Nigeria: What Has Saraki Got to Offer?

opinion

Roll back to mid-year 2009. The nation was caught in political crisis. The then President, late Umar Yar'Adua lay in throes of incapacitating terminal ailment. The exact nature of the affliction and the whereabouts of the president was shrouded in secrecy. His deputy, Goodluck Jonathan was not only kept in the dark, he was also prevented from assuming the responsibility of piloting the affairs of the state as required by the constitution, as those close to the ailing president held firmly on to power. The nation floundered. The citizens' initial concern turned into agitation. Led by rights activists like Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Church, Lagos Lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN and sundry pressure groups, Nigerians took to the streets to demand that the nation be saved from the naked threat to our evolving democracy.

As the nation shook, the national assembly which ought to have waded in promptly to bring about stability dithered. Something urgently needed to be done to save our democracy, nay our dear nation. Entered the Nigeria Governor's Forum, led by Dr. Bukola Saraki, the then Kwara State Governor. Date was February 9, 2010. The Governors having watched as the nation inched towards the brink, decided to wade in and save the nation. Rising from an emergency meeting at the Kwara lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, the Governors, led by Saraki went over to the National Assembly where they met with both the Senate and the Reps and urged them to direct the vice president to take over as the acting president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Thus was born "the doctrine of necessity" proclaimed by the Senate President, David Mark upon which Jonathan became the nation's No 1 citizen. The rest, they say, is history. The patriotic move by the Governors at that time, saved the nation from what was obviously a potential crisis of unimaginable proportion. A more vibrant and proactive national assembly would have acted more promptly and save the nation the trauma and international ridicule the unfortunate situation exposed us to. This brings to mind the present race for the leadership of the 8th National Assembly.

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