Senate committee on Agriculture, Senator Abdullahi Adamu |
As the years
go by, this democracy is supposed to be maturing and stable, but it appears
that it is only an illusion. Nowadays, it’s as if public hearings a forum
organized to obtain public views on matters slated for legislation are being
stage-managed.
How so? When
something is called public hearing one will feel that everybody will be
welcome, irrespective of status or class and that such a forum doesn’t require
an invitation card for any member of the public to gain entrance hence is a
stakeholder.
But what
happens now? Day by day, stakeholders are turned back at the National Assembly
main gate due to none being able to produce an invitation cards when actually
the event has been put in public domain through announcement and notice. What
really baffles one is that among those turned back are well-known journalists.
And the issue slated for discussion on a recent occasion had to do with three
agricultural bills which are very strategic to food security that also concerns
everybody. Now, by sending some journalists back means the hearing was no
longer public but secret hearing.
The organizers must be reminded that the
phrase ‘public hearing’ presupposes that the hearing is for everybody, most
especially journalists who have means of identification and are also well-known
in the sector. Anything different from this is definitely an effort at
stage-managing the process and that is a disservice to Nigerians.
A recently
conducted Senate Committee on Agriculture public hearing has joined the bandwagon
of undemocratic conduct which also amounts to denial of human rights as lot of
people who had come with their identification cards in order to attend the
public hearing were turned back by the security men at the gate. Of course,
what do you expect from zombie mentality who cannot differentiate his left hand
from right, even at the point of making him or her to see reasons of what a
public hearing means. Worst still, they turn it to extortion.
Do you blame
them? The blame goes to the people who are supposed to know better. I had
attended public hearing in the same complex where a standing order particularly
for an occasion like this was given for anybody who came for public hearing to
step forward for identification. Very simple and civilized manner with
proactive result .So what went wrong this time around? Are we progressing or
retrogressing especially in a sector like agriculture that is begging for
appropriate awareness creation and sensitization?
Even those
who attended said the hearing was closely tailored to reduce contribution and oppositing
views. A stakeholder who said his group was not allowed to speak despite its
submitted memo pointed out that the whole arrangement was like they have made up
their minds on who and who would speak thereby defeating the purpose of a
public hearing.
I have a lot of respect and regard for the
chairman, Senate committee on Agriculture, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, a seasoned
farmer, and also the chairman, board of trustee, National Agricultural Foundation,
the organizer of National Agricultural Show, a yearly event which is open to
all and sundry without any record of insecurity threat over a period of ten
years running. I want to believe he is not aware of what happened that day as
people who had come from far and near for the hearing were turned back by the
overzealous National Assembly security men, an action which is totally myopic
to the purpose of public hearing. It is important to know that it is a disservice
to our nation anytime anyone restricts attendance to an event like this, and
also a limitation to democratic power and process that brought many into
National Assembly.
The best you
can do is to ensure a proper security system that will vet persons to be allowed
into such session, otherwise anybody with proper identification must be allowed.
This observation is really unbecoming that we cannot allow it to subsist any
longer in our march to full democracy and prosperous nation in which there is
always a need for wider inclusive contribution to any bill before it becomes an
Act.
It is
inconceivable that our correspondent was not allowed to enter the venue even
though ours is a specialized paper on agriculture. The argument on invitation
ground is not acceptable because invitations cannot reach everybody, which is
the essence of the banners pasted outside at the gate entrance cum public announcement.
Once something is tagged public hearing, the emphasis on production of
invitation cards at the gate should become irrelevant as a matter of reason and
logic.
It is not
everything that must be politicized in our drive to diversify the economy, as
we must painstakingly be involved to ensure this without restriction, and with
inclusive involvement to ensure a robust act for agricultural development in
Nigeria. After all, for those of us who know the value of time, National
Assembly is not a place of interest especially when you don’t have anything
doing there.
I beg to differ on your conclusion. I was at the Public hearing and nobody turned me back. As a matter of fact, immediately you mention your purpose, the security directs you to appropriate entry point. Kindly dig deeper intobasis of your write up. This is totally unfair conclusion.
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