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Saraki |
By SKC Ogbonnia
The scheme by the Nigerian Senate to undermine President Muhammadu
Buhari’s government is as real as it is idiotic. The most annoying yet is the
attitude of the senators in the ongoing trial of its principal officers for allegedly forging the Standing Rules used to usher
them to power. Once the forgery case was referred to the courts, the
Senate charged that prosecution of members of the legislature is a threat to democracy.
The Deputy Senate President, Mr. Ike Ekweremadu, followed by peddling the
bunkum all the way to the international community. The whole hoopla, of course,
is a vicious scam to arm-twist Buhari to revert to the status quo prior to the
current regime where Nigeria ’s
lawmaking body was literally above the law.
This matter has aroused different shades of opinions. But
before we begin to skew the history, as has become common with some pundits so
soon, it is necessary to quickly recall how we got here. Nigeria
before 2015 general elections was a hopeless case home and abroad. Despite
generating unprecedented revenue from sustained oil windfall throughout the
16-year reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the only changes the
Nigerian masses could witness were different waves of poverty and despair due
to an endemic corruption. The people yearned for positive change. Sum it up
this way: Muhammadu Buhari was voted back to power because of his ageless
fidelity to war against corruption.
However, upon assuming office, in an attempt to avoid
evoking any choking nostalgia of his dictatorial military past, the Daura-born
general naively assumed the posture of a recruit in dealing with the body that
makes laws for the country. In the process, Buhari downplayed an important
political maxim: The struggle to reclaim Nigeria from PDP required more than
a simple majority in a presidential election. It entails sustained influence
throughout the life of the new government. This type of influence in the
American presidential democracy entails continuous lobbying in the legislature
with the tradeoffs generally targeted towards public good. But effective lobbying
in the Nigerian context is totally something else. It is simply for personal
gains and demands a serious act of “Ghana-Must-Go”—whatever that means.
This reality coupled with Buhari’s austere profile created a
huge opening for the corrupt oligarchy to strike back. They easily capitalized
on the fact that most of the senators—both from
the ruling and opposition parties—were flat broke after 2015 polls. Having invested
their last card in the said polls, these lawmakers were desperate to recoup,
the source notwithstanding. Not surprisingly, the election of the principal
officers of the senate was basically a cash-n-carry affair.
This gist, if it is not already manifest, is that Olubukola Abubakar
Saraki deployed his huge wealth to “lobby” to gain control of the senate. Thus,
instead of the much-anticipated change, Nigeria is faced with a precarious
situation where some of the most hardened members of the corrupt oligarchy dictate
the content and pace of the legislative agenda—in a Buhari government. Today,
not only does a member of a discredited minority party remain the deputy
president of the Senate, most of the important committees are chaired by the
same opposition characters that combined to ruin the previous regime.
Of course, President Buhari has been fighting back. But it
is clear he has been hitting them with kid gloves. While dragging Saraki and
Ekweremadu to the courts is in tune with due process, the punch has been too
flat and too slow. It does not take a psychological maven to discern that these
two senators have no shame and will never toe the path of honour to step aside
for greater good. More essentially, the duo has already conquered the
legislature and is armed with the war chest to duplicate the feat at the
judiciary. Watch out for endless adjournment!
The way forward, therefore, is to meet the Saraki Senate
fire for fire. It requires countering with a heavy dose of Nigerian style of lobbying
till we reclaim the mandate. The politics of the moment requires taking an
objective head count in the Senate to determine who is in or who is out. It
requires securing the majority needed to impeach Saraki before he finally
unleashes his plot.
Critics are expected to roar at this juncture. Those from
the opposition will cling on their banal rallying cry of separation of power.
But they should be reminded that there comes a time nonsense paves way to
common sense. Not only is the change under a serious threat, separation of
power is not a license to commit crimes or hold a nation hostage. In short, the
elites joining to spew the separation of power façade might as well recognize
that their action does nothing but further the
prevailing view that consequences for bad behavior in Nigeria are only applicable to the
ordinary people.
Other critics will argue, and understandably so, that Buhari
must not compromise his principle in the course of the war against corruption
by indulging in Nigeria ’s
brand of presidential lobby. But Mr. President
should shun such notion. For leadership
is contingent upon the environment. Even as it is vitally important for leaders
to be unwavering in their convictions, any conviction ought to advance the
greater good, if it is to translate to effective leadership. Blind following of
ideology is another name for dogmatism and can easily lead to destructive power.
Moreover, Buhari cannot feign ignorance of how he finally won the presidency
after three previous attempts without money.
The objective fact is that the Nigerian masses are not
interested in the best of reasons for failure. We need the change we voted
for—not Saraki. Buhari needs to be emboldened by the wisdom of the story of mat
and space. He does not need to be told again and again that Senator Bukola Saraki
has become the real threat to Nigeria ’s
democracy. And it remains the responsibility of the President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria to find ways to influence the shyster and his principal
cohorts out of power, however the quickest style of lobbying.
(Ogbonnia can be reached via: SKCOgbonnia@firsttexasenergy.com)
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