Nwaebonyi: Honour is Not in the Title – Abdul Mahmud

Yesterday, a video began to circulate on social media. It spread quickly. Many Nigerians watched it with shock. In the video, Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, who represents the Ebonyi North Central Senatorial District in the Senate, was seen standing up, shouting, waving his hands, and arguing loudly during what was supposed to be a formal Senate committee hearing. His voice rose above others. His gestures were wild. The scene looked less like the red chamber of the National Assembly and more like a quarrel in a crowded motor park in Abakaliki.

Another senator could be heard shouting back at him, accusing him of bootlicking his master. The master referred to in that angry exchange was the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi. What should have been a calm and serious budget defence session turned into a shouting match. It was a spectacle. And not a proud one.

Let us be clear about something. A Senate hearing, especially one dealing with the defence of the national budget, is not a roadside debate. It is not a market square quarrel. It is not a place for personal loyalty contests. It is a solemn gathering. It is where public officials account for how they intend to spend the people’s money. It is where lawmakers ask hard questions on behalf of citizens. It is where facts, figures, and policies should speak louder than emotions. Budget defence sessions are serious legislative business. Ministers come with documents. They bring projections. They explain contracts. They justify expenses. Lawmakers sit, listen, question, and probe. The atmosphere is expected to be calm and firm.

Even when disagreements arise, they are handled with dignity. Voices may be strong, but they are controlled. Words may be sharp, but they are measured. This is because the Senate is not a private club. It is a national institution. What Nigerians saw in that viral video was not dignity. It was rascality. Senator Nwaebonyi was not debating policy. He was not calmly defending an argument. He was shouting. He was gesticulating wildly. He was acerbic. He looked angry and uncontrolled. His body language suggested confrontation rather than reason. That kind of conduct lowers the image of the Senate. It reduces a serious chamber into theatre of noise.

This is not even the first time.
Within the space of one year, he has been caught on video behaving in a manner that many describe as less than distinguished. The last incident involved a confrontation with Obi Ezekwesili during the controversy over the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. That episode also drew criticism. Many Nigerians wondered whether some lawmakers understand the weight of the offices they hold.

Public office is not only about power. It is about aura and bearing. It is about conduct. It is about restraint.
In many democracies around the world, legislative hearings are marked by discipline. Lawmakers may disagree sharply. They may oppose each other strongly. But they do so within rules. They sit upright. They speak through the chair. They respect the decorum of the chamber. They understand that millions of citizens are watching. They know that honour is not in the titles they bear. They know that bad behavior shapes how the public views democracy itself. When a Senator behaves like an agbero in a heated motor park dispute, it sends a dangerous message. It tells young Nigerians that shouting is better than reasoning. It suggests that loyalty to a powerful figure is more important than loyalty to the Constitution. It makes the Senate look unserious. The title of senator carries the prefix Most Distinguished. It is not an empty decoration. It is meant to reflect honour. It is meant to signify a high level of responsibility. It is supposed to remind the holder that he sits in one of the highest law making bodies in the land.
Being distinguished is not in title. It is in behaviour.

You cannot shout down your colleagues and claim distinction. You cannot turn a budget defence into a loyalty contest and claim honour. You cannot reduce a serious national conversation into personal drama and expect respect. The Senate is a symbol of our democracy. It represents the collective voice of the states. It debates laws that affect millions. It approves budgets that determine whether roads are built, hospitals are funded, and soldiers are equipped. When proceedings descend into shouting matches, citizens lose faith. They begin to see lawmakers as performers rather than leaders. Nigeria already struggles with trust in public institutions. Many citizens feel disconnected from those in power. Videos like this deepen that disconnect. They reinforce the belief that some politicians are more interested in patronising political patrons than in serving the public good. There is also the issue of example. Young people watch these videos. Students watch them. Civil servants watch them. If the highest lawmakers in the country cannot maintain calm in a formal hearing, what message does that send about public conversations? About civility? About leadership?

Democracy is noisy by nature. It allows disagreement. It allows criticism. It allows passion. But democracy also requires rules. It requires order. It requires self control. Without these, it becomes chaos. The red chamber of the Senate should be a place where words carry weight because they are thoughtful, not because they are loud. It should be a place where arguments are won by facts, not by volume. It should be a place where loyalty to the nation is stronger than loyalty to any individual minister. Senator Nwaebonyi owes Nigerians an explanation. More importantly, he owes the Senate a change in conduct. The office he holds demands maturity. It demands discipline. It demands a level of comportment that rises above street quarrels. When citizens react to scenes like the one in that viral video, they are not being hostile. They are responding to what they have seen with their own eyes. In a democracy, the people are not spectators. They are stakeholders. They have a right to expect that those elected to represent them will reflect the dignity of the institution they occupy. To demand better behaviour from a lawmaker is not an insult. It is an affirmation that the Senate must remain worthy of public respect. The Senate leadership also has a duty.

Rules of decorum must not only exist on paper. They must be enforced. If misconduct goes unchecked, it becomes normal. If rascality is tolerated, it spreads. Institutions decline not only because of bad laws, but because of bad behaviour. Nigeria deserves better. The Ebonyi North Central Senatorial District deserves better. The Senate deserves better. Public office should refine a person, not amplify their worst instincts. Power should teach restraint, not encourage arrogance. The title Most Distinguished should inspire humility, not mockery.

In the end, this is bigger than one man. It is about the kind of political culture we want to build. Do we want a legislature known for serious debate, careful scrutiny, and calm authority? Or do we want one remembered for viral shouting matches?
The answer should be obvious.
Legislative hearings must return to what they are meant to be. Solemn. Orderly. Respectful. Focused on citizens’ affairs. The Senate is not the theatre of the absurd or a stage for drama. It is not a battlefield for personal loyalty. It is not a place where volume replaces value. It is the highest lawmaking chamber in the land. Every word spoken there enters the national record. Every action taken there shapes the country’s future. When lawmakers forget this, they reduce the dignity of the office and weaken the faith of the people.

Nigeria is already burdened with many crises. Economic hardship. Insecurity. Distrust in public institutions. The last thing the nation needs is a legislature that adds to public frustration. Citizens want to see seriousness. They want to see leaders who understand the weight of their responsibility. They want to see men and women who can disagree without disgrace, who can argue without insult, and who can defend positions without descending into chaos. History is watching. The people are watching. The world is watching. The red chamber must decide what it stands for.

Noise or knowledge. Chaos or character. Rascality or responsibility. It must rise to the dignity of its name and the burden of its mandate.

Anything else diminishes it.