KWENU: Our Culture, Our Future

THE IMPARTIAL OBSERVER

Nigeria, we have a problem

Hank Eso

hankeso@aol.com

  Wednesday, 16 July 2003

I belong to a growing number of disquieted Nigerians, who are confounded by the direction and fate of our nascent democracy.  The events of the past week in Anambra State not only offered us a glimpse about the state of Igbo politics and understanding of democratic norms and mores, but a broader glimpse into the troubled soul of the Nigerian nations and politics.

When the breaking news alert banner on my computer flashed the header about the abduction of Dr. Chris Ngige, I thought it was a hacker’s bad joke.  But as the reality of the ominous news dawned on me, all I could think of, was about the fateful and immortal words of doom uttered by John Swigert, Jr. and James Lovell of the US’s Apollo 13 crew: “Houston, we have a problem”, hence the title of this piece. 

My next feeling and reaction was one of intense panic.  Not that I was in anyway going to be directly affected by grave adversity that was about to unfold in Anambra, but it would be deeply troubling to me to discover that waking moment, that I may have become clairvoyant.  But I guess that it could not have been too preposterous for anyone to suggest, as I did not long ago, that the political pantomime in Anambra State was yet to surrealistically play itself out.  Now that it has happened, I hope that we can all begin to grasp how low some of our compatriots have sunken in their quest to grab and control power. 

On June 11 2003, in my piece titled “Nigeria’s Surrealistic Politics” I stated, “As the dust of the 2003 elections begin to settle and the jostling for appointive positions and political booty become more intense, a huge pall hangs over Nigeria.  Deep in the belly of the nation’s real-politik, a swirling rumble is gaining gusto, masking the turbulence within, while belying the calm and make-belief tranquility on the surface.”  Of Anambra State, and in particular the relations between Dr. Chris Ngige and his benefactor Chief Chris Uba, I observed, “Anambrarians have cause to be worried about the fate of their embattled and long traumatized State.  The past four years under a PDP government had been catastrophic in every sense.  …Many in Anambra expect a show down soon enough between Dr. Ngige and Chief Uba.  While they brace themselves for the onslaught, they also worry that like the proverbial grass that suffers when two elephant fight or make love, that they, the good people of Anambra State will bear the brunt of such a power tussle when it eventually happens.”   

I am not in the least thrilled about my views being vindicated.  The events of the last week that led to the abduction and eventual ousting and reinstatement of Chris Ngige, especially the insidious role of some members of the Nigerian Police, the Anambra State Assembly and some in the judiciary portend a very profound and troubling fate for the country.  As in that famous phrase “Houston We Have A Problem” that presaged a historical disaster, let me say here and now, without equivocating, “Nigeria, We Have A Problem”.  The forcibly removal of Dr. Chris Ngige from the Anambra State Governor’s Office on Thursday 10 July 2003 has been characterized as everything, including a “coup”,  “treason”, “protective custody,” “a civilian coup d’etat” to an “affront to democracy”''.  All these, however, are besides that point.

Three points are stark in this entire sorry episode.  First, no matter how the event is eventually interpreted or parsed, at the time it happened, it carried a clear affirmation of having been State sanctioned.  How else, can anyone explain that in a nation and state, where members of the national police force are often sequestered in their barracks, while armed robber harass the population in broad day light, that it was easy to mobilize some 200 battle ready policemen for the purpose of arresting one unarmed and unsuspecting man, albeit, an embattled state Governor?  But it did happen.  Second, what else, but a dire national security matter would warrant assigning to an Assistant Inspector-General of the Police Mr. Raphael Ige (AIG, Zone 9), the task of leading the team that sent to apprehend Dr. Ngige?  Thirdly, if one man, rich as he may be, and there are many rich men and women in Nigeria, could appropriate or aspire to own a constituent Federal State and its assets as his fiefdom, what is to stop much richer and powerful men from divvying up the remaining thirty six states and the Abuja, as they wish.  And, indeed, what stops anyone from divvying up Nigeria at whim?  Nothing!

This entire matter so far is being treated with understandable shock, but also with undeserved levity.  Had AIG Mr. Raphael Ige, been a Colonel Raphael Ige of the Nigerian Army, I doubt that the present seeming indifference and attempt to deal with this saga as a PDP intra-party rift would still be the norm or preferred choice of ameliorative approach.  Perhaps because Nigerians have been so traumatized, they forget that in the 1980s, Alhaji Bukar Zanna Mandara, was charged, tried, and jailed for treason and for planning coup against the Shagari administration.  Alhaji Mandara, a military food contractor, by his own account, only complained to some soldiers that things were not economically what they used to be in Nigeria and that the country was drifting to the point that a change was warranted.  For that – freedom of expression-- but indeed for threatening Nigeria’s corporate existence, presumably with malice aforethought he was jailed.  Alhaji Mandara would have not had a case to answer, if his views had been merely shared with his fellow civilians, and not Nigerian soldiers who were used to usurping political power through the force of arms.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) was right in calling the Ngige saga as “a brazen assault on the sanctity of the Nigerian Constitution and was a painful reminder of the legacy of violent usurpation of power, which the country is making so much effort to overcome”.  As the Anambra saga unfolds, it all too well that Assistant Inspector-General of the Police Mr. Raphael Ige has been dismissed.  But such a limited sanction is not enough either as a punishment or deterrence.  If the Federal Government is serious about democracy in Nigeria, all those involved in this heinous act must be used as examples for those who harbor similar motives.  There ought to be an a massive indictment followed by an inquiry as to who knew what and who sanctioned what or paid for what in this matter.  Media reports quote AIG Ige as saying he acted “on orders from Abuja” -- a claim that Inspector-General of Police Tafa Balogun has summarily denied.  If anyone should know of orders from above, it is Mr. Balogun, and so far, there is no reason to doubt his denials.

