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Nigerian Legislators and empowerment programmes

By Afolabi Aribigbola

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The traditional duty of the legislative branch of government is to introduce, review and pass legislation, to vet and monitor the implementation of projects and policies in approved budgets as well as amendment to annual budgets. In addition, the legislative arm of government in all societies is expected to provide adequate check on abuse of power by the executive and recklessness of politicians thereby contributing to good governance. These are the core responsibilities of the legislature in all societies, and they form the basis for assessing their performance as well as effectiveness. The Nigerian budding democracy subscribe to the above and in fact has become part and parcel of our democratic experience since the birth of the fourth republic in 1999.
However, since the inception of current democratic dispensation in Nigeria, the quest to deliver dividends of democracy to the people in their constituencies motivated legislators at local, state, and national levels to embark on empowerment programmes to the detriment of their core constitutional responsibilities of making laws and policies for good governance of Nigeria.
The essence of this write up is to highlight the associated danger and the consequences of focusing efforts by legislators on empowerment programmes. People should not misconstrue this thesis on the need to deemphasize empowerment programmes as the main assignment of lawmakers. Afterall assisting the poor is very essential, because according to the Holy book, we shall continue to have them around, and therefore encourages the affluent to assist them. Consequently, supporting the poor or needy in the society is a good work with rewards. However, turning them into means or instrument of measuring the performance of lawmakers is not the issue. In other words, delivering the dividends of democracy through empowerment programmes should not take precedence over the essential task of legislation for a number of reasons. In the first instance, such activity detracts the legislators from their statutory assignment. In this context, instead of dissipating their energy and resources on legislation, they go all out seeking for funds to finance empowerment programmes.
Also, it puts unnecessary pressure on them while trying to please supporters by making available to them things they may not be able to afford. This has forced many parliamentarians to engage in corrupt practices so that they can meet the demands of their supporters for empowerment. This is because it is gradually becoming the yardsticks of measuring their performance. Thus, lawmakers who can dole out empowerment materials such as motorcycles, cars, grinding machines, hairdressing equipment among others are adjudged performing, while others who do not have the capacity to give empowerment materials are not good and the begin to lose the confidence and support of their people. Besides, concentrating energy on empowerment programmes to deliver dividends of democracy lower the quality of legislation and makes attendance at house meetings less robust.
The import of the above is to discourage and stop legislators focusing on empowerment programmes so that they can concentrate on their core function of law making. Of course, if corruption is to be stamped out of the political landscape of Nigeria, efforts must be made to eradicate empowerment programmes by politicians especially the legislators.
Most of the times it is used to recruit unsuspecting members of the public to support poor, indolent and people of questionable character with a lot of resources to throw around to purchase the conscience and votes of the electorate. Suffice it to argue that the electorate should begin to rate the performance of legislators based on the quality of their contributions on the floor of the house rather than the present practice of praising politicians based on their ability to distribute stomach infrastructure.
Aschool of thought argued that the failure of government at various levels to meet the needs of the people and deliver on such dividends of democracy as provision of education, health, safe drinking water, good roads among others provided the motivation by legislators to seek to fill the hiatus by providing some of these public goods to support the citizenry.
As plausible as this contention, the responsibility of government is to provide public goods not individuals. The focus of most legislators on empowerment programmes have contributed in no small measure to inefficiency and ineffectiveness in making laws for the good governance of Nigeria, and as such it should be discouraged and if possible be outlawed so that they can concentrate on their core mandate rather than ameliorative programmes that cannot make for sustainable development. Thus, the state should endeavour to deliver the dividend of democracy in form of infrastructural services such as electricity, safe drinking water, health, education among others that can promote and enhance welfare and prosperity of Nigeria and Nigerians.
On a final note, concerning whether empowerment of constituents is the right path to good governance by legislators, I made bold to state without fear of contradiction that it is not the right path. Though it came on board as an ameliorative programme to assist the people. However, as good as empowering the people is, it should not be and cannot be the duty and focus of legislators. In the more prosperous societies, the state creates several institutions and policies to support the needy and vulnerable and are not left to the whims and caprices of individuals.
Indeed, wealthy individuals establishes foundations and programmes to support the needy. Such people are usually accomplished professionals and business people, not people of doubtful means. There is the need to change and stop this retrogressive tendency created to outsmart the people. Therefore, politicians especially legislators should be made to desist from executing empowerment programmes designed to bribed electorate. The state should step up their social support systems to the needy and the vulnerable and rise up to the task of providing essential facilities and services to the citizenry. Otherwise, the practices will continue and could affect the quality of policies and debates in the legislative houses.

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