Amaechi: When A Politician Works Against His People

Amaechi

“All Politics Is Local”- Thomas P. O’Neill
In 1962, the leadership of the Action Group (AG) which formed the official opposition in the federal parliament, split in May of that year as a result of a rift between the party’s leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his erstwhile deputy and Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Samuel Akintola. Various historical accounts abound on the circumstances that led to the rift between the two political leaders. While some historians claimed that the genesis of the political crisis in Western Nigeria began with the sacking of Chief J.F Odunjo as the Chairman, Western Region Marketing Board by Akintola over interfamily squabbles, others attributed the offshoot of the crisis to hard line stance of the AG leaders over differences that could have been amicably resolved within the party.
According to a publication of The Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS) “Managing Election Conflicts in Nigeria”, the AG crisis of 1962 arose primarily from disagreement over matters of ideology between Chief Awolowo, the party’s leader and Chief S.L Akintola, his deputy. Akintola was expelled for anti-party activities, among other reasons, and he went on to form the United Peoples Party (UPP). “The UPP and some members of NCNC and the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) formed an alliance, which controlled the government of the Western Region until the Western Regional elections of 1965.”
Prof. John.N. Paden in his book “Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto- Values and Leadership in Nigeria, said ‘’the key leaders of Northern Peoples’ Congress (NPC) held secret talks with the Yoruba. Some of these meetings had actually begun in 1961- 62, and Awolowo and the Sarduana met casually on a few occasions and agreed to hold meetings. But Awolowo seemed more interested in documenting the discussions and the agreements for future use.
The NPC decided to try Akintola. “The NPC came to regard Awolowo as the stumbling block to a union between the Yoruba and the north. Akintola was more trustworthy than Awolowo. The thinking was that later they might form one single party with Akintola.” Another account in an article titled “Nigeria Politics in the Crisis Years” obtained from the website of the Library of Congress Country Studies, states that “Awolowo favoured the adoption of democratic socialism as party policy, following the lead of Kwame Nkrumah’s regime in Ghana. This radical ideology that Awolowo expressed was seen as a bid to make the AG an interregional party that drew support across the country from educated younger voters. ‘‘Akintola, in reaction, attempted to retain the support of conservative party elements. He called for better relations with the Northern Peoples’ Congress (NPC) and an all party federal coalition that would remove the AG from opposition and give its leaders greater access to power’’. Awolowo’s majority expelled Akintola from the party. The then Governor of the Western Region, the Ooni of Ife, Sir Adesoji Aderemi demanded Akintola’s resignation as Premier and named Alhaji Dauda Adegbenro as his successor. Crisis erupted in the Western Nigeria and this earned the region the appellation “Wild Wild West.” The bottom-line was that Akintola formed alliance with the North against Yoruba interest and this threw Yoruba into crisis. Till this day the Akintola family is still paying the price for his treachery.
Similarly, renowned educationist, Chief Adekunle Ajasin became the Governor of Ondo State in October 1979. After completing his first term in office, he sought a re-election in 1983 to remain in office for another four years. His deputy, Chief Akin Omoboriowo, too was ambitious. He wanted to be the state chief executive at all costs after Ajasin’s first term in office.
However, the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) leadership, which was the ruling party in the state at that time endorsed Ajasin’s second term bid.
Dissatisfied with this development, Omoboriowo defected to the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) dominated by northerners, along with some of his loyalists, where he secured the ticket to vie for the 1983 gubernatorial election in the state.
Hence, the plot begun and thickened to wrest the state from the UPN and deliver it to the NPN come August 13, 1983 gubernatorial election in the country. Certainly, the indigenes of the state did not prepare for any crisis, save for the notorious fact that Omoboriowo and his supporters were bent on delivering the state to the NPN.
But sooner after the election took place, the results were announced by the returning officer of the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) for Ondo State. Surprisingly, to the Ajasin camp, the returning officer returned Omoboriowo, as having won the election in the