Is The Journey to the National Assembly Too Far From the People of Nigeria?

I am one of the Nigerians that believe in the enormous potentials of the Legislative arm of the government of the Federation – Nigeria. The norm in Nigeria is very alarming and worrisome; as we love putting all our eggs inside one basket. We assume that there must be A SAVIOUR, who would love us so much as a nation; and therefore willing to even die for our growth, development and security. We believe that all that is needed to make Nigeria great is one great person or personality. 

We so much believe this that during our elections, we literally tell ourselves; “Vote in the right Governor or President; every other thing will fall into place“. We are so much consumed in our quest for change that we think one man or woman can make all the difference.

However, we are daily faced with situations in this country that call for a re-examination of our earlier assumptions. Sometime ago, we realized that Mr President could not just have anybody as Minister of the Federal Republic without the support or will of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We also discovered that the budget that our economy is in such a need of cannot become a law that bindings the Executive arm of Government until the National Assembly Pass it for Presidential assent.

The presumptions we had as a nation are daily being challenged by the reality of governance and rule of law. Indeed, Nigeria does not need one good man or woman; but a body of good men and women.

During 2015 general elections, when the campaign trains of Presidential aspirants were moving across the nation; I discovered that the intellectual, moral, and creative capacity of the aspirants vying for the seats of the Houses of Assemblies, and the National Assembly were not too important to many of us. Some people think that the Executive could do great works without the great efforts, thoughts of the Legislature – that was our error as a nation!

In reality, the Executive arm of government is the “hands” of any nation; the Legislature is the “head”; while the Judiciary serve as the “heart” of the country. Without the “head” functions to full capacity; the hands will be limited in their reach and effectiveness. Until Nigerians come to appreciate the sensitivity of the Legislative arm of government; we will continue as a nation to postpone our economic growth, true independence and social development.

We need sincere, dynamic, resourceful and driven Legislature; even as we need a charismatic Executive – we must therefore work hard as a nation to recruit or select from among ourselves; credible men and women; a people that have been found worthy by time and pressure to be true representatives of their culture and of the collective aspirations of their people.

We must not make the journey into the National Assembly a long journey for anyone seeking such seats; because as we lay our beds as a people, we will sleep on it. For when the journey to the National Assembly is too far; anyone fortunate enough to get into such seats will become too far from the people to know what they are feeling or saying!

Let us stay off seeking for money from men and women seeking offices of responsibility in Nigeria; lest we become a nation of “toothless-bulldogs” – we must keep our teeths sharp; and keep our integrity intact, so that we will be able to demand same from our elected representatives in government. I rest my case for now.

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