World Press Freedom Day: Ode to icons of Press Freedom, Jerry Ugokwe, other sponsors of the Freedom of Information Act

0
70

3rd May, each year, is a day of significance in the news media world. It is the day set aside by the United Nations for journalists and lovers of democracy and free speech all over the world, to reflect on the state of the global media and celebrate freedom of expression. It is World Press Freedom Day.

The idea of a day set aside to mark the freedom of expression as enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly, was largely in yielding to a call by a group of African journalists, drawn mainly from newspaper organizations, who met in 1991 at a conference in Windhoek, Namibia.
The conference resolution, now widely known as the Windhoek Declaration, made a case for a free press around the world. And on the anniversary of this declaration in December 1993, the UN General Assembly, on the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference, proclaimed 3rd May, every year, World Press Freedom Day. This year’s event with the theme; ‘Journalism Without Fear or Favor,” is being celebrated by UNESCO at The Hague, in the Netherlands.

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to celebrate the 2020 edition, it is only appropriate to take a look at the struggle for Press Freedom in the country and those at the frontline of this struggle that eventually culminated in the enactment of a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, in Nigeria.
In the run up to Nigeria’s independence in 1960, even dating back to the amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates of Nigeria by the British in 1914, the Nigerian Press was a veritable tool in the hands of the nationalists of that era to fight the British colonialists. The history of the Nigerian Press is replete with such struggles, not only for political independence but also independence for freedom of expression, thoughts and association.

And to curtail most of these freedoms, the British introduced the Official Secret Act, essentially to prevent the media from having access to and publishing government documents, especially those that could expose and embarrass the colonial government.
So effective was this Act that even after independence, the Tafawa Balewa Government retained and used it effectively to block public access to official documents. In spite of public outcry, successive Federal Governments of Nigeria, especially the military regimes made greater use of this British era law to shackle the Nigerian Press. Two prominent journalists, Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor, then of The Guardian Newspapers were tried and jailed under a newer version of the Act called Decree 4 of 1984, enacted by the federal military government of General Muhammadu Buhari.

Without abrogating this decree and the Official Secret Act, the subsequent governments of the day used these laws in several ways to stifle free speech and violate the human rights of citizens until democracy berthed in the country in 1999, and the battle to abrogate all the anti-Freedom of Expression laws began.
One of those leading fighters in this struggle is a one-time member of the House of Representatives and a former Nigerian Ambassador to Austria, Dr Jerry Sonny Ugokwe. The Honourable member from Idemili Federal Constituency in Anambra State narrated how he came about championing the cause of Press Freedom when he wasn’t even a journalist.

“As a graduate student and later a Government staff in the United States of America, I followed closely the evolution of the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) of the United States of American. In the process, I became so interested that I promised myself that whenever Nigeria frees herself from the shackles of military dictatorship and returns to democracy that I will champion a Freedom of Information Bill if God favours me to be elected to the National Assembly.

Late 1998 and early 1999, Nigeria began the process of democratization.
When in 1999, Nigeria’s return to Democracy was declared, and election dates were announced, I was quick to return home to Nigeria to contest for a seat to represent Idemili North and South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. I contested for the nomination under the PDP and was duly nominated. God answered my prayer, and I had an overwhelming victory at the polls to become a Member of the House of Representatives.

As soon as I made up my mind to return home to Nigeria, I took the time to draft the Freedom of Information Bill. My victory gave meaning to my desire and aspiration to be one of the foot soldiers in the fight for Press Freedom in Nigeria and one way I believed the war could be won was through a Freedom of Information Law that will grant everyone unfettered access to information.

A few days after my swearing-in as a member of the National Assembly in June 1999, I presented the then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, with a Draft Bill for an Act of National Assembly to make it easy for Nigerians to have access to information, otherwise known as Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill. Several sessions were organized between the Legal department and me, as the Assembly was new and many people were still learning the ropes. The Legal department in my several discussions with them confessed that the Draft Bill that I presented was as detailed, organized and complete as it required no amendments to bring it to conformity. The draft was then printed and gazette accordingly. In other words, the Freedom of Information Bill was the first Private Member Bill presented in the House of Representative, in 1999.

