Ndoma-Egba And COCMEG award on patriotism

Recently, the Coalition of Civil Societies and Media Executives for

Good Governance (COCMEG), an umbrella body of NGOs, CSOs, activists,

and media executives honoured the immediate past Senate Leader,

Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN, with the Centenary Certificate of

Credence and Commendation, for his “patriotic legislations over a

decade ago and people-oriented leadership.”

According to COCMEG’s President, Omoba Kenneth Aigbegbele, “The honour

was accorded him after a critical analysis of his actions over the

years of the cordial relationship that existed between him and his

constituents, whose lives it was confirmed he had been positively

touching, his putting the country first in everything he does before

his personal interest, his nationalistic ideals and philosophy towards

a new Nigeria, his sustainable performance index, which includes,

actions, policies and decisions that makes a social impact and his

ability to draw the myriads of challenges in his constituency to the

national level and his belief in infusing social conscience and equity

into governance....”
The former Senate Leader and Senior Partner of Ndoma-Egba & Co. law

firm who feel elated by the honour bestowed on him, hailed the

coalition for their advocacy over the years for the common good of our

country, noting that the award will spur him to continue to give his

best at all times and for the greater good of humanity.

Speaking in an interview, Ndoma-Egba, a three-term Senator between

2003 and 2015 said patriotism is an obligation that every citizen owes

to his/her country. Hear Him: “I feel humbled by the award that one’s

modest contributions even after office are being recognized and

acknowledged. It is good to know that even while you were doing those

things people were watching. However, I must say that patriotism is a

duty that every citizen owes to his/her country, and it has nothing to

do with whether or not you are occupying an office. For me, I am a

Nigerian. I have no other country other Nigeria. And in all honesty,

Nigeria has been very kind to me and I owe my country that duty of

loyalty; that duty of elevating the country and a duty to give to my

country the best of my efforts.”
Stressing the need for Nigerians to continue to remain patriotic even

in the midst of the various challenges facing the country, the former

lawmaker said: “Yes, there are expectations of citizens from their

country and there are expectations of the country from the citizens.

So, It is a two-way traffic. Yes, our country may not have given all

what we expect from her and what it could possibly give. But what are

the choices open to us? To create another country for ourselves? No!

So, the best we can do if we are disappointed or dissatisfied, is to

see it as a bigger challenge for us to exert ourselves further in the

service of our country, so that we can get the country of our dreams.”

The legal luminary called on Nigerians to be patient with the present

administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, while noting that “Our

problems are multi-faceted. We have to deal the level and depth of

decay. And when I say decay, not just in material terms, even in terms

of social values. We have had unprecedented decay of social values. We

have decayed in terms of values. We have also decayed in terms of

infrastructure. We have decayed in terms of morality… Beyond that, you

have global dynamics. Nigeria is part of the world community. We have

a mono-cultural economy which depends largely on oil. The price of oil

has been falling. You cannot blame that collapse of oil price on

anybody. But that will also have an impact on our economy. So, we must

grapple with the situation. We must arrest the decay before you can

build or rebuild. Therefore, we can only urge for patience. We just

have to be patient as things would certainly get better.”

Admirers of the Senator believed that he rightly deserves the honour

accorded him by COCMEG with the award on patriotism. To them, his

eventful and action-packed twelve-year sojourn in the highest

lawmaking body of the country clearly portrayed him as a man who truly

loves and desires the best for his country.
The award, in the words of his followers, could not have come at a

better time after offering a worthy service to his fatherland in his

capacity as a member of the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly.

Ndoma-Egba is reputed to be one of the highly cerebral Senators the

country produced since we returned to democracy in 1999.

Peter Ayang had once said in a piece titled, “Exemplary Leadership and

Sacrifice: The Victor Ndoma Egba Example”, “Rising to the occasion of

his election as Leader of the Nigeria Senate; he was well equipped

with a nostalgic roadmap towards surmounting the daunting challenges

of his office while mindful of the enormous responsibility thrust upon

him. He is an administrator with exceptional strength, ability and

vision. The depth of his understanding of policies, bills and laws and

their backgrounds proved vital in his efforts towards the

administrative running of the Senate. He is a great motivator and

steel frame for the advancement of people-oriented causes, a firm

advocate of debate who possesses the uncommon ability to pursue

popular causes even if they vary with his own personal interest. He is

not only an astute technocrat and a team player; he has integrity that

can be described as uncommon in this part of the world.”

A former chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and now member of

All Progressives Congress (APC), Ndoma-Egba, in his legislative

adventure, singlehandedly sponsored over 39 bills, an unprecedented

feat in the history of Nigeria’s legislature. The famous Freedom of

Information (FoI) bill was one of the bills to his credit.

Michael Jegede, a journalist writes from Abuja
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