Nigeriaworld Feature Article - The petty petitions against Obasanjo’s Ministerial nominees

"The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor; he took my measurement anew every time he saw me, while all the rest went on with their old measurements and expected them to fit me."
-- George Bernard Shaw

ometimes I think we Nigerians need George’s tailor to take our nation’s measurement at every twist and turns. News out of Nigeria this week brought back this quote to memory with a sting. That news story was in Thisday’s Newspapers of July 7, 2003 , the reporter, Kola Ologbodiyan, in one of those rare scoops, revealed to the whole world that indeed the National Assembly has started receiving petitions on the would be ministers nominated by Obasanjo. The news story aptly titled “Senate Gets Petitions on Ayu, Adebayo, Others” states:

Well, I bet some of us will say what is wrong with this, just wait until you read the next paragraph! For now let’s asked: Where are the others? Why is it that only these 5 people had petitions against them? What happens to those so-called star appointments? I mean the erstwhile murder suspect turned ministerial nominee: Dr. Adewale Oladipo (Osun), what happens to the Abacha loyalist like Chief (Mrs.) Mobolaji Osomo (Ondo), Are they saints now? The other question that really bothered me is: What do these nominees have in common?

A cursory look at those listed above will show that they are all non-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nominee, infact the only other non-PDP nominee that is not mentioned here is Ambassador Adeniji, and we all know that President Obasanjo had pointedly told the Ogun State PDP “chop I chop” party charlatans that they should give him the free hand to nominate him irrespective of his party’s affiliation. Now let’s read more of Kola’s scoop:

Well ‘am I missing something here? The nominees have been forwarded to the National Assembly who are now seized with the issue. Why would they petitioners forwarded these petitions to the president and wait for this, office of the PDP’s national chairman! So the National Assembly is now an extension of the PDP’s national chairman. Of what use is the copies sent to the party’s chairman? Is this petition a party related ruckus stirred up by disenchanted party members haggling for ministerial appointments?

Now let’s look at the substance of the petition against former Minister of Industries Dr. Iyorchia Ayu. The first allegation as articulate by Dowon Yaro, alleges that Ayu’s nomination violates the Tiv’s philosophy of “eat and give your brother to eat”

Doesn’t this sound familiar? I have asked my Tiv’s friend if they know anything about this fraudulent so called philosophy and they told me NO! Infact, this sound so familiar I have to check the archive of some Nigerian news website and I found the story of Late Chief Bola Ige’s face off with Chief Simeon Afolabi. There I learnt that “come and eat” is indeed a philosophy not of Tiv people but of PDP. Readers will recall that at a campaign rally Chief Afolabi alleged that he is going to make sure that Late Ige was censured by the PDP government for making things difficult for the party in Southwest Nigeria. It was at that time that he made the comment that they invited Ige to “come and eat” and they can always stop him from eating! The food allegory is not lost on us though, as it definitively informed us of the directive principles of PDP as a party!

The second allegation of Middle Belt Liberation Front (MLF), raised against ex-Senator Ayu is that he is too-intellectual, and had a “streak of reprehensible self-righteousness, and holier than thou attitude” My people please tell me when when does an air of self-righteousness become reprehensible! One thing noticeable from this is that none of these allegations will disqualify any one from holding the position of a minister in any sane society. No wonder Nigeria keeps throwing up charlatans and nincompoop as leaders. If the writer of this petition has his way, being intellectual will render every Nigerian graduate incapable of being a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Out goes Wole Soyinka, Gani Fawehinmi, Chinua Achebe, John Pepper Clark, Reuben Abati name it…this list goes on! Can you now see why we had “sobata” –shoe repairer, and “ejika ni sobu” -tailor as minister during the Abacha regime! They also raised question on whether any benefits had accrued to the state in Ayu’s past federal appointment. This I think will be a legitimate allegation if the writer of the petitioner are sincere. Indeed Ayu and every other Nigeria elected leaders should be made to explain to us what he/she did for their constituency before the electorate give them any mandate. But Ayu as minister in the cabinet of Obasanjo is quite different and distinct as Senator Ayo. In the latter he represents his community, in the former he is responsible to and answer only to the president who appoints him. He neither initiates program nor plan any. Minister carried out plans and programs as the president directs and mandate them to do. His constituency is the whole federation and not Benue State. I hope that one day Nigerians we stopped thinking and talking about sharing the national cake and start thinking about how to contribute to it. This kind of mentality exhibited by the Middle Belt Liberation (MBL) will make the dream of a united prosperous Nigeria forever a chimera! We sure need a change of attitude.

Next the petition justifiably queried Ayu’s democratic credentials and his so called legacy in public service. Whilst the former is justified, (we all know Ayu as one of the pro-Abacha minister) the latter is not supported with any factual evidence. I mean what are we getting at here? Legacy in public service? What the heck is that? Ayu’s first foray into politics and public service is as senator in the third republic, where he resigned as senate president on the ground of principle. Before then he was a university lecturer from whom many of our youths today drank his fountain of ideas and wisdom. That principled stand of his made him resigned from Obasanjo’s first cabinet as he vehemently disagree with some of the privatization policy enunciated by the regime. That to me is an uncommon virtue among the “come and eat” politicians who abound in PDP.

