Category: Politics

Following the security threat posed by the activities of Biafra Zionist Federation in the South-East zone, governments and other leaders are seeking ways of securing the zone, reports Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu

Since the early hours of March 8, 2014, when some daring youths, belonging to a group known as Biafra Zionist Federation (BZF), invaded the Enugu State Government House, flying the rising sun flag of the defunct Republic of Biafra, there has been growing concern over their identity, their leadership, their sponsors and their real mission.

The concern deepened last weekend when some insiders, quoting security reports in the zone, said the group, a faction of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), was again heading to Imo State Government House, as part of its alleged plan to take over the the South-East states governments as a prelude to its expressed mission of re-declaring the defunct Republic of Biafra.

This followed the boldness of the leadership of the BZF, which promptly claimed  responsibility for the attack on Enugu State Government House and hinted in the media that the next target would be Owerri, the Imo State capital.

While the Police in Enugu declared the leader of the group, Barrister Benjamin Igwe Onwuka, wanted, Imo State Government issued a statement warning the group to stay away from the state.

The police in Enugu said Onwuka, 52, is wanted for alleged treasonable felony. The State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who issued the statement, said that “investigations into the alleged attack on Government House on March 8, 2014 by 4.30 a.m. have been intensified as some arrests have been made to that effect and suspects already helping the police in their investigations to unravel all those behind the dastardly act and bring them to book while manhunt on the fleeing persons are in top gear.”

He said: “The state police command has declared one Onwuka Benjamin Igwe wanted for treasonable felony. Onwuka Bejamin Igwe is one of the suspected actors in the unlawful act of 8/3/14 at Government House and since then has not been seen. He is 5ft 2 inches tall and not too dark in complexion and about 52 years and speaks English and Ibo languages fluently.”

In the statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to Imo State Governor on media, Sam Onwuemeodo, the state government said: “All the security agencies in the state have been alerted to this threat, and they will work in tandem with other agencies of the state government to ensure that the long existing peace in the state is not brought under any threat or jeopardy by any group, no matter which name, such group goes with.

“Imo state is known as the most peaceful state in the federation, if not in Africa, and the visionary and people-oriented government of Owelle Rochas Okorocha has continued to ensure that the state remains peaceful, and any attempt by any group to harm the peace of the state will be resisted.

“The leadership of the Zionist Biafra must have been aware that Imo State has the long history of being a peaceful state and the people of the state would not compromise that feat,” it said.

The government also warned the BZF to stay away from the state as any attempt by the group to destabilise the existing peace in the state would be suicidal . It also urged visitors to the Government House and the state in general to cooperate with security personnel and others working, to ensure that the state remains the most peaceful state in the country.

Governors, other Igbo leaders move to counter group

Worried by the threat, the governments of the South-East states, not only resolved to take individual precautions to avoid being taken unawares again but to work together to unveil the forces behind the group and similar groups threatening the security of the zone.

So, although the March 25, 2015 South-East governors’ meeting in Enugu was officially meant to review the participation of representatives from the region at the ongoing national conference, The Nation learnt that it afforded the governors of the zone an opportunity to review the threat posed by the Zionist group.

The Chairman of South-East Governors’ Forum and Abia State Governor, Chief Theodore Orji, who briefed journalists after the meeting that lasted for over three hours, acknowledged that they reviewed the security situation in the region at the meeting.

We learnt that the leaders discussed the emergence of the pro-Biafra group among other cases of youth’s restiveness, criminal activities and other forms of militancy in he zone.

Coming few days after the invasion of Enugu State Government House, which necessitated a general beef-up of security in and around Government Houses in the South-East, following the recent attack on Enugu Government House by members of the Biafra Zion Movement (BZM), who vowed to hoist their flags in Enugu and Imo Government Houses and thereafter, take over the region, the  governors, according to sources pledged to exchange security information on the activities of such groups and to work together on security issues.

Apart from governors, other leaders in Igbo land, including community leaders have condemned the youths for invading a Govenment House and threatening to invade others. “The youths are being over zealous and should be educated on how to express their discontents within the Nigerian state. Many of them have not been born in the days of Biafra, so they do not know what they are doing,” Chief Ihejirika Uzor, said on Friday. He advised Onwuka and his group to change tactics and learn to make legitimate demands if they feel marginalised in any way.

But to Sir Augstin Ugorji, “BZM is another manifestation of failure of leadership in Nigeria, which has left our youths frustrated and confused. The question we must ask ourselves is why the call for actualisation of Biafra, in whatever form, has remained unquenched?”

What they are up to

Shortly after leading his group for the night operation at the Enugu Government House, Onwuka had claimed members of his group took control of the Enugu State seat of power for about four hours after they successfully hoisted the flag of the Republic of Biafra and some banners at the main gate.

