National Honour: Bukola Saraki deserv

From Noah Ebije, Kaduna

A Northern group under the auspices of Arewa Think Tank (ATT) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to include former Senate President, Bukola Saraki among the list of those to be given National Honour Award.

The group said the appeal has become necessary because of the gist in town that Saraki’s name has been delisted following alleged power play between forces in the corridors of power for and against the former Senate President.

In a statement jointly signed by the chairman and Secretary of the group,  Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, and Mr. Jerome Audu, it noted that the norm has always be that the Vice president, the Senate president and Chief Justice of Nigeria are entitled to the National Honour.

The statement therefore appealed to President Buhari to see good reason and do the needful for whom honour is due, and not to be brainwashed into politics of bitterness and vengeance.

The group also advised President Buhari to make more friends than enemies now that he is rounding up his tenure at the nation’s seat of power so that his name could be written gold as a leader with Integrity and honour.

“The latest undelightful gist in town which leaves disturbing sour taste in the mouth of many is that against all known standard of procedures and convention, some powerful forces around  the corridors of power have succeeded in convincing the president Muhammadu Buhari   that delisting the name of the former senate president –senator Bukola Saraki from the list of national awards coming up soon is a slice of good politics.

“The convention and norm has always been for a vice president, senate president and chief justice of Nigeria to be given national award on the assumption of office or when national awards are being generally bestowed,   we hope the president would be guided by  exemplary  conduct  associated with this tradition.

“We have good reason to believe that the president as the fountain of wisdom in the very deep Fulani tradition  and a good team player in the national political sphere would radicalize his avowal  of being for all by refusing to be dragged  into dirty waters of politics of bitterness.

“Nothing could be rendered to explain  such crude violation of conventions and tradition except that some people around the corridors of power still harbour bitterness for the political differences the senate had with the ruling party.

“In all sense of righteousness the president in his closing stages of being in charge of our national affairs is more in need of friends than any fresh charge to create shadow political enemies or even unknown and existent enemies.

“Those who refuse to be leading examples in setting the standard for politics without bitterness should be scorned by the president.

“The president and the presidency are sublime national institutions that  should not be guided  into dirty waters of politics  of bitterness –at least not at this stage that he is rounding up his social contract with Nigerians  when  he should be seen on the flat plane of  national healing. Those bent on dragging politics of bitterness to the very end surely do not mean well for the president.

“At this closing stage the president should resist all attempts that put him in the cast of small mindedness and enduring political bitterness, surely these are not the image the president would what to leave behind.

“There should be a limit to political  bitterness –sanity , purpose and  maturity cannot be assaulted under whatever guise in the pursuit and promotion of   vengeance  and bitterness.

“To bend on dragging the president into   such narrow extremes  are on reverse gear of vision and wisdom and have severally shown such undesirable marks  in  ill advising the president even  on  grim national matters  that it has become a spectacle of national  embarrassment”.