Abuja — Recently the global human right watchdog, Human Rights Watch's West Africa Office scored Yar'adu'a's rule of law administration low in fighting corruption and human right record in the past two years, while joining many Nigerians who have shouted themselves hoarse in calling for the sack of the INEC Chairman, Maurice Iwu in a report that served as the regime's two-year report card.

Expectedly Minister of Information, Professor Dora Akunyili, came in in defense of her principal saying the HRW report was rash and biased. She said this in an interview with a Radio Deutche Welle Hausa service reporter. But in PR I was taught back in school that it is better you say the truth than lie. It is better you admit that you are wrong than to tell a bare-faced lie. Now I cannot accuse the professor of telling lies.

This is the regime that held Jonathan Elendu of elendureports incommunicado for more than two days without charging him to court under spurious allegation of sedition. That is human right I suppose? Continuous detention without trial of Henry Okah and Hamza Almustapha is human right. (I am not rationalizing their alleged wrong doings, but I think as Nigerians they deserve timely trial not unlimited detention).I do not believe that that magistrate judge that was beaten up by policemen while their superiors were laughing all because the judge granted bail to some Nigerians. I am also not convinced that the Prison system that over congested with more than seventy percent of its inmates awaiting trial is good enough for a worst example of human right. I can go on and on.

The HRW also urged the president to appoint another INEC boss with whom the civil society and the opposition parties will be comfortable. But the regime does not seem to be ready to heed this advice in disregard of the apparent failure of the incumbent Maurice Iwu to conduct a free and fair election the latest example of which is the Ekiti rerun. It is going to be miraculous for such man to be a fair umpire when it has to do Andy Uba to whom the professor was once said to tendering a humbling apology. But as you don't reward a compromised king maker who facilitated your victory at the polls, Maurice remain in INEC.

The report also called the president to hold those responsible for electoral violence accountable. I think the president will only be able to do this where an opposition party is responsible, but when it is PDP, he will hardly be able to act with an ever willing rigging partner in the police force at its disposal. But if the president can disappoint me by punishing all those responsible for electoral crimes, Nigeria will be better for it.

Another issue the HRW report touched on is the indigene/settler dichotomy. The report wants the president to end discrimination against the so called non-indigenes. My honest opinion is that so long as unemployment and poverty is rife in the country so shall it be difficult to end the problem.While this discriminatory policy last the resident has to hold on to severe sanction against those who orchestrate communal crisis as the main means of enforcing the so called non-indigenes' right to live and work wherever they may want to live in Nigeria. That is the more reason why the president should not relent in ensuring that the perpetrators of the Jos mayhem are made to face the music. This will go a long way in curbing this type of elite planned violence.

The president also need to actualize his rule of law mantra to be able to really reform the police and stop abuse and extra judicial killings by law enforcement agents. The upward review of salary the police seems to have failed in rooting out corruption in the force. The recent Enugu jail break that saw about one hundred and seventy eight inmates escaping is enough to show how indiscipline is the police. The New Nigerian's report has it that the police used the opportunity to extort money from innocent law -abiding citizens by threatening to arrest them as escapists.

Another daunting task the report placed before Yar'adu'a is that he should make states and local governments transparent. The inclusion of the clause abolishing State Independent Electoral Commission in the electoral reform the journey top that Eldorado can be commenced, but the president has bowed to some pressures by maintaining the ruling-party's-rigging-machines.

The report's call on the president to empower Nigerians to hold their government accountable can be situated in the need to engender transparency in governance by passing the freedom of information bill. Mr Umaru need not to fear anything in ensuring that the law is passed since and his wife had declared their assets before being sworn in. The Niger Delta war which the government seems to have worn is another issue raised by the report. But I do not want to comment about it.

So the Human Rights Watch's report is more than what the minister of Information can just brush aside with a wave of hand under the pretext of bias. The Yar'adua administration will gain a lot by taking the report seriously and acting in accordance to it, and the rest of us will be the better for it.

Hassan writes from Jekadafari, Gombe, Gombe State.