POLITICS: Saraki: A Distinguished Legacy Built On The Sands Of Time By Oke Umurhohwo
On the 6th of June 2019, Dr. Bukola Saraki presided over the 8th Senate for
the last time and took a graceful bow from the red chamber. Four years ago,
Dr. Saraki upset permutations and predictions to edge out his former party,
All Progressives Congress (APC) anointed candidate, Ahmed Lawan, for the
coveted Senate President seat. That singular event, however, loomed large in
the frosty account of his relationship with the APC, and his eventual exit from
the party.
Different narratives with criticisms of Dr. Saraki’s leadership of the Senate
were frequent and in most cases, they blamed him for the failing of the
government. Fortunately, much of what happened in the executive-legislative
relations in the last four years is nothing but pure political posturing.
Already, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the same fashion it
employed in 2015 has anointed one of its senators to take charge of the 9th
Senate. However, this time around, Dr. Saraki would not be part of the upper
legislative chamber as he lost his reelection in the February 2019 National
Assembly elections.
I have listened and read some of the commentaries on the Senate under the
leadership of Dr. Saraki but sincerely, many can be easily dismissed as mere
sentiments to rob the former Kwara state governor of the impressive strides
recorded under him. In the past four years of his leadership of the Nigerian
Senate, they have passed important bills and also made several important
interventional policies and it’s surprising when some ignore this glaring facts
and instead spread frivolities.
A detailed look at the books solve any confusion that deliberate falsehoods
and spins created in the mind of ordinary Nigerians. To be blunt, Dr. Saraki
stand tall and his legacy as the President of the Senate are too glaring to be
twisted by small minds, who usually see everything from the prism of
partisanship.
Nigerians, too often adjudge a man, not by his array of impacts but by the
twist of his adversaries. But that playbook can hardly work in the instance of
Dr. Saraki because his resounding impacts and legacy informed a range of
critical changes in legislative functions and also supervised a Senate that
made the most contributions, whether in term of bills or interventions. Since
the return to democracy in 1999, the number of bills passed by the three
previous Senate stood at 329.
But in four years of the 8th Senate under Saraki, the red chamber had passed
318 bills, most of which have direct bearing on Nigerians. Of course, Dr.
Saraki early days as the Senate President was buoyed with challenges and
needless distractions from his former party, APC, he, however, weathered the
storm and ensured that the demands of his exalted office didn’t suffer.
While he was subjected to unwarranted witch-hunt and harassment– an
unjust treatment never visited on any Senate President in the nation’s
history, Dr. Saraki remained undaunted and kept to his mission of working
for the ordinary Nigerians. While his persecution lasted at the Code of
Conduct Bureau (CCT) on trumped-up allegations, Dr. Saraki galvanized the
Senate for the important task– focusing on legislations and interventions
that have direct and meaningful impact on the ordinary citizens.
Even when armed security operatives invaded the National Assembly in
2018, Dr. Saraki was unshaken and that infamous event went on to be a
showcase of the depth of acceptability of his leadership among his
colleagues as well as members of the House of Representatives, who stood
defiant to assert the independence of the legislature.
That explains why he was able to achieve so much with his colleagues in just
four years, leaving a daunting benchmark for whoever succeeded him as the
leader of the Senate in the 9th assembly. Under his leadership of the Senate,
Dr. Saraki supervised a legislation that focused on touching matters that
affects the day-to-day affairs of Nigerians. From economy to education,
anti-corruption to health and so on, the imprint of Dr. Saraki-led Senate are
too obvious to be ignored.
In fact, the 8th Senate under Dr. Saraki brought so many revolutionary
changes that were never seen before in the upper legislative chamber. Over
the years, Nigerians have sounded the need to be part of the national budget
process and policy formulation. But it was Dr. Saraki that heeded the call
when in 2016, he introduced public hearing in the process of formulating
policy and national budget consideration. That initiative gave civil society
organizations and other concerned Nigerians the ability to attend hearings
on national budget and were able to make contributions before their
passages.
This was never a practice under the previous leadership of the Senate and
the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu
Sabi Abdullahi, who apparently was moved, described the initiative as “a
testament of the leadership and foresight of the Senate President (Saraki),
and the commitment of the 8th Senate as a whole to ensure that the budget
is passed transparently– with adequate feedback from the general public.”
