Press Release: SPEAKER’S AWARD: HOUSE OF REPS MISSED THE POINT 18th February 2008

The Federal Government of Nigeria last week gave the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, the award of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR). The House of Representatives reportedly took offence at the award which the honourable members regarded as degrading. They felt that the Speaker should have been given the more prestigious Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).

We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) frown at this grandstanding. We expect our representatives to be more interested in solving the knotty issues facing the nation: epileptic power supply, hunger, disease, unemployment, high crime rate, bad roads, etc. Which of these problems have they resolved or reduced to the barest minimum? We are constrained to attribute the attitude of the House to an acute shortage of altruism.

Did the citizenry elect members of the House for the express object of seeking awards? For how long have our representatives served the country? Much as we do not want any confrontation between the legislators and the Federal Government, MURIC is perturbed that the latter appears to have been cowed by the protest of the House. We denounce this hocus-pocus. Awards, whether national or otherwise, are priviledges, not rights. Hundreds of security operatives are risking their lives for the country daily in the Niger Delta, in crime detection and in peace-enforcement. Many journalists are out there facing hazards of their profession, all for the survival of democracy, for the sake of their country. Our soldiers have abandoned their loved ones and gone on national assignments in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Darfur. Should they all come back to demand national awards?

We therefore call on the honourable members of the House of Representatives to eschew ego-massaging and squarely face their primary assignment of legislation. They should not create unnecessary appetite for awards which hitherto our struggling youths do not have. Already our values have all been monetised making materialism the song on every lip and consequently criminalizing our norms.

MURIC advises the Federal Government to come down from its high horse when choosing awardees. While we are not saying public officers should not be favoured, we must pick among hard working peasants. Let our awards go to low rank policemen renowned for their honesty and dedication. We wish to publicly recommend a popular Lagos-based female mechanic for the next award. It will engender in our females the spirit of hard work.