power on the hapless majority.

And yes it’s been a chequered history of constitutional experiments first from the colonial masters, to the post colonial civilian government and then series of military regimes through to post military civilian governments. All that’s been done at each point in time has characteristically been to service the machinations of the various ruling elites. Indeed the four constitutions written by the colonial masters reflected the intentions of those in power, thus, we refer to the Clifford, Richards, McPherson and Lyttleton constitutions’ as travesties that were all crafted to subjugate the ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria; none reflected the needs, aspiration and unique diversity of our people.

A hurriedly drafted independence constitution failed under three years, You were all familiar with how the different military regimes, danced from unitary to federal and so on and so forth but none with the honest mission of resolving the National Question. Over the years, as we continue to shy away from reality, Nigeria predictably heats up to the boiling point. We’ve had the Biafra/Nigeria Civil war, series of religious and cultural riots and mass killings in the north, the OPC crisis in the west and its attendant deaths, the emergence of groups such as MASSOB, the introduction of Sharia Law in the North and the militancy in the Niger Delta amongst every other conflict flash points nationwide.

Sadly, our inability to re negotiate the way forward is as a result of the bankruptcy amongst our political leaders, thus we label anyone who raises the issue of True Federalism as wanting to break up Nigeria. Let me make it clear: it is not a crime to call for the restructuring of Nigeria along the geo political divide. In as much as I personally feel that we may not be able to compromise our indivisibility, we have come a long way as a Country. Our long enforced marriage does not preclude the need to look at long term progressive revolutionary options that will weaken the centre, turn off opportunists and bring governance close to the people.

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Way forward.

Acknowledging that we have a flawed Nation-State is the flag off point for the Nigerian revolution. Issues such as corruption, lack of transparent credible elections, poverty, mistrust, bad governance and others vices are bye-products of a people who care less about the character of the Nigerian state but more about their selfish interests.

The convocation of a truly Sovereign National Conference that will resolve issues of, Resource Control, creation of Local Governments, State Police, ceding of overbearing federal government control of state Resources to the States and federating Units, consider a confederation that will work and strengthen the diverse nature of our Country. Need for a federal system that works for all Nigerians irrespective of tribe, religion, race or creed.

Rejection of all the negative aspects of the constitution that first of all reflect the thinking of our colonial masters, the military and also the greed of the ruling elite that does not have the interest of the people of Nigeria.

Pseudo Federalism Activism

Permit me to conclude that even with the shambolic provisions in our current constitutions some states governments refuse to test the provisions. The first true and commendable test was the introduction of Sharia Law ironically by the governors in northern Nigeria - even though that was done for selfish reasons I make bold to say that was in my opinion the correct position.

I commend the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for the, creation of local governments and the gallant way he fought the federal government in asserting its constitutional rights as a state government. We need more of such action so the judiciary can properly interpret the law.

The South Western States and indeed the house of assemblies of the different regions that make up the federating units do not need the endorsement of government at the centre to have a joint house of assembly meeting and discuss issues of good governance, provision of quality education, peer review, adequate health care delivery, good roads and issues as mundane as flying the Yoruba, Arewa, Biafra, Ijaw, Middle Belt National flag side by side the Nigerian flag in every State or confederating official government houses. Truth is if we continue with the current grandstanding, how will we save Nigeria from its imminent self-destruct?

Please do not think I propose that resolving the issues surrounding true federalism will suddenly resolve the issues of corruption, bad leadership, electoral fraud, crime, marginalization just to mention a few. No it won’t, but at least we can localize the issues and resolve them side-by-side our nation building efforts. We cannot let our moment pass us by. It will only take a brave leader with vision to tackle the founding root of this macabre dance we call living.

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We owe Nigerians yet unborn that duty, we have to face the challenges of our tomorrow today.

Thank you very much.

Kayode Ogundamisi

[email protected]

Convener Nigeria Liberty Forum

www.nigerialibertyforum.org.uk

campaigns fellow for the German human rights group IMRV Bremen.

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ETHNIC MINORITIES! AGITATION FOR RESOURCE CONTORL

A RESOURCE PAPER PRESENTED DURING THE LONDON SUMMIT OF AC IN DIASPORA ON 31ST OCTOBER, 2009 AT HARRY CADDICK CENTRE, 63

LILFORD ROAD, CAMBERWELL, LONDON SE5 9HN

BY

PRINCE TONYE TJT PRINCEWILL

THE RIVERS STATE AC LEADER

Preamble

When my friend, Mr. Stephen Kifordu the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of this event sometime on 12th September made contact with my Media Chief, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze that I need to present this paper, I was a bit hesitant wondering if the Organizers made the right choice considering that they are more qualified and capable Nigerians from Niger Delta region that would have done a better justice to this topic but when Stephen Kifordu insisted that I should attempt the topic and to avoid of being seen as been arrogant or elusive of such a huge responsibility, I accepted the challenge without any further inhibition.

I must state also that as much as I would have loved to be here today that I am sad that due to national call, somebody else will be standing for me. Some of you who are close watchers of political events in our dear country would have observed the current realignment of political blocks going on in our country to arrest the decay occasioned by the inept leadership of PDP Government at the National level and as God will have it, I am one of the key actors assigned to play a role in this new initiative. Our National Leader in AC and former Vice President of our country, Atiku Abubakar in consideration of all these realignments and probably of the role I am to play have reasoned that I should be handy to handle some aspects of this new initiative but to avoid missing this great opportunity of being with you people in this great event, I decided to send another important personality to stand for me in this event in the person of Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanaya. Dr. Ikanay apart from being a great friend is one politician in Rivers State whose role cannot be ignored by any serious government in the equation of Niger Delta politics. Apart from being an old horse in the game of politics, he was the National Secretary of Republican Party of Nigeria before I brought him over to AC and today, he is both AC BOT member and the Commissioner for Special Duties in the Rivers State Government. He is also the Chairman of the Forum of Organized Opposition Political Parties comprising of 46 political parties in demonstration of the great experiment only existing in the politics of Rivers State described as a study in how politics of development should be played courtesy of my vision of a greater Rivers State. With Dr Ikanaya, the relevance of my presence is totally diminished.

The above notwithstanding, my choice to present this topic may stem either of my disposition or various roles I may have played in assisting in the polity of the Niger Delta Politics or whatever other reasons by the Organisers. Be as it may, as a member of the now rested Presidential Niger Delta Technical Committee and the Chairman of the Vision 2020 on Niger Delta Region which I resigned when the Federal Government in error decided to attack some Communities in Niger Delta Area in the name of flushing out militants and other roles I may have played in the politics of the Region, I am here today to speak not only on the neglect of

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this region that produces the golden egg (Oil) in which the economy of Nigeria is sustained and oiled and probably proffer solutions and way forward to make the region reap or gain a little from the resources God bestowed on her land.

Having said all these, let me at this juncture thank the Organisers and members of our party in Diaspora and the leadership of our great party for affording me the opportunity and honour to speak at such a great event like this praying that I will not disappoint both the Organisers and those that may read or listen to my presentation either in this hall or somewhere else.

INTRODUCTION

The Federal Republic of Nigeria lies on the Atlantic Coast of West Africa. It is Africa’s most populous country with a population of about 140 million people and counting, 2000 linguistic groups and over 2800 ethnic communities. It is made up of some 250 different ethnic groups speaking nearly 400 different languages. The nation became independent in October 1, 1960 with a federal system, designed by the colonial rulers, which from the very beginning many believed was at variance with the aspirations of many of the minorities in the country. Scholars of political development have observed that the federal constitution that was produced suffered from two fundamental and destabilizing flaws. The first was the division of the country into three unequal regions, with the population of the size of the northern region alone exceeding that of the two southern regions put together. The second flaw involved, the political and demographic domination of the northern, western and eastern regions being the majority ethnic nationalities and the attendant marginalization of the minority ethnic nationalities that comprise approximately one-third of the population of each region.

CONCEPT OF AGITATION

The Niger Delta region and its people form the largest group amongst the ethnic minorities spread over the south-south geopolitical zone of the nation today.

