Saraki's Senate
“The Senate is not on trial. The senators should sit down and do their work. They don’t need to be here. It is shameful and disgraceful to the nation." - Rotimi Jacobs, SAN
The Senate under Senate President Bukola Saraki has been acting as though Nigerian citizens do not have the power to call for the suspension of the 8th Senate. Think about it for a minute. If democracy is a government of the people, for the people, and by the people, it then follows that 'everything' in a democratic government must be about the people, and that the people can raise their voices in unison to demand for change when things go wrong. Simple. The law was made for man, and not man for the law. Nigerians are in charge of the Senate and not the other way round. Saraki must subject himself to the will of Nigerians.
It's about the hawker on the road, the nurse in the hospital, the student in the school, the hustling Nigerian youth, and the retired pensioner, et al. It's certainly no more business as usual. It is rather unfortunate that the likes of Saraki have not noticed how fast things have changed in Nigeria. That dream of a Senate President who wields so much power, sharing money everywhere, and influencing key executive decisions, has been blown away with the wind of change. President Muhammadu Buhari is making politics uninteresting for those whose main aim is not service to humanity, but political power and opulence.
The political consciousness of Nigerians have been awakened by the dynamic forces of time. Not a few people are more aware of happenings in government than most government officials. The Internet is doing magic to our political advancement as a nation. I know that Senator David Mark and some others will be regretting why they didn't add more force to their quest for the restriction of phones to the sitting rooms of their fellow elites. See what GSM technology has done to Nigerians. Everyone is now a political analyst or reporter.
It is no longer possible to run a secret government. But do you really need to run a secret government if you don't have anything to hide? One of the burdens of modern politics is that you must live in the public light. In this age of Facebook, Twitter, et al, it's either you're telling your story or someone else is pouring it out for you.
The story of the 8th Senate has been a bad one from the scratch. From the alleged forgery of the Senate rules, billions of Naira in allowances, budget padding, Saraki's corruption scandal, to numerous issues of extra-political activities, I dare say that this Senate as presently constituted, is an aberration of representation. I call it Saraki's Senate.
Saraki's Senate is the only Senate in the world that removes key developmental projects from the budget and replaces them with the procurement of tricycles and construction of mini-town halls. This is a Senate whose principal is under trial for corruption, yet moves to amend an act that has something to do with his trial. What sort of gangster politics is that? This is a Senate that has summoned the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for whatever reason, at the same time that an accelerated hearing was given for Saraki's trial at the CCT. Such coincidence! What type of legislative rascality is that?
In my view, what most Nigerian politicians lack is foresight. They are always so engrossed in the quest for political power that they easily forget that change is the only constant thing in life. Of a truth, things have changed in Nigeria. The political landscape is no longer friendly to public officers who have offshore accounts and undeclared assets. Those who love Bukola Saraki should inform him that this is his worst and last political fight.
Nigerians want a Senate President that will respect his or her political party and maintain the pious nature of President Buhari. Saraki should understand that in this time of economic uncertainties, governance is now all about integrity and performance for Nigerians. This is the standard now, anything less is not acceptable. And this is why Nigerians have completely lost patience for Saraki's Senate.
~ Solomon Okocha