Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara says his greatest fear is not political battles or controversies, but not leaving a lasting legacy which will impact positively on the lives of Nigerians.
Mr Dogara stated this during an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
When asked what he would consider his greatest challenge since he became Speaker, he stated that problems will always occur, and as leaders, such problems should always be dealt with.
“I tell people that one of the things God has developed real well in me is to remove fear from me, I fear nothing.”
He stated that the only thing that frightens him is if the Eighth House of Representatives, which he leads, is unable to leave landmark achievements.
“The only thing that frightens me is if this Eighth Assembly which, by virtue of the grace of God, I have been called to lead, is unable to leave landmark achievements; that is what bothers me and prevents me from sleeping. At times, I begin to think about what it is that we have achieved, done wrong or could have done better? What is the next line of things we can do for the betterment of the lives and living conditions of our people?…..This is going to be 2 years, what can we really say we have done that has bettered the lot of Nigerians? What will be our place when the history of this country is written?”
“Those are the issues that prevent one from sleeping, really, as against political battles with individuals or thinking about next elections – those are not the issues at all.
“I bother a lot about where we are leading this House to and what it is we can achieve in both parliament and in government, because we are running the same government. If Buhari fails; all of us have failed, because it is one government and we cannot extricate ourselves.”
The Speaker, who also revealed that he occasionally writes advisory memos to the Presidency, stressed the importance of working as one irrespective of party affiliations and positions occupied, in order to make the current administration succeed in its efforts to better the lot of Nigerians.
“Sometimes I sit down, craft memos by myself and take it to the Executive; it is not my responsibility, the government has its own advisers, but I fear a lot about the place this government will occupy in history. All of us will be involved in that history, none of us will run away whether you just a member, a leader, a Chairman of a Committee, whoever you are it is our government, it doesn’t even matter which political party you belong to, it is one government and we are all involved. So the point is what is the legacy we are leaving behind? What are we achieving? That’s the thing that gives me nightmares sometimes.”
The 8th House under Dogara has been hailed as being proactive – with interventions in areas including pensions, labour disputes and youth development, the introduction of sectoral debates, efforts towards economic diversification and tackling recession, the review of obsolete laws and a record number of over 100 bills passed in the first year of his tenure alone.
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