I am moved to write this piece
after reading an article in the VANGUARD of Thursday, August 6, 2015 by Is’haq
ModibboKawu titled, “ Bukola Saraki
in Maiduguri: Tentative first steps for 2019 Presidency”. It is evident
that the article reeks of hate and seems aimed at either getting President Buhari
to regard Saraki his enemy, or
fortifying whatever grievances might exist, if that is the case.
Senator Saraki
Senator Saraki
That is sad, because in no way
does that motive contribute to nation-building, and in no way does it help
Buhari whom history will ultimately hold
responsible for what becomes of Nigeria from May 29, 2015. It is true we are in
a democracy and people should have freedom of communication, but I believe we
should exercise some self-control in the enjoyment of the freedom. I do not
know the author in person or even by reputation, but I bet he seems to have
some personal ‘agro’ against Saraki.
I met Saraki
sometime in 2011 after he became Chairman of the Senate Committee on the
Environment. I as well as others in the civil society engaged with
environmental issues in Nigeria were pleasantly surprised to be invited by that
Committee for interaction.
Saraki sat through the meetings
with a note book in which he took copious notes as people made contributions.
He also enriched the conversations by asking poignant questions. He was very
civilized and we had the impression that he is educated in the real sense.
It was this very positive
impression that Saraki made upon my colleagues and I that encouraged
my organization and others to take a closer look at the state he had just
left as
governor. About that time, some international organizations asked us to advise
on states towards which they could direct their interest in development
activities. From our analysis,
Kwara was highly recommended. The
points that counted for Kwara included accessibility by air from
Lagos/Ibadan and Abuja, having minimal security challenges, and a very positive
civil service and receptive government.
I am not sure how much of these
were put in place by the governments before
Saraki became governor of Kwara State. We subsequently took specific
projects into rural communities in the state. Before doing that we approached
his office in the Senate, and were
introduced to an officer who took responsibility to lead us into Kwara. The government of that state received
us in a very professional manner. Kwara was one of six states in which we unveiled
the National Adaptation Strategy on Climate
Change. During this period,
Saraki’s name resonated so much in urban
as well as rural areas of the state.
With respect to the article I
read which I consider unfair, there are some specific observations to make and
I itemize few out of the lot of them as they appear in that article.
The first is the title of the
article: “Bukola Saraki in Maiduguri: Tentative first steps for 2019
Presidency”. My reaction would be that if truly Saraki’s Maiduguri trip is part
of his seed planting towards the 2019 presidency of Nigeria, then it is
commendable. Nigeria can ill-afford a reluctant President in 2019, or whatever
other year for that matter. We’d rather an aspirant that has his sleeves rolled
up and is tirelessly working towards actualizing his dream than one that
suddenly wakes up one morning in 2019 to tell us that he is running for
presidency in response to pressures from his people. Better to have presidential aspirants with
hunger in their bellies and fire in their eyes which are fixed on a faraway
goal than have 2019 overnight microwave presidential aspirants that treat the
race to our much-cherished Aso Rock Presidential Villa like an
after-thought.
The author had complained about
the fact that “…most newspapers carried a syndicated picture of the ‘august
visitor’ waving to the IDPs.” To that I ask, is that strange? Isn’t that what
you see in governments including more mature democracies? What is wrong with
this, one dares ask?
The author further inveighed
that Saraki’s ultimate goal “remains presidency and he can’t even wait
for 2019 before beginning to show his hands”. To this I say only a fool
interested in 2019 presidency will wait till 2019 to start showing his hands.
Is the office of the President of Nigeria not serious enough to warrant
long-term thought and work? President
Buhari provides a good and recent
example of a long-distance runner in the presidency race and if, as the writer
of that article tried to portray, Saraki’s Maiduguri trip was indeed his first
step in a four-year marathon, then it should be a plus, not a minus as the
writer inveighed. People with political
ambitions should be encouraged to show their hands early. That way, the society
gets them to act with a greater sense of responsibility than might have
otherwise been the case.
Another difficult assertion to
accept is to the effect that the distinguished senator “is fighting a battle
against public perception because in many quarters in Nigeria, he has not been
able to live down the feeling that he betrayed his party”. To this I say perhaps
“many quarters” but certainly not majority of Nigerians share this sentiment. I
believe majority of Nigerians prefer inclusive broad-based governance that reflects the country’s
diversity, rather than governments that are highly skewed and based on an
ideology of exclusion of sections of the country.
The writer’s anger was revealed
the more when he stated that Saraki
“remains defiant and continues to ignore the APC and PMB’s openly
expressed preference that APC senators bow to party supremacy; he fills
positions with members of his own group, daring the party and PMB to do the
worst!” I see this as simply meant to incite. Sensible Nigerians remember
President Buhari’s statement after the election of the Senate
President and Speaker House of Representatives on June 9, 2015. Our much
respected President took the view that a constitutional process occurred. He
accepted those elected, and said that he did not have any preferred candidates
for the Senate and the House of Representatives leadership, and that he was
willing to work with whomever the lawmakers elected. The Presidency is a
serious office and cannot issue public statements that are meant for nothing.
