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Ngige: The Object of Power By Tochukwu Ezukanma Power
can be deployed as a ruthless enemy of the people, or employed as a
selfless servant of the people. Power in The
object of gubernatorial power as conceived by Chris Uba was to loot the
state coffers, trample the public good and reinforce the exploitation
and deprivations of the weak and the poor. It was to be a replication of
the Mbadinuju administration where a roguish governor paid his political
godfathers a preponderant chunk of the state revenue, and kept the rest
for himself and his coterie of thieves. It was a situation that left the
state's infrastructure crumbling, economy literally collapsing and
people writhing in starvation and gloom. Evidently, the object of power
as personified by Chris Ngige is to resuscitate a state completely
wrecked by four years of depredation, bring hope and renewed optimism to
the people of Anambra state, and liberate the masses from desperate,
gateless poverty. Over
the years, I had the opportunity to see, and listen to the three
civilian governors of Anambra state: Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Chinwoke
Mbadinuju and Chris Ngige. Ezeife is a vain man with a "big
man" complex. He struck me as insensitive, supercilious, hedonic
and indulgent. He seemed fixated on the perks and pomp of his office,
and not on its demands and obligations. It was obvious that he had very
little grasp of the problems of Anambra state, and consequently, had no
serious programs for addressing them. What he lacked in the art of
governance, he tried to make up with his ego tripping. He talked
repeatedly about his Harvard PhD, as though degrees are ends in
themselves - as though an Harvard PhD automatically made him a good
governor. A Harvard PhD usually prepares one for responsibility, but how
the individual chooses to handle the rigors, demands and
responsibilities of life, or office is a completely different issue.
Chinwoke
Mbadinuju had the look of a hustler. Inspite of his supposed education,
he, with his garb, hat and swagger stick, looked like some boorish
trader. The master of ceremony for his reception was disgustingly
obsequious. He took sycophancy to a nauseating excess. He repeatedly led
the audience in a chant of "Odera", "Odera", to
which Mbadinuju replied "Ode go nu". It gave the forum a
semblance of a gathering of villagers paying homage to a tribal chief.
Mbadinuju was visibly elated by the adulation. Glibly, he rambled on.
Like a man who does the deed of the devil with the name of God on his
lips, he made frequent references to God, and tried desperately, it
seemed, to prove his "born again" credentials. These enhanced
his credibility, and softened the aura of a swindler about him. His
speech was an unctuous sales pitch. He was smooth, suave, persuasive,
like a conartist. Chris
Ngige, on the other hand, is a compact, clean cut man with a
professorial deportment. Devoid of the flamboyance and frills of the
average politician, he cuts the image of a professor of mathematics or
physics. His speech, unadorned with the usual politician's embroidery
and hyperbole, was a presentation of facts and figures. It was an
analysis of the retrograde
movement of Anambra state
over the past four years, the menace of unconscionable political
godfatherism, the ravages it has wrought on the state, and his effort to
revamp a groggy state reeling from years of neglect and abuse.
Olusegun
Obasanjo with his crude, vulgar, rustic political skills, working in
concert with his political godfather, Ibrahim Babangida, that most
notorious thief in the Nigerian public life, has perverted the
democratic process in However,
inspite of the imperfection in the system, the incontrovertible reality
remains that The
court case against Ngige is salutary for the political process in Anambra
state. It strengthens democracy and transparency in the state.
The Igbo are emotionally attached to APGA. The name itself, an euphony
of UPGA, evokes memories of the past, a glorious past. It was when NCNC,
the Igbo dominated party controlled two of the then four regions of
Nigeria, and in alliance with Action Group and the progressive political
parties in the North (the acronym for that political alliance was UPGA),
stood poised to win power at the center. It was an era marked by Igbo
political, economic and intellectual ascendancy. Secondly, APGA is a
predominantly Igbo party, and its presidential candidate was Chukwuemeka
Ojukwu, who, despite his excessive political baggages, retains a massive
following among the Igbo. But,
reality dictates that PDP has the machinery, resources, organization and
intrigue waxing capabilities to win elections. It is a conflict of
sentiment and pragmatism. It mirrors that perennial contest in man,
between emotions and reason. It is the ability to strike a delicate
balance between these two contradictory inclinations that separates the
men from the boys. With PDP political intrigues and racketeering, The
promises Ngige made to his political benefactors, and the quite indecent
events that pre-staged his coming to power said much less about him than
the monsters with dark designs who have hijacked the PDP machinery in Anambra
state. It showed that irrespective
of how decent and well meaning a gubernatorial candidate is, he was to
be tarnished by these ghoulish elements and their dalliance with satanic
forces. It essentially speaks volume about the vicious and cruel habits
of these voracious thugs, and their unyielding resolve to terrorize and
devastate a whole state, just to serve their own selfish ends. It
revealed the man Olusegun Obasanjo, that mean spirited, vindictive, narrow-minded,
arch-tribalist. It unveils his deep aversion for the Igbo,
and his hell-bent determination to destabilizes Igboland. It exposes the
power vacuum in Igboland and the blustering ruffians who are exploiting
this power void. Chris
Uba is a criminal. His disruptive politics in Anambra state is
treasonable. Ordinarily, he should be in jail, serving a life sentence,
or awaiting execution. Lamentably, he continues to prance around, and
not even the Igbo leadership has mustered the courage to criticize his
actions. Igbo leaders are lackeys and lickspittles quaking in
trepidation of their Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba masters. If the supposedly
reinvigorated Ohaneze is not just a refurbished instrument of Yoruba irredentist
and Hausa/Fulani hegemony, the organization should have
censured Uba, and banned his entrance into Igboland. The Igbo have the
brawn and will to enforce such a ban. However, it is leadership that
galvanizes and channels the strength and the will of the people.
