The
news of the election of Senator Bukola Saraki as the Senate President
on Tuesday did not come to me as a surprise. It was already very obvious
as of last Saturday when I left Abuja for London. I do not know Saraki
personally but I saw that he played better politics in his quest to
clinch the exalted position. I cannot say the same about the new Speaker
of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara. His election was a sort
of domino effect from the Senate.
Saraki understood early
that some key members of his party, the All Progressives Congress, were
not in support of his candidature and so made his campaign bi-partisan.
As a member of the defunct “New Peoples Democratic Party”, it was easy
for him to reach across to his former colleagues to neutralise those who
were opposed to him.
The way the contest
played out is an important pointer to the ways our politics will unfold
in the next four years. In theory, the legislature and executive arm of
government ought to be independent. However in practice, the situation
is slightly different. Every President desires a friendly parliament so
that he can get support for his policies, get resources for projects and
the right legislation passed to give legal support to programme
priorities if need be. Therefore, there is nothing wrong if President
Muhammadu Buhari had his preferences for the office of the Senate
President. What was probably wrong was how his foot soldiers went about
it. While the President insisted that he had no candidate, some people
were said to be acting on his behalf.
Was it the right thing to
delegate the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Ahmed
Bola Tinubu, to sort out issues pertaining to the National Assembly
leadership elections? Some will say yes while others will say no. It
will be difficult to overlook the contributions of the former Lagos
State Governor to the victory of the APC. However, many people see him
as unnecessarily overbearing and even meddlesome. Besides, he is seen in
some quarters as a burden and will usually turn the other way whenever
he is involved. Tinubu’s support was simply the burden on Senator Ahmed
Lawan’s candidature that diminished his chances. There are those who
spoke in the background that Lawan was the President’s preferred
candidate but it was hardly visible in the domineering politics of
Tinubu.
I will not comment on the debate that was triggered by
the comment credited to the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lai
Mohammed, that the “President is the leader of the party.” I have read
many contributions already to that conversation and those will suffice
for now. From what we have seen after Buhari’s inauguration, it is
possible that the President wants to focus on governance and allow those
Mohammed referred to as “leaders of the party” to grapple with the
party’s politics, but given that politics contributes to shape
governance so both are linked. However things turn out, it is the
President that takes the ultimate responsibility so he must not allow
any side to chance.
I know that politics demands a lot of
compromises and trade-offs. I know President Buhari is a man who wants
to be grateful to those who supported him. I also think that the
President trusts Tinubu but if were in his shoes, I would not risk
allowing one person produce my deputy and key leaders of the National
Assembly under my watch. That will be too much power entrusted in one
person. What if we disagree as it is often the case in politics? As it
turned out, the APC leader wanted all and eventually got none. How sad?
It reminds me of the days of Chief Tony Anenih as the leader of the
Peoples Democratic Party.
The results of the National Assembly
elections should force the ruling APC to some introspection. With an
“unfriendly” National Assembly, President Buhari has a lot to worry
about. He should have learnt from former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Part of Jonathan’s problems was because he did not support the emergence
of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal. It was the opposition party, then Action
Congress of Nigeria, that supported the former Speaker against Mulikat
Akande who was sponsored by the PDP. History has repeated again before
the full glare of the APC.
Now, how will President Buhari and
his party navigate a bi-partisan Senate? What is the game plan of the
PDP beyond producing the Deputy Senate President? Did the party get into
any deals with Saraki in exchange for their support for him? Will he do
their bidding? How come the APC allowed all this to slip through? Has
the politics of 2019 and 2023 started this early in 2015? Will Tinubu
learn to loosen his grip on the APC so that the party can govern?
One
final point I will like to comment on is on the APC’s zoning policy.
The ruling party has sounded that it will abolish zoning in its conduct
of national affairs. I support the party’s stance wholeheartedly.
However, the party itself is a beneficiary of zoning. If it did not zone
the Presidency to the North, it would not have won the 2015
presidential election. So, if it has to remove zoning as I think it
would, it is important to do so gradually and systematically. For now,
let every region get a feeling of belonging and a piece of the cake at
the take-off of the Buhari government. There are qualified persons in
every zone in Nigeria and so it will be wise to spread the appointments
so that no region will feel short-changed. I say this because as I look
at the results of the last elections, I will caution that the APC should
play the kind of inclusive politics to expand its support base. With
the presence of some PDP governors in the National Assembly gallery
yesterday, it is clear that the APC needs to watch their steps.
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