“The wise person finds enemies more useful than the fool does friends,” these are the words of Baltasar Gracián, Spanish Jesuit, prose writer and philosopher.
But then what happens when one makes more enemies than friends?
This is the dilemma of the senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye, who is on the verge of being recalled by his constituents.
I once wrote a piece at the beginning of the year that Melaye would be one of the lawmakers to make headlines in 2017 in the Senate and he has not disappointed me in this regard. He has been the attack dog of Senate President Bukola Saraki since the inception of the Eighth Senate in 2015.
What started like a child’s play when angry constituents from Kogi West protested to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lokoja, demanding the recall of the lawmaker, has reached a point of no return.
As it stands, attention has shifted to the electoral body which is expected to verify the signatures of 188,588 petitioners and issue public notice on July 3. This is the most difficult stage. Once this is process is successful, the outspoken senator is as good as gone as the remaining processes of conduct of referendum, voting by open secret ballot, membership recall by simple majority of ‘Yes’ vote, declaration of result as well as sending Certificate of Recall to the Senate President to effect the recall are mere formalities.
Some of the enemies of the outspoken lawmaker whom he had cast aspersions on within and outside plenary include: President Muhammadu Buhari; former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello; All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Bola Tinubu; his wife Remi Tinubu; ex-Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomole; Acting Chairman Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu; Governor Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele; Sultan of Sokoto Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar; immediate past Senate Leader Ali Ndume; Group Managing Director Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Maikanti Baru among others.
Prior to his six months suspension by the upper legislative chamber, Ndume had also accused the Kogi lawmaker of collecting signatures from APC senators that led to his removal as Senate Leader.
The ‘Ajekun Iya’ crooner seemed to have been consumed by his lingering battles with these prominent individuals. But the supremacy battle between him and his governor was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
If the process is successful, Melaye will not only be the first senator to be recalled in the nation’s democratic experience but other senators who have issues with their governors may face the Dino treatment. Senators like Shehu Sani, Rabiu Kwankwaso, David Mark, Ajayi Boroffice and others readily come to mind. However, if the lawmaker scales through this hurdle, he is as good as surviving till 2019 but he should forget reelection under his current political platform as he will be denied the ticket.
The moral lesson from the saga is the need to tame one’s tongue. Proverbs Chapter 18 verse 13 says: “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life”.
Besides, federal legislators who are relatively ‘safe’ are already jittery because some of them have been stoned by their angry constituents due to neglect, ahead of the 2019 general elections.
I am aware that not all the lawmakers have visited their constituents in the over two weeks break embarked upon by the National Assembly for fear of being lynched. A visit to any social media site will reveal the frustration of the average Nigerian electorate.
Chief of Staff to the Senate President Hakeem Baba Ahmed painted a gloomy picture of what will befall senators in the next general elections, when he averred that unlike the previous exercise where over 70 percent of legislators could not secure return tickets, this may increase to 95 percent in 2019.
Speaking last week at a training organised for Senior Legislative Aides of principal officers, by the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) in conjunction with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ahmed said: “95 percent of legislators are poorly prepared for the job. This Eighth Assembly has to make an impact. If they don’t do that, 95 percent of legislators won’t come back. We (legislative aides) should help them to succeed so that we don’t sink with them”.
Some lawmakers are yet to sponsor a single bill, move motion, contribute to debates since the inauguration of the Eighth Senate on June 9, 2015. In fact, some have become sleeping senators.
Already, the development in Kogi State is having a spiraling effect in Ondo State as youths in Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency have commenced mobilisation to start the process of recalling the lawmaker representing the constituency at the House of Representatives, Bolarinwa Bamidele.
The youths under the auspices of the Idanre/Ifedore Youth Coalition alleged that the lawmaker had not made any positive impact in the federal constituency, accusing him of absconding from the constituency and not sponsoring a single bill on the floor of the lower chamber of the National Assembly since his election two years ago.
In another development, the Supreme Court verdict which ordered the Senator representing Taraba North Senatorial District, Sani Abubakar Danladi to vacate the seat immediately and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue a fresh Certificate of Return to Shuaibu Lau, has emphasised the need to have election cases concluded before swearing-in of winners.
Although the apex court asked Danladi to refund all salaries and allowances he received within 90 days, the new lawmaker will have to commence learning the legislative ropes less than two years to the end of his tenure.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE
