Gazali is one of the most resourceful teachers in his school. His school was to participate in a mental work competition involving all secondary schools in Kebbi State. Each school was to produce a student to memorise a 200-page story book without a hitch and within three months would be qualified for special grant of N200 million by the state government. Gazali was detailed to handle the task for his school. He developed a code for memorising the story book and then called for voluntary nominations from students who felt they could perform well.

Kabiru raised his hands in a jiffy. The teacher was not surprised. Kabiru had always been a bright head. He had won many local and international awards for his ability to recite the Quran in a most amazing manner. Indeed, that feat had made Kabiru to be haughty, boastful and disrespectful. His friends thought he was a genius to be kept at arm’s length.

Before the competition day drew near, Kabiru would call his colleagues and recite to them part of what he had memorised. The last time he did, everybody believed he was done with the task just within a month! The school started jubilating ahead of time and Kabiru became the talk of the town!

Interestingly, Kabiru threw away the code offered to him by Gazali the teacher. Since he could memorise the whole Quran without the help of a code, why would he need that to memorise just a 200-page story book. Then, the day of reckoning drew near sooner than expected.

Three schools tried before Kabiru’s without success. But when Kabiru was called upon, his colleagues and teachers who were present believed they had carried the day. They were not disappointed when Kabiru began his recitation. He read the story book off hand without a hitch and bowed his head at the end, convinced he had done a good job. That was when Gazali, the teacher, started trembling. He knew something was amiss and that Kabiru would not win a honour for his school. When the lead panellist cleared his throat to announce the result, there was a pin drop silence. Kabiru, he pronounced to the consternation of the audience, did not complete his recitation. He failed to include the last note written by the author about the lesson the book offered. The teacher’s fear was confirmed. Kabiru did not reckon with code he gave. The author’s note was the last alphabet in the code he handed to Kabiru.

Back in school, Gazali the teacher pronounced Kabiru a failure, a fool, a loud mouth, big for nothing lout and a big letdown. Gazali was petulant and out of great anger, sentenced Kabiru to 150 strokes of cane. Kabiru lost everything from then on. Overconfidence can kill, really.

The point here is that the story of federal legislators and their efforts at amending the 1999 Constitution has a striking similarity to Kabiru’s. The Senate and the House of Representatives had, few weeks ago, boasted of ability to safely amend the constitution. They succeeded in doing so, with specific amendment proposed to some crucial sections of the constitution.

The legislators in the proposed amendment regulated the conduct of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

They killed the instinct for wilful cross-carpeting from party to party by political prostitutes. They cut off the privilege of Mr President to travel out of the country for phoney reasons for more than two weeks. They cut the wings of state governors and their knack to hold the party in their palms. They threw open opportunities in each political party, thus making ordinary members equal partners. They regulated the influence of money in politics. Above all, they offered a good hope of revival of Nigeria’s political system.
Like Kabiru who successfully memorised a 200-page story book and then left out the most crucial part, the legislators passed the amendment bill successfully and then left a snag. They kept the document away from the President of Nigeria, an interested party, and went ahead to proclaim the constitution as operational. It was the court that told Nigerians eventually that a constitution that would be binding on the rest of Nigeria must be seen and signed by the president. Gbam!

The court, weeks ago, pronounced the First Amendment Act null and void. The document can only become active if Mr President signs it. The implication is that every effort put behind the amendment of the constitution has ended a big waste.

For now, no new constitution will come into play until after the 2011 elections and constitution of a new National Assembly.

Notwithstanding the grandstanding over constitution amendment by the legislators, the conduct of the 2011 general election would be done with the help of the old and old 1999 Constitution.

What is most annoying is the time, space and huge resources committed to the task of amending the constitution that now appear wasted, just because neither the Senate nor the House deemed it apposite to carry the president of Nigeria along in the process. The turn of events has cast the legislators as a big let-down to the rest of Nigeria. Perhaps they too deserve some strokes of cane because it has been one let down too many from the Dome.