Here is how the last days of March wound down at the Green Chamber of the National Assembly:
***The police bill: Sticking to a promise
The House of Representatives has so far stuck to its promise to reform the Nigeria Police force and policing in Nigeria. One of the bills initiated by the House in collaboration with stakeholders such as the Nigerian Bar Association and the National Human Rights Commission – “A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Police Service Commission Act and Enact the Police Service Commission Bill, 2020 to strengthen the Commission to be more Functional in its Operations, and for Related Matters”, made it to the public hearing stage on Thursday, March 25.
The Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, in opening discussions on the bill, said the main objective was to bequeath to Nigerians the police force they deserved; the one they “can trust.”
He noted, “Reforming the Nigerian security architecture, with specific emphasis on our policing system and law enforcement, is one of the cardinal commitments of the 9th House of Representatives. It is a commitment against which our tenure in office will be measured.
“When the time for assessment and judgment comes, we must not be found wanting. The Nigerian people deserve a Police Force that they can trust. They deserve a Police Force that acts within the limits of the law and respects the rule of law.
“We will do everything in our power to meet these expectations.”
The next stage is for the House Committee on Police Affairs to report its findings and recommendations on the bill to the House in plenary.
***When OXFAM came calling
Protection of the rights of women is also dear to Mr. Speaker and the 9th House.
When a delegation from OXFAM International, a development partner, led by the Country Director,
Mr. Constant Tchona, came calling on March 25, Gbajabiamila reiterated this point.
The delegation, which was on a courtesy visit to Mr. Speaker at the National Assembly, pushed for the passage of the Gender Equal Opportunity Bill. The bill had failed on at least six previous attempts.
Mr. Speaker reassured the delegation of the readiness of the House to reintroduce the bill, especially that Nigeria could not afford to be left behind in the global trend to defend and protect the rights of women.
“We can’t be left behind in the 21st Century where the world is a global place.
“We can’t be left behind as a country in terms of how women are protected”, Gbajabiamila stated.
Yet, in doing so, Gbajabiamila called for the use of advocacy, lobbying, and holding of a joint stakeholders’ discussion on how to address the factors which had worked against the bill in the past and other initiatives to advance the rights of women.
He clarified that ultimately, the House would do more to promote gender balancing and not necessarily to promote the interests of one gender above the other.
The speaker said, “That bill has been with the National Assembly for six-seven years, I guess. It failed a couple of times. When a bill fails like that, clearly there must be a reason. It is that reason that we need to interrogate. If you keep presenting a bill over and over again, thinking okay, we will wear these people down, the reasons why it failed remains.
“What we need to do is to interrogate the issues, the sentiments. Why did the bill fail? When we find out, there are two ways to approach it. Either you share education by sensitizing/lobbying people who may be against the bill for that reason, or to recouch the bill and achieve the same result.”
***Jagaban’s 12th Colloquium & the ‘interplay’ between weather/sky
National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, turned 69 on Monday, March 29.
The 12th Colloquium of the Jagaban, which was held in Kano, did not only record the attention befitting its status, but also sent the right message on nationhood, nation-building, the unity of Nigeria, and good governance.
Mr. Speaker, a graduate of the Jagaban’s political school, concluded every plan to attend the occasion physically. His motorcade had even driven him to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for airlifting to Kano.
But, that was not to be. It appeared the weather and the sky ‘conspired’ to frustrate the flight, leaving Mr. Speaker with no option other than to reverse.
However, in a 21st Century world where technology has provided several options to get a task done, Mr. Speaker soon diligently mounted a seat in front of his computer to participate in the colloquium via Zoom!
He delivered some of the finest lines yet at the event, about the personality of the Asiwaju of Borgu Kingdom.
Gbajabiamila said, “Asiwaju is known for his uncanny and unparalleled ability and capacity to identify, spotlight, and zero in on talents. He’s done that with me; he’s done that with so many others, that is a mark of leadership.
“There are so many superlative words that have been used to describe Asiwaju today, so I am not going to bore you and be repetitive.
“But I must say something: I do not know of a man or woman, dead or alive, in Nigeria, that eats, drinks, walks, sleeps politics 24/7, 365 days;
“To me, there is only one word to describe somebody like that; someone with that kind of capacity, it’s called a gift, and it’s a gift from God, and that is what God has given him. I don’t know of anyone that can go through all that for 365 days a year attending to people from 11.am to 4.am and he is still standing. Thank God for people like him; it is divine and I wish him luck.”
A meeting with Mr. President
Ahead of President Muhammadu Buhari’s medical trip to London on Tuesday, March 30, Mr. Speaker, in company with the President of the Senate, Sen. Ahmad Lawan, held a meeting with Buhari at the State House, Abuja, on March 29.
No doubt, this would be about a briefing on state matters, the type good for the ears of the numbers 1, 3, & 4 citizens only!
Cheering Super Eagles to victory
Then on Tuesday, March 30, Mr. Speaker spared time to be among the supporters and fans, who cheered the senior national team, the Super Eagles, to victory in an AFCON qualification game against Lesotho, played at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.
Good a thing that the eagles thrashed their visitors 3-0, an indication that the support by Mr. Speaker, his wife, Salamatu, and the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu paid off!
Eko o ni baje ooo…