Oluwafemi Matthew Akinbode, works in the development sector. He is the Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA). He is a social justice campaigner with over two decades experience in journalism, development, public relations and social marketing. In this interview with JULIANA TAIWO-OBALONYE, winner of the Bloomberg Award for Global Tobacco Control, speaks on why Nigerians should quit complaining about the bad system but demand transformative change from the system. He also said why he won’t stop warning Nigerians of the danger of consuming bad oil also known as trans-fat.

What’s your opinion about press freedom in Nigeria? Is there anything you think we can change?

I practised journalism during the military era in the 1990s. When you compare that period and now, we must say there has been a lot of improvement. But if you compare the so-called democratic or civil governments ever since with the military, you are not going to be happy with where we are today. Even when you have the policies and the laws in the books, the conditions and the environment that make a journalist to be able to independently report and perform his or her duties as a journalist is lacking. And there are different factors that cause this.  Look at the issue of media ownership. The same people that the journalists are supposed to watchdog over, who invariably know the power of the media, are now becoming the biggest media owners in Nigeria. Then there is also the issue of self-censorship created by owners of the media. You as a journalist go the extra mile to get a good story and the editor because of the conflict of interest of the media owner chooses to publish only a part or discard the whole. These issues are enough to kill professional journalism in Nigeria.   Yes, there is press freedom on paper, but I will tell you that the press is not free. This is the reason why citizen journalism is on the rise.

Still on the government, 2023 is around the corner and we are seeing different permutations and all of that. What is your advice to Nigerians?

Nigeria is a circle of election and not of governance. Elections are mere cycles here. As soon as one government is being inaugurated, it is already planning another election. Take for instance the current administration. They have sold more national assets, collected more loans, and bent towards Bretton Woods institutions more than any other government in history. In fact, the entire government has been handed over economically to the World Bank and IMF. That’s why we are in debt. Privatization, devaluation of the naira, removal of subsidy, PPP are the mantras of today. I just read recently where the current administration said we should celebrate that they are feeding kids with N70 daily. I think that is extremely ridiculous. That is completely unrealistic. What can you buy for N70? There is no egg of N40 in Nigeria as of today. I don’t know where they are buying theirs from. 

How active has it been to fully engage the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, especially in extracting information?

FOI Act came about because of the Official Secrecy Act. That Act was initiated and enforced by the military government so that citizens do not know what’s supposed to be public. Unfortunately, under our democratic dispensation, public officials have equally not been transparent and accountable to Nigerians and hoard information hiding under the Official Secrecy Act. Therefore, the FOI Act became necessary.   CAPPA as an organisation has invoked the FOI Act to address some of our concerns. It takes time, but there is a saying that if you have a law and you’ve not tested it, you cannot say it works. It is slow but I will say more and more Nigerians should continue to use it. It is still there, an instrument for us. We will continue to use it.  And if there are loopholes, all of us as civil society will meet again to see how we can reverse. It is one of the best tools that Jonathan’s government gave to us.

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Share with us your experience on corporate campaigns and advocacy in Nigeria?

Yes, basically, when we say corporate campaign, we’re looking at the interrelationship of the states and the conduct of corporations from the perspective that the state is supposed to protect the poor and the weak from the mighty. Today, the very mighty and the rich are the corporations that are trying to take over the sovereignty of nations, including the democratic values that we have fought for, the human rights that we have fought for, and everything that makes our common humanity. They ruin the environment, compromise our health, etc. So, essentially, we are looking at areas where we can put in place policies that would defend the human rights that have taken us years and years to secure and create a buffer between corporations and the role of government so that corporations will not completely capture our democratic and human rights. That’s the essence of what we are doing.

Tell us about Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA). You’ve been working with other groups to ensure the passage of the Fats and oils Regulations into law. How is that going?

Non-communicable disease (NCD) is becoming the number one global killer, killing approximately 51 per cent across the world. In Nigeria it is responsible for about 39 per cent of annual deaths. This is extremely significant. Globally, the issue is now about preventive medicine rather than curative. Your lifestyle matters. What you eat impacts your health seriously. When you look at the NCD risk factor, unhealthy diets are one of the major factors and this unhealthy diet is mainly trans-fat. What does trans-fat do to you?  It reduces your good cholesterol and increases your bad cholesterol and can lead to every other ailment like heart diseases and the rest of them.  Globally, there is the WHO RESOLVE – an action plan on how governments begin to eliminate trans fats. We’ve been involved in a coalition in Nigeria called the trans-fat free Nigerian coalition which is made up of public health experts and development experts. Some of us that have been involved in policy advocacy to get the Oil and Fats Regulation that has been worked upon by NAFDAC to be gazetted. Ultimately, Nigerians will stop consuming bad oil. And where are those things found? They are in pastries, cookies, and junk food that our children like so much. Nigerians should consume less and less of trans-fat laced food. We’re involved in public education.

So, in a layman’s understanding what sort of oil is healthy?

That has always been a very big debate. Initially we were told that even palm oil was bad but now current evidence is showing us that palm oil is not even as bad as we think. That’s number one. Number two, as I said we should ensure that we buy trans-fat free oil. If you can afford it, olive oil is good. No matter the oil you buy, you should not also bleach them because by the time you do, they become a problem again to the heart.