Nigerians slam outgoing lawmakers: You’ve failed us woefully

In a few weeks from today, Nigerians will be electing lawmakers from their various constituencies. Some of the lawmakers are seeking reelection while some are fresh faces. But how have our legislators fared in the last four years? Have they really concerned themselves with the general interests of their constituents? What has been the quality of their representation?

Nigerians, in this report, passed their verdict on how their elected representatives have performed in the last four years.

The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria ( CAN) Kaduna State Chapter, Rev Joseph John Hayab, said, “in many of our states, people have forgotten that we have the House of Assembly because they simply do only what the governor asks them to do. They have forgotten their constituents. Some of them have just started visiting their people because elections are around the corner.

“Gone are the days when Nigerians will celebrate and mention the names of many lawmakers from different parts of the country in the National Assembly, but go to the street and ask people now, I am not sure Nigerians know even the principal officers.

After signing every budget our president will say the lawmakers padded the budget and we hardly hear them clarify or debunk the allegation.

“It is unfortunate but one has to say that the quality of representation of many of the current legislators is nothing to celebrate. Some among them have become comedians just to entertain people but do less about law-making.”

Elder statesman and immediate past Secretary General of the Arewa Consultative Forum ( ACF), Mr Anthony Sani said, “the quality of representations of the current legislators is a reflection of what obtains in the polity. That is to say, all aspects of our national life are having challenges.

That is why there is no difference in performance between the current legislators and the past legislators. Many of the legislators are ‘I second the motion’, precisely because nobody bothers about their contributions in legislative functions. And the reasons are not far-fetched. The electorate do not hold the legislators accountable for their core roles of making laws for the peaceful, socioeconomic development of their constituencies and of the nation. Rather, they are rated on constituency projects and for how many motorcycles they distribute and how many bags of rice they can distribute to the electorate. If voters can tolerate vote buying, then it is hard for them to hold the legislators accountable.

“And unless the politics is properly rewired and voters have a realistic appreciation of the roles of legislators to make laws, the quality of our legislators would not improve. Unless our sense of justice is re-engineered, our multiparty democracy would not be managed for performance. That is why I always call for cultural Renaissance in the polity.”

According to  Co-Convener of Embasara Foundation, an Ijaw Think Tank for good governance, Barrister Iniruo Wills, “we have neither state nor national assemblies. With literally one or two exceptions, we have no legislative representatives at both state and national levels. Like most of their predecessors, the outing of the current legislators has been disgraceful. In the abysmal absence of civic consciousness on the part of the citizenry, we can only pray for God to touch their hearts to improve their quality of representation and lawmaking.”

For Comrade Morris Alagoa, former CLO Secretary, Bayelsa State, “apart from the unacceptable usurpation of Executive function of financially empowering few individuals in their constituencies and executing minor projects like street lighting and community concrete roads or walkways; there is a big question mark as to how effective they have been in law-making in the interest of constituents.

Approving state and federal budgets with a view to having constituency projects allotted to them is not what legislators ought to be doing. Establishing educational institutions without corresponding efforts to create employment is not also good.

We should see people-oriented laws enacted to provide social security for a certain categories of people; especially the aged and unemployed. There should be radical laws enabling the federal, state and local governments to build houses and make them affordable for the people at owner-occupier basis. Water should be a right and should be provided.

Legislators should concern themselves with lawmaking and exercise their checks and balances responsibility, not project executors. By their oversight function, they should be able to check whether the executive is applying the budget as presented and approved. Legislators also have the power to impeach the President, Governor or local government chairperson.

They should remain within their lane as representatives of the people in government.”

In his own opinion, Mr Tari Solomon, a journalist/tutor said: “We don’t have an assembly. We have a union of executive and legislative arms of government. A union doesn’t have checks and balances. That desired quality in representation of the assembly members is below average. We need an assembly that will not only speak for the people but also take action on behalf of the people.”

Joseph Ambakederimo, Convener, South-South Reawakening Group said: “The performance of the lawmakers could be described as abysmal, inept and below the table ratings. Many of them have little or no idea what law-making is all about and what it should be for a democratic system of government. To some of them, they want to get elected by any means necessary just to belong to the elite class in society.

Many of them have refused to develop and give themselves up for serious future engagement to provide service to the people of their constituency. There has not been critical engagement between the lawmakers and their constituency largely because, first, they don’t know how to engage with their constituents for a robust exchange that would even enrich their own output going forward. Then our leadership recruitment system has been judged to be faulty, therefore we always find ourselves in a cul-de-sac of inept leadership at the Federal and state lawmaking level.”

Alambo Datonye, a media practitioner in his submission said: “For me, the legislators have not done enough in terms of law-making for the good governance of the country and welfare of citizens.

The quality of representation has been poor. There is a huge disconnect between them and their constituents. I can’t remember any instance in which the lawmakers returned home to organize Town Hall meetings or engage in any consultations on critical issues affecting the people they represent. Their constituents don’t see them often. They are not accessible except during election periods.

Rather than focus on their legislative jobs and checkmating the Executive at the Federal, State and Local Government levels, they have actually connived with political officeholders in the executive to wreck the nation by padding budgets for their own benefits and awarding contracts to themselves. The result is massive poverty, a collapsed economy and compromised democratic culture.”

Mr Francis Dufugha, publisher of Niger Delta Herald newspaper said: “My candid opinion is that the lawmakers in all tiers of government have failed to make an impact with their legislative assignments ranging from allegations of corruption and ineptitude. The people should be intentional in the election of a new set of lawmakers.” Vanguard