By Isah Aliyu Chiroma
“We are in a dream village, wherein we all are dreamers. Our onus is to dream and draw our attention to its achievements. We must dream, therefore, rightly and positively toward the making and development of our natural home (Earth), which not even the angels can build, mend, or plow for us”.
We must be wondering what makes our palms so distinctive—from the interconnected lines to the fingerprints that differ even in identical twins—and how this reflects how human personalities and actions vary among all of us. Voices ring louder than the sound of the wind after rain as I type this and turn the pages. I can hear sounds coming from the Nigerian senate. Because it is time to select the senate president, declaration of interest had begun, and the need is
placed right in the center.
The countdown to the inauguration of the general election winners of 2023 has started. Tribunals are still in session, some parties are pulling out, while others are pressing to the final fight. Few people accept the election’s loss in the race and what the post-election period holds. However, in the long run, there is a lesson from Nigerian politics that we should pay close attention to.
In Nigerian politics, patience has played a crucial part in filling in some gaps and bridging some hopes and ambitions over the years. As we have seen, President Muhammadu Buhari had been running for president since the 2003 election. Twelve years later, he officially assumed the office. Similar situation exists in Sokoto, where Ahmad Aliyu, the newly elected governor, had been running for the position for eight years before finally winning. There is a lesson in these and other incidents across the nation. You can become or achieve what you’re always aiming for with patience. Most likely Atiku Abubakar, the former vice president who had run for president
five times starting in 1993 will emerge winner somedays.
Without a doubt, it must have seemed to us that the price we must pay for our acts is an inescapable one. Though we can’t avoid the implications of the politics being played in Nigeria, which damage us in the end, it is nevertheless interesting in some ways. The race had been and it will continue to be tough one. Emerging as one of the decision makers in a country like Nigeria is not an easy task, it is a long surgeon which takes time and the results will show how you have been sacrificing over the years.
The contest for Nigeria’s tenth senate speaker and presidency has dominated the news. There has been a great deal of emptiness all around the country, from the tribunal to the preparations for the inauguration. Who will be the tenth Senate speaker and presenter, and why is everyone interested in those roles, is the major topic that keeps coming up. The people are anxious to learn the
answers to these and other questions so they can satisfy their curiosity about the new future they are creating
Let’s focus on all the potential candidates for the positions of senate president and speaker to demonstrate this conflict of interests. The current senate president, Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan (Yobe North), Ali Ndume (Borno South), Akpabio Godswill (Akwa-Ibom North), Orji Uzoh Kalu (Abia North), Jibrin Barau (Kano-North), and Mohammed Sani Musa(Niger-East) are prominent senators from different political zones who have expressed interest in the positions. It is anticipated that one of them will become the next president of the Senate.
However, the president-elect has not yet declared which of his favored candidates is qualified for the job. The current elected should prevent a repeat of what occurred in 2015. President Muhammadu Buhari’s inability to select a nominee resulted in Senator Bukola Saraki’s rise to power and the tense relationship between the Executive and Legislature. This incident had a
significant impact on his admiration, which ultimately served as a roadblock to him making the choice he wanted.
Additionally, it appears that the selection of the next senate president would be based on the district in which the incumbent party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), won 57 seats, followed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), with 29, and the Labour Party, with 6. The Social Democratic Party and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) both have two members, while the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Young Peoples Progressive Party (YPPP) each have one.
In the twenty-four years between 1999 and 2023, during the third republic, the North Central, North East, and South West each had a senator serving as president of the senate. Only the North West and the South-South regions remain without a Senate president based on the aforementioned analysis. These two geopolitical zones ought to be taken into account for the position of the next senate president in accordance with the political theory of zooning. This will give them an equal opportunity like everyone to represent their people at the highest level.
A political post like that of speaker of the senate and president of the senate are two major responsibilities that should be taken into consideration when deciding who will occupy them. It makes little difference who is chosen to hold such posts; what matters most is who can do the job. No matter their political affiliation, senators can come from any region; but, as far as our needs are concerned, we need people who can serve rather than just cure their needs.
This is a key role that individuals to serve should be selected carefully, because history has a way of interpreting our tales in a different way we could not have imagined. Just those who have the necessary skills can succeed in this game of change, not just surviving but also taking on the responsibility of altering the course of history. We must remember as the days pass that we are in a transitional period and must act decisively, even if that means giving everything we have.
