By Tunde Abatan,08165660217 tunde 2013abatan@gmail.com
Former Enugu state Governor, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani aka Ebeano, first four years in office was marked with lecture circuit round the country. This well arranged lecture theatrics dwells on contemporary issues concerning politics,economy, religion,North South dichotomy and recurrent problems of nation building.
Through the circuits, he raised the bar of public awareness and discussions until two years into his tenure,a stop was put to it allegedly by President Olusegun Obasanjo who reportedly questioned his motives and raison detre.
Normally, in a democracy participants, especially in a federalism, has the freedom to determine what they propound and especially since the states are what makes up the federation but Obasanjo had his way probably because Dr Nnamani too was not well grounded in his motives or fear of then President Obasanjo larger than life image in the Presidency and his being a member of the same party,his ambition for a second term in office,he throw in the towel and whatever was his motives died with him.
His decision to stop could only be his fear of Obasanjo as the leader of the party .
Today, Dr Kayode Fayemi,the second term governor of Ekiti state under the umbrella of the ruling All Progressive Congress,APC,has also seized the centre stage of public discourse in the last three weeks.
Unlike Dr Nnamani, Ebeano, as he is popularly called; Fayemi is moving towards the end of his tenure.
What is interesting is that Fayemis podium crusades have touched on the contemporary issues of today’s troubled polity and also taken the crusade to the Northern part of the country.
Yes, he has touched on salient issues confronting the nation,but his background and rumoured ambition for the nations number one job could be situated in his reason for the choice topics.
He was a Frontline member of the National Democratic Coalition,NADECO,which was in the forefront of agitation against military rule under late General Sanni Abacha and was in exile during the period coordinating activities of the moment
While at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism,NIJ,Ogba for it’s 6th Convocation ceremony lecture,November 30 Fayemi spoke on Media,Security and Nation building.He made a strong case for South West Security outfit,Amotekun,
saying it’s creation save the region from worst scenarios which the core North is facing now. Besides,he did not shy away from the need to strengthen them with allowing them to carry sophisticated weapons which the security agencies did nit approve of.
The Ekiti governor also spoke on contentious issues of state police and questions why a federal government that cannot fund it’s federal police in terms of provision of equipment and logistics but left such critical funding to the state, is still controlling the lever of it’s operations making the state ‘father x- mas to a body they had no control over.
Yet,the same federal government says the state cannot fun state police.
Perhaps Fayemi would not have said so two years ago or during his first term in office. But today,his position is not far from seventeen southern governors demand three months ago asking fir creation of state police.
Again,five days later,Governor Fayemi was in Kano shooting from both sides as he condemn separatist agitators saying dividing Nigeria would not solve it’s problems.
But this time around he chosed the location carefully as well. He used the podium of Late Mallam Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Research and Training ,provided by the organisers .
In his paper on the topic Democracy, Good Governance and the Quest for National Integration,Fayemi counselled agitators that such will create and multiply the problems of the separate states that will emerge from Nigeria.
He cited examples of Sudan and Ethiopia to back up his position against secession.
In this connection, he asked for immediate Restructuring of the country to stop Separatist movements. As for him,the time to do that is now.
But why did Fayemi take his campaign to the North,a region known for opposing Restructuring and break up. Why not address his Southern people who are in the forefront of the agitations? Is he playing to the gallery or appeal to sentiments knowing the position of President Buhari on those two issues?
Again by choosing Kano,where Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,his party leader had a foothold with Governor Abdullahi Ganduje,who has promised Tinubu ten million votes, is he telling all and sundry that the state is still up for grabs especially in the light of factionalisation of the state APC by a group at loggerheads with the state governor?
Is it a replay or confirmation of schemings in the APC hierarchy to divide the party down the line especially by the governors who wanted one of their own to emerge as the party’s candidate.
It will be recalled that the APC governors were actively in support of the Caretaker Committee led by Yobe Governor, Mallam Mai Buni whose team swept aside former party Chairman, Adams Oshiomole, prior to last year Edo state governorship election.
With the extension of Bunis tenure to February next year for the APC national convention, are the governors who are obviously on the side of Buni playing for time?.
Again ,Thursday December 9th ,Fayemi who an hour earlier attended the presentation of interim chairman of APC,Chief Bisi Akandes memoir…surfaced at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs,NIIA to deliver the Distinguished Speakers lecture titled Fixing Nigeria to a Better World.
As for him,the agitations in the different parts of the country are evident of the structural challenges facing the nation.
He has a word for the federal government…convene a national dialogue “where problems confronting the country can be discussed and amicably agreed upon through effective dialogue”.
He did not stop at that. He said such dialogue “can be a forum where all the constituent parts of the country can come together and discuss what their dreams are and how they could be accommodated.”
If Fayemi could make such critical demands now on President Buharis federal government which has never seen the need for such even though it was part of its campaign promise and in spite of the precarious security situation, is it an evidence of a divided house?.
Does it confirm the fact that while Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and others who out Buhari in power have not spoken openly on Restructuring and creation of state police was because of the fear of Buhari?
In order words,does it mean Fayemi in the twilight of his rule now has the moral courage to speak truth to power especially now that he is chairman of Governors Forum or that he is interested in the number one position as being rumoured?
Is he laying the template for his declaration after leaving office next year?
Even when the issue of insecurity nearly drove the nation to breaking point,Tinubu and co were still cautious about their views on creation of Amotekun.
For Fayemi to openly reaffirm the state governors commitment to Amotekun and need to allow it carry sophisticated weapons amount to standing with the people and taken a firm position where Tinubu- obviously playing politics, fear to tread.
But then,more curious about intra- party development in APC, is the obvious division along the line among the stakeholders of the party on adoption of Indirect and Direct primaries to pick it’s candidates as stipulated in the amended Electoral Bill now before the President . It is becoming obvious that the laters body language obviously is against Direct primary.
While most of the governors are said to have favoured Indirect primary,the camp of Tinubu and former Ogun state governor,Olusegun Osoba prefer Direct primaries.
As for Osoba, who spoke on his return to the country from medical trip abroad, direct primaries gives the party members an opportunity to have a say in who is their leader and candidate in elections unlike indirect primary where only a few choose the leaders.
Since it is obvious that the supporters of Tinubu are more among the members of the national assembly,some of who paid a ‘solidarity’ visit to him in London,there may be emergence of three forces battling for the soul of APC come February.
This development becomes more interesting since the so called body language of President Buhari may not be welcome by those national assembly men who are daring to veto the President should he refuse to sign the amended Bill into law.
On this score,APC legislators may have comradeship in party members from opposition People’s Democratic Party,PDP,who seems poised to exploit any crack in the ruling party .
The choice of party primary to adopt appears to be one of such windows to penetrate and attract defectors to its side the same way APC did by attracting then new PDP members in 2015.
Since,Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is not likely to openly express views against the President especially on party matters,it is not impossible that for personal ulterior motives,he may not go against the position of the President who is being convinced by hawks in the party and state governors to support the indirect primary for obvious advtangeous reasons .
Since,the governors determine who takes what in the states because party structures is firmly under their control, it is quite apparent they are won’t to use this power to ensure that one of them eventually emerge as the presidential candidate of the party.
Besides,selecting and sponsoring delegates to the primary will remain firmly in the hands of the governors.
In other words, if the closely hidden agenda of President Buhari on who succeeds him is known to the governor, he may be convinced on the need to adopt the indirect primary to enable him manage the party and ensure the emergence of his choice candidate.
On another note,it is rather curious that the race for who succeeds President Buhari is being surreptitiously reduced to a South West affair as only former Abia state Governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu have so far indicated interest from outside the South West.
Ironically,he has also been making his consultations deliberately in the core North too.
Now the question is, why is it that the three candidates in the forefront in the APC presidential race are from the South West part of the country?. Concidentially too,why are the trio not holding consultation in the South East and South South parts of the country?
There is no doubt that choosing who emerges as the Presidential candidate of the APC will be shaped by the outcome of the party’s national convention in February next year as the event will either make or tear the party in crisis from which it may never recover as one.
The days ahead are very interesting one for the fledgling ruling party.
Time will tell!
