By Oke Epia<\/p>\n
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha,
\nCON, can be spotted easily in a sea of heads. His trademark green cap
\nensures that. But it is not the colour of his cap that has made him
\nunique. The peculiarity of his personality as embedded in his strength of
\ncharacter, legacy of achievements and vision in public office is what has
\nset him apart. He has etched indelible footprints on the sands of time
\nsince emerging on the public scene over two decades ago. This is a
\nstatement of fact. Yes verifiable facts as different from opinion or mere
\nposturing.
\nBut where is Ihedioha\u2019s strength of character? Before I address this
\nquestion let me put the question broadly: wherein is the politician\u2019s
\nstrength of character in a country where the political stage is seen to be
\nfouled by the antics of the players themselves? So if the broad perception
\nof the average Nigerian politician by the general public is swathed in mud
\nand dubious accolades at best, where then is the strength of character
\nbeing attributed to Ihedioha who is by every means a politician? Except it
\nis accepted that there are exceptions to the rule, this line of reasoning
\nis permissible within the prism of the fallacy of generalization and the
\nreflex mentality of the mob.
\nThere are politicians who have stood out from the crowd. And it is not
\nbecause they were devoid of foibles nor had careers lacking in setbacks.
\nIn the First Republic, national heroes like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir
\nAhmadu Bello and Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, all of blessed memories among
\nothers readily come to mind. In the Second Republic, governors like late
\nChief Sam Mbakwe, Chief Lateef Jakande, and late Chief Solomon Lar, among
\nothers are icons of that epoch. From the Third and Fourth Republic through
\ncontemporary times, we have had fine politicians of heroic acclaim across
\nthe length and breadth of the country. We have had those who came, saw,
\nand conquered. This is not an attempt to canonize Ihedioha. Rather, it is
\nan effort to open our eyes to the rising star that the deputy speaker is
\nand strengthen the optimism that because of politicians like him, the
\npolitical space can be perceived in a positive light. Now back to the
\nquestion. Wherein lay Ihedioha\u2019s strength of character?
\nTo answer this question, there is need to examine the content of his
\ncharacter. And this will be done with empirical evidence to buttress my
\nearlier assertion that the deputy speaker has etched indelible footprints
\non the sands of time. In terms of courage and tenacity of purpose as
\nworthy character traits, Ihedioha is not to be found wanting. Since 1992
\nwhen he first got appointment as a Press Officer to the Senate President
\nthrough to when he worked as Special Assistant to former Vice President
\nAtiku Abubakar in 2001, he has maintained streaks of diligence and
\npurpose. As a man determined to get to the top by dint of hard work,
\ncommitment and loyalty, he served his principals conscientiously and in so
\ndoing, positioned himself for higher calling. His elevation in the ladder
\nof public service obviously bred in him a vision of politics as a service
\nto the people. Within this period, Ihedioha also cultivated traits of
\npolitical activism as he played in terrains strewn with landmines in the
\nheady days of military dictatorships. Remarkably, he joined forces with
\nprogressive elements in the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) to fight for
\nand eventually achieve civilian democracy for Nigeria. Thus by the time
\nhe contested and won election into the House of Representatives in 2003 to
\nrepresent Aboh Mbaise\/Ngor Okpala federal constituency of Imo State, he
\nwas already thorough-bred in the art of politics and had fully formed a
\nvision of public service as a vehicle to improve the lot of the people.
\nWith a clear vision propelled by political experience and combined with a
\nsound knowledge of the needs and demands of his people, Ihedioha quickly
\nmoved to address the developmental challenges of his constituency. But
\nbefore I address this, it is needful to note his trajectory in the House
\nof Representatives since his first term till date. As a first time member
\nof the House, he landed the chairmanship of Marine Transport, a committee
\nusually reserved for ranking members. This on its own attests to the
\npolitical dexterity of Ihedioha who had garnered wide contacts and network
\nthroughout the country in the preceding period of his political career.
