WE HAVE SENATOR YERIMA TO THANK!

I have followed the debate about the Yerima-instigated endorsement of child responsibility with the keenest of interest and concern. Of course, people are genuinely upset and justifiably so but I feel that we really would be missing the point if we do not grasp the greater evil. The Senate, the whole Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, sat by and let this happen. No, they did not sit by; they actively participated in endorsing the very inappropriate motion of one of their ilk.

We should not focus on Yerima and miss the fact that our topmost leaders have endorsed his odious reasoning. Yerima is an unwitting agent provocateur. Unfortunately, it seems that we agreed with his views. The uproar that should have been occasioned did not occur. There was no reaction. Amazing! We are the Senators in that chamber. They are supposed elder statesmen and women that have been elected from our midst and should represent the wise amongst us, so you see that we are in trouble. Senator, thank you for bringing this to our attention.

The fact that custodians of our laws do not grasp the social construct powering our country is frightening.  Democracy remains the government of the people, by the people and for the people, or doesn’t it?  So it follows that the onus is on us to look in the mirror each morning and ask ourselves an honest question of who we are. The assemblymen are our representatives; they are we, and so we cannot point fingers. It must be understood that we are trying to practice a system of government that is alien to us. We need to make it our own. It is clear that we have not given the constitution, which is so central to our wellbeing the attention, the debate that it deserves. We must accommodate our local laws and customs, religions and ways, bring them up to date and deliver a paper that is agreeable to all of us.

The choice of people that we choose to do this for us is critical to the success of our society. What this sorry saga has brought to light is the clear picture that we must be involved in who we elect to represent us and hold them accountable. It is time to take a stance against imposition of candidates at all levels. The public reactions to the Senate’s ghastly act shows they are out of touch and do not represent we "the people". If we fail to enforce the doctrine of democracy which has "the people" at the heart of it, then we must continue to accept these sorts of decisions from our so called "elected representatives". Fellow Nigerian, we deserve better.

This is about us. It is about feeling good about us. It is about having a healthy self-image. We do not need to make excuses to anyone about who we are, whether we are Muslim, Christian or whatever we choose to be. It is only a trick of fate that the Arabs came by land and brought us Islam in the north and the Europeans came by sea and brought us Christianity in the south. It could just as easily have been the other way round and both religions teach the same doctrines of love and a duty of care to our neighbor.

We need to love ourselves to love others.  We cannot be good leaders without first being good people; a good father, mother, sister, brother, uncle or aunt. It simply shows how important it is for us to choose leaders carefully.

That one senator could coax the senate into doing his selfish bidding is what truly frightens me. It is staggering that he was not shouted down, I would have expected the women in the chamber to stage a walk out.  It is sad that there was no senator who could tutor Yerima on how the law is here to protect all of us but especially here for minors who are not yet socially responsible. Section 29 (4) (b) of the 1999 Constitution retains an oversight blunder. What a shame, that in amending it, our senators voted against a clause that would consider girls under the age of 18 who are married, to be of full age. In other words, tacitly accepting the legitimacy of child marriage and all the side effects that come with it.

I feel that the need for “us” to come together to amend “our” laws becomes even more urgent. Many of us have expressed outrage in the print media and on the social network but it is not enough. We must take the bull by the horns and wake up to our responsibility as citizens of this country. We must take our country back. So please do not get angry. Anger really is the wrong emotion. We need to wake up to the realities that face us and put our energies into getting involved and taking ownership. This is the lesson that we should learn from this.

 

Legislative Business A La Naija

So two nation builders

Arrived home this evening

With terrible stomach pains

The result of building the nation -

- Different ways.

 

Henry Barlow, in Building the Nation 

 

Data released last year shows that it costs us N29, 479, 749.00 a month, N182 million a year to maintain a senator.   Our National Assembly has its own purse and cannot be told how to spend from it. That apart, we are in the second half of the year yet no budget. The Petroleum Industry Bill is still hanging, whilst it is taking forever to amend the 1999 Constitution. I feel pain.

