Part of the reasons for the ongoing crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC), is the emergence of Senator Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President. He is of the Minority Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the party in majority which formed the current government is the All Progressives Congress.
His emergence as Deputy Senate President is an aberration. More so, when in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and politically budding society like Nigeria where power sharing among members of a wining party remains one way of assuaging all segments of the society. What happened with the emergence of Ike Ekweremadu has never happened before in our political history and it is akin to a ran in an earthen ware pot.
Granted that the election of principal officers of the Senate is a function of members, you just cannot rule out or undermine the party machinery in determining what happens in the Senate or House of Representatives. A member from minority anywhere in the world cannot assume one of the highest positions in the house from the blast of the whistle. But does one roundly blame Ekweremadu? The simple answer is an emphatic no. His emergence is simply a product of the immaturity in some APC lawmakers and their backers who believe that the only way to fulfill their personal and selfish ambition is to stab a party upon which they rode to power.
Such APC lawmakers as represented by Senator Bukola Saraki and Dogara should bear in mind that they are sowing today and whatever a man soweth, that he shall reap because God cannot be mocked.
It was not much of a surprise last week when the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, was reported to have said the Boko Haram insurgency had worsened under President Muhammadu Buhari. He is now taking on the APC president that is still settling down in office and has actually taken decisions that portrays him as a President that would keep his electoral promises to Nigerians. Ekweremadu came up weekend to deny the report that he never said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has worsened Boko Haram insurgency in the country and tried to speak from both corners of the same mouth that challenges like terrorism and insurgency, which have wasted lives and property of innocent Nigerians and many of “our loved ones are beyond politics and should therefore not be trivalised on the altar of narrow political interest.
However, Ekweremadu’s comments could be read in between the lines as the journalists who covered him were no babies. Ekweremadu was asked to comment on his alleged involved in forgery of Senate House rules that led to his emergence as Deputy Senate President and instead of providing the answer to such a simple question posed to him, he veered off and started his oral diarrhea: “I am worried about the resurgence of Boko Haram activities in Nigeria. Shortly before the inauguration of the present government, the country had almost rolled back Boko Haram and its activities in every part of Nigeria – from Adamawa to Borno to Yobe.
“I was hoping that when we come back in the 8th Assembly, that I will work with our colleagues from the North-East to develop a plan of action that will help to rehabilitate that part of Nigeria. I feel so concerned about the suffering of our people from the North-East of Nigeria.
“I had hoped that by now we would be tasking ourselves on how best to rebuild that part of Nigeria. Regrettably the actions of Boko Haram seem to have resurfaced now; not only in Borno, they have carried out their activities also in Plateau, they have gone to Adamawa and Kaduna.
“I am worried that if nothing is done, the next target would be Abuja. Maybe they will start going to the South…”
Ekweremadu deliberately chose not to answer questions on his alleged involvement in the forgery of senate rules but said he had been worried about the renewed attacks by Boko Haram under the administration of Muhammadu Buhari. So, where lies his denial? He has to come to terms with the reality that he is a usurper of the position of the Deputy Senate President.
Ekeremadu cannot run from answering the questions posed to him by the journalists. If he runs from answering it from journalists, he would not be able to run from providing the law enforcement agencies the answers. He can also not run from providing his colleagues in the Senate the right answers when the chips are down. When the jungle matures, the king of the jungle, the Oduma, would statutorily rule the rest animals. A child cannot be discouraged from growing protruded tooth but, it would be great, if he would also develop the lips to cover it.
As the leadership crisis of National Assembly persists the question one may pose to Ekweremadu is why does he want to reap where he did not sow? Why did Ekweremadu go harvesting cocoyam when he planted maize? At best, Ekweremadu would have settled for the position of Minority whip in the Senate. But for him to have collected the Deputy Senate President with the help of some disgruntled APC senators and other behind- the-scene actors is reprehensible and smacks of people with little conscience. I am sure Ekweremadu and his ilk would be glad with the leadership crisis at the moment, but it is instructive to let such characters know that their action can only last but for a moment. It wouldn’t be long, the stammerer would pronounce his father’s name.
Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State.
