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Failed or freed state?
M. O. ENÉ New Jersey, USA
Friday, June 9, 2006
Grrrring grring…. Grriing griiiing!
Ol’ boy? Yes?
Na which one you dey? Your phone was ringing off the hook! Are you eating? No, I am reading….
READ? Yes, some of us still read.
What are you reading? Ruldof Okonkwo’s debut. You must have HEARD… since you don’t read.
I heard. Isn’t it the children’s book? No; although it is titled, “Children of a Retired God,” it is not for children. You must never judge a book by its title. That was why Animal Farm nearly never got published. And, before you ask, it is not a book about animals either.
I see. Is there is anything interesting you are struggling to finish? Reading is not a struggle and, yes, there are interesting things in it. You have to buy this one and do with it what civilized people do with books – read!
If you say so, sir! So why did you call? Don’t tell: your wife put you out at last! Praise the Lord....
It's not my portion; and no weapons you fashion against me shall prosper! Relax, my dear; the innocent is not scared of lightening. How may I help you?
I just wanted a quick answer to the situation of things in my home state, Anambra. See me see trouble again; am I from Omambala?
I have heard you argue that there is no landmark, or is it river-mark, called “Anambara”; but, no matter how you dice it or slice it, it is “Anambra” to us, please. Please yourself. May I go back to my reading now?
Ol’ boy, don’t be unreasonable; please gist me: How do some people celebrate the state as FREED from the shackles of godfatherism and others see it as FAILED -- all under now ex-Governor Chris Ngige, the Great Liberator? They are both right.
Come on, they cannot both be right. You know that! Okay, Ngige finally extricated himself from the clutches of Chris Uba and his henchmen, but he didn’t quite take the state to where it should be. The ravages of ex-Governor Mbadinuju (Oderaa Uli) did not help him one bit. In fact, our people have not been particularly lucky with newbreed governors.
Ah ha, so you agree that it is a failed state. Here you go again. Didn't I say that?
You don’t have to say it; you conveniently forgot that he paid workers regularly, didn’t borrow a dime, and returned the in-red treasury (no thanks to Oderaa Uli, as you rightly pointed out) back to solid black. And when you go black… You never go back to red?
Oh yes! Not according to now Governor Peter Obi.
What do you mean? Ngige left over 12 billion naira in the bank, big money! But that’s not the whole story. There are liabilities.
Okay, asset-minus-liability is what? According to Obi, it equals deficit in present-day Anambra State.
What? Exactly what I told you before: freed and failed can be the said side of a coin. If I relieve you of your cash, you are free; but, let’s face it, that might be the beginning for your failure in, say, business. Besides, the ghost of godfatherism looms large in any society that expunges its republican roots for wishy-washy romance with the worship of wealth. Ngige himself knew that the state was in a mess, that fixing it would take more than three years of fighting to stay afloat and politically relevant. So, please let’s call a spade a spade.
What do you mean? Ngige gave godfathers a bad name, but he was not the first political godson to disagree with his godfather. Note this sequence: Sir Ojukwu - Dr. Zik; Zik - Jim; Jim - Chima… of course, the offshoots of Offor-Mbadinuju and now Uba-Ngige. And it will continue. On development, I have been to Awka; I traveled through Onitsha to Asaba and to Owerri. It’s a madhouse at Nkpor on the Enugu Expressway. Ngige himself said that he couldn’t wait to come out to cities… where lights shine at night!
He did not! Well, not in those words, but go and read his interview with Omoyele Sowore.
I did. You did not: you listened to the PodCast.
Whatever! He, Ngige, said he needed to rest. And there are no rest houses in Awka? Oh, I forgot: he said that Awka, the Anambra State capital, is still a province… and he had refused to run for governorship because he had never lived in a province!
Did our fellow Coal City citizen say that? Anyway, he needed some medical checkup. I will give that to him: there is not one standard hospital in Anambra; according to him, it is only in America that facilities exist for “double-checking” medical exams!
Ah ha, it’s njakiri time, huh? You see what I mean; you get overtly statosensitive.
You read too much; what sort of word is that? Never mind. As I was saying, there is so much to do in Alaigbo; and I don’t blame anyone in particular for the mess. We should blame ourselves, especially those hiding abroad as economic refugees while Igbo states go to the dogs.
You are the one hiding abroad; I am settled here for good. Then why worry about the goings-on in Nigeria; why not let go? Let the dead bury themselves!
Are you saying then that Ngige does not deserve to be lionized, that all the cross-country receptions are just a waste of effort and time and money… that all my brethren hosting and toasting him all over USA are embarking on funky feel-good festivities? What have you been smoking? It never crossed my mind to comment on what people want to do with their time in this clime. It’s a free country. I just wish you would leave me alone to finish my reading.
Okay, answer me directly, is Anambra a failed state? Is Nigeria a successful federation?
You are dodging the question. I am not. I don’t live there. The second summit of the League of Anambra Professions opened the cans on May 25 and 26, 2006. Obi said he was rebuilding a failed state, that Onitsha and Nnewi were typical examples of failed cities. Central Bank Governor Charles Soludo, Minister for Solid Minerals Oby Ezekwesili, and others think that the state fell flat on its face.
What does Soludo know? What did he do when the state was failing? Now that Ngige is gone, he comes out from the Uba shadows to badmouth Ngige indirectly. The phrase, “failed state,” is not original; sincerely speaking, it stretches the point too thin. You are right: It is not an original thinking. Okonkwo called it in 2004.
Okonkwo Things Fall Apart? You Philistine! Rudolf, Okonkwo Nnobi.
Oh, he said so in his book that just came out? Yes. It is a collection of selected publications... political parleys, a sort of memoir, an autobiography … a magnificent mush of musings and past pensive passages rolled between two covers.
