Emmanuel Etim|7 December 2015|5:59am
CROSS RIVER CONVERSATION 5
DRIVING THE VISION OF THE CROSS RIVER STATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA; THE JOHN GAUL LEBO LEADERSHIP IDEALS
The 8th Assembly in Cross River State was inaugurated on the 11th of June, 2015 with Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo elected as the Speaker of the house. From the moment he was sworn in as the Honorable Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo left no one in doubt that his style of leadership was sure to bring a new lease of life to the legislature in the state. The speaker speedily got to work as he unveiled a legislative agenda that is both rich on issues and citizens focused. Besides these, the speaker also unveiled his plans for a Cross River State Legislative Institute and enterprise academy, a Cross River State Youth Parliament and Democracy Club and Cross River State House of Assembly Media Center; all of these geared towards creating solution architecture for effective legislative tenure for the 8th assembly.
The legislative agenda tagged Citizens Legislative Agenda Project CLAP which was unveiled in the state assembly in August, 2015 seeks to put the citizens at the center of legislative activities. This agenda is apt considering that democracy is about the people. By making the people part of the process of law making, governance is made to impact directly on issues that are of essence to them in the state. This eliminates the perennial challenge of disconnect between the government and the governed. The Citizens Legislative Agenda Project harnesses the potentials of the constituency relationship between members of the Cross River State House of Assembly and their constituents. It is the first of its kind in Nigeria.
Cross River State Youth Parliament and Democracy club were conceived to help the youth learn democratic norms and tenets especially as it relates to the role of legislature in the state. It is also to give youth adequate space and opportunities to make critical decisions that affect them and contribute to policy development. These concepts exist across the commonwealth and are set to take their place in our democratic experience through the exemplary leadership of Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo, Speaker of Cross River State House of Assembly. Upon inauguration, the Cross River State Democracy Club set out to establish a network of youthful leadership across all the 18 Local Government areas in the state and begin activities to promote the role of youth in democracy and meet other objectives of the club. All these activities are presently ongoing.
The key objectives of the Cross River State Legislative Institute is the provision of quality academic and professional research, policy analysis, training, documentation and advocacy on democratic governance and legislative practice and procedures in Cross River State House of Assembly. The institute is expected to help strengthen the capacities of legislators and ensure that the positions and proposals advanced by the state Assembly are informed by requisite research and analytical support. The Enterprise Academy is proposed to provide an opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to nurture and achieve their business dreams. The Academy aims to equip future generations of entrepreneurs with the skills, mindset and resources to run their own businesses, thereby supporting the future of the economic democracy in Cross River State.
The role of the media in promoting effective dissemination of Information on legislative activities cannot be overemphasized. This underscores the importance of establishing the Cross River State House of Assembly Media Center by the present leadership of the assembly. In partnering with the media the house opens its activities to the public and builds trust and promote cooperation with the citizens. As an institution, the legislature uses the media to tell its stories. This connection between the media and the legislators they cover becomes evident when looking at the role of the legislator as a representative of his constituents’ interests. Media attention therefore allows a legislator to give news of his doings to the people back home. The 8th Assembly is thus committed to continue building this partnership through the establishment of the media center for the benefits of the people it represents.
Before we proceed lets us attempt to understand a few concepts.
First what is leadership? Dwight D. Eisenhower the 34th President of the United States of America put it this way; “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” Wikipedia defines leadership as both a research area and a practical skill, regarding the ability of an individual to inspire or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations to achieve set goals. Leadership can also be defined as a process of social influence which works to increase the efforts of others in pursuit of a common goal.
From these definitions it is clear that leadership is the key requirement in getting a team to be productive and successful. Leadership is not just about a specific set of traits or characteristics, it is also about trust, relationships and guidance between the leader and his team. While leadership is largely about behavior, leaders will never be different from others’ without the ability to conceive and act on new ideas. A great leader is able to shift and motivate people from a static life to one of great transformation, changing views, beliefs and values. These are some of the qualities that Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo has exhibited which have endeared him to his colleagues and has led to greater productivity in the 8th Assembly.
Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo’s leadership ideals have helped to harness the potentials of the members in the Cross River State House of Assembly for the attainment of the objectives of the legislature in the state which include but not limited to effective legislation and oversight functions. With the house being made up of elected members with various backgrounds and interests, one does not need a crystal ball to see that it requires the highest level of leadership ideals to manage the eccentricities and peculiarities of all the members and still drive effectively the vision of the legislative agenda. The Hon. Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly has demonstrated pragmatic leadership in this direction and this is evident in the number of private member bills and motions which have been sponsored on the floor of the house and passed so far, the activities going on at the committee level and engagement between the house and important stakeholders in different sectors in the state during public hearings and other forums. Indeed the legislature has never been this active and productive in Cross River State.
Achieving convivial relationship and synergy within the legislature is one important step in attaining the objectives of the legislature. Another step is promoting a cordial and productive relationship between the executive and the legislature. The legislature under the leadership of Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo has been able to achieve these and more and is thus effectively driving the vision of the Cross River State legislative agenda. Having accomplished all these in only 5 months of the life of the 8th Assembly, it is clear that four years under the leadership of Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo promises to be a revolution in the legislature in Cross River State. More important however, is the fact that all these efforts are focused on meeting the needs and aspirations of the citizens and providing good governance in the state.
Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo’s leadership ideals have led to the effective driving the vision of the Cross River State legislative agenda which is evident in the results so far achieved in such short time. With such commitment a citizen based legislative agenda, it is imperative that the citizens also give him the required support to ensure a successful tenure. Our prayer is that God continue to give him the wisdom, vision and courage for phenomenal leadership of the legislature in the state now and in the years to come.
Emmanuel Etim
Is a Development Consultant based in Nigeria.
(emmanuel.etim22@gmail.com)
