Marwa’s Declaration: Untold Facts

By

Ibrahim Ka-Almasih

almasihkd@yahoo.com

“Unforgettable” seems to be the nightmarish crisis that engulfed the attempt by a one time Military Governor of Lagos state, Brigadier General Muh’d Buba Marwa (rtd), to spectacularly declare his membership of the most glamorous and clamorous political party in West Africa, the People Democratic Party (PDP), at Ribadu Square, Jimeta, on Saturday 7th May 2005.

A friend and I were at Numan for something else when we heard that the atmosphere at Jimeta was increasingly tense following the State Government’s ban on the proposed grandiose declaration due to what it described as snobbish, contemptuous and inciting procedure for the declaration with the far reaching security implications. So, even thought we were earlier reluctant to proceed to witness the Jimeta jumbo event, with this development, we finally resolved to rush there.

Upon our entering Jimeta, our first point of call was the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Adamawa State Council, where we were greeted with Marwamania of various kinds. But we hardly had settled down than we knew that the Marwamanic colleagues were largely “friends of Marwa” who were brought to Jimeta mainly by flight Albarka. They were all festive, kept ordering for assorted drinks and pepper soups etc. It was simply joyous for them.

Thus, right from there I told my friend that the Governor of Adamawa state, Mr Boni Haruna, was in trouble because such lavishly motivated pen pushers would take him to the cleaners if his government insisted on the ban on Marwa’s declaration no matter the justification or otherwise. However when the ban was proved to be irreversible, especially with the overwhelming presence of well armed, no nonsense mobile policemen near Marwa’s residence as others daringly combed and cordoned off Ribadu Square, by the morning of the fateful day, the journalists largely decided to report fairly. But a few others appeared to be biase in their reports and analyses, thus somewhat confirming my earlier fears. The passion and hysteria are still on.

But let us look at it objectively. Marwa had, by his own account, secretly registered for PDP since three years ago at his Michika II ward (and his registration number is 1796) impliedly, with the knowledge of only a small clique within the party while living the state Governor and leader of the party, Mr. Boni Haruna, and other PDP members in the dark. The question here is: why the clandestine registration? Marwa alleged that two years after his registration, party registers were belatedly withdrawn to possibly prevent him from registering adding, “unknown to them however, I was already registered and had my membership card. When they found out that ‘this man is a careful man; he would not say he would declare unless he has already registered, so let us frustrate his effort’ …” (Daily Trust 6 – 5 - 5, page 6).

So, the registration was such clandestine that it took at least two years before even its possibility was “feared” by Gov. Boni and many other key and ordinary party members, not to talk of the knowledge of the fact that it (the registration) has already been effected. What a paranoid politicking! Then, between Marwa and Boni who actually first sawed the seed of political mistrust, suspicion and snobbery that ultimately germinated into a full blown animosity that led to the ban on the intimidatory triumphalism tagged declaration? It is instructive to note also that, Marwa has not refuted Boni’s allegation that two of them had to met for two years. Though, I saw Marwa’s Media Aide on the AIT saying that his boss had notified Gov. Boni about his intention through GSM text messages and a letter. But, with all sincerity, how can Marwa send a GSM text or a letter to notify such an important person as a State Governor about a very important event such as his (Marwa’s) intention to spectacularly declare for PDP at the state capital without a prior face to face discussion? Does simple courtesy not require that? To put it another way, considering the fact that Marwa allegedly entered PDP since 2002 and yet he wanted to “publically” declare for the party in 2005, not at Michika town where he registered but at far a way Jimeta, the seat of Adamawa state Government, that is headed by Boni, a maternal brother of his whom he had not set eye on for two years, and who is, by right, the paramount leader of the party he wanted to eventfully declare for and who is also the Chief Security Officer of the State he expected to safely accommodate his numerous guests and the crowdy event. Can you beat the arrogance? Just imaging, for the past two years that Marwa had been going to Jimeta, he had not deemed it fit to see Boni, yet he told the later in part of this supposed letter of notification to help provide good and adequate accommodations for his important guests including president Olusegun Obasanjo and suggestive parade of other powerful names. Would Boni not naturally consider such a request as an intimidatory sarcasm especially considering the fact that he is a widely acclaimed loyalist of VP Atiku Abubakar, a contender to Marwa’s ambition? Hence had Boni allowed the declaration to hold as dreamed, would he not have been portrayed by Marwa’s camp as haven been cowed by Marwa’s support from “above”? For experience might have shown to Boni that the snobbish and contemptuously triumphal Marwa’s camp had the tendency of saying, “ Hurrah, we intimidated that unwilling Governor Boni, so we had our way, willy nilly”.

