NIGERIA AND THE RIGHT TO KNOW

Information is the oxygen of democracy.

Today is the International Right to Know Day (IRKD) and for a nascent democracy like Nigeria there is much to celebrate just as there are much more to be concerned about.

On this day the world shines its spotlight on the legal principle that citizens have the right to access and utilize relevant public information that can enhance their lives and the common good of the society.

The right to information is imperative in any democratic setting for socioeconomic development hinged on transparency and accountability in government. It lends possibility to public involvement in formulating social policies and decision-making processes of governance.

Democracy does not thrive on propaganda and secrecy, rather, on pragmatic legal doctrines one of which is the free flow of information between the governed and the government.

In May 28, 2011 Nigeria got her Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) after years of tortuous politicking by successive governments of the country. The FoIA is a piece of legislation aimed at making public records and information more freely available to citizens hence promoting public accountability and transparency.

So far, some appreciable successes have been recorded through the act, however, the path to tour towards public transparency and accountability through the free flow of relevant information is undoubtedly long for Nigeria, given the decades of unchecked corruption, malfeasance, looting and gross misconduct in public institutions.

It is however bothersome that a good number of Nigerians do not have a lucid understanding of the value of information in societal advancement, otherwise, there ought to be a broad interest and relative action in questioning and demanding relevant issues from public office holders and those who utilize public funds.

Suffice to say, the FoIA is not solely meant for journalists, lawyers and media practitioners but for all Nigerians to effectively engage public institutions and make relevant demands that are pivotal to developments. The act encourages both learned and unlearned citizens to approach public institutions with their demands either verbally or in writing.

It is also disturbing that against the proactive disclosure mandate of the act, vast number of public institutions in the country do not make or publish relevant information available to the public even without the public making such demands, a justification of our legal arbitrariness as a nation.

If this country must free itself from the hands of shenanigans who have continually denied the citizenry of basic social amenities and public good, then citizens must begin to ask germane questions, demand vital information, utilize the acquired pieces of information to drive home the long awaited change of a great and flourishing nation.

The Right to Know of Nigerians must be protected and promoted by all workings of the law. Public institutions must abide by the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act and the Judiciary must be strengthened to take disciplinary measures against defaulter of this act.

At the federal level, public institutions should abide by the provisions of the 1999 constitution which states that "the people shall be part of their own government"-democracy, hence there must be proactive disclosure of data and information thereby allowing the public engage the government, if indeed we want to nourish this nascent democracy of ours.

State governments should act democratically by either enacting or adopting this act in order to ensure and strengthen institutional transparency and accountability in their states.

Public awareness efforts must be intensified by Civil Society Organizations(CSOs) and the National Orientation Agency(NOA).

Citizens must show keen interest in public information by engaging institutions through the Freedom of Information Act.

The future of this country is based on the information disseminated and utilized.

Elegbede Tayo JET, is a freelance journalist and mediapreneur.

Follow on twitter: @tayojet1

Disclose N’Assembly members’ wage, FoI Network tells RMAFC

A group, Southwest Freedom of Information Act Network on Wednesday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, has tasked the Federal Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to disclose the salaries and emoluments of the members of the National Assembly.

The South West FoI Network also lamented the low level of awareness of the Act by the public and its implementation by state governments in the South-West and North-East geo-political zones of the country.

It contended that Nigerian lawmakers earned the highest salaries in the world inspite of the current situation where majority of the citizens wallow in abject poverty.

Complete the story here...

Nigerians Urged To Show Interest In Public Spending

Tayo Elegbede, Abeokuta

The coordinator of the Southwest Network on Freedom of Information, Dr Tola Winjobi, has urged Nigerians to show more interest in the public funds utilization, in order to promote public accountability and transparency which on the long-run will produce real social-economic development in the country.

Speaking in Abeokuta at the opening ceremony of a two day capacity workshop on the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) for Civil Society Organisations and the Media in Southwest-Nigeria, Dr Winjobi, stated, that the act is aimed at ensuring open governance for all-round societal good.

