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Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, who has been advocating for a curb in excesses and the ostentatious lifestyle of politicians, has reacted to the report that Federal Legislators will get N9 billion as…
Read MoreSenator representing Ondo North Senatorial District, Robert Boroffice, has shed light on the part played by National leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, in the leadership brouhaha of…
Read MoreThe N9 billion that will soon be released to the newly inaugurated National Assembly members has created a lot of controversy and discourse across board. Several opinions and speculations to…
Read MoreNigeria’s newly sworn-in legislators are expected to receive N8.64 billion as 'wardrobe allowance' next week. This comes to a sum of N21.5 million each for the country’s 109 Senators and…
Read Moreby Teniola Fadina Finally, as mentioned in the earlier parts of this article, it is important that Nigerian newspapers like The Nation (regardless of its ownership) move forward from vigilante-like/ambush…
Read MoreFormer Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, says the crisis in the National Assembly has led to a division within the party. He also believes that the party may have underrated the…
Read MoreIt was with great relief that I received the news of the All Progressives Congress (APC) acceptance to work with Bukola Saraki and Yakub Dogara as Senate President and Speaker…
Read MoreNow that the National Assembly leadership brouhaha is finally beginning to simmer, a new kind of battle is brewing in the nation's legislature. The new battle appears to be the…
Read Moreby Simon Kolawole
Politics should never start and end with intrigues. We thought it was a PDP problem but we know better by now. Our problems require urgent solutions.
You are hereby pardoned if you think the paramount purpose of politics is to win power. You are further forgiven for thinking that those all-night and all-day meetings, cross-carpeting and defections, media wars and hot air, plotting and scheming are what politics is all about. You probably came to that conclusion after observing Nigerian politicians for years. Our politicians are very skilled in political intrigues. They can go to any length to win elections. They can go on prayer and “dry fast” for one full year just to gain power. The problem, though, is that they often forget the real purpose of political power as soon as they get it. Their lives are built around elections and intrigues. All my life, I have never witnessed the sort of intense politicking I have seen in Nigeria in the last three years. The original location was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where former President Goodluck Jonathan’s quest for a second term sparked off a series of events that would eventually consume him and his party. He took control of his party’s machinery to make his re-nomination a cakewalk, and this led to the exit of five governors, dozens of senators and scores of reps who moved to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) was split into two as pro-Jonathan and anti-Jonathan forces went to war. Many Nigerians thought it was a battle between those who wanted Nigeria to progress and those who wanted it to regress. They framed it as a battle between the “good boys” and the “bad boys”, the “democrats” and the “autocrats”. In an article I wrote on June 2, 2013, titled “Fellow Nigerians, It Is All Politics!”, I did warn that all the intrigues were not about democracy and development. I said it was not about boreholes and potholes or medicines and maternal mortality. It was not about trade and tourism. I remember suggesting that if Jonathan dropped his re-election ambition, calm would instantly return to the PDP. I insisted it was a battle of politicians not a battle of principles. I have not seen anything to make me change my mind. The only piece of architecture I can see in the ruin is the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari. Indeed, Buhari is a sweet-smelling deodorant for the stinking, self-centred Nigerian political class. But the trademark stench is gradually on the way back with all its pungency. In less than two weeks after the inauguration of the APC-led government, the all-night and all-day meetings, cross-carpeting and media wars, plotting and scheming are back in full force. Again, I regret to report that it is not about boreholes and potholes or medicines and maternal mortality or trade and tourism. So it goes. The election of Bukola Saraki as senate president in a very Tambuwalic fashion, complete with the victory of Yakubu Dogara as speaker of the House of Representatives, may just be the beginning of another poisoned politicking — this time under Buhari’s government. The APC leaders who felt injured by the rebellion of Saraki and Dogara may seek to get them removed. We may, in no time, be confronted with another unstable National Assembly where politicking would form the main legislative agenda. Nigerians could be presented with a body that spends more time resolving crises and less time on passing critical bills for national development. May I please remind our new leaders that time is running out? Nigerians did not vote them into power because they wanted to be watching political drama. They see that in abundance on DStv. To be sure, intrigues are part and parcel of politics anywhere in the world. I have no intention to dispute that. What I seek to dispute is the notion that politics starts and ends with intrigues. Intrigues of who gets what. Intrigues of which camp is superior to the other. Intrigues of media wars. Many Nigerians are so caught up in these intrigues that they too seem to have forgotten that there are other reasons for which the APC was voted into power. May I distract the attention of the politicians by suggesting a few things they can consider? As I write, banks are no longer lending to the economy. They are unsure of what the new economic environment will look like. The implications are not only going to be immediate but long-term. The lacuna created by lack of access to funds by businesses will further hurt an economy already reeling in high levels of unemployment and cash crunch. People are losing their jobs. The economy urgently needs first-aid treatment before we can even discuss a major surgical operation. I would have thought this should generate more passion than senate presidency. Pardon my naivety. Poor me, I thought Buhari would have met with the bank chiefs by now, assuring them of his direction and encouraging them to come out of their shells. Confidence management could be another name for economic management. We are reading various reports in the media that are often contradictory on what Buhari has up his sleeves. For those who intend to invest in the economy or take major business decisions, the year 2015 has been too unfriendly and unhelpful. Everything about us has been elections, elections, elections and elections. It seems we live for elections. Everything is elections. Nothing else matters. Another distraction I want to suggest is on the state of fuel supply. As things stand, we don’t even know where we are headed. Are we going to continue the subsidy regime? If not, are we deregulating? How long can we sustain this hand-to-mouth fuel supply with all the uncertainties and queues that come with it? Will outstanding subsidy claims be verified and cleared or are we going to be in this perpetual state of guessing and second-guessing? Whatever policy direction is chosen by Buhari will have implications. If he retains subsidy, there will be issues. If he doesn’t, there will be issues. But he needs to quickly communicate his intentions to the marketers. As APC battles with its contradictions and ego wars, they need to pause and think of the dire consequences of failing to face the business of governance. I long for the time when our politicians (from all parties) will redistribute their energies and allocate less to political intrigues. Imagine the distance politicians have travelled in the struggle for power in the last three years. Imagine all the criss-crossing around the country. Imagine the meetings upon meetings. Imagine the resources devoted to campaigns from LGA to LGA and from state to state. If only 10% of these can be devoted to a development agenda, Nigeria would be a far better place by now! The APC summoned several emergency meetings over the National Assembly leadership elections. Can you imagine the positive outcome if similar emergency meetings are summoned to address the power crisis? Can you imagine what could happen if all the emotions poured into the battle for political power in the general election were instead applied to addressing infant and maternal mortality? Can you imagine our politicians devoting days and nights to plotting how to tackle poverty rather than plotting to share National Assembly positions among their cronies and associates? I bet you: Singapore would be like a ghetto beside Nigeria. Unfortunately, our politicians still don’t get it. They still think the purpose of power is intrigues. They carry on as if they were given a mandate to embark on pure politicking and corner all the goodies to themselves. The purpose of political power, I dare propose, should be development. The purpose is to lead the society in the direction of progress.Indications suggests that barring any unforeseen development, President Muhammadu Buhari, may possibly announce his ministerial list between Monday, June 15 and Wednesday, June 17. Buhari, had reportedly delayed the ministerial…
Read MoreWith the vulnerability of the girl child, the new administration in the National Assembly has been urged to have the child protected. A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Girl-Child Rights Awareness Initiative…
Read MoreOn Tuesday, June 9, the two chambers of the National Assembly held its leadership elections. While Senator Bukola Saraki, emerged Senate President, Yakubu Dogara, was elected Speaker of the Federal…
Read MoreSenator Buruji Kashamu, was present at the Senate chambers of the National Assembly, today, June 9, as Bukola Saraki, was elected President of the Senate. Only yesterday, a Federal High Court…
Read MoreIn a mock election by the All Progressive Congress (APC) to appoint the speaker of the House of Assembly, Femi Gbajabiamila emerged triumphant. Yakubu Dogara, however, has kicked against the result claiming that it…
Read MoreI’ve been visibly disturbed by the spate of unnecessary and unwarranted attacks on the leadership style of our dear President Muhammadu Buhari who was sworn in barely a week ago.…
Read MoreThe Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has tasked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Assembly Members-elect on being a credible opposition. He spoke at a retreat organized by…
Read MoreA former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Nuhu Ribadu and the outgoing Senate President, David Mark, don’t seem to be on the same page on the…
Read Moreby Ranti Joseph Now, they can move on as President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly have finally settled their dispute over the ongoing constitution amendment process. This followed a…
Read Moreby Ranti Joseph It seems the National assembly have found a way around it and President Goodluck Jonathan is not winning the battle as in a surprise U-turn, the Supreme…
Read Moreby Panshak Ibrahim Deputy minority leader of the House of Representatives Hon. Suleiman Kawu, in a bid to praise President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, took a swipe at former President, Olusegun Obasanjo.…
Read MorePresident of Benin Republic, Mr. Boni Yayi and President -elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, held a closed door meeting on Thursday, with Yayi expressing confidence in Buhari’s ability to take up…
Read Moreby Ranti Joseph The Senate has argued that the Supreme Court lacked the powers to stop the National Assembly from performing its legislative duties as far as the process of…
Read Moreby James Sambo Electricity went off for about 30 minutes earlier today, in the Federal House of Representatives. Even after the power was restored, the air conditioners in the lower…
Read Moreby Kolapo Olapoju The Supreme Court has ordered the National Assembly to desist from its efforts to amend the 1999 constitution. A seven-man panel of justices of the apex court, led by the Chief…
Read Moreby Ibrahim Audu The overwhelming victory of the APC in all strata of the political sphere has thrown up new challenges to the party which has not been in the…
Read Moreby James Sambo President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has asked for the support of the members of the National Assembly. Buhari made the request on Wednesday, April 29, while addressing a…
Read Moreby Japheth Omojuwa The All Progressives Congress promised Nigerians change; now the party has power, it must show us that change in truth and in deed. One place where that…
Read MorePDP and APC are still at each other's necks ThisDay INEC says there's no winner in Abia yet. Leadership How Oshiomhole celebrated victory in Edo. Punch PDP bites a chunk…
Read Moreby Bello Bwari With the largest landmass in Nigeria and one of the most fertile lands, the PDP leadership in the state could have made Niger not just the nation's…
Read Moreby Eze Onyekpere As we celebrate the successful conclusion of the presidential poll and the emergence of a President-elect in Muhammadu Buhari, it is imperative that we do not forget…
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