The dramatic removal of Mudashiru Obasa as the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly speaks volumes about legislative independence in Nigeria.
Obasa’s removal was swift and unanimous, as the lawmakers immediately elected his deputy, Mojisola Meranda to lead the Lagos Assembly.
The allegations that brought his nearly decade-long reign to an ignominious end on Monday, January 13, 2025, include financial recklessness and flagrant abuse of office.
While the allegations against the ex-Speaker provided genuine grounds for his impeachment, the role of Lagos political elders and power brokers in his downfall cannot be discountenanced.
Multiple reports indicated that Obasa’s impeachment followed a meeting by the Lagos Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) over his contemptuous and disrespectful attitude towards Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Obasa’s problem with the GAC deepened when he declared his intention to contest for the number one political office in the state saying, “I am not too young or inexperienced to be governor, and I am more qualified than some of those people who are there.”
That was the last straw that broke the camel’s back as the GAC members reportedly found his remark disrespectful.
The GAC
The GAC is the highest-decision-making council of leaders in Lagos. Though unconstitutional, the council, formed by Bola Tinubu, decides on major political matters such as party affairs, elections and appointments.
The influence of the GAC is quite evident in Meranda’s first move as a Speaker of the Assembly. Shortly after her inauguration, she went straight to the residence of the state governor, Lagos House in Marina to ‘receive the blessings’ of the council members.
This underscores the sentiment that Lagos politics is largely hinged on the authority of the GAC elders, rather than democratic principles. In local parlance, this is known as ‘Baba Sope’, which loosely translates to godfatherism.
Despite the GAC’s influence on major political decisions, the executive and the legislative arm of the Lagos State Government appear to operate in a political environment where democratic principles of separation of power, and checks and balances exist.
Going by these democratic principles, one may argue that Obasa was testing the independence of the Lagos House of Assembly when he rejected Sanwo-Olu’s appointees in 2023, because as the leader of the legislature, he has the constitutional right to do so.
In like manner, members of the House have a constitutional duty to institute an impeachment process against the Speaker when he’s found wanting.
However, that Obasa was able to challenge the executive, and his colleagues were able to bring him from his exalted seat down to the floor over gross misconduct, ordinarily should affirm the legislative independence of the Lagos Assembly. But that is not the case, according to the viewpoints of many political observers.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Neda Imasuen (LP, Edo South), believes the independence of the Lagos Assembly is questionable.
Imasuen maintained that Obasa’s impeachment could not have been a matter of legislative independence, claiming his removal was politically motivated.
“Their independence is questionable. I say this because of the unseen hand that navigates their actions. Politics!” he submitted.
Before Obasa, there was Pelumi
Interestingly, Obasa was not the first speaker to be impeached in Lagos. Jokotola Pelumi suffered the same fate in 2005, and his case wasn’t even the first in Nigeria’s political history.
Under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerians witnessed a series of events that undermined the constitutional power of the legislature, both at the federal and state levels. Impeachments of Speakers were so rife it became a norm.
Between 1999 and 2007, the Nigerian Senate had five presidents: Evan Enwerem (1999), Chuba Okadigbo (1999–2000), Anyim Pius Anyim (2000–2003), Adolphus Wabara (2003–2005, and Ken Nnamani (2005–2007).
According to Dr Olalekan Hassan, a journalism lecturer at the Lagos State University, LASU, “Obasanjo bequeathed this inimical precedence and the state governors just ‘copy and paste’.”
It is important to note that the series of impeachments orchestrated by the executives, both at federal and state levels between 1999 and 2007, whittled down the power of the legislature, no thanks to the ex-president.
The checks and balances principle aside, Nigeria’s democratic system is unjustly skewed in favour of the executive, and this arrangement has rendered House of Assemblies across the country to be apron strings of their executives.
Legislative Independence
Again, a political system that bestows immunity on the executive and fails to protect the legislative members automatically makes the former superior. This explains why legislative independence remains a mirage in Nigeria.
“The governors and the president usually wield enormous power over the legislature. The only independence the legislature enjoys is financial autonomy. The legislative independence has been undermined because of ‘baba sope’ or ‘ranka dede’ politics that has long dominated our political space,” Dr Hassan explained.
Corroborating Hassan’s sentiment, Nelson Ekujumi, Rights and Good Governance Advocate, maintained that the influence of the executive erodes the independence of the legislature, especially in states where the party in power controls the majority seats.
Using the lingering political crisis to highlight the influence of the executive, Ekujumi said any state where the legislature is at loggerheads with the executive, the legislative chamber may not be able to sit and function as expected.
“A case in point is the present scenario in Rivers State. Also our democratic system is skewed in favour of the executive against the legislature. The executive is the one wholly in charge of allocating state resources for governance and whatever purpose,” he submitted.
Although legislative independence is ideal, Ekujumi pointed out that “legislature that is independent of the executive may not augur well for Nigeria’s democracy.”
In his view, an independent legislature may be detrimental to the collective interest of the people, especially when legislative members confuse checks and balances for antagonism.
He concluded that an ideal legislative independence would be a political situation where “the legislature asserts its role and functions, but remains amenable to executive lobbying and negotiations on public interest matters.”
The removal of Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly underscores the complexities of legislative independence in Nigeria. While his impeachment highlights the constitutional role of the legislature in maintaining checks and balances, it also exposes the pervasive influence of political elites and executive dominance in shaping legislative actions.
The enduring “Baba Sope” culture, which prioritises allegiance to political godfathers over democratic principles, continues to challenge the autonomy of legislative institutions.
Achieving true legislative independence will require addressing systemic imbalances, ensuring robust separation of powers, and fostering a political culture that prioritises governance over power struggles. Until then, the ideals of legislative independence in Nigeria may remain more aspirational than practical.
(vanguard)
