Democracy has a way of shaping and regulating the polity and politics. It can help to clinically separate the wheat from the chaff. It can identify the pragmatists and then isolate them from demagogues. It can promote the most promising political activist and all the same destroy the impostors, riggers of elections, god sons of mighty godfathers and indeed, rabble rousers who conned their ways into the corridors of power.

Since democracy berthed in Nigeria more than 12 years ago, it has really not offered the eager electorate the full benefit of rights to exercise their constitutional power. It was a tragedy forced on Nigeria by a clan of power brokers who spirited the militarist, Chief Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo into power. Within the eight years of rulership of the ex-military head of state, the idea of consensus as an option for propping up people into power enjoyed much attention in political circles. In those years, the principle of selecting leaders by affirmation replaced democratic principles in most cases. Election rigging got promoted into an art in the politics of Nigeria.

Now, the more democracy continues to linger in Nigeria, so are political actors and the electorate waking up to the necessity for a new lease of life. It is a reason much awareness is being generated for the slogan “One Man One Vote” as Nigeria prepares to return to polling units for presidential and National Assembly elections in April.

For democracy in Nigeria, things have started working by book standard. Nigerians are refusing to be the docile people they had been hitherto in electioneering periods. For the first time in history, they trooped out to register en-masse with little prompting from the authorities. For the first time in history, the consciousness of the people is geared towards ensuring one man one vote by the time election begins. For the first time, bad representatives are being voted out of contention at the level of political parties.

Facts are already being established that by the end of the coming general election in April this year, the House of Representatives and the Senate would have lost more than 75 per cent of their valued members. On the whole, many of those who lost out belong to the category of nose in the air, self serving and extremely haughty lawmakers. Some said they deserved being shoved off political contention, while some said they were cheated by the godfathers in their respective political parties.

The turn of events with regards to the low rate of return of members has started affecting the House of Representatives. That House may never be the same again considering the placid minds that the losers have been tending.

Since last Tuesday, when members resumed from backlog of breaks they had, the sittings in the plenary had only taken place outside the number required to form the quorum. You can count the number of those who report for legislative on the fingers of one hand. The reason is simple, majority of members who lost out during the primaries of their parties have been shunning the Reps chamber.

Last week, there was a rumour of a gang up by some of them to change the principal officers. That rumour was true a hundred per cent. Had something funny not cropped up along the line, the rest of legislative sittings in Reps would have been devoted to impeaching Bankole and other top members in his cabinet. It is really not good being a loser.

Truly, the House has lost most men of valour that used to give it a name. When full legislative business resumes in June this year, there would be no “House brain box”, that is; Ita Enang from Itu Federal Constituency. His colleagues referred to him as brain box because since the past three legislative sessions, the House had lived on his nifty acumen in piloting its affairs as the House Committee Chairman on Rules and Business, Ita Enang, is Senate bound now.

The House will miss the jaw breaking grammar usually rolled on the floor by Igodomigodo, the Edo born Patrick Obahiagbon who could not secure the favour of his party; the Action Congress of Nigeria. It will miss the current Deputy Speaker, Bayero Nafada, who loves to mitigate the tension during plenary each time he presided. Nafada took a shot at the governorship of his state, and his hands could not reach it.The House will miss the West Idahosas with their oratory prowess. It will miss Halims Ochuko Agoda, the fault finder and whistle blower, it will miss the antics of the cantankerous Dino Melaye and it will miss many more of its principal officers.

The truth of the matter is that the House, hitherto an assemblage of the good, the bad and the ugly, has been purged of the men and women who used to make it tick, courtesy of the primaries by political parties and possibly the coming general election. That is the handiwork of democracy.