The senatorial cruise of Echocho »

By Haruspice

He has barely spent two years in the red chamber as a lawmaker, but his senatorial cruise as a senator representing Kogi East has been fascinating and impressive. Unlike before where docility defined our representation, Dr Jibrin Isah Echocho echoes in loud voices the needs of his people. He thunders, he cajoles, he lobbies and attracts development to Kogi East. These he does so intelligently and brilliantly without rubbing it on the chalkboard of pride.

I remember with soothing nostalgia how he lobbied to have the SDGs cite a 40-bed hospital in Akpoli area of Imane in Olamaboro Local Area- the project when completed will serve the health need of my people – a people forgotten by successive government interventions. Information available shows that the project has been captured in the 2021 appropriation. The Senator has done his bit, time for advocacy groups and persons to call out the Finance ministry to include the project in their priority lists.

Kogi State College of Education, Ankpa – a prestigious citadel of learning that has produced the many best of teachers in Kogi leaves in abandoned dexterity until Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho made the audacious move for its upgrade to a Federal University of Education. In a clime where people value development, this is a cheery catch with a lasting dance. But no, we prefer a senator that ‘Shares the money’.

Like I once opined, Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho, you must begin to act in the language of time. You need to tell your story for everybody to hear. Perhaps guided by his years of private experiences in the corporate world, Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho is still acting in modesty and sheer professionalism. This act when manifested in politics presents you as timid and naive. In our kind of politics, whatever you do must be accompanied by media glitz and razzmatazz. Unfortunately, this man is not utilizing the media to tell his interventions in his short time as a senator. He is living things to fate and somehow becoming an albatross. How can you work and not talk about it especially in this clime?

Away from the past where senatorial representations are merely for personal gains, this man has come to halt that trend and now leave in his companion unprecedented legislative responsibilities. Recently, the man procured and distributed medical equipment to some health centre in Idah- even the most coveted hand sanitiser that is now a relish was part of the senator’s gesture to these institutions;

Federal Polytechnic Idah
Kogi State College of Health Technology Idah
Zonal Hospital Idah
Primary Health Care Inacholo
Primary Health Care Ogegele
Primary Health Care Ayah
Cottage Health Centre Onyedega
Primary Health Care Ayeke
Primary Health Care Akpanya
Comprehensive Hospital Ajaka
Primary Health Care Odolu
Federal Government College Ugwolawo
Primary Health Care Ugwolawo
Primary Health Care Itobe
General Hospital Ugwolawo

Away from health interventions, the man also dived into rural electrification by donating 500KVA TRANSFORMER to Ejegbo, Ofugo and Inye community all in Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State to boost their power supply.

The same Ankpa Federal Constituency also benefited from the empowerment program of Senator Echocho where he initiated a training programme for Youth and Women in Cassava processing. The training which had over 30 people exposed to practical and theoretical modules of cassava processing was designed to stimulate the Cassava Processing Factory in Aku.

Commendable as this may be, it is very important that Senator Echocho discard the doctrine of not telling what he has done and doing for his people, after all, the people only hear what is said and see what is done. The man must begin to speak in the language of politicians- speak and speak when walk.

Without sounding patronizing and at the risk of being immodest, I will say without equivocation that Senator Jibrin Isah, currently representing Kogi East Senatorial District in the 9th Senate, is one of the best senators Nigeria has produced from 1999 till date in terms of intellect, quality of motions moved, potency of his contributions to bills and overall deliverables to the people of Kogi East.

Just recently, while on the floor of the Senate during plenary, Sentor Jibrin, popularly called ‘Echocho’ by his fans and supporters, brought to bear his superb private sector background on a motion-in-progress on the floor of the senate when he led a motion meant to encourage the Federal Government to urgently diversify the economy away from its over reliance on the revenue from crude oil sales especially in view of the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a serious negative disruption in the global oil market.

Only a smart lawmaker could have achieved what Senator Jibrin did with the motion. He used a stone to kill two birds. He made a compelling contribution on how the FG can diversify the economy on one hand while on the other hand, he called for the installation of the fingerling production machine and fish feed equipment at the centre in Idah which will be of great benefit to the people of Idah, Kogi East and the entire Kogi State in general. Nigeria as a country will also benefit from the installation and utilization of the machines in that they will help in meeting the fish need of the country which is about 3.2m tonnes annually. In that wise, he has not only acted as a national lawmaker, he has also made a case that will be of positive socio-economic significance to the people of his district and that of the entire state.

We can’t forget in a hurry his contribution on the revitalization of Ajaokuta Steel on the floor of the Upper Legislative Chamber, where he urged the Federal Government to complete the Ajaokuta-Okaba-Otukpo rail line, as the coal deposit in Okaba is supposed to be a major source of power to the Ajaokuta Steel Company. The Senator argued that if the Ajaokuta-Okaba-Otukpa rail line was not completed, the dream of having an efficient and effective iron and steel complex in Ajaokuta will remain an exercise in futility, as there will be no sufficient energy to power the Steel Complex.The versatile economist and ex-banker analysed the benefits derivable from the completion of Ajaokuta-Okaba-Otukpa and Ajaokuta Steel Company in terms of backward and forward integrations.

Echocho is not your everyday kind of politician, he lives in the dictates of the Almighty, he is not flippant and dodgy, like always, he is in the service of humanity. My Kogi East people, more restraint, Echocho is coming and in the end, his legacies will be your pride. He never fails, he has character, he is a good man.

Echocholly musing