The past week has been very exhilarating for me for one major reason. How our representatives have unleashed their media aides to give an account of their various constituency interventions and projects. The week can rightly be called “accountability week” in Cross River State.
Once we demanded that our representatives in the House of Reps should tell us what they have been doing, I cannot think of any of the eight reps and the three senators, who either personally or through their media aides, did not come out to dust their files and present their scorecard.
I took two lessons from this, namely that: Our people are beginning to assert their power. “The power of the people is greater than the people in power” is not just a cliche, it is a fact in democracy and no matter how negligible it may seem, the significance of this all-round response by our leaders demonstrates the power of collective agitation.
Secondly, our leaders also responded responsibly, timely, and appropriately. Their usual response is always to display some arrogance in a manner that suggests that they are unquestionable. They will usually ignore such queries. This wasn’t the case. They quickly went to work knowing that they indeed, owe us explanations. This development is also a new menu on the democratic buffet in our State.
The last leg of this table that will bring the matter to near closure is now to interrogate and verify their report cards. Now this is not Agba Jalingo’s work. Let me make that point clear. Look for what your rep or your senator presented as his scored card. Go to the location or send someone to the location of the reported project to establish that such a project was executed to completion and it is still functional or has been abandoned.
There is a monthly Tender Bulletin, published by the National Assembly. It is sold by even roadside vendors in Abuja along vehicular traffic. It is still less than 1k. The only content of the publication is all the constituency projects of all members of the two chambers of the National Assembly.
Every voter should make it a duty to patronize that magazine every month. Inside, you will see what project or intervention has been budgeted for your federal constituency and senatorial district. It is a good document to use and create small action committees that can follow up with the relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies MDAs, and confirm whether funds were released for those projects and which company or organization is handling the execution. These findings should also be reported widely and frequently to serve as checks.
By so doing, the general public may be able to mitigate the rampant profligacy within the system. The challenge of making this democracy work for the people cannot be left to one individual or one profession. It is not the exclusive work of the journalists or the lawyers or the politicians or the bureaucrats, it is the work of every single citizen that desires a better society. We must all add our voices and walk the work that is required to make whoever wants our votes to realize that we matter and must be catered to.
I don talk my own!
Citizen Agba Jalingo is the Publisher of CrossRiverWatch and a rights activist, a Cross Riverian, and writes from Lagos.
NB: Opinions expressed in this article are strictly attributable to the author, Agba Jalingo, and do not represent the opinion of CrossRiverWatch or any other organization the author works for/with.