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MacArthur foundation Raises Strong Voice For Whistleblowers Protection

Published

4 years ago

September 18, 2020

Joel Ajayi

…..As Stakeholders call on Buhari, NASS for urgent legislative action

A major stakeholder in the fight against corruption in Nigeria, the MacArthur Foundation says Nigeria must now move beyond policy to legislation to institutionalize and protect whistleblowers in the country.

In his intervention at a Radio Town Hall Meeting in Abuja, the African Director of Macarthur Foundation, Dr. Kole Shettima said that the next step for Nigeria is going beyond the whistleblower policy.

His words: “The next step is to have a law that will support the whistleblower. Although this has been an issue in the National Assembly for sometimes now.”

Shettima assured that MacArthur Foundation in collaboration with civil society organizations in Nigeria is working hard to ensure more public education on the issue and to see if a law to protect whistleblowers can be passed by the legislature.

Stakeholders have attributed the growing persecution of whistleblowers to the Federal Government’s lack of political will on creating strong institutions and legislation for whistleblower policy.

Participants during a radio town hall meeting against corruption, theme: Whistleblowers and The Challenge of Absence of Legal Protection: Cases of Dismissal of Whistleblowers, held Friday by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG) in Abuja.

The town hall meeting is coming on amidst growing cases of victimization of some Nigerians who exposed corruption in their places of work.

It will be recalled Ms. Fidelia Onoghaife was sacked by the Netherlands Embassy in Abuja after she blew the whistle on OPL 245 fraud. Ameh Joseph, another victim of whistleblowing who spoke from Delta State on phone during the meeting shared his touching ordeal at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba, Delta State after exposing corrupt activities.

“I speak in great dismay of the ordeal of corruption in our great country. I saw the corruption that has been institutionalized with impunity and carried out in routine, a multibillion naira one conferring monstrous financial, unmerited favors to the numerous participants.

“Although I was faced with the alternative of being part of the corruption against this country, I was treated as an enemy and outcast for 10 years.

“The plot to dismiss me as the obstacle to the success of their evil activities was now actualized by the termination of my service on May 13, 2020, to permanently silent my voice.”

Ameh Joseph added: “My challenges are the fears impacted on my children when I was trailed by a tinted car, the cost of maintaining two homes, and most traumatizing is the kids missing fatherly supervision, love, and care from me,” he cried out.

Reacting earlier on the lack of legislation for whistleblowing, a Senior Team Manager, Open Society Justice Initiative, Prof Chidi Odinkalu said the public service is configured in such a way that whistleblowing is discouraged, stressing that the system made it known whistleblowers that they have no hiding place.

“The underlying attitude and configuration about public service space is quite fundamentally opposed to transparency, whistleblowing to any effort to ensure accountability. Our accountability system in the court is not configured to accommodate that either so how do we create an incentive system that accommodates whistleblowers to get some protection,” Odinkalu queried.

According to Godwin Onyeacholem, Senior Program Officer, African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (Africmil), the whistleblower policy remains a policy with no legal backing yet then within the policy there is provision for protection.

His words: “The problem we have is that of enforcement, the government is not complying with the provision of protection, there is a provision for the protection of the whistleblowers within their own policy which was made in December 2016, but they don’t comply with that.

There is no way you can encourage whistleblowers if you don’t protect them. There is no guarantee for zero reprisal. If you want to blow the whistle, make up your mind that there would be retaliation or retribution.”

Onyeacholem faulted the government on the persecution of the whistleblowers. “Government all over are making legislation to ensure that organizations are putting whistleblowers procedures all over but we don’t see that happening here.

“It’s not about the whistleblower, it’s about the willingness within the state itself to ensure that this happens,” Onyeacholem stated.

President of the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) Igho Akeregha noted that the anti-corruption agencies have not been doing enough to protect whistleblowers. He however urged citizens not to be discouraged in exposing corruption.

At the end of the meeting, stakeholders recommended the following: “that Nigeria needs to create its own mechanism of protection by establishing whistleblower fund which could be administered by the concession of interested action; Civil society organization must continue the campaign for legislation of whistleblower policy; In the absence of the enactment of comprehensive whistleblower law, the executive and legislative arm of the government should be held responsible using the media; and there should be a mechanism to support the victims of whistleblowing and victims should be compensated.

Other participants during the town hall meeting were Suraju Olanrewaju, Chairman, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (Heda Resources Centre); and Tunde Salman, Convener, Good Governance Team.

PRIMORG’s Radio Town Hall Meeting Against corruption series is supported by MacArthur Foundation.

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Dikko And The New Vision Accountability and Development in Sports

Published

6 days ago

December 16, 2024

The Gleamer

Felly Mammah N.

Since the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhaji Shehu Dikko assumed office on the 30th of October, 2024, he has systematically and deliberately been putting in place structures that would result to proper development of sports in Nigeria. Shortly after he was first appointed by President Bola Tinubu as a leading strength of sports, the Director General (DG), Hon. Bukola Olapade was appointed to compliment his efforts.

