By Bayo
Oluwasanmi
“Moribund society creates its own morbid
gravediggers. Revolt against injustice is not honorable but it is imperative.”
- Karl Max
The indictment letter written to the National
Assembly by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo triggers a fresh riot of
words in and outside of the National Assembly. If you have have been following
the utter mess in the National Assembly, you won't be surprised any more of new
absurdities coming from the hollow chamber.
I have some quotes here to help you laugh, or at least, keep you from
screaming in frustration. All you need to do is replace the word “Congress”
with National Assembly in the quotes:
“Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a
member of Congress...” - Mark Twain
“In my years I have come to a conclusion that
one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a
Congress.” - John Adams
“Ancient Rome declined because it had a Senate; now
what's going to happen to us with both a Senate and a House?” - Will Rogers
“You can lead a man to Congress, but you
can't make him think.” - Milton Berle
I know that there are some few narrow-minded dinosaurs out there would
say that abolishing the National Assembly – House and Senate – Houses of
Corruption – and transferring the power to the President is unconstitutional.
Well, there are not enough such people to worry about. After all, the Houses of
Corruption have no regard for the Constitution.
For most part, the Houses of Corruption do things
that are idiotic. It's an assembly where people get to do things that are bad,
wicked, and unconstitutional. A frat assembly for thieves. They spend money
they don't have. They pass laws that they more or less exempt themselves from.
They enjoy staffs that tell them how wonderful they are. They lecture the rest
of us how patriotic and upstanding they are, and so on. Things cannot look more
perilous than this.
The CV of corruption and criminal dossier of majority of members in the
National Assembly have scandalized our nation by its magnitude and gall. The
magnitude of brazen robbery and corruption make the Houses of Corruption the
world's biggest criminal syndicate. For example, nine out of 109 Senators are
entangled in criminal cases. With 10 per cent of members of the upper house in
criminal proceedings, the composition of the National Assembly reads like FBI
most wanted fugitives.
The National Assembly is a failed institution. It
represents the world's most corrupt and
undemocratic legislature. It is the most cockeyed systems of minority rule, one
that allows a tiny corrupt coterie to hold Nigerians ransom until their demands
are met. Take the issue of exotic cars demanded by the brainless members. Why
should we provide them loans or grants to buy cars on top of the outrageous
salaries and other criminal allowances and perks they receive which is second
to none in the world? One would expect a Nigerian version of the American
Million Man March in the streets to protesting against tyranny of the privileged
few. But the crowds aren't there.
In Nigeria, members of the Houses of Corruption are paid when they are
absent from congressional sessions or are on vacations, or traveling abroad, or
doing something else not related to their congregational duties like when they
cramped into bus loads to escort in a comedic circus one of their own – the
President of Thieves of the Senate of
Thieves – Bukola Mesujamba Saraki to the court. The National Assembly lurches
along badly. The record shows. President Obasanjo's letter to the out of whack
legislators was timely, appropriate, well placed, courageous, and blunt. But
I'll go a step further: Abolish the National Assembly it's a syndicate scam!
How can a National Assembly of crooks, thieves, con
artists, looters, forgers really represent my interest and the interests of
other Nigerians? The National Assembly is thoroughly and fully corrupt. It's
eating up billions of Naira of our economy through bogus salaries, allowances
and corruption binge. The National Assembly is a dinosaur that cost Nigerians
billions to operate. Never met people from hell – until now. With each
legislative agenda that's not relevant to the needs of the Nigerian people, the
National Assembly continues to alienate Nigerians. With the absurdities of the
absurd on display each day to the world, the National Assembly has moved is
legislative offices to hell in close proximity to like minded zombies.
It is good to question the institution that's supposed to serve the
people. Can anything good come out of the National Assembly? Not really.
Nigeria is in a dire strait. It's a nation where the wisest are perplexed and
the boldest staggered. The National Assembly has proven to be an instrument of
conspiracy. It is known for its fetish secrecy.
A democratic government that worth its salt must make openness a regular
feature of governance. Under the auspices of openness, no evil can continue.
