ON THE MATTER OF OUR DEPARTING ASSEMBLY MEMBERS
“There are two tragedies in life. One is not to gain your heart’s desire, the other is to gain it.” – George Bernard Shaw.
In gaining one’s strong desire they are unwittingly exposed both to themselves and the general public, in the mettle that frames their inner core and their capacity to stay the course upon which they sailed into success, despite challenges.
Sometimes to lose a high office is to find protection from oneself and their frailties and remain in the fitting shelter of public knowledge about them. If you didn’t come to the village square to play, no one would have known about your club feet.
The social media has been agog with news about the plans of two PDP members of the House of Assembly to defect to the APC in less than no time. They are going to the food table where they expect to eat mouthfuls for themselves. And the real losers are the people who voted them into office and trusted them with their well-being.
We who are members of the Peoples Democratic Party,of can only wish them well in their new endeavour and hope that since there is no governor from the North at this time, they will be able to fill in the gap by attracting, employment, projects and empowerment for their constituents which their membership of the PDP did not allow them to do.
Our brothers are free to ignore the reality, as Ayn Rand says, but they cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring the reality. Nor can they ignore the niggling conscience of betraying the very hand and machinery that fed their ambition and brought them to the front line.
We on our part will continue to remain resolute in our belief in our leaders and in our party, as doing otherwise can only make us light in the eyes of the people to whom we owe our election into office and our mandate. Being so blessed by the Almighty, we cannot regret the loss of some associates, after all, it was never about numbers, it was always about our belief, our conviction and the trust that the masses of our people have invested in us.
When we ran in 2023 elections we captured 7 Seats out of 9 Seats in Cross River North. This was achieved even when they dominated all elected and appointive Offices, we had only the people on our side. We stood against a sitting governor from the North, a federal minister from the North, two National Assembly members, six House of Assembly members, five local government chairmen, ten commissioners, more than 2000 appointees, about 50 councillors and even more. And we still changed the narrative.
We are still standing with the people. Two House of Assembly members abandoning the people and the party are most unlikely to change the story, they may however gain a little personal pecks and perquisites, nothing more. Regrettably, they are unlikely to bring any succour at all, for the people who brought them to office. In any event, their influence has, at best, been very negligible.
We remain unconquerable, because we are who we are, having long chosen principles and the narrow path over and above the gravey train. There are no odds in politics when the people are at the core of one’s endeavour, the choice is not difficult to make. What is more delightful is that our electorates are more enlightened now and truly know on which side their bread is buttered.
And like INVICTUS, we thank whatever gods may be, for our unconquerable souls. Because we remain the masters of our fate, the captains of our souls.
TEAM JARI MEDIA
