Press Statement
Text
of a World Press Statement Issued By June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formation
in commemoration of the 21st anniversary of the June 12, 1993,
presidential elections, on June 12 2014
Dear
Compatriots, today 12th of June 2014 marks the 21st anniversary of June 12 1993
Presidential election which was and is still acclaimed globally as the
freest and fairest ever conducted election in the political history of Nigeria.
It was a great day in which the people of diverse ethnic nations occupying the
geographical space called Nigeria exhibited the unifying spirit of a united
people, jettisoning all divisive sentiments and spoke with one voice, but
unfortunately, the peoples mandate was treasonably annulled by the Ibrahim
Babangida junta and thus began a tortuous struggle to emancipate the people
from all forms of colonization and slavery and the consequences is what we are
still living with till today.
June 12 represented hope and a new beginning for the people of Nigeria in
charting a course for their political destiny anchored by the late President
elect, Bashorun MKO Abiola political manifesto which was “Farewell to poverty”.
Unfortunately,
after 15 years of navigating this democratic path, we must but ask ourselves in
view of our experiences from the June 12 struggle that, how have the people
fared? What are the lessons learnt from the struggle in this fourth republic?
Are we on track with the ideals that June 12 represented?
These
and many more questions have informed this discuss namely:
National
Conference
Corruption
and Impunity
Press
Censorship and Freedom of Assembly
Insecurity
Education
Labour
Unrest and Mass Unemployment
Undemocratic
Tendencies
Remuneration
of Elected Office Holders
National
Conference:
When President Goodluck Jonathan mooted the idea of the national conference and
set up a committee to midwife it, millions of Nigerians including the June 12
Coalition of Democratic Formations were very apprehensive because what we have
always clamoured for as a panacea to rescue Nigeria from the abyss was a
Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to chart the path for political
restructuring, but so far, the National Conference as presently constituted and
the way it has been carrying out its assignment with regard to some of its
resolutions runs contrary to the principles of true federalism. In essence,
this conference has missed the path.
Corruption
and Impunity:
The level of corruption under the present political leadership is mind
boggling. Nigeria has become a failed state due to the culture of impunity and
corruption which pervades the land as political office holders are not
responsible and responsive to the yearnings and aspirations of the people. The
political elites have become so enmeshed in the culture of primitive accumulation
at the expense of societal interest. Corruption in the polity is a consequence
of the warped federation which concentrates power in the hands of the few and
the only way out is through political restructuring.
Press
Censorship and Freedom of Assembly:
We condemn in strong terms the ongoing barbaric, crude, illegal and
unconstitutional assault on freedom of the press and economic rights of
Nigerians by the military in the guise of the fight against terrorism. We must
warn that this clampdown on freedom to information is a violation of the
constitution and a sad reminder of the days of despotic military dictatorship
which must be condemned in its entirety.
We owe it a duty to admonish the
military that it must be civil and subservient to the constitution in the
discharge of its duties. We also condemn the flagrant abuse of people’s
fundamental right to association and assembly as guaranteed under the
constitution by the security agencies in violently dispersing peaceful
protesters.
Insecurity: The Coalition is bewildered by
the gradual slide of our country into a state of anarchy through the commission
of violent crimes resulting in colossal loss of human lives and destruction. We
condemn the kidnap of the Chibok school girls and other acts of criminality and
demand their immediate rescue.
Presently,
the war against terrorism is being waged on a large scale in the north east of
Nigeria which is under emergency rule and these acts of terrorism has become a
national phenomena with no part of the country being exempted. We have observed
and must point out that this war cannot be won by poorly equipped, motivated
and indisciplined security agencies, thus the government is enjoined to wake up
to its constitutional responsibility of securing lives and properties. The
culture of buck passing by Mr. President is condemnable.
Education: The June 12 coalition condemns
in strong terms the obnoxious fee hike in public schools nationwide which has
resulted in social unrest and calls on governments to immediately reverse this
anti people’s policy which is capable of breeding a country of uninformed
people who cannot contribute meaningfully to national development.
We
are shocked to learn that about 10 million children of school age are out of
school and governments at various levels have not deemed this to be a national
tragedy requiring urgent attention, definitely, we are sitting on a keg of gun
powder. We are pained and condemn in strong terms the lingering polytechnic
lecturers’ strike which has been on for over 9 months and calls on the
authorities and other stakeholders in the education sector to find a lasting
solution to the crisis so that our students can return back to school and our
future as a country is not jeopardized.
Labour
Unrest and Mass Unemployment:
The Coalition is saddened by the state of our labour force that is gradually
thinning out on a daily basis. The productive capacity is dropping at an
alarming rate as a result of factories and business closures due to lack of
basic infrastructures like electricity, water, roads, etc which has resulted in
mass unemployment and a worsening poverty level.
According
to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report released in April 2014, no
fewer than 5.3 million youths are jobless in the country, while 1.8 million
graduates enter the labour market every year. The tragedy of the Nigeria
Immigration service recruitment early this year is a sad reminder of this time
bomb that is waiting to explode. The general state of insecurity in the country
is accentuated by this mass unemployment of our teeming able bodied men and
women.
We
call on all government agencies and parastatals to ensure prompt payments of
gratuities and pensions of disengaged workers in order to allow them keep up
with their family responsibilities, prevent avoidable illnesses and premature
deaths. The Coalition calls on governments at all levels to reduce wastages and
judiciously use scarce resources to put in place basic and functional
infrastructures like water, roads, electricity, etc to generate employment.
Undemocratic
Tendencies:
The June 12 coalition condemns the undemocratic tendencies of political office
holders which is heating up the political climate and is capable of undermining
our democracy and societal peace. We call on the political elites to eschew
political bitterness by being faithful in playing according to the rules by
displaying maturity, civility and love for fatherland with regards to national
issues.
Remuneration
of Elected Office Holders:
The remuneration of elected public officials in Nigeria is unacceptable by any
standard. The remuneration of our elected public officials is mind-boggling and
not commensurate with reality. The Nigerian state uses over 70% of the National
budget to service less than 10,000 persons while the rest of about 160 million
persons are left with less than 30% to take care of their interest. In a true
federalism, states will only pay according to what they can afford rather than
this uniform pay structure which only encourages indolence, financial scandals
and criminality. The type of legislature that we want to operate at the centre
will also be discussed appropriately at the (SNC).
Sovereign
National Conference (SNC) Now!
Once
again, the June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations (J12CODEF) is using this
medium to admonish all and sundry that the only and genuine way out of this keg
of gun powder on which we are sitting lies in the immediate convocation of a
genuine Sovereign National Conference (SNC) of ethnic nationalities where we
would all sit down to discuss and give birth to a country where our economic,
social and political rights will be accorded its deserved dignity. The
Sovereign National Compass (SNC) is the compass that the Nigerian ship urgently
needs to guide us on the path to true federalism and the time is now!
Thanks.
Alfred
Ilenre
Nelson Ekujumi
Acting
Chairman
General Secretary
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