By Steve Omolale
Right from the days of the quarrelsome Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the President, when governance at all levels was like a war, up till this very moment, the National Assembly (NASS) has been a heavy burden on our collective patrimony. It all started in 1999, when we did not know whether we were dealing with an Evan, or Evans, Enwerem as the Senate President, and Salisu Buhari as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. And up to this 10th NASS, many lawmakers with their unserious approach to issues of national importance, have turned almost all of us to cynics.
The conduct of majority of them who parade themselves as distinguished senators and honourables tallies with the submission of American lawyer and politician, Elliot Richardson, who once said, “There is an increasingly pervasive sense not only of failure, but of futility. The legislative process has become a cruel shell game and the service system has become a bureaucratic maze, inefficient, incomprehensible, and inaccessible.”
When juxtaposed with the humongous resources Nigeria is committing to the welfare and other shenanigans some NASS members do, it will not be out of place to say Nigerians are not getting maximum returns on their investment in these two institutions.
That the drafters of the 1999 Constitution copied the American presidential system verbatim does not mean we should practise it as copied. In the first place, Nigeria does not need a bicameral legislature. The country does not also also need full-time lawmakers, some of who add no value to lawmaking for the betterment of the masses. Bicameral legislature and full-time lawmaking are too expensive for us.
In fact, starting from 1999 to now, the quality of lawmaking has declined considerably. It is even worse with the current Godswill Akpabio-led Senate and Tajudeen Abass-led House of Representatives, which majority of frustrated Nigerians regard as mere rubber-stamp institutions.
As currently constituted, this National Assembly has thrown the principle of checks and balances, a vital ingredient of the presidential system, to the dogs. The “Yea” are always carrying the day irrespective of how strong the voices of the “Nay” are. The declining quality of lawmaking is a reflection of the quality of lawmakers in the NASS. In climes where free and fair elections are conducted, many people parading themselves as distinguished senators and honourables would not have any business in the hollow chambers. Nigerians are becoming increasingly sceptical, as the Senate has become a dumping ground for many corrupt and non-performing former governors and others who usually find their ways there to continue to enjoy public funds.
As a corrupt former governor who has a case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), or the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), just join the rulling All People’s Congress (APC) where your sins will be automatically forgotten and forgiven and get yourself to the Senate.
Countless number of lawmakers have also faced police investigations for various offences between 1999 and now. Some are pathological liars, who have not made any impact in the lives of their constituents. Many constituents do not even know their representatives in the NASS because they have remained holed up in Abuja and hardly visit their states. They only do so during electioneering when they share some crumbs to the people. Some have nothing to show as constituency projects. They have no office where they interact with their constituents to know where the shoes pinch them. This is how pathetic our situation has become as a people.
According to the late sharp-witted Texan journalist and political columnist, Molly Ivins, “All anyone needs to enjoy the state legislature is a strong stomach and a complete insensitivity to the needs of the people. As long as you don’t think about what that peculiar body should be doing and what it actually is doing to the quality of life…, then it’s all marvelous fun.”
Same applies to Nigeria and Nigerians where many of our legislators at various levels are catching cruise with their stomach and our future as a country. They do not know or feel what we feel.
Reports by OrderPaper, Nigeria’s independent parliamentary monitoring organisation, have repeatedly indicated that half of the 10th NASS bills are recycled from the ninth NASS. One of the recent reports revealed that during the first half of its existence, of the 901 bills debated at various stages of reading, only 113, representing a meagre 12.54 per cent, were passed by the Senate.
And during the period under review, of the 1,175 bills at the House of Representatives, a meagre 58 have been passed, leaving the rest at the second reading. While OrderPaper says 15 senators did not sponsor a single bill in the period under review, it adds that 149 House members did also not sponsor a single bill to their names.
Even, of all the bills sponsored and passed, how many have direct bearing to the lives of suffering Nigerians? Why is it taking the NASS this long to amend the constitution to allow for state police, despite the cry of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the concurrence of the state governors who are feeling the heat of terrorism in their states the most? How long did it take the NASS to change the National Anthem to the old one?
In other words, those senators and representatives who never have any bills to their names are just bench-warmers in the red and green chambers respectfully. This is the more reason why Nigerians do not need a bicameral legislature, and do not need full-time lawmakers because they amount to mere waste of our commonwealth.
However, if those active lawmakers in the NASS think Nigerians are not taking good note of their positive contributions, they should perish the thought. Their constituents appreciate them. They know what their presence in the NASS is attracting to them. They feel and commend their impact, especially how they are empowering them with tangible things.
*Omolale, a seasoned journalist, writes from Lagos.
