RESTRUCTURING: Bogged by backlash, Saraki blames Nigerians for failed effort - JBN

RESTRUCTURING:  Bogged by backlash, Saraki blames Nigerians 

for failed effort

Following widespread backlash over the failure of both houses of the National Assembly to pass some significant amendments which form part of the essence of a restructuring agenda, Senate President Bukola Saraki on Friday gave some insights into why the devolution of powers bill failed to scale through the constitution review process.

Saraki spoke while hosting a delegation of the Not Too Young To Run advocacy group in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

In what many may interpret to be the usual political-speak after a major anticlimax, Saraki left the window of possibility open that the bill may resurface in the future, without specifying any clear plan or strategy to that effect, or estimating a time frame.

He went further to attribute the failure of the bill to the current climate of hate and fear from intense agitations for restructuring and separation, as well as misconceptions regarding the intent of the bill.

He stated that there was enough blame to go round, from agitators, to advocates, to politicians, and even the media. assured of the National Assembly’s unalloyed commitment to key recommendations such as devolution of powers, state creation and boundary adjustment, indigeneship and citizenship reform, as well as deletion of the Land Use Act from the constitution, which all failed in both houses.

Saraki’s comments were conveyed in a statement from his media office, thus:

“As you know, we have three senators representing each state and one from the FCT and they all represent their constituencies and whatever they do there, they must engage with and get feedback from their constituencies. I believe that if this constitutional amendment had come maybe eight months ago, the devolution of powers bill would have passed easily.

“But I think we must be honest with ourselves that presently there is a lot of mistrust in the country at the moment; the air is very polluted and let us be very frank, that blame must go all round; whether it be the politicians, or opinion leaders, socio-cultural group leaders and some others who are running commentaries and even some of you in the media who sometimes write stories that amplify hate speeches and points of view that are inaccurate.

“And I think what happened was that a lot of of our colleagues misread or misunderstood or were suspicious of what the devolution of powers to states was all about; whether it was the same thing as restructuring in another way or attempt to foist confederation on the country or to prepare the ground for other campaigns now going on in the country. And they made a lot of appeal that they had not consulted with their constituencies and you can see what is happening; there was a meeting in Kaduna yesterday where it was clear that certain parts of the country wanted more time to understand what restructuring is all about before joining the discussion.

“So it is clear that not all Senators were on board. My own advise; we have spoken a lot with the Senators because we cannot bully them or stampede them, because at the end of the day, this country belongs to all of us. You cannot hassle me out of the country. Neither can I hassle you out. What we must do is dialogue; reassure each other and let people understand that this concept is for the purpose of making a modern Nigeria; that it is not going to in any way undermine any part of the country.

“Nothing is foreclosed in this exercise; you don’t foreclose passage of bill. We must have a good understanding of how parliament works. It is not foreclosed. It has been defeated as at today but it does not mean that it would be defeated when it comes tomorrow. The gender bill was defeated in the bid to include it in the constitution but what was not reported in the media is that the sponsors got a victory in that they got an undertaking from members that what was defeated would be included in the Gender Opportunity bill. That was something that would not have happened before. So the fact that devolution of powers to state lost that day does not mean that after the recess, if a lot of consultations are done again it will not scale through.”

Many Nigerians may read Saraki’s comments as a failure to take responsibility.
Some will argue that Saraki is only seeking soft landing after failing to deliver on the high expectations of Nigerians especially on the issues most central and relevant to the wellbeing of this challenged nation at this time of its existence.

It might strike many as paradoxical that while they had expected the National Assembly to brave the odds and intervene in the pervasive divisiveness tearing the country apart through targeted amendments, the National Assembly, having shirked that responsibility, is instead blaming the divisiveness for the failure of the amendment.

Have the supposed rescuers become bound by the same malady? Many will wonder.