Since 1999, the National Assembly has been in a battle of supremacy between its members and the apparatchik of the ruling party at the centre. The members have been locked in a battle for the selection of their leaders as a way of asserting their independence, while the party leaders have always wanted to impose their own stooges on the top echelon as a way of ensuring that there is less friction between them and the executive, so that the “dividends of democracy” can be better delivered to thehoi polloi.

In 1999, the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wanted Chief Evan Enwerem as the nation’s number three man, but the majority of the senators wanted the charismatic Dr Wilberforce Chuba Okadigbo as the National Assembly’s chairman. There was a great altercation between the two elephants, with the former carrying the day. The presidency of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo witnessed the ascension of five Senate presidents because of his desire to control the national legislature. The last of the Senate presidents, Ken Nnamani, said he had taken care of the infamousbanana peelthat led to the sweeping away of his “capable” predecessors. It was the same story in the lower chamber, which saw the emergence of Ghali Umar Na’abba as the Speaker, after the ouster of Alhaji Salisu Buhari over an age and certificate forgery scandal. The Kano-born Speaker was a thorn in the flesh of President Obasanjo, so he wasn’t allowed to return in 2003 as he lost the primaries in very controversial circumstances. His successor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, current Governor of Katsina State, was more pliable: he gaveBaba Iyaboless trouble.

In 2015 when Muhammadu Buhari won the presidential elections, he concealed who he wanted at the helm of the National Assembly leadership. His inauguration speech quote “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody” – portrayed him as not willing to impose his will on the legislative arm of government. However, the party leaders insisted on Senator Ahmad Lawan and Hon Femi Gbajabiamila as its leaders. The duo of Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara outsmarted the party leadership and became the helmsmen, to the chagrin of the bewildered leaders.

In 2019, the party leadership still insisted on Lawan and Gbajabiamila. They were determined not to repeat the mistake of 2015, with the anointed ones reaching out to the opposition PDP in order not to leave anything to chance. Gbajabiamila went as far as promising them 60 chairmanship slots. At the end, victory was theirs as they both defeated Senator Ali Ndume and Umar Bago with a landslide or moonslide, as the defunct the Second Republic days re-echoes.

Now that Lawan and Gbajabiamila have emerged as winners, there is the need to first and foremost extricate themselves from the vicious grip of the party leadership and assert their independence. They shouldn’t allow themselves to be pawns in the hands of the party leadership, by being yes men, and invariably becoming a rubber stamp legislature.

Buhari, in a recent speech, said that he didn’t have a good working relationship with the eighth Senate. This doesn’t mean that the ninth Senate shouldn’t follow due compliance, in the interest of the masses who elected them there in the first place. There is the need to checkmate the tyranny of the executive through adequate checks and balances, which the 1999 Constitution (as amended) duly provides for.

There is need for the leadership to show magnanimity to their opponents who they shouldn’t regard as foes. The APC national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was quoted to have said that the sins of the opponents won’t be forgiven so soon.

There is no need for this act of vindictiveness as it’s absolutely unnecessary. There is need for the leaders to behave like statesmen, instead. The Zulu leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, gave Nelson Mandela hell on earth as the Minister for Home Affairs. The veteran liberation fighter responded with tact: he did not only give him more powers but made him acting president when he and Thabo Mbeki were away on an official visit.

The current National Assembly leadership should disregard Oshiomhole and co-opt Ndume and Bago by giving them the chairmanship of juicy committees in order to douse the tension that the election generated. Their supporters should also not be made to feel inferior as they should be gracious in victory. National interest should supersede petty party or personal interest.

There are many issues begging for attention: ranging from insecurity to unemployment and poverty, as we were recently declared the poverty capital of the world. Nigeria has an extremely terrible image abroad, as some of our nationals are treated worse than dogs there. These issues should be on the front-burner, and the leadership should ensure that they are given the much-needed attention that they urgently deserve.

Topmost priority should be given to bills that have a direct impact on the lives of the people. Views from the opposition should be heartily welcomed. This is not the time for needless petty bickering along party lines. The needs of the nation should be put first before any other considerations.

The other members of the National Assembly must not follow their leaders sheepishly or merely for the sake of getting chairmanship or membership of juicy committees. The interest of the electorate must be put first. If the leadership doesn’t act right, nothing stops them from changing them, as quality representation must be top of their agenda.

When the dust finally settles, posterity is the ultimate judge. Like death, nothing can be altered when it judges. There will be no public relations specialists or spin doctors to play any mind games. It is the final and harshest judge. I hope the Ninth National Assembly passes its litmus test, when it’s finally time to settle scores and the chicken comes home to roost.

Their time starts now!

•Ademiluyi writes from Lagos.