He told newsmen that their mission was primarily to reclaim the old headquarters of the former Biafra Republic, dismissing speculations that the group was sponsored by some politicians in Enugu State.

He explained that the major target of the BZF members was to hoist the Biafran flag as a symbol of rebirth of the defunct Biafra Republic, adding that member of his group who were not armed and who had no charms whatsoever, were in the Government House from 3 am to 7am before soldiers dislodged them, insisting that they accomplished their mission.

In an earlier interview, Onwuka had given insight into the plans of his group and how they intend to approach it. As he put it: “Our quest for independence is within the UN convention on the Right to Self determination.

“Whoever uses force against us would be subject to face the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against Humanity,” adding, “We are going to follow the path of the South Sudanese.”

For now, the chase is on even as well meaning Nigerians continue to express concern over federal government’s seeming inability to discover the antidote to the persistent echo of Biafra, 44 years after the civil war.

The chairman of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, Dr. Ngozi Olejeme, has declared herself the chosen one for the governorship seat of Delta State in 2015. “Don’t bother to look for another candidate. I will be governor in 2015. I am the chosen one for Delta State,” she told her supporters and some Delta prominent personalities.

She made the declaration during the week even as her ambition to fly the Peoples Democratic Party’s flag for the 2015 governorship election in Delta State received a boost this week, following endorsements from more prominent Deltans.

For example, those who joined the Olejeme for Governor’s Train between Wednesday and this weekend included the new Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Peter Onwusanya, chairman, ULO Construction Company, Chief Uche Okpuno, former commissioner for women affairs, Chief Theodora Giwa- Amu, Chief Edwin Uzor and leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oshimili South Local Government Area.

Most of them listed Olejeme’s achievements and leadership style as reasons for endorsing her.

Chairman of PDP, Oshimili South Local Government Area, Evangelist Ebielim Muaduemezie, who first made public his endorsement when Olejeme and her entourage paid a courtesy visit to party leaders and top government functionaries in the state said: “For Oshimili South PDP, Olejeme is our daughter. She has all it takes to be governor of Delta State. She will transform Delta State. Her ambition is our project. We will never disappoint her.”

He also described Olejeme as a listening leader who has the interest of the people at heart. “Don’t be cajoled by political jobbers, especially those printing posters. They are merely looking for political positions. We are solidly behind you. You will be in Government House in 2015,” he said.

Speaker Onwusanya also explained why he supports Olejeme’s ambition, when he said, “Information about you has really touched my heart. It is a great opportunity to be seated with you. I must thank you for your compassionate spirit and the employment and government patronages you provided to Deltans, particularly the people of Oshimili South Local Government Area. You are eminently qualified to vie for any post in the country. This is not a political statement, keep the flag flying. You will be there. You will finish the race strong. God will give you the strength and enablement.”

Also, according to Ebireri Henry of You and I Foundation, “when Olejeme went to Ogwashi-Uku during the week to commiserate with the family of the late Ambassador Ralph Uwechue, many prominent Deltans, including Barrister Paul Uwechue, extolled her leadership qualities, commending her for contributing to the progress of the country.”

Responding to the support, Olejeme urged Oshimili South political leaders, Deltans, especially Anioma people, to stand by her. “Don’t bother to look for another candidate. I will be governor in 2015. I am the chosen one for Delta State” he said, appealing to Hon. Ndidi Elumelu, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, Elder Godswill Orubebe and others not to waste their time and energies, insisting: “God has pronounced me as governor of Delta State.

As political eclipses go, the one suffered by Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, the former governor of Enugu State, in the aftermath of the 2007 general elections bears little comparison. From the Olympian heights of a larger-than-life political career, Nnamani has had to cascade to the labyrinths of anonymity. Back in the days when Nnamani called the shots as a two-term governor, the full extent of his powers was at once unimaginable and unrestrained. He decreed his own political invincibility and prowled the political space. For eight years, his political opponents accepted their fate that they stood no chance against him.

As a quintessential political strong man, he dominated the political space without remorse or restraint. Ever ready to confront the threat posed by an ant with a bayonet, he plunged the state into a security hell-hole with grave consequences. Elsewhere, he projected the image of an intellectual in politics; a man of praxis. Thus, he embarked on a nation-wide lecture circuit through which he sought to position himself effectively as the philosopher-king of the Fourth Republic. As his tenure wound to an end in 2007, it became obvious that this self-styled master political strategist had lost much of his touted reflexes and was barely groping at straw to stay politically afloat.

This was the indirect consequence of years of playing indiscriminate hardball, not knowing when to be selective in matters of political squabbles and when to chart a retreat.

