Allow us to consider the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate as, like a co-pilot. His palms are on the identical lever with the president of the senate, navigating the nation via the storms of nation-construct. That is true: nation-constructing doesn't occur on the govt workplace, it occurs within the chambers of the nation_s legislative homes.
That is a reasonably clear axiom of democracy: with out the parliament, there isn't a republic. It's the parliament that legitimizes a free democratic state. It's the very supply of all powers of governance. The parliament of the land is essentially the most highly effective establishment of state, not the workplace of president, as most Nigerians, nonetheless steeped in army-period mentality are likely to assume. The President is a servant of the elected, and constituted Nationwide Meeting.
Whereas the Nationwide Meeting is each the voice, the ears, and the eyes of the general public within the system of democratic rule. They don't reply to another individual _ neither to the courts nor to the president _ however to the folks. That's the reason, at any time when there's a coup, the primary establishment that's abolished is the parliament of the land. For as lengthy because the parliament is in session, the nation exists. However wherever a parliament is abolished, the nation goes right into a hiatus. In that occasion, the president solutions to nobody. That's the that means of absolutism.
The one energy parliament accounts to is the folks. I want to emphasise this once more. Which is why I used to be each startled and personally horrified this previous week on studying the foolish letter to the US Congress, the EU, the UK, and the UN, by the Deputy president of senate, Mr. Ike Ekweremadu, complaining that Nigeria_s democracy is threatened. I'm horrified that the Nigerian press that consented to dignify such a middling letter by publishing it, didn't go, as a part of its obligation to the general public, to ask Mr. Ekweremadu what he anticipated the UN, the US Congress, the UK, and the EU to do along with his letter of complaint.
I don't particularly recall that the Speaker of the UK Parliament wrote to Nigeria, or the AU, or the US Congress, or the UN when the "Yes" vote carried on the Brexit referendum, or each time the Labour Opposition fought with the ruling Conservative occasion within the Commons. Nor have I even heard, or seen any self-respecting African nation misusing its sovereign mandate a lot as Nigerians in making such foolish appeals to the "international neighborhood."
Sure, Africans now name Nigeria: "the massive idiot." It's such a exceptional transition, from the "giant of Africa" to the "big idiot of Africa" as a result of Nigerian public officials are colonized, sanitized, hypnotized, and maybe in truth, lobotomized a lot that they misconstrue their place on the world stage.
Nigeria is at present an inferior nation as a result of she is run by inferior women and men. Many people really feel totally ashamed by the standard of people that we've got managed handy over the sovereign mandate, and it's my view that the total measure of Ike Ekweremadu as a legislator and politician may be taken in the burden and significance of his letter.
The US Congress or the UK authorities or the UN doesn't have voting rights in
Nigeria. Ike Ekweremadu didn't write to his constituents whom he represents in Enugu, nor to the Nigerian folks, whose views and actions, and pursuits, matter on this query. He didn't write a straight and unambiguous letter to the president to again off. He didn't write to his legislative colleagues to drive house the necessity of defending the republic from the intrusion of a rampaging elephant in a China store.
He wrote to some alien powers whose opinions are actually inconsequential to no matter would possibly change into of this quickly evolving scenario. And I_m sorry to say that Ekweremadu_s letter solely proves that he has no enterprise sporting the footwear of mighty males.
He has additionally proved the common Nigerian politicians utter disrespect of the Nigerian electorate from whom they derive their mandates. He has additionally demonstrated that he lacks a primary grasp of the character of his personal mandate as a senator of the republic. Maybe I ought to define this principally by saying that the president_s actions, for example, in these anti-corruption probes, usurps the ability of the legislature. President Buhari has no mandate to probe corruption or misuse of public funds.
The one establishment mandated by the structure to probe any individual or any establishment of authorities is the Nationwide Meeting and the assorted Homes of Meeting. Right here is what the Nigerian structure says with out ambiguity: " eighty five. (1) There shall be an Auditor-Normal for the Federation who shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of part 86 of this Structure.
(2) The general public accounts of the Federation and of all places of work and courts of the Federation shall be audited and reported on to the Auditor-Common who shall submit his experiences to the Nationwide Meeting; and for that objective, the Auditor-Common or any individual authorised by him in that behalf shall have entry to all of the books, data, returns and different paperwork regarding these accounts.
(Three) Nothing in subsection (2) of this part shall be construed as authorising the Auditor-Basic to audit the accounts of or appoint auditors for authorities statutory firms, commissions, authorities, businesses, together with all individuals and our bodies established by an Act of the Nationwide Meeting, however the Auditor-Common shall -
(a) present such our bodies with -
(i) a listing of auditors certified to be appointed by them as exterior auditors and from which the our bodies shall appoint their exterior auditors, and
(ii) tips on the extent of charges to be paid to exterior auditors; and
(b) touch upon their annual accounts and auditor_s reviews thereon.
(Four) The Auditor-Basic shall have energy to conduct checks of all authorities statutory companies, commissions, authorities, businesses, together with all individuals and our bodies established by an Act of the Nationwide Meeting.
(5) The Auditor-Basic shall, inside ninety days of receipt of the Accountant-General_s monetary assertion, submit his stories beneath this part to every Home of the Nationwide Meeting and every Home shall trigger the experiences to be thought-about by a committee of the Home of the Nationwide Meeting answerable for public accounts.
(6) Within the train of his features underneath this Structure, the Auditor-Common shall not be topic to the route or management of some other authority or individual."
The Nationwide Meeting may summon anyone earlier than it, together with the president of the republic, in addition to trigger the elimination of anyone from workplace by impeachment, together with the president or his Legal professional Basic. The Nationwide Meeting can mandate the Legal professional Basic to attempt the president for treason, if it finds the president to be a risk to the republic. The Nationwide Meeting can defund the workplace of the Lawyer Common, the EFCC or any statutory workplace of authorities, or trigger it to enter abeyance.
The Nationwide Meeting can cease the features of the federal authorities by de-authorizing any presidential expenditure. That's the extent of the facility of the legislature. Almost about the present distraction of trial for "forgery" of the president and deputy president of senate, one is totally shocked that these gentlemen consented to seem in courtroom! No courtroom of the land has the authority to summon any legislator to court docket on questions round procedures, discussions, or actions carried out throughout the chambers of the Nationwide Meeting. That is the observe all around the world.
The allegation of "forgery" of senate guidelines is a distraction as a result of the principles of senate are topic to alter, and is what it's, when a sitting senate votes to make use of, amend, or discard it because the case could also be, as its guiding body. It's not topic to the intrusion of any court docket, a lot much less the presumption of crime by the Lawyer Normal.
This, Mr. Ekweremadu and Dr.Saraki must know, and must be correctly suggested, as an act honoring their mandate, to desist from showing any additional earlier than any courts on this matter, and take cost of their legislative duties.
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