Chime, Nnamani and Battle for Ebeano

Since 2007 when things fell apart between ex-governor of Enugu state, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani and his political godson and successor in office, Sullivan Chime, very little has come from either camp by way of altercations. Even when in 2008, Chime drew the first blood by declaring in a newspaper interview that contrary to his predecessor’s slogan, Enugu never worked, Nnamani  took the hit in his strides and maintained a deafening silence.

Political watchers believe Nnamani was either too shocked by the turn of events to join issues with a man he installed governor, or his silence was for tactical reasons. Even at the senate where he represents Enugu East, he has literally been in political oblivion, his voice hardly rising beyond a whimper, occasionally. Speculations were that he would either take the Abuja route to an early political retirement, or he would stage a last stand -- using the 2011 elections -- to salvage the ‘Ebeano’ political dynasty he created and nurtured during his 8-year tenure.

Nnamani may have opted for the later. Suddenly regaining his voice in the past few weeks, he has announced his ‘return’ as eloquently as ever, firing from all cylinders against critics of his tenure and those who compare his administration with that of Chime. More importantly, he has made it clear he would prove wrong, those who had earlier declared ‘Ebeano,’ his formidable political machinery dead. He may have avoided calling names, but it is obvious who the arrow is pointed to. Characteristically, Nnamani goes down memory lane to reel out the much rehearsed developmental landmarks of his tenure.

It is hard not to acknowledge the many strides he made in his eventful eight years: ESUT teaching hospital, the Ebeano tunnel, ESUT permanent site, the International Conference Centre, dualisation of several roads in the metropolis, the law school at Agbani and so on. Evidence of his human capital development abounds too in the several men and women he raised from obscurity, many of whom form the core of the Chime government till date. Added to the towering political profile he pulled across the nation in his time, it is difficult to find a basis for such a comparison. However, whether Nnamani admits it or not, the state of insecurity that pervaded his tenure as well as the high-handed tactics he applied to extract political loyalty from subordinates, very nearly obliterates what is otherwise a laudable tenure. Those were the issues that would appear to define the period, and they are the ones opponents would readily remind the electorates about.

After what many consider to be an eventful – even if controversial -- tenure, largely defined by Nnamani’s propensity for stepping on toes, Chime’s three and a half years have offered a sharp contrast in leadership style. To many in Enugu, the period has been like fresh air and Chime’s aides seem to be building the 2011 campaign around issues of insecurity that appear to be Nnamani’s weakest points. But are they not pursuing shadows? Nnamani may be the arrowhead of the intra-party opposition to Chime, but he is definitely not a candidate for the state governorship. Rather than address tangible issues of the governor’s performance, there is so much obsession for Nnamani’s head.  Are they not playing into a decoy?

Though Chime may have departed from Nnamani’s brand of messianic zealotry, many readily adjudge his performance to be less than average while his leadership style has raised serious questions on its own. Beyond his claims on infrastructural renewal, opinions are divided on whether or not he can actually take credit for those roads he rehabilitated. His critics are quick to point out that a preponderance of the roads resurfaced in the capital city were not started from scratch but belong to Nnamani and previous administrations. While he needs to correct that perception, such a controversy does not however, exist on rural roads. Chime can lay claim, and rightly so, to the transformation of a large part of the rural areas of the state.  The development of rural roads is one area many people seem to agree that Chime has indeed made a mark in.

A bad patch in that rural development map would however be his native Udi local government area where many indigenes view the rural transformation issue with mixed feelings. While the Eke-Akpakwume road has received a major facelift, the Ninth Mile-Oji River road has remained one of the worst in the entire South East. The road which traverses over 12 communities in Udi LGA alone and connects several more in Oji River, has for decades, been a factor in the economic life of the rural populace in the areas in particular and the state in general. The argument that Chime ignored the road because he was avoiding being labeled selfish, smacks of timidity. Are Udi and Oji River no longer part of Enugu state? What can be more selfish than his decision to first rehabilitate the Ozalla -Udi road (which terminates in his home town) instead of the Ninth Mile – Oji road that would have benefitted about 20 other communities?

