Date Published: 01/06/10

Anambra State; The scramble for a piece of the pie By Felix Oti

In 1965, the political turmoil in the Western region of Nigeria, tagged operation weti e provided an excuse for the military coupe of January 1966 that toppled the First Republic. Again, in 1983, the quest for power at all cost by the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN), in Ondo and Anambra states, respectively; coupled with the deterioration of the social and economic life of ordinary Nigerians, spurred Babangida and his acolytes to come calling. In the Third and Fourth Republics, Nigeria has managed to avert major political crises, originating from Anambra state, due to efforts of well-meaning citizens of the Southeast to deny the federal government a reason to impose a state of emergency in the region. Today, we are at it again; and Anambra state is, once more, the flashpoint.

Come February 6, the state will conduct a general election to choose a governor for her five and half million people for the next four years. At last count, there are about 23 contenders from 54 parties. While some contenders have anointed themselves as the chosen opens, and gone about addressing themselves as their “excellencies”, the incumbent is assuring his “people” that he will be returned to complete his “service” to his people. In Anambra state, a re-election of an incumbent is never a fait accompli.  This is why.

In a state with more tin-gods and godfathers than the Arabian Peninsular, it is impossible to ascertain who is really in charge. On one side of the political divide is the Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu; the deciding factor in All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the ruling party in the state. Currently, all roads to the chairmanship of the party, and to state house in Awka, go through him. On the other side are a group of rabble-rousers made prominent by their connections to either the central government at Abuja, or to some moneybag resident outside the state. These include the Uba brothers, Chris and Andy, Dame Virgina Etiaba, former governor Chris Ngige, and probably the most prominent of the lot, former Central Bank governor, Charles Soludo. Everyone else on the list is just an addition.

One cannot predict the outcome of the February 6 election without a trek through Anambra state’s political memory lane, since 1999. For three out of his four-year reign, Chinwoke Mbadinuju was not able to, figuratively; drink water and put the cup down, without the approval of a Julius Berger driver-turned-contractor, Emeka Offor. Projects never left the planning stages, and civil servants were owed arrears of salaries up to two years. To make matters worse, neither his party nor the central government, controlled by his party came to his aid. All his complains went unheeded, and the state languished. In the meantime, the tussle for control of the state between Emeka Offor and another illiterate moneybag, Chris Uba, was reaching its zenith. This culminated in the break up of the state’s party structure, and eventual hoisting of Chris Ngige upon the people in 2003; an action which did not sit well with both the APGA and some state legislators from the PDP. The belief within the PDP rank and file was that Ngige was only loyal to his one-time master, Chris Uba, and will do only his bidding; thereby leaving non-Uba yes-men out in the dark.

Imagine everyone’s surprise when Ngige fell out with Uba, primarily, over the attempted stoppage of N10m monthly contract payments to Uba, drawn at source from Anambra states monthly federal allocations. This marked the beginning of the end of Ngige as governor of Anambra state.     Two incidents, early in the administration predicted the later outcome of Ngige’s tenure; the wait for Uba’s arrival, before the swearing-in ceremony (when everyone else was already seated), and the slapping of the governor at a meeting of the party powerbrokers. From then on, things began to fall apart for Ngige, culminating in the kidnapping and forceful removal from the state house, by a band of thugs led by ex-motor park tout, turned honorable, Chuma Nzeribe. The question in every Nigerian’s mouth was: how did a state that gave us the likes of Azikiwe, Nwafor Orizu, Ojukwu (late and living), Achebe, Anyaoku, etc, descend so low into the hands of illiterate low-life thugs and bandits? No one had an answer. Unfortunately, in a society where law, and the rule thereof, is dictated by money and the willingness to spend it, the interpreters and enforcers will dance to the tune of the payer. That is what happened, and is still happening today, in Anambra state

While Ngige was fighting for his life, APGA was imploding at both state and national levels, even when its candidate, Peter Obi was, doggedly, proceeding with a legitimate claim to the governor’s office. Chekwas Okorie, the APGA national Chairman, fell out with the Ikemba, and was replaced by Chief Umeh; a situation later accepted by INEC after some legal battles. Unfortunately, while this was going on at the national level, the party literally ignored Peter Obi’s legal quest for restitution; with some in the party urging him to accept some sort of financial settlement and step aside. To his legal advantage, the spat between Uba and Ngige revealed the rotten underbelly of the PDP in Anambra state, which led to some sordid revelations that, for want of a better word, astounded the Nigerian nation as a whole. Eventually, sane minds at the legal arm prevailed, and he was eventually sworn in as governor. However, his nightmares were just beginning.

In 2007, the PDP still smarting from losing control of the state, and with Andy Uba, the other of the three Uba brothers, out of work and looking to remain relevant in the political scheme of things, the battle lines were once more drawn in Anambra state. While Andy was away in Abuja, he posed no threat to his brother, Chris’ control of Anambra politics; but with his declared intent to run for governor, Chris sensed a challenge to his hold, and was eager to fight him off. However, in Nigerian regional politics, two things decide your fate; your connections at the center, and your capacity to cause massive violent destruction, in the event of a loss. This time around, Andy’s connections won out, and he was “elected” under the PDP platform. His reign was not to last more than a few months; the incumbent, Peter Obi, armed with a complicated interpretation of the meaning, and starting date, of a four-year term, reminiscent of Awolowo’s 12-2/3 interpretation of 19 states, headed back to the courts. Again, to the surprise of many, clear legal minds prevailed. And he kept his office.

Today, Anambra state is back in the political news, and what we are hearing is not pretty. Threats of war and carnage has been issued from one corner; kidnapping of political kingmakers is on the rise; former governors are laying claim to an anointment from the heavens, while neophytes, armed with spurious party mandates, are parading themselves as governors-in-waiting. Through all these, Anambrarains are more confused than ever as to what will become of their state after February 6, 2010. What makes the future more uncertain is the fact that the past players whose actions and intransigencies ground the state to a halt are still in the theater today, flexing their muscle and money. They will stop at nothing to install their man, or woman, in Awka, regardless of what the ordinary Anambra voter thinks. And what are these ordinary voters of this beleaguered state saying?  Not much; they are as divided as their political masters.

In Anambra politic, it is all about short-term gains; from N30, 000 to rough up an opponent to N2 million to kidnap, or assassinate that opponent. What is in it for me? From the most revered of the elders to the least of the roadside traders; from the rich elite, to the poorest woman at the corner lot, what you get depends on whose side you are on. It has been like that since 1999, and given the rehearsal at the political theater today, there seem to be no immediate end in sight. Legal fallouts of the 2010 election will linger into 2011, long after the victims of political violence have been buried; long after the wealthy had relocated their families and wealth to safe havens in US and Europe, and long after erosions have claimed half of the arable lands in the state.

Yes! In Anambra state, the political pie is, once more, baked. It is near time for the sharing. Will Anambra state, in 2010, provide the excuse for the military to come back into governance in Nigeria? Will 2010 produce the Southeast’s version of the West’s 1965 Operation weti e? Are the players willing, for the sake of peace to the state, region, and nation as a whole, to step back and re-assess the residual effects of their past actions, and reconsider future ones? We will see.

Felix Oti

Arlington, Texas.