LAGOS – Nigeria on Tuesday October 1, 2024 marked its 64th Independence anniversary. While President Bola Tinubu did a national broadcast, governors in addition, presided over parades by uniformed security men in their respective states.
Some civil society groups also were not left out as they held public events, while young activists protested against the poor economic situation in the country and poor governance,
However, the Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) held its state of the nation briefing. The event was simultaneously held in seven states of Lagos, Anambra, Delta, Kwara, Kaduna, Bauchi and Ogun.
In Lagos, the briefing, an annual event, which attracted a horde of media men, was chaired by the CDHR National President, Debo Adeniran, who noted that the same briefing is being held in several states because the organisation has a national spread.
Reading the CDHR statement, Adeniran stressed that on every October 1, compatriots remember the sacrifices of the nation’s freedom fighters and honour their dedication and courage, which led to the birth of a free and independent Nigeria in 1960.
He noted that Nigeria’s freedom did not come easily, as it was the result of long years of struggle and immense sacrifices by the nation’s pre-independence leaders. He stressed: “They fought not with weapons, but with strong ideals, a belief in justice and a dream of a free nation. Their determination and commitment inspire us to this day. Independence Day is not just a celebration of our past achievements, but also a reminder of the responsibilities we have as citizens of this great nation.”
The CDHR president maintained that as Nigerians mark this yearly event, “let us remember that the true essence of freedom lies in upholding the values of equality, justice, and brotherhood.”
Adeniran, a veteran activist, maintained that although he country is not where it ought to be in terms of advancements in science and technology, to improvements in education and healthcare, “but we are making remarkable progress in various fields. Though, we are still facing various challenges such as poverty, illiteracy, insecurity and inequality. It is our duty, especially as the Nigerians, to work towards overcoming these challenges and building a better and stronger Nigeria.”
He stressed that whereas every October 1 is a day to celebrate national independence, “we do not think our country has much to celebrate this year. Nigerians are neither happy, nor free after 64 years of political independence from Colonial Britain. The Nigerian masses are poor and hungry.”
According to him, “Since coming to power, the Tinubu administration has imposed unprecedented hardship on millions of Nigerians and pushed them into multi-dimensional poverty and monumental misery. Many working families are at the point of starvation. Several people have lost their jobs and lives. The middle class has been destroyed. The rate of suicide is increasing. Despite this, President Tinubu continues to drive forward these criminal anti-human policies as shown by the about 300% increase in petrol price in September compared to the situation on May 29, 2023.”
To this end, the CDHR boss called on the government to critically look into the following recommendations for urgent implementation: “Nigeria is unnecessarily encumbered by the weight of its top-heavy and unwieldy system of government it enburdens itself with.
“Our government consists of three tiers of federal, state and local. Each tier consists of three arms, executive, legislative and judiciary. The federal legislature is bicameral with the Senate and House of Representatives.
“We would like to recommend that a unicameral legislature in the mold of the House of Representatives is cheaper, easier to maintain and makes government business simpler and faster and should be adopted in Nigeria.
“At the end of the day, if the Senate is more fashionable, they should name the National Assembly, Senate or simply make it National Assembly. Election of Members should be based on the same criteria upon which House of Representative Members were elected.
“It is also our recommendation that the three tiers of government be reduced to two; the federal and local governments. There is no need for a state government. State governments are just discomfiting interlopers, whose roles can be better played as local governments. State governments are the veritable excuses why local governments had not been functioning optimally. That is why state governments don’t want autonomy for local governments.
“We are aware that the constitution provides that at least one cabinet minister should be appointed from each of the component states, our recommendation is that ministers and state commissioners should also be elected by their respective states or constituencies in the same way that the federal and state legislators are respectively elected.
“The President should only have opportunities of appointing Personal Assistants and not even Special Advisers. Ministers should play the roles of advising the President on sectoral issues. The president and ministers should only appoint a few assistants whose emoluments would be borne by the government for himself and his ministers. Any public servant who wants more assistants should remunerate them from their personal resources. The President should nonetheless put a limit to the number of Assistants employed for them.”
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Adeniran called on the Federal Government to release all #EndSARS and #EndBadGovernance protesters, journalists, whistleblowers and other victims of state repression unconditionally.
He also suggested that the cost of governance should be reduced while all political office holders should be placed on the minimum wage. He also called for the scrapping of security votes and constituency allowances, while free and compulsory primary and secondary education should be provided for all Nigerian children.
The CDHR president also canvassed for the reduction of tertiary education school fees, while Nigerian students should be given grants and not loans. He called for immediate prosecution and jailing of all corrupt politicians, judges, police, public servants and state officials.
The CDHR president called for massive investment in public works, social infrastructure and industrialisation to create decent jobs for all.
According to him, there should be genuine electoral reform, while there should be independent candidature, diaspora voting and a truly independent electoral body.
He stressed: “Say ‘no’ to IMF neo-liberal policies. Reverse hike in fuel prices and electricity tariff back to pre-May 29, 2023 level. Make government-owned refineries work to guarantee affordable petroleum products.
“Reduce food prices and end hunger. Support farmers with security, funds and farm inputs to ensure sustainable food production. End insecurity, banditry, terrorism and violent crimes. And prosecute culprits and their sponsors.”
The CDHR boss called for a robust security architecture and adequate support for soldiers at the front and their families.
Adeniran stated: “Finally, we believe that the current constitution, the ground norm with which our individual and collective lives are being administered, was foisted upon us by an illegitimate government that the military was.
“It is on this note that we recommend that the government should convoke a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) wherein every Nigerian voice would be directly represented and where a brand new Nigerian Constitution would evolve.
“SNC is the foundation of a true democracy and nationhood; without it we would only be living under self-denial in a mere political contraption without any true unifying factor and therefore signifying nothing, but a keg of gunpowder waiting to explode.”
Answering a question, Adeniran rejected the planned convocation of the National Youth Conference (NYC) which President Bola Tinubu announced in his broadcast, saying that it will not achieve any useful purpose.
According to him, “I do not believe holding a youth conference will achieve much”, insisting that the conference of the nation’s youths is already in progress, going by the demands of youths during some of the national protests held in the country in recent times.
He stressed: “The proposed Youth Conference is a mere waste of resources. It will be like the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s National Conference. How could the members be picked? How do you harness the views of the different strata of youths? The proposed youth conference will be another national tragedy that may not be implemented, just like Jonathan’s conference.”
The CDHR boss stated: “Instead of a national youth conference, let there be a Sovereign National Conference (SNC). There have been several conferences. Let there be open debate. Let there be a committee to harness items in the previous conferences.”
Also answering further questions, he called for the reduction of the cost of electricity, while the government should provide cheap housing for citizens as well as employment and soft loans for farmers.
Adeniran continued: “Why has Nigeria abandoned coal and the other mineral resources? Let there be free medicare for all citizens to check adverse effects of environmental pollution due to exploitation of various mineral resources.”
On a political ideology for Nigeria, Adeniran said he believes in equity, stressing that when everyone is pigeonholed into one social ideology, it could lead to dogmatism. He stressed that all corrupt politicians should be jailed and when in prison, they should be productive and practice whatever is their profession or trade from behind the prison walls.
