BUKOLA SARAKI SENATE PRESIDENT-SHIP X-RAYED IN 3D, THE CROWN, THE CROSS AND THE PRICE
Every action has its reaction, Nigeria is adjudged to be the country
going through the toughest permutations in sub Sahara Africa and going
by this, we can say that Nigeria houses the toughest sets of people and a
pointer to this fact is the issue of our bond regardless of what we go
through day in day out, we still find a means to remain as one.
It is seriously intriguing and mind bulging to analyse the series of
events that has been happening post election which seem to have
different dimensions and seems unending like a season film,
the most prominent of all seems to be the national
assembly crisis which has been on the top chat like a hot song from the
Mavins. I remembered a Yoruba saying which says ‘if you hear them
carrying it, help them carry it so that they won’t abandon it at your
backyard’ the national assembly issues really must give all Nigerians
some sense of deep thought on what the future of Nigeria looks like,
this certainly is a road map for what Nigeria will become in the nearest
future. Many references shall be made out of all these present
happenings and history will never forget many players.
Time is ticking and Nigeria is begging for fixing and the politics is thickening and we have the masses at the center of it all.
The national assembly which has Senator Bukola Saraki sitting has the
chairman playing the role of a servant leader who has been able to carry
on with all knives, bombs and all sort of dangers carefully coded and
directed at him with a simple but strong defensive antics .
Many will say that Senator Bukola Saraki his getting what he deserves
but we might want to analyse the issue of the national assembly in 3
dimensions.
1. THE LEADERSHIP OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY.
With all consciousness and sincerity, we all need to x-ray what really
went down prior to the elections in the chambers without bias not
prejudice. Politics is not for the wimp minded nor the weaklings, a good
politician is driven by ideas but most importantly his passion for his
ambition.
We see long days at the tribunals with resources flying right left and
center, our president, Mohammed Buhari was a regular man at the
tribunals before God eventually answered is prayers. These are examples
of events driven by passion for ambition.
Before the election of the national assembly, the leadership of the APC
tried playing a fatherly role by trying to field a single candidate for
the position of senate president but it was a bad father role by its
assumed preference for a particular candidate in person of Senator
Ahmmed Lawan, as a progressive we all should condemn any group who won’t
help us reach our full potentials. We saw a lot of people decamping to
APC just because they won’t be allowed to reach their full potentials in
their party, Vice president Atiku was said to have left PDP prior to
2007 elections because his potentials were being undermined by the PDP.
Many people speculate that many big wigs would desert the APC before the
2015 election and we can recollect the shabby exit of Chief Tom Ikimi
due to his allegations that the leadership position of the APC wasn’t
open to all through a free and fair elections rather through a shady
consensus.
It is absolutely and morally right to say that any association a man
belongs to where his potentials are being undermined is an unjust
association. The senate is a composition of men who are elder statesmen
from their individual communities saddled with responsibilities to take
care of this country after being voted for by their constituents, these
men should at least be able to make sensible decision within themselves
without interference from any quarters (Presidency or Party). If APC
wishes to be a good father, it should have allowed the interested
candidates’ slug it out through the right channel just as President
Buhari advised.
2. SENATOR BUKOLA SARAKI’S STRUGGLE FOR THE POSITION. THE CROWN, THE CROSS AND THE PRICE.
This second dimension x-rays the gains and troubles that came with the
position of Senate president given the circumstances that made it
possible for Senator Bukola Saraki to attain the position. Some had
classified and labelled Saraki as over ambitions, greedy and a betrayal
but if we once again check the fact available critically, we would see a
selfless man whose selfless acts is almost a replica of the prophets’.
No blasphemy intended but what we see in the actions of Prophet Noha who
went through the troubles of building the ark and calling all species
of different gender on board is nothing short of a selfless act that the
senate president exhibits.
It would have been a crime for a man like Senator Bukola Saraki to allow
a seemingly incompetence mare the progress of APC after-all Saraki was
among the giants who fought through the thick of the last
administration’s tide, also gave promises of glad tidings and a total
change towards the business of government on campaign grounds. Saraki’s
victory is not for him but for the masses, our headache should not be
what goes on at the national headquarters of the APC but what the NASS
is taking care of.
To wear the crown you must carry the cross, if the masses are indeed to
be considered, the leadership of the APC should allow the NASS perform
to her full capacity, deed had been done as we all know it and what
amazes me so far is the responsible leadership the Senate has been able
to deliver amidst the blackmails, police cases, distractions et all that
Saraki has been going through since he assumed office and I can’t but
wonder how effective he will be if he was allowed to focus on the
Nigeria fixing project but one will expect that the masses who stands to
be the victim in this whole NASS crisis help Saraki reduce the burden
of the cross by being objective and ask where the primary interest of
the national leadership of the APC lies, destroying Saraki or elevating
the lives of the masses?
Senator Bukola Saraki so far has been pro-masses going by his visit to
the IDP, the NERC bulk bill reduction, rice waiver, PDP unanimous
support for president Buhari amongst other and these are enough reasons
for the leaders of APC to adopt and move along with him if indeed the
betterment of the masses is the priority here.
Furthermore, I do have the conviction that the initially proposed
candidate by the APC for the SP position would have made a worst Senate
President and reason is that he has not been productive to a single
degree and still feel battered grossly undermining the general welfare
of the Nigeria masses going by his rejection to be a member of a
committee set up by the senate president to visit the IDPs, a true
leader considers the masses first before his personal self.
3. WHO GAINS MORE FROM SENATOR SARAKI’S MOVE? THE MASSES PERSPECTIVE
The argument in the APC about the NASS seems to be proving that the
leaders of APC are suffering from power syndrome with the way the issue
is being handled.
One should ask why APC leadership seem to forget that Senator Bukola
Saraki worked tirelessly for the success of the party pre election.
One also should ask why APC seem to forget that any senator duly elected is worthy of being a principal officer at the NASS.
We should also ask what could have been done better than how Saraki has been handling matters at the national assembly?
One other question pertinent is the usefulness of the senate in regards
to the yearnings and cries of the common man on the street. The
directive to review NERC Bulk billing by the senate is indeed pro
masses after-all, a larger percentage of the masses are the main victims
directly concerned on the subject matter.
Did we not all call for an independent NASS?
Did we not all worked tirelessly to abolish a controlled and rubber stamp NASS?
Did we not call for #OpenNass?
Why then do we want to throw our answered prayers away through blind
bitterness instead of looking inward and stop fighting a war we know
nothing about neither concerning us?
We all at this junction need to send out a message to all as concerned
that the bigger picture of fixing this nation should be on everyone’s
page.
The common Nigerian must ask why 81 senators representing almost 80% of
Nigeria went ahead in endorsing the leadership of the National Assembly,
we also must ask what the leadership of the NASS has done accredit-able
as anti masses.
It’s time to play our part by providing the most constructive criticism
and voicing out our problems just like the NERC bulk billing and forget
about the politics at least till the leadership of the NASS under
Senator Bukola Saraki falls short of a responsible representation.
God bless.
By Lawal Sharafadeen
@shewn007