The National Assembly is a disappointing aberration. For 16 years, the
country has remained in ruins. No sector
is healthy. For 16 years, the National Assembly didn't give a damn about the
state of the nation: no infrastructure, no water to drink, no electricity, no
industries, no safety and security, no standard education system, no hospitals,
no housing, no criminal justice system. Nothing, absolutely nothing, you can
point to that the National Assembly has accomplished other than pass
appropriation bills that would fatten their pockets.
My belief that we should abolish the National Assembly because its a
syndicate scam may seem too radical. But can any Nigerian tell me in what way
has the National Assembly benefited this country since Nigeria returned to
democratic rule 16 years ago? Only a
stranger from hell would disagree that the popularity and the respect of this
institution is at an all time low. The National Assembly of thieves and thugs
has essentially neutered the essence of a representative democracy.
So, let's shut down Abuja, make it a museum city. Get rid of the
National Assembly and replace it with a true representative democracy. We each
have a vote in democracy. Let's vote on issues important to us. We'll vote
directly through a plebiscite on issues.
We'll authorize the President to initiate bills on our behalf. The
President and a new set of Supreme Court Justices will provide checks and
balances on anything bizarre and outrageous.
The scrapping of National Assembly will be an event of historical
collapse. The House and Senate cost tens of billions to operate and maintain.
We should be angry. It's taxation without representation. The National Assembly
do not represent us. These thieves get elected every year automagically. We the
people should form the legislative branch through direct participation and
voting. See, we voted them all in there, they serve their own interest, they
loot our treasury, and throw those who elected them under the bus.
We can do without the National Assembly. Right now, there is no proof
that we have a National Assembly, hence there is no need for it. We're better
off without the National Assembly. Nigerians don't feel its impact. Without
National Assembly, there will be no constituency allowance, no wardrobe
allowance, no furniture allowance, no concubine allowance, no shoe allowance,
no transportation allowance, no housing allowance, no sick days allowance, no
solidarity allowance for its criminal members, and other primitive allowances.
They are paid for doing nothing. The last time the National Assembly worked for
its pay was when they shut down the Senate for a circus that accompanied their
President, Bukola Mesujamba Saraki to the criminal court.
Ooh, I remember another occasion when the Senators earned their pay for
a day's job. That was when three social media terrorists: Bukola Mesujamba
Saraki, Dino Melaye, and Ibn Na'Allah unleashed their vitriolic nonsense in
support of the anti-social media bill.
We'll do better without the National Assembly. It will take away from
the elite few the power to spend money, for they spend money which is not their
own. Nigerians who pay taxes should be the ones to decide when and how money is
spent. We must take government out of the hands of the few, for it corrupts
them when they're given free rein. They spend our money with reckless abandon
and without real concern for our people. Records show the National Assembly is
not about the welfare of Nigerians but about the greed of the ruling few.
Nigeria is in total ruins with the National Assembly acting on behalf
of Nigerians. Nigeria will continue to be in complete ruins if we take a back
seat to the arrogance, insensitivity, wickedness, self preservation, looting,
and self-serving few in the National Assembly. We cannot trust the National
Assembly in running our country, for too few hands rule over too many lives.
The National Assembly is power drunk and obdurately blind to the fact that the
power they hold to legislate and to vote was given to them by the people. We
the people must be in charge.
The National Assembly has turned Nigeria into a
wilderness. A wilderness is never pleasant. It tends to be dry, barren,
lifeless, and uncomfortable. You tend to get thirsty there and find yourself
yearning to be in a place of rest and refreshment. Nigeria is a paradise turned
wilderness nation run down by the thieves in the National Assembly.
The National Assembly has become a national liability. We find
ourselves in such extreme distress. We're shoved to-and-fro. The National
Assembly is inefficient, inept, self-serving, corrupt, and a spendthrift. It
has totally lost the respect and trust of
the Nigerian people. “We the people,” President Dwight D. Eisenhower
reminds us, “elect leaders not to rule, but to serve.” The National Assembly is
the world's most useless and tyrannical legislature.
The National Assembly needs to go!
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