What The Papers Say
Decree 13, Aguda and Ukiwe
National Concord
Mr Aguda, a man who would rather not keep his sentiments to himself no matter the odds, had, in a paper presented at the seminar, strongly disagreed with the wisdom behind Decree 13.
Under the decree how could, he asked, the judiciary "reserve to itself the right to decide whether those who are purporting to act under the legislation concerned are in law doing so, and keeping within the limits of the power granted them by the piece of legislation?" It was his view also that the decree, which appears to have effectively abrogated Chapter IV of the constitution in respect of fundamental human rights, was less than a wise step. Such a decree was bound for abuse and denial of the rights and freedom of Nigerians by some over-zealous agents of the state and quite capable of bringing the government itself into disrepute.
We would have thought that Aguda's was an unequivocally honest opinion that ought to have endeared the heart of the Federal Military Government. Of course as Navy Captain Ukiwe stated, this administration is a military regime and no one should expect it to behave as if it was running a democratic government. But to imply, as Ukiwe did, that for those reasons alone the Federal Military Government has no regard for democractic ideals is not only arrogant but also possibly harmful.
Democracy does not begin and end with the ballot box, and its ideals - representation, equality before the law, rights and freedom, justice and fairness - are not exclusive to democratic rule. These are, in fact, values which mankind had ceaselessly aspired to through the ages and have now come to be accepted as essential to civilized existence and social relationship. Indeed, they are inalienable to man and may it be mentioned for the umpteenth time that fundamental rights and freedom of people are not usually forfeited by reason of military rule.
Yet democratic ideals, no matter how much we detest them, are about the only values upon which we can build a nation devoid of chaos and disorder, a nation standing some distance away from barbarism.
Two questions ought to be asked in this regard: One, does the fact of military rule take responsibility and accountability away from the rulers? Two, if it does not, can responsibility and accountability be sustained outside the context of rights, justice and fairplay?
This, we think, were the relevance of the issues raised by Aguda. This administration, we would like to believe, exists for and on behalf of the people of this country. Its spokesmen have said this much since December 31. It is therefore ill-advised, even though it is true, to infer that since no one elected the regime to office and it does not have to pretend to anyone. There is some virtue in pretence which is why even the worst of Latin American dictators make pretensions of democratic rule.
As much as possible, the government should be able to listen to the views of the people, including professional critics. In the absence of the ballot box and a free press, this may be about the only way the government can feel the pulse of the people. Advisers afterall, may not be the best of their kinds and if they are, their views may not approximate the aggregate views and interests of the majority of the people in society.
It may be noted that both the late Murtala Muhammed and Olusegun Obasanjo opened themselves widely to alternative viewpoints by allowing a free flow of information and ideas in newspapers, universities and public symposia, among other avenues and the two leaders were better off for it...
We would like to believe, finally, that Navy Captain Ukiwe's views are personal to him and are not shared by other members of the Supreme Military Council. It is not in the interest of the government to give the impression that because it is military it can afford to be impervious to the wishes and interest of Nigerians.
The north-south trade imbalance
People's Daily Graphic
Ghana spoke, the "Graphic" believes, to the heart of most of the Third World when she addressed the just-ended regional ministerial meeting on Africa's indebtedness in Addis Ababa.Ghana called on the developed countries to adopt such fiscal and economic measures as would have beneficial effects on the economies of the developing countries. For example, our delegation suggested that the developed countries and international financial institutions should make available to the Third World low-interest and long repayment loans.
The "Peoples Daily Graphic" considers Ghana's stand at the Addis Ababa meeting as completely consistent with the aspirations of the majority of the people in the Third World.
Some few days ago in this column, we called attention to the difficulties facing the Third World as a result of the high international interest rates of the U.S. dollar. We used the occasion to refer to the appeal made by U.N. Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar to the Western Summit held in London early this month.
Coming from a Third World country suffering from debt related problems amply justifies the opinion of Mr de Cuellar.
One of the basic reasons for Third World indebtedness is the unfair exchange characterising North-South trade. Whilst the developed countries virtually dictate the volume and therefore prices of our primary exports they at the same time dictate the terms on which they sell to us.
That is not all. They make it virtually impossible for Third World goods to compete on their markets. This accounts for the huge indebtedness of such medium-level industrialized countries as Mexico and Brazil. These countries obtained loans to carry out their industrialization programmes only to realize that the huge American market where their lower-priced goods would have done well is closed to them.
Whilst endorsing Ghana's stand at Addis Ababa, we hasten to add that it is not enough for the Third World countries to issue pleas and communiques at international forums.
The call for the New International Economic Order is a militant demand of the people of the Third World. It is therefore the bounden duty of all Third World governments to work towards this re-ordering of international economic structure. And it is about time too this was done!
