Story by Dili Utomi.
It is truism that people are affected by different events in so very many different ways, the emotional impact of situations on each individual varies from one person to the other.
Our experiences as a nation have drawn up a wide range of reactions culminating in the various socio-economic and political orientations and reactions. In a bid to ascertain the effects of our recent experiences on people seeking political office, we sought the opinion of Barrister at law, a real estate developer and a candidate for the Delta North Senatorial seat under the Labour Party, Mr. Kennedy Kanwa, he gave us an insight into what inspires him and a lot more.
In his words “I have always looked at our nation and feel that our politicians are underperforming, we all travel to other countries, we visit Europe, Asia and the Americas and see how things are done in those places, we see that a country only grows when the interest of the people is well protected, but we have just refused to replicate those good things back here in Nigeria because the people’s interests are not taken into consideration by our politicians”.
“It has all looked like an impossible task to be achieved by the various parties in power since the past 22 years because they have operated like cult groups and the same people have continuously ‘recycled’ themselves from one generation to the other and this had discouraged people like me from getting involved. However, for the past two years the consciousness of Nigerians have become awakened and one can no longer sit at a place and watch, I have been affected by these events as someone who is very much concerned, but I became even more interested in partisan Politics when Peter Obi declared his intention to contest this coming election and even more so when he declared for the Labour Party. I think that the Labour Party when it comes to power will be very impactful and as a Senator representing the Delta North constituency, I shall help to make laws that will help to change things in the country for the better”.
Barrister Kanma also said that what is happening in the country is a direct result of our laws and when we talk about constitutional issues in the country, the only place to change that is in the quality of laws that we make. He noted that governors can only do so much in as much as we continue to have exclusive lists that will not allow them to act in certain situations and these are areas that we may need to amend so that things can change for the better. The other area he said that gives him concerns is the judiciary where the executive has to pay the salaries of the judiciary, the executive can use subtle ways through payment, nonpayment or delay of salaries to try and manipulate the judiciary which is supposed to be the last hope of the common man. The judiciary should be included in the list of first charge so that their salaries and emoluments can be paid directly by a body not controlled by the executive and this is another reason why he wants to be at the Senate so that some anomalies like the ones stated above can be corrected and so that there can be a better Nigeria.
On the constituency that he intends to represent at the Senate, Barrister Kanma said that Delta North is always a major oil producing area, but that he is a firm believer that the greatest wealth of the people in Delta North lay in between their ears. Nollywood is a major contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Products and they are big in Delta North and should be harnessed. He added that “The biggest area that we should invest in is education because if they are trained, people can help the nation to grow into its greatest abilities”.
We asked the experienced Barrister how he will be able to contend with the moneybags that have taken over the political terrain of our nation, he said that he is using everything at his disposal including the party structures and all support groups, various categories of media channels and including personal contacts with the people in order to make sure that the Labour Party comes out victorious across all positions and that the people who have put us in this social, economic and political quagmire are not returned to continue with the damage.
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