Opinion: The Much Ado About Saraki

By Omoniyi Idowu

It is a shame that a party that enjoyed popular votes in the last elections is, like a snake, determined to destroy itself from the inside. And then it is true the saying that when two elephants fight, the green grass suffers.

Unfortunately in our own case, our grass is not even green.

It's now a popular opinion everywhere that the only opposition party in Nigeria is APC. Funny? No, it's not.

Have you seen this gibberish recently?

The Senate President Bukola Saraki will be visiting Houston Texas on May 4th, 2017 on an official visit. On Friday May 5th and Saturday May 6th he will be present at a Town Hall event at Crown Plaza Suites Hotel, 9090 Southwest Freeway, Houston. Let us Nigerians in Houston show him our displeasure with his actions along with those of his colleagues in the National Assembly by protesting his presence.  We cannot allow these rogues the pleasure of a peaceful visit to the USA while they leave our fellow Nigerians languishing in misery back home!

PLEASE PASS THIS AROUND TO ALL NIGERIAN HOUSTONIANS! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!

As Received.

Yes, it is absolute baloney and an insult on our collective entity as a people.

Some disgruntled few, who are not even up to 2% of the total Nigerian population are hell bent on destroying Nigeria under the guise of fighting a corrupt Senate President!

Let's analyse the above paid article camouflaged as an innocent opinion.

The information being circulated is vague. The originator forgot to inform us what really the Senate President is going to do in Houston.

For it to state the dates and time he's visiting, without stating his primary assignments for such visit, is nothing but an intentional attempt to mislead innocent Nigerians and whip up unnecessary sentiments!

The statement was also not even signed to mask the identities of the sponsors. They would rather go anonymous from the onset with 'As Received'.

Nobody is contesting that our leaders are corrupt, but we need to respect the institutions the legislators represent.

The good deeds of the Red Chambers didn't generate noise because most of them are focused on working silently rather than political photo ops.

If we don't remember anything, the controversial 2016 budget padding was made known by them! And even the President Muhammadu Buhari accepted that there were lots of foreign insertions in them!

Why is Saraki going to the U.S.? It is true that Sen. Olubukola Saraki is going to Houston based on invitation.

It is also true that he's to spend the number of days as carried in the statement above.

But what is not true is that he's going on jamboree, rather in the interest of Nigerians living in the United States. Besides, he is also yet to consent to going or not. See where these paid irritants goofed!

Saraki was invited based on the bill he supported allowing Nigerians in diaspora to be part of elections in Nigeria.

It has been the aspirations of many Nigerians abroad to get involved in the activities of their governments and the Senate President has been pursuing the realisation of this dream from day one that he assumed office.

Let's ask ourselves, if a three day invitation warrants protests and embarrassing the number 3 citizen of the country, then what would we suggest the Nigerians in the UK should have done when President Buhari went on an indefinite medical vacation there?

Nigerians have been used in the past to protest against its government to achieve some political aims of the few political elite, let us say enough is enough for any instigation against our leaders.

Let's ask the real questions of what is really the relevance of such protest to the future of our children and the generations unborn

If they say the Senate is corrupt, and there is need to protest, what should we say of the executive?

Let's not throw away the baby with the bath water by allowing some few disgruntled elements, who want to pull down Saraki at all costs without respect to his office, at the detriment of the whole nation, dictate for us.

Shall we even ask what are Saraki's sins or has there been anywhere he was convicted of any malfeasance? We are just quick to judgment even when we are as guilty too.

We should protest, but not at the dictates of a few political vultures hiding behind concerned citizenry.

Let's always ask questions; let us ask the right and relevant questions. We are not zombies that anyone can maneuver at his whims, please.

Enough of this orchestrated madness!