One of the contemporary issues in the political economy of oil in Nigeria is the ownership question or what has come to be termed ‘resource control’. In recent times, this issue assumed crisis proportion as the oil producing communities fiercely asserted their claims to ownership following decades of uninterrupted process of economic marginalization and political repression. The issue of ownership of mineral is traceable to colonial times when the colonial administration, acting under the mandate of British imperial interest appropriated by law, territories, including natural resources that were not their own, as the property of the British crown. The privy was to rule in 1915 that the crown had full tile over the land, sea cost and sea bed of Nigeria’s territorial waters. Thus section 33 (1) of colonial minerals ordinance of 1946 vested the entire property and control of all mineral oils and natural gas in any land in Nigeria in the British Crown.

It is of interest to note that when in 1946, the Mineral Ordinance was passed, it sparked off serious resentment by Nigerian nationalists rising up tp form such groups as the Ijaw Rivers Peoples League that led to the creation by the British of Rivers Province in 1947. It was here and during this period that the Niger Delta Congress was founded by the young Harold Dappa-Biriye to fight for equality for the disadvantaged people of the Niger Delta. He later represented the Niger Delta people in the London Conference of the minorities and the report

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of the Willinks Commission in 1958 which described the Niger Delta as a “poor, backward and neglected region”.

In 1958 when Shell B. P. started to export oil from Port Harcourt, the mineral Act in the same year was amended with the word ‘crown’ being replaced by ‘Government of the Federation’. Domination is a function of ownership, and in the colonial context, it was not by accident that the mineral wealth of the colonized was appropriated through the Colonial Minerals Ordinances. Haunted by mutual fear of domination, immediate heirs to the colonial administration, during the making of the 1960 Constitution, provided in Section 134 (6) that “for the purposes of this Section, the continental shelf of a region shall be deemed to be part of that Region.” This provision was repeated in Section 140 of the Republican Constitution, 1963.

It should be noted that the ownership provisions in the two Constitutions were made in order to balance not only the mutual suspicion among the three Regions, but also the perceived political forces that could disrupt national unity if not attended to particularly at that teething period of the nation’s political life. This calculus entitled the Regions to 50% of mining royalties and rent derived from their territories including the continental shelve while the remaining 50% was pooled for allocation at the federal level.

But when States were created and the whole stretch of the continental shelve with ascertained prospects of oil gas deposits fell within the territories of ethnic minorities in the Niger Delta, a new legislation: the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Decree, 1969, now Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Act, Cap 320, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990 vested in Section 1(1), the ownership and control of all petroleum products whether in or under the ground in the federal government.

As if this Decree was not enough, the federal government soon after the Civil War in 1971, introduced a dichotomy in the management of on-shore, offshore oil revenue following the provision of Section 1(2) of the NNPC Decree which confers on the federal government the right to own petroleum products in or within the territorial waters of Nigeria or upon part of its continental shelf. These laws deprived the Niger Delta States of large portions of oil revenue that would otherwise have accrued to them. Ever since, the politics of oil in Nigeria has centred around the abolition or retention of the dichotomy and what percentage of oil proceeds should be allowed for oil producing states.

After the 1979 Constitution and the Allocation of Revenue Act (Cap 16) had failed to abolish the dichotomy, the Babangida administration decided to amend the Act by Decree 106 Section (6) of 1992. it stated:

An amount equivalent to one percent of the Federal Account Derived from mineral revenue shall be shared among the mineral Producing States based on the amount of mineral produced from each State and in the application of this provision, the Dichotomy of On-Shore Off-Shore oil producing and mineral oil and non mineral oil revenue is hereby abolished.

Following all the above antecedents, it is no surprise that agitation for resource control in the Niger Delta assumed horrendous dimensions in the early 1990s with the Ogoni uprising and the consequent execution of ken Saro-wiwa in November 1, 1995 by the federal military junta which was described by human rights groups as a travesty of justice, the military invasion of Ijaw communities consequent upon the kaiama Declaration and the Odi action of 1999. This period witnessed the emergence of social movements and militant youth groups

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that began to challenge not only the Nigerian state but also the policies, attitudes, and activities of the multinational oil companies (MNOCs) in the region.

By popular opinion, the agitation for resource control in the region was hinged on the continued perceived marginalization and balkanization of the people of the region, the despoliation of their environment and the resultant conflicts following discovery of oil in the 1950’s in Oloibiri and the subsequent exploration activities by the oil multinationals.

The grievances of the Niger Deltans and other ethnic minorities can therefore be categorised into distinctive issues: An ever growing discontent with the Federal Government’s systemic reduction of derivation principle for revenue allocation to states in the region and that all laws relating to oil exploration and land ownership be abrogated; the issue of natural resource control and self determination and most importantly the need to appropriate institutional and financial arrangements should be put in place by the Nigerian state and the oil multinationals to compensate the oil producing communities for the developmental and environmental problems associated with oil exploration.

The conflict over resource control is not new as the agitation for the creation of regions or states for the resource bearing areas of Nigeria has its origin in the quest for greater control over natural resources. The Niger Delta region with an estimated population of about 30 million Nigerians has remained the country’s principal revenue yielder since crude was first discovered in commercial quantity at Oloibiri in present day Bayelsa.

Protests and clamours for a fair deal in the Nigerian state have been thrown to the wind. The format of government repression has been the use of overwhelming military might and other documented acts of state sanctioned political violence.

The prevailing concept of Federalism in Nigeria today falls short of expectations in both definition and practice. To the extent that it is being practiced as quasi-federalism, there has been an overly centralized control of resources by the Federal Government. This aberration continues to generate perpetual conflict with indigenous rights; hence it has become a major source of conflict in the Niger Delta region especially from notorious.

Nigeria remains unfair to the Niger Delta region as its laws have been bred to rid the people of their values and rights. Each of Nigeria 's action and laws has been tailored to work against justice and natural benevolence.

Thus, before the intrusion of the military in Nigerian politics on January 15, 1966, derivation was based on 50%. However, all that ceased when Yakubu Gowon, whose tribe is one of the minority groups in the Federation, enacted an obnoxious decree which placed the natural resources (read crude oil) under the exclusive jurisdiction of the central government. This usurpation, which successive military (1966-1979; 1983-1999) and federal governments (Shehu Shagari, 1979-83; Olusegun Obasanjo, 1999-2007; Umaru Yar'Adua, since 2007) have inherited and refused to relinquish, is the cause of the current crisis in the Niger Delta area.

It is my postulation that Nigeria, through inhuman legislative insertions has declared war on the minorities in this region. The Willink's Report of 1958 succinctly declared that we are a

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group of independent and autonomous kingdoms and peoples, with separate languages, culture and religion, equal in status and in no way subordinate to one another but united as a corporate body to form the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The retrogressive laws enacted by various central governments have sustained the sufferings of the people as they have elucidated conflicts and frictions. The Petroleum Act of 1969, amended 1991, the National Waterways Decree of 1997, as well as the Land Use Act of 1978 as amended in 1993, remain the evil tools mobilized in this exploitation of our wealth, health and peace.

The 1999 Constitution, in my view, has rather tightened more the hangmen's noose around our neck. And as long as Section 315(5) (d) of the 1999 Constitution; Section 44(3) of the 1999 Constitution, Section 251 (n) of the 1999 Constitution; Exclusive Legislative List Item No. 32 and 62 of the 1999 Constitution; Abolition of Onshore- Offshore Dichotomy Law 2004, and Section 162(2) of the 1999 Constitution regarding the Derivation Principle for Revenue Allocation, remain in the country's statue books, Nigeria's peace will continue to suffer severe brooding.

Despite the 7-Point Agenda of President Umaru Yar'Adua and Vision 2020, which ironically, I had been appointed into one of its sub-committees, Nigeria remains a country under threat. Women, men and children live under one of the most cruel economic environments with life expectancy on the average of forty-five. The Minority Rights Group International, a global rights watchdog, for the consecutive year, listed Nigeria under its “Peoples Under Threat”. In its 2009 report published in July, Nigeria occupied the 9th position after Somalia , Sudan and Ethiopia on a global scale. The Ijaw (Izon), Ogoni and other ethnic and religious groups got highlighted as under the threat of extermination. They were identified as at risk of genocide, mass killing or other systematic violent repression. The recent federal military assault on a peaceful Ijaw community in Warri, Delta state, replayed the horror of a nation whose ethnic minorities are in circuit.

This calls to remembrance the genocide activities of the central government against the Ogoni and the Zango Kataf. The Ogoni raised an unarmed army of peasants whose only weapon was their united voice against a foreign oil firm and an indigenous autocratic regime. Kenule Saro-Wiwa volunteered the Ogoni nation a leadership structured on non-violent agitation for true fiscal federalism, environmental friendliness and political participation anchored on justice. The state manipulated proceedings and the once-free clarion call turned violent which climax was the judicial murder of Saro-Wiwa and other lights of the Ogoni nation.

Niger Delta youths picked up arms since the non-violence of the Ogoni boomeranged. Against a central government which controls the Armed Forces of the Federation, the youths rusticated oil installations, bombed out facilities and put expatriate oil workforce to flight. Epileptic negotiations produced further violence as all parties have often been represented by recalcitrant envoys. Worst though, were Federal negotiators which bulldog approach has been adopted. We remain at the crossroads waiting and watching whether we can locate the guidepost.

Where do we go from here? Since our mission derives soul on the expediency of the dignity of man and the brotherhood, though grossly abused, reason and justice beckon us to buckle the fainting heart. Our natural rights have suffered violent robbery, our dignity as a people

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defined in derogatory and humiliating letters. Matters for our common good are discussed last in their meetings, and in half zeal than whenever it concerns the "big brothers".

Our environment suffers the worst abuse in living, human memory as nowhere else due to oil exploration and exploration. Gas flaring under control in smaller nations like Trinidad and Tobago, remains a death tool for the oppressors. We are a people under threat, buffeted by the catastrophic ill-wind of conspiratorial nationhood. Our genius, as a region and tongues, tribes and people remain in bondage. Our case comes off worse because we once had a rich story to tell.

Today, pity and empathy have conjoined like unfortunate Siamese twins on whom laws of procreation chose to derail their mission. Like the protagonist- narrator in our own Ben Okri's The Famished Road, "We knew no boundaries. There was much feasting, playing, and sorrowing. We played much because we were free". Ours was a glorious beginning until Amalgamation; until the vexatious decrees and laws crept into our statue books.

I want to say to you as I move to my conclusion, as we discuss "Ethnic Minorities Agitation for Resource control", that we all must join in the movement for the restructuring of Nigeria. Let all ask the question, "Where is justice?" And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising questions about true federalism and economic equality. The ambience of equal co-existence shall assail our path and our people will in confidence shake hands with others in the Federation. We will begin to see that hate is too great a burden to bear.

The future, for Nigerian ethnic minorities, holds out no friendly smile or handshake. The grimace on its face forebears continuously fermented brew of deprivation and earth-scorching policies. Our future well falls into Chimamanda Adichie's Half of the Yellow Sun and Frantz Fanon's "wretched of the earth". I do not, dear compatriots, advocate for another of the episodes narrated in “The Twelve-Day Revolution”, neither have I proclaimed an apocalypse or Armageddon. Much of our blood already has been spilt. Our youth have been hewn down with our women walking down the road singing the dirge of loved ones never to return. Epitaphs that narrate the anguish our broken hearts litter our landscape. But we must face this gloomy tomorrow with a broad smile on our faces. In all this, we must show love to overcome the grimace of the tyrant.

Interventionist agencies and half-hearted policies serve the master's debauchery and not to our common good. I served on the Federal Government's Niger Delta Technical Committee and our report submitted. What we presented has the potential to bring peace and progress to the country. In fact, it serves as fertile denouement to our sad drama. That has been my view. It is my view too, that the return to peace and truce in the Delta region has its course (root) therein.

Bear with me if I have bored your candid attention. That is the unfortunate metaphor of the testimony of the ethnic minorities in Nigeria. However, I foresee when the creeks and rivulets shall rebound with the voice of the redeemed, a people freed from the slum of social and political caste system. Our rivers, seas and oceans, like the ancient plantations of the Negro slaves, shall reverberate with songs of victory won through the steel of protest, mass movement and civil agitation. Until then, let us all keep climbing the mountains, stand the tyrant to the face. Our resolve will overcome them, and one day, on our lips will resonate the victor’s song, "Yes! We overcame. Sure, through God, we overcame".

Thanks and God bless.

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Long Live Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Long Live Action Congress!

Long Live AC In Diaspora!

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Voting Rights for Nigerians Resident Abroad in Elections in Nigeria - A Synopsis

By

Mobolaji E. Aluko, PhD

Coordinator, Board of Trustees, NDERG;

(Professor of Chemical Engineering, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA)

Speech delivered Action Congress Conference (UK Chapter)

On October 31, 2009, at

Harry Caddick Community Centre, 63 Lilford Road, Camberwell, UK

Abstract:

The paper outlines ongoing efforts to ensure that citizens of Nigeria resident abroad in all countries outside Nigeria are able to register, vote in their countries of residence in time for the 2011 elections AND have ALL votes cast both within and outside Nigeria count. Latest effort emanates from a successful lawsuit filed by 20 Nigeria Diasporans and concluded in Nigeria, leading to a pair of short bills submitted to the National Assembly in Nigeria, and currently being championed by NDERG (Nigeria Diaspora Electoral Reform Group).

Introduction

All protocols observed.

My sincere thanks to the organizers for giving me the opportunity to make a presentation in absentia at this conference of Action Congress (UK) – the most democratic political party in Africa, as distinct from the biggest? A recent travel to the UK on family matters made it difficult

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to once again cross the pond so quickly thereafter, so I am having a gracious speaker read this speech on my behalf.

The title of my talk is “Voting Rights for Nigerians Resident Abroad in Elections in Nigeria - A Synopsis”, but I will be remiss if I even begin to give you the impression that ensuring Diaspora vote is what will change Nigeria.

No – it is ensuring of TRUE FEDERAL DEMOCRACY that will change Nigeria.

By democracy here, I mean nothing simply more than that traditional and sensible definition of “government of the people, for the people, and BY the people” – that is a government that is elected by the people, which works for the people and is accountable to the people. Without a government which, through free, fair, periodic and credible elections:

‐ Enables the election of promising legislators and executives countrywide; ‐ Enables the throwing-out of those already elected who prove to be worthless; ‐ Enables the retention of those already elected who have proved to be worthy;

what we have then is not democracy but civilian dictatorship, which so far has turned out to be an expensive and disastrous proposition in our country even when compared with military autocracy. Compared with countries such as Ghana with a similar colonial and post-colonial experience, what we have had in Nigeria over recent years have been a series of worsening elections at all levels of government attended first by physical violence and then confirmed by judicial violence.

Only when we have such freely, fairly and credibly elected officials, with votes cast and protected by citizens, can we have accountable governance. That is what makes ELECTORAL REFORM paramount in any project that will result in a changed Nigeria of our dreams.

Next comes the structure of governance. Only true federalism will augur well for the multi-national country that Nigeria is. That many ethnically-based nations were thrown together by the British into a geographical area that became formalized into a country called Nigeria is a fait accomplit. It is now the task of its citizens to make it work – either as one nation or as separate nations. The centripetal forces are nevertheless greater than the centrifugal forces. A structure that is not quite con-federal, yet certainly not unitary, would serve such a country well, one in which federating units are granted enough autonomy to develop along each of their chosen path, but in the presence of a well-defined and adequately – but not suffocatingly - empowered center. The homogenizing distortion of too many years of military rule must be broken once and for all if Nigeria is to change.

Again, only credible and representative officials will fully recognize this and enable a Sovereign National Conference that will eventually give rise to a popular Constitution approved by the citizenry.

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Once again, even for that to happen, electoral reform is critical.

Minimum Electoral Reforms

The Uwais Committee has recently done a tremendous job of laying out the electoral reforms that will serve the nation well. I have waded through the document as made available electronically, but as in all Nigerian documents, it must not be wholesalely adopted hook-line-and-sinker without smoking out any time bombs in it. Here I outline my own minimum set of electoral reforms, many of which align with the committees’ recommendations:

(1) A truly independent National Electoral Commission whose membership is not chosen solely by the President, and which is composed of selected members of political parties and of civil society, with a chairman that should be either a sitting judge (that immediately becomes retired from judgeship) or an already retired judge. Consistent with this recommendation is a NEC that is under the Judiciary and not the Presidency. We should drop the word “Independent” in its official name, because in Nigeria, that is always an indication of non-independence!

(2) A NEC that is funded by first-charge budget from the Consolidated Funds.

(3) Staggered elections nationwide, so that all executive and legislative houses at the federal and state (and sometimes local) government levels are not having elections throughout the country at the same time. This requires different lengths of tenures of each of these elected entities, as well as shortened terms at the commencement of the staggering process.

(4) No installation of elected persons until and unless election disputes are settled by courts. This requires setting a time limit for electoral cases to be settled. Consistent with this is the requirement that once a prima facie case is established of problem with an election or polling units, the only legal recourse should be the RECOUNT, and not judges adding and subtracting votes on the bench. Thus ballot boxes will be required – or no results for recount.

(5) Continuous voter registration being truly deployed, and voter registers being made available ELECTRONICALLY as a matter of fact to ALL political parties and being placed on the Internet AS required by the Electoral Act in a timely manner.

(6) Adoption of Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS), where lining up of all voters is ensured before commencement; actually voting is done secretly; and counting is done

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publicly and recorded by audio, video and by still pictures, with this documentation being part of the required record of NEC for authenticity.

(7) Electronic voting in only those centers where electric power is reliable, but backed up by a paper trail. Finally, I add:

(8) Diaspora voting.

Why the Diaspora Must Vote

Let me therefore quickly turn to the main subject matter – the issue of Nigerians resident abroad voting. The key principle here is that the basic right to vote is not checked at the departure lounge when Nigerian citizens leave the shores of Nigeria, and that it is the responsibility of a responsible and responsive government to do all within its powers to allow such citizens to exercise as many of their rights as possible.

The argument has of course been that Nigerians resident abroad have always had the right to vote – all they have to do is come home to register when that time comes, and come home to vote when that time also comes. True, but the present effort is to ensure that Nigerians resident abroad can

(i) Register wherever they live abroad; (ii) Vote wherever they live abroad. (iii)Have those votes counted wherever they live abroad; (iv) Have those votes COUNT in the elections in Nigeria.

Nigerians of course are not the only nationals in the world who are either agitating for such a right, or who have won such a right already. At least 115 countries have their citizens exercise external voting in one or more of presidential, legislative, sub-national or referendum elections either in person, by proxy, by post, by fax or by e-voting. Another 9 countries are planning for such external voting. 11 countries even have their Diaspora have representatives in the National parliament, with four of those (Angola, Cape Verde, Algeria and Mozambique) being in Africa. (The others are Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, France, Italy, Panama and Portugal.)

So why not Nigeria? This has been a question asked by many Nigerians and organizations for several years now.

The other concern is the additional complication that will arise of adding Diaspora votes to an already controversy-ridden home vote, including vote dumping from the four corners of the wind. This also presages the possibility of Diaspora votes in fact becoming on occasion the DETERMINING factor of who are elected.

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My response again to this is stubborn: are Diaspora Nigerians citizens or not? What is to be done must be done, and what will happen will happen – and we will cross the bridge when we get to it. More seriously, done right, with the aid of technology and a vigilant set of residents abroad, Diaspora votes might actually be far more authentic than home votes.

The Lawsuit

On May 25, 2007, some Nigerians living abroad led by Hon. Hakeem Bello, Professor Bolaji Aluko, Dr. Baba Adam, Mr Uzoma Onyemaechi, Prof. Isa Odidi and fifteen others (see attached plaintiffs' list, Table 1, and a summary of events of the lawsuit Table 2) approached the Federal High court sitting in Abuja, in a class-action suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/370/2007 wherein they sought the following reliefs:

• A declaration that the plaintiffs are entitled to participate in the government of Nigeria by voting for candidates of their choice pursuant to Article 13(1) of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights (Ratification and Enforcement Act) (Cap 10) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990.

• A declaration that the plaintiffs are qualified for registration as voters by virtue of Section

13(1)(c) of the Electoral Act 2006 and Sections 77(2), 117(2), 132(5) and 178(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

• An order directing the defendants to set up registration centers and polling stations of the

Federal Republic of Nigeria in all High Commissions And Embassies of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The plaintiffs' counsel, Mr Femi Falana submitted that by the combined effect of the Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, Section 77 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 and Section 13 of the Electoral act 2006, Nigerians who are 18 years and above, living overseas are legally qualified to vote for candidates of their choice in any election conducted in Nigeria. Apart from the several local and foreign authorities cited by Mr Falana, he exhibited a list of member states of the United Nations including 15 African countries that have recognized external voting by their nationals. In their vehement opposition to the suit, the Attorney-General and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through their counsels, Messrs Nelson Anih and Chris Erhabor, submitted that the Nigerian Embassies and High Commissions cannot be used for voting as they do not form part of the constituencies under which elections could be held in Nigeria. They

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further contended that they have not prevented Nigerians living abroad from traveling home to participate in the electoral process. In his considered judgment, delivered on 18th December 2008, Justice Adamu Bello held that since Nigerians living abroad have convinced the court that they are entitled to vote and be voted for, it is the constitutional responsibility of INEC to put in place the "relevant machinery to assist the plaintiffs to vote from abroad." While agreeing with INEC that there is no provision for external voting in the law, the Judge stated that "the time is ripe for Nigeria to give its citizens living abroad the opportunity to register and vote from abroad in any election in Nigeria without having to travel for that purpose." Consequently, the Court directed INEC to "approach the National Assembly by sponsoring a bill for the sake of Nigerians in Diaspora and in doing so, it can borrow a leaf from the countries that have already adopted the external voting." In his reaction to the judgment, Mr Femi Falana commended Justice Bello for his incisive and progressive decision which has challenged the Nigerian government to join the comity of democratic nations by recognizing the rights and privileges of our citizens abroad to participate in the government of their country. A Bill is Drafted Following the court ruling, the plaintiffs constituted the core of a US-registered association - Nigeria Diaspora Electoral Reform Group (NDERG) - formed not only first to press the case for Voting Rights for Nigerians resident abroad, but also to ensure that we contribute positively to the ongoing electoral reform in the country. Deploying the best brains and legal advice available both in Nigeria and in the Diaspora, and after considerable public consultation with many individuals, the result was two versions of a Draft Bill (see attached draft bills, two versions) recently forwarded to various members of the national Assembly and the Presidency. Essentially, it simply reads as follows: QUOTE

1. Subject to the provisions of the Constitution and notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this Act or any other Act of the National Assembly, a citizen of Nigeria, of the age of eighteen years and above, residing and registered in the appropriate High

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Commissions or Embassies of Nigeria, shall be eligible to vote in all Presidential and Gubernatorial elections (general, bye-, and supplementary) held in the Federation.

2. The Independent National Electoral Commission (“Commission”) shall make rules to

enable Nigerian foreign residents of the age of eighteen years to vote in all Presidential and Gubernatorial elections held in the Federation, to include but not limited to the following:

a. Registration Procedure; b. Qualification for registration and eligibility to vote; c. The use of Nigerian embassies and missions and other designated centers as polling

venues; d. Designation of electoral functions to Nigerian Ambassadors and Heads of Mission and any other governmental and non-governmental entities; e. Vote counting in the foreign countries; f. Release of votes counts in the foreign countries; and g. Carry out such other activities and duties as are necessary in giving effect to the provisions of this Act

UNQUOTE In order to ensure that this bill be passed in time for the 2011 elections, we adopted a multi-prong pragmatic approach:

(i) We ensured that it was as short and brief as possible, leaving the arcane rules (which we had first intended to submit as the bill) to INEC;

(ii) Furthermore, we restricted elections to Presidential and Gubernatorial elections for now, to enable kinks to be worked out, even though we are not averse to Diaspora participation in legislative and other sub-national elections at a much later date.

