DON'T STONE SARAKI, RECALL HIM!

'Vox Populi Vox Dei' (The Voice of the people is the Voice of God)-Archbishop of Canterbury,Walter Reynolds (1327)

The truth is Bukola Saraki's tenure as Senate President was always going to be an unpleasant one.The man and his cohorts abstained from a meeting convened by President Buhari, conducted an 'emergency' election and made their party look like clowns performing on a monday morning.The President ended up not attending while the lawmakers who did ended up watching the NASS elections on TV.It was a comedy that just wasn't funny.
The Modus, no one could say but we all knew Saraki had a bull's eye on him from that moment onwards.He is not a man with an exceptional pedigree as far as governance is concerned and most nigerians' first reaction when a bully cracks the whip via allegations of corruption against such elements is- "Na God Catch Them".
To make it easier to hate Saraki, the late patriarch of his family and the man to whom he owes his political career,infamously ran the family bank to the ground in an epic bid to oust an incumbent Governor and have him installed in his place.Naturally, the only people guaranteed to be in his corner are the political class and not the average nigerian on the streets still rejoicing over the effects of an improved power and fuel supply on his finances.One who can now afford slightly better clothes for his wife and kids.
One who when he wasn't certain of the same today tomorrow, is been told Saraki was busy declaring assets he was hoping to get and his wife mistook the Kwara State treasury for the defunct family bank where monies could be withdrawn and spent on anything.
While we were waiting to see how Saraki would be roped into his wife's investigation at the EFCC,things took a rather interesting turn when he was hit with a 13 Count Charge all bordering round shady declaration of assets and arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Like I love to say, every nigerian politician is guilty until proven innocent and if they choose to use our anti-graft bodies to wage war against one another, then we are the better for it.Our leaders loot us dry and neglect the little things capable of deflecting attention from their booty sharing.It doesn't really need an extraordinary effort to make Nigeria work.This much has been proven by President Buhari in just less than 6 months in office on a budget that isn't his and is almost entirely recurrent expenditure based.
The Senate just passed a vote of confidence on Saraki with 84 Senators in support and though the CCT seems likely to nail him on at least a few of the Charges, it is pertinent to note that we are now at the mercy of Saraki's colleagues (for the time being at least) and most,quite frankly are not in the sad position he is now because they didn't get a chance to be where he was or because the searchlight hasn't been beamed on their previous dealings with us.
Nigerians rarely seize the windows our laws provide to drive home our grievances.What is the essence of the countless twitter hash tags if the support garnered isn't put to the best use?.Do we start purposeless social media campaigns only to enjoy the 'activist' feel accruing from it and then wait for the next one to evolve so we can grab our 'high'?.If as much effort is put into mobilizing his constituency to initiate a 'Recall Bukola Saraki' campaign as is being put into talking all the talk, we just might kick him out of the Senate and not just its Presidency.This would pass a strong message to all lawmakers that we would no longer be at the mercy of their 'ayes' and 'nays'.
The Saraki family is no longer the darling of Kwarans and Kwara is no longer 'Saraki Plc' where anybody other than them was just a mere shareholder.This much we can tell by the disgrace meted out to the Senate President at the eid prayer ground on Sallah day where he was pelted with stones. A lot has changed since the late scion of the dynasty got pushed back by his heir in what can best be described as a modern day Shakespearian tragedy. The person who ended up demystifing the 'Oloye' of Kwara politics was none other than his son and you know what they say about crowning a new king in the lifetime of another. The traditionalists would have a field day talking about how the chickens have come home to roost. One thing is certain -Saraki isn't a loved man there.
The Nigerian Constitution clearly spells out the procedure for a recall of a member of the National Assembly in Section 110.A petition signed by more than one-half of the persons registered to vote in that member's constituency alleging their loss of confidence in that member must be presented to INEC which then proceeds to verify the signatures and conduct a referendum within 90 days of the date of receipt of such petition and if it is approved by a simple majority of registered voters in the member's constituency, then the member ceases to be a member of the NASS.
Would a 'Recall Bukola Saraki' campaign succeed? It should if properly executed.
An individual getting pelted with stones and sachets of pure water on a festive day at a prayer ground speaks volumes of the rage and dislike people have for him.Giving them a legitimate medium of expressing such emotions should be an easy task.
Our destiny as a people should be ours to shape whenever it is in our hands.

HATE PRESIDENT BUHARI OR LOVE HIM, HE IS MAKING NIGERIA WORK AGAIN.

