Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara addressed the state of the nation for the first time since the general elections of 2023. He charged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, State Governors, and all other leaders of the country with urgently addressing the sense of hopelessness and despondency among Nigerians as a result of the country’s worsening poverty.
In an address given on Saturday at Achievers University in Owo, Ondo State, in honour of the institution’s 13th Convocation and 16th Anniversary of Foundation, Yakubu Dogara assumed the charge.
“The threat poverty poses to democracy was evident in the level of vote-buying and the use of money to compromise electoral and security officials during recent elections,” stated University Chancellor Yakubu Dogara.
“I have said before that poverty is by far the greatest threat to our democracy,” the speaker declared. Those who had doubts about me have witnessed this threat in action through vote-buying and the use of cash to influence election and security authorities.
“Because of the sense of hopelessness and helplessness that poverty breeds among the poor, the poor have and will always remain ever-ready tools in the hands of tyrants and demagogues, who in the course of history have always found it easy to mobilise for the purposes of subverting democratic institutions,” stated the former Speaker, who had opposed the APC Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket following the election.
The former Speaker issued a challenge to President Bola Tinubu, State Governors, and other leaders to assume responsibility for their offices and work towards ending poverty, beginning with the two evils he referred to as poverty’s bedfellows: unemployment and underemployment.
“If we never reach a point where we can rationally discuss economic justice, it won’t be because it’s unachievable—rather, it will be because we don’t have the right leadership,” he stated.
“Now is the time to talk about creating wealth and ending poverty,” he said, citing the numerous things that need to be addressed in Nigeria.
He emphasised that, “All elected officials, including Mr. President, who chose to run for office rather than against someone should be concerned right now because almost all Nigerian families are struggling and we are living in a very unstable democracy,” the speaker added.
The number of Nigerians that go hungry every night is unknown. While it is true that no sane person would blame Tinubu’s administration for the current depreciating decay—which is still in its early stages—he was aware of it and had pledged to find answers prior to taking office, Yakubu Dogara continued.
He said, “What would be the distinguishing mark of his Presidency if he does not resist the temptation to continue blaming others for our national decay rather than concentrating on the solutions he promised? Because that was what other presidents before him specialised in – outsourcing the blame and never taking responsibility.”
“My unsolicited counsel to Mr. President is to confront these challenges head-on and at once for nothing can be conquered unless it is confronted,” the former Speaker emphasised.
Yakubu Dogara also criticised the current democratic system in Nigeria, which views disagreement as disloyalty, pointing out that all functioning democracies are noisy because conflicts are what drive democratic advancement.
Sadly, strong leaders and executive-imposed legislative leaders view disagreement as betrayal most of the time, the speaker said. Since we are currently experiencing a pandemic of sycophancy, disagreement is now equated with disloyalty in today’s society.
When the Executive views active collaboration as a requirement for retaining a seat at the table, how can the legislature carry out its constitutional duties without interference? He enquired.
Sadly, conflict avoidance and selective blindness are the two things that damage democracies the most. In any event, he enthusiastically stated, “All robust democracies are loud because we must disagree as much as we agree in order to prevent stifling progress.”
He continued, saying, “There are a lot of constitutional powers that the legislature has that are never fully utilised. It is important for us to understand why the legislature is required in the first place and why it should never give in to pressure from the executive branch to abandon its constitutional responsibilities.”
“In this case, if the legislature does not understand its role, it will continue to be the President/Governors’ houses with the Senate President and Speakers at all levels just living in them as tenants,” he said. “If you do not understand the purpose of a thing, you are condemned to abuse it.”
He emphasised that “it is not an act of fidelity but an apostasy to our constitutional order to allow the executive, no matter how kind and well-intentioned they may be, to exercise legislative powers through entrenched proxies in the legislature.”
Going on to other matters, Yakubu Dogara praised the current administration for its student loan programme and urged the Federal Government to take into account the hardships faced by students at tertiary institutions, including private university students.
“I join my voice in the call for Private University Students to be included in this administration’s Student Loan scheme as part of the palliative measures, as they are also Nigerians,” he stated. Additionally, the programme needs to be properly run for the benefit of this nation’s burgeoning youth population.
He congratulated the graduates, their parents, and well-wishers on the happy conclusion of their university journey, as well as all the stakeholders of Achievers University, for the wonderful vision that had been granted the grace of Almighty God to flourish in splendour and elegance.
