By Ola Awoniyi
When Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan graduated from the University of Maiduguri in 1984 with a B.Sc. degree in Geography, taking an active role in partisan politics was not on his mind.
However, he has also refused to compromise his principles. For Lawan, politics is not an art of deception. “I don’t believe politics is about deception. I prefer to call a spade a spade,” Lawan once said while addressing his constituents in his country home, Gashua in Yobe State. His fidelity to that principle has won and cost him a few friends.
But it has also underpinned the trust of his constituents, helping him to become one of the longest serving federal lawmakers in Nigeria.Those who have worked with him will readily attest that you cannot persuade Lawan to act contrary to his conviction. Some see this as rigidity. But if you say that to him,
Lawan would take it as a compliment, in as much as he believes that he stands for the common good. He once narrated the huge pressure he and his colleagues faced in 2006 to support the now orphaned Third Term Agenda. Then in the House of Representatives, Lawan was lobbied severally to lend his support to removing a pillar of democratic stability. But he bluntly refused even at the face of a threat to deny him a return ticket to the National Assembly.
However, the same Lawan also played a significant role in calming down his colleagues in the House every time they angrily attempted to impeach President Obasanjo over what they perceived as impeachable offences by the then president
Lawan rebuffed the pressure because he was convinced that the benefit of the amended bill is huge for the Nigerian economy. A similar pressure was mounted on him when the Ninth Assembly confronted the jinx of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). But Lawan again stood his ground and the two decades old jinx was broken.
Until 2015, Lawan had been an opposition lawmaker. His voice was always loud on virtually every topical issue. By the time his party took control of the National Assembly, Lawan was well positioned for the coveted seat of Senate President. But he missed it at first attempt. Not that he lost the election to the seat. He was schemed out of the race.
As a devout Muslim, he took those shenanigans of June 2015 in good faith. He believes everything works for good for those whose purposes are good.
From the onset, he had a clear vision of what he wanted to do and of the leadership strategy for maintaining unity and common purpose in the Senate and the National Assembly in general. He believes that a house of chaos, however elevated, is of no use to anyone.
This is why the defining trait of the Ninth Assembly under Lawan is the cordial working relationship with the other arms of government, more noticeably the Executive. But this has been achieved without compromising the independence of Parliament or the doctrine of Separation of Powers.
The often ignored fact is that President Muhammadu Buhari even has ardently desires a healthy working relationship with Parliament. This is so that he can deliver his promises and fulfil his mandate to the Nigerian people. So both sides have chosen to address the unavoidable conflicts with cool heads and with their eyes set on the development goals of government.
Results commend the path that they have both chosen. In the immediate past Assembly, many executive bills were pronounced dead on arrival at the National Assembly. And many private member bills that passed were sent back to the sender.
Let’s recall a few fruits of this harmony.
Also in September 2020, President Buhari set up an Executive, Legislative, Party Consultative Forum headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to promote harmony in governance towards enhancing service delivery to the Nigerian people. “I am a firm believer in the doctrine of Separation of Powers which is fundamental to our constitutional democracy. But our practice should be harmonious checks and balances devoid of bitterness and petty rivalry,” Buhari told members of the tripartite panel.
The foregone show some of the steps the Executive took to promote mutual cooperation with the parliament. They were well-received by most lawmakers and Lawan who have chosen harmonious relationship over unnecessary confrontation with the Executive.In the spirit of that relationship, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the 2022 Appropriation Bill into law on Christmas eve despite airing his reservations.
Also, the Petroleum Industry Bill(PIB) received Presidential assent despite reservations by the president on some of the provisions. Buhari signed the PIB into law and later proposed an amendment to the Act. The Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract Act amendment Bill was signed into law by the president in London where he was receiving medical treatment. That was very unusual. But that alacrity arose from a mutual understanding between the arms to preempt powerful stakeholders who were hell bent on scuttling the piece of legislation.
The disposition of the Ninth Assembly under Lawan is to work for Nigeria rather than play to the gallery.
You can be sure that this same spirit will smoothly resolve the disagreement over the Electoral Act amendment Bill in the best interest of Nigerians.
Lawan has contributed to facilitating a new atmosphere in inter-arms relationships out of a conviction gained from over two decades in parliament. That conviction is that public interest is best served when institutions work together without forsaking their purposes.
The achievement of that atmosphere is a legacy befitting even a reluctant politician.
***Awoniyi is Special Adviser (Media) to the Senate President
