How Nigeria gained leadership of ECOWAS parliament

Group Politics Editor, Taiwo Adisa, chronicles Nigeria's often lacklustre participation in international parliamentary meets, concluding that the recent emergence of Nigeria as Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) parliament appears the right tonic for the nation's inter-parliamentary politics.

The Nigerian legislature is unarguably the least developed democratic institution in the land. That can only be the reality in a nation which has only 22 years of democratic experience in its 51 years of existence. The military, which usurped the remaining 29 years, always made the legislature its casualty whenever it seizes the reins of power. While the judiciary is allowed to co-exist with the military, not on its own terms, but on terms dictated by the jackboot, the legislature is exterminated each time the military struck. It means, therefore, that each time the nation kick-starts a democratic journey, the legislature is returned to the starting bloc.

The experience from 1999 to date is a further testimony to this. The disadvantage Nigeria suffers at the inter-parliamentary stage as a result of incessant breaks in its democratic journey are, however, monumental. Despite the fact that Nigeria almost religiously pays its contributions to organisations, such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the African Parliamentary Union (APU), Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPU) and even the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliamentary Association, no Nigerian occupied any administrative position in the hierarchy of such bodies.

While countries like The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Togo, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa enjoyed prime positions in the different parliamentary bodies, Nigeria was not even heading any committee of the IPU at the start of democracy in 1999. Again, the instability in the legislature, high turnover of lawmakers at each election intervals and frequent changes in committee compositions also combined to render Nigeria's participation in Inter-Parliamentary meets a mediocre appearance.

On August 11, the story of Nigeria's poor and uneventful representation at inter-parliamentary meets appeared altered, with the emergence of the Deputy Senate President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, as the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament. By that, Ekweremadu has become the anchorman of the sub-regional parliamentary organisation and a forerunner for Nigeria's effective participation in global legislative processes and procedures.

Though ECOWAS Parliament is not yet a full blown legislative institution, its role as an essential consultative organ of the body of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government makes it a veritable tool for exercise of political power within the region. Ekweremadu's emergence is also a further justification that the huge contributions Nigeria has made to the sustenance of the sub-regional institution in the past years do not continue to go down the drain.

Following its inauguration in 2000, ECOWAS Parliament completed its second session in November 2010. Some deft political moves by Nigeria were said to have ensured the emergence of Ekweremadu, who had served as the Deputy Speaker of the body, as the new man in the helm of affairs. The Parliament consists of 115 seats at the moment, distributed among the 15 ECOWAS member nations, in accordance with their population. Each national parliament nominates legislators to fill its slot at the parliamentary body, with Nigeria producing the largest delegation of 35 members. Togo and The Gambia has the least number of lawmakers in the body, with each country producing five members.

At the restart of legislative activities in Abuja on August 11, chairman of ECOWAS, President Goodluck Jonathan; the President of Nigerian Senate, Senator David Mark and the President of ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador, James Gbeho, all stated the desire to see the parliamentary body assume greater roles in the affairs of the sub-region. President Jonathan spoke of his desire to see the body gaining more relevance and extend the frontiers of democracy in the sub-region. He also assured the lawmakers of the support of the Head of State and Government of ECOWAS, in their push to make the legislative body an enviable institution.

At the inauguration of the third session of ECOWAS Parliament, there appears a consensus on the need to see the legislative body speedily transform to a full-fledged lawmaking institution, which could see members elected by direct universal suffrage. That could mean that members would not just be seconded from their national legislative houses, as it is presently the situation.

speaker after speaker at the inauguration attested to the relevance of the body, as they submitted that efforts should be made to ensure that the legislative body assume roles similar to that of European Parliament, such that it could play direct roles in the development of the sub-region.

Some of the credentials of the Parliament, as displayed by its members, include efforts at promoting and protecting democratic stability in the sub-region. Many also noted the setting up of ad-hoc committee on the political situation in Niger Republic and the Republic of Guinea headed at different times by Senator Ekweremadu, which made stiff recommendations to influence the resolute stance of the Authority of Heads of State and Government under late President Umaru Yar'Adua in resolving the crises in those countries.

In presenting Ekweremadu for election as the first Nigerian to head the ECOWAS Parliament, Nigeria never took things for granted. Documents detailing the varied outstanding contributions of the new Speaker were on display at every turn.

The resume of the 49-year old lawyer shows that he was born on May 12, 1962 at Mpu, Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State. He holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Nigeria, where he also taught Constitutional and Labour Laws. He holds leadership certificates from Harvard University and Oxford University.

He was also projected as a ranking member of the Nigerian Senate and also of the ECOWAS Parliament. He has been elected thrice into the Nigerian Senate since 2003 and also nominated into the ECOWAS Parliament the same year. He became the First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament in 2007.

ECOWAS Parliamentarians were told that the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate served on several committees of the Nigerian upper chamber from 2003 till date and that some of his outstanding efforts included his decision to champion the First Amendment to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review. They were told that the constitution amendment effected by Ekweremadu-led committee laid the foundation for the noticeable improvements in Nigeria's electoral processes as evident in the 2011 general election.

A motion tabled by Nigeria in support of Ekweremadu's nomination as Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament read in part: "Ekweremadu has also distinguished himself as a sub-regional player on the platform of the ECOWAS Parliament. Beside his solid contributions to parliamentary debates and as member of several Standing Committees such as Committee on Legal Matters, his leadership qualities and passion for democracy and good governance of the West Africa sub-region were best demonstrated during the political crises in Niger Republic and the Republic of Guinea in 2009.

"He chaired the Standing Committee on the Political Situation in Niger Republic and the Republic of Guinea, which carried out extensive fact-finding on the crises at the time. The incisive report guided the ECOWAS Parliament to make firm and far-reaching recommendations to the Authority of Heads of State and Government to checkmate the violations of democracy and constitutionalism in both countries.

Today, both countries and, indeed, the sub-region are completely free from military regime."

Besides, he was said to have enjoyed the support of the Nigerian delegation to the Parliament, the support of the entire Nigerian national parliament and delegation, and also commanded an enormous support and goodwill among other country delegations to the Third Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament.

The motion in his support further read: "It is imperative to state further that this Parliament needs a man in the mould of Senator Ekweremadu at a time like this, when there is general clamour for the reform of the ECOWAS Parliament and an overriding desire to bring it closer to the grass roots of the sub-region. It will interest us to note that Senator Ike Ekweremadu is a grass-roots man, having started off as a community leader.

"He has also served as chairman of his local government area of origin in Nigeria. He was a Chief of Staff to the Enugu State Government, as well as the Secretary to the Government of the same state in Nigeria before his election to the Nigerian Senate. As such, he has the requisite skills, knowledge, experience and goodwill to help the Community Parliament address those basic issues that affect the grass roots people of the sub-region, as well as to accelerate the processes of the parliamentary reforms we aspire for."

President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator David Mark, who addressed the inaugural session of the parliament, said ECOWAS Parliament was conceived as a forum for dialogue, consultation and consensus for West African Parliamentarians, with the aim of promoting cooperation and integration in the sub-region.

He said that in its few years of existence, the Community Parliament has performed its role successfully and has continued to make progress. According to him, the impressive convergence of who-is-who in the West African Parliament for the inauguration of the Third Session is a testimony to the growing confidence of the sub-region in affairs of ECOWAS Parliament. He added that the institution has come to stay.

"Permit me to note with some level of understandable bias that this Parliament remains one of the most impressive initiatives undertaken by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in their determination not only to promote stability and development in the West Africa sub-region, but also to institutionalise the culture of democracy among our peoples. The Community Parliament represents the voice of the peoples of West Africa. It is a melting pot of our experiences as a people and our collective resolve to pursue a common destiny, sharing in both the challenges and blessings of one another, and building a legacy of social, political and economic prosperity for present and future generations within the context of democratic principles," Mark said.

The Senate President further declared that the sub-regional legislative body offers members the unique chance of being referred to as symbols of democracy, not only in their respective countries but across West Africa.

"The existence of a parliament, at any level, tells the story of the existence of democracy. The sustenance of the ECOWAS Parliament is, therefore, a great mileage for democracy and good governance in the sub-region; and it serves as a constant reminder that power indeed, belongs to the people, not to the barrels of the gun," he further submitted.

He told the lawmakers that there was the need to preoccupy themselves with issues that would immediately unite the sub-region and deepen its democracy.

He said: "May I humbly suggest that first in this respect is the issue of the election of members by direct universal suffrage and secondly but no less important is the aspiration of the enhancement of powers of parliament. The advantage of direct suffrage cannot be over-emphassed. Other issues are: common currency, genuine implementation of free movement of the citizens and goods of member States within the Community etc. I, therefore, crave the support of the Authority of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to help the Community Parliament graduate to a full legislative institution, in line with the aspirations of the peoples of the sub-region and international best practices."

At election time, Nigeria faced no opposition, as Senator Ekweremadu emerged the first Nigerian Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament. He told the lawmakers in his acceptance speech that the era of military takeover of power in the sub-region was gone forever.

Senator Ekweremadu, who was unanimously adopted by the Nigerian delegation was also unanimously elected for a four-year tenure by all the 87 members present at the session.

According to him, the absence of any trace of military dictatorship in West Africa is a visible sign that democracy has finally come to stay in the sub-region, adding that democracy was not an end in itself, but a means to achieving growth. "The end of democracy should be development for the community and better life for our people, through good governance," he said.

After acknowledging the roles played by successive heads of state in stabilising the body, Ekweremadu insisted that there is much more ground to be covered, if the body is to achieve greatness.

"However, we can all attest to the fact that there is great work yet to be done. We must get all hands fully on deck. It has become imperative, therefore, to review and upgrade the powers, relevance, and status of the Community Parliament. It is part of my cardinal agenda to liaise with the Authority of Heads of State and Government to speed up the processes of transforming the ECOWAS Parliament from a consultative and advisory institution to a full blown legislative institution.

"A parliament, in my understanding, is a group of people empowered to make laws for the good governance of the people. This is the summary of the definition of parliament in all the dictionaries I consulted. This time, we will take all necessary steps to ensure that this institution is not only a parliament in nomenclature, but, indeed, a lawmaking institution," he said.

The new Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament said while the sub-region could pride itself as having put an end to the era of military dictatorship, its members must be awake to the reality that democracy had to be tailored towards democratic growth.

He stated that the Community Parliament now needs to move to the next level, not only in status, but also in competence.

"We must roll up our sleeves to do more collaborative work with other ECOWAS institutions and organs like the ECOWAS Commission, the ECOWAS Court of Justice, the ECOWAS Bank for Industry and Development and the Council of Ministers, to find speedy answers to our many challenges. We must collectively face the issues of human rights, justice, poverty, health, education, peace building, deepening the roots of democracy and catalysing economic development, through industrialisation and increased volume of intra-regional trade which still stands at a very low percentage, compared with trade between individual member states and Asian, European, and American interests.

"Our standing committees must be up and doing in working with all institutions and organs of the community to ensure that ECOWAS consolidates the path of zero tolerance for bad governance, injustice, impunity, corruption, coup d'état, and blemished electoral processes. These are in themselves the true roots of conflict, instability, and underdevelopment," Ekweremadu added.

He promised that his leadership of the Community Parliament would ensure that the institution thrives on legislative best practices, high ethical standards, and total commitment to the peace and development of the sub-region.

"It is that of a parliament, which is truly the voice of the people and attuned to the challenges and aspirations of our citizens. It is my foremost task to take this parliament from a seemingly far-removed international institution to one that lives among the people and rooted in their consciousness," Ekweremadu submitted.

Having emerged at the top of the sub-regional parliamentary institution, Nigerian lawmakers should have no further inhibitions in reaching for plum seats in the hierarchy of the global inter-parliamentary institutions. Only that will justify the huge and consistent financial commitments of Nigeria in the past years.

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