WRITTEN BY CHARLES ONYEAGBA
To all intents and purposes, the 2019 General Election has been won and lost. That the people of Nigeria have spoken from their various proclivities and hamlets is also not in doubt. This is all part of the democratic process. In the main, a good number of Nigerians voted freely, never mind the figures about registered voters, uncollected PVCs and voters’ turnout on Election Day. Never mind also about disputations with regard to Collated results.
Action has now shifted to relishing the victory and jostling for positions of benefit, especially at the National Assembly, for obvious reasons. The National Assembly is where the big pie is. That is where one Nigerian earns a monthly remuneration package that will take thousands of fellow citizens off the unemployment market. It is where the fate of millions of Nigerians are decided by a few, who, again, cannot be held to account.
The benefits derived and derivable by the millions of voters from the elections usually end up as a pitiful token, in cash or kind which they collected during the campaigns. Little wonder the intense monetization of the process and the subsequent behavior of both givers and takers.
Meanwhile, election promises remain unfulfilled as the citizens return to status quo or worse and the new powers-that-be who were shaking everyone’s hands disappear into the corridors of power and become inaccessible until the next four years.
Having rid themselves of the rest of us, they commence a jostle for a place in the National Assembly. The contenders seem to have no respect for values and ethics as all regard themselves equally qualified for leadership. In other climes, a cursory look at the stature of members will throw up the leadership. Ndigbo opine that the male chicken can usually be known from the egg shell. Classroom students can readily choose their prefect. In the National Assembly, it appears to be a free for all. However, it is assumed that each political party sets out with an agenda, hopefully, that will help it deliver on its election promises. These programs promise to improve the lot of Nigerians who have had it rough since 1960 when we took charge of our affairs. Military incursion was a woeful attempt to set the country on the right footing.
The bottom line in every democracy is that every segment of the country should be considered and carried along in positions. Thus, the South East, no matter what, should be considered in the key positions in the National Assembly, irrespective of the fact that they, egged on by massive propaganda in the Social Media and so much hype, put all their eggs in one basket.
Ndigbo had no fall back arrangement as some other groups had. In fairness to them, some visionary and knowledgeable Igbo leaders like Chief Willie Obiano had cautioned Ndigbo then. It was the father of the vulture who told his children to leave their head and neck hairless so that kinsmen can see where to pat them. Now the time has come to share the goodies.
A new clamour has begun, even from the same zone that deserves the Senate Presidency since by the tripod calculations in Nigeria, the North and West had retained the two top slots. Logically this makes a lot of sense that a South Easterner ought to occupy the post of Senate President, which is the No. 3 slot in Nigeria’s power equation
Ndigbo know that while planting maize, the farmer does not carry the rodent, Ururu in his bag. All things considered however, an Igboman could have become the next President of the Senate for the equation to balance.
Having shot themselves in the foot though, through political miscalculation or naivety and bad blood arising from very divisive campaign rhetoric, the South East should be consistent in lobbying for it. After all, it is not a referendum on the ranting of some petite demagogue.
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