In Sokoto, House Begins Road Show
After several failed attempts at kick-starting the People's Forum, where the opinion of the people would form part of the policy agenda of the legislature, the House of Representatives has finally begun its zonal tour with a trip to Sokoto where it interracted with the people, guaged their pulses and explained the role of the legislature, reports Ahamefula Ogbu
The most constantly asked question since the inauguration of the House of Representatives on June 3, 2003 has been the its agenda for itself and the people. However, while the passage of people oriented bills was put forward as the priority of the House, its leadership admitted that for there to be a generally accepted direction that would impact positively on the lives of the electorate, their input was a necessity. This gave rise to the zonal tour of the House on geo-political regional basis to interact with the people and know their needs in order to incorporate it into the work plan of the legislature.
According to the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon Abike Dabiri, meeting the people and getting their input would be the best way of getting a generally acceptable position on issues of common interests. This, she went on, should culminate in the creation of a forum for people to be able to express themselves to the people with a view to making the people, the center of the democratic experiment. For such a forum to produce the intended results, it needed to be taken to the door step of the people.
The first port of call was Sokoto State where a strong political culture could arguably be said to have thrived over a long period. It was to represent the regions where Kebbi and Zamfara States fall. However, the forum held but without the presence of those other states due to personal rivalry, which border on ego on the part of the governors. Though, Kebbi and Zamfara States shunned the forum, it however held and meaningful issues on governance were raised.
In Sokoto, the first port of call of the House members was the palace of the royal father of the ancient city, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido who extolled the leadership virtues of Speaker Ibrahim Masari whom he pledged his support for. On hearing that the forum was to interact with the electorate and ensure that their inputs were reflected in the agenda of the House towards evolving a people-oriented legislature, the Sultan said it was a step in the right direction.
According to him, most leadership problems emanate from the alienation of the people whose welfare, he said, must be uppermost in the agenda of any responsible administration. He pledged his support to the style adopted by the House, adding that after winning elections, it was expected of politicians to go back to those who gave them the mandate to say thank you and know how policies were impacting on them.
At the Government House, the Chief host, Governor Attahiru Baffarawa pledged the support of the entire region to Masari and urged him to continue to place the people as priority in his quest for successful political career. To him, politics without the understanding of the people as well as their input would make the system lose its meaning.
The main event was in a hall at Giginya hotel. Masari, flagged off the event with an address. Delving into history, he traced the practice of democracy back to the Athenian era in the fifth century. He said definition of politics agree with its representative nature which had to work with a culture of tolerance, accommodation and social integration. He admitted that for these to be fully in place, the citizens must have rights to dissent, though the majority position would still form the policy.
"Although the policy which attracts the support of the majority, will be the official policy, genuine efforts must be made by the majority to persuade the minorities rather than coerce them. A successful democracy therefore is one, which ensures equality and active involvement of the entire citizenry in the political process", he postulated.
The Speaker said the House, based on this conviction decided to go round the country to ensure that the people have a say in governance and that their welfare form the crust of the idea of politics. Once in practice, he said it would help to ensure a transparent and accountable leadership in addition to enabling a better understanding of the workings of the legislature. That, in turn, he continued, would lead to the people, identifying with the ideals of democracy and would also build their trust in the leadership.
"Political trust is the inner conviction a citizen experiences that governance is conducted in line with his/her normative expectations of how government should function. This viewpoint denotes that for a nation to experience accelerated political growth and development, the government and the governed must recognize the importance of promoting a symbiotic relationship of mutual dependence. The chord which connects this relationship is trust", he reasoned.
Although there was no possibility of enjoying a total agreement between the governed and the government, he said, it was imperative that those who dissent have to be offered explanations with the hope of carrying them along or reduce the number of dissents through persuasion. He added that the present efforts at sustaining the fourth republic must not fail as previous failures left the political psyche of the Nigerians battered, almost irreparably.
In an apparent summary of the House work plan, Masari explained, "my colleagues and I have decided to embark on this zonal tour with the sole aim of mobilizing the citizens in support of democracy and participatory governance. We are all aware of the great efforts and sacrifice we made in our journey to democratic rule and we cannot afford to toy with this hard-earned effort. All over the world, democracy as a form of rule is yet to be found. The ability to evolve participatory governance is the major ingredient. It therefore behoves on us as major players in this endeavor to mobilize and galvanize our people in defence of democracy".
Continuing, he said the visit would enable them to gauge the political pulse of the people with a view to cementing the unity and understanding already gained between the legislature and the people since politics starts and ends with the people. Laws made with such views he said, would have to be designed to take the interest and yearnings of the people into consideration.
Next to speak was Governor Bafarawa, who justified the choice of Sokoto State as the start off point of the forum since the state parades a long history of democratic processes and rule. He said for stability to be achieved, there has to be a rapport between the voters and their leaders. He pledged his support for any programme that will foster the entrenchment of democracy in the country since it was his view that more progress was being made under democratic governance than in military era.
The forum commenced with the Speaker explaining that because of the area where they were, he would welcome expression of views in both English language and the local dialects, and would respond in like manner. He kept to his promise. The first question came from the Vice Chancellor of Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, Dr. Tijani Balde, who chided the House on their seeming indifferences to infrastructural decay in the universities, which symbolise the continued developmental capacity of any nation.
