There was so much talk preceding the election of the presiding officers of the 10th NASS that when it finally happened, the lack of rancour and the clinical but restrained involvement of President Bola Tinubu that characterised it was almost anti-climactic.
The opposition needed a reason to talk, they needed drama, they needed some spice, they needed some deep, wounding betrayal so that they could mock someone. But what they got was a united party that got its act together, secured the support of its rivals; and one that conducted its business efficiently. Hence the emergence of Hon. Godswill Akpabio and Tajudeen Abbas as the Senate President and Speaker respectively.
Simple as they seem now that the event is being reported, these things are not automatic. These things are not automatic. As the president of the country, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is the leader of the party. He has a great role to play in stabilising the party and that was exactly what he did. One of the lowest points of the APC in the 8th Senate was the heist of the Senate Presidency by Bukola Saraki in 2015.
The embarrassment was jarring and it caused the party no small degree of mortification. This time, however, the president put his foot down despite great pressure upon him to be indecisive, apathetic, and a mere spectator. President Tinubu displayed great wisdom in deftly managing multiple interests, and by putting the interests of the federal character above that of intra-party wrangling he has shown he will not be bullied or caged by any cabal. He is his own man.
2023 threatened a reboot of the spectacular fiasco of 2015. The party had decided to zone the senate presidency but there were those whose personal interests conflicted with the zoning arrangement. It threatened to be a political vaudeville, and it was to be one of the first political tests of the stuff President Tinubu is made of.
When the aggrieved senators, led by Hon Abdulaziz Yari, went to the leadership of the party’s National Working Committee to civilly state their case, the party chairman said, “Hold the fire until the last word is heard from us, we are the custodians of the party as the NWC but we are not acting alone. The voice of President Tinubu is essential. We must accommodate him the best we can…”
It is a testament to the character and respect that President Tinubu has earned that the party adopted this stance. He had endorsed Senator Akpabio for the role of number three citizen due to his competence, fearlessness and experience. He had also given this endorsement to put the lie to allegations and propaganda of an Islamization agenda attributed to the president and the vice president.
Had President Tinubu been a weakling, the party hierarchy would have run roughshod over him. Politics requires strong leadership and character. President Tinubu displayed both and has now set the stage for a productive executive-legislative relationship throughout his four years in charge.
Check and balances will occur, as that is necessary for a democracy. But with true progressives at the helm, one can trust that national interests will always take preeminence over narrow considerations. The country is better off as a result.