Underscoring Saraki’s Maturity

Cletus Adole writes that the absence of executive-legislative tension during President Muhammadu Buhari’s absence from the country is a testimony to the maturity and principled leadership of the National Assembly led by Senate President Bukola Saraki

“The President’s absence and imminent return shows that there is no vacuum in government and our system of democracy is working with all organs of government fulfilling their mandate. And let me use the time tested cliché, there is no cause for alarm!” - Saraki

Over a month after President Muhammadu Buhari left Nigeria for the United Kingdom on vacation, the nation continues to grapple with the fallouts and challenges of his absence from his desk in a period of economic recession and political uncertainty. Not surprisingly, the absence of the president has been the subject of public concern, feverish speculation, and cynical politicking as 2019 gets closer. But thank God for big mercies. It could have been worse, much worse. As noted by many analysts, the formal transfer of power by Buhari to Vice President Osinbajo before his departure has helped to keep the country stable. But it would be politically naïve to think that this is the only reason the country has not been torn apart by crisis.

One of the reasons the situation has not snowballed into a political crisis is the absence of legislative versus executive tension. The National Assembly under the leadership of Dr. Bukola Saraki has done a very good job of keeping things calm at a difficult time for the country. In rejecting the temptation to take political advantage of the chaotic political situation, the central legislature under the leadership of Saraki and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, have exhibited impressive patriotism and admirable maturity in its response to the absence of the country’s leader.

A hostile NASS leadership could easily have orchestrated events in a manner that would have fanned the flames of growing national anxiety into a full blown political crisis like the one that engulfed the nation when late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua left the country for Saudi Arabia in similar circumstances. Factors such as the sudden decision to extend Buhari’s stay outside the country, the secrecy and lack of clarity surrounding his health status, the rumored power hijack by a “cabal” and the political jockeying could have provided a very fertile ground for political mischief, which would have put the executive in a very difficult situation and heat up the political system.

To say the obvious, the opportunities for the National Assembly to do mischief at the expense of the Executive have indeed been legion. The Presidency’s handling of the president’s health issue left many grey areas that could have been exploited by the National Assembly. For instance, the legislature could have insisted that the president and his handlers come clean on the nature of the exact ailment(s) afflicting the president in the light of speculations that he is terminally ill. They could have requested proof that the president is still mentally capable to continue in office. But NASS did not. The strong leadership provided in both houses of the National Assembly helped to ensure that these uncomfortable scenarios did not happen. In a country like Nigeria where politics is more about self-preservation than the common good, NASS as a whole deserves commendation.

But a lot of the credit should go personally to Senate President Saraki, a politician who has been marked for destruction by hostile forces within the APC establishment. Saraki, who has been forced to endure high profile political persecution for over a year, opted to ignore his personal troubles and take the high road of patriotism and statesmanship. He chose to rise to the occasion by focusing on the achievement of peace and stability within the political system.

By doing so, Saraki has played a central role in ensuring that the adverse possibilities thrown up by the Illness of Buhari did not become negative realities. Instead of stoking tension to exploit political mischief, he has invested a lot of time and effort dousing it. Instead of playing politics at the expense of the country’s interests, he has been cooperating with the executive to keep the country on an even keel. Instead of returning the hard knocks that he has received, he has opted to cooperate with some of his persecutors in the nation’s best interest.

No doubt, the Senate president’s statement that the President is in good health following his first phone conversation with Buhari helped to bring down the national temperature. Again, after he led the National Assembly delegation to see the president in mid-February, Saraki chose to encourage Nigerians and gave hope instead of fuelling the rumor mill. His words: “We were delighted to see that President Buhari is doing well, was cheerful and in good spirits. The president I saw today is healthy, witty and himself.” To foreclose imminent possibility of a constitutional crisis which would suit the calculations and scheming of some vested political interests, Saraki spoke with categorical eloquence: “The president’s absence and imminent return shows that there is no vacuum in government and our system of democracy is working with all organs of government fulfilling their mandate.” History is likely to record that statement as a critical intervention in the country’s democratic history and the development of democratic culture.

As anyone who has experienced it can testify, political warfare is a tough, zero-sum game, especially when you are marked for attack. It’s even tougher to hold back when you have the upper hand. It takes a rare man and a rare patriot to rise above personal survival and personal interest in Nigeria’s often brutal political space. But Saraki is demonstrating that, for him, national unity, stability and progress are a lot more important than politics for its own sake.

Since his colleagues chose to elect him as the Senate president against the preferred choice of the ruling party, Saraki, his wife and friends have been at the receiving end of all kinds of “government magic” as Fela would have put it. He has been docked severally at the Code of Conduct Tribunal on charges of false assets and declarations. His wife has been quizzed by the Economic and Economic Crimes Commission (EFCC) and several of the Saraki family’s business interests are under investigation.

Not surprisingly, there is widespread speculation within political circles that these legal battles are part of an organized political scheme to punish him for daring to take on the party establishment. Powerful forces are also said to be uncomfortable with his rising political profile. Whatever may be the truth of these speculations, it is becoming increasingly obvious that, like iron, the political travails Saraki has been forced to endure are refining and toughening him and revealing strengths that many did not know that he possessed.

By choosing the path of patriotism and peace, the Senate president is demonstrating to the nation and to his enemies that it is possible to provide principled leadership even in the treacherous waters of politics.

The legislature could have insisted that the president and his handlers come clean on the nature of the exact ailment(s) afflicting the president in the light of speculations that he is terminally ill. They could have requested for proof that the president is mentally capable to continue in office. But NASS did not