President of the Senate

By Engr. Auwal Rabiu Dansharif, PhD

The presidential and national assembly elections have come and gone, but the intense political scheming for leadership roles in the National Assembly is still ongoing. 

While it is very logical and democratic for every geopolitical zone in the country to express interest in any leadership role of their choice, it is important to note that some zones are more qualified and befitting to be chosen based on their incredible performance during the February 25, 2023, presidential and national assembly elections. 

In this regard, the Northwest zone of the country comprising Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Jigawa states should be given topmost priority and consideration for the Senate Presidency. 

A critical study of the presidential election results has shown that these seven (7) states alone gave the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a total of 2652824 votes against Atiku Abubakar, who polled a total of 2197824 votes in the region.

The votes of the Northwest have exceeded the 2542797 given to the President-Elect by the South-West, his home region, and represent 30 per cent of the overall votes won by the incoming president. This is a clear demonstration of the confidence and trusts the people of the Northwest have towards President-Elect Tinubu. In Kano, the presidential election results show that the APC scored the second-highest number of votes, with 517341 votes, after the NNPP. 

It is pertinent to note that the APC was able to achieve such success with the good efforts of experienced politicians like Senator Barau Jibrin, who was able to lead the party to success in spite of the formidable opposition in the state. It is only very fair for the Northwest region to be rewarded with the Senate Presidency for its efforts, and no candidate befits such reward more than Senator Barau Jibrin.

Barau Jibrin is the longest-serving senator from the region and has held positions that gave him the experience and network that is required for the seat of the Senate President. These make him the best choice among others to be considered for the position in the 10th National Assembly. 

To support this fact, let us revisit the election results that returned Senator Barau back to the Senate. As the saying goes, charity begins at home. Senator Barau of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who represents Kano North Senatorial District, polled 234,652 votes to defeat his main challenger, Dr Abdullahi Baffa Bichi of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), who scored 177,014 votes.

This may appear simple, but it was a really difficult feat for Senator Barau to be able to win re-election in Kano State, where almost all the candidates of the APC lost their elections or re-elections to the opposition in the state.

This was possible for Senator Barau because he has become endeared to his people owing to a patriotic philanthropist who gave generously to society and was always on the front line leading efforts to solve the problems of people both within his political domain and beyond. 

Since he was first elected into the Nigeria Senate in 2015, Senator Barau has initiated and executed almost uncountable interventions and projects in both his constituency and other parts of Kano State, which have directly impacted the lives of the common people positively. 

Some of the projects and programmes he has successfully implemented include the construction of the multi-billion naira Kabuga- Dayi Road, the establishment of Kabo Federal Polytechnic, the construction of access roads in all the 13 local governments of Kano North, construction of five (5) General Hospitals in Kano North, securing employment for a total of 1,459 youths in both state and federal levels as well as empowering thousands of women and youths in different trades and lots more of such. 

Senator Barau, in addition to bringing development to his state and constituency, has also forged excellent relationships with leaders across political divides. He is admired and enormously respected even among formidable opposition figures. 

As the political tsunami in Kano swept away candidates of the ruling party, Senator Barau enjoyed support from people in opposition strongholds who saw him as a bridge builder, a unifying figure that has assisted people irrespective of their political, religious and ethnic affiliations.

Even at the National Assembly, the senator, through his political shrewdness and intellect, has appealed to the good senses of his colleagues from across the numerous geopolitical zones of the country. 

Senator Barau’s journey in the national assembly gave him the opportunity to serve Nigerians in various capacities. Some of the portfolios he held include; Chairman Committee appropriation in the lower and upper chamber, member committee on power in the lower chamber, vice chairman and later chairman committee on petroleum resources (downstream), Chairman committee on the tertiary institution (Tetfund),  Member committees on Niger delta, industries, land transportation. 

The invaluable experience he gathered certainly makes him a good consideration for the seat of the Senate presidency. 

In terms of representation, Senator Barau has been an excellent ambassador of Kano state as well as a champion of many bills or motion that seeks to improve the lives of Nigerians from wherever they come. He was among the champions of the PIB bill, being a one-time vice chairman and eventually chairman committee on Petroleum Resources (downstream) of the Senate. He has also been a moderating voice and a mediator who has made a mark as one of the most stabilizing pillars of the upper chamber. 

