Michael Maddoxman Okwori, rights crusader and public affairs analyst, spoke to ADOYI ABA on some political under current particularly over the fast approaching Benue south re-run
What is your take on the forthcoming Benue South re run?
I am not a prophet but I can make intelligent guesses. I do not claim to see tomorrow like Nostradamus, but I can see why the “great” David
Mark will lose to the young, brave Comrade Daniel Onjeh in the fast-approaching re-run election of February 13, 2016 which will determine who represents the people of Benue South otherwise known as Zone C in the Nigerian Senate. For many voters, Senator David Mark has simply overstayed his welcome in the red chamber, having served as Senator for 16 years (eight of which he served as Senate President) and a change of representation is needed.
You are not ground you would have known that Idoma people are behind Mark and ready to cast their votes for him so what can you say on that?
The Idoma nation and indeed Benue state as a whole cannot deny the fact that Senator David Mark is a great man. Mark is a great man by many standards. He was Senate President for eight years and under his leadership of the Senate, Senators could truly be called “distinguished” for at least not fighting like thugs on the floor of the Senate as we saw under past leaderships. He provided a stable leadership in the senate. His critics said he found a way to ensure that there was an equitable distribution of ‘legislative largesse’ among all members and that kept them quiet. I celebrated his leadership qualities in the maiden edition of my magazine, Leaders and Legends and also on a radio broadcast session.
The average Idoma is happy with Mark being their representative why are you speaking like you are not part and parcel of Idoma?
If you measure greatness by wealth acquisition, Mark is a rich man. In fact, he is said to be one of the richest men in Nigeria today. Unfortunately, his senatorial district – Benue South or zone C – remains one of the poorest and most marginalized regions in Nigeria.
This is a fact and a single visit to Otukpo, the seat of the Och’Idoma and headquarters of the Idoma nation will convince you that the region is indeed marginalized. When Nigerians who were not familiar with the region diverted from the flooded Lokoja-Abuja route to pass through Otukpo, two years ago, they found it difficult to believe they were passing through the home of the powerful Senator Mark.
Young men in dirty rags roasted yams by the highway and ran to make sales to travelers who struggled to drive through the pot-hole-infested road.
If Otukpo where the family house of Senator Mark is located can wear the kind of look depicted above, then one can easily imagine how the other parts of Zone C look like. The writer did not say Mark was responsible for the decay in infrastructure or the unpaid salaries but he wondered why the power and wealth of the Senator did not translate to a better situation in his hometown.
Apart from the fact that Senator Mark has spent a whole 16 years in the Senate and change is strongly desired, there are other reasons why he is being rejected.
Could you list the areas the senator disappointed you in his representation over 15 years?
The campaign strength and strategy of Senator Mark has always been centred on Apa state creation and the advice to the electorate in Zone C never to join the opposition. It is no secret that the Idoma have never produced a Governor in Benue state despite being the second largest tribe in the state with many eminently qualified sons and daughters to do the job. Rather than pushing for zoning, the Idoma have over the years come to fantasize about Apa state creation like it is all that is needed to solve all human problems.
David Mark was seen as the man who will deliver Apa state to the Idoma on a platter of gold He never failed to use Apa state creation to his political advantage, always reassuring Idoma delegates to his home and office that he was working hard on its creation. The Apa state campaign strategy worked for him so well that anyone who voiced interest in contesting for the Zone C senatorial seat against Mark was seen as an enemy of Apa state creation and the entire Idoma nation.
Today, the Idoma are angry with Mark over Apa. They did not get Apa state. They also did not get the development or governorship seat that dreaming of Apa state prevented them from seeking.
In fact, it was calculated that former president Goodluck Jonathan would “hand over” power to Mark in 2019 after winning the 2015 presidential elections. Alas! State creation is not what one senator – even a Senate President – can create without recourse to the constitution. Alas, the calculation that GEJ would win was a wrong one after all.
Today, the Apa state campaign strategy cannot fly today and PDP has also become the opposition!
If Apa state and the “always be with the winning party” strategies cannot fly for Mark, then a new story has to be sold. The new story is about the alleged “closeness” between Comrade Daniel Onjeh and Senator George Akume, the perceived APC leader in Benue state. The campaigners in support of Mark say when the election that took Mark to the Senate was annulled by a Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi and a re-run
ordered, Tiv citizens celebrated the annulment more than the Idoma.
Supporters of Mark exaggerated this celebration of election annulment by the Tiv and turned it into a campaign strategy.
“The Tiv do not want our progress,” they said. “The only man strong enough for them is Mark. They want to install Onjeh as their puppet.” The campaign strategy has also been exaggerated to the point where it has been discarded because people have been asking how senator Akume can use a full-blooded Idoma from a part of Idomaland where Alekwu is feared to go against his own people. People have wondered how Akume and the Tiv nation tied the hands of the great and powerful Mark from developing Idomaland with development allowances for the Zone.
People have been asking why Mark could not find any Idoma journalist to work with him in a key position but preferred – still prefer – Paul Mumeh from Delta and Kola Ologbondiyan from Kogi state…or whether the Tiv and Akume made him sack an Idoma man as his Chief of staff only to appoint Senator Manzo from Taraba state as replacement. It is good to want to appear nationalistic but a man who buys beer and pepper soup for strangers in beer parlours while his family has nothing to eat will eventually lose the support and respect of his family. This is the situation today.
Apparently you are canvassing support for Onjeh what are his selling points?
Comrade Daniel Onyirofie Onjeh is the new bride that everyone is admiring. Come February 13, 2016, the voters in the nine local governments will file out to vote for njeh. Military and police intimidation will not be used like in past elections in the zone. It is a new dawn. So many factors are counting for Onjeh.
The former president, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and West African Students Union (WASU) is not new to politics. He has served in various leadership positions as a student unionist. A graduate of Political Science and Economics, B.A. Honours from the University of Ghana, Legon, Onjeh is seen as the face of hope and change. Where Generals fear to tread, the “little” Daniel is fearlessly conquering. For political watchers, there is no doubt that David Mark; the big tree is set to fall politically at the hand of Daniel Onjeh, the small axe.