"We need to use the FoIA to demand accountability from our public officials. We need to know how our resources are being allocated or spent. It is our right to ask and it is their responsibility to answer".

He called on all stakeholders to effectively use the freedom of information act to productively engage public institutions and officers towards national developments.

Dr Winjobi also decried the low level of awareness of the FoIA amidst citizens.

 "Since the act was signed into law, there is relatively low level of awareness of the FoIA among members of the public in Nigeria and especially in the southwest geo-political zone. This situation is worse in the northeast geo-political zone for obvious reasons as many public servants are not aware of the Act while those that are aware do not know the import of the Act."

On his part, General Manager, Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation, Engineer Tunde Awolana, whilst calling on the Nigerian media to do more in enlightening the public about the act, debunked the speculation that the act is solely for journalists and media practitioners, alike.

"The FoIA is for every Nigerian. If people are interested in government's activities, projects and spending then they must understand and engage the FoIA. The future of this country is based on the information disseminated".

The Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of Ogun State, represented by Sir Lanre Iyanda, explained that Nigerian states can at their own discretion adopt or domesticate the act, although the federal act is literally binding on all federating units.

"If a state decides to adopt the FoI Act, so be it. But my own take is, they don't have to adopt. It is a law, a federal act and it covers the field. Where a state doesn't have a particular adoption for it, then, the federal act will hold sway. And if a state wants to adopt it, it must not be watered down".

Download the Nigerian Freedom of Information Act here…

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YOUTH MIGRATION: AFRICA IN FOCUS

The instinct for survival and the quest for sustenance are running fundamentals of human existence. They propel the human mind towards aiming and achieving, confronting and conquering, hence, when the mind feels hopeless and helpless in a certain geographical space over a period of time, there is always the consideration of changing his or her location to a more perceived greener pasture. This process is called migration.

Migration has been defined as the movement of persons across borders with the intention of establishing permanent residence. Today, movement of persons across borders of the world is a regular daily occurrence.

Monday 12^th of August was this year’s International Youth Day, with the theme: ”Youth Migration: Moving Development Forward”.

“Of the annual total of some 214 million international migrants, young people constitute more than 10 per cent, yet too little is known about their struggles and experiences” United Nations, Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

In recent time, majority of migrants – legal or illegal from Africa are youths who obviously are in search of better earnings and value to life and are sometimes responsible for remittances to Africa which in turn is used to develop the individual’s family, community and nation as a whole.

With over 200million youth population, African nations have a huge task ahead of them given the revelation that by 2040, half of the world’s youth population would be Africans. Noting the prevailing socio-economic deficits in the continent, migration either legal or illegal will definitely be unavoidable.

Research has revealed that about 30 million Africans live outside the continent and the number continues to grow daily. This has led to an acute shortage of skills on the continent which in turn has resulted in a huge strain on African nations.

In Africa, young people migrate to either Europe or America for countless reasons, which include the quest for better education and certification, higher wage and income earnings,  better living conditions and quality of life that the current infrastructure in their local environment (country) fail to provide or provide same insufficiently.

Indeed, the reality of wide-spread poverty and constant socio-economic as well as political instability in most African countries is a motivating factor for youth migration.

Often time, young Africans migrate under the delusion that life is always better and rosier abroad and some believe that money can be picked up on the streets in the United States or Europe. Unfortunately, these deluded migrants are disappointed when they dispose off their meagre belongings back home and arrive at their destinations only to be faced with the reality of “No food for a lazy soul”.

The consequent challenges of youth migration, are extensive and far-reaching on both the live and livelihood of youth migrants, his families and perhaps his community and country. Topmost of these challenges is the discrimination against the youth migrant by the host community either base on racial, religious, gender, language differences or simply because they are foreigners and the locals may be Xenophobic (as is mostly the case in Europe and Southern America).

Furthermore, a high rate of youth migration leads to scarcity of skilled workers thus affecting the quality of the nation’s work force and of course the level of development that takes place within a certain period.

Apparently, skilled migration is largely a symptom and not a cause of underdevelopment. This is because there is a distinction between countries that export skilled labour from a large pool of supply, and those which are losing high proportions of scarce and critical human resources to migration. In the case of Africa, the latter is often the case.

