Albert Legogie, the first South - South, from Edo, to emerge as Deputy Senate President,

By DADA AYOKHAI

 The incumbent  Deputy Senate President  of the ninth Senate, Senator Omo Agege, from Delta State, and also of South - South geo-  political extraction, is not the first senator to hold such a high profile political position amongst South South States.

 

 The first senator to emerged and  sit on the sensitive chair of DSP of the Senate, is the late Senator Albert Legogie from Edo state.

Senator Legogie, from Ekperi in Etsako Central LGA, represented Edo North senatorial district in the short-lived Third Republic, on the platform of the Social Democratic party,SDP.

 Unfortunately, the scourge of frequent military intervention in the Nigerian body polity terminated the Third Republic, making it difficult for Sen Legogie to exercise the power and influence of his office as DSP. 

Both the SDP and the NRC, the two dominant political parties at the time, were deregistered.

 Undaunted, however, by the military shenanigans and determined to remain politically relevant in order to make meaningful contributions to the upliftment of his people, Senator Legogie joined the PDP in 1999 as a founding member and later served as a pioneer member of the party's Board of Trustees, BOT. 

Born in 1947, he died on 17th of June, 2013, at the age of 66. 

According to his first son, Victor Legogie, while dispelling rumours about the mystery surrounding the death of the Edo North political juggernaut, he said the late father suffered slight malaria, he went to see his doctor and was  hospitalised. Later, he  recovered and went back home. 

He noted, "He was doing fine after the initial  treatment. But he took ill a second time which compelled us to rush him to the hospital, where he eventually died".

On speculations that late Sen Legogie had become politically inactive before death, Victor replied with an emphatic No, insisting the late father, as a pragmatic politician, only downscaled from being on the political front row to the sidelines in order to mentor the younger budding politicians. Perhaps, not been on the front row seat he hitherto occupied was what made people to conclude wrongly that he retired from active politics. 

Victor submits thus, "It's not like he stopped playing politics. The contrary is that he changed tactics and as a pragmatic person, he felt he could still be relevant by staying in the background to mentor the younger aspiring politicians. My late father is not the type who believes in making noise; he mentored quite a lot of the younger ones, believing they held the key to a better future and deserves to be given the opportunity. That was his political creed, to which he tenaciously held on to till his death". 

At death, Sen Legogie's image as a political juggernaut, even loomed larger than life.

Many of his associates, adversaries and admirers  across party lines, paid glowing tributes to a trailblazer of some sort. To become a principal officer in the National Assembly of the Third  Republic, was no mean  feat. 

In his tributes, the then comrade governor, Adams Oshiomole, described Sen Legogie as a "true democrat" who gave his all for the sake of Nigeria's democracy. 

The statement, signed by Comrade Oshiomole's Press Secretary, Mr Peter Okhiria, said, "News of the death of Sen Legogie came as a rude shock. I offer my personal commiserations and the condolences of the people of Edo State on this sad loss. 

His death is a great loss to his family, but also to the people of Edo State whom he served so devotedly, culminating in his emergence as the Deputy Senate President in the Third Republic. 

As an elder statesman, Sen Legogie refused to be constrained by political difference as he willingly offered his advise on ways to move our dear state forward. 

His death has robbed our State and, indeed, the nation of a true democrat who gave his all in for the enthronement of true democracy in the country. As a democrat who believed in the welfare of the people and the sanctity of the ballot box, Legogie was at the forefront in the struggle for democracy in the post military Nigeria and was part of those who gave teeth to the democratic process".

Hon Johnson Oghuma, who represented Etsako Central in the Edo State House of Assembly, also joined the legion of mourners who paid glowing tributes on the sudden departure of Sen Albert Legogie.

Hon Oghuma, while  expressing sadness and shock on the death of the pioneer DSP, described him as a "gentleman politician" who placed the welfare and well-being of the people before any other considerations, adding his imprints on national life and discourse as well as the sacrifices made for the nation and community, will remain indelible.