2023: A retirement home for governors?

As the 2023 elections draw closer, the main focus is on the presidential and governorship ballots. This is hardly surprising because Nigerian presidents and governors have a penchant for acting like emperors or sole administrators. They fail to respect the constitutional limitations on their use of power, exhibit no compassion or empathy towards the suffering […]

As the 2023 elections draw closer, the main focus is on the presidential and governorship ballots. This is hardly surprising because Nigerian presidents and governors have a penchant for acting like emperors or sole administrators.

They fail to respect the constitutional limitations on their use of power, exhibit no compassion or empathy towards the suffering of the citizenry, wallow in their ignorance, enjoy super luxurious lifestyles at public expense, surround themselves with sycophants and basically do as they please. This is the end result of placing the burden of ensuring constitutionality at the doorstep of a National Assembly which has shown no interest in either calling the executive to order or carrying out effective oversight functions.

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In the upcoming national elections, little focus has been placed on the national or state assemblies’ because they really serve no purpose other than joining in treasury looting and continuously approving the squandering the destinies of the citizenry. 

Recently, Dennis Idahosa (APC-Edo), representing Ovia Federal Constituency, called for the scrapping of the senate and the introduction of a unicameral legislature. Inordinately expensive, the Senate, where some of the most decent individuals in the country cohabit with so many bad eggs, has been identified as one of the biggest problems with Nigerian democracy. It has evolved into a retirement home for those who led and continue to lead Nigeria into the abysmal predicament it finds itself in. 

Next year, 27 serving and past governors will be contesting for seats in the senate. Can such an assembly ever be reasonably expected to pass much needed laws outlawing plea-bargaining and legalising death sentence or life imprisonment for corruption? There are 109 senators out of which undeniably there are some good people who mean no harm and wish well for the nation, the rest have actively participated in bringing the nation to its knees by actively participating in corrupt practices. In 2015. then presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, said, “If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us.” Lamentably, by the time he leaves office next year, it will be indisputable that the nation will be in a much worse situation than he met it, mainly as a result of a lost anti-corruption war. Many opinion writers have described the last seven years, which began with hope for a better future, coming to an end with economic decline, insecurity, routine tragedies and nationwide disenchantment as “Buhari demystified”. 

Back in the day, on February 21, 2010, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Senator Adbdullahi Adamu over award of contracts and theft of funds estimated at N15bn. In 2016, the EFCC also arrested Senator Iyiola Omisore for collecting N1.3bn election money from the then National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki. On March 26, 2022, President Buhari quite reprehensively endorsed both Adamu and Omisore as All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman and national secretary respectively. It’s now clear that the APC’s change mantra, which was never clearly defined, didn’t mean improvement in the people’s welfare or change in the unpatriotic acts of political office holders, but simply change from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC!  

A large part of the failure of the anti-corruption war is the failure of National Assembly oversight functions. The top 10 scandals which the Senate has been unable to resolve are  the Maina pension scam;  fuel subsidy scams; police pension fund fraud; missing N20bn oil money; $15m private jet/arms scandal; Malabu oil scandal and “Ekiti-Gate” election scandal.  

A retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) who was elected to the National Assembly once remarked that he was surprised to see so many people he had previously investigated and arrested sitting in the chamber and being referred to as “honourable”! Since 1999, Nigerians have known that any massive corruption matter can be swept under the carpet simply by “settling” National Assembly members. The nation faces a dilemma of whether the senate should be kept in place in the hope that the few good ones will save us from the majority or the nation should just play safe and stop the rot by getting rid of the upper chamber completely? 

Philosophers remind us that today is informed by yesterday, just as tomorrow is informed by today. In other words, today’s happenings are the repercussions of yesterday’s happenings. 

Therefore, now is the time again to prepare ourselves for a brighter future. Those contesting election into the senate next year will say they mean well and will not be corrupt. There is little reason to believe them and less reason for the nation to risk its fate in an institution which continues the pollution of the polity. Until such a time as the nation agrees that the senate is simply an expensive waste of money, the best advice Nigerians should take on board in electing senators next year is that former governors are not good senators and that in addition to competence, the electorate should also look for integrity and vision in order to save the nation from further deterioration.