Saraki and the devil’s alternative
There are three deadly sins in Nigerian politics that opponents within and outside any political party are using effectively. Ambition, vision and vanity have become weapons, frequently used by leaders who worship power and money, which are the end results of the aforementioned deadly political sins. Since the present National Assembly was constituted, none have […]
There are three deadly sins in Nigerian politics that opponents within and outside any political party are using effectively. Ambition, vision and vanity have become weapons, frequently used by leaders who worship power and money, which are the end results of the aforementioned deadly political sins. Since the present National Assembly was constituted, none have rested because of the political intrigues being played as a result of power tussle within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which has majority in both the lower and the upper chambers. The irony of this power play is that, the same politicians who ganged up against the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan claiming that he was a weak leader who lacks political focus are the same characters making the same error committed by Jonathan and the seventh National Assembly.
The travails of the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki is a direct consequence of what the APC leadership terms as “disloyalty” to the party. As a historian, I always believe in knowing the past, which helps in managing present situations and helps in planning the future. The present crisis rocking Saraki is a direct product of a political party hurriedly formed to sack a ruling government that the electorate were tired of and apparently aware of the political mood of the nation. Strange bedfellows who have been political enemies for more than a decade took advantage of the political naivety of the Nigerian people by deciding to work under the same roof or platform with a view to convincing Nigerians that a messiah has come, hence the birth of the APC.
Believe it or not, the trials of Saraki are a political vendetta for daring Tinubu who wanted his own man as senate president but failed. And in all these political intrigues, the biggest casualty may be the president who has refused to mend fences between the ACN and the PPP group that brought victory to the APC. In fact, without the support of the PDP group even if Buhari would win the 2015 presidential election it would have been too close to call. There is need for the president to wade into the crisis before it consumes the both the APC and himself. Already, the APC has endorsed him for a second term in 2019 but the internal intrigues currently rocking the party may not augur well for it in the event Saraki loses his seat.
The battle for Aso Rock would be between the Saraki group and the Tinubu group and the way Nigerian politicians do their things without ideology, the Saraki group which has majority of senators, may likely join forces with what remains of the PDP and come out with a new political party that may surprise even the APC. So far, the APC has not delivered the desired change it preached during the campaigns.
On the whole, the APC has succeeded in the last one year in fighting itself without putting the interest of voters as a priority. Saraki may go and he may survive. Whichever way, the APC and the president would be the biggest casualties. I am not a prophet of doom but I foresee the APC losing many states already in 2019. PDP may not survive as a political party to be a player in the 2019 gameplan but will emerge to shake the ruling APC at the polls. The battle for the 2019 game has already begun, but only time – and APC’s performance in the next three years – will tell.
Mohammed wrote from Sokoto.