14 May 2009 |
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From Washington to London to Abuja, the legislature is on trial. On a day that has been described as the ‘darkest day of the British Parliament’, Nine Nigerian lawmakers are on trial for corruption, while US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is battling for her political life accused of lying about what she knew about the use of waterboarding during the Bush administration.
In Abuja, the Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Power, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, Senator Yahaya Ugbane and eight others appeared before an FCT High Court, Abuja, for allegedly withdrawing N6.2 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The money was meant for the rural electrification of the whole country. Elemelu and others were alleged to have illegally withdrawn the money from Central Bank of Nigeria, using a number of companies as fronts. The 156-count charge accused them of committing a breach of trust by fraudulently withdrawing N6.2 billion in favour of the proxy companies. The charge described their action as a violation of the trust conferred on them as civil servants. The whiff of scandal also engulfed the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The scandal this time is rooted in the Petroleum Industry Bill. It has been alleged that some senators have been conscripted and bribed by some oil firms into a grand scheme aimed at shooting down the petroleum bill. As part of the alleged plot, some senators reportedly travelled to Ghana to attend a meeting with some oil companies. In what is one the few similarities between the Abuja Legislator and the London Parliamentarian, there is indication that police officers would be called in to investigate the questionable expenses claims made by some MPs. Telegraph investigations have revealed how members of UK Parliament - from Ministers to backbenchers of all parties - exploit the system of parliamentary allowances to subsidise their lifestyles and multiple homes. In the aftermath of this expenses scandal, Ministers and MPs have apologised and pledged to return more than £100,000 of taxpayers' money, as politicians of all parties admit to widespread abuse of the expenses system. A former minister was suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party, after it emerged that he had claimed £16,000 in Commons allowances towards a mortgage that he had already paid off while a senior parliamentary aide to the opposition leader, David Cameron- Andrew MacKay, was forced to quit for having claimed tens of thousands of pounds to help run a "second home" in London even though the taxpayer was already paying for his family home in the Midlands. The abuse in Washington is of a different kind; Nancy Pelosi was accused of lying about what she knew about the CIA use of torture; Republicans have insisted in recent weeks that Ms Pelosi and other senior Democrats were told that water-boarding had been used as early as September 2002, but had made no attempt to protest against techniques they have since condemned as torture. In order words, she is a hypocrite. A relatively mild accusation perhaps? Not if you ask Liberals who are trying to hold Mr Obama to account for his liberal campaign promises. His Administration has already upset liberals by asserting the state secrets privilege to try to block court access for detainees in Afghanistan. Lest we digress from this issue of shenanigans in the legislature, are we really surprised by this turn of events – by the presence of lawmakers as lawbreakers, even criminals? In an article ‘Lawmakers or lawbreakers’, Jaafar Jaafar, wrote that The Nigerian Constitution have been regularly abused; flouted and defiled by the happy lawbreakers we call lawmakers; “while the culture of impunity manifests mostly in the Executive arm of the government, now, we realize, the lawmakers are the real lawbreakers and criminals, not the hapless pickpockets or area boys the magistrates are busy giving custodial sentences every minute”. He added: “if the law is no respecter of persons we should start jailing these erring criminal lawmakers for their violation of the law. Why would a goat thief be sent to the baking walls of the prison for violating the law while the lawmakers that committed a crime so catastrophic enough to have precipitated the declaration of state of emergency by the president are still left without arrest”? Justice Samson Uwaifo (rtd) once captured the scenario though differently but most aptly when he said that a corrupt judge is more dangerous than a man who runs amok with a dagger in a crowded street. “While a man with a dagger can be restrained physically,” said the eminent jurist in his valedictory speech, “a corrupt judge deliberately destroys the moral foundation of the society and causes incalculable distress to individuals through abusing his office while still being referred to as Honourable.” Lawmakers, at times, are more dangerous than corrupt judges. Nigeria needs true democracy like air, but its destination is still far off because the nation’s lawmakers are the lawbreakers! Are there some people out there in Nigeria with the conviction, clarity, moral virtue and gut to wrestle power from this crop of leaders who are only good at cheating, looting and stealing? Who will rescue Nigerians from these criminals? The voters should summon the courage to send these corrupt politicians back to their villages where most of them really belong! When would we rid our society of these political vultures! The moral crisis and fraud in the society has reached an alarming proportion, with crude politics and political assassinations strewn all over the political landscape. Those who escaped death are being kidnapped and those that oppose a political heavyweight are maimed for life. Sadly, politicians who have engaged in wanton looting of the commonwealth in the name of politics often go unpunished. This trend has discouraged the remaining few good ones from participating in active politics. It is a jungle out there! In Nigeria politicians are morally and ideologically bankrupt; they do not represent anything positive other than bribery and corruption. And the people can hardly hold them accountable for anything, even if they are caught stealing. The public is always bombarded with announcements that investigations would begin immediately, whenever political scandals blew open (just as the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has now arrested these Ten criminals and indicates its readiness to jail these “honourable members “over this N6billion scam). But the results of such investigations and trial often come to nothing; doctored or diluted at the end, in many instances the results are completely swept under the rug and the news suppressed. Well, some people might argue that from what I have written above, this is the case of politics all over the world. No! In many countries, those politicians are held accountable for their actions or inactions on the ballot box. In the United Kingdom some have resigned or suspended, they might even go to jail! But in Nigeria anything goes; and the people are increasingly getting angry and frustrated! Since May 29, 1999, Instead of our political leaders to learn and adapt democratic political process to solving the many teething problems facing the nation (crime, kidnapping, prostitution, corruption, rising unemployment, inflation, cultism, cheating in schools and moral crisis in education, ethnic militia in the Niger Delta among others) the nation’s democracy experiment have turned into a mirage. You may worry sick to know that despite the fact that Honourable Elumelu and Senator Ugbane steals like common criminals, at the end of the day, they would still be freemen – with police protection and the appellation, “Honourable” before their names! afamefuna@elombah.com www.elombah.com
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