28 September 2011 marked the International Right to Know Day, commemorating the universal Right to Information, which is also enshrined in Nigeria’s laws. 28 September 2011 was also the day that the Nation newspaper carried the front page headline, “Why some ex-governors won’t face trial, by CCB”. The story reported that the justification given by Mr Sam Saba, Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau for prosecuting some former governors accused of breach of their oath of office and the code of conduct, while excluding many others from prosecution, was that the latter had made a “plea bargain” by refunding some money. To my mind, this timely, yet disturbingly vague statement speaks directly to the core of the Right to Information and demonstrates on several levels just why access to information is vital to combating corruption in Nigeria. Nigerians must not be forced to continue to accept at face value inconsistent and insufficient excuses as measures for accountability.

On September 28 every year, the world celebrates International Right to Information Day. This year, R2K participates in the celebrations with the launch of the R2K blog with our maiden post,” Our Right to Information: the Missing Link in the Asset Declaration Process”.

The R2K blog will reflect on contemporary happenings, interesting stories, and potentially influential developments in Nigeria and beyond, and their interrelations with the Freedom of Information. Our hopes are that this blog will help to firmly establish the consciousness that the right to information is as fundamental as the right to life and touches on every aspect of our lives, including social, economic and political and personal. Knowledge is Power. You have the Right to Know!!!