Perhaps this virtue is one of the reasons that saw him as the best fit for being Chairman Committee on Appropriation both in the lower chamber when he was a member there and now in the Senate. Having to deal with almost all members in both chambers on issues of constituency projects and, at the same time, executives on their proposals is a herculean task that only the best can be able to handle and succeed at the same time. This virtue is also very important in shortening the journey a Bill takes from motion to accent, bringing closer the benefit of the accented bills to the Nigerian populace. 

His portfolio in the National Assembly has given him the requisite experience to act as a bridge between one hand members across party lines and executives on the other hand. The idea of a rubber stamp senate president is hardly practical, being that motions are debated by all members with diverse political views and interests before being passed to the president for accent. This is, however, indicative of high political shrewdness, intellectual management, and reasoning. These qualities make him a good candidate for the seat of senate president, of which Senator Barau is an embodiment.

The running of the Senate is a continuous process from where the previous stops. Hence, it is pertinent that the incoming Senate president be one that has been actively involved in the activities of the Senate. There are Bills that are in motion, others in their last phase of reading, and a lot of others awaiting the accent of the President. Senator Barau being a second term senator already and having been part of the process all through, and having qualities as highlighted above, will be the best man to lead the 1oth senate to see these Bills see the light of day for Nigerians to benefit from. 

The 2023 elections have exposed some weaknesses that the APC has, among which is their loss of grip on Kano. It will be rational to see the APC strategizing to close that gap. It will be a good move for the APC Excos to galvanise support for Senator Barau’s bid for Senate Presidency, being the highest surviving political officer the APC has in the state, in order to match the formidable structure of the NNPP in the state. The might of the office of the Governor occupied by NNPP can only be matched by the might of the Senate president from the state. Senator Barau has a reputation for using his political strength to gain voters’ affinity, as highlighted above.

Based on the foregoing, there is a need for political stakeholders to study this proposal carefully and make the right choice by ensuring Senator Barau Jibrin emerges as the President of the 10th Senate. In doing so, there would be a joining of the political strength of person and region, which will translate to a win-win situation for the APC and Nigerians at large.

Engr. Auwal Rabi’u Dansharif writes from Kano and can be reached via ardansharif@hotmail.com.

By  Sunusi Umar Sadiq

A few days ago, the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered a judgment, the most significant outcome of which is the emergence of Alhaji Ahmad Lawan, the current President of the Nigerian Senate, as the All Progressives Congress’ senatorial candidate representing Yobe North Senatorial District in the forthcoming general elections. The public is naturally and expectedly, too, thrown into an abyss of confusion because, for all that is known, Senate President Lawan had obviously relinquished the senatorial seat he has been occupying since 1999 or thereabout when he contested for the APC presidential primaries sometime last year.

Politics is the manifestation of the immaturity of mankind. Politicians across times and spaces have always been very shrewd and crafty. The popular virtues are turned upside down. Selfishness becomes a guiding principle. Deceit and manoeuvre are articles of faith. Self-interest takes the position of justice, and fairness is something that is virtually and practically unknown. The end is all that matters. And anything is to the politician permissible to attain that end.

In a setting such as this, a heap of mess will surely pile up. And in a democratic setting, the unenviable onus of clearing such a mess or at least containing it is placed on the judiciary. And the Nigerian courts, the Supreme Court especially, have been grappling with that onus, coming under public attacks and bashing every now and then.

Unfortunately for judges, they cannot come out to defend or even explain themselves. In this kind of situation, it is the lawyers, as the primary constituents of the judicature, that ought to be the sentries for the hallowed chambers. They should educate the people and enlighten them.

There are two things to consider in order to understand any given judgment: the facts of the case and the issues raised before the court. Without knowing these, the most honourable thing for anyone to do is to remain mute. Let me briefly state here the facts of the case at hand so as to understand the context and reason behind the supposedly controversial judgment delivered by the Apex Court.

For whatever reason, Senator Ahmad Lawan decided to give a shot at the country’s Number One Seat, the Presidency. He bought the presidential Nomination and Expression of Interest Forms. It automatically followed that he had no further interest in keeping his senatorial seat. A Bashir Machina seized the opportunity. He aspired for Lawan’s seat, and on 28^th May 2022, the primary election for that seat was conducted, and Machina got it on a platter, some might say.

