Very few Nigerians
will be amazed by the way the House of Representatives handled the allegations
of budget padding and abuse of office which Abdulmumin Jibrin, former Chair on
Appropriation, levelled against a fraction of the House leadership including
the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun, Minority Leader, Leo
Ogor, Chief Whip, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, as well as 10 other members of the
House. To ensure that the issue remains on the plate, Jibrin has been
consistent in issuing statements through both the traditional and new media
which clearly identify Dogara, Lasun, Ogor and Doguwa as the main targets of
his charge. And to press the point, he rightly labeled the clique the QUARTET.
But even in this
atmosphere of suffocating change, nothing seems to have changed in the National
Assembly, at least not in the House of Reps. Instead of investigating his
allegations, the House in its typical, ever-evolving Machiavellian antics that
the Nigerian populace has witnessed since the beginning of the Fourth Republic,
presented a dubious resolution summoning Jibrin, himself the hunter as
Professor Olatunji Dare, the ace satirist, would have characteristically put
it, to appear before an ethics and privileges committee. Talk of the hunter
being hunted. It’s as if there are no more people with conscience in the green
chamber.
And the
“honourables” scheming to nail Jibrin at all cost executed their act with a well-choreographed
carnival-like fanfare, prancing about the floor without shame, hugging and
back-slapping, each brandishing green scarves with the inscription: I Stand
with Dogara. In the end, what ought to be a solemn occasion for demanding
answers to the issues raised by Jibrin in the interest of public good, was
turned into a grand spectacle of pure self-service and reckless endorsement of
corruption.
Though originally
well-spoken of by the public, the lawmakers by determinedly choosing the option
of closing their eyes to the accused and turning the heat on the accuser shot
themselves in the foot. That ugly display on the floor of the House has further
reduced their worth in the eyes of the people.
And Dogara should
know better. An experienced lawyer that he is, the Speaker knows the meaning of
the well-worn Latin phrase deployed in the second leg of the title of this
piece. Translated in English it means that, “No one should be a judge in his
own cause.” It’s a legal principle that forbids any person from assuming
the role of a judge in a case in which he/she has an interest. In this
particular case of budget padding and corruption in the House, Dogara, the
Speaker of the House is one of the accused persons; to that extent, he is an
interested party.
If the House must
then investigate as it should the allegations against him and others, the
logical step to take is for him to step down from his position as Speaker and
allow for a colleague to be elected as Speaker for the purpose of presiding
over the investigation. If at the end of investigation he is acquitted he
returns to his seat as Speaker. It’s such a simple process that anyone who is
not aiming at covering up would easily accede to in order to preserve honour
and integrity. But by refusing to step down and subject himself to
investigation, the Speaker leaves one with no other option than to deduce that
he has something to hide or, at best, that he is indeed guilty of the
allegations against him.
Anyone would be
forgiven for drawing this conclusion, given the desperation with which Dogara
exploited his position as Speaker to finagle a resolution of the House glossing
over the budget fraud and corruption allegations involving him, and instead
recommending his accuser for a most ridiculous trial for all kinds reasons
including “campaign of calumny and infringing on the integrity of the House as
an institution.”
But rather than
denigrate the House of which he is a proud member as claimed by his traducers,
the former chairman of appropriation merely stated the facts. And countless
times he has challenged any member of the House who has evidence of
malfeasance, corruption or abuse of office involving him to make them public.
Up till the time of writing this piece, no one has picked up the
gauntlet.
In fact, the
Speaker being one of the accused worsened his case with the clear violation of
a sacred legal maxim through that House resolution presided over by him, and
directing his accuser to appear before an ethics and privileges committee made
up of members appointed by him. There can be no better example of sitting as a
judge in your own cause. This is against the principle of natural justice,
equity and good conscience.
Besides, there is
no way Jibrin will not be found guilty if he appears before the committee
headed by Nicholas Ossai, who on July 26 told Premium Times that it was wrong for
Jibrin to claim that the 2016 budget was “padded.” According to the report,
Ossai said the budget was only “amended.” He was also quoted as saying, “In
legislature, you don’t talk about padding. Budget is an appropriation bill and
is like other bills that you amend. You know in bills you talk about clauses.
Every head in the budget is a clause. So, legislators have power to amend it.”
How would he now get justice before a man who has made this one-sided
statement?
Still, this country
has Jibrin to thank for his unprecedented revelations. Now, the depth of the
rot in the House of Reps is in the open. Rather than applaud and encourage
those working to crucify him, it will serve this country well to focus on his
message and squeeze adjustments from it. It is the way to go if Nigeria is
serious about entrenching transparency and accountability in public governance.
*Godwin Onyeacholem
is a journalist. He can be reached on gonyeacholem@gmail.com
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