I have recently been inundated by calls from several well meaning youths and comrades of whom I have immense respect for on the need to lend a voice to matters arising in our area.
Especially about the ineptitude of some of our political leaders, and overall, the need for more opportunities for our teeming army of youth to be economically stable build capacities in various walks of life.
Time, that relentless custodian of change, has bestowed upon me a mantle beyond mere nomenclature—a title that commands both reverence and restraint.
As IYAN GWANDUM, I no longer speak as I once did, nor can I wade into every discourse with the unbridled freedom of yesteryears.
I have come to understand that my utterances, once casual in consequence, now bear a gravitas that must be wielded with precision, lest they stir tempests where a whisper would have sufficed.
While I am aware that my silence has been misconstrued. Many have pondered my absence in the agora of public discourse, questioned my seeming detachment from matters that once beckoned my unyielding voice.
Let me dispel any notion that my silence is a surrender, that my heart has grown indifferent, or, worst of all, that my convictions have been traded on the altar of convenience.
No, my silence is neither the fruit of complicity nor the offspring of coercion; it is the discipline of discernment, the wisdom of measured engagement.
I have chosen to act where action yields results, to deliberate where deliberation advances our cause, and to confront where confrontation is truly exigent.
I, however, will not advise our young people to stand as sentinels of justice, demand governance that transcends rhetoric, and hold to account those who have sworn oaths yet govern as though the people are but an afterthought.
Let no leader—elected or anointed—be lulled into the illusion that power is a privilege to be indulged rather than a burden to be borne in service of the people. Don’t relent in raising your voices against inertia, against the lethargy that afflicts those who ascend to power only to sink into the quicksand of irrelevance.
I say this because, like I have always said, If Hon. Gaius Gaji Golkos succeeds, we all have succeeded, if he fails, he has made a dent for all young persons and youths aspiring to political offices in Pero-Chonge.
It was with this vigour his predecessor dug the first ever borehole in Nyaulimi, a stone throw from 3Gs own home town of Galdimaru, we lobbied for the construction of a classroom block in Bangu, Lilik and Chwegau, that are underserved and hard to reach. This was in addition to providing free JAMB forms and paying for WAEC and NECO fees for several constituents, and also lobbying for employment, placements and appointments for several of our people across several parastatals, ministries and agencies both at the state and federal level.
This is in addition to being present at weddings, burials and being part of the social fabric of his constituents (of which 3G was a beneficiary).
If measured against the scale of governance and service against that of your predecessor, Hon. Gaius Gaji Golkos, pale in comparison. However, power is a very interesting thing as you have often cited “God gives it to whom he wills”.
While I remain loyal and supportive to the Government, I wish to address (once and hopefully never again) Hon. Gaius Gaji Golkos, who holds the mandate of Pero-Chonge in the legislative chamber, and hope these words sear into your conscience:
Docility is not a virtue in governance; it is a betrayal of the people’s trust. To be entrusted with power and to wield it with the limpness of apathy is to mock the very essence of leadership.
A mandate unfulfilled is a legacy undone, might I add that this legacy isn’t just yours, but collective of the youth of Pero-Chonge as a whole.
History is watching, and posterity will judge. Before you, you are aware of a member who spent 10 years on that very seat and yet today he has been relegated to almost oblivion before him, there’s also a member on that very seat of yours who spent just 2 years and people still sing his praises till date.
The winds of time shall one day strip away the veils of pretense, and what shall remain? A legacy of service, or a trail of unkept promises? Govern, not for the applause of today, but for the reverence of generations unborn.
I hope this message gets to you with all the love and concern with which it was written. We want to celebrate you beyond giving chalk to schools and being a postman for the projects of the state government.
Ever your ally, ever your brother, ever bound to the cause of our people.
Dairus Samson
Iyan Gwandum
Iyan Gwandum, I celebrate grace upon you
I have gone through your writeup objectively Sir..
Going through all you said Sir I can’t really see your stand as you claim- speaking for the timid youth in the constituents or as a stakeholder in the community. When you “we dug water in a community close to where the Member came from” it seems to me that your stand is out of a biased mind and the usual political rivalry we see in most our media channels today.