Leader of 1001 Plus and leading aspirant to the Uyo Senatorial Seat, Mr Ide Owodiong-Idemeko, who called for the bar of political participation to be raised, has expressed concern about the performance of the present National Assembly, arguing that entry qualification to the legislature could be one of the reasons.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after an endorsement rally for Governor Udom Emmanuel by the people of Uyo Senatorial District, Owodiong who hails from Uyo Federal Constituency believed to be favoured by the zoning arrangement for the seat in 2019, said the senate in particular could have done better had the academic qualification of members were higher.
“You need to understand the political history of Nigeria. Of all the three arms of government, the legislature was the most hit in terms of its organic development. Every time the military took over power, the first arm of government that went was the legislature. So there was no development or experience. It is now that we are beginning to build legislative experience after a few years of uninterrupted democracy.”
“And one of the things we also need to focus on is the quality of political development. To me I just think that making school certificate the minimum entry requirement is not acceptable in our current society. We need to up that ante and send people with real experience to the place,” he said.
The aspirant who is campaigning on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), carpeted the prevailing empowerment style where the constituents are given cash and gift by the legislators, explaining that it was faulty and anti-development.
In his words: “I believe that our country, our state, our senatorial district needs the experience of people like me and others who have had the opportunity to acquire some real high level skills and competence; working in a structured environment, knowing what it is to be ethical and the way you conduct your affairs.”
“I think we need to do more to inspire the people to greatness; inspire them to look for better things in life ; not when you get out of school next thing you think about is how to be a personal assistant to a personal assistant or whatever, or running around politics and thinking that is the way to go.”
Owodiong dismissed constituency briefing where the constituents are usually given “all manner of contraptions and littering the streets of Uyo with keke. That is not empowerment. Empowerment goes beyond that. Empowerment is when you can wake up in the morning and begin to think right, have a sense of fulfilment in yourself, your children and your community.”
He reasoned that the best kind f empowerment is the development of human mind just as Akwa Ibom State government is embarking on the retraining of teachers.
“You start at that basic level of education, and then begin to challenge even the pedagogical approach to education. What we have today is a what-and-a-how approach to teaching. How do we get our children to be taught the why, to start to question at early age, to see themselves not just as receptors of information? When you start thinking that way; when you start having inquisitive mind, then you have started at that age to think beyond the ordinary.”
According to him, Nigeria should think of how to inspire its people become inventors, engineers, coming out in major fits in medicine; and said that would be his cardinal programme if elected to the senate.
“With this experience, I want to represent my people and see how want can raise the bar of expectation of performance and how to improve the quality of human index,” Owodiong stressed.
