From Petrus Obi, Enugu
The recent outcry and protests from Enugu, the home state of the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu against his perceived persecution may not be out of place. The senate forgery trial of Ekweremadu has sparked off protests and demonstrations in Enugu in recent times.
It could sound out of place in some ears, receive outright condemnations from the opposition but for anybody who understands the politics of Enugu State and the place of Ekweremadu in the minds of his people, the rain may not yet have started.
For those who are still in the dark, the story of Ekweremadu, one of the longest serving senators in the history of Nigeria can best be told by the rural dwellers that are seeing asphalted roads for the first time in their lives; that now drink good water rather than from ponds.
Such villagers in Oduma, Aninri local government area, he emancipated from the shackles of dilapidated, impassable road networks that had haunted them for decades.
His story would be better in the mouths of thousands of indigent students across the state that have and still benefitting from his scholarships, bursary and free adult education in the hinterlands.
His ability to use his stay in the senate to attract infrastructure such as good and asphalted roads, portable water, electricity and street lights through the length and breadth of Enugu West Zone and beyond has endeared Ekweremadu to his people. It was such acceptance and recognition which stand him out amongst past and present representatives of the people in the South East and Nigeria at large. Such qualities made his return to the senate in the last election a walkover even when the then incumbent governor, Sullivan Chime contested against him.
Thus, the recent protests should be expected especially when an assassination attempt on his life had earlier been reported. “No, we won’t take this; it is mere hatred and persecution against our hero….,” they sang as they marched in large numbers demonstrating against the recent travails of Ekweremadu.
Thousands of residents both old and young, small and the mighty as well as major stakeholders and party bigwigs were involved in the protest which took over the streets of Awgu, the headquarters of Enugu West Senatorial Zone.
The protesters from many parts of the state, headed straight to the constituency office of Hon. Toby Okechukwu representing Awgu/Aninri Federal Constituency. Some of the placards displayed by the demonstrators read: “Enough is Enough; Life Wire of Igbo race should not be harassed; Presidency leave the Senate alone; Our son, Dr. Ike Ekweremadu and Senate leadership are on course; Buhari, APC, let Ikeoha be”.
After a meeting with the federal lawmaker, a communiqué was issued where the people vowed to resist any attempt to remove Ekweremadu from his current position.
The communiqué which was read by Prof. Sam Ukpabi, the traditional ruler of Ekoli Okpanku, former SSG Enugu State as well as former Provost, Nigeria Defense Academy, accused a narrow cabal in the All Progressives Congress (APC), of unleashing “bitterness, nepotism, hate and crushing economic hardship” on the masses.
“We, the people of Enugu-West Senatorial District of Enugu State, in a massively attended stakeholders rally in Awgu, headquarters of Enugu-West Senatorial District, today, July 9, 2016, reviewed the state of the nation, especially the politics of bitterness, nepotism, hate and crushing economic hardship, which a narrow cabal in the All Progressives Congress (APC) has unleashed on Nigerians since assuming the reins of power at the center.
“In particular, we reviewed the recent politically-motivated trial of the Deputy President of the Senate and former Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Distinguished Senator Ike Ekweremadu, on trumped-up charge of forgery, which has added yet another disturbing dimension to the APC-led federal government’s unabashed determination to continually harass and overrun our illustrious son and representative.
“We note, with dismay, that: Since the re-election of Senator Ekweremadu as the Deputy President of the 8th Senate on 9th June 2015, the APC has neither hidden its hatred and disgust for the revered Senator nor its declared intention to get rid of him by “all means”, not minding that the process, which produced him and, which was watched live by Nigerians on live television, was credible and transparent.
“Many high-ranking members of the APC, including the incumbent Minister of Labour and Productivity, had at various times, while speaking about Ekweremadu’s emergence, boasted that they have “so many ways to kill a rat”.
They declared that Ekweremadu is a Senator of the Federal Republic, elected with an overwhelming mandate of his people and has remained one of Nigeria’s brightest lawmakers who enjoys the confidence of his colleagues; on account of which he was re-elected the Deputy Senate President for an unprecedented third time.
They also asserted that his re-election into that position did not violate any known convention, practice, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Lending credence to the claims of the people of Enugu State, the chairman of the PDP Caretaker Committee, Senator Ahmed Makarfi recently said that remarks from the APC National Chairman, Chief John-Odigie Oyegun on his party’s displeasure over the emergence of Senator Ekweremadu as the Deputy President of the Senate has confirmed claims of political witch-hunt.
Oyegun was quoted in an interview as having said that APC would never accept Ekweremadu as Deputy President of the Senate. “I think that the thing that rankled us most was the election of Ekweremadu. Saraki is a member of the APC, much as we would have wished a different result and a different scenario. But we all find it very difficult to accept the emergence of a PDP person as his deputy.”
Makarfi who spoke through the spokesperson of his team, Dayo Adeyeye declared that Oyegun’s remarks confirmed PDP’s stance that the arraignment of Ekweremadu was part of an orchestrated plot to intimidate, harass and ultimately hound them out of their exalted positions. “Although this has been an open secret, our fears have now been confirmed”.