Sent: 17 August 2024 14:31
To: USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: National Assembly
In all this the separation of powers is of the essence.
The lovers of freedom along with the lovers of lawlessness and anarchy can breathe a collective sigh of relief that taking the temperature of public dissent, the wannabe draconian lawmakers, cognizant of the fact that if the past protests and demonstrations were anything to go by, they were fast approaching the boiling point of public disaffection, resistance, the calamity, the palace of no return - a hapless journey's end, and that's why, like a hot potato the draconian Counter Subversion Bill 2024 has been dropped, wisely.
But, surely, already, there are laws in the Nigerian Constitution and the Legal Penal Code that adequately cover issues such as illegal assemblies, insurrection with a view to separation, fornication, corruption, abortion, blasphemy and treason?
About blasphemy, I can hear Baba Kadiri remonstrating that " Nigeria is not a theocracy" - like the Islamic Republic of Iran or Saudi Arabia, the bastion of Sunni Orthodoxy - and that may be true of Nigeria today, but as Fela said, "gradually, gradually" we will have one useful Muslim President after the other, and prophetically speaking, we will arrive at a time when Zamfara will be the first of twelve Northern States to embrace Sharia Law - no protests and demonstrations throughout the rest of the Federation, and you guys, whoever you may be had better be extra careful not to blaspheme publicly, speak ill of any Prophet or foment public disorder up there, because as you know, you will be properly or improperly "dealt with" and there's no other court in the land that will exonerate your behaviour, that you were merely exercising your "freedom of speech", freedom to think - freedom to write poetry without any restrictions. academic freedom, because you are "the voices of the Supreme Deity"
Thank God that most countries, including Nigeria have an Official Secrets Act - that's why Little Lord Fauntleroy ( Julian Assange ) got himself into so much trouble, isn't it?
And then of course there are also laws covering misinformation, libel and slander which were invoked and in my opinion misused to punish Sierra Leone 's Paul Kamara ( journalist
Shahnameh will ever remain a classic and a national epic, but, gone are the days of "The Divine Right of Kings", so, the matter of "refusing" to sing the National Anthem - or " God save the Queen / the King / the President/ the Speaker of the Nigerian Senate " etc is patently ridiculous - since Nigeria is not North Korea, or a Sharia Republic where adhering to the religious dress code is apparently more obligatory that voluntary - as if the three or five daily prayers to the Supreme Deity is not a matter of conscience but a public act of worship of the type that Jesus complained about , a matter which in some wannabe theocracy could result in a two year prison sentence "for not respecting authority"
Last question : Since, just like the Sierra Leone National Anthem ( composed in 1961) just like the Nigerian National Anthem , are both written in English, is a national of either country who does not understand English supposed to have such a National Anthem to heart.
BTW, the sweetest melody and prosody is that of the Swedish National Anthem - really heart-stirring…. It's a feeling that cannot be adequately translated into English
--The Madness in the National Assembly
Jibrin Ibrahim, Deepening Democracy, Daily Trust, 16th August 2024
The proof that madness is running wild in the National Assembly is that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen could dare propose the contentious Counter Subversion Bill 2024. The proposed legislation sought, among other things, to impose a 10-year prison sentence or a fine of N5 million—or both—on Nigerians who refuse to recite the national anthem. The bill was introduced following the May 2024 decision by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to revert to Nigeria's old national anthem, "Nigeria, We Hail Thee," which was written by Lillian Jean Williams in 1959 and composed by Frances Berda. This decision itself had already stirred controversy, with many Nigerians questioning the rationale behind the change and expressing concerns about the anthem's colonial origins and language of tribes. Meanwhile, the old anthem was rediscovered and imposed on Nigerians without consultation or debate. What they are telling Nigerians is that when they impose something, Nigerians must obey or be dealt with.
The bill, sponsored by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen himself with the title Counter Subversion Bill and other related ones introduced on July 23, 2024, proposed severe penalties for anyone who refuses to recite the national anthem, destroys national symbols, or undermines the federal government. Additionally, it included punishments for defacing places of worship, setting up illegal roadblocks, and receiving foreign financial or political support that could compromise Nigeria's security and development.
