Nigeria is due for revolution, says Tambuwal

The Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, has fired another salvo aimed at leaders in Nigeria.

In his view, Nigerian has fulfilled all the conditions precedent to a revolution.

TAmbuwal particularly pinpointed endemic corruption in the country and the general disaffection of the people  with the ruling elite.

Tambuwal spoke as a guest speaker at the 2013 Distinguished Management Lecture of the Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered) in Lagos on Tuesday. The theme of the lecture was, 'The role of the legislature on the economic, infrastructural and ethical revolution in Nigeria.'

He was represented by the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele,

The Sokoto-state born legislator, enumerated causal factors for a r revolution throughout the ages to include injustice, crushing poverty, marginalisation, rampant corruption, lawlessness, joblessness, and general disaffection with the ruling elite.

These, he added, were already amply prevalent in Nigeria.

The speaker said over the years, successive governments made efforts to deal with this menace, but to no avail.

'That these conditions exist is well known to all persons in authority but the results of these successive efforts have failed to yield the desired results. This therefore is the justification for the radical change from the present approach to a revolutionary one,' he said.

From the perspective of legislation, according to him, the most critical role that the legislature plays is through the annual appropriation bill, as every year, pursuant to the Constitution, the executive submits its budget estimates for legislative scrutiny.

The Speaker said,  as representatives of the people, the legislature ensured that the more critical needs of the people got priority attention, as efforts were made to ensure equitable distribution of projects.

He said, 'The effort of the National Assembly to handle appropriation to meet the yearning and aspirations of the people has been met with serious resistance; yet it is something we must do.

'It is perhaps important to emphasise that if our economy is to be turned around, our annual budgets must prioritise programmes and projects that deliberately address issues of poverty alleviation, job creation and security of lives and property.