Chief Solo Akuma, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is the former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Abia State. A recent recipient of the National Honour of Member of the Order of the Niger, MON, Chief Akuma in this interview, spoke on the failure of the National Assembly to outlaw decampment of elected public officers to other political parties, saying that “defection is condemnable and does not encourage development of political parties in anyway.”

I have read Professor Ango Abdullahi’s letter to Chief Edwin Clark which was published in the Vanguard of August 4, 2010 on the vexing zoning issue which continues to dominate public discourse, and coming from a former vice chancellor and the holder of a national honor, I must say that I am deeply trouble by the tone of the said letter.

We leave in a time and in a country where it is very difficult to find good things to say about men and women in public life, especially in the political circles, because many of them do not inspire same. While some came saw and conquered, others conquered before they saw. Many might be genuinely convinced that some politicians are credible considering the fact that the best performed politicians are technocrat, judging from their life experiences and their administrative exposure.

Transparency International, the global civil society organisation, promoting transparency in elections, public administration, procurement and business, is not happy with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Dimeji Bankole.

There is a lot to reflect upon in what Ake has stated. Is western type democracy and its mechanics impossible to inculcate in our environment? We however need not agree completely with the suggestion of futility of democratic processes in this part of the world. The successes so far in Ghana, our next door neighbour, would seem to indicate otherwise.