Three agricultural bills, a secret hearing called public hearing- by Ayeni, Oladehinde.

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.