Now, They Bear Our Cross by... Yomi Odunuga

Quite honestly, I truly understand some senators’ riotous hysteria over what they consider sacrilegious charges brought against Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu at an Abuja High Court. In a society where quotidian living is solely dictated by a visibly unwritten code of placing self-aggrandisement above every social or moral ethos, who would not? It would have been preposterous to expect these aggrieved lawmakers to maintain cold silence in the face of the grievous harm that could be inflicted on their pot of soup. We do not expect them to surrender their means of livelihood to brutal attacks by external forces, which the executive represents in this particular matter. For, if we must vomit the truth, Saraki and Ekweremadu hold the key to a further expansion of the personal wealth of these persons and there is no sense in recondite pretences about it. That is where those who question attempts to frustrate the trial miss the point. To the ordinary eye, it is a simple case of forgery that should be left to the court to determine. To those conversant with the amazing twists and turns in Nigeria’s chequered political history, it could deal a deadly blow on the fortunes of the co-conspirators who by no means came into power via the most devious coup in the history of parliamentary leadership in Nigeria.

Shred of all the tapestry of diplomatese, Saraki and Ekweremadu ought to know that it was a matter of time before they would be called to dance to the errant and perfidious tune that propped them into the Senate’s top posts. It was not for nothing that President Muhammadu Buhari warned friends and foes to be wary of the consequences of their action or inaction at the early days of his presidency. That he made public his intention to work with whosoever the emerged as leaders of the National Assembly did not mean that he was ready to tag along with an adversarial legislature with an opposition senator as Deputy Senate President neither did it mean that he supported the flagrant abuse of his party’s decision. Therefore, I doubt if the two, mindful of the brutal politics we play here, did not adequately prepare for the swirl of attacks currently lumped against them. You do not pull that kind of ego deflating stunt against the President, shoved it down his throat and expect him to wash it down with dignified equanimity. Or have they forgotten how they kicked Buhari in the groin?

In as much as one considers it an abuse of journalism ethics to make comments on the forgery allegations brought against Saraki, Ekweremadu, the former clerk and deputy clerk of the National Assembly, it is ludicrous that the embattled leaders would thrust themselves into the public space as the true heroes of our democracy. Of course, it is possible if the definition of that word has changed. Evidently seeking public sympathy in statements issued during the week, they put up the image of haunted victims of a dictatorial President who would stop at nothing to silence them. Upbraiding Buhari for allowing a cabal to operate a ‘government within the government’ under his nose, Saraki said the group must be behind a “nefarious agenda” against the legislature. Is that so?

As if that was not enough heresy laden with vacuous verbosity, Saraki would rather the government focus on evolving ways of meeting the needs of the hapless citizens before they begin to lose confidence in the Buhari administration rather than dissipate energy on a legislature that has bent over backwards to foster cordial relationship with the executive. Besides, he wonders why a presumed forgery case that allegedly led to his emergence as President of the Senate should bother the executive, as it remains an internal affair among peers within the legislature. Then, he declares: “This is a cross I am prepared to carry. If yielding to the nefarious agenda of a few individuals who are bent on undermining our democracy and destabilising the Federal Government to satisfy their selfish interests is the alternative to losing my personal freedom, let the doors of jails be thrown open and I shall be a happy guest!”

For Ekweremadu, the other cross bearer, Buhari remains a dictator whose nefarious activities must be brought before the United Nations, the European Union, the governments of the United States of America and the United Kingdom. In his letters to these bodies and governments, Ekweremadu said there appears to be a deliberate attempt to silence voices of the opposition of which he remains one even as he is the Deputy Senate President to an All Progressives Congress’ Senate President. It is really laughable that all this is happening because the duo has been legally brought before the courts to clear their names in a case of forgery! They still enjoy the benefits that come with the offices including the full complements of security forces.

Without any prejudice to the outcome of the case, the resort to populist ideology by Saraki amuses as much as it amazes one’s sensibilities. As the country’s top lawmakers who harp on the rule of law and separation of power, he should know that the best avenue to prove his innocence is a law of competent jurisdiction. To the best of my knowledge, no one has asked him to abdicate his exalted post neither has anyone declared him guilty of all the allegations leveled against him. All the cases including the ones on forged asset declaration are before the courts. If Buhari had wanted to take the route of a dictator like some other persons did in the past, I doubt if anyone could have stopped such moving train judging from the almost limitless power the 1999 Constitution conferred on the President. We do not need to search for examples. We do know how past senate presidents were yanked off that seat without any dire consequences, don’t we? So what has Buhari done to warrant a dictatorial garb?

By the way, my elementary understanding of the principles of separation of powers does not preclude any arms of government from discharging its responsibilities as long as such conforms to the rule of law. In fact, our democracy would be imperiled if the legislature begins to adorn themselves with the toga of untouchables. Asking the executive to steer clear of unfolding events at the National Assembly – even when they touch on criminal breach of trust, forgery and corrupt practices – smacks of legislative arrogance. If that is what Saraki, Ekweremadu and his ilk are looking for in their latest onslaught against the President, then I will humbly advise them to bury their heads in shame. If that is why they so desperately desire to extend the immunity clause to National and State legislators, they should be told that nothing could be more selfish than that.

Talking about selfish interests, I guess it is a national malaise and it is at the heart of this case. However, if not for a selfish keenness to realise a personal ambition, we would not be here today pondering over how a party that won popular votes in a critical 2015 elections in which an incumbent president was shoved off, went into an unholy alliance with members of the same party that was routed electorally. This inordinate ambition made some persons to allow a cabal from the opposition to pull a fast one against the ruling party leadership while they giggled sheepishly on the throne of infamy. Did they think that coup was not going to have a backlash? In bearing the cross of that shameful past, let them not dilute it with the posturing of doing it for a citizenry that remains the eternal victims of their self-aggrandisement. Let them be bold enough to dance to the jagged echoes of their past misdeeds if there were any!