I am really at a loss about how to respond to
the column of my friend, Femi Orebe on
the 8th Senate. He correctly identified my
exasperation with things as they are. But more
than being exasperated, Orebe might never
understand the magnitude of the harrowing
sorrow I daily feel pertaining in general to the
sordid affairs of my country and in particular to
the nadir of disrepute to which the senate has
been sunk. So discouraged have I been of late
that by last week, I had begun to see myself as
a colossal failure in my foray into Nigerian
politics. I had seriously considered going back to
Ilesa Grammar School, my alma mater, to teach
science.
Sola Adeyeye
In my previous incarnations as an academic and
as a business man, failure or giving up had
never been a considered option. In these earlier
enterprises, my success or lack of it was largely
dependent on my efforts and determination. By
contrast, as a politician, I have perennially found
myself walking and dancing in paths littered
with opalaba (pieces of broken glass bottles).
My success now depends almost equally or
perhaps even more on others than on myself!
I foresaw the current crisis in the eighth senate
long before its inauguration on June 9, 2015. I
pleaded endlessly with Senators Bukola Saraki
and Ahmad Lawan for a consensus that would
make one of them the Senate President and the
other the Deputy Senate President. I requested
to lock both of them in a room and to open the
room only after they have reached a consensus
or after one of them had killed the other! Had
my efforts succeeded, my party, the Senate and
my country might have been spared the crisis of
the last many months.
Candidate Buhari campaigned on a platform that
included a determined assault on corruption; he
was hailed and resoundingly elected because a
majority of Nigerians believed he was
preeminently qualified to wage and win that
war. I have always felt that if such a war were
to be diligently waged, there will not be enough
rooms in Nigerian prisons to hold public office
holders who would be found guilty. And if the
truth be told, these might include most of those
supporting Saraki as well as most of those
opposed to him! And I am talking here of
supporters and opponents either from within or
outside the National Assembly. The interview I
granted to Tell magazine in 2009 revealed
enough on crass legislooting.
Many have wondered why I have been less vocal
as a senator than I was during my tenure as a
member of the House of Reps. I feel great pain
when insinuations are made that I had been
bought. Those pains rose to the fore following
the publication of the phone numbers of all
senators by Sahara Reporters.
I am probably the only Senator in Nigeria who
has only one phone number. It would have been
easy to get a new phone number. These days,
phones come with apps that can filter out calls
from numbers that are not on the phone's
contact list. Perhaps my error was my refusal to
take either of these easy options. Instead, I
chose to answer as many calls and texts as
possible. They came in a deluge! I got calls
from the UK, USA, Canada, Germany and far
away Australia. A few of the messages included
racy photographs from ladies who obviously had
little interest in matters of public policy! About
half of the calls from within Nigeria were
solicitations for help in securing employment or
in getting financial assistance. Mercifully, some
prayed for and encouraged me to keep faith.
Some made legitimate enquiries and did so in
quite civil language and tone. Others like Dokun
Adedeji were unkind and needlessly rude.
I had taken a decision to respond to each call or
text message in its own tone. I would match
civility for civility, diligence with diligence,
rudeness for rudeness, and curse for curse.
Contrary to the accusation of Dokun Adedeji, I
did not partake of selling my party's majority to
reactionaries. I have I betrayed no one. Rather,
on many occasions, I have informed my party
caucus, APC leaders, and my senate colleagues
of my readiness to give up my office as Chief
Whip for the sake of resolving the most
embarrassing quagmire in the senate. I did so
as recently as last Wednesday during the
Executive session of the senate.
In decrying my choice of deprecatory epithets
to respond to Dokun Adedeji, Femi Orebe
obviously saw no wrong in my being unfairly
portrayed as a sellout. Orebe also left out my
latter response to Dokun Adedeji that included
my reasons for not to speaking on some
matters.
Back in High School, there was a Negro Spiritual
we often sang "NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLE
I SEE." Two days ago (Friday, April 22), I was on
my way to Osogbo so I could see my Governor
and thereafter proceed to Ora Igbomina, my
hometown, when I got a call summoning me to
Abuja for a meeting with the President at 3 p.m.
I made an immediate U-turn racing to the
Ibadan Airport while praying for a miracle to
catch a flight. I was panting and sweating by
the time I boarded the plane which miraculously
had waited for me. The plane took off
immediately I took my seat. However, as I
switched on my phone after landing in Abuja, an
sms message was delivered with a message
that the meeting in the villa has been
postponed!
Despite the intense pain and sorrows that I have
borne in the last many months, I remain grateful
to God for the rare opportunity to serve as a
senator of my country. I am particularly grateful
to Femi Falana who counseled me last week
not to resign as Senator. Although every forest
begins with a tree, I have found out that the
adage that a tree does not make a tree is
particularly most apt in the forest of politics.
Although Dokun Adedeji's text did not say so,
perhaps his vilification is not directed at me
personally as Orebe alluded. Perhaps! Hence, I
apologize to Dokun, Femi Orebe and others
whom I have disappointed for taking the issues
so personal. We live and learn.
Prof. Sola Adeyeye
Chief Whip
Senate of Nigeria

______________________ saharareporters.com/2016/04/24/my-agony-8th-senate-prof-sola-adeyeye ____________________________
DOKUN ADEDEJI, about his exchanges with
Senator Adeyeye

Who your agony don epp? You think Nigeria Senate is meant for people of the best intention?

naija will be great!

