The Wabara National Assembly and his security forces

 

Emeka Oraetoka

Garki – Abuja, Nigeria

 

oramekllis@lycos.com

 

Saturday, January 8, 2005

 

"It is absolutely irrational that the National Assembly, a law-making establishment, could be where innocent Nigerians would be intimidated by security agents on the pretext of  "order from the above."

 --         Agonizing lamentation of a Nigerian  brutalized and stopped from gaining entrance at the gate of the 'White House' to listen to proceedings on 16 Dec, 2004.

 

On this day, 16th December 2004, the Chief Security Officer [CSO] of the National Assembly, Col. Emeka Okere [rtd] according to reports, supervised the beating, slapping and intimidating of innocent Nigerians that have come to the National Assembly, probably to listen to parliamentary proceedings. According to reports, disappointed Nigerians at the gate of the white house started asking questions about the desirability or fitness of this man -- Col. Emeka -- on this job, when under his nose one of his wards, supposedly a female police officer in mufti, slapped a fellow on the pretext that he was obstructing the entourage of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Masari.

 

According to reports, more than three hundred people got stranded at the gate of the 'White House,' on the order of this chief security officer to the National Assembly. The excuse offered by the police at the gate was that they received order to allow only the staff at the 'White House.' Curiously, under the supervision of this man, many people, not staff of the National Assembly, had access to the 'White House.' Reports had it that those allowed in, apart from the staff, probably played ball with the security forces at the gate. When they, the officers, were reminded that National Assembly is a public place, and as such people who came to listen to proceedings from the gallery should be allowed -- since it is their legitimate and constitutional rights, they insisted that they were merely obeying "order from the above."

 

The political implications of the actions of this Chief Security Officer could be grievous to the Senate President, if this seemly small issue is not sorted out fast. According to sound minds, should political crisis crop up in the Senate, insinuations like these could arise: The Senate President has lost the moral authority to lead this distinguished Senate because he allows security officers to extort and intimidate those that come to the National Assembly to listen to proceedings. How can a law-making institution encourage the intimidation of people by the police and other security officers, at the gate of the 'White House,' National Assembly? they could ask.

 

The Senate President could embark on investigation to determine what happened to people at the gate of the 'White House' on this fateful day 16th Dec. 2004, even till the very day the Senate went on Christmas break, with a view to putting things right. The Senate President could also ensure the training of police and other officers at the National Assembly, so as to bring them to appreciate the meaning of parliamentary democracy, and how to relate with members of the society. For the Chief Security Officer of National Assembly, there is probably the need for a refresher course to understand the meaning of parliamentary democracy. Alternatively, the National Assembly could embark on on-line transmission of proceedings; if they feel that they could be sufficiently distracted by people listening to proceedings from the gallery.

 

 

Emeka Oraetoka, Information Management and Media Relations Consultant, writes in from Garki – Abuja.