AT a point, Nigerians never liked the idea of a union called Nigeria. It was a reason the late  Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, referred to Nigeria as the “Mistake of 1914.” Yet, many others referred to Nigeria as a mere geographical expression. The truth is that Nigerians who loved Lord Lugard, the Briton who breathed life into Nigeria, were not in the majority. All the same, if Lugard is ranked as a hero today, it is because he left a parting gift for the people by his ability to weld together a welter of hitherto independent nations into a united, indivisible and indissoluble Nigeria.

Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, ruled Nigeria at a critical period in history, when the country faced the greatest dilemma about nationhood. Balewa laid the pillar for democracy in the country and ended up as a sacrifice for Nigeria to grow. That was his own parting gift for the country which later emerged as one of Africa’s giants.

Late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola was meant to be president of Nigeria, but the act of providence obviated the cause of his destiny in that direction. The military annulled the election that would have seen him climb into the Nigerian throne as president in 1993. He protested vehemently for revalidation of his victory, but to no avail. In the end, he was killed while being held hostage by the goons who swore that the annulment of the June 12 presidential election must not hold. Yet, Abiola left a parting gift for Nigeria. That manifested in the birth of democracy in 1999.

That Nigeria remains today as a country is a product of great sacrifices made by some of the leaders, both past and present. The country still needs more of sacrifices by individuals and leaders to continue to grow.

The tenure of the present crop of legislators is about to expire. There have been critics who believe that members who constitute the present federal parliament are the most uncommitted and disloyal going by the litany of failures trailing their operations. All the same, many others would refer to them as the most resilient, dedicated and result oriented. Which ever direction the arguments on the achievement of the present federal parliamentary face, the fact remains that their tenure would be judged by time and posterity.

Just last week, what appeared as unthinkable happened in the House of Representatives. The House, by a majority vote, passed the most controversial, most debated and most dragged bill, the Bill on Freedom of Information. That feat was unthinkable because several visible attempts had been made to discourage the Bill from seeing the light of day. The mighty, the low, the ethnic jingoists, the bureaucrats and the bigots had opposed it very stiffly. Since 2000 when the bill was introduced to the federal parliament, it had faced more than 12 assassination attempts.

For instance, supporters of the Bill in the House of Representatives, at a point in time began to appear as misnomer having been stubbornly resilient in raising issues concerning it on the floor as many times as situation permitted them. They were ridiculously branded as irredentists of sort until a time the House leadership saw the need to take up the struggle for the passage of the FOI Bill.

At different fora involving media practitioners most especially Speaker Dimeji Bankole had had cause to explain reasons the Bill had faced sudden death each time it was re-introduced. He had promised repeatedly to personally ensure the passage before his tenure lapsed as Speaker. And now, less than four months to the end of the present session of Federal Parliament, the Bill was passed, leaving an impression that Bankole has made good his promise.

If anything, Bankole is leaving the passage of the FOI Bill as a parting gift for which his tenure would be remembered for long in media circles in Nigeria and Africa. So with an expected concurrence by the Senate in passing the same bill, the process of implementation ought to start in the next legislative session. It pre-supposes that better implementation would season the Bill in the next session which kicks off in June in the event that Bankole remains in the saddle as Speaker.