The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, recently had a chat with some editors and newspaper managers where he bears his mind on some salient national issues. LEADERSHIP was there. The perception is that the executive and the legislature are not on the same page. Is it really true and what does that portends for our democracy'From the foundation of the principles of separation of powers, it was never anticipated that the legislature and the executive will work harmoniously on a continuous basis. There will always be fractions. Where you have human institutions colliding or where you have individuals, whether it is in a family, there is bound to be conflict. In the relationship between the executive and the legislature, there will be conflict. The only problem is that sometimes we cast conflicts as completely bad. Conflicts may not be bad. As a matter of fact some times conflicts are necessary for progress to be made. If you have a collection of conformists, chances are that they will never make progress, even if they do, it was always lead to an existing order that will be sustained over time. But for you to have innovation and progress, people must be free to disagree and it is only in disagreeing that progress is made. When the legislature disagrees with the executive it is viewed as conflict. That is the interpretation in most cases but conflict really can be a source for expression or release of energy that will lead to transformation. In the 8th assembly, we had certain issues that has actually pitch the executive against the legislature and we will continue to have them. But the point is as leader, how do we overcome these issues in such a way that they lead to progress and advancement instead of retrogression' Our own interpretation of this doctrine of separation of power is that we should cooperate more in the national interest so that specifically we can deliver on the promises that we made during the elections. We dont have liberty as a government but to close ranks and deliver on the promises that made people to sacrifice so much. In the House in particular, I cant remember any serious matter that the executive has brought which the House has turned down because dont want to take the blame for being the stumbling blocks. In most cases we overcome party differences and work together as one because when the presidency fails, we will share part of the blame. In realization of this, we have sometimes, bent more than twice backwards for the executive.As one of the leaders of APC, will you say that the party has not disappointed Nigerians'Well, I wouldnt say that we have disappointed Nigerians. For one to come to that kind of conclusion, he must have taken certain factors into consideration. Now what was it that we met on ground, what is it that we have improved upon as a government and what is it that we are seeking to do' It is after you look at the whole of these issues that you will be able to reach a conclusion as to whether we have disappointed Nigerians or not. For me, I can say that a lot has been achieved even though unsung, in most cases. In our society, people want to see the tangibles but nobody places value on the intangibles. For us who come from North-east, we remember how dire this issue of terrorism was. We were all living on the throes of violence. But if you look at it, we have exited from that. The number one responsibility of government is security and welfare of the citizens. Our democracy was failing to do this. We couldnt provide security but this government has gone very far in tackling issues of security. This government through different interventions has ensured that the terrorists are not holding unto any part of this country. This is one major thing that has given some hope to Nigerians. Even if for nothing, citizens now move freely than before. Now if you look at the battle against corruption, some may say its one sided but the good thing is lets start. We have started and we are beginning to have results. Progress is being made on several fronts but of course there are issues that we have not totally eliminated. But we are making progress. A lot may not appreciate them but a very strong and robust foundation has been laid and by the time we are done with the execution of this years budget, every Nigerian will see the clear direction that we are heading to.You spoke about the governments success in eradicating insurgency but we have instances of herdsmen ravaging some parts of the countryThe president has made it very clear that whoever is making a war against innocent citizens of this country must be dealt with squarely as if he is a terrorist even if he is not one. I dont see any distinction between whoever that is making war with innocent Nigerians, or unleashing terror on innocent Nigerians, it doesnt matter their description. That is our position as a parliament. We have said that over and over again and we will have to reecho that.Some Nigerians think that there is a lot of corruption in the parliament. Is there really corruption in the parliament'This discussion about corruption in parliament, I dont know in what sense but let me lay the foundation by saying parliament is not something that exists outside of Nigeria and the issue of corruption itself is not something that can be eliminated completely in any society. What we can do is to reduce it to the barest minimum, to the level that it almost seem non-existent. The National assembly is part of the society and there could be cases of corruption but when we discover them, we should apportion punishment that is appropriate and capable of deterring that. For us, this issue of budget, we all know that the National assembly doesnt command more than 2% of the entire budget. More than 90% of our nations resources is not spent by the National Assembly but other arms of government yet most times the discussion from our citizens focuses on that less that less than 2% as if that is the bane of our problem in this country. This bothers me a lot. The people have said they want to know what we do with the entire budget that comes to the national assembly, its not a problem. Each of the agency that draw funds from the national assembly has been mandated to bring its budget and at the end of the day, everything will be published so that we can end this discussion. We want to improve on standards and the image of the national assembly.Recently, the senate resolved that the CG of Customs must wear uniform and they also resolved to write the House on the matter so that it becomes the general resolution of the National Assembly. Is the House on the same page with Senate on this matter'Well, Icant speak for the House because the House will have to speak for itself through a resolution on the floor of the house. But one thing I will have to say clearly is that we work closely with the senate. If we dont do that, we wont achieve any progress as an arm of government.Is the House comfortable with the level of compliance to its resolutions'As a matter of fact we are not satisfied and that is why we established a committee on legislative compliance. The essence of that committee is to compel compliance with the resolution of the legislature. We will do everything possible to ensure that there is compliance with the resolution of the National Assembly through the instrumentality of that committee.How can we make the local government areas effective'The local government system is not working. We have over time stultified development at the grassroots. Some people have constituted themselves into middle men along the line, they grab the resources meant for the local governments and they appropriate it the way they deem fit. There is the twin evil, that of the state independent electoral commission. Its a mockery of democracy for election to be hold even in a local government and you say one political party wins all the seats. I have never seen where democracy is mocked like in Nigeria especially through the local government elections. So to reposition the local government, we must grant them autonomy and move more money to them as this will improve the leadership at that level and when you have quality leadership at the local level, the resources that are going there can better be managed. We are going to reflect this on the provision of the constitution. We did that in the last House unfortunately it didnt scale through and if care is not taken, it will still not scale through. But it will take a general resolve from Nigerians.Theres the assumption that the relationship between you and your Governor is not cordial because you are eyeing 2019. Why are you not working in harmony with your Governor' I dont think anything has prevented me from working harmoniously with the governor. If you ask the people across the state they will tell you that if it were not for very few of us, with all modesty I can say this, God uses people and God used us to put him where he is and we always will be fools if we use the same hands that we use in building him to this position, in order to destroy him. Having said that, it shouldnt to be taken to mean am conceding the fact that we are going to work where we have no agenda. What bothers me really is the fate of the people that we sold this agenda of change. A sitting governor wanted to be senator in 2007, he won in only one local government. The immediate past governor, having governed the state for eight years, he wanted to be senator but he won only one local government. So for us who are members of the political class, that is like a red flag warning that he must perform. Even though I can never engage in a fight with the governor, I will never, ever accept a situation where we are not delivering the goods. That is just where the problem is.
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