A Senior Advocate of Nigeria,
Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) has advised the National Assembly to immediately
withdraw the Hate Speech bill that has generated bad blood among Nigerians,
declaring it as contradicting the principles of fundamental human rights and
tantamount to pursuing a policy that is self-serving.
Olanipekun, who expressed
disappointment that such a bill could emanate from the National Assembly,
warned that the Hate Speech bill will create bad blood and disunity among
Nigerians if passed and assented to by the president.
Olanipekun also called for more
funding of education through governments, corporate bodies and philanthropists,
for children of the poor to have access to education.
He made the scathing remarks
against the much touted bill on Saturday in Ikere, Ekiti State, during his
annual scholarship awards for over 100 indigent but brilliant Nigerian students
through Wole Olanipekun Foundation.
The former President of the
Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) enjoined the NASS to focus its attention on
sponsoring bills that would cushion the effects of insecurity, poor education,
hardship and bad roads that plague the nation and shun retrogressive bills such
as the Hate Speech.
“I am happy to note that it is
not an Executive bill. You know you can have an Executive bill, members’ Bill
or Private bill. This Bill is being initiated from or by the NASS. I am happy
because the bill didn’t originate from the presidency. I think we are mixing a
lot of things up. People commenting that Buhari wants to gag the press. I do
not agree with them because the bill did not come from the Presidency. But it
is unfortunate that it is coming from the NASS’’.
“Let me advise the NASS to be
more productive, let us stop chasing vanity, and things that are
counterproductive. To me as a lawyer, as an elder, this bill will be
counterproductive. The bill will bring disunity even among family members. We
should not bring disunity. Wife and husband disagree, and if such happens, will
you report your spouse for hate speech?.
“My little knowledge of the law
will not open my eyes to the definition of hate speech. In the law of
defamation, there is libel, slander and vulgar abuse. And they would tell you
vulgar abuse is not actionable, we are all human beings, we all have emotions,
every man has his own lull moment.
“Let us caution ourselves in this
country, and my fear is that those who make the law might become victims of
such a law. They should respect the sanctity of human life. Nigeria is not in a
stone age. We have laws that have taken care of all offences in Nigeria. No
review, no amendment will make it acceptable, but they should withdraw it
outrightly. We will forgive them if they show that they erred”, he stated.
In his lecture entitled:
‘Philanthropist Vision in Relation to Youth Education’, a Professor Education,
Dr. G . O. Oyinloye, said philanthropism is imperative in Nigeria in view of
the high level of poverty, saying the UNESCO research on education revealed
that over 13 million children dropped out of school for lack of funds in
Nigeria.
Appealing to the recipients to
see education as a potential weapon to acquire knowledge, skills and values
that can transform the lives of the populace, Oyinloye said: “Education well
planned for and financed will equip the recipients with knowledge with which
changes and transformation will be brought to the society. In a country where
poverty is high and the government can not guarantee free education,
philanthropists must come to the aid of the poor”.
Governor Kayode Fayemi,
represented by Education Commissioner, Mr Foluso Daramola, said part of the
ways to make education accessible by his administration, was by abrogating fees
in primary and secondary cadres to attract out of school children.
Fayemi said his government will
be paying a sum of N240 million for over 13,000 students that will write WAEC
in 2020, being part of the efforts to ensure that all impediments to education
are removed.
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