Pebbles with Igbotako Nowinta
“It is absolutely natural and a fundamental necessity to rebel and challenge any unfavorable, one sided status quo because in the Nigerian context, sadly enough, the down trodden is depersonalized and converted into a nonentity. This is the stark reality-distorted priority of a society that is dominated by demonic unfeeling pseudo democrats” – Quoted in NOWINTA’BOOK -WHERE WE ARE Page 90)
It is rather unfortunate, embarrassing and agonizing for the Nigerian presidency today, that the $9.3 million arms deal money smuggled into the Republic of South Africa has gradually become a shovel which is digging out the rot and impunity that are associated with the present regime.
The latest ugly development in what I will call the “South Africa affair” must have been going on smoothly before luck ran out of those who preach one thing and engage in another nasty thing,
My topic for discussion today: “Give Public Complaints Commission (PCC) full powers” however, will still be thrashed adequately, even in the face of the “South Africa Affair”.
It is just that any public commentator or regular columnist worth his or her salt can’t afford to ignore saying something about an issue which has exposed our rulers and those close to the kitchen and parlor of power as hypocrites, self serving and duplicitous.
Now, the National Assembly that recently resumed sitting for its last quarter of deliberations is now embroiled in the ‘South Africa Affair’.
Instead of focusing on issues of urgent national discourse that will take the nation to the next level of reasonable development or sanity the Senate has been distracted by the ‘South Africa Affair’.
The ‘Chibok girls’ seems to have been forgotten, the war against Shekarau’s Boko Haram has been politicized and sentimentalized by an executive arm that is supposed to be brutally frank and consistent on the matter; the report of the recently concluded National Political Conference is gathering dust in the cupboard at the Presidential Palace etc.
Let’s face a stark fact. President Jonathan has made a request of additional $1 billion to the Senate for approval to fight the blood-thirsty Boko Haram animals.
Now if the excuse or reason given by presidential source for the purchase of ammunition from South Africa is to be considered, where did the presidency get that whopping amount of money from?
Well, as usual very soon the ‘South Africa Affair’ will be relegated to the background just like the oil subsidy scandal; the Hon. Farouk/Otedola bribery saga, just to name a few.
The big business in town now is ‘Goodluck to Goodluck’ campaigns. After all, the Peoples Democratic Party’s PDP) National Executive Council NEC) has officially adopted President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as the sole Candidate for the 2015 presidential election.
The Lagos recent sensitization campaign attended by President Jonathan and organized by the PDP has indirectly signaled the beginning of full blown political campaign, towards the February 2015 presidential election, even in utter defiance of Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) provisions.
Sadly enough, the ordinary people are inconsequential in the political calculations of the politicians, as they jostle for relevance for the 2015 general elections Yes!
The downtrodden are only subjects to be manipulated during elections with big bags of rice and salt, and other inducements.
The masses have never really been considered positively since May 29, 1999. I am saying this because the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) statutorily set up by the Federal Government is nothing but a toothless bulldog. People are dying and crying.
A toothless bulldog that is what the PCC has painfully turned into. I am not writing out of the blues, I have an experience to narrate here.
As a Conflict Resolution Practitioner, duly trained with a university degree, a client from one of the first generation universities came to my office and I took up his matter.
His appointment was maliciously terminated because one sadistic Head of Department wrote a false report against him to the university authorities.
To cut the long matter short, we took the matter to the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) Edo State branch.
The PCC went into the matter and did a perfect job. The PCC discovered to its chagrin that my client committed no offense and subsequently wrote several letters to the Vice Chancellor of the said university, to reinstate him immediately.
Not only did the Vice Chancellor arrogantly and maliciously refused to reinstate my client as duly requested by the PCC, he had the effrontery to come to the House of Representatives Special Committee Public Petitions to shamelessly justify why my client could not be reinstated as a lecturer in the said university.
Now, because the PCC could not force the Vice Chancellor to reinstate my client, I took him to the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions. That is where we are today.
Wait a minute! For nine months now, the Reps CPP has heard the submissions of both my client and that of the representatives of the said Vice Chancellor, yet, its report has not been written, and taken to the floor of the House of Representatives for adoption or debate.
Recently, the Speaker of the House of Representatives said that “PCC failed Nigerians”, which was reported in the Vanguard of Friday, Sept 19, 2014, page 44, asking for the repeal and reenactment of the Public Complaints Commission Act.
It was indeed during a meeting organized, curiously enough, by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Commission to discuss the “Bill for an act to establish the PCC with wide powers to inquire into compliant by members of the public concerning the administrative actions of any public authority or companies or their officials, other matters ancillary threat”.
I think I can say rightly that the House of Representatives CPP has equally failed Nigerians because the people are supposed to be the ultimate beneficiaries of prompt and proactive justice which the Representatives CPP has failed woefully to provide. Rights and privileges of countless citizens are being messed up today.
I hereby join Speaker Aminu Tambuwal to chorus that the PCC be granted full powers, through the bill that is presently being worked out, and that the representatives CPP should wake up from deep slumber and hurriedly write its reports and take them to the floor of the House without further delay.
Nowinta wrote WHERE WE ARE – A CALL FOR DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION IN NIGERIA
