Erico: Towards a Quality Representation -By Sule Omachoko

Since 1999, the people of Kogi East have been deprived of quality representation at the National Assembly. With successive lawmakers promising quality representation but ending up delivering the opposite. However, those who represented the region between 1999 and 2016 were not put under scrutiny because Kogi East, being the most populous region, produced successive governors, from the late Prince Abubakar Audu to Ibrahim Idris and Captain Idris Wada. It was the unfortunate death of Prince Abubakar Audu, while almost securing his victory for a second coming, that paved the way for Alhaji Yahaya Bello from Kogi Central. The rest is history.

Prince Abubakar Audu’s death was something the people of Kogi East neither prepared for nor envisaged. It set the region back by a mile. Things have fallen apart in Ane Igala, and the centre is yet to hold.

With Kogi East no longer in charge of Lugard House, Lokoja, all eyes have fallen on their representatives at the National Assembly, especially the Senate. But their elected representatives are not living up to their commitments. It has been promises upon promises. The annoying thing is that one hardly hears their voices in the Red and Green Chambers, except occasionally.

So, I was surprised when the current Senator Echocho, who is almost completing his second term in office, was throwing tantrums, visibly angry because he lost out in his third-term bid. I wondered and asked myself: where was this man all these years?

Now, he is everywhere constructing huts for local markets just to prove a point. But is it not too late? The people are wiser. They know a desperate politician when they see one.

The question before Kogi East today is not whether we want representation. We certainly do. The question is what kind of representation do we want, and who is best prepared to provide it?

This is where Erico comes in.

Erico is the right man for the job at this particular moment in the history of Kogi East. The region needs a representative who understands that the Senate is not a retirement home for politicians, neither is it a place where one simply occupies a seat for eight years. It is a place where serious people go to make laws, influence national policy and fight for the interests of their people.

Kogi East needs a senator who can speak with confidence and authority. It needs someone who understands the workings of government and knows how to engage the right people to bring development to the district.

It needs a senator who will not wait until another election is approaching before remembering his constituents.

Erico offers that possibility.

What makes Erico different is not merely the desire to occupy the Senate. It is the understanding that political representation must have a purpose. The people of Kogi East need someone who can combine legislative experience with grassroots understanding, someone who can move between the community and the corridors of power without losing touch with either.

This is important because Kogi East is not lacking in people. What it has lacked is effective political leadership at critical moments.

For years, the people have watched other parts of the state consolidate their political influence while Kogi East struggles to maintain its own. The loss of Lugard House has made the situation even more obvious.

This is why the Senate seat is no longer just another political position. It is now a strategic position for Kogi East.

Whoever occupies that seat must understand the political realities of the time. He must know how to build relationships across political divides. He must be able to work with the Presidency, ministers, governors, lawmakers and other stakeholders without compromising the interests of his people.

Erico has the temperament for this.

He understands that politics is about relationships, negotiation and results. In a divided political environment, Kogi East needs someone who can build bridges rather than burn them.

The region also needs someone who understands the importance of the younger generation. Our young people are educated, ambitious and increasingly impatient with the old way of doing politics. They want opportunities, not endless promises. They want representation that creates access to education, skills, employment and entrepreneurship.

Erico understands this changing reality.

He also understands that the people of Kogi East are not asking for miracles. They are asking for a fair share of what belongs to them. They want good roads. They want functioning schools and healthcare facilities. They want agricultural support. They want opportunities for their young people. They want federal presence in their communities.

These are not unreasonable demands.

The Senate provides a platform to pursue these objectives, and Kogi East needs someone who understands how to use that platform effectively.

But beyond projects and political appointments, there is something even more important: voice.

A senator must have a voice.

The people must hear their representative when important national issues are being discussed. When the interests of Kogi East are threatened, the senator must be able to stand up and speak. When the Federal Government is making decisions that affect the people, the senator must be present at the table.

Kogi East deserves a senator who will not be a spectator in the Red Chamber.

It deserves a senator who will participate.

It deserves a senator who will contribute.

It deserves a senator who will negotiate.

It deserves a senator who will deliver.

That is why Erico is the right man for the job.

There is also the question of character. Political leadership is not only about what a man can do; it is also about what kind of man he is. The people need a representative they can trust with their mandate.

A man who understands that the mandate belongs to the people.

A man who knows that public office is temporary.

A man who understands that political power must be used to improve the lives of the people and not to settle personal scores.

Kogi East has had enough of politics driven by personal ambition. What it needs now is purposeful representation.

And this is why the time is right for Erico.

The coming political season should not be reduced to another contest between familiar faces. Kogi East has reached a point where it must make a deliberate choice about the kind of future it wants.

The region cannot continue to complain about marginalisation while sending weak voices to Abuja.

It cannot continue to lose political ground and expect things to change by themselves.

It needs a strong representative.

It needs a dependable representative.

It needs a representative who understands the assignment.

Erico understands the assignment.

The people of Kogi East deserve a senator who will make them proud, a senator whose presence will be felt not only in the Senate but also in the communities he represents.

The region needs someone who will restore confidence in the idea of representation.

It needs someone who can bring the people together, build political bridges and make Kogi East relevant again in the national conversation.

That man is Erico.

This is not about replacing one politician with another. It is about changing the quality of representation.

It is about moving from promises to performance.

It is about moving from silence to a strong voice.

It is about moving from political survival to purposeful leadership.

For Kogi East, the moment has come to look beyond politics as usual.

The moment has come to demand more.

And for the job ahead, Erico is the right man.

Sule Omachoko is a Public Affairs Analyst