By Victoria Onyisi
The Executive Director and Lead Advocate: Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER), in Abuja, Mr. Frank Tietie, has demanded an unreserved apology from Mr. Bady Balde, over an uncouch language pepered in xenophobic hue on the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) report even on Nigerian soil.
The human rights lawyer and media analyst queried the wreckless deployment of insultive language as reported in a national daily by Balde, who a member of the visiting delegation of the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiatives (EITI) to Nigeria.
While expressing disgust, he urged international institutions to maintain decorous language that respects the dignity and independence of subscribing countries, not just to the Nigeria State but to other countries.
Tietie, said: “On the 27th of January 2024, Punch, one of Nigeria’s foremost newspapers, reported that a certain Bady Balde, a member of the visiting delegation of the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiatives (EITI) to Nigeria, excoriated the Nigerian Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) for releasing old data, the latest of which is the 2021 Oil & Gas and Solid Minerals Industries reports.
“Whereas only NEITI as an institution may acknowledge or reject such a scurrilous but most undeserving attack against its reporting obligations, which over the years and recently have received positive reviews and worldwide acclaim (including from EITI itself).
Tietie, acknowledged that what is, however, important to the CASER is the accuracy of those NEITI reports, and how they are used as instruments of transparency and accountability for overall national development.
He asid: “The Bady Balde fellow, described as a Deputy Executive Director of EITI, was also reported in the Punch in a manner perceived as a mischievous and spiteful fellow, where he compared Nigeria to Senegal because the latter has already produced its 2022 reports. Imagining that the level of ignorance exhibited by the EITI official didn’t suffice at that point, he further degenerated into questioning Nigeria’s rationale for employing 100 staff in NEITI when there are only 50 staff in the EITI Secretariat.
According to him, what audacity has a voluntary international institution to send its delegation to a country to criticize the number of staff it has employed in one of its agencies? Where are the limits to interference in the internal affairs of member countries that subscribe to loose international legal arrangements like the EITI?
“Bady Balde was a bad member of that EITI delegation. He cuts a picture of a half-educated African who would always take delight in despising Nigeria at every opportunity.” He added.
He underscored that that is an indication of the inferiority complex many Africans suffer in the midst of Western influence, adding: His needless denigrating comments about Nigeria, especially regarding the disparity in the number of staff between NEITI and EITI in comparison to countries like Senegal, shows how highly misguided and unlearned he is in the language of international institutions that are involved in collective and persuasive international legal arrangements.
The Rights Activist, averred: “Therefore, the EITI secretariat must understand that Nigeria’s unmatched commitments to the EITI principles since 2003 must not in any way be taken as a national subservience that would warrant any of its common officials in its delegation to make such reckless and unguarded statements that are capable of causing serious disaffection.
“Being a member of EITI is not by force. It is also not a licence to receive collective insults from EITI officials who are ignorant of the law and practice of international institutions.
“Consequently, as a Nigerian civil society organization that is committed to the greatness of Nigeria, despite its present challenges, CASER calls on the relevant Nigerian authorities to immediately demand an apology from the EITI on account of the irresponsible comments by that unqualified EITI official.
“Failure of this, CASER will not hesitate to campaign for Nigeria’s withdrawal from EITI because of a lack of respect for Nigeria’s dignity, independence and sovereignty. EITI officials must stay within the bounds of its principles.”
