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Bankole And The Task Ahead

By ABDULAHISANNI YABO

It is universally accepted that democracy is the best form of government because it emphasizes participation of the people.
People under democracy have the opportunity of having a say in who governs them. The leaders are elected. One interesting thing in this form of government is that the people have the opportunity of voting out a bad government in an election. Democracy is indeed the government of the people, by the people and for the people as opposed to autocracy or dictatorship where leaders force themselves on the people and rule by coercion.
It is because of the many advantages that democracy offers, especially since it engenders good governance, as bad leaders can be voted out in election, that many countries around the world have embraced it. Even the countries hitherto referred to 'Iron Curtain', like the former Soviet Union, USSR, have discarded the Politburo, that is, the idea of the party imposing leaders on the people, while democracy now holds away. As Nigeria is not an island unto herself, she had had her own shot at democracy.
Within 48years that she had existed as an independent nation, Nigeria has had her triumphs and trials. One of her triumphs is that she is a prosperous nation, well endowed by God such that had the endowments been well harnessed by the leaders, the nation should be classified among those countries that are called the first world today. Bad leadership obviously is one of Nigeria 's trials. Her attempts at democratic governance had severally been interrupted by military adventurists, imposing on her poor leadership with the attendant lack of accountability by government under the successive military administrations. The status quo remained until 1999 when the last set of the military adventurists quit power while the nation was virtually comatose, no thanks to poor accountability. The succeeding administration which held power for eight years must have done its bit to clear the rot amid the criticism that it merely paid lip service to the problem in many sectors. It is against this backdrop that the present House of Representatives, by its activities in the last two months, offers some hope. The lawmakers ' resolve under the leadership of Speaker Dimeji Bankole is that government will now run as it should, and that never will bad government be allowed in the country. In essence, the parliament, as represented by the House, will make government accountable and alive to its responsibilities to people.
This is democracy in action. And the lawmakers have worked assiduously to give bite to their resolve, systematically actualizing the mandate given to them by Nigerians, to put smiles on the people's faces. Now, the people know that they have a House whose lawmakers will never tolerate corrupt government officials who will simply put money voted for projects in their pockets only for the people to suffer untold hardship because of poor infrastructure. The lawmakers spoke loud and clear that such corrupt officials will be made to pay for their misdeeds even if it takes years, going by the investigations into the past in some sectors. Huge sums have been recovered in unspent funds under past budgets and added to the current budget. Clearly the House has demonstrated that the people are the focus of government. In any decent society, the people are the masters and those who govern the servants. The lawmakers are aligning the thinking of government with this reality. They have carried out their responsibilities with decorum and told the people in unmistakable terms that they (the people) matter. Beyond that, the lawmakers are signaling that they can do more to move the nation forward. That is the situation as they are returning to the House after their recess. The new session will be full of challenges but the House has proved that it is more than up to the task. Many things have been said and written about the reconstitution of the House standing committees as one of the challenges that will confront the lawmakers.
The 72 committees were dissolved moments before the lawmakers went on recess, with the exception of a few of the committees which were allowed to remain because the exigency of the time demanded it. Now that the reconstitution is set to be effected, it will take cognizance of the fact that the committees must be strengthened to aid the House mandate to make government accountable to the people. Also in the works is the 2009 budget. The lawmakers appear set to improve on the record they set last year when they recovered billions of naira in unspent funds.
Yet another issue that will take the front burner is the constitution review. The House will throw its hat into the ring of the constitution review which has been a contentious issue since 2004 when the matter under the last National Assembly was stalemated because of the then irreconcilable differences between the contending forces. The review of the constitution is no doubt an important issue that has to be resolved to the satisfaction of the vast majority of Nigerians especially against the background of the claims of the several imperfections in the constitution. The constitution has been faulted on the grounds that it was made under the military as against the representatives of the people, and the document, it is generally believed, does not represent the wishes and aspirations of Nigerians. The contentious issues in the 1999 constitution range from derivation to state creation, and whether or not the local government should be a tier or an appendage of the state government. Some people are even talking about tenure of elected political office holders, saying it should be reviewed. Yet others talk about devolution of power in favour of some tiers of government and state police. The constitution will reflect the wishes of the people. And to underscore the importance the House and the Senate attach to this national assignment, an 88-man committee has been raised to review the constitution. The joint constitution review committee, JCRC, will be inaugurated as soon as the National Assembly reconvenes while the assignment will last 80days. The House will not disappoint Nigerians on the issue of the review of the constitution that is dear to the heart of the people. The deputy speaker of the House, Hon. Nafada, who is the review committee vice chairman, has the acumen and stature, to adequately assist the deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who chairs the committee, for the task ahead.
Only penultimate week, Senator Ekweremadu denied the claim that the Senate was having problem with the House on the review of the constitution. The JCRC chairman stated this while explaining the delay in the inauguration of the committee, saying it had been caused by the need to give room for members to perform the lesser hajj. With the standing committees' reconstitution, the 2009 budget and the constitution review ahead of her, the House has very crucial challenges. The challenges add up to the much needed legislative support for Mr. President's quest to resolve the Niger Delta crisis and the 7-point agenda that seek to tackle the deep seated problems in the power, oil and gas, and transport sectors ,on which the House has been complementing the efforts of the executive through exhaustive investigations. The reality of the challenges is not lost on the lawmakers who are bracing up for the onerous tasks. Consequently, the House is organizing a retreat this month for the lawmakers in two centers to further empower them for the tasks ahead. The retreat scheduled to hold simultaneously in Kano and Uyo will witness brainstorming sessions by the Honourable members with resource persons from diverse areas. The retreat will serve as some sort refresher program and equip the lawmakers in political and practical terms. The synergy will energize the lawmakers. Surely the House is positioning to give Nigeria her very best.
Alhaji Yabo contributes this piece from Yabo, Sokoto State.