A nation detained by a Speaker 

By Levi Obijiofor 

Friday, 19 October 2007 

What happened in the House of Representatives on Tuesday this week is the price Nigeria has to pay for appointing an incompetent politician as the Speaker of the House. Thanks to the stubbornness of Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, the business of the House has been reduced to kindergarten stuff – a shouting match by opposing camps, leading to catcalls and whistling that mocked the very essence of parliamentary debate. The source of this anarchy in the House is Etteh, the clumsy Speaker who shamelessly subverted the basic norms of parliamentary behaviour by sitting in judgment over a case in which she is involved. 

This has been an eventful week, a week in which one gutless Speaker defecated in public, sat shamelessly on her own faeces, waved victory signs at her supporters and enemies, and flashed a mischievous smile at a befuddled nation.  

Nigerian newspapers that cast headlines on Wednesday suggesting that House members held the Speaker hostage during Tuesday’s session got their headlines wrong. It was Etteh who indeed held the entire nation hostage for nearly three months. Ever since the scandal over the renovation of the Speaker’s official residence broke, Etteh has adopted a mercurial but destructive philosophy that implied she would rather destroy parliamentary business and drag the nation down with her than quit honourably.  

Unfortunately, the time for Etteh to resign honourably has since expired. If she quits now, as was widely speculated on Wednesday when this column was written, she would be leaving with a lot of damage emblazoned on her name, on her integrity and on the contents of her entire wardrobe. When all this nonsense is over, when Etteh would have retired from politics and answered the call of her ancestors, the epitaph on her political tomb would read: “Here lie the relics of a woman who grossly abused the office of Speaker and institutionalised fistfights as her version of informed parliamentary debate.” 

Three days ago, Etteh defied reason and hideously under-estimated the weight of public opposition to her leadership of the House. By presiding over parliamentary business on Tuesday, Etteh ridiculed herself and the established principle of equity and fairness. Predictably, she was repeatedly heckled and taunted by her colleagues in the House. Wasn’t that sufficient signal to Etteh that it was time for her to go? 

Etteh is now history. Whether she quits today, tomorrow or next year is a moot point. She will eventually be humiliated out of office. It’s only a matter of time. We have seen more tenacious bullies than Etteh. And yet those obstinate oppressors were forced by public expressions of discontent to leave through the backdoor. Perhaps it is time for her mum to whisper into Etteh’s ears the following unpleasant words: “Bunmi, I think it is time for you to give up the battle. You have put up a good fight and I admire your doggedness. But our family name has taken a hammering in the House and in the press.” 

What point was Etteh trying to make by clinging interminably to the position of Speaker? That she is not a woman to be rolled over easily by a group of hawks in parliament? That she is the Margaret Thatcher of Nigeria’s lower house of parliament? That she is the true face of a committed political leader? That her life would be meaningless without the title of Speaker? Unfortunately, Etteh’s un-parliamentary conduct has exposed her inexperience. By dancing blindly all these weeks to the chorus of her supporters, Etteh undertook the risky business of juggling knives in the dark. It can be dangerous. 

The difference between Etteh and experienced political leaders is that seasoned politicians know when to vacate the dance floor while Etteh doesn’t understand the best time to pause in her public dance of shame. In and out of office, Etteh represents everything that is negative about political leadership in Nigeria.  

Etteh’s triumph over this long-running political soap opera will constitute a Pyrrhic victory. But it will be short-lived. It will diminish public rating of members of the House of Representatives. Her victory will go against the fundamental values of our society. At the moment, Etteh is confronted by a devil’s alternative. She must be pitied but no one should cry for her. She remains the architect of her own demise. The future of the House of Representatives led by a damaged Speaker who walks on moral crutches is up in the air. 

For many weeks, Etteh and the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) shut their ears to public outcry over the gravity of Etteh’s misconduct. Newspaper reports on Monday and Tuesday this week highlighted flawed arguments by Etteh’s supporters who insisted that it was quite proper for the Speaker to sit in judgment over her case because, wait for it, there is no clause in the House rules that suggests the Speaker must quit when she is on trial by members of the House. How tactless can these political representatives be?  