(iii)We have left the issue of representation of the Diaspora in the National Assembly to a time in the future.

(iv) Our emphasis is on Electoral Law amendment, rather than Constitutional Review, even though we are not averse to the latter if that will remove any ambiguities.

We hope and trust that this short but important Bill will pass in the earliest possible time, either as a stand-alone chapter inserted into an amended Electoral Law 2006 (Version 1 of the draft), or as a complete stand-alone bill by itself (Version 2 of the draft), or where found necessary, as an amendment to the Constitution.

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In this regard, we will be working primarily with INEC to spearhead the timely submission of the Bill. Furthermore, to fast-track its passage, the cooperation and goodwill of the House Committee on Electoral Matters (chaired by Hon. Musa Sarkin-Adar), on Foreign Affairs (chaired by Hon. Usman Bature; on Diaspora Affairs (chaired by Hon. Abike Kafayat Dabiri-Erewa) and on Constitutional Review chaired by Hon. Bayero Usman Nafada; the Senate Committee on INEC (chaired by Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke) and Foreign Affairs (chaired by Senator Jubril Aminu) are to be relied upon. The special interest and support of Senate President David Mark, Speaker Dimeji Bankole, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekwerenmadu and Senator Annie Okonkwo already expressed are also appreciated.

In this arduous task, we ask for the support of this congregation.

Conclusion We have outlined above a synopsis of NDERG’s effort to ensure that Diaspora Nigerians can externally register and vote in the 2011 elections. A draft bill has been presented to some members of the National Assembly in Nigeria, but we await further action from them. I thank you for listening, and wish you a successful conference.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Press Release on Draft Bill Submission

http://www.nderg.org/documents/NDERG_Press_release_on_drafts_submission_for_voting_rights_July_24_2009.html

2. Diaspora Voting Draft Bill Version 1 - Nigerian Foreign Resident Participation [Section for insertion Option]

http://www.nderg.org/documents/Nigerian_Foreign_Resident_Participation_[Section_for_insertion_Option]_Version_1.pdf

3. Diaspora Voting Draft Bill Version 2 - Nigerian Foreign Resident Participation [Chapter Option]

http://www.nderg.org/documents/Nigerian_Foreign_Resident_Participation_[Chapter_Option]_Version_2.pdf

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4. The Certified True Copy of the Court Ruling

http://www.nderg.org/documents/CTC_Diaspora_Vote_Judgment_December_2008.doc

5. The Diaspora Voting Class Action Petition Originating Documents

http://www.nderg.org/documents/voting_class_action_petition_originating_documents.pdf

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Table 1: Nigeria Diaspora Voting Class Action Suit – Plaintiffs' List

S/N Name of Plaintiff City of Residence

State & Country of Residence

State of Origin in Nigeria

1 Hon. Akeem Bello Chapel Hill NC, USA Ogun

2 Prof. Bolaji Aluko Burtonsville MD, USA Ekiti

3 Dr. Baba M. Adam Prescott AZ, USA Borno

4 Mr. Uzoma Onyemaechi

Taylor MI, USA Imo

5 Prof. Isa Odidi Toronto Canada Kano

6 Dr. Emmanuel Dada Princeton NJ, USA Ekiti

7 Mr. Segun Ajibulu Raleigh NC, USA Ekiti

8 Mr. Surajudeen Seriki Houston TX, USA Ogun

9 Ms. Zainabu N. Sheni Silver Spring MD, USA Plateau

10 Prof. Adeoye Akinsanya

Austell GA, USA Ogun

11 Mr. Uzoma C. Obi York PA, USA Imo

12 Oloye Lekan Awojoodu

Burtonsville MD, USA Osun

13 Prince Stephen T. Malu

Gainesville FL, USA Benue

14 Mr. Victor O.A. Adewusi

East Providence RI, USA Ekiti

15 Mr. Kolawole E. Silva-Ope

Dallas TX, USA Lagos

16 Mr. Alex Ike Okeke Baltimore MD, USA Anambra

17 Sir Tony Nammor Bladensburg MD, USA Delta

18 Dr. Yemi Oke Toronto Canada Ogun

19 Mr. Ochi C. Ogbuaku II

Ajman United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Abia

20 Dr. (Mrs.) Oluremi Gravesend Kent, UK Ondo

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Ajibewa

For more information, please see http://www.nderg.org and/or contact Ms. Thelma Horton (NDERG Executive Director); [email protected]

TABLE 2: Diaspora External Voting Class-Action Law Suit and Its Judgment – A Summary ITEM COMMENT A The Class-Action Law Suit 1 Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/370/2007 2 In the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Abuja Judicial Division 3 Originating Summons filed May 25, 2007 4 Judgment Delivered by Justice Adamu Bello on 18th December,

2008

B The Plaintiffs 1 20 Deponents: Hakeem Bello, Uzoma Onyemaechi, Biodun Dada,

Segun Ajibulu, Surajudeen Seriki, Baba Adam, Zainabu Sheni, Mobolaji Aluko, Adeoye Akinsanya, Uzoma Obi, Oloye Awojoodu, Stepehn Malu, Victor Adewusi, Kolawole Silva-Ope, Alex Okeke, Tony Nammor, Yemi Oke, Isa Odidi, Ochi Ogbuaku and Oluremi Ajibewa

From thirteen states in Nigeria, and resident in four countries around the world

2 Counsel – Mr. Femi Falana, assisted by Mr . Sola Egbeyinka C The Defendants 1 Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria 2 Attorney-General of the Federation of Nigeria D Plaintiffs’ Issues before the Federal High Court in Abuja 1 Whether the Plaintiffs are not entitled to be registered for the

purpose of voting for their representatives in the Government of Nigeria

Granted

2 Whether the Defendants are not obliged to make provisions to enable the Plaintiffs to register and vote in the Embassies of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the various countries where they are

Not Granted

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E Reliefs Sought by Plaintiffs 1 A Declaration that the Plaintiffs are entitled to participate in the

Government of Nigeria by voting for candidates of their choices pursuant to Article 13(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement Act) (Cap 10) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990

Granted

2 A Declaration that the Plaintiffs are qualified for registration as voters by virtue of section 1(1) (c) of the Electoral Act 2006 and sections 77(2), 117(2), 132(5) and 178(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999

Granted

3 An order directing the Defendants to set up registration centers and polling stations in the Federal Republic of Nigeria in all the High Commissions and Embassies of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Not Granted

F Key Statements by the Judge (taken from Certified True Copy) 1 “So the question raised by the Plaintiffs regarding Issue number 1

as contained in the Originating Summons, whether as citizens, the Plaintiffs are entitled to participate in the government of Nigeria, becomes a rhetorical one whose answer is known in view of the combined effect of the sections of the Constitution and the African Charter aforementioned, which is that the Plaintiffs as citizens of Nigeria are entitled to participate in the government of Nigeria and to vote and be voted for in any elective office in Nigeria. I have no difficulty in resolving issue Number 1 in favor of the Plaintiffs”

2 “All the relevant provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral

Act talk about the right of the citizens of Nigeria to be registered as voters in Nigeria at the various designated registration centers scattered throughout Nigeria. There are no express provisions in the Constitution or the Electoral Act for Nigerians living abroad, like the Plaintiffs in this case, to register and vote from abroad as their counterparts in the various countries referred to by the Plaintiffs in 2nd reply to the 1st Defendants counter-affidavit as well as in exhibit “A” attached to the said reply to the 1st Defendant’s counter affidavit. In other words, the right of Nigerian citizens to register and vote or be voted for at any election in Nigeria are only exercisable within the Territorial boundaries of the Nigerian state. In this connection, I am in total agreement with the stand point of the Defendants that for the 1st Defendant i.e Independent National

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Electoral Commission (INEC) to open registration centers abroad for Nigerians living there to register and vote, at any election in Nigeria, from abroad, it requires an enabling enactment from the National Assembly to that effect……As the law stands today, the Plaintiffs having fulfilled all the Constitutional provisions with regard to the eligibility to participate in any election in Nigeria will have to put up with the inconvenience of having to travel home in Nigeria to register as voters and to participate in the election like any other Nigerian citizen, until such a time when the National Assembly enacts a law that empowers INEC to register Nigerians living abroad like the Plaintiffs in this case, as voters so as to enable them vote from the respective countries in which they live.”

