Date: 2016-10-06

Kwara State House of Assembly member, Hon. Usman Adamu, has stressed the role of the legislature in a democracy, saying the idea of representing various constituencies that make up a state or nation is the soul of democracy.

Speaking to reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, Adamu warned against what he described as the vilification of legislators and the veiled attempt to portray them as saboteurs who do not have the interest of the masses at heart by unnamed individuals.

He said: "The legislative arm of government is important, because that is where true representative democracy thrives. The originators of the system known as democracy in their logical reasoning came up with the idea of three independent arms of government to avoid too much concentration of powers in the hands of the executive.

"In fact, there is no democracy without legislature and this point would become clearer when one takes into cognizance the fact that under military administrations the judiciary and executive are kept intact, while the legislature is shut down. It is reopening of the legislature that signals the resumption of democracy. It is through the legislative arm that people are represented."

He said the legislature is the most misunderstood institution and that the attempts to make the lawmakers guilty in the court of public opinion pose danger to the true growth and development of democracy.

He added: "It is cheap blackmail and it is degrading to present the legislature as one peopled by those whose main interest is accumulation of wealth. The truth is that it is the legislature that makes democracy work through its oversight functions and other constitutional duties.

"There is also a lot of hype about salaries and other emoluments. No one ever bothers about the executive. Look around and compare the lifestyles of former governors and those of former lawmakers, after leaving office, it would become obvious that everything about the legislature is always blown out of proportion."

The lawmaker, who represents Okuta/Yashikira constituency in the Kwara State House of Assembly, said Nigeria's future is bright under President Muhammadu Buhari. He said: "The problems of insurgency, kidnappings and militancy would soon become a thing of the past, because the government is doing the needful to nip the problems in the bud.

Adamu advised Nigerians to unite and avoid being used by politicians to champion ethnic and religious issues.