Many people believe that Chime’s leadership has been less than inspiring. His near-reclusive nature raises questions of how much grip he has on the politics of the state and how much of his own imprint he brings to bear on the policies that drive the administration. It may be wrong, but the perception is strong in Enugu that the few powerful men around Chime have hijacked the government for their own ends. Fewer and fewer people have access to the governor, whose political standing on major issues affecting the state which prides itself as the heartbeat of the South  East, has not matched his towering frame. One can accuse Nnamani of too much theatrics in his days but as Enugu governor, there is no denying that he connected well with the people, and possessed the ability to inspire. Whether the issue was regional or national, he may not always toe the popular line, but he would ensure he was not dwarfed, and that his voice was heard loudly.

In the battle for the soul of Enugu, the personality and leadership style of both men will definitely be important factors. The otherwise simple duty of defining what used to be their common political platforms has since 2007 become somewhat knotty. The awesome Ebeano machinery to which most mainstream political actors in Enugu belonged and which produced 100% of elected public office holders of that era, has since been disowned by Chime. In what may yet be a tactical blunder, Chime talks about ‘Ebeano’ as if it were an item you could simply decree out of existence or a piece of clothing that you could command people to pull over their heads into the waste bin. In a clime where political platforms are stronger rallying points than the shifting loyalties to political parties, what alternative platform has he built?

It may provide a peep into Chime’s sense of judgment -- fatal as it may be -- that Ebeano, like the snake with a bruised head, is considered dead and lying dangerously under the bed. Paradoxically, Chime is still surrounded on all sides by his co-travellers since the Nnamani days and it is likely that deep down, many may not share his view on Ebeano, for the simple reason that the position is not logical.

The questions on everybody’s lips are: Can Nnamani, the Ebeano philosopher-king still roar the cranky political machinery back to life at Chime’s expense? Will Chime whose deft manouvres have brought all past opponents under his wings, still prevail in the ensuing debacle? The answers lie in the weeks ahead.

This article was first published in THISDAY newspaper on Sunday October 10, 2010

Zoning, Jonathan and the Igbo Dilemma

Anyone who chooses to write on the zoning debate from a sectional perspective runs the risk of being labelled an ethnic jingoist, so I should start by making it clear that I am not one.

No topic has engaged Nigerians in recent times more than the issue of zoning, the possible entry of President Goodluck Jonathan into the 2011 presidential contest and the implication of the latter to the North, especially. While the debate rages with strong arguments in favour for or against, the South-East which will largely share in its implication either way (as next in the Southern queue), has remained indifferent.

It is pertinent to state however, that the debate as it is being conducted misses the point about the actual concept of zoning. Most people who jump on the bandwagon freely juxtapose zoning for the concept of power rotation.
As a pragmatic idea of power sharing since the First Republic, zoning has been observed in various degrees and in different dispensations in recognition of Nigeria's complex and heterogeneous composition. For that purpose, it has served Nigeria well and the federal character principle enshrined in section 14 of our constitution, gives full expression to that principle.
Power rotation on the other hand, is a concept that rotates (mainly) presidential office between the northern and southern parts of the country. Though it was first mooted in the NPN of the Second Republic, it is today an internal arrangement within the ruling PDP. Two polar positions have become dominant in the debate: support for zoning as a necessary concept that gives all sections of the country a sense of belonging, and support for its abrogation in favour of what is called 'merit'.

Behind the argument is an unfortunate fixation that power rotation to the North at this period, benefits General Ibrahim Babangida's presidential ambition, while a PDP re-election ticket for Jonathan equates 'merit'. In this debate, very few have paused to consider a middle line: Is the PDP zoning arrangement and a Jonathan re-election ticket mutually exclusive? My answer is a resounding no!

