Truth be told anyone that has a pending case with the EFCC, ICPC, Code of conduct bureau or who has an outstanding warrant for his arrest from the Nigerian government or any foreign state or central government ought not be allowed to be sworn-in as a Senator or member of the House of Representatives not to talk of becoming the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the President of the Senate. Individuals with such records although innocent until proven guilty should be made to face the music to clear their names before being allowed to make laws for Nigeria.
The Senate has become a retirement home for mostly corrupt ex-governors who see it as an avenue to use their influential positions to frustrate those charged with prosecuting them for their financial crimes. The senate is also full of perennial and unrepentant bank debtors who have gotten away with owing several banks both defunct and existing hundreds of billions of naira. In fact their huge debts have led to the collapse of some banks in the past and some existing banks are still grappling with the mess they have created in the banking system. It is because of people like these that we are now beginning to have credit rating agencies in Nigeria as well as the Bank Verification Number system which helps to track and black list heavy bank borrowers. Some have posited that you ought not to bother with who emerges as Senate President or Speaker of the House of Representatives. Now that the clamor for a drastic reduction in the jumbo pay and life pensions of members of the National Assembly has never been louder General Buhari you must get involved in influencing the quality of leadership that will be involved with your anti-corruption legislative agenda. General Muhammadu Buhari, if you drop the ball on this one and take a laid back approach that throws up corrupt individuals as leaders in the National Assembly then you will have yourself to blame when they begin to render your agenda nugatory with repeated threats of your impeachment from office.
Since you cannot prevent the corrupt elements from being sworn-in you can at least cooperate with nations requesting their extradition. The corrupt can never embrace an anti-corruption legislative agenda, rather they will not only make it their personal agenda to kill it, they will also be willing tools in the hands of the corrupt cabal who have held this nation to ransom for several decades.
The corrupt always fight back when they are being fought. Their loyalty is only to themselves and their corrupt agenda. Whoever fights them automatically become their enemy irrespective of party affiliation.
General Muhammadu Buhari, you deserve whatever leadership emerges in the National Assembly. If you leave it all to chance or to politicians you will have yourself to blame.
“I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.” Charles De Gaulle
"Government is too big and too important to be left to the politicians.” Chester Bowles
General Muhammadu Buhari, if you allow people with corruption cases to become leaders at the National Assembly, you would have aided and abetted corruption. It will also amount to a palace coup against your anti-corruption legislative agenda.
Bunmi Awoyemi, Ph.D, the author of this opinion piece, writes in from New Orleans, Louisiana and is a public affairs analyst, lawyer and entrepreneur.