However, migration if critically and developmentally approached can advance the economic status of both developing and developed nations. Countries need to identify and enable migration and development policies that support human resource development, rather than simply restricting mobility.

Since poverty – either psychological or physical is the underlying factor for massive youth migration, strong measures should be taken particularly by the government to tackle youth unemployment and restiveness, poor educational system, unjustified income disparity, unsecured livelihood and future.

Technology affords humanity the privilege to explore and engage hitherto unimaginable frontiers. African nations should deploy modern technological tools to develop their states, reverse the brain drain chant to brain gain, provide decent jobs for the bulging youth population, connect with citizens who are doing well abroad and advance the livelihood of citizens.

Youths are the greatest resource of this continent, Africa.

Elegbede Tayo JET, is a Nigerian freelance journalist and mediapreneur with local and international organisations.

Ban Ki-moon on 2013 International Youth Day

This year's observance of International Youth Day focuses on the issue of youth migration.

Of the annual total of some 214 million international migrants, young people constitute more than 10 per cent, yet too little is known about their struggles and experiences.

The reasons young people migrate are many. Some are fleeing persecution, others are escaping economic hardship.

Some are alone, others part of a family – with parents, siblings and even children of their own.

Some have communities to go to, others must make new connections. In transit and at their final destinations, many young migrants face equal or greater struggles, including racism, xenophobia, discrimination and human rights violations. Young women, in particular, face the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse.

Poverty, crowded and unsanitary living conditions and the challenges of finding decent employment are regular features of the migrant experience.

These challenges are exacerbated by the current global economic and financial crisis. Migrants are also often accused by communities and politicians of taking jobs from local people, exposing them to further risk of discrimination. In other cases, young people left behind by migrating parents face psychological and social challenges and greater vulnerability.

It is important to emphasize the positive contribution young migrants make to societies of origin, transit and destination – economically and by enriching the social and cultural fabric.

Most work hard to earn a living and improve their circumstances. The remittances they send to support families in their home countries are a major contributor to economies worldwide. When they return home, young migrants often enhance development by applying skills and ideas acquired abroad. And, in many cases, women are empowered through migration as they gain financial and social independence.

In October, the United Nations General Assembly will host the second High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development. I urge Member States to consider youth migration.

Working with and for young people is one of my top priorities. On this International Youth Day, I encourage Member States, youth-led organizations and other stakeholders to act to promote the rights of all young migrants and maximize the development potential of youth migration. 

The Church And The Church

As a religious cum spiritual organization, the Church performs a fundamental role in human and social development. Call it social responsibility or shared value, you might not be incorrect.

At the core of this reality lays the quest to first, fulfill its heavenly mandate of nurturing souls with truth whilst preparing them for the rapture(heaven) as well as strengthening and sustaining minds for a better society.

Suffice to say, the church is a representative of GOD here on earth. However, one is left to wonder if the myriad of humanly outlined religious laws truly reflect the nature,notion and instructions of God. (By laws, I do not refer to the rules and regulations of the church as an organisation).

Arguably, the church has deviated from its paramount functionality of promoting God's instructions into elevating human rules. It has shifted from the responsibility of connecting men to God into connecting men to men, serving and servicing the body but starving the spirit and soul. Godly-character has been replaced with simply gorgeous charisma and character. The church now passes for a congregation of deceitful doers, home of hypocrites, platform of pretenders and circle of sycophants.

The church has gone worldly and in turn the world has become 'churchy'. Hence, there is a keen contest between the CHURCH OF GOD and the Church of men. 

The church of men prides itself in religious activities other than spiritual exercises. The church of men finds no convenience in exposing the heartbeat of God, but in keeping church-rules. The church men glory in mundane motions and matters. This church is somewhere by your side.

Interestingly, you will still find the CHURCH OF GOD down the road, if you can search.

"That very church which the world likes best is sure to be that which God abhors."― Charles H. Spurgeon

In recent weeks, I have read loads of comments on the wedding ceremony of John Kumuyi, son of the International Holiness Preacher, Pastor W.F Kumuyi.

