Rabiu A. Pan-uku
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, is an amiable person. He is real. He is not pretentious by nature, to the extent that he goes out on a limb against the need to sound politically correct. He leads the 10th Senate with amity. His leadership style fosters a united and transparent Senate. He has been efficient at the helm of affairs thanks to his segacity and faculty, and thanks to the patriotism of fellow Senators.
The other day, after the conclusion of the extended screening of ministerial nominees, he casually announced the disbursement of token as allowance by the Clerk to the Senators’ accounts for recess, which is statutory for senators as their leave allowance which is also enjoyed by other public servants. The long recess period is also a working period for the elected public servants, as they are expected to take official tour of their constituencies, but the cynics and mudslingers pounced on that innocuous utterance and inflamed it into a ballistic headline. The false narrative made out of that benign announcement has been trending negatively on social media, drawing condemnation and castigation from the misinformed masses. The obvious aim of the cynics is to incite public anger and resentment at the risk of the probable dangerous consequences for the country. It is deleterious to misguide the masses and cash in on the tension in the polity to disengenuous selfish ends.
The attitude of the cynics is so eggregious that they only pick on Akpabio’s literal utterance without probing for details to found a solid negative publicity on. They ran no due diligence for the narrative they fed their gullibe audience. On the contrary, Akpabio’s utterance was born out of sincerity and openness to Nigeria. He wants nothing of the Senators’ official life kept out of public knowledge. By which he sets a good precedent, albeit not that the cynics understand. Vacation allowance is common to the majority of public institutions as a right. Only the 10th Senate speaks publicly about its own. That is transparency at its peak, albeit not that the cynics appreciate.
Look, nothing ruins society more than fake, unfounded narratives. Mendacity may be merry to monger, but its contagious, incendiary ramifications can disrupt the foundations of peace in the country. God forbid that the masses heed the silent whistle of the cynics. No country thrives on political malignment and headhunting. One wonders for how long will the cynics and mudslingers be driving the country down a collision course?
Based on facts not conjecture, the 10th Senate has thus far been efficient and patriotic. Though the Senators are not infallable, they have thus far not erred in the discharge of their duties. They have been efficient, patriotic, supportive of the masses and cooperative with the other Arms of government. They should be praised for the good work.
Sen. Godswill Akpabio has indeed been excellent and exemplary as President of the Senate. He has turned the Red Chamber into one pro-Nigeria family. That is the standard of performance he and fellow Senators should be graded and remembered for.
It is high time people did away with negativities and conjecture in gauging public figures. That attitude does not help our country. It overheats the polity and sets us back.