By Nnenna okonkwo
Following the continuous decline in citizens’ willingness to blow the whistle, civil society organizations and Nigerian citizens have called upon President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the passage of the whistle-blower protection law before he leaves office.
This call was made during a radio town hall meeting organized by the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) in collaboration with the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG) at Ray power 100.5fm Abuja.
Speaking at the meeting, Mojirayo Ogunlana-Nkanga, human rights lawyer and digital rights activist, emphasized the need for protection as she explained that blowing the whistle will become difficult for citizens if they feel their lives are at risk.
“We don’t just need a law; we need a system that wants to protect us. This government has shown that it allows impunity. There is a lot of impunity going on. In the aftermath of the END SARS protests that resulted in the killing of peaceful protesters, a lot of people had a lot of things to say. My law firm had eight witnesses but eight of them refused to show up because they were afraid for their lives. There is no protection”.
Joseph Akeju, former bursar and lecturer at Yaba College of Technology, also a victim of whistleblowing who joined via a phone call, narrated his ordeal after blowing the whistle stating that his career was forfeited while his family faced a lot of financial challenges having exhausted all his funds pursuing the case. When asked if he would be willing to blow the whistle again, he said “if I am sure I will be protected, I will blow the whistle. But if I am not sure, I don’t think I would want to expose myself to the same problem that I went through. Even if I am convinced now, I will be more careful”.
Anna white, communications officer, CLEEN Foundation, expressed her worry over the lack of concern from the federal government in fighting corruption as she stated that the government is not intentional in the fight against corruption. “A government who came out publicly to call citizens to participate in the fight against corruption and doesn’t provide any measures to protect them isn’t actually doing anything to fight corruption. For you to ask people to come out and there is no shield, it means your intentions in the first place weren’t true, therefore, the fight against corruption will keep going down because people are not going to come out”. She urged civil society organizations working in the anti-corruption sector to join hands together and fight for the passage of the whistleblower protection law.
“CSOs need to synergize more, they need to see this as a battle, they need to join hands together, they need to have conversations and unite more, they need to fight to have a whistle-blower protection law” she said.
Musa Muazu Musa, the representative of people living with disabilities, said he is not optimistic that the establishment of a whistle-blower protection law is still possible in this current administration. “From the body language of the executive, I don’t see anything coming out of it from now till the end of this administration. As an individual and as a citizen, I have the moral obligation to speak but when we look at the system of the government, their body language and their political will to come up with a legislation, one can say there is no intention. So, I feel that starting from now till the end of this administration, nothing can come up when it comes to whistleblowing having a legal backing”.
He however encouraged Nigerians to always speak up against any form of corruption and wrongdoing as citizens have a legal and moral burden to expose corrupt practices even without a legislation.
