NGF, Akpabio And The Limits Of Political Rascality

What shall we call it? Was it just a simple coup at the dusk, an authoritarian flight of fancy that came crashing, Rotimi Amaechi's second coup, Friday night abracadabra or shall we simply say that the event of 24th of May is another sign post to a democratic surprise that lies ahead of Nigeria. Regardless of which side you are on and what you think, the reality is that though the election of the Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF) have been lost and won, its lessons and consequences will remain with us for a while. I will return to discuss just three of them later.

However, before I talk about the lessons let me say that there is someone who will not forget that very day in a hurry. That person is Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State. The man who prides in calling himself the uncommon transformer was moved to tears about the outcome of that election. He had arrived early at the Rivers State Governor's Lodge in Abuja, venue of the election, radiating with the confidence of a warrior, whom the gods have assured of another victorious outing. For him, the outcome of the elections was a fait accompli. He had not hidden his opposition to the decision of the incumbent Chairman, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, to re-contest his position, allegedly with the backing of the Presidency. We were told that they had concluded the deal in their kitchen cabinet. They made sure that their plans were watertight. They were very sure that in a matter of hours, the tenure of Governor Rotimi Amaechi would be history. They had blackmailed, intimidated and lured many governors who were initially supporting Amaechi to reconsider and dump him. It was alleged that someone in the villa met with the governors and appealed to them before beckoning on Governor Akpabio to give each of them a paper to endorse a resolution for their preferred change in leadership in NGF.

Curiously even the resolution that the governors were made to sign did not have a name of the anointed candidate as the Presidency was still allegedly weighing some options as at the time the paper was signed. That was their first mistake - a mistake borne out of sheer overconfidence. However, Governor Akapbio and his supporters still believed that if they went into the election, all those who signed the document will automatically vote for whosever was their anointed candidate. Sadly, the outcome of the election was entirely different and a visibly embarrassed Akpabio, could not believe his eyes. An eyewitness account recalled that Mr. Akpabio was so dazed when Mr. Rotimi Amaechi gathered 19 votes as against 16 votes gathered by his choice candidate, Jonah Jang of Plateau State. Intermittently Governor Akpabio burst out of the venue of the election allegedly to place calls to the Presidential villa as the race toughened. At a point he (Akpabio) had to sneak into the toilet and met with his aide before he brought out the resolution as a last resort. The date on the resolution was cancelled and it was said that the Yobe State Governor who signed the resolution did not show up for the main election. Governor Akpabio later took the key journalists that covered the elections to his state lodge and hastily, as has now become his trademark, 'donated' five million naira cash to them for lunch allegedly to contaminate the news. Now let me go back to the lessons as I see them.

The first lesson that was reinforced last Friday is the embarrassing mediocrity and ineptitude of the Nigerian political class. Sometimes when they speak or act, one begins to wonder how they found their way to the corridors of power. Does it mean that elected Governors cannot conduct a simple election? How then do Nigerians now believe that they won their elections at all? In every election, there will be a winner and a loser, if the 35 governors voluntarily decided to go into an election, the simplest thing to do is to accept the outcome of the election with equanimity. So what is the basis of their quarrel? Did they vote under duress? I am told that the Governors of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Cross River are all lawyers; how come they still cannot distinguish between a pre-election endorsement and the actual election? How do lawyers who should ordinarily know their constitutional mettle come to an election venue armed with a 'result' written three weeks before? How else can we define political naivety? It would have been different if the elections did not hold or if some governors, midway, staged a walk out. But they did not. The proceedings of that election meeting were recorded on video by a Governor from the South-Western region and all of them stayed till the votes were counted and results were announced. A word of caution here is that if some governors, who participated in the elections, continue to reject the verdict, it will potentially create a very ugly impression that could deepen the loss of confidence of citizens in the political class- I mean every one of them including the governors themselves. Such a trend portends real danger for our democracy. Akpabio and his co-travellers should know when to throw in the towel unashamedly and end this mediocrity. They must realise the collateral damage to their individual and collective image and tow the path of honour.

The second lesson is how allegedly unnecessary and undue Presidential interference could out-rightly backfire. I say allegedly because even though many Nigerians believe that Governor Akpabio was working for the President, the Presidential spokesperson, Dr. Reuben Abati has denied it. Hmmm. Unfortunately, the Presidency has left this matter a little too late. It must be stated that the Office of the President in any country is and should be a highly respected office. Dragging his name into avoidable political battles (with or without his consent) will potentially impugn his name and diminish his office. I had counselled on this page that it will be counter-productive for President Jonathan or anyone acting on his behalf to overtly meddle in the freedom of choice of Governors to democratically elect a leader. I wish those who hatched this disgraceful plot listened at that time. It is possible that Governor Akpabio loves the President and wants to be seen as a very loyal disciple. However the 'motor park' tactics he is currently employing to express this loyalty will only create more problems for the same person he wants to assist. Again, it has become a pattern for some ambitions politicians to continue to drop the name of the President while actually pursuing selfish political interests. For instance what happened on Friday is partly due to subtle internal competition and personality clashes among the governors themselves and the President may have little or nothing to do with that. So why drag him in? Regrettably a large section of the Nigerian public have been made to believe that the President might have been misled to openly take sides with losers in this whole saga. Such political tricks are unnecessary sources of distraction to the President at this time. Gladly, if the information coming from the Presidency reaffirming the President's neutrality is anything to go by, then it can be safely assumed that President Jonathan is now willing to work with the leadership freely and independently chosen by the Governors' Forum just as the re-elected Chairman of the NGF has indicated that both he and the NGF and, indeed, all its members will, henceforth, work with the President. It is therefore left for our President to examine the issues on the table and congratulate whosoever is the authentic choice of the Governors and allow all of us to move on.

The third lesson is on the role of the media in shaping relevant discussions around politics and public policy. This cannot be over-emphasized. During the months and weeks preceding the NGF elections, I saw a surge of very courageous coverage and interesting perspectives about the happenings both in the Nigerian Governors' Forum and the nation in general. This audacious role has become one of the most important factors that are currently expanding our democratic space. Apostles of change across political divides must now rise and acknowledge that mute indifference and cold complacency about happenings in our polity, are simply unacceptable. We must join the media in refining our democratic arena. It is about debate, dissent, process, scrutiny, civility in conduct, transparency etc. Power mongers, bigots, intruders and democratic dictators have now invaded our collective space and are threatening to pollute it irredeemably. Indeed, there are at the moment, political barbarians at our democratic gate!! This, therefore, presents all of us with a time to take that space back from them. One final point I must make is that both the winners and losers of the NGF election must reach out and pursue a path of peace urgently. Dragging these issues further will bring additional disgrace and opprobrium to the organisation and her members. Several programs initiated by the secretariat and supported by international donors could suffer greatly if Governors decide to continue this shameful and childish dance drama. Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it. For those opportunists who continue to peddle the name of the President to prosecute selfish political battles both in their various states and at the national level, I have three things to say. Shame on you!

Disclaimer: "The views expressed on this site are those of the contributors or columnists, and do not necessarily reflect TheNigerianVoice’s position. TheNigerianVoice will not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements in the contributions or columns here."

Articles by Uche Igwe