In 1999 Chuba Okadigbo was on the verge of emerging as president of the Senate and chairman of the National Assembly in Nigeria’s post-military legislature. Okadigbo was a charismatic and popular legislator and a high-ranking member of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) caucus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). That caucus was led by Vice-President Atiku Abubakar who had become the most prominent and influential politician as the new republic emerged. President Obasanjo was fresh out of prison, and was just learning the civilian-political ropes, having been till then accustomed to the military brand of barracks politics. It appears clear that at some point, some allies of Obasanjo advised him that allowing Okadigbo take leadership of the Senate would concentrate too much power in the hands of Atiku and his allies. And so began the first error of Nigeria’s current civilian dispensation!
I was privileged to get first a second-hand report and later a direct account from a leading senator involved in all the shenanigans of the time. Obasanjo and his advisers selected a less-troublesome Evan(s) Enwerem and ensured his election with a minority of PDP votes, but essentially with support from opposition Alliance for Democracy (AD) and All Peoples Party (APP) senators. That was the first blow to the integrity of parliamentary party-based democracy under this republic. The situation was worsened because ethnic sentiments were procured to involve AD senators in a matter that ordinarily should have been the preserve of the ruling PDP. And I gathered authoritatively that financial inducements were also in the mix, the first step in the corruption of this civilian dispensation. I shuddered at the time as I was told the case of one distinguished senator from the South-West who opposed and initially turned down the “Ghana-Must-Go” bag distributed to his colleagues but recanted weeks later as he observed the less scrupulous colleagues enjoy the loot without consequence!
In the House of Representatives, Obasanjo similarly engineered the victory of Salisu Buhari who later turned out to have forged his certificates and had to leave the House in ignominy! The consequences of these unstable starts manifested throughout Obasanjo’s regime – impeachment of Enwerem by Okadigbo’s caucus; the removal of Okadigbo and his replacement by Anyim Pius Anyim; the imposition of Adophus Wabara in 2003 and again his replacement with Ken Nnamani. In the House, Obasanjo was at war with Buhari’s replacement, Ghali Umar Na’Abba, until 2003 when he prevented Na’Abba’s re-election to the House as Aminu Bello Masari became speaker. Under Yar’Adua in 2007, Obasanjo helped to install Patricia Etteh, but forces allied with the new government removed her (issues of sex and religion appeared unfortunately to have at least partially motivated the change even though allegations of corruption were the pretext) and installed Dimeji Bankole. In the Senate, David Mark who had over time become the most powerful senator became Senate president and was able to stay in the position till 2015!
The moral of all these tales is clear – anytime an individual who is not popular within the legislative house is “imposed” as presiding officer, a period of instability usually follows. The second implication is that until Nigeria’s political parties return to a system in which parties are formed on the basis of ideas, ideologies, principles and common purpose rather than opportunistic platforms for seeking power or office, parliamentary democracy will be imperilled in our shores. It is only in the context of politics based on principles that party supremacy can be enforced and legislators will respect the will of the party in terms of policy, legislation and leadership.
The ultimate subversion of the parliamentary party, of course, occurred in 2011 when the then ruling PDP’s candidate for House speaker, Mulikat Akande-Adeola, was defeated by an alliance of party dissidents working with the opposition and the election of Aminu Waziri Tambuwal who spent the next four years as “PDP” speaker in body, but “APC” in soul! It appears the PDP has just repaid the compliments in the Senate as PDP members on Tuesday, June 9, 2015 ensured the election of APC Senator Bukola Saraki and PDP Senator Ike Ekweremadu as Senate president and deputy Senate president rather than support Ahmed Lawan and George Akume chosen by the party! As I write this article, I watch on my TV as the tragedy is replicated in the House of Representatives where Yakubu Dogara was elected speaker against erstwhile Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila who was the APC’s preference! The portents for President Buhari’s new government have been altered dramatically within just 12 days!
The lesson for Nigerian politicians is that it is difficult if not impossible to build a sustainable democracy and political system when everyone acts opportunistically and devoid of principles. As I wrote in my article “The Progressive Agenda” as far back as February 2, 2011, “Nigerian progressives should be negotiating on the basis of a clear progressive agenda. They should be seeking to persuade the Nigerian people that they are truly different from the rest of the pack, in substance rather than form or by mere propaganda. They should design a political platform and articulate clear policies and communication that can convince the Nigerian people that progressive politics is not dead in Nigeria.” I also warned about the consequences of the short-sighted alternative – “seeking to frame opportunistic and non-ideological alliances that cannot stand the test of time, and that at best would produce a fractious and unstable government”.
Opeyemi Agbaje
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