By Emmanuel Onwubiko
Nigeria is battling two monsters simultaneously namely Mass poverty
and pervasive corruption.
These battles have been on for a generation.
POVERTY and Corruption are social afflictions inflicted on the
Nigerian citizens by Governments of successive epochs including both
military dictators and the few civilian administrations we have had in
just over half a century of Independence.
In 1999 when democracy returned, the civilian government then unfolded
programmes for fighting corruption but it was not until in 2003 that
the first institutional effort to battle corruption took a life of its
own with the setting up of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other
related offences commission (ICPC) and followed up by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Sadly, corruption and mass poverty are debilitating social menace that
have become deeply entrenched added to the somehow cosmetic approaches
these two institutions have adopted in fighting off Corruption which
causes mass poverty.
It was for the overwhelming desires of the greatest percentage of
Nigerian Citizens that in the 2015 general elections, the candidate
that appeared to have showcased a better programme on how to fight and
eliminate these twin social evils of poverty and corruption that the
then Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress Major
General Muhammadu Buhari(rtd) came on top of the election exercise
that was not challenged by the Peoples Democratic party and the
Incumbent president Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
However, after five years, which is four years making up the first
tenure of office of President Muhammadu Buhari and another year after
the second and final tenure which he won through a Pyrrhic victory
over the People’s Democratic party ‘s Presidential candidate in the
2019 poll, Former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria has
fallen deeper into widespread poverty and the widening spectre of
corruption amongst public office holders has become tragically
humiliating for decent Nigerians all around the globe.
Public Corruption which is the genesis of the widespread discontent
and mass poverty has continued to be a recurring decimal in the public
conducts of officials charged with specific objectives of ameliorating
mass hunger especially amongst the youngest populations of Nigeria who
are mostly in the primary school system all around the Country.
The school feeding programme is a component of the Social investment
programme of the current administration.
But this major plank of the programme of the government is deeply
entrenched in corruption and massive financial abuses by officials
charged with running the programme aimed at providing some forms of
reliefs for the children of the poorest of the poor who are enrolled
in the heavily dilapidated public schools across the Country.
Tons of billions of public fund voted and released for the
implementation of the school feeding programmes have disappeared into
private pockets of officials.
The most annoying aspect of this is that currently, Nigeria does not
run a healthy democracy because the executive arm of government has
pocketed both the Legislative and judicial arms of government making
the demands for transparency and accountability extremely difficult to
achieve.
The National Assembly that is charged by the Supreme law with the
powers of oversights(Section 4) over the manners the government
officials spend public funds including the implementation of the
corruption ridden School Feeding PROGRAMME has been unable to exercise
strong enough independent authority to compel the relevant agencies
and officials of the Federal Government to render public accounts.
Writing on the theme: “Oversight functions of the legislature: An
instrument for nation building”, Grace Ayodele Arowolo stated thus:
“The legislature is an institution which represents the common and
collective interests of the citizens through the enactment of laws and
the exercise of oversight functions on the activities of the executive
arm of government”.
The academic researcher further submitted that: “The legislature in a
democracy exists as an independent institution which deepens democracy
and ultimately strengthens the polity. Nation building that will be
likely to contribute to stable and sustainable international peace
requires building the society, economy and polity so as to meet the
basic needs of the people. It means not only producing the formal
institutions of democracy but building a common identity for the
people. It means development of education, human rights, (political,
civil, economic, social and the rule of law).”
The researcher continued thus: “It allows participation of the civil
society in developing democratic state institutions that promote
welfare. In the quest for nation building in a democratic set up like
Nigeria, the exercise of effective legislative oversight function
remains crucial. Its purpose is to provide a powerful check on the
executive authority, enhancing accountability where a dominant
executive branch might operate with impunity. It also aims at ensuring
that all relevant societal groups are included in and benefit from the
nation building and development exercise and that government policies
and budgets are implemented in an effective, efficient, transparent
and accountable manner.”
The power of oversight, the researcher argues, is conferred on the
Nigerian legislature by the Constitution to enable the National
Assembly to expose corruption, inefficiency, or waste in the execution
or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the
disbursement and administration of funds appropriated by the Acts.
Nigeria, being a developing country, the legislature’s capacity to
carry out its oversight functions remains weak because legislative
role and culture is at its infancy6 and therefore often confronted by
many challenges, the researcher affirmed.
As i had previously observed, something intriguing has been happening
with the efforts of the Federal House of Representatives to invite the
minister in charge of the Humanitarian Affairs to provide information
to clarify on certain issues with the school feeding programme which
is encumbered by massive and pervasive corruption.
The minister as a member of the Executive arm of government that has
pocketed the Legislative arm of government has reportedly rejected the
invitations of the parliamentary Commission on the alleged corruption
afflicting the school feeding programme.
As reported in the media, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs,
Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouk,
rejected for the fourth time, the invitation of the House of
Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating her ministry’s
disbursement of funds, allocated for palliatives, to cushion the
effect of the coronavirus pandemic on less-privileged Nigerians.
Her refusal to cooperate with the enquiry is in violation of sections
4, 81, and 88 of the 1999 Constitution. These sections, give the House
of Representatives power over the Public purse and investigative
powers over even the President of the Federation, his Ministers and
heads of agencies of government, as far as public funds are concerned.
The parliament also enjoys quasi-judicial powers under the
Constitution and the Legislative Powers Act, to summon, cause
appearance and even effect the arrest of anyone under the federation.
The Chairman of the panel, Rep. Wole Oke (PDP-Osun), and other members
of the Committee, were visibly piqued by the Minister’s contempt of
the House.
