Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa, the Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, on Wednesday said that the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011 can be used as an effective tool by Nigerians to expose and fight corruption in the Education, Health and Water sectors in the country.

Atsenuwa made the assertion at the public presentation of a report titled “Using Your Right to Information to Challenge Corruption in the Health, Education and Water Sectors.”

corruption

The report is published by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in partnership with Omidyar Network.

Atsenuwa, who authored the report, said: “The primary purpose of government is to make policy and implement actions that ensure that citizens have access to education, health and water.

“Government is not infallible and it is the duty of citizens to serve as watchdogs of government decision-making.

“Every Nigerian citizen has both a duty and a right to be involved in governance and to monitor how different sectors of the government are being managed and governed.

“This is one of the civic responsibilities of citizens, however, citizens cannot discharge this responsibility effectively if they do not have access to information.”

She said that the FOI Act now supersedes the Official Secrets Act and noted that corruption and abuse of power have been identified as the bane of good governance.

“To address these twin problems, citizens must have access to information to exercise judgment on propriety or impropriety of governmental decisions and actions,” the professor said.

Quoting statistics, Atsenuwa said: “We are over 150million Nigerians and 57million Nigerians lack access to clean water.

“Statistics also show that 59,000 Nigerian children die every year as a result of bad water and poor sanitation.

“The FOI Act gives us the right to demand accountability in the Water sector.

“If we can foist the culture of demanding information on an environment, attitudes will change and things will change because information is critical to citizen participation in government.”

According to Atsenuwa, the FOI Act gives the media power for investigative journalism, and individuals who have been denied information can seek redress in court.

“You can be refused information, where there is refusal, it is mandated that it be communicated in writing.

“For information that cannot be disclosed, you have a duty to go to court to challenge why the information was not given,” she said.

Dr Olajumoke Akinyode, the Executive Director of the Center for Ethics and Sustainable Development, called for a change of the negative perception Nigerians had of the FOI Act.

“We embarked on a survey and realised that some Nigerians were indifferent about the FOI Act.

“87percent of respondents felt the FOI Act was a useless Act.

“Sometimes it is not in your best interest to ask for some information alone, especially if the information is considered by public officers as exposing them.

“The fact that you act and don’t get the information doesn’t mean that the FOI Act is a useless Act,” Akinyode said.

Speaking, Mr Adetokunbo Mumuni, the Executive Director of SERAP said the FOI Act had been a very useful tool in the organisation’s anti-corruption crusade.

“We have been able to obtain series of judgments through the instrumentality of the FOI Act.

“We need to continue to make demands for information, the most important office in Nigeria is not the office of the President, Senate President but rather the office of the citizens,” Mumuni said. (NAN)