| 25th October, 2018 | Ukorebi Esien
A National Assembly legislative hopeful seeking to represent the Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency in the green chambers, Mr. Wofai Ewa has added his voice to the poor and limited representation the Yakurr nation is likely to face in the 2019 - 2023 political dispensation.
Mr. Ewa who made the observation while filing questions bordering on the Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency, said the lack of a unifying leadership front is a major cause as to why the Yakurr nation may not have a representation at the federal level in the coming political dispensation.
According to him, "Some of us actually saw this ahead of time. I knew this would happen and that was why I stayed focused on the House of Representatives aspiration, knowing that when we put all our hopes on the Senate position and then lose the Senate contests/primaries, we would also have lost the opportunity of getting our voices far-reaching to the Green Chambers, leaving us begging and scrambling for the House of Assembly positions".
The young energetic Lecturer-turned-Politician who has been the talk of the town said it is true that the Yakurr people had agitated for the Senate, but that did not dissuade him, because he knew from the very beginning that the major political parties were not ready to give the Yakurr man a chance at the Senate.
His words: "There was this rumour that the Yakurr people have been agitating for the Senate, and I also understand some persons had legitimate interests for that office but I didn't see it as a legitimate reason to step aside from the House of Representative contest, because my campaign organisation's proposed programmes, projects and legislative proposals were simple, but revolutionary in application and implication. This is why we were generous enough to release our manifesto on New Year's day, the 1st of January 2018, on one hand to initiate consistent public critique of our proposals and have constituents debate and learn about them. On the other hand we made an early release so the current political elite could freely plagiarize and steal points for their campaigns, knowing that if, and I say a big IF, I were to somehow lose the contest to a rival who has happily plagiarized key elements of our manifesto for their campaigns, we would be happier for such persons to stay true to their words and fix the common problems of our people. By the way, this goes beyond Yakurr and goes right across the Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency and our dear Cross River State.
 |
| The Obol Lopon of Ugep, Obol Ofem Ubangha with members of his cabinet, Yakurr leaders during his recent visit to PMB in Aso Rock |
"It got to a point where it became clear that the major political parties, i.e. the APC and the PDP didn't truly have a plan to involve their Yakurr counterpart in the grand scheme of things". He added.
"I shared these concerns with the Obol Lobon of Ugep, several Yakurr elites and virtually everyone we made contact with through our Town Halls meetings and Consultations. And after all the primaries, it happened exactly as predicted. I have met with the Obol severally and I have also spoken with most of the Yabol Lipon (Kings) of Yakurr".
Mr. Ewa however, said something was going to happen, but could not tell what that was.
"And I feel that something is going to happen and something will happen". He emphasized.
"There's this thinking that the Yakurr people who have a large numerical strenght and house the largest native town in West Africa haven't really known how to use their numbers because they do not really have a unifying factor or a unifying leader that has been able to bring all of them together, probably after the likes of Okoi Arikpo and the others before and after him". He pointed out.
"I don't want to categorically say that there is a political leadership gap, but I think there is. And that's why I think there is all the fighting, lack of cohesion and communal focus and all that stuff that becomes obvious to us the younger generation. We have too many political leaders and big men, but the unifying factor is just not there. He added.
Talking about his aspiration for the Green Chambers, Mr. Ewa said his priority is to ensure all round Peace, Unity and Progress as he willfully attempts to resolve all existing conflicts within the constituency.
"I have my number one priority and that is to resolve all existing conflicts, and I mean every single conflict there is. From Abi to Yakurr, as many as they are and as generational as they may be, our priority is to resolve all of them. We will only fail if the warring people were to decide not to be a part of the Facilitative Dispute Resolution processes that we will be proposing and implementing. But we have toured and touched almost every ward and the message from the people is quite clear; "they want to try something new and revolutionary, hoping that massive progress can be achieved when our communities are Peaceful and safe for development. We know how to do it and we have the right Political Will to go about it.
"Despite seeking to legislatively fix communal and urban issues through the primary themes of our manifesto like Education, Health, Senior Citizens' Welfare, Youths and Sports/Skills Development, etc., if we were to succeed in just fixing our communal disputes alone, that would be some great feat for our people in the Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency and that would rightly set us up for some well-deserved progress and development path into the future. We can do it and God willing, we will do it". He Concluded.
Ukorebi Esien blogs for TDN where he tells the Nigerian story, one article at a time.
0 comments: