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Politics on
the Ground in Anambra State
Two views by Uche Nworah
ChickenBones
Journalist 2006
Peter Obi Is Not A
Politician
By Uche Nworah
The impeached
governor of Anambra state Mr. Peter Obi may have sealed
his own fate the day he accepted the appeal court ruling
which upturned the ‘election’ of Chris Nwabueze Ngige.
By accepting and rejoicing over the belated ruling, he
may have danced on the grave of his political future
having accepted what many at the time regarded as a
poisoned chalice.
He faced battles
on many fronts from day one, some of which he did not
start and this may have affected his ability to perform
in the state. However, in asking for geduld (patience)
from Anambra people, he forgot that Ndi Anambra had
already reached their maximum endurance point. They had
become battered and abused by the empty promises and
broken dreams, they didn’t see Anambra as home for all
anymore, the big masquerades had taken over and were now
owners of those that own the state.
Peter Obi stepped
into the giant shoes left behind by Chris Ngige; a
product of destiny and a special candidate of the gods;
this same Chris Ngige that Peter Obi derided every step
of the way all through his brief stay at agu Awka was to
later lead to his ultimate downfall.
For some people,
Peter Obi behaved like the proverbial lizard who after
overdosing on a meal of pounded yam and egusi soup
challenged his chi to a wrestling contest.
Contrary to the
clean cut ‘good guy’ image which he used to charm
Anambra voters in the 2003 elections, he still has not
revealed the pacts that he entered into with the state’s
power brokers as pre-conditions to his occupancy at the
hottest political office in south eastern Nigeria. Such
agreements may well not be in the magnitude of the one
that Chris Ngige entered into but later reneged on but
have remained subjects of media speculations.
Peter Obi is a
container importer and millionaire and he doesn’t hide
it, this seems to be his favourite line at every
speaking engagement. He always alluded to the fact that
his investments in Fidelity bank is now worth over 3
billion naira and that he wouldn’t recourse to public
funds. Well, sing it to the birds now your ‘Excellency’.
Maybe another song may have served you better as this
one that you chose was already well worn out. Where were
you expecting to recoup all your election expenses from,
which probably have crossed the billion naira mark?
Politics is a game
played for the highest stakes. A politician knows how
and when to deploy his survival tools, some of which
include communication and negotiation skills (Peter Obi
lacked this and chose to neglect and deride the state’s
legislators rather than reach out to them), propaganda
(he said he hates it), bandwagon (he failed to ride on
Chris Ngige’s road construction coat tails), political
dexterity (he is more adept at financial and business
matters), political bridge building (he was always a man
out on a limb, at war with his party members and
opposition state legislators) and finally some
Machiavellian tendencies which have kept many
politicians alive today.
In the end Peter
Obi couldn’t save himself from the inevitable, it was
always going to be difficult for him to survive in a
state populated by opposition party members in the
legislative chambers. Jideofor Adibe’s argument in the
essay
Does Peter Obi Really Deserve Our Sympathy places
the Peter Obi saga into perspective. I personally do not
subscribe to the sentimental argument that Anambra
people would be worst off from whatever is going on at
the moment. Peter Obi had the opportunity to disprove
cynics but his slow start after being sworn-in reduces
further any sympathy votes he may have won from Anambra
people, who having not tasted development in over a
decade got a feel of what that word actually means in
the days of Chris Ngige.
Peter Obi knew
that the odds were stacked highly against him and yet
when he was appointing his state commissioners, he blew
a big opportunity of introducing disunity amongst the
ranks of the PDP dominated state assembly, he could have
appointed a couple of them as commissioners to create
the way for possible carpet crossing, he sure did not
show any signs of understanding the intricacies of
political survival by this daft move. He appointed his
state commissioners from academia some of whom were no
longer in touch with reality. They forgot that theory
and practice are miles apart from each other.
