2015: Ekweremadu Cautions Politicians Against Overheating the Polity

Ike Ekweremadu

 

Christopher Isiguzo 

Ahead of the 2015 general elections, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu Saturday in Enugu asked politicians to play by the rule and avoid engaging in acts that are capable of overheating the polity.

The deputy president of the Senate   also cautioned them not to stoke the fire of insecurity and terrorism, saying, "2015 is not a do-or-die affair."

"He who will hold another down in the mud must stay in the mud to keep him down," for "A man that makes trouble for others also makes trouble for himself."

"Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too - if one says no to the other, let his wing break."

Speaking at the Chinua Achebe Memorial Conference held weekend at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the lawmaker insisted that the nation's unity should be paramount in the minds of every Nigerian.

The conference is usually hosted by Okike - an Annual African Journal of New Writing started by the late Achebe in 1971.

Ekweremadu said the late Achebe did the best he could to rally Nigerians back to their roots and indeed back to those socio-cultural values which their fathers lived.

He, however, regretted that despite all Achebe's effort, Nigeria still finds itself cooking in the same vices and challenges he (Achebe) warned about so many years ago.

He said, "Those whose palm kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit have forgotten to be humble and render service.

"Today, therefore, a nation that lives on the bank of the Niger has found itself washing its hands in spittle."

Ekweremadu lamented that while Nigeria's contemporaries are moving forward, the country is caught in a web of infighting.

The DSP said Nigerian politicians forget that "The sun will shine on those who stand, before it shines on those under them."  He stated, "If we fall back, can we complain that others are rushing forward."