SERAP IN THE NEWS

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a social and political advocacy group, has once again shown leadership in the quest to hold public officers in the country accountable to citizens. The suit filed to compel the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to make information available to citizens or corporate organisations on assets filed with the bureau by presidents and governors since 1999 is an indication that some groups and individuals in the society are waking up to their responsibility.

Prior to filing the case, SERAP had written the bureau under provisions of the Freedom of Information Act seeking for the information, citing public interest. However, the CCB replied that releasing the information would amount to invasion of the individuals’ privacy. The CCB holds that the law does not make room for such publication.

The SERAP suit is, therefore, also testing the justifiability of the FOI and emphasising the place of the public in a democracy.

Besides, democracy is about transparency and openness. Every elected official occupies a public place and should not therefore be contending that his assets prior to assuming office and at expiration of his term constitute private estate; such a person has no business offering himself for office.

The intendment of framers of the constitution, even if not expressly stated, is that such assets should be publicly declared for possible objections. The CCB should brace up for its assigned duties, promptly verify the truth or otherwise of the assets declared and arraign whoever might have infringed the relevant law before the Code of Conduct Tribunal. This far, the impression given is that the bureau has been selective, partisan and biased in its application of the law. There is no reason why suspects should be arraigned long after their terms of duty.

The bureau can only succeed if it enlists public support. Corruption, especially by those occupying high offices of state has eaten so deep into the fabric of this society that only effective application of the laws by institutions can cleanse the Augean Stable. The poverty ravaging the land has been identified as one factor responsible for escalation of crimes. Terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cybercrime are some of the vices that have made the country insecure in recent times, and unless corruption-induced poverty is adequately and urgently tackled, the state could be in the hole for a long while.

Twenty years into the current democratic dispensation, little has been achieved in improving the quality of living. Infrastructure have further decayed and the youth are daily seeking ways to escape from the country, believing that their future is bleak should they remain here. Professionals, too, troop out regularly to further boost the development of other countries, including African states. The fallout is the inhuman treatment meted to them in such countries. This has become intolerable, but can only stop if institutions of state perform their duties efficiently and effectively. Otherwise, today will haunt tomorrow as yesterday is tormenting today.

We commend SERAP for consistently seeking to make public officials and institutions accountable. So far, it has been a lone voice ringing out, directing the minds of the public to their duty between elections. Unfortunately, politicians have succeeded in erroneously restricting the people to voting at elections. Popular participation is a major feature of democracy. Any government left to run its course on its own defined track and by rules it defines is anything but a democracy.

After two decades of another pseudo democratic order, Nigerians must brace up to fully participate in governance. Other civil society groups should join SERAP in the struggle to free the country from the stranglehold of rapacious rulers. Regular public declaration of assets by all public officials has become an imperative if Nigeria is to crawl out of the hole.

Source: TheNation Newspapers