Daily Champion (Lagos)
Ainofenokhai Mustapha
4 November 2009
Auchi — Conscience is an open wound: only truth can heal it," is a classical, time-tested aphorism by the late spiritual leader of the 19th century Fulani Jihad, Usmanu Dan Fodiyo (1754-1816). The Guardian newspaper, which prides itself as the flagship of Nigerian print journalism has, from the outset of its formation, adopted a modified version of it as its slogan: "Conscience, nurtured by truth."
The bottom-line in this simulation is that truth is constant and remains a potent, moderating force in matters of accountability at all levels of human interactions-whether at interpersonal, corporate or governmental spheres. But the point, given the plethora of experiences in governance in Nigeria, is that truth hardly heals the conscience of operators of government. Rather than allow it to heal, they try to deaden their conscience and carry on as if nothing matters.
This is obviously the point that former Minister of Works and Housing, Chief Tony Anenih was trying to make at the Unification Rally of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benin on Saturday, October 24, 2009 when he said that the Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole seemed not to know that there is a difference between being a governor (that he is) and a labour leader (that he was). This is the truth of the matter. Anenih also said he knows that PDP is in opposition and that PDP as opposition party will criticize the AC government if the government does not do well but such criticism will be constructive.
The deduction from the pronouncement by Anenih is very instructive: that rather than run from one state to the other preaching transparent elections (whereas he acted to the contrary at the recent bye-election to fill Akoko-Edo 1 State House of Assembly seat by deploying the machinery of the State to rig the polls for the AC) at the expense of governance, he should sit down and work for the State.
As of today, 27 AC thugs arrested with rifles and guns are remanded in Kuje prison for possessing arms and snatching of ballot boxes. Oshomhole has been running between Benin and IGP's office trying to secure their bail
Anenih also made it clear that Edo belongs to the PDP and assured the PDP will recapture the State in the 2012 governorship elections. The assurance, no doubt, emanated from the non-performance by the AC government in the State and the fact that PDP traditionally controls it. Anenih did not need to look into a crystal ball to know that Oshiomhole would be rejected at the poll if he fails to perform.
Many who watched the well-attended Unification Rally, with quality attendance compared to AC hired crowd, at the NTA Pavilion saw Anenih's pronouncement as a wake-up call to Oshiomhole to incrementally apply himself to governance than to labour unionism tactics that would not conduce to the development of the State, but that would, instead, lead to unnecessary brick-bats that would needlessly raise political temperature in the State.
But, unfortunately, Oshiomhole did not see the call as charitable. In a riposte, he deployed state fund that should have been channeled to build infrastructure to host an AC rally, a week after the PDP Unification Rally; and, in a manner that did not detract from his combative unionist's disposition, he used the forum to denigrate Anenih for providing a veritable rallying point for the PDP in the State, in the face of AC's antics to depopulate and decimate it.
It is a sad commentary that Oshiomhole, the man who preaches prudence and utilitarian use of public funds, would deploy it lightly and unconscionably for the sole purposes of a public attack on Anenih and celebration of the claim of massive decamping of PDP leaders in the State into the AC. Let us consider these two grounds for which he speedily convened the AC rally.
First, on his attack on Anenih which was published in several newspapers last Sunday, Oshiomhole's vitriolic comments at the AC rally that was televised live on NTA, AIT and Channels Television and funded with the resources of the State exposed his scant tolerance for constructive criticism. Pray, how could Oshiomhole whose stock in trade was to criticize government policies as labour leader be now so intolerant of criticisms and public scrutiny?
Consider: Oshiomhole said that the man they call Mr. Fix It (apparently referring to Anenih) had the opportunity of fixing the Lagos-Ore-Benin road as Minister of Works and Housing, but could not fix it; that he had the opportunity of fixing Uromi Road, but could not; that he had the opportunity of fixing the dual carriage way from Abuja to Edo but that it stopped in Kogi State; and that as the Leader of his party he could not fix the problem within his PDP family in Edo State.
