Whenever theorists and men of learning postulate about the organic nature of ‘state’ and ‘democracy’ as a necessary dung of its bloom, the composite demon conjured always is ‘dictatorship’, especially of the ‘military’ kind which is imposed and sustained by the power of arms. And so it was about the military that Samuel Adams had warned that “A wise and prudent people” should “always have a watchful and jealous eye over”; because as he argued, “the maxims and rules of the army are essentially different from the genius of a free people.”

The legislative arm of gov-ernment all over the world is often a theatre of the absurd. I recall one of these ugly episodes, and incidentally, Dino Melaye was a principal actor in it as a member of the House of Representatives. On June 21, 2010, a faction of the House which styled itself as “Progressives”, had raised a motion for the impeachment of the then Speaker, Hon Dimeji Bankole over some contract issues.

In Nigeria, the end of an election is invariably the beginning of a war. That is when activities shift from the campaign grounds to the courtrooms; and that begins the process where the collective decisions of the vast majority are vetoed by a microscopic minority. This is pseudo-democracy.

WHEN last week I was writing on the recent preoccupation of the Senate under Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, namely the determination of the so-called ‘Like Minds’ senators, all supporters of the troubled duo, to hobble the Muhammadu Buhari presidency for what they consider its hostile attitude to the legislative arm of government.

Watching the UK Conservative Party’s change of leadership which resulted in Theresa May succeeding David Cameron as the country’s Prime Minister, I was struck by the many parallels between good and bad behaviour in the UK and Nigeria.