|
Democracy, the Anambra Experiment By Ayara Dennis Omeiza
If rule of law is a vital recipe of democracy, then authorities of this concept may have failed in conceptualizing this idea in Nigeria, needless to say that the definition propounded by the late American President as “government of the people by the people and for the people” is a far cry from the realities in the third world countries especially in Nigeria which has an home grown definition as a result of ban on foreign items and value.
Nigeria government since 1999 has not hidden their disdain for imported goods. Hence the ban on importation of some items which can be manufactured locally to stimulate the growth of the economy, the effect of this ban has been felt in all segment of the society, and it affects both the economy and the political atmosphere of the country. Why some believe that the ban on textile material is ill-timed as a result of the near absence of raw material and lack of infrastructural facilities, the unspoken and the unwritten ban slammed on the value and principle of dem ocracy by the political leaders is more excruciating than the ban on textile and other items which still finds its way into the country through our porous border. A good political decision and process would naturally lead to a benign and a robust economy.
Talking about banning the importation of democratic value, Anambra State has being used and is still being use as a testing ground for the workability or otherwise of this new idea, the State has been turned into a theater ground or a rehearsal room where political actors and actresses practice their trade unhindered, interestingly, the film actors and actresses rehearse imaginative things and act it but the Anambra episode is a different ball game as the main actors act things that could only be imagined by sound mind, they carried out live experiment on people’s life, human beings and their dignity is been used as a specimen, they cry for help as their zone is constantly been use as a testing ground, life is no longer sacrosanct to these political scientist who use them as genuine pig, they are men and women created by the same God.
If this country must move forward in the right direction, we must shun selective justice. Those in authorities must embrace the great recipe of democracy which will strengthen our unity and promote brotherliness.
In science, scientist we are told use guinea pigs and rabbits for experiment in the laboratory and the results are often assessed by relevant regulating agencies, this, however is a sharp contradiction to the happening in Anambra state, the Anambra people are the unfortunate specimen in the laboratory, their land is being use as the laboratory building while their future and that of the generation yet unborn has being mortared by these political actors.
My concern is not on the three musketeers, that is Chris Ngige, Chris Uba or Peter Obi, the new groom in the alter of judiciary but my pain is the motive behind this on-going imbroglio in the Anambra show of shame, it is a grand design by those in authorities collaborated by south east leaders to perpetually under-develop that area and make peace a mirage to them so as to continuously deprive them of their rightful place as a price they needed to pay for the civil war in 1967. My fear in this is, if after 35 years, these people have not been forgiven by our political actors, when will their sins be forgiven?
From 1999 to 2003, the Mbadinuju administration was rendered impotent by political jobbers who are from the same area with him, secondary school students were denied access to public school for more than 1 year because teachers salaries were not paid, hospitals were not only turned to consulting clinics but the doctors and nurses who had not being paid found them selves in private practice, federal allocation to that administration was used to settle political debt and to also fuel the engine of political patronage yet the federal government was pleased with the arrangement and question(s) was or were never asked on why everything was stag nated, the drama got to its peak with the gruesome killing of Mr Igwe and his wife, the Anambra NBA president who spearheaded the opposition to the mis-rule of Mbadinuju, funny enough the late family has not gotten justice till date.
The fate of Dr Chris Ngige is now hanging in the hands of the judiciary after the election tribunal pronounced Peter Obi the APGA candidate as the winner, the theater play in Anambra state actually started with his abduction saga on July 10, 2003. then comes the sweet slap by “Hon” Chuma Nzeribe, and eventually the withdrawal of policemen by the former inspector general of police Tafa Balogun in December,2003. Next was the orgy of violence in August 2004, then his expulsion from People’s Democratic Party in 2005. All these were done to demoralize him and make the state ungovernable to him and by extension make the south east Zone disunited since a disunited people can not achieve their aim.
The State no doubt has opened a new space and writing in our political chequered history, infact, generation yet unborn will live to read the political mis-adventure of the Anambra people, they will be stun to read about the swearing in of (2) two senators who never contested for senatorial election but were in the upper chamber for more than 18 months indeed the event of today will definitely become the history of tomorrow and the experiment will reveal it’s substance
Ayara Dennis Omeiza
New World Computers Prof. Institute, No 1 Beirut Road, Kano
|