TheHILL | SPECIAL REPORT | JUNE 13.
When I was first admitted into the university for a degree programme, I met a senior student in secondary school who was in his final year. One of those he called me aside and started asking me about the department I was admitted into. Then he gave me an advice that values above a million naira. “The secret to ending strong is beginning strong. Most of your contemporaries will waste their first year celebrating ‘I dey school’, partying and chasing boys and girls. By the time they realise, they would have lost their chances of getting the foundational areas of their respective courses of study. Every field of study has introductory and advanced levels, and without a firm grip of those introductory courses, the others will be difficult. Then above all, the worst thing to do to yourself is progress in the programme with carryovers. Boy, while your colleagues will be strolling, start running now. You will be strolling when reality tells on them and pushes them to run”, he said and took a walk off me immediately.
One of the things I can authoritatively say about Onofiok Luke is that he prepares to start off with a race in every tenure of public office he is elected into. Maybe like me, he had a senior political student who advised him– reason he keeps wowing the public with superlative performance that stands him out from the fold as if there is any end of term reward in sight for the most outstanding, like our parents used to promise us the best Christmas clothes garnished with rice and chicken for first position.
Despite appearing to have committed his last one year to the politics of his gubernatorial bid, record of the progress he has made in his current legislative mandate within the same period made me wonder if man was elected with a deputy who stood in for him while he was busy touring the crannies of the state consulting for his guber bid, having, myself, lost touch with updating his legislative records in the last one year.
While his membership in the green chambers of the national assembly will soon be ceded to history, same cannot be said about the impacts he would be leaving behind. If the country’s pages of historical records will be too voluminous to have him frequently in mind’s sight, the mind of the judges will sure not be too occupied to remember him for the advocacies and pieces of legislation he undertook to better their welfare. The institutional reforms he’s sought through legislative and direct proposals towards strengthening the judiciary will leave him far longer in the minds of members and beneficiaries.
One notable instance is his bill seeking court sanctity which seems to represent the feelings of legal practitioners who have been decrying the several desecrating and abusive acts on court houses, mostly by security officials. Two cases of instance will quickly come to mind here, namely, the Sowore case and the other where an officer of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corp prevented a judge from accessing her courtroom to pass verdict on a case. Those and several other cases must have moved the sponsor to seek constitutional protection for courtrooms. Though not privileged with the clause by clause contents of the bill, such, I can relate, never comes without a recommendation for severe consequences on a defaulter.
Another bill in his name recommends the appointment of more judges into the Supreme Court. When presenting this, the congressman had cited the increasing mound of cases before the apex court and the consequent work load they assume on the judges, as what motivated the bill. Cases have consequently suffered lagging and setbacks for this reason and that showed the sponsor the need to seek a lasting solution, as he believes that with more judges in the court at the highest level, there will swift dispensation of justice. In addition, Luke had also indirectly sought protection for judges who he said, will like not be able to pass fair judgements under unsafe situations. While speaking for the once kidnapped Justice Chioma Nwosu and urging the federal government to press more on the security agency(s) to work harder towards ensuring her release, he did stress that having judges extra protected is an extensive way of fighting crime, as one who does not feel safe when passing judgment may be compelled into a conciliation just to stay alive.
Still on his passionate stay on the push for speedy dispensation of criminal justice which stretches back to his days in the state legislature, and which caused the proposal for appointment of more judges to aid speedy process of cases, same passion had prompted another advocacy against half-served justice. A clear instance is one which empowers the attorney general in a state or the country as the case maybe to give approval by signature before any case ruled against the government under which they are serving can be executed. While legal practitioners have been decrying that the attorney generals have hardly been forthcoming in such eventualities, Luke had, through a motion, prayed that such clause as one of the factors weakening reliance on the judiciary by the common man be done away with.
In an era when confidence on the country’s electoral system is shaky and consequently raising need for electoral reforms, Luke had proposed that for the sake of Nigeria’s progress, the country needs an institute that will train and extensively train electoral umpires and their subscripts on fair and professional electoral conducts, while the hurried sensitization of ad-hoc staff in closely pre-election periods should be dumped or buried. Considering the reality that there is yet to be an election that was fully conducted without filtering reports of compromised umpires who in some cases display their partial stands so glaringly, despicably and with impunity, his proposal was for the establishment of an institute of electoral studies for the purpose aforementioned. The said proposal had pictured that with the existence of such institute, the independent electoral body would be able to structure their recruitment very shortly after each election season, so as to have enough time to train the newbies and retrain the existent ones. For him, where uncompromising electoral umpires are not guaranteed, genuine development and responsible leadership will continue to remain far from reach. And true to his positions, the injection of saner people into the polity and leadership positions has been, though forcefully achieved, but successful because of the resilient few who stand their fair grounds in election conduct. More need to be done, as leaving election outcomes for the highest bidders is a way to discourage accountable leadership. Explicitly, rather than serve the electorates, political office holders will serve themselves and stock the money to buy the next election in their favour.
In his unrelenting spirit of Pan-AkwaIbomism, man had in his starting days in the national assembly sought the support of his Speaker, Femi in pushing for the success of Ibom Deep Seaport, while he moved to concretise that homefront interest by seeking amendment in the existing maritime bill to further the cause. Same spirit must have motivated the motion that prayed resuscitation for the Aluminum Smelting and Construction Company (currently moribund), though ideally thinking, a progress conscious citizen should know the economic advantage of having such industry back alive and utilise any opportunity to achieve same, especially for the sake of decongesting the labour market.
In mentioning his efforts at representation which some of the aforementioned acts of legislations can equally attest to, I have already resisted the temptation of mentioning his vibrancy and the frequency of his contributions to legislative processes on the floor of the chambers. That for me, is basically what a legislator is earning taxpayer’s money for, and gladly, the one in context is fully aware and tends to play down on it when discussing his achievements. However, his reign, when it eventually fades into time, will leave some structural and non-structural legacies to be remembered for. These are projects he has attracted to his led constituency, namely: vocational skills training for women and youths in Nsit Ubium local government area and procurement/supplies of startup equipment; construction of ICT knowledge centre at Nsit Peoples Grammar School, Afaha Offiong, Nsit Ibom local government area; another ICT knowledge centre at Community Comprehensive Secondary School, Ikot Okobo, Nsit Ubium; construction of 2.no. classrooms block with furnitures, fittings, store and rest rooms at Four Towns Group School, Ikot Obio Inyang Iman, Etinan and St. Andrew’s African Church School, Edebom 2, Nsit Ibom;
To complement his efforts at representation are several human capacity development programmes, notably the one for all local government legislative council members in his constituency with all expenses paid to and from Abuja, as well as several startup grants to business interest constituents, amongst others, all adding up to making his 3-year representation thick and phenomenal.
However, all of these do not seem to make the satisfaction complete, as eyes are still fixated on the main party– gathering constituents to witness the distribution of cars, business support items, etc, in a convention known as constituency briefing. Notwithstanding, that he is still flying high in legislative records despite the long period of distraction is enough assurance that man, though was a little distracted by politics, never took his eye off the GOAL of serving his constituency the robust kind of legislation he is known for. And at the right time, himself being the progenitor of that convention that has become widely embraced as a norm, will put the right icing and decorative colours on the cake.
Ubong Sampson (08021419939) writes from vacation.
