It was heart warming to witness the inauguration of the third democratically elected president in Nigeria after the restoration of civilian governance in 1999. The glitz, the media attention and the global recognition was well worth the sacrifice we made at the polls and the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the April 2011 elections.
But while some are proud of Nigeria for swinging a beautiful ceremony, a number of Nigerians are of the opinion that the huge “unsubstantiated” budget was unnecessary if not wasteful. It would be interesting to know the committee that came up with or reviewed the budget. Were there dissenting voices to the event, if yes, how were they accomodated? Who drove the expenditure? Was it Mr. President or Messers Lackeys? Is this spending in line with Mr. President's character or what he projects to be his character. If not, how does he hope to fix the disconnect?
For the educated, the argument is based on the fact that the Nigerian constitution requires and mandates only the oath taking to 'enter on the Execution' of the office of the presidency. According to a Nigerian living abroad, Mr. Dean Arutoghor, technically, the inauguration should be a simple oath-taking that requires the coming together of the president elect who should not be paid for signing into service, a judge who may be given a week day off in lieu of having to work on a work-free day and a handful of witnesses. Of course as a newsworthy event, the national media can bear the logistics of recording the event. Something really simple - like the re-taking of the oath by President Obama in the Oval Office after he fluffed his lines during the original inauguration despite all the razzle-dazzle - would have been sufficient. For the poor, the budget could have been translated into roads, water pumps, schools, market stalls, fertilizers, small loans, BCG vaccines etc.
In this age of technological advancement, could the invited dignitaries not have given their goodwill message via online video messaging? After all they all would not have had an opportunity to meet one on one with the president during the inaugural ceremonies.
But like the Director General of National Orientation Agency (NOA) Alhaji Idi M. Faruk said, the N1B budgeted is justified considering the various activities slated for the event and based on the international recognition that would accrue from Nigeria being seen as a democratic country to be emulated by other African countries. On the other side of the kobo are folks like Alhaji Faruk and Mr. Lanre Sarumi, a Movie Director, who defended that the money expended was well worth it as the Presidential Inauguration like the Royal Wedding is a national event where all the invited dignitaries had an opportunity to have a taste of Nigeria first hand as well as brought in foreign currency which was ploughed back into the nation.
So what was the real figure expended for the inauguration at Federal and State level? There have been a number of complaints about the Federal budget but did any State Governor declare their inauguration budget? Whether it is 600M or 850M or even 5B Naira, the fact that the week of inaugural festivities is over means that the money have been spent. The question we need to ask is whether it was extravagant or perhaps those complaining are just being sentimental? Should a country at the brink of economic crisis expend so much to celebrate the coming of age with regards to a budding democracy? How much of hard-pressed tax payers money was squandered? Do we need to expend so much to prove that we are willing to deepen the culture and practice of democracy especially considering that many lives were lost in the re-birthing of our democracy? According to the Human Rights Watch, the 2011 election was the bloodiest since the restoration of civilian governance. The bloodbath continued on the day of election as bomb attack and violence was recorded in Bauchi, Zaria, Kaduna, Maiduguri, around Abuja and Owerri.
So the money has been spent and our future remains ahead of us. While folks like the NaijaCyberHactivists can decide to dent our image further by posting gory images on government-owned websites, we may choose to begin to ask questions about who and who would make up Mr. President’s cabinet. We can begin to question whether they are people-oriented and qualified for the positions to which they would be elected. We need to begin to ask how Mr. President intends to solve the problem of electricity, employment, healthcare, education, infrastructural and socio-economic development in the country.
Mr. President should learn to be gender sensitive. Madam President from Liberia – Mrs. Helen Sirleaf Johnson – and other worthy females were present at the inauguration yet Mr. President acknowledged, “brother heads of state and government.” Only once in Mr. President’s inaugural address did we see a firm active voice, “The urgent task of my administration is to provide a suitable environment, for productive activities to flourish. I therefore call on the good people of Nigeria, to enlist as agents of this great transformation.”
Across the nation, prayer was said to begin and close the inauguration but how much of God do we allow in the nation’s governance. As we journey through and pray for the new leadership, we need Mr. President to take a definite stand on the things that matter – healthcare, roads, electricity, education...
As we settle into a new dispensation, Mr. President need to make the loss of lives, unwavering sacrifice of the living and the expectation of all, regardless of how they voted, count for something. Mr. President needs to extend the olive branch to reach beyond the disgruntled to the pained. We are one Nigeria; Mr. President should work at understanding the northern, western, eastern and southern dynamic as this is very important to the progress of our dear nation.
Already, steps taken by Mr. President in the wake of assuming leadership is proving positive. The signing by Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan of a Freedom of Information (FoI) law is a victory for democracy, transparency, justice and development. "With the new law, Nigerians finally have vital tools to uncover facts, fight corruption and hold officials and institutions accountable," Ms. Ene Enonche, Coordinator of the Right to Know Initiative, said.
Going by the new legislation which expects all institutions spending public funds to be open about their operations and expenditure, we as citizens can ask questions about the exact figure that was spent on the inauguration and how these was expended. We can find out whether the N850B declared as actual budget by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, the Chairman of the presidential inauguration committee is true. We can also request information on the actual figures voted for public address system, multimedia projectors and screens,
ministers, air conditioning and refurbishing (not rebuilding) of the church. Under the new law, citizens will have the right to access information and whistleblowers who report malfeasance by their employers or organisations or politicians will be protected from reprisals.
Edetaen Ojo, Executive Director, Media Rights Agenda said: “The signing of the FoI Bill into law is the clearest demonstration ever of the power of civil society working together to influence public policy and initiate reform. We are committed to continuing our concerted efforts to ensure that the new law achieves its ultimate objective of making government work for the people.”
It has been a long, rough road since the first submission of the FoI Bill in 1999 when the country returned to democratic rule. I must commend journalists, the media and of course the civil societies locally and globally for taking a stand for freedom. Now we can chant Bob Marley’s Redemption Song as we pay homage to the heroes who paid the capital price and look forward to real unity and faith, peace and progress.
Omolola Famuyiwa is Project Director of Cares Global Network.
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