A case for Igbo senate president

By Simon Nwoko
Thursday, May 12, 2011

With the 2011 general elections over, it is only natural that the debate and jostle over who gets what has began already. However, I must confess that two things have come as a shock to me. One is the debate over where the next Senate President is to come from. The other is the prevarications of the South East caucus of the House of Representatives over the issue issue as though we don’t know what we deserve and want.

It has always been the PDP pattern to share political positions in a way that if the Number One political office goes to either of the North or South, the Number Two office (Vice President) goes to the other region. That was why we had Olusegun Obasanjo (South) and Atiku Abubakar (North) as president and vice president respectively.

When the North produced the President in 2007 with the late Umaru Yar’Adua, the South produced Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan. The Senate President went up North, David Mark. Hon. Patricia Etteh (succeeded by Hon Dimeji Bankole) from the same South West became Speaker. Therefore, the current pattern where both the Vice President and the Senate President come from the North is just circumstantial. National interest and the need to stabilize the polity after the events leading up to the death of Yar’Adua his succession by Jonathan made it imperative to retain the status quo.

But it is gross mischief and insensitivity to the feelings of Ndigbo and indeed the South for anyone to now see it as a tradition that should subsist in the coming dispensation as it would amount to a miscarriage of equity to have both number two and 3 highest offices in the North. Another shocker is the prevarication by the South East caucus of the House of Representatives. Their press statement said either Speaker or Senate President as though we don’t know what we want.

The South West has returned to the opposition with the ACN. PDP has only one Senator from the entire South West, while Ndigbo delivered all but two senatorial seats to the PDP. It is therefore unthinkable that when asked to pick a political position after the North has taken the Vice President, that the South East (on behalf of the South) would jump the Number three position (Senate President) and pick the Number four office (Speaker). Anyone promoting such is Igbo Enemy No 1. It amounts to a grievous sabotage of Igbo corporate interest.

Some people may say, “What is in Senate Presidency?” Well, the answer is that it is the number three seat of power in Nigeria. The Senate President is also the Chairman of the National Assembly. He is a member of the National Council of State which is a critical body (but which no Igbo man has sat in since 2007). Section 53 (2) b of the 1999 Constitution also states that at joint sitting of the two chambers, “the President of Senate shall preside, and in his absence the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall preside.” If there is nothing special in it, why are other geo-political zones trying to expropriate it?

On another note, the misgivings over Igbo Senate presidency based on the instability that characterised the Senate during Obasanjo days is not tenable. It is not a valid ground to deny Igbo what is due them. Besides, the Senate was tempestuous between 1999 and 2007 because of Obasanjo’s determination to humiliate Ndigbo and also to have his puppets as the presiding officers of the National Assembly.

It is an open secret that the Villa funded the instability in the National Assembly and onslaught against presiding officers. By the way, the House of Reps has never been an Igbo Speaker since 1999, yet it has also had its own share of the tumultuous. Should we then say that the North West and South West are not qualified to ever ascend the office again?

Conversely, the Senate has known peace since 2007 largely because of the clement political temperaments of Yar’Adua and Jonathan as well as their respect for rule of law. In this case, the separation of powers which is a key pillar of democracy. When we talk about the stability of the Senate since 2007, we often also fail to give credit to Deputy Senate President who is also an Igbo man. He did not emulate the treachery as his predecessors who were the conduits of Villa-made political tsunamis in the Senate.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/freekick/2011/may/12/freekick-12-05-2011-003.htm

I am glad many of my brothers are agreeing with me. An aggrieved majority is a dangerous majority. Go ask group of people who have been pushed too far.