Former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has warned that democracy is endangered when the legislature fails to exercise its constitutional oversight role, insisting that a parliament that merely endorses executive decisions without scrutiny cannot be regarded as democratic.
Saraki made the remarks on Friday while speaking at The Platform Nigeria Special June 12 Lecture held in Lagos. The event, themed “Governance, Democracy, National Security,” was organised by the Covenant Christian Centre led by Poju Oyemade to commemorate this year’s Democracy Day anniversary.
Addressing participants at the event, the former Senate President reflected on lessons from his years in public office, stressing that the strength of democratic institutions depends largely on the independence of the legislature.
“What I learnt in those years in office is that a legislature that cannot say no is not a legislature at all. A legislature which simply receives executive proposals, approves them without scrutiny and goes home has not fulfilled its constitutional mandate; it has merely performed a ceremonial function, an echo,” Saraki said.
“A democracy made of echoes is only one election away from following something else entirely,” he added.
Saraki, however, argued that the independence of the National Assembly should not be misconstrued as hostility towards the government of the day, noting that legislators must be free to question and scrutinise executive actions in the interest of the public.
“The independence of the National Assembly is not rebellion against the government of the day. Having been a victim, they said, ‘Ah, Saraki is bad, he’s against our government.’ I’m not just talking about myself. We’re talking about how those institutions can fulfil what they are meant to do in providing the mandate,” he said.
According to him, an independent legislature actually strengthens the legitimacy of any administration because it ensures that government decisions are tested through debate, oversight and accountability.
“If the National Assembly is independent, it is the very reason that makes the government legitimate because a mandate that is never tested is a mandate no one can trust. So how do we trust a government that was never subjected to questions?” he asked.
“The deepest service a legislature renders to society is to absorb the shock. The legislature is our pressure valve of the republic, of our democracy. Block it and the pressure may appear and find a far more dangerous way out,” he stated.
Drawing lessons from Nigeria’s democratic history, Saraki said the collapse of the June 12, 1993 mandate was not due to a failure by the Nigerian people but by the weakness of institutions that should have protected the electoral outcome.
“We did not lose democracy in 1993 because the people failed. We lost it because the institutions that should have defended the people’s verdict were too weak to do so,” he said.
He maintained that the solution to Nigeria’s democratic challenges lies in strengthening institutions rather than reducing political engagement.
“The remedy is not less politics; it is stronger institutions,” Saraki declared.
