As both chambers of the National Assembly get set for full legislative business on resumption from their recess in July, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani (PDP, Enugu East), in an interview with journalists penultimate Wednesday at his Asokoro residence in Abuja, said his focus in the Senate will be on the debate on the Nigerian Project – to make it work better for the generality of Nigerians. TAIYE ODEWALE was there.
I believe we are expecting a vibrant Senate. I have had opportunity of studying closely the new President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, and I have done a review of his background; he has a PhD in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System from a university in United Kingdom. That shows that he is an academic; he’s a man of study and an intellectual who has information.
I have also had cause to work with him. I was in the Senate for four years before. I believe he was the chairman, Public Accounts Committee at that time. I have also had opportunity to interact with him and I’ve found him a gentleman.
He comes across as an intellectual and a man in total control of his temperament. So, I am looking forward to working with him. He certainly has my support. I believe he’s going to steer the Senate with listening ears as far as legislative agenda are concerned.
My own agenda broadly , are on the Nigerian project , the fundamental reason upon which I am making my second missionary journey into the Senate which is driven by a greater sense of the need for the ‘sleeping giant’ called Nigeria, to wake up from her slumber.
It is a project that must be made to work for the generality of Nigerians through robust debate and advocacy in that direction.
Nigeria, as a country, has come of age regardless of her checquered history and in doing this, basic principles of Nationhood predicated on equity, fairness, unity, justice and rule of law; must prevail at all times between the government and the governed at all levels and among her peoples and I have the confidence that the 9th Senate under the Presidency of Senator Ahmad Lawan, would serve as veritable platform of driving such debate.
When you said the Nigerian project, what and what do you want to discuss on it?
I am referring to the dysfunctional system we have at hand being feasted upon by dysfunctional elites and invariably benefiting very few category of citizens.
Rather than the basic bread and butter politics, educated advocacy on how to make the Nigerian project work better will be made to be the central focus of the 9th National Assembly through required constitution amendments on issues like centralised policing as we have presently but not adequately or effectively addressing the myriad of challenges on insecurity .
In a nutshell, on the security challenges, the time has come for community policing where security operatives in an area will be from the area themselves.
I don’t want to use the concepts or words that have been made controversial by those for and against like restructuring, true federalism, resource control, etc, but all I know is that the Nigerian project as it is presently , is not being run for the greatest good of the greater number of citizens . It needs to be critically and holistically dissected towards identifying whatever defects inherent in the structure and correcting them.
With educated advocacy, I strongly believe that whatever defects Nigeria project has, can be pointed out and corrected because there is power in educated advocacy. An important idea like restructuring can better be sold through it by identifying areas of interests and advocate them.
For example, to me rather than driving the idea of decentralising policing in the country by calling for establishment of state police, advocating it from the angle of community policing will be better understood and accepted by all Nigerians.
When an idea is marketed persuasively and letting your audience know that what you are advocating is not strange and harmful to them in anyway, they will be more disposed to it.
What about your plans for your constituents in Enugu East Senatorial district?
Yes, I am voted into the Senate to represent the people of Enugu East Senatorial District and they will get from me, quality and responsive representation in practical terms but my plans are broader as far as the South-east geo-political zone is concerned.
My legislative agenda in this respect generally are health; part of the issues I raised was health issues. It applies everywhere. Very soon we are going to be talking about ministerial appointments. Which country do you know will send ministers for screening without telling you their portfolio? Second one is road and rail infrastructure in the South-east; South-east development commission by resuscitating the bill in that respect.
I am surprised that the North East Development Commission (NEDC) Bill was passed without the South East Development Commission Bill being passed. I hope that when the issue is raised in the Senate again, the saying that ‘what is good for the goose is good for the gander,’ will be allowed to play out.
Not only will this be my advocacy, it will be my responsibility to go to my colleagues, visit them one by one and appeal to them to ensure equity and fairness on development-driven legislation.
Other areas of focus are Aviation by ensuring that the Enugu Airport is upgraded to International standard and not downgraded as being planned, youth empowerment, data bank on important issues like births, deaths, etc.
All these plans of yours and other senators are expected to be driven by sponsorship and passage of bills which may not be assented to, by the President at the end of the day as experienced in the just ended 8th National Assembly?
I believe that the two arms of government (executive and legislature) are co-dependent and as long as we wish each other well; as long as the focus is Nigeria, the Senate can act independently. The Senate can assert itself without confronting the executive or jeopardising the goals of discipline.
I believe that Senator Ahmad Lawan is going to find a meeting point between the level of independence and the level of frustrating the executive. But the two go together.
After all, you have to remember that this presidential constitutional democracy started in America.
It was essentially legislated into existence. The founding fathers of the United States and the framers of their constitution were essentially legislators.
The people that wrote their constitution (headed by General Washington who was the Commander-in-Chief during the war) had an option of either going with a monarchy or a constitutionally elected executive, but they decided to go with the latter.
They were legislators, but when they now formed the executive, they asked the legislature to make the laws and the judiciary to interpret it. Then, of course, the Fourth Estate of the Realm was put there to ensure transparency. This was how it all started.
It wasn’t envisaged that there will be antagonism between the executive and the legislature because it is actually one government. That is why in America, the vice-president is the President of the Senate.
I don’t want to get into the semantics or allegory, but how can you really say you are independent when the number two person in the executive will cast a deciding vote on what you want to do. Are you really independent when the vice- president will come into the Senate and decide what you are going to do?
When a party gets elected into government, if the party is in control of the executive and legislature, it means that both arms would work together.
The leader in the executive will call the legislature to brief them of their policies and programmes and find out of that are workable. The legislature may suggest some amendments to what the executive presents. Thereafter, the policies can be formally presented to the legislature who will now convince the opposition to pass it.
Sometimes, the executive can even invite the opposition when they are putting together a bill. When they now agree, they will present it formally to the legislature. This will decrease acrimony, time wastage and make things easier.
So, if you look at how constitutional democracy was developed, the idea was not that the two arms of government will fight or be antagonistic to each other. The idea was that they are going to be co- dependent and work together.
So, if the party in the majority is in government and controls the executive, if they are lucky and they are also have control of the Legislature, they are going to work together.
Back to the election of Ahmad Lawan again as President of the 9th Senate, I can tell you it was a bi-partisan effort which has put on ground, a unity Senate as clearly stated in his address where he called for the bi-partisan spirit to continue. He said there is no party – No APC and no PDP. So, I will speak to their bi-partisan conscience for us to work together and I believe it will be to the benefit of all.