A Season Of Unbridled Tongues And Unearned Tokens -By Kene Obiezu

Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s insensitive disclosure of the  financial incentives  to senators has greatly caused a great deal of embarrassment and salted many Nigerian wounds.
Nigerians have always had a complicated relationship with their legislators. It has always been a classic case of love and hate.

The perception of insensitivity for the lawmakers has always inspired resentment among many Nigerians, who think the legislators are overpaid and under worked.

It has not helped that Nigeria is in such a bad place now. With more than a hundred million of its 217 million citizens stewing in backbreaking poverty, the country has somehow managed to amass a mass of people seething with rage and resentment.

In the wee hours of March 1,2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Bola Ahmed Tinubu winner of the 2023 presidential election. It was keenly contested but Tinubu apparently squeezed past the finish line before others or at least according to INEC.

While other contestants stomped to the courts where they have continued to squeal that Tinubu’s victory was fraudulent, the APC power brokers immediately turned their attention to sharing the spoils of war.

The leadership of the National Assembly was to be tightly contested but at least the ruling party was able to agree on principal officers. High wire politics was soon to claim the scalp of Abdullahi Adamu,the national secretary of the party and Iyiola Omisore his deputy.

The biggest winner of the cutthroat race that produced the leadership of the National Assembly appears to be Godswill Akpabio,a former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and a former minister. He emerged as the Senate President and has since taken on the role.

But in his capacity as the occupant of one of Nigeria’s most important offices, Akpabio has shown an extensive and exuberant cache of carelessness and clumsiness.

Under his watch, the Senate has been tasked with screening the 48 ministerial nominees of President Tinubu. Most of them have passed through the National Assembly with the barest hints of intensive scrutiny.

But perhaps, the culmination of Akpabio’s catalog of clumsiness as Senate President so far came recently when he publicly announced to the Senators that the clerk of the National Assembly had sent tokens to their accounts to enable them enjoy their leave.

When his attention was drawn to what was a catastrophic gaffe, he backtracked by saying it was prayers that were sent to their emails rather. Thus, in one apocalyptic moment. Nigerians watched their senate president morph from senate President to prayer warrior.

It brings Akpabio’s legislative wisdom into question. Nigerians have long known that apart from making largely toothless laws, the National Assembly is also a place where their common wealth is shared as largess to lazy legislators? But why rub it in?

At a time when many Nigerians are feeling the pinch of poor government decisions and judgment, to mock Nigerians in such a cruel manner on the floor of the national Assembly is unforgivably shameful.

The 10th National Assembly should be on a mission to redeem the image of the National Assembly according to Nigerians. Off the back of the disastrous outing posted by the 9th Assembly, the 10th National  Assembly should  be eager to clean up its battered image.

But it is doubtful that it can do that especially with Akpabio seemingly  eager to front the jamboree.

So many in Nigeria’s leadership problems have come about because democracy has faltered in the country with its basic principles of separation of powers and checks and balances failing to properly take off.

It Is a travesty that at the Federal level, the executive is seen to be in bed with the legislature. Nigerians cannot help but think that the cordiality is rather a conspiracy to share their commonwealth among a few.

In the states, most legislatures exist as mere appendages of the executive. It is little wonder then that things rarely work As they should.

Since 1999, Nigerians have had many opportunities to fix the leadership deficit in the country. Unfortunately, people like Akpabio keep getting recycled as leaders when it has long been clear that they are not only exhausted but expired as politicians.

It is clear that as long as they remain in place with their expired ideas and extortionate policies, there is no hope for change.

Kene Obiezu
keneobiezu@gmail.com