Tag: Taraba

Will DanbabaSuntai ever make it back to the Taraba State Government House as executive governor after his prolonged absence from office? I seriously doubt that possibility. The naked truth is that Suntai is not medically, physically or psychologically fit to take charge of that responsibility, having spent close to 10 months in Germany and the United States of America, undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in a plane crash in October, last year. His miraculous survival notwithstanding, those battling to hold down the post for an ailing governor who appears to have real challenges with his cognitive faculties are simply doing so for selfish interest. They are perennially running away from the reality and holding on to a hope built on magical fantasy. Either way, the state has become the victim of the political intrigues playing out.

Ordinarily, Taraba would not be roiling in jerks and pauses if the Acting Governor, AlhajiGarba Umar, is constitutionally empowered to carry out the responsibilities reposed in the office of the governor. But, going by the dirty political manoeuvrings that stalled governance for months after the illness of the late President UmaruYar’Adua, it was not surprising that Garba Umar is becoming uncomfortable with being dressed in borrowed garb. No matter how well they dab his office with sweet-smelling scents, he knows he cannot exercise full powers unless something gives way. Unfortunately, Suntai is not the only factor that impedes his smooth transition into a substantive governor. There are other factors, including the political permutations towards the 2015 elections. If he succeeds in manoeuvring his way into that office, it would be difficult to stop him from running for the office in 2015 and that is why those posing as Suntai’s loyalists are doing everything within and outside the books to stop Acting Governor Umar.

The intriguing thing in all this is Umar’s cockiness in the Taraba power conundrum. All the while, he has propped himself up as a disinterested party in the power game, opting instead to show loyalty to a man who graciously appointed him as Deputy Governor few months before the plane crash. No doubt, Umar’s emergence was, to say the least, fortuitous. Barely two months after Suntai influenced the kicking out of his deputy, AlhajiSaniAbubakar, over allegations bordering on gross misconduct (which could mean not greeting His Excellency’s cook, his driver or refusal to pet his overfed dog), the mantle fell on Umar to play the loyal spare tyre that Suntai craved for. Or how on earth could a House of Assembly impeach a deputy governor for being guilty of “using his office to influence the posting of an officer and interfering in the affairs of a local government area?” Isn’t that what they all do? Anyway, hardly had Umar settled down when a cruel fate elevated him to the position of Acting Governor. Now, he appears to be at home playing the role of a sly victim. I presume he must have learnt the art from President GoodluckEbele Jonathan during the days of the long knives until the National Assembly came up with the Doctrine of Necessity to save the State from a free fall.

Truth be told, there is something fundamentally wrong with a Constitution that ties the fortunes or misfortunes of a state to the whim of its chief executive. This is compounded by the growing cases of mutual suspicion that pervade most government houses in spite of the public posturing and plastic laughter. And so, no one should be surprised with the gaping cracks in the wall and atrocious political divide threatening the graveyard peace that has engulfed Taraba since Suntai disappeared from the governance radar months ago. Agreed that he did not have the luxury of properly handing over to his deputy due to the fatal and life-threatening injuries he sustained in that ill-fated flight in which he was the pilot, the question remains apt: for how long must a state waddle in comatose in anticipation of the return of an ailing Chief Executive Officer?

The crying fact is that Taraba has been under the yoke of uncertainty for nine agonising months. It is like a herd of sheep without a shepherd. Like Yar’Adua’s case, Suntai’s health condition has been shrouded in secrecy. The state Commissioner for Information, Emmanuel Bello, said the governor’s recovery rate is a “marvellous medical miracle”, noting “a man many said has died is on his way home to his people.” Nice one. But my good friend, Bello, of all people, should know that his story just doesn’t wash. Or has he forgotten that even a ‘healthy’ Yar’Adua was arranged to speak with a BBC reporter? If my memory is not fading, Bello was an Editor with an Abuja-based national daily then. Has he forgotten so soon?

To the best of my knowledge, Suntai has not communicated with his people neither has he given any policy directives to his aides on governance issues. Okay, we were once treated to a widely circulated photograph with his wife and newly-born twins in a German hospital where he was said to be responding to treatment. That was months back and there had been no concrete developments after that photo shoot. He has since left the German hospital for another round of medical treatment in the United States. Meanwhile, his beloved state continues the rigmarole of a free fall, factionalised right through the middle.

