MR. Dimeji Bankole, Speaker of the House of Representatives has upbraided his members who wanted to revolt over his incessant foreign trips. The motives were not entirely selfless.

Members blamed the Speaker's trips for unseriousness in the conduct of the House's business. The major problem with the travels was the exclusion of some members, who believed their fists -- nobody can forget the belligerent encounters that caused a life on the floor of the House -- aided Mr. Bankole's ascension.

They expect rewards. Besides, members were angry over approval of N400 million as "sundry expenses". They muted moves to remove the Speaker, who is just eight months old in office. One of the expected rewards for their risky efforts was re-shuffling of House Committees, such that their labour in installing the Speaker would land them juicier Committees.

Mr. Bankole retorted to the charges by equating himself to the Federal Government, "It is either you are with us or not. It is either you are with the Federal Government of Nigeria or not. This is our resolve, this is what we set out to do".

Those against the Speaker never knew they were opposed to the Federal Government of Nigeria . Is asking the Speaker to explain how he conducts the business of the House opposition to the Federal Government of Nigeria ? Is the Speaker the Federal Government of Nigeria ?

No matter how good the programmes of the Federal Government are (as captured in the seven-point agenda) it is up to Nigerians to accept or reject them. It is also the duty of the government to explain the programmes to the people, including legislators, and convince them about their benefits to Nigerians.

The resort to intimidating members can never be an answer to the issues they raised about the Speaker, not the Federal Government's programmes. The tendency to muffle demands for accountability creates systemic problems.

Many Nigerians, in public office, assume more powers than they are legally given. Next, they clothe themselves with haughtiness that distances them from the people, who they expect to worship them and treat them as gods.

Could Mr. Bankole have forgotten that he became Speaker courtesy of the stronger blows of his supporters and more importantly through the overwhelming insistence of the public that Mrs. Patricia Etteh, the former Speaker, should quit? Mrs. Etteh offended the public with her refusal to accept that the proposed renovation of her official residence dodged due process.

One of the demands of public office is accountability. Mr. Bankole knows this. The House he leads has conducted series of public hearings for which it has been praised. The hearings have exposed the rot that festered as accountability and due process for eight years.

While Mr. Speaker counts the hearings as one of his achievements, he should open up his own operations for scrutiny. This is the simple request by those who staked their lives to make him Speaker -- and the public to which every office holder should account.