Ndume’s vituperation over nothing!

For the main purpose of operational efficiency, and perhaps for swiftness in service delivery and ultimately, increased productivity, the federal government recently announced the relocation of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to Lagos, a strategic move meant for the Agency to be closer to Head Offices of Airlines they supervise, some of which are in Lagos.

The same goes for CBN authority that have ordered to move to Lagos, relevant departments that directly supervise the affairs of commercial banks, most of which Head Offices are also located in Lagos.

Ordinarily, in a decent clime and organized setting where key government policies go through crucible of decision making process, and as well as subject of proper  deliberations, those relocated offices have no business in FCT, Abuja in the first place.

Their presence has been more of jamboree, a distraction, very unnecessary and largely a waste of the nation’s hard-earned resources, as well as drain on the nation treasury.

The government pronouncement of relocation is therefore a move expected to attract applause and commendation onto the federal authority from all & sundry, particularly the business entities directly concerned, for the decision’s potential cost-savings measures, as well as administrative convenience.    

It’s also instructive to note that in this very difficult and horrendous times in global politics when terrorists, bandits, insurgents and other sophisticated criminals unleash their dastard attacks at will, without inkling of prior notice and in the process reduce to rubbles iconic institutions, and public heritage that had taken fortunes to build, is it not germane and most appropriate for the government to even commence decentralization of location of legacy building from FCT, Abuja to strategic state capitals like Enugu, Ibadan, Kano, Kaduna etc?

Nigeria would lose absolutely nothing if we resolve to tread this path.

This is the existing practice in United States where Washington DC has taken off some burden of accommodating public buildings from New York City. The same presently plays out in Brazil where Rio-De-Janeiro and Brasilia are collaborating in accommodating public Institutions. Ditto for Germany, where Berlin is reducing the burden of accommodating public Institutions from Bonn, the federal capital. And, of course, the situation is not different in France, where highly congested Paris is shedding loads of public institutions location to Marseille.

So why should Nigeria system be problematic and contentious?

Nigeria is a country of many paradox!

While government authority is continually making spirited efforts to reposition and restructure the country in all facets, some Nigerians sadly, and most embarrassingly, at the top echelon have individually, and jointly resolved to constitute cog in the wheel of the country’s quest to prosperity, growth and development.

They continually lay ambush to attack all the good intentions and sincere policies of government.

Painfully, they operate under the guise of religion, ethnicity, political and other primordial sentiments with which they hypnotize and hoodwink the unsuspecting and uninformed Nigerians with the sole objective of attracting undue sympathy.

This is the only plausible realm we could situate Senator Ali Ndume outburst, who mischievously marched few of his national assembly northern member colleagues to undisclosed location within FCT, Abuja to start raining attacks on President Bola Tinubu for the resolve of federal authority to relocate FAAN to Lagos, as well as some key CBN departments that oversees the affairs of the commercial banks.

Even though, as one of the principal officers of Upper Chamber, the Senator not only close to the presidency, he has un-restrained access to the president, nonetheless, he never bother to seek audience with Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, but, rather prefer to deploy other medium with his few northern national assembly colleagues to start lambasting president and making very provocative pronouncement that the government decision to relocate those supervisory agencies to Lagos will have dire consequences.  

What type of consequence? What’s the president offence? Where has the president erred? These are the questions Nigerians should ask Ali Ndume and his ilk.

As far as they’re concerned, they are speaking for the North!

But, as at the time of this write-up, no character of northern descent, group or government organ of northern extraction has come out to give them solidarity or support or corroborate the action of the group.

As a matter of fact, their declaration is unwarranted, provocative, parochial, sentimental and totally unbecoming of leaders at the top-echelon of governance who supposed to know better, as well as appreciate the new order in global governance.

It’s particularly saddening and distressing for Senator Ndume, who always render himself to be used as ready-made tool in the hands of mischief makers and disgruntled Nigerians any time there is slightest of disagreement between the North and the South.

Of course, the Borno South Senator has a very riotous antecedent in the senate, as he is reputed to revel in igniting chaos and pandemonium. His record at the senate is not salutary!

He also doesn’t have the culture and decorum to be in sync with key decisions of APC, the party that provided him platform for political prominence and stardom.

It’s therefore baffling while the party continue to give him ticket to represent Borno South Senatorial Districts at the Upper Chamber.

Nigerians vividly recall that, he’s one of the key figures who collaborated, supported and emboldened Bukola Saraki in Year 2019 to hijack the senate leadership, against the directive of the party.

The same Ndume only withdrew his candidacy against the present senate president at the eleventh hour when it dawned on him that he would be on his way to political extinction if he eventually come out to contest against Godswill Akpabio as senate president.

Of course, this is another case of utter disobedience and insolence to the party directive!

Since the commencement of his tenure at the Upper Chamber, there is no record of any rumble and jungle in that hallowed chamber that he’s perhaps not the architect or one of the key players.

The pertinent question therefore remains: where is the internal machinery of APC that supposed to put an incongruous party member like Senator Ali Ndume at check? Where is the party disciplinary measure that supposed to take care of his overzealousness, grandstanding, indiscretion, and volatility nature of some of his pronouncements that have capacity to ignite chaos and pandemonium in the political sphere?

While this writer is admonishing Mallam Umar Ghanduje’s led NWC to arise and tame Senator Ndume and his cohorts, it’s also incumbent on the NASS leadership under the senate president, Godswill Akpabio to move with a view to halting the Borno South Senator’s quest to become a loose cannon, by reprimanding him through a resolution at the plenary or even, outright suspension for constantly subjecting the senate to public ridicule and opprobrium.

No sacrifice will be too much to pay in order to protect the sanctity of our hard-earned democracy.  The political system shouldn’t allow Senator Ali Ndume to continually constitute himself as a cog in the Nigerian project.

The auspicious time to tame him is now!            

Kola AMZAT (FCA, FCIB),

Lagos based Financial & Management Consultants,

09077509348.