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The Return Of Arthur Nzeribe By Emeka Oraetoka
With the appointment of Senator Arthur Nzeribe as a member of the Board of Trustees of People Democratic Party (PDP), by the real leaders of the party, one point has successfully been proved- there is reward for loyalty to one’s party, notwithstanding the lawlessness of few who thought that they are PDP, and no one dares their might. Senator Ifeanyi Ararume and Honourable Rotimi Amaechi are victims of lawlessness of this cabal in PDP. For Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman statesman once said: “it is not by muscle, strength or physical dexterity, that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character and judgment” The new PDP probably marveled by Nzeribe’s force of character and sound judgment as exhibited during and after the farce called Imo West senatorial primaries, decided to accord him prestigious honour of being a board of trustees member. It will be recalled that the former governor of Imo State, Chief Achike Udenwa, had unleashed unprecedented terror in the State during the senatorial primaries to ensure nothing tempers with his senatorial ticket, to be held in trust by Osita Izunaso. Were it not for combination of factors, including, the looting of Local Government Funds of Imo State for which his administration was investigated by EFCC, Udenwa had wanted to be a Senator, a status, he hoped would have ensured his protection after office, a terrible of judgment?
The action of Chief Nzeribe in PDP after the primaries caught the fancies of political pundits and apparently forced them to conclude that only statesman could allow such a monumental fraud against his person to go unchallenged in the law court. What is most confounding in Nzeribe’s tactical silence, according to political pundits is that every Nigerian knows him as a fighter any day, and had expected him to act true to type. To this effect, they concluded that Chief Nzeribe is a statesman worthy of emulation by politicians in Nigeria. According to pundits, ordinarily, the Nzeribe they know would have taken the National leadership of PDP and the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, to the court, for them to shed light on why they gave the party’s ticket to a person, Chief Obasanjo told all Nigerians via a nationwide broadcast, was involve in the Bribe-For-Budget scandal at the National Assembly, that is, Senator Osita Izunaso.
There is enough evidence to show that the former President’s broadcast was consequent upon a conclusive investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC], on the Bribe-for-Budget scandal at the National Assembly. Similarly, the dismissal of both Professors Jude Njoku and Fabian Osuji was as a result of the same indictment. Today, both men are probably suffering from fraud-induced dismissal. Their counterpart in the scandal, from Obasanjo’s broadcast, is a proud Senator representing a part of Imo State; incidentally, both Professors are from Imo state. That was how, in a nutshell, the former President of Nigeria fought corruption?
It has been suggested that the threat of court action against the leadership of PDP on the fielding of indicted Osita Izunaso, by Nzeribe, which was widely published by Newspapers, was just a strategy to expose the former President, Chief Obasanjo, and the National leadership of PDP, to the whole world as accomplished hypocrites. The publication of the petition in the Newspapers against Izenaso, to the then President Obasanjo, was to forestall the possibility of PDP claiming ignorance of existing indictment, which they regrettably sighted as reason behind the substitution of Honourable Amaechi’s name in INEC. Even when he threatened to move vote of no confidence motion on the floor of the Senate, against a certain office holder in Nigeria, the intention was to occupy a high moral ground in the fight to retrieve the vexed Senatorial ticket. The managers of Chief Obasanjo’s image, may not be aware of the extent of damage, their inability to advice Chief Obasanjo, on the need to apologize to the Nation, Osita Izunaso and Co., for wrongly indicting them as it appears, in the celebrated national broadcast as it were, to Obasanjo’s reputation, particularly, the serious error of judgment on the matter, by the former attorney general of the federation, Chief Bayo Ojo. It should be born in mind here that Bayo Ojo, the then attorney general of the federation, was the counsel to Osita Izunaso in the scandal; just as the current attorney general of the federation is said to be the counsel to some politicians with one or two cases to answer in EFCC. That error of advice, as it were, appeared to have presented the era of Chief Obasanjo’s Presidency as a petty one. It also cast a lot of doubt on the reform programme of his administration, just as doubts encircled his anti-corruption drive.
It has been observed that with Arthur Nzeribe’s membership of board of trustees of People Democratic Party [PDP], the era of vibrancy will soon be witnessed in the party. Arthur Nzeribe, as Nigerians know, is a stickler to the rule of Law, Constitutionalism and Democratic Order.political experts have reasoned that the board of trustees of the party will greatly benefit from Nzeribe’s wealth of political experience. Political pundits believe that with him around, the era of lawlessness is over for good of the party and Nigeria. Those who arrogated the power of hire and fire in the party, in disregard to the rule of law, are in for hard time in the party, analysts submitted.
Many had applauded Nzeribe’s resolve not to leave the PDP, despite the great injustices meted out to him, and in-spite of pressure on him to do so. It could be recalled that many parties had wanted Nzeribe, to fly their ticket either in the Senatorial position or Governorship; when it became obvious that the leadership of the party at the national level, in active connivance with the overall leader of the party then, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, were desperate to sacrifice their integrity by bastardizing the rule of law, to stop Nzeribe from becoming the Senatorial flag-bearer of PDP in Imo West Senatorial district, for reason(s) best known to them. Now he appears to be having the last laugh in the party, courtesy of his patience. Perhaps, Nzeribe had read and understood the cardinal factor that gave Vietnam victory over the United States of America [USA], in the war between the two nations, despite America’s superior firepower. The leader of Vietnam Army, General VO NGUYEN GIAP said. “All the conceptions born of impatience and aimed at obtaining speedy victory could only be gross error---- It was necessary to accumulate thousands of small victories to turn them into a great success.” Had Nzeribe left the PDP for another party, the action could have amounted to rash decision born out of impatience; he would have defiled General Gap’s theory that gave Vietnam Victory over all mighty USA. Nzeribe’s tactical masterstroke as shown by the way and manner he handed his political travails, has gone to prove that you don’t handle different political problems the same way; a time tested fact supported by Sun-tzu, the ancient Chinese General, who said: “ victories in battle cannot be repeated – they take their form in response to inexhaustibly changing circumstances.” Of course, he would have gone to court to secure victory against Izunaso and his lawless backers, but majority of his supporters who believe that, atimes, one has to forego apparent advantage in some issues, may see him as always “Mr. Right”, a tag which may not be good for his statesman status. Surely, he decision on the matter was a superior one, in deference to Benjamin Disraeli’s analysis of knowing the right moment to forego an advantage. Everybody knew then, as now, that Nzeribe had a gilt-edged advantage of securing success in court against the promoters of Osita Izunaso, but opted out to allow public opinion to either hang Chief Obasanjo and the leadership of PDP then, or Senator Osita Izunaso, as the case may be.
Emeka Oraetoka Information Management Consultant & Political Researcher, Wrote in from Garki- Abuja. E-mail: oramekllis@lycos.com.
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