Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Mr Wahab Shittu, in this article, raises posers on the suspension of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and the demonstration that trailed the event
My intervention on the seemingly disgraceful and shameful incidence on the floor of the Senate last week is to say that our democracy is gravely endangered. Unfortunately, in this situation, by the conspiracy of the ruling elite whose actions may precipitate crisis largely because they are unable to play by the rules and for refusal to allow our democracy to be guided by the rule of law.
I raise the following questions:
Who sponsored the violent demonstrations? How did the demonstrators gain entrance to the hallowed chambers without security challenges? What is the role of the law enforcement agencies in the saga? Who are the persons culpable? What are the immediate factors that led to this violent demonstrations? Are we sure that the players are respecting the rules? Are we certain that the rule of law is being protected in the events leading to the suspension of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege? Is the suspension of Senator Omo-Agege consistent with constitutional provisions and judicial pronouncements? Is the senate entitled to suspend Senator Omo-Agege without reference to his constituent? Where does the suspension of Omo-Agege leave his constituent in terms of representation? Who decides the suspension of Senator Omo-Agege and what is the criteria for his suspension? To what extent can we attribute the present events on the floor of the Senate to hunger, anger and poverty in the land? Are Nigerians happy with the Senators and their performance? Are the Senators not playing into the hands of enemies of democracy by their actions and activities beyond this demonstration? How do we deal with the present situation to avoid future occurrence? What steps are we taking to ensure that our democracy is not endangered? What is the role of the rule of law in all of these?
These and many other questions can only be effectively and efficiently answered by the practice of democracy through the rule of law.
Going forward, our democracy must not only be anchored on the rule of law and respect for the common good, our political elite must also be prepared to reflect their activities as democrats. We need a huge investment in political education and political culture, essentially anchored on maturity by the operators.