KWENU: Our Culture, Our Future

Governor Nnamani and the third-term turmoil

ACHO ORABUCHI

Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, the Governor of Enugu State, was one of the rising stars among a pack of presumed Igbo leaders until recently when he started playing “Naija politics”—politics devoid of ideology. Well, when Governor Chimaroke Nnamani’s comments espousing his support for President Obasanjo’s third term ambition dominated the headlines in the national dailies a few weeks ago, my initial reaction was to remain mute about the whole hoopla. On another look, I thought that he could have been quoted out of context.

At that point, I decided to go the official site of  the governor, www.ebeano.org, that greeted me, “Welcome to Ebe-Ano, the Official Website of Governor Chimaroke Nnamani” “Democracy, Good Governance and Development in Enugu State” Also there was this message, “Welcome to Ebeano, the online home of Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, Governor of Enugu State of Nigeria.” There I saw a story from Vanguard entitled, “Why I am backing Obasanjo for a third term –Nnamani.” The story was posted on the web on Wednesday, February 8, 2006. There and then, it became obvious to me that Governor Nnamani was not quoted out of context. He meant what he said and said what he meant. That was precisely his prerogative.

Living in a free world, it has become part of me to respect people’s rights to express themselves in any manner they chose as long as my own right was not infringed upon. In that light, Governor Nnamani has every right to stake out his support for any individual he wishes to support under any circumstances. The governor does not owe anyone any explanation for expressing his rights whatever his perceived motivations may have been. It would be out of character for anyone to question his modus operandi. However, his rights were not in question in this case. I had wished that was the case, but it wasn’t.

That is not the issue rather his utterances and his positions have far more enormous ramifications for various reasons. With his utterances, he has lost the respect of those who held very high in the Diaspora and in Nigeria. Some people who thought that Governor Nnamadi was a presidential material, had thrown that thought out of the window. People are rather inundated with the thought about how they could support someone who does not even think that he is equally qualified to lead Nigeria. Nnamani dwarfed himself with his utterances.

Governor Chimaroke Nnamani seems to waffle on issues lately. Nnamani was yesterday for a president of Igbo ethnic extraction. His comments went counter to that noble cause. The unfortunate dynamics in all these seem neither to rest on the fact that we could not convince other Nigerians to join the cause nor compelling them to promote the cause in their various locales; it is, however, the sad reality that Igbo lack the compassion for the cause and some work fervently to scamper it. It is in fact a group of Igbo elite that would want to scuttle the cause. The Nnamani saga fits perfectly well into the conscience of this Igbo elite group. Nnamani was for Southern solidarity; he was not for third term, but now for the Obasanjo’s third term; tomorrow he will be for something else. What kind of ideology does the governor have?  Nevertheless, not only that Governor Nnamani wanted to be everywhere on Nigeria’s political map by speaking from both sides of his mouth, but his support for Obasanjo further exposes the flaws inherent in Nigeria’s system of democracy.

There is too much power at the center that threatens the independence and creativity of state governments. It is apparent that the executive branch does not recognize the independence of the state governments in managing their affairs. There seems to be constant interference by the executive in the affairs of the states. The states are constantly watching their back for bad reasons; they don’t want the federal government to expose their ugly rear. With the perceived power of the executive, coupled with lack of ideology among the actors, state governors are always placed in a cocoon of fear of their well being. There is always an impending danger of being exposed should they go contrary to the wishes of the executive branch.

In addition to the preceding points, it appears that the electorates and those in the elective offices do not understand the structure of different levels of government and their functions. They don’t seem to understand the functions and the independence of federal, state, and local governments. They too, do not understand the functions and independence of the three branches of government namely, executive, legislative, and judiciary. It seems that both the judiciary and legislative branches have jettisoned their functions. Without the oversight functions and check and balance from all the three branches, the executive had no other choice than to meddle in all areas of the system.

Wait a minute! The hands of some of these governors are soiled and the executive branch knows it. The state executives better dance to the tune of the federal government for the scary fear of the pang of merciless fang of EFCC.

A Nigerian president of Igbo ethnic extraction may not be an end by itself, but it should be a serious rallying cause worthy of all well-meaning Nigerians to partake in. It’s a worthy cause deserving of everyone’s commitment, effort, and resources. While some people may be comfortable playing the second fiddle and looking for crumbs, a very few would want to sacrifice to achieve the cause. Indeed, it’s encouraging to see that there are some Igbo that feel that they are well-qualified for the plum office. I commend them.

In any case, the Igbo will continue to sing chorus of discordant tunes as far as Igbo issues are concerned, particularly in the issue of a president of Igbo ethnicity.  In his utterances and position on Igbo issues, Governor Nnamani had emitted some “sunkish” odor that has now contaminated the political arena. This further shows how the Igbo have always found themselves in disarray. It is indeed a hopeless conundrum.