It was a long hard road to convince my colleagues to buy into it and support it on the floor of the House. It was highly misunderstood and shot down many times on the floor of the Assembly. This was no surprise to me as Nigeria was newly getting out of the shackles of dictatorship and all the attendant symptoms were visible. My colleagues in the National Assembly, both Senate and House of Representatives, opposed the bill openly. I received calls from many “big men” outside the National Assembly questioning my motive for sponsoring such, in their own words, “a controversial bill”. Many believed that it would cause the government to pry into their private lives, while others believed that it was not necessary at that time in the stage of our democratic development where many had been tainted with colours of military corruption and not yet willing to shed the toga. It was a tedious effort and hard work to bring many of my colleagues to be on the same page with me. However, at very long last, after rigorous defending and long hours of meetings and public hearings, the Bill was finally passed by the House of Representatives toward the end of the Session of the 4th Assembly. The Bill was transmitted to the Senate for concurrence but the Senate did not get to consider it before the 4th Session of the National Assembly ended. The end of the 4th Session of the National Assembly, without concurrence by the Senate, meant the end of the road for the FOI Bill.

On my re-election into the 5th Session of the National Assembly and the House of Representatives in 2003, I re-initiated and re-introduced the Freedom of Information Bill. With the gruelling and unpleasant experience which I gathered in the 4th Session of the National Assembly, it was easier to convince my colleagues to support the Bill. In 2005 the Freedom of Information Bill was again, passed by the House of Representatives. Drawing from my past experience, it was easy to form a coalition of the media, other agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations to put pressure on the Members of the Senate for concurrence. Finally, in 2006, the Senate concurred to the Bill passed by the House of Representative and the Freedom of Information Bill was transmitted to the President for assent for the last huddle.

Everyone waited patiently for Mr President’s assent to the Bill but, it was not forthcoming. We began to ask questions and even began to brace up for an override. As events unfolded, it was obvious that something was amiss. Probing further, the Presidency “claimed” that the Bill was never transmitted to Mr President. It sounded like a joke knowing that the process of transmitting Bills from the National Assembly to Mr President was not so complicated that the Bill could get lost in transit. Incidentally, the year 2007 crept in and electioneering process reached a crescendo, and no one could spare the time for Freedom of Information Bill anymore. Soon after, the 5th National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council were dissolved, without a Freedom of Information Act in place.

In 2007, the 6th Session of the National Assembly was convened. I did not return to the Assembly but was appointed to serve as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Austria with Concurrent Accreditation to Slovakia. At the resumption of the 6th Assembly and with my absence in the National Assembly, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who encouraged me as a journalist while working with the NTA and partnered with me when she was elected to the House of Representatives in 2003, took up the challenge and dusted up the Bill and re-introduced it in the House of Representatives as required by the rules.

With the support of those members who had followed the journey of the Bill so far, they joined hands to pull the Bill through the House of Representatives. Subsequently, the Senate again concurred, and President Goodluck Jonathan willingly assented to the Bill soon after it was transmitted to him. A Freedom of Information Act was finally born and my dream was realized at last! Thus, the long walk for Freedom came full circle.”

Though Ugokwe may no longer be active on the political scene, for now, the seed he planted that has given birth to the FOI Act in Nigeria will remain one of his lasting legacies, and the Nigerian media owe him and those who worked to get the bill passed and signed into law, the duty to utilize the law effectively for the purpose it was meant.

It is so disappointing that the same efforts put by all stakeholders into getting the Bill passed and assented to, by the President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has been absent in the way the law has been put to use, especially by the journalists who are the intended main beneficiaries.
Recognizing this, Ugokwe noted that the Freedom of Information Act, though, now federal law, has not been properly exploited. The Press community and Nigerians, in general, have not taken full advantage of the Act and consequently, much of it has not been tested in our courts of law for the benefit of the common man.”

He, therefore enjoined the Nigerian media, to in line with the World Press Freedom Day, put the Freedom of Information Act, to work, and utilize the freedom the law has offered to all of us.
We not only join him in making this admonition, we also take the lead in saluting his foresight and courage in championing the cause of Freedom of Expression and Free Press in our polity.
We need more people like him in public office to leave a positive mark in the sands of time for on coming generations of Nigerians.

On the occasion of the celebration of World Press Freedom today, we salute this icon of Free Speech in our country, Dr Jerry Sonny Ugokwe.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here