The refusal of the Senate to confirm Ibrahim Magu as the substantive head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissions (EFCC) makes my heart and that of millions of Nigerians to bleed with fury.
The development also cast strong doubt as to whether or not the senators are representing the masses who elected them into office.
In my personal opinion, they are representing their own personal interests-though I have no iota of doubt that among our senators and members of the House of Representatives, there are noble, high-minded and the principled people who are willing to salvage our country from the shackles of corruption and deprivation.
This class of National Assembly members want to fight for the indigents and liberate them from deplorable and afflictive conditions, but they are in most cases overwhelmed or overpowered by what I can call the powerful cabal.
Magu is not working for President Muhammadu Buhari; he is working for the people and his country. He is tracking down those who impoverished the people of this country and reduced them to bankruptcy; the greedy people who plunged us into the present condition. Therefore, if truly members of the Senate are really for the masses, they should support people like Magu rather than vilify him.
For God’s sake, what is wrong in fighting embezzlement and malfeasance? To me, this indignant treatment of Magu by the Senate could give credence to the believe by some people that some people in the upper house are not interested in the success of the fight against corruption.
What gratifies my mind is that the masses know very well that whoever is brought by PMB to hold an office of this nature, must be a man of integrity and have a good track record. Up to date, the Senate has failed to give any convincing reason why Magu is being rejected. So far, all the accusations they have advanced have been countered, not only by Magu but by those that matter, including lawyers and public commentators.
If the Senate’s assertion of Magu’s alleged lack of integrity and his past record are anything to go by, then let all the National Assembly members be subjected to integrity test.
The question is how many of them will pass the examination? How many of them have no skeleton in their cardboard? How many of them did not commit any wrongful acts either as governors or as heads of agencies?
For now, I have reasons to believe that most of the lawmakers in the National Assembly only rode on PMB’s virtues of patriotism, honesty, selflessness, and accountability, not because they share the same principles but just to benefit from his popularity and acceptability by Nigerians.
And soon after many of them got to the “Promised Land,” their true colour began to manifest, not only in fighting the few who sincerely share PMB’s ideals but flagrantly attacking many of his people-oriented programmes, thereby making it difficult for the president to actualize his lofty dreams for Nigerians.
From what I read in the social and conventional media, including my interactions with some people, majority of Nigerians are not happy with the Senate’s position on Magu. Some are even threatening to vote the legislators out in 2019.
The poor are still solidly behind President Buhari and are willing to go to any length to protect his interest.
To many Nigerians, even the face-off between the Comptroller-General of Customs Hamid Ali and the Senate is because he stepped on the toes of some of them.
Arguably, the fight with the Customs boss is more than meets the eye. I find it increasingly sickening that some senators are even calling for the sack of the Customs chief because he is over 60 years of age.
If our senators have scores to settle with the president, probably because he refused to grant some of their demands, they should know that they are not offending Buhari alone, but fighting majority of Nigerians; and as I mentioned earlier, 2019 will definitely be a year of reckoning.
While senators and Members of the House of Representatives are calling for “transparency” in certain quarters, I wish to advise them to also be transparent in their dealings. The constitution of the country offered them the right to form committees and invite ministries, agencies, parastatals and departments, including the Presidency and the Head of Service of the Federation to appear before them over matters of national interest. But the National Assembly has not yet responded to the yearnings of Nigerians, including making their budgets public.
Nigerians are not abreast of what is being appropriated for them. We don’t know what they collect as salaries or other benefits. They are Nigerians, elected by Nigerians and working for Nigerians, therefore, we have every right to know how much the federal government spends on them.
Honestly speaking, it will not be out of place if the work of the National Assembly is reduced to a part time adventure. We are in a democracy and Nigerians should call for the revision, or amendment of the constitution in order to make the assignment of the National Assembly part-time, where they will be entitled to sitting allowance only, like Governing Councils and Boards.
The legislators should also fast track this idea which will go a long way in reducing the burden on our economy.
I sympathize with the president, as he alongside a few others are genuinely interested in ridding this country of corruption.
Prof. Nguru is the Director-General and Chief Executive of Nigerian Arabic Village, Gamboru Ngala.
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