In analytical report titled, “Ukanafun/Oruk Anam: wallowing in obscurity” in Daily Newswatch issue of July 29, 2013, the first paragraph offers a worrisome perspective. It stated that “The evaluation of many in Ukanafun Oruk Anam federal Constituency on representation of the area since 1999 could best be summed up as being best, better and good for the respective periods of 1999 -2003, 2003 -2007 and 2007 -2011. Those with conservative mindset conversely appraised it as bad, worse and worst.”
Reinforcing the introductory paragraph and validation of the headline of the article, the piece, which had the byline of yours sincerely, particularly premised on the fact that the former lawmakers representing the constituency at their respective times were not contributing to deliberations in the House of Representatives at plenary.
The analysis, which focused on three past representatives of the constituency and the then incumbent, Emmanuel Ukoette, further adduced that “Even admirers and supporters of the past and present law-makers hardly dispute the perception of dismal representation of the constituency; rather, their best in defending their political patron is by rolling out excuses to exculpate them and yet excoriating others.” However, since Ukoette was just two years in office, the grammatical comparison of the degrees of the badness or goodness quoted above did not apply to him.
With the completion of his two terms from 2011 to 2019, it was glaring that the worst was worsening. Fortunately for the former lawmaker, the superlative form of bad is worst and grammarians and lexicographers do not seem to come up with higher degree of word to downgrade worst. Ukoette, who is nicknamed Gani after Nigeria’s most consistent and dogged rights crusader, Gani Fawehinmi, turned out to be the most surprising and disappointing since he was hitherto perceived by many as one possessing what it takes to bailout the constituency from the doldrums of parliamentary dumbness.
It is still difficult to fathom out why the former representative of Ukanafun/Oruk-Anam was groping in obscurity for eight years that he was in the lower chamber of Nigeria’s national legislature. Ukoette has a physique of a Goliath that could catch the eyes of any presiding officer in the spaciously arranged crowd of 360 people in the House, and make him the cynosure of all eyes whenever and wherever he stands to speak. In political playground, he had been demonstrating daredevil bravado in squaring up with, and even defeating, intellectual giants and more politically sophisticated persons, either by hook or by crook. He also has appreciable command of the use of English. Yet, none of those qualities came to manifestation throughout the eight years he spent (or squandered?) in the House of Representatives.
It could be understood that parleying with fellow parliamentarians at Nigerian parliamentary chambers may not be without peculiar politics and procedures that could be of plagues to performance of some parliamentarians. But Ukoette and his predecessors never complained of that, let alone making time-tested peaceful protest like Senators Francis Ellah of Rivers State and Mubashir Abiru of Lagos State, who resigned from the Nigerian Senate in the second republic presumably over alleged frustration of private member bills.
To offer his perspective for possible vindication by posterity, Ellah stepped up his radical resignation by authoring a book titled, The Unfinished Motions. Even if Ukoette would later come up with such book, it is doubtful whether it would make any appeal to his fellow constituents since he did not resign to register his frustration. The only time he made headline in the course of being in the legislature was when he dumped PDP, the party through which he was elected twice, to APC, the party which he sought to get a third term.
It is in view of the foregoing that one could understand, and pardon, the hype of “Breaking News” frequently scribbled on social media walls by admirers of Unyime Idem, the current representative of Ukanafun/Oruk-Anam , whenever the first-term lawmaker moved a motion or sponsored a bill in the House of Representatives. Given what had been the lot of representation of the constituency before now, seeing a representative of Ukanafun/Oruk-Anam standing and speaking in the green chamber is, indeed, newsworthy just as it is of green-eyed monster to those who might have perceived that nothing glittering could ever come out from the constituency.
In less than one year in the House Representatives, it has been so far, so good, as Idem has offered an harbinger of hope – hope of effecting change – change from bad to good, from inefficient and ineffective representation to efficient and effective representation. To his credit, he has sponsored five bills and moved five motions.
His motions and bills have the timeliness of fixing pressing national issues for timelessness. Some are laced with luminosity on lacunas and inequity caused by executive lethargy and impunity in our national establishments. Others have crusading force to get the Nigerian citizenry from the claws of exploitation of socio-economic merchants. Others have ingredients of fixing our infrastructures and raising the depth of entrepreneurship among the Nigerian people. There are some drawing the attention of the national government to plights and aspirations of the Ukanafun/Oruk Anam constituency.
Quite significantly, at this trying time across the globe occasioned by a disease called coronavirus, which is of global pandemic, Idem has raised his voice for “urgent public importance on the need for emergency response and tackling of deadly coronavirus (Covid-19) in Nigeria.” Whenever the fight against the scourge in Nigeria would be documented, it is expected that any detailed account of such effort would hardly suffer an oversight of omitting Idem’s name.
Having known him from childhood when he was struggling to complement his parents’ effort in meeting up with basic needs of life, I can mention that Idem’s innate passion for excellence is one major trait that leverage up on where he has his own fair share of human deficiencies. Still, in comparison with others before him, except the one that represented the constituency between 2007 and 2011, it is difficult to say that Idem is more equipped than his predecessors in terms of the necessary requirement for a legislator.
The distinguishing factor is the differences in their respective willpower. According to Victor Hugo, “People do not lack strength; they lack will.” Idem falls into the category of Ray Bradbury’s take that “Everything is generated through your own will power.” Some go to the National Assembly for self-aggrandizement and acquisition of power, while some others may be solely driven by inherent lucrativeness of the business of lawmaking in Nigeria. From his doing so far, it could be deduced that Idem goes to the House of Representatives to give power to the people – not only the PDP faithful but all within the constituency who were hitherto powerless because of having successive representatives with no voices at the green chamber of the National Assembly.
To keep the flag flying, Idem must not rest on the oars of his stellar performance. Undoubtedly, he has done much better than others before him. Even so, he needs to do more. In representative democracy like ours, where the core concern of governance should ordinarily be on the people, Idem must, as a matter of imperativeness, identify robustly, conscientiously, and glowingly with all, especially the hoi polloi in his constituency.
On the other hand, his fellow constituents should brace up to be on eternal vigilance. Where necessary, he should be giving a thumb up, as done by this writer, to boost his morale, just as constructively criticism, as yours sincerely would not hesitate to do, is of essence to checkmate him from veering off from the glorious tract.
In fairness to previous representatives of the constituency, they had done their best but it remains self-evident that their best was not good enough. While it would be hasty to conclude that Idem is the best so far, it is glaringly a given that for bettering the best that was not good enough, Idem would never be categorized among the bad examples.
For every native of Ukanafun/Oruk-Anam constituency, the news is cheering enough for popping up of champagnes since the area is no longer groping in parliamentary obscurity. The jinx of poor representation has been broken. It might be broken for good except the people opt to continually grope in the dark. Idem has, indeed, blaze a trail. One may choose to call him a jinx breaker just as calling him a trailblazer would not be out of place as far as the representation of Ukanafun/Oruk Anam constituency is the gravamen of discussion.
· Ekanem, a journalist, sent this piece from Lagos through nsikak4media@gmail.com
END
Be the first to comment