Saraki Dynasty and the Stormy Petrel - Goke Omisore

Saraki...looking beyond the immediate

Perspective

The characters in the ongoing Senate leadership crisis must rethink‎ their stance, writes Goke Omisore

We should often be weary on thoughts of winning, when actually we are losing in a game. Fate and time are the greatest conspirators in the rungs on the ladder of success, though some men have been known to have nine lives, as the saying goes. Truth is sacred; fact is subjective and priced. But then, even in an English court, there are two kinds of truth: the truth as told – the propriety and propensity of the author and more often his pedigree. The truth has heard: biased minds of interested ears in the subject in narration and their preferences. However, the truth is a coveted and treasured prize, constant and will rear its ugly and unsavoury head sooner than later to deflate a thousand balloons of lies and puncture egos in time. This season is pregnant.

Senator Abubarka Bukola Saraki, you are blessed and a roundly very successful man and a justifiably envied Prince of your generation - scion  of your family, loathed by some of your peers, revered by few, considered haughty by legion. Standing tall with good look to boost, looming larger than life on success lane at a robust, healthy age but now at a crossroads – gated while navigating a curve on a notoriously worn road – what are you gonna do? Americans are wont to ask. Your cup of achievement is bream full. A grateful nation from which you have harvested rightly or wrongly, severally, so much awaits your utmost wisdom and equanimity and sangfroid in this trying time.

Mark you, this is really neither about you nor your enemies and your future only, but about us all, even the unborn. It's about your signature that was prominently written on the offer of change mantra to your generation in the best participated election in the history of Nigeria, to a politically famished and traumatised nation by the party you were a significant and celebrated member. Wait a minute, sixteen wild years, PDP and their wrecked-train prowled and rode roughshod our land with a degree of arrogance and indifference. Now in APC, a party you laboured with vengeance to rebuke and revenge on a mission to humiliate PDP out of power. Quite a success story, mission accomplished!

You diligently worked with co-conspirators, or pardon me, co-travellers and you, with all your wherewithal and others did propel APC to victory. She is now held hostage by you, singularly in the eye of the storm, of course with Dogara in the plot, situations embarrassingly compromised by Ekweremandu in the mix was simply a political lethal-cocktail that heightened the conspiracy and made things worse. I guess you out-dribbled your own desires, hereby scoring own-goal.

You stand envied carrying such a double edge sword. Sai Saraki! There can't be two heads on a crown. I guess the President is sweating profusely under your senate watch, while the nation is in utter confusion and heightened apprehension; if you care to notice in his body language, unspoken silence. You underrate PMB’s resolve on this mission at your own peril. I pray you gravitate towards my reasoning. Turning us all into spectators at our collective dreams on the promise of change, people don't find themselves in situations; people put themselves in situation. Methinks time is of the essence, the time to act conscientiously and judiciously is now – give it up if for no other reason, your peace of mind. Food for thoughts!

Since the dawn of democracy in the first sixteen years, PDP "The largest ruling party in Africa," was full of sound and fury but left insignificant legacies in equal loud measures. I wish they were the most distinguished party in Africa, but they have rather squandered a great amount of opportunities and immense resources that could have brought this nation beyond the realm of dream leagues of great nation but most unfortunately not so. It's all tales of woes. Most of PDP players belong in jail; their behaviours should be exorcised from our political space, to say the least, it's unhealthy for the growth of a nation.

PDP was obsessed, very busy manufacturing and watering rich-few-oak-trees in the desert of wants and needs in our nation, for the benefit of a negligible cocky-rich few, in all known currencies. They could not decipher riches from coloured-wealth, insane accumulation of money and properties. They wiped out middle class, dazzling and watering the mouth of the masses in crumbs from their opulent filthy tables. Professor John Kenneth Galbraith, the great Harvard Professor of trickle down economy, author of: THE AFFLUENT SOCIETY, ECONOMY AND THE PUBLIC PURPOSE, amongst of his other publications must be having a good laugh at us. Leaders in poor nations luxuriate in private jets, building great mansions, instead of building a great nation.

Now, trying to come back through the back door to do what? We are still freshly-wound-gathering on their spent opportunities that left us all poorer. Please, it's high time this nation had a semblance of an orderly sane society of credible men in power and governments at all levels. This nation is not just about you folks but about our commonwealth – all of us rich and poor – we need to take common sense to higher ground of morality.

Most unconscionable, you were all drinking champagne like flavour-water, amongst of people to whom, even sachets of pure water drinking professors is considered  luxury. PDP deepened our nation in debt on all fronts most especially they morally ran our nation aground. Any surprise PDP self-imploded in their reservoir of greed and vaulting ambitions with utter recklessness that sealed their fate at the 2015 historical polls. They were in perpetual slumber; they were snoring through reality of their actions dreaming endlessly, recklessly, selfishly. The multi-media-magic on full participatory in a very robust election of 2015 by even the unborn, toddlers, aged, able and disabled bodies chorused in unity for a promissory note of change in demand. Now, here we are at the dawn of victory. Where is the change?

Sai Baba, the Talakawas sang in unity in praises of a presumed messiah with great expectations on their minds. They, in their collective aspirations, hoped for larger dream, more than a midas-touch but with a magic wand and disciples of change voices rented the air in all the nooks, crevices and crannies of the nation, in several other tongues. With the talakawas – the paupers – whose lives over the years stagnated in Buhari's home front, mostly leading the ranting slogan Sai Buhari.

President Buhari's cult and fanatical following was anchored on dreams and hope of people's expectations, if the truth be told, their demand is in most cases on a reassurance of three square meals a day only. This should not be turned into a tantalising delusion in the self-interest of a few.