Instructively, when Marwa finally extricated himself from the sycophantic arrogance and bravado of his political advisers, and visited Governor Boni as instructed by the National Chairman of the PDP Dr.

Ahmadu Ali, Boni forgivingly reversed a ban by rescheduling the declaration to 28th May 2005, at Michika, where Marwa registered to avert possible clash between “Marwa’s Area Boyish thugs and the provoked Atiku’s supporters”. But Marwa’s “experienced” political advisers pressurized him to refuse the soft landing offered him. In fact, arguably the “snobbish declaration” was glaringly intended to both politically belittle and cheapen Boni/Atiku and also serve as a bull in the Atiku’s political China market under the watchful eyes of dedicated gatekeepers of the “market” led by Boni himself. Thus the expediency of Boni’s proportional reaction his own way; for to do otherwise would be tantamount to a costly political naivety.

Considering the import of the snobbery of the process of the declaration, we must appreciate Boni’s dilemma.

He seemed to have been left with a choice between allowing the declaration to hold as scheduled to score a point of political tolerance, risking being seen as politically powerless and intimidatable and banning it to assert his Governorness and political indispensability, risking being regarded as politically intolerant.

Unfortunately for Marwa, Boni has intelligently considered the optimal option. Thus the arrogant and intimidatory triumphalism of Marwa’s camp boomeranged, making the declaration a near farce. The gloom that followed the euphoria was indeed terrible. Those trying to, once again, unleash IBB on us, directly and by proxy, really had an unimpressive start.

However, the whole affair seems culpably complex. Paradoxically, as guilty as Marwa may appear in my above observations, he is in the whole innocent. In fact he is not known to be contemptuous or snobbish by nature not to talk of being one to his maternal brother, Boni. I indeed sound paradoxical but that is it! So, where did the problem originate? The answer is not far fetched.

Marwa, ordinarily an amiable person, is unfortunately surrounded by people who hold grudges against Boni and Atiku for one political reason or the other and who, therefore naturally might have considered his political machinery as a solid platform on which they could stand firm to vengefully confront Atiku/Boni on the pretext of supporting his presidential ambition. So, rather than genuinely guide Marwa on how to make the declaration a success, they seemed to have allowed their vindictive interest to characterize the declaration of the infantry General who might have unsuspectingly entrusted the plans to these supposedly well meaning, older and, therefore more experienced politicians, only for them to so turned the declaration into an instigative triumphalism thereby pitched the two brothers against themselves. Thus either Marwa’s advisers were self-centred or need to be taken to political kindergarten. Of course, being a relatively new comer into politics, Marwa was not expected to know the proper political permutation, intrigue and intricacies of the politics of his proposed triumphal declaration so he, more than likely, had been made to believe that the snubbing approach was politically normal and it would have but positive consequences and so bought the idea though possibly reluctantly. But, unfortunately, no state governor in Nigeria, faced with the same situation, will fail to react the same way Boni reacted.

Unfortunately, some writers seem to be only alerted by the “crime” of the ban, ignoring the bad approach that necessitated the ban, thereby attacking the symptoms rather than the cause.

