Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has
revealed that his greatest fear is how to leave a lasting legacy which
will impact positively on the lives of Nigerians.
He made the revelation during an interview with NIGERIA NOW Magazine 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 said.
He stated that the only thing that frightened him was 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”, he
said.
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.”
