‘Why Lagos East should elect Abiru to Senate’

Chief ‘Kunle Uthman

 

 

Legislatures in modern states everywhere, pass laws, determine the ways of raising and spending public revenues, discuss matters of public importance and play an important role in the process of amending the Constitution. They also serve as checks and balances on the other two organs of government, namely the Executive and Judiciary. Most modern constitutions provide for a legislature of two chambers, the lower and the upper. This is the model of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which provides for a Senate and House of Representatives. The Senate consists of 109 Senators; the 36 states are each divided in 3 Senatorial districts each electing one Senator; the Federal Capital Territory elects only one Senator.

In Nigeria Senatorial zones are typically made up of a group of local government areas in a particular state and each zone is represented by a Senator in the National Assembly. The Lagos East Senatorial Zone / District comprises of the entire geographical areas of Epe Local Government Area, Ibeju / Lekki Local Government Area, Ikorodu Local Government Area, Kosofe Local Government Area and Somolu Local Government Area.

Following the untimely death of Senator ‘Bayo Osinowo, who represented the Lagos East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, the stakes are high for all political parties in the state who want to participate in a bye-election to replace the deceases late Senator ‘Bayo Osinowo.  It will be a fierce competition between the political parties,  and within the parties as well especially in the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party of the deceased Senator.

The office of a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is an important one therefore elected Senators should possess the credentials to be effective in order to perform their jobs creditably. An effective legislator must have very high standard of personal integrity and conduct himself in a disciplined and ethical manner at all times. Good character must be exemplified in personal and family life. He must extend this to his work and business and most importantly to his  conduct as a politician. In addition, an effective legislator must be good at listening and feeling the pulse of his constituents, receiving feedbacks and analyzing information received. Also, a good legislator must have the courage to speak the  truth regardless of which arm of government he is in discussion with. He must possess a clear vision about what he wants to achieve and the courage to work tirelessly with others to achieve those targets. He must also have the political will, dogged commitment and resilience to serve the nation at large in synergy with others and empathize with the people he serves.

It is necessary to educate the voters on these qualities to enable them make the  right choice and thereby ensure qualitative representation in the legislature. Senator Leticia Van De Putte, Texas, United States of America summed this up appropriately: “Listen, think and vote your conscience. Your constituents will not always agree with you, but they will respect you for thinking through the issues and leveling with them.” It is also important that a legislator should not forget to take care of himself. He should eat right, exercise and create time for family and self.

It is a truism that a concomitant consequence of our choice of representation to the present National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) is the quality of legislators that we have, in exercise of our adult suffrage and franchise voted (or chosen) to represent us in the federal legislature. As it were, the quality of legislation had been a result of the cerebral qualities of these people, who are mainly politicians, well versed in political gerrymandering and capacities to win elections, but not many endowed with the weighty demands and responsibilities of law making. Furthermore, our present National Assembly (particularly the Senate) has become a Retirement Home for members of the Executive who had served as State Governors or those who had held high profile political offices.

The rationale explanation for this reprehensible choices may be due to the unjustifiable humongous salaries and allowances paid, connections, political influence and capacity to muscle federal government agencies for contracts and continue the pulverization of the national treasury and by consequence the citizens who had elected them or a selection process by political godfathers for reciprocal benefits.

Watching the ongoing (suspended) investigations of government agencies, more particularly the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on Live Tv featuring Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta (former Executive Governor, Akwa Ibom State and Minority Leader of the Senate) and the Investigation Committee of the NDDC which showed the disdain and odium that these Senators and the executive hold one another. This event was nothing but a ‘Show of Shame’ and dramatization of the extent of corruption in the Nigerian society-at-large, based on materialism and ostentatious lifestyles, stupendous acquisition of wealth, that benefits nobody but their immediate and extended relationships.

The dramatic exchange and Comedy of Errors between Dr. Chris Ngige Minister of Labour (former Governor of Anambra State) and Hon. Olu Faleke (Lagos Representative in the House of Representatives / former Deputy Governor aspirant, Kogi State) was an altercation that showed the disdain and disrespect that the executive has for the National Assembly. What necessitated that tirade of abuses and insults by Dr. Chris Ngige, who as a former Executive Governor of Anambra State ought to conduct himself with decorum and decency? Truly, where is the geographic political constituency of Hon. Faleke within the interpretation of the National Character Commission Act? His questions were rather personalized and necessarily annoying, thereby affording the Minister of Labour the opportunity to lampoon and insult him on a global network.

It has therefore, become obligatory that if we desire qualitative representation in the National Assembly and progress tangentially as a Nation State, we must begin to rationally choose cerebral, young and dynamic citizens to represent us in the National Assembly and not those who see representation as a Retirement Home that affords them veritable opportunities to use their exalted positions to further amass wealth and laze around at the expense of the taxpayers. Many of these legislators do not attend plenary sessions and rarely participate actively in the primary function of making laws. It is within this context that the participation of Mr. Tokunbo Abiru in the bye-election to choose the Senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District must necessarily be applauded. Hopefully, this trait will continue, thereby further energizing the Senate with qualitative cerebral personae, who have made impact on the lives of their people.

• Chief ‘Kunle Uthman, Legal Practitioner, Lagos.