In the Grandiose Parlor…

Who reasonably passes as Nigeria’s own version of the American icon, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died some hours ago, at age 71. Chief Gani Fawehinmi [ganifawehinmi.com], the most prominent human and civil rights advocate Nigerian has ever had, died from complications of lung cancer.

An indefatigable critic of military dictatorship and corruption, in the process of his crusades for the rule of law, the hopes and aspirations of the poor and the oppressed, he fought many battles against military dictatorship as a result of which he had been arrested several times by the military governments and its numerous security agents. He was dumped in many police cells and detained in several prisons between 1969 and 1996.

In 1993 Fawehinmi was awarded the biennial Bruno Kreisky Prize. This prize, named in honour of Bruno Kreisky, is awarded to international figures who advance human rights causes. In 1998, he received the International Bar Association’s Bernard Simmons Award in recognition of his human-rights and pro-democracy work. In 1994 he and some other notable Nigerians formed the National Conscience Party of Nigeria which exists till today and he stood for a presidential election in 2003 under the umbrella of the National Conscience Party.

Gani Fawehinmi became a holder of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) the highest legal title in Nigeria in September, 2001.

More online:

http://www.ganifawehinmi.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gani_Fawehinmi

An interesting media putsch to “lightup Nigeria” is in full swing; several bloggers have posted just as media enthusiasts have taken to Facebook, Tweeter and similar portals to add their might to the campaign. An expanding list of the discussants can be found on Nigerian Curiosity.

Some years back, I would have been part of this mass of concerned and highly enthused people, after all availability of stable electricity is the core foundation of Nigeria’s development and a passport out of doomsland.

So, it’s a critical campaign, no doubt (see past and related articles on the subject), but I doubt if it’s one suited for Facebook and other social networking sites. The policy makers that must be reached are not there in good number, in fact very few Nigerian administrators are online! So what’s the end point…? Must we continue to preach to the choir each time we’re aggrieved and needing an outlet to vent our frustration?

Until social critics and web activists (this writer inclusive) can find ways to extend their campaigns from the pages of blogs and Facebook to the doorsteps of Nigerian administrators, their voices will remained locked up in the Internet void, impotent. These voices must be brought home, clearly and creatively, to engage the right people.

This link — Wiki your Town Council goes to a story published on Technology Review where social media is being used in for civic purposes. The story discusses some ideas one of which is how users of the sites can “rate the [elected] officials on job performance, create social-networking functions around local issues, and let users make free Internet-based phone calls to the [elected] officials”. The story encapsulates what I would love to see emerge from the Nigerian community of web enthusiasts and social advocates, and the hordes of political and social commentators operating at home and abroad.

“For democracy to be meaningful and thrive, the governed must be informed, proactive, forward thinking, and able to monitor the activities of their elected officials.” – Grandiose Parlor, August 2007.

In that August ’07 posting, I mentioned Nigeria needs a similar web application – the “Nigerian Legislative Scorecard (NLS)”, as I tagged it then.

“The idea is to acquire and assemble those pieces of information in a manner that can be easily used to assess the performance of Nigerian legislators at the end of their terms.”

Even though I asked and didn’t receive any input on the idea then, the fact that a similar –- though much more elaborate -– concept is being developed elsewhere confirms my vision — and also tells the doubting Thomas out there that the idea is solid and should be explored further.

There is one fact all Nigerian pundits must face: punditry — whether online, televised or in print –- has a limit, especially within the viscous Nigerian milieu of executive arrogance and social irresponsibility. They can’t keep writing and talking about the same topics — poor governance, bad leadership, corruption, etc, day-in and day-out and expect to see changes. Not in Nigeria most certainly.

Nigerians have written volumes of commentary on political issues, appraised government policies, and even staged protests and demonstrations, but there is one thing they have yet to do: Grab elected officials by their throats and hold them accountable. Nigerians have failed to look at them eyeball-to-eyeball and ask questions. And in few times they did ask and got unsatisfactory answers, they have lacked the courage to wrestle them down and kick then out.

Nigerians must be able to assess their elected officials via their voting records, public statements, issue positions, and constituency engagements. These data can be aggregated and refined into blocks of information to demonstrate how well elected officials have served.

These are the kind of efforts that must be in play in Nigeria of the 21st century.

The good thing is that there are several templates to explore…what is needed is the will to start.

As far as I can remember, the Nigerian news media has always been flushed with editorials and reports on instances of poor leadership, political irresponsibility, graft and fraudulent activities among those in top leadership positions. Even lately, the Press has been insinuating that the presidency, the pinnacle of power in the land, has gone on a long sabbatical holiday.

But should Nigerians even expect a different outcome from a political class that is a product of a flawed process?

Beyond merely reporting what is wrong with our political system, how much input is coming from the Press to ensure the system is working as it should regardless of how the elected got into office?

It doesn’t do anyone much good to just read about the activities and failures of the political class. Rather than being just an information disseminator, the Press should be framing the political and social issues in the country, and it can not do this simply through editorials and news coverage alone.

What the Press needs to do in accordance with its position as Fourth Estate of the realm is to empower its audience by actively challenging the status quo in the polity.

The general mindset of the public has become apathetic – some would rather call this resiliency. No, the Nigerian public is apathetic; let us be real with ourselves. The situation is even further compounded by poverty and fear of reprisal from political class, a combo that can best be described as “disillusionment”.

Yet, the Press can do its disillusioned audience well by confronting the political class and examining their activities. Simply put, the Press needs to assume the posture of a Watch Dog, not a Lap Dog!

