Nigerian Parliamentarians exchange hot blows! What repercussions and sanctions…

Tuesday July 13, 2010
By Jos Anyima-Ackah

As widely reported in the media recently, a dramatic event happened on the floor of parliament in Abuja, Nigeria. The actors were the parliamentarians themselves and the scene they created was very rowdy and awful. It turned out to be violent and harmful to life.

To put it bluntly, a fight broke out or simply hot blows were freely exchanged among the rival political party members in the House, resulting in serious injuries that were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

One parliamentarian was stripped of his attire and was found to be in possession of a dangerous missile. Another had a broken arm as he tried to spray powdered pepper on an opponent.

According to the media reports, the fight was triggered by a resolution of a group of legislators known as “progressives,” trying to probe the Speaker of Parliament for alleged corrupt practices of misappropriation of huge public funds.

Be that as it may, the incident is outrageous and a tragic irony that law makers should be found lawless, causing a breach of public peace and tranquility that necessitated the intervention of the police to restore order.

The repercussions of their unruly behavior are obvious. One, they have exposed themselves to ridicule, which means down-grading their high social status.

Two, they have brought the Office of Parliament into disrepute. How can lawmakers lose their tempers, stoop low, to exchange of hot blows, thereby turning the dignified House into a boxing arena, so to speak, over an issue which could be resolved through the due process of debate that is the norm of Parliament?

Three, they have tarnished the corporate image of their constituents who will now see them more or less, as rabble-rousers. Naturally, the constituents will feel disillusioned with the misconduct of their representatives.

In all, the incident casts a slur on Nigeria: as a country where honourable parliamentarians resort to hot blows in resolving controversial issues.

It will be recalled that in 2007 Nigerian Parliamentarians fought in the House over an allegation made against the then Speaker, Patricia Etteh, that she had used millions of money to renovate her official residence. Subsequently, she resigned and was replaced by the current office holder.

In any case, the Nigerian drama is not unprecedented. Historically, the Greek Parliament had more often witnessed violent clashes among the lawmakers in the same way it had happened in some other countries.

However, as one Nigerian parliamentarian observed descriptively, “it is very bad and unbecoming of assemblymen who are role models to debase themselves in a free-for-all fight in the full glare of the public and press at the galleries.”

For that open display of misdemeanor, the public views are that the culprits should not go scot-free for the second time. They should be made to face sanctions such as impeachment, suspension, forfeiture of salaries deposition and both written and verbal apologies to the House.

Sincerely speaking, it is about time the disciplinary rules and regulations of the House were enforced and the Speaker asserted his powers and control over proceedings in the House.

Admittedly, more often than not, parliamentary debates get acrimonious, depending on the critical issues on the floor. In such cases, members shout, yell, gesticulate wildly and bang on the table while contributing to the debate. But this highly charged situation should not result in exchanges of hot blows that cause injuries and nasty effects. This is the reason for condemning the recent fracas among the Nigerian parliamentarians.

The significant point is that the episode should serve as a lesson to our Ghanaian MPs, warning them to refrain from pugnacious acts, no matter the degree and extent of provocation. Patience, open-mindedness and decency should be their watchwords.

By the way, it is encouraging to note that, so far, they have exercised tremendous restraint in addressing explosive issues in the House, knowing very well that as law makers they have to be the first to obey the laws and not to breach them. Thumps-up to Ghana’s parliamentarians.

Indeed, following the trend of debates in the House from the past to the present, one can say that the ugly scene of scuffle will not happen in Ghana’s Parliament. As a matter of fact, the disciplinary rules and regulations of the House as well as public censure and condemnation will not allow it.

Yet the possibility of it cannot be ruled out, since our MPs are humans with elements of weaknesses and failings in them. One day, they could be infuriated by a highly sensitive issue, over-react and go berserk like their Nigerian counterparts. As the saying goes, “there is a limit to human endurance” and beyond it anything could happen.

All this may be a conjecture. But the worrying snag about our MPs is their habitual unpunctuality resulting in the recurrent lateness in the commencement of business of Parliament. The issue has sparked off debates among members of the House, deploring this bad attitude. The Speaker has taken time to express misgivings and warned them about it.

It is said that “punctuality is the soul of business”. This adage is very true and well known. So it must be borne in mind and adhered to as a matter of expedience.

On a final note, while we bemoan the acts of impropriety of Nigeria’s parliamentarians, let us hope that it will never occur again and impress upon our MPs to learn useful lessons from it.

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