THERE is no doubt that the AllProgressive Congress, APC’s victory
in the last general election will take Nigeria in a different direction
from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, leadership of the past 16
years. In recent times, the only presidential contender that has
attracted enormous public confidence in his ability to tackle plethora
of problems confronting our nation is General Mohammed Buhari,
the President -Elect.
The expectations are too high and the pressure for a quick-fix is
already on. But we should all realise that the General does not have
a magic wand to wave and solve all our problems in one day. What
we expect from the good General and his party is to show us clearly
that they are in the process of laying strong foundation for effective
governance and good service delivery. Ours to recommend and
advice and wait for positive action. After all, like the popular
Nigerian adage says “it is the same Alhaji that we are all tending the
cattle for”. To this end, much is expected from APC in their choice
for leadership of National Assembly and persons appointed into the
Federal Executive Council to assist the President.
The most immediate of these decisions for the President-elect and
APC is the matter of leadership of the National Assembly because
of the strategic importance of the legislature in a democracy and
the agenda of change that was used by APC to serenade Nigerians
into handing an over whelming victory to an opposition party, the
first time in the history of our country. APC leadership should
realise that Nigerians will start counting their sincerity and
performance from the selection of leadership of National Assembly
to the actual performance in office. A weak foundation would have
been erected for anybody to hope for a scintillating performance in
office if the party allows petty politics and naked show of power to
drive their decision. A situation where leadership of APC starts to
campaign against zoning arrangement in deciding the issue of
leadership of National Assembly bothers on cockiness and
chicanery because the party used the same zoning to determine the
position of office of President , Vice-president and its National
chairman . Our legal lexicon has institutionalised Federal Character
or Zoning to ensure inclusiveness and effective administration of
our country. So for a party whose major electoral asset is the
credibility of its leaders to turn around to canvass against those
core values that made it attractive to the populace is courting
nothing but scorn.
Any objective person should easily agree that National balancing,
strong character, integrity, experience/competence, leadership skill
and equity are the core criteria the APC should seek, to determine
who will head the 8th National Assembly. The lessons of leadership
failure of the PDP should not be lost on the APC. Luckily for the
party, the three contenders to the leadership of National Assembly
are credible personalities but the party must choose the best to
send a message that they are well equipped and ready for
leadership. However, I believe that Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki is
better situated to discharge the functions of the office of the Senate
President and Chairman of the National Assembly than the other
two distinguished Senators- Dr. Ahmed Lawan and Chief George
Akume. My reasons are as follows;
National balancing: The APC started National balancing when the
Presidential and Vice-Presidential tickets were given to the North-
West and South-West respectively. The Chairmanship of the party
was zoned to South-South leading to the emergence of Chief John
Oyegun. Recollect that Chief Bisi Akande was prevailed upon to step
down as interim Chairman for the position to go to South-South.
The Chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum and Northern Governors
Forum have gone to the North-West and North-East. The party
initially zoned the position of Senate President to the North-central
but later threw the contest open. The reason was not stated but it
was speculated that the Godfathers of APC felt that zoning it to
North central will make it easier for Dr. Saraki to emerge. But for
proper political balancing, the position should go to the zone
because it is the zone that made it possible for APC to win when
they changed their allegiance from PDP to APC. Dr. Saraki and Chief
Akume are from this zone but fortunately for Dr. Saraki, Chief
Akume is no longer in the contest.
Strong Character: one of the most endearing qualities of Dr. Saraki
is his strength of character. Strength of character is a necessity for
an aspirant to such exalted and exacting office. Dr. Saraki showed
his stuff when he disagreed with his father on the choice of his
successor as the Governor of Kwara State. In a country struggling
with nepotism, his insistence on power rotation in his state against
his father’s desire to install his sister is a big plus for him. It showed
a man with character and class who cannot easily be swayed by
base and mundane instincts. His strength of character was also put
to test when he left the new PDP to APC at the time they disagreed
with President Jonathan on the running of the party. A firm and
discerning mind is needed to run the Senate and interface with the
executive arm for good governance to become institutionalised in
Nigeria.
Integrity: Today, Saraki is one of the most investigated public officer
yet nothing has been found to tanish his reputation. A reformer who
believes in positive change will always find himself at odds with the
system. Some people will call it controversy but it is actually a
progressive controversy when a top politician continually engages
the system for a better society. If it is not so, then I wonder what it
was when Saraki alerted the nation on the rip off called fuel
subsidy. His motion for a probe of fuel subsidy on the floor of the
Senate brought another round of investigation of his tenure as
Governor. A Governor who voluntarily waived his immunity and was
given a clean bill of health by no less a person than the famous anti-
fraud czar, Nuhu Ribadu, at the time almost all the Governors were
indicted for corruption cannot be underestimated in matter of
integrity .
Experience/Competence: Saraki has shown exceptional ability in this
area. As a Governor, he managed his state excellently to enable him
to install his successor. He turned Nigerian Governors Forum into
an effective body to midwife a robust relationship between the
Federal and States Governments. He epitomizes the Igbo adage
which is translated to mean that “one cannot use a mirror to search
for a golden bracelet worn on the wrist”.
Leadership skill: Many of these attributes have horned the
leadership skill of Saraki to a point of excellence. Nigeria and APC
need a person of such great ability to assist General Buhari in the
onerous task of nation building. There is no gain saying the fact
that every Senator is qualified to be a Senate President but it is only
one person that can occupy the position at a time. I believe that the
time is ripe for Saraki to lead the National Assembly to join other
arms of Government to take Nigeria to prosperity and development.
The leadership of the National Assembly should be a bridge
between the centripetal and centrifugal forces in National power
game viz: APC and PDP, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa/Fulani, Ijaw, Tiv, etc.
Saraki’s support base cuts across these interest power blocs and he
is in a better position to reconcile their conflicting demands by
utilising his exceptional leadership skills.
Equity: In law, it is said that whoever comes to equity must go with
clean hands because equity can only intervene when somebody is
acting in good faith. There are five parties that merged to form APC
namely: ACN, CPC, ANPP, PART OF APGA, AND NEW PDP. In the
distribution of offices, CPC and ACN have got the President and
Vice President respectively. APGA has the Chairman of Progressive
Governors Forum while ANPP has the National Chairman of APC
and is rumuored to be on the verge of emerging the SGF. It means
that it is only the new PDP that is left out in the sharing
arrangement. Let’s not forget the fact that it was the new PDP that
changed the game for APC when they entered the alliance with their
five Governors. So for equity sake, the chairmanship of the National
Assembly will be an adequate compensation to them through
Saraki.
Finally, in life, there is time for everything and everyone. It is useless
when mere mortals fight hopelessly to rearrange divine
arrangement. In my humble opinion, there is an unseen hand that
arranged the equation to favour Dr. Saraki and it is needless to fight
it. In this period of Change, Let the Nation continue to crown who
the cap fits.
Mr. Mike Nkwocha, a lawyer, wrote from Awka, Anambra State.
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