WHEN A LEGISLATOR IS A WORKING LEGISLATOR

WHEN A LEGISLATOR IS A WORKING LEGISLATOR

By Oriaifoh Godwins

The work of a legislator, amongst other things is to make laws, act as a check on the executive arm of government, control and supervise the budgets etc; but when a legislator goes out of his way not only to attract the

dividends of democracy to his constituency, but also use his personal income/salary to provide palliative measures to people in his constituency, especially the widows and the youths, then such legislator must be commended as he is not only a selfless individual, but also one that is close to his people and also close to God; as it is often said that you must be close to the people to know their problems and to God to be able to solve them. Therefore, a legislator that knows the problems of his people, and also goes the extra mile in solving them is not only a working legislator, he is one that is a shining example amongst other legislators, as such, must be commended and emulated by others.

It is therefore within the contest of the foregoing, that one legislator that have clearly distinguished himself as a ‘working legislator’ will be showcased as an example for several others that, instead of serving the people, are serving themselves.

I will like to emphasise here that, while it seems ordinary to praise people for doing what is right or what is good, we must also understand that it is not just for doing what is right that such people got the praises or acknowledgements for; they also got it for their choice and ability in avoiding doing what is evil.

Like I have said in several fora, and even on this page, I am not a politician, and don’t wish to be one, except if God says otherwise, but, I am a patriotic Nigerian who has the interest of Nigeria at heart, and who has over time, been following the political economy of this country, and have discovered that the problem of Nigeria, is not resources (human, natural or material) but the problem we have is the absence of purposeful, focused and disciplined managers of the economy that have the interest of the people at heart.

In view of the foregoing, I hereby conclude (without any fear of contradiction) that the current Edo State Deputy Speaker, a member representing Esan Central Local Government Area, in Edo State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Victor Sabor Tiger Edoror, (aka Owdoolamper), is one legislator that have shown great leadership and political representative zeal and acumen such that the testimonials of people in his constituency has proven beyond doubt that the honourable member has been selfless in representing his people.

I chose to bring the activities of this honourable member to the fore because, in my opinion, we should begin to showcase the good people amongst us, irrespective of status and endeavour, but, especially those in the saddle of power, so as to encourage them and also make the erring ones to take a cue from the good example they are exhibiting.

If we must tell ourselves the truth, Nigeria has come a long way. Oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1806 at Oloibiri; that was 209 years ago! Wow! Some persons may argue that; after all, at that time, it was not in commercial quantity; but, if we assume that oil exploration has been going on in Nigeria in the past 100 years, and the managers of our oil revenue were disciplined, focused, patriotic and hard working individuals, shouldn’t we by now be living like Prince and Princess? Should Nigeria youths in 2015 go about looking for whatever green pastures outside this country? The answer is: NO!

Let us face the fact; the change that we really and truly need in this country, is a change of the attitude of the people at the helm of our affairs. I say this, because, if the head is bad, then no part of the body can be good. The change we need is a change of our attitudes from pursuing our greed to being comfortable with our needs. We must eschew our greed and focus more on our needs, as mother earth has enough to meet our needs, but not enough to meet our greed. Our leaders today, are so greedy that if they have the power, they don’t mind putting the entire country in their pockets. Yet, they forget that they come to this world with nothing and it is certain that when they die, they will leave with nothing. The deputy speaker, Edo state House of assembly, has proven himself to be an exemplary representative who has so far changed the status quo of legislators, that have been deceiving the people after smuggling themselves into the saddle of power only to end up in enriching themselves and their cohorts to the chagrin of those that voted them into power.

In the just concluded House of Assembly election in Edo state, Honourable Edoror tested his popularity once again when people voted for him en masse across the 10 wards that make up his constituency. This feat is not surprising as he had touched on the lives of different people across the wards, from the youths, to the widows, not leaving out the men by attracting constituency projects like boreholes, step down transformers and Town Halls to his constituency. In addition to this, he has used his personal funds to set up skills acquisition centres and also provided food items to the widows on a monthly basis. Again, several unemployed youths are on his payroll on a monthly basis. If I may ask; is there any political representative in this country, either in the House of Assembly, House of Representatives or Senate that have been able to match this record?

In view of the above therefore, it is incumbent on all the members of the 8th Edo state House of Assembly to produce legislators with strategic problem solving and consensus-building abilities. Such legislators must have proven track records of integrity in governance and otherwise. They must be knowledgeable enough to command the respect and admiration of the people in their constituencies. They must be reliable and dependable at all times and in all matters; they must also be people that shows apathy in matters that affect people in their constituencies irrespective of their political affiliation, religion, tribe and ideology.
Since everyone cannot be involved in the process or act of law-making, but must do so through their representatives, which is indirect form of democracy, the next members of Edo state House of Assembly, must be made up of people that are accessible to all and sundry.

I must say here without any fear of contradiction that the Senator that represented Edo Central, Senator Odion Ugbesia, did virtually nothing during his tenure, as gully erosion has depleted Ibore and Ewu towns, the people in his constituency, save for those in Esan Central local government area, have suffered, and are still suffering from lack of water and good roads; people from Ubiaja, his hometown, have condemned his nonchalant attitude to their plight, hence, he is very unpopular even amongst his people.

The above, is a wakeup call to our politicians in Nigeria. It is to remind them that the days of endorsements by gluttonous godfathers are over, that the electorates have now grabbed the bull by its horns and have decided to use their votes to speak for or against any political representative that is found wanting. It is time for us in Nigeria to begin to produce ‘working’ and not ‘sleeping’ legislators.