Mr. Jibrin Isah Echocho, The Igala Nation Congratulate You

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Expectations are high and hopes nursed since March 2019 general elections went in favour of Mr Jibrin Isah Echocho as he emerged Senator-elect for Kogi East.

With the inauguration of the 9th Senate on Tuesday and Jibrin Echocho’s dream materialising as a distinguished Senator, such expectations and hopes will rest awhile before heightening to desperation as they wont to be.

We join millions of Igala sons and daughters worldwide to congratulate Jibrin Isah Echocho on his inauguration as Distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

His pedigree as a generous, considerate and empathetic personage decidedly designed the roadmap that guided his steps to this honour today.

While the euphoria of the inauguration subsists, it is meet that the reality of the task ahead be laid bare before him, perhaps he might appreciate the gravity of the decision to serve a people in legislative and representative capacity.

We believe, and we expect he should, that the illusion of a philanthropic disposition as an essential quality that marks out a politician for legislative duties must have been discarded by now.

Such illiterate and emotional reasoning which premised all the polling measures that brought him to the Senate may misguide perceptions and mislead judgement. So he should take caution.

Echocho should by now ought to have realised that the 9th Senate is peopled with essential Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in their various fields of endeavour, adorning pealing reputations in legislative actions. Among them have been found iconoclasts, assertive personages, garrulous blokes, authoritarians, bullies, aristocrats and the like.

It is essential if not imperative for Echocho to subject his inner self to critical scrutiny to determine the right psyche to develop in order to produce a voice that will not be submerged in such deluge of classic assemblage.

Igala nation needs a voice that must be heard in the current Nigeria where there is threat everywhere to redefine the frontiers of ethnic importance.

This voice should come through effective communicative skills to clearly articulate his ideas and motivate others to rally to his cause.

The Igala nation is in combat battle with poverty. Through his philanthropic dealings among the Igala people Echocho must have appreciated this much. The Igala nation expects that through his legislative and oversight actions attention will be drawn to this plight for possible amelioration.

Igala land needs federal presence. There are abandoned federal projects like the 132kva power substation at Anyigba and Ajaokuta rail bridge meant to link a rail line that connects Ajaokuta with Otukpo in Benue State. That rail project has since vanished from the modified rail programme of the federal government.

Igala nation has all along suffered injustice in the national sharing formula. The people have been visited with abuses and manipulations that have vitiated their numerical strength, distorted natural landmarks, and sought to remove from them what puts them at advantage over others.

There is the boundary crisis the nation faces with her acquisitive neighbours ostensibly targeted at our land’s natural resources.

Igala presence at the federal civil service is abysmally low. There are some national corporations and agencies that operate exclusively without Igala staff.

The federal roads in Igala land are unmotorable, asperous and anything that takes comfort out of the users. Electric power supply is equally poor. While communities of less ethnographic importance celebrate zero pockets of darkness, Igala nation is still trailing at 30% electrification coverage.

These and many others form the agenda that Igala people should put before you. You must develop the practicality to know when to combine moderation and radicalism to accomplish these goals and fight for Igala liberation. He must be adaptable and flexible enough to embrace opportunities that become available for the furtherance of this Igala cause.

He needs not to be reminded that he should be responsive to his constituent and make his line available to all callers. The senate seat is not about Echocho. It is about Igala people. A little humility goes a long way.

– Martins Haruna
For: The Igala Narratives Magazine


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