Uzokwe's Searchlight

The bottom line is that for PDP, Obi has served the purpose for which he was granted a court victory. They are ready for the second phase of their game plan.
Friday, October 27, 2006



Alfred Obiora Uzokwe

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SHOW OF SHAME IN ANAMBRA STATE, AGAIN!
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or many years now, I have, through Nigeriaworld.com, been lamenting the gradual desolation of Anambra state. I have maintained that the state that produced some of the greatest men and women that ever walked Nigeria's landscape was slowly being Balkanized and run-down. The culprits are of course a set of nouveau riche and political neophytes. These brood of vipers got into state politics just to bleed the treasury dry. They see their involvement in state politics as a form of financial investment and insist that returns on their "investments" must come from the state treasury. They expend inordinate amounts of money to sponsor candidates of their choosing for political offices and then sit back for the windfall to begin. With reckless abandon, they go to any length to protect their "investment", including sponsoring miscreants who destabilize the state or set her property ablaze.


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I have also lamented the fact that while Anambra state burned, especially during the Ngige administration, prominent sons and daughters of the state, whose words are still worth their weight in gold, failed to speak up and condemn the direction that the political godfathers were taking the state. It was clear that the people destabilizing the state had the backing of men in the central seat of government. These never-do-wells should equally have been checkmated by prominent citizens of the state through strong words of condemnation and action. That did not happen. It was only Professor Chinua Achebe and a few others that unequivocally took a stand.

Those that refused to condemn the anarchy in the state cited the governor's illegitimacy as their primary reason. That was somewhat understandable but what they failed to factor in was the fact that the enemies of the governor were not concentrating their assaults on him alone. They were also burning down state property and making the state ungovernable with attendant suffering of the masses. My argument, therefore, was that for the good of the state, it was important for all to speak out and act against the anarchy. Doing so would have gone a long way in stopping the rampage of the charlatans. Furthermore, it would have sent a strong message to would-be miscreants that their nefarious acts would not be tolerated then or in the future.

Our prominent citizens failed to speak up or do anything then. Now, even with Ngige out of power, the vultures of the state house of assembly have returned and pounced on the new governor, Peter Obi. They became emboldened when they saw that they could run roughshod over the state without being challenged strongly. They have now galvanized their forces and returned. The only difference, this time around, is that they are trying to give their offensive an element of legitimacy by going the impeachment route. No matter how we slice and dice it, Pastor Niemoller's poetic prognostication has come to pass in Anambra State and I beg to use it again below:

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

By extension of Niemoller's poem, when "they" went for Ngige, our leaders turned blind eyes. Now "they" are after our legitimately elected governor. Granted, the masses have again mobilized against them like they did for Ngige, but it is instructive to note that once again, only a few prominent sons of the state have condemned this latest offensive. Others have refused to do so because of their affiliation with PDP. Some are even trying not to offend some powerful people in the central seat of government. The peace that eluded the state during Ngige's term still eludes the state under Peter Obi. What is wrong with and in Anambra state?

The journey that finally placed Mr. Obi at the helm of affairs, in Anambra state, was protracted and even tortuous. When he was eventually declared the winner, one had hoped that having had time to understudy the problems in Anambra state, he was going to hit the ground running. I had hoped that he was immediately going to commence where Ngige left off and make good many of the short comings in Ngige's legacy. That did not quite happen. He was slow to start. An assessment of the present condition of infrastructure in the state, especially roads, attests to this.

Having said the above, I must state, in fairness to Obi, that the bigger reason why he has not been able to do much, or at least meet some of the goals he outlined in his ambitious but impressive mission and vision statements, is the fact that the vultures in the house of assembly have refused to give him the cooperation and respite he needs to attend to the business of the state. Mr. Obi has been quoted as saying that his problems started because the members of the house of assembly wanted him to buy cars for them and even give them some bribe money and he refused! While I find Obi's allegation against these men credible, one is surprised that Mr. Obi seems to have been caught by unawares! It seems to me that he did not fully grasp the complexity of what the PDP wanted to use him to achieve when he won the court case against Ngige. As a decent man with the burning desire to make Anambra state better, he took the victory at face value and so did not fortify himself against the expected onslaught from the PDP dominated house. I recall him saying that he won the court case because he presented a more superior argument, in the court, than Ngige. He may have presented a persuasive argument but he should have known that if Ngige had not fallen out with the PDP, he would not have won that court case inspite of his superior argument.

Most Nigerians knew that it was going to be difficult for Obi, as an APGA governor, to effectively function in a PDP dominated house of assembly. I remember writing a commentary published on Nigeriaworld.com, titled "Justice, at last, for Peter Obi but is there a cost?" and I quote from it below, that cautioned Obi to be on guard. I opined that PDP merely wanted to use him to achieve their aim of removing Ngige whom they loathed with passion. Before then, they had tried to abduct Ngige but it was resisted by the masses. They tried mayhem and assault on state infrastructure so that a state of emergency would be declared. That did not work. Of course when all failed, they went back to the drawing board. In the end, their arrowhead openly admitted rigging the election in favor of Ngige. With that, the stage was set for the final assault which eventually swept Ngige out of office. To them, going through the courts conferred some measure of legitimacy to their act. They succeeded in stage one of the plot and Ngige is out.

In "Justice, at last, for Peter Obi but is there a cost?" I said in part:

"Mr. Obi must be wise enough to realize that his victory at the tribunal is not a sign of love or affection from PDP machinery or Obasanjo. The party is merely trying to get rid of one of their own that they saw as errant. They are therefore willing to sacrifice that position albeit temporarily. Clearly, if Ngige had toed PDP line and did what Uba and the rest wanted him to do, Obi would have lost his case at the tribunal. In view of all these, he must hearken to the biblical admonition of, "know thyself" He must not forget how Obasanjo dangled the prospects of Chief Ojukwu going to the national conference and speaking for the Igbos before the nation. With that, he was able to secure the Chief's support for the national conference. When time came for the conference, Obasanjo looked elsewhere for representatives, gathering people who would dance to his tunes. He knew that Ikemba Nnewi would speak his mind. This display of deceit should always be in the back of Mr. Obi's mind if and when he begins to deal with the party that would do everything to cling to power."

While Obi celebrated his court victory, the vultures continued to hover over him. I had believed that he had tacitly adopted the Biafra war mantra - "A man surrounded by enemies must always be vigilant -Onye ndi iro gbara gburugburu n'eche ndu ya nche mgbe nile" It is my considered opinion that he let his guard down and the vultures saw a loophole. That is why they struck. I have looked at the articles of impeachment that the shameless men of the assembly brought forth against him. They do not rise to the level of impeachment! I must however add that there are certain things Obi could have done differently for better results. If he had realized earlier that he was in the cross hairs of the assemblymen and taken certain precautions, this current distraction may not have surfaced. Furthermore, if every indigene of Anambra state spoke up when this same people were running down the state under Ngige, an unmistakable message would have been sent that the destruction of Anambra state, via any means, even under the pretext of impeachment, would not be tolerated. This current distraction would not have surfaced.

The bottom line is that for PDP, Obi has served the purpose for which he was granted a court victory. They are ready for the second phase of their game plan. They know that come 2007, if Obi contests for the gubernatorial post again, he has a good chance of winning. As I write this commentary, Andy Uba has formally declared his intention to run for the governorship of Anambra state. The pushers of the impeachment threat are trying to clear the grounds for him. They want to discredit the seating governor, via impeachment, and make him unelectable.

The most unfortunate part of this whole impeachment saga is that since it began, the wheel of government, in the state, has assumed a snail speed. In some aspects, it has come to a screeching halt. The governor spends most of his time trying to ward off his tormentors. The other day, as he addressed the traditional chiefs that went on a solidarity visit to him, he was reported to have broken down in tears. Clearly, all this must be wearing him down, yet, he is a decent man that has the welfare of the people at heart. The consequence of his persecution is that good citizens of the state will continue to steer clear of politics, leaving it in the hands of greedy vultures that see politics as an investment that must be recouped. It is time that all people of the state stood up in unison and condemned this constant threat to democracy in the state.

