“Legislators have the first place in the temple of glory; conquerors come behind them” – Voltaire, 1694-1778, VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS, VBQ, p 126
When one of the world’s leading philosophers made that remark in the eighteenth century, democracy was a new idea. What another sage, half a world away, in America, described as “the government of the people, by the people and for the people” was an intoxicating new form of government – promising freedom, prosperity and progress for people worldwide. It appeared self-evident and inevitable for a while – especially after World War II. There was no country called Nigeria, when Voltaire spoke about legislators. He could not have imagined a legislative branch of government, so totally bereft of glory, as we now have in Abuja as our National Assembly, NASS. It would appear that there is nothing questionable that our NASS would not do.
FROM OBASANJO TO TINUBU – DECLINE IN SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY
“Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few” – George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, VBQ p 37
By the middle of the last century, great thinkers have already started to observe the flaws in democracy; that in the hands of politicians, the people were gradually losing their control of their destinies and their lives. Corruption in the three branches – executive, legislative and judiciary – was the rule; not the exception anymore virtually everywhere. But, even people like Shaw could not have imagined a nation, pretending to be democratic, like Nigeria – while its lawmakers and judiciary deliberately remove all the guard rails for good governance in a good democracy. What has happened to Nigeria since 1999 brings to mind the statement, carved in stone, by a Peruvian President.
