Opinion: Who will cry out for us?

by Imoisili Ehinomen

In 2015, World leaders came together to agree on a development agenda to follow after the averagely successful Millennium Development Goals, they were called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 16th goal is peace, justice and strong institutions and the aim is to, among other things, strengthen the rule of law and build institutions that will champion the course of justice and equity in society. While Nigeria is a signatory to this agreement, the recent amendment done by the National Assembly, in my mind, undermines the sincerity of our leaders towards this cause. One wonders how among so many pending laws in dire need of amendment, the senate chose to take action on that relating to the Code of Conduct Bureau, transferring authority over the body from the President to the National Assembly. The whole world knows how the Senate president faced a running battle with the aforementioned agency and now the same has been put under. This portrays nothing more than a show of power at its peak.

My concern is not whether or not the manner of prosecution of the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, was right or if it was politically motivated or not; my worry is that the house has gone ahead with an action that was opposed by many Nigerians, the very people they should be representing. This is injustice. Nigerians are very patient for the wrong reasons; patient with corrupt politicians, patient with our legislators who make and amend laws largely to uphold their interest in spite of what the will of the people is. No executive can achieve any meaningful transformation without a corresponding change in the legislative arm. For instance, despite the outcry against the high cost of government (a huge chunk attributable to the legislature) by masses and some Government officials, we have seen no change being made this arm of Government. Then there is the petroleum industry bill, which some might say can be linked to the current unrest in the Niger delta, lying on some overcrowded desk.

So this is the time for us to cease from being patient, not to resort to violence but to speak up and speak out constructively and decisively against the prevailing injustice in our Society. The legislature seem to have no other check and balance system but us, so we must speak out more. This is the time to start campaigns for justice in our Society. As I write this, I remember the words of a song of Tracy Chapman; ” talking about a revolution sounds like a whisper”. But I believe that if all we did was whisper, then the whispers of over 140 million people will eventually turn a loud cry and perhaps, just perhaps, our leaders will finally hear.


Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija

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