Goddie Akpama|19 November 2017
With the return to democratic rule in Nigeria in 1999, most observers have concluded that in most cases legislative representation at the National Assembly has not been of any meaningful developmental impact on the constituents most of the lawmakers represent.
In fact, some of the observers have argued that constituencies that have recycled same politicians over the decades have benefited little or nothing in terms of infrastructure, and human capital development.
They are quick to point out that instead it is the sit-tight lawmakers that tend to expand in personal wealth, and influence, even when it is an established fact that he or she was as good as a having nothing when elected by thousands of his constituents to represent them.
Some of the lawmakers have been in the legislature from the State House of Assembly up to the Senate for about 20 unbroken years without actually having anything tangible, meaningful project to point at in form of constituency projects.
A typical reference point to this misrepresentation or what some have termed “self-representation” is the Central Senatorial District of Cross River State, where the dividends of democracy is seen only in the personal estates, such as numerous hotels, choice properties, farm estates of their representatives started all over the country , and even in foreign lands.
Of course one is not against the material prosperity of any of the representatives of the people of the Central Senatorial District, if such wealth is acquired through honest means, and ingenuity devoid of denying the people of their democratic dividend.
However, one is not comfortable with a situation where what is supposed to be the common wealth of the people of a constituency is not reflected on them, but seen only on the personal acquisitions of the man or woman who claims to be representing them.
Is such a situation proper? Is it proper for only other members of the constituency to leave subsistent lives while the hitherto poor man they voted to represent suddenly becomes that only man swimming in inexplicable stupendous wealth, even when he was never known to be a successful entrepreneur?
Collectively as a people in the Central Senator district, we must put a stop to any known self-serving representative in 2019 by ensuring that we support, and elect only those we trust to represent us in the National Assembly, especially the Senate which is the upper arm of the legislature.
That is where the advocacy for FRESH IDEAS becomes very expedient for the teeming population of the Central Senatorial District of Cross River State.
In an evolving Nigeria where there is stiff competition for all round development of infrastructure, and the human beings,that are the constituents, we in the Central Senatorial District, must of necessity chose from the abundance of fresh individual who will give the people real representation, and not someone who is there to amass wealth in the most primitive manner, and flaunt it with impunity, and disdain, in the face of the poor rural folks such a person pretends to represent.
On this note I insist that our next representative in the senate should be a, self-made, people-oriented and listening, person that will propagate FRESH IDEAS, and modern ways of representation to the benefit of the entire Central Senatorial District. We must avoid anyone that moves towards appropriating our collective destiny in the Senatorial District.
Together, we can work to achieve that.
FRESH IDEAS 2019.
Thank You.
Goddie Akpama
Former IPAC CRS Chair
