Date Published: 01/05/10

WAS PDP`S ANAMBRA A FAILED STATE? By Godwin Nzeakah

His Excellency, Chief (Dr.) Godswill Obot Akpabio, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State is a young man with visible charisma. That he would be Governor someday may not have been in doubt to some of us who had the opportunity to visit Akwa Ibom on inspection of projects on a number of occasions during Attah’s regime, which he was a member of the State Executive Council. His Excellency, Obong Victor Attah, must have noticed and decided to retain and allow Akpabio ample exposure at the very level (Local Government & Chieftaincy Affairs) that groomed Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Sir Ahmadu Bello into remarkable grassroots leaders.

In fact, Akpabio is not just vocal, he is also well disposed to the cerebral challenge of politics and, as I gather, it runs in his family; even though he could be boastful and given to exaggeration at times. His great Uncle Dr Ibanga Akpabio who in 1959 moved the historic motion for the bill that established Nigeria`s first autonomous University (the University of Nigeria Nsukka) was also like this. Any time, any day, ask Governor Akpabio his opinion on any given issue of national importance no matter how vexed or complex and he may not disappoint.  For this and the other reason that he has a desire to raise the bar of development in his State from where Attah stopped many people, yours sincerely inclusive, admire him.

I must confess however that he is yet to acquire the tact, maturity and profundity of thought that had distinguished the late Ibanga Akpabio among his colleagues in the former Eastern Region. Obviously there is virtue in being outspoken, but as the Greek would say, anything that goes too far tends to produce unintended results. Which brings us to what transpired in Awka during a gala night which Governor Peter Obi organized in honour of the Akwa Ibom state Governor and his entourage after the latter was awarded an honorific doctorate degree in Public Administration and Strategy by Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka November 21, 2009. Daily Independent newspaper (25/11/09) quoted the elated Akwa Ibom state Governor as having among other things said at the gala night that “Anambra was a failed state, but with Governor Peter Obi things are changing”. Chief Don Atiebet, a member of PDP`s Board of Trustees, who was on Akpabio’s entourage praised Obi endlessly (See Daily Sun, 24/11/09) for making laudable achievements, distinguishing himself and establishing a Model Leadership. I am delighted at all the praises for Obi because I had fought relentlessly  in my column then in the PUNCH to see that his stolen mandate was restored (see The PUNCH of 8/12/2004, 22/12/2004, 5/01/2005, 29/10/2006, and 18/03/2007 ), but the issue on hand is beyond sentiment.

I am hearing for the first time that Anambra was once a failed state. If that be true, who should take the blame? They are of course Obi’s predecessors, who were all PDP governors. But governor Akpabio only stopped short of naming names. I had expected him to deny the statement because it amounted to a real indictment not only on those unnamed gentlemen but also, obliquely, on the PDP. But up to this moment he is yet to do so; meaning that he had no unguarded moment in Awka. Well and good. Ordinarily, one should have ignored this matter considering that reports in the Press indicate that Obi may have performed well in the face of many odds. But to do so in a polity already at the point of strangulation by party indiscipline would be most unpatriotic.

Obi`s PDP guests had alternative issues to speak on at a gala night; including political kidnappings, disregard for court order by party chieftains, as well as the evils of political godfathers and election rigging, all of which had given Anambra State a bad name. But they ignored all these. While one may not be insinuating that what Akpabio said in Awka amounted to anti-party activity; in the civilized world where party discipline is not regarded with contempt and levity, the nature of those statements by Governor Akpabio and Chief Etiebet and their timing in a place where the PDP has persistently attempted to berate or play down on Obi`s achievements could not go uncensored. In fact Chukwuma Soludo has gone as far as asking Obi to prepare his handover note in advance.

Now, in the face of those favorable comments by Governor Akpabio and Chief Etiebet, can any PDP governorship candidate still face Anambra people and tell them courageously that Peter Obi does not deserve a second term? Put in another way, through Governor Akpabio and Chief Etiebet, has the PDP not cleared the APGA candidate by debunking Soludo`s charge of non-performance?

 Obi`s guests may have meant well but is it not possible for some elements to view Etiebet and his Governor as APGA’s agents. I thought that Anambra before Obi`s coming was only a neglected State used by OBJ for sundry experimentations in do-or-die politics. To achieve certain political ends President Obasanjo, like Hitler promoted internal frictions or battles.. In his best seller Modern Times Paul Johnson quoted Hitler as once telling his top executives that “people must be allowed friction with one another because friction produces warmth, and warmth is energy”

Without Knowing it Governor Akpabio has done us a favour by raising some topics for national debate and we should be grateful: Was PDP`s Anambra a failed state?  Discipline has been defined as the ingrained habit of obedience and loyalty to order. Therefore given the timing, could those pro-APGA comments by PDP chieftains in Awka last November be treated as party indiscipline or anti-party activity?  Is there a limit to what visiting top officials of opposing parties should say at such occasions?

I hold no brief for the PDP and none for those unnamed gentlemen either. My only concern is the pervasive nature of indiscipline in our politics. Because political parties constitute the breeding ground for leaders, indiscipline in all its ramifications should be condemned when it rears its ugly head. The general malaise in Nigeria today is partly a sad reflection of the abject state of internal discipline in our political parties.

A group that is shown to be bereft of self discipline cannot enforce it on the larger society when it comes to power. A party whose members are encouraged to work at cross purposes can only produce governments and leaders lacking in cohesion and team spirits.

Nzeakah is a former Editor of Sunday PUNCH