Date: 2015-07-30

Senate President Bukola Saraki is a largely misconstrued character.

The blame game trailing the June 9 events of the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly continues unabated. Major players, even those who ought to know what went wrong, are living in denial. Those who thought the bitter power struggle that preceded the election of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Senator Ike Ekweremadu as President and Deputy President of the Senate respectively, would fade away easily, may have learnt to think twice.

Parliamentary radicalism has taken the front seat with legislative lilliputs as drivers. The political chessboard has become more intriguing. The recourse to cheap blackmail has become a tool in the hands of mischief makers. For some, Saraki and Ekweremadu are the issue. Sadly, some who barely know Saraki have been firing like loose cannons blaming the former Kwara governor for the political miscalculation of others.

Should Saraki really be blamed for the events of June 9th? That is the big question begging for dispassionate answer. Some in their desperate attempt to cause maximum mischief have refused to see reason. Others are so buoyed in their blind support to give a fair and unbiased evaluation of the events of June 9th.

While some interested parties continue to mumble incoherently others chose to speak tongue in check on an issue that is as clear as the day light. Their aim? Saraki must not be! Why should Saraki not be? They chuckle and say: 'Saraki did not obey party directives.' Which party directives? They peddle some kindergarten claims as explanation.

Perhaps, the arrowheads within and outside the National Assembly, those fanning the embers of discord in the Senate, should be reminded to face fact.

The fact remains that the refusal of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership to zone National Assembly offices ignited the free for all witnessed on June 9th. It was a costly miscalculation the party must admit.

In the first place, an in-house committee of APC had initially zoned the Senate Presidency to the North Central geo-political zone. This was however not to be. For reasons yet to be disclosed, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party refused to ratify the North Central Senate Presidency slot.

The field was left open as the struggle for the plum position of the Senate President became open ended. The position was up for grabs by the fittest. It should also be recalled that some Senators-elect on the APC platform chose to congregate at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja on a day that had been officially slated to inaugurate the National Assembly. While some lame excuses have been offered for the ICC misadventure, nobody wants to take responsibility for misleading the APC lawmakers.

Could any unprejudiced observer of the events of June 9th say a mere text message, if indeed there was such text message, is superior to a presidential proclamation duly signed by the C-in-C and communicated to the Clerk to the National Assembly for the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly? Such phantom text message could only be superior to a presidential proclamation in a wonderland like Nigeria. The fact that the National Assembly needs to move on and fast too, must be given currency while the threat to unleash mayhem by some irritant members should be ignored.

That Saraki has taken some audacious and proactive measures to show the colour of his Senate Presidency since June 9th is not in doubt. Saraki has made it abundantly clear that as Senate President and Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District, he is prepared to lead by example as the first Senator in Nigeria to post weekly activities so that his immediate constituents and Nigerians at large can see, follow and contribute to what their representative is doing in the Senate chamber.

He has also publicly declared that accountability and transparency, as essential as they are to governance, will be his watch word. The Senate President also believes that dialogue on national issues should involve every Nigerian, not special interest groups in the corridors of power in Abuja, which is what continues to diminish the public view of elected leaders. He promised to maintain not just an open door policy but a door-less policy to engender free flow of ideas with mutual respect.

Saraki has been tested and found worthy. He did it in Kwara State as governor for eight years. His agricultural re-engineering in Kwara State remains unparalleled as he succeeded in turning around the agricultural potential of a state with a total land area of 34,600 square kilometers and an annual rainfall of 1,500mm. Through his famous speech, 'My Vision of a New Nigeria Farmer,' Saraki expounded his dream of the Nigerian farmer.

Hear him: "My vision of a new Nigeria farmer is built on my vision of a new Nigeria agriculture. I have outlined some of the strategic actions we need to take to achieve the new Nigeria agriculture. I have a dream of the new Nigeria farmer. And I believe that with all the initiatives and interventions I have outlined, that dream will someday soon become a reality. I dream of a day when farming would no longer be regarded as a means of survival but as a business in its own right with all the potential and possibilities that come with any other business.

"I dream of a day when graduates of Accounting or Banking and Finance would prefer to own and run their own farms rather than seek banking jobs; a day when young men and women who hold degrees in Engineering or any other degree for that matter, would opt for a career in farming, not because they have no options but because they regard farming as a more lucrative enterprise. "I dream of a young man or woman in jeans and t-shirt walking into a bank with his laptop. And on his computer he is able to make a cash-flow analysis and other business arguments to persuade a bank to give him credits based on demonstrated profitability of his farming venture. And I dream of a day when bankers would be milling around farms, seeking business and competing for farmers' bank accounts.

"I dream of a Nigerian farmer that is capable of taking advantage of technologies and products of research to multiply his yield; when from one hectare, he would harvest ten tonnes of maize and 40 tonnes of cassava. I dream of a Nigerian tomato farmer, who would not be satisfied with his job until he is able to process and package tomato puree and deliver it directly to the supermarkets. I dream of a new Nigerian farmer with a minimum of 50 hectares of land, who applies 100kg of fertilizer at the right time, instead of 7kg when it is too late.

"I dream of a day when the children of the rich will take to farming and the children of the poor will not seek to escape from the farm, a day when farms would be run by the 5th and 6th generations of family owners, a day when not 70% but only a fraction of our population would be involved in agriculture and would use this to feed the rest of the country and export.

"The Nigerian farmer of my dream is one who is familiar with products of agricultural research and innovation, and he is able to use it to expand his productivity and profitability. He can farm all year round because he has the benefit of irrigation. He is able to integrate forward through value-added activities like processing, packaging and so on. He can stand proudly anywhere in the world and say, I am a new Nigeria farmer. That is the farmer of my dream."

Saraki did not just stop at dreaming, he launched his back to farm initiative. He initiated turning farming into business programme and the Shonga Farms Holding Limited became a reality. He eliminated the diversion of fertilizers in the state among other bold steps he took to reposition agriculture in the state.

That Senator Bukola Saraki is a great achiever is not in doubt. The fact that he has pursued an agenda of good governance that will bring about rapid socio-economic development, employment opportunities, social amenities and security of lives and property in parts of the country is also not in doubt. He is also irrevocably committed to the cardinal principles of good governance, transparency, accountability, efficiency, rule of law and social equity.

Saraki's leadership of the Nigeria Governors' Forum remains the golden period of the body. With a little nibbling, the untidy power play in the Senate will be a thing of the past. The recourse to external help may not help in this circumstance. In the final analysis, the truth must be told. That truth is that Saraki must be!

-Onogu is the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President