While defending
his choice of a mass communication professor as the
commissioner for information, Peter Obi said that
Professor Stella Okunna was not the type given to
propaganda and gimmickry (an obvious reference to Chris
Ngige), an obvious mistake considering the information
battles that was to later face his administration. Since
Anambra state does not yet have a basic functional
website, it was always Peter Obi’s words against those
of Anambra people on whether his government was passive
and docile or not.
Even Anambra
people that could have been his last line of defence and
buffer were also in the receiving end of his snobbish
behaviours. On several occasions he flaunted his wealth
before them, he told them of his huge bank account
balances but all that talk was not translated into
tangible dividends of democracy. Stripped bare, Peter
Obi probably was just all puff and no substance. How
long does it really take to make a difference in a state
if one is determined?
And then President
Obasanjo came calling and Peter Obi the businessman
turned politician placed the final nail in his political
coffin, what a difference a month makes. He
misunderstood the rage of the young lawmakers for
youthful exuberance and forgot the Igbo adage that a
neglected small pot could indeed over boil and
extinguish the fire. Having previously sung the praises
of his new found friends in Abuja during a meeting with
Anambra indigenes in London, Peter Obi forgot that
in politics, people don’t keep permanent friends, rather
they maintain permanent interests. He also forgot that
Obasanjo’s gifts to the state during his visit could
also be likened to a Greek gift including the reported 3
billion naira that Mr President re-imbursed Anambra
state for federal road projects constructed by Chris
Ngige. This may have been Peter Obi’s parting gift.
As an Igbo man,
Peter Obi forgot the Igbo saying that the woven basket
always comes down whenever vulture eaters congregate.
During Obasanjo’s visit, Peter Obi tried as much as
possible to sideline the state legislators from having
an audience with Mr President and took the glory for
whatever little progress that was visible in the state
at the time; in so doing he neglected the works of Chris
Ngige and allegedly claimed credits for most of the road
constructions but the state legislators had other ideas.
As PDP members they still managed to convey their
feelings and position to the president who must have
left Anambra state with his mind made up that it was
time to compensate Andy Ubah for his loyalty.
Mr Peter Obi must
be living in another planet if he thought that Andy Ubah
flew to Enugu airport last week in two private jets and
a helicopter just to pick up the PDP gubernatorial
nomination forms. The rest is now history.
Come 2007, Andy
Ubah would formally take over as the governor of Anambra
state baring any other surprises from the gods. The
situation currently suits Chris Ngige who if he dares
enter Nigeria to attempt to fulfil either his
presidential dreams or the much befitting gubernatorial
position may be arrested by the EFCC’s on trumped up
charges. Were the gods to be on his side again and he
survives any such scare tactics, then he may just be the
spanner in the works of Andy Ubah’s gubernatorial
ambitions.
On the Peter Obi
saga, some Anambra indigenes have been expressing their
thoughts. According to Murphy Mofunanya ‘Peter Obi
deserves his fate; he claims to be a rich man, so what
is he doing in politics? He should concern himself with
his containers and leave politics for politicians’.
Ikenna Enekwe, U.S based editor of the popular Igbo
website
nanka.org says that ‘Peter Obi forgot he was amidst
a majority party that never wanted him there in the
first place. And then he proceeded to make mistakes that
he should not have made considering a person in his
position. He forgot that a deal made with Obasanjo to
aid him oust Ngige will be the same deal that will
return to become his poison’.
Interesting
times indeed.
November 2006.
info@uchenworah.com Background
Information on
Anambra_State
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Andy
Uba And The Anambra State Hot Seat
By Uche Nworah
Ndigbo have a
saying that ‘agba lu aka na azo ani, onye ji ede ana
akonye’, translated this simply means that in the
Nigerian situation, the man with the might (in this
instance resources and blessings of Aso Rock) will
triumph against the ‘small frys’.
