The APC’s 4-4-2 formation took the lead yesterday as Dr.
Ahmed Lawan and Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila stand the chance to emerge Senate
President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively when the 8th
National Assembly is inaugurated on Tuesday.
The All Progressive Congress, APC last night reportedly
'voted' the legislators as its official candidates for the two major positions.
Dr Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North) will run with Mr. George
Akume (Benue North) as Deputy Senate
President.
He polled 32 votes out of the 33 cast at the mock election.
One vote was invalid.
Even the Senate-elects from the home state of Buhari, voted
for Akume.
The mock election was held on ground that the Saraki’s team
had decided to go for outright election on the floor of the Senate.
The politically calculated session was
preceded by horse-trading with APC Senators-elect breaking into groups for
consultations.
In the absence of Senator Saraki and his loyal team, Chief
Barnabas Gemade nominated Ahmed Lawan for the office of the president of the
Senate and it was seconded by Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
The Chief Returning Officer, Mai Mala Buni (the National
Secretary of APC) also called for nomination for the office of Deputy President
as Senator Ajayi Borrofice (Ondo North)
nominated Senator George Akume. He was seconded by Comrade Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central).
At about 11.23pm, voting commenced with the Chief Returning
Officer running through the list of 59 Senators-elect of the APC.
The National Vice Chairman (North East), Engr. B.B. Lawal
conducted the sorting and counting of votes.
Summarily, what was supposed to be an election ended up as a
unanimous selection (or should we say collective conspiracy?) The number of
accredited voters was 33, 32 voted for Lawan and one was invalid.
As a young Nigerian who has only practiced politics within
the academic society, I’d already know that the marriage between APC and the
aggrieved PDP 'decampees' will not favour the latter.
What baffles me is why the defecting political giants with
ample history of political knowledge would agree to share a common ground with
an exceedingly desperate political camp championed by a stern follower of
Bennito Mussolinni’s ideology? How in the world will a man with long history of
political eminence come to agreement with a desperate camp with historical
credential of betrayal?
A popular Yoruba adage points to the fact that a man who is
sexually aroused would say anything to get a woman to bed to fulfill his urge
.once the sexual urge is satisfied, the language will change.
Democracy means two things; the first is ‘what the people
say they want to do, the second is ’those who count as the people’.
Whatever shared purpose that informed the convergence ended
on Saturday March 28, 2015.
A scenario that depicts what transpired afterwards is that
of a boy who plotted his father’s divorce in a bid to marry another woman. Such
a boy should be ready to give away his legal status from son to a step-son.
The Yoruba speaking people of Kwara have from history
suffered misplaced identity as to whether they are from the north or the south
west. The same fate is shared with Kogi State. They are regionally aligned with
the north and traditionally recognized with the south west: a tool tactically
utilized by the Jagaban himself.
In an attempt to ensure that power is shared across all the
six geopolitical zones, the President was chosen from the north west, the vice
from the south west, the senate ( with evidences of the existing
candidate)should go to North central.
Considering the two candidates who hails from the north
central (George Akume and Bukola Saraki) Bukola is more popular and politically
stronger than Akume.
There are countless reasons why the APC camp that received
the PDP would not want Bukola in the senate. They are as much as the rain.
However, two major reasons are not far-fetched from the fact that he possesses
a strong political independence and possibly of the same pedigree with almost
all the APC major landlords.
Bukola will not entertain patron-client dictators. He is a
man who also controls empires of political eminence. By his political value, he
is a phenomenon.
DeleMomodu in his piece “Lest We Forget The Heroes” (Thisday April
18, 2015) where he identified those who made the victory of APC at the
presidential polls possible referred to
Saraki as “the boss of all bosses
when it comes to understanding the most powerful block outside the Presidency
in Nigeria, the Governors’ caucus. The Governors virtually control the National
Assembly and many of them would form the next Senate of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
Like
his great dad who was Senate Leader in the Second Republic, Senator Saraki has
since become a powerful voice championing people-oriented causes despite his
privileged background. He was harassed and threatened but refused to buckle or
be intimidated. He has worked very hard to become the most visible leader from
the North Central axis”
The APC, having literally lost the Presidency and eager to
control both legislative arms, brought in a Yoruba candidate, Femi Gbajabiamila
to contest as candidate for speaker.
This in turn means that Saraki who is from the North Central
but speaks Yoruba will not be considered to contest for President of the
Senate.
Senator Bukola Saraki represents the North Central and not
the Yoruba. He represents the Nupe, Igala, Okun, Igbira, Idoma, Tiv, parts of
Hausa and Yoruba speaking groups. He represents the geographically detached
minority at the central and not the core Yorubas. He represents the
marginalized minority who has experienced political denials from parent-regions.
From time immemorial, the marginalized minority has never
benefited from the Yorubas. The late Sunday Awoniyi hailed from Kogi state, but
he was the chairman of the Arewa group in the north. Why then, would anyone
consider Saraki as Yoruba when it comes to Senate Presidency?
This an amber notice for other decampees (Amaechi, Atiku,
etc..to watch their backs.
President Buhari, after his emergence has once made it clear
that the PDP decampees should not lobby for any office, APC’s chairman, John
Oyegun after election victory urged the PDP prospective decampees to remain in
their camp.
It can be safely posited that the PDP-faction of the APC has
no estimable consideration in this government. It is therefore pertinent for
this group to as a matter of urgency, come together and redirect their focus to
take back their relevance in the political space. Let it be known that history
is not written by who is right or who is wrong; it is written by those who win.
The milk is not completely spilled.
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