Political offices are avenues to make positive changes and calls for the utmost level of accountability. Can the Press make this happen? Absolutely!

Here are some instances where the Press can do more than just passing across news:

• All federal legislators receive public funds to maintain offices in their constituencies. How is this money being spent? Has this account ever been audited?
• Again, we read that the Freedom of Information bill was kicked out after being reintroduced by the speaker of the House. I read, just as many other Nigerians, how the floor members revolted against the bill. The Press can help “turn up the heat “and go after those rogue legislators. Who are they? What are their concerns?
• How much is the democratic process costing us in Nigeria? I heard legislators even earn wardrobe allowances, really? The Press can challenge this, it is part of their job description as the Fourth Estate.
• Given the state of the Nigerian nation today, the Press ought to be pushing the political class to be accountable more than even before, and challenging assumptions that have worked against the people.

  The federal government of Ivory Coast had to slash their wages by 50% in order to finance fuel subsidy in the country. But Nigerian teachers can go on strike for weeks and its business as usual.

The Press is the only apparatus that can speak directly to the people, with its enormous capacity for advocacy and empowerment, it needs to step to the plate promptly, and arouse the political class from its slumber. Failure to do this only means that a time will come when there wouldn’t be any reason to read the newspapers – any fool can predict what the next day headline will be!

It is time the Press rolled up its sleeves and started raking up some mud.

I might not be a South African

But I’m black, my skin is the same as yours
My colour is the same as yours
My genes are African, nothing but African
When your leaders were beaten by whites
I was there to shelter them
I was patient with them
I offered them food, shelter,
Most of all, I offered them protection

I might be a South African

I can’t speak Zulu, cause I’m Vhenda
I can’t speak Zulu, cause I’m Shangaan
I don’t know what an elbow is in Zulu
As much as you don’t know it in my language
Since when was Zulu the only South African language?
Yes……………I’m not from Gauteng
I was not born here, but I’m South African
Where should I go if you beat me
I’m not beating your father, mother, brother or sister who works at my
area in the mines
I’m not calling them makwerekwere though they can’t speak my language.

I might be dark in complexion

I might have the foreigners looks
I might have the foreigners body structure
Now I am scared to go to the only place that I call home
I’m scared of working down the street without my ID
Whites wanted me to do that centuries ago
Now you, my black brother is acting white

Why should you Black South Africans do this?

What makes you think that you better than me?
Who told you that I’m responsible for your unemployment?
Who told you that I’m less human
If I need to go back to Vhenda……..let all the Zulus go back to KZN
Let all the Tswana’s go back to Botswana
Let all the Sotho’s go back to Lesotho
Let all the Ndebele’s go back to Kwandebele
Let all the Xhosa’s go back to Eastern Cape
Yes…………let all the Swati’s go back to Swaziland

Is this not ignorance?

Your unemployment is your responsibility
Use your intellect
Get up and work
Let education empower you
Seek humanity

Before 1994 you blamed whites
Now you are blaming me
Who are you going to blame after chasing me away?
Who are you going to blame after killing me?

For what it’s worth…………………..

I’m sorry I was not born here
I’m sorry I can’t speak Zulu
I’m sorry for being too dark for your Joburg
I’m sorry for cleaning the toilets you don’t want to clean
I’m sorry for doing your garden
I’m sorry for repairing your shoes
I’m sorry for protecting your leaders while they were in Exile
Yes…………………what you call Exile………..is my country
And most of all…….I’m sorry for building South African infrastructure.

Source: Deejay
Enjoy:

Over the past seven years, Kabissa has played a crucial role in putting the power of the Internet into the hands of African civil society organizations for the benefit of the people they serve. Now, more than ever, the African civil society sector is in need of tools and resources that can support the important work of individual organizations, as well as strengthen the connections between organizations.

With that in mind Kabissa has launched it’s new website, a Pan African online community of civil society organizations and social movements. The new Kabissa site is built using open source software: Drupal and the CiviCrm and will incorporate a number of Web 2.0 applications. The new generation of Web 2.0 applications have the potential to revolutionize the Internet yet again by putting control over the content of the Internet into the hands of everyone, not just those with specialized technical skills. These new tools hold special relevance for African civil society, where resource, infrastructure, and capacity constraints often keep organizations from fully integrating the Internet into their work.

The new site will enable Kabissa’s 1000+ members to showcase their organizations by publishing their own content on blogs, event listings and resources. Members will also be able to connect with other each other by forming thematic and or regional groups, forums and chat. Kabissa also hopes the site will provide an information and eLearning resource for people and organisations interested in African. Full membership is open only to Civil Society and Social |Movements, however anyone can register and benefit from the resource bank, eLearning and social networking features.

Visit: http://www.kabissa.org/

For further information email: community AT Kabissa DOT org

From the Nigerian Lighthouse Team:

December 9th is UN International Anti-Corruption Day and Nigerian Lighthouse seeks to commemorate this day with a small but pertinent project.

The goal is to get as many people to write a 50 word (or less) message on how to eradicate corruption in Nigeria. All submitted messages will be posted at the website – nigerianlighthouse.org [http://nigerianlighthouse.org/] .

Most Nigerians have an opinion on how to stop corruption. Here is a chance to share that idea with the world! So, simply write a message of 50 (or less) words and send it to NigerianLighthouse@gmail.com. Then send another message to your friends encouraging them to participate as well. This will only take 5 minutes of your time and the rewards – sharing ideas that will definitely improve Nigeria – is more than worth it.

To learn more about the origins of International Anti-Corruption day, please visit the United Nations page at http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/about-unodc/9-December.html

Hope to hear from you all!