nambra State
convulsed again recently. In the latest incident, the state witnessed an orgy of
violence unlike what it has ever been through before. The reign of terror which
spanned two days, November 10 - 11, further exposed the perilous level of
insecurity in Nigeria as a whole and Anambra state in particular. The November
violence was the third time in a space of 16 months that the state, reputed for
its enterprise and commercial vibrancy would go through the motions of total
paralysis of law and order.
At the end of the primitive display of banality, public
property including the government house, the state broadcasting corporation and
vehicles were either vandalized, utterly destroyed or torched by the vicious
army of gun totting elements whose very identities are yet to be established.
Although the police did not make a confirmation, there were reports that lives
were lost in the ugly incident.
One month after the orgy of violence in Anambra state, the
time may have come for a sober appraisal and reflection on the incident.
Unfortunately, in spite of a veneer of normalcy in the state,
actual peace and normalcy have not returned thereto. From all realistic
assessments, the governments of the state remains unsettled, workers, especially
in the capital city of Awka have been barely carrying on, while insecurity still
pervades virtually all of the state. Put succinctly, Anambra state is yet to
regain its peace and momentum.Anambra state needs to be rescued and quickly
too.The state cannot continue the way it is at the moment.
The resort to violence as a means to making political points
is most reprehensible. We condemn the very basis of the violence in Anambra
state as well as those who perpetrated it. The incident alone has precipitated a
whirlpool of socio-economic shocks which have left Anambra a shadow of its
buoyant self.
It has been a sad fact of Nigerian politics that
disagreements over allocation of power among opposing parties or camps are
always at huge cost to the people. The lingering Anambra crisis aptly typifies
this sore point in the nation’s beleaguered political history. As is usually the
case in such settings, innocent people bear the cost of the personality wars.
While the very reasons for the unprecedented violence of
November 10 and 11 remain unclear and accusations and counter accusations have
tended to obfuscate the exact root of the incident, there is no doubt that the
problem is political. Along this line, there have been key actors in the crisis
that has become the profile of the state since the present government came into
being. All of these actors save none should share in the blame for lack of peace
and security in the state in the last one and half years. Prominent among these
personalities are Governor Chris Ngige and his sponsor to office Chief Chris
Ubah.The crisis of confidence between the two personalities and the bitter
dispute over terms of agreements that preceded Governor’s elevation to office
have been amply reported in the media. Apparently the contentious agreement and
its repudiation are at the root of the crisis which has enveloped not the
individuals involved but the entire state.
For sure, there is nothing to commend in any party to a
willing agreement repudiating such on attainment of a set target, as long as the
terms of the agreement did run counter to the laws of the land or offend all
decency. But there is nothing on the other hand that recommends pulling down the
whole house because an agreement between two politicians over allocation of
power was repudiated by one side.
The peculiarity of our brand of democracy, which is not
exactly strange, is such that most public office holders ride to power at the
behest of a clique of power brokers, sponsors and kingmakers. This has been the
hallmark of our politics whether at federal, state or local government levels.
The tragedy of the case of Governor Ngige and Chief Ubah and indeed Anambra
state in recent years is an apparent inability to manage such arrangement. It
does seem there is an unfortunate absence of an appropriate level of sincerity,
mutual trust and ability to keep fate among political aspirants and their
sponsors in the state. May be political aspirants and potential kingmakers in
Anambra state should henceforth seek their fortune separately.
But for now, leaders of thought in the state and indeed in
the South-East should initiate without further delay a sober, profound and quiet
peace process devoid of recriminations and posturing. The primary aim of the
initiative will be to hear out all the parties to the dispute and thereafter
bring wise counsel to bear on the matter.Anambra’s present circumstances is too
grave to leave to public recriminations and appeal to sentiments. Let the elders
come in now. There is nothing in this call that condones any resort to violence.
The recourse to intransigence, belligerence and bellicosity
by all the parties has not and will not engender peace. Nor will locating the
root of the Anambra problem to outside sources do any good. Truth is that the
major source of Anambra’s present political problems is in Anambra.
Unless an urgent concerted effort is made at home to resolve
the Anambra crisis from its very foundation, it may yet escalate to a level
where the federal government will find justification for intervention. We call
for a new sober peace initiative as a means to make any such intervention
unnecessary.
