There is this disturbing or rather annoying trend that has become a political tradition in the country. Almost every governor who completes his two terms in office heads for the senate. It has become so popular that there is this general speculation that refers to the senate as an evacuation and severance habitat for ex-governors.
Obviously, after being a governor, there are only two high profile political offices – the presidency and the senate. One of cause seems much easier to get into than the other hence the influx into the senate.
As a matter of fact, the senate or the upper chamber in a bi-cameral legislative country should be a platform for eggheads rather than being a rendezvous for resignation, abandonment, vacation, egression, secession, recession, and retreat for governors who ought to have gone into industrialization with their heavy financial weight in other to create jobs for teaming youths of this country. The senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be an active legislative house where distinguished members are discharging the heavy constitutional burden of making laws for the good governance of our people.
All these boils down to hoarding of power or recycling which has become habitual for Nigerian politicians at the expense of the citizens.
In the formal national assembly, the eighth, there are 15 former state governors and two former deputy governors in the senate. At this ninth Assembly, we have Rochas Okorocha of Imo State as Senator, Imo-West District (announded under ‘duress’); Ibikun Amosun of Ogun State as Senator-, Ogun Central District, a seat he occupied, between 2003 – 2007); Kashim Shettima of Borno State as Senator, Borno-Central District; Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State as Senator, Nasarawa South District; Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe State as Senator, Yobe East District; and Abdul’Aziz Yari of Zamfara State as Senator, Zamfara West District. For former Governors, Orji Kalu (1999-2007 Governor of Abia State) – 1st term as Senator, Abia North; Theodore Orji (2007-2015 Governor of Abia State) – 2nd term as Senator, Abia Central; Sam Egwu (1999 – 2007, Governor of Ebonyi State) – 2nd term as Senator, Ebonyi North, Danjuma Goje (2003 – 2011 Governor of Gombe State) – 2nd term as Senator, Gombe Central), Chimaroke Nnamani (1999-2007 Governor of Enugu) – Senator, Enugu East (which he once represented 2007 -2011), Ibrahim Shekarau (2003 – 2007 Governor of Kano State) – Senator, Kano Central District, and Adamu Abdullahi (1999-2007, Governor of Nasarawa State) – 2nd term as Senator, Nasarawa West District making about thirteen of them.
