Hon. Ehiogie West-Idahosa Celebrates Birthday With Touching Reflection On Life, Service, And Nigeria’s Future

Hon. Ehiogie West-Idahosa Celebrates Birthday With Touching Reflection On Life, Service, And Nigeria’s Future....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Renowned scholar, seasoned politician, and distinguished legal luminary, Hon. West Ehiogie Idahosa, SAN, celebrates his birthday today. As he marks another year of his remarkable journey, he pens down these heartfelt words of gratitude, reflection, and hope for the future of Nigeria.

With an illustrious career that spans public service, law, and advocacy, Hon. Idahosa’s life has been a testament to dedication, resilience, and service to the people. In his birthday message, he shares his personal experiences, acknowledges the many blessings he has received, and expresses his deep commitment to the betterment of our nation.

Read on as he reflects on his life and the path forward for Nigeria.

By the Grace of God, I am one year older today. I was born on this day many years ago in St. Philomena’s Hospital, Benin City, to Late Hon. Justice Joseph Oghogho Idahosa and late Mrs. Josephine Idahosa. I am grateful to God for His mercies and benevolence in my life. I have luckily navigated many dangerous moments in life by the Grace of Almighty God and the prayers of my family and friends. These include a police shooting incident in Ibadan as a young lawyer, nearly drowning in a big river, receiving a middle-voltage electricity shock as a child, and a host of other mines that are daily encountered in life. I thank God for my ancestry. I thank my late parents for my education and upbringing. I am lucky to have an extremely good wife and very wonderful children. I thank my brothers, sisters, and extended family members for who they are—very supportive people. I have wonderful friends all over Nigeria and beyond.

I have been lucky to be trusted by different levels of Nigerian society to serve in one capacity or the other. By the authority of others, I have served as Sanitary Prefect in Edo College, Benin City; Public Relations Officer of the Law Students Association, Uniben; Public Relations Officer of the Students’ Union, Uniben; Branch Secretary of the Benin Branch of NBA; Edo State Secretary of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC); and thrice elected to the House of Representatives, where I served Ovia Federal Constituency, Edo State, and Nigeria to the best of my ability and energy. My sojourn in the House is known to many, and they are the only ones who can write my testimonial.

I am grateful to Nigeria, the Edo people, and in particular, the wonderful constituents of Ovia Federal Constituency (living and deceased) for the opportunities given to me to serve them amongst so many ably qualified persons.

I enjoyed the good old Nigeria and hope that it can be recreated for the benefit of the majority of our countrymen and women. We had patriotic and well-meaning leaders who were committed to good governance. They were industrious and nationalistic within the limits of available resources, knowledge, science, and energy of that time. It has been tough for our countrymen and women in the last ten years or so.

But, the Tinubu regime seems to be willing to make big economic decisions in the hope of repositioning our national economy to serve all of us. Some of these decisions have been hurtful in many ways to the majority of our people, as they were not incrementally implemented. But, these decisions would only be appreciated if the dividends intended begin to trickle down soon. This would mean more fiscal and monetary policy discipline on the part of the government itself. There must be a cut in the cost of governance. There is too much of a Hollywood lifestyle on the part of public officials. The essence of governance is to serve the people, not to show off with public funds held in trust for the public. They are not personal funds and must be spent prudently for the good of all.

The fight against corruption must be made real. It must be carried out with a sense of equality before the law. As long as many remain untouchable by the law, the fight would remain cosmetic and negatively affect the quality of lives of all of us, as funds meant to develop our country continue to vanish into thin air.

The increased funding of the component states of Nigeria by Tinubu’s administration is good news indeed. It means that the governors can truly do extraordinary things for residents of the various states, as part of the renewed hope project. They have to noticeably decrease the ratio of infant and maternal mortality. They must work to provide more functional health care centers in urban and rural areas, pay real attention to education from primary to post-secondary levels. Significantly, they must give new impetus to technical education. It is the way to go in the new world order. The state governments must commit to massive provision of infrastructure in key areas of the economy.

They must take a good look at the need to generate more electricity in their states to boost economic development. They must venture into rail transportation. It is the easiest way to move people around in large numbers. It can be done. Lagos State is already leading the way. Others can do the same. It is a matter of exhibiting the requisite political will to do it.

State governments know the importance of security in their respective states. It is not enough to openly support the police with funds; it is equally important to set up covert informal intelligence networks across the states to provide information for the use of formal security apparatus in carrying out their functions.

Nigeria can be great again. It has the raw population, manpower, presence in the diaspora, and sufficient elites in various spheres of life to drive the renaissance.

God bless Nigeria, and best wishes to all of us.

Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa, SAN