Anambra: One Year On, Any Peace In Sight?
It is barely a year since the protracted crisis provoked by the failed attempt to abduct Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra State erupted. Since then, his security details have been withdrawn on the orders of an Enugu High Court. Yet Ngige still trudges on as Ndubuisi Ugah reports
One governor whose pedigree under the present dispensation can make a fitting resemblance to the proverbial cat with nine lives is Dr. Chris Ngige of Anambra State.
For a governor whose major thrust soon after being sworn-in was to confront the herculean task of repositioning the state among its contemporaries in the comity of other states, the reality on ground suggest that the task has been anything herculean.
To realise this ambition, he started out with zeal to confront the comatose state of the different sectors that make up the state. Ngige moved in swiftly in this direction by adopting a strategy of embracing people-oriented policies and projects.
But the prevalence of distractive tendencies initiated by politicians with vested interest in the manner in which the state is run has made the achievement of these goals an illusion.
This situation is not helped by the fact that for a long time, the state has remained a theatre of war brought about by the lingering "cold war" between Ngige and his estranged political godfather, Chief Chris Uba.
The genesis of the crisis has its foothold in the disagreement between Uba and Ngige over the terms of sponsorship that led to Ngige's emergence as governor.
The nation was shocked when on July 10, Uba and his co-political travelers conspired to abduct Ngige from office under the guise that he had resigned.
On the day in question, the governor was in his office attending to the business of the day when he was confronted by a team of policemen led by the late Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr. Raphael Ige.
The Awka invasion was said to have been masterminded by Uba, who had openly boasted that he single-handedly sponsored every political office holder in the state, up to the national level.
Uba, it was alleged, claimed he spent about N3 billion for the elections and therefore, had reason to compel Ngige to open up the state treasury to enable him recoup his investment from the political project.
In line with the design, Uba claimed that Ngige had resigned. He clarified that there was a subsisting agreement with the governor before, during and after the elections, insisting that the agreement must be kept.
However, Ngige denied knowledge of an agreement and refusing to neither recognise nor honour any agreement allegedly signed with Uba.
The ensuing events made it unsuitable for any meaningful progress to take place. What took the centrestage was violent confrontations between the rival groups and their supporters, accusations and counter accusations from both sides. Yet, the cardinal goal of providing good governance and basic infrastructure for the people remained largely unfulfilled.
While the governor would not compromise his seat, Uba on the other hand was equally unrelenting in his effort to ensure his exit.
What further muddled up the situation and ensured that peace eluded the state was the lack of commitment on the side of President Olusegun Obasanjo. To many, the crisis in the state has lingered as a result of the belligerence of Uba who is rumoured to have Obasanjo's backing.
There were several failed attempts including that of Senate President Adolphus Wabara, which initiated the Owerri Accord. Expectedly, treachery and lack of commitment conspired to kill the peace effort. Since the accord could not record any concrete peace, Senator Arthur Nzeribe, also a member of the peace committee, call for the declaration of a state of emergency in the state.
Perhaps, the Anambra crisis will remain memorable for its number of casualties. Prominent among this individuals are Governor Abdulahi Adamu of Nasarawa State, who before the crisis, was the Chairman of the Governors' Forum. His removal was based on his perceived inaction and alignment with Obasanjo to thwart any meaningful peace efforts towards resolving the crisis.
According to the governors, their insistence that Adamu be removed also was premised on the fact that he (Adamu) failed to handle the issue to their satisfaction.
Another figure that was swept off by the crisis was Justice Wilson Egbo-Egbo of the Abuja high Court, who was the first judge to make a legal pronouncement on the Anambra crisis.
Egbo-Egbo, it was who at the early stage of the crisis, ruled that Ngige should vacate his seat for his then deputy, Dr. Okey Udeh. His position was based on his interpretation that in line with Uba's assertion, Ngige had truly resigned his position.
His ruling on the crisis, brought him under severe public scrutiny and an appeal which eventually led another court to overrule Egbo-Egbo.
In the ruling, Egbo-Egbo's judgement was believed to be capable of creating tension in the polity. References were made of how his past pronouncements had at different times, polarised the judiciary, a development that warranted the National Judicial Council (NJC) to first place him on suspend before a panel finally recommended his retirement by the Federal Government.
Another casualty was the late AIG Ige, despite masterminding the botched abduction project, Ige, from police account was a distinguished officer while in active service. After serving the police force meritoriously for 37 years, it was only an irony that he was retired on the eve of his retirement date, a development many attributed may have led to his death.
But Dr. Okey Ude and Eucharia Azodo, erstwhile deputy governor and Speaker of the State House of Assembly, their punishment was inescapable considering the major roles they played to ensure that the project succeed. It was only natural that with its failure, the duo had to pay the ultimate price.
The case of Justice Stanley Nnaji, however was no exception when compared to that of the other casualties. He made a mockery of the judiciary when he ruled, ordering the Inspector General of Police to effect the removal of a sitting governor who is immuned by the 1999 Constitution.
His ruling was informed by the suit brought before it by Nelson Achukwu, a member of the Anambra state Assembly who claimed an infringement on his rights by the governor during the December 6 Zonal congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu.
Therefore many contend that the recent olive branch extended by Ngige to Uba may afterall be the much expected fillip to oil the wheels for a new Anambra State, one year after the crisis broke out in July 10.
Going by what most commentators have said concerning how peace can be brokered to enable the state move forward, it has become imperative for the two actors to bury the hatchet and eschew violence for peace and development to reign in the state.
It is instructive to note that while so many factors have made the crisis assume the worrisome dimension it has taken lately, care equally, according to observers, should be taken in order to forestall any further outbreak of fresh crisis in the future.
First, there is a legal argument that the judgement of Justice Nnaji of January 2, 2004 was supposed to have been duly registered with the Anambra State Judiciary in accordance with the Sheriff & Civil Process Act of the Federation before its enforcement/execution. Apart from the fact that the plaintiff failed to duly register it, the manner at which it was enforced is said to have raised more questions than answers.
Equally, the same Sheriff & Civil Process Act provides that a judgement cannot be executed until after at least three working days from the day of the judgement.
But Ngige's camp point to the fact that, despite the Court of Appeal, Enugu Order of January 12, 2004 which restrained the IGP from removing Ngige, his security details was still being withdrawn despite the subsisting Enugu State High Court judgement.
While analysts have viewed Ngige's preparedness to reconcile with Uba based on the terms of reconciliation spelt out for both groups at a meeting of the party's National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja recently, emphasis, however, have been made on the need to have a speedy trial of the cases brought by the defeated All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) gubernatorial candidate in the April 19, 2003 general election, Chief George Muoghalu, and his All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) counterpart, Mr. Peter Obi. Both cases are still being heard at the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Awka, Anambra State capital.
Secondly, going by Ngige's position, it is imperative for all the parties involved in the crisis to sheath their sword and embrace peace considering that the July 8 date fixed by the Supreme Court for fresh hearing of the suit filed by the Anambra State governor, Dr. Ngige, challenging the constitutional right of the President to order the withdrawal of security details from the governor of a state in Nigeria is still pending.
Ngige's move for reconciliation would be commended by all as a step in the right direction. It is expected that other combatants in the "war" should embrace his new found peace initiative.
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