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Egwu and the challenge of building peace in Ebonyi
Ebonyi is in the
league of states created by the late military dictator, General Sani Abacha,
six years ago. The state has managed to be on its feet and has experienced
relative peace that makes it a success story. In this report, Habib Aruna, Assistant Politics Editor, looks at how
the government has been able to weather the storm and the role of prominent
citizens of the state in this new-found peace.
Ebonyi
State became famous during the countdown to the 2003 general elections. It was
not however on a positive note because it was due to the lingering acrimony
between its two illustrious sons who were contesting for the political soul of
the state.
Indeed,
the animosity was between the former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, and
Governor Sam Egwu over who would be the arrowhead of the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. While few would question Anyim for trying
to hijack the party machinery to feather his nest, Egwu’s supporters
argued that the governor was right to install his protégés at
strategic positions in the party, who later became instrumental to his success
at the polls. At the peak of the struggle between these two camps on who would
control the structure of the party in the state, the major slogan from the
“Abuja group” was “Federal might” would crush the
“ home group”. In fact, based on the perceived vantage position of
many of the members of the Abuja group by the singular reason of having a
Senate President in their camp, not a few members of the home-based group lost
faith in the ability of the governor to outwit the former. But the unthinkable
happened and the governor defeated the “mighty” Abuja group despite
their resources and use of the federal might. It was however gathered that
before the primaries, Egwu ran to the presidency for help and President
Olusegun Obasanjo was said to have given him listening airs because of his
plans to avenge the perceived antics of Anyim in the conspiracy to impeach him.
With
this, it was not difficult for the governor to enlist the support of the party
apparatchik to ensure that Egwu came out victorious. The victory was to serve
as a major blow to the political career of the former Senate President, who has
since receded to the backstage.
But
the turn of events did not stop others from challenging the governor at the
polls. Some of them left the party because they were schemed out by the
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leadership in the state, who acted a
script to make sure that the coast was clear for Egwu to march into the
Government House for the second time. The names of the likes of Dr. Ogbonnaya
Onu, Lawrence Nwuruku, Senator Polycarp Nwite and others kept recurring as
figures that could rob Egwu of a second term ticket. While Onu belongs to the
All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and was said to be only interested in making
sure that the state is in the right hands, Nwite left the PDP to contest the
governorship under the platform of the United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP).
Instructively
too, just after the election and contrary to the norms in this country where
losers find it easy to blame the winners for manipulating the results, Nwite
addressed a press conference where he not only accepted the results, he also
congratulated the governor while stretching a hand of fellowship to him and
pledging to support his government.
And
contrary to what now obtains in many states of the federation, opponents of the
governor in the last general elections have now joined him in the same boat to
participate in the development of the state. This, it was gathered, was based
on the fact that since the state is still young, it would be unwise for the
leaders to be engaging in ceaseless acrimony when what is needed is for all
hands to be on deck to assist the governor in his arduous task to develop the
state.
“Top
politicians in the state realised after the 2003 general elections that rather
than contributing to the problems on ground, the only way they could help the
people was to join hands with the governor and assist him to govern the state.
I think we will be better for it”, says Oko Nlia, a Lagos-based teacher
from the state.
It
was apparently based on this premise that all the registered political parties
in Ebonyi came together after the election to form a coalition to cooperate
with the state government. Except the ANPP governorship candidate, Senator
Osular, the others, led by Senator Nwite signed an accord with the ruling
party, pledging to work for the peace and development of the state.
Not
to miss such an auspicious opportunity, the governor was said to have jumped on
it and making sure that he carried the party leaders along in all his policies.
Besides, the coalition has now metamorphosed into a non-partisan body, making
sure the interest of the state supercedes everything else.
Even
so, Nwite, the arrowhead of this novel initiative, himself a veteran
politician, was said to be mindful of the harm incessant schism between
politicians could cause to a young state like Ebonyi which has many problems to
contend with. “You know he was one of those who were detained by the
brutal regime of the late Sani Abacha when he joined the democratic forces to
fight against military rule”, says Sylvester Odum, a close watcher of
Ebonyi politics.
Besides,
Daily Independent reliably gathered that Nwite might have concluded arrangement
to return to the PDP fold. One of the party leaders explained that the senator
was a founding member of the party, an ardent follower of the late Musa YarAdua
and member of the People’s Dimension Movement (PDM) currently led by
Vice -President Atiku Abubakar.
Moreover,
his return was said to be part of the scheming currently going on within the
group in their bid to make the ambition of their arrowhead a fruitful one in
2007.
In
fact, a PDP chieftain told Daily Independent that it was in this
spirit of working together that the state delegation that visited Aso Rock
recently comprised all stakeholders and traditional rulers, who, according to
him, made a strong impression during the visit. “With that camaraderie
and strong voice, we were able to make strong demands which the President
promised to look positively into”, said the party leader who craved
anonymity.
He
added: “You see we have to support the governor. Under Egwu, pupils
don’t pay fees, yet their teachers have not been owed salaries. Ebonyi
under Egwu receives one of the lowest amounts as allocation from the Federation
Account, yet the state workers have not been owed salaries, even for one month.
What is leadership if not to be concerned with the welfare of your
people.”
Similarly,
this new-found peace has helped in decimating the political rivalry that had
hitherto existed in the state. And it is not uncommon, with the way things are,
to see the governor holding meetings with opposition leaders on how to find
solutions and move the state forward.
And
part of the programme is the holding of constant meetings with local government
and with people at the grassroots to know their needs and in what ways the
government can come to their aid. This has helped in making sure that the
various interests in the state are taken care of.
For
sure, opposition is a vital ingredient in a democracy. It indeed makes it more
robust and meaningful because the government of the day is always on its toes
when there is an effective opposition. But as one of the politicians said
recently, opposition parties would have to thread carefully in a state where
the governor has demonstrated enough capacity to do the job and to care for the
welfare of the people.
“Apart
from being grounded intellectually, the governor has not neglected other vital
areas, such as road construction, rural development, health care, water supply,
housing and transport projects, electrification, among others,” said
Nlia, who also added that the people’s affection for the governor was a
product of the achievements he had recorded in the past five years.
As
it is, the team spirit among the Ebonyi State politicians appears to be
yielding fruits, and it is only ideal that other states follow this example.
The people will be the ultimate beneficiaries for this.
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