Open Letter to Members of the National Assembly

By

Abubakar Sadiq Farouq

abubakarsadiq2008@yahoo.com

 

 

Dear Distinguished and Honourable Members of the National Assembly:

 

Permit me to use this high-esteemed and widely read newspaper to pass my comments to you regarding some burning national issues.

 

Let me start by adding my voice to the encomiums you were showered with when you proved to the entire country that you are truly the representative of the voiceless masses, by discarding the Constitutional Amendment Proposal whose sole objective was to elongate or extend the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo beyond May 29, 2007, in violation of our Constitution.

 

Indeed, your courage gave us a sense of belonging and rekindled the fading hopes of Nigerians in the entire system. We are filled with hope that justice and equity would be done to any bill that has a negative and dehumanizing impact on the populace, irrespective of the sponsor’s status.

 

I write this letter to humbly ask the distinguished and Honourable Members whether the process adopted by the National Assembly before now to make the President to be alive to his constitutional duties as well as follow the constitution, without pursuing any narrow or ill-advised motive, is still in place. We recall that, from 1999 – 2003, the President treaded with caution, before he acted, as a result of positive pressure from the National Assembly.

 

From 1999 to date, the Senate has suffered the impeachment of three of its presiding officers, on allegations of corruption charges and abuse of office. Two were impeached (Senators Evans Enwerem and the late Chuba Okadigbo) before Anyim Pius Anyim ended the first term of this current regime that lasted from 1999-2003. The last removal was that of Senator Adolphus Wabara that paved the way for incumbent President, Senator Ken Nnamani, during the current regime that started in 2003.

 

I want to believe that these removals were done to give room for accountability, checks and balances and so on. If so, this would indicate that the Senate as a body does not condone corruption.

 

The question would then be: Why is the Commander-in-Chief, President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has been fingered on so many occasions for office malpractices e.g. alleged illegal withdrawal of huge sums from the federation account running into billions, be walking about free from the oversight sanction of the Senate? Have the Distinguished Senators forgotten so soon that their colleague and former President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, was removed from his position for “mere” 55million Naira bribery scam. What then do we make of these actions and allegations against President Olusegun Obasanjo: involvement in the recent scandal (200 million shares owned by him in the Transcorp) which violates the Constitution; bribery allegations against him and his cohorts when the debate on the Proposed Constitution Amendment was in process, several acts in breach of the constitution, disrespect for the rule of law, violation of court orders, abuse of office, among so many while still in office as the President of this country?

 

Here is the President who has been telling the whole world that he is fighting against rapacious tendentious and graft, whereas the symptoms are all over his conduct and operation in office. Who is fighting corruption, and for what purpose?

 

The anti-graft agencies (EFCC and ICPC) which were established by the President is a camouflage. The EFCC that claims to be fighting corruption is just a weapon that is being used by the President to harass and intimidate his perceived enemies particularly those that mobilized forces to deny him his quest to remain in office after 2007, including those that were indifferent about his quest. The EFCC has “No go Areas” as allegations against those in the good books of the President do not interest the agency. This I believe is no longer news to the entire country.

 

With barely nine months to the expiration of this regime, we have not seen convincing evidence that portends successful and hitch free election next year (2007). Is it his inability to provide security for the lives and properties of the masses of this country with the rampant maiming and killing of our citizens particularly the politicians? We now wake up every two or three weeks with the news of one politician murdered by unknown persons, as if the ground is being prepared to allow someone argue that the country is unstable and that he needed to stay put in power in order to restore stability.

 

In view of all these disturbing and worrisome developments, the masses of this country are completely disenchanted with the way and manner he has presided over the affairs of this great country for the past seven years. The people are fed up with vindictiveness, pettiness and puerile disposition, as well as archaic and obnoxious manner of governance, looting of the treasury both directly (withdrawing of funds from the federation account) and indirectly (systematically acquiring what belongs to the entire country under the guise of privatization) among other issues. He should therefore relinquish power to whomever the people vote for and not contemplate hanging on to power ad infinitum.

 

I therefore, urge the Distinguished and Honourable Members of the National Assembly not to allow these horrendous trends to continue as it is capable of destroying in its entirety, the nascent democratic system which the country is currently enjoying.

 

 

 

By: Abubakar Sadiq Farouq,

Sheikh Mahmud Gumi Memorial College,

Miyati Allah,

Sokoto,

Sokoto State