Many sports analysts believe that the duo of Dikko and Olapade who have been very visible in sports administration will be one of the best combination to take the sports sector to the next level. The DG no doubt, is the head of administration in the Commission, but it should be noted that the financial enablement to manage the affairs of staff and the political might that shops for the finance needed in the running of the sector rest on the Chairman who has the task of liaising with the President directly.

It is also, worthy to note that there is a huge difference between the administration of in the Civil Service as it is controlled by a Permanent Secretary and Directors while the administration of a Commission involves Board Members and experts whose voices and actions are also, game-changing; more so as Commissioners are likely going to take charge of the different zones to proffer solutions for a way forward. The defunct Ministry of Youths and Sports Development which later in 2023 metamorphosed into the Ministry of Sports Development on the assumption of President Bola Tinubu, produced a minister who was not versed in sports administration and as a result, faced mass criticism especially from men of the media.

These men of the pen profession are the torchlight of global sporting activity; they equally keep the history of both sports participation globally as well as the records of athletes’ performances. Their torchlight on past Minister’s and particularly the recent past, have revealed that most of the people who presided over sports administration do not really have any knowledge of the sector before their appointment.

The exit of the immediate past Minister, Sen. John Owan Enoh, refreshingly paved the way for change and this has brought in sports personnels that are expected to place sporting activities in the digital world. Suffice it to also, say that the new management of Sports Commission in parts of her changes is expected to sanitize athletes’ attitude and character for better reflection of children who have seen and communicated with their peers in the Western world.

However, the clarion call for President Tinubu to remove politics in sports may have changed the leadership of sports going by what many sports fans saw in the last outing of both Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024, where a country like Nigeria did not measure up to her potentials.

Despite the poor performance of atheletes during the World Olympics Games, the past immediate past Minister deserves to be commended that during his tenure, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Games was reawakened as the participation of our Super Eagles brought back hope and jubilation to sports fans including the President and higher authorities. Yes whopping sum of N12 Billion was released two weeks to the Olympics Games and at a time the country was not financially stable. Despite the presidential financial support, the medals presented to the country were crisis and ignorant of both the atheletes, Nigeria Olympic Committee and the Atheletic Federaton to do the needful.

Therefore, it is heart-warming that the President harkened to the appeal of his fellow sports lovers to handpick a known figure in the sports arena to share his wealth of experience that gave him both a name in Sports and positions as the former Chairman of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Chairman League Management Company (LMC), FIFA match Commissioner of significance, 2nd Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and presently, CAF Committee Member, in addition to his new portfolio as Chairman NSC.

My reference point here is that Alh. Dikko has been given the authority to effect positive change in sports sector, co-ordinate over 40 Sports Federations in the sector, welcome ideas of both sports stakeholders, individuals and veterans of sports that will enable him x-ray the reasons for poor performances in the sector and to chat a way forward for success story. There can never be a new testament without an old testament, thus the reason Alh. Dikko’s doors have remained opened to receive courtesy calls that included the visits by past administrators and foreigners who want to facilitate with whom the cap fits.

Still, in the mood of celebration to formally welcome Alh. Dikko to office was the peculiar power of sports which gathered momentum and the crowd for happy moments as seen in the recent novelty match organized by his friends, associates and sports veterans at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja recently. That gathering clearly announced not just a man who has made a name for himself at a height in global political decision making in sports circle, but a man who has also, given voice to our country’s leagues and international activities.

Sports is a significant sector that comprises emotion, tension, happiness, sadness even death and hope irrespective of the fact that it has the potential to feed many mouths. The sector cannot be compared to other Ministries with delayed bureaucracies and frustration of abilities. While in the civil service the head will rather submerge a growing talent for fear of power thrown, a coach who discovers a talent takes the credit for showcasing a star athelete discovered. Sports has been proven to generate revenue as well as attract public partnership which are all aimed at enhancing podium performance by the athletes.

Shehu Dikko’s business vision and wide participation in football contributed in making him the right candidate to place the sector in its expected level, increase the GDP of the country’s economy and equally be accountable with administrative roadmap for success.

The novelty match organised for him by his sports fans and League managers had the likes of Samson Siasia, Victor Ikpeba, Mutiu Adepoju, Dominic Iorfa, Ahmed Musa in attendance to share their joy with him as they displayed their talent with their foot.
Others that graced the occasion were Super Sports General Manager, Felix Nwogu, former and present Chairmen of House Committee on Sports, NFF President, NOC members and persons from across the globe. That singular act indicated a clear fact that Dikko can actually gather momentum with persons that can support his ideology to deliver as charged by the presidency.

However, the Chairman’s meekness to open his doors to all does not mean weakness neither does it mean that he has not commenced work officially. His work is more of brain tasking because ideas actually rule the world. I will boldly say that he has resumed work with like minds that will not only be on the same page with him but will as well be on success Guinness Book with him.

Felly Mammah N.
Press Officer (NSC).

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