Saraki The Beautiful Bride – Kehinde Ayoola JP

On the 14th of August, 2015, almost 3 years ago, I wrote the following advisory piece. It has become prophetic. What was suggested there has largely come to pass. The APC has towed the paths suggested therein only a tad too late maybe.

Meanwhile, kindly read it again and make your own judgments.

Happy reading:

Bukola Saraki’s Senate
The 8th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria took off to a raucous start on the 9th of June 2015 with the contentious election of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President much to the chagrin of the National Leadership of the ruling APC who had earlier endorsed Senator Ahmed Lawan from Yobe State.

As is to be expected in such cases, stiff opposition came from the party leadership and the Presidency which had earlier distanced itself from the politics of who-got-what in the National Assembly. The matter took a turn for the worse on the 21st June when other Principal Offices were to be filled. Again, the party’s candidates lost out in the Senate as the Bukola Saraki-led leadership did not announce Ahmed Lawan as the Senate Leader which was what the APC wanted as outlined in a letter to Saraki from John Odigie-Oyegun, National Chairman of the APC.

Similar thing was rebuffed in the House of Representatives where some members did a Mayweather/Pacquiao on themselves prompting Speaker Yakubu Dogara to hurriedly adjourn the House first to July 21st and later to July 28th, 2015.

In the intervening days and weeks between then and now, a lot of meetings, caucuses and consultations were held among the feuding factions. This culminated in a meeting on Monday, 27th July between President Muhammadu Buhari and all the elected APC members of the Reps at Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

Hopes that the matter would be solved by the highest-ranking APC man and the President of Nigeria were dashed when the meeting abruptly ended just 20 minutes after it started. Reports say each of the factions: Dogara and Gbajabiamila stubbornly stuck to their guns.

A plethora of verbiage has been written about what went wrong. This is not the purview of this article.

On Tuesday, 28th July, 2015 at plenary, the Senate of the Federal Republic passed a Vote of Confidence on the leadership of Senator Bukola Saraki as President and Senator Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy President of the Senate respectively.

Before this day, the talk-in-town had been a purported Police Report on an alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Rules 2015 which reportedly gave undue advantage to Saraki and Ekweremadu in their elections. Most blogosphere, twittersphere and virtually all online outlets were awash with news of the report that was already allegedly in the custody of President Buhari and how Saraki, Ekweremadu and Salisu Maikasuwa (Clerk of the National Assembly) would be dealt with and their positions taken away (perhaps given to the anointed ones).

It was therefore with much excitement, trepidation and expectation (depending on which side you are on) that Nigerians expected Tuesday, 28th July sitting. It however turned out an anti-climax. Saraki’s leadership was reportedly endorsed by 81 out of the 108 senators of Nigeria (one senator had died shortly before inauguration).

Now, with this latest development and barring any unforeseen circumstances of earth quaky proportions, Saraki sits comfy on the Senate President’s chair.

This is now Bukola Saraki’s Senate.

Granted this is not the situation as envisaged by the leaders of APC, how should they react to this new development?

First, as has been canvassed by this writer since June, the APC needs to fashion out a way of living with this situation – at least until circumstances dictate otherwise (they usually do in our peculiar political clime). A policy of accommodation will help the new government and indeed Nigeria. Nothing should be done, overtly or covertly, to try and consign Saraki to the status of a pariah. We need the Senate to be on the same page with the President if we want him to deliver on most of the lofty promises he made to the Nigerian people. A cantankerously antagonistic Senate will do us no good.

Secondly, it is very glaring that the APC leadership as currently constituted under Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, though have tried in midwifing an unprecedented electoral victory for the then opposition APC, can no longer cope with the demands of leading a party in power. It is clear now that Oyegun’s leadership will not enjoy the confidence and respect of Saraki’s Senate. A shakeup at the top echelon of the party is therefore necessary sooner rather than later.

There is nothing new or revisionist in this. Most good wartime leaders have often not been good at peacetime. Winston Churchill was an excellent British PM during the World War 2 but failed woefully to galvanise the British society effectively after the war, so he lost his re-election. Of recent, President George Herbert Bush led America and the Allies successfully through ‘Operation Desert Storm’ (the Gulf War) in the early 90s but the Republican Party failed to win the next US Presidential elections. At 76 years old, he has truly paid his due. Let the APC organise a befitting send-forth party for him with a nice little gift and then put in place another Chairman who understands the dynamics of running a party in power especially one that can deal effectively and confidently with our irascible legislators.

Thirdly, and related to the second point above, is the need to have a loyal, dynamic, proactive man/woman to head the President’s National Assembly Liaison Office. From observation, there’s an almost zero communication between the President and the Senate. Take for example his recent tour of the USA. It is highly indefensible that no member of the National Assembly was on that entourage. Matters that need the input of legislators were therefore not attended to or were given scant attention. Also, in these days that President Buhari has not fully constituted his government; he has around him persons who do not really understand the nuances of legislators. He needs to consult and get properly briefed on legislative procedure.

Now is the time to start engaging Saraki’s Senate more constructively.

Abubakar Bukola Saraki, by that vote, is now in effective control of the Senate as the 7th Senate President since the return to democracy in 1999.

May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

Omi Tuntun ti ru l'Oyo State, no matter what!

Kehinde Ayoola JP is former Speaker, Oyo state House of Assemble