AS GOVERNOR CC SOLUDO BECOMES JITTERY OVER SENATOR IFEANYI UBAH — Testy Days Ahead in Anambra State.

by GODSON O. MONEKE

I have in an earlier intervention stressed the absurdity of the actions which the governor of Anambra state, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo is taking against some Royal Fathers because they individually conferred Chieftaincy titles on Senator Ifeanyi Ubah because of his various acts of benevolence to their respective communities. In the second republic, we had a presidential candidate, Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim who was a renowned apostle of POLITICS WITHOUT BITTERNESS to underscore the position that politics is not a DO OR DIE affair as some people would make us believe. The malevolent disposition of the Anambra state governor, Professor Soludo towards Senator Ifeanyi Ubah is unhelpful to whatever course he is pursuing. The import of the current acts by the governor appears to be lost on us and we look at them as some of those trivial matters but I see them as dangerous to our political development as a nation. Royal fathers are custodians of the moral, cultural, traditional and customary values of their communities and that is why they go by the appellation , Traditional Rulers. These rulers are highly respected and revered in their various communities such that their current humiliation by the state government offends the sensibilities of their respective communities. Before the advent of the white man, traditional rulers were both the de facto and dejure leaders of their people who willingly followed them and submitted to their suzerainty and leadership. Government influences over the traditional institutions is merely symbolic as the institutions existed before the arrival of the white man and the imposition of his system of government. Traditional institutions are not creations of the 1999 constitution (as amended) as they are not a tier of government. They are autochthonous creations and flow from the peoples existence. The relationship between government and traditional rulers is supposed to be a symbiotic one based on mutual respect. Government is supposed to carry traditional rulers along for effective governance. Governor Soludo appears not to appreciate the importance of traditional rulers and sees them as mere dispensable appendages of the state government hence he humiliates them as bad bosses do to their subordinates. Commanding traditional rulers to withdraw the fatherly blessings and Chieftaincy titles given to Senator Ifeanyi Ubah because the governor does not like his face is the height of mistreatment to the traditional rulers concerned. It is akin to directing them to eat their vomits otherwise you depose them. The traditional rulers did not confer the said Chieftaincy titles on behalf of the state government but on behalf and in the presence of their communities who had the opportunities of objecting to the honors if the distinguished senator is undeserving of them.

It is not in the place of government to determine if any recipient of a community Chieftaincy title is of questionable character, that duty lies with the body of traditional rulers in the state as well as the communities concerned. Definitely, it does not fall on government as any inquisition by government is tainted with partisan politics as we have in what the Anambra state government has done. Enquiries on the characters and moral standings of recipients outside the state are more effectively made by the relevant body of traditional rulers through their opposite numbers in the states concerned. It is morally wrong and against the dictates of due process to keep the Anambra state council of Traditional Rulers in the dark and total oblivion of the punitive actions the state government is taking against some of their members in the state.

It is wrong for the state government to write a letter suspending a traditional ruler without issuing him with a query a priori and without copying the state council of traditional rulers. Why copy the security agencies without copying the chairman of the state council of traditional rulers? Does it conduce with protocol? The state government should obey protocols in its dealings with traditional rulers in the state. Government business is not a personal business that the governor can conduct at his whims and caprices. I have always stressed the imperatives for governments to insulate themselves from traditional matters and focus on their primary duties of governance and ensuring democratic dividends for the people. Mixing politics with tradition is an albatross which will do a great harm to the parties concerned. It is important to stress that fatherly blessings as symbolized by community Chieftaincy titles are more spiritual than carnal and cannot be revoked because an external body like the state government wills it. In the same vein, a fatherly curse cannot be revoked arbitrarily and a father cannot bless or curse a child who is undeserving of such. Take for instance what happened in the book of Genesis of the Holy Bible in the household of Isaac who was tricked into giving his Fatherly blessings to Jacob instead of Esau whom he preferred. He could not retrieve or recall the blessings when he discovered that Jacob and the mother had played a fast one on him because the Blessings had gone forth. Governor Soludo should know better that the Chieftaincy Titles conferred on Senator Ifeanyi Ubah by the Royal Fathers of their respective communities cannot be withdrawn, not even with thousands of revocation letters written at the behest of the governor. Chieftaincy titles and fatherly blessings are spiritual and cannot be carnally countermanded as the state government would want the world to believe.

