The Etteh Drama And Ibeji Politics

Clarius Ugwuoha

Many keen observers of the Etteh miscue will readily discern some clandestine involvement. Right from her surprise emergence as Speaker, to the protracted scandal and her disgraceful exit, there were telltale signs of her presence in the hallowed chambers of Speaker Federal House of Representatives as just a mouthpiece of some political Gestapo. Her artlessness was so self-evident. She was simply victim of some higher and seasoned political manipulators who cashed in upon her naivety.

This is a disturbing political trend, the bane of our nascent democracy. Many political office holders are mere outposts or satellites, while the real gladiators – who might well be illiterate and impervious to the voice of reason – call the shots from behind the scene. This can be described as masquerade politics. The true decision makers are safely shielded from public scrutiny and hence do not subscribe to national conscience. This unwholesome scenario was well exemplified in the Etteh dramaturgy.

The ex-Speaker, Hon. Mrs. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, deserves our pity. Suddenly trust to the lofty position of Speaker – not even of a state House of Assembly but of – the Federal House of Representatives, she lacked the political grooming and tutelage; she lacked the carriage and finesse of the like of Mrs. Okonjo Iweala, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, Mrs. Dora Akunyili and others, who, in the first place, were in positions less likely to attract controversies.

Mrs. Etteh excited the pages of Nigerian history. She was not only the first hairdresser, but also the very first woman to preside over the Federal House of Representatives, or any Federal House for that matter. Her emergence was signalized, more so than that of any other woman political leader ever in the political development of Nigeria. Those who were expecting her to replicate the starling performances of Prof. (Mrs) Akunyili and others, were simply being naïve and unrealistic. The stage was set from day one. While the others were appointments based on merit, we either lacked the credentials in the case of Mrs. Etteh or not much was said of them. That presumed taciturnity on the part of her political projectors turned out to be her nemesis. Nigerians ever suspicious of the motives of her godfathers in not only returning her as honourable member but – of all qualified members from the South West which boasts the greatest number of eggheads in the entire country – also imposing her over them as the Speaker. Etteh was a dormant volcano awaiting eruption. The activation came when the press scooped up elaborate birthday bash in the USA with a retinue of aides and political peerage. While she effectively contained that onslaught, she did not the house renovation scandal that followed. Her intransigence was as remarkable as it exposed her political crudity.

As the Nigerian political firmament becomes more hazy and complicated, some alliances and compromise have cloned strange Siamese twins. This destructive and self-ridiculing tandem is a characteristic of fifty percent of ‘elected’ office holders in Nigeria today. We have politicians who do not fit in their positions and who, by their political precedent, are unworthy of their calling. The parasitic godfathers are so haughty and conceited that even when the surrogate was being driven blindly against national interest and conscience, they are adamant. The cases are too numerous for mention. Like Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju of Anambra state who squared with his erstwhile benefactor, Sir Emeka Offor. Like Dr. Chris Nwabueze Ngige and Chief Chris Ubah. Like Chief Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja and Chief Lamidi Adedibu. The instances, as said, are inexhaustible.

The dangers in godfatherism politics are too numerous to be ignored. It is a direct subversion of rational democracy. We cannot sweep under the carpet the possibility of drug barons and other like minds seizing reign of government by the due democratic process through surrogates who would go in to advance anti-social sectional interests to the detriment of the entire country. The protracted trial of General Manuel Anthonio Nogriega of Panama in the 1980’s is instructive.

The recent courageous outburst by Prof. Akunyili, Director General NAFDAC, to the effect that Chief Lamidi Adedibu was obstructing the drug war in Oyo State, required more than sentimental scrutiny for sake of sanity in our dear country. It has to be thoroughly investigated and culpability established or denied. Chief Adedibu, who had gone to chat with the Acting Inspector General of Police, seemed to have swallowed such a weighty allegation without recourse to the law courts or to his Garrison fortress to seek redress. The entire fabric of our country is threatened on all fronts. We are threatened by Gestapo politics, by drug faking and various innumerable malpractices shielded from investigation with the very apparatuses of State by the same people, who had sworn to protect and defend the integrity of our nation and her peoples. Where Governors and chairmen of Councils are stooges of some political juggernaut to whom they prostrated in public, such overlords are expected to exercise detrimental and autocratic powers with uncouth impunity.

How do we tackle ibeji or masquerade politics where one person is in ‘position’ while his clone or ibeji is in ‘power’ in the same dispensation and representative constituency! The first thing is elimination of Gestapo mentality in our body polity. Secondly, we have to evolve a democratic order governed by merit. Herein again comes godfatherism, since godfathers are mainly unsaleable politically and project those with the expected pedigree after subjecting them to oaths of allegiance. We have to enshrine in our constitution sub-clauses against ibeji politics, which should carry very stiff penalty in proven cases. By this, we are expected to advance indices of political godfatherism against which culprits can be identified and apprehended. A new democratic order in Nigeria is imperative. We have baked for long under the turpitude of masquerade politics.

Clarius Ugwuoha wrote in from the Ezeali Palace in Egbema.