By Fred Nwaozor
SEVERAL legislative councils at various quarters across the country have violated or broken the law which they are bound to safeguard. The most popular phenomenon in this regard is impeachment process, which has become the order of the day in recent times.
Similarly, sometimes you would hear that a particular deputy governor or even a governor is passing through such ordeal in the hands of the lawmakers. This practice has continued unabated that most concerned Nigerians have wondered if the impeachment took place during the midnight.
The 1999 Constitution, (as amended), as well as the various states, stipulate the procedure through which any intending impeachment could be actualized, but it’s very baffling that most of the legislators would wake up one morning to inform the general public that they have ‘successfully’ impeached their Speaker. Funnily enough, the clerk of the affected legislature would welcome such unconstitutional and nauseous conduct, thus agree to swear-in other principal officers who claimed to have taken over the leadership of the assembly.
The most recent of these were the ones that happened in Kogi and Edo States. Pitiably, like what happened in Enugu State few years ago in the case of the former deputy governor of the state – Mr Sunday Onyebuchi, the judiciary, owing to prolonged delay in prosecution, would only reverse such act after the tenure of the affected politician has elapsed. Then in such situation, the aggrieved person would only be entitled to compensation as regards the inconveniences and damages caused in most cases, the compensation as pronounced by the judiciary would be far-fetched. This implies that there’s a compelling need to strengthen the country’s judiciary in its entirety. There ought to be duration for any given prosecution irrespective of the circumstance. The prosecution of a certain law suit should constitutionally last within a stipulated period of time. Such approach would tremendously help to save people from unsolicited and prolonged wait during any prosecution.
Aside impeachment, sometimes one would observe the lawmakers indulge themselves in a free-for-all, resulting in breakdown of law and order. Such incident was witnessed recently in the Nasarawa State House of Assembly.
A legislature is the lawmaking body of a political unit that has power to make or amend ,or even repeal public policies. It’s an assemblage of persons that makes statutory laws for a state, or nation as the case may be. A legislature is well respected in any country where it exists because it creates an interaction between its individual members, committees, political parties, rules of parliamentary procedure, and informal norms, among others.
Also, a legislature is the embodiment of the doctrine of popular sovereignty, which recognizes that the people are the source of all political powers. In advanced democracies, citizens choose via popular votes the persons that would serve them as their representatives because they understand the sensitive nature of a legislator’s responsibilities. The representatives are expected to be sensitive to the needs of their constituents and to represent their common interest in the legislature. In that regard, they need to take cognizance of the people’s feelings regarding any action they intend to carry out.
In view of these facts, the legislators, either state or federal, who are expected to control, criticize, supervise and scrutinize the administration or activities of the executive as well as influence the policies of the government are not supposed to indulge in any action that would disrupt public peace or legislative procedures.
The various political parties that remain the primary political homes of these lawmakers have a very vital role to play in this aspect since every legislator is affiliated to a certain party. It’s their duty to call any of their members to order when the need arises, make them acknowledge that they are not just representing their respective constituents but also the party, as well as suspend them indefinitely if need be.
The lawmakers ought to be the number one respecter of the constitution. It should always guide every move they make, their utterances and how they relate with the public. They are invariably expected to agree or disagree on issues that are of utmost interest to the country. Any disagreement should not be allowed to polarize the polity in such a way that the sovereignty of the state is threatened.
We need to wake up from our slumber. It’s high time we told ourselves the truth. Our democracy has suffered untold hardship because we refuse to face reality. The reality remains that every democratic system must be guided or controlled by the language of the constitution. The rule of law must be observed as a priority, hence shouldn’t be maltreated by anyone in a position of authority.
. Nwaozor writes from Owerri via [email protected]