When you present an empty vessel as Leader................
This is the continuation of my recent article where i focused on marginalization in Kogi State. In my last article, my reader could recall that i took time to explain governance in Kogi State and power sharing among the senatorial districts that constitute the state. I also explained the divides in Kogi State owing to marginalization and how some people feel about it.
I explained further how the people of Kogi Central and Kogi West axis of Kogi State were always schemed out in political appointments and project execution in a State where everybody struggled for its creation.
In as far as i blamed Idris Wada led government for not being fair to other senatorial districts in terms of project execution and political appointment, we need to ask ourselves some pertinent questions. Where are the leaders of Kogi Central when issues of power sharing and project execution are being discussed?
Where are Kogi central assembly members when the house deliberate on Budget for the next budgetary year? I certainly know that the Governor can not propose Budget, get the project executed without seeking the approval of the Kogi State House of Assembly members. I know the Governor cannot just nominate Commissioners, Special advisers, personal aids without first seeking the approval of the State Assembly. The Assembly members by their constitutional roles must give nod to the nomination of persons for commissioners, special advisers, board members and others.
If i am right in this case, why are the people of Kogi central always crying out of being short-changed in a place where we have representatives? If we have good leaders who know what it takes to represent the society, the issue of marginalization would not arise.
To make my points clear, i could recall that whenever Mr President sends ministerial nominees, Board members nominees and others to the national assembly, the national assembly members have constitutional right to either reject or accept it.
The national assembly members can reject some nominees on the ground that the area at which the person is coming from has already been taking care of by the previous political appointment from the state. I could remember that the national assembly members a times do reject some nominees on the ground that the President of the country has not observed the quota system as enshrined in Nigerian Constitution.
This is one reason why the President is always conscious of his political appointment. Because of this, he strives to carry everybody along in the affairs of the Nation and he does this by balancing his political appointments.
Then if i am on the right track with this explanation, why is it that the Kogi State assembly members always find it difficult to replicate what is obtainable at the national level in the affairs of the State? Why is it that the Eastern axis of Kogi State always have their interest pushed through in the house at the detriment of other senatorial districts in terms of project allocations, project execution, board membership appointment, senior special advisers’ appointment and others when Kogi Central have representatives there?
Asides getting large share of political appointments, the eastern axis of the State always reserved some political positions to their domain. For the knowledge of all, positions like Commission for Justice and Attorney General of the State, Commissioner for Finance, Head of Service, and Chief of Staff are exclusively reserved for persons from Eastern Senatorial district in the last 16 years.
I can’t phantom why the assembly members from Kogi Central hardly raised an eye-brow on these? Does it mean assembly members from Kogi Central are dummy and dumb? Does it implies that the crop of people we elected as leaders from Kogi Central are nonentities and one who does not have nothing to say when important issues are being discussed?
As one can deduce from above, the mode of nominating or electing leaders in Kogi central is totally faulty. The implication of forceful fielding an empty vessel as leader is that you get nothing which we are currently experiencing in Kogi central. Leaders who got elected on primordial sentiment like it is our clan’s turn to produce the Assembly and not on the bases of what the person can offer the society.
Our society parades an educated illiterate as Party leaders who in turns foist one who not challenges their doing which later back-fire on the general populace through poor representation. This is the resultant effect of having an intellectual thug as party leaders as their best stops at the local government but when it comes to State’s issues where intellect come to play, he remains a bench-warmer.
Notwithstanding, as new set of people take their sit come May, 2015, the assembly members from Kogi Central must put their thinking Cap right this time around whether they got elected by mistake or not. They should know that they were elected to represent the interest of the general populace and not their pocket alone. We must not wait to produce the Governor to demand what is due us. If we know our onions, we can get the wrong correct at the right time.
Point to note, Niger Delta people never had the opportunity of producing the number one position in the country before pushing their interest through in a matter of national discuss in the time past. The Niger Delta ministry and many others were created to address their grievances and this was made possible through their responsive representation of their leaders in the time past. They were able to achieve these because they didn’t present “sit-down-look” person as assembly members, House of representative members or senator. Their represetatives were always vocal and good at voicing out the feeling of their people at the national conference, national assembly and public gathering.
The Kogi Central assembly members must replicate same by pushing our interest through at the State House of assembly. They must do everything possible in curtailing the excess of the Governor in the area of project allotment, project execution and political appointment with a view to address the plight of Kogi Central people. They should understand that fund for the development of the state is meant for all and not a senatorial district alone.
Upon resumption, they should make it clear that political appointment should henceforth be spread proportionately. The appointment, project allocation, project execution should be shared equally among the senatorial districts that constitute the State. They should make it clear that positions like commissioner for finance, Commissioner for Justice and attorney general of the State, chief of staff be given to persons from either Kogi wet or Kogi central as duo have not produced any of these before.
They should equally make it in clear that that failure to heed to these will lead to the suspension of any other political appointment presented to Kogi State assembly member for approval. They should make it clear that failure of the Governor to execute and commission projects in Kogi Central and Kogi west will lead to non-approval of budget for projects in Kogi East.
Also, the leadership of Peoples Democratic Party leaders in Kogi Central need to start talking and not to be seen as behaving like moron on issues that bothers on our collective interest in the State. They should learn to call the Governor to order by telling him that the people of Kogi central are not contented with the number of political appointments to our area. The PDP Leaders should understand that the Governor is a human being like them and not a masquerade and even if he is, there is a way out to show our displeasure. They should stop the idea of sacrificing personal interest for the general societal goals. I want to see Kogi Central PDP leaders openly protesting over this abnormally in the state to show the love they have for the society.
I am very convinced that when these are done, it will go a long way to minimise the incidence of over concentration of political appointment and projects in one senatorial district as currently experienced in the state. Adopting these measures will go a long way to reduce complaint of marginalization in Kogi State and also accelerate even development across the senatorial districts in the State.
Shaibu Stephen Ojate is a public affairs Commentator and Managing Editor of EAGLE REPORTERS, an International Online Newspaper writes from Abuja. He is reachable on 08052666344 or 08102658380