“It is high time Senator Olubukola Saraki did the honourable thing- resign! I don’t understand why he is so power-hungry. In fact, he has no conscience! How can he ridicule the position of the Number 3 citizen of the country! “
“Bull pee! Why should he resign? He has claimed that he is being persecuted by the Executive. Resigning would clearly mean that he is giving up in the face of intimidation by the executive. Rather, he should remain in the office and fight the persecution”
“Can you hear yourself?! You need to understand that responsible leadership entails sacrificing one’s self for the greater good! Must Saraki remain the senate president! How can a sitting senate president be appearing in two different docks in two different courts every week! It is a shame! He is belittling the office. The senate is an institution and Saraki should not reduce it to his personal company! “
“There you go again! You sound like a regular advocate for justice and fairness. A man has been charged to court for an offence and the same law you relentlessly uphold says that a man is innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction! Apparently, he believes he is innocent and that he is only being witch-hunted for not succumbing to some cabals in the APC as regards the position of Senate President! So, why should he quit? “
“Let’s leave aside the legal aspect and look at it from a purely moral angle. The leadership of the senate president should not be subjected to derision by Saraki. In my opinion he is practically holding the senate and the whole nation to ransom. He needs to realize that the senate is not about one man; it is an institution. He should rise above his individualistic tendencies and do the needful. “
“You seem to be stubbornly stuck to your Saraki-must-go idea! You are definitely not getting the gist of my points. Based on your myopic proposition, everyone holding a position of authority has to resign whenever there are allegations against him irrespective of whether they are true or false. If this one-sided submission of yours is widely operated in Nigeria, we would be having new office holders every other month! Once you want someone out of the way, just trump up charges against him. By the way, why have you not asked Buratai, the master-saver to resign? ”
“You are beginning to sound like a pseudo-intellectual! Can’t you analyze issues independently without displaying your parochial attitudes? This is not about APC and PDP! Saraki and Ekweremadu would be bringing ignominy to the senate by appearing in the accused box one day, then presiding over the senate proceedings the next! Can’t you see common sense in this?”
“I was going to return the insults. I changed my mind when I realized the line of your reasoning. You have a preconceived mindset that Saraki is guilty. For a moment, imagine that he is innocent and all the charges preferred against him are trumped up. In this scenario, his resignation would mean he has given in to the antics of his ‘persecutors’. It would imply that his adversaries through their evil machinations have succeeded in their bid to rip the senate of its independence and effectively make it a puppet of the executive. “
“I was gradually being swayed by your arguments! Till I recollected that Saraki is actually the one at the centre of our discussion! Saraki’s past is tainted with multiple trails of controversy. Can you remember Societe-generale bank?! Till date many depositors haven’t recovered their monies. Saraki is the last person that would resort to following the law in getting what he wants! He is a chronic goal-getter that would do whatever it takes, licit or illicit. Now let’s even overlook the CCT trial and examine the forgery charges. About a year ago, a petition was sent to the Police by some senators alleging that the senate rules have been forged and that same was instrumental to the emergence of Saraki as Senate President. It took the police about one year to conclude their investigations. Many senators, sitting and former have agreed to testify in court. What case could be more water tight than this? Agreed, Saraki is innocent until proven guilty. However, he clearly has a case to answer! “
“But why is the FG being selective in their supposed anti-corruption drive? Is Saraki the only corrupt politician? Would this case have come up if he had stepped down for Senator Lawan? This is a clear case of witch-hunting a man who refused to be a puppet! “
“Interesting! For argument sake let us agree that Saraki is being witch-hunted. Would that have been possible if he were clean? He that comes to equity must come with clean hands! Saraki should honourably resign as senate president and focus squarely on clearing his name in court. He should stop running helter-skelter! He has been going to all cadres of law courts in the land seeking to quash the charges against him instead of simply having his day in court.
In saner climes, he would have resigned long ago to save the office from embarrassment! “
Written by Saheed Animashaun
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@ani_gene
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