| In the spirit of rapprochement, he recently ended his effort to nullify Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi’s landslide victory. Sekibo’s withdrawal of his election tribunal petition carries a prodigious symbolism. It is a metaphor of maturation and growth–a message to mavericks and malcontents, of all political persuasions. It also signifies a resurgent Rivers State. Residents are rising and rallying forth to forge from the ashes of discord and distrust a common destiny of peace and prosperity. The impetus for this great awakening comes mainly from the performance of the incumbent Governor, who garnered 85 percent of the ballots cast.
In those elections, Sekibo represented the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, while Amaechi was the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate.
Sekibo, a former Secretary to the State Government, emerged as leader of the ACN—the former Action Congress, AC, a position he had coveted for so long but was unable to attain it until after I resigned and returned to the PDP to give Amaechi my support.
During a contentious interregnum, vitriol and invectives flew back-and-forth in the media. Whatever Amaechi or Princewill was for, it seemed, Sekibo and his supporters were against. I was previously castigated as a “toothless” and “ineffectual” opposition leader, largely because I opted for cooperation and constructive criticism, rather than ritualized confrontation—conflict for conflict’s sake. Many may not realise this but that was part of the reason we vacated the space to see what others could do.
No one takes greater pleasure than I, therefore, in Dr. Sekibo’s decision to come in from the factional cold, so to speak.
Sekibo’s embrace follows that of Sergeant Awuse, a former opponent who early announced his support for Amaechi and Uche Okwukwu, Chairman of ACN (Sekibo’s own party) who reportedly told Obinna Ebogidi, of The City Times, that he never disputed the election results. Just days before Sekibo ended his litigation, disparate PDP stalwart, ex-Governor Peter Odili, also extended the hand of brotherhood to Amaechi. I now appeal to Celestine Omehia, head of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (and the Governor whom the Supreme Court removed to instal Amaechi), to sustain this precious momentum and recall his own petition. The terms “exercise in futility and “pissing in the wind” come to mind.
Party leaders and other interested individuals in Rivers State should then organise a reception to commemorate the return of these Prodigal Sons and consummate their re-union with us. A reception will affirm the efficacy of conciliation, flexibility, forgiveness, humility and, above all else, grace as guiding principles for party politics, both in Rivers State and beyond.The symbolism of Sekibo’s grace and good sportsmanship, for instance, would certainly have served Celestine Omehia well. I can envision stand-up comedians around the country, making hilarious “stolen mandate” jokes!
An aggrieved contestant has a right to seek redress. But in electoral politics, there must be losers, as well as winners; and losers should learn to accept defeat and bow out gracefully. This, of course, is the prime instructive value of Sekibo’s gesture.
It reflects a realization that Amaechi’s victory, far from rendering his opponents redundant, is actually a summons to serve: A call to sons and daughters of Rivers soil to lay down their political spears and face our common future. After all, the balloting was never about Amaechi. It was a political bulletin from the people, posting a new set of marching orders and announcing of a new direction for our state—and, hopefully, the nation. Even the Governor and his government should not forget this.
Tambuwal and the winds of change
BEGINNING with his controversial election as Speaker of the House of Representatives, the actions of Aminu Waziri Tambuwal have taken on a powerful political symbolism—signifying a progressive and most gratifying change in the Nigerian body politic. The new leadership, particularly in the North, seems less concerned with convention than with principles and seem more committed to the national interests than to the whims and caprices of their executive patriarchs and bosses.
Indicative of this change in style and values are the circumstances surrounding Tambuwal’s election and his subsequent behaviour: Events which, so far, seem to suggest that the Speaker of the House is also a spokesman for a newly emergent political order. A smiley-face native of Sokoto State, Tambuwal defied party bosses and challenged Representative Mulikat Adeola-Akande for the top leadership position in the Lower House. In doing so, he heaved the last shovel of sand on the coffin of zoning. As I have said repeatedly, zoning lost any semblance of credibility when the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, nominated Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate in the last election. All that transpired afterwards were simply the reflexive actions of a lifeless body. Zoning was already dead.
Tambuwal, who was the Deputy Chief Whip during the last congressional session, drove this point home dramatically and decisively—much to the embarrassment of zoning exponents in the House. He needed only a simple majority of 181 votes to prevail. But when the conflict came to a head, Akande got just 90 votes, compared with 252 for Tambuwal. This tally obviously included both Northerners and Southerners, Christians and Muslims, ruling out any regional bias. The old patriarchal politics must soon meet the same fate as zoning, as will the politics of regional and religious discord. It is inevitable. The signs are everywhere, both in the South and in the North.
The murderous onslaught of Boko Haram and the brutal post-election attacks on National Youth Service Corps volunteers in the North, which a crumbling oligarchy apparently orchestrated, have obscured some very positive political indicators. Tambuwal, of course, is one of them. According to a recent news story, he proclaimed a new order in the North and urged the old guard, with their divisive politics, to step aside. These are not his exact words. But unless he was misquoted, this is the essence of his remarks.
Nor is this the only prescient sign to emanate from Sokoto State. In 2010, its governor announced the award of a large information communications technology contract to a Southwestern firm and, on the same occasion, an equal education policy for non-indigenes.
Sokoto State is as far North as one can go in Nigeria. So the implications are very clear: The winds of change are gaining force nationally, sweeping progressive politicians like Rotimi Amaechi, Bala Mohammed, Babatunde Fashola and Tambuwal into power.
I don’t claim to know the future. But my political judgment is that, within the next decade, these same nationalistic winds will blow down the barriers to non-indigenes holding high state government offices, including commissioner. It may even be Rivers State that makes a Hausa or some other non-indigene head of a ministry. But it is bound to happen. When it does, the flood-gates could open. The Northern states may well try to best their Southern brothers in appointing our indigenes.
Clairvoyance or juju is not required to see this change coming—just an astute reading of the signs, especially the political ones. Tambuwal is, in this sense, a messenger from our national future, an emissary from the emerging North. We’re nowhere near political nirvana—the paradise of peace, stability and national unity we all long to reach. But if we heed Tambuwal’s symbolic counsel, and look beyond the social upheavals, which the old guard is busy engineering, we can see it appearing on the horizon. |
