I had actually done a dif­ferent piece for today and was about to send it for publication when Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal’s bombshell hit the nation in the manner of a thunderbolt.

Tambuwal had midweek, in a move that did not come as a surprise to close watchers of our political scene, resigned his membership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the platform on which he contested and won election into the House and on which basis he became Speaker and declared his mem­bership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the main oppo­sition party.

It was not the defection of Tambuwal that is the issue for me, since every indication be­fore now had clearly pointed to this. Rather, it was the manner it was done that left a sour taste in the mouth and created terrible scenarios and a dangerous prec­edence that is sure to compli­cate our search for suitable and enduring democracy in the years ahead, except it is quickly ad­dressed in the most appropriate manner. Tambuwal and many of his supporters have always tout­ed his newness and dedication to the finest ideals of democra­cy. They regale us often with the claim that this is why he was the best for the job of Speaker, and recently, even referenced him as a potential presidential aspir­ant for the opposition party. We have been told that he is fresh and committed to doing things differently from the old order. I am sure that in their heart of hearts they must be regretting that they have made a mistake, but like typical Nigerians they are, they will be too ashamed now to admit that publicly.

I have never seen those quali­ties in Tambuwal, rather I have seen him as a selfish and very opportunistic chip of the old or­der, who through the benefit of craftiness, has come to the un­derstanding that a new approach to realizing old objectives is ab­solutely necessary if far greater “progress” must be recorded in what seems like a different era: a period of great misery and disen­chantment. What he did on Tues­day has more than confirmed my position: are there Nigerians still looking for evidence to properly understand the political style of Tambuwal?

If Tambuwal for whatever reason considered change of party, which is within his right given what has become the new nature of our politics, especially in recent times, if he had love for higher ideals, if he were a lover of decency, good order and a true democrat, who places the interest of our nation and peo­ple above his personal desires, Tambuwal would have in good conscience vacated the seat of the Speaker, at the public disclo­sure of his change of party. That is the most honorable thing to do and not creating a lacuna de­signed to provoke crises where none exit.

Defecting and keeping that seat and at adjourning the House till December 3, is not only a mischievous move, it also shows that Tambuwal can destroy our nation, if that is what to do, to realize a private ambition and interest.

At a time that the nation should be worried about 2015 budget, when sensitive govern­ment institutions should keep an eye on the Independent National Electoral Commission and when the security concerns remain very delicate, what then is the rationale in shutting the House of Representatives that only re­sumed few days ago and caus­ing legislators that should be busy working for us to embark on another long holidays? What this reckless act tells is that Tambuwal knew even before he came public with his disclosure that the nature of what he was coming with was not only an ab­erration and against good con­science but is one decision that was certain to produce unpleas­ant backlash. And his reaction was to introduce a disingenuous option, while leaving the larger Nigerian populace to grapple with the bubbles and the final outcome. This is extreme wick­edness. Tambuwal is a colossal disappointment and I hope the nation is taking note.

I have been very skeptical of his politics. Tambuwal was a prominent member of the House of Representatives under Dimeji Bankole. He was prominent not for excellent bills but for in­trigues that were the hallmark of that era. The same intrigue brought him to the position of Speaker of the current House of Representatives. I have told friends it was morally wrong for Tambuwal to work with outside interest to break the zoning ar­rangement of his party under the guise of establishing independ­ence of the legislature and intro­ducing merit.

No true democrat that climbed on the platform of a party would on very serious mat­ters go against his party. Taking to the contrary may seem expe­dient, but on a larger context it offends order and the dictates of collective act and responsi­bility without which no party, especially the one in power, can register meaningful progress, appear organized and credible before the voting public. Join­ing the opposition to undo one’s party is sabotage and betrayal. If I were to stretch the argument a little further, I would say Tam­buwal did not embark on that move of altering the zoning for­mula because he loved Nigeria or that the move would serve the purposes of development. He undertook that move in com­pany of other selfish politicians, to realize personal ambitions, to enhance sectional interest as well as be a check to the political moves of the incumbent Presi­dent and these we saw in the open probes full of drama and noise that characterized activi­ties of the House under him.

If anything, poor Nigerians became more confused. I rec­ommend that the PDP should punish all her members who were part of that move of disor­der. They are rebels in blood and flesh.

I am not happy that APC which should give us something to cheer, is by every one of its actions is confirming there is indeed no major difference be­tween it and the party it seeks to supplant. If the party is com­mitted to change, like it claims, it should have done so many things differently and in this par­ticular instance advised Tambu­wal to do things with decency. But now we have seen the same system of muddling waters and still wanting to drink from it. The APC leadership is happy over it, and this is unfortunate.

Those who wrote into our Constitution the right of politi­cians to defect if they assert di­visions in their parties did our nation great disservice. They aborted future progress when they allowed those holding pub­lic office to decamp and still keep their offices. Our nation will not know peace until the law prescribes that those hold­ing public offices should resign the very day they make their in­tentions to decamp known.

What do I think of Tambu­wal’s issue? He has a right to go but he should immediately resign as Speaker. Whether the constitution is explicit or not, better convention suggests that the Speaker should be from the majority party. Even the opposi­tion would not accept anything contrary. When will it be in this nation that political officehold­ers will resign because roads they wanted tarred or excellent health facilities they advocated were not done or that major­ity of Nigerians are suffering be­cause of primitive economic set up? When will this be?