I expected to see Professor Adeyeye I knew and listened to during reign of Radio Kudirat on airwaves.
Unfortunately, everyone is now for himself.
I know that Nigeria will someday become what it's destined to be.

k

That is chanji for u. Just go thru the agony and if it continues, u are at liberty to resign. U will be deepening our democratic culture by resigning due to the failure of executive and legislators of the change mantra!

E Pele change is a scam!

Seen........
APC and Propaganda/Scam are just 5 & 6....
Well "we Imolites" will never repeat such a mistake in 2019

You will soon receive my own call,because I don't understand what is going on in the senate!!!!

NANS, NLC and TUC should recognize Sahara reporters for leading this peaceful revolution.

Sir, we have read your submission but like your colleagues you did not say anything about "the people". We are disenchanted with the Senate because you have too-much money when we can barely survive in different states. We have all been making this known to Senate but the Senate has been more preoccupied with sharing millions and trowing-up intrigues.

Sir, you have been elected based on your antecedents - Please speak and act for common people's interests at all time. Senator Saraki is too desperate and arrogant - his problem should not be any good Senator's problem.

Please work on your huge take-home, sponsor bills for downtrodden and stand by truth always - you will never need to explain yourself to us.

It seems guys above me didn't grasp the full 'message' in this article.

He said some striking words. He said that his success depends largely on others. What does this mean?
The change we all crave can only become a reality if all hands are on deck. As much as he wants things to happen/change, it is everyman for his belly in the senate: as is the case with saraki, his supporters and his opponents.

But do we give up? Do we yield and buckle under frustrating situations? No we can't afford to do that. Nigeria cannot afford to continue to sink. We need every kind of holdfast at this time in the history of this nation.
There are Saboteurs, subverters whose joy are derived from the turmoil Nigeria faces.

My dear Honourable Senator sir, we need you and more of your type up there. A wise man once said that 'if good people refuse to partake in politics, then they must suffer the rule of the bad and the inferior.

So much pain and agony in politics.

Caseless:
So much pain and agony in politics.

It's like this Mod character dey your blood,sleep at 12am and wake at 4am

Ishilove:

Mediapace:
It's like this Mod character dey your blood,sleep at 12am and wake at 4am

My dear e don master my body

You better get rid of it before it's too late

Ishilove:

My dear e don master my body

Mediapace:
You better get rid of it before it's too late

Sleeping late and waking early isn't a bad thing

Lemme enlighten you small :
Harmful Effects of Sleeping Late and waking early are :
* Obesity: It has been observed that people who get into the habit of sleeping late normally skip their breakfast. This can not only make you crave for food during your working hours, forcing you to munch on all kinds of fast foods, but also weaken your metabolism. Such people tend to consume easy-to-grab foods, mostly the junks, which only add more fat to their bodies. Also, if you are awaken till late at night, you are bound to consume diet sodas, sugary drinks and other fatty foods such as fried potato chips, as you are bound to get hungry after dinner
*

Ishilove:

Sleeping late and waking early isn't a bad thing

Mediapace:
Lemme enlighten you small :
Harmful Effects of Sleeping Late and waking early are :
* Obesity: It has been observed that people who get into the habit of sleeping late normally skip their breakfast. This can not only make you crave for food during your working hours, forcing you to munch on all kinds of fast foods, but also weaken your metabolism. Such people tend to consume easy-to-grab foods, mostly the junks, which only add more fat to their bodies. Also, if you are awaken till late at night, you are bound to consume diet sodas, sugary drinks and other fatty foods such as fried potato chips, as you are bound to get hungry after dinner
*

Oh dear...

*side eyes bathroom scale*

But wait o, na oyibo all these things affect not pako like me. Where will I get soda and sugary drinks at 12 am? Abi will I leave my house at that hour to knock on Iya Tope's gate for orobo Pepsi?

My fridge is fully stocked with plastic bottles of luke warm water, 2 days bread, dry fish, blue band, fermenting pineapple etc, so where will I get the fried potato chips sugary drinks to snack on?

Guy leave that level

God help us to think right as a nation. As rightly said by Prof Sola Adeyeye, most supporters or opposition to Saraki are also corrupt. Each individual to himself, we all need to put our hands on deck, we should neglect the witch hunt chants, so we can get a few of them.
I think I have to throw a TKO, Ben Murray Bruce, if you are reading this, you should learn common sense from it.

Ishilove:
My dear e don master my body

You are no more a mod. Buhahahahahhahahahahaahahahahahhahahahahahahhahaha.

Ishilove:
Sleeping late and waking early isn't a bad thing

You and mediapace are derailing the thread. You need to be spanked.

Ishilove:

Have you joined politics before?

Blastfinito:

You and mediapace are derailing the thread. You need to be spanked.

My apologies

Ishilove:

My apologies

Forget the apologies. Just marry me.

Blastfinito:

Forget the apologies. Just marry me.

Do you have a political appointment? I can only marry someone with political appointment. Forget oyel, na politics the money dey

Ishilove:

Do you have a political appointment? I can only marry someone with political appointment. Forget oyel, na politics the money dey

You mean the same reason why Dangote, the richest man in Africa, refuses to embrace politics? Anyway, a girl I want can't be in error. To co-opt your phrasing, politics is a lucrative venture. I am the special adviser on literary matters to my ward councilor. PM things...

Blastfinito:

You mean the same reason why Dangote, the richest man in Africa, refuses to embrace politics? Anyway, a girl I want can't be in error. To co-opt your phrasing, politics is a lucrative venture. I am the special adviser on literary matters to my ward councilor. PM things...

Kai, see grammar!! Ayam in love already. Ishi na gbakam ooooo. My heart is doing me gim gim

*swoons*

^^ Hoes everywhere^^