At best, the people's demand was a platform on basic needs, food, health and education – that which still eludes million in our union today. We ought to be a better nation than what obtains in our land today. That is the shopping list the wretched-electorate, who trooped en mass voted for. A profound change in our nation is their least deserved. Definitely, this time, our measuring yardstick of progress should not be on the measurable treasures and pleasure in vanity nor the compounding success of the elite class only, let's take commonsense to moral high ground now or never.

The lament of empty treasury and moral bankruptcy was in the offer to dislodge the PDP in your campaign gimmicks and rhetoric full of promises. So, what's all the noise all about now? Reality deepens. PDP are renegades, looters on prodigal missions. They came, chopped, dazzled and conquered hence they gave APC victory on a platter of gold in the 2015 general election? They were in a stupor and blinded. APC, your troubled mega party should wake up to their illustrious mission and debilitating burden of leadership in the challenges facing this party now. The prognosis of this troubled marriage is in the mis-matched suitors and brides. Methinks it's too early to be drunk on the profound mission to rescue this drowning nation after decades of recklessness and neglect.

Mr. Senate President, it is an open secret shrouded in denials, the plot to unseat or consolidate your senate presidency by politicians thickens, depending on which side of the divide one views your chequered victory. Mr. Senate President, your all-comers politicians have much of personal interest to gain while your party's political fortune dwindles, swings and hangs in the balance as you seat uncomfortably on a hot seat. This riddle and joke; hide and seek game at the expense of the nation is gone too far. The National Assembly as presently structured will ill-function in this politically atrophy-jungle.

Most people think you have murdered political sleep and the nation is having sleepless nights on your senate watch. Your victory, contracted and purchased in the womb of time, on time, midnight hours, tainted but not illegal. However seems lacking in the moral stamina to withstand or powered the undying political heat opposition are hell bent on sustaining in your own party, surreptitiously, openly. Meanwhile political vampires in PDP are sucking fat on your party's self-inflicted deep wounds.

Your antecedents, precedents, pedigree and ambition are badly exposed to very toxic political radiation of very high intensity of Chernobyl nuclear accident degree variant that is capable of compromising or crippling your dream outright. There is a barrage and sustained multimedia radiation of negative vibes not in your favour, you are being over exposed to your media nuts-generation on digital internet highway. That will be most unforgiving and can be very unfortunate if tomorrow comes. Why shred a great family fortune amassed over the years by all means necessary?

I honestly and genuinely hope you should gracefully and thankfully bow out of this seat of this mess, not in cowardice but in wise retreat to ride on the high-horse of chivalry and douse this smouldering fire and festering wounds of governing-go-slow or inertia, that is holding the nation hostage and a high ransom in demand, can be easily settled and paid for fully by you only, honourably. Mark my words, this will be a heroe’s move that will free your nation, a timely great gift to a nation you owed so much and your traducers  will be left holding the bags and you will be celebrated worldwide, endlessly.

The choice is yours now but you do not have the luxury of a much more prolonged time as your benefactors are wont to reason or assert in favour of their hidden agendas. The music chair and merry-go-round ding-dong sound of impunity should start repulsing all decent minds now.

Fact: your generation will have a hero in you, a most lacking substance and ingredient in short supply in their focused dreams. After all said and done, you have registered on your cv – the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – dream realised. If disgraced out of office or impeached, though the chances are very slim except in the realm of political intrigues, you will be denied such honour, humiliated out and all the privileges it entails will be denied you. Most of our apprehensions on your generation’s capabilities and abilities on wanton greed and ambitions to self-aggrandize quickly will stand firmly confirmed.

But won't you rather have saved your own dear country and earn unlimited political mileages in posterity from this intractable political crisis and your party from being tormented and ridiculed henceforth? Won't you rather have your family name ingrained in gold in posterity? Above all, your generation and generations yet unborn will learn a most patriotic lessons about Senate President Abubarka Bukola Saraki, who stood on the path of honour on the road less travelled amongst Nigeria politicians at a time that made all the difference in this national crisis? Methinks here is an opportunity you must not miss. This will definitely mark you as a distinguished statesman, worthy of patriotism that such men are made of – a preferred judgment in posterity. I reasoned.

Mr. Senate President, I belief in the art of lateral thinking, a healthy choice of action in crises, leave all the noise to the morally bankrupt politicians and their games, in shade of Six and a half dozen. The fact is, especially in politics, you are all the same anyway but this time, distinguish your moves: slam dunk them and rise above partisan politics, swing in the brilliant moves of a chess player, who should take a rain check on greater tomorrow's side because tomorrow shall dawn, Insha Allah!

Please use this honourable exit window of opportunity here advised. All the exit doors leading to resolve this smouldering crisis, are jammed and smoking heinously and packed full of treachery, but appears intractable. Let the gentleman left in you unfold the magic-wand and you will be the game changer for life and your reward is best imagined. Let the hubris of political grandstanding in you cave in to common sense in this gathering cloud of political storm. There is fire on the roof of the hallowed senate chambers under your watch, the nation is over-heating.

By the time this madness is over, most of you will be counting your loses in regrets. Our nation must have suffered greatly – politically, economically, morally, even spiritually. Please take your time to chronicle all past Senate Presidents in retrospect and recapitulate their achievements if any, they have all faded into dim light; they are barely remembered, only in footnotes. So, let the reality of this political situations arrest the depth of your inner-self, your deep conscience.

Dr. Saraki, over the years you stood marked and branded by narcissism and ostentatious contempt for others and orders, steeped in your ambition presently anchored in APC with one foot dangling in PDP left-over; be restrained. This may rekindle a growing spec in your burning dreams and desires that may ignite a deadly political wild-fire that will utterly consume your political vaulting ambition overnight. Mr. Senate President, beware of the ides of March. I humbly submit.

- Omisore wrote from Lagos