 Parliament in the United Kingdom provides such a contrast, where an Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is required to upwardly review the remuneration of Members of Parliament (MPs). A 10 per cent pay rise from £66,396 (N17.1 million) to £74,000 (N19.2 million), as compared to our own N182 million per annum, for UK’s MPs to bring their salaries in line with other senior public sector wages was subject to institutional and public scrutiny. 

 Even at this, the British public felt it wasn’t justified. They felt it was particularly insensitive in an era of economic slowdown. MPs themselves criticised IPSA for exposing them to the wrath of the public. They had not asked for the pay rise, the body had to explain in detail why and how it arrived at the figures. It turned out that some of the MP’s allowances were cut to get a pay rise commensurate with what other public servants earn. Somebody should please tell our lawmakers here that the National Assembly is not a place that we aspire to just to make money but rather a place where we go to make sacrifices in serving our nation; to fight the cause of the common man. Oh, I feel pain!

Who plays the role of IPSA in determining what our legislators earn? The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) does not know exactly how much they earn! Nobody apart from them can explain the complete makeup of their salaries and allowances. Our money o!

The 1999 Constitution is not OUR CONSTITUTION; we had nothing to do in shaping it. It was created by the military and handed over to us. It is ours to now shape, otherwise nagging issues will forever continue to surface and divide us.  The farce that has recently been played out by the senate should wake us up to the reality that the custodians of our laws, who are supposed to engineer the reconstruction of our flawed structures, are quite bent on maintaining the status quo because it allows for ambiguity and a tight reign on power at the center, which serves their pockets. Their voting pattern on constitution amendment shows that they are not the leaders amongst us who are capable of propelling our hopes and desires to fruition. They are only concerned in controlling the purse strings.

Local government administration continues to be a phony third tier of government because its fiscal autonomy, control of its funds, which will make it accountable to the people directly, was voted against.  The dichotomy of indigene-ship or “state of origin” has not been replaced with citizenship or “state of residence.” An Abuja mayor elected by the people would be compelled to be answerable to the electorate and underscore the vision of the federal capital as home for all. But no, the Senate prefers an appointed man Friday.

 It should also be explained to Senator Yerima that we could be Muslims or Christians – go to the mosque or to the church – but as democrats should understand that that has nothing to do with the affairs of state.  Our parliamentarians do not suffer the pains of nation building. They are mercenary gold diggers who do not have the stomachs for leadership. The shameful occurrences at the Rivers State House of Assembly are a microcosm of their leadership. We should all understand the urgency with which we need to sweep them out and replace them with strong institutionalised structures that will protect our democracy, our resources and strengthen our judiciary.

We need to shout out till we are hoarse and in pain for them to understand that it cannot be business as usual. We should all be clear that these are not lawmakers but ruthless businessmen in poor disguise.       

 

  

      

 

Naija Peoples Party

Former United States President Bill Clinton was spot-on when, during his state visit to Nigeria in 2000, he posited that Africa had a unique form of democracy. Without recourse to current happenings in Egypt, I think it is safe to uphold this view of Africa’s self-styled democracy.  As a microcosm of the continent, Nigeria has its own brand of democracy. At the epicenter of our awkward civil rule is a treacherous political party system threatening the very foundation of our national existence.

 Political parties in a democracy are made up of various groups with clearly defined ideologies and manifestos registered under the law to field candidates in elections at all levels. The popular perception here is one of party supremacy. We have evolved into a state where members must be at the beck and call and do the bidding of the party. Political parties and candidates forge an inevitably symbiotic relationship because credible and generally accepted candidates are a treasure to their parties the same way an ideologically sound political party is the hub of credible candidates and followers. Remember, the main function of a political party is to bring together minds with similar aspirations.  No matter how diverse opinions are in a party, all must share the core beliefs with regard to service delivery. This is the basis upon which political parties seek elective office and claim a critical stake in the electoral and democratic processes. It should however allow for freethinking and for leaders to emerge through the party and even challenge for the top post.

