By Onwa Ekor, Calabar
As the nation mourn the passage of the departed former Senate President, Dr. Joseph Wayas, at the Night of Tributes in his honour and held at the U J Esuene Stadium in Calabar, the Cross River capital, a cross section of Nigerians have continued to eulogise him, urging the bereaved family to live in mutual coexistence.
The late Wayas who served in the second republic was the fourth Senate President and second in the Southern region of the nation.
Cross River governor, Prince Bassey Otu, described the deceased as an astute administrator, a consumate politician and a quintessential gentleman.
He disclosed that the late Wayas was among the founding members of the National Party of Nigeria in the late 70s and in 1979 contested for and won the Northern Senatorial seat where he was consequently elected as a Senate President, a position he served meritoriously from 1979 to 1982.
“Wayas had the gift of oratory and was witty in conducting the affairs of the Red Chambers with iron heart conviction and belief that the principles of separation of powers among the executives, legislative and judicial arms of government is for checks and balances.
“Accordingly, he usually holds out-of-chambers discussion with the then Nigeria’s President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, to appraise perceived grey areas in the executive bills prior to their presentations on the floor of the Senate, for deliberation,” Otu revealed.
The governor remarked that there was little or no friction between the two arms of government, admitting that Wayas as an advocate of true federalism ensured that the democratic values of liberty, equity and justice were entrenched in the nation’s polity.
Otu intimated that, the late icon had the courage to surmount both academic and social honours which pervaded his time to shoot himself to national and international reckoning as he demonstrated the essence of a determined climber, who sought to reach the height of political excellence, sacrificing the comfort of his exalted position for the growth and development of his fatherland.
Continuing, the governor reasoned that “Wayas times are therefore not measured by the quantum of material possession he had or never had, rather they are marbled on the towering institutions he bequeath to the successive generations after his exit.”
Admitting that during Wayas’ tenure as a Senate President, he lobbied and successfully attracted the establishment of the Federal College of Education Obudu and later the Bebi Airstrip to his constituency, the governor further appealed to the federal government to rename the said institution, FCE Obudu to Dr. Joseph Wayas College of Education.
President of the 10th Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on his part urged the bereaved family to eschew peace, love and unity in order to sustain the legacies which the deceased left.
“Now that the government of Cross River has taken the bull by the horns to bring his remains to touch this land, this should be the beginning of unity, peace and true love in that family so that, truly we can all honour the legacies Wayas left behind.
“Wayas sterling qualities would continue to inspire generations yet to come because as a Commissioner for Transport in the South Eastern State from 1972 to 1974, he showed signs of a man who has the physical and mental preparedness to liberate the people of this country,” Akpabio said.
According to the Senate President, the deceased who was the second to execute such exalted office in the Southern region, had deep knowledge of the political landscape, creating solid relationship among the three arms of government and checked the excesses of the executives while balancing the equation to ensure political stability.
“Wayas was not just a cosmopolitan politician but exhibited style and panache that gave rooms to a vast majority of youths, encouraging them to look forward one day to being like him.
“Nigerians saw and embraced his kind of politics. At 80, his demise does not seem like a surprise because it remains an asset that availed us of the experience to enhance our legislative expertise,” the Senate President remarked.
Aware of the vacuum created by the loss of the elder stateman, Akpabio implored the bereaved family, state and nation to take solace in the words of the scripture which postulates that there is a time to be born and a time to die, adding that, “as I condole with you all, I am also happy that Wayas decided not to be buried until a Senate President emerges from the Niger Delta region.”
Former Senate President, Adolphus Nwagbara who earlier served as Chief Protocol Officer to Wayas as a diplomat in London, described the deceased as a man who saw nothing but good, emphasizing that, “Wayas eyes detected life, detected happiness and was a happy man all through his life.”
Nwagbara who came in dual capacity having represented himself as well as the Chairman of former presiding officers of the National Assembly, Senator Ken Nnamani, enjoined Nigerians to take heart over the death of the former Senate President.
“I pray that when some of us, because we will go sequentially, I hope that my own people also would remember me in this way so that when I go, I will go and meet and continue to serve him as his protocol officer in heaven,” Nwagbara prayed.
For the Senator representing the Northern Senatorial District in Cross River, Senator Jarigbe Agom, “we will continue to emulate our father as we have chosen to toe this career called politics,” adding that “Wayas rose to the highest echelon of human endeavour, touching many lives as he could.”
Others who spoke including former governor, Donald Duke and Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, mentioned their encounters with the deceased and the affluence he was measured with, praying God to grant the deceased eternal rest and the family the courage to continuously live in peace.
The event featured Bible readings, sing-songs, exhortations and intercession.
