In the Senate, at least one Senator stood out.

As stocks are taken on 2011, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, is one man who would certainly look back at the year with an understandable sense of fulfilment for acclaimed milestones and a political year well spent.

It is a fact, for instance, that when the story of the comparative improvements in the 2011 general elections  is written, Ekweremadu will be mentioned as the pilot, who through the able leadership of Senator David Mark as both President of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly, spearheaded the jinx-breaking amendment of the 1999 Constitution as well as the Electoral Act which resulted in far-reaching electoral reforms, laying the groundwork for better electoral processes.

Regarding INEC, the 2011 general elections  marked a departure from the past more because of the reforms which, among other things, provided for administrative, financial and political independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

It was therefore no surprise that Ekweremadu was conferred with the Outstanding Lawmaker Award (Constitution Amendment) by the Nigeria Union of Journalists for his ingenuity at handling the hitherto jinxed constitution amendment since 1999.

The Deputy Senate President’s  political career also recorded another plus in 2011 when he was overwhelmingly re-elected by the people of Enugu West Senatorial District for the third consecutive tenure.  Anyone who has been to Ekweremadu’s senatorial district or has followed his constituency development programmes and outreach would not need to ask why the 2011 election was a mere walkover for the people-oriented leader.

A pragmatic politician with grassroots followership and bourgeoning political machinery oiled by quality representation and verifiable delivery of democracy dividends, it would have been the political upset of the century if the results were otherwise.

Perhaps, one political milestone, not just for Ekweremadu, but also for the South East geopolitical zone in 2011 which also received quite some deserved political reviews was the decision of the South East Caucus in the Senate to unanimously adopt him as its sole candidate for the office of the Deputy President of the Senate for the second consecutive time.

Reviews acknowledged that such was contrary to the notion that the Igbo would always fight themselves to shreds for any political office zoned to them. Ekweremadu no doubt earned the confidence of his compatriots through team play, humility, and focused leadership.

For instance, it was under his first tenure as the highest political office holder of the region that the South East recorded the highest number of road contract awards. Not also satisfied with the spate of work on some of the projects, he personally went to the headquarters of the Ministry of Works to spur them to action.

He further galvanised the federal lawmakers to secure the internationalization and extensive rebuilding of the Akanu Ibiam Airport, Enugu to international standards. These are just to name a few. As for the Second Niger Bridge, he is at the forefront of ensuring due process is observed and that actual construction in not awarded to a “one-year-one-block” company.

However, beyond the South East, he has acquitted himself creditably in the discharge of his functions between 2007 and 2011 as Deputy President of Senate. On why the Senate should give Ekweremadu a second tenure as Deputy President of the upper chamber, Senator Zaibab Kure, while nominating him on 6 June, 2011, told her colleagues that “the man in question is a lawmaker’s lawmaker; ever since he set foot on this red chamber, he has proved himself cerebral, hard working, result driven, a man of integrity, but most importantly, a pan Nigerian and a patriot of unequalled measures ruled by total dedication to peace, prosperity and development of this nation”.

Beyond national politics, the nation also recorded a first through Ekweremadu when he was unanimously elected Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament in August 2011. Today, Ekweremadu is already making good his inaugural agenda which is to work to enhance the powers of the Parliament, bring it closer to the people, and “reposition the Parliament to work with all Community Institutions and organs to ensure ECOWAS consolidates the path of zero tolerance for bad governance, injustice, impunity, corruption, coup d’états, and blemished electoral processes, which are in themselves, the true roots of conflict, instability, and underdevelopment in the sub-region”.

A chronicle of Ekweremadu’s year won’t be complete without a mention of the Honorary Doctorate Degree in Law he bagged at University of Uyo. It was one of those pleasant games of fate as the Deputy President of the Senate who already held an LL.B, BL, and LL.M in Law bagged an LL.D (Honoris Causa) at the University of Uyo, exactly the same date he was called to bar in 1987.

While the University predicated the honour on Ekweremadu’s exploits as a lawmaker, the Senate President noted that “Senator Ike Ekweremadu has been a very good leader, a very good and worthy second-in-command who has helped to carry the senate along and keep us together united as one body”.

Ekweremadu is renowned as a man who cannot stand human suffering, and, throughout 2011, he was characteristically preoccupied with putting sunshine on the lives of others. With his Ikeoha Foundation established since 1997,  Ekweremadu not only added to the over 3,000 persons that have benefitted from the Ikeoha Scholarship Scheme, he continued with the youth and women empowerment programmes.

*Uche Anichukwu is Special Adviser Media to the Deputy President of the Senate