Also, as the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) correctly noted: "The Anambra episode has no precedent in the political history of this country or in that of any civilized world.  It is not just a shame to the PDP, nay, to Nigerians generally, but has also brought the nation to an international opprobrium.  It is a threat to our nascent democracy.”  Those within PDP who characterize that Anambra incident as “a family affair” engage in political halitosis. They are playing with the proverbial fire next door. They also overlook the gusty ill-wind that is blowing with this affair.

The Ngige saga also raises troubling questions about our collective grasp of the fundamentals and finer points of democracy.  Traumatized as Ngige might have been, if he really knew his constitutional rights he would have publicly exercised it, by asking AIG Ige to let him see his arrest warrant, which ought to have been signed by a judge.  After all, he was not a “governor” in a military dispensation, where photocopies of one arrest warrant emanating from a catchall blanket decree was repeatedly used by security partisans to throw into the slammer anyone whose views differed from those of the Government of the day.  He would have also asked to be read his rights, before being apprehended. Secondly, had Dr. Ngige been a popularly elected governor, it would not have been farfetched to expect the Anambra masses to rally in a show of people’s power to protect their political franchise.  That the people of Anambra State did not rally to his support, ought to be a clear message to him and the PDP leadership in Abuja. It ought to give them pause.

There are several other lessons to be gleaned from the Anambra affair, which will form part of the unwritten, but yet essential codification of our democratic values.  The role of Deputy Governor Dr. Okey Ude, the Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly Mrs. Eucharia Azodo, Representatives, Mr. Chuma Nzeribe, and the entire Anambra Assembly, calls into question how well versed our politicians are with the Constitution they swore to uphold.  The resignation of a State Governor, though it may be the prerogative of the incumbent, is and ought to be guided by a uniformed procedural code.  Just as a Judge is required to swear a Governor into office, the Governor, if he or she elects to resign must tender his resignation through a proper reputable channel which can vouch for its authenticity.  In a nation bedeviled by a 419 culture, any miscreant or confidence trickster can orchestrate a palace coup by effecting the resignation of any public official, no mater how highly placed, through forgery and collusion with some maleficent public official, whose portfolios might offer a modicum of credibility and cover to carry out such unlawful acts. It is really ad that 419 is no longer a means of obtaining cash through false pretense, but now a means of obtaining a constitutional office by pretext.

It is noteworthy, that PDP’s legal adviser Yohanna Madaki, a former soldier and a lawyer has clearly stressed that the punishments to be meted out to the culprits would be in accordance with Nigeria’s Constitution, since in his words, “The steps the perpetrators took were unconstitutional.  What they did was treasonable felony and they should be made to face the consequences.”  One may believe the Speaker of Anambra State House Mrs. Eucharia Azodo, who reportedly has admitted to an error in allowing the Anambra House to act on the Ngige’s purported resignation letter.  However, it is undeniably evident that she made no attempt to establish the bona fides of the letter or to cross-check its authenticity with Dr. Ngige.  Being a lawmaker she ought to know that in law ignorance is no excuse. If she were as honorable as her title goes, she should tender her resignation as an act on contrition.

[The Speaker has been impeached - EDITOR]

The elasticity of one’s imagination is stretched beyond its limits by the incredulity of allegations that the kernel of the present crisis was over N3 billion naira restitution for alleged campaign expenses made on behalf of Chris Ngige by Chief Uba.  The confirmation by Dr. Ngige, “that he indeed signed, although under duress, a cheque of N3 billion for his erstwhile political godfather, Chief Chris Uba, and another letter authorizing Uba’s company to be paid N870 million over a period of 87 months in respect of contracts he is executing for government” (Vanguard, July 14, 2003) is the mother of all shock and awes. Ngige, by abetting grand larceny, ought to also resign. In signing the cheque, he confirmed that that holding on to the Office of the Governor was more important to him than his reputation, which I dare say, is now more tattered than ever.

The amount of monies bandied about as being in the heart of the present controversy, if for nothing else, established beyond doubt the nexus between the pauperization of Anambra State and the activities of its leaders and their supporters.  To swipe N3 billion from a State coffer, merely for the asking and for the giving, is to sentence the State to perpetual penury  We now know why Mbadinuju could not pay salaries for month, why Onitsha is a pigsty and why some thirty-three years after the civil war, Anambra State and it decrepit infrastructures are worse than those of a war torn society.  One can safely assume that what happened in Anambra State recently, goes on, perhaps in varying or a lesser scale in the rest of the thirty-five states of the federation.  If not, the potential for such perfidy and grand larceny exists, which may explain why the other thirty-five governors and some of their deputies descended on Akwa in solidarity with Ngige. 

