The story of the mace stealing at the Nigerian Senate and the attendant rowdiness reminds me of a fracas I personally witnessed that involved a member of the House of Representatives in Katsina about 13-14 years ago.
It was in a government guesthouse in Katsina where the then Secretary to the State Government, SSG, summoned the four broadcast media Chief Executive Officers, CEOs, for a meeting. They included the General Manager, GM, Nigerian Television Authority, NTA; The Acting General Manager, GM, FRCN, Companion FM; The General Manager, GM, Katsina State Radio and myself as the General Manager, GM, Katsina State Television, KTTV.
The SSG called us to plead with us to tone down the hostilities and attacks against the state government by opposition politicians on the broadcast media.
To be fair to the state government, they never told us not to allow the opposition to air their views. What they wanted was fairness.
The basis of the meeting was to particularly register a complaint against the FRCN, Companion FM, which had aired a program sponsored by a politician in the opposition. He said a lot of uncharitable things against the state government, some of which were clearly unethical and a breach of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
Just before the meeting started, two members of the House of Representatives came to see the SSG. After shaking hands, he told them to sit in the sitting room and give him a few minutes to finish the meeting with us.
While we were holding the meeting on the dining table, one of the members, who overheard the SSG pleading with us suddenly interjected, "Why are you pleading with them? Honestly, if I were the governor, I'd just demolish that FRCN station".
All of us at the dining table were startled. We all turned to look at him. We didn't even know that he had overheard the SSG. And, clearly, he had known about the incidence and was fuming over it.
The Acting GM, FRCN Companion FM, said, "But honorable you shouldn't talk like that. After all, you're not part of this meeting". It seemed to be what the legislator was waiting for. It was as if the GM had poured hot water on him. So he jumped out of his seat and came towards us, pointing a finger at the Acting GM. He said, "Shut up! If you dare me, I"ll deal with you. Don't you know that we, politicians, everyday we leave our houses are ready for any eventuality, even if it's death"? The Acting GM also got up and said, "So also we, journalists! I dare you to do your worst. Do you think I have anything to lose"?
All of us got up and stood between them. Three of us Media CEOs held the Acting GM, while the SSG and the other legislator held the other person. It took a while to calm them down.
The SSG took us outside and apologised profusely. He said if he had known, he wouldn't have talked in their presence. And that was the end of the meeting.
Outside, the Acting GM was still ranting, telling us that as he was feeling that very moment he was ready to take on even the state governor. That he came out of his house that morning with not a Kobo in his pocket and was even thinking of where to get money to buy diesel to run the station. That was why he even accepted the sponsored program just to enable him stay on air.
He was on relieve duty as the substantive General Manager had gone on leave.
Several months later we heard that he was transferred out of Katsina at the instance of the legislator.
What never fails to baffle me is how highly educated people are reduced to no better than street urchins once they become politicians. That legislator was as highly educated as they come. And he had reached the position of a Director in the State Civil Service before he ventured into politics.