By Pascal Onu
” Can we make Nigeria greater than nature made her.. My answer is yes.. If and only if our leaders have the sagacity of an Otto Von Bismark, the wisdom of Favour, the adroitness of a Mazini, the patriotism of a Ghandi and the selflessness of an Nyerere- Justice Chukwudifu Oputa
In a democratic setting, especially in a presidential system of government, there are three arms of government. They are the executive, legislature, and the judiciary. The functions of the legislature in this setting are clearly set out. They are lawmaking;amendment of the consideration; through public Account Committee (PAC) they perform oversight on government expenditures to avoid misrule; approval of appointments made by the president;control of public expenditure proposed by the executive arm, platform for public opinion; ratification of international treaties; probe functions through which the legislators check the activities of other organs of government by setting up panels to investigate the activities of any department of the government.
Others are the legislature serves as a medium of enlightenment and education through which the educate and enlighten the populace in the form of debates; impeachment of the president when he is no longer abiding by the tenets of the Constitution which he swore to abide and protect.
In a nutshell, the functions of a legislator can be outline as follows: representation of his constituency in the legislature; serving in any committee in the legislature; taking part in the legislative process; bringing to the attention of the legislature matters affecting his constituency.
On this note, a proper interpretation and better understanding of the roles of a legislator will single one man out in his reign as a Distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. That man is Senator Enyinnaya Harcourt Abaribe, the Senate Minority Leader and senator representing the good people of Abia South. Indeed, Senator Enyinnaya Harcourt Abaribe has distinguished himself in discharging his functions as the senator representing Abia South Senatorial district without much hype attached to it.
The senator has made it a point of duty to inspect the projects he attracted to his constituency at the beginning of every year. Enyi Abaribe, addressed in many quarters as”Nma Agha Ndi Igbo”, because of his courage, outspokenness, and consistency in condemning the injustice and marginalisation meted on the Igbo nation in particular and other issues where he feels that Justice is not properly administered, took his constituents in particular, and the world at large by surprise on 4th January this year when he took them, including media men to projects inspection tour to inspect the numerous projects he has attracted not only to his immediate constituency, but to other senatorial districts in Abia State.
One of the things that beat the imagination of the people was the number of projects the Igbo strong voice in the senate, whose vocality, consistency and doggedness have earned him many other titles and accolades,has attracted to his people.
These projects are not only strategic but key to the survival of people of Abia South, Central and North Senatorial districts.Like the solar powered grid supplying electricity to General Hospital, Onichangwa in Obingwa Local Government area, Seventh Day Adventists Hospital,Aba, General Hospital, Aba, Abia State Teaching Hospital, Aba, Uzuakoli General Hospital, Bende LGA,all the previous worries of the management of the hospitals occasioned by unstable power supply which results to intermittent power outages even during critical surgery sessions, is a thing of the past as the facilities assure steady power.
It is better for one to experience the level of excitement expressed by the managements of Onichangwa and SDA hospitals during the visit. These excitements indicate one thing: that these hospitals can now conduct surgeries with both eyes closed, without fears of outage of power, especially during critical surgery sessions.
Like Senator Abaribe explained, General Hospital , Onichangwa is an interesting case because the hospital has enjoyed long history. A history which is almost truncated and marred by the prolonged negligence of the Aba-Ikotekepene highway by the federal government, a situation Senator Abaribe has made several frantic interventions. At this point, many are saying kudos to the Senator for strong interventions to the hospital, which has offered a lifeline to the hospital, in the form of donation of drugs.
In the area of road infrastructure, Senator Abaribe has equally made strong interventions by attracting the construction of Umuokahia to Umuola Road, construction of Chief Ubani Road;construction of Akalana Road; construction of Unity Road to Ogwo Road; construction of St. Eugene Road; construction of Abayi to Ohuru Road; construction of Umugo Road; construction of College Road Azumini in Ukwa East. One thing spectacular about this is that most of these roads is that most of them are located in the heart of the commercial hub, Aba or are very strategic to most of the rural dwellers.
Through electricity projects, communities like Abala Nkamiri in Obingwa, Umuamoke.in Ugwunagbo, Akanu Ngwa, Ovom and Ukwa East,will have every cause to smile, and will not be in a hurry to forget Senate Abaribe’s stay in the Senate when their various electricity projects, some which are nearing completion,are concluded.