This show of shame is the reason the civil society community in the
Country have always campaigned for the practice of genuine democracy
in which the three arms of government are guaranteed their
constitutional power of checks and balances or what is termed the
Principle of Separation of powers as espoused in sections 4, 5 and 6
of the Nigerian Constitution.
This current National Assembly through a compromised hierarchy has
sold their birthright to the despotic regime in the Executive arm of
government. Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila have become political
slaves to the Executive arm of government and therefore are not truly
serving public interests.
This write up is to draw the attention of Nigerians to what goes on
elsewhere whereby the government carries on with feeding of School
children in an environment of transparency, openness and
accountability.
This example we intend to bring to the attention of the readers is
that of Great Britain. This is a Country whereby 95% of the Nigerian
politicians have some forms of financial or housing assets and
therefore are very conversant with the terrains. President Muhammadu
Buhari for instance had once told us that the reason he visits a
doctor in London is because his medical records have been in the
United Kingdom since 1979. So Great Britain is a place the President
Muhammadu Buhari knows like the back of his fingers.
As the Nigerian President can testify, In Great Britain there is no
long story of contractors getting involved in cooking or distributing
foods to school children which we do in Nigeria and thereby creating
multiple bureaucratic bottlenecks and unnecessary loopholes for
thieves both within and outside of government to capitalise upon
these criminal loopholes to massively rob the Country of billions of
Public fund in the name of school feeding programme.
In the United Kingdom, credible vouchers are issued to the
beneficiaries and there are institutional checks and balances to
ensure that those children are fed with nutritious foods in line with
the payments that are made transparently by the British government.
The opposite is the case here whereby children are fed with rotten
eggs and badly prepared foods and the government turns up to inform us
that billions of Naira were spent. The Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo,
a professor of law of evidence, once told us the huge quantity of
cows that are slaughtered weekly to feed these school children but
this claim lacks believability because Nigerians are yet to see this
body of evidence.
Let us even look at the current trending news on how a footballer
succeeded in convincing the UK government to extend the school feeding
programme to benefit thousands of children from struggling
backgrounds in the summer.
Sky Sports reports that Marcus Rashford says he feels proud after he
successfully campaigned for the government to change its mind and
extend its free school meals voucher scheme over the summer holidays.
Food vouchers – for £15 a week – will be made available to around
1.3m children in England who are currently eligible for the scheme,
and will last for six weeks in what has been called a “Covid Summer
Food Fund”.
Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing in Downing Street, Prime
Minister Boris Johnson said: “I talked to Marcus Rashford today and
congratulated him on his campaign which to be honest I only became
aware of very recently, today – and I thank him for what he’s done.
“I think he is right to draw attention to this issue.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reportedly congratulated Manchester
United striker Marcus Rashford for his campaign to get the government
to provide free school meals to children over the summer holidays
‘I don’t even know what to say’
The Department for Education had initially said it would not extend
the voucher scheme despite an emotional letter to MPs written by
Rashford, in which he said “the system isn’t built for families like
mine to succeed”.
But the government has changed tact after Manchester United striker
Rashford kept up his campaign.
Responding to the news, the 22-year-old tweeted: “I don’t even know
what to say. Just look at what we can do when we come together, THIS
is England in 2020.”
He later posted a longer tweet directed at MPs which read: “This was
never about me or you, this was never about politics, this was a cry
out for help from vulnerable parents all over the country and I simply
provided a platform for their voices to be heard.
“I stand proud today knowing that we have listened, and we have done
what is right. There is still a long way to go but I am thankful to
you all that we have given these families just one less thing to worry
about tonight.
“The wellbeing of our children should ALWAYS be a priority.”
According to Sky Sports, Rashford’s letter to MPs was retweeted more
than 140,000 times on Twitter.
The media stated that after initial pushback, he kept up the pressure
for a second day – sparking a tetchy exchange with Work and Pensions
Secretary Therese Coffey on the social media site.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has encouraged players
to continue pushing social issues
Rashford had already won the backing of Labour and two senior Tory MPs
– Robert Halfon, chair of the Commons’ education select committee, and
George Freeman, a former head of the Downing Street policy unit.
Downing Street claimed the extra support will cost around £120m – in
addition to £63m already pledged for councils to help families and
kids over the summer holidays.
Labour called it a welcome move and “victory for the 1.3m children who
were at risk of going hungry this summer”.
Shadow education secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said: “It is thanks to
the amazing work of Marcus Rashford and campaigners that the
government has had no choice but to reverse their decision.
“The government must now confirm that this new money will be for the
direct provision of free school meals to all eligible children.”
This writer deliberately took his time to follow through the reports
filed by Sky Sports to demonstrate to the Nigerian government that
officials must not have to steal the resources meant to feed SCHOOL
children just as it is imperative to let the Nigerian President
Muhammadu Buhari to know that School Feeding PROGRAMME is not rocket
science that is too complex that the minister of Humanitarian Affairs
would fail to tell Nigerians why there is so much corruption in the
implementation of the Nigerian side of the public school feeding
programme. Nigerian people must keep their eyes wide opened and
demand accountability.
Why is the current government of President Muhammadu Buhari behaving
as if feeding school children is a big magic? Why can’t Nigeria do the
same thing that those transparent and accountable governments all
around the World are doing? Give out vouchers to the beneficiaries and
then work out the modalities with qualified Restaurants so these
Children are served qualitative meals? Why does government steal in
the name of School Feeding PROGRAMME? Why are government officials
bereft of good conscience?
*Emmanuel Onwubiko is the Head of HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF
NIGERIA (HURIWA) and blogs @www. emmanuelonwubiko.com
[1],www.thenigerianinsidernews.com
[2],www.huriwa@blogspots.com,www.huriwanigeria.com [3].