2015 elections: Legal and ethical issues in media reporting (2)

CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK

IT is indisputable that the aforesaid objectives cannot be achieved by political parties whose manifestoes and programmes are based on market fundamentalism. On that ground, every political party or candidate should be made to disclose to the electorate, through the media, how they intend to achieve the fundamental objectives. To promote public accountability the media should ensure that the assets and liabilities of all elected leaders are declared and made available to the electorate. All those who are contesting elections to the National Assembly should disclose the total emolument of federal legislators since they are said to be the highest paid in the world. 

    Since the commencement of campaigns for the 2015 general election, politicians have been seeking the support of the electorate in the media, by way of paid adverts or sponsored programmes. But in selling their programmes some of the political parties have engaged in mudslinging and libellous publications. Politicians who are campaigning for votes should be made to proffer solutions to the crisis of underdevelopment plaguing the country. The media should not allow reactionary politicians to divert attention from the hydra headed problems of comatose economy, unemployment, insecurity, infrastructural decay, looting of the treasury, armed robbery, kidnapping, terrorism etc. 

    Those who are convinced that the nomination form submitted by any candidate sponsored by a political party should take advantage of section 34 of the Electoral Act by filing a suit in court for the disqualification of the candidate. Since section 318 of the Constitution prescribes education up to junior secondary level as the minimum qualification for contesting elections in Nigeria the whole debate over General Mohammadu Buhari’s school certificate is totally diversionary. Unfortunately, the army allowed itself to be discredited on the basis of its partisan role in the whole saga. A few weeks ago, Brigadier-General Olatunji Laleye had said that the army was in possession of General Buhari’s academic documents and that he could apply if he needed them. The same officer later turned round to claim that the documents could not be found in the retired General’s personal file! 

    It is jejune to suggest that an army officer who attended post secondary school military institutions in Nigeria, United Kingdom, India and the United States is constitutionally disabled from contesting elections in Nigeria. It is particularly embarrassing that some senior lawyers who joined the fray pretended not to know that the minimum academic prerequisite for contesting any of the national elections includes the possession of a primary six certificate with 10 years’ working experience or the competence to speak English to the satisfaction of the INEC. 

Reclaiming the welfare State 

    To reclaim the welfare state from its obstinate opponents in government the Nigerian people have to be mobilized to ensure compliance with the various welfare laws. The press is obligated to promote the campaign for the full justiciability of socio-economic rights such as rights to education, health, employment, housing etc. These rights are enshrined in chapter 2 of the Constitution. Although the government is required to defend the security and promote the welfare of the people it has always complained of lack of resources. However, the resources are available but the country is run by a ruling class that is not prepared to wage a battle for the democratic control of the economy. The crisis is compounded by the fact that the country is currently administered by an army of neo-liberal ideologues who are leading the two dominant political parties. 

    At a recent public lecture at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN was reported to have said that the government could not guarantee access to education for Nigerians. According to him, “the quality of education that we can impart if children pay N50,000 to get professional training and their colleagues in private schools pay N200,000 upwards abroad to get the same training. Will they be of the same quality in a capitalist world, where quality is often determined by price? “. The governor said that the free education policy which Chief Obafemi Awolowo implemented in western Nigeria is no longer feasible because Nigeria has recorded an average literacy level of about 55 percent! It is curious that a progressive governor is campaigning for lack of access to mass education because we have a “literacy rate of 55 percent” . 

    Since the governor is one of the leading ideologues of the APC the views attributed to him on access to education should not go unchallenged. With respect, the educational system in the capitalist world is organized in a manner that the children of the poor can access education at the expense of the State while the rich can are at liberty to educate their children and wards in expensive private schools. Through the universal health care insurance scheme funded by the State the poor can access health in the public hospitals while the rich can afford to go to well equipped private medical centres in any part of the world. It may interest Governor Fashola to know that the tiny island of Cuba which is far less endowed than Nigeria has attained 100 percent literacy rate and has the highest number of doctors per capital in the world. 

    Under Sections 17 and 18 of the Constitution the State is mandatorily required to provide free health and education including tertiary education based on the availability of resources. If the abundant natural resources of our country have been harnessed and distributed equitably as envisaged by section 16 of the Constitution the government would have guaranteed the security and welfare of all citizens. In any case, through popular struggles, the neo-colonial state has been compelled to enact laws to provide for the welfare of the Nigerian people. One of such legislations is the Universal, Free and Compulsory Basic Education Act, 2004 which has guaranteed free and compulsory education for every child from primary to junior secondary school. 

    Towards the funding of the UBE scheme, not less than 2% of the consolidated revenue fund of the federal government shall be contributed annually. In 2012, the UNICEF disclosed that there were 10.5 million Nigerian children who were out of primary school. Regrettably, the implementation of the UBE scheme has been frustrated by the majority of state governments. Right now, the sum of N56.9 billion which is the matching grant due to 31 states and the federal capital territory has not been accessed due to refusal to contribute counterpart funding. From the information at my disposal, only 5 states namely Gombe, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto and Taraba states have accessed their matching grants up to date! 

    Under the newly enacted National Health Act, at least 1% from the consolidated revenue fund of the federal government shall be contributed to the Health Provision Fund. Although the fund will not be adequate to provide basic health care services to every indigent citizen the contribution of state and local governments to the fund ought be made compulsory. At the federal level the National Health Insurance Act has established the National Health Insurance Scheme with the basic objective of protecting Nigerian families from financial hardship of huge medical bills. The scheme is funded by contributions from employers and employees based on income. For the formal sector the contributions are premiums which make up 15% of a member’s basic salary. The employer contributes 10% while the employee pays 5%. The scheme covers a member, the spouse and four children. Participants from the informal sector are required to make a monthly contribution. No state government has a similar scheme in place. 

TO BE CONTINUED

Being a paper presented by Falana SAN, at the 1st Annual Public Lecture Series of the Mass Communication Department, Lagos Polytechnic, Ikorodu, Lagos State, January 27, 2015.