What has caused the eruption in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and which has engulfed Nigeria arises from suggestions that the party's agreement on power rotation between the North and South should be dropped entirely for the incumbent to mount the party's platform. What may not work for the party is any attempt to shout the North down. With deft political arrangement, akin to the doctrine of necessity that brought in Jonathan as Acting President earlier this year, the resolution of this matter is not far-fetched.
From the ridiculous to the sublime, arguments have surfaced in certain quarters for or against zoning and power rotation! The pro-zoning debaters make their case on the need to sustain the country's unity and national cohesion based on the sense of belonging that the concept gives each component of Nigeria's diverse federation.

On the other hand, only the power rotation arrangement guarantees that one section does not dominate the nation's political leadership, ensuring that ethnic minorities (and majority back-benchers like the Igbo) get the opportunity to take real shots at the nation's presidency. Equally passionate debaters posit that zoning (and perhaps power rotation), has become unfashionable.

To me, the arguments in favour of Jonathan are strong enough on their own without PDP having to shoot down its arrangement on power rotation. For one, it rarely happens in developed democracies which we copy, that a sitting president is denied re-election ticket by his own party.
If re-election tickets for incumbent presidents are generally accepted as the convention worldwide, I don't see why Jonathan should be denied. The unfortunate incidents leading to his emergence as the president were after all, beyond us all. Secondly, there is no sacrifice too much for other parts of Nigeria to make in appeasing the Niger-Delta that has borne the brunt of our collective development as a nation since independence.
Thirdly, the picture aptly painted by Alhaji Muktar Shagari, deputy Governor of Sokoto State, should particularly appeal to Northerners. Shagari stated the obvious when he told his kinsmen that Jonathan deserves their support because the South-South zone where he hails from has over the years, been the North's vote garden in Southern Nigeria.

Zoning, just like the federal character principle, cannot totally be wished away in Nigeria because it is at the epicenter of our national stability. Neither the North, nor indeed the South-East, appears prepared to fall for that hoodwink. They conveniently forget the legion of examples of sitting presidents who don't scale the hurdle of re-election even with the party's ticket in the bag.

Even for the simple reasons of our ethnic diversity, our unique history and heterogeneous nature, merit can only succeed if it is embedded in any form or arrangement that recognises power rotation. It is therefore myopic, especially for the Igbo, to assume that after an incumbent Jonathan has crossed the river on the bridge of so-called 'merit', the same argument will sustain the plank for them to use thereafter.
So far, governors of the South-East have met, and declared support for President Jonathan to contest in 2011.Though they are not lacking support from politicians like Senator Arthur Nzeribe, the oracle of Oguta, they have equally been strongly criticised for their "timidity and political short-sightedness". Only a few Igbo leaders understand that with a Jonathan bowler hat in the ring, their immediate presidential aspiration will be in jeopardy.
Come to think of it, the argument for merit should ordinarily interest the Igbo, who are not in short supply of leaders of quality, but the power rotation agreement - written or not - does not have to be repudiated. The consequences, both for Jonathan and the entire nation are grave, moreso for the Igbo. And, like I have argued, a PDP ticket for Jonathan and retention of the principle of power rotation, are not mutually exclusive. The South-East leaders ought to emphasise this correlation to strengthen the zone's political interest in the long run.
Fifty years down the road of independence, the Igbo is the only one - among Nigeria's big three nationalities - yet to taste executive power in real terms, at the country's topmost hierarchy. Indeed, it has been discussed elsewhere that 2015 would have been the turn of Igbos, if the Yar'Adua presidency had run its full course. A Jonathan re-election will definitely push that prospect forward by at least four years, but without an in-built arrangement for power rotation thereafter, it could remain in the North for as many as 50 years if the prediction by erudite scholar and elder Yoruba statesman, Professor Aluko is anything to go by.

This piece was first published in SUNDAY TRUST newspaper of Nigeria on 08 August 2010 .

