Wabara: Balancing political demands
By Levi Obijiofor 

Feb 11, 2005

SENATE President Adolphus Wabara is in many ways a personification of the qualities that are associated with Nigerian politicians. Sometimes he can be forthright and economical with words. At other times he applies circumlocution in an attempt to evade questions about his relationship with the Presidency, and questions about the performance of the senators. Sometimes Wabara can be captivating in the manner he addresses certain topics. At other times he can be boring, turgid and inelegant. His public speeches are dotted with hyperbole. He likes to present himself as a humble, self-effacing, honest politician who was born decades ahead of his colleagues. But Wabara is no saint.

Despite these qualities, despite the seeming hallowed appearance of the Senate chambers, there are many senators who detest openly and secretly Wabara's leadership style. Some others say in sotto voice that they don't trust their leader. It was this question of trust, this question of accountability and transparency that nearly ended Wabara's dream run as Senate president.

Some months ago Wabara woke up one morning and found lurking underneath his bedroom door serious allegations of financial impropriety. Allegations of financial mismanagement or corruption are enough to unsettle even the most candid of senators. Wabara knew there was trouble the moment the allegations began to make the rounds in the National Assembly and in the Presidency. He knew that the moment President Olusegun Obasanjo received the version of the allegations released onto the public domain, his (Wabara's) days could be numbered. Obasanjo had sanctioned the choice of Wabara as Senate president.
A Senate president with a grave moral burden is undoubtedly a huge liability to everybody, including Obasanjo and the rest of the senators. In that regard, it would be improper for Wabara to remain in his position while the allegations swirled around him. Something had to be done. Like a seasoned warrior, Wabara knew the best way to fight allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement was not to jump into the ring with the accusers. He had experience on his side. He had watched as similar allegations of corruption and mismanagement ended the political career of his immediate predecessor Chuba Okadigbo. Before that, former Senate president Evan(s) Enwerem was publicly humiliated by endless allegations of fudged educational credentials. These allegations, once they are released into the public domain, are hard to put down.

Confronted with disturbing accusations that threatened to tar his image and credibility, Wabara dug deep rather than resign. He told his accusers to produce irrefutable evidence or to jump into the Lagos lagoon. Wabara's accusers took up the challenge despite being irritated by his arrogance. They broadened the allegations. But the allegations did not contain sufficient gunpowder to be able to knock out Wabara. The allegations were never substantiated fully. After weeks of uncertainty and sleeplessness during which Wabara suffered bouts of perspiration at night in the manner of a man with symptoms of malaria, the embattled senate president rose metaphorically from his ashes, with smiles that lit up his face from one end of his jaw to the other. It was like a prisoner acquitted by a court of law. The allegations against Wabara were nothing but mere allegations.

As a politician, Wabara has enjoyed several rides on a horse named "Luck". For instance, his emergence as a senator was as controversial as the allegations that Wabara had to deal with as a senator, even at the level of his local constituency. He successfully fought off challenges mounted by his opponent at the election petition tribunal. But controversy continues to follow Wabara on his track. On Tuesday, 14 October 2003, some angry senators threatened to punish journalists who reported graphic details of allegations surrounding the N54 million bribery scandal against two other senators. In the heat of the debate, Wabara, as senate president, led the anti-press chorus. He said: "But I sincerely think that there should be a way of sanctioning reporters who will want to damage the integrity of members of the nation's highest lawmaking body just to sell their papers." That ill-advised comment severely dented Wabara's image. Wabara even went further: "If there is anything we can do to deter other journalists from publishing stories that are not real, I think this is the time to do it." Here, a senate president, recognised publicly as a defender of democracy, was heard advocating censorship and imprisonment of journalists. Wabara ought to exhibit a higher sense of maturity than some of his colleagues who do not understand the proper role of the press in a democracy.

On a two-day official visit to Bayelsa State last December 20, Wabara told the state house of assembly in an emphatic tone that the National Assembly was not a "stooge" of the Presidency. His words: "I want to use this opportunity to tell Nigerians that we are no stooges nor rubber stamp Assembly. There is no Bill that has come from the Executive arm of government that has not been acted upon. No Bill comes in and gets back to the Executive as presented." The problem is that no one believes Wabara's testimonial. And there are good reasons for the atmosphere of disbelief.

The cordial relationship between the Presidency and the leadership of the National Assembly is widely perceived as evidence of the failure of legislators at the federal level to assert their independence and to carry out their duties without fear or favour. There have been many provocative decisions taken by the Presidency which the senators have allowed to go unquestioned. The same applies to bills sent by the presidency to the National Assembly. It is true, as Wabara argued, that an atmosphere of instability and unnecessary bickering between the National Assembly and the Presidency is not necessarily evidence that the legislators are performing their tasks effectively. Similarly, one must point out, absence of confrontation between the presidency and the National Assembly is also not evidence that the legislators are performing their constitutional duties.

The mystery of Wabara's success as senate president lies in many areas, not least the fact that he does not suffer the crisis of credibility that dogged his predecessors - Evan(s) Enwerem and Chuba Okadigbo. In part too Wabara has been able to mix political diplomacy with a measure of political chicanery. A successful political leader cannot be all too good or all too bad to all the people all the time. Wabara has been able to balance precariously on his head the demands of the presidency, the basic needs of ordinary citizens and the shenanigan of some senators. How long Wabara would be able to maintain this balance of incompatible components is uncertain. But the moment Wabara's political muscles begin to sag owing to the excess weight of demands on his shoulders, that moment Wabara must begin to pack his luggage to return to his village. A good politician, like a good dancer, knows when to quit the floor while his or her reputation is still intact.

Robot  Villager

# 1 Wabara: B...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 19.10.2007 21:31