Hon. Nnena Elendu- Ukeje, represented the people of Bende Federal Constituency for twelve years, part of which she become the ranking chairperson of House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs. In this interview with KEMI YESUFU, the articulate former member, who also was the official orator of the House spoke on the performance of the 9th National Assembly, the rejection of the gender bills as part of the constitutional amendment, the upcoming elections, Igbo presidency and the kind of President Nigeria needs come 2023. She also opened up on the recent attack on her country home.

You spent twelve years in the National Assembly, can we have your analysis of the 9th Assembly, looking in from the outside?

You know something, we fought for the autonomy of the National Assembly. There were certain things that we did, I recall a certain headline that said: “Coup at the National Assembly, Reps elect Tambuwal Leader”, that was the beginning of the emancipation of the National Assembly. Legacies of militarism and colonialism and so on and so forth, has suppressed , repressed the Nigerian political space. And because the National Assembly was always absent when there are military interventions, it took the National Assembly a lot of work to fight to have a space at the table. Even though they said there are three different but equal arms of government, the truth of the matter is that the National Assembly has to continue to fight for relevance within the political space. And Nigerians were quick to embrace a National Assembly that was at loggerheads with the executive, and I use the word “loggerheads” advisedly. Now, the reason I said that was because, the way the executive arm of government is situated in Nigeria with the amount of over- bearing powers the arm of government has- they control the military, the police, I mean the Exclusive list is fraught with all amazing things that props up the executive and strengthens it. Now, we(NASS), continue to have to fight for our space. So, because of that, there’s the impression that the National Assembly, once it’s on its back leg in disagreement with the executive arm of government, we become the darlings of the Nigerian people. Now, there’s also a saying that you can’t talk with a full mouth, the impression, ab initio, was that the leadership of both the House and Senate were darlings of the executive arm of government. Because of that, from the beginning, there was suspicion for that leadership. Let’s also not forget that there was a lot of rancour as well in the elections of the opposition….and so, if you recall, Femi Gbajabiamila as the opposition leader was very vociferous on the floor of the House, people don’t see that amount of fire anymore from the opposition in the parliament. They probably have their own style of doing things. But, you know, parliament is a place where the Nigerian people want to watch and hear you speak on their behalf. There’s also the saying, of course, that the opposition will have its say, the majority will have its way, but the Nigerian people want to hear the minority speak vociferously on their behalf about things that affect them. Unfortunately, that voice was not as loud as the Nigerian people want it. So, it would appear, should I say, that they have been emasculated by the ruling party. And because those voices are not loud, it gives the impression that the National Assembly is acquiescing. Unfortunately, leadership in the time of social media is difficult, things that other people got away with, people are watching government in real time, everybody has a ringside seat to government, and you know Nigerians are very opinionated people. And so, things that have affected the people, like the valuation of the Naira, the high inflation rate and so on and so forth, Nigerians are a bit more disenfranchised, and they expect a parliament that is whipping at government every day, but they don’t hear that. So, a lot of Nigerians are of the opinion that parliament is a little docile in the face of heightened poverty that a lot of Nigerians face. Let me also make a point that a lot of things have conspired to create this feeling of disaffection we’re feeling in Nigeria. Covid-19 has done that, Coronavirus caused a lockdown, loss of income, global devaluation and so on and so forth. It has created a lot of frustrations, poverty and anger within the polity. Of course, the insecurity has not helped, the trans-border crime, the movement of ISIS, the banditry and so on has not helped. Nigerians are yearning to see that government is coming up with actionable plan. They’re not seeing that from the executive and they’re not hearing loudly enough, the National Assembly condemning it. So, people are concerned about the strength of the National Assembly. That, I believe has formed the opinions. However, I’ve seen flashes of excellence. I’ve seen some very interesting bills passed in this constitution review, my Small Arms and Light Weapons Bill, I’ve seen them try to do something about it. I’ve seen them do something about devolution of powers in this constitution amendment in certain ways. I’ve seen some audacious pieces of legislation, but as with everything else, there’s room for improvement.

During a recent interaction on the 2023 election shown live on TV, you said electoral violence is keeping many women out of politics, not a lack of funds. Now, your country home was set ablaze, same for your cars. Did you envisage that you would be a victim political violence?

I wasn’t seeing a vision, it was real, it was a clear, and present danger. And I’ve always said it, this is one of the problems of not having enough women in the Parliament. Because have we had enough women in parliament, they would have been able to speak up against gender-based violence in the political space in the Electoral Amendment Bill. I think that those are very important. And I know that yes, poverty wears a woman’s face in Africa, especially in Nigeria. What we have is a political space, badly affected by a parochial, patriarchal society…. a misogynist society. At worst, people die. Already as it is, I’m in court for libel, I’ve been slandered and I say to people, the reason I went to court is because over time, you have these slurs thrown at you, and you continue to listen to people say, ‘oh, you’re a woman, that’s what happens’. No, that’s not what should happen. And for me, it was so interesting. A penny dropped, I had gone to some platform, and I was asked: what have you done as a person to keep the door open for other women. And I spoke to mentorship and all that, but the truth of the matter, is that going to court to challenge these sexual innuendoes and these slurs and disrespect will help get more women in because these insults scare them away. I have faith in the judiciary system and I’m hoping I get the relief I seek, so that it’s a deterrent to other people who say they can throw these slurs at women and nobody stops them. There is cyber- bullying. You open messages up and see all kinds of news, super imposed bodies on female members to paint in a bad light, that’s cyber bullying. Many times, these pictures go viral, and a lot of women just can’t deal with it, especially married women. In the words of Winston Churchill, “a lie goes round the world twice before the truth’s get the chance to put its pant on ” so, you find that a lot of women just can’t put up with that, and I was speaking about it, and I’ve seen the escalation of violence in the political space. In the Nigerian space, violence and politics are always talked about pari-passu. So during the televised interaction, I was sounding a note of warning that with the recent escalation, we’re going to see a lot worse as we go forth. I wasn’t in the house in the village, yet, people went into my house/ father’s house, burnt it down, burnt the cars in the house in the village, to act as a deterrent to stop me from even contemplating the thought of running in the next elections. Unfortunately, I don’t scare that easy….but can you imagine if it was not someone steeped in the political space, or someone who wanted to test the waters of the political space, she would go and never come back. The greatest deterrent for women is violence and the conversation s around this should be open.

Read more @:https://frontlinenews.com.ng/south-east-should-be-given-opportunity-to-produce-next-president-elendu-ukeje/

Biafra na.

12 years as what? representing Bende?12years? Just shut your smelling trap. You all are the same PDP ,ApC..bunch of stewpid lots

Yes can I help you?

Golan007:
Biafra na.