Uto Nsude, Utology and the Origin of Igba-Nkwa

He who has no gun should sell his mother and buy one...     Sounds barbaric, doesn’t it?   Well, not for the average Nsude man, especially during the period of Nkwa festival, the famous celebration of the town’s legendary exploits in warfare centuries ago, and it is a tradition that survives till today.   Once every two years, Nsude and its brother communities that make up the Oshie-Anugwu clan of Enugu State, converge in the Eke-Uto square in Nsude, Udi Local Government Area, for the historical ceremony performed in remembrance of Uto, one of the greatest war generals in Igbo history.     Nkwa festival, like a magnet, draws people from all corners of the globe to pay symbolic respects to Uto. This celebration and remembrance of his glorious past, has become a tradition that has survived and defied the vociferous onslaught of Christianity and modernity, and has become one of the greatest celebrations of valour in lgboland. But for government’s lack of interest in developing its potential in tourism, it would have rivaled the popular Zulu war festival in South Africa.   Because of the symbolic essence of Nkwa, guns, machetes and battle gears are integral parts of the celebration: in fact, the most important since they are the most essential instruments of war. Even as I write, my mind’s ear picks the booms of long dane gun-shots that reverberate across the length and breath of Nsude as the festival is celebrated.   Looking back into time, I remember as a young man how I spent hours with my friends before the actual celebration day, carving guns out of wood. For a male son of Nsude, nay Oshieland,  celebrating Nkwa without a ‘gun’ is like not taking part at all, and as one grows older, one graduates from wooden to real dane guns. The older still, the longer the barrel of the gun. And those who cannot afford to acquire one are advised to sell their mothers in order to buy one, or otherwise hide under their mothers’ beds to avoid the shame of facing their peers, empty-handed on that day that valour is celebrated.   Anyway, that is to underscore the importance of guns, not that any one has ever sold his mother for that reason.   The Concept of Utology Simply put, Utology is the concept of being one’s brother’s keeper. Utology translates to onye aghana nwanne ya, which Uto demonstrated by being fiercely protective of his kith and kin in times past. The concept derives from that selflessness and valour. Apart from waging wars in defence of his native Nsude, Uto is recorded as having led the Oshie clan (a cluster of five communities) successfully in 36 battles across Iboland, up to Igalaland in present-day Kogi state to the North and Benin Kingdom in present-day Edo state to the West. For a man born and raised in mysterious circumstances, and who obtained the “prestigious” human head at five, he has remained the symbol of bravery and courage for the Oshie clan. In his time, no one dared attack any Oshie clan because he would pursue such aggressors, literally, to the end of the earth. And indeed, for the appreciative Igbos of the Udi highlands, he has since become a deity, just as his former homestead in Nsude has become a Mecca of some spiritual sort. The utological concept of being one’s brother’s keeper has largely become generalised in the entire Igboland. It became in the late 1960s, the inspirational call for Biafrans fighting the Civil War, just as it became the wake up call in the years of rehabilitation thereafter. Many Igbo men and women, but especially the businessmen across the globe, have also become utologists by default. One of the first lessons young Igbos learn in their business is to always be his brother’s keeper. It may be one of the keys to their successes in business. The Mystery of Nkwa Festival   The origin of Nkwa festival is pre-historic. Legends have in recent decades tried to unravel its mystery and how it came to become one of the most intriguing aspects of Oshie tradition and culture. According to Oshie history, Nkwa originated following the death of Uto the warrior and it is celebrated to sustain the memory of his famous conquests.   Like all celebrations in Igboland, Nkwa has also assumed a social dimension. On its day, thousands of people troop to Nsude, the cradle of Oshie clan, from all parts of the country to witness the one-day carnival, families exchange visits and food and drinks are provided in abundance. On the day proper, people wake up as early as 5 a.m. to get ready. Getting ready involves kitting oneself in those traditional costumes and fearful war attires, testing the dane guns and disguising oneself with painting that will make Bill Mascaras look like a joker. Hours later, the jingling noise of the hundreds of iron bells (called ikpo) worn around the waists, dane guns in the right hands and the gun powder bottle on the left, the celebrants will file out in thousands, chanting war songs and gyrating to the Eke-Uto Square where the famous Ikpa music will be reminding everyone who comes to dance, to ensure he brings along a human head.    