At their last plenary session, Nigerian senators exhibited an exceptional gut to stall the deepening crisis that has taken a dangerous turn since the trial of the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, began at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
The election of Saraki as President of the nation’s 8th Assembly, which was fiercely attacked and rejected by some elements in his party, the All Progressives Congress, has been the hottest topic among our pundits. This is so because of the resilience of those, referred to as “Tinubu Camp”, who perceive his leadership of the senate as a restriction on the personal agenda they wish to pursue or employ in even getting President Muhammadu Buhari to do their bidding.
The senators’ impressive show of solidarity with one of their own was expressed in a motion by Senator David Umaru of the Niger East Senatorial District of Niger State, which inspired 83 of the 109 senators to pass a vote of confidence on the leadership of the embattled Senate President. That was a wise move to preserve the order needed to undertake their legislative functions.
The senators’ decision was a proof that our democracy is maturing, because it restated their independence as an arm of government that must resist all external forces that want to dictate how the legislature ought to conduct its affairs. It’s also a triumph over the ambitious politicians desperate to cause anarchy and frustrate the desired political harmony we need to develop this unfortunate country.
What Senator Umaru did was an audacious reminder of the role of senators as an independent branch of government. This is so because if the Senate had succumbed to the pressure of bitter and self-important politicians seeking to undermine their existence and prescribe how it must elect its leaders, then it has failed as an independent institution of checks and balances that makes and amends laws for the same people that now aspire to intimidate it.
Some people have attempted to dismiss the travail of the Senate President as a witch-hunt by the powerful Cabal loyal to APC stalwart and marked political rival, former Governor Bola Tinubu, but the question they haven’t answered yet is, would Saraki have been so viciously attacked if he hadn’t moved against the selfish elements that wanted to have things done their own way?
The case against Saraki, as inferred from the charges presented at CCT, had been there for the past 13 years and in this period he had served as senator and even chaired committees in the upper legislative chamber. Also, he was a major contributor to the victory of the APC in the last elections. Nobody, even the partisan public opinion, found him wanting until he finally sets out to reestablish himself, going against the self-lionized cabal that now want to plant their stooges in the National Assembly.
It is, thus, ignorant and mischievous to argue that the battle being experienced by Saraki now is just a start of the government’s anti-corruption crusade. The U.S.-based scholar, Professor Moses Ochonu, contributing to this controversy, aptly noted that what is worse than corruption itself is a politicized fight against corruption, which is exactly what the case against Saraki is.
The election of the National Assembly leaders was based on the wisdom and sentiments of the lawmakers, it’s an internal arrangement in which those of us outside are only bystanders. That some people now dictate or prescribe how these people must conduct their affairs is a justification of the vote of confidence on the senate president.
I do not advocate a loyal senate president, which is exactly what some people are calling for. What I advocate is an independent National Assembly that upholds justice and fairness in the discharge of its their duties as representatives of the people.
Our people have a poor understanding of the presidential system of government, with its markedly independent three arms that are only interrelated and thus only complement one another for the sustenance of democratic ideals. The truth is, and this is what many haven’t exactly bothered to think about, the Senate under Saraki’s leadership would be much more easy for the implementation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s policies than one under the leadership of stooges planted by some ambitious political cabal without ambitions different from the President’s.
Thankfully, Umaru’s motion has already been validated by the House of Representatives, which has also passed a vote of confidence on leadership of the National Assembly, confirming what we have all been advocating: an autonomous and responsive legislature. This seems that the era of rubber-stamped National Assembly is over. And may it be so!
Henry Iwuagwu