The party system in Nigeria, however, has refused to separate the constitutional roles of its elected officers from membership of the party. The implication of merging government to an extension of the party machinery is grave. For one, it unlawfully and dangerously steals the right of electoral supremacy from the people and hands it to party officials. More menacing is how it can shut down governance whenever there is internal rancor within a ruling party.  The result is that our votes have been stolen. We lose the exclusive right of our representatives being answerable to us first and the party second.

This “family affair” philosophy introduced into the Nigeria polity by the ruling party is offensive and grossly in violation of our rights. They assume that they have the power to meddle with challenging national issues because the players involved are mostly their members.  The current sad but laughable crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) is a case in point. We need not stare at the crystal ball to know that governance has been done great disservice, due to the PDP’s internal power crisis. Half way through the year, we are yet to pass a budget, and the Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has declared that there will not be salaries after September if the issues are not resolved. There is work to do in the education, health, power and infrastructure sectors. Yet, all political energies are being expended on who runs for election in 2015.

Where does this leave us the people? Well, nowhere. In a system where the electorate is supreme, we would have turned to the opposition for succor. But can the opposition help our situation?  Judging by their composition, we have the right to be skeptical about them too!  The intension of the opposition is to wrestle power from the ruling party but what will they do with this power once they have it? Will it be more of the same with new or recycled characters, or are we all going to get involved so that we can start to create institutions with solid foundations that cannot be meddled with?

We are at a time when opposition members of our legislative houses are numerically capable of challenging the large-scale mismanagement threatening to bring this nation down. But no worthy legislative fight has been put up. We will wait forever if we expect a new Nigeria to emerge through the present opposition elements. Nigeria is at a crossroads; we are treading that thin precipice between success and failure.

As a people battered by bad governance through poor leadership on the one hand and dispossessed of our civic power to decide our fate by a deliberately detestable political process on the other, only with our voices, hands and minds can we reclaim that which is truly ours. We have to make sacrifices now and start doing things properly, lest we allow external forces to continue using the weak amongst us to perpetrate these ills and maintain the status quo.             

         

Naija Peoples Party

Former United States President Bill Clinton was spot-on when, during his state visit to Nigeria in 2000, he posited that Africa had a unique form of democracy. Without recourse to current happenings in Egypt, I think it is safe to uphold this view of Africa’s self-styled democracy.  As a microcosm of the continent, Nigeria has its own brand of democracy. At the epicenter of our awkward civil rule is a treacherous political party system threatening the very foundation of our national existence.

 Political parties in a democracy are made up of various groups with clearly defined ideologies and manifestos registered under the law to field candidates in elections at all levels. The popular perception here is one of party supremacy. We have evolved into a state where members must be at the beck and call and do the bidding of the party. Political parties and candidates forge an inevitably symbiotic relationship because credible and generally accepted candidates are a treasure to their parties the same way an ideologically sound political party is the hub of credible candidates and followers. Remember, the main function of a political party is to bring together minds with similar aspirations.  No matter how diverse opinions are in a party, all must share the core beliefs with regard to service delivery. This is the basis upon which political parties seek elective office and claim a critical stake in the electoral and democratic processes. It should however allow for freethinking and for leaders to emerge through the party and even challenge for the top post.

The party system in Nigeria, however, has refused to separate the constitutional roles of its elected officers from membership of the party. The implication of merging government to an extension of the party machinery is grave. For one, it unlawfully and dangerously steals the right of electoral supremacy from the people and hands it to party officials. More menacing is how it can shut down governance whenever there is internal rancor within a ruling party.  The result is that our votes have been stolen. We lose the exclusive right of our representatives being answerable to us first and the party second.

This “family affair” philosophy introduced into the Nigeria polity by the ruling party is offensive and grossly in violation of our rights. They assume that they have the power to meddle with challenging national issues because the players involved are mostly their members.  The current sad but laughable crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) is a case in point. We need not stare at the crystal ball to know that governance has been done great disservice, due to the PDP’s internal power crisis. Half way through the year, we are yet to pass a budget, and the Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has declared that there will not be salaries after September if the issues are not resolved. There is work to do in the education, health, power and infrastructure sectors. Yet, all political energies are being expended on who runs for election in 2015.

