- Admonish FG to “give a human face to all its programmes and activities”
Retired officer of the Nigerian Army and former Federal Commissioner for Information and Culture between 1975 and 1977, Major General Ibrahim Bata Malgwi Haruna, has counseled the military and police to remain focused in defence of the country.
General IBM Haruna, who was also the Chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum from 2009 to 2012 and chairman of North East Leaders of Thought (NELT) spoke on his 84th birthday celebration held on July 25, 2024.
Appealing to youths planning protests against hunger in Nigeria to give the government more time to get its acts together, the elder statesman told the federal government to “give a human face to all its programmes and activities.”
Hruna said: “I want the military and the police to remain focus in the defence of this country. The security of the nation is the last bastion of the country, in defence of its democracy and its institutions. Nigeria must remain indissoluble as a democratic country. This, the military must keep as their sacred duty to the Nigerian people.”
“I grew up joining the military not for the fun of it, but with the determination to ensure that the unity and stability of the country remains indissoluble. When the civil war broke out, we all had no other options than to make all the sacrifices to keep Nigeria as one, a ‘task that must be done’. And by the grace of God this was done. We have remained together for the last 63 years as a nation.”
General Haruna appealed to Nigerian youths “planning some protests around the country to give the government of the day a chance to settle down; to work. The government has just spent one year in office. Hopefully when it gets its acts in order, it should be able to improve the living condition of the people. Already efforts have been made to send some palliatives to all the states of the federation. There are many other measures which the government has mapped out to address the challenges of economic austerity confronting the nation. It is my hope that those responsible for carrying out government tasks, to take their assignments with all the seriousness it deserves.
“Nevertheless, let me call on the government of the day to give a human face to all its programmes and activities that are being undertaking. The basis on which this government was voted into office last year was for the renewed hope agenda of the President. By implication, it means Nigerians had lost hope, and the administration promised to re-set the hopeless situation with a renewed hope.
“Things therefore, must not get worst with the immediate withdrawal of subsidy, hike in electricity tariff, currency devaluation, expensive transportation system for moving people, services and goods around the country; weakening industrial and manufacturing capacities, high cost of importation of essential materials like pharmaceutical requirements among others. The deepening economic crisis is getting out of hand, and worsening off than the period we experienced during COVID-19.
“This is a clarion call for the government to be awakened to its responsibility as guaranteed in Section 14(2) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, which declares that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”
General Haruna said that this is “now time for all of us to think seriously about the type of the constitution we are operating. The presidential system is so expensive and it gives power to individuals that are elected more than the people that elect them. Once the politicians are elected, they are hardly seen in their constituencies.
“Constituency offices are barely present of any elected member. Nigerian elections are up for the highest bidder rather than letting the people decide their choices. Corruption has spread overboard to bureaucracies and the security sector. This breaks my heart. This is not what we envisage as a country that will be a shining example for Africa.
“I would therefore, recommend the practice of social democracy for the country. Social democracy is not an onslaught against liberal democracy but it provides opportunity for smoothening the ‘rough edges of capitalism’ which bits the common-man so hard so far; since independence. I am not calling for the abolition of liberal democracy with its capitalist tendency. As much as we cannot abolish it, its excesses however worst, it might be, can be mitigated. Advanced countries where liberal political economy is practiced have also evolved social democracy; especially Germany, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Canada, UK, New Zealand and even the US among others. We must not get glue to IMF/World Bank policies to kill our citizens.
“The people who operate and take decisions in the IMF/World Bank boardrooms are not angels. They are human beings from these capitalist countries that practice social democracy; yet when it comes to Africa, they insist on policies that their countries do not practice. I supposed they must be demons, for prescribing to Africa economic pills that they don’t need in their countries.
“In the meantime, I urge the Nigerian government to look inward in addressing the immediate food security threats. It is not as if there are no foodstuffs in the country. We do have foodstuffs all over the country but the challenges are, the sudden withdrawal of subsidy and the high cost of transportation has made the cost of living expensive for the common man. Agriculture the world over is being subsidized. I think it is a wrong policy for the government to withdraw subsidy on Agriculture.
“I think there is a need for a review of government policy on agriculture. Government should also look carefully through the regulatory agencies such NAFDAC and National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) on infiltration of Genetically Modified food systems (otherwise known as GMO) and the health implications of the GMO o to the citizens. In all of the advanced countries such as Germany, France, UK, Sweden, Denmark, and the US they have laws enacted by their parliament to regulate the circulation, use and monitoring of GMO foodstuffs.