Since Senator Ike Ekweremadu made his entry into politics, he has continued to grow from strength to strength. Perhaps, quite a few politicians in Nigerian can say that their resume cover services at all levels of government in Nigeria as Senator Ekweremadu presently enjoy.
Senator Ekweremadu’s contemporaries at UNEC testify that he is no intellectual push-over and his days in the Senate shows that, although he is a product of the benevolent Ebeano political family of Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, he is indeed a man who can hold his own end of the stick firmly, responsibly and qualitatively in intellectual and national issues.
But lately, Senator Ekweremadu seems to be determined to remind Nigerians of the colourless days of Alhaji Ibrahim Nasir Mantu, the senator who represented Plateau central in the Senate from 1999 to 2007, as the chairman of the Joint committee of the National Assembly on constitutional review. And if given the latitude, Senator Ekweremadu proposes to exhibit a will power and biceps in variance with the aspirations and positions of the generality of Nigerians and his constituents.
Although the Senate public hearings and debates on the relevant sections of the constitution to be amended in 2014 had been long concluded, Senator Ekweremadu pushes hard and swiftly for the extension of the duration of the term of office for executive office holders to a six year with no option of renewal even when his proposal was roundly defeated in the public hearings and debates of the Senate.
According to Senator Ekweremadu, “succession politics” is the worst impediment against the rapid and sustainable development of Nigeria socio-economically, politically and technologically.
Vanguard Newspapers of January 20, 2014, reported the submission of Senator Ekweremadu on the single term debate thus:
“What I said was look, our problem (in Nigeria) has been that of succession and re-election. Each time we have an election coming, there is this agitation. There is always this problem of the temperature going very high. So, we must find a way of resolving it and one way for me to deal with it is to ensure that there is a single term.”
Speaking further on a paper titled “Succession Challenges in Nigeria: Political and Constitutional Solution” in a forum organised by the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria as reported by the Nigerian Tribune of February 16, 2014, the Enugu bornsenator posits: “Society is dynamic and nothing about democracy is really cast in iron… For instance, it is a fact that the Latin American democracies faced the same challenges we are facing today in the 1970s… As a solution, they adopted the single term presidency until such a time their respective democracies matured and stabilized.”
Indeed, the fascination of Senator Ekweremadu on the single term beats every well-meaning Nigerian hollow; the reason is simple: Nigerians had made a clear statement on the issue; and as a democrat, the Senator is expected to allow the people’s desire ride the crest. After all, democracy is the government of the majority.
Frankly, the obsession of Senator Ekweremadu on this issue is becoming unsettling and tends to remind us of those inglorious days of Senator Mantu’s third term campaign and how that singular unholy desire led to the demise of our first attempt at amending our constitution since the exit of the military in government.
Let the point be made clearly here, and now too: “single term” and succession are the least of Nigeria’s troubles as a nation. So the Deputy Senate President should wake up to reality and start facing the real issues that are keeping Nigeria perpetually under-developed.
As we continue to spend over 70 percent of our annual budget on recurrent expenditure while our physical infrastructure is in the state of ruination, the Senate should be occupied with making and repealing laws in consonance with the Orosanye committee’s report so that areas of leakages would be irrevocably sealed and government money made available to work for Nigerians.
Most importantly, Senator Ekweremadu as an Enugu indigene is lucky that his state has always had it so good in terms of leadership since creation; experience implies that had it not been for two terms of four years each as guaranteed by the constitution, states like Anambra, Osun, Ogun, Kogi, Oyo, Ekiti,Gombe, etc were becoming failed states until the 2003 general elections rescued them.
Senator Ekweremadu should ask himself a simple question of what should have been the fate of Anambra state if Dr C. C. Mbadinuju had stayed in Government House beyond 2003 with his inability to pay salaries, pensions, and carry out infrastructural development projects in Anambra.
The fact is that the renewability of executive terms is a desirability in Nigeria’s politics: one, it keeps the office holder on his/her toes to perform or get sacked in the next election. Second, it is in line with the tenets of democracy which allows ultimate power of the state to reside with the people. Third, it provides avenue for fresh ideas to get involved in national development and growth every four years; fourth, it reduces the loss of experience in executive offices.
Fifth, as a lawyer by profession, Senator Ekweremadu should have known that what he is proposing would conflict with fundamental human rights of office seekers; sixth, renewabilityof executive terms discourages the prevalence of abandon projects and engenders continuity which is an important ingredient of democracy.
Seventh, if single term is aimed at solving the problem of succession how about Deputy Governors and Vice Presidents who are legally permitted to seek for higher offices as governors and president as their terms under the joint ticket with their bosses expire respectively? And most importantly, periodic elections serve as “half time” and marking scheme and endorsement of performance in democratic matches.
The Deputy Senate President should be revived to reality because Nigeria does not enjoy the luxury of pursuing inconsequential in a globalising world of inequalities where we continue to take the downward steps as other countries advance. Let Senator Ekweremadu devote the time he spends on this single term pursuit on more important issues which shall have far reaching effects on Nigerians like land tenure, true federalism, return of Nigeria to regional/zonal government, welfare package, state police, derivation, devolution of power from the centre, etc.
Similarly, the bulk of Nigerians are limited economically as result of epileptic power supply in Nigeria,we need to have a second look at the laws guiding the power sector so that potentials would be unleashed and jobs created for Nigerians. And it is within the responsibility of Ekweremadu as a senator of this current government to push for power sector reform.
Frankly, Nigerians would eternally remain grateful if Senator Ekweremadu picks up their fight for qualitative and accessible education; the poor on the streets in our major cities want to see improvement in our physical infrastructure, they want good roads, portable water, housing, affordable healthcare, access to justice and standard of living.
For the unemployed and aged, a welfare package and food on their tables is the most desirable rather than allowing their oppressors the latitude of 6 years in Government House of marshalling out policies and programs that would perpetuate poverty in the land.
Let Senator Ekweremadu and his fellow senators hear the voice of Nigerians today and start doing that which shall prosper, progress and develop Nigeria; let them be guided by their consciences and work towards making life better for us all. But should they fail, we shall happily use our constitu tional powers to seek redress as 2015 draws near: that is, vote them all out of office and employ new fellows who shall work with us in developing Nigeria in truth, words and deeds.
Senator Ekweremadu should remind himself that issues of heat in the polity as a result of elections are entirely attitudinal; we experience these “heats” because the political class of which he is a major player is yet to come to the understanding that the power they seek belongs to the people, and if they must get power, they must play by the rules and market themselves constructively to the electorate as it is done world-wide.
It must be stated that for “heat” to be generated before, during and after elections by the politicians is a product of a weak system; let us strengthen our institutions of government so that they can be able to douse these “heats” and allow Nigerians their God given right to choose their leaders every four years.
Finally, Senator Ekweremadu should forget this infamous “gospel of Ekweremadu” on single term and embrace the one Nigerians endorsed and digest the notes of US James Madison, which captured the views of Roger Sherman on single term debate thus: “Frequent elections are necessary to preserve the good behaviour of rulers. They also tend to give permanency to the Government, by preserving that good behaviour, because it ensures their re-election.”
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