by Mgbeke Obi
I spoke at length with T. A. Orji. I sent text messages, and he not only responded to them, he called me.
There is a grazing bill, a sinister one. It seeks to take our ancestral lands and give them to terrorist Fulani nomads, so their conquest of Eastern Nigeria, which they have coveted for long, will be manifest. The bill says anyone who encroaches on such land will be punished with a fine of up to 50,00, jail term or both. But nothing is said of any Fulani who leaves the confines of such reserve to trespass in farmers lands.
Anyway, our representative from Abia said he is not in support of such bill, but that matters little. What matters is that the representatives from South East are outnumbered in the NASS. That is where the problem lies.
He said that as long as representative democracy is practised in this country, those who have the highest number of votes win, and get their bills signed into law. The ayes have their day.
South East has less number of reps than other zones. What’s more, the Yoruba states are split between the Muslims and non-Muslims, and the Yoruba Muslim reps tend to align their interests with the North.
This should give us cause for concern. Our reps and their bills are defeated by default. So long as the North has more states and representatives, our reps are handicapped. They can’t achieve much.
So, when I call for restructuring or dissolution of this country, fix your eyes on the paltry millions you make, and abuse me.
Mgbeke Obi is a graduate of the University of Nigeria. She writes from Lagos. Connect with her on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
