Why Senator Dino Melaye Should Halt His Governorship Ambition by Hussain Obaro

Dear Senator Dino Melaye,
People may like or hate you for whatever reason but the fact that you are the most vocal voice in the National Assembly is recognized and appreciated by all. The story of the Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives cannot be complete without the mention of the name Dino, which stand for different things to different individuals.
To some, the Senator representing the good people of Kogi west senatorial district of Kogi state is a rights activist/anti-corruption crusader while others regard you as a freedom fighter/ a thorn in the flesh of APC. SDM, as you love to be called, you are currently the most arrested, detained and prosecuted lawmaker in Nigeria’s history. Little wonder why many of your admirers often describe you as a dogged fighter. Your name will always come to mind whenever issues relating to recall exercises are being discussed in this country.
Although it is still unclear what really initiated your fracas with the incumbent governor of Kogi state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, given the role you played in ensuring the installment of the governor. You were however quick to align yourself with the common man in the state, especially the workers who are being subjected to severe hardship. Your guts to always condemn, criticize and speak out loudly against bad governance and misrule, both at the federal and state level endeared you to many Nigerians even as a few people bashed you for becoming an opposition figure while still an APC member. Indeed, your cross carpeting into the PDP didn’t come as a surprise to the people who believed you had always behaved like an opposition to your former political party since the inception of the eighth National Assembly.
The failure of the recall exercise against you, which many believed was orchestrated by the Kogi state government, is a pointer to the fact that you are loved and appreciated by the people of your constituency. Your recent reelection at the last general election to be part of the ninth National Assembly despite your inability to carry out a proper campaign tour of your senatorial district as a result of your many legal battles with the federal government and the Nigerian police is an attestation and affirmation of your political strength, popularity and acceptability by your people.
Predictably but not surprising, you had recently declared to run for the office of governor of Kogi state under the platform of the PDP in your bid to further test your popularity in the state at large, as the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria allows a serving Senator to aspire or contest for an executive office, and the ‘imole de’ slogan has now metamorphosed into ‘Kogi koya’ campaign slogan.
You are amply qualified, vastly experienced, and intellectually mobile and you have the political weight needed to win an election into the office of governor of the state, but defeating an incumbent is another ball game entirely and it is not going to be a tea party.
What if you become the next governor of kogi state? Now that the APC has successfully installed their preferred candidates into leadership positions of the National Assembly, many Nigerians are apprehensive and have expressed fears that democracy and good governance will be relegated to the background as the current leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives will become a mere ‘rubber stamp’ in the hand of the autocratic executive arm of government. Hence, the need for a personality like you to stay on in the Senate and become even louder and more vocal in defense of our democracy and the interest of the common man in our nation.
A strong opposition voice is needed in parliament to ensure good governance, obedience to the rule of law and adherence to the clear provision of separation of power. You have carved a niche for yourself as a fearless legislator who cannot be frightened or intimidated by undemocratic forces. You have proven to be the lone voice that can became more vocal and louder than the rest of the 108 Senators when the occasion arises. Nigerians and the world cannot afford the absence of a Dino Melaye especially at this point in time, which is why your constituency reelected you against all odds and political scheming of both federal and state government which wanted you out by all means. We need you more in the Senate than in Lugard House.
– Hussain Obaro writes from Lokoja, Kogi Stat