When The Political Den Received A Daniel

The
ashes of the Senate tango between Senator Dino Melaye and Senator Remi
Tinubu might be having some rest, the take-aways from the episode are
yet to go away. It kept reverberating like a gong that has refused to
go.

Unknown
to many people, the battle was never between Dino and Remi. In the
literary context, Remi was a shadow of the big masquerade who has been
fanning the embers of disunity and crisis in Senate.

Many
stories have been told about the fires of Bourdillon. A friend put a
call across to me, saying, “Warn Dino not to step Lagos again o. Jagaban
Don vex o”. I didn’t bother to tell the Distinguished Senator from the
West. Jagaban is powerful in Lagos, not all of Lagos as he fatally
failed in dominating the entire Lagos in the last election.

I have
carried out an extensive research on the sacrilegious strength of the
Jarman and Jagaban. Culturally, neither of them can bow to the other.

To be
candid, I was one of the people who respected Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his
immeasurable sacrifices in returning the nation to the path of
democracy. While he led a flank of the pro-democracy activism, Sen. Dino
Melaye was coalescing force with other students union leaders to end
the reign of khakistocracy in the nation , a feat which endeared the
latter to the Nigerian people.

If the
results of the APC in Lagos, shocked me, a better shocker was laying
mines in the screening of the super Minister For Works, Power, Lands and
Housing. His intelligent statement, “May our loyalty never be tested”
gave a gory reflection of a draconian brand of autocratic dominance by a
man mistaken for a democrat.

From
Femi Pedro to Bucknor Akerele, it has been a story of ruthless
abandonment by a man who is nursing a tall dream to rule Nigeria.

The
slipping of Lagos is fillip for rejigging the Bola Tinubu political
corporation and ideology. He needs to look at people with respect. He
need to give the people a say in their own affairs. He needs to promote
an expansionist and inclusive style of leadership. He needs to know
where the brakes of control lies in his political vehicle.

Democracy
cannot be bastardized. It is the highest podium of freedom, the freedom
to choose, the freedom to decide, the reminder of the fact that two is
greater than one. It has no place for the Dostoevsky theory. The will of
the people is the will of God. The opium!

In the
run up to the 2015 Kogi West Senatorial Election , no one gave Sen. Dino
Melaye a chance against moneybags who were heavily oiled to trample on
the will of the people. The people faced all odds, came out determined
to effect change. By the time results were tickling in, it was obvious
that the people had spoken.

 He won. The people won. Kogi West won.

The
avalanche of support enjoyed by Senator Dino Melaye in Kogi West today
stems from his charismatic leadership and his response to the sense of
entitlement by the Kogi West people. The people saw him as their own
Senator, the antidote to the colossal irresponsibility of the previous
eight years.

The den
is never strange to the Daniel called Dino. He was locked up for
speaking truth to powers. He was persecuted for fighting the cause of
the common man. He has seen it all. 

The alacrity with which he dispatched Jagaban is a lesson to all. Never take your luck too far.

It is
pertinent to note that the main target of the anti-Saraki  is Dino
Melaye. They have combed everywhere to find incriminating materials
against Melaye to no avail. He doesn’t execute government contracts. He
is free of corrupt practices. But he remained eternally glued to his
ideology of social justice and consistently committed to the critical
need for steadfast loyalty to his beliefs.

Let me
end this by congratulating Sen. Dino Melaye for his brilliant press
release to his people yesterday. I read it severally. I wish we have had
a Senator like him in the past 8 years. I urge him to keep the tempo of
communication.

When
you speak to problems, problems give way because it cannot speak back.
We are witnessing a new dawn in Kogi West political horizon.

What it tells us is that, there are better days ahead for the people of Kogi West .

Thanks and God bless you all.

WRITTEN BY THE PEN MAN

The Man of Pen is a writer who believes in freedom and justice.