Why Niger South needs vibrant lawmakers
Ibrahim Muye Yahaya Niger South Senatorial District of Niger State comprises of eight local governments areas: Agaie, Bida, Lapai, Edati, Gbako, Katcha, Lavun and Mokwa. The zone is not only endowed with vast arable land, but also abundant human resources. Just as Nigerians are clamouring for a bold change and good governance, the good people […]
Ibrahim Muye Yahaya
Niger South Senatorial District of Niger State comprises of eight local governments areas: Agaie, Bida, Lapai, Edati, Gbako, Katcha, Lavun and Mokwa. The zone is not only endowed with vast arable land, but also abundant human resources.
Just as Nigerians are clamouring for a bold change and good governance, the good people of the zone are not left out in this quest. They also deserve a better deal so that this democracy works for everyone and not just for the elite and special interests. As the clock ticks towards the 2019 general elections, the consciousness of the good people of the zone is now tilted towards producing the next elected officials.
The electorate, irrespective of political party, should look out for the best so as not to sacrifice merit in those that will lead and represent them. It will be a setback to the entire zone which is endowed with professionals and technocrats if we choose to vote commercial politicians and those that lack the requisite experience to be lawmakers. It is has become imperative for us to re-launch ourselves. It is not in our interest to continue to have selfish, anointed, puppets and benchwarmers as lawmakers. The zone has tested incompetent lawmakers at both the National and State assemblies and the results have not been palatable.
The role of a lawmaker in a democracy is too vital to be left in the hands of incompetent people. Since the return to democracy in Nigeria in 1999, the zone has continued to lag behind in terms of good governance due to the nature of legislators we continue to elect. Niger South deserves honest, credible, trustworthy, experienced, visionary and dedicated persons to lead and represent us: the types who will not be isolated from the people and who will feel our pain, share our dreams and take their strength, wisdom and courage from us.
The zone is lagging behind and asking for improvement in infrastructure, education, agriculture, health and job creation. The zone has waited too long for leaders and lawmakers who know that quid pro quo should not be the status quo. The zone’s graceful decline can be arrested if we have lawmakers that can defend and prop up the interest of the electorate.
The district today faces lot of challenges: our schools look like abandoned farmhouses and our roads are more of death traps.
Another serious challenge being faced by the people is in the banking sector. The number of banks in the zone cannot cater for the growing demands of customers: traders and civil servants.
Therefore, it’s time we vote for those with foresight and who understand the unconventional challenges we face and who can lead us to overcome them. We want to see a resourceful Niger South where there will be sound, effective, reliable and affordable agricultural, health, education, job creation and infrastructural development policies. The 2019 general elections is a golden opportunity for healing.
It’s imperative that mandates should be given to honest aspirants with track and unblemished records armed with the knowledge of the public and private sectors in order to meet the yearnings and expectations of the electorate. The people of Niger South deserve lawmakers who understand the role and expectation from of a legislator in a democratic setting.
We cannot afford more false promises, slogans, theatrics and fool’s gold. Our zone has been profoundly damaged by lack of civility and courage in our lawmakers, where they have abdicated their responsibility to forge unreasonable interests. We have become too de-sensitised to the horrendous metrics that define today’s Nigeria. Our zone deserves lawmakers humble enough to see leadership not as an entitlement but as a privilege. We want lawmakers who would curb the growing power of pockets of special or quack interests who often conceal their self-serving agendas behind a facade of fist-in-the-air patriotism and unfulfilling promises.
We want lawmakers who can rise up from their seats to speak, debate and defend policies of government that will have positive impact on the electorate and their constituencies. We want lawmakers who understand how, why, when and where to lobby for programmes and projects that will benefit the electorate in their constituencies and not their pockets. This will open doors of opportunities in the zone, which will in turn, lead to economic growth and development.
Now that we are prepared to make another choice, let’s choose wisely in order not to put our lives into the hands of those cast-off leaders, gamblers, tricksters, commercial politicians, deceivers and chance takers.
Finally, my fellow people of Niger South; the 2019 general elections should not be about political party. It shouldn’t be about personality or connection, it shouldn’t be about the wealth or influence of an aspirant, it shouldn’t be about aspirants’ closeness to government, it shouldn’t be about being an anointed candidate; but the integrity, idea, vision, know-how, charisma, ability and the experience of individuals seeking to lead and represent us.
We want to have faith again, we want to perceive the evidence of good governance in every nook and cranny of the zone, we want to be proud again and we just want the truth again. The verdict is, therefore, ours to either choose to rebuild our future in other to develop our zone, by voting the right candidates, or sustain the legacies we have been battling with: incompetent representatives, unfulfilled promises and disappointments.
Yahaya wrote from Muye, Niger State