Opinion: How to be a ‘successful’ Senate president

Posted by admin Headlines, Legislature, Senate Thursday, July 18th, 2013

The position of the President of the Nigerian Senate is a minefield of banana peels and intrigues that even the most scheming of politicians would fear to tread. A look at the history of the Fourth Republic would reveal how the number three position has thrown up more casualties than survivors. Perhaps, one reason that has shaped its volatile history is the constitutional role of the Senate President. He is the second in line for succession to the Nigerian Presidency, after the vice-president. This is also not to mention the perks of office. This makes it one of the most coveted positions in this democracy.

The 1999 constitution, for example, empowers the Senate President to assume the Presidency in a situation where both the incumbent president and his deputy are indisposed to perform their constitutional roles or when the country is in a crisis. This scenario has played out once in our political history. Nwafor Orizu, Nigeria’s second Senate President during the First Republic once became the Acting President from 1965 until the military coup of January 1966. One can thus safely guess that the aspiration of any serving senator is to have a shot at the position-even if is for a day! That is why legislators often engage in intense scheming at the beginning of every plenary. But the seat soon becomes too hot that an incumbent today finds himself at the centre of impeachment plot tomorrow.

We have seen all this played out before our very eyes.

The unpredictability of the position has so far been the story of this democracy. In 1999, at the inception of the Fourth Republic, one reclusive senator named Evans (or is it Evan?) Enwerem became the Senate President. But like all others after him, his reign was short-lived. The senator was soon swept off in a tsunami of intrigues of that era. At the centre of his travails was the allegation of falsification of name. But there was more to his fall. He was investigated for the crime of corruption. But the controversy as to whether the senator’s real name was Evan or Evans soon became the subject of intense media attention. He was removed from office on November 18, 1999. He survived for just eight months. Then, came the cerebral and combustible Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, the man popularly hailed as the Oyi of Oyi. His tempestuous reign as Senate President also did not last long. Okadigbo, was known for his opposition to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party at the time. But it was his cat and mouse relationship with the former President Olusegun Obasanjo that became his greatest undoing. He was charged with corruption and removed from office in August 2000. He spent less than a year as Senate President. But it appeared the Law of Karma was at play, himself having been actively involved in the removal of Enwerem.

There was also Anyim Pius Anyim, the Ebonyi State-born politician and senator. He became the Senate President in August 2000 after the removal of Okadigbo. As Senate President, his attempt to impeach Obasanjo failed. He however, did not seek re-election in the 2003 knowing that his opposition to Obasanjo would cost him a re-election. Adolphus Wabara became the Senate President in 2003. His reign also ended in acrimony. Like those before him, allegations of corruption brought about his downfall. In April 2005, he resigned having been alleged to have collected a bribe from the then Minister of Education, Prof. Fabian Osuji, to facilitate the passage of his annual budget. Although Wabara’s charges were eventually dropped, the damage had been done. It was all part of the game plan. He had to go. Senator Ken Nnamani completed the vicious cycle of banana peels the Senate presidency had become until Mark made a grand entry in 2007.

Mark needs no introduction. The ex-general, ex-minister, and one of the infamous Babangida boys who bestrode our world like a colossus during the military years have occupied the position for seven uninterrupted years. After his first term in 2007, he returned albeit controversially in 2011 and has had an almost unassailable run since. And it does not seem that the Strong man of Benue will quit anytime soon. If he completes his term, he will go down in history as the only Senate President that completed two terms in office. What then is Mark doing right? How has he been able to keep his position for seven years? Does his being an ex-general make him a better strategist than his predecessors — a trait that has made him stay ahead of his adversaries? Perhaps, his reputation as a former “Babangida Boy” still drives fear into his colleagues. His unchallenged run is a lesson in how to survive as the Senate president.

To me, Mark has proved that to be a ‘’successful’’ Senate president, your reputation must precede you. It may not just be enough to be a politician. To survive the position, an aspiring Senate president must be a master schemer. Ignore this and risk being impeached. A prospective Senate president must always constantly watch his or her back. This is important because the colleagues who pretend to be friends in the daylight may plot your ouster at night. It is an open truth Nigerian legislators are some of the richest public officials in the country today. To survive as a Senate president, you must ensure the constant flow of Ghana-must-go bags. A good Senate president knows not to deny or delay the privileges meant for his colleagues. They include constituency allowance, furniture allowance, choice houses, contracts and overseas trips and estacodes.

Mark also seems to understand the mindset of his colleagues. He knows that many of them are hardly interested in the business of lawmaking. Otherwise, how else does one explain the near empty chamber at the Senate every session? But a smart Senate president does not pay attention to absentee members. Better an empty house than a house full of traitors. Just like the incumbent, a Senate president must be seen to be vocal on all national and international issues. He must condemn the insecurity in the land when insurgents like Boko Haram strike; he must not be afraid to call the bluff of foreign powers. He should also be quick to legislate on mundane issues while serious national issues are swept under the carpet. He must know how to launch unending probes that lead to nowhere. A Senate president knows that a cordial relationship with the Presidency is critical and crucial for his survival. He knows better than to antagonise a sitting president. Isn’t this one lesson that the late Okadigbo failed to learn?

Just like Mark, a Senate president must turn a blind eye to the existence of corruption in the system. He may condemn the scourge in the media but must not work for its eradication. A clever Senate president does not rock the boat. He must adopt the “take a bow” stance each time he is faced with the confirmation of government appointees that require his scrutiny. It does not matter the mediocrity the appointees eventually bring on their portfolios. Mark has proved to be a great student of how to survive as a Senate president. I suspect he may have also studied the factors that led to the failures of his predecessors. Sadly, the tragedy of the country today is because influential and important leaders have chosen to sit on the fence while our country totters on the brink. The judgment of history will be harsh on such leaders.

-Punchwp_posts