| NEWS
|
National
Metro
Africa
World
Business
|
|
|
| OPINION
|
Editorial
Columnists
Contributors
Letters
Cartoons
Discussions
Outlook
|
|
|
| SPORTS
|
Home
Abroad
Golf Weekly
Results
|
|
|
| FEATURES
|
Focus
Policy & Politics
Arts
Media
Science
Natural Health
Law
Education
Weekend
Friday Review
Executive Briefs
Fashion
Food & Drink
Auto Wheels
Friday Worship
Saturday Magazine
Sunday Magazine
Ibru Ecumenical Centre
Agro Care
|
|
|
|
|
Of legislative duties and hangovers
By Wale Okediran
THE young doctor slowly shook her head, removed the sphygnomanometer from my arm and said, "I'm sorry Honourable. Your blood pressure is dangerously high. I will need to put you on medications and a week's bed rest". In spite of my protests that I still had to attend two committee meetings, a trip to Makurdi on oversight functions and another trip to my constituency all within the week, the young lady insisted that I cancelled all my plans and go home to bed.
As a doctor myself, I saw it coming. All the tell tale signs of early hypertension were there. However, I had been able to handle the occasional headaches and dizziness quite well without any medication until the day the announcement about the latest increase in petroleum prices was made. That was when all hell was let loose. Apart from the several angry phone calls from my friends and constituents, the announcement which was very much against the advice of the House of Representatives was equally shocking to the legislators.
Unfortunately, this very important last bit of information was not well appreciated by many members of the public who thought that the price increase had the blessing of the house. Some of the complainants even alleged that the president had "settled" the legislators and so our silence over the issue. All my explanations to the contrary were rebuffed by many of my friends who unfortunately cut across professional and religious lines. Equally rebuffed was my assertion that fixing prices of petroleum products was the constitutional duty of the Petroleum Products Price Regulation Agency (PPPRA) while the National Assembly could only play an advisory role.
That was when it suddenly dawned on me how difficult a task it is to talk to people when they are angry and hungry. It was also the time when my headaches and dizziness came back in full force and so my hospital visit. Having enjoyed a tremendous degree of good health prior to this time, the doctor's verdict was a confirmation of my wife's incessant pleas that I should slow down and take more rest. It also added fuel to the previous observations of some of my political colleagues who had all along believed that I was too idealistic to be a politician. "Nigeria is not worth dying for" they had always admonished. "You can't change the place in one day. Just do your best and leave the rest".
And as much as I agree that one can't change the place in one day, it is still very frustrating and never jarring when things are getting worse by the day and all you can do is make motions and laws which no one seems interested in obeying. It can also be ulcerating and hypertensive when you are dealing with an executive arm of government which seems to be insensitive to public mood especially a president who once criticized one of his predecessors in office for introducing economic reforms that had no human face. One wonders what kind of face his own present economic reforms has - an angel's face? While one appreciates the official stand of the present government over the issue of corruption, the truth is that corruption is so deeply entrenched in the fabrics of all aspects of our lives that it will take at least ten years of dogged fight to remove this national stain.
I started having my headaches when during an oversight function tour of one of the Federal Parastatals, our group of legislators chanced upon an earthen - six kilometer road project said to have gulped the whooping sum of N180 million. At the cost of N30 million per kilometer, one can imagine how much will be required to tar the same road!! There are several other astounding cases of corruption and official ineptitude all over the place that can make any normal person's blood pressure boil. Equally unsettling is the realisation that in spite of Mr. President's assertion that the year 2004 budget has been 80 per cent implemented, our discovery showed that the budget implementation was just a little over 40 per cent just like it happened in the year 2003.
This perennial problem of under funding has been fingered as the main cause of the slow pace of capital projects all over the country. This is apart from the myriads of uncompleted and abandoned projects such as Dams, Roads, and other high priority projects to which billions of taxpayer's money have been previously expended. So overwhelming were these discoveries that one is forced to agree with the Presidential Adviser, on Legal Matters, Chief Ojo Maduekwe on his recent observation that only a small percentage of President Obasanjo's cabinet is in full support of his anti-corruption campaign.
This observation will also explain why many of the well researched and well prepared reports of these several cases of official irregularities as prepared by the House of Representatives never see the light of the day. Equally, galling are the countless and obviously needless array of Federal Government Agencies which seem to be duplicating each others roles. An urgent audit of all Federal parastatals and agencies is therefore necessary in order to stem this colossal waste of public funds and manpower. Since it is now obvious that it will take sometime for Nigeria to get out of the woods, the solution to my mind is for all and sundry whether in public or private life to do their best in whatever little corner of human endeavour they may find themselves.
I have also discovered that as a public officer, one cannot escape criticism however hard one tries to perform his/her duties with credibility. The trick is to take such criticism in one's strides without letting it affect one's blood pressure. This fact was further revealed to me in very pleasant manner few weeks ago during an oversight function trip to the Cross River State. After a hectic two-day tour of the state, my committee members decided to pay a courtesy call on Governor Donald Duke. On noticing a bronze model of a saxophone on his desk, I asked if his Excellency played the instrument. He answered in the affirmative. As he put it, "It is my own way of unwinding after all the stress of official duty" He thereafter invited us to an evening of musical rendition that same day.
So is was that later that day, in the "Music room" of the Governor's Lodge, Donald Duke in the company of his lovely wife, Onari and with the backing of his band "The Excellency's Band", thrilled our group to a night of lovely music. Inspired by the scintillating rumbles and melody of the music, I soon found myself dancing and singing alongside my other colleagues from the House of Representatives such as Abike Dabiri, Paul Ada, Joel Dalami, Tayo Sarumi, Essien Ayi among other officials of the Cross River State Government into the wee hours of the following day. The therapy seemed to have worked. Not only has my blood pressure gone down, the country is still standing on its feet!!
- Dr.Okediran is a member, Federal House of Representatives, Abuja.
|
|
|
|
|
| BUSINESS SERVICES
|
Property
Appointments
Money Watch
Market Report
Capital Market
Business Travels
Maritime Watch
Industry Watch
Energy Report
Insurance
Compulife
|
|
|
|
|
