Doubters said state police would never happen

By Fred Itua, Abuja

In this interview, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu explains why impact, not applause, drives his legislative work, why laws outlive their authors, and why he believes the media is a vital partner of the National Assembly. He also hints at new bills on health and security, and speaks on the reserved seats bill, state police and the South East Development Commission.

How do you feel about being recognised by The Sun?

I welcome the Managing Director of The Sun and his team, including the Editor and the Political Editor. These are colleagues who have worked in the National Assembly and understand how it operates. I also acknowledge my Senior Special Assistants, my Chief of Staff, my Chief Press Secretary and the rest of my team.

I am delighted to be recognised by our own newspaper. I say “our own” because I was there when this newspaper was born. The day the first edition was published, I was in the publisher’s house. The first copy came out and we were thrilled.

Over the years, a lot of other newspapers have approached me for one award or the other. The Sun, meanwhile, was busy monitoring the activities of my office to determine whether I deserved the award.

It is usually said that a prophet has no honour in his own home. But when the honour comes from your own place, and in this case the publisher is my constituent and the senator representing me, it means the observation is likely to be fair and not biased. It also took a long time, because it came out of a well-researched process. Listening to the citation you just read shows that you were thorough. None of you approached me for money for this award.

You have said you do not usually accept awards. Why did you accept this one?

It is only recently that I was persuaded to start taking them. It is not that awards are not good, but sometimes accolades cloud the reasons behind the effort, and for me that reason is impact. Impact is the driving force behind every legislative act I engage in. The gaps in our society cannot be closed through wishful thinking. They must be repaired through legislative effort that gives lasting solutions. People can discuss ideas, but ideas without wheels to institutionalise them will never be sustainable. They will come only as ideas and fizzle out, like a vision that did not achieve its mission.

When visions are converted into letters and documented in the national records, whether in our grundnorm or in any other Act of parliament, the law outlives the person who proposed it and becomes a tool for solving future problems even when he is gone. Most of the people who proposed the laws we use today are no longer around, but those laws are being leveraged to solve our hydra-headed problems.

What drives your interest in politics and public office?

It has always been my desire to contribute to nation building, and I like the fact that you named this year’s award winners nation builders. That is what it is all about.

For me, there is absolutely no interest in politics if it is not going to build the community. There is absolutely no interest in holding any political office if there is no measurable impact I can look back on and say, we have crossed this T and dotted this I with regard to this particular problem. I am happy that, in the few years I have participated in politics, there are landmarks I can use to grade myself. I can say, you have done well, but you still have some more work to do, especially when it comes to legislative innovation.

Why does legislative innovation demand so much work?

The deep thinking and deep diving involved in creating laws is, most of the time, not fun. It is not entertaining. It comes with critical needs analysis. You define a problem, and then you ask how to provide a solution. That takes you into research, and research takes you around the world to learn global best practices. You then pick what you can adapt to your own unique situation, to frame laws that will solve problems today and tomorrow.

So it is not a jamboree. The House of Representatives and the Senate are not for those who do not understand it. I came to the House of Representatives to fix certain things in our system. It is not for the titles, but granted, while doing the work, titles will start coming.

What role does the press play in your work?

I must thank you for observing closely as the Fourth Estate of the Realm. We cannot do it without a partnership with you. Most of you who work in the National Assembly know that I have embraced the press corps dearly, because you are the voice behind the things we do. If what we do ends within the parliament and the people in the hinterland do not have access to it, then we are lost. So I commend this partnership.

What can Nigerians expect from you next?

Expect more innovative laws. In the coming weeks, I have been cooking up some laws that will impress the nation.

I am also happy that today the President said the reserved seats bill is going to be passed. I have been the driving force behind it. Many people said it would not happen. They said the same when I raised state police, but at that point the President became interested, and it has been moved forward. The same was true of the South East Development Commission, which had been abandoned and frustrated. Many said it would never be signed into law. Today, it has been signed into law.

I am coming with other bills that I will not announce here, and they will be significant. In our health sector, you are going to hear about it. Another will be significant in our security space. It will be the first of its kind, and many would doubt it will go through, but it will, because it will make a tremendous change in the way we live and operate. That is why we are here.

What do recognitions like this mean to you?

These recognitions allow you that little space to understand that you are not walking alone. People are observing you. First, it makes you watch your steps. It makes you know that the work you do is sensitive and that people are analysing you. It also makes you do more. So I am accepting this.

By the grace of God, on November 13 we will come and honour The Sun with our presence, and we will also try to bring our friends.