- Ghali Umar Na’Abba recalls how Namadi Sambo replied him when he brought issues about the state of the country's education to the former vice president
- Na'Abba says the state of education in the country is a dangerous trend that should be halted urgently
- He says lawmakers have the power to strengthen the legislature
Former speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’Abba, has revealed the alleged ridiculous way a former vice president, Namadi Sambo, responded when brought up issues about the parlous state of education in the country.
Na’Abba, who spoke as a discussant at an event marking the eighth session of the Lagos state House of Assembly, complained about the state of education in the country.
He said the situation had been so even while he was speaker under the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo era.
He said when he contacted Sambo, the former vice president in the government of Goodluck Jonathan, simply went religious.
Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Osinbajo, Obasa and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode at the event. Credit: Lagos Assembly
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“I told Jonathan's vice president about the state of education in Nigeria and I thought he would do something about it. But all he told me was ‘may God heal the situation’.
“The state of education in two-third of the country is abysmal,” he said.
Na’Abba, who was reacting to a lecture by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo about how to resolve some of the challenges of Nigeria, said Nigeria was facing a failing state with the level of education and that it could only take some time before this goes out of hand.
He blamed the Nigerian legislature for allowing the executive muzzle the arm of government saying it is the lawmakers that should work towards their independence.
He illustrated this with the various impeachments and such attempts during the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo at the federal level as well as in the states at the period and how he joined the battle to ensure the failure to impeach the late Chuba Okadigbo, then president of the Senate.
“The legislature must do things that would sustain its independence. The executive and the legislature are always living in friction and this helps the society,” he said.
Governor Aregbesola, Osinbajo, Obasa, Ambode and Idiat Adebule, deputy governor of Lagos, cutting the anniversary cake. Credit: Lagos Assembly
He lamented the state of insecurity in the nation attributing it partly to the eradication of the middle class in the country.
“More than ever, the government must do everything to bring experienced members of the party together for solution.
“It is not the best for stakeholders of the party to read about government's progress only in the newspapers.
“The federal government must also design means to empower the middle class. In the beginning of this administration, the naira to dollar was about N180. All of a sudden, it rose to N500 and later stabilised at N350. Some people lost their investments and there is nothing to do,” he said.
Earlier, the speaker of the Lagos state House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, had noted the importance of the legislature in the nations democracy.
According to Obasa, the survival of the legislature is very important and the executive arm of government must ensure its continued existence.
“An executive arm that negatively influences the business of the legislature cannot be categorised to be a democrat. Hence, the executive should play the role of a father who ensures the survival of his child.
“In addition, the relationship between the executive and legislature should be of cordiality. Otherwise, a sign of instability and catastrophe will rear its ugly head,” he said.
The speaker said since 2015, the House had passed 28 bills and over 100 resolutions.
“Since last year when we met like this, we have successfully passed a total of 13 bills into laws while we have also made 45 resolutions.
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“Some of these laws address issues related to our environment, power and energy sector, health, transport, as well as education. Notable among them is the Lagos state electric sector reform Law 2017, which aims to ensure the protection of consumer interest and compliance with environmental laws. The law is to further strengthen electricity generation, distribution and transmission for improved power supply in Lagos state,” he said.
The speaker also mentioned other successes as the review of the land use charge law, the state cancer research institute law, the teaching service commission law of 2018, and the transport sector reform law expected to address issues relating to the challenges of road commuters in the state.
NAIJ.com earlier reported that Professor Yemi Osinbajo declared that the country cannot be effectively secured by its police force because of the way the law enforcement agency is currently structured.
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Source: Naija.ng
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