Can this Senate go for Buhari’s jugular?

And so the National Assembly totters. Senator Dino Melaye is in the news again. Dino has a way of gravitating to whoever leads his house, whether it is Patricia Ette, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives or Dr Bukola Saraki, the current President of the Senate. The last time he backed Ette, when he held a white handkerchief, Dino and her fell together. Now, once again, he is backing the embattled Saraki, his brother, his friend. The details of what transpired during the last executive session of the Senate shocked everyone, irrespective of which side you listened to.

For Dino, the gloves are off; he has discovered his opponents - President Muhammadu Buhari and Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu. According to Dino, Buhari is ambitious, why did he contest the Presidency four times? Bola Tinubu is not God and Senator Dino cannot prostrate before him. Reports say, Dino has denied threatening to beat and impregnate Senator Oluremi Tinubu. Although Bola Tinubu has assured Dino something will happen if his wife is beaten, it is doubtful if the Presidency will react to Dino’s infantile outbursts against Buhari.

The Senators will be mistaken to believe that the details of what they discuss during so called executive sessions can remain hidden from the public. Dino can continue to deny whatever he chooses to, but he has to understand that going for Buhari’s jugular (impeachment) is political idiocy. As for Saraki, he is sinking deeper into political mess. For Saraki to allow Senator Dino the senatorial space to threaten impeachment against Buhari, attack Senator Remi Tinubu and disparage Bola Tinubu himself means that the political battle line has truly been drawn. It is a venture for which Dino and Saraki have to risk a huge political capital. The forces fighting the Senate President will not relent; another front on Panama Papers may soon open against him. For many people, the image of a fraudulent Senate President may have already been formed after it was revealed that two of his aides had, in one single day, allegedly made multiple deposits of millions of Naira into his Guarantee Trust Bank account while he was the governor of Kwara State. Many political watchers believe therefore that Saraki has failed the integrity test and so he is at the mercy of the system.

Many citizens also believe that the National Assembly is shamefully out of touch with those it represents. Whereas Nigerians expect the National Assembly to legislate against hate speech, cultism, poverty, unemployment, violence, etc., the members are busy legislating for themselves. Every time, the Senate leadership was called upon to prove their innocence from alleged criminalities, they had side tracked the serious issues and sought to divert the attention of the public. Like the Senate attempted to amend the Code of Conduct law, or the cheeky summons served on Justice Danladi Umar, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal to distract him from going on with the case of alleged false and under declaration of assets against Bukola Saraki. Like they summoned the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Chika Malami, SAN, in order to terrorise him from prosecuting alleged forgery case against the leadership of the Senate. According to the charges filed by the Attorney General, the standing rules under which Saraki and Ekweremadu were elected Senate President and Deputy Senate President were forged and so they are liable.

One Senator said the reason why they invited Malami was to inform him that by charging Saraki and others with forgery, he had abused his office. Blimey! Everything about the forgery case is sub judice, if the Attorney General abuses his office by filing the suit, the court will decide. Having realised the legal maze in which he is, the National Assembly now wants to push for immunity for Saraki and other presiding officers at both national and state levels. These legislators do not realise that Nigerians want immunity scrapped even for those currently enjoying it. If you have a clean record, you don’t need immunity as a legislator. If you are a criminal, for God’s sake why must you contest election to become a lawmaker?

A while ago, these same legislators had asked for life pension for their leadership. Where is the morality if an ex-governor already enjoying lavish pension from his state secures another pension simply because he has been a Senate President for four years? What sort of public service is this? What kind of greed do we seek to satiate? Is the scramble to represent “my people” in the Senate all about cornering national resources for oneself?

First of all, Senator Dino and his mob should understand that they don’t have the moral stature or political influence to impeach, or the shoulders to bear the consequences of the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Secondly, although the Senators may toy with the idea of impeaching the President because they are wedded to their troubled leadership, the the House of Representatives does not suffer from such trauma and so has no motivation to embark on such action.

Thirdly, even when it was necessary, the Senate had been unable to impeach the President. A Senate that could not impeach Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’adua or Goodluck Jonathan, cannot impeach Muhammadu Buhari.

Fourthly, those who may wish to seize Buhari’s jugular - Senators Dino Melaye, Misau, Enyinnaya Abaribe and others should understand that they cannot survive the conflagration that will follow. For as long as the Senate allows Saraki to sit atop them, instead of encouraging him to clear the mess surrounding his public records, for so long will members of that chamber be treated with disdain.

First of all, Senator Dino and his mob should understand that they don’t have the moral stature or political influence to impeach, or the shoulders to bear the consequences of the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari