DON'T TRUST THE HOUSE OF REPS.

[Mai Halin Girma]

SULAIMAN KAWU: WHY POLITICAL IMMUNITY?
By
Salim I. Hassan (Salimullah)
Education Department, BUK.
salimanology@yahoo.com
salimullah1.blogspot.com
06/07/2009

I have read in the previous dailytrust dated Wednesday, 05/07/2009 that Rep. Abdulrahaman Suleiman Kawu, Deputy Minority leader has said that the House of Reps. Will never support or even consider a bill that demands removal of political immunity for the leaders; likewise the one that demands  the creation of new states or local governments. I, like all other patriotists, must support the former bill and oppose the later. We must indeed demand that political immunity for the leaders should be stripped if at all we want to stop our leaders from all sort acts of corruptions, and political vices and taboos. I wonder if there such a nation in the world, apart from Nigeria, which constitutionally provides laws that encourages leaders to corruption, bribery and tyranny, meanwhile protecting them from public accuse and excluding them from rule of law. What an injustice and a tyranny! Any nation that provides political immunity for the leaders is in fact encourages leaders to loot national resources, to violate human right, and above all rule of law, just as it presently happening in our country. Political immunity makes the Nigerian corrupt leaders untouchables by the law. This is a conspicuous injustice! As far as Democracy is concerned, the ruler and ruled are both subject to the law no matter how eminent position one occupies. Democratically speaking, if a leader, including the president himself, is accused of corruption he must be summoned before the law; and if found severely guilty, he must be deposed and removed from power. But in Nigeria the situation was totally opposite. They cunningly created for themselves, a law of political immunity just to sustain their act of corruption and violation of human right and rule of law. Only a typical corrupt leader can support the continuation of political immunity. The majority citizens do not want this law to continue. If it is true that in democracy the will of citizens must take precedence over that of the leaders; so why the Reps, in connivance with the president, wanted political immunity to be maintained which is against the will of Nigerian citizens. In fact, they are trying to make treason against our great country. I am both Islamic and patriotic; for that I am speaking for both causes.  We must speak out this truth that political immunity is injustice in all religious and secular international laws. It is a political shield invented by only Nigerian politicians in order to sustain and legalize all their acts of corruption and violation of rule of law.       

Nigeria is the only nation where the leaders can do all sort of political crimes, and the citizens are fear to speak. Even if they speak of it there would be no law or constitutional provision that may demand to deal with the culprit leader. It is the only country where the political leaders, under the evil political immunity, could not be arrested for committing corruption, political crimes and taboos, and or bribery.  In reality, Democracy supposes it is good, in Nigerian it is bad and the situation is irony. One of the main features of Nigerian democracy is a tyranny, subjugation of citizens' right, and violation of rule of law. Such evil actions can be called Political Vices and Taboos and they can be only committed peacefully by the leaders through the evil policy of political immunity.  Through political immunity which the constitution granted them they can do whatsoever they wish from misuse of power, looting government funds, tyrannizing the citizens and violating the rule of law itself. The constituent representatives at both state and national assembly are not really representing the needs of the citizens; once they enter into assembly house they selfishly turn to represent their wishful personal desires of material gains and lusts of wealth. They usually get there just to satiate their vested-interest. They are ready to connive with the president or governor himself to embezzle the government funds and to cheat their citizens. In all such bad situation, political immunity has been working for them to protect them from rule of law.

Nigerian I must pity you and myself for what we have been enduring from our double-face leaders. We should wake up to fight against political immunity as enshrined in the constitution. Let us speak of our right which is the majority. Let us tell the House Reps. that we Nigerian citizens do not support bill for national disintegration such the creation of new states; but we do support and frankly advocate for the removal and destruction of political immunity. If we know you will know, the great Nigerians.   

[HUSNAA]

And they are getting paid an average of 200 million naira per person per annum when all is considered (according to reports I heard on DW Hausa).

[Dan-Borno]

they are nothing but executive rubber stamps