New Era Of Freedom

Vanguard Editorial, November 24, 2006.

A new regime of unfettered access to information and documents seem to have been born with the passage of Freedom of Information Bill by the Senate on November 15. The House of Representatives passed the bill last August.

The bill has been forwarded to President Olusegun Obasanjo for his assent. He has 30 days within which to give the assent otherwise, the National Assembly might have to veto the bill. The passage of the bill is a victory for genuine freedom of press and expression and right of even ordinary citizens to hold opinion and to demand for official documents hitherto classified to be secret document.

The bill has salient content objectives which are crucial to the enthronement, consolidation and sustenance of democratic values in any society. The nation cannot afford to lag behind in this regard which is why the newly passed FOIB should be an indispensable tool on our road to attaining true democratic tendencies.

Among its many objectives are: the provision, as of right, free and uninhibited access to public information or records kept by government, public institutions and private organisations carrying out public functions for citizens and non-citizens of the country; to increase the availability of public records and information to citizens of the country so that they can participate more effectively in the administration of laws and the formulation of public policies; to ensure that public officers disclose public records or information, in the public interest, without authorisation and to protect these officers from adverse consequences emanating from such disclosure among others.

These lofty objectives in a society where government is used to keeping its activities secret proved difficult to pass. The bill has been before the National Assembly since July 1999  - it took almost eight years to pass. The battle was intense, but the victory of its passage is for the entire nation that would benefit from the promotion of probity, accountability and transparency in government and among public officers in the country. There is hardly any way that government officials can be held accountable if they are not made to answer to the public.

However, as the euphoria lasts, there should be adequate budgetary provisions for government departments to keep records in manners that are retrievable and easily accessible to the public. Some information may not have been stored in accessible formats and the immediate task is for government to keep such information in ways that can facilitate their use.

The FOIB must be made to work. It has been with Sweden since 1766. In Africa, South Africa and Zimbabwe have this important law ever since. The United States, United Kingdom and Canada among several countries realised the importance of this law long time ago. This is a reflection of its significance to democracy.
Nigerians should realise that it is in the interest of democracy and enthronement of new frontiers of freedom for the law to work.