He even claimed more knowledge about the PDP affairs than the owners of the party when he said that the emergence of Chief Dan Orbih as State Chairman of the party and his endorsement at the Unification Rally were a charade, contending there was nowhere an election was conducted to elect him.
Why would Oshiomhole so brazenly want to turn the fact of history on its head? There was no way he could have scored a cheap political point on this score because the manner of Orbih's emergence is public knowledge. Orbih was not a contraption. He won at a party's State Congress but due to engineered factionalisation by conscienceless men whose god is filthy lucre, he could not be sworn in. Thereafter, a compromise was reached that produced the late Chief Samson Ekhabafe as the Chairman.
With the loss of the governorship seat by Professor Oserhiemen Osunbor of the PDP and the death of Ekhabafe, the PDP got to a point where it needed to reconcile to be able to fight the 2012 governorship as a common front and had thus settled for Orbih since the slot is Edo North's, a development Oshiomhole did not like. The Unification Rally was a platform to announce to the people that the trouble within the PDP was over. So, the people cannot be deceived by Oshiomhole's false move.
As for his false and distorted claims on the issue of roads, it is public knowledge that as Minister of Works and Housing (from 1999 to October 2002), Anenih received about N120 billion (some rabid detractors insist he got N300 billion), which was expended on the rehabilitation of a vast road network in the country. Within the little resources, some notorious spots, including the Benin Bye-Pass where people going to the Eastern part of the country always spent their Christmas, were fixed. What of the Benin-Asaba dualized Road and the dualization of Benin-Sapele-Warri Road? Oshiomhole cannot wish away these legacies.
Now assuming without conceding that Anenih, as minister, did not achieve much under President Olusegun Obasanjo who was reputed for not releasing budgetary provisions as approved by the National Assembly and assented to by him, should that be a reason for Oshiomhole, an executive governor, who controls the state funds, not to perform or to judiciously apply state funds for the development of infrastructure?
It was not curious why he chose to deploy shenanigans as a response to the interrogation of his lingering non-performance in office. He simply has nothing on ground in Edo to celebrate. But then, it was heartrending that the self-acclaimed puritan, who shot himself to limelight on the wings of labour activism, would resort to red-herring and personality attacks rather than speak to issues of infrastructure development in the State.
On the second issue of purported decamping of PDP leaders to the AC, there are feelers that the list of names announced at the AC rally as dumping the PDP ship was largely made-up, just as some neighbouring states and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) contributed to the seemingly huge crowd at the rally held in the Benin Stadium. Perhaps, the most ridiculous pronouncement by Oshiomhole at the AC "show of indiscretion" was that the godfather (Anenih) would be banished to other state and that the rally was to announce the final burial of the godfather in the State.
He even ironically pontificated on transparent election, the philosophy of one man, one vote; one woman, one vote; one youth, one vote, as if Anenih is averse to transparent election; whereas, in his desperate bid to ensure that his AC dominates the State House of Assembly, he has irredeemably set sail to overthrow the PDP majority in the House by winning and seeking to win, at all cost (through deployment of government machinery), seats in the Legislature that are yet to be conclusively determined.
Consider another gaffe: it would appear that Oshiomhole, in a fit of self-conceit, deluded himself into believing the PDP has been eclipsed in the State. How can that be in a State where all three Senators are PDP members; where all nine members of the House of Representatives are PDP members; where the 18 Local Government Chairmen were PDP members, until last Saturday when six of them defected to the AC due to extra-constitutional means by the State Government; and, where the PDP currently has a slim majority in the State Legislature?
From the way Oshiomhole spoke, it was clear that Anenih remains a source of fear to his second term bid and would therefore wish him dead. But Oshiomhole should not play God.
Indeed, as the clock ticks away, only time will validate the truth between Anenih's position and Oshiomhole's counteroffensive on issues of performance and political dominance in Edo; and, that time is between now and the 2012 governorship election when both parties would draw on their goodwill and support bases to outdo each other to secure victory at the poll.
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