The relationship between Chris Ngige and Chris Uba is merely and extrapolation of such queer and similar relations, which has gained currency in Anambra State over time.  We were living witnesses to the Emeka Offor-Mbadinuju’s saga, which demobilized Anambra State for four years.  Before then, Chief Arthur Eze held the reins of power as Anambra’s political the kingmaker during the Abacha regime. The pride of place Chief Uba enjoys in the current dispensation were confirmed by no other than himself, with the chest-thumping braggadocio in the Sunday Champion of June 8, 2003, that  “God merely used me to touch some lives, and mind you, it is not just the Governor and his deputy.  There are also three Senators, 10 members of the House of Representatives, and 30 members of the House of Assembly of the State.  I sponsored them.  I put them there although only 29 House of Assembly members eventually made it…This is the first time in the history of Anambra State that one single individual would be putting every public officer in the state in power.”  Dr. Chris Ngige gave the veracity of Uba’s claim added fillip when in his 29 May 2003 inaugural speech he unashamedly asserted that:

This speech will not be complete if I do not give honor to whom honor is due.  In this regard I will like to publicly acknowledge the untiring and relentless effort of my old and very dear friend Chief Chris Uba, Eselu Uga, Ochiagha Awka, Onwa Aguata in making today a reality.  Eselu, I want to reassure you that you have set the pace for other indigenes of Anambra State to emulate.  You have written your name in Gold.  I want to reassure you that you will have no cause to regret your good works, and that we will join hands to wipe the tears of the people of Anambra State, because in you we have a moving and motivating force.

Perhaps Ngige, being a science student is unschooled in literature and classics.  If not, he would have remembered that William Shakespeare told us that “Men’s evil manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water” (Henry VIII ). His attempt to prematurely write political history and gratification in gold, was not only obtuse, but also uncalled for. Now, that he knows better.

For long, Anambra State has resembled both in its physicality and politics, the Hell in Dante's Divine Comedy complete with the inscription on its door; “Abandon hope all ye who enter here”. Hope for Anambrarians is fast becoming a perishable commodity. But perhaps, the Ngige saga, as mind-boggling as it is, will be the transmutation and beginning of the uncoupling the chains in which Anambra State and its progress has been bound, and an end to its stasis and season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.  It makes one wonder if this is the same Anambra State that produced people like Killiwe Nwachukwu, Jerome Udoji, Z.C. Obi, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chike Obi, Emeka Anyaoku, Chinua Achebe, Nwafor  Orizu, Odumegwu Ojukwu, Cyprain Ekwensi, Arthur Mbanefo, Ukpabi Asika, Francis Cardinal Arinze, Alex  Ekwueme, Ben Nwabueze, Philip Emeagwali, Edwin Umezoke, late PNC Okigbo and other eminent, learned prodigies and political stalwarts of our time?

Ngige, undoubtedly, believed in punching above his weight, without fully grasping the Machiavellian intrigues of “God-Father” power politics.  He failed to grasp also the nuance of the admonishment supping with fiends without a long spoon, or an exit strategy. But this said the Ngige abduction issue is far beyond individual consideration, PDP’s intervention, and indeed, resolution within Anambra State itself, as per the Anambra Assembly factitious rescinding of its own treasonous act.  This matter is a national security issue, and at core a pressing constitutional question. If nobody goes to jail over this affair, the ripple effects of such omission will haunt Nigeria for years to come.

Let there be no doubt as to what the provisions of the Constitution are in this regard: Section 1(2) of the Constitution states clearly: “That the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed nor shall any person or group of persons take control of the government of Nigeria or any part thereof exception accordance with the provisions of this constitution.”  What happened on 11 July was in direct breach of the law of land – it was extra-constitutional and therefore a punishable offence.
 

This incident, will be an acid test for the Obasanjo administration.  It will also be a test for the President personally given the insinuations that Chief Uba’s clout and being-above-the-law attitude derives in part, from his familial connection to the President’s family.  For now, a whole lot is at stake with this precedent-setting opportunity.  But in the main the most pressing issue is how the government responds to this crisis, which has highlighted the decay of our national and governance process. We shall wait and see if we are ready to sacrifice a few sacred cow for the sake of the nation or that nation to save a few scofflaws. But let there be no doubt, Nigeria, we have a Problem!  As the nation and the world wait keenly, let the chips fall where they may.

Until next week, keep the law, stay impartial, and observe closely.

_____

*Hank Eso writes from Woodbridge, NJ.  Since 1982 his political commentaries on Nigerian politics and global issues have appeared in The New Times (Lagos), African Profile International (New York) and The Nigerian And Africa Abroad  (New York). 

© Hank Eso, Wednesday 16 July 2003. 

Email: hankeso@aol.com