Daily Independent Online.
*
Wednesday, June 30, 2004.
What does Dan Ulasi want?
On both Kaakaki on Africa Independent Television (AIT) and abridged version
of a press conference shown on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) a few
days ago, Chief Dan Ulasi, the erstwhile Caretaker Committee Chairman of the
PDP Anambra State Chapter, was at his vituperative best, churning out
invectives against the Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chris Ngige, Sir Chris
Atuegwu and a host of others whose dedication to restore the years devoured by
the locusts was beyond reproach. I
listened attentively expecting the opening of a Pandora’s box of scandals
but was surprised that Chief Ulasi acknowledged, in the same breath that he
condemned the Governor, that he is indeed rehabilitating roads and carrying out
various developmental projects in that heartland of Igbo nation.
If the Governor is delivering the dividends of
democracy, what then is Ulasi’s grouse? Obviously Ulasi has a different definition of
‘dividends of democracy’.
The developmental programmes of Dr. Ngige, in as much as they are a
source of happiness to the masses of Anambra State, are meaningless to Ulasi
since he has not benefited personally from them.
The emergence of Chief Ulasi as the Chairman of the
caretaker Committee of Anambra PDP was a child of circumstance. His appointment was sequel to the sacking
of Chief Ifeatu Obi-Okoye-led executive following their ignoble role in the
July 10, abduction saga and their subsequent indictment. The appointment of Ulasi as the
Caretaker Chairman was meant to redirect, reposition and stabilise the party in
the face of acrimonious bickering and asphyxiating contentions.
When the birds of prey swooped down on Anambra State
determined to devour her, it was not only Ulasi, not only Anambrarians nor Igbo
nation, but the entire Nigerians that raised their voices in condemnation, and
thereafter worked assiduously for the survival of democracy and the
dislodgement, of the political buccaneers. Candidly, Ulasi has not regular business in Abuja. In this age of Information and
Communication Technology anybody can operate from the remotest part of our
globe. Therefore the task of Ulasi
as Caretaker Chairman was not in Abuja but in Awka; not in the cosy paradise of
Nicon-Hilton but in the rugged engine house of the party secretariat at Awka.
The high point of Dr. Ngige’s administration is
that he uses Anambra State’s money as he would use his personal,
hard-earned money. There is no
easy money anymore. In Anambra
State now you must earn your money.
This obviously is accountable for the quantum of developmental projects the
Ngige administration is handling.
What is mind boggling is that this was the same State which under the
previous administration owed teachers, workers and pensioners several months of
salaries. Not only has the backlog
of salaries been liquidated, the state government has resuscitated the payment
of leave allowance - an allowance last paid ten years ago. And yet the receipts from the federal
allocation have been the same.
This is a midas touch indeed.
I do not know what new facts that have emerged to
make Ulasi eulogize and attempt a suspicious canonization of Obasanjo. When the issue of the restoration of
the security personnel of Governor came to the fore during the last
presidential media chat show, it was palpable to even a cursory observer, the
partisanship of President Obasanjo.
Obasanjo is a man whose body language is plain enough to decipher. Unlike our chameleonic maradona, IBB,
Obasanjo bares it all when prodded.
The contortion of Obasanjo’s face depicting anger and his
utterances each time Anambra State is mentioned inconvertibly portrays him as
“Baba Alaye”
in the Anambra crisis.
Jennifer Bassey,
Abuja
