In the face of poor governance and what Prof. Sam Oyovbaire, in a seminal work, called the “retrenchment of the state” in Nigeria, and particularly in the South East geopolitical zone where things have fallen apart, there is the compelling need to ensure that only men of character, imbued with a defining sense of public good are enthroned on the political saddle at various levels of governance. We cannot demand for or have anything less, considering the ever deepening devaluation of life and crisis of development in the land, ostensibly occasioned by inept, vacuous and banal leadership across board.
When the Fourth Republic took off in 1999 on a hopeful and optimistic note after sixteen years of unbroken military rule, there was a widespread air of national expectation of a better and assured future for the civil populace who had been at the receiving end of arbitrary and despotic regimes. It must be admitted that there were flashes of good governance at inception as the succeeding Obasanjo administration took off on an impressive note with pro-poor policies and legislations which sought the equitable redistribution of wealth amongst the various social classes in the society.
There was the introduction of the National Poverty Eradication Programme, and Niger Delta Development Commission. This was followed by the establishment of anti-corruption bodies like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission to check official graft in high places. Over time, these genuine hopes and expectations were betrayed, to the extent that today, Nigeria is like the Hobbesian State in which life has become ‘short, nasty and brutish’.
Abia, one of the five states in the South East, has had the misfortune of being the most misgoverned in the region, if not in the whole Federation. From the inception of the current political dispensation in 1999 to date, Abia has been a classic case of a failed experiment in responsible leadership and good governance. The succeeding administrations could not live up to the legitimate expectations of the people. They all lacked the executive capacity, vision, and intellectual rigour required to reposition the state and make it a livable and functional place for the citizens.
From 1999 till date, it has been 23 long years of long walk in the wilderness, with no hope in sight for any meaningful development in the areas of infrastructure, and social and human capital. In these 23 years, Abia has been witnessing progressive decline in infrastructural development and on all indices of human development. The level of decay and rot in the state is very palpable, to say the least.
With the lamentable tragedy that has become the lot of Abia State these long years, one would have expected that some respected elder statesmen in the State would have stepped in and lent their moral authority against the misrule by the political buccaneers that are holding Abia down, in a classic case of “state capture”. Available facts suggest that these so-called statesmen have all been compromised as they are on the payroll of the state government which allegedly dispenses monthly financial packages to them. It seems obvious that this is primarily responsible for the deafening silence from these elders.
The only man amongst a few that has made any difference in Abia is Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. Apart from his consistent clamour and campaign for good governance in the state, he is also known to have called out successive Governments in the State on issues of mal-administration, corruption and resource mis-allocation.
At the national level, Abaribe, popularly known as the Mma Agha Ndigbo, has been the lone voice of reason and courage protesting against skewed federal policies and actions aimed at the economic annihilation and political marginalisation of the South East geopolitical zone. He is seen not only as a Senator representing Abia State, but largely as a leading defender of Igbo interests and interests of various marginalized groups within the Nigerian Federation.
Until his resignation from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and pitching of tent with the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) on whose platform he is seeking a return to the Senate, Abaribe was the Minority Leader in the Red Chamber. He effectively utilized the position to campaign for good governance in the country. He was a torn in the flesh of incompetent and visionless leadership. Every efforts made to put him down by the agents of State could not deter him from standing firm on the side of the neglected majority. His accomplishments in the Senate are incomparable. Abaribe has remained a dogged fighter that cannot be suppressed by the powers that be.
He is seeking to return to the Senate for the fourth time; and by God`s grace he is unstoppable. Not even the conspiracy of the ruling PDP in Abia State can stop him. He was blocked from getting a return ticket to the Senate; and instead the slot was given to the serving Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, whose almost eight years of reign in Abia have been a profile in gross leadership failure and crass incompetence.
Today, Abaribe is running to win on the ticket of APGA. Abia people are even wondering what Ikpeazu is coming to do in the Senate, considering his dismal and lackluster performance as a Governor. Perhaps, he sees the Senate as a retiring and resting place after serving as a Governor, as it has become almost the norm in the land where our Governors act and behave as Emperors.
Having given Abia State and the people of South East effective and functional representation, the least that can be done is to reward Abaribe with a return to the Senate to continue his good works. Ikpeazu should be retired to his village where he can hold court as a local champion. We need our best in the National Assembly. Abaribe is the man. He deserves the support of the entire people of Abia South.
Dr Emeka Nwosu, a public policy analyst, writes from Abuja