And as if that was not enough trouble for a state to grapple with, the news media is awash with report that loyalists of the ailing Suntai could ‘smuggle’ him into the country to frustrate attempts by the state executive to invoke Section 189 of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers it to verify his state of health with a view to determining whether or not he could still perform his duties. And if it was found out that he could not discharge those responsibilities due to ill health, he would automatically cease to occupy the office while Umar would step in as substantive governor. Now, this otherwise simple process has been complicated by our peculiar style of playing politics.

As days run into months, it is becoming obvious that a resolution of the Taraba leadership conundrum requires deft political manipulations. It is pointless trying to stop anyone from attempting to package Suntai back to the Taraba Government House even if he happens to be on life support. After all, it would not be the first time. The late Yar’Adua suffered the same indignity in the name of preserving his office. Only few family members and close associates could boast of seeing him alive in his last days in Aso Rock. I would have thought these shameful loyalists, if they truly love their master, would have allowed Suntai to attend to his failing health while the state moves on with Umar in charge. Of course, it may not be what they bargained for but such is the fate that providence has thrust on them.  Or are they quarrelling with fate?

Back to Umar, no matter how he tries to extricate his office from the intricate plans to dethrone Suntai, it is clear that his foot soldiers are at work. That is my reading of a statement credited to an amorphous body in Abuja last week—The Taraba Justice Forum—which challenged the Acting Governor to present an official medical report to justify the long wait for Godot. I believe members of the same group are behind the case filed at the Federal High Court on Wednesday, asking the court to compel the Taraba House of Assembly expedite action on making Umar the substantive governor. Awww! At this level of the nation’s political development, this kind of trickery ought to be dispensed with. The TJF should have evolved better ways of ensuring the emergence of its man as substantive governor instead of toeing a path that is constitutionally unworkable and politically untenable.

In resolving the imbroglio, the options are very clear. First, Umar has to stop playing the ostrich. It is either he wants to be governor or forever remain a pretender in that office. Second, he should be man enough to tell the people of the state the true medical condition of the man he claimed to have seen at a German hospital. He cannot, in one breath, confirm Suntai’s quick recovery and, in another breath, be foraging behind the curtains for the fastest means of assuming the office of his boss! That attitude, it must be recalled, never worked for Jonathan and he had to be helped out of his misery with the proclamation of the Doctrine of Necessity by the National Assembly. I doubt if the Taraba House of Assembly, even with the removal of the pro-Suntai Speaker, Mr.IstifanusGbana, his deputy, Peter Abel Diahand the majority leader, Mr. Charles Maijankai, has the capacity to invoke such a law.

So, what is the best way out of the logjam? It is quite simple. At theheart of the impasse is a permanent interest—the lure for power. Surely, these persons are not eternal enemies. The Suntai camp should accept the reality of the situation—forcing Suntai back to his seat will only worsen his condition. It could even lead to dire consequences and they may end up being the ultimate losers. The wisest thing to do is to reach an agreement with Umar, after which a panel can be set up to determine the governor’s state of health and whether he still has the ability to carry out the arduous task of governance. If the panel comes out with a negative report, then a gazette should be published by the state government to enable Umar take charge. This is a matter that requires political expediency in which all parties should be winners.

The endless bickering and countermoves by the various camps have left the state in a quandary. In the last nine (now 11 months and still counting), a sedate Taraba State has become nearly comatose, heavily burdened by the Plastic of Paris that has become its identity. We may not know whether it is on life support or any other life-saving gadget. What is clear is that it has overstayed its welcome at the Intensive Care Unit and its bones are aching. Fortunately, this dying patient can still be resuscitated with the application of the right medicines. The ailment has been diagnosed. The viruses have been identified. Even the cure is available. But the main problem is in the application of the right jot of steroid to reignite a spasm of life into this dying specimen. How much long can the patient wait before it starts foaming in the mouth? How much more will the ordinary folks in Taraba wait for their leaders to put the public good far and above their personal, egotistical idiosyncrasies? The ball, as they say, is in their court. Let them play it wisely and fairly, too!

***Knucklehead’s Note: This piece, previously titled ‘The Taraba leadership conundrum’ and published on this page on June 15, is being repeated following the controversial arrival of Suntai to the state.His presumed assumption of office notwithstanding, it is evident that the state is still on crutches. All the self-proclaimed ‘concerned stakeholders’ have learnt nothing from the calamity that befell this nation during the President UmaruYar’Adua era. They have opted to continue progressing in error. For now, Suntai’s ghost is hovering around Taraba but his personality is nowhere to be found. How sad. Nothing has changed. Nothing may change until common-sense prevails. That’s if it will ever happen!