The Nigerian Press Organisation, comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has expressed concern over the worsening insecurity in the country.
In a statement jointly signed by Kabiru Yusuf, who doubles as president of NPAN and NPO; Mustapha Isa, president, NGE, and Chris Isiguzo, president, NUJ, the media associations noted that “Nigeria has been embroiled lately in profound socio-economic, political and security challenges that threaten its existence as reflected in ethnic divisions and separatist agitations in the country, with growing fears that an implosion is imminent.”
The observation was made after their recent meeting on the ‘State of the Nation’.
They expressed worries that “Today, criminality- kidnapping for ransom, banditry, arson, killings- defines the everyday reality for a good number of our citizens.”
The groups pointedly noted that “At the centre of all these are: high cost of governance; devolution of powers/restructuring; petroleum subsidy removal; and accumulation of foreign debt, among others.”
Taking some positions as leaders of the media and major stakeholders in the Nigeria project, in line with the responsibility imposed on them by Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the groups said: “That we believe in the oneness of Nigeria and that its population of about 200 million people, if resources are well managed, have innumerable advantages – both in economic and soft power, and that this should not be sacrificed on the altar of ethnic or tribal chauvinism.
“That one of the triggers for the current socio-political, economic, and security challenges in the country is high cost of governance, reflected in the outrageous allowances and flamboyant lifestyles of our political leaders. These leaders, rather erroneously, misconstrue public service for primitive accumulation of wealth, instead of its being a platform for galvanising development and satisfying the collective aspiration of our people for quality life in a safe and secure environment. One of the consequences of this ostentatious lifestyle is the new craze among a growing number of youths that the end justifies the means in their quest for easy wealth.”
It further said: “That in a Federal system of government, particularly in a country like Nigeria which is diverse in ethnicity, culture, and religion, an overbearing centre is counter-productive to the development of the centre itself and the component units. To leave the Federal Government with 68 items under the Exclusive Legislative List, including policing, is a recipe for unending destructive tension in the struggle for advantage among the federating units. It explains why our country is seemingly overwhelmed by non-state actors engaged in criminality and separatist agitations.”
The umbrella bodies of media sector of the Nigerian economy, therefore, urged the Federal Government to immediately take steps at devolving powers to the component units by implementing the Nasir el-Rufai Committee Report, which among others, recommends state policing, in addition to other far-reaching adjustments to the structure of governance.
“The continued delay to implement the report after its recommendations has been approved by all the organs of the ruling All Progressives Party (APC), in line with the manifesto for which the party sold itself to win the 2015 election is self-defeating. We hold that its implementation will curb the galloping rate of criminality, reduce tension across the country, and reset the button of development,” they said.
They also urged Abuja to “Implement the Steve Orosanye Report, which provides a veritable road map for arresting the unsustainable high cost of governance. A reduced cost of governance will free substantial funds to fight insecurity, provide social safety nets for the generality of the people, fund developmental projects, and stem the current penchant for external and local borrowing by government.
“Put pressure on the National Assembly to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill, (PIB), which has gone into our history as the longest bill to ever go through legislative processes. It is of common knowledge that the petroleum industry has been long overdue for an overhaul and the passage of the bill will be a major boost. That the bill has stayed this long in the National Assembly militates against improved corporate governance in the oil sector.”
They strongly believe that “There is a need to avoid the debt overhang inherent in excessive borrowing. We are aware that borrowing is good so long as such loans are deployed to funding enduring development projects, within the GDP ratio. However, the current borrowing in the face of the slide in the value of the country’s number one revenue earner (oil), remains worrisome.”
The stakeholders also urged politicians and state actors to minimise their “inflammatory rhetoric in order to reduce tension and ease the growing sense of fear among the people.”
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