Where does this leave us the people? Well, nowhere. In a system where the electorate is supreme, we would have turned to the opposition for succor. But can the opposition help our situation?  Judging by their composition, we have the right to be skeptical about them too!  The intension of the opposition is to wrestle power from the ruling party but what will they do with this power once they have it? Will it be more of the same with new or recycled characters, or are we all going to get involved so that we can start to create institutions with solid foundations that cannot be meddled with?

We are at a time when opposition members of our legislative houses are numerically capable of challenging the large-scale mismanagement threatening to bring this nation down. But no worthy legislative fight has been put up. We will wait forever if we expect a new Nigeria to emerge through the present opposition elements. Nigeria is at a crossroads; we are treading that thin precipice between success and failure.

As a people battered by bad governance through poor leadership on the one hand and dispossessed of our civic power to decide our fate by a deliberately detestable political process on the other, only with our voices, hands and minds can we reclaim that which is truly ours. We have to make sacrifices now and start doing things properly, lest we allow external forces to continue using the weak amongst us to perpetrate these ills and maintain the status quo.             

         

Graduation

In Accra, I recently attended the graduation ceremony of a friend’s son who had run through the gauntlet of education and had done his parents proud. He had succeeded. The Senatus Academicus graduated him with honours. Congratulations Subomi! As I sat through the graduation ceremony, I looked around at all the beaming faces of the proud parents that had come to witness this triumph that their child had accomplished.

 Why were all these particular parents here, so happy and why had they invested so much time and support to their children? Not every parent does this.

There is the notion that a child is the property of the state. That is why when a child is born, the birth is recorded in the form of a birth certificate and he subsequently gets a passport. The child is a citizen and the parents are only allowed to keep and raise him or her, if the state deems them fit to do so. So why do they invest so much in the child’s education and development, when they could be jollofing?

It is born of love. The raising of a child to be a responsible citizen is the greatest act of selflessness and love that is demonstrated by any loving parent. Why? Because the parent is expecting nothing back. What society gets is a responsible citizen. That reward along with the child’s success in life is enough for the parents.

This sacrifice starts from birth. The child is nurtured and monitored throughout pre-primary, primary and secondary school years. University is the great transition from childhood to adulthood, because the ability to make decisions that we are responsible for is the difference between a responsible adult and a child. For the undergraduate, suddenly academic assignments, which were previously a must, have become a matter of choice. No prep or lights out and no detention or grounding for default. It is almost too good to be true that for the first time no domestic hierarchy.  The right to choose now rests with this man-child.

What a confusing time. There are so many distractions. We all know that change is not easy. They have to go from what is familiar to forging a new beginning. They are away from home, away from monitoring. Their minds have to break down all they have known, so that they can embrace the new way. They have to learn fantastic new skills and think differently, act differently in order to get to the next level of excellence. They have to go through a period of transition filled with confusion. Some will stumble, some will get carried away with this new-found freedom but with love and support from the parents, ultimately they forge their way through; they persevere and the result is a fantastic young adult with all the world before them.

Parents, meanwhile, have the situation out of their hands for the first time. All they can do is pray that they have done the right thing and their child, despite their naiveté or youthful exuberance, will not do anything that they will live to regret. They realise really for the first time that the umbilical cord is cut and the individual, the citizen who is now exposed to all that we have been shielding them from, will conduct themselves in a way that will make us proud. It is said that wisdom is the quest for knowledge, so we should pursue her. If we are lucky enough to find her, then we should exalt her, so that she may honour us. It is this honour that the parents are celebrating as without knowledge we are nothing.

As I write, here in Nigeria both academic associations of Nigerian universities and polytechnics (ASUU and ASUP respectively) have embarked on an indefinite strike. We all are aware of the sorry state of our education system. We have students offered admission into programmes not accredited. They continue to be robbed by the university authorities for years in the forms of school fees and breach of agreement and trust. Our leaders fail us in their responsibility to these young citizens. They should focus their energies here as we are being robbed of our future. We sit by and have decided that our reality dictates that we can do nothing about it. Our fear dictates this. Doing nothing, though, is a decision. Our children here will not graduate. History will judge us all.