By joshua Lokoja I: Why Now Is The Time To Rally Behind Hon. Bin-Ebaiya Shehu Tijjani.
By Abu Micheal
The time for rethinking has come in Lokoja I. The time to put behind us hatred, misinformation and lingering grievances about the reelection of Hon. Bin-Ebaiya Shehu Tijjani who represents Lokoja I State Constituency in the Kogi State House of Assembly.
Hon. Bin-Ebaiya did not stumble into office. He won his election on merit, on the strength of his past antecedents long before he became a lawmaker. From his days as a community mobilizer and chairmanship aspirant, to his service as Senior Special Adviser on Water Resources, he had identified with the immediate needs of Lokoja, water, youth employment, education, and he pursued them with his personal resources. That record is what the people voted for.
It therefore beats imagination why, despite repeated appeals and sincere reconciliations, a few members of our own party, the APC, still hold on to their guns.
The next House of Assembly election will be a defining moment. History records the roles individuals play, and those records are cast on stones. Without mincing words, when the ballots are counted, Hon. Bin-Ebaiya Shehu Tijjani will win convincingly. The question is, where will you stand when the time comes to share elective offices and party responsibilities? Politics has a long memory. No role you play goes unnoticed. No matter how you hide your schemes, you cannot hide behind a finger.
Let us be clear. The office of a lawmaker is not an executive office. He does not award contracts for roads or control a treasury. Within the limit of his resources and the constitutional mandate of lawmaking, representation and oversight, Hon. Bin-Ebaiya has done well.
His lawmaking has been purposeful and people-centered. He has sponsored motions calling on government to expand and strengthen the mass transit system in Lokoja to protect residents from indiscriminate charges by keke and okada operators. He has consistently brought the peculiar challenges of the state capital to the floor of the Assembly.
His constituency attraction has been visible. He undertook the repair and reticulation of water pipes across traditional wards in Lokoja, from Karaworo to Up Garage, at a time when acute shortage was biting hardest, a gesture for which traditional Hakimis commended him as a patriotic son of Lokoja. He has supported over thirty boreholes across wards in the past and continued to facilitate water solutions. He has paid for 500 free JAMB forms for students in Lokoja I under his regular Educational Development Programme, organized pre-examination computer lessons and mentorship on past questions for WAEC, NECO and NABTEB, and promised awesome rewards for the ten best male and female candidates who beat their cut-off marks. He has promoted youth empowerment, skill acquisition and cooperative support, staying true to his Lokoja First agenda.
These are not the actions of a man who forgot his people. They are the actions of a very unassuming lawmaker who has many positives working for him.
Yes, no one person can be perfect, particularly in politics in a metropolis like Lokoja. Lokoja I is not a quiet rural ward. It is the heart of the capital. Beyond his immediate constituents, the lawmaker contends daily with all shades of people, indigenes, residents, traders, students, civil servants, all coming with expectations. That pressure is real, but it also explains his open-door policy, his accessibility and his willingness to listen.
He possesses all the qualities of an effective lawmaker, charisma, youthfulness, vibrancy, capacity to build coalitions beyond party lines, and he has put those qualities into perspective to the admiration of his colleagues and constituents. Lokoja APC stakeholders saw this when they recently subjected aspirants to an open secret ballot and endorsed him as consensus candidate with 18 votes against six and one, a transparent process all aspirants agreed to abide by.
This feature is a mild but urgent appeal. It is a call to embrace his appeal for forgiveness. To understand the advantages of being in a political party. When the chips are down, anti-party is difficult to defend. It is better to be an owner and a landlord in your house than to be a tenant in another man’s house, where after labouring, you will be queued behind and regarded as a traitor and betrayer, a tag that will stand against you for years to come.
It is without mincing words that some of the schemisish about Lokoja 1 election is coming from some person’s who contested but are yet to put behind them the loss. They should remember that there is another time. It may be their turn.
The time is not for staunch APC members sitting in front roles with sensitive assignments allocated to them to speak with both sides of their mouths. The time is close. There is still time for a return and a rethink.
Let all hands be on deck. Give this young man another chance. Be rest assured that his second term will be unusually positive. He has earned trust not by noise, but by service. Stick with your own.