The age long saying that you cannot fool the people all the times, but can fool them sometime holds true of the latest syndicated editorial comments from some Lagos-Ibadan axis press-newspapers. Were these editorial comments emanated when people in Nigeria have not fully come to terms with the antics of this axis press, panic would have probably taken over, but today, advantage in the field of information dissemination has made it possible for every Nigerian to receive and sieve information properly before coming to sound judgment on any subject matter.
Only recently, the National Assembly Service Commission [NASC] came out with a press release on the status of the Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Ibrahim Nasir Arab, that he will disengage from service in 2010, when he would have clocked 60 years of age as stipulated by the Civil service Law in Nigeria . The position of NASC, the employer of Arab effectively put to rest the misguided and mischievous agitation of some southwest Newspapers for the premature removal of Arab from the civil service, in defiance of the service rule on retirement. It is not as if these Lagos-Ibadan axis press are not aware of the fact that the compulsory retirement age for all grades in the service shall be 60 years or 35 years of pension-able service which ever is earlier, or that: no officer shall be allowed to remain in service after attaining the retirement age of 60 years or 35 years of pensionable service which ever is earlier. It is baffling that these papers turned blind eyes to these rules and laws, in their biased editorial comments.
A critical look at the building up to Wednesday, 27 August 2008, Editorial Comment of Nigerian Tribune on Nasir Arabs status, revealed a steady but sure mischief delivery. This is what this writer means, on 29th June, 2008 Tribune carried this report titled Monarchs seek Yar`Adua Intervention in National Assembly Forgery Scandal. A careful analysis of this report shows that the targets of blackmail were Mr. President, and Traditional rulers from his geo-political zone. The Monarchs were made to look as if they were out to cover up crime in-spite of their revered positions. Also, since the Monarchs come from North West zone where President Yar-Adua also comes from, one can deduce the second leg of the report. In yet another report on the same tribune on 27th July, 2008, captioned: NASS top shot linked with Mark`s removal bid ¦. Mark may take case to Presidency; it attempted inciting the Senate President David Mark against Nasir Arab. So amateurish was the report that Arab was presented as if he is Young Alhaji that took David Mark to the court of Appeal in Jos. In a nutshell, these two reports on Nasir Arab in the Tribune are just enough to convince any Nigerian into concluding that Tribune and other press are probably hell bent on installing their own as the clerk of the National Assembly, no matter whose ox is gored.
In the editorial comment, Tribune clearly forgot that the pension act which it quoted as the law that makes it mandatory for Arab to retire from the service, even though his first two years (2) employment was not pensionable; is an off-shot of civil service rules or law. One cannot begin to talk of pension without first, being a civil servant. How comes Tribune fails to acknowledge that there is existing Civil Service Law which is superior to pension Act. The last paragraph of the editorial report by Tribune comprehensively sought to blackmail President Umar Musa Yar`Adua to take action against Nasir Arab; it at the same time incited the Senate President David Mark against the same Arab. This will now pave way for their choice of Clark of National Assembly to emerge.
The consolidated position of the Editorial Comments of the two [2] other new South West Newspapers on the same Nasir Arab, bears striking resemblance to that of Tribune, fueling fear that they may have been coordinated. For instance, National Life of one of the weeks in August 2008 based it call for the removal of clerk on the basis of Pension Act, effectively toeing the same defeatist position of Nigerian Tribune. For Nigerian Compass Newspaper editorial comment, the same thing goes as in Tribune. The only difference between the two is that while Tribune acknowledged that the National Assembly Service Commission has cleared Nasir Arab on the allegation of forgery, Nigerian Compass failed to make mention of this position of NASC on Arab. This same Compass reported that Human rights activist was planning a peaceful protest and civil disturbance against the refusal of the national assembly civil service commission to investigate the allegation of forgery against the clerk of the National Assembly. The said report in Nigerian Compass has this caption: Nationwide Protest looms over forgery scandal in national assembly. Again, the last paragraph of compass editorial comment exposed its intentional uncoordinated mischief and cheap blackmail of Presidency etc, or can Nigeria Compass newspaper honestly claim that it is not aware that National Assembly Service Commission, the employer of Alhaji Nasir Arab has issued a Press Release on the status of the clerk?
It is saddening that only few Lagos-Ibadan axis Newspapers are aware of the so-called scandal in the national assembly, other liberal and nationalistic Newspapers in Nigeria did not see it. One can now see why the National Assembly is not in a hurry to sign Freedom of Information bill into law. Mercenary Newspaper establishments will certainly have field day should FoI bill become law. The result will be certain anarchy in Nigeria , no doubt.
Emeka Oraetoka
Information Management Consultant & Researcher
Wrote in from Garki- Abuja.
E-mail: oramekllis@lycos.com
