By: Israel Umoh
As genuine as their demands were, the Governors came as elected representatives, but some of them have faltered and dashed the hopes of many. They support anti-people programmes and policies. They have not shown model for good governance and have failed to practise democratic tenets espoused by the Presidential system of government. A legal dictum says He who goes to equity must come with clean hands. They are asking the apex government to hearken to their demands, yet they do not live by what seek from another.
For example, the Governors who are looking for justice and equity from the higher government deliberately trashed the local government autonomy which canvasses financial independence for the third tier of government to entrenching development at the grassroots. When Nigerian Finance and Intelligence Unit (NFIU) issued a circular for direct funding of local councils, President Muhammadu Buhari followed up by issuing an executive order. This would have resulted in discontinuance of the Joint State/Local Government Account, but the governors kicked against it and dragged NFIU and Federal Government to court. Apart, they mounted pressure through Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum for Mr. President to stop enforcing the order.
Again, the governors are averse to criticisms by local councils’ operators. Any local government Chairman who objects any of the state policy viewed as ‘obnoxious’ is kicked out and replaced with Transition or Caretaker Committee chairman or member. Even in local government elections, the Governors are fond of hand picking their cronies whereas opposition chairmanship and councillorship candidates are disqualified or allowed to contest and fail.
Moreover, their predecessors capitalised on the defective 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and appended Pensions Act for themselves. Apart from pillaging the state treasury, some of the ex-Governors who later occupy elected or appointive positions at the national level after leaving office earn dual salaries and other fringe benefits. They would collect their jumbo pensions, yet while the office they closed their eyes to the plights of less privileged.
While some governors have formed and remit funds, on a monthly basis from the excess crude revenues to state oil producing commissions for the development of the oil-producing areas, other governors do not. They would collect the money, lump up, recycle, spend and retire on phony projects. Yet, the geese that lay the golden eggs live in squalor in the midst of plenty.
In addition, the South-South Governors, like most of their counterparts in other states, abhor financial autonomy for the Judiciary in the country. When their House of Assemblies wanted to amend the section of the constitution, the governors in unison rose and thwarted the move. Consequently, the bill became comatose.
Even the Governors repulsed granting financial autonomy to the State legislatures. The funds for the assemblies were to be coming from the Federation Account Allocation Committee. At the moment, different Houses of Assembly still go cap in hand to seek funds from the executive arm. It is an aberration for the executive arm of government to muzzle and control the legislative and Judiciary arms of government financially and expect democracy to be walking on four legs. One would expected the South South governors to be pathfinders in enforcing these democratic ethos, yet they have reneged these promises.
This is the harrowing sleeping sickness of the region. Sleeping sickness, or human African trypanosomiasis, is a life-threatening disease caused by related parasite strains, and transmitted by the tsetse fly. During this stage, people develop neuropsychiatric symptoms such as sleep disruption, confusion, lethargy, and convulsions. If left untreated, sleeping sickness is usually fatal.
Comparatively, the South-South’s sleeping sickness which is generational includes disunity, pull-him-down syndrome, beastly pecuniary appetite, lack of cooperation, lack of trust, Republican nature, tribal segregation, denominational-ism, treachery, loquacious spirit, and egoistic miasma, among others.
Do the young people respect the elders as the trustworthy, sincere ones? Or, do the elders mentor the young ones to the extent of bequeathing lasting legacies to them? Do the elders believe in leadership recruitment exercise? How many governors and stakeholders in the region enunciate and implement populist programmes for the people? How many of them send the best brains and brightest to the National Assembly or to represent their states at any competitive assignment at the national level?
How many governors sponsor their citizens to the best universities or highly rated ivory towers in the world for a secure future? How many of them are sympathetic to cause of the less privileged? How many governors prepare their citizens for leadership position or support their entrepreneurial spirit? How many of them appoint the best into their cabinets or allow those appointed to advise them on key state issues? How many of them seek advice of the best or listen to constructive criticisms of others in opposing camp?
Are they not the ones who will load their brand new cars- jeeps- with warts of Naira and other hard currencies to other regions for consultation and lobby for higher position during their tenure of office? Are most governors not outsourcing contracts to pauperise the home boys who will perpetually be at their financial mercy? How many of them condemn national policies that affect the collective interest of the region? Yes, they had issued a seven-point demand. How many of them were sincere about the demands and will follow up for implementation by the Federal Government? Or, was the gathering another political talk shop for some to market their political aspirations and front their egos? Were they trying to play underhand dealing to deceive their people believing that they care about the region? After the meeting, were some of the governors not the ones who threw a party under surreptitious guise for the Presidential delegation?
Unfortunately, most South South leaders are poor students of Nigerian history and do not reflect on the history of Nigeria’s unity of Nigeria. In 1952, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa addressed the Northern House of Assembly thus: ‘‘The Southern people who are flocking into this region daily in such large numbers are really intruders; we don’t want them and they are not welcomed here in the North. Since 1914, the British government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country. But the people are different in every way, including religion, custom, language and aspirations. We in the north take it that Nigeria unity is only a British intention for the country they created. It is not for us.’’
On his part, Chief Obafemi Awolowo in his ever green speech said: ‘‘Nigeria is only a geographical expression to which life was given by the diabolical amalgamation of 1914, that amalgamation will ever remain the most painful injury a British government inflicted on southern Nigeria.’’
According to the Parrot Newspaper of October 12, 1960, Sir Ahmadu Bello, just 11 days after Nigeria’s independence, said: ‘‘The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate from our great-grand father Othman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We must use the minorities of the North as willing tools, and the South as conquered territories and never allow them to have control of their future.’’ Note that Southerners were not allowed to join ‘‘NPC’’ the political party of the North then. What followed there after leading to the civil war was better imagined.
General Yakubu Gowon’s maiden speech to the nation when he took over after the assassination of General JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi was: ‘‘Suffice to say, putting all consideration to test: political, economic, as well as social, the basis for unity is not there, or it has been so badly shaken not once, but several times.’’ The forgoing shows that the unity of Nigeria has a defective foundation ab-initio.
Owing to their political naivety in Nigeria’s evolution, some governors flock to the North for political solace, forgetting that typical Northerners see them as an unserious, loud-mouthed people from a conquered zone – who should not be allowed to sniff the aromatic throne. After their first term in the office, some governors use the second to package themselves, visit notable political leaders with truckloads of money to seek blessing to becoming Nigeria’s President or Vice President. At the end of the lobby, they still and sink into political pit and long-drawn night catches up with them.
Of all the cures, let South South change the militarized psyche and embrace love and self-sacrifice. Let them come together as a person and form economic ventures. They can jointly establish and own modular refinery, insurance company, own shares in reputable banks and GSM companies. Let the Governors and stakeholders and younger generation of the region find a permanent cure to the sleeping sicknesses that have held the area captive and stagnated for years. Let us birth selfless and visionary leaders in the mould of Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Obafemi Awolowo, Julius Nyerere, and Nelson Mandela, among others. May the blood shed by Isaac Boro and Ken Saro-Wiwa- slain but great South-South compatriots- redeem the region from political slavery, economic backwardness and religious victimization.
–Concluded
