The above headline is from the iconic J.P Clark’s poem of the same title, written after the Nigeria/Biafra war of 1967-1970. The poet tried to remind everyone that the effects of war are so universal that the dead, the living, the lost and the survivors all at one point or the other feel the grave impact of the war or indeed any war. The instigators of war and the executioners of same often feel that wars have specific targets but that is fallacious. Victimhood of any disruptive order whether war or socio-economic disorder can never be boxed into a corner seemingly.
A few days ago, a ministerial nominee from Kaduna state, Balarabe Abbas collapsed while undergoing screening at the senate building. He was however quickly revived by the National Assembly medical team who certified that the nominee merely suffered from exhaustion and would be fit enough to take up the duties of a minister if confirmed. A journalist with the Nigerian Tribune, Tijani adeyemi was however not lucky enough. He had collapsed in the National Assembly shuttle bus and could not be revived. He died of what has been alleged to be cardiac arrest. There is no post mortem yet at the time of this writing.
Some months ago in Anambra state, the convoy of Senator Ifeanyi Uba representing Anambra South senatorial district was ambushed and he barely escaped with his life possibly because his SUV was bulletproof. His aides were not so lucky, more than two of them were killed in the attack. A few weeks ago, the governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki’s vehicle was allegedly stuck in the flooded street and the people trooped out to mock him and take pictures and many of them expressed happiness that he too has felt their pain even if momentarily.
The Roundtable Conversation has for so long been emphasizing the need for good governance from all arms and tiers of government. The legislative arm of government seems to be underrated as all eyes seem to be on the executive arm possibly because of the powers that that arm surreptitiously wields in Nigeria. It is a sign of a dysfunctional system because democracy is about the different arms of government doing their constitutional roles effectively. If the system works well, there would be adequate checks and balances. The legislative arm is not supposed to be subservient to the executive at both the federal and state levels. They are supposed to complement each other in ways that the legislature would mount functional checks and balances on the executive besides their other major roles in a democracy.
It was a bit unnerving to notice that the Nigerian National Assembly had no First Responder emergency response team on standby given that most of the senators are well past their prime with an average age of possibly above 60 years. The Senators too had no CPR skills and as soon as the nominee slumped, most of the senators just rushed to lift him with no one knowledgeable enough to offer valid first aid treatment.
The senate president, Godswill Akpabio was heard on camera shouting ‘bring water and sugar’ repeatedly as though those items could be found on the pockets of senators. It was comical even though it was a spontenous reaction at the time. What many failed to understand was the kind of water and sugar therapy that the senate president felt was a valid and effective first aid to someone that had slumped.
The nominee after being revived wanted to still go ahead with the screening but the senator declined seeing that he was thoroughly exhausted. He was however confirmed. He had complained of having been informed merely a day to the screening and he had to travel from Kaduna to Abuja and had barely slept the night before. Many are wondering why the protocol people did not give him enough notice so he could better prepare and not work under such a stressful condition that left him exhausted to the point of him collapsing at the senate.
While the incident seemingly ended well as he was revived later, anything could have happened. The journalist that died was not so lucky. The question is, what if the journalist had received instant help? What if he had someone who could call the medics? Who knows how well he was before setting off to work? Questions. The health sector in the country needs urgent attention.
So what are the lessons here? The senate is constitutionally charged with screening, confirming or rejecting ministerial nominees. They could choose to be thorough and grill nominees to make sure they are suitable for the jobs they would be assigned. They can as well choose to play politics with nominees, they could choose to let parochial sentiments rule their decisions. At the end, the competence or incompetence of a minister affects both the ministers, the citizens and the senators.
Since the return of democracy in 1999, the Nigerian senate has had its mountains and valleys, there have been successes and failures and all have impacted on the development of the country. Have the senate been progressively active in putting the nation first? Does their job merely stop at screening nominees? How is it that there is the very obnoxious craving and lobbying for ‘juicy’ committees? What sector of any economy can be said to be dry? Should it not be a case of round pegs in round holes?
These questions might appear frivolous but sincere answers to them might just untie the Nigerian Gordian Knot. Why is the country battling with such grinding poverty with its attendant fallouts? Definitely, something is wrong with the ways the legislative arm has carried on. How effective has the National Assembly been in carrying out their oversight functions? If their eyes are on the ball, certain things would not happen they ways they are happening across the nation.
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The 9th assembly earned the derogatory tag of ‘rubber stamp’ assembly because the public followed their activities and discovered that they failed in their oversight functions on the executive arm. No democracy works well without the three arms working in synergy. Complementarity is the soul of democracy. There should be no superior arm as the political philosophers like Baron De Montesquieu proposed that power sharing is the strength of the democratic process because humans if left with absolute powers would be absolutely corrupt.
The Roundtable Conversation has been more interested in the role of the legislature in strengthening democracy and the Nigerian legislature seems to be dropping the ball. There are various reasons for this but we believe it can be worked on. The executive arm in Nigerian democracy seems to have retained the military attitude of authoritarianism. The effect of the military interruptions since 1966 seems to have been inherited by the politicians. In a way, with the benefit of hindsight, it now looks like the entrance of an Obasanjo, a former military man after the chaotic military era of Gen. (Rtd.) Babangida, late Sani Abacha and Abdusalam Abubakar was a flawed development strategy.
The seeming hangover of the military tradition on the civilian democrats seems to have pushed the bar of a seeming imperial rule higher a notch. The presidency and the state governors have since 1999 been appropriating too much powers in ways that the legislative arm often appears as a subservient arm. This is not surprising because the successive military soups started off by disbanding the legislature and replacing their functions with mere military decrees.
This is an attempt to trace what ails the Nigerian legislative arm at both state and federal levels. However, it is high time the more than two decades return to civilian democracy grew up. The defined roles of the legislature must henceforth take its valued position. Our legislators must be more conscious of their roles. Most of them just seek elections into those houses with no clear idea about their roles.
Being a legislator is not about being subservient to the executive, it is not about party loyalty, it is not about regional solidarity or religious affiliations. It is about playing an active part that makes our democracy more functional. It is about doing their duties to the people who elected them. The dysfunctional system that makes the country poor due to unproductivity is largely due to human errors. The mental picture of a nominee slumping in their presence and they all looking on and scampering for help must be a reminder that when a system fails, the casualties are not limited to the voiceless people must sink in and rouse them to be more circumspect in doing their jobs.
The story of governor Obaseki’s vehicle wading through the bad road amidst the flooded streets must equally tell the executive that the mocking from the people is very telling. It must not just be waved aside as attacks from political opponents but of the true feeling of the people about the seeming insensitivity of those in power. Democracy is about the welfare of the people and the executive and legislature must realize that the effects of their collective failure to do their jobs falls like rain on the roofs of bot the leaders and the led.
The Roundtable Conversation hopes that the nominee takes out time to go get a comprehensive medical checkup so that he would be in a better physical and mental state to work for the people. While what happened to him is not strange, the incident must remind him of the ephemeral nature of life and the fact that a call to serve the nation at a ministerial level must come with all sense of dedication and patriotism for a better Nigeria.
●The dialogue continues…