Some eleven days later, 8^th day of June 2022, the APC had its National Convention, and the presidential primary election was conducted. Lawan and twelve other aspirants lost to Bola Tinubu. As a cartoonist depicted it, Lawan had torn himself between the presidency and the senatorial seat. He ultimately lost both. Unknown to the cartoonist and other Nigerians, the Senate President had his Plan B in the closet. In hatching the plan, the APC maintained that Danjuma Manga, the party’s official that chaired and officiated the 28^th May primary election, was not authorised to do so by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC). That primary election was therefore cancelled. Another was held on 9^th June 2022, less than twenty-four hours after Lawan lost his presidential bid! Nobody needs to be told that there is something amiss and shady here. It is crystal clear that a heap of mess has piled up.

Machina then decided to cry out against this apparent and obnoxious mess. He took his grievances to the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Damaturu Division. He prayed the court, among other things, to hold that the 28^th May primary election that produced him was the only legitimate and valid primary election, and the other one that produced Lawan was fraudulent and therefore null and void. And this is the beginning of the intricacy and the controversy.    

The court is the repository of laws. It is the aggrieved party that will trigger the courts to invoke and apply those laws. For the litigant to succeed, therefore, they have to, firstly, be armed with hard facts that can be proved with acceptable evidence. And, secondly, such a litigant must, in ventilating the grievance, approach the court in strict compliance with the procedure provided for doing so. The success of every case depends on these two pillars.

The facts of some cases may be straightforward. The Rules of the Court provide for the commencement of such cases via Originating Summons. In using this mode, no witnesses need to be called. All you need is to state what transpired in an affidavit and present the documents that strengthen the facts in the issue, then invite the court to invoke appropriate laws and apply them to the case.

Some other cases are not this simple, more so when there is a criminal allegation. For such cases in which the facts in issue are contested, the Writ of Summons is the appropriate mode to be used in presenting one’s case to the law court. And whenever there is an allegation of a crime, the standard of proof is that of beyond reasonable doubt. Witnesses must be in court in flesh and blood to be examined, cross-examined and, if need be, re-examined.

From 9^th June 2023, Machina’s Legal Team had up to 23^rd of that month, a total of fourteen (14) days to build up their case and file same. I could imagine the mental race the team must have undergone to formulate the questions and the issues. Allegation of fraud is easy to come up with because Section 17 of the Penal Code intimates that ‘fraud’ is when one does something with the intent to deceive and by means of such deceit to obtain some advantage for himself or another or to cause loss to any other person.

It is on that ground that Aspirant Machina went to the court challenging the return of Senator Lawan as the Senatorial Candidate and the validity of the primary election held on June 9^th. Commencing the suit by Originating Summons is just one of the issues raised. But since the suit failed, the primary election it sought to be declared fraudulent and therefore null and void remains valid, and Senator Lawan consequently remains the rightful candidate.

The Supreme Court is not to blame. If anything, the Supreme Court is the scapegoat. The real culprits are Machina’s co-travellers, and the politicians. After all, it is Machina’s own party that cancelled the primary election he had won. And it is also the party that took the matter up to the Supreme Court to ensure that Lawan remains its rightful and lawful flagbearer. The Supreme Court’s hands are tied as it is a court of law, not emotions.

Sunusi Umar Sadiq is a legal practitioner based in Kano State. He can be reached at sunusiumarandco@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Senator David Mark, former President of the Nigerian Senate, has lost his first son to cancer. 

Special Adviser to David Mark, Paul Mumeh, announced the demise of David Mark’s son on Friday in a statement

According to Mr Mumeh, Tunde Jonathan Mark died in a London hospital on Friday while surrounded by loved ones and family members. 

The statement reads : 

“Tunde Jonathan Mark, son of former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, has died in a London hospital on Friday morning.

Tunde, who died after a long battle with cancer, was the first son of the former President of the Senate.

Born on the 13th of October, 1971, Tunde attended Yaba Military School, located in Yaba, Lagos, where he obtained his first school leaving certificate.

He later proceeded to Bradfield College, Berkshire, UK, where he attended Secondary school.

Tunde is a Biochemist who obtained a B.Sc degree from Kings College, London. He studied immunology alongside biochemistry and later Biological Sciences at the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was married with a daughter.

He passed away peacefully, surrounded by family members and loved ones.

Funeral arrangements will be communicated in due course.”

By Ambali Abdulkabeer

I understand Dino Melaye is a serial political clown who doesn’t deserve much attention. Yet there’s a need to say a few words about his recent cringe-worthy video targeted at Peter Obi.

In the viral video, Dino argued that Nigeria’s problem is beyond cutting governance costs. He said that with all confidence. Ignorant.