Perhaps the most important allegation is that Ayu compelled Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) to buy his bungalow at Plot No 10 Rayfield, Buruku, Jos for 50 million naira in April 2000, a house that had earlier been evaluated at 8million naira! This is to me is a germane allegation, but why is it coming out now! This would be clear conflict of interest and I urge and hope the National Assembly will look into the veracity of this allegation. The question we need to asked is does it mean that if Ayu had not been nominated this would not have come out? What is wrong with us Nigerians? Why do we swept scandals under the carpet. Let’s hope that the National Assembly will do their job, and get to the root of this allegation.

This allegation further brings the dire need for an independent Non-government body to investigate allegation of corrupt enrichment by Nigeria government official. We need to make our government official accountable. Democracy is nothing where there is no accountability.

Next the MBL, accused the ex-minister of bungling the sale of the core shares of the Federal Government in the Benue Cement Company (BCC) Bare assertions without fact is a dubious allegation. Are these folks, alive when the Benue people vehemently rejected the sale and demonstrated their opposition to that sale? Are they true Benue indigenes or acolyte of Dangote’s industries? Even Alhaji Dangote’s whose company was set to purchase the company has since threw in the towel, in his recent interview he was full of thanks for not getting into something he is ill-prepared for. What is more, the sale and privatization was not the job of Minister of Industries the transaction was conducted and concluded by National Committee on Privatization headed by Malam Nasir El-Rufai.

Another shadowy and amorphous organization called Benue Proactive Coalition (BPC) also petitioned against the nomination of Ayu, in what look like a rehash of the MBL petition they alleged that Ayu is “arrogant, inaccessible, all knowing, intolerant, intemperate, and viciously sadistic and cannot properly articulate the views and aspirations of Benue” Well someone need to tell BPC that “argumentum ad hominem” attacking a person is never a patriotic virtue, secondly, Ayu, although appointed from Benue, is not nominated to articulate Benue’s views and aspirations, if appointed he work to articulate the views and aspirations of all Nigerians from all hues and cries and not Benue’s microcosm. How to get this mentality of “me and my people alone” of the psyche of Nigeria should be the focus of National Orientation Agency (I wonder what they are doing now).

So much for the petition against Ayu, now let’s see what they have against others, the Ikwuano Elders Congress, IEC), (have you ever wonder how and why this amorphous organization only spring up whenever it is time to haggle for post and position, you will never see them canvassing points on how to more Nigeria forward!) in their petition signed by Dr. Obiora Onuora and Dr. Ogbonna Njoku, president and Secretary rejected the nomination of Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, alleging that she is a “Delta woman who is only a wife to a cousin of Chief Ugochukwu Onyeama, NDDC Chairman from Umuahia North local government area of Abia state. She has never been a PDP woman.” Just imagine their thought process! The allegation is not that she is unqualified because she corruptly enriched herself, it was not because she is incompetent as a result of insanity, it was not because she is otherwise indisposed. It boils down to their last statement, the accident of birth and the fact that he is not a card carrying member of PDP. What a shame! In other sane society, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala will be embraced not just by the community where she was born but in every town and cities he had ever lived in. I recalled that when Late Mr. Anderson –one of the Columbus astronaut- funeral ceremony was being planned recently, even though he was born in New York, the communities where he grew up (Spokane, Washington State) did an elaborate program which involve all members of his family. When are we going to get to that stage in Nigeria. When will an Igbo boy from Umuahia contest and win an election in Ilesa where he grew up! What has the fact that she is not a PDP woman got to do with her performance as minister of finance as it is being touted? Is this not another evidence that PDP only exist as a “come and eat” party for his member only?

Well, lets look at the petition against Chief C.O. Adebayo and Ms. Funmilayo Adedoyin, as alleged by Senator Idris Gunu Haliru (imagine the kind of senator speaking for us in the 4th republic), who claimed that since the duo hailed from Isin and Irepodun local government areas within the same senatorial district, their nominations violates the federal character spirit enshrined in the 1999 constitution. I believe the Honorable senator is still in a celebrative mood so much so that he had not had anytime to peruse Nigeria constitution, on which basis he was elected as senator. What federal character spirit is he talking about: qua federation or qua states? What is he trying to achieve. I am of the opinion that senate position should be made state wide elective post, as operated in the United States rather than the regional election. The present system will always throw up parochial and tribal leaders like Senator Haliru, who will work to divide Nigeria into ethnic groups for their parochial and selfish interest.

One thing discernible from all this petition is that our democracy is in peril! The primordial tribal, selfish and ethnic fervor of our politician will either extinguish this experiment prematurely or grind it to death, if we do not speak out against the likes of Senator Gunu Haliru, Middle Belt Liberation congress and other fraudulent organization. We need to appeal to well-meaning Nigerians who have genuine complaint and petition against the nominees to come forward and make their views known in public. Enough of this old measurement by tribal tailors with diabolic agenda against the Nigerian nation.