There are many features to admire and appreciate about the Philosophy of Confucius, including his Canons, the Nine Classics, The Way of the Higher Man, Rectification of Names,and The Great Learning. Like Socrates – another great man – Confucius expressed his thoughts verbally and left us to rely on his disciples to read about him. As great as he was, he also admitted there were several things he did not know. For instance, when one of his disciples requested that he tell them about the dead, he replied cryptically: ”While you do not know life, how can you know about death?”. Asked what constituted wisdom, he answered: ”Only to give one’s self earnestly to the duties due to men, and, while respecting spiritual beings, to keep aloof from them, may be called wisdom”. At a time, Confucius’ disciples were unhappy with him for not being able to solve for them what are considered metaphysical realities – the mysteries of heaven and death. The only metaphysics he recognized was the search for unity in all phenomena, and the efforts to find some stabilizing harmony between the law as right conduct and the regularities of nature. He even derided metaphysics as immodesty without a little laughter. There were more…
Confucius had some words about oppressive governments, which he expressed to his disciples in practical terms. Once, he was said to be passing through a rugged mountain and saw a woman wailing uncontrollably. On enquiry, the woman said that her husband and father-in-law were killed by a tiger at that spot and ”now my son has met the same fate”. When Confucius asked why she persisted in living in so dangerous a place, she replied that there was no oppressive government there. Deriving a lesson therefrom, Confucius taught his disciples that oppressive governments were more ferocious than the tiger.
Often, we equate oppressive governments to military regimes, but this is not always the case. Any government could be good or bad depending on its principal actors. The case of Anambra State under Governor Willie Obiano is revealing:
On assumption of office on March 17, 2013, Obiano inherited over N100 billion in savings from his immediate predecessor, Peter Obi. During Obi’s tenure, Anambra State was adjudged by reputable national and international agencies as the least-indebted and as the state with the best network of roads in Nigeria. The state witnessed the provision of critical infrastructure; increased presence of federal and development partners, improved security, transparency and accountability, and social services, among others. Such were the tremendous investments in education that the state’s rating in external examinations rose significantly from the 26th/27th position to Number 1 nationwide.
Many people and organizations marvelled at the level of progress; some wondering by what ‘magic’ Peter Obi achieved those heights. The people were pleased with Obi because by doing the right things, he did not oppress anybody. Then came several awards for his attainments in several sectors. On the contrary, Anambra State has continued to slide each day under the mismanagement of Chief Willie Obiano. Under his watch, the state has dipped to 7th position in external examinations and leaped backwards to be rated the most-corrupt state in the country! While the number of bank branches in Anambra State tripled during Obi’s tenure, Obiano has not attracted any more.
As is evident across the state and demonstrated severally by those who should know, Obiano has been steering the ship of Anambra State backwards right from his assumption of office. He made so much noise in his early days in office that he seemed to have forgotten about governance in the ecstasy of victory. Sadly, he is still celebrating; and marked this month with the appointment of several more aides. Presently, he has a retinue of over 1,000 aides, more than 500 of who are from his home town, Aguleri. Such are his nepotistic and parochial inclinations that even as he has practically neglected the infrastructural needs of the state, he has completed over 35 roads in his native Aguleri. In the meantime, most of the abandoned roads have since developed gullies that are threatening to cut off several communities; compelling them to embark on self-help palliatives. Indeed, Obiano’s oppressive policies have had debilitating effects on the majority of Anambrarians and their communities.
On the Government sensitivity scale, there is no gainsaying that Willie Obiano will rate abysmally. How is it responsive to the yearnings of the people? Is the government prudent or sees the treasury as an object of loot? What is the government response to the provision of infrastructure? What is the government doing to attract industries? Is Obiano’s government prudent? Comparing the administration of Peter Obi with the Obiano government, the people of Anambra identify Obi with the pleasure of wisdom, while Obiano is with the wisdom of pleasure. While Obi used most of his time exploring means of improving Anambra, the Obiano administration is drenched in Hedonism [pleasure-seeking] and Epicureanism [Let us eat today for tomorrow we shall die]. As governor of Anambra State, Obiano has lived it up to a gross and unwholesome scale. Consider some of his tastes and idiosyncrasies at public expense: 50-vehicle convoy, imported customized wines [he recently imported 100 containers of wine with his portrait & APGA logo imprinted on the bottles], blew N5 billion to celebrate his first 100 days in office in 2014, procured over 400 vehicles for his re-election campaign but not even one for the public schools, to mention a few.
Is Obiano’s government open and straightforward? Certainly not, as its activities are laced with a profusion of lies and propaganda that have held the people hostage. To date, the Obiano government has spent over N6 billion on the propagation of falsehoods that have further seared the sensibilities of Anambrarians. For over three and half years, Obiano persistently denied he inherited about N75 billion [some of it in US Dollars] from the Obi administration. Then the bubble burst with the courageous expose by The Nation newspapers of his surreptitious sale of the Dollar savings meant for the State. Confronted with the ultimate truth at the gubernatorial debate of November 12, he admitted lying to the people. Is that not enough reason for a decent person to throw in the towel and ask for pardon? Would Anambra people give him another mandate he has abused for four years?
Among his other claims is that he had completed 51 roads. I personally went through the list to discover that about 48 of the roads he mentioned were actually started and completed during Peter Obi’s tenure as governor. He lied that he exported Ugu [Pumpkin] leaves worth US$5m even as no one in Anambra State has identified the farm or garden where he cultivated such a volume of the highly-perishable vegetable. Goaded by his aides and mania for grand-standing, he also boasted of an order to export 10 million yam tubers. Sadly, none of his aides reminded him that Anambra State is not even self-sufficient in yam production; as the bulk of its supplies come from Benue and Taraba states.
In the last three years or so, the Obiano government has consistently insulted the sensibilities of Anambra people by its oppressiveness, insensitivity, ineptitude and clouded purpose. But with the election at the corner, Anambra people now have a golden opportunity to end the long and terrible nightmare of oppression. Who do we look for? When Tsze-loo asked Confucius, ”What constitute the higher man?”, the Philosopher replied: ”The cultivation of himself with reverential care.”
In Oseloka Obaze we have a higher man. All the vices exhibited by Willie Obiano and identified in him are not with Oseloka. People [myself included] and organizations that have worked or interacted with him can assert with surety that he pursues with dedicated ardour the tenets of good governance.
•Obienyem wrote from Agulu, Anambra State.