Although primed for the political wilderness at that critical juncture, but with the senate seat of the Enugu East Senatorial Zone neatly tucked inside his pocket, not a few onlookers would have given him an odd chance of staging a dramatic comeback. Instead, he sank deeper and deeper into the morass. As it turned out, his senatorial outing degenerated to a nightmare. From being the most travelled governor in the course of his lecture circuit, Chimaroke suddenly lost his voice on the floor of the senate, a platform many thought offered a chance to ventilate his thoughts on national issues.

He bade farewell to the senate following a disastrous trouncing in the April 2011 general elections in the hands of a disgruntled political crony, who would later become his godfather’s nemesis. The circumstances and scale of his defeat in that fateful election left him in political coma ever since, as a result of which he stayed away completely from his palatial country home at Agbani from April 2011 till December 2013. His fugitive Ebeano troops, looked on aghast; demoralised.

From nowhere, the former governor surfaced in Agbani during the Christmas celebrations. It has to be said that his return was not without the drama and histrionics associated with the Ebeano kingpin.

In a matter of days, the main purport of the former governor’s homecoming became clear: the man had been recruited by the Ebeano political family in the state, led by Abuja-based members of the National Assembly, to champion a planned onslaught against Governor Sullivan Chime and his home-based group of politicians come 2015. Sensing the odds stacked against them in the impending confrontation with Chime and also aware of the no-love-lost relationship between Chime and his predecessor since 2007, the Abuja group was not in doubt that Chimaroke fits the mould.

The quartet of Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Senator Nnaji, Representative Ofor Chukwuegbo and Peace Nnaji in particular appear to have been worked up unnecessarily since Chime’s popular pronouncement that all members of the National Assembly from the state, who have served up to two terms and above, will be replaced by new faces come 2015. It is not surprising, therefore, that they are the ones in the vanguard of the plot to recruit Chimaroke towards the 2015 polls.  It remains to be seen how Chimaroke can ultimately resolve fundamental differences with selfish power-hungry politicians united by greed and avarice.

By and large, the shifting alliance betrays political weakness on the part of the Abuja group, an admission that they are incapable of taking on Chime without assistance, as they have erroneously led their supporters to believe.

Chimaroke’s sin for which he is being resisted by the political elite and intelligentsia of the state is that he stuck out his neck for elements of the Ebeano regime that he championed, against better advice and at the risk of his (own) political future.

But today, here we are! Chimaroke is groping desperately to reinvent yesterday. While he held court to receive his visitors during his stay, he had a one- liner for their multitude of complaints and frustrations under the present dispensation: “don’t worry; we shall soon take over again.” This no doubt sounded like cold comfort to the ears of some discerning individuals among them.

The contradictions are being magnified by the day. While Ekweremadu and co have been selling the dummy that the former governor returned at the behest of President Goodluck Jonathan and the First Lady, the masquerade is not without his own game plan though. There is also the not-so-simple matter of streamlining conflicting ambitions ahead of 2015. Chimaroke still covets the Enugu East Senatorial seat currently occupied by a member of the Abuja quartet, Gilbert Nnaji, who has not hidden his desire to return to the senate.

In the light of what is now playing out, Chimaroke’s hastily orchestrated return underlines the desperation of the quartet and the decimated ranks of the Ebeano fugitive troops. But what they probably did not reckon with is that their man remains a figure who can hardly serve as a rallying political point under the prevailing circumstances.

•Dr. Nwodo teaches at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Leadership is the capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character to inspire confidence”. This statement by Field Marshall Montgomery is apt today as the progressives celebrate the indomitable leader of opposition, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the former governor of Lagos State and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at 62.

Tinubu is a great democrat, indefatigable leader; steadfast and committed to worthy principles; an apostle of good governance, a philanthropist and an advocate of true federalism.

A leadership contest is naturally won not only by electoral processes, but by certain demonstration of leadership skills in all ramifications. Hence, Tinubu had picked the gauntlet and battled the challenges of his rather traumatic and difficult youth with courage only attributable to the lion-hearted.

Tinubu was born in Lagos on March 29, 1952 to the illustrious Tinubu family of Lagos State. He left Nigeria for the United State of America in 1975 in search of the proverbial golden fleece with an unrelenting determination to achieve his vision. He was on the honours’ list at the Richard Daley College. He subsequently transferred to the Chicago State University, Illinois, graduating in 1979. He earned a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration (Accounting and Management). During his stay at the Chicago State University, Tinubu was given the rare privilege of partly teaching other students in the remedial tutorial classes. Most of his colleagues and contemporaries at the University attributed their improved grades to his tutorial lectures. Throughout his undergraduate years, he was on the Dean’s list. He was also honoured with the ‘Outstanding Student’s Award, the University Scholar’s Award and the Certificate of Merit in Accounting and Finance. He was also awarded the prestigious “sumna cum Laude” for scoring 3:54 out of the possible 4.00GP. After his graduation, he cut his professional teeth at the Arthur Anderson, Deloitte Haskins and Sells (now Deloitte Haskins and Touche) and GTE Service Corporation, the largest communication and utility company in the USA.

