Seventh National Assembly: The making of our 7th mega-millionaire politicians’ club?

Today the 7th Session of Nigeria’s National Assembly (NASS) will be inaugurated. The Senate (as upper chamber) made up of 109 members and the House of Representatives (as the lower chamber) made up of 360 members, constitute the apex of our legislature and supposedly a reflection of our aspirations as a nation.

Typically, the polity has been heated with the politicking and horse-trading as to who should be elected presiding officers of the legislative houses and why. But just last night, the speaker of the just ended House of Representatives (Dimeji Bankole) was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), allegedly for a loan collected by the House of Representatives under his watch to the tune of N10bn. The details and purport of the loan had become a source of embarrassment in the twilights of the 6th Session of NASS.

The recent happenings must set the tone for today’s pomp in Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja. The members to be sworn in, in both chambers must have a thought as to how to or how not to conduct business as usual, if they want to make a difference. But that may be asking for too much.

It seems, from the reports in the media, that from January 2010, the Reps of the now extinct 6th Session approved/accepted an increase of their quarterly 'allowance' for 'running cost' from N22m to N42m for each 'ordinary' member. This was made to at least close the yawning gap between what they collected and what their principal officers got, which was much more and a source of discontent by majority of the members.

In a manner of speaking, the 'genesis' that led to this 'revelation' was the enhanced allowance approved by the Reps for themselves. Rep Tambuwal reportedly told the House in one of its now notorious 'Executive' Sessions of the “restiveness of members and the possible crisis that may erupt in the House because of the issue of enhanced allowances that members have been clamoring for”. As I said a few weeks ago, it was this effort to sustain ambrosia for our Reps that led to this burst bubble.

That enhanced allowance is still running as new members are sworn in today and will continue to run. I don't see these new members, as beneficiaries' voting to reverse this quarterly windfall. In fact, if they have their way, they would love to sweeten the honey or money pot, as their predecessors did, unless they are a new breed of Nigerians with a different thinking.

I daresay that some of these new members were drawn to the National Assembly in the first place by the evidence of stupendous transformation in the personal circumstances of their predecessors by merely attaining the position of 'honourable' members and 'distinguished' senators. If in doubt, ask those who failed to retain their seats and find out why some of them are so bitter at their losses.

In plain words, are we merely inaugurating the 7^th Session of Nigeria’s National Assembly or this is the making of our 7^th mega-millionaire politicians’ club?

Enter motor forget wetin them write for the bodi

There's a streetwise advice in Nigeria, rendered in as funny a manner as any street grammar can possibly be, urging people to focus on the utility of something, not the packaging. In Nigerian pidgin, it is said, "make you enter motor forget wetin them write for the bodi". It probably comes from the days when owners of (long distance) buses and trucks would write religious and philosophical expressions on the vehicles. Some of those expressions were controversial or likely to be misunderstood, like "man die go", "God punish dem all" or "life is war". I must not forget one of the most popular ones that says, "To be a man is not a day's job". In practice it was written "a day job".

It was possible therefore that some prospective commuters would have, out of courage of conviction, opted not to get on some of those vehicles. But given that there were often too few of the vehicles and the few often had (potentially) controversial words of wisdom, the streetwise person knew it was better to hop on the next available bus than be worried about what message the bus was carrying.

I was recently confronted with that choice here in Brighton as I bought packaged fresh pumpkin leaves to prepare a meal. The product was branded in three languages that I could identify as or suspect to be Efik, Igbo and English (in that order). It was called "okong-bong" (apparently it was "ikong-ubong" in Efik); "ogu" (that must be "ugwu" or "ugu" in Igbo) and wait for this, "ponki leaves" (pumpkin leaves in English).

But hey, I wasn't buying the name was I? I was buying ikong-ubong or ugwu/ugu or pumpkin leaves, by whatever name it was called. Like a rose by whatever name, you would say.

Okay, this is NOT about what I cooked and how, so don't think I am going to talk about that. The proof of the pudding is in the eating right, so invite yourself over.

Primitive persons In Government or (PIG).

In the last one week or so, I have posted on facebook and commented on the report of the alleged wife-battery by Nigeria's High commissioner to Kenya, Dr. Chijioke Wigwe who has recently been recalled and may be investigated at home. Yesterday, a friend asked me 'how' such a 'primitive' man was appointed in the first place. I here attempt to answer that.

This is how it works. The president nominates someone (please read my yesterday's facebook analysis of reasons for nominations/appointments to political offices). Before then, the security folks supposedly conduct a background check (now let's not talk about the quality of that). The name is then sent to the Senate for confirmation. It is a notorious fact how our Senate typically conducts its screening and approval of nominees and boom, you have a misfit like Wigwe as high commissioner/ambassador.

On March 21, I shared on facebook, the report of how the Senate cleared one Mrs. Bristol, described as a career diplomat, to become an ambassador even though she performed abysmally at the Senate screening. I wrote then: "Mrs Bristol was asked to explain the Vienna and Geneva Conventions. All she could say was: “I am confused. I am confused.” Senate President David Mark asked that the Senate should “temper justice with mercy…her case is a case of what we call poor pass.”" I referred to this media report: http://thewillnigeria.com/opinion/7924-THE-AMBASSADOR-WHO-FAILED-ANTHEM-TEST.html. In deed, our Senate had no qualms approving the appointment of a mediocre to represent the country in a foreign land.

I equally shared on facebook, the report in an April 7 newspaper (see http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/03/libya-nigerian-envoy-flees/) that in the height of the crisis in Libya and the attempt to rescue Nigerians there, our ambassador to Libya, Isa Mohammed Aliyu, fled with his family and abandoned the compatriots he was expected to protect. Until now, no sanction has been made and I have heard no official response to that report.

It is now another season of nominations, by the president, of persons for appointment as ministers and ambassadors etc. One prays that all the agencies would live up to their responsibilities. If the security agencies did their jobs well, they would probably have identified Wigwe as a violent husband. But it is also possible that such finding was indeed submitted but the appointing authority still overlooked it. And this happens everywhere with grave consequences, much like the IMF overlooked the known weaknesses of its boss only to find itself in the current international mess.

But by far the most ridiculous process by a state institution in this matter of political appointment in Nigeria is that of Senate screening. Our Senate has since come up with the very insulting practice/convention of asking certain persons who appear before it for confirmation to merely 'take a bow' before it and go. They do this whenever a former federal legislator appears before it for screening. So, if the legislator was a 'legislooter' (now please don't drag me into the controversy of whom among the other, confirming legislators has the audacity to cast the first stone) or even a paedophile (like the one who married a 14-year-old girl) he would be asked to take a bow and be certified good to go.

I hope the above answers the question of how we end up with such Primitive persons In Government or (PIG).