By FRED CHUKWUELOBE
Say what you will about former President Olusegun Obasanjo, I respect him. Recall that his Senior Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, Mr. Andy Uba, his brother, Chris Uba, and their motley crowd so desperately wanted a state of emergency in Anambra State during the Chris Ngige-Chris Uba imbroglio.
After a failed abduction to forcefully remove the diminutive Ngige from office, the group resorted to anarchy, burning parts of the Government House, radio and television stations.
Obasanjo had the opportunity to declare a state of emergency but he resisted the temptation and instead opted for the courts to sack Ngige.
It was not in doubt that he ‘actively connived’ with the Uba brothers. Meetings were held in Aso Rock just like in the Nyesom Wike and Sim Fubara case. Several other meetings were held in Owerri, Imo State, to resolve ‘the godfather-godson dispute.’ None achieved the desired results.
Ngige was pointedly told by Obasanjo to “go and cooperate with them,” meaning, to allow Chris Uba, his godfather become part of, if not the, de facto governor.
Ngige resisted this political absurdity and stood his ground. He fought for his “mandate” and with the help of the press survived until the courts removed him.
From one compromised court to another came funny judgements asking him to vacate office unconstitutionally.
Remember Justice Wilson Egbo Egbo of the Federal High Court, Abuja and Justice Stanley Nnaji of the Enugu High Court. They both allegedly collected heavy bribes and gave judgements, which Ngige successfully upturned. The two also got ignominiously dismissed from the bench.
The election petition which Mr. Peter Obi pursued to reclaim his mandate was eventually upheld by the election petition tribunal and the appeal court in Enugu, leading to Ngige’s sack.
Obasanjo never declared a state of emergency in Anambra State. The Uba group desperately wanted that. They planned for it, tried to get it, but never got it.
So, with the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State last night by President Bola Tinubu, I remember the ‘Anambra Political Debacle.’ What is playing out in Rivers State is similar in more ways than one to what played out between 2003 and 2006 in Anambra State.
President Tinubu may have done the bidding of Wike, who everybody knows helped him become president by ensuring that the votes from the electorates in Rivers State got ballooned to give him an edge. The Uba group played the same role but got a red nose from a stubborn Ngige.
In the case of Anambra, both Ngige’s and Obasanjo’s votes were also ballooned to get them into office. While Obasanjo enjoyed his, Ngige was made a scapegoat for refusing ‘to cooperate’ with non-state actors.
Gov. Fubara’s refusal ‘to cooperate’ with the FCT minister and his immediate predecessor and godfather, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, is responsible for the declaration of a state of emergency and his suspension “for six months.” Of course, with ‘active connivance of the presidency.’
Like Ngige, like Fubara, or so it seems.
Recall too that the Anambra crisis forced renowned author of Things Fall Apart, late Chinua Achebe to reject Obasanjo’s national honour awarded him in 2004.
“I write this letter with a very heavy heart. For some time now I have watched events in Nigeria with alarm and dismay. I have watched particularly the chaos in my own state of Anambra where a small clique of renegades, openly boasting its connections in high places, seems determined to turn my homeland into a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom. I am appalled by the brazenness of this clique and the silence, if not connivance, of the Presidency…
“Nigeria’s condition today under your watch is, however, too dangerous for silence. I must register my disappointment and protest by declining to accept the high honour awarded me in the 2004 Honours List.”
With this, Achebe turned down the honour and it resonated well with Ngige, his administration, and his supporters.
Do we have such men of honour in Rivers State who can refuse pipeline contracts and stand with Fubara and for democracy?
I doubt it.
As for those quoting the constitution, please note that Nigeria does not respect her own laws. Nothing will happen. Nothing will change. Tinubu and Wike will have their way. Nigerians are docile and incapable of fighting for democracy and for their rights.
•Culled from Facebook