Nigeria is what it is today due to a lack of financial prudence in the political firmament. For instance, a report emerged that President Muhammadu Buhari travelled 11 times in five months. However, if you carefully research the trips facilitated with the country’s hard-earned money, you may discover that not all the trips would demand the President and his needless entourage.

Ahmed Lawan, the President of the Senate, in a lecture titled ‘The Legislature, Legislative Mandate and People – The Reality and the Public Perception’ and presented during the First Distinguished Parliamentarians Lecture Series organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies last year, clarified the salaries of members of the National Assembly.

“The total salary of a member of the Senate is about N1.5m while that of the House of Representatives is about N1.3m.

“The average office running cost for a senator is about N13m while that of a member of the House of Representatives is N8m”, Lawan said in the robust paper.

When calculated, the N13m office running cost for a senator amounts to N52m per annum, while the N8m for a member of the House of Representatives amounts to N32m in a year.

Plus salary, this means that each Senator goes home with 70 million and House of Reps member with 47.6 million annually.

Don’t let us talk about the salaries and allowances of the President, Vice President, Ministers and others. A waste of time!

Then the big question is, how much does a diligent civil servant get annually, or even in his entire 35 years in service? You can answer that!

And don’t forget this country is abysmally run through heavy loans upon loans. So if any country in the world must cut governance costs to attend to its multifarious crises, it should be Nigeria.

There is nothing wrong with Dino canvassing support for Atiku Abubakar. But to say that the only solution now is the unity of Nigeria is problematic. It’s even self-delusion to tip a former vice president as the best man for the job! If we are united (which I think it’s untenable given our slapdash approach to leadership), the country needs people who are genuinely financially prudent to survive. Not these endlessly grasping ‘agbada men’ carting away its resources.

It must also be said that whether or not Peter Obi is manageable for the country at the moment, Nigerians have the liberty to decide in 2023. It would be fair, however, to remind us that our country needs a better future.

The Danish poet and social critic Soren Kierkegaard was right when he said, “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” So while they should embrace the fact that the country needs a genuine president, Nigerians should not be fooled into believing cutting governance costs isn’t a solution.

Ambali Abdulkabeer writes from Ilorin. He can be reached via abdulkabeerambali@gmail.com.

By Umar Yahaya

Yobe North has been blessed with the representation of an experienced lawmaker, Distinguished Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, a fourth times senator and President of the Senate, who is now seeking support and collaboration to replace Buhari as the President in the forthcoming election. I wish him the best this journey has to offer; he possesses all the requirements to be President.

However, in the epoch-making election (2023), the Yobe North requires an experienced person to represent it in the tenth (10) Senate. So we are in the stage of opening a new chapter. Of all the contenders, only Abba Sarki possessed the qualifications, wisdom, brilliance, prudence and knowledge to represent it. I’m not embroidering anything here; it’s based on records, facts and figures. In a democratic setting, when someone presents himself for an elective office, the expectations are simple; what are your public or private sectors records and experiences? What have you done to people and your community before? What makes you a credible and right candidate for the position? These can allow us to put you on a scale and measure your weight and whether you deserve our vote and support.

Going by these, I would say Abba deserved to fly the APC flag. He has knowledge and expertise, rising to Director of Human Resources, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development and recently retired. A graduate of Political Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He knows and understands what it entails to be an administrator and manage resources. As the saying goes, “Good laws do not make themselves”. It requires inputs of time, lots of information, selection of what is based for the people, and articulating them into laws for the country’s benefit and its progress and development. I am confident he can perform well and do a great thing as he did before he retired from civil service. 

His public service understanding and knowledge give him more advantage over other contenders. He would sustain what was started by the current senator and consolidate the gains achieved. He inspired hope for a better tomorrow and representation. He would do a great job when given the mandate. In an ideal environment, a merit leadership position is your capacity and foresight, the vision and goals you have for the people. He has these attributes. 

In records, Abba Sarki facilitated projects as a Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture to our communities; it is visible. No one would dispute or deny this, from the construction of roads in Nguru, Machina and Karasuwa Local Governments, rehabilitation of infrastructure, specifically, Nguru Abattoir to an ultra-modern facility, drilling boreholes and provision of solar energy to both rural and urban communities. Facilitated training of youth and women in various skills such as fisheries and animal rearing.

In his desire to bring change and development to our communities, he helps in employment our people in different government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. These are what make him stand out as the best for the job. Anyone who can’t show what he has done before seeking an elective office doesn’t deserve to present himself for any office or our vote. Politics is all about getting what is best for your people.

