SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, HIS EXCELLENCY (DR.) ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI, CON, AT THE ONE-DAY SEMINAR ON ‘THE LAW AND POLITICAL SWITCHING’ ORGANISED BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY LEGISLATIVE DIGEST, HELD AT THE SENATE CONFERENCE ROOM, SENATE NEW WING ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13.
PROTOCOL.
1. It gives me great pleasure to be at this important event to not only declare it open but also join in the discourse of an issue with strong bearing on our polity and democratic journey. I would like to commend our ever-engaged publishing entity here in the Parliament, the National Assembly Legislative Digest, for organising this forum; and for their dependable and robust reportage, promotion and dissemination of the activities of the legislature.
2. This is why the theme of this seminar ‘The Law and Political Switching’ is not only germane to the happenings in our polity, but also topically, is in the hands of the right media convener. There are three undeniable facets to the issue of political switching, and these are factors with strong leanings to the core beliefs and fabric of a bureaucracy. We have the legal standpoint, the moral view, and then the status quo.
3. In this I must say, and unequivocally so, that so-called ‘political switching’ is not peculiar to our environment here in Nigeria as such. It is practised in both developed and developing terrains, where development and democratic tenets still form the core beliefs of the system. Ours is a nascent and evolving democracy, one based on the notion of freedom and the prioritisation of the affairs of the common man to the state. This means that in this journey to building sustainable political structures in the country, it may not be unexpected to align with processes that promote one’s political beliefs and ideologies.
4. From a legal standpoint, it must be noted that our national activities are governed by the dictates of the Nigerian Constitution, which is supreme and primary to all other guiding principles. This is an issue that has been argued by the best brains, legal luminaries and educationists over the years, and the position of law has always been clear on the issue. The legality of freedom of political association, or political switching as it were, is therefore entrenched in the Constitution.
5. To speak for myself, I have always been a pro-development administrator, even before my current service in the National Assembly. I understand that development, being multi-sectored and multi-faceted, must evolve a multi-pronged approach to actualise aspirations of society. This means that for development to happen, both the instrument and the convener must align by way of objectives and ideologies, and this is something that cannot be sacrificed on the altar of political machinations. We must learn to build systems that put the people and their needs first – systems that ensure a symbiotic relationship between the arms of government, systems that are value-driven.
6. Finally, I believe that there is a strong correlation between socio-economic elements and events in the country and our political experiences at any given time. Considering our unenviable tag as the poverty capital of the world, it would be unconscionable to pilot the affairs of the nation with the very ideology that got us there in the first place. I would, therefore, like to enjoin you all to make strong contributions to the discourse at this seminar, as the end result would be far-reaching indeed.
7. May I once again commend the organisers of this auspicious event as I formally declare this One-Day Seminar open. I wish you successful deliberations.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
