Constitution Amendment: When Kogi West Rallied For State Creation, Electoral Reforms

Taiwo Adisa, Group Politics Editor

Senator Adeyemi (left) presenting keys of
vehicles given out during the event to the
Speaker of the state House of Assembly,
Honourable Clarance Olafemi, while General
David Jemibewon (middle) and others look on.Opinion leaders and representatives of Kogi
West Senatorial District of Kogi State were
captured in a unique gathering as they converged on the grounds of Saint Augustine College, Kabba, on Friday, October 30.

The gathering that was originally called by Senator Smart Adeyemi, Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs for a conference on the review of the 1999 Constitution and a mid-term report of his activities in the upper legislative chamber, eventually achieved a variety of ends for the Okun-Yoruba people of Kogi West.

The one-day event turned out to be a unity rally for constituents of the district, an avenue for Senator Adeyemi to further distribute democracy dividends in the community and an occasion where constituents, eggheads and politicians made significant inputs into the making of Nigeria’s new constitution.

The array of political leaders gathered at the school hall painted a clear message: That the Okun people are united in their quest for political unity; that the leaders are fully in support of Senator Adeyemi’s activism in the Senate, which has brought him in conflict with the state government and that the people are desirous of constitution amendment that will at least guarantee the creation of a new state from the present Kogi State.

Former military governor of old Oyo State, General David Jemibewon, who was the chairman of the event, set the tone of the conference when he said that people were proud of the accomplishments of Senator Adeyemi. He said that since the 1999 Constitution had been operated for 10 years, the operators and Nigerians in general were now in a position to proffer practical amendments that would enhance the running of the country.

He, however, asked the people to restrict themselves to issues that are within their immediate reach, such as local government structure, and tenure of elected representatives at that level, state creation, boundary adjustments and issues that would enhance their socio-political life.

“Some people said that rotation is undemocratic, but why do we operate the federal character principle? To ensure that all the ministers don’t come from the same state.

“Even at the federal level, there is rotation between north and south. In the states, we should consider rotation between the senatorial districts. If we operate federal character, why is rotation difficult at the state level? Carpet crossing is also important; we need to talk about culture, sports, social security, especially pension,” he said.

Senator Adeyemi, who told the people the importance of contributing effectively to the debate on constitution amendment, said that he was seeking inputs from his constituents as a senator representing the area and as a member of the Constitution Amendment Committee of the Senate.

“The country and the citizens are skeptical about the review of the 1999 Constitution, but let me assure you that the Senate is very much determined and serious about ensuring a review,” the senator said, adding that the event was also meant to present his mid-term report.

The senator said that democracy demanded that he presented a report of his stewardship to his constituents after he was elected to represent the constituency. He said that in representing the desires of the people, he ran into troubled waters with the state governor, especially his opposition to the nomination of ministerial hopeful from Kogi East. He said that though he shared certain affinities with the governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, whom he said he grew up to know as a child in Minna, Niger State, he had had cause to oppose his nominees because that was the desire of the people of Kogi West.

“In politics, there are interests to hold and represent. And that takes us to the issue of ministerial screening where the governor and the government of Kogi State misrepresented my position to mean opposition, which is very wrong. I beg the governor and the government to forgive, but that does not mean that if I have the opportunity, I will not represent the same thing. The business is not about confrontation, it is about ensuring the socio-political emancipation of our people,” he said.

According to him, his vision in the Senate had been informed by his campaign slogan: “Total Emancipation.” He added that in his two years in the Senate, he had executed and also attracted projects worth more than N500 million to his constituency, including road projects he personally sponsored, market projects, boreholes as well as construction and equipping hospitals in different parts of the constituency.

He also flagged off another poverty alleviation project on the day, including the inauguration of 15 intra-city cabs and 15 motorcycles as empowerment schemes for youths.

When concerns were raised that the senator’s perceived opposition to the state government could cost him a second term ticket, he said he was contented championing the cause of his constituents.

He said: “When you are in a race and you have a performing horse, when the horse is winning, you don’t change a winning horse for a donkey. I am a horse in the chamber and you do not change a winning horse with a donkey. Nigerians will ask questions whether it is an offence to represent your people very well. Is it a sin to be hardworking and defend the socio-political emancipation of your people?

“Democracy can be the best form of government, but it can be the worst form of government when you have a representative who cannot express himself. When you have somebody representing you, it must be somebody who is articulate, who is passionate and dedicated to the cause of the people.”

Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Honourable Clarence Olafemi, who also graced the occasion, said that the people of the area were proud of the performance of Senator Adeyemi who, he said, had deployed his political wits to emerge as a big voice on the floor of the Senate, despite being a first-term senator.
Hon. Olafemi said that Senator Adeyemi’s emergence as a member of the Constitution Review Committee placed him in a vantage position to represent the people.

He also told the constituents that they should feel free to submit memoranda on areas that needed amendment in the constitution to Senator Adeyemi, since he doubles as their representative and the member representing the state in the Constitution Amendment Committee.

He stated that the conference on constitution review was being organised at the right time, following a recent meeting of the Conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly, which took certain decisions on constitution amendment.

According to the Speaker, the conference of 36 state speakers had agreed that there was the need to enshrine power rotation in the constitution, while state creation should also be actualised.

”At the Conference of 36 State Speakers, we have agreed to support the creation of more states and that even if the states cannot go round, we should still support it. We also support the rotation of power at all levels.

“We tried to be careful with revenue sharing formula and we decided that whatever is agreed to by the National assembly, we will concur, because it is a very delicate issue.

“We need a very strong legislature, state and National Assembly because it is very central to the survival of our democracy,” he said.

Senator Adeyemi’s predecessor in the Kogi West seat, Senator Tunde Ogbeha, advocated a new Kogi State comprising the Okun Yorubas and the people of Kogi Central, saying that the people of Kogi East should constitute a separate state.

A former Deputy Chief of Staff in the office of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Prince Olusola Akanmode, said that the significance of the gathering was not so much about the inputs that would be made to the constitution amendment process, but the unity of purpose being displayed by the Kogi West people.

Akanmode, who is a chieftain of the Action Congress (AC), said that with the unity demonstrated by the people, it had become clear to him that everyone was in search of a common goal, adding that if the goal could be achieved through the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), all political leaders of the area would not hesitate to return to the party.

He said: “In the last 10 or 12 years, there have been attempts to make inputs into the constitution. The significance of this conference is not so much of what we are going to make as inputs into the constitution amendment, but the significant this is that it symbolises our unity.

“To me, the most important thing is that we, as a senatorial district, are able to organise ourselves and speak with one voice. We could have gathered our eggheads to put pen on paper, but it will not have the same effect.”

One of the aspirants who challenged Senator Adeyemi for the senatorial ticket in 2007, Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, told the gathering that he had since become one of the best friends of the senator.

He urged Senator Adeyemi to seize the opportunity of the constitution review by ensuring the passage of revenue derivation law which would ensure that the state enjoys a percentage of the mineral resources found in the area.

He said that through the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) being worked on by the National Assembly, mineral producing areas were to benefit from a special allocation of 10 per cent of the revenue. He said that the senator should agitate for the passage of the bill in such a way that it would encompass all mineral producing areas.

A former Minister of Industries, Chief Kola Jamodu, also told the gathering that the National Assembly needed to encourage the fight against corruption so as to ensure the much needed growth in the society. He said that the lawmakers could consider entrenching capital punishment as a way of deterring corruption.

He congratulated Senator Adeyemi on being able to bring together people of diverse interests and advised that the National Assembly dust up documents of the last constitution amendment exercise such that unwanted items were eliminated.

A woman leader in the area, Mrs. Margaret Orebiyi also canvassed for the adoption of affirmative action as a constitutional provision. She declared that going into the 2011 elections, Nigerian women should be looking towards winning 50 per cent of political representation, rather than 30 per cent.

Chairman of Kabba/Bunnu Local Government Area, Mr. Taiwo Nathaniel, who spoke for council chairmen from the district, said that the new constitution should guarantee autonomy for the councils.

He said that Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution was tying down the feet and the hands of local governments across the country, adding that state and local government joint accounts should also be abolished.

Kogi State chairman of the PDP, Mr. Hassan Salau, acknowledged the presence of Prince Akanmode at the event, saying that his party would like to have a person like him back in the fold. He said with him in the PDP, there would be no other political party in Kogi West Senatorial District.

“The only assignment in the constitution amendment is to ensure rotation. If we have rotation, the kind of fight Smart is fighting for, we will not have it.”

Constituents who did not speak at the event turned up with memoranda for constitution amendment. Most of the submissions clamoured for the creation of a new state for the Okun Yoruba and the people of Kogi Central as well as power rotation at all levels of government.

For Senator Adeyemi, it was a huge occasion, where he not only facilitated the unity of his people, but one which also earned him the endorsement of key elements of both ends of his senatorial district.

The leaders spoke with one voice that they were ready to pursue a common goal and that Senator Adeyemi had been a veritable representative in Abuja.