It is an honourable office and Nigerians want to believe it ended
with that. If the President goes on after that date and that statement to
antagonize Saraki, that is a minus
for Buhari among honourable people. I refuse to believe the hidden
insinuation of that writer that our President who is noted point above is
another vexatious one which stated that
Buhari publicly ignored the
Senate President at the Abuja Eid praying ground. To this I wail, the Nigerian
President publicly ignoring the Nigerian Senate President elected within the
laws of Nigeria as acknowledged by the Nigerian President! Who loses? Who
becomes a smaller man by that, if that was really the case? Anyway, I doubt that it’s fact.
He further asserted that Saraki
missed the photo-op with President Barack Obama by not accompanying
Buhari to the United States. This can’t
be serious. How many times have we seen Senate Presidents going on foreign
trips with a country’s President?
That “…Bukola Saraki, unable to secure an audience with
PMB, was corralling the Emir of Ilorin to service to find every opportunity for
him to get to see the President.” This is commendable. He who seeks peace means well.
That “…he nevertheless continues
to defy the same President and party in respect of the extant problems arising
from his demarche on June 9.” Shaking my head in disbelief, I ask: But where is
the proof of defiance to the President?
Has Buhari asked Saraki
to resign as Senate President? Or is this suggestive of a possibility
that the statement issued after the election of
Saraki as Senate President was
not with the knowledge of the President? Is there a crack in the Presidency?
The apparently angry writer
complained that OlisaMetuh of the PDP had asserted that they were
working for Saraki’s return to the PDP. Now, I wonder what is
strange about that. I would expect PDP to work for the return of not only their
former members, but other senior APC members as well. Recall that APC lured
them away from PDP. What is wrong with
PDP doing the same?
The writer also accused Saraki
of “… embarking on the next chapter of his own personal agenda for
presidency…” But who, among the big names in Nigerian politics, does not have a
personal agenda? Is it Buhari, Tinubu,
Atiku, or who? What is peculiar with
Saraki having a personal agenda?
The following comment in the
article is perplexing: “…instead of
working to further enhance the North-Southwest alliance, these shortsighted and
opportunistic Northern politicians
who bought into Bukola
Saraki’s anti-Tinubupropaganda
endanger PMB’s CHANGE Agenda and willy-nilly, have become as disruptive as Bukola
Saraki and are working for his
personal agenda NOT the interest of Northern Nigeria or those of our country,
in the long run.” This, to say the
least, is scandalous. Is Mr Kawu
by any means implying that the whole essence of Buhari’s
government is to exclude two of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones?
Federal Character and inclusiveness are products of Nigeria’s political
history, and Constitution which the President swore to uphold. Is he stating
that Buhari is implementing a policy of
exclusion? That frightful comment forces one to compare what PDP did for
geopolitical zones in which they did not do well in presidential elections with
what the author appears to certify the APC as doing now. Is it possible that a
trend has emerged with two contending visions/ideologies – those who want an
inclusive Nigeria (PDP and APC elements like
Saraki and Dogara), versus the APC apostles of
exclusion?
The writer had asserted that, in
his own words, “By getting Ike Ekweremadu
into the loop as Deputy Senate President, and contrary to the norms of
Senate in respect of ranking, also making
Godswill Akpabio Minority leader, BukolaSaraki
will claim his political IOU in 2019”, Not done yet, he added that
Saraki will “posture as having given the
South-East and the South-South recognition and platforms of relevance, when
they ordinarily would have lost out in 2015, for voting against the APC and
PMB.” This line of writing and, particularly, the reasoning that produced it
are as unfair as they are scary. If that writer represents the view of the
anti-Saraki APC, then it is saddening to note that APC still has not
appreciated that the votes secured by former President Goodluck Jonathan in South-East and South-South
could have been higher if it were not for the hardwork
and determination of APC leaders and members in those zones. Now these
valiant men and women who fought for their convictions appear to have been made
to lose their voices by the emerging scenario in their otherwise beloved APC.
People are asking what Ogbonnaya Onu,
Rochas Okorocha, Chris
Ngige, Rotimi Amechi, and others who were very vocal in
asking the South-East and South-South to come along with the APC have to offer as
explanation for what is happening. What sin has the South-East, the South-South
and Saraki committed? If the elements of the Change
Agenda of the current government is good for all Nigeria, why the fear of persons
from the South-East and South-South being
around even in minor positions?
A curious accusation against
Saraki in the writing is that he “… has
been appointing legislative aides from different parts of the North and
beyond…” If that is the case, then he is a new generation Nigerian leader
indeed. A multi-ethnic, multi-everything country such as Nigeria can no longer
afford political office appointments that are skewed in clear favor of one
group to the exclusion of others.
The writer’s vituperation to the
effect that Saraki’s trip to Maiduguri
was presented as a humanitarian trip to give succor to people displaced as a
result of the Boko Haram insurgency was curiously meant to
reduce the person of Saraki. To the contrary, it has ended up improving the
person and persona. A politician must be known for something. Buhari brand
appeal is in his anti-corruption posture. If Saraki’s is humanitarianism, then that is desirable in
the hard times Nigerians all over the country are in.
The simple conclusion to this is
encapsulated in the question we employed as the title of this piece: Who is
afraid of Bukola Saraki? It has to be fear of the man that is generating the
level of antagonism contained in that article. Once again, that has no place in
national development.
Credit: Vanguard
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