Open letter to Senate President

Let me begin by congratulating Nigerians for a successful and peaceful transition following the just-concluded fresh round of democratic elections.

I also congratulate the political parties and all candidates who won the elections at various levels with the hope that they would live up to the expectations of the electorate and by the dictates of the oaths they took.

While at it, of significant importance is the emergence of a new leadership of the National Assembly which places firm control of the parliament in the hands of the ruling All Progressives Congress this time around.

Of foremost importance is the urgent need for Ahmed Lawan to discard the personal haughty disposition he is generally accused of and wear the toga of a national leader from whom much is expected.

Truth is, we are all subject to the influences of a world that encourages

us to think highly of ourselves, but at the same time is also working on us to create self doubt and erode our self confidence; but if accepted in a functional sense, it becomes a constructive first step toward maintaining a useful harmony between confidence and humility.

With no reason to fail, you should as a matter of expedience, embrace all your distinguished colleagues in the Senate irrespective of religion, region, tribe or political affiliation because you are now a leader of the whole and not a part of the Senate.

Then you should look into practical ways of impacting on your immediate constituency, Yobe Zone B first, then the whole of Yobe, the North East, the northern region and of course across every community of Nigeria. It is our sincere hope that you will utilize the opportunities available to you as Senate President to make history and set the standard for reputable leadership in the parliament.

I as a brother and well wisher would sincerely wish to see you surpass the records set in the North East by the likes of the former Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Engineer Maikanti Baru who has used his position for the upliftment of his immediate Misau community and Bauchi state generally.

For the purpose of this humble letter, it won’t be out of place to recount some of the commendable community projects singularly carried out in Misau by former GMD Baru. These include youth and women empowerment efforts, construction of schools and provision of education materials, construction and renovation of roads, construction of numerous worship places, health centres and medicare facilities and several other support efforts.

Ibrahim Jirgi is MD, Triple CEE Media, Abuja