Responding, Masari assured him that the issue would be addressed fully in 2005 and would be wholistic, as polytechnics would be involved in the resuscitation of all infrastructure. He, however, counseled heads of institutions to make the problems of their institutions known in order of priority so that scarce resources would be channeled to areas of immediate needs.
He also observed that the budgeting process was tedious and compunded by the fact that other offices involved cut down the proposal of the National Assembly. For example, he said where the House put together its proposal of expenditure in accordance with demands and priorities, between the ministry of Education and Finance, the figures were changed with the explanation that they were only accommodating the parts that the nation could fund. He concluded by saying that he had his wards in the schools and understood first hand what the VC was saying which had to be attended to if education should still be within the reach of the poor in this country.
Next was an unemployed lady, Miss Zainab Mahmud, who tasked Masari on why, despite all the talk about poverty alleviation of the administration, there is a rising unemployment rate. To the pertinent question, Masari retorted, "you are right, about 70 percent of Nigerians live below a dollar a day which is below the poverty line. We are actually living at half a dollar a day and the figure of seventy percent is high".
His recipe for the problem of poverty was through agriculture where he said all stakeholders have to put their hands on deck for a collective solution. He said it was the realisation of this that made government to make agriculture one of its priorities. However, the 2004 budget gives only three percent of total expenditure to agriculture and if it aims at solving the problem through that sector, one wonders the funds that would do the magic?
He said government aims at creating seven million jobs through the agricultural sector between now and the end of the regime of President Obasanjo in 2007.
To him, the areas of improved seedlings and varieties, availability of funds and other resources to sustain the growth in that sector and the collective action of all tiers of government are what are needed to make a difference. He said if it were left to the federal government alone, the aim would be defeated and therefore fail.
Former Minister of Finance, Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji asked a three-pronged question on what step the House was taking to ensure that budgets were implemented; what work plan it had for the energy sector without which he said industrialization would continue to be a mirage in the country and what it was doing to ensure the enforcement of the principles of federal character in the public service, especially the armed forces.
To the above, Masari said the House inserted enough clauses to ensure that the budget was implemented, in addition to a close follow up on the finances of the nation, from the revenue to the expenditure.
He gave an example of the present practice of the Minister of Finance who briefs them on the excess crude yields which, he said, has already commenced and the insertion of a clause which makes it an offence for the executive to spend any money from the purse of the federation without the approval of the National Assembly.
On energy, he said it was clear that the nation would continue to be stagnant industrially if the power sector were not attended to. He said there is a power reform bill, in addition to about N46 billion for hydro-dams and another N7 billion for thermal stations. Masari added that there were adequate plans to improve power generation and distribution with a view to attaining a optimum power supply for industrial growth to be achieved.
Alhaji Aliu Kofar Rimi, who also bared his mind at the forum tasked the forum on why there is no law prohibiting gay marriage in the country's statute books, was told by Masari that if the religions in the country kept to their tenets, such would not be a problem. He was later assisted by the Chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary, Hon Bala Ibn Na'Allah who confirmed that there was no law yet prohibiting it but said in the near future and with the support of people, a law against the practice could sail through the House easily but hope the practice does not arise.
Tasked on why the laws that pass through the National Assembly were mostly those that have negative effects on the masses, Masari responded that each arm of government had its role to play, adding that the executive was not in constant consultation with the legislature. He reminded them that Nigeria's democracy was still young and should not be compared with the same yardstick, which those that had stayed a longer time now have. He said there is a cordial relationship between the executive and the legislature but that does not mean they were not having frictions with the executive.
Another speaker at the forum, Barrister Atiku Mohammed urged that the Electoral Act should be immediately amended while the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Law should be abrogated as it gave powers that is repugnant to the Constitution, citing the case of late Hon. Maurice Ibekwe. He also carpeted the implementation of the Social Insurance Trust Fund and the Contributory Pensions Bills, which he urged the National Assembly not to pass arguing that it would cause more misery to the nation.
On the Electoral Act, Masari admitted the need for the amendment of the law, pointing out that in 1979, election petitions were concluded before the swearing in ceremonies were conducted but said since so many cases were still at the tribunals, they all had to be decided before an amendment to the law would be effected. The EFCC bill, he said, was a law promulgated in response to the demands by the international community, which threatened to blacklist the country and therefore, "a child of circumstance and an unusual response to an unusual situation".
He said a new regime of laws like in taxation were in the offing while the NSITF and the Contributory Pensions Bills should be read together in order to make better meaning. Alhaji Mutari Matakwasa, on his part, wondered why despite all the mouthing of anti-corruption, the cankerworm is still eating fresh holes in the fabrics of the nation's resources to the extent that a poor man who assumes political office immediately becomes rich. He was told that the campaign was yielding results but may take a while to achieve the total effect he was asking for. On the need for the translation of the constitution to different languages, Masari pledged to take it up with the Ministry of information.
There was also a joint session with the State Assembly where some questions were taken. An undemocratic practice was noticed at the session when members were asking for time to ask questions but were overruled by the Assembly Speaker who directed the Assembly Leader who also wanted to ask a question to move a motion for adjournment, which he helplessly did.
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