The Speaker Nigeria Needs

There is a political philosophy that was popularized by Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), the 28th President of the United States of America, “To the victor belongs the spoil of office”. Besides, people talk of the winner-takes-all syndrome. What is not clear to many is why, for instance, Muhammadu Buhari, our President-elect, cannot, in the face of all these assertions, proceed to fill his entire cabinet and other openings in government with people from his home State of Katsina.
For one thing, Buhari is neither the victor nor the winner. The victor is the All Progressives Congress, APC. That is the party that must now distribute the offices it has won.
For another, there are many constitutional guarantees backing the citizenry. One such guarantee is to be found in Section 42(2) of the 1999 Constitution, which insulates every Nigerian from discrimination based on the circumstances of birth. Put differently, no one shall suffer any deprivation because of the accident of geography.
Section 14(3) is devoted to the issue of federal character, which forbids the concentration of powers in the hands of a few States to the exclusion of others.
The federal character application appears in all segments of our national life. That explains why any political party that fails to pick its national officers from all parts of the federation cannot pass the test of registration. The sharing of party offices cannot be mixed up with the positions in the Executive and Legislative branches.
Essentially, the sharing of the spoils of office has started. The President-elect, the nation’s First Citizen, has emerged from the North-West sub-region and the Vice-President-elect, the Number Two Citizen, is from the South West. The next two positions in contention are those of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives who should also come from different zones of the country.
Apparently, the Senate presidency is already gravitating towards the North-Central and the North-East zones where the political gladiators – Senator Bukola Saraki (Kwara), Senator George Akume (Benue), Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume (Borno), and Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe) – are warming up for the final armada.
Heaven helps those who help themselves. The struggle for these offices is open only to those who have won elections to the relevant Houses. That explains why those from the South-East geo-political zone cannot even raise a finger to demand for the any principal officer’s position. In the last election, the APC candidates from that zone fell to the superior maneuvering machines of an opposing party to the extent that no single APC candidate succeeded from there.
The same cannot be said about the South-South where Edo State came out as the clear saviour of the zone, having performed creditably at the elections.
As they say in the traditional, if the kola-nut, on its own, falls where you intended to plant it, you simply put sand on it and move ahead. That is the clear case of Hon. Pally Iriase. Of the six Representatives who have shown interest in the speakership – Pally Iriase (Edo/South-South), Israel Ajibola (Osun/South-West), Yakubu Dogara (Bauchi/North-East), Femi Gbajabiamila (Lagos/South-West), Mohammed Mongono (Borno/North-East) and Abdualmumin Jibrin (Kano/North-West) – Iriase stands out as the most favoured by both history and geography.
Certainly, the federal character principle would frown at having two of the four highest positions in one zone. This is where Iriase has a clear advantage over other contenders. He is from the South-South zone where his home State, Edo, has since become, irretrievably, a major stronghold of the APC.
On his own, Iriase parades very tall credentials – an accountant by training, banker extra-ordinaire, two-time Chairman of Owan East Local Government, two-time member of Edo State House of Assembly where he was a very successful Deputy Speaker, former Secretary to Edo State Government and currently, a ranking member of the House of Representatives.
Nothing in the foregoing vitiates the fact that other contenders may also be eminently qualified. But we insist that in all things, people must look the role they want to play. One illustration here will suffice: Hon Gbajabiamila is a natural leader. The APC must ensure that this young man is not derailed from the path of leadership.
It would be recalled that this four-time returnee to the House of Representatives was the Deputy Minority Leader from 2007 to 2011. In 2011, he emerged Minority Leader. His oratory and erudite approach to debates can even lure a monkey down from the tree-top. In a Speaker, these fine attributes would simply be buried. In Gbajabiamila, the APC has a natural Majority Leader who will provide a solid bridge and a perfect liaison between the Executive and Legislature on the one hand; and a smooth relationship between the Legislature and the Party on the other. To divert him from this natural course would be disastrous. Who even says he will make a good Speaker?
Iriase is the Speaker Nigeria needs. To hint that Iriase cannot be made Speaker simply because he comes from the same State with the National Chairman of the APC is to lapse into political illiteracy. Politically speaking, both men live on different streets.
Again, those who argue that the APC could behave like the PDP where in the out-going dispensation the Vice-President and the Speaker came from the same North-West zone certainly miss the point or they do not wish the APC well. They have forgotten so soon that the “legislative rascality”, which produced that result was the last straw that broke PDP’s neck. Such should be avoided like plague.
We remember Alexander Pope (1688-1744), “For forms of government, let fools contest. That which is best administered is best”. As morning shows the day, if the APC gets the sharing formula right from the very beginning, it shall have established the framework for lasting success. As they say, the federal government is an elephant. With just a little patience, the meat will go round. Every part, including States where APC did not win, must be carried along. After all, there is always another election!