3 “Let me hasten to add that I should not be understood to mean that

it is not desirable for Nigeria to join other Nations that adopt the external voting. I believe strongly that the Plaintiffs have made a good case and the time is ripe for Nigeria to give its citizens living abroad the opportunity to register and vote abroad in any election in Nigeria without having to travel to Nigeria for that purpose. The Plaintiffs are not under any obligation to sponsor a Bill to the National Assembly to enact the enabling legislation to realize their goal, however the 1st Defendant can approach the National Assembly by sponsoring such a Bill for the sake of Nigerians in the Diaspora and in doing so, it can borrow a leaf from the countries that have already adopted external voting.”

4 “In view of all the reasons adduced above and having come to the

conclusion that there are no express provisions in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and under the Electoral Act of 2006 which provide for external voting for Nigerians living abroad, I resolve issue No. 2 in favour of the Defendants. Consequently, having resolved Issue No. 1 in favour of the Plaintiffs, I grant reliefs 1 and 2 subject to my earlier statement that the rights to participate in the Government of Nigeria and to register as voters is exerciseable within the Territorial boundaries of Nigeria. Having resolved the 2nd issue in favour of the Defendants, relief 3 can not be and is not granted.”

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ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP – A TOOL FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA.

By Festus Ogbeide Chairman Action Congress South Africa

Distinguished guests, our highly revered leaders, political associates, comrades, compatriots, friends, members of all organisations represented here, ladies and gentlemen, I bring you greetings from South Africa. It is indeed my pleasure to present this paper to you all as we take steps in participating in the process of good governance in our beloved country – Nigeria. I humbly express our profound gratitude to AC-UK the organisers of this important occasion for inviting ACSA. We sincerely thank everyone here today for efforts displayed by joining us in this struggle for a better Nigeria as this readily gives us an assurance that the preparatory efforts towards preparing Nigerians for governance will yield the right way in taking our country and people forward. Distinguished guest, ladies and gentlemen, permit me to share with you this topic which is very important to the actualization of good governance in our Great country Nigeria. Democracy affords every citizen of a state, the right to participate in the process of governance of the said state. The citizens are the pillars of such process, the vibrancy of the process can be determined by the activeness of the citizens. As you all may know, the dark era of military dictatorship rule in Nigeria has destroyed the political fibre of our people and as such, the citizens of our great country have been subjected to total deadness around the issues of governance. Like the words from the music legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti which says OUR PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO SORROW, TEARS AND BLOOD BY THE MILITARY DICTATORS. The citizens of our country are totally discouraged in taking part in the process of governance thereby leaving the affairs of the country in the hands of evil men and women who do not have the interest of the country and people at heart. They do not have the right spirit to bring about the desired change that ought to be in place. I want to use this opportunity to commend the efforts of the esteemed leaders of our great party ACTION CONGRESS for the type of spirit that they have all displayed and continue to display. Indeed, this has given us hope that our country will SURELY overcome all ills that she had been subjected to by the power of the ALMIGHTY GOD. Say AMEN to this prayer. As we have agreed to this prayer, I will quickly like to say that it is time to WORK, WORK AND WORK EVEN HARDER till we achieve our aim of getting every citizen of Nigeria to participate FULLY in the whole process of governance. One of the main tenet’s of ACSA is the education and encouragement of our citizen’s participation in democratic processes. The advent of democracy in Nigeria provides us the space to play a critical role in creating mechanisms for our citizens to participate in discussions and debate around the transformation process. Permit me to quote the words of Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo “AN EDUCATED POPULATION IS THE EASIEST TO RULE AND THE HARDEST TO OPPRESS”.

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Our responsibilities include formal bridge-building initiatives involving diverse schools, community organisations, religious bodies and civil society organisations – to mention a few. We wish to establish and facilitate a number of formal pro-democracy structures through which citizens and leaders can participate in decision-making around transition in key areas including policing and local government. We also wish to promote a programme through which citizen participation in the development of communities is enhanced and Citizen Empowerment programme, which encompasses work on citizen leadership, institutional capacity building and dialogue processes. Allow me to highlight why Active Citizenship is important in a democratic government and how citizens can participate in democracy.

1. WHY IS ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP IMPORTANT IN A DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT? The viability and success of democracy depends on citizen participation: a. Citizen participation is critical to representation: if citizens do not participate in

elections for example, it would be impossible to constitute a democratic government. In some countries, citizens are legally obliged to vote in elections.

b. Citizen participation is essential for transparency and accountability: if citizens merely vote and show no further interest in the affairs of the state, democracy could easily be threatened by the lack of transparency and accountability. Citizen participation in government between elections is essential to ensure that leaders do not abuse their powers and that the interests of citizens are advanced.

c. Citizen participation is vital for government to keep in touch with the people: it enhances the quality of democratic governance by constantly bringing diverse needs, concerns, views and perspectives into the decision-making process. This helps to inform government about what the citizens wish to see happening in their country.

d. Citizen participation enhances implementation: citizens do not only strengthen democracy by engaging with formal law making or policy development, citizen participation may also take place through local and community structures such as school governing bodies or community- policing forums. The planning, management and implementation of local initiatives can similarly benefit from the active involvement of citizens through consultative and co-operative processes.

e. Citizens also act outside of government in their own public space.

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2. HOW CAN CITIZENS PARTICIPATE IN DEMOCRACY?

The most obvious way that citizens participate in democracy is by voting in elections. There are however, many additional ways for citizens to play an active role in democratic governance. These include:

a. Joining a political organisation b. Standing as a candidate in an election c. Taking part in the work of the political party at the local level d. Staying informed about what is happening in parliament and other legislature e. Being informed about government policies, programmes, budgets f. Participating in civil society organisations like youth organisations, women’s groups,

neighbourhood watches, environmental organisations, school governing bodies, human rights’ advocacy groups, etc.

g. Using citizenship education to inform people of their rights and encourage participation and debate

h. Lobbying government around a specific issue through letters, petitions, meetings or phone calls, etc.

i. Writing letters to newspapers or engaging in radio debates j. Taking part in protest marches and demonstrations k. Attending public meetings on critical issues l. Encouraging discussion and debate in different forums, including schools, religious

institutions and in the work place. m. Making written or oral submissions to parliament. n. Serving as an election monitor or election official o. Disseminating information on important issues of public concern and/or encouraging

media attention to critical issues.

Conclusively, the theme of this conference is: PREPARING NIGERIANS FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE. I am quite convinced that the need to encourage Nigerians to take interest and get involved in the process of governance is a tool that will facilitate the process of preparing every Nigerian both at home and abroad to get involved, as this is critical in bringing about the desired change in our great country. It is very important that we all play our respective roles in actualising our dream for a better Nigeria. LONG LIVE DEMOCRACY! LONG LIVE ACTION CONGRESS!! LONG LIVE OUR GREAT COUNTRY NIGERIA!!! LONG LIVE AFRICA!!!

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Diasporan Aspirants Returning Home To Contest Elections.

By Otunba (Engr) Adewale Adenaike (Contested for the Senate 2003 and 2007)

“Nigeria needs to change, I’m going to be part of that change and I’m going to serve my people by being part of the next democratic dispensation”

“I’m fed with of this country, Nigeria is home, but those thieves won’t give us a chance”

These are some of the common statements made by Nigerians in the Diaspora. Are these statements unrealistic? Well thought out? Or momentous emotional throws of passion?

It is a common theme these days in almost every city in America, Europe, South Africa et al to notice groups of Nigerians discussing the rot in the governance of Nigeria and the need for credible people to begin to participate. It has gotten to a frenzy state that at any Nigerian gathering or function – in a party, at school, at work and bars and restaurants – an average Nigerian now is enmeshed in the political future and direction in Nigeria.

