The role played by Senate President David Mark in maintaining the stranglehold of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on power in recent times suggests that he is one of the pillars that sustain the ruling party. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI examines how the Benue State-born politician has succeeded in steering the Senate above trouble waters, where others failed.
He is a smooth operator, but the growing influence of Senate President David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark has been very much evident in recent times, following the crisis that rocked the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the centre. Mark stood out like a rock in a surging sea throughout the crisis, making him one of President Goodluck Jonathan’s most reliable allies. For this reason, he is one man the President cannot afford to disappoint and he uses his influence on the President once in a while. For instance, following the tragic aptitude and fitness test conducted by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), which claimed the lives of about 17 applicants, Interior Minister Abba Moro would have been relived of his job, but for the intervention of Mark. Moro, who hails from Benue State just like the Senate President, had quickly reached out to the well-respected man who nominated him for the ministerial position, to plead with President Jonathan who was said to be livid with the minister over the tardiness in conducting the ill-fated test. Mark’s influence within the Senate and in the polity generally, it is said, has grown over the years, marking him out from his predecessors.
Before his emerged on the scene as President of the Nigerian Senate, on June 6, 2007, that office was widely seen as a minefield of banana peels. This is owing to the fact that previous occupants of that office since the advent of the Fourth Republic were not able to meander through without stepping on the peels. But Mark, retired army general, former governor, former minister of communications and one of the Babangida boys at the height of military rule in the country, has had an unassailable run since he came into the scene. Somehow he commands a lot of respect from his fellow senators. After his first term in 2007, he returned in 2011, and does not look like somebody whose job is threatened in any way.
Against this background, the question that has been on the lips of many Nigerians for a long time is: what is Mark’s staying power? The consensus of respondents is that Mark has a good understanding of Nigerian politics. He displays a good political sagacity in the way he handles the affairs of the upper chamber of the National Assembly. In the view of Monday Ubani, a Lagos-based legal practitioner and chairman of Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Ikeja Chapter, Mark adopts a populist political method in his dealings with fellow Senators particularly and politicians generally. His words: “He reaches out to them, by making sure that they do not have reasons to grumble. In other words, he carries them along and makes that everyone is properly settled, including financial inducements. Political leaders have problems within the Nigerian set up, when they eat alone. As long as he shares whatever accrues to the upper chamber equitably among all the members, there would be no complains from any angle.” In the absence of any reason for agitation, his position has never been threatened.
Another respondent who does not want to be named puts it this way: “David Mark’s reputation as a man of the people is well known in the National Assembly. I think he is a better mixer, compared to previous occupants of that position. He is a guy who understands the importance of human relations in dealing with people.” He is of the view that Mark humbles himself, by not allowing his exalted position to get to his head. “Let’s not forget that he was a good student while he was at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), he was a good soldier and an accomplished administrator,” he added.
The overriding factor, according to observers, is that Mark appears to understand the mindset of his colleagues. He is believed to be wealthy. Being a former governor, minister and one of Babangida’s close associates during the military era, money is not his problem this time around. In this regard, he ensures a constant flow of Ghana-must-go bags. Besides, he does not deny or delay the privileges meant for his colleagues. These include constituency allowance, furniture allowance, choice houses, contracts and overseas trips and estacodes. He knows that many of them are hardly interested in the business of lawmaking, which explains why the chamber is always near empty at every session. As a result, he does not pay attention to absentee members. After all, better an empty house than a house full of traitors.
Besides, the incumbent Senate President knows that a cordial relationship with the Presidency is critical and crucial for his survival. In Ubani’s opinion, Mark has protected the president very well. “In doing this, he has been very careful not to be seen as being neither subservient nor belligerent. He has been playing a role you could describe as very reconciliatory; he panders to the Presidency when it is necessary and to the house when this is called for,” he explained. In that regard, the legal practitioner believes the Senate President has been able to strike a balance between the two sides and this has helped in no small way in protecting his political party, the PDP.
Indeed, the way he handled the recent face-off on the floor of the upper chamber over the recent defection from the PDP to the APC has also earned him respect from both sides. Everyone expected the issue to cause a big uproar in the Senate, but somehow he doused the tension, without ruffling feathers. Ubani noted that the fourth term legislator refused to pander to the whims of former PDP Senators who say they have decamped to APC, and wanted him to announce that development on the floor of the Senate, by telling them that the matter is in court. He added: “He also refused to pander to the interest of some members of his political party who wanted the defectors to be sanctioned. At the end of the day, no one could accuse him of being used to further the interest of any of the two major political parties. But, overall, he succeeded in protecting the interest of the PDP, through the matured way he handled the matter.”
He also portrays himself as a statesman, by ensuring that he is seen to be vocal on all national and international issues. For instance, condemns the insecurity in the land when Boko Haram insurgents strike. On the other hand, he calls the bluff of foreign powers when they become overbearing, as they sometimes do when it comes to issues like gay marriage.
A brief recap of the tenure of his predecessors is imperative, to better appreciate what Mark has achieved in that regard. At the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999, Senator Evans (or is it Evan?) Enwerem set the tone for other occupants of that coveted office under the Olusegun Obasanjo era, when he stepped on the infamous banana peels and his reign was short-lived. His albatross was the allegation of falsification of his name. But there was more to his fall. He was investigated for the crime of corruption. But the controversy as to whether the senator’s real name was Evan or Evans soon became the subject of intense media attention. He was removed from office on November 18, 1999. He survived for just eight months.
After him, the cerebral and bombastic Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, came on board. His tempestuous reign as Senate President also did not last long. Okadigbo, who was usually hailed with his traditional title, the Oyi of Oyi, was known for his opposition to his own political party, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the time. But it was his cat and mouse relationship with the former President Olusegun Obasanjo that became his greatest undoing. He was charged with corruption and removed from office in August 2000. He spent less than a year as Senate President. Incidentally, Okadigbo was actively involved in the removal of Enwerem.
There was also Anyim Pius Anyim, the Ebonyi State-born politician who occupies the office of Secretary to the Government of the federation at present. He became the Senate President in August 2000 after the removal of Okadigbo. As Senate President, his attempt to impeach Obasanjo failed. He, however, did not seek re-election in the 2003, knowing that his opposition to Obasanjo would cost him a re-election. The reign of Adolphus Wabara, who became the Senate President in 2003, also ended in acrimony. Like those before him, allegations of corruption brought about his downfall. In April 2005, he resigned following allegations that he collected a bribe from the then Minister of Education, Prof. Fabian Osuji, to facilitate the passage of his annual budget. Although Wabara’s charges were eventually dropped, the damage had been done. It was all part of the game plan. He had to go. Senator Ken Nnamani completed the vicious cycle of banana peels the Senate presidency had become until Mark made a grand entry in 2007.
