With the growing concerns that the country’s fragile peace may shatter will the leaders of Ethiopia intensify or reverse their efforts to muzzle an independent press? I believe that many Ethiopians would bet on the former.
Ignorant free speech often works against the speaker. That is one of several reasons why it must be given rein instead of suppressed ~ Anna Quindlen When I saw the caption of the story I was already shaking my head at the depth the government could descend to silence critics before I clicked on the link to read the details. At the 2nd paragraph, I paused and read the caption once more and started shaking my head again, this time, at how some journalists can willfully or otherwise mislead the reading audience with a caption. There is a thin line between criticism and insult. Here is the 2nd paragraph below: “In the July 5, 2017 tweet, Bolouere Opukiri described then-Acting President Osinbajo as ‘a novice’ for traveling out of the country at a time President Muhammadu Buhari was receiving medical treatment in London and tension was flaring between the executive and the legislature” ~ Premium Times Firstly, the word ‘novice’ means neophyte, an inexperienced person and it was used in a derogatory manner. So the headline “Nigerian woman loses job after criticising Vice President Osinbajo online” by Premium Times is misleading. It should have been “Nigerian woman loses job after insulting Vice President Osinbajo online”. As I read on I started recollecting the story. I follow the lady in question on Twitter, someone had retweeted one of her blog posts which I read and found interesting. She is a brilliant and witty young lady. I dare say she is also exuberant, opinionated and outspoken going from what she writes and her tweets. On this particular incident, she totally lost it that day. She rancorously lashed out at those who abused her for insulting her employers and even some neutrals who tried to warn her of the likely consequences of her action were not spared her venom. At a point she bragged about her rich background, boasting that she never applied for the job and that if she’s out of job her dad could take care of her for the rest of her life. Well, there you are according to Zebrudaya. The time is now. I didn’t expect the matter to be in the media, I had expected the young lady to be tweeting from Yale or Harvard in the company of fellow rich kids while arming herself with leadership skills that will be deployed to oust Osinbajo and Buhari next year. But here we are, reading about how she has been junketing and getting sacked again from another job. This matter reminds me of the Igbo adage about a certain man who felt the orange tree in his compound bore fruits that were not sweet enough so he cut it down. Lo, and behold the following season he wanted to eat oranges but ended up screaming like a madman when he was told the price at the market. There is always that tendency to take something for granted especially if you didn’t sweat or struggle hard to get it. I am one person that values loyalty, you can’t be working in an office that you not only condemn but also insult and expect a rewarding pat on the back, come on! I mean if she felt so bad about the same government she worked for she could have just resigned so that she can have all the freedom to call the Acting President names. I also do not buy into the utopian definition of freedom of speech and expression. No no no, in the real world such freedom ends where the other person’s own begins, especially where there is a nexus and even more so when such person is your employer. Therefore her right to free speech was abridged the day she picked her letter of appointment. Whats more there is no ambiguity in the relevant section of the Public Service rules. It clearly views “false claims against government officials” as a serious misconduct for which an employee should be dismissed as ultimate penalty. Celebrities like Roseann Barr just lost her job last week for a racist tweet let alone some obscure staffer at the Amnesty Office who finds it delirious to insult her employers. Give me a break! In any case, let me say that if she wants publicity with the obviously sponsored story, then she will get exactly that but in Nigeria stories like this which are a necessary distraction have a very short lifespan, they rarely last the week in the blogosphere before being relegated by another. And if she wants public sympathy I don’t think she’s getting much from what I’ve seen so far, not with our proclivity for savage clap backs and epic responses, if she does get some love, however, it ‘ll be interesting to see how that will help in paying her buxom bills. But if she wants to sue then I believe she should already know that likely outcome of taking such tedious path. The case of Yushau Shuaib who was dismissed by the previous government for criticising Ngozi Okonjo Iweala should suffice. It is also advisable that she should weigh that option meticulously and tread carefully. The grapevine is already filled with stories of her alleged involvement with a fugitive former presidential aide. Only a ‘novice’ will not know the enormous powers at the disposal of a government and its agents. They can also be ruthless if they have to be and there can be no better example than this APC government. The young lady will be better off moving on, she is still very young and talented, and with determination, the sky can only be the beginning. This is Nigeria!
