Smart: Bello’s foot soldier in Senate

By Atekojo Samson Usman

Senator Smart Adeyemi’s vituperation on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday was one, too many that shocked the conscience of mankind.

While the Senate was debating a motion on how to protect schools across the country, Senator Adeyemi in his contribution stated that while his State Governor had awarded contracts for the renovation of schools, Abia is governed by drunkards. He then went ahead to say that the Governor of Abia State is a “champagne drinking Governor”.

It’s undistinguished of the lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial district to be so unbridled in name calling over a social media post alledgedly linked to the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe. He went botlog on the floor and thrown patience into the wind. This was not only a manifestation of leadership absurdity, but Kogi State was put in opium because of Smart Adeyemi’s incautious attitude. Being obsessed with fake loyalty to Yahaya Bello, the lawmaker thinks opaquely and has blurred understanding of issues.

There should be a limit to how Smart run errands for Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello and do dirty bidding particularly when not armed with facts on an issue.

Senator Abaribe and Adeyemi are both in the Senate, they have unhindered access to each other and if there be any issue or differences, what stops any of them from calling attention of the other? Where is the spirit of comradership? Now, Kogi State is at the receiving end as tantrums are thrown at it from all over the places. A situation that would have been avoided.

Kogi’s dirty linen is being washed in public. Smart has opened opportunity for the public to do clinical analysis of a decrepit governance in Kogi in the last six years. A tragic memory of political killings, salary denials, infrastructure deficit, insecurity, even the “tatatata…… election, a travesty of election that returned Yahaya Bello for second term as governor have become issues of discussion in the public domain.

In his reply, Abia State governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu who wrote through his Chief Press Secretary, Onyebuchi Ememanka tried to do a comparative analysis of Kogi State under Yahaya Bello and Abia State under him, Okezie did a synopsis of his achievement, but can Kogi be proud of any achievement? Kogi and Abia State are miles apart. Okezie didn’t know the extent of damages in Kogi. Had he known, his replies would have been more brutal.

Okezie wrote: “Ever since Dr. Ikpeazu became Governor in Abia State, there hasn’t been one single case of attack on any school anywhere in Abia State.

“Senator Smart Adeyemi is clearly non compos mentis. If not, he would have known that while his State is still awarding contracts for the renovation of schools, Abia had long completed more than 500 classroom projects scattered across schools in Abia State, and still counting.

“It is obvious that Senator Adeyemi is battling with acute dementia and has lost every of his instincts as a journalist. If not, he would have known that just last week, the National Bureau of Statistics adjudged Abia State as No. 3 on the list of States that attracted foreign direct investments, with only Lagos and Abuja ahead of Abia State in the entire country.

“It takes much more than drinking champagne to guide a state from zero foreign investnents to No. 3 in the country.

“Kogi State featured prominently on the list of states that attracted zero investments. It is only a state that is peaceful and secure that has the capacity to attract such cross border investments.

“Some weeks ago, the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) branded Kogi State unsafe for their consistent lip service to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Senator Adeyemi was never heard to have either responded to that statement by the NCDC or raise it on the floor of the Senate. Yet, he has the effontery, or rather, the buffonrey, to abuse a Governor whose state has maintained one of the lowest COVID-19 fatality rates in the country through proactive measures to protect our people.

“Between a Governor who has consistently denied the existence of Covid and the one who has put in place measures to protect his people, one wonders who is the drunkard.”

“Our view is that the Senator is either suffering from a protracted case of mental illness or is battling with occasional fits of schizophrenia which manifests in making careless, dishonorable, unrelated and incoherent statements.

“This conclusion becomes irresistible judging from the total disconnect between the matter being discussed by the Senate and the comments made by the Senator as they affect the Governor.

“If Senator Adeyemi was of sound mind, he should have known that when it comes to education, Abia is miles ahead of his home State of Kogi. Indeed, not just in education but in every single area of development.

“If Senator Adeyemi had his faculties intact, he should have known that under the watch of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia State has maintained first position in WAEC Examinations in the entire country for five years now.

“Kogi has not come close to the first 20.

Now it’s important that electorate in Kogi West Senatorial district should ask questions, if their representative in the Senate was sent to serve personal interest of his political master or their interest, given that Smart Adeyemi is obviously preoccupied with protecting Yahaya Bello than anything else. This is important because 2023 is two years away now.

One could recall how Adeyemi argued in preference of military regime to the current civilian administration on 4th March, 2020 at a parliamentary debate on “Electoral Offences Commission Bill.”

According to him, military era was better than the brand of democracy in practice because, elections in Nigeria have succeeded in enthroning charlatans and hooligans in power. A system that, Adeyemi is an active participant!

It gives one concern because of the lamentable situation Kogi State found itself in the last six years and since it is said, “no condition is permanent”, there is hope that good leaders would emerge sometime, someday, but will Smart Adeyemi still be compatible with the desired set of leadership in Kogi State? Time will tell.

Atekojo is a journalist and writes from Abuja