The procession is conducted village by village, with Umuaka, where Uto’s mother comes from, leading the rest of the villages in Nsude. It is only after all the villages of Nsude have taken their turns that other communities of Oshie (originally Nsude’s siblings) take their turns too, starting with Eke, Oshie’s second son after Nsude.   In centuries gone by, it was abominable to dance to the Ikpa except you are an accomplished warrior who had obtained a human head from one of the several inter-communal battles. Surprisingly, (in fact, it remains one of the mysteries), despite the dangerous weapons employed during the celebrations, rarely are serious accidents recorded.   Another notable thing about Nkwa is that it has also defied the tendencies of foreign religions, especially Christianity. Even though pockets of critics have tried to label it a pagan tradition, it has continued to attract people from all religious persuasions. Little wonder that of all days in the calendar. Nkwa is celebrated only on (Afor) Sundays, preponderantly in the month of November of every leap year.   Another surprise is that despite the significance of the celebration as an activity of a historical and cultural relevance, subsequent state governments in Enugu – even since its days as a regional capital-- have only paid lip service to the promise to internationalize it. Besides being an activity that can be exploited to boost tourism like the Hausas have done with their Sallah Durbars (Hawan Bariki), Nkwa is also unique to the Igboman for the rich historical perspectives it portrays.   Uto’s Death And The origin Of Nkwa   Uto Nsude, in his lifetime was reputed to be the greatest warrior in the entire Oshie clan of the present Enugu State in particular and Igboland in general. His exploits in battles and his near superhuman powers were legendary. He is reputed to have obtained a human head at the age of five, and on his death shortly after in his prime, he had obtained the greatest number of human heads from inter-communal battles.   At a period when there were no wars to engage Uto’s attention, he resorted to being a ‘mercenary’ warrior, travelling far and near to help prosecute one war or the other. In one of those expeditions in the present day Benin , Uto was said to have fallen into a trench dug by a strange medicine man. He fell into it and contracted a strange disease. The disease manifested fully on his return to Nsude, and it was later found out to be ‘omelumma’ (chicken pox) which could not be cured by the local medicine men.   To suffer from such a disease was a curse and to be afflicted with it was abominable at that period. Despite Uto’s standing as the district’s major inspiration, he was still subject to the tradition and custom which demands that those suffering from such cursed diseases are ex-communicated in an isolated place. Uto was consequently carried to the wilderness (iwhe egu) in the outskirts of Nsude, the highest point of the Udi hills and around the ‘Agu Ajali’ where the community has common boundaries with Owa. He had a small thatched hut built for him at a point presently called Akpata Uto and his belongings were carried out to him there. There he died of chicken pox and as custom demanded, he was not given a ceremonious burial befitting his stature.   Consequently upon his death, many mysterious things happened in Nsude and other nearby towns in Oshie clan that were founded by his siblings, and for the first time, they suffered defeats in inter-communal battles. When consulted, native doctors revealed that Uto was angry at the ignominious way he was buried. His son, Ugwu also expressed anger that his father who accomplished so much for Nsude and his Oshie kinsmen, was not accorded a ceremonious burial and was in fact being forgotten so soon.   Thereupon, the Oshie clan consulted with each other and agreed to accord Uto a befitting funeral ceremony and to repeat it every year in his honour and in remembrance of his exploits and valour. It was also to be an occasion where the latest weapons of war as well as human heads brought from recent wars would be displayed and gallant warriors honoured. They agreed to celebrate this every year.   Actually, the promise of a yearly celebration was kept for a number of years. After some years, the yearly honour which had metamorphosed into a festival and a carnival of sorts became too tasking for the people because of the high material cost. After consultations with Uto by his priests, it was agreed that ‘Nkwa’ be held every two years. That agreement is still adhered to and the festival has today become one of the few revered celebrations in Igboland.   It should be noted however, that even though Uto commanded a lot of respect and was even being ‘worshipped’ by some people in his lifetime, Uto actually became a deity few years after his death. The Nkwa festival was the major factor that deified him, as another god of the Igbo people.   This piece was first published in the DAILY SUN newspaper of Nigeria in January, 2010 but updated and adapted for this blog. Reactons are welcome at sheddyozoene@yahoo.com