By Joseph Tersee
Those who have been following developments in Kogi State have since acknowledged the fact that the state, particularly the people of the Kogi East Senatorial District, need experienced leaders whose voices represent the pains, agonies and tears of the people who have suffered years of neglect and underdevelopment.
In this context, it is only natural to duly recognise one of such needed leaders, one in a million, in the person of Distinguished Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho, one of the most experienced, towering and valuable politicians in Kogi State and beyond.
Echocho represents the Kogi East Senatorial District at the National Assembly (NASS) where he has continued to sponsor bills, making vital contributions to law making processes, and impacting the lives of his senatorial district with unprecedented massive constituency projects.
He is the most reliable pro-President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC’s political structure in Kogi East.
APC’s asset
In the testimonies of the people of Kogi East, no lawmaker has made the kind of impact and command followership like Echocho.
From education, agriculture, youth and women empowerment, ICT, entrepreneurship, health, rural roads, youth employment, to potable water, the senator touched lives too numerous to count among his people.
That is why he is loved by his people, commanding their loyalty and support.
This is because he is not a senator who operates from exile in Abuja, always traveling around the country and to global capitals for personal pleasure.
Instead, he goes home to visit his people, his employers who elected him to serve them.
That is why his people have assured him repeatedly that they are waiting for his instruction concerning who to vote for in the 2027 presidential, governorship and National Assembly elections.
Echocho belongs to the political school of Tinubu anchored on the philosophy that politics is worthless without service. Yes, service. This has been his ultimate motive as a law maker and leader who is consumed by the desire to serve his people.
He knows that if he takes the people out of his vision, his leadership position is in vain and of no effect.
The people, and indeed, service to the people, are his vision, heartbeat and driver. He is a champion of “let the poor breathe.”
At a time when the Tinubu administration has been working round the clock in turning around the country’s economy with productive reform, Echocho is indeed an asset to the ruling party, APC.
He has close to forty years experience as an investment banker with international exposure. He is a frontline economist and one of the best-performing politicians in this era in the state and at NASS.
Plot to suppress Kogi East’s voice
In Senator Echocho, the people of Kogi East have found a voice again. They saw their hope rising again. The people and the senator entered into a covenant whose ultimate benefit is to the people.
The people gave Echocho the opportunity to represent them, and he has proven without any iota of doubt that he has not disappointed them.
He is the voice of the people, representing the APC’s glory, commanding a significant influence in the pro-President Bola Ahmed Tinubu structure in Kogi East.
Unfortunately, this is what angers some of the enemies of APC and Tinubu in the senatorial district and in the state.
It is on this premise that the enemies of the good people of Igala plotted against him during the last senatorial primaries of the APC.
What they did not realise was that stopping his third term senatorial was beyond him; it was a direct attack against the people of Kogi East, the state and especially, the 2027 campaign structure of Tinubu’s re-election.
However, all hope is not lost. Echocho has reiterated continuously his commitment to mobilising massively, working for and supporting Mr. President’s second term campaign and ensuring that he is re-elected and sworn-in as the president next year.
Footnote
Reflecting on the above, one Umar Isah (Radical) captured this mood on social media on the ill-fated APC primaries. It partly read: “In Kogi East, we have come to understand that politics is not a game of noise, neither is it determined by the depth of pockets or by those who can shout the loudest in Abuja and on social media. Politics here is about destiny. It is about service. It is about a covenant, a sacred agreement between a leader and the people he represents…
“In his first two terms, Senator Echocho did not travel to Abuja to warm a seat or to collect allowances. He went to work. He took the cries of Kogi East to the floor of the Senate. Through bills, motions and debates, he forced the nation to pay attention to our federal roads, our schools, our hospitals and our security challenges.
“More than speeches, he chose action. Thousands of our youths and women have been lifted through skills acquisition, grants and appointments. He did not concentrate development in one corner. He spread it across Kogi East because he understands that leadership is not tribal, it is territorial.
“Walk through our communities today and you will see his footprints. Solar street lights that now give our people light at night. Water projects that have ended years of suffering. Classrooms where our children now learn in dignity. Health centers where our mothers can access care. From Ankpa to Ibaji, from Dekina to Igalamela, the projects are there. Enemies can hold meetings in darkness, but they cannot hide what the people can see with their own eyes.
“Let us be honest about what is happening. There is a cabal that believes Kogi East and particularly Igala land should not be allowed to produce a third-term senator with strength and independent voice. They prefer leaders who will be rubber stamps. They prefer a politics of ‘by all means’ instead of a politics of ‘by the people.’
“They thought propaganda would finish Echocho. They thought money would buy the loyalty of our people. They thought division would break us. But they forgot one thing: Igala people have memories. We remember those who stood with us when it was not convenient. We remember who became the system for us when the government was too slow. When institutions failed, Echocho’s foundation delivered. When others were busy making noise, he was busy making an impact. What God has anointed, no man can kill.”
“The Senate is not a place to go and start learning. It is a place of strategy, of relationships, of seniority. Kogi East cannot afford to go back to square one. We need a man who already knows the corridors of power, a man who can walk in from day one and bring federal presence home.
“A third term for Echocho is not about him. It is about us. Seniority will give us committee chairmanships and direct influence over national budgets. Continuity will ensure that the projects he started are protected and completed. Voice will ensure that Kogi East has a strong representative at the table where Nigeria’s laws and resources are shared. This is not ambition. This is an assignment. This is responsibility.
“If you doubt this, go to the market in Idah and listen to the traders. Walk the streets of Ankpa and ask the youths. Sit with the elders in Anyigba. Enter the riverine areas of Ibaji. Speak to the women in Dekina and the students in Olamaboro. You will hear the same answer everywhere: Echocho must return.
“Not because he is claiming to be perfect, but because he is ours. Because in a time when many are playing politics, he has chosen to serve. Because he has shown us twice that he understands what representation truly means.
“The enemies within may meet a hundred times. The failed system may write a thousand articles. But on election day, the ballot is secret and the people are sovereign. And God, who sees the heart of men, will confirm what the people have already decided.
“Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho is not going to the Senate because someone gave him permission. He is going because the people are sending him. He is going because Kogi East has unfinished business that requires experience, courage and commitment. He is going because destiny does not wait for conspirators to approve it.
“The third term is not a reward. It is a responsibility. And Echocho has proven over two terms that he does not waste responsibility. So let the noise continue. Let the plots continue.”
Admonition to APC’s national secretariat
The APC primaries have come and gone; however, the APC’s national secretariat should not forget one truth: Echocho is one of its prized assets, not only in Kogi State but in the North Central which should not be pushed aside or dumped.
He has both political and economic strategic roles to play for the party, the Tinubu government.
