SCRUTINIZING TINUBU'S CHOICES FOR NASS LEADERSHIP...

President-Elect Tinubu and his people started preparing for the 2023 elections just months after President Buhari was sworn-in for a second term in 2019.He was choosing allies,building bridges and assessing strengths and weaknesses before most of the candidates had even made up their minds to contest.That speaks volumes of the man's ability to prepare adequately for a task.That quality along with how President Buhari made a mess of the National Assembly Leadership elections in his first tenure by sitting idly and refusing to choose a path early for his party by rooting for the candidates he felt he would work best with meant no one was suprised by media reports that the Jagaban had chosen his preferred National Assembly leaders.

In 2015,a villain ex-Governor who was being stoned in his home state conned his way to the leadership of the senate and became a national hero only because he was using the senate to fight back a President who was hell bent on destroying him.Many did not see that,they only saw a brave warrior who refused to be intimidated by Buhari.The lessons of that point in time will always be available to the political class for reference.

Moreso a Bola Ahmed Tinubu who has to deal with a National Assembly where a 2/3 majority will no longer be a stroll in the park considering the amount of lawmakers from other parties.The total amount of opposition lawmakers in the House of Representatives exceed the APC's 179 members and the APC's 60 out of an available 109 senatorial seats all but ensure the National Assembly will not be a family affair.

Below i have tried to discuss in as much detail as possible,the people Tinubu has identified to help him navigate the challenges likely to be posed by a polarized National Assembly and the politics behind his decisions.

GODSWILL AKPABIO FOR SENATE PRESIDENT,BARAU JIBRIN FOR DEPUTY SENATE PRESIDENT

The choice of former Akwa Ibom state Governor,Godswill Akpabio for Senate President all but confirms one thing-Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not bow to the North.The North West is the largest voting bloc in Nigeria and the weight the region carries has always influenced the choice of political bed mates by those from other regions.

When analysts were busy speculating on who Tinubu's North Western VP would be,he shocked everyone by going to the North East.This is the first time since 2007 that the North West has not either produced a President or his Vice and being a man of great political acumen,Asiwaju was going to hand over the Senate Presidency to stay on friendly terms.He was going to endorse unarguably the most loved APC politician in the NNPP Kano, Sen. Barau Jibrin who would serve as not just an olive branch to the North West but also as the most viable means of opposing the NNPP with a view to recovering the largest state in Nigeria; Kano.But No.

Jagaban obviously doesn't think anyone is entitled to anything and has chosen to carry everyone along so Akpabio from the South South is his pick.Godswill Akpabio may not be as white as snow but he is dogged and committed with the right incentive is in play.These attributes made Buhari and his people reach out to him in time for the 2019 elections and the APC ended up winning 2 LGAs in a PDP strong hold and getting over 175,000 votes.He was rewarded with Minister despite being a new member of the party.

Akpabio will be expected to not just run a senate hoping to get APC votes alone but one that will look to make a lot of friends from other parties and possibly get them to jump ship.He has the experience,clout and most importantly, political connections having being a 2 term Governor in the major opposition party and a Minister in the ruling party.We may see a lot of division created in the opposition parties to enable cross-carpeting members fulfil constitutional requirements.

In line with Jagaban's philosophy of shedding heavy reliance on the North, Akpabio will also be required to make in-roads into the South South and make the APC a major player across all 5 states.

TAJUDEEN ABBAS FOR SPEAKER,BEN KALU FOR DEPUTY SPEAKER

The North West was a definite choice for Speaker if it didn't get Senate President.It was only a question of who.Alhassan Ado Doguwa is a known favourite of Tinubu and he went on to indicate interest in the seat despite having accusations of murder and arson hanging on his neck but of course the optics of endorsing him have to worry any sane person.If you add the fact that Tajudeen Abbas has been in the House of Representatives since 2011 to the fact that he represents Zaria Federal Constituency; primarily consisting of Zaria Local Government Area; the LGA famous for giving Buhari 111,082 votes in 2019 in Kaduna state which is the 2nd largest state in the North West after the Deputy Senate President's Kano,his choice is a no-brainer.

Abbas may not be reputed to be a mobilizer or outstanding leader of men but he provides the North West its consolatory slot.The one thing analysts doubt he has the ability to do unlike Akpabio in the senate,is protect efficiently the interests of the APC amidst 181 opposition members.

Unlike President Buhari's 2019 choices which had a North Westerner as President and Deputy Speaker and a South Westerner as Vice President and Speaker,Tinubu's choice of Ben Kalu from the South East means Tinubu's government if all goes how he intends,will have a national outlook.Every region is represented in the top heirachy of government.Personally i think Rep.Miriam Onuoha from Imo state would have been a better choice for Deputy Speaker considering the fact that she is a woman.That would have added a little something extra to the nationality of his government but either way,the intentions of Jagaban have been noted.He wants to run a Nigeria that will carry everyone along.

Though there have been reports of several aggrieved candidates in both houses forming alliances to sabotage the President-Elect's choices as endorsed by the APC,it is left to be seen how things will play out.But going by antecedents,it is never safe to bet against Jagaban in a game of politics so barring a miracle of humongous proportions,these men are all but in already.

EMIR SANUSI REVIEW: ABBA YUSUF MUST PLACE KANO FIRST BY SEEING THINGS AS THEY REALLY ARE

I remember the only time i had ever seen deposed Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi in person.I had just discovered a mechanic in April 2017 who told me of a work-around i had never before heard of to elevate the rear of my car.The whole process cost just a fraction of what i would have ordinarily spent and i was ecstatic.I left the car with him and couldn't wait because i had some where else to go so i boarded a tricycle.I didn't notice anything special happening along the Murtala Mohammed Jumaat Mosque Road in Hausawa,Kano though they actually was.It was only when we got to the entrance of the mosque that i noticed Emir Sanusi doing an open top procession.

Whether or not it was a calculated move to bond with his people i still cannot say but he wasn't heavily guarded by either conventional law enforcement agents or his palace guards.He was so unlatched,pulling up to his side was very easy but no one seemed the least interested in doing that.No one was cheering and as a matter of fact,no one was as much as giving a second look.It dawned on me more than ever that Sanusi wasn't adored by his people.

I read an African Report article on Thursday and it told me more than anything else, just how far the story of the incoming NNPP government's promise to review Emir Sanusi's dethronement had travelled and just how keen even those outside these shores were to watch it unravel.Whatever the incoming Abba Yusuf administration does,it must put the interest of Kano people first.I wrote an article calling on the outgoing administration to do same when it suspended the probe of Sanusi for misappropriation of funds due to the intervention of 'prominent persons' and i am sure Ganduje regrets back-tracking on that today.

He cannot convince anyone he did not create additional emirates and placed them at par with that of Kano just to spite Sanusi when they fell out before of course, Sanusi's eventual dethronement.It doesn't matter what Ganduje has to say in his defence,that is what everyone believes and as far as they are concerned,Kano funds that could be better utilized are now used to operate a structure put in place only to belittle an Emir.I may not be the most knowledgeable in matters of tradition but i know for a fact that the North has the highest reverence for traditional institutions in Nigeria.The turban of an Emir being tied to drop low and cover his mouth emblematizes the need to guard his utterances.

A monarch must never place himself in a position where he will engage in a back and forth; via the media or otherwise, with a political office holder or his aide.He must be heard advising a government as a father of all and not criticizing it.Like i always say,there is no such thing as a modern day traditional ruler.Governors and Presidents go to bow at their palaces despite having the power to unseat them when the sanctity of the institution has not been desecrated.

I supported Sanusi's enthronement on the basis of equity and the need to spread it across the ruling families whenever the chance presents itself but i was quite vocal also in the need for him to conform to the demands of the position and relinquish it if at all he can't.Those of us that supported him then were no doubt in the minority as reference to the ensuing protests that greeted his appointment would prove.People eventually let go because the deed was done by a very popular Kwankwaso administration that had endeared itself to the people of Kano.The consequences of that act were felt most after Kwankwaso had left office.

It is a well documented fact that Sanusi sent his daughter Shahida to represent him at the inaugural Chibok Girls Lecture in Abuja in 2017 instead of any member of his council.She did not only brag openly about being the first female to represent an Emir,her father via a video message,eulogized her before the audience for slapping a boy once.It is no secret,this is in the public realm.

Ganduje may have gotten it wrong with the creation of emirates but he got Sanusi's dethronement spot on.Just like there cannot be a digital Hawar Daushe horse procession for Sallah,there cannot be an activist or feminist Emir.

I call on the Abba Yusuf administration to in addition to feeling the pulse of Kano indigenes regarding Sanusi and also considering the imprioriety of switching Emirs in their lifetime,to also thoroughly scrutinize the corruption allegations against Sanusi.He did not appear before the committee set up to probe him to defend himself neither did he send it a written defence.

The innocent; especially those passionate about exposing corruption and waxing sanctimonious about fixing societal issues would ordinarily jump at a chance to defend themselves against such damning allegations.Why didn't Sanusi do that?.Very basic questions as to how N113M was spent on travels not budgeted for amongst other expenditures totalling N3.4bn were left unanswered.At the very least,government has to consider the costs of maintaining the expensive lifestyle of an Emir.Such blatant flamboyance amidst so much suffering is never a good look.

Engr. Abba Yusuf must shed whatever personal sentiments he or any one he is loyal to may have and worry about what is best for Kano people.They deserve it.They voted for him en masse against a party in power and stood so solidly behind him after voting had ended,it would have been practically suicidal to rig the results.Let the best interests of Kano people come first.