21/02/2023
ADUDA, OUR OWN DRY OKRA…
There is this African proverb that says, “An old woman doesn’t have anything but her dry okra.”
This dry okra of hers is well preserved for it is all she got. It is gold to her. If you take it away from her; you haven’t just done her bad; it means you don’t care about her wellbeing.
It is no longer news that FCT indigenes have been dealt with unfairly in the Nigerian political space- in our home, we haven’t been listened to.
We have advocated for ministerial slots and even asked that, we should be treated as a state and given a mayoral position. Senator Philip Aduda has been a voice behind this- he has fought and lobbied for inclusivity for us in the Nigerian political narrative. It hasn’t been an easy fight. Well, this is the challenges that comes with being the only Senator. I don’t think we have indigenes that have attained his political status; his win is obviously a win for all of us. Forget the agenda, flying around that he hasn’t done anything. He has done a whole lot but the problem has been how his image has been projected in the media.
We need a voice to be there and he has, for the past years, being that voice. Getting him back there means he will be well respected among the lawmakers, being one of the most experienced in the house, it will be easier for him to help us achieve our goal. We have come too far to let this opportunity pass us by. Bringing someone entirely new means that we are going to start from level zero and we all know our story, how we suffered to get here. It might take us a decade to get here again. This is our only chance!
We do not have any home other than the FCT- it is our state. Aduda, being the FCT Senator, is our governor and also, the face of our political venture. Let us throw our weights behind him and ensure he gets into office- we cannot be crying about marginalization and throw the only chance of getting our cries heard away. Let us talk to our friends, the non-indigenes too, to join in this fight. If this is taken away from us, it means you and I, our kids, will continue to be excluded in the Nigerian political space. We will have no claim to any home at all.
This Saturday, let us go out and cast our votes for Aduda.
Thank you.