By Samuel Oyejola
The cofounder of Transparency International and former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili has challenged the Federal Government to carry out independent investigation on the outcry of Nigerians about the activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police.
Ezekwesili also charged the Buhari-led administration to pay more than a passive attention to the outcry of Nigerians who fall victim of abuses meted out by the SARS.
She said this at a recent gathering of youths and experts in internet, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Abuja.
The former minister said, “Nigerians have been screaming about the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS), surely it is time for a government which is responsive according to the characteristic of good governance to pay more than a passive attention to that outcry.
“So many voices are complaining about the same entity in government, then we must investigate it thorough in an independent way to identify what the problem is so that we can solve them.”
She also advised those championing the call for the reformation, proscription scrapping and various forms of response from the government not to relent until government is forced to respond to the outcry.
The former Minister who spoke on “Internet; An Enabler of Good Governance” explained that the government and its personnel have absolute obligation to report and answerable to the people who they serve.
“Every government, its entities and the personnel that run them having an obligation to report, explain and to be answerable to the consequences of the decision that they made on behalf of the rest.”
While submitting that transparency in governance is the antidote to corruption, the co-convener of #bringbackourgirls pointed out that Nigerians should be able to follow and understand the decision making processes that happens on their behalf.
She also noted that part of what weakens good governance is for citizens to feel disempowered. “The government and its entities should always try to set the need of the entire communities while balancing out competing interest in a timely appropriate and responsive manner.
“It is because of the absence of that capacity to use human capital, financial resources, use technical resources efficiently and effectively that we stay less than we should be,” she said.
