Alex Ikwecheg, the lawmaker representing Aba South/Aba North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, is in the news for all the wrong reasons. He is trending for attacking an Uber driver, Stephen Abuwatseya, who delivered a parcel to his Abuja residence. A viral video shows Ikwecheg slapping Abuwatseya and threatening to make him disappear without a trace if he provokes him further.
The MLA was later arrested and questioned by the police over the action for which he later apologised. In his apology, Ikwechegh expressed regret for attacking the driver and promised to cooperate with the police investigation of the incident.
Despite his claims of remorse, his colleagues in the House pledged on Tuesday to investigate his conduct. This, in general, should have given hope for a proper inquiry into the actions and appropriate sanctions to be imposed. But if experience serves as a guide, the matter is as good as dead.
newswatch The old magazine would have easily dismissed the entire incident as a “hollow ritual of comic tragedy.” Depending on the way such issues are handled here, Nigerians can be served with an aspect of the matter worthy of their consumption. The rest will be swept under the carpet. An associate, Fred Chukwuelobwe, said that after the ongoing noise and apparent half-hearted apology, the cab driver would be offered monetary compensation, and the matter would be put to rest. Yes, it will end or be removed from public space and the guilty lawmaker will not be able to learn any lesson from his disgraceful conduct. Take a look at the people who were caught on camera for related violations before them.
In 2013, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, representing Edo North in the National Assembly, was featured in a similar imbroglio. Then as Edo Governor, Oshiomhole, during an inspection tour on Mission Road in the state capital, had ordered the confiscation of some belongings of a resident of the state, Mrs Joy Ifeje, for hawking on the roadside. Oshiomhole had asked that the woman's belongings be confiscated for breaking traffic laws, but when she pleaded for mercy on the grounds that she was a widow, he thundered, “You are a widow, go and die “
Following adverse reactions to the comment, Oshiomhole ate humble pie and apologized to the woman. He donated N2 million to the widow besides offering her automatic employment in his office. Oshiomhole said, what was then understood as genuine repentance; “I apologize for the way I spoke to you, I deeply regret my statement. I have also realized that even in anger, one can achieve the result one aimed for without any provocation. I apologize wholeheartedly”.
Many thought that the weak politician had learned his lesson from that fateful trip. But he was in his usual rage recently when he mocked the First Lady of Edo State, Dr. Betty Obaseki, for not having a child. Speaking at the All Progressives Congress, APC campaign rally ahead of the September 21 governorship election in the state, Oshiomolehade described Mrs. Obaseki as barren of words as she was in no position to speak on matrimonial matters. Woman. Looks like he has hit an all time low. He can go even lower.
Former senator Elisha Aboah is also in the hateful league. On May 11, 2019, Abo was recorded beating Osimibibra Warmate, a woman at a sex toy shop in Abuja. Warmette's crime was daring him to stop her from attacking another woman attending customers in the shop. Aboah was then representing Adamawa North Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
The former senator had accused the shop stewardess of insulting him and asked a policeman accompanying her to arrest her. Apparently concerned for his safety, the attendant called and tried to tell someone what was happening. However this move further angered Aboh. The situation turned violent when a person accompanying the MLA tried to snatch the phone from the hands of the shop attendant and Warmette, who was watching the drama, intervened.
Abo became enraged and attacked her when she urged him to “take it easy”, slapping and hitting her before ordering the policeman to arrest him. A High Court in the Federal Capital Territory in Maitama, Abuja later awarded N50m damages against Abbo, as compensation to the woman. But the former MLA didn't learn any lessons from the episode, or so it seemed, considering some of the controversies that have surrounded him recently.
Even the Senate President Godswill Akpabio recently fell into the trap of insulting the sensibilities of Nigerians during the nationwide protests over the economic crisis in the country when he was quoted as saying that citizens They may choose to protest but they are in leadership. The class will be behind and enjoying. He later claimed that he has been quoted out of context, but his carriage and the carriage of his colleagues in the legislature, judiciary and executive do not suggest that they share in the pain of ordinary Nigerians.
There is a special thread running through most of the people in positions of authority in the country; They have mortgaged their conscience to such an extent that they can no longer be influenced by anything. In my article dated Friday, September 20, 2024, titled “Mr. Mr. President, this system is not sustainable”, I observed that Nigerian leaders did not get a chance to empathize with the people. On the contrary, they consider companionship a sign of weakness. They get pleasure from seeing ordinary citizens humiliated.
So, the trend continues. Make no mistake about that; Ikwechegh is not alone in this act of gross insensitivity. He is just a metaphor for the decay of leadership in the country. He is one of the law breakers in law making houses across the country. We have them in the Senate, even in the executive, judiciary and at the state level. The iconic Chinua Achebe rightly positioned them as leaders without the ability to assume responsibility.
So it is left to the people to rise up and begin to assert themselves in the face of the wickedness of the leadership class. The Alex Ikwechegh/Stephen Abuwatseya saga should not be swept under the carpet like any other case. Nigerians deserve to see an end to this and steps taken, if only to guard against similar reckless acts committed by those charged with the responsibility of protecting the people.
,difficult is the editor, niche Newspaper, Lagos
Source link