What is needed for the APC, His Excellency, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan and Zonal APC stakeholders to allow for free, fair, and credible primary elections. Our people deserved the best. A zone that produced the President of the Senate requires a man with better qualifications, experiences and connections. His representation would give an equal opportunity, do a great job and wanders for his people, state and country.    

My prayers and hopes are that Abba Sarki is given a chance to represent us. He would command respect from his peers. He is charismatic, calm, kind, a beacon of hope, bold, hardworking, and committed to seeing our societies’ progress and development.

Let’s do it together.

Let’s change the narratives.

We deserve better.

We inspired hope.

New Vision.

Umar Yahaya wrote from Hausari Ward, Nguru, Yobe via umarnguru2015@gmail.com.

By Ibraheem Abdullateef

Praises may not come often. But the impact will always be felt – wherever it is being made. 

On the heels of the above, I write to the leadership of the Nigerian senate to commend them for conducting investigations into the N400 billion National Primary Health Centre projects awarded during the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo 2006 but were abandoned for strange reasons by the contractors. 

The administration initiated the National Primary Health Centre to deepen access to quality and affordable healthcare facilities for the less privileged at the local levels. It was originally conceived to build in each of the 774 LGAs in Nigeria a sixty (60) bed-capacity primary health centres; complemented with a three-bed flat; doctors quarters, ambulance, drugs; and other basic hospital equipment. 

To prosecute the projects, the federal government deducted monies from the excess crude account of all the 774 LGAs every month until the budgeted funds required for the project was realised. Despite that, little or no notable jobs have been done 15 years after. The majority of the projects have not been started, while many are simply abandoned to waste across the country. I wail at this culture of abandonment, sleaze, corruption, and wickedness to humankind. 

The consequences of this suspected case of breach of contract, diversion, and misappropriation of public funds are far-reaching on national health. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cited by the Journal of Global Health Report, the Maternal Mortality Ratio in Nigeria is 814 per 100,000 live births in 2020. It accounted for about 20 % of the global maternal deaths. The malaria figures are as grim, if not worse. The World Malaria report 2021 revealed over 50 million cases and 207,000 deaths annually. It means that the giant of Africa accounts for at least 27% of malaria deaths worldwide. 

Findings from global health reports linked the high mortality rates and malaria cases to delay in seeking maternal healthcare, delay in locating medical facilities, and low-quality healthcare services for the patients. It is safe to conclude that the full implementation and execution of the National Primary Health Centre project would have improved accessibility, availability, and affordability of quality care services in all the 774 LGAs in the country. As they were not handled well, it might have cost the nation over 7 million lives, mainly women, infants, and young adults. 

It is good this has not been made to pass yet. Upon the motion by Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe of Kwara central and the adoption of the resolution of an investigation by the senate a fortnight ago, some of the unscrupulous contractors have started works on the abandoned projects. In Ilorin South Local Government Area, one of the LGAs making up Kwara Central, work has resumed at the site, and some of the equipment are being returned. But will that be enough to compensate for the delay in the last 15 years? Who are these people? What would be the price of justice? 

I urge the media, the civil society groups, and the security agencies to aid the outstanding Senator Oloriegbe and the 9th senate’s bid for justice and probity. 

Kwara Central Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe’s alarm shows uncommon bravery, patriotism, and excellent knowledge of the industry as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health. This should propel investigations into the case deep and thorough. The conclusion of this issue is weighty. One, it would stimulate healthcare services across the country. Two, it may grant due punishment or sanctions to wrongdoers, setting a template for future conduct. The third point is that it may lead to a review, introduction or implementation of stricter laws and processes, including the roles of the ministries and agencies, in bidding and drawing funds for projects. 

Looking at the history of Nigerian politics, I am aware that this is hard to pull off. But it is not impossible. Leaders are elected to make hard, cracking decisions in the interest of the people and nation. The nation, especially the Nigerian youths, is happy with this step and are proud of the 9th senate. We urge them to go all out for justice in the larger interest of the nation. Here is our word of courage. 

Ibraheem Abdullateef is the Kwara Central Representative in the Nigerian Youth Parliament 5th Assembly. He tweets via @_ibraheemlateef

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) arrests the former President of the Senate, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, over renewed allegations of corruption. Sources have indicated that Saraki was arrested over allegations of theft and money laundering.