THREE YEARS OF DIMEJI BANKOLE'S EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP

The rebirth of civil rule in Nigeria in 1999 was laden with various expectations from both the citizenry and the international community based on her chequered history as a country endowed with great human, material and natural resources but without commensurate developments in all ramifications of her national life.

Following the foregoing is the predominant illusionment and disenchantment by the citizenry, especially the younger generation who over the years had felt let down by successive leaders both military and civilians, hence the agitation for a paradigm shift in the governance of the country.

With the election of Hon. Dimeji Saburi Bankole as Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives in 2007, a renewed hope for the agitated paradigm shift was hung on the political and governmental horizon of the country. 

The young Bankole did not only serve as a beacon of optimism and regeneration for an otherwise bleak future for the country's teeming youths, he equally opened a floodgate of fresh, dynamic and visionary ideas that have become greatly beneficial to human development and purposeful governance.

Schooled in the finest tradition of intellectualism and developmental politics, Dimeji Bankole has for the three years in the saddle demonstrated brilliance, erudition, humanism, effectiveness, and humility.

Educated in the United Kingdom, Dimeji Bankole has since deployed his exposure, wide contacts and intelligence in the discharge of his constitutional duties to the nation and its people through effective legislation and purposeful oversight functions. Not only has the Abeokuta, Ogun State born Bankole  brought honour, panache and finesse to the office of the speaker, his leadership acumen has considerably made the house one organic, harmonious entity in spite of some insignificant and parochial interests and controversies sponsored by fifth columnists.

His understanding of politics as a conflict resolution mechanism is highly commendable and responsible for the peaceful and governmental co-existence between the House and other arms of government, particularly the executive. This attest to why former president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua made it imperative to gainfully involve Dimeji Bankole in bilateral talks between Nigeria and other countries of interests.

The benefits of Yar'Adua's action at the time were enormous in terms of economic and political benefits to the country. A case in point, however, was the bilateral agreements signed between Nigeria and France in the area of Energy and Roads construction and maintenances.

Also, based on his perceived brilliance and informed analysis and opinions on important issues affecting human developments and governance, Bankole rose above Nigeria's local politics to garnered international reputation, when he was elected as President of the Afro-Arab Parliamentary Union.      

By creating a Committee for Diaspora Issues, Dimeji Bankole will always be celebrated in the annals of modern Nigeria's political history as the one who institutionalized a communication synergy between the country's political leadership, using the House as a model, and the teeming Nigerians abroad, thereby giving them a sense of belonging and brotherhood.

In addition, Speaker Bankole also created the Climatic Change Committee and Donor Agency Committees, among others. The benefits of these new committees created by the speaker have shown their timeliness in catching up with internationally-recognized best practices in governance and political networking.

Bankole's astute leadership and incorruptible disposition engendered a radical departure from the past, especially in the ways and manners government funds were being siphoned. To show that it was no longer business as usual, Bankole whose slender frame and signature smile beguiles his disdain and intolerance for corruption and corrupt tendencies launched a scrutiny in the books of ministries, Agencies and Departments of government with mind-boggling revelations creeping out of the Pandora box.

By doing this, Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole through the scrutiny of the country's budget in 2008 unearthed massive sums of monies regarded as unspent funds. And rather than being siphoned through dubious end of the contracts, as it was the case before, Dimeji's patriotic act saw over N250 billion being returned into the government coffers and captured for the preceding year's (2009) Appropriation Bill. 

In his efforts at ensuring that politics engender the greatest goods for the greatest number of the citizenry and impacting positive governance to the citizenry, Dimeji Bankole ensured that constituency projects by lawmakers are not only increased from two/three to about fifteen. This was made possible by his struggle and insistence that constituencies' projects be tied to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and included in the budget for implementation by the MDAs.

As a man who is attuned to his people and the need to be alive to their yearnings and complaints, Bankole set up the Constituency Outreach Committee to ensure that elected representatives always return to their constituencies to feel the people's pulse. 

Bothered about Nigeria's power sector and reason it has become a drain pipe of the country's resources, Dimeji Bankole launched a probe into the power sector, thereby revealing how $16 billion dollars of the country's resources was mismanaged. Currently, the case is still being prosecuted in the courts.

While the political train of the present administration gradually grinds to a halt next year, there is no doubt that the commendable and impressive leadership style of this model of honour and success (Bankole) will serve as a radar for the younger generations involvement in politics and governance and the nation will definitely be better for it.

November 11, 2010