As for the so-called legislators, they are running from pillar to post, trying to shore up their bid for the removal of the governor. These are people who are supposed to be writing and enacting legislation to better the lot of the people. They are in far away Asaba, pretending to be attending to the business of the people. The corollary is that the state continues to suffer. Anambra state now seems to have the most pothole-ridden roads in the nation. In a place like Onitsha, existing drainage paths are clogged and shanty buildings litter every where. In Nnewi, the roads are crumbling as fast as they were built and uncontrolled urbanization is swallowing the town and nobody cares. In places like Ekwuluobia, gully erosion and other agents of denudation are plowing through residential neighborhoods, pulling down buildings and trees along their paths. These are big issues that should have the undivided attention of the men of the house of assembly and the governor but this is barely happening because they are all preoccupied with impeachment. This is disgraceful and I wonder what this state has done to deserve this repeated assault on her citizenry. This state was decimated during the Biafran war. Without much help from the central government, the citizens pulled themselves up by the booth strap and gradually started on the path to recovery until these new breed of nouveau rich came to town. Greedy and money hungry traditional chiefs made them chiefs thereby pumping up their oversized egos. With and without good education and sound thinking faculty, they hijacked the state with the tacit knowledge of the central seat of government. Since then, it has been one misadventure after another and the people have been suffering.

Let it be said that impeachment is not a dirty word. It is part of a democratic process that ensures accountability even after someone has been elected to office. It is a system that recognizes the fact that power corrupts and hence makes it possible to remove officials that engage in high crimes and misdemeanor because of power intoxication. However, in the hands of Nigerians, impeachment is a dangerous weapon! It is being abused with impunity. Elected officials, like Obi, are being threatened with impeachment just because his party is in the minority. He is being threatened with impeachment because, according to him, he refused to bribe and buy cars for the legislators. The show of shame in Anambra state has refused to abate. A once promising state now lay desolate and wasted. Some have called it a failed state and it looks like they are right.

Anambra state and Nigerian citizens, as a whole, seem to have developed the reputation for turning good into evil. Give them wealth and they will abuse it fully. Instead of using it for constructive ventures that will concurrently benefit them and the citizenry at large, they use it as an instrument for the persecution and oppression of the less privileged. They will buy multiple cars, hire multiple security guards and form convoys whenever they are traveling, running off the less privileged to the side of the road as if they are not also God's creation. Give them intellect and they will abuse it, turning the constitution upside down, obfuscating issues and ensuring that their selfish needs are taken care of to the detriment of others. Instead of using their intellect to ensure the best for the state, they resort to unwarranted harassment of the chief executive of the state, grinding the wheel of government to a halt while the people suffer. Give them power and authority and they will abuse it to high heavens. They will not only subjugate the citizenry to perpetual poverty and penury, they will deny them their basic rights; Rights as simple as allowing their votes to count.

I have been following the email reports from Anambra state citizens in the Diaspora. Most have been calling their legislators in the state from the USA, urging them to rethink their dastardly impeachment moves. I am shocked by the level of arrogance that some of the legislators exhibit when they are reached on the phone. Some of them hang up the phone on the callers while others upbraid them for having the temerity to call them. What manner of representation is that? In civilized places, legislators quiver when their constituents complain about their performance. They make every effort to explain and clarify their stand on issues so as to suit the frayed nerves of their constituents. If they do otherwise, during the next election cycle, they will be voted off. This is not the case with members of Anambra state house of assembly. They are arrogant and condescending towards their constituents. They know that come time for elections, they will again stuff the ballot boxes and win.

Unfortunately, unwarranted impeachment threat is not peculiar to Anambra state; it is now an evil wind that is blowing all across Nigeria. As I write, impeachment fever grips all of Nigeria like a vice. Everywhere you look, there is a move to impeach one elected official or the other. I do not quarrel with that but my problem is that, just like any other thing in Nigeria, the abuse factor has set in mightily and the people must resist this evil

Finally, from the current mood back in Anambra state, this round of impeachment move is bound to fail. However, Obi must not rest on his oars. He must now be vigilant. From what the president said to him when he visited the state, I hope he now knows that no PDP person has his interest at heart. He must now hunker down, plow ahead with full zeal and vigor to revitalize Anambra state. The more he does for the people, the more they would mobilize in his support as and when necessary. We have heard how the masses poured into the streets to attempt to resist the impeachment move. That is what people do when they sense that their welfare is important to the chief executive. Obi should channel any energy and time he has left into infrastructure development. He should look for qualified contractors to build durable roads. He should also begin to make plans to run for another term so that he can fully realize the goals and objectives in his 2003 manifesto. I wish him well.

HERE I STAND


I feel compelled to say a word about my new picture. It was taken by Mr. Sam Onyeaka (former Rangers of Enugu) during the Nigerian Independence Day celebration in Harrisburg, October 7, 2006. My readers have long opined that I seem too serious in the previous photograph which was taken 5 or 6-years ago.