In his play “The Gods Are Not To Blame”, Ola Rotimi warned that the mouth must chew with caution until the bad tooth is removed.
About the mouth and bad teeth, a battle line seem to be drawn between the Executive and the Legislature and the daggers are drawn out. It is good for our fledgling democracy, for the edifice we are building for now and the future.
Since “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”, the Legislature and Executive must be checking each other constantly lest one grows uncontrollably or becomes a Frankenstein monster to all.
When both cannot settle their differences, they have the option to run to the Supreme Court, that final arbiter whose doors are now as widely open as the gates of Serre Kunda Market. And we need to be constantly developing our jurisprudence, here lies the opportunity, a test case waiting to for judicial interpretation.
Aaah…. Like all of you, I too love dream of the future better than the history of the past. About history or immediate past happenings, our National Assembly might not have a very good report to write home about especially with regards to consistency, congruence, connection and integrity. But the show of solidarity with Hon. Kumba Jaiteh, by about 31 NAMs, and their defiance and abhorrence to executive onslaught is commendable.
May be it is the beginning of the realisation that the Assembly is the embodiment of the people’s powers which is supposed to rise above partisan politics and cheap popularity, and not play second fiddle to other organs, when the national interest, an issue about party interest, is at stake.
May be this support is not Kumba or love for her but rather deference to constititionslism, legality and rule of law. May be we should give the National Assembly the benefit of the doubt that henceforth they would owe allegiance in national matters to their God, Constitution and Conscience.
Consistency, Credibility, Congruence, Connnection, Trust, Character are the hallmarks of leadership and effective leaders and none is leader of the people than the National Assembly. I hope I am not wrong in the future.
Since I regard this support to Kumba as deference to the rule of law and constitutional, read what Thomas More, in Robert Bolt’ s “A Man for All Seasons” thinks about the rule of law and why we must all stand for it, even if gainer is the Devil:
“William Roper: So now you’d give the Devil benefit of law!
Thomas More: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
Roper: I’d cut down every law in England to do that!
More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you -where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country’s planted thick with laws from coast to coast -man’s laws, not God’s -and if you cut them down- and you’re just the man to do it -d’you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil the benefit of the law, for my own safety’s sake.”
For preservation of the rule of law and constitutionalism, I hope both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker aren’t being “neutral” In this show of strength? The bell doesn’t toll for only one nominated member.
Let justice guide our actions….
