Tax Bill – Hon. Yakubu Dogara

“I will address the question of leadership and my appeal to all of us here. We are all leaders. We should remove the cap of regionalism, the cap of sectionalism, cap of religion, and put on the cap of leadership because that is what will resolve the current problems that we have. I think one of the major objections relates to issue of timing. I’ve had this even from leaders that I respect.

But in leadership, when you talk about timing, the way I have heard them talk about it, is a tragic misconception of the notion of time itself. Because there’s nothing like future. There’s nothing like the past. All we have is now. It is what you are doing now that will become your past.

It is what you’re doing now that will affect your future. It was doctor King who told us that time is neutral. And without creative use of time, time itself becomes an ally of the primitive forces of social stagnation. So the question, the answer he gave was to say that the time is always right to do right. So the question before us as leaders is not to look at what the president is doing, what our leader here, Taiwo’s committee have produced.

I don’t even care if it was part of the president’s agenda. All I am bothered with as a leader, is it is it the right thing? Then if we come to the conclusion that it is the right thing for us to do, then the time to do is is now, not tomorrow. So I will resolve that issue the way I have resolved it. Secondly, I’ve heard about insufficient consultation.

I’ve had even legislators speaking as if they’re spokesperson for some governor’s forum or some others instead of looking at what is right and providing solutions. Now I don’t know if he didn’t address some of these issues, but I believe in the course of our interface, he will address them whether there was enough consultation with the governors. But I want to say this, at the state level, how many people do governors consult when they’re making laws? I’m not challenging them. As a matter of fact, in some cases, state laws are written from the living rooms of governors.

But the truth is, we were warned long ago by Shakespeare in his famous work, Pericles, the the prince of Tyre. He said few are those who like to hear about the sin they love to act. So should we now stop because governors have not been brought on board? Even though it is the right thing to do. Should that be an excuse really?

The answer to my mind is no. Then they talk about popularity. Oh, the bill is not popular. I want to tell this audience that what has defined us as humans, what has given us superiority as humans, most of them were not popular. Talk about the discovery of control fire from human erectors.

That is what distinguish us as human and conferred on us our superiority over all other creations.

@Adedoyinoyewo1