But here, I will share with you a comment I recently received from one of John's age-long friends, Kenny Oretimehin.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have spent over 20-years in Deeper Life Church and I'm privileged to know this John guy, every boy in the youth-choir with me can bear witness that unlike some other pastor children, John was an epitome of a child of Jesus. John so humble, kind as in no segregation of any sort, John ate with us and times he would stay in the brick hostel with us, sometimes slept overnight.

If disobeying some church rules is a sin then I think all Deeper Life members are sinners! The TV was apoti esu (devil's box) and now all Deeper Life churches use flat screens!

I just want my pastor WF Kumuyi to beware of the pastor sycophants around him!!! The same way they moved him to curse the youthchoir in the congress of 2002 leading to the permanent ban of the so holy committed and prestigious youth-choir lead by Dr Oikelomen (Bro Albert).

If the choir is alive today I'm sure this wedding wouldn't cause issues because it would be a progressive church activity with great celebrations!!!

I grew up in a church choir where the color of your tie is a sin, the wrist watches and belts were always sins, the bright colored shirts and gowns/blouses were issues! Abah!!! Why should John's apology letter be read by babas in the church? We were not told of his wedding!!! We don't even know anything about him!! The apology is a word of expressions from the offending to the offended. Why should he apologies to me that he didn't offend? Besides the letter should be read by himself not by this pastors to show a level of godly sincerity and repentance!!!

Please Pastor kumuyi should remember his wife mama rere Sister Abiodun, she wouldn't want her son's wedding to cause headaches! Pastor should be so careful with the people around him!!! 

They didn't read the apology letters of their own children that didn't even wed in the lord "at all at all" They are not of Rome that of Rome!!! On my wall on Facebook I wrote about pastor Kumuyi's reply to a question on ancient landmark and I remember he rebuked the asking, pastor WF stated that those church rules can't stop your wedding as long as u invite Jesus 2 your wedding, Jesus will turn your water 2 wine!!!

This is to my comrade, brother and friend, John kumuyi. God bless you and your marriage. I love you, and I am happy to tell you that you didn't offend me!

God bless you, your wife your home!" ~Kenny.

Conclusively, the Church as a gathering of (un)gathered people, must not loose sight of its primary responsibility of promoting cordial relationship between God and man, even in the face of its expanding secondary responsibilities.

TAYO ELEGBEDE JET
JET

The CHURCH And The Church

As a religious cum spiritual organization, the Church performs a fundamental role in human and social development. Call it social responsibility or shared value, you might not be incorrect.

At the core of this reality lays the quest to first, fulfill its heavenly mandate of nurturing souls with truth whilst preparing them for the rapture(heaven) as well as strengthening and sustaining minds for a better society.

Suffice to say, the church is a representative of GOD here on earth. However, one is left to wonder if the myriad of humanly outlined religious laws truly reflect the nature,notion and instructions of God. (By laws, I do not refer to the rules and regulations of the church as an organisation).

Arguably, the church has deviated from its paramount functionality of promoting God's instructions into elevating human rules. It has shifted from the responsibility of connecting men to God into connecting men to men, serving and servicing the body but starving the spriit and soul. Godly-character has been replaced with simply gorgeous charisma and character. The church now passes for a congregation of deceitful doers, home of hypocrites, platform of pretenders and circle of sycophants.

The church has gone worldly and in turn the world has become 'churchy'. Hence, there is a keen contest between the CHURCH OF GOD and the Church of men.

The church of men prides itself in religious activities other than spiritual exercises. The church of men finds no convenience in exposing the heartbeat of God, but in keeping church-rules. The church men glory in mundane motions and matters. This church is somewhere by your side.

Interestingly, you will still find the CHURCH OF GOD down the road, if you can search.

