The evil of organized acrimony has undoubtedly creeped into the current patriotic march against the ‘defunct’ FSARS and police brutality. The protest is metmorphosizing into advocacy for good governance in the country, and government players in various tiers and arms are not finding it funny anymore.
Reports of intolerance and sporadic wanton attack on the protesters are reported in some less-likely flashpoints of the country, like Enugu, Ekiti, Edo, Abuja etc.
Enugu was onomatopoeically nicknamed “cool city” owing to the serene colour of its socio-political cosmos. Since the return to democracy in 1999, Enugu parades itself as the state with records of most peaceful transition of power. The governorship rotational pattern adopted by its stakeholders has midwifed the emergence of governors from each of the three senatorial districts in the state.
This feat decorates her attribute as the administrative and cosmopolitan headquarters of the South east. Power has successfully rotated among the three mega umbrella zones of Nkanu, Udi and Nsukka. No violence or agitation of any sort was recorded.
The Wawa zone of Igbo nation (i.e Enugu and Ebonyi), are known for their staunch will-to-power principles in politics. It has raised high profile men with strong will in politics.
For instance, during Obasanjo’s tenure, the then PDP sharing and zoning formular domiciled the office of Senate Presidency to the South east. It is on record that all the five Igbo states produced senate president each within eight years. And all were impeached within their tenures except when it got to Enugu and Ebonyi turn. Imo’s Evan Enwerem, Anambra’s Chuba Okadigbo, and Abia’s Adolphus Wabara, all fell to the traps of impeachment.
But when time called for Enugu’s Ken Nnamani and Ebonyi’s Anyim Pius, they outwitted the traps and auspiciously saw off their terms.
From the foregoing, one can see that it is pseudonymously a misnomer to hear that the #EndSARS protest was screwed up in Enugu of all places.
The crusade has been sweeping the entire country. But when it got to the Coal city last week, 16th October, something extraneous and unusual to Wawa history happened. The fashionable celebrities of 042, Chibuzo Azubuike known with the stage name: Phyno and Chinedu Okoli — Flavour N’abania led the march. They insisted on Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi addressing them in person, having spoken previously to the protesters through his deputy.
The governor obliged them.
But considering that after the ‘disbandment’ of SARS, the protesters shifted the theme to #EndBadgovernance, these men of songs asked the governor about the general Enugu scenario. The conversation came in this form:
Phyno: Your Excellency, beyond police brutality, the state is also not working. Things gotten bad.
Governor Ugwuanyi: That’s not why we are here. Stick to why we are here.
Phyno: It is part of why we are here, please address It.
Governor Ugwuanyi: Walks out on them!
This is curious, and begs for answer in many respects.First, that was uncharacteristic of the governor. He was not known for engaging in public brawl with any one. Secondly, Phyno and Flavour where known for their unflinching support for the governor, especially in his electioneering campaign days. Thirdly, why was the governor enraged by such benign statement?
As these buggled the mind, his henchmen had gone to town to demarket the artists. Some of them littered the social media spaces with unprinted propagandist theories to defend their bread winner. But beyond the razzmatazz, stands the objective truth seen through a post-mortem analysis of the incident.
On the part of the governor, he exhibited a typical black man’s attitude in power – absolutism. He was asked a simple question: “Beyond police brutality, tell us why Enugu state is in its present situation?” And he got irked.
To a performing governor, this is an avenue to sell his achievements in office for six years and counting. It was a good platform to show the jingoistic youths who formed the bulk of the electorate that granted him the mandate, how he had entrenched the dividends of democracy. The likes of Gov. Dave Umahi begs for such opportunities. The Makindes and Zulums would be excited to address such crowd.
But Ugwuanyi took the unfamiliar option. He got angry and walked out on his people! Even the much maligned Gov. Obiano of Anambra never took that path. In fact, he is taking advantage of the situation in Awka to bolster his waning public perception, winning back people’s admiration. The same way Gov. Sanwo Olu did during the heat of Covid in Lagos.
The truth is that every politics is local. While the youths speak about making Nigeria better, they are aware that Nigeria is fragmented into 36 states and 774 local government areas. And to have a better Nigeria, we must first have a better local and state governments. So these youths want to hold every tier of government accountable.
Gov. Ugwuanyi recieves federal allocation monthly. He generates internal revenue daily. He receives other monetary grants like the recent money disbursed by Covid-19 PTF. He is constitutionally empowered to take loans. These funds were meant to derive development for the state. The people reserve exclusive right to know how they are being used. But the governor felt otherwise.
The other day, it was FFK who reviled a journalist in Calabar for asking him question in a press conference. Today, a governor is taking offence at his people for another question. Arguably, it is either our political leaders are allergic to criticism and calumniate questioning or they lack the wits and tacts needed in governance.
They need to imbibe the virtue of emotional intelligence. His anger shows that he belonged to the league of leaders who repudiate the Youths getting streetwise, and trying to take power back to its proper repository – the people.
By and large, let all the political leaders note this: “The protest has gone beyond #EndSARS,” as Phyno alluded. And any one who counters that is seen as the enemy of our corporate entity. On October 12, they chanted the slogan “Our Senators/Reps are elected SARS.” Two days later, the senate president called for an end to the struggle. So it seems every office holder is comfortable with the protest until it torchlights his own portfolio.
Let it sink deeper, that those at the corridors of power should prepare for a new Nigeria where power is returned to the electorate dominated by the youths. The Enugu incidence was unfortunate, and should serve a caveat and stimulus to other governors and the protesters.
Eze Jude Ogechukwu,
Medical Laboratory Scientist
+2348062494912.
[email protected]
