AS RICHARD LAMAI FINALLY ANSWERS THE CALL OF HIS PEOPLE

When Aristotle stated that man is a political animal, what he meant was not to compare man to animals; but, he was only interested in contemplating the nature of man; man's role in society and the motivations that drive him to act in certain ways. He pondered on the manner in which man form communities and how these communities are structured. He said “Every state is a community of some kind, and every community is established with a view of some good in order to obtain that which is good. This is indeed one of the reasons behind the action of the people of Edo North Senatorial District in calling on one of their illustrious sons, Chief Richard Lamai to throw his hat in to the 2015 Edo North Senatorial Election.

Chief Lamai needs no introduction as his name already is a lexicon that can be found in every socio-political encyclopaedia in the country. A part from being a protégé of an elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark and a member of the very respected South-South Elders and Leaders Forum (SSELF), he is also the National Coordinator of PDP Project Reloaded, a frontline socio-political organisation that was approved and endorsed by the National Secretariat of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) with the mandate of promoting and defending the interest of the party as well as deepening internal democracy within its ranks and file.

As a leader of an organisation that was formed at a time the ruling party was facing intermittent and unconstructive criticisms from the opposition parties as well as suffering from “Internal bleeding” as a result of the unholy activities of some fifth columnists in its fold, the untrammelled skills of the Edo-born political tactician and strategist working under heavyweight politicians like the “Living Oracle” and Chairman PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih as well as many leaders of the party both in the National Working Committee (NWC) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party brought the raging situation under control. For example, when a splinter group known as the “New PDP” emerged, it took the collective efforts of every party stakeholder to restore normalcy and keep the party going. Even when a group of party dissidents defected to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) with unabating razzmatazz,

thereby
swelling the ego and the numerical strength of the major opposition party in the country, some prophets of doom started predicting an end for the party simply because the number of the opposition members in the House of Representatives has outnumbered that of the PDP, transiently turning the party to minority in the “Green Chamber” as well as reducing the number of PDP Governors to 18. But little did they knew that the party was only re-invent it's self for greater roles in the 2015 general elections.

Why I briefly delved in to some of the challenges the party was able to conquer in the past as a result of the collaborative efforts of some party faithful which the Edo-Born politician and Senatorial hopeful played a role is because, there is an African adage that says If you don't know where you are coming from, there is no way you can know where you are going. And this is why Confucius advised that “If you want to define the future, study the past” because history may not repeat its self, but sometimes it rhymes.

The sterling qualities of Chief Richard Lamai, a silent achiever is what the people of Edo North Senatorial District comprising six Local Government Councils of Etsako East, Etsako West, Etsako Central, Akoko-Edo, Owan East and Owan West have seen before asking him to go and represent them in the Senate come 2015.

Nonetheless, there is no doubt that Nigeria has reached a stage where lawmaking is now regarded and treated as a serious enterprise that requires serious minded people with the needed exposure as well as across the board appeal. Also, the era of sending political neophytes to the National Assembly to represent a whole Senatorial District is over. This is because, when such a neophyte gets there, instead of mobilising his contacts to start attracting Federal presence to his people, he will embark on what analysts call “On-the-job-training”, denying his people the desperately needed dividends of democracy. So, before he can understand the dynamics of power and how to explore it, four years is already over. This is why I can now figure out the reason behind the call on this gentleman Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State called “My hero” to go and represent them in Abuja as a Senator.

Like a humble servant who wouldn't say no to the wish his Afenmai people, the Gbukpegbu of Fugar, Chief Richard Lamai, a scion of the Great Senator E. A Lamai, a chip off the old block has finally heeded the clarion call of his people. And as you roll up your sleeves to confront the great tasks ahead, May the good Lord see you throughout your electioneering campaigns.

Comrade Edwin Ekene Uhara is a member of PDP Project Reloaded Media Team. Reach him on 07065862479 or [email protected]