By Obi Nwakanma

Parliament is the powerful engine room of the grand edifice of democracy. There, is where we make or mar the sovereign. A powerful parliament is an agenda-setting institution. Whatever happens in the hallowed chamber of the people sets the pace for public governance.

When we examine it thoroughly, the fight for democracy, all that battle we, my generation, fought on the streets for a return to democracy was in truth for the reconstitution of the parliament and, of parliamentary oversight over the executive.

By its military character, the executive branch of state had become a dictatorship. Governance was by the fiat of decrees crafted without recourse to the demands of the public.

The republic was in abeyance. That created disjuncture – a tyranny. That disjuncture was marked by the absence of representation. Without the parliament, there is no democracy. There would be no means by which the interest of the public is determined, protected, and projected as the basis of executive action. Without the parliament of the land the laws of the land become the crass habitués of executive rascality.

The elected and properly constituted parliament of the land is what makes distinct the character, substance and significance of all the “archies”: the monarchy, the patriarchy, the tetrarchy, the oligarchy – and so on: it removes the endowment of power in a single, symbolic individual or sovereign and places the sovereignty in the hands of the people and their elected spokespeople. The legislature, for that reason alone, is the highest organ of power in the land.

A self-aware, well organised, and fully-charged legislature makes certain that the land is well-governed and protected from the excesses of a few men. It is an awareness of its symbolic and real power or value under democracy that we insist on democracy as the most civilized form of government. But from the start of Nigeria’s return to democratic governance in 1999, the legislature has been manipulated and destabilized by certain means.

The first means was by the serious disabling of parliamentary leadership which led to catalepsy in the Nigerian system. The executive went wild with corruption, it became intolerant of opposition, and almost tyrannical. From 1999 to 2007, the Obasanjo years, it did not feel as though Nigeria was in a democracy.

We were frequently reminded of its teething problems by defenders of the regime who used such words as “nascent democracy,” a term that assumed that the procedural growth of a democratic tradition was dependent on puerile mistakes. That Nigerians must learn democracy by fault. I always felt such phrases to be fatuous certainly, especially because, in fact, democracy is a felt thing. Well, of course, I speak as an Igbo with a long tradition of democratic governance going back to antiquity, long before Solon brought the democratic ideal back to Athens.

But, of course, I should say, over the years, with the corruption of the public from years of colonialism and military dictatorship, generations emerged who became socialized under Nigeria’s brand of military rule  with its valoration of monarchical, patriarchal and oligarchic authority.

Besides, of course, democracy depends on an enlightened citizenry aware of its power through their parliamentary delegation. Because Nigerians have seen more of the public expression of extreme executive authority, they have been unable to recognize the real power in the legislature. The legislature is the keeper of the national purse. Legislators are the trustees of the corporate interests of the nation. They authorize the use of public fund.

They approve the budgets; review budgetary claims; and verify the claims made by the executive. They have the power to summon and sanction the president of the nation in the face of dereliction, lawlessness, and extreme use of state power. For instance, the legislature can investigate the uses of public fund. But above all, they have the mandate of the people to set the agenda for public governance. The function of the executive is simply to execute legislative mandate.

So, while the president and the administrative branch of state represent the public face of government, the real shadow authority is the legislature. This is why it is important to elect thoughtful and highly- educated men and women to the Assemblies of the land, for there, is where the real soul of the sovereign beats. The craft of law-making is a cerebral as well as a moral act. I think, of course, I’m speaking to the choir with the likes of my friend, Dr. Chudi Uwazurike, who has been elected into the incoming Federal House of Representatives.

I feel certain that we have moved away from nascent or pediatric democracy to full, adult democracy, and so I feel that the attention must shift to the real function of the legislature of the land for full accounting to the people. It is imperative for Chudi and his peers in the coming Assembly to set a new tone and to establish a new thrust of action towards more legislative oversight of the executive arm of state. There has to be a new legislative agenda to restore Nigeria’s sovereign mandate.

There are legislations waiting on the burner. I think I have a few suggestions. One must be a review of the Military Act to expand Nigeria’s military capabilities and the mission of the Nigerian Armed Forces given strategic developments in the Gulf of Guinea as well as the upper and lower Sahel as they pertain to Nigeria’s national interest. Central elements to this act must be a bill for mandatory military service for Nigerians from age 19-35 – a national reserve that will be at the heart of a more productive military that could absorb all the technical capacities necessary for its new role.

The second should be a National Health Act modeled after the National Health Services system of the UK. Access to public health requires a new funding regime and a general improvement in the national health infrastructure. The third should be a review of the Nigerian Railways Act to allow for internal linkages and expansion of the National Rail stock, and for greater regional investor participation in Rail transport development. The fourth should be a parliamentary or National Assemblies Commission for the reform of the Nigerian Civil Service leading ultimately to a new Federal Civil Service Act.

It is a broken service and it is about time we recognized that without a highly-selective and efficient service, Nigeria will continue to be mired in the morass of corruption and inefficiency. The Civil Service Act must hold for merit-based appointments into the administrative cadre up to 90 per cent  and reserve 10 per cent only for “federal character” requirements.

I think it is important to enact the Anti-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity Act that will make it criminal to discriminate against Nigerians in the workplace, in the public space, on jobs and access to government contracts, on housing and so on, irrespective of religion or ethnicity.

I think an important new law for this Assembly must be the Police Act to reform the Nigerian police services and take into account Nigerian federal status. Finally, I think it is also imperative to revisit and craft a new Tax and Revenue Law for Nigeria to reflect its federal status. I think it is time to stop the funding of local governments from the federation accounts. But above all, I think it is time to keep the executive branch honest.