\nThe political brinkmanship and sagacity of this Mbaise-born politician was
\nfurther attested to by his emergence as Chief Whip of the House during his
\nsecond term as well as being able to in spite of several odds, become the
\nDeputy Speaker of the House. Being in such prominent positions in the
\nfederal legislature and being able to leverage on contacts and goodwill
\namong colleagues contributed in placing him in some vantage position to
\ncater to the needs of the electorate who gave him successive mandate. And
\nhe did not fail to take advantage of this for their benefit. Projects like
\nsolar electricity, roads construction and resurfacing, schools renovation
\nand water works are some of the results of his intervention in the
\nconstituency and throughout Imo State. There have also been
\nempowerment\/skills acquisition programmes for the unemployed, indigent and
\nvulnerable segment of the population. Thus from his first term (2003-2007)
\nthrough his second and current term in the House of Representatives,
\nIhedioha has recorded meaningful and measurable impact on the lives and
\nliving conditions of his constituents and Imolites generally. He has
\nfacilitated hundreds of projects and programmes that touch their lives
\ndirectly. For instance, he has attracted no fewer than 16 water projects
\nto the constituency; over 20 completed and ongoing road constructions,
\nrehabilitation and resurfacing projects spread across the entire Imo
\nState, some of which run into billions of naira including the
\nOwerri-Umuahia road, Chokoneze-Mbutu-Logara road, and the Okpala-Igirita
\nroad, among others; electricity projects including installation of 132
\nKVA\/33 sub-station at Aboh Mbaise, 15 MVA\/33KVA at Mbutu, and 1×15 MVA
\n33\/11 KV transformer and injection sub-station at Umuneke, Ngor Okpala,
\nand distribution of transformers to several communities, among others. I
\ncan go on and on but suffice to say that the point intended here is the
\nfact that for Ihedioha, public office is a call to render service to the
\npeople. On this, he has creditably demonstrated a defining strength of
\ncharacter.
\nAnother area where the deputy speaker has shown strength of character
\nrelates to integrity in public office. A terrain such as the federal
\nlegislature that is littered with the proverbial banana peel is one that
\ncan test a politician\u2019s integrity and sense of tact to the full. To be in
\nthe House of Representatives for over ten years and occupy sensitive
\npositions including his current office as deputy speaker without a stain
\non his name is certainly no mean feat. Especially so when his deputy
\nspeakership places onerous responsibilities on him like the task of
\ncoordinating the constitution amendment by the House of Representatives.
\nAs Chairman of the Ad-hoc committee on the Review of the 1999
\nConstitution, the deputy speaker bears the heavy burden of ensuring that
\nthe House comes up with credible and germane amendment proposals that
\nresonate with the yearnings and aspirations of the generality of
\nNigerians. The level of success recorded in discharging this burden must
\nbe measured by and mirrored against the process and product of the
\namendment exercise piloted by Ihedioha. And the consensus out there is
\nthat the constitution amendment outcomes achieved by the current 7th House
\nof Representatives are courageous, noble, far-reaching, and incisive such
\nthat they present a viable template to get Nigeria out of the woods if
\neventually adopted by the Senate and State Houses of Assemblies in
\nconcluding processes of the amendment. A total of 71 clauses were
\nsuccessfully amended covering several nagging issues that have clogged the
\nwheel of national progress. These include granting of full financial,
\nadministrative, executive and legislative autonomy to local government
\ncouncils in the country; making the following rights- right to free basic
\neducation, right to a favourable environment, right to free primary and
\nmaternal healthcare services and right to basic housing- listed under the
\nfundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy
\njusticiable; removal of immunity for the president, vice president,
\ngovernors and deputy governors against prosecution in criminal cases;
\nresolving indigene\/settler dichotomy; and plugging loopholes in government
\nexpenditures; budgetary reforms among other salutary amendments. These
\namendments have resonated very well with Nigerians as many stakeholders
\nhave been pouring profuse praises on the House of Representatives. This
\nwas achieved because the process adopted by the Ihedioha committee placed
\npremium on Nigerians as owners of the constitution and offered them the
\nopportunity to dictate the changes they want in the constitution through
\nthe peoples public sessions mechanism whereby the Ihedioha committee
\norganized quasi-townhall meetings in all nooks and crannies of the country
\nto allow for grassroots inputs. This resulted in a transparent,
\naccountable and inclusive process ever recorded in the history of
\nconstitution making in the country. In effect, Nigerians themselves
\ndictated the changes they want in the amended constitution and the House
\nsimply kept faith with their wishes. To pull this kind of mammoth and
\nslippery exercise through requires courage, integrity and persistence, all
\ntraits of a strong character possessed by the deputy speaker and brought
\nto bear on the work of the committee.
\nFrom the foregoing, it is incontrovertible that Ihedioha has shown
\nstrength of character over time. He has recorded solid achievements in
\npublic service. As he turns 49 years today, he is still available to do
\nmore in the public interest. Like Albert Einstein said, he has tried not
\njust to become a man of success but rather, a man of value. Happy birthday
\nMr. Deputy Speaker sir!<\/p>\n
Epia is Media Adviser to the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Oke Epia Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, CON, can be spotted easily in a sea of heads. His trademark green cap ensures that.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n