Consequently, I urge Senator Ifeanyi Ubah not to lose sleep over the ensuing melodrama as no power on earth can revoke a fatherly blessing which has gone forth. Things of the spirit have different connotations from things of the physical. The state governor should have known better but as my late mother used to say PASSIN SIX AHO PASSIN SENSE, meaning that PASSING SIX IS NOT PASSING SENSE. As we used to say, it is possible for one to be an ACADEMIC GIANT BUT AN INTELLECTUAL LILLIPUTIAN, Governor Soludo seems to fall into this categorization. The letter from the Obi Onitsha and current Chairman of the Anambra state council of Traditional Rulers, HRH Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe (Agbogidi) is very instructive. It lists some of the urgent needs of the people which the state government should focus on and address. Pandering to the needs of the the customers is the philosophy behind the marketing concept as opposed to hard selling as taught in the business school. For example, the people of Anambra state need Security, Portable water supply, Good healthcare delivery, Good roads including new ones, Good tourist and Recreational Centers and Good life. These are the things people in the state consider important and not who is given a chieftaincy title by a consenting traditional ruler and his community. Governor Soludo would do well to focus his attention on the things that matter to the people instead of the present wild goose chase. This is unfortunate and it goes to show the negative worldview of life that he has. Anambra state is yearning for good leaders who will take the needs of the people seriously. So far, what we have seen are pretenders masquerading as leaders who do not know their left from their right. Like I said in a previous writeup, high education is not a necessary and sufficient condition for effective leadership as we have seen in Professor Soludo. Achievements of Governor Soludo in two years cannot compare with those of Governor Alex Otti of Abia state in seven months yet when you place the two governors side by side using their academic credentials, one would readily pick Soludo over Alex Otti.

The taste of the pudding is in the eating, so one can see that Governor Otti of Abia state towers over Governor Soludo in achievements as a governor. When a governor allows himself to be hated by the traditional rulers in his state because of the condescending treatment he frequently metes out to them, it would only be a matter of time before he sings his political nunc dimitis and the chicken come home to roost as governor Soludo would soon learn albeit, the hard way.

I believe in the school of thought which asserts that Professor Soludo would have been more effective at the national level than being a governor at the sub national level. Professor Soludo’s odyssey prepared him for service at the national level as opposed to sub national level which he forced himself on. Only him knows why he chose to be governor of a state than serve at the national level where he is more adept. The motivation is definitely not service to the people but egocentrism, greed and other primitive considerations. The governor of a state cannot influence the monetary and fiscal policies which affect all components of the federation because the 1999 constitution (as amended) vests such powers on the federal government as they are contained in the Exclusive List. It was little wonder that former President Obasanjo under whom he served in two important positions was opposed to his contesting for the governorship of Anambra state when he first mooted the idea to him. Professor Soludo is not a grassroots politician and his dreams for Anambra state are utopian. He is more of a technocrat than a politician. There is nothing wrong in his not being a natural politician but the law of comparative advantage in economics requires economic agents to focus on areas where they have comparative advantages. Everybody cannot be a governor where they will create more confusion than necessary as Professor Soludo is doing in Anambra state.

The late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was in his lifetime, the spiritual leader of APGA and the Chairman of its Board of Trustees. Apart from the government of Peter Obi, no other government of APGA has done anything to consciously recognize the role played by the late leader both in the formation and sustainability of APGA and what it represents. What we see are impostors appropriating the surplus values of the political party which heroes past they loathe. The immediate past government of Willie Obiano led the charge in demystifying the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in the scheme of things in APGA. One common strand in Obiano and Soludo is that they never sacrificed for the formation of APGA. They are inhabiting the house built by other people after scheming out the owners. Anybody who hates Dim Ojukwu does not deserve APGA!!!!! The high point was when the wife of the outgoing governor attacked the widow of the spiritual leader of APGA for attending an APGA event viz: the inauguration ceremony of a new APGA government. No apology was tendered to NDIGBO either directly by former Governor Obiano or the current government of Professor Soludo for that embarrassing conduct by the outgoing First Lady of the state. The whole thing was swept under the carpet as if it never happened. The new governor sarcastically referred to that ugly incident suggesting that the blame should be shared by the two parties including the widow of the late leader who was the actual victim of the attack by the errant Mrs Obiano. Professor Soludo never did anything to protect the widow of the spiritual leader of APGA from a personal attack at an APGA event to which she was duly invited. It showed the contempt in which both Governors Obiano and Soludo held the late Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu. It is instructive that the former governor Obiano never had any pride of place for the late leader throughout the eight years he was on the saddle as the governor of Anambra state. Governor Soludo has followed Governor Obiano’s footsteps in meting similar contemptuous treatment to the memory of the late APGA leader.

APGA has lost its essence and has been hijacked by the enemies of NDIGBO. We should shine our eyes and stop rewarding these duplicitous human beings with favors they don’t deserve. APGA is known as OJUKWU’s party, how can we keep rewarding people who have sworn to erase all legacies of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in APGA? Is it not deceitful for the present crop of leaders in APGA to be using the APGA mantra of KOKORONKOO !!! ONYE AGHANA NWANNEYA promoted by Dim Ojukwu for the party when they are doing everything to erase his legacies in the political space. As lawyers would say, YOU CANNOT APPROBATE AND REPROBATE AT THE SAME TIME ON SAME MATTER. Those who have shown manifest hatred for Ojukwu, cannot turn around to benefit from his GOODWILL!!!!!! The spirit of Igbo renaissance that led to the formation of APGA has since left it, APGA is now a shadow of itself. At least, Senator Ifeanyi Uba respected, venerated and differed to Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu both in life and death, on account of age and contributions to Igbo nationalism. Governors Obiano and Soludo are bent on destroying every legacy associated with the late legend? As far as I am concerned, the APC in Anambra state is more Igbo-centric than APGA. I say again, SHINE YOUR EYES!!!!!!!

Our political leaders would readily tell you that our democracy is fashioned after that of the US but that is the biggest lie and deceit we are fed. For example, the US president cannot commit 10% of the gross misconduct done by the Nigerian president without being removed. The governor in the US cannot steal public funds to the extent of 10% of what is done by his Nigerian counterparts without being removed and prosecuted. The US have state and county police forces under an independent and apolitical control but we have only one federal police force in Nigeria under the biased political control of the President of Nigeria. The US legislature at both the federal and state levels are bi-cameral, independent and act as check on the executive but that is not so in Nigeria where legislators behave like co-conspirators to undo the people who elected them into offices in the first place. The state governments in Nigeria do not impact the people as much as ordinary counties in the US talk less of a state government in the US. The only area where state governments in Nigeria prevail over their US counterparts is in the mindless looting of public funds, extra-judicial behaviors and general contempt for the people. The other day, Governor Andrew Cumo of the New York State resigned his position as governor because of strong allegations of sexual misconduct leveled against him by a lady who came in contact with him in the course of his official duties. Can a Nigerian governor faced with similar embarrassment contemplate resigning his position without blaming it on political opponents both within and outside his political party? Former President Donald J Trump of the US is currently facing criminal and civil lawsuits arising from inappropriate sexual behaviors based on allegations by some women notable among whom is Ms E. Jean Carrol, can such a thing happen to a former Nigerian president without suffusing it in misogyny and sexuality? Also former President Clinton of the US was impeached but only survived removal by the whiskers on account of inappropriate sexual behavior in the famous Monica Lewinsky saga, can such a thing ever happen to a Nigerian president?

In the light of ethnic and religious politics we play in Nigeria can such an accountability happen without being enmeshed in ethnic, religious hullabaloo? A system which condones bad behaviors can never get it right in holistic development. Nigerian politicians are very heavy on promises but thin or absent on delivery. This is why it does not worry Governor Soludo that he has not proved his mettle as the most technocratic governor in the whole federation. The governor is haughty and arrogant and believes that he knows everything.

But the true test of how much a governor knows is measured by how far his programs directly and indirectly impact the people, not by grandiloquent English language and highfalutin expressions. Governor CC Soludo must realize that a governor is not a King because while a king rules for life, a governor’s rule is determined by his tenure in office. Therefore, the cliché, POWER IS TRANSIENT is more relevant to the governor than to traditional rulers.

Traditional rulers are akin to traditional Kings and their reigns are not determined by tenure. It is therefore unwise for Governor Soludo to unadvisedly invoke unnecessary hostility from these Royal fathers. Like I said earlier, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah should not lose sleep over the antics of the governor since traditional titles once given cannot be withdrawn provided the conditions for the awards both written and unwritten are kept and not desecrated by the recipient. What the governor has done by threatening the traditional rulers with punitive measures is otiose and amount to shooting himself on the legs. A state in Nigeria does not even measure up to a county in the US. I have seen a Mayor in the US eye the position of the president of the US but I can’t imagine a local government chairman dream of becoming the president of Nigeria on account of his exploits in that position. The reason is simple as most local government officers are actually appointed by the state governors. Local government elections are mere camouflages. Consequently, local government chairmen see the governors as their benefactors whose interests must be protected and not upstaged. To do otherwise would be seen as disloyalty which the governor would take seriousl exception to. Higher elective positions would be left for the governor to have not just the first choice but to determine who is qualified to occupy such positions. Mr Rudi Giuliani, a former Mayor of New York City in the US vied for Republic Party presidential nomination. In the US, aspirants depend on donations from supporters for all election expenses but in Nigeria, aspirants spend their personal resources giving undue advantage to aspirants with huge war chests. Like I said, electoral reforms are a categorical imperative in Nigeria.

Governor Soludo does not see anything wrong in using political powers to oppress a less endowed political opponent but will shout to high heavens if he finds himself at the receiving end of such unconstitutional actions. It is written in the Holy Bible that the MEASURE YOU GIVE IS THE MEASURE YOU GET but I pray for a level playing field where the outcome of the 2025 governorship election in Anambra state will be decided by the voters.