By GANI KAYODE BALOGUN
The most endearing thing to me about Nigerians, her leaders and her ways, is our innate ability to shamelessly shift the goalpost whenever we go on our usual puffed-up indignant rantings, disguised as patriotic interventions.
Whenever I come across one of those entrenched elites making a play for probity or integrity, I quickly assume that the fellow may have just lost out in a deal, or using the noise to negotiate a favourable deal going forward, or simply playing the ethnic or religious cards for future rewards.
So, when Mr. Abdul Ningi made his accusation about two separate budgets, using the time-tested route of using the Hausa service of a foreign broadcasting service, I knew he was on a fishing expedition, throwing the net wide to see whether it can pick up some big fish, the bigger the better.
But what he failed to realize is that 2024 is not 2015. You are dealing with a class of politicians who are not only holding the reins of power, but are also experts in controlling the media narrative.
The unintended consequences of his less than altruistic approach is to now unite the Southern Senators behind Akpabio and his leadership,which means that , at least in the nearest future, Akpabio cannot be ousted as the route to two thirds are now all but sealed.
As the Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Mr. Ningi’s naivety in believing that those entrenched interests in the senate are anti north or pro south shows one is never too old to miss the point.
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The moment Senator Yayi delivered his remarks on the floor of the senate, it became obvious that the rug had been pulled off the feet of the Bauchi Senator.
Once the main plank of his case, that there was a second budget being implemented was debunked, he removed all forms of pretence and went for the jugular of the leadership of the Senate, using the ethnic and regional card.
But like I wrote earlier, he was not only dealing with a section of the political class that have turned the act of using ethnicity to an art form, but are also masters in controlling the narrative.
That was why the moment Mr. Bamidele lay aside his garb as Senate leader and spoke as a Senator from Ekiti, accusing the Bauchi Senator of ethnic bias and implementing a regional agenda, any merit in Mr. Ningi’s case went out of the window.
The resuscitation of the moribund Southern Senators Forum barely 24 hours after the fact simply confirms the belief among Senators from the South, who hitherto was operating under the naive assumption of a united senate, that they now view Ningi ’s action as a deliberate act of political brinksmanship to bring down the Akpabio administration.
The unintended consequences of his less than altruistic approach is to now unite the Southern Senators behind Akpabio and his leadership,which means that , at least in the nearest future, Akpabio cannot be ousted as the route to two thirds are now all but sealed.
But how will all these political horseplay impact the average Nigerian going forward?
Well, apart from the temporary diversion and drama, it changes absolutely nothing. The National Assembly is fixed in its ways. The Constituency projects are here to stay. The leadership will always get more projects than the ordinary members irrespective of of which region is in charge, and Nigeria will roll on, regardless.
As sure as the sun will rise, so will the beat go on.
My10kobo