It
has been argued in some circles that Ngige, just like most other
Nigerian politicians, is an unscrupulous power grabber. I am definitely
not holding a brief for him, but it has been written that "power
and virtues are constant companions only in legends and
fairytales". Politics and power are not for the Mother Theresa, or
the moralizing, evangelizing prigs. Mao Tse Tong once wrote that
"power flows from the barrel of gun." His maxim, though, apt
in the strive-riven early 20th century But,
even the slug for power through the ballot box is not for the weak
minded and sanctimonious. A leader, especially, a political leader
should have guts, backbone and guile. Those that have emerged triumphant
in the politics of the world's greatest democracy, the Therefore,
for my purpose, what is under scrutiny is not the circumstances of
Ngige's rise to power, but what he has thus far done with his power.
First, he has tried to improve the lot of the populace by paying civil
servants and pensioners. Paying civil servants and pensioners is not in
any way a spectacle feat. After all, the government is obligated to pay
its employees. But, is the problem of the Nigerian public life not the
irresponsibility of the power elite - their perverse refusal to
acknowledge, respect and uphold their responsibilities and obligations?
He
broke out of the stranglehold of his political godfathers. They were to
impose a viciously exploitative system on Anambra state. Chris Uba was
motivated solely by avarice and rapine. He wants to be a medieval feudal
lord. His success would have been productive of dreadful consequences.
It would have continued the wholesome degradation of the quality of life
in the state, and the general suffering of the people, that marked
Mbadinuju's administration. In politics, there will always be powers
behind the throne. Naturally, these powerbrokers make demands of their protégés
once they get power. But, Uba's demands were mind-bogglingly
excessive. They were demands that were to squelch life out of a state,
and reduce it to destitution. A
detailed statistical presentation of Ngige's achievements is beyond the
scope of this writing. However, it is important to note that the multiplier
effect of his consistent payments of salaries and pensions
have been significant. It is nudging a rickety economy
towards re-vamping. Also in keeping with his responsibilities to
the state, he is building new roads, rehabilitating old roads and other
crumbling state infrastructure, improving health and education, etc. He
reduced the size of his cabinet, making it more
responsive, efficient and cost effective. He has put together a
highly qualified governing team, one of the best in the country. In the
past, the Anambra House of Assembly confirmed the governor's appointees
by demanding bribe from them, utterly disregarding their qualifications
and professional experience and capabilities. In his administration,
appointments and confirmation have been strictly on merit.
The
president of the senate, Adolphus Wabara was quoted as saying that the
political problem in Anambra state was a direct result of Ngige's
breach of a "gentleman's agreement". That statement was
irresponsible. It is mindlessness bordering on lunacy that the president
of the senate failed to see the greed, wickedness and thievery inherent
in that "gentleman agreement". Wabara is a conscienceless,
fly-by-night politician. He belongs to a cabal of crooks that have
perfected the art of stealing from the people and murdering political
opponents. Not surprisingly, he is indifferent, contemptuously
indifferent to the needs of the masses, their hunger for a good life and
their longing for social justice. Sheltered
in the comfort of Wabara
lacks the courage and vision of a leader. He is a servile and venal
follower, a stooge of the PDP hierarchy. He epitomizes the new breed of
Igbo "leaders" who owe their rise to prominence to the
personal wishes and political needs of Obasanjo and the
northern feudal lords, and who lack the daring to break out of
the suffocating confines of their political masters. As a result,
inspite of the enormous powers of his office (the office of the senate
president is an autonomous center of power), he continues to serve only
at the pleasure of Obasanjo. Not surprisingly, in a crisis with
far-reaching implications for both the Igbo nation and In
Anambra state, it is a struggle between good and evil, rule of law and
anarchistic propensity, champions of the public good and unbridled
selfish interests. The fight is between purposeful governance associated
with the wellbeing of millions and the decadent opulence of a greedy
few attended with abject poverty for millions. It is for the future of
the state, flowery and progressive versus gloomy and retrogressive. It
is between ethnic chauvinism and hate, as embodied by Obasanjo, and Igbo
pride and dignity, as represented by Ngige. Unlike
the generality of the Igbo political elite, who cringe in fear of
Olusegun Obasanjo and the powers that be, Chris Ngige, at great perils
and personal risk, stood his grounds against the evil schemes of
Obasanjo and his Igbo proxies. Unlike any governor, since the creation
of Anambra state, he has devoted the powers and the resources of the
government to the service of his people. A friend summed it up in his
own words, "Ngige is God sent". While I will refrain from such
gushiness, the point, however, is that Ngige represents something new, a
force, powerful and avant-garde, in Igbo politics. He exemplifies those
qualities desperately needed, but acutely lacking amongst Igbo leaders.
He is a profile in courage, selflessness and dedication. Tochukwu
Ezukanma writes from |