Haba Ihedioha?

Here is a man who won the admiration of millions of Nigerians for being part of a duo that has led the House of Representatives in an orderly, respectful and transparent manner, turning round to sing a different tune.Like most Nigerians have observed, it was a shocking and disturbing thing for Mr Ihedioha to block […]

Here is a man who won the admiration of millions of Nigerians for being part of a duo that has led the House of Representatives in an orderly, respectful and transparent manner, turning round to sing a different tune.
Like most Nigerians have observed, it was a shocking and disturbing thing for Mr Ihedioha to block discussions into the 9.3 million dollars cash-for-arms scandal that has been rocking the country in the last two weeks. This is the one time that we all expected the Deputy Speaker to display those sterling qualities that made their leadership of the lower chamber an exemplary one, but instead he chose to play the regional and sectarian card by displaying a dictatorial demeanor we never knew he possessed.
How can his excuse that the matter is a ‘security issue’ that must not be debated on the floor of the house be accepted when that is the one place where every issue concerning our nation can be discussed? Are the honorable men and women of the lower chamber not the lawful representatives of all Nigerians? Where else do you discuss issues of such national importance apart from where every Nigerian is represented?
According to his ‘shocked’ colleagues, who angrily staged a walk-out after he had ruled against any discussion on the subject, there is no rule that ‘allows a presiding officer to disallow a matter already out on notice to the House.’ But Emeka Ihedioha did just that. Even the allegation that members were paid 50 thousand dollars to block the debate did not deter the acting speaker. The only concession he made, according to news reports, was that the following day, Ihedioha referred the bribes matter to the Ethics and Priviledges Committee of the house for investigation.
This is obviously not enough. If the Deputy Speaker did not notice, let me alert him that every responsible, people-oriented organization in Nigeria has called for a probe of this cash- for- arms scandal in the interest of peace and security in our nation. The Catholic Bishops Conference, the Trade Union Congress, The Jama’atu Nasril Islam, the Muslim Rights Concern and many other organizations and respectable individuals have called for that thorough investigation. This is because, it might shed light on who has been flooding the country with illegal arms and been fuelling the insurgency and other security challenges facing our nation.
So Mr Ihedioha, are you going to side with the powerful, influential few who would like to quietly sweep the matter under the carpet to save their cronies, or are you going to listen to concerned voices of reason and allow an investigation into this matter by the elected representatives of our people? The choice is yours to make. But remember that blocking the debate at the House of Reps will not stop a thorough investigation of the incident through another government organ. And history will judge you on this.