Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, has urged lawmakers in Africa to protect democracy by ensuring that citizens’ will and aspirations were priority in dispensing their duties.
The Speaker made the call on Monday in Abuja when he received a parliamentary delegation from the National Assembly of the Republic of Niger led by Mr Sanousi Mareini.
He said that protection of democracy was necessary as it would be dangerous to take its practice for granted.
“Unfortunately, we have had military intervention in governance in both Niger and Nigeria. It was only in 1999 that democracy was restored in both countries.
“That, therefore, means that we cannot take this practice of democracy as if it is automatic or as if it cannot be threatened. If it was threatened in the past, it means that it can also be threatened today.
“It is now left for us, as members of parliament, to use our very vantage positions as lawmakers to make sure that we are investing in the development and to ensure prosperity for the people.
“It means that for democracy to be sustained, it must work for the people and not for us,” he said.
Dogara urged the lawmakers to ensure that they were active in their government, serving as checks through their legislative oversight of the activities of the executive.
He urged them to ensure that the government delivered on the promises of democracy which were freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
According to him, when a parliament isn’t functional, the benefits of democracy cannot be enjoyed by the people.
The speaker cited a case with the states in Nigeria “where democracy is weak because the parliaments are a bit weak.”
To correct this situation, he said that the Federal Parliament decided to grant autonomy to state legislatures to empower them more to properly conduct oversight over the executive.
“Where the legislature is not independent or have the tools to work, tendencies are that it will have a crippling effect on its functions,” he said.
The speaker also called for institutions that would enhance capacity of lawmakers and support staff such as the National Institute of Legislative Studies in Nigeria.
Earlier speaking, the leader of the delegation, Mareini, had said that they were on the visit to consolidate on an earlier one by Speaker of Niger parliament in 2016.
He recalled that during the visit, they sought collaboration with their Nigerian collaboration to improve their legislative duties. (NAN)
