By Abba Dukawa
According to oxfam dictionary define hate speech as abusive or
threatening speech or writing that expresses prejudice against a
particular group, especially on the basis of race, religion, or sexual
orientation.
Nigerians may recalled that the bill which was hitherto abandoned
under pressure last year imposes death penalty on “any person found
guilty of any form of hate speech that results in the death of another
person.
The upper legislative chambers drop the move last year due to massive
outcry from Nigerians. However, on Tuesday came the reintroduction
tagged “National Commission For the Prohibition of Hate Speeches”,
sponsored by the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Abdullahi Aliyu Sabi
(APC, Niger State).
The bill stipulates: “Any person who commits an offence under this
section shall be liable to life imprisonment and where the act causes
any loss of life, the person shall be punished with death by hanging.
On offences like harassment on the basis of ethnicity, racial
contempt, the bill proposes not less than five-year jail term or a
fine of not less than N10 million or both.
“A person who uses, publishes, presents, produces, plays, provides,
distributes and /or directs the performance of, any material, written
and/or visual which is threatening, abusive or insulting or involves
the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour
commits an offence if such a person intends thereby to stir up ethnic
hatred, or having regard to all the circumstances, ethnic hatred is
likely to be stirred up against any person or person from such an
ethnic group in Nigeria.
But one thing Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate forgotten that under
section 39 of the 1999 Constitution which guarantees freedom of
expression become, not just treasonable felony (life imprisonment) but
treason itself that is punishable with death?
“Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees
freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and
impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers. Nigeria is a signatory to this international instrument.”
Accordingly, Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples
Rights, also domesticated in Nigeria, reinforces this inalienable
freedom that the NASS is attempting to derobe and destroy. The bill is
an ill-intentioned, ill-conceived, ill-digested and dictatorial and
absolutist piece of nonsensical legislation waiting to consume all of
us.
What made me laugh part of the bill which prescribe death by hanging
but forgotten already the nation’s constitution deal with this issue
law of libel and defamation was enough to handle hate speeches.
Senate introduction of a bill seeking to establish a Federal
Government agency to check hate speech in the country shows how they
are always prepared to waste public funds at the slightest
opportunity, there is enough agencies and laws in Nigeria to take
care of hate speech. Our problem is not the availability of laws or
agencies but the implementation and enforcement of the laws by the
existing agencies.
For whatever it is worth, the Senate had better know that the Nigerian
constitution has a binding force on them and that any law they pass
that is inconsistent with the provisions of the Nigerian constitution
that guarantees freedom of speech and expression will be null and void
to the extent of that inconsistency. What Nigerians wanted is to see
one a bill tagged “National Commission For The Prohibition Of
Corruption And Looting. The bill to stipulates: “Any public officials
who commits an offence of corruption or looting public funds under
this section shall be liable of public execution or death by hanging
publicly.
This is bill Nigerians expects to see we want yo see a our lawmakers
to be tougher on corruption and insecurity, on secretive employments,
poor health facilities etc which may require that you isolate this
debilitating scourge from politics. Believe me, what you do from now
on as lawmakers will determine whether this nation will be strong
enough to deal with challenges of the future, or it will go under
because its cumulative problems have been left unattended by our
leaders and lawmakers.
Need for you to ensure a special court handling all corruption cases
apart from our conventional courts. Judiciary, police and DSS needs to
be strengthened in line with
Am sure this bill will deal with secretive recruitment: secret
after secret in every government employment drive such as NNPC, CBN,
NCC, SEC to mention a few, where recruitment was conducted secretly
and only the children of well-to-do Nigerians were given offers
without due process being followed while sons and daughters of poor
ones that spent several hours in the polling stations remain jobless.
Nigerians witnessed many cases of corruption committed by government
officials that divert public funds to personal use. Straight from
Nigerians heart, are not induced with the way the past and present
administration conducting war on corruption because the brawl is not
moving fast enough. Notwithstanding the high-profile corrupt Nigerians
pending at various courts there have been no convictions of the
alleged looters. Even the high profile corruption cases like
Defencegate or Dasukigate. Another demoralizing scandal that rocked
the nation was $43 million NIA safekeeping money. There was also the
Grass cutting scandal where the issue of most expensive grass cutting
and diversion of several trucks of food for IDPs in the ravaged
North-East and awarded contracts running several hundred million of
naira to suspected companies linked to one former government official
corruptly benefited from contracts.
I am Nigerians will be delight with National Commission For The
Prohibition Of Corruption And Looting to be read in soon as PMB will
gladly assented the bill into law because it will be in line with
administration derived war on corruption. If you lawmakers consider
the need for upcoming Bill to be table before the house as bill for
urgent important matters Nigerians will be happy with you
distinguished senators.
*Dukawa can be reach at abbahydukawa@gmail.com
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