Electorates in Edo North are asking questions of where about of their lawmaker, adding that the Senatorial district hasn’t gotten it’s shares under the incumbent Senator.
Elempe Dele, Edo.
“Senator Clifford Odia is all over Esan land wanting to surpass the achievements of BEST Senator Matthew Uroghide of Edo South. Where is Edo North senator?”
One of my friends, Mr. Ernest Akpaja, posted this on Facebook and it jolted me to political liveliness this morning. I think it’s time for stakeholders, elders and politicians in Akoko-Edo to start talking ahead of 2023. Our talks must be centered around what comes to us as of interest to the LGA, not for personal interest. We here seem to always wait for what comes to us, we don’t go to sit down where it matters to talk and negotiate what we need, what we can get, what is negotiable…that’s why for a very long while, we get crumbs.
This must change…we are not just born to be voters, we can also be voted for. There is no negotiating table where those not present are given the large share of the spoils, they normally take the leftovers.
Now, with this knowledge, we must start looking at what we need. It takes a lot of meetings and planning ahead. We have ample time ahead but there is no time.
I cannot recall anything meaningful that this present serving senator from Edo North has brought to Akoko-Edo since he was re-elected. I am personally very close to the Esan people, I know how much their ordinary House of Representative members take to their constituencies how much more their senator: They have roads, have street lights, human capacity development, education empowerment programs, trainings, they give federal government jobs from their slots…these things are all very visible.
We must call to question the activities of Senator Frank Alimikhena in Akoko-Edo. Perhaps if they are not visible to us, we should be shown. There must be questions about his projects, where they are situated and of what value they are to the communities where they are sited.
Without prejudice of political affiliation, or partisanship, these are normal questions that constituents ask in constitutional democracies. He is a representative of the people and so has a duty to them. I know he has an aide from Akoko-Edo, he can help us in this project identification.
We must be able to do juxtaposition of the constuency projects as detailed in the senate with what is reflective on ground. These are rights, not privileges. And when this is done with open minds, we can now make informed decision on his mark in Akoko-Edo. I have a fixed idea that he has not done much but I do not want us to be blinded by my personal assessment. We must ask for proof.
Whatever it is, we should not stop on our heels not to start looking beyond his tenure which will end in 2023. We must start looking for more viable options. Akoko-Edo’s outing during the last gubernatorial election (based on figures, 43,377 votes in total, which is huge), is something to use. This is double what an LGA like Owan West got.
It shows we have strength in numbers in Edo North, which we can easily translate to negotiating prowess. We are not pushovers with our numerical strength, we just need to add this advantage to playing politics of negotiations across LGAs in Edo North. It’s a matter of give and take. Who says we cannot produce the next senator if we are politically mean?