Andy Uba only
recently became visible in Anambra politics having
operated in the shadows from where he pulled the
strings; he had previously relied on his younger
brother, the erratic and uncouth Chris Uba to do the
hatchet job for him who got rich as a result, enjoying
business patronage from the high and mighty. The younger
Uba probably mistook his brother’s shadowy personality
as a sign of weakness and attempted to exploit it, he
began to dream of the ultimate political prize in the
state backed by his agbero followers, who were quick at
every point to dispense their own brand of justice –
mayhem, lootings and killings.
Andy the smooth
operator eventually put him in his place after realising
what a huge political baggage he was. It only took the
withdrawal of Chris Uba’s security detail and the denial
of certain perks including access to Aso Rock to get him
scampering for cover. Now Nigerians are wondering where
Chris Uba is hiding, having not heard from him since his
disgrace and downfall. Chris Uba can not complain too
much though over the way things have turned out for him,
he made money as Andy Uba’s fall guy; he sure did have
fun while it lasted and must be relishing those days
when South East PDP members including the chiefs and PhD
holders addressed him as leader, not bad for a kid that
never went to university and a long way from his days as
water boy at Author Eze’s New Haven Enugu residence.
Now that Andy Uba
has formally resigned from his position as President
Olusegun Obasanjo’s special assistant on domestic
affairs, it appears that the stage is now set for him to
launch his gubernatorial campaign in Anambra state, an
ambition that many believe is the root cause of all the
crises in the state.
How did he get
here in the first place, and how did the Ubas (including
Senator Ugochukwu Uba) rise to such political prominence
within a short time having never been heard of in the
state, and having never featured in Anambra state’s
political equation prior to Andy’s involvement with
Obasanjo and his consequent elevation to the position of
an Aso Rock insider, and a core member of Obasanjo’s
kitchen cabinet?
Insiders say that
the Ubas owe their political fortunes to Andy Uba whose
reported ‘rehabilitation’ and ‘investment’ in Olusegun
Obasanjo after his incarceration, at a time when
Obasanjo reportedly had only 25 thousand naira in his
bank account is the reason for their Aso rock
connections. Another version is that Andy sponsored
Obasanjo for medical treatment abroad and stood by him
at a time when it seemed that Obasanjo was about to join
his ancestors prematurely. We can only speculate and may
never know the true facts, however what we know now is
that Andy Uba is a very close confidante of the
president and is rumoured to be Obasanjo’s right hand
man helping to look after his business investments, a
role that Otunba Fasawe was playing before his fall from
‘grace’.
Now that it
appears that the president will be vacating office in
2007, supposedly, what better time to repay Andy for his
loyalty and support? Just like IBB in his days, Obasanjo
is inclined to install some of his loyalists and allies
in different political positions. Dr. Osita Ogbu, his
special adviser on economic matters already has his
backing to take over as governor of Enugu state in 2007,
likewise many others. The benefits of such a move for
Obasanjo are quite obvious including the privilege of
state receptions and access to political decision
making, rather than just having unlimited access to
state coffers. At over 70 years of age and with all his
rumoured wealth, Obasanjo may no longer be doing this
just for the money. He may have learnt a lesson or two
from those before him who no longer enjoy political
favours on the strategic imperative of maintaining a
political lineage and dynasty.
The stage seems to
be set then for Andy Uba to take over from Dame Virginia
Etiaba in Anambra state in May 2007, baring any other
surprises including premature impeachment from the
hot-headed members of the Anambra state house of
assembly. Ndi Anambra and indeed Nigerians would be
fooling themselves if they pretend that they don’t
already know what the scores would be. Andy Uba will get
the PDP nomination and would go ahead to ‘win’ the
state’s gubernatorial elections, a position and
viewpoint made more tenable by the lack of serious
contenders from the PDP and the other parties including
APGA and ANPP who are all currently in states of
political comatose.
Would the people
vote for him? Yes and No, some will and some will not
but Andy Uba will still go ahead and campaign in
Anambra’s many villages and towns. He would give
monetary and other material gifts to the traditional
rulers and community leaders to endorse/rubber-stamp his
candidacy, he would promise them cars, roads, schools,
scholarships, etc. Some may even get theirs during his
visits.
