Monday, 13 July 2015

How Honorable is this federal legislature? by Olusegun Ariyo[ 1]

                                                                                     
 The word honorable as defined in the oxford dictionary is some-one worth’’ deserving respect and admiration, showing high moral standards, allowing to keep their good names and high moral standards. Borrowing from such, one is tempted to say that the underlined indeed, can be in an opposite terms in the attitudes of some of our honorable legislators, given  their various action and inactions that some individuals have experienced in the course of having one means of engagement with there constituents especially if it’s boiled down with having  engaging in one  transactions or the other with them.



 As experiences of lives  perception and reality has displayed in one fact, that you cannot know someone’s true character until such individual is given a position that attract wealth, affluence and riches, not until that, such individual is, in- actual sense, borrowing  from others behavior. Whether or not this perception comes with reality, personal encounter on this can be adjudged to be a true reflection of all in narrative, since the writer is indeed the one in the melodrama of all that transpired.



 The happenings and conjectures illuminates in totality the encounter of that thrilling engagement in definite terms with such vivid perception, given an account of what was indeed  more terrifying, it would be sweet to illustrate such with the understanding of    an unfortunate experience  that comes with its realities. That is expected. My viewers may start to wonder what are those factors and experiences with-which one can use as a criteria in juxtaposing the point that is about to raise the unfolding agenda of how dis-honorable this federal legislature could be. Expectedly, an encounter with such personality gives me more justification about how scurrilous some individuals could turn out to be, wearing the status of an honorable as the ‘’basis for sharing more light in my predicaments, as it were’’.


There is a lessen here for us all who often revel in naked display of implacable hostility and sometimes hatred for the human agent of the objects of tyranny; from  where the boundary between the constituents and its  representatives  are found, and are tailored with nihilistic character that is blurred and collapsible; in the courts of  populism  through the rough and ready handle of demonization of fellow mankind that raises  commotion at the sight of the speck in the other man’s eye heedless of log sticking from their own eye balls. A preferred thriving illustration our faces of culture and hypocrisy in Nigeria.



  There is a Yoruba adage that depicts the plight of people in this circumstance as prioritizing the treatment of a guinea worm over the far worst condition of leprosy. The issues specific here, is about taking a man for a horse ride’’ being an honorable, in some thing that gave him an edge, not knowing that such position remains a status that is temporary and unfortunately, is unmindful of the fact that there shall come a time that ends him as an individual who can occupy such position constitutionally or through the popularity votes of the his people. Even with that,  there can be some unwarranted display  of strange character in such circumstances’’ in the context of corruption in Nigeria; where billions are literarily and routinely lifted from the public tills, this violation would probably  rank as a normal issue yet, it  is those factors that clout must of our representatives, more especially having being elected, and taste what many constituents is unable to have a fill of, strangely, they become unsolicited saints, make them self’s like they have never been part of that constituency and environment before, isn’t that pathetic? This behaviors hack to yet another cynical Yoruba adage that says ‘’ the thief is the one who has being apprehended, thieves not yet caught remains innocent  just because it manage to elude ‘’being caught’’ thus far. To be screened and get certified as free of HIV is definitely a better medical status than suspected carriers who are yet to under go verification.


The blessing of this unfortunate scenario is that the constituents are the one who usually troop out in time of voting and the zeal usually is in the fact of the promises made to them. Therefore, doing so, they the constituent would play there part, and when the time to reciprocate is ripe for the honorable to fulfill its own side of promises, it then becomes a brick wall that becomes difficult all-of –a sudden. ‘What I found most unacceptable is the scurrilous attempt on my integrity as a reporter, when an encounter is thrown open with a certain federal legislator in a phone conversation. Hear him’’ hello segun, how are things? Ha, honorable, I’m fine sir. Segun, the reported story that you covered on constitutional memorandum in my constituency, I saw it, very balanced, I liked it. Thanks honorable, that was part of my job, you know sir. ‘’Yes’’, segun, would be coming to Lagos penultimate Friday, would appreciate that we meet, have some thing I want you to do for me, please. Okay sir, Endeavour to call me as soon as you are back in Lagos sir. It’s alright, regards. Thank you your honor. That was how we ended the initials of our conversation that opens up how the melodrama started.



 There after, was keenly interested in what this ‘’honorable was having on mind that he wanted me to be of assistance. Already there were several putative in me, waiting impatiently to be born in the psychological labour room, to birth fresh thing of admiration, showing high moral standard in it. The contention then and, more so, now is that being a federal legislator, with honorable status expectedly, there was this premonition that such individual should have a moral standard, respect and admiration in his ‘’word’’ and doings. What displayed in my instinct at first is that, there shouldn’t be any reason what-so-ever, in doubting his directives’’ and now, after all said and done, all assignment given, is being delivered without any form of payment from the origin, there after his disposition changed in time when it was ripe to get my reward of what I have labored for, where his mannerism of talking when ever a call is put through to his phone becomes astonishing. How dis-honorable could this individual be? Isn’t that astonishing? Yes, indeed my ardent viewers would say. Now that all he wanted is done and delivered without paying any dime?  What this federal legislator seems not to understand is that we choose to respect that office that is accorded with the status of honorable and not the ‘’individual’’. A day before his arrival date, he called and told me to meet with him in his constituency office the next day. I did in affirmative. He said what I wanted you to do for me is to bring up a comprehensive profile about my life, politics and future carrier. Now, I was able to satisfy my curiosity, since the intention was clear as to what is expected of me to do.




We agreed with price, eventually, did all that is expected of me and it was submitted to his representative as directed with high expectation.  From then up ward, the honorable had since displayed an individual with out self-introspection, ill character that is ill-evaluated which determines how dis-honorable some individuals could be.’’ Nigerian cries aloud everyday on sundry ill about people of this character and nothing changed. Therefore seeking to play the prosecutor, the judge and the jury is the attribute of culture of progress in all happenings there after, and still unfolding. The mere fact that such individual sees himself as an honorable is a passport to impunity and that nothing else could befall such person. This should change in the characters of some of our representatives with such perceptions. Indeed, that is the only way the word honorable can best suits some of us who are truly honorable with respect and admiration and not other wise

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