But that is not all. Right from his time as Governor of Kwara state, Dr. Saraki
always place much emphasis on youth developments and involving them in
nation building. Definitely, Dr. Saraki demonstrated is interest in the youth.
Not only did youth dominate his team, he was also the first Senate President
to give youth the opportunity of spending a day with him and listening to
them. In his valedictory speech, he cherished the moments he had with
youth as “pleasant memories”, recalling that “my reading to an audience of
small children inside my office, where — in the true spirit of Children’s Day —
the kids themselves were the dignitaries.”
A crucial feature of Dr. Saraki everlasting impact on youth, called the
#NotTooYoungToRule bill, was an unprecedented opportunity for youths by
removing age barrier that have prevented them from aspiring for elected
office. With the passage of the bill, the age limit for Nigerians seeking for the
office of President was reduced to 35 from 40; age limit for governorship
contestant is now 30 from 35, hence, brought about an unprecedented
number of young contestants for the 2019 general election. That is a legacy!
Details of how Dr. Saraki led the Senate to resolve a protracted strike at the
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), which returned
students to their classrooms after nearly two years at home, was solid, if not
entirely glowing. While the intervention drew widespread commendation, I’m
sure that students who received the gesture will forever cherished it and
have one name stuck at the center of their hearts– Dr. Saraki.
Under the leadership of Dr. Saraki, the Senate passed laws and moved
motions that directly benefits the public. While those interventions may be
too many for this piece to contain, it will be a great disservice not to mention
the resolution of the Senate which mandated the Nigerian Electricity
Regulatory Commission (NERC) “to immediately abolish fixed charges on
electricity consumption, and bulk marketing of villages and communities.”
That legislative move relieved millions of Nigerians from unnecessary burden
and exploitation.
Even more, Dr. Saraki-led Senate complimented the executive fight against
corruption by exposing abuse of import duty waivers on rice and saving the
country a fortune. This is aside the N25 billion saved for the country by
detecting fraudulent activities in the implementation of TSA in 2015.
When all is said and done, one of the most important remarkable
accomplishments of Dr. Saraki is how he channeled legislation to the fight
against corruption. Notably, was the passage of the NFIU (Nigerian Financial
Intelligence Unit) Bill, which was a strategic and bold move to strengthened
the fight against corruption by making the agency autonomous and also
returned Nigeria to the EGMONT Group that had earlier suspended the
country.
Shortly after the passage of the bill, Dr. Saraki stressed that the NFIU bill is
“in-line with our (Senate) commitment to support the fight against corruption
through legislation”, pointing out that the benefit of the “passage of the
Conference Committee Report of the Bill (NFIU) is aimed at ensuring that we
(Nigeria) comply with international best practices, so that we will be able to
access the financial intelligence data of the EGMONT Group.” And as
highlighted by Dr. Saraki, the NFIU bill is becoming a critical instrument to
fight corruption, especially at the grassroots, as the Federal Government
recently announced move to route allocations of local councils through their
accounts and not the state governments, which is fraught with corruption
allegations.
Primary healthcare got its major boost from the Senate. Under Dr. Saraki, the
Senate legislated the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCFP) and in 2018,
approved 55 billion naira to cater for healthcare in Nigeria. Similar gesture
was extended to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as Senate allocated
ten billion naira considering their dire situations and recently, passed a law
for the establishment of a North East Development Commission (NEDC) to
concentrate on their welfare and rebuilding process.
Though, security is the prerogative of the executive but the legislature,
especially the Senate under Saraki has shown enormous commitment in
ensuring it is resolved. From regular resolution on security-related issues to
swift approval of funds for the purpose of buying ammunition, the Senate
have demonstrated uncommon patriotism to consolidate the effort of the
executive. Recently, the Senate passed the Police Reform Bill (2019) and the
Nigerian Police Trust Fund Bill, in order to improve the service and security
for Nigerians.
