And the winner is… the silent Speaker 

By Levi Obijiofor 

Friday, 31 August 2007 

Ever since the veil was lifted off the outrageous award of contracts (worth N628 million) for the renovation of the official houses of the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Patricia Olubunmi Etteh) and her deputy (Babangida Nguroye), including the acquisition of 12 cars, the Nigerian press has been unrelenting and united in its campaign for a judicial inquiry into the scandal and public condemnation of the two principal officers of the House. This is for a good reason. The Speaker of the House and her deputy are symbols of moral authority and ethical behaviour. By their conduct, they set examples that are likely to be copied by many people across the country, particularly impressionable people who perceive them as moral leaders and role models. I have drawn below an example from the United States that resonates the moral seriousness of the scandalous conduct of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and her deputy, including those House members who supported the renovation projects. 

This particular example relates specifically to the President of the United States but it has relevance to the principal officers of the House of Representatives here in Nigeria. The message is really that politically leaders must show the light of leadership at all times. As far back as 1979, Herbert J. Gans argued in an article in the Columbia Journalism Review that the President of the United States is important not only because he is considered as the number one world leader but also because the public regards him as the moral director of the country. Gans wrote of the US president: “Through his own behavior and the concern he shows for the behavior of others, the president also becomes the nation’s moral leader. He sets an example that might be followed by others: should he permit or condone corruption among his associates or appointees, he is suspected of moral disorder.” The same reasoning applies to the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Nigeria.  

The Speaker and her deputy have become front page news because they allowed, without conscience and any feelings of self-flagellation, an astonishing amount to be spent in the renovation of their official residences and in the acquisition of 12 cars. Weighed against the climate of poverty that has gripped a majority of the people in the country, one must submit that the expenditure is morally indefensible. The Speaker and her deputy have got grandiose tastes, derived perhaps from the outer space. Their behaviour is outrageously selfish. It is not representative of the weak economic situation in which the country is currently embedded. The money expended in refurbishing the official houses is distasteful and wasteful.  

As political role models, the Speaker and her deputy should never have approved the money allocated for revamping their official residences, even if a majority of the members of the House imposed it on them. This is what moral leadership is all about. The approval of such a startling amount of money, at a time when many Nigerians are struggling to find two good meals per day, is indicative of the odious flamboyance that shapes the lives of the Speaker, her deputy and all those members of the House who endorsed the renovation projects, the contracts and the money. The money could have been used in various ways to resuscitate the fading lives of the underprivileged people in the country. And there are so many of them, victims of the excesses of political leaders.  

The behaviour of the Speaker and her deputy, as well as the decision of the relevant House Committee to approve the refurbishment projects and contracts will have serious consequences for the ethical purity of the nation, including the moral uprightness of members of the House. It is inconceivable that barely 10 weeks after emerging victorious from highly contentious elections, the first thing that should engage the attention of the Speaker and her deputy is the state of their official houses. This is literally and figuratively a case of window dressing. What about the interests of the people in their constituencies, those who voted them into office? The behaviour of the Speaker and her deputy, including the conduct of all those members of the House Committee who endorsed the contracts, confirms public cynicism about the fleeting nature of promises that politicians roll out during election campaigns.  

The decision by the House of Representatives to jump into home renovation chores ahead of serious and urgent matters of national significance underlines the duplicitous character of political representatives. That decision is inappropriate and must be condemned. If the Speaker and her deputy were driven by altruistic concerns, if members of the House who approved the contracts and projects were mindful of public sentiments in times of hardship, they would have understood that it was probably too early for them to be preoccupied with contracts for interior decoration and upgrading of the official houses of two principal officers.  

Members of the House of Representatives, in particular those who are defending the Speaker, have signalled that they have no moral propriety to guide their political decisions. This implies they are incapable of political leadership. The decision to approve the sum of N628 million to be invested in such dubious projects is immoral and cannot be defended or justified by anyone in any form or shape. What is bad is bad and must be declared bad. Members of the House of Representatives who have courage and moral fibre must stand up and condemn this embarrassment to their dignity. The scandal is like a wild fire. If the fire continues unchecked, it will claim more victims. So far, this fire has impugned the integrity of members of the House. It has also diminished public rating of political representatives.  

The Speaker must stand up now and explain her case, no matter how weak her arguments might be. She is entitled to defend herself openly and not in the secret halls of the House. Remaining silent is not an option because she is a public figure. Her actions are now in the public domain and under public scrutiny. Everywhere you go, the Speaker’s silence is dominating public discussion. University and secondary school students, market women and tradespeople, ethnic gangs and all manner of people are debating whether it is honourable or dishonourable for the Honourable Speaker to remain silent.  We need to hear the Speaker speak because she is the official voice of the people. That’s the title of her position. If she chooses to remain silent in the expectation that public outrage would subside, she should consider resigning her position. Public opinion will not drop until the scandal has been thoroughly and openly investigated.  

While the Speaker struggles with her moral power, while she juggles in her mind how she would get out of this huge mess, her attention should be drawn to the powerful editorial in The Guardian of Tuesday this week. The key questions raised in that editorial should help Madam Speaker to focus her response to the scandal. The questions are confronting but nevertheless insightful. If the Speaker can overcome her silence and answer those questions faithfully and dispassionately, she should be crowned the winner of the 2007 most contentious debate in the House of Representatives. Here are four of the troubling questions which I have abstracted from The Guardian editorial of Tuesday, August 28, 2007:  

• “…was the said sum of N628 million budgeted for in the Capital Vote for the House?”

• “…did the release of that prodigious amount of money pass through due process in the House?”

• “…did the alleged award of over N628 million contract to three firms through the notice board of the National Assembly accord with the established House rules and procedure?”

• “…if the houses in question belonged to Speaker Patricia Etteh and the money for their renovation was to come from her own pocket, would she have endorsed the contract for the refurbishment of two houses that were comprehensively renovated only in 2003, and a N390 million contract for the purchase of 12 cars (i.e. at N32.5 million per car)?”