In schools, it is either that the schools are renovated are bequeathed with a mini- sports stadium. In few months ahead, the infrastructure narratives of Clifford Road Primary School, Market Road, Primary School, Ohuru, Ahiaba High School, will change for positive reasons.
Highlighting the numerous projects Senator Abaribe has attracted to his constituency and beyond, is an onerous task. But it is noteworthy here to highlight as a tip of the iceberg. They are mini sports stadium at Ahiaba High School, Nkwowaelechi; solar powered grid supplying electricity to General Hospital, Onichangwa; construction of Abayi to Ohuru Road; rural electrification at Abala Nkamiri; renovation of Community Primary School, Ohuru, all in Obingwa Local Government Area.
In Aba North, the senator has attracted the following projects construction of Umuokahia to Umuola Road; solar powered grid supplying electricity at SDA Hospital; construction of Akalana Road; construction of Chief Ubani Road.
In Aba South, it has been a harvest of projects as Unity Road to Ogwo is undergoing construction; Eugene Road is equally receiving attention. There is a solar powered grid supplying electricity to General Hospital, Aba; renovation of Clifford Road Primary School; and renovation of Market Road Primary School.
In Ugwunagbo, the story is not different- Umugo Road is under construction; there is rural electrifications at Akanu Ngwa; Umuamoke, among others.
The Ukwa East people are all smiles by the rural electeification which starts at Ovom, along Opobo Road and extends to Ukwa East; the College Road, Azumini is constructed. This is also the fate of their Ukwa West kinsmen as a mini sports stadium is constructed at Obehie.
At Osisioma a solar powered grid is installed at Abia State Teaching Hospital. This is as the Isiala Ngwa North people benefited in similar gesture as a solar powered grid is installed at Amaorji General Hospital.
On the other hand, the extension of these gestures to other senatorial districts outside Abia South demonstrates that Senator Abaribe’s magnanimity knows no bounds. The people of Umuahia South will remain grateful to Senator Abaribe for attracting the construction of Amuzu Ubilibu, Ubakala Road; while the people of Bende will not forget in a haste the magnanimity of Senator Abaribe for attracting the installation of a solar powered grid at Uzuakoli General Hospital. These exclude numerous electricity transformers that have been energised and solar powered street lighting projects attracted by the senator to several rural communities.The educational materials distributed to schools in Aba, Ugwunagbo, Ukwa West, Ukwa East and Obingwa local government areas are not captured in the list. Besides, outside interventions done to General Hospital, Onichangwa in terms of the donation of drugs,other hospitals and health centres in Abia South Senatorial district have also benefited from this largesse.
The list of projects attracted by Senator Abaribe is inexhaustible and one would be highly constrained by time and space to enumerate them all.
Equally what baffles the imagination of political pundits and observers is how the Distinguished Senator Abaribe as a consistent and strong opposition voice in the upper chamber is able to attract these myriad of projects. If the truth must be told, it is known that in a democratic setting, especially ours that opposition elements are always witch- hunted especially when it comes to funding projects that they attracted to their constituencies. But this antics by the ruling have not and will not deter Senator Abaribe in voicing out when necessary.
Like it is always said that opposition is the beauty of democracy, one would wonder what would have become of this country if the voices of the likes of Senator Abaribe are not heard challenging yhebex excesses of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
It is well known that a democratic setting, the roles of the opposition is to act as alternative to the ruling party; serve as watchdog of the ruling party by pointing out the shortcomings and weaknesses of the ruling party; oppose government policies and actions it thinks are not in the best interest of the of the people and the nation; make sure that governothat does not act beyond the powers allocated to it by the Constitution; present a healthy competition to the government which makes government not to be complacent.
Others are to safeguard the interest and liberties of the people through its activities of watchdog of government actions; with the help of pressure groups influence government policies; offer constructive criticisms to government; perform the function of checks and balances; and make the ruling party to be alive to its constitutional responsibilities and yearnings of the people, among others.
Those who have followed the activities of the senate minority leader religiously will not hesitate to affirm that Distinguished Senator Abaribe has lived up to expectations and that the opposition PDP will not express an iota of regret electing him the senate minority leader.
Kudos to the distinguished senator! Kudos to the senate minority leader! Kudos to Nma Agha Ndi Igbo! Abians in particular, and Nigerian in general are proud of you! Ride on and do not relent!
