Dear
incoming legislators, both national and state, as you prepare to assume
duty soonest, I must let you understand some basic facts relating to
the portfolio you are about to behold as well as the expectations of the
people to ensure that your respective dreams become realities.
First
and foremost, never must you allow yourselves to be marred by apathy.
The earlier we comprehended that apathy makes one’s position to seem
passive, the better for us. Thus, I enjoin you to try at all costs not
to be attacked by the cankerworm because it maims and even kills.
Endeavour to take your legislative activities seriously at all times
regardless of the circumstance your office might be facing, because that
is the only reason you were sent by your constituents to represent
them. In other words, any other thing outside legislation ought to be
considered as secondary.
In the same vein,
please, endeavour to revive Constituency Briefing, which is gradually
fading out in the Nigerian polity. Constituency Briefing is a platform
on which legislators, either state or national, establish cordial
relationship with their constituents. It is only through this medium
that the members of your constituency would get to know what your office
has done as well as what you are up to. If you are not close to them,
they wouldn’t realise your intention or what you have been able to
accomplish since you assumed duty. It is so pathetic that most of our
current legislators cannot boast a constituency office, let alone create
an avenue for regular meeting/talk with their constituents.
Furthermore,
I urge you to be vision-oriented while carrying out your duties. Do not
be deterred by any challenge you might be facing in the office, rather
let your electioneering promises or manifestoes remain your driving
force. You must regularly tell yourself that your people cannot afford
to receive excuses from you; hence, no matter the situation you are
into, vision-oriented representation ought to be your watchword. Pursue
the vision with extreme vigour or by embarking on a vigorous mission.
I
also want you to, by all means, desist from partisan legislation. Don’t
patronise anyone not even Mr President or Mr Governor as the case may
be, because you are not in a marketplace. You are there for a finite
business, and that business is expected to be faced squarely without any
favour or fear of intimidation. The interest of your people must come
first or be placed as a priority before any other one including your
personal interest. Don’t be bought over by the executive arm; remain
firm, determined, focused, and above all independent, in any legislative
occasion you find yourself.
Mediocrity should be thrown to the
waste bin because that is where it rightly belongs. Please, let it not
be business as usual; this time round, we anticipate only quality laws,
resolutions and motions on the floor of the House. Nigeria deserves
nothing but the best; so the best must be given to her, come rain come
shine.
Most importantly, I enjoin you to revisit most of the
already existing laws with a view to addressing some lapses or putting
up an amendment where necessary. Bear in mind that some of our laws seem
outdated or inactive, and thus must be reviewed for the interest of the
country. Also, you ought to be ready, either in your individual or
collective capacities, to enact new formidable laws. Thus, all the
promising bills presently lying on the floors of the various Houses,
both federal and state, should be given urgent and adequate attention as
soon as you are sworn in early next month.
Similarly, the
ongoing late passage of appropriation bills, which has abruptly become a
tradition, requires a radical and dogged consideration. An
appropriation bill that is supposed to be passed into law prior to the
commencement of the concerned fiscal year is now being passed at the
first, or even second, quarter of the year. Isn’t it ridiculous? How can
a budget meant for a certain year be made available at the second
quarter of the year in question? It is indeed laughable, hence
unacceptable.
Frankly, the Nigerian pattern of legislation
unequivocally needs a total overhaul. Let’s have this at the back of our
minds, because that is the only way out.
So, as you are set to
make your dreams come true, I sincerely pray that your days would become
longer than your nights. But as you strive towards actualising your
dreams, never allow your predicaments to push you around. Think about
it!
Comr Fred Nwaozor
Owerri, Imo State
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