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On Thursday 29th July, the Senate President
dissolved the Committee on Communications chaired by Sylvester Anyanwu for
telling a lie and bringing the Senate to ridicule. The committee had claimed
that they had studiously screened the chair, executive chair and commissioners
of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and it turned out that they did
no such thing. Rather than carry out their legislative functions, they were
fabricating stories about their work.

One key question is the explanation for why they
claimed they had screened them if they had not. We know that they had also
approved over N6 billion for the registration of SIM cards for GSM phones. We
know however that the registration is being done by the phone companies not by
NCC. It is clear that the anti-corruption agencies have some work to do
investigating possible connections between the committee and the budget lines
approved for theft.

There are indeed clear indications that
increasingly, National Assembly Committees are approving budget lines that were
not conceived by the originating ministries. They make the allocations with the
intention of recovering the monies later by using their “oversight might” to
blackmail ministries and agencies to pass on the budget lines to them. If the
rumours circulating about such activities are true, then the level of
irresponsibility of our legislature has reached the point of no return.

We recall how on Tuesday 22nd June, the House of
Representatives engaged in a disgraceful show of disrespect to Nigerian
citizens by organizing a fist fight choreographed with kung fu moves, blood,
screams, whistles and tear gas. They were showing their determination to prove
to all who cared to listen that they were the most irresponsible legislature in
the world.

As I have argued previously, one of the most
serious threats to sustaining democracy in Nigeria emanates directly from the
irresponsibility of the National Assembly. And yet, legislatures are the only
institutions that directly represent constituencies, and thereby the people.
They have the power to create other powers which means they have the monopoly
of the powers to make laws through which they create new commissions and
agencies, enact public policy and determine public expenditure through the
process of appropriation laws.

It is this legitimacy derived from the electoral
process that gives them the power to translate the views and concerns of citizens
they are representing into public policy. Not surprisingly, when many a
legislator owes his or her seat to godfathers rather than the votes of
constituents, the focus of work is diverted.

On 30th June this year, the Kenyan Parliament
approved a 25% increase of their allowances. They earn $13,455, (about 2
million Naira), a month today and the increase led to major condemnation around
the world over the excesses of the income of Kenyan legislatures. The important
thing in Kenya however was that the increase was debated openly and citizens
know what their parliamentarians earn.

In Nigeria, the National Assembly members have
refused to let us know officially what they earn. We have however learnt from
leaks that they illegally pay each member about N15 million every month and are
about to double the amount. They will not pass the freedom of information bill
because they want to hide from Nigerians the scandalous financial packages they
give themselves.

In addition, Section 24 of the Legislative Houses
Powers and Privileges Act of 2004 prohibits Nigerian citizens from publishing
any statement that falsely or scandalously impinges on the character of the
leaders or members of the National Assembly. This means that when they tell
lies about their work, steal our money, fight each other in public and engage
in disgraceful acts, we the ordinary citizens who they are supposed to be
representing must shut up because they are convinced that they are our
overlords.

Consolidating Nigerian democracy today requires
an open confrontation between the people and the legislature. We must insist on
an open debate on the take home pay of every legislative member. It is curious
that no member of the legislatures has to my knowledge confessed the totally
scandalous monthly take home package they pocket.

We all know that the contract between the
legislatures and the people is a dubious one because most of them were not
genuinely elected by the people. Be that as it may, we know today that they are
an avaricious, self-serving bunch of goal getters whose sights are on their
pockets and not the interest of the people. To save our democracy, we must
confront, challenge, delegitimise and recount on a daily basis how their lives
and actions betray the interest of the people and prove that they represent the
god of money rather than the good people of Nigeria.