When lawmakers are lawbreakers!

I have always wondered why the Senate should be referred to as the upper house while the House of Representatives is seen as the lower house, when, in actual sense, the two chambers of the National Assembly have equal powers. Yes, neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives could, for example, pass a law in isolation. The two houses must agree, individually or jointly, for such a law to be passed. And in terms of disciplinary functions, a president can only be impeached if the Senate and the House of Representatives vote for it. If one of the houses votes no and the other says yes, such impeachment move fails. With this known fact, why then would one house be the upper chamber while the other is the lower arm?

To be sure, I have always asked myself why such a distinction would be made for the two arms of the federal parliament. Is it because of the quality of membership? Is it because of size of the constituency each member of the two houses covers or represents? Is it because of the inherent functions the houses perform? Is it because of the conduct of the members? Is it because of the maturity or otherwise of members? Or is it just to have a distinction, for the purpose of identification? I have heard members of the House of Representatives argue that there’s nothing like upper or lower house. They insist that what we have in Nigeria is the red chamber, as the Senate is referred, and the green chamber, as the House of Representatives is called. They have also said that despite the fact that it’s only the Senate that has the authority to confirm ministers, which is the only role it does not share with the House of Representatives, this does not make members of the Senate their superiors. I totally agree. However, I must say that since this is the case, the difference between the Senate and the House of Representatives in Nigeria may just be the maturity of their membership.
Yes, many things have happened at the National Assembly that clearly distinguish the Senate and House of Representatives, especially as relating to the conduct and characters of members of both houses. Some may say that members of the Senate are somewhat conservatives and, therefore, temperate while members of the House of Representatives are more radical and robust. Perhaps, this explains why, in the last 15 years of democracy, there have been more uproars in the House of Representatives than in the Senate. In the House of Representatives, tempers have, on many occasions, risen. Members of the House have pushed one another, at some other times. They have also exchanged blows and torn the clothes of one another. And they have conducted themselves in a way that would suggest that they are, perhaps, suffering from youthful exuberance.
This is what manifested at the National Assembly complex last week when the police and lawmakers clashed.  On the day the House of Representatives reconvened to consider the letter from President Goodluck Jonathan, requesting extension of emergency rule in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno, policemen had taken over the National Assembly complex. The police had locked the gates of the complex and were screening people before allowing them access. When the Speaker of the House of Representatives arrived, the police first denied him entry before eventually allowing him to walk on foot through the pedestrian gate. In the melee that followed the confrontation between Tambuwal and the police, members of the House of Representatives, who were yet to be allowed into the National Assembly complex, started scaling the gate.
I have asked myself what the lawmakers, who scaled the gates wanted to prove. Is it that they are good athletes? Or is it that they are brave and can, therefore, dare the police? Whatever the intention of the lawmakers, they succeeded in making a mockery of National Assembly. No matter what the lawmakers think was the intention of the police, behaving like exuberant school boys diminishes the offices they occupy. And would they now blame Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, for saying that those who scaled the gates were thugs? As they say, when a judge descends to the gallery, junior lawyers would mess him up.
Lawmakers are not supposed to be lawbreakers. The police raised a cordon and were screening people before allowing them access to the National Assembly. And as the police stated, those who identified themselves were allowed to enter. Why then would members of the House of Representatives refuse to be screened and, therefore, scaled the gates? If members of the House of Representatives would not respect the police, I wonder who they expect to respect them. Making an institution, as the police to look stupid is tantamount to making Nigeria, as a nation, look stupid. This is not exonerating the police from blame in the whole incident. Indeed, where I blame the police is their brazen invasion of the National Assembly without letting the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives know. The police said that they got a security report that thugs were going to storm the National Assembly. What I expected them to have done was the courtesy of sharing this information with the leadership of the National Assembly and then carrying out their duties. I say this because the police would not tell me that if they got security report, for instance, that thugs were going to attack the Presidential Villa, policemen would storm the place without letting the president know in advance. Is this possible? I do not think so.
The police did their job, but in doing this, the office of the Speaker should be respected. This is also where I fault IG Abba for refusing to recognise Tambuwal as Speaker when he appeared before the House on Wednesday. Inasmuch as I believe that Tambuwal should have resigned as Speaker when he defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), I strongly think that as long as he remains the Speaker, he should be respected. Respect accorded to Tambuwal may not be for him as a person but for the office he occupies. Until he resigns or his colleagues impeach him, he remains the Speaker and should be so respected. This is why I believe that withdrawing his police security was not well-thought out and in good faith. This is so because the office of Speaker is entitled to such security.
We have seen in this country when election petitions tribunal sacked governors but because they appealed against the judgment, they remained in office. And as they remained in office, they were entitled to the perks of office, including security. Therefore, Tambuwal remains Speaker until the cases filed in court are determined or until members of the House determine his case. Therefore, IG Abba should not only restore the Speaker’s security but also accord the Speaker his due respect. Insisting that Tambuwal is “Alhaji Tambuwal” and not Speaker Tambuwal may be an act of bravery, but it is disrespect to the office of the Speaker and also disrespect to Nigeria as a nation.