8th Assembly will rescue Nigeria from the brink —Hon Agbonanyima

Honourable Johnson Agbonanyima represents Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal Constituency of Edo State in the House of Representatives. He is one of the active members who are involved in the operations of many committees. In this interview, he insists that the 8th National Assembly will ensure Nigeria remains united despite the widespread calls for disintegration. He also speaks on the performance of the 8th House of Representatives since inauguration. Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel present the excerpts:-

 

How will you describe  your experience as a member of House of Representatives?

Well, I must say that I have gained a lot of knowledge coming to the National Assembly representing the people of Egor/Ikpoba-Okha federal constituency of Edo State under the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). To be sincere with you, we have some wonderful people, willing to educate and help one to learn the ropes, because we have 360 members from different backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, political parties and so no. I think about one thing only and that is putting Nigeria first. It is not playing partisan politics, bias, bringing sentiments but passing motions and bills which we believe will cater for the good people of our great nation called Nigeria. Today, I can attest that knowledge is power. Every day, I learn, but that doesn’t stop me from doing everything humanly possible to think about my constituency and those who sent me here to be accountable for their well-being. The 8th Assembly has been very proactive, even though we have been blackmailed on so many unreasonable issues and subject matters, because there are some group of people that I call the political gladiators, who are always pitting the National Assembly against the good people of this country. I am happy that Nigerians are able to know and understand that it was nothing but cheap blackmail to divert attention but it didn’t work.

I must commend the Speaker, Right Honourable Yakubu Dogara, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, Honourable Leo Ogor and many others. We don’t always agree on every issue. I always look at it from the point of view that I am here not only to represent only my constituency but to put our people first as Nigerians, so we must be our brother’s keeper to bring dividends of democracy to our people and make sure that the budget brought to the National Assembly must, at least, reflect the concerns of all Nigerians.

 

So how do you rate the performance of the 8th Assembly?

To be honest with you, the 8th Assembly has done very well. We have been able to hold this country together; we have been able to control things that probably might have divided this country. Ensuring that  Nigeria remains one has been our main objective which we are seriously pursuing in all directions. So, if you look at our records, a lot of the bills have been passed while several others are at various stages of passage. This 8th Assembly has been a vibrant House of Representatives. It’s been able to put the people first; been able to sponsor a lot of bills and debate motions. We have not only been doing this, we have done a lot of investigations in order to move Nigeria forward.

A lot of taxpayers’ money have been wasted or abused in the past and we are tracing them. So, I am just praying and hoping that apart from moving and sponsoring bills, we are able to accomplish other things that are worrisome. Today, a lot of businesses are relocating to nearby countries due to poor power supply. We are also suffering it here. Life is all roses in the National Assembly. Mr President cannot solve the problem of Nigeria alone. He needs every Nigerian, whether you are a Yoruba, Hausa, Ibo or whatever tribe you belong to, because we are one Nigeria. We must put all hands on deck for the country to survive. If President Buhari should succeed today, every one of us will be happy that we are living in a great and wonderful nation. Nigeria can be among the leading nations.

 

What would you say is responsible for the usual face-off between the Executive and the Legislature

There are three tiers of government and they have serious roles to play. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Our duty is to make sure that we make good laws, do oversight functions on the executive, while the judiciary interprets the law. That is why if there is a problem in the country, someone can go to court and the judiciary will be there to make sure that the rule of law is applied. That is what will drive a good government. Where you see the legislature pass budget and after passing it, at the end of the day, that budget does not reflect the purpose for which it was meant for. That kind of scenario is a source of concern in the legislature. For instance, if you check the budgets passed over the years, what has been their impact? We are not bringing the dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of the people. There was no town hall meeting when former President Babangida built the Third Mainland Bridge. There was no town hall meeting when they built Aso Rock, Transcorp and all the federal roads. Now, we are always talking about how to have town hall meetings. Where are the policies? Don’t we have policies? Don’t we have the Constitution? We have failed to adhere the three principles of talents management to our democratic doctrine; loyalty, participation and commitment to your dear nation. It is all about commitment. The bills that we have passed are enough to see Nigeria through to the promised land; our Constitution is enough to guide us right. We travel to other parts of the world. What we see there, why can’t we emulate them and bring them to our country? See Dubai, they developed their country and that is where today, Nigerians take their children to school, buy properties and go on vacation with their families. People travel on medical tourism yet there is a budget for health care, education, transportation, security and still, we are not where we ought to be. What is the problem? Have we thought about it? God has given us so much, God has blessed Nigeria, God gave us wealth, natural, human and mineral resources but we have decided to create our own corruption. With corruption, we are killing everything. There is corruption all over the world but Nigeria’s corruption is corruption with immunity; that is, doing things without thinking about the future, being selfish instead of practicing selflessness.

Until we think out of the box we can never go far. And then, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has given a group of people, some individuals, the licenses to steal and rob the people of their wealth; this is called immunity. When there is no immunity, you do things right.

There is no sense in giving immunity to the deputy governor, governor, vice president and the President and yet there is no immunity for the senate president, the speaker and their deputies. No, nobody is above the law. If nobody is above the law in our constitution then nobody should be placed above the law. I am advocating that immunity is impunity and impunity is corruption.  immuinity is the godfather of corruption and impunity.

 

Are you not worried that two years after the inauguration of the present government, Nigerians are still crying that they cannot feel dividends of democracy. From the legislative point of view, what should Nigerians expect in the second half?

I believe once you fail to plan, you‘ve planned to fail. The beginning of planning can be seen as a process. For me, I want Nigeria to be greater than it is. I want the country to succeed, which is why my support to President Buhari is for Nigeria to succeed even though we are not of the same party.  Right now, we are all smiling in poverty and hardship. There is starvation in the land, people can no longer afford one square meal a day and are dying. Pensioners are dying. People have worked for months, years yet no salary. You see old people queuing up to collect their pensions. It is a sin against God and mankind. They said the labours of our heroes past shall never be in vain. Those that are in the line of duty fighting insurgency, today, their families have been left to fend for themselves. Where are all these things coming from? Before it was Boko Haram insurgency, now we are battling Fulani herdsmen. We need to check where we are going as Nigerians.

 

What can the House do in the next two years to ensure Nigeria’s unity?

It is not the bills that we are going to bring in two years that will see that we remain together as a country. It is that we have to search and have a change of heart.  If you say you are a born again Christian, be truly born again. Those who are Muslims should emulate Prophet Mohammed. Why are we killing and destroying one another? Where did we find that in the Bible? Where did we find that in the Quran?  Why can’t we live as brothers and sisters? God is love and love is God.