This paper is not written with the intention to obtain a degree in political science. Rather, it is a very practical representation and the reality of what obtains within the Nigerian polity as it affects Nigerians abroad, whose intentions are to contest elections. There will be some elements of personal experiences (successes and failures) and possible lessons to learn for the future.

The challenges faced by Nigerian in the Diasporas going home to contest election.

Nigerians in the Diaspora, often with vast experience and knowledge, believe that skill and knowledge transfer could benefit their homeland but are repeatedly disenchanted by the prospect of ‘hitches’ that attest Nigeria election fairness.

Political Structure

It is important to consider the Nigeria political structure which is based on people who permanently behold its whims and caprices as effort to gain popular support through experience, efficiency and capacity as identified by the populace (whose votes should count) will always play second fiddle to the desires of the anointed owners of the “Nigeria Private Company Limited”. This group of “leaders” earn their living through the anointment of candidates who subsequently provide the fenestration of the peoples funds into private pouches. This political phenomenon is alien to those of us based outside of the Nigerian geographical location.

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Grass-root Participation – Local Knowledge

Despite the eagerness to participate in the rescue mission of our polity, it is of utmost importance to physically remove ourselves from the comfort of our opulence in Europe to go back to the darkness as provided by PHCN (formerly NEPA), in order to engage the people at the grass-root level. It is pertinent to learn the political attitude (good or bad), the dynamics and a credible platform and formula to articulate our agenda within the parameters of the Party Manifestos. Charity is said to begin at home, therefore, the first commitment should be at the Ward level, which will naturally evolve to the Local Government, the State and possibly National depending on the office to be contested for. The Ward is where it all begins; relevance at the Ward cannot be ignored as there will not be an opportunity without it. No elections can be won in Nigeria from the streets of Peckham or the restaurants in Middlesex.

Resistance to the “Foreign Imports” – (Tokunbo Politicians)

Nigerians in Nigeria are averse to the interest shown by foreign-based Nigerians in politics. “How can you just come from nowhere....... and believe you can come and take away our bread and butter?”, “What is here is not enough for those at home” – these are the usual comments from home-based, but I dare say jobless politicians. As far as they are concerned, political offices are designed to share the ‘national cake’.

It is a matter of fact that the current wave of diasporian interest in actively participating in the politics at home is not a welcome development across Nigeria but rather a source of income for the stakeholders. In recent past, a couple of people from this part of the world have been successful in their bid (House of Assembly and House of Representative).........thanks to their godfathers.

God-Fatherism (Imposition)

This is not unusual in political dynamics all over the world. However, the peculiarity of this method in Nigeria is surprisingly shocking. The attendant deception (as often said...this is politics!!!) is criminally frustrating. Your perceived godfather will promise five others for the same position. At the end of the day, there can only be one governor in a state etc. It is necessary to establish a credible romance with principled, trustworthy power brokers, who share your vision and ready to facilitate your interest for the benefit of the electorate. Sadly, there are not many of such people in the political ‘industry’ in Nigeria. Divine intervention could have a significant role to play.

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Party Activities and Participation

A virile political platform is a springboard to escalate our political desires. It is acceptable to belong to the foreign chapters or groupings of your chosen party affiliation. This should be seen as a learning process towards the eventual involvement at home. The ward in Nigeria is where your political relevance really begins. Payment of party dues, sponsoring local events, attending party functions, contributing to the promotion of the party etc. Where distance is an issue, allow your foreign currency to speak for you.

Money

“It doesn’t matter how laudable your ideas are, if you have no money you have no ideas” – Lady Margaret Thatcher (Former British Prime Minister)

Money is the engine and oil of all ideas conceived or perceived. All over the world, money is required to prosecute any venture, be it legitimate or otherwise. We are all living witnesses of the election that brought about the demise of white domination of the white house in America. The Barrack Hussein Obama victory.

Money is required for the printing of campaign materials e.g. posters, t-shirts, face caps, handbills, flags, billboards etc. Radio jingles, television appearances, vehicular movement, emoluments for individual structural coordinators amongst others are required to be well funded. However, in Nigeria, as you seek the Party nomination (primaries), your expenses could be quadrupled due to the incessant demands of various stakeholders who need appeasement. Each visitation to any ward or local government area will send your pocket or bank account into spasm. The demands of your chosen platform and ‘leaders’ could send your resources into a state of coma if care is not taken. It is a known fact, today, in Nigeria that ‘Nigerian politics is money politics’. Most aspirants from the diaspora are unable to compete with the demand of this anomaly. From known experiences, people are known to have been traumatized by the attendant effects of loosing after such investment. It is, therefore, necessary to consider the level of commitment one is able to comfortably offer before venturing into the den of political juggernauts.

Religious Orientation

You must be willing to accommodate all varying religious beliefs, sometimes to the detriment of your personal commitment to your faith. Further incursion into this topic is beyond the scope of this paper.

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Landed Property

Not a major deterrent but desirable. Grassroot politics is quick to point at the need for you to have a place of abode within your immediate community, could even be a family house. This is when you are considered one of them.

Rigging

This has become a culture and tradition within the polity of Nigeria. Primaries are rigged as well as general elections. The survivors are usually who can rig the most, with the use of security agents, police, area boys and girls and most especially MONEY. It is sad but true. Diasporans must weigh their options considering how resources are achieved from this part of the world.

As mentioned earlier, my intention is to highlight the challenges and how to overcome them. All political aspirants must understand the uniqueness of Nigerian politics. There is no amount of classroom education or foreign experience that could prepare you for the political climate in Nigeria. You must avail yourself, be on the ground, available to co-ordinate, participate and mostly be on the move when required. Most importantly, there must be adequate resources to prosecute your intention.

Going home to contest is herculean but achievable!!!!

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WOMEN IN POLITICS

By Mrs Abiola Thompson-Orunkoya, Women Leader Action Congress UK

Greetings. All protocols observed. I thank the Chairman of AC UK and the Conference Planning Committee for the opportunity to showcase the achievements and the numerous challenges facing the Nigerian Woman in Politics. It is settled that politics in Nigeria is a male-dominated affair with all the norms and rules of engagement tilted in the favour of men. There are numerous retrogressive policies and practices against women’s involvement in politics in Nigeria. They stem from outdated culture and tradition to the pressures of family life with the women always having to make the most sacrifice. Above all, the most profound negative act militating against the involvement of women in politics generally in Nigeria today is the increased use of violence by men. Most women by their nature are peace loving. Let us at this stage consider some facts;

(1) Of the 20 speakers listed to speak here today, only 2 are women (10%)! (2) According to the 2006 census figures provided by the office of the National

Bureau of Statistics, 49% of the total population are women while 51% are men!

(3) In Ebonyi State where 52% of the population are women, out of the six House of Representative members, only 1 is a woman! Out of the 3 senators, none is a woman!

(4) Most caucuses meet very late at night or very early in the morning. This arrangement automatically excludes most women politicians who in most cases also have a family to cater for.

(5) What about negative labelling of women politicians? Most of us especially those women involved in politics in Nigeria have to endure all sort of snide comments, gossips and remarks from the male dominated political terrain.

(6) Out of the 36 Federal Ministers, only 4 are women. It is obvious from these facts that one of the criteria of being a successful politician in 21st century Nigeria is to be a man! Let us localise the issue to our great party – Action Congress. There are 23 Articles and 2 Schedules in our party’s constitution. Not one of these provisions specifically addresses the issue of equal representation; political participation or leadership role for women! Although the post of Women Leader is provided for, this is of little comfort as it carries very minimal executive clout.

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Solutions: Party Constitution.

(1) This must be amended as soon as possible to give proper recognition to women and to ensure that there is female participation and representation at all levels of party and state governance. A minimum target should be set with rewards and sanctions clearly spelt out. It is time we move away from the token women leader post in modern Nigerian politics.

(2) It must be mandatory for all married male party leaders to always attend party functions with their wives. (How many of our party leaders’ wives are here today?).

(3) Special funds must be set aside with constitutional backing for female political aspirants. Since it is almost impossible at times for female aspirants to canvass for funds in the same way as men.