The essence of the bill is provisions for fines and prison sentences for those who disobey or disrespect authority, organise unauthorised processions, or supported paramilitary or militia groups. It sought to criminalise activities that undermine national security and peaceful coexistence, with penalties ranging from fines of N3 million to N15 million and prison terms of up to 20 years. The idea is to criminalise all protests and opposition to government. The bill was clearly designed to end democracy in Nigeria following the success of the end bad governance ten-day demonstrations. How did they even think they could pass such a draconian bill in Nigeria? The Speaker had to withdraw it in a hurry to stop the next set of national protests starting earlier than planned.
Activists, such as Omoyele Sowore and Aisha Yesufu had strongly condemned the bill and Sowore had threatened a shutdown of the National Assembly if the bill was not withdrawn, while Yesufu declared she would rather face a 20-year prison sentence than sing the newly re-adopted national anthem, "Nigeria, We Hail Thee." The idea of equating disagreement with government with state subversion is the essence of fascism and it is concerning that the leadership of our National Assembly can even think about such an initiative.
This is a National Assembly that has for decades refused to tell Nigerians the true amount they receive each month as salary and allowances. There was a breach in their armour of secrecy this week when Senator Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila (NNPP, Kano), on Wednesday, confirmed that he receives about N21+1 million monthly as his perquisite for representing the people of Kano South Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly. He however said that he does not know how much goes to the Senate president, the deputy Senate president, as well as each of the eight other principal officers of the upper chamber of the Nigerian parliament. The revelation by Kawu puts the total monthly package for all the 99 non-principal officers of the Senate at N2.079 billion.
The 10 principal officers of the 10th Senate are: President, Godswill Akpabio; Deputy President; Jibrin Barau; Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele; Deputy Majority Leader, Lola Ashiru; Chief Whip, Tahir Monguno; Deputy Chief Whip, Nwebonyi Peter Onyeka; Minority Leader, Abba Moro; Deputy Minority Leader, Akogun Lere Oyewumi; Minority Whip, Osita Ngwu and Deputy Minority Whip, Rufai Hanga.
In normal parliamentary systems, the earnings of members are public knowledge as they are available on the website of the organisations. If our National Assembly has made their earnings a secret, it is because they know some of the payments are illegal and they need to hide their criminality while they insist we call them honourable and distinguished Nigerians. We need to withdraw these labels from them. As former President Olusegun Obasanjo said recently, the federal lawmakers are acting immorally for fixing their remunerations themselves. At a time when the majority of Nigerians are suffering from multi-dimensional poverty and severe hunger, it is shocking that legislators believe they can continue to consume a considerable slice of the national budget.
The management of the National Assembly not only lacks transparency but is also conducted in a very authoritarian manner. When Abdul Ningi, senator representing Bauchi central, alleged that the 2024 budget was padded by N3 trillion Naira, the upper legislative chamber suspended him rather than investigate the very disturbing allegation. It would be recalled that the upper legislative chamber during the debate leading up to Ningi's suspension descended into chaos when senator representing Cross River north, Jarigbe Jarigbe claimed that some senior senators received N500 million Naira in the budget for constituency projects. We have been hearing that the leadership padding range is in the billions.
Increasingly, it has become clear that the leadership of the National Assembly is determined to shut up members and deny them the freedom of speech. When the concerned Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume, expressed his views on the current hardship being faced by Nigerians and the President being caged by a cabal that is stopping even ministers from accessing him, Ndume was removed from his position as a principal officer. All senators were warned to stop making critical comments about government or they would be dealt with. It is this rising authoritarian culture within the National Assembly that emboldened the Speaker to seek to pass a law that would shut up Nigerians. Na lie. We no go gri.
Professor Jibrin IbrahimSenior FellowCentre for Democracy and Development, AbujaFollow me on twitter @jibrinibrahim17
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