The distraction Buhari can’t afford

Also published in Daily Trust

Though the recent political intrigues that culminated in the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively were indeed dramatic, the event must not be allowed to distract the promising, though, admittedly, so far rather slow, government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

After all, such post-election interparty political machinations and intraparty feuds are quite common even in developed democracies where elected politicians seek to outmaneuver one another in power tussle, while vested interests equally struggle for influence in the process of the formation of political power equations. Yet, governments out there don’t get unnecessarily distracted.

Also, though that dramatic turn of events was of course politically worrying for the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and perhaps President Buhari as well, yet the amount of worries widely expressed over the suitability or loyalty of Senator Saraki and Speaker Dogara, and the possible negative impacts of their leadership of the National Assembly on President Buhari’s ability to deliver on his campaign promises, were rather exaggerated. After all, in addition to being members of the APC, one can hardly, if at all, tell the differences, if any, in terms of integrity and competence, between Senator Saraki and Speaker Dogara on one hand, and the party’s preferred candidates for the two positions i.e. Senator Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila, on the other.

Besides, just as many people regard Senator Saraki and Speaker Dogara as being too self-centred who are also allegedly working to undermine President Buhari’s reform-minded presidency, Senator Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila can’t possibly escape the same allegations, either. Because being loyal to some few party leaders e.g. Bola Tinubu, does not necessarily make them particularly suitable for the jobs, as it does not also necessarily make them Buhari’s loyalists, after all.

Also, while Senator Saraki and Speaker Dogara are rightly or wrongly suspected of pursuing their selfish interests and the agenda of some former PDP members in the APC, for instance, Senator Lawan and Gbajabiamila are equally rightly or wrongly suspected of being Bola Tinubu’s political cronies who are also allegedly pushing for the leadership of the National Assembly for self-serving purposes. 
In any case, without downplaying the indispensability of the legislature in governance and its constitutional weight to influence and even dictate government policies and operations in Nigeria, which adopts the presidential system of government, the current equation in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which the APC controls as the majority party, still favours President Buhari to the extent that no real or perceived disloyalty from either or both leaderships of the two chambers can actually undermine his efforts to turn things around in the country.

Though, while this does not downplay the magnitude of the challenges he will definitely face from an uncooperative leadership of the National Assembly, all he needs to do in order to resist and neutralize any conspiracy from within or outside his party, is to insist on entrenching the culture of absolute transparency in his government to enable Nigerians to access and follow every bit of information related to the bureaucracies and procedures involved and followed in processing any official task in all government establishments. In this way Nigerians will certainly be able to expose corrupt practices and other acts of illegality, and exactly identify those responsible in the legislature, the judiciary or even the executive arm of government, which President Buhari heads. 

By the way, I emphasized the importance of this particular point in this column last Friday while also underscoring the need to institutionalize this process being the only way for Buhari to be able to deliver amid the pervasive and intricate culture of corruption in the country.

Anyway, as it now appears that some vested interests within the APC are hell bent on frustrating Buhari’s government by distracting it with unnecessary and endless political feuds, President Buhari must not be distracted. He needs to forge ahead no matter what, after all with the wide range of executive powers at his disposal, which he can constitutionally begin to exercise immediately he can still achieve a lot anyway.

This is also especially considering the fact that whatever constitutional or legal provisions President Buhari needs in order to enforce the rule of law, fight corruption and impunity, and deliver adequate and efficient public services to Nigerians, are already in place waiting to be implemented straightaway and even while he is still in the process of raising his team of political appointees.

As long as President Buhari remains focused and determined to vigorously forge ahead with his reforms, the challenges and obstacles he faces will simply evaporate. Also, just as Nigerians are understandably eager for substantial and sustainable socio-political reforms, President Buhari can’t afford any unnecessary distraction or politicking anymore, lest he run out of time and disappoint Nigerians.