Editorial: What Manner of Senators?

Source: huhuonline.com
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On May 17, 2011, the Senate is scheduled to debate a set of proposed new amendments to the Senate Standing Orders. Huhuonline.com understands that the proposed new amendments by Senate Majority leader, Teslim Folarin will effectively bar

freshmen Senators from contesting executive positions within the Senate, such as the President or the Deputy because of their rookie status.     'Nomination of senators to serve as presiding officers and appointments of principal officers and other officers of the Senate or any parliamentary delegations shall be in accordance with the ranking of the senators,' the proposed amendment read.

'Determining ranking, the following order shall apply: Senators returning based on a number of times re-elected; senators who had been members of the House of Representatives, senators who have been members of a state House of Assembly or any other Legislative House and Senators elected as senators for the first time,' the amendment further clarified.        

If anything, this proposed amendment is an annoying display of ego and an abuse of office by the Senate President; it is indeed an insult to the Nigerian people, and should be rejected outright and the Senate President impeached! What is more important to Teslim Folarin and the Senate class of 2011? Supremacy, individual ego or the common good? The proposed amendment is completely silly. It is even more annoying, considering the fact that freshmen Senators like Bukola Saraki, Danjuma Goje, Joshua Dariye and Abdullahi Adamu (to name just these few) with all their wealth of experience in managing the people's business would be reduced to mere spectators.        

We dare say, if allowed to pass, this amendment will be a charter for supremacists' warfare considering the fact this will not be the first time that the Senate will be engaged in this kind of dog-fight. It is not only undemocratic, but it is even unconstitutional. The Senate Class of 2011 must therefore moderate the ego and greed of its senior members and its leadership. Those who established the old standing orders were indeed Honorable gentlemen and ladies; they obviously did not contemplate the arrival of Teslim Folarin and the class of 2011 in Nigeria - power-mongers with extra-ordinarily large egos.        

The shame is on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The majority of Senators who are supporting this outrageous amendment and fighting over territory in the Senate are members of the PDP. President Goodluck Jonathan is a member of the PDP, in fact the leader of the party. How come members of the same party who are in the majority cannot work in concert to serve the Nigerian people? The PDP obviously is distracting our attention and embarrassing the entire country. It is clear that President Jonathan is not in charge within his own party. It is the perceived vacuum at the highest level that is responsible for the desperation that we are seeing, with incumbent Senators scrambling to protect their privileges and power.        

Our Senators need to be reminded that they have been elected, some insist selected, well whatever, to defend the interests of the Nigerian people. Collectively with their House Reps counterparts, they earn over N200 billion per year. That is a lot of money. And yet what do the Nigerian people get in return for this huge investment (nothing actually)? What they get is a navel-gazing Senate whose president is more interested in his alimentary needs and those of his senior colleagues rather than the Nigerian people.        

We would like to refer Senator Folarin to Chapter II of the Nigerian constitution explaining the essence and purpose of government; the primary reason they were, individually and collectively, entrusted with their respective mandates by the electorate. We would prefer to see the Senators discussing the contents of the Executive's proposals, making quality contributions, not fighting over chairs and tables. We understand there are special allowances attached to these executive positions, but should the President of the Senate go out of his way to shamelessly protect such trappings of self-aggrandizement and protocol?        

Senator Folarin does not seem to realize that he is guilty of conflict of interests. In his capacity as Senate President, he should not have been the one to propose such an amendment. Folarin is now a wounded Senator walking on moral stilts. His image has been battered. He is now the subject of media criticisms and lampoons. Folarin's grip on the leadership of the Senate is now shaky and he will be leading a factionalized Senate dogged by petty loyalties and confusion, a Senate in which legislative business is likely to be settled with punches and exchange of crude weapons.        

There are four aspects of Folarin that should attract close scrutiny: his leadership quality, his honesty, his moral character and his financial priorities as Senate President. Long-serving Senators with some degree of integrity must ensure that this particular amendment should not pass. The electorate did not elect Senate President and deputy President; they elected Senators. Why should Folarin think he is above other Senators even though they were all elected during the same election? There must be something about money involved in this disgraceful show-off; if there isn't, let someone tell us.      

  Our reading of the elections is that Nigerians voted for a new dawn in politics and this they signalized with their votes. So, only the best candidate should occupy whatever poste it in the cabinet or House of representatives. Put differently, personal qualifications - character, integrity, competence are more important than the momentarily convenience of some dubious longevity of service as proposed by Senator Folarin. Ultimately, it's the masses that are wronged and under-served. Nigerians must make it difficult if not impossible for the professional political class to continue to hold up our country to ridicule in this manner.