Natasha/Senate President Tango: My Take on Senator Dandutse
By Abdullahi Ibrahim Mahuta
The contribution of Sen. Dandutse, on the floor of the Senate, during the debate to suspend Sen. Natasha elicited many reactions across the country; Katsina state and, most especially, his constituency, Katsina South. The reactions are, mostly, negative.
Like most of us from his constituency, my initial reaction was also negative. I was also not happy with my senator’s comments on that day, especially his insistence that the suspended senator Natasha should not be forgiven even if she submitted a written apology as recommended by the ethics committee.
Because I’m not a good fan of the senator, I do not follow his activities at the senate. As such, I also began to agree with the perceptions in the social media that Senator Dandutse is a seat warmer at the Senate who has never represented his people, especially regarding the insecurity issues which is daily putting us in unimaginable hardship.
But much as I do not like the leadership style of Senator Dandutse, my honour and my religion of Islam demand that I do justice and be fair to him before I draw a conclusion on his official activities. To do that, I placed a call to his office tthrough one of his aide, Abubakar Wada Nas, and asked for records of his contributions at the Senate.
To my surprise, what I received was surprisingly overwhelming. I received many videos and links highlighting his contributions to debates, especially the issue of insecurity in Funtua zone.
In some of the videos, he complained about the number of people killed or abducted in his constituency and appealed to government for urgent intervention. Attacks in Malumfashi, Funtua, Matazu, Kafur, Bakori, Kankara, Sabuwa, Faskari and Danja LGAs were specifically mentioned.
Surprisingly, he even has a bill to his name: The Funtua Exports Free Zone Establishment Bill. Gaskiya I’m impressed. In another video, he was vehemently opposing a bill sponsored by the Majority Leader on the increase in retirement age for the Federal Civil Servants. I was also told about his efforts in completing the Funtua Dry Port and the relocation of the University of Medical Health Sciences from Katsina to Funtua.
After going through all these videos and links, I asked myself: But what could have led to this negative impression that Senator Dandutse is a seat warmer at the Senate? There could be two possible reasons. To the people outside Katsina State, the statement by the Senate President on that day could be the reason.
An innocent, friendly and, seemingly, harmless, but weighty statement by the Senate President, contributed, in no small measure, in pushing this negative perceptions. Inviting Sen. Dandutse to contribute, the Senate President said: “Distinguished Sen. Dandutse, he DOESN’T SPEAK ALWAYS, so let him say something.”
This statement by the Senate President pushes the perception that Senator Dandutse is a ‘chair warmer’ in the Senate, who doesn’t contribute to legislative debates.
And to some of us in his constituency, it could be lack of adequate media coverage of his contributions and activities by his aides. Another possible contributing factor to this negative perception in our constituency is the allegations of lack of proper and respectful engagements with his people. People complain that he’s inaccessible to the locals and where he gives his words, in some cases, he usually, easily forgets to keep that promise.
In addition to the commendable performance at the senate, I believe the Senator should also work on his relationship and engagements with his people.
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Hon. Mahuta, a former Member, Katsina State House of Assembly, posted the article on his Facebook handle.
