The State of UGPH and the way forward

HON NEGUS Writes

“Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and remove yourself from the unacceptable.” -Denis Waitley.

The long days of reforming, reshaping, and rewriting our paths of trajectories to fill in with our motto (Democracy from below) might just be about to witness an organized ending.

Never in my whole life have I ever felt such a huge responsibility on me to enlighten people on an issue that I am a true participant and contender. The duty is even much more grave as I have to albeit endeavour to purify your minds which have been long abused and coxed by cheap propagandists into believing that I, Hon NEGUS, have in the not too distant past, prolonged businesses of the House.
My accusers even worsen the case when they onwardly try to create a vivid picture to you all that I, and a few others, are deliberately sabotaging the progress of the House.

But let me assure you all that, if there is any association that would ever take my last inch of energy to survive, then it should be UGPH. And so, I would never sit aloof in the comfort of my room whiles I see this very House which made me who I am today wallow in shambles all in the hands of wicked belly fillers.

And truly, even as this communique comes at a time when you all are wounded by the accident of the House, and thus, might consequently want to suffer a divorce with its activities, let me particularly and unreservedly seize this distinctive opportunity to inform you all that, we are finally set to sail and never shall we in our conscious minds set back to where we came from. Forward, we shall always march.

However, before I am even further accused and executed for sounding like our very own MARTIN LUTHER KING JNR, kindly lend me your eyes and attention as I walk you through the actual happenings of the House, or for want of better words, the real issues surrounding the delay in businesses of the House.

First, ON THE ELECTION:
An election is held to determine or elect new leaders for the succeeding parliament (the 15th parliament).

Caucus leaders are peacefully elected without any cause for alarm. Parliament reconvenes for just one reason, and that is, the election of the speaker. As the convention has been, majority leader is expected to nominate a member from his caucus to be represented in the election. He goes ahead to present a member of the house who was once in his caucus as a candidate (THE SITTING Clerk, who is supposed to be the chair of the election. Only whom power lies within to tell who is qualified or not qualified to run in the election). And reasonably so, minority leader objects to the nomination so made by the majority leader. It then becomes a debate between both caucuses.

Deputy clerk intercedes and decides to allow chief clerk to run in the election.

Minority leader presents his deputy as a candidate for the speakership. No objections are raised to his candidature. Thence, Deputy Clerk goes ahead to conduct the election. After the election, events of over voting are recorded, meanwhile, Chief clerk is subsequently announced as winner of the election.

ON THE AFTERMATH OF THE ELECTION:
Harbouring a Feeling of distaste and disquiet about how the election was conducted, I, Hon Negus, who was announced the loser of the election filed a petition with the SRC Judicial board. The board, having seen and extracted some wisdom in my arguments, sits on the case and thus unanimously rules that the House goes back to conduct fresh elections for the speakership. It must be noted that the sitting of the court came at a time when we all were busily preparing to write our end of semester exams. However, been very much concerned about the progress of the House, even though the judicial board initially decided on postponing the sitting to early this semester, I insisted that it was a matter of so much relevance and so, must not be delayed. Our dear Martin Luther King jnr says it better, ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied’.

Just as I felt after the election, the Speaker elect feels same after the judicial board ruling and also goes on ahead to file an Appeal with the University’s Appeals Board.

And Honorable members, as we speak now, this is where we are. The Appeals Board hasn’t yet sat on the case to determine our next move, and the leadership of the House has as expected of them, decided to wait all sittings until a directive is given by the Appeals Board. But how much longer can we keep waiting for a laboring woman who refuses to shit the baby in a period of a full week in the labor room?
Can’t we simply go ahead with the meticulous CS?

And now, this takes us to the way forward.

THE WAY FORWARD:
There is always a hierarchy of leadership in whichever institution or association one finds him/herself.

In our case, in the absence of the Speaker of the House, the deputy speaker takes charge of the business of the House. And so, respectfully so, I will want to humbly suggest to this honorable House to let the most plausible necessity be instituted.

The first deputy speaker should be allowed to sit in the position of speaker whiles we optimistically await the ruling of the Appeals court. This, I believe would help the House run smoothly as it used to. The whole House cannot be caught up in a hold either because of myself, Hon Busia, or any other constituent of this honorable House.

With this said, I would also want to plead all honourable members to honourably keep their calm and patience as the leadership of the House call for an immediate sitting and let the plans for the semester be birthed. I believe that this initiative would let the house run smoothly even as we finally get to determine who rightly becomes Speaker for the 15th Parliament. “We must be proactive and pragmatic as the House teaches us to be”.

CONCLUSION:
Just before you judge this article also, let me first state that, this is not an attempt to justify that I have the sweetest side of the case. It is also not to demonstrate that my contender is the enemy of UGPH, neither is this piece meant to roll heads in the House.

I would kindly want all honorable members to consider this article as one that is positive and healthy-minded, one that emanates from an ordinary member of UGPH (an astute member for that matter), and one, that seeks to mend the broken parts of the House.

My only hope is that the House gets itself well mechanised for the future. That by next week, a glorious and unifying sitting is held to reassure the dying members that UGPH is alive and is here to stay. To rekindle the spirit of patriotism that once lived in the hearts of honorable members.

“We cannot allow the trivial wishes and fantasies of the hearts of some few individuals to assassinate the very father we all came to learn and be tutored under”.

UGPH doesn’t deserve this.

For God, Country and UGPH

SIGNED:
HON NEGUS