When former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was asked what he had been able to achieve in his first 6 months as President during a Presidential Media Chat, he said those months were for 'Laying the Foundation'.There and then I knew we were in trouble.
Whatever skyscrapper he had plans of building would last a lifetime if Nigerians hadn't witnessed any huge stride in about 180 days.He ended up leaving the nation far worse than he met it.
In the first 100 days of a Nigerian Presidency, there are usually 2 sets of voices.Those singing the praises of the President with a 'Rome wasn't built in a Day' chorus and those reminding us just how much impact could be made in that time.Both have an almost equal chance of swaying anyone with their arguments.So when every genuine well-wisher of Nigeria; ones totally devoid of negative sentiments have cause to applaud the performance of a President in roughly 4 months,it sure is a champagne moment.
President Buhari has performed exceptionally well if you are viewing from the right lens and not one tainted with political,ethnic or religious bias.
I for one have vehemently criticized his lopsided appointments and regrettable utterances in the US promising to treat those who voted for him better than those who didn't so I can conveniently say,at the risk of sounding immodest,that my lens couldn't be more clearer.
He may have his flaws but they don't seem to have taken his eyes off the prize-delivering the dividends of democracy to the people.
The most valid yardstick for assessing my assertion would be simply put-the state he met the nation and the state it is in today.He met the nation in what was unarguably its most terrible state in recent times.Power Stations were shutting down as a result of scarcity of petroleum products with banks and GSM companies at their heels and the average man on the streets was buying fuel for as much as N300 per litre.Today, there are no queues at filling stations and nigerians are celebrating a most remarkable improvement in power supply.I ask people who argue for the need to let some more time pass before reaching a conclusion based on reports doubting its sustainability and attributing it to raised water levels as a result of heavy rains if we lacked rains during the previous administrations that squandered trillions of our money in the name of improving power supply?.The fact that won't change is that we are witnessing perhaps the best power supply in recent times and this progression kicked off in just under 1 month of PMB's assumption of office as President.
We now have a President truly determined to fight corruption.One who understands focus shouldn't be on the EFCC alone but the judiciary as well to ensure the courts dispense justice speedily.
If you take into consideration the fact that the nation was as pathetic as the President saying before he was sworn-in, that he needed up to October to make any meaningful impact (just to be on the safe side perhaps),he deserves plaudits for what he has done in barely 4 months.I believe in the Buhari Government and what it is building unlike when the 'foundation' laid seemed to exist only in the sub-conscious of our former president after 6 months in office.
It is a good thing for the opposition to be restricted to the barest of constructive criticisms.This means that things are moving just as they should.They have come out to say the President hasn't laid down a viable plan for the economy forgetting that no positive economic transformation can take place without the basics-steady power and fuel supply which are been immaculately addressed and also insecurity which is a little more complicated but has been commendably contained to say the least considering our capabilities viz-a-viz what we are up against-bombers ready to die with their victims.If ever we lack weapons to fight the insurgents, I expect to hear from the defence chiefs themselves who are more or less actively involved in the war and not just dishing out orders from an air-conditioned office somewhere in Abuja as was the case.
While I may not say the President isn't late in appointing his Ministers,I ask-Can anyone effectively get around excuses that go thus: time needed to study the 800 page Ahmed Joda Committee report and streamlining it with plans to cut down the cost of governance by reducing ministries and agencies and time needed by the new SSS boss to purge the outfit of bad elements before embarking on proper screening of nominees?.While holding firm to our opinions,it is also important we keep our minds open and not argue blindly.As a lawyer and minister in the temple of justice,I watch people go scotfree for wrongs I strongly believe they committed because the law places a certain burden of proof on me and whoever I represent.What is sometimes isn't just what is.
A successful war against corrupt government officials is one in which they are not only prosecuted and jailed but also dispossessed of cash and assets they looted.Though one can't fully assess the war till the outcome of most probes are made public and we see how thorough prosecution is when the courts are back from vacation, preliminary steps taken have been quite convincing.This administration has gotten the US to commit itself to helping it retrieve stolen funds and one wouldn't doubt the potential of the union to yield fruits if US officials can categorically state that an unnamed former minister of ours stole as much as $6 billion even before the war has fully gathered momentum.
I respect the fact that PMB means different things to different people.Some parties have even refused to hang his portrait on their walls which reminds me of what President Obasanjo once said-"If I am doing what is best for Nigeria and you feel taking my portrait off the wall and smashing it would make you happy, then please do so".
You may call him an ethnic bigot or any of the sad things you deem him to be and have people nod to your reasons for doing so but in your heart of hearts and indeed every Nigerian's heart, he is making Nigeria work again.That we cannot deny.