Women.

(1) Irrespective of the suggested constitutional solutions above, women have to think like men and adopt similar but progressive tactics instead of waiting for concessions. Concessions must be added bonus.

(2) We must be economically empowered, politically aware and socially liberated. The era of over-dependence on husband, father, male friends, etc must come to an end if we are to achieve high level political relevance. Female politicians and wives of politicians in the corridors of power must assist up and coming one through non-governmental activities and initiatives.

Religious.

(1) Exemptions for women politicians in situations where religious norms clashes with political realities. For instance, under the Sharia system of governance, women are not allowed to mix with men in public! How are they expected to win the male votes?

Government. (1) Provision of gender specific workshops and seminars to sensitize female

aspiring politicians (2) Deliberate policies of positive gender discrimination in favour of women

In all, I believe that if we do the above and the more that will come to mind as we implement, we all men, women and children will be the better for it. Thank you all. Mrs Thompson-Orunkoya.

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PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ACTION CONGRESS CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION FOR FOREIGN CHAPTERS

By Barrister Bob Olukoya, Action Congress UK Chapter

Constitutions are important documents and are the grund norm of a body of people, organisation or Nation. Wilful violation of this sacred document is a precursor for anarchy and break down of the rule of law. The founding fathers of the Action Congress Party in Nigeria foresaw a situation where Nigerians in Diaspora would desire to join the party but might not necessarily want to return to Nigeria for this purpose. As a result, Article 19.5 (Special Chapters) was born. QUOTE 19.5 SPECIAL CHAPTERS: Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, there shall be foreign chapters of the party provided that such chapters meet the following conditions. (a) If they exist to serve the purpose of the party (b) Approval for the establishment of a foreign chapter shall be sought by a minimum of fifty members of the party exposed to the special situation after a resolution to that effect has been taken by them. (c) The National Executive Committee shall examine the circumstances of all such applications and shall have the power to approve or reject the formation of any such chapter. UNQUOTE The purpose of this brief paper is to consider an amendment to this ‘special chapter’ clause in order to ensure continued certainty, clarity and unity. Comments and Recommendations from other foreign chapters, party leaders and party members are welcomed. The proposed addition to the existing provision would read thus: (d) There shall be only one recognized foreign Chapter in each country. This recognized Chapter shall be referred to as ‘Action Congress (AC) and the name of the country’, e.g. AC UK, AC Ireland, AC Austria, AC South Africa, etc (e) The recognized Chapter shall have the sole responsibility of creating sub-units, State-caucuses or regional groupings as the case may be within its area of jurisdiction for the purpose of serving the party better. (f) The Chairman of the recognized Chapter shall automatically become a member of the National Executive Committee as contained in Article 7.1.5 of the constitution. (Article

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7.1.5 would also be amended to include: xxvii – Chairman of each duly recognized foreign Chapters). (g) The Chairman and Secretary of each duly recognized foreign Chapter shall become members of the National Working Committee and the National Convention respectively. (Articles 7.17 and 7.19 shall be amended with the addition of item xxi and xvii respectively) (e) The Chairman of each duly recognized foreign Chapter shall issue a letter of recommendation in a prescribed format to any member of the party in their area of jurisdiction that wish to contest elections in Nigeria or wish to be considered for political appointments. The records and contributions of such member to the party shall be the basis of the said letter of recommendation. (f) Each duly recognized foreign Chapter shall make an annual payment to the party headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria. The sum shall be 240,000 Naira and subject to review every 4 years. A presentation would be made at the next National Convention of the party where approval would be sought for the amendments listed above. For further details and submission of further amendments, please send an email with your name, address and Chapter to: [email protected]. Thank you very much. Democracy Forver!

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Dr. Philip E Idaewor, MSc, MBBS, FMCPath ([email protected]) 07989439116 London Ms. Bola Abimbola, BSc, MBA ([email protected]) 07956219417 London, 08138307767 Nigeria 

HEALTHCARE REFORM IN NIGERIA

Written by Dr. Philip Idaewor (practicing pathologist in the UK for over 20 years) & Bola Abimbola MBA (member of British Psychological Society with over 15 years experience of managing health service delivery across all tiers of government in the UK).

Proposals for 5 constitutional amendments with the overall aim to establish universal healthcare for all citizens in Nigeria.

Introduction

There is no doubt that all three tiers of government (federal, state and local) are keen to play their roles in healthcare delivery, however without clearly explicit Acts, which detail the roles and responsibilities of the three tiers, there will continue to be a lack of co-ordination, duplication of services, wastage of resources, diminished responsibilities and apathy. Policy makers and managers are often left frustrated in the face of unclear means of meeting set targets which do not take into consideration their unique challenges.

The 4th (2c) schedule of the constitution clearly gives responsibility for healthcare delivery to the local government tier. The constitution however does not state the explicit responsibilities of the state and federal government other than stating “the state shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are adequate medical and health facilities for all persons” (chapter 2, 17, 3d)

Although all 3 tiers have defined roles in the National Health Policy, this lack of constitutional clarity creates a significant gap which must be fulfilled by the enactment of these 5 proposals below, regarding service restructuring, service repositioning and financing.

1. Federal Government tier role

Federal Government to establish the NATIONAL HEALTH COMMISSION to

‐ Provide overall co-ordination, professional supervision and financial management across the nation

‐ Ensure budget allocation across the states and local governments ‐ Act as the operational arm of the Ministry of Health with set targets linked to the

objectives of the National Health Policy. ‐ Ensure parallel development of healthcare Information, communication technology to

facilitate referrals and information sharing across the nation

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Dr. Philip E Idaewor, MSc, MBBS, FMCPath ([email protected]) 07989439116 London Ms. Bola Abimbola, BSc, MBA ([email protected]) 07956219417 London, 08138307767 Nigeria 

2. State Government tier role

State Governments to have responsibility for the planning and management of secondary, tertiary and university teaching hospitals via usage of digitized health maps which will detail population density/demographics as well as all private and public service providers.

3. Local Government tier role Local Governments to have responsibility for primary and community health care: ‐ the planning and management of Primary Care Trusts and Polyclinics (team of

medical, nursing and medical professionals) via usage of digitized health maps which will detail population density/demographics as well as all private and public service providers.

‐ ensuring all persons are registered with a local General Practitioner and have a unique national health number.

4. Health care repositioning

Primary care to become the entry to healthcare services with the Medical General Practitioner acting as the gatekeeper to refer patients unto required secondary and tertiary care health services.

This provides for more equitable access especially for the less literate as well as continuation of care in the long term.

5. Financing Universal Healthcare

Universal healthcare, as a basic right to all citizens regardless of financial status and location should be funded via a NATIONAL HEALTH FUND. The Health Fund will be constituted by mandatory contributions (10% contribution of salaries or earnings by all working adults, 25 – 30% minimum of local, state and Federal government budget, deductable at federal level if necessary, and 20% of employee salary by private companies) as well as donations from international organisations and charitable persons.

This is based on the German model of universal healthcare delivery which is the oldest and most effective healthcare system in the world.

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APPRECIATION

BY MR STEPHEN KIFORDU, COORDINATOR CONFERENCE PLANNING COMMITTEE

On behalf of all members of the planning committee for the inaugural Action Congress Party conference of chapters abroad, I hope all attendees have had a worthwhile conference.

We heartily express our gratitude to the various executive teams that have not only sent us out on a task, but actually supported us all the way through. I personally thank you the host chairman: Chief (Dr) Ayodele Owoade and also the general secretary Chief Dr Ibrahim Emokpaire for all your support.

As a first among many to come, this conference faced the usual problems but thankfully it has bas been midwife to survive and has come to fruition. In achieving this, every member of this committee has had to do beyond the call to service and for this I am eternally grateful to them all.

Their sense of patriotism, dedication, selflessness, support and guidance has been borne out to the full and I am the better for those.

Thank you all members who supported this project financially and otherwise. May the good Lord replenish you and continue to provide for you.

In all, all members of this committee thank you all for the opportunity to serve.

Committee Members List

#Pls collect our names from email list