The market women,
artisans and students would enjoy the whole Andy Uba
road show, there would be plenty of rice on offer at the
market squares and community centres on the days, and
the elders would each go home with thighs of goats and
bottles of Schnapps with some crisp naira notes to
refill their snuff boxes in reminiscence of politics of
the second republic.
Mothers, and young
women (women’s wing) will compose songs and sing his
praises, they will tie new bubas and Hollandis clothes
with his smiling face imprinted on them. Andy Uba’s
campaign would almost be a formality because the results
of the elections would have been written long before the
election day.
The U.S/London/Lagos
media axis would pour their venoms as usual; they would
blow their grammar and incite the people to violence
from the comforts of their homes, they would preach to
the people to resist Andy Uba’s money but those down at
the trenches would simply pick up what little crumbs
that are falling from the master’s table and get on with
their life.
Even the
opposition candidates from the other parties know the
scores already and would have initiated their own damage
limitations strategies by scaling down their election
campaign expenses. Some of them would just be putting up
appearances waiting for a phone call from Andy Uba’s
camp which would be dangling carrots before them;
abandon ship and cross over they would beckon, most
would.
If he gets to add
the title of the executive governor of Anambra state to
his CV, what then should Andy Uba do with it? Should he
stop there or should he go a step further and redeem
himself and his family name by working for the people,
just like Chris Ngige before him? Should he call a
round-table aimed at finally moving Anambra state ahead?
Although the cat is almost as good as in the bag, Andy
Uba needs to engage Ndi Anambra more, he needs to talk
to them and tell them his true motives and plans for the
state. Maybe they would listen but in doing this, he
should never allow Chris Uba (the fall guy) to be
present in the arena of such consultations and meetings.
The gods would be
watching Andy Uba closely, he is already a wealthy man,
and he doesn’t need the state’s money that much.
Opportunity is beckoning on him to turn Anambra state
into one of the best states in Nigeria. Should he fail,
that indeed would be the bigger tragedy, not his direct
and indirect involvements in Anambra’s many crises in
the past 4 years.
Our people indeed
have short memories, we forget and forgive easily but if
after 2011 Anambra state is still the cry baby of
Nigerian states, then he would have failed and would be
gravely excoriated, the Uba name may then be worthy of
being struck off from the books and banished from the
land.
Ndigbo say that
‘ta bu gbo’, hence some people bear the name Tagbo. This
means that it is never too late to make a fresh start.
Opportunity
beckons both for Ndi Anambra and for Andy Uba.
November 2006.
info@uchenworah.com Background
Information on
Anambra_State
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Dear Editor ChickenBones,
It is amazing that outright crooks
in the Nigerian government are continually
receiving very favourable reviews on a distinguished
site like ChickenBones.
I refer, particularly, to Mr. Andy
Ubah, the notorious criminal ally of Nigeria's thieving
president, who is being promoted by some fellows for the
governorship seat in Anambra State, South East Nigeria:
http://nathanielturner.com/politicsinanambrastate.htm
The same fellow is mired in deep
ethical crises in Nigeria and the US because of brazen
contravention of US laws on money laundering.
A Nigerian Professor residing in
the US has, for instance, written a very damning essay
on this fellow, which I think you should also bring to
the attention of the ChickenBones community. http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/index.php/content/view/4288/55
I hope, too, that the credibility
crises your Journalist of the Year is suffering from now
as a result of his closeness and support for the
thieving Nigerian government would not rub off on the
reputation of ChickenBones. A subtle apology he wrote on
www.Nigeriavillagesquare.com recently drew only
scorn and disgust from his fellow Nigerians:
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/uche-nworah/forcing-the-president-s-hand.html.
Well, wishing you all the best
Sincerely yours,
Dun Sparks
(15 November 2006)
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posted 7 November 2006 |