The case against Etteh is a straightforward one. The House of Representatives under Etteh’s leadership set up the Idoko panel to investigate, among other cases of financial and ethical impropriety, allegations that the Speaker abused her office by authorising a whopping sum of money for the renovation of her official residence and that of her deputy, as well as for the purchase of a fleet of cars.  

The panel’s verdict, delivered two weeks ago, was unambiguous: the Speaker was guilty as charged. Rather than quit, Etteh and her defenders launched into a game of semantics, claiming that the Idoko panel report did not “indict” her. Perhaps Etteh and her supporters were waiting to see the word “indict” inserted into the panel’s report before they would acknowledge that Madam Speaker had abused her office and should be shoved aside.  

For a Speaker who consistently pleads lack of knowledge of parliamentary procedures and lack of administrative skills, the adverse vote of confidence passed on her by the Idoko panel has had no impact on her attitude to the entire tale. She continues to argue, somewhat blindly, that, rather than take the blame for the blunders that were evident in the award of the illegal house renovation contracts, the blame should be directed at the relevant units within the National Assembly. Obviously Etteh doesn’t believe she abused her office in any way, yet the panel found, among other things, that Etteh awarded a contract to one of her assistants.  

The case against Etteh is not about ethnic politics; it is not about party affiliation and loyalty; it is not about gender discrimination; and it is certainly not about academic credentials or professional qualifications. The case against Etteh constitutes a major test of her character and her degree of political maturity. It is also a test of her level of financial prudence. Above all, Etteh’s trial has revealed how determined the PDP leadership is to use perverse arguments to rescue Etteh from her blunders. In the past, the PDP leadership regaled the nation with the absurd notion that it was important for its members in the National Assembly to resolve all acts of political misdemeanour like a family matter.  

It is sad that members of the PDP in the House of Representatives have allowed the party to shove them into line rather than allow them to vote according to their conscience. In established democracies, there is something known as “conscience vote”. The practice allows party members to vote according to their conscience and not according to their party affiliation. The PDP leadership should have allowed their members in the House the freedom to exercise a conscience vote for or against Etteh.  

The worst part of the problem is that President Umaru Yar’Adua, in spite of his posturing as a man of integrity and a man who respects the rule of law, has suddenly lapsed into silence – struck down by the same bug that has infected the Speaker. This is one case that has exposed the sincerity of Yar’Adua, his values and all that he stands for. How can a troubled Speaker hold a nation hostage in the presence of an executive president? 

Robot  Villager

# 1 ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 19.10.2007 00:19

dele26  Villager

# 2 Everyone is concerned about Olubunmi Etteh stepping aside. Vacating the speaker’s office is not enough; she should be made to cough out her loot otherwise she has lost nothing and Nigeria would have lost yet everything. Precedent must be set for the types of Etteh who are ambitious to trail her ignoble path. Posted by dele26| 19.10.2007 03:40

Jah Guda  Villager

# 3 Uneducated, incompetent thieving buffoons have always ruled us. It’s no surprise that our Country is in such a terrible state. There are competent educated Nigerians all around the globe helping other Nations develop, grow and sustain growth; we are not a nation that is entirely filled with dunces, we are smart and clever. The importance of our Human Resources to Western nations is almost an exact equivalent of the importance of our crude oil. Etteh is part of a new generation of politicians that has been put in place by the old guard to continue from where they stopped. Let’s keep talking until our Country is bled to death; we should all sit back and enjoy the spectacle. Does the glove fit the hand? Is this what we as a people deserve? Are our politicians a true reflection of us as a people? Would a stranger meet Etteh and walk away thinking “a typical Nigerian”? Posted by Jah Guda| 19.10.2007 05:09