And he wrote in 2004 that Anambara is a failed state? I don’t hear things; I am reading it as we talk....
Go on, read it out loud. No! Go buy the book and read it. You are always hearing things.
As if you read my mind, this brings us to the number-two reason why I called. What is this crap about President Obasanjo planning to make Onyeka (Elegant Stallion) Onwenu “Her Excellency” for a few months? I read about it in Sam Nda-Isaiah’s Leadership newspaper. It is a flat-out lie!
Are you sure it is not true; did you speak with her? Sort of… Let me say this and you can quote me: Until OBJ goes to Arondizuogu for Igbankwu, it is a lie.
But, my dear, why Onyeka of all women? How could someone start such a vicious rumor? In politics, as in love and war, all is fair.
I trust you, but I must verify. You are welcome. Anyi ga-akpa later!
Not yet: The number-three reason why I called is about the Eze in your Abia State who relinquished his traditional kingdom for politics. I am more interested in discussing the reign of robbers in Aba. Inasmuch as I don’t quite endorse vigilantism a la butchering Bakassi Boyz or even a la mild MASSOB, someone must do something soon. Anyway, I heard soldiers would move in from Enugu-based 82 Div and help the corrupt cops.
I thought you would be interested in the apparent return to our republican roots. I thought you were vehemently opposed to kingship in Igboland. Of course, it gladdens the heart that Eze Samuel Nwosu Onyeama of Ozuitem has seen the craziness of “chiefs of autonomous communities” and rediscovered his republican roots. Alas, many more people are lining up to be thief… chiefs in an otherwise republican Igboland. The most laughable is that young men now call themselves “ichie.”
What’s wrong with the title of “ichie”? Nothing—it is just not a title. You grow into it. An ichie is a living saint, one about to join the revered club of ancestors, collectively known as Ndiichie. It is a recognition that the person has acquitted himself here on earth and qualified to be classed as ancestor: truth-FULL, trusted, humble, honest, and harmonized with the concept of here and there… the hereafter. It’s not a title, and should not be confused with those with traditional facial scarification, Ndigburuichi.”
I agree with you; our people are turning tradition on its head. Agarachaa must come back to Igbo enwe eze; and Ohanaeze will realize that "oha ka eze" in that complex concept with convoluted correlation. Now, your final request; it’s always four.
Sure, Let’s go to the neighboring state… Imo?
No, I don’t get Imo politics, do you? Yes, we were expecting the emergence of the first political godmother in Dr. Kema Chikwe, but Minister of Education Chinwe Obaji is already raining on her parade, allegedly. Who blinks first, loses.
Women and their wahala; it never ends.... That’s sexist; they have not even started.
It’s OBJ and his good use of the idiosyncrasies of imbecilic Igbo efuluefu entities and their saboteur subconscious! Supu -- Nsukka is in Igboland! Seriously, we must stop kidding ourselves. President Obasanjo will soon be history, and little will change. Ihe na-eme anyi si anyi n'aka! It is not in our stars, and no weapons fashioned....
Talking of Nsukka, what do you think about Renaissance University in Enugu State? Good news; the more the merrier! Very soon, Father Ede will join them with Caritas University. I am happy with the development, as long as we train needed and employable workforce, not glorified graduates.
I hear them say that regardless of the denials of Anglican Bishop Chukwuma, that Governor Chimaroke Nnamani owns it. Them say; you hear! So?
So? That’s outrageous! Says who? President OBJ has Bell University in Abeokuta area; VP Atiku has the American University in Yola; and what stops a governor from setting up one in his state... assuming "them say" as "you hear"?
Okay, if you doubt it, why was it built in Agbani, where you already have ESUT and Law School? Oh I see! Okay, let’s assume the Governor has a hand in making it happen – which is understandable, would you have preferred Okija instead of his native Nkanu town of Agbani?
No, Madonna University is there. Of course, it was built by Father Emmanuel Ede, an Nkanu native.
Whoa, whoa, whoa… Zik built the one at Nsukka, which begat Enugu Campus. Zik is from Nsukka; besides, Jim, another Nkanu native, built the one at Awka -- which begat ANATECH, Nnewi Campus, and Abakaliki Campus - now Ebonyi State University.
Must you have an answer for everything? If I didn't, you would not come calling and burning my minutes before 9 o'clock on a Friday!
Pardon moi, Monsieur Einstein! Anyway, let me ask: all these universities, what industries are going to absorb all the graduates? More universities! Now, can I return to my reading and save some minutes?
Would you bring me the book on Saturday at the NNAA event? NNAA… as in Nnaa me-en... the sassy Nollywood flick?
No, I mean the Nigerian Nurses Association of America; you bought the ticket. Oh, the $75:00 a-pop fundraising at Frontage Road Sheraton by Newark Liberty International... are you not going to the Ngige road show in New York City?
No, the pugilists from your Aba neighborhood do not train with me in mind. They have been throwing punches before I was born; they are not going to use me as a punch bag. Shame on you, Coward of the County; I thought you called me unreasonable for minding my reading business.
Mea culpa! Please, please do not forget; keep it in your car... I will take it after the event. Keep… take what?
The book by Rudolf Okonkwo: Children of a Retired God. You must be out of your mangled mind. Buy one; you can afford it. Go easy on booze tomorrow and you can afford to buy two copies. We need to support those who edutain us?
People like you, huh? Give me a brake! You just made my point. I don’t blame you; I blame myself. Like nza, the pigmy bird, you have enjoyed a sumptuous session of edutainment at the expense of my reading pleasure; now you can challenge your chi to an American-style wresting match.
Did I say that? You don’t have to. BYE!
Click!
&&&& See also: BOOK RELEASE: Children of a Retired God-The Book, the Author |