The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks ~ Samuel Adams This evergreen statement by the erudite philosopher and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States will continue to resonate among the greater proportion of conscionable men who want and strive for a better society. Ever since a bill to control and regulate the activities of NGOs was introduced to the House of Representatives in July 2016 there has been widespread criticism and condemnation of the move. The Bill which is sponsored by Hon. Umar Buba Jibril (Deputy Leader, PDP: Kogi), proposes among other things to establish a Regulatory Commission for NGOs. This body will be headed by an Executive Secretary for a five-year tenure, a Governing Board comprising of 18 members and a Chairman, all of whom shall also be appointed by the President. The Board will have powers to reject and approve the application for a license from NGOs. Having read the bill I can say without any fear of contradiction that it is aimed at cajoling and intimidating a sector that has contributed greatly to our incipient democracy. Ostensibly what this bill proposes in simple language is for our constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression and association to be curbed. Surely nothing can be more draconian, what do these lawmakers take us for? The fact that an opposition lawmaker spent time and resources to come up with this preposterous bill in this modern age clearly portrays the manner of rustic sycophancy peculiar to most of our public officials. There is no civilized nation where the government seeks to suppress the activities of civil society organizations. They are rather seen as partners in progress for the good of the larger society, sadly it remains to be seen if our so-called honorable members in Abuja appreciate the positives of such malleability. We can agree that in a country like ours the proliferation of numerous organizations claiming to be non-profits has many cons. There have been cases of fraudulent operations, corrupt enrichment, and even security threat, the truth, however, is that the pros far outweigh these cons. More often than not, especially during conflicts, while the Intergovernmental organizations like the AU and UN are rambling about the strategy or consequence of moving into trouble spots, these NGOs are often the first to deploy. The innumerable benefits of NGOs simply cannot be sacrificed on the pretext of safeguarding national security by lawmakers who have a legendary reputation for servile flattery. Expectedly the Nigeria Network of NGOs led by its Executive Director Seyi Oyebisi fired the first salvo. In a letter to Hon Jibril and the relevant House Committee the network shredded the vacuous and inscrutable summations of the proposed bill in 3 areas, namely; security, lack of legal framework and regulating the funding of the sector. The letter queried the evidence to back up the growing narrative of NGOs being funding channels for terrorism even when available statistics show that less than 5% of them receive foreign funds. It also reminded the lawmakers that the CAC, NPC, and FIRS already have several existing legal frameworks guiding the activities of NGOs especially in the area of funding. Subsequently, several leaders of thought from across the civil society, media and the academia have spoken out to warn our lawmakers and sensitize Nigerians on the perils of any attempt to emasculate our already endangered freedom of expression and right to peaceful assembly. In a press statement signed by 54 persons, including Agbakoba, Falana and Adeniyi they argued that the lawmakers “desire to bring back to life all the intolerance and high-handedness of military rule, by clamping down on voluntary organisations” at a time Nigerians were suffering from the worst economic crisis in decades and thereby urged well-meaning Nigerians to “lend their voices in condemning this bill and encourage the National Assembly to withdraw it from consideration” In one of its editorials, Thisday newspapers pummeled the bill and concluded that it will not only stifle our freedom but will also lynch “the incredible network of voluntary organizations holding the nation together” and called on the “stakeholders in the national democratic project to work collectively to ensure that this bill does not see the light of day”. So even though the House of Reps just released a statement to explain and defend its intent on passing the bill there is little doubt that the successes of our NGOs far out-mark their deficiencies. They are more accountable than our government agencies. They have in the past exposed corruption and promoted transparency in government. So while we concede that the extant laws should be amended to accommodate some of the present-day realities we should definitely not support a bill that will hand over much of our freedom to a few selected government officials. One of the frontrunners of this campaign to enlighten the average Nigerian on the dangers of the toxic bill Prof Chidi Odinkalu Chairman, Governing Council, Section on Public Interest & Development Law (SPIDEL), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has summarised the flaws of the bill in a 5-minute video. Prof. Chidi Odinkalu Please share and enlighten fellow Nigerians to #SayNoToTheAntiNGObill Thank you.
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