In view of the mindless shenanigans in play today in Nigeria, let us firmly state that the role of the legislative arm is indispensable in a democracy. Without performing legislatures and legislative initiatives, democratic governance will inevitably turn into autarky.
For this reason, given its vital oversight and other functions, legislative time is scarce in any democracy. If it were not so, most countries will be operating unicameral legislatures on a part – time basis. The complexity of the process of modern governance is also awesome. For this reason, in countries where they take the health of the polity seriously, legislators are known to undertake frequent all night sittings and to hastily reconvene in response to pressing national and at times, international issues.
Here it is different. Not only are frequent adjournments, recesses and holidays the norm, but the legislators have carried on as if we are not in a state of emergency. Well, to state the obvious we are. With the hideous Boko Haram gaining territories and a dilapidated physical and social infrastructure, the country is today in emergency mode. Add to that the turbulence in the international oil market and we can appreciate that this cannot be the time for self-serving fun and games.
Unfortunately what is going on now is about self-aggrandisement. It has nothing to do with the health of the nation. It is clearly for example, unacceptable for the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives to ‘adjourn’ the house until December 3, 2014. With the budget stalled and too many issues to respond to, this is a condemnable act.
The theatre of the absurd going on in the senate is also totally ridiculous. The maturity expected of the senate is not being shown here. Whether or not individual senators have received a ticket back to the assembly has nothing to do with the good governance of the country. The issue is strictly between them and their interpretation of party supremacy as well as of the interpretation of the concept of democratic centralism within individual political formations .
Let us be absolutely clear about the damage the actions of the National Assembly are wreaking on the polity as well as the economy. Whatever the divergence of opinion, the President of this country needs all the assistance he can be given for necessary legislative enablement in order to take proper action on a host of issues.
This cannot, therefore, be the time for grandstanding. Furthermore, what is happening negates the very concept of checks and balances so vital in a constitutional democracy. This means that the National Assembly is now willingly in derelict of its crucial oversight functions. Since this is so, it means that they no longer have the moral right to continue to withdraw their humongous emoluments from the public purse. It also means, very dangerously, that only the judiciary can now act as a check on the already, all too powerful executive branch of government.
This is clearly not what the framers of any modern constitution had in mind. It is also important, in view of our contemporary experience to warn our legislators that there is a limit to the amount of impertinence a people can put up with. If in doubt cast a glance at recent events elsewhere including Burkina Faso. We must never forget that there are still anti-democratic forces lurking in the background to pounce at the slightest excuse to destabilise our hard-earned democracy.
For the reasons stated above, this newspaper, echoing the views of the Nigerian people calls for an immediate recall of the National Assembly to get cracking on the work they were elected to do in the first place.