Conclusively, Dr. Saraki stood for democracy and guaranteed the
independence of the legislature. Even though his stand drew a wedge
between him and powerful forces, which eventually, played a role in his loss
of the February National Assembly election, but when the account of how he
ensured that the Senate, and by extension, the National Assembly, was not
reduced to a rubber-stamp of the executive, history will be kind to him. As he
bows, I salute Dr. Bukola Saraki for his uncommon bravery and the imprint
he left in Nigeria government sphere.
the last time and took a graceful bow from the red chamber. Four years ago,
Dr. Saraki upset permutations and predictions to edge out his former party,
All Progressives Congress (APC) anointed candidate, Ahmed Lawan, for the
coveted Senate President seat. That singular event, however, loomed large in
the frosty account of his relationship with the APC, and his eventual exit from
the party.
Different narratives with criticisms of Dr. Saraki’s leadership of the Senate
were frequent and in most cases, they blamed him for the failing of the
government. Fortunately, much of what happened in the executive-legislative
relations in the last four years is nothing but pure political posturing.
Already, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the same fashion it
employed in 2015 has anointed one of its senators to take charge of the 9th
Senate. However, this time around, Dr. Saraki would not be part of the upper
legislative chamber as he lost his reelection in the February 2019 National
Assembly elections.
I have listened and read some of the commentaries on the Senate under the
leadership of Dr. Saraki but sincerely, many can be easily dismissed as mere
sentiments to rob the former Kwara state governor of the impressive strides
recorded under him. In the past four years of his leadership of the Nigerian
Senate, they have passed important bills and also made several important
interventional policies and it’s surprising when some ignore this glaring facts
and instead spread frivolities.
A detailed look at the books solve any confusion that deliberate falsehoods
and spins created in the mind of ordinary Nigerians. To be blunt, Dr. Saraki
stand tall and his legacy as the President of the Senate are too glaring to be
twisted by small minds, who usually see everything from the prism of
partisanship.
Nigerians, too often adjudge a man, not by his array of impacts but by the
twist of his adversaries. But that playbook can hardly work in the instance of
Dr. Saraki because his resounding impacts and legacy informed a range of
critical changes in legislative functions and also supervised a Senate that
made the most contributions, whether in term of bills or interventions. Since
the return to democracy in 1999, the number of bills passed by the three
previous Senate stood at 329.
But in four years of the 8th Senate under Saraki, the red chamber had passed
318 bills, most of which have direct bearing on Nigerians. Of course, Dr.
Saraki early days as the Senate President was buoyed with challenges and
needless distractions from his former party, APC, he, however, weathered the
storm and ensured that the demands of his exalted office didn’t suffer.
While he was subjected to unwarranted witch-hunt and harassment– an
unjust treatment never visited on any Senate President in the nation’s
history, Dr. Saraki remained undaunted and kept to his mission of working
for the ordinary Nigerians. While his persecution lasted at the Code of
Conduct Bureau (CCT) on trumped-up allegations, Dr. Saraki galvanized the
Senate for the important task– focusing on legislations and interventions
that have direct and meaningful impact on the ordinary citizens.
Even when armed security operatives invaded the National Assembly in
2018, Dr. Saraki was unshaken and that infamous event went on to be a
showcase of the depth of acceptability of his leadership among his
colleagues as well as members of the House of Representatives, who stood
defiant to assert the independence of the legislature.
That explains why he was able to achieve so much with his colleagues in just
four years, leaving a daunting benchmark for whoever succeeded him as the
leader of the Senate in the 9th assembly. Under his leadership of the Senate,
Dr. Saraki supervised a legislation that focused on touching matters that
affects the day-to-day affairs of Nigerians. From economy to education,
anti-corruption to health and so on, the imprint of Dr. Saraki-led Senate are
too obvious to be ignored.
In fact, the 8th Senate under Dr. Saraki brought so many revolutionary
changes that were never seen before in the upper legislative chamber. Over
the years, Nigerians have sounded the need to be part of the national budget
process and policy formulation. But it was Dr. Saraki that heeded the call
when in 2016, he introduced public hearing in the process of formulating
policy and national budget consideration. That initiative gave civil society
organizations and other concerned Nigerians the ability to attend hearings
on national budget and were able to make contributions before their
passages.
This was never a practice under the previous leadership of the Senate and
the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu
Sabi Abdullahi, who apparently was moved, described the initiative as “a
testament of the leadership and foresight of the Senate President (Saraki),
and the commitment of the 8th Senate as a whole to ensure that the budget
is passed transparently– with adequate feedback from the general public.”
But that is not all. Right from his time as Governor of Kwara state, Dr. Saraki
always place much emphasis on youth developments and involving them in
nation building. Definitely, Dr. Saraki demonstrated is interest in the youth.
Not only did youth dominate his team, he was also the first Senate President
to give youth the opportunity of spending a day with him and listening to
them. In his valedictory speech, he cherished the moments he had with
youth as “pleasant memories”, recalling that “my reading to an audience of
small children inside my office, where — in the true spirit of Children’s Day —
the kids themselves were the dignitaries.”
A crucial feature of Dr. Saraki everlasting impact on youth, called the
#NotTooYoungToRule bill, was an unprecedented opportunity for youths by
removing age barrier that have prevented them from aspiring for elected
office. With the passage of the bill, the age limit for Nigerians seeking for the
office of President was reduced to 35 from 40; age limit for governorship
contestant is now 30 from 35, hence, brought about an unprecedented
number of young contestants for the 2019 general election. That is a legacy!
Details of how Dr. Saraki led the Senate to resolve a protracted strike at the
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), which returned
students to their classrooms after nearly two years at home, was solid, if not
entirely glowing. While the intervention drew widespread commendation, I’m
sure that students who received the gesture will forever cherished it and
have one name stuck at the center of their hearts– Dr. Saraki.
Under the leadership of Dr. Saraki, the Senate passed laws and moved
motions that directly benefits the public. While those interventions may be
too many for this piece to contain, it will be a great disservice not to mention
the resolution of the Senate which mandated the Nigerian Electricity
Regulatory Commission (NERC) “to immediately abolish fixed charges on
electricity consumption, and bulk marketing of villages and communities.”
That legislative move relieved millions of Nigerians from unnecessary burden
and exploitation.
Even more, Dr. Saraki-led Senate complimented the executive fight against
corruption by exposing abuse of import duty waivers on rice and saving the
country a fortune. This is aside the N25 billion saved for the country by
detecting fraudulent activities in the implementation of TSA in 2015.
When all is said and done, one of the most important remarkable
accomplishments of Dr. Saraki is how he channeled legislation to the fight
against corruption. Notably, was the passage of the NFIU (Nigerian Financial
Intelligence Unit) Bill, which was a strategic and bold move to strengthened
the fight against corruption by making the agency autonomous and also
returned Nigeria to the EGMONT Group that had earlier suspended the
country.
Shortly after the passage of the bill, Dr. Saraki stressed that the NFIU bill is
“in-line with our (Senate) commitment to support the fight against corruption
through legislation”, pointing out that the benefit of the “passage of the
Conference Committee Report of the Bill (NFIU) is aimed at ensuring that we
(Nigeria) comply with international best practices, so that we will be able to
access the financial intelligence data of the EGMONT Group.” And as
highlighted by Dr. Saraki, the NFIU bill is becoming a critical instrument to
fight corruption, especially at the grassroots, as the Federal Government
recently announced move to route allocations of local councils through their
accounts and not the state governments, which is fraught with corruption
allegations.
Primary healthcare got its major boost from the Senate. Under Dr. Saraki, the
Senate legislated the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCFP) and in 2018,
approved 55 billion naira to cater for healthcare in Nigeria. Similar gesture
was extended to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as Senate allocated
ten billion naira considering their dire situations and recently, passed a law
for the establishment of a North East Development Commission (NEDC) to
concentrate on their welfare and rebuilding process.
Though, security is the prerogative of the executive but the legislature,
especially the Senate under Saraki has shown enormous commitment in
ensuring it is resolved. From regular resolution on security-related issues to
swift approval of funds for the purpose of buying ammunition, the Senate
have demonstrated uncommon patriotism to consolidate the effort of the
executive. Recently, the Senate passed the Police Reform Bill (2019) and the
Nigerian Police Trust Fund Bill, in order to improve the service and security
for Nigerians.
Conclusively, Dr. Saraki stood for democracy and guaranteed the
independence of the legislature. Even though his stand drew a wedge
between him and powerful forces, which eventually, played a role in his loss
of the February National Assembly election, but when the account of how he
ensured that the Senate, and by extension, the National Assembly, was not
reduced to a rubber-stamp of the executive, history will be kind to him. As he
bows, I salute Dr. Bukola Saraki for his uncommon bravery and the imprint
he left in Nigeria government sphere.
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