Politics, especially in a democracy, should characteristically be some sort of a leveller; creating the equality we so desire amongst ourselves. Of course, there is hierarchy in politics, but at the same time there are some democratic tenets that give undue powers to some undeserving elements, simply because they have been ‘elected’ into office. Take for instance the doctrine of separation of powers and the principle of checks and balances, which make each of the three arms of government a watchdog over the others, so to speak.
It is under the purview of this doctrine that the raging feud between the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance is being put in perspective here. That committee was set up as the instrument of checks and balances over the Ministry of Finance which Okonjo-Iweala heads on behalf of the executive arm of government. While one can understand the argument that the oversight functions of the House of Representatives may include summons to heads of ministries, departments and parastatals, it is also necessary to point out that it amounts to laziness for members of a committee to keep issuing summonses, instead of going out to the field to ‘feel’ the claims of managers of the government organs they are scrutinising.
Reports had it that after Okonjo-Iweala’s response to the 50 questions issued to her by the House Committee on Finance had been rejected, the committee forwarded another 40-paged questions to Madam Minister. I think members of the House of Representatives need to thread softly, especially when dealing with people who have paid their dues, worked to earn a good reputation in their chosen fields of endeavour and are currently in service to the nation. The House should remember that not a few Nigerians upbraided members of the Committee on Finance over the high-handed manner in which they treated the Minister of Finance the first time she answered their summons over the state of the economy.
The other day, former President Olusegun Obasanjo (as a sitting president) made the allegation that there were rogues in the Nigerian legislature. Not much was done to prove him otherwise.
This does not imply that there are no quality persons, intellectual and otherwise, in our National Assembly. It can be fairly said that by virtue of our defected political environment, most people we ‘elect’ in this country do not merit the positions they hold, if we consider education, intellectual ability and professional qualifications. The same may have also been said of appointees in the past; but there is a gradual change from what used to be.
As criticised as the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was, he had the credit of bringing on educated and trained Nigerians with proven track records in their various fields of endeavour as ministers. Some of these people have won accolades across the globe before they were called upon to come and serve their nation. One of such people is the current Minister of Finance, who has not only worked with the World Bank, but also got to the zenith of her banking career at that international stage. She certainly deserves better treatment than she is being given by the Jibrin-led committee. In fact, their hide-and-seek dealings with her creates room for us to doubt if these people are indeed the right pick for the job. Jibrin and his team must know that whatever other political agenda they may have – such as doing the bid of their parent party and the rumoured quest for the Kano gubernatorial seat by the Honourable Chairman himself – will not see the light of day if their plan is to ride on the back of an obvious setup against such people as madam Ngozi.
That the legislature has the power to check the executive, to me, does not presuppose that its members should resort to disrespect, arm-twisting and hounding in dealing with leaders in other arms of the government – and these sentiments are not mine alone. Nigerians, the world over, are watching.
When members of our so-called legislature display nothing short of immaturity and lack of finesse; when they resort to witch-hunting the very people who are painstakingly turning our economy around and giving us hope for a better Nigeria, let them bear in mind that we are watching.
To end with the beginning in mind, while we appreciate that checks and balances are good in any system, I would like to ask who is checking the NASS as their annual estimated allocation rises steadily and astronomically from N7billion few years ago to an obscene N150billion? To whom do our honourable representatives and senators render the account of their humongous monthly allocation?
Producing a pitiful number of legislations year in, year out, while issuing thousands of summonses, as Jibrin and his ilk have taken to doing, thus distracting hardworking government officials, is a glaring case of abuse of office, betrayal of the trust of the electorate and gross mismanagement of N150billion.
Ayodeji Sunday is a writer and public affairs analyst. He writes from Lagos, Nigeria
