Senator Ita Enang has been a Legislator in most of his political career. He was first elected Councillor and later served in Akwa Ibom House of Assembly before proceeding to the House of Representatives and ultimately, the Senate, where he served for two terms. The former Presidential Liaison Officer (Senate) who serves as Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs in this interview to mark the nation’s 60^th Independence anniversary bares his mind on some critical issues in the polity.

This is the diamond age of Nigeria’s  independence, how will you assess the journey so far?

 I think we done very well, we thank God that we are able to stay together as one country, although in a different heart the things in our hearts and our consciousness are different they were still bond together by geography and international dialogue the leaders of the country have done very well, they’re respected leaders, we started by bloodshed, the different coups and ethnic suspicions, which led to the 1964,1965,1966 and 1967 challenges of the country and now we are able to stay together.

One of the greatest achievement is that we have been able to have democracy running consecutively for the last 21years, so we congratulate Nigerians. I want to say that we would have done better as a country.

We are self governing, we are a democracy but we are not independent. The only thing we can call independent is we are independent of foreign rulers but we are not independent as a country, because we have not yet produced what we can eat or we have not yet refined our petroleum, we don’t add  enough value to our petroleum.

  In agriculture, we are not self- sufficient in technology, we are are not deploying the technology of other countries into our country and yet don’t explore the democratic resources into the technological  advancement of our citizens.

 In terms of our currency, we have not done well at all. In the ‘80s the naira was stronger than the    Dollar and Pounds.  In the ‘80s  the dollar exchange was  about $3 or $4 dollars to one naira, the Pounds was two pounds to one naira, how do we get to where we are? So we have to go and see again how we can re-invent our country and make sacrifices.

 The other problem  is that individuals and persons in government don’t see themselves as serving the public. Persons  in government and public offices see it as an opportunity to make money, as an opportunity to show up they don’t see it as an opportunity to develop the country or to add value to the country. Most persons in public offices don’t see their Nigeria with like the British, European and Americans see their countries.

They do not see public offices as an opportunity to grow the country, to add value to the country, create employment. People in public offices  see it  as an opportunity to make money, to show up, to  say, I have arrived. These are part of the things we lost, which we will not gain in our 60 years of independence but I am praying to God that under the leadership and the hand  of President Buhari,  who also says to me “do the right thing go and do the right thing, you will account to your God.” Let all public officers follow  the example of President Buhari, who believes in doing the right thing, they will account to their God 

You   were Chairman of House committee on Rules and Business, while in the House, from your experience, what can you tell us  about  the role  and performance of the legislature in Nigeria  since  independence?

I want to congratulate the Nigerian people again  for the 21 years of democratic rule. In the existence of the legislature, it does appear that the public still takes the legislature  as the opposition party, but the legislature has done well because the legislature is the conscience of the people. I am very grateful to the legislature because its the legislature that brings out things that are happening in different Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

A president or governor will not know when there is crime or corruption in any office, he will not know when money is been appropriated, he will not know when things are not going well in any of the ministries, where money has been misappropriated  he will not also know where programmes that are to be executed are not well executed, as they were meant to be other than the legislature through over sight function, through the process of public hearing. 

And of course, the legislature has to come to stay. Something is getting very wrong with the legislature and I want to say with the greatest respect to the present legislature, the 7th Assembly, the 8th Assembly and the 9th Assembly. I was a member of the  7th Assembly in the Senate.

At  the time I was in the Senate, the standard had started getting down. You will have a situation where you bring a bill on the floor, you don’t have the bill debated, you don’t have the essentials of the bill debated and and you don’t have  situation where you have votes and proceedings produced, you don’t have the situation where you have the handsards showing the debate on any bill to know the thinking of the legislature.

In Law, one of the best means of knowing when the judge is based on interpretation of any law and is not guided by any  precedent, he will want to say, what was the intention of the legislature and sometimes when you want to know the intention of the legislature, you  go to the handsards of the legislature , and the handsards of the legislature is showing the drain and flow of debate, it’s that flow of debate that the judge will take,  read and know, this was the thinking of the legislature. But now you will go to the legislature, you won’t find the handsards, sometimes they don’t produce the vote and proceeding.

Take for instance,  we have the CAMA act, a lot of people say they do not see or know because there was no dated debate on it and even the vote and proceedings were not produced because not everybody had  it.

Now take for instance, what is happening in Imo state today and what I’m saying is not really applicable to the National Assembly but to the State Houses  of Assembly, the state houses of assembly have been reduced to parastatal of the  governors.

Take the example of Imo state, they passed  the administration of criminal justice Act and according to social media,  and the sponsor of the bill, what was presented to the governor for signature is different from what was passed on the floor, which can not happen, which is  a criminal action.

In 2002 or 2003,  when there was an injection of something wrong  into the electoral Act under Obasanjo administration, when there is  something into the Act before it was forwarded to the president, so the legislature is gradually going low , because, when you take the vote and proceeding argument, in the Assembly of 1999 to  2003, and take the one of 2003 to 2007, take the one of 2007 to 20011 you will see contributions, you will see men who were prepared for the legislature, you will see the argument of lawyers, engineers, architects, doctors different professionals, you will see what people did

now if you pick those things, you will not see what even a sponsor of a bill will do, therefore the national assembly and the legislature should go back, thank God I urge the Senate president who is the longest serving member, he was with me in the house of representatives from 1999 to 2007, in 2007 he  left to the Senate I was the One that continued in the house of representatives in 20011, as of today he spent one year on the floor of the legislature as a Senate president let him recall as it’s working and then bring back that level of intellectual argument.

How will you describe the situation in the Niger delta since 1960?

Niger Delta shouldn’t be weeping and  wailing today. It  appears raped by the very country it has helped but it is more raped by the indigenes of the region  because the things that come for the development of the Niger Delta through different struggles have gone  into the hands of the leaders of the Niger Delta, who have found  opportunity to be in government. 

They have not done well  for the citizens. Look at the derivation principle, it was supposed to be  for the development of the Niger Dtelta  but it is given to the Governors and the governors use it to compete among them selves who Will fly the newest private jet.

 I saw a post the other day and I wept, which Said, compare the convoy of President Buhari with the cars and  convoy of  a particular  governor in Niger Delta.  I wept because when you see the cars of a  governor in the Niger Delta, then you will see that the region is not suffering from the hand of the country but it’s suffering from the hand of it’s citizens.  Go and look at the local content fund, look at how the oil companies are treating the area. 

The Governors should set up a special purpose vehicle that goes to develop Niger Delta with the derivation money at least if they want to give this thing, give only 20 percent to the Governors to develop the Urban areas, let the 80percent go to the development of Niger Delta oil producing communities.

There are times that we have stoppage of oil production.  It’s because some communities want just a primary school, they want Just a road and a market, if you go to Ogbosi community, the ogba kingdom in Ogba LGA in Rivers state, you will find soldiers always surrounding and protecting the gas plant there.

The gas plant that feeds this country. The gas plant from there   is going to be joined by the gas pipe line in delta to take gas through the West African gas pipe line, it is that gas that is coming to Ajaokuta and it’s being linked to Kaduna and Kano,  contract  has been awarded worth over $2billion. Yet the community, where this gas comes from – Ogbosi, is asking for primary school; Is asking for a market; Is asking for a one kilometer road. What these people are asking for does not even  amount to revenue that accrues from from  one  hour production of gas