SIR: I always wonder if Nigerians are not tired of being citizens of the country where anything goes. In March 2015, we voted for Change, but it's obvious we are not ready for it because if we are, Dr Bukola Saraki will not double as an occupant of the 'Accused Box' at the Code of Conduct Tribunal and as president of the highest law making body in the country, the Nigerian Senate. That's an affront to over 170 million highly esteemed occupants of "Office of the Citizen." It is a desecration of the hallowed chamber. And if we cannot rise to protect the integrity of the National Assembly, what then is left of our democracy?

Considering the staggering revelations being made at the ongoing trial of the senate president which commenced on Tuesday, April 6, the country's number three man should have stepped aside. According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)'s witnesses, Saraki allegedly laundered several millions and has several undeclared assets in Nigeria and abroad. Saraki had been accused of offences ranging from anticipatory declaration of assets, foreign accounts ownership to false declaration of assets in the forms he filed before the Code of Conduct Bureau while he was governor of Kwara State.

Saying he should step aside as leader of the Nigerian Senate is not an option, it's a necessity. This will allow him face his trial, and put an end to all sorts of distraction- for instance, the lawmakers couldn't hold plenary session because their leader was at the CCT- and save the Senate of further embarrassment.

Nigerian politicians are always quick to compare the country's democracy with those of developed countries, yet they refuse to do so when the odds are unfavourable. If it were saner climes, Saraki would have been forced to resign even if he refused to do so honourably. In the United States, Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon resigned the evening he was arrested for public corruption charges in March 2014.

Just last year, the Guatemalan President, Otto Perez Molina, resigned following his alleged involvement in massive corruption scandal. Days after widespread calls for his removal, the Prime Minister of Iceland, Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, eventually announced his resignation following the recent Panama Papers leaks which linked him to an offshore company. Why can't Nigerians massively demand that Saraki steps down?

I'm not in any way suggesting that the senate president is guilty of the criminal charges slammed on him; that's left for the CCT to determine. As it stands, the senate president is expected to prove, before the tribunal, that the 13-count charge of corruption leveled against him are false and as such shame his "witch-hunters", if there are any.

For the sake of personal integrity, this is the time for Bukola Saraki to match words with action. He has reiterated severally that he's a man of integrity who is ready to fight corruption to a standstill. Here's that great opportunity for him to prove to Nigerians that he has no skeleton in his cupboard. Having said that he has a clear conscience, he should step aside to attend to the criminal allegations against him. When he eventually has his day in court, he will garner more respect from Nigerians and the National Assembly will be strengthened. This will definitely help deepen the country's democracy.

However, if he is convicted as a sitting senate president, the consequences will be damaging not only to his reputation and political stature, but also to the standing of Nigeria in the comity of nations. Notably, this will go a long way in undermining the National Assembly.

We hope to see a country that does not encourage impunity; one where the right thing is done at the right time, where appropriate sanctions are applied when laws are broken. We want ours to be a nation where law is no respecter of persons no matter how highly placed they are in the society. And that's real Change!

Kofoworola Ayodeji,

kennydamola@yahoo.com