At Deloitte Haskins and Sells, the young professional broadened his experience by participating in the auditing and management consultancy services of General Motors, First National Bank of Chicago, Procter and Gamble, International Harvester, GEC and other Fortune 500 firms. Armed with international experience in financial management, Tinubu joined the Mobil Producing Nigeria as a Senior Auditor. He rose to the position of Treasurer before he retired.

As a pragmatic, charitable, articulate and grassroots’ person, Tinubu saw communal service as a veritable tool for social development. He never hesitated to serve his community. He spearheaded several financial contributions and fund-raising for community development programmes in Lagos State. He was active in the Primrose Group, a political organization pushing for fundamental changes in the politics of Lagos State. He opted for public service, instead of staying on lucrative job at Mobil. His first foray into active politics was as a founding member of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). In 1992, he was elected as a senator to represent the Lagos West District. In the Senate, he distinguished himself as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Finance, Appropriation and Currency.

Following the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Tinubu became a member of the famous pro-democracy group, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which, for several years, protested the annulment. He subsequently suffered many arrests and political detention, harassments and constant threats to his life, which forced him to flee Nigeria for his personal safety. He however, did not give up the struggle as he joined NADECO abroad to continue the agitation for the restoration of democratic governance and the rule of law .

In 1998, Tinubu returned to Nigeria. A year later, he was elected as the governor of Lagos State on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). As an astute political strategist, he survived the massive incursion of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the Southwest. He was always on collision with the PDP-led Federal Government, especially when his administration created additional 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) for Lagos State. When the Federal Government withheld the allocation to Lagos State, the Supreme Court gave a judgment in favour of the Tinubu Administration.

Despite the unconstitutional suspension of Local Government allocation, his administrative intelligence did not only put the cosmopolitan state in the socio-politico-economic transformational pedestal, but his leadership maturity and interpersonal relationship brilliantly impressed the cooperate bodies, multinational companies, civil servants and well-meaning Nigerians to chart a common view in support of the new councils.

Tinubu has Chief Obafemi Awolowo as his hero and role model. He is a progressive politician. He is bold and he determined to pursue a good cause. He spearheaded the battle for the restoration of stolen mandates in Ekiti and Osun states. His fearlessness, consistency and leadership qualities were are assets to the Southwest. Without any iota of doubt, the beneficiaries of this political revival in the Southwest have good tales to tell.

Tinubuwas actively involved in the formation of the defunct Action Congress (AC) as political recourse to the decimated Alliance for Democracy (AD). The AC later metamorphosed into the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). In 2011, a spirited attempt was made by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to forge an alliance for the purpose of winning presidential election. But, it did not yield the desire results, owing to some irreconcilable differences. But, the APC came into existence. The prospect of an alternative platform has ultimately rekindled the hope that the opposition can overcome the weakness imposed by their slight differences. The prediction of Awo came into reality. Awo had said that “one day, the best in the progressives and the best in the conservatives will come together to rule this nation”

In retrospect, the leadership roles of Tinubu in the historical development of progressivism in Nigeria cannot be ignored. He had successfully mobilised other progressive personalities and some notable conservative leaders to form a mega party, the APC. It is a conglomeration of political parties with the determination to rekindle a deep sense of patriotism and nationalism, powered by sound ideals and lofty programmes, making it a credible alternative to the PDP within a few months.

The APC National Leader has leadership acumen. He is a visionary leader. with distinguished policy. He has deployed his talents and resources to the betterment of the masses. He rallied eminent Nigerians in the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) led by General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd); the All Nigerian Peoples’ Party (ANPP) led by Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) led by Chief Great Ogboru; the Action Congress of Nigeria and a splinter of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) led by Chief Rochas Okorocha.

It is very important to note that BAT not only sold sound ideals and programmes on the fresh platform, but he has also projected the party as the platform that will find lasting solutions to insecurity, unemployment, corruption and the need to reposition the country for rapid development.

Today, the legacies of Tinubu form the foundation on which his successor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), hs former Chief of Staff, has continued to build. the Executive Governor of Lagos State, who had served as his Chief of staff. It is quite interesting to note that the continuation of Tinubu’s outstanding policies makes the present administration of Lagos State a model in Nigeria.

Tinubu is married to the equally vibrant and indefatigable wife, Yeye Asiwaju Oluremi Tinubu, the APC senator from the Lagos Central. At 62, the Asiwaju of Lagos still has a lot to offer to Nigeria. He is a man of honour. He is a dependable leader. He is a man of courage.

On your mandate we shall stand, Bola. March on to the actualization of your anticipated true federalism in Nigeria. Tshe sky is your starting point in your quest for service to humanity. Happy birthday and many happy returns of the year.

Great lofty heights attain.