In this interview with Jacob Segun Olatunji and Kolawole Daniel, Vice Chairman, House Committee on Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), Honourable Bimbo Daramola, speaks on the performance of the House so far and state of insecurity in the country, among other issues. Excerpts:How will you access the seventh session of House of Representatives' I believe very strongly that we are on course, I have no doubt in my mind, that yes, we have teething problems, we have issues like journey to cannan land we have left from the actual place, we are now moving ahead. Don't forget that when the Israelites left Egypt they were on their way to Cannan, they have to go through many challenges until they got to the Promised Land. Why did I made that comparison with this 7th session of the House of Representative.And that was why we set up the legislative agenda, we wanted to be guided, we needed a framework to guide us as a parliament at least for the next four years and as an individual we know too well where we are coming from. The sixth Assembly had a whole lot of challenges and we felt that we need to start by rebuilding Nigeria and I felt the opportunity and the mode of emergence of the Honourable Aminu Waziri Tambuwal would impose on him a huge sense of responsibility and ultimately to discharge the mandate of the Nigerian people. That was the very first time the House would choose its leadership. If we have chosen to walk the way and the paths of the previous Assembly, we may not likely be able to catch the attention of the Nigerian people.For the few challenges we had like the Hembe's issue and then the Farouk Lawan thing, there is no cause for alarm. At a time in this country, I have heard it severally said that it is only the House of Representatives that represents the people and I don't think we are deviating from that, if you look at the details of what we have achieved in one year and one month, I can modestly say to you that Nigerians are getting values for their expectations. Never bother about what they are now saying. Imagine a system that does not provide the kind of the opportunity to Farouk to expose that N 2.3 trillion was being taken by 144 under the scheme called fuel subsidy. Don't start looking at it from the angle that Hon. Farouk got himself enmeshed in controversy, but look at the bigger picture, the bigger picture of the fact that he pointed in the direction of the fact that the fuel subsidy thing was a scam. That is number one of course arising from the fact that from the very first time this Seventh Assembly of the House of Representatives, sat on a Sunday in defenses of the Nigerian People, we sat on Sunday not to argue, not to ask for running cost, not to ask for increment but to talk about fuel subsidy and from that point the fuel subsidy committee emerged and of course we have had a lot of interventions, in terms of why we felt that the central Bank of Nigeria, CBN's Governor should not spend Nigerian's money and how, we have invited for the first time the President of the country so that we can engage and have a way forward.You see all manners of blood lettings going on all over country. I personally moved the motion, the very first motion of the Seventh House of Representatives on Nigeria internal security and the need to set up the Department of Home Land and Security.You are a member of the opposition party, ACN, how will assess the type of leadership of the Mr. Speaker' I think our Honourable Speaker, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has come across a very, very temperate leadership. He has discharged his duties accordingly because we invested our trust in him, he is living up to expectations, definitely he is working on tight rope, no doubt it doesn't appear his party is in support of whatever thing does, but the truth of the mater remains that Tambuwal has done enough to distinguish himself as the Speaker. In fact, the event that happened in the floor today will tell you his humility of leadership. He took an action and it was pointed out to him and he reversed himself and even said am sorry that there is no man above error that is the way a leader should be. But let him know very clearly that Nigeria is bigger than anybody or group and I said it on the floor of the House before, that 'Seriki Ngoma, Zamani Goma! Oba Mewa, Igba Mewa', a day is coming that Tambuwal will be looking at that chair and they will say he will not sit on it, what will come to his mind is that what he did with the gavel while he was there. The gavel that he has now is the instrument of opportunity to shape Nigeria, Nigeria has come to stay, we are not going to break, even if we break, God forbid, the truth of the matter is that let him not be a part of the process that would lead to the disintegration of Nigeria, including every one of us. Let prosperity record us and prosperity judge us right that while we were there, we did our best for the nation. A day of reckoning is coming, I am not even talking about the judgment of God, but the first judgment is whether you did right or not. It is also left for our colleagues to also realize that we have this slight opportunity of self determination, self determination in the sense that whatever we do and do it right here, we will meet if when we come out of here because surely we will be out of this House of Representatives one day and when we leave here let it be we have done our best, when I moved my motion today (11th July 2012) about 3,500 soldiers were deployed to Edo State for the governorship election, I didn't move it because I wanted to be popular, if I want to be popular, I know where to go. Aki and Paw Paw are more popular than me, Baba Suwe is more popular than me, and I know where to go. I will go to Nollywood but am not on the floor of the House because I want to be popular, I want to be popular, I want to tell them that this is not right because we don't have different standard to measure good and development. So, if the parliament gets it right good, if we don't, good. You see, look at what is happening in the country today, who will know that a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will go down in Jos very cheaply like that. That is why I disagree with the President of the Senate, Distinguished Senator David Mark who said well, he hoped that this would be the final, it can be the final, I guarantee you that. The structure to make it final is not there. Is the death of Senator Nyang Datong going to stop it' The architecture of the security to defend the people should be put in place, regardless of whom you are in the society be you a Senator or nobody, let the structure be there to defend you. If the structure had been there to defend everybody in Jos, no matter your status and stature, Senator would probably not have died, but the structure was not thereWhat is the solution then' The solution is to change the whole thing, the technical, the method, everything, sincerity of purpose and political will, there is deficit of that thing in this country.Political will is zero, sincerity of purpose is zero, what challenges are will confronting that you will say it will transcend the knowledge of 360 members of the House of Representatives, what challenges are we facing that is bigger than 109 Senators' They have invested in us to sort out the problems of Jos, to sort out the problems of Boko Haram that was the purpose of the motion I moved there. But if we continue to play the ostrich, put your head in the sand and the whole of your body is outside, if is a matter of time. Somebody said when they came for the protesters, I kept quiet, orthodox, I kept quiet, when they came for the Anglican, I kept quiet, when they came for this I kept quiet, when they came for me, there was no one to protest for me, and I hope it doesn't happen.Now we have lost a Senator to that effect, and I hope we won't have to remind ourselves again when we will go and sign condolence register for anybody else again, it could be anybody.
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