Ogun Assembly and the season of tragicomedies

Events in the last one week have shown that Ogun State House of Assembly is still being haunted by the state’s dictatorial past, when the House was shut for more than six months, FRANCIS FALOLA writes With the recent discoveries in the Ogun State House of Assembly, the Gateway State under Otunba Gbenga Daniel-led administration may for a long time be a reference point to students of history. It is a lesson on the transient nature of power and that everything done in the dark may one day be brought before the public glare. The state, going by the various absurdities discovered, has become a sordid reference point in a democratic setting and a reflection of how a power drunk executive could use the lawmakers as pawns in a political chessboard.

The late music maestro and founder of Afro music, Late Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who incidentally was from the state, probably had a projection of the future of Ogun State when in the 1980s he defined democracy as “a demonstration of craziness .”

Many of such demonstrations, probably more than what the late musician had ever envisaged, were brought to the fore at the May 31 and June 7 sittings of the House of Assembly under the leadership of Mr. Tunji Egbetokun. Discoveries that could make the foremost nationalist and the first Premier of the Western Region, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who incidentally was also from the state, to turn in his graves.

The theatrical drama of the absurd began in the state when a group of eight lawmakers, loyal to Daniel precisely on September 6 2010, during an ongoing recess, broke into the Assembly chamber and held a sitting where they purportedly impeached Egbetokun and suspended 14 others. The group also at the sitting passed the controversial N100bn bond earlier sought by the state government and rejected by the Assembly.

In wooing like minds, the G8 led by Soyemi Coker also lifted the suspension earlier placed by the entire House on a former Speaker, Mrs. Titi Oseni, and Mr. Omosanya Solaja.

But in a desperate bid to give credence to their acts of illegalities, the group later that day, out of desperation to be seen as having formed a quorum, coerced a lawmaker, Mr. Fasiu Bakenne, to the Governors Office where he was made to sign the resolutions of the House, which he never witnessed. In averting further breakdown of law and order, the Inspector General of Police following the blue murder being screamed by Egbetokun’s group over the illegal sitting directed that the House be shut.

Egbetokun had in his reaction during the imbroglio, referred to the action of the group as legislative rascality and insisted that the mace used by the group was impoverished, adding that the sitting of the House was illegal as a quorum was not formed and that one-third of the members, excluding the presiding officer, was needed to form a quorum.

But Coker’s group, had even at the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan, maintained that its sitting was legitimate with the mace, the symbol, of authority present during the sitting and a quorum accordingly formed before the decisions were taking against Egbetokun and others.

The Assembly, based on the IG’s directives, was then shut for five months, until the complex was opened for the sitting of the G8 lawmakers amid tight security, following public outcry that a government under democratic setting was incomplete without the legislative arm.

But, the truth eventually caught up with the falsehood of Coker and his team as the House reconvened on May 31.

Egbetokun, a day before the sitting, had sent a memo to all the members of the House and the staff of the House of the Assembly for the Tuesday sitting. But while the G8 lawmakers apparently aware of what was in the offing, shunned the sitting, all the G15 lawmakers were in attendance with Egbetokun led into the Chamber of the Assembly by the Sergeant-at- Arms, Mr. Tajudeen Oladehinde, carrying the authentic mace, the symbol of authority of the House.

The members of the Assembly did not fail to seize the occasion of the sitting to unravel the truth and exposed the political gangsterism exhibited by the immediate past state governor and lawmakers loyal to him, who hijacked the operations of the Assembly.

The 15 members out of the 24 members of the House (as two of them had been on suspension before the G8 controversial sitting, asked Olasehinde, who had been the Sergeant-at-Arms for 18 years, to identify the mace if it was truly the authentic mace. Olasehinde in response affirmed that the mace was the same mace he had been carrying since the past 18 years. But answering further questions from the lawmakers, he said he knew nothing about how the G8 came about the other mace they had been using for their sittings.

Olasehinde who stated that he acted under the directive of the Clerk of the House, Mr. Demola Badejo, said, “As a civil servant, I must obey order.”

He was also able to establish before the House that eight lawmakers sat on the floor of the House on September 6, 2010, and that Bakenne never sat with the others but was only coerced to the Governor’s Office to sign a statement issued at the Governor’s Office on the illegal sitting.

Badejo, who also absolved himself of the allegations by the lawmakers, that he was a party to the illegal sittings of the G8 and by so doing, contributed to the embarrassment suffered by the state in the imbroglio, said he was compelled to do so by natural law.

“Survival is the first law of nature; I was compelled to come to the House to conduct the business of the House under duress. It was never of my own volition and I have made this known before,” the clerk stated.

The members of the Ogun State House of Assembly at the sitting were able to lay to rest the mystery behind the improvised mace purportedly used by the G8 lawmaker.

Shock, however awaited the lawmakers and guests in the assembly when the Speaker demanded that the G8 mace should be brought before the House. As the mace was brought out by the Sergeant- at-Arms, Egbetokun apparently making jest of the strange colour of the make- shift mace as compared to the original symbol of authority of the House went into one of the lines of a Yoruba poem to describe the improvised mace. O dudu hoho, gbogbo ara re lo nderu baniyan “it is horribly dark in appearance, its appearance scaring.”

The improvised mace was discovered to be made from bamboo and Egbetokun, who preferred to refer to it as “the stick”, created an avenue for the lawmakers to comment on the issue.

The Speaker, who added that since it was not in the system of the House of Assembly to have one mace and a “stick” as an imitation of it, therefore, directed that the improvised mace be destroyed before the full glare of all in the Assembly.

One of the lawmakers, Mr. Fasinu Sowedo, suggested that “the stick” should be kept in the archives of the Ogun State Government as a reference purpose, but Fatoki Michael who objected argued that giving recognition to such “stupid, barbaric and nauseating stick” would mean giving recognition to the object and the actions of the G 8 lawmakers.”

The members of the House, however, finally resolved that to serve as a reference point in the history of the nation and that of the state and to serve as a deterrent to others who may want to tread the same path of dishonor in future, the names and detailed write up of all the events and the roles played by the lawmakers be kept in the archives of the state government for people to have details of what happened on September 6, 2010

The House also constituted a five-man committee headed by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr. Remmy Hazzan, to look into the immediate and remote causes of the crisis and the roles played by the lawmakers and the Assembly staff in the crisis.

The Assembly also, at the sitting, reverted all the decisions and resolutions reached by the G8 lawmakers in their sittings and some of the resolutions reverted included the confirmation of the nomination of the Commissioner for Education, Mr. Yemi Akinhunmi, and his counterparts in Agriculture, Mr. Tunji Akinosi and Ayinde Awobadejo, who were cleared and appointed as commissioners by the Coker led group.

The House nullified the appointment and directed that the commissioners should have all their entitlements and salaries returned to the state.

Other actions of the G8 lawmakers nullified included the supplementary budget of 2011 passed by the group, the upgrading of obas, employment, recruitment, promotion and upgrading that took place during the era of the G8.

The House, also at the sitting of the lawmakers approved the state governor, Senator Ibikunle, Amosun’s pronouncement that the Gateway International International Stadium be named after late Otunba Dipo Dina.

But when the seventh assembly was inaugurated on Monday, there was near disaster as an explosive was discovered on the floor of the House. The timely discovery saved the state from an embarrassment and tragedy that would further create confusion in the state.

From all indications, the people of the state have a lot to do to get rid of the vestiges of the dark past that put them in bondage.