WHAT HON. JOSEPH IKPEA TOLD ME

By Chris Akhabue 

 It was a cool airy Sunday evening of April 2025.

The raging afternoon Sun had subsided and the atmosphere was friendly as the April evening breez was caressing the trees and the flowering plants at the luxurious scenery of our meeting place . As I walked through the paved paths, the flawlessly mowed lawns and the flowers savoured the endearment of the Sunday evening gentle winds as the leaves and flowers swayed as if Congenially recognizing and welcoming each visitor as they came.

As I stepped into the revolving doors of the reception of the building where the press briefing was scheduled to hold, the cool and refreshingly gratifying air from the air conditioners and the serenity of the ambience was too comforting to be ignored.

I picked up my cell phone and dialed the phone number through which I was invited for the meeting and I sank fully into one of the soft leader sofas at the reception. I relaxed fully to savour the conviviality of the cool and fresh ambience of the environment.

The number went through and in a minute, I was ushered into the presence of my host.

To the ordinary man on the street, a wealthy Nigerian politician is someone associated with high profile bureaucracy or profligatory tendencies. But meeting Hon Joseph Ikpea, humility, integrity, simplicity, prudence are the virtues and character traits that readily come to mind.

"You have been in Politics and have served in various capacities at various times and have imparted your constituents in divers ways.

Why do you want to go to the Senate now ?"

I asked point blank.

With a soft, calm and humble tone, he asked rhetorically. "Chris, do you know why most things don't work in Nigeria" ? I answered no.

 " It is due to lack of the will power to make them work, he began. 

" I feel pained and sad when I see the needless yet avoidable life of despondency of our people in the midst of our patrimonial plenitude".

"What does it take to make health care facilities available to the populace ? Does it take rocket Science to make education accessible to our children? No, it doesn't. All it simply requires is the knowledge of what is to be accomplished and how beneficial it could help to transform the lives of the people, the obligation of empathy to the plight of the people, the will- power to do the right things that will transform the lives of the people, the will-power to accomplish the right things that will mitigate life of despodency of the people, and above all, the sincerity, integrity of purpose and the need for transparent disposition above every other pecuniary incontinence. That is what is needed in leadership that works to transform.

Still speaking, he said, "Achieving excellence in whatever one does is a matter of steps, with the people in mind . Excelling and achieving one life transforming project to the other, putting the people first above every other consideration. That is leadership that works 

"Why can't we have well equipped functional hospitals with state of the art equipment just as those used overseas. Why can't we have affordable health care for all in our communities.?

As he spoke, you could feel the sense of genuineness and concern of an individual arching for the good of others.

Hon Joseph Ikpea is like a bee, working and producing honey for humanity as his life is a life of service for others in humility, in the dispensation of love, in philanthropy, unrelenting in the pursuit of happiness and the good of all.

It would, certainly therefore, at this point in time, amount to self- inflicted injury for any eligible voters to think of political party affiliation, tribal sentiments, or turn by turn of rotation of power that greases the palm of a few individuals and to the detriment of the larger society than to vote for the path of progress and development by massively voting for a progressive minded Joseph Ikpea of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the August 16th Edo Central Senatorial district bye- election