Bannister  JJC

# 4 =Robot;209180199>...Read the full article. "The worst part of the problem is that President Umaru Yar’Adua, in spite of his posturing as a man of integrity and a man who respects the rule of law, has suddenly lapsed into silence – struck down by the same bug that has infected the Speaker. This is one case that has exposed the sincerity of Yar’Adua, his values and all that he stands for. How can a troubled Speaker hold a nation hostage in the presence of an executive president"? You have, by this article, spoken the minds of the silent majority of Nigerians who are embarrassed, saddened and scandalized by a speaker who is deficient in integrity, transparency and and self respect. Nigerians are also miffed by the inglorious see no evil, speak no evil of the so called "servant leader" who claims to have "zero tolerance for corruption and a useless party dominated by crooks, robbers and buccaneers. If the president fails to decisively deal with Ettehgate, he should forever stop paying lip service to the fight against corruption. After all was it not through a thoroughly discredited elections that he emerged as president? He therefore lacks the moral capacity to wedge and eventually win the war against corruption. Posted by Bannister| 19.10.2007 05:26

felix  Villager

# 5 The worst part of the problem is that President Umaru Yar’Adua, in spite of his posturing as a man of integrity and a man who respects the rule of law, has suddenly lapsed into silence – struck down by the same bug that has infected the Speaker. This is one case that has exposed the sincerity of Yar’Adua, his values and all that he stands for. How can a troubled Speaker hold a nation hostage in the presence of an executive president? While it is very obvious from Yaraduas body language that his belegueard confidence normally evaporates when ever it is time to confront corruption and that he may still be suffering the same ailment in this case of Madam Etteh, I honestly dont think he has done anything wrong yet... The process of removing Etteh is still on -going and is a preserve of House of Representative members. While as the "president" of the country he maybe reqiured to speak up in certain stages to inflict some necessary wounds on the mind of the corrupt, it is constitutionally wrong for him to jump out from the executive confines of his reponsiblities and delve ungaurded into issues that are constitutionaly that of the legislature...Seperation of powers is very necessary here...The very moment the president starts to romance the idea that he can easily dethrone Speakers and Senate Presidents alike, dictatorship starts to set in ... It is too early to witness this, It is like teaching army officers how to topple a government... Obasanjo tried this at the early stage of his shamefull presidency and praticaly turned the National Assembly into his political guinea pig thereafter....Ettehs fellow members in the House should kick her out not a morally bankrupt presidency. Posted by felix| 19.10.2007 07:46

Tsohon Soja  Villager

# 6 People, Democracy is known in some quarters as 'Tyranny of the Majority'. Whats your take? Posted by Tsohon Soja| 19.10.2007 08:18

akuluouno  Villager

# 7 Dear Villagers, U have all spoken well. Until her godfathers ask her to go she will not go. Recall that it is godfathercracy that is still practiced wrt all our elected officers. Show me any of them and I will show u his or her godfather. Etteh will continue to steer the HoR and the nation through her self made scylla and chabrydis or what a villager called agidigbo dance, sometime ago until an Angel Gabriel comes down with a message for moral rectitiude in the conduct of our national affairs.:frown::frown: Posted by akuluouno| 19.10.2007 08:36

Toku.A  Villager

# 8 It is terrible that even at this stage the lady is not ready to evacuate the seat. Wonders shall never end. Posted by Toku.A| 19.10.2007 08:36

dem  Villager

# 9 This is a very good article with a brilliant title. Amazingly and perhaps true to type of the unthinking, Etteh has even managed to wreck all exit strategies and routes for herself. You can't be dumber than that. As for Yaradua, my take is that there is actually a political battle for supremacy (?or simply undoing an apron string) afoot in the land. I have had to wonder why some "frontline" Yoruba folks have come down quite heavily on the side of Etteh and the clear reluctance - even refusal - of prospective Speaker candidates from that zone coming forward. Interseting times, I think. We'll see it all unfold soon enough ... Posted by dem| 19.10.2007 08:38

dem  Villager

# 10 =akuluouno;209180319>Dear Villagers, ..... through her self made scylla and chabrydis ..... : Look, I don't like it when I'm trying to have a quiet and leisurely lunch and people send me scurrying for a dictionary:wink: Posted by dem| 19.10.2007 08:48

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