It is good to be alive. That is the way the late Aremu Alabi, a colleague of ours retorted whenever there was turbulence in the polity and things started falling apart. As they now do.
The following are quotes from reports in the newspaper on the biggest show in town.
The Vanguard:
“After a three-hour ‘fighting on the floor of the House of Representatives members yesterday threw out a motion calling for the probe of the House of leadership… Besides, the lower chamber of the National Assembly mandated its Ethics and Privileges Committee to investigate an allegation that the Executive using some Reps released half a million naira to each member to induce them remove Speaker Ghali Na’Abba. Four million naira cash was tendered in the House as exhibit. Mr Olaka moved that the Speaker should step down…his pronouncement triggered a fresh round of rowdiness and then culminated in a free for all fights between the pro and anti Na’Abba Reps. First to exchange blows were Messrs Jubril Baran and Samuel Obande. At another corner of the chamber, Mr Sule Yar Gandi who had been moving within the chambers to mobilize support for the Speaker had a brief alteration with another before they were separated.”
The Comet:
“In a tempestuous session, the House of Representatives heard yesterday the confessions of some members that they were allegedly bribed with N500,000 each to sign for the removal of the Speaker, Alhaji Ghali Umar Na’Abba. But the Executive, accused of the bribery, reacted swiftly, saying it is cheap and wicked blackmail. For hours, almost (N4 million) alleged to be part of the bribe was displayed on the table in front of the Speaker as exhibits… two legislators were injured. Mr Sam Obande (Benue State) has his black suit torn. There were intermittent disruptions of the House’s plenary session while the chamber was soaked in overwhelming tension, deep rancor and revealing drama.”
Nigeria Tribune:
“The House, which for the first time in several months began sitting as promptly as 10.00a.m shortly after, threw itself into a rowdy session that was to witness a free exchange of blows by members for over one hour, with many legislators sustaining injuries, while others had their clothes shredded.”
The Guardian:
“Members indeed traded punches, stabbed themselves and tore each other’s dress…there were loud disagreements between the pro and anti Na’Abba groups. A melee ensued and in no time Sam Obande (PDP Benue) exchanged blows with a pro Na’Abba, Barai Jubrin. Then many Na’Abba loyalists swooped on Obande and tore his jacket… by this time, the House was a battlefield as the fight spread. Representative Alobi Nyambi (APP Cross River) was stabbed but only his coat was cut.”
Although I did not see this reported by any of the newspapers, I heard that a little kid who saw his daddy, a Rep on television during the show applauded loudly, satisfied that the family bread winner gave a good account of himself.
For the avoidance of doubts, the proceedings reproduced above did not occur in a wrestling or boxing arena; they took place in the nation’s House of Representatives, statutorily established for the purpose of making laws for the peace, order and good government of Nigeria.
Predictably, this show of shame has been attributed to the learning process. And strangely enough, Peter Odili, Governor of Rivers State who got roped into the side attraction called bribery thought so. Another legislator, a Senator, went one step further claiming that rancorous sessions, featuring exchange of fisticuffs are not a Nigerian prculiarity – after all, says this man, “one person was shot dead on the floor of the US House of Representatives sometimes in the 19th century”!
Pray, what exactly is this fabled learning process? A student of comparative government, or public law in a tertiary institution is not likely to define this learning process the way Nigerian politicians appear to understand it. To the politician, deliberate backward movements and all manner of evil ought to be accommodated under the huge umbrella called the learning process. To ordinary mortals, learning process is no more than civilization through the ages, the trials and errors in constitutional development. It is not something you tailor to suit periodic political rascality.
Some ten months ago, this column carried a piece which attempted to spell out what may fit into this so-called learning process. We did claim on that occasion, that “there is no way the war, or better still, the battle of attrition between the two arms of government would end, nor is it desirable that it should end. The conflict is a healthy one and, therefore, should go on for eternity. It is the lubricative substance that keeps the wheels of democracy running. The palaver will outlive the presidency as well as the legislature. I declare that it will neither end today, nor tomorrow, not indeed in the years leading on to 2003 and far beyond.” We were talking about dingdong battle of wits between the Executive and the Legislative, not a battle of fists and machetes.
A riot, by whatever name called, is a riot, be it by the sons of Oduduwa, or the Arewa, or by the Bakassi Boys or by foppishly attired lawmakers converting a legislative chamber into a gladiators’ arena. A violent disorder, confusion and uproar qualify as a riot. Indeed, as a greenhorn in a law school will tell you, disturbance of the peace by three of more people assembled together is a riot. What took place in Nigeria’s House of Representatives last week Tuesday was a riot and no one should dignify it with any euphemism.
Arising from this conclusion therefore, we ask: suppose the anti-riot police had waded in to quell the riot the way they would do to a Bakassi or OPC disturbance? Or the way the police did when riotous lawmakers went wild in the Western Region of Assembly some 30 years ago, leading to the declaration of a state of emergency in the region and then the collapse of the First Republic? Suppose the law enforcement agents had invaded the house and ordered everyone to go home? Could they have claimed immunity? Immunity to go gaga? Does anyone know of a more effective way of truncating the current experiment?
I fear for this democracy, I fear for its life. The party in power is the PDP. It controls both the Executive and the Legislature and yet its functionaries are strangers one to the other. Things appear to be getting messier by the day. What manner of learning are we going through? What sort of learning is it whose report card shows no progress whatsoever? Whose reports show traces of a dunce with crab-like movements?
All the evidence points to a deep-seated rancour between the Speaker of the Lower House and the Presidency, so serious that the chances of a compromise or reconciliation are zero. The President himself has said in unequivocal language that the leadership of the House is cancerous and therefore he is unable to work with them. The Speaker retorts that the President should resign. In the heart of all this is the persistent calls by all and sundry that the House should probe itself because the place emits bad odours. It refuses, but goes ahead to summon others to appear for questioning on transparency and accountability.
Now, a dangerous new twist has been added to the drama. Let’s go back to The Commet for a glimpse of this new angle:
“In a tempestuous session, the House of representative heard the confession that they were allegedly bribed with N500,000 each to sign for the removal of the Speaker. For hours, almost (N4 million) alleged to be part of the bribe was displayed on the table in front of the Speaker as exhibits. Part of the allegation was that the Rivers State governor, Dr Peter Odili funded part of the money allegedly used for the projects.”
The Speaker himself adds fuel to the flame.
“At least N140 million was brought to Apo Quarters for distribution to members of the House to unseat me and create disharmony in the House.”
These are grave allegations which must be impartially investigated. To refuse to investigate is in itself a disaster; to investigate is to get answers and whatever the answers add up to a calamity. Is this a desperate, reckless and amateurishly executed mafia style diversion to ward off a probe? Can it be true that the President, a restless anti-corruption crusader, his Vice, and a state governor conspired ‘to unseat a top officer of an important arm of government by offering bribes to members?’ A yes, or a no to any of these questions has serious consequences to individuals and to the polity.
For sure, things can’t be the same with the two arms of government again. The executive says the Lower House is afflicted by cancer; it seeks a cure, but the patient rebuffs. Can this be the beginning of the end, so early in the life of the Fourth Republic? I pray not, but the truth is that the outlook is bad, very bad.
