Former Chief Justice begs Reps on national archives bill

A former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Alfa Belgore has appealed to the House of Representatives to urgently pass the bill to amend the National Archives Act because of the strategic role National Archives play in the development of any country.

Mr Belgore, who was for 15 years chairman of the National Archives, said that making the organization autonomous would add value to it.

He spoke on Wednesday, when he appeared before the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Informational and National Orientation and Justice, which organized a public hearing on a bill to repeal the National Archives Act 1992 and establish the National Archives and Records Administration.

Mr Belgore told the Joint Committee that from 1992 that he took over as chairman of the National Archives, he could not do anything because of the status of the organization.

He said that he came into contact with the National Archives in 1957 and regretted that successive leaders refused to take advantages of preserving the history and records of events in the history of the nation.

“Through the archives, we will know our leaders, we will know those that are bad, the ones that are good, the ones who oppressed us, the records would be there,” he said. “National Archives is not a decoration. It is because of archives that we learnt about Hitler, Lenin and so on.” Mr Belgore asked the lawmakers to include in the bill representatives of the Armed Forces, universities and the Police, arguing that these institutions are repositories of knowledge and records.

He also suggested that the National Archives should be headed by judicial officers and not politicians, as is the practice in the United Kingdom.

Tough job

The former chief justice caused a stir during his submission when he said that the 15 years he headed the National Archives were the most difficult period of his public life.

“If you ask me my failure as a public servant, it is at the National Archives. From 1992 till I retired, I was chairman of the National Archives. For 15 years, I could not do anything.

“I cannot forget one director who was unkind to me. He said to my face that there was no money in National Archives. As if I was there to make money, he said that only sitting allowance is available.

“As if that was not enough, the first minister I worked with in the National Archives in 1992 promised to inaugurate the council. Till he left and up till I left when I retired, the council was never inaugurated.” The Director General of the National Archives, Harry Adedoyin Lafinhan said that the bill, if pas sed, would restore life to the organization.

He said that keeping it as a department under the Ministry of Information has stalled its growth, as no money was provided for capital development in the 2009 Budget.

He recalled that since its establishment in 1954, the National Archives has been moved around eight ministries.

Earlier, the acting chairman of the committee, Khabeeb Mustapha stressed the need to make the National Archives autonomous since it plays a vital role in the development of the human race as the custodian of archival her itage in identity, history and tradition.

“National Archives is the memory of principal raw materials for historical research. Seeking autonomy will guarantee better sustainable archival records management practice in this country,” he said.