Date Published: 04/27/11

Iheanacho's sack by Gele Agbai

Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan wielded the big stick Tuesday, April 19 when he sacked the Minister of Interior, Captain Emmanuel Iheanacho. The presidency said Capt. Iheanacho had to be given the boot over alleged lapses in his (Iheanacho’s) political leadership of the Ministry of Interior.

Presidential spokesman, Ima Niboro cited political lapses traceable to Iheanacho in his personal and official conducts and directed him to hand over to the permanent secretary of the ministry. Meanwhile, Emeka Wogu, Minister of Labour is to supervise the Ministry of Interior till Iheanacho’s replacement is appointed.

Capt. Iheanacho is the third Imo State-born minister to be ousted since the turn of this political dispensation. Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo sacked Professor Fabian Osuji over what was termed bribe-for-budget scam. The scam which involved about N55million also led to the ouster of Chief Adolphus Wabara as President of the Senate. It also cost Prof Jude Njoku the Vice Chancellorship of the specialist Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).

Prof Osuji was Minister of Education when the scam broke out. In came Dr(Mrs) Chinwe Nora Obaji. Mrs Obaji, a little known lecturer at the then College of Agriculture, Umuagwo, Imo State was catapulted to national prominence through the grace of Dr (Mrs) Kema Chikwe. Mrs Obaji was appointed to replace Prof Osuji. But no sooner she climbed the high position than the centre could no longer hold between her and her benefactor. A soured relationship between Obaji and Chikwe reportedly resulted in the sacking of the former.

Obviously, Mrs Chikwe wielded enormous power during the Obasanjo era. She was appointed minister twice. The Obasanjo influence must have also contributed to her appointment by the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ireland and Iceland, a position she relinquished in the run-up to this year’s senatorial polls. She ran for Owerri Senatorial seat.

Mrs Chikwe was thoroughly pummelled at the polls by a fellow woman, Senator Christiana N. D. Anyanwu. The dissatisfaction over her perceived role in Mrs Obaji’s sack, her late entry into the race and the feeling that she has had enough of the national cake contributed to her trouncing at the polls.

One of the people I heard that worked for her defeat is the ex-Minister of Interior, Capt Iheanacho. According to sources, he has his eyes on the senatorial seat in 2015 and felt that Chikwe winning will block his chances since both hail from Owerri North council area. So it was better the senate seat is clinched by an outsider to enhance his chances in 2015. What the ex-minister did not know was that by scuttling Chikwe’s victory, he was invariably fighting the party and the president. And no leader of a party will tolerate this.

 The former minister had many altercations with the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in spite of serving in its government. Initially, the insinuation was that he was backing the 2007 governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Martins Agbaso in his legal struggle to reclaim the mandate freely given to him but annulled by the wicked Prof Maurice Iwu-led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

If the allegation was not taken seriously, the PDP, Imo State chapter was alarmed when the former minister was said to have fired a petition against its reconstituted executive. The State House of Assembly led by Rt. Hon. Goodluck Nanah Opiah was equally alarmed at the frosty relationship existing between the ex-minister and the party on one hand and between him and top officials of his former ministry on the other hand resulting in the house moving a motion for his sack.

The politically naive kicked against the house for moving the motion and the member representing Owerri North constituency, Hon Ray Emeana for backing the motion. They overlooked the fact that Hon Emeana’s support was not personal, he had to protect group interest. They also did not bother to consider the propriety of a minister fighting the party which formed the government that employed him.

Some argued that he was not fighting the party but some elements in the party. The last straw that broke the camel’s back was the report that the ex-minister mobilized the members of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), prisons and immigration to work against the PDP during the National Assembly polls. His support for the rival APGA helped the party’s candidate, Onyewuchi Ezenwa to win the Owerri federal constituency seat as against the PDP candidate, Rt. Hon. Ernest Ibejiako.

What else is sabotage? Was the minister’s action not a clear case of anti-party activity? The irritating aspect of the Iheanacho saga is that in spite of protest especially from Orlu zone against his appointment, President Jonathan still went ahead to appoint him purely on self recognition. What was expected of him was to protect the interest of the party which the president leads. In spite of whatever differences he has against any member of the party at the state or national level, he should have subsumed such interest in the corporate good.  Certainly, Capt. Iheanacho did not act maturely in this matter. Now, he has swelled the number of ministers of Imo state origin shown the way out of the federal cabinet in the most inglorious way.

The insinuation now is that the state governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim engineered Iheanacho’s ouster. This is farther from the truth. Is it Gov Ohakim that told Iheanacho to fight top officials of his ministry? Is it Ohakim that asked him to mobilize par-military personnel to work against the PDP during the parliamentary polls? Such mobilization contributed to the failure of the party’s candidates to clinch both Senate and House of Representatives seats. Again, since Owerri federal constituency where Iheanacho hails from, is the stronghold of APGA, will it be appropriate to still keep him in the cabinet formed by the PDP? Will it not be better releasing the seat to people who worked for the success of the party?

No man can successfully serve two masters at time. One of the masters will suffer or feel neglected. Iheanacho had divided loyalty by serving APGA while in a PDP government. So, he deserves the fate that befell him. it is wrong to look for those who plotted his downfall when he did and should squarely blame himself.

It is also amazing that all the three former ministers shown the way out hail from Owerri Zone. Does it mean that the zone cannot manage positions given to it? Does it mean that the zone is a divided house? Is the zone actually ready for Imo governorship diadem in 2015? If it is ready, is it working for it?

Do they know that it is the 2011 governorship poll holding on Tuesday, April 26 that will determine whether the zone will occupy the seat in 2015? Let them realize that the zone has only held the position for 18 months through late Chief Evan Enwerem.

The closest the zone came to clinching it was in 2007 through Chief Agbaso. He won the April 14, 2007 gubernatorial polls but was short-changed by Iwu’s INEC. He was also sabotaged by insufficient support from his zone.

As the gubernatorial polls holds Tuesday, April 26, will Owerri zone choose the shortest route to power in 2015 or will they not care which candidate’s victory most guarantees their occupation of Douglas House? The decision is theirs to make. No one can make it for them.

Written before the April 26 polls.