"That very church which the world likes best is sure to be that which God abhors."― Charles H. Spurgeon

In recent weeks, I have read loads of comments on the wedding ceremony of John Kumuyi, son of the International Holiness Preacher, Pastor W.F Kumuyi.
But here, I will share with you a comment I recently received from one of John's age-long friends.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have spent over 20-years in Deeper Life Church and I'm privileged to know this John guy, every boy in the youth-choir with me can bear witness that unlike some other pastor children, John was an epitome of a child of Jesus. John so humble, kind as in no segregation of any sort, John ate with us and times he would stay in the brick hostel with us, sometimes slept overnight.

If disobeying some church rules is a sin then I think all DeeperLife members are sinners! The TV was apoti esu (devil's box) and now all deeperlife churches use flat screens!

I just want my pastor WF Kumuyi to beware of the pastor sycophants around him!!! The same way they moved him to curse the youthchoir in the congress of 2002 leading to the permanent ban of the so holy committed and prestigious youth-choir lead by Dr Oikelomen (Bro Albert).

If the choir is alive today I'm sure this wedding wouldn't cause issues because it would be a progressive church activity with great celebrations!!!

I grew up in a church choir where the color of your tie is a sin, the wrist watches and belts were always sins, the bright colored shirts and gowns/blouses were issues! Abah!!! Why should John's apology letter be read by babas in the church? We were not told of his wedding!!! We don't even know anything about him!! The apology is a word of expressions from the offending to the offended. Why should he apologise to me that he didn't offend? Besides the letter should be read by himself not by this pastors to show a level of godly sincerity and repentance!!!

Please Pastor kumuyi should remember his wife mama rere Sister Abiodun, she wouldn't want her son's wedding to cause headaches! Pastor should be soooo careful with the people around him!!!

They didn't read the apology letters of their own children that didn't even wed in the lord "at all at all" They are not of Rome that of Rome!!! On my wall on facebook I wrote about pastor Kumuyi's reply to a question on ancient landmark and I remember he rebuked the asking, pastor WF stated that those church rules can't stop ur wedding as long as u invite Jesus 2 ur wedding, Jesus will turn ur water 2 wine!!!

This is to my comrade, brother and friend, John kumuyi. God bless you and your marriage. I love you, and I am happy to tell you that you didn't offend me!

God bless you, your wife your home! ~Kenny".

Conclusively, the Church as a gathering of (un)gathered people, must not loose sight of its primary responsibility of promoting cordial relationship between God and man, even in the face of its expanding secondary responsibilities.

TAYO ELEGBEDE JET
JET

Nigerians Are Malnourished-FG

Tayo Elegbede

Majority of the Nigerian populace have been described as malnourished, with the Northern part of the country leading in this demography.

The Head, Nutrition Department, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Chris Isokpunwu  disclosed this while delivering a keynote address at the on-going Second Shared Value Media (CSV) Workshop organised by Nestle Nigeria Plc in Lagos.

Cross-section of workshop participants

According to Isokpunwu it is really unfortunate that despite the fact that most of the food being consumed in Nigeria are being produced in from northern Nigeria, yet the region has highest number of malnourished children in the country.

"The FAO has said that there is enough food that can feed the seven billion world population, yet over one billion people are still suffering from malnutrition. In Nigeria, most of the food we consume are produced from the northern part of the country, yet the region has highest number of malnourished children under the age of five. For instance, the South-western Nigeria has 38 percent case of malnutrition while the North-West has 53 percent," Isokpunwu said.

Malnutrition Map Of Nigeria By The Ministry of Health

The Nutrition expert also added that about 41 percent of Nigerian children under the age of five are suffering from stunted growth, 14 percent suffer from wasting while 23 percent are suffering from underweight. He added that the problem of malnutrition has been less noticed because when doctors write their post-death reports, they hardly attribute it to malnutrition.

"When doctors write their reports after a child's death they fail to attribute it to malnutrition but will only indicate missiles, malaria, pneumonia as sources of death. This continues to undermine the ravaging effect of malnutrition which often gives birth to some of these stories," Isokpunwu said.

This year's Nestle Creating Shared Value Media Workshop is a 2-Day event with over 100 Journalists exploring the theme "Nutrition, Water and Rural Development".

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Tayo Elegbede is a Freelance Journalist with Local and International News Firms