In fact, some writers went as far as insinuating that the attendance by “numerous” south-Westerners and north-Easterners etc, was in recognition of Marwa’s performances while he was a state Governor in their respective regions and on the other hand a deliberate humiliation to Gov. Boni as a protest over his alleged non performance. Others even went further to insinuate that based on his antecedents - especially as Lagos State Governor-Marwa has a proven capacity and willingness to turn Nigeria around as president. Let me begin from the issue of attendance. It is true that even though the event was confined to Marwa’s compound at Dogire Quarters, the occasion witnessed an appreciably large turne-out. But the big names were conspicuously absent except Gbenga Obasanjo and a couple of others whom I couldn’t see anyway. The senators could only have been there in spirit except Jibril Aminu and probably some elusive others. All the state Governors that were present did so only in ghosts. Even the National chairman and the Secretary of the party were “unavoidably” absent; and their lieutenants were no where near the venue except their deputies among the three and two members of the party’s Board of Trustees and National working committee respectively whose presence seemed to be merely consolatory. And take it or leave it, more than 70% of the rest of the guests will more than likely attend if Boni organizes a counter event tomorrow. So what are we saying? Talking about comparative performances; remember that to whom much is given much is expected. And rattled by the increasing rebellion especially in Lagos over the selfish cancellation of June 12 1993 elections and the betrayal of the principal winner, Chief M.K.O Abiola of blessed memory, the then Head of state, General Sani Abacha, found it necessary to be allocating mind-bogglingly huge amount of money to the south-West in general and Lagos state in particular to provide infrastructural and other diversionary comforts and indulgences that would make the people too happy to remember the provocative cancellation of the freest Nigerian elections and the subsequent maltreatment of MKO. Other motives of the jumbo allocation included easing Governor Marwa’s sponsorship of peopleoriented counter activities to check the excesses of the NADECO and CD. That was the secret of Marwa’s “unprecedented performances” in Lagos. It was indeed a necessitated, simplified and well funded “achievement” that, not even Marwa, but a buffoon could make. Please, let me not go further for I am not a muckraker.

On the other hand, the allocation made to Adamawa state Government under Gov. Boni is, needless to say, a chicken change, compared to that of the Marwa–led Lagos State Government. So it is very unfair to expect Boni to have transformed Adamawa State the way “Marwa” transformed Lagos State. In fact the Chairman of Albarka Air is a creation of June 12 crisis and the media. Were Boni to be in the same situation with Marwa, or were circumstance to likewise favour Boni, he would have made correspondingly great achievements too.

And those who argue that Boni/Atiku suppose to have done better to Adamawa State should realize that while Boni has relative financial constraint, Atiku’s ability to use his influence to bring development to Adamawa land is largely subject to OBJ’s cooperation, which is another political complexity that may not be known to most of those attacking the grossly misunderstood and imperturbable Turaki of Adamawa.

Once president Obasanjo is politically disposed towards Atiku’s popularity, every thing that is associated with the later would even be presidentially encouraged to excel. Otherwise the reverse will be the case. You know, like Deputy Chairmen and Deputy Governors, a Vice President is virtually a rubber stamp in Nigeria.

And if what is being whispered from Aso Rock is true, Atiku should not be blamed for the problems of Adamawa State. He might even be the worst effected than those instigated to attack him. It is all politics. So it is completely wrong and unintelligent to conclude that based on Marwa’s performance in Lagos, he is capable of ruling this country better than Atiku. He as well may; but certainly not based on his Lagos experiences and perceived relative failure of Atiku. Therefore, that “numerous” people were motivated to came all the way from the west to Yola to dance owambe on the grave of June 12 in a manner that must have made MKO turned in his own grave that doesn’t mean that Marwa can outvie the ever politically wakeful Atiku. Even the patronages of Baban’iyabo and Babangida he (Marwa) is alleged to wield are not enough to enable him launch a political assault on the Turaki’s “enclave” as it appeared to be the hidden motive of the triumphal Declaration that boomeranged.

And, in fact, the Marwanites should by now know that political effrontery is not the answer. Marwa himself needs to go back to the drawing board and cleanse his originally good self off Atikuphobic elements who are now niggling.

Ka-Almasih is a Kaduna-based Journalist.