Take a Bow and Go”: How the 10th Senate has Become a Shorthand for Legislative Complacency and Ridicule

“Take a Bow and Go”: How the 10th Senate has Become a Shorthand for Legislative Complacency and Ridicule

The Plenary

Okonkwo Ogechukwu Maureen writes that even though the 10th Senate did not cover itself in glory, with its “take a bow and go” action during screening of ambassador nominees, it still has an opportunity to redeem its worth.

When the Senate recently screened ambassadorial nominees, what should have been a rigorous process of interrogation and evaluation turned into a mere formality- a polite applause followed by a quick exit.

This ritual, now deeply entrenched, raises important questions about the Senate’s commitment to accountability and the very essence of legislative oversight.

The legislature, as envisioned in Nigeria’s Constitution, is the anchor of democratic checks and balances.

It is meant to scrutinize executive nominations and ensure that only the most competent and ethical individuals occupy sensitive positions.

But with the Senate’s growing tendency to wave nominees through, without serious questioning, that mandate appears to be slipping away.

Political analyst Jide Ojo captured this sentiment succinctly when he said in an interview with The Guardian Nigeria.

“Oversight and screening are not ceremonial exercises. They are Constitutional responsibilities designed to protect the public interest”.

Yet each time a nominee “takes a bow and goes” without facing probing questions, the public interest is quietly sidelined.

A FAILURE OF DEMOCRATIC DUTY

In theory, ambassadorial nominations should be moments of national scrutiny- an opportunity for Nigerians to judge whether those representing the country abroad possess the required experience and diplomatic tact.

Instead, the Senate’s screen test has become what one civil society group described as “a rubber-stamp exercise that insults the intelligence of the electorate”.
The danger of this trend extends beyond optics.

It chips away at the very foundation of the legislatures’ credibility.

When lawmakers fail to question executive choices, they effectively cede their constitutional authority to the very branch they are meant to keep in check.

As Constitutional lawyer Femi Falana once warned, “The legislature cannot perform its role as an independent arm of government if it continues to act like an extension of the Executive”

The “take a bow” culture exemplifies this concern- a self-inflicted wound to legislative integrity.

COMPETENCE LOST IN COURTESY

Ambassadors are not figureheads; they are representatives of Nigeria’s image abroad.

Their competence, diplomacy, and understanding of global relations directly affect how the country is perceived.

But since the advent of the Fourth Republic, the Senate has blurred the line between courtesy and responsibility.

Former lawmakers, political loyalists, political jobbers and Party financiers-many with little or no diplomatic experience- are routinely ushered through the screening process with minimal scrutiny.

By turning the Senate floor into a courtesy call, the process denies Nigerians the right to assess the suitability of those who will speak for them before foreign governments.

It also subverts the meritocracy. In the public sector, career diplomats spend decades rising through the ranks; in the public sector political connections often outweigh competence.

The Senate’s complicity only reinforces this imbalance.

ERODING PUBLIC TRUST

The consequences are not confirmed within the red chambers. Ordinary Nigerians, already distrustful of their political institutions, see the “take a bow” ritual as yet another example of government insincerity.

Civic expectations- that lawmakers will act as watchdogs, not cheerleaders-are steadily giving way to cynicism.

The more this culture persists, the further the Senate alienates itself from the citizens it is meant to serve.

Pubic trust, once lost, is hard to regain. A legislature that treats oversight as a favor rather than a duty sends a dangerous message: that status and connections are more important than competence and accountability.

TIME TO RECLAIM LEGISLATIVE HONOR

The Senate must remember that its power to screen nominees is not ceremonial- it is Constitutional.

Rigorous questioning, background checks and public interviews are not acts of hostility but hallmarks of serious governance.

When Senators raise tough questions, they do not embarrass nominees; they affirm the people’s right to know who is making decisions on their behalf.

If the 9th and now 10th Senate wish to restore dignity to the institution, this is the place to start. It is not late, since the nominees are yet to confirmed.

The Senate can demand that the executive send it the name of countries it wishes to post each nominee to. This would help the Senate to better understand the questions to pose to nominees.

Courtesy has its place in politics, but never at the expense of responsibility. The Nigerian people deserve more than a chorus of bows.

They deserve scrutiny, transparency, and service rooted in competence- the true essence of democracy.

But it appears this wish by the people may never materialize as long as the Senate President and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, keep playing nanny with the executive.

Culled from The Plenary