Godswill Akpabio's token and other matters arising

Nobody goes to government in Nigeria to take care of anybody. The real politik is for every politician to take care of themselves.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio

Godswill Akpabio is the president of Nigeria's 10th Senate. His journey to the senate presidency was tough and rough. Though he's the anointed candidate of President Bola Tinubu, a fellow senator, Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar who was not the choice of Tinubu and part of his political calculations, decided he would be senate president regardless of the decision of APC and President Tinubu. Senator Yari had three factors going for him. Like Akpabio, he had been governor of the sickest state in Nigeria, Zamfara. Zamfara is the sickest because it has been unfortunate to have a string of bad leaders since 1999 when the military returned power to civilians, and also the state has remained the hotbed of banditry. Two, Zamfara, from where Yari hails is Northwest where people pride themselves as "born to rule;" and they have a tendency to defy any order, especially when the president of the nation like Bola Tinubu is a Yoruba from the Southwest or anybody from the South-south and Middlebelt of Nigeria. The third and the most important of all is that Abdulaziz Yari is "loaded." In Nigeria's political parlance when a person is said to be loaded it means he or she has his bank account full of money. Yari was nicknamed " loaded governor" when his successor, Bello Matawalle was probing him for a string of alleged diversion of public money and looting of the treasury.

Money is everything in Nigeria. If you have money, Nigerians say you have a large warchest to touch anything you want and succeed at it. Abdulaziz Yari has been to the EFCC, ICPC, the two organs that probe corruption in Nigeria but he's yet to be tried and convicted. After his two-term gubernatorial stints, he has been at the senate which is fast becoming the retirement ground for ex- governors no matter how poorly they performed in their states. In fact, it seems their qualification is poor performance. Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar was a two-term governor of ailing Zamfara State, so also is Godswill Akpabio, a former two-term governor of Akwa-Ibom State. Apart from the governorship of Akwa-Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio was also Chairman of controversial Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, an organ of Federal Government set up to specially take care of Oil-producing areas which have become a sore point in the nation's socio-economic story: rich in resources but very poor. Akpabio's stay as Minister of Niger Delta Affairs was deeply controversial including an allegation of sexual harrasment by the then Acting Managing Director of the agency, Joy Nunieh.

For Tinubu, an independent senate cannot be tolerated. Independence for the legislature should be confined only to the pages of political science textbooks as a fine theory of democracy. Real politik demands that the legislature be in the hands of the executive. The opening of the Lagos State House of Assembly in 1999 when Tinubu was the governor of the state was very rancourous. It was because the members resisted the choice of Tinubu for the speakership. Tinubu had his way when he inaugurated his choice, Adeleke Mamora. He, however, had to be spirited out of the State's House Assembly by security agents when chairs and tables were freely and violently thrown around the legislative chambers. By his success in planting his choice as speaker, Tinubu has since held Lagos State by the jugular. He calls the shots up till the present moment by handpicking the governors of the commercial capital of Nigeria. Tinubu sought to help Muhammadu Buhari, the immediate past president with his real politik but Buhari would not play by Tinubu's plan, therefore allowing an opponent, Bukola Saraki, though a member of APC to become senate president in 2015. It was tough time for Buhari at the senate as Bukola Saraki helped by the opposition PDP asserted the independence of the senate. In 2019, when Buhari was reelected, Tinubu on his behalf swung into action and helped install Ahmed Lawan as the Senate President and Femi Gbajabiamila as the Speaker of the House of Representatives thus making Buhari the undisputed sole-owner of power in Nigeria. The National Assembly was just a rubber-stamp even as Buhari went about to violate the constitution at will.

So Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker House of Representatives and Godswill Akpabio were elected at the behest of Bola Tinubu to fit into his bill of real politik. But Abdulaziz Yari rose against Tinubu's strategy with his large warchest. He allegedly made big money as governor of Zamfara State. He might not have much education as he can only show a tortuous educational trajectory, a certificate and later diploma in secretarial studies from a polytechnic and later a diploma in administration from another polytechic; but what he lacks in education, he more than make up for it in pecuniary ability. When he rose against Akpabio, the nation knew he was rising against Tinubu and Tinubu knew too. According to reports, Yari has enough money to persuade his entire colleagues in the senate and he almost did garnering 46 votes to Akpabio's 63. Even after Akpabio was declared the president of the 10th senate, Yari refused to budge, alleging an infraction. Reportedly, Yari was arrested by the Deparment of State Setvice, DSS, Nigeria's intelligence agency and held for sometime for alleged rudeness to the president. With a telephone call from Tinubu to the DSS, Yari was let off the hook.

On 9 August, 2023, Nigerians began to see a side of Akpabio they had not known. The reason alluded for Akpabio's candidacy of the senate presidency was that he would represent a break from Muslim dominance of governance in Nigeria, especially following Tinubu's selection of a Muslim from the North-east as his running mate. Tinubu who said religion was not on his mind as he choose Kashim Shettima, a Muslim and Kanuri as his running mate now worked surreptitiously to have a Christian as the head of senate and another Muslim, Tajudeen Abbas as the Speaker of House of Representatives both to give a religious balance and to oil his control of the legislature. Observers are saying Tinubu’s claim that religious inclination was not his calculations was simply a lie. Akpabio and Tinubu having locked the senate in their pockets only have to contend with the rich Abdulaziz Yari who has more than enough money to overturn the Tinubu agenda at the legislature. So in the midst of a session, Akpabio announced to the 'distinguished senators" as they call themselves but as Nigerians refuse to accept that: "As you go on holidays a token has been wired into your account so that you may have a very pleasant holiday." Akpabio probably forgot that he was on national television. It took a senator who was dressed like it is done in the south-south region to quickly call his attention to the gaffe, especially at the gaze of the entire Nigerians. Akpabio quickly retracted his words, saying he was taking those words back. Rather than a token in their accounts, the "distinguished senators" will find prayers in their mails from him as they go on holidays. But the real words have already gone on air and heard and understood by Nigerians, the "distinguished senators" are going to have unearned money sent into their accounts. It was later to be revealed by an obvious leak by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim whose 2 million naira sent to his account went viral on the net.

At a time Nigerians are being told to bear with Tinubu's unplanned removal of fuel subsidy that has sent prices of goods above the roof, Akpabio and his colleagues are going to have some huge money Akpabio called token in their accounts. Akpabio suddenly became a pastor praying for his colleagues as a subtle plan to cover the crime against Nigeria. That was not the first time, during their discussion of palliatives for the pains of the fuel subsidy removal, the senate approved 70 billion naira for themselves too. That too they tried to explain away, albeit without success. The voice was that of Akpabio but the action was that of Tinubu. Tinubu as usual was getting the attention of senators with money and Akpabio was the instrument. With that and with more to come, Yari will be neutralized. He will loose his supporters. While Yari will be spending his own money, Tinubu and Akpabio will be spending taxpayers money. And who cares about what taxpayers think in Nigeria. Nobody goes to government in Nigeria to take care of anybody. The real politik is for every politician to take care of themselves.

Not that Yari has much to offer in terms of the independence he's offering to the senate, but he could tip the applecart of Tinubu's plan to muscle the legislators. And this attempt will cost Tinubu in tonnes of naira like it did in Lagos and placed that state firmly in his control. It explains also why Tinubu wants to fight in Niger whose democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum was toppled by his military guards recently. If Tinubu could engage Nigerians in this war that most people think is unnecessary interference in a neighbours internal affairs, it will divert the attention of the nation away from all Tinubu's moves to muzzle the legislature. Already Nasir El-Rufai, one of the kingmakers who installed Tinubu by getting him nominated and eventually elected is learning that Tinubu's move to have the whole nation under his grips knows no bounds. Some are saying the rejection of El-Rufai as a minister after much assurance from Tinubu has the hands of Tinubu behind it. Garrulous and arrogant El Rufai is learning his lesson that Tinubu, the Lagos boy and a Muslim who in the language of El-Rufai deserves the support of north so that Muslims in the Southwest will have a sense of belonging, can also be ruthless. Two captains cannot be in the same ship, an El-Rufai and a Tinubu cannot be in the same ship, one of them will have to bow out and it seems in this case that it is Nasir El-Rufai that will be shunted aside. As it is, El- Rufai has walked into an ambush carefully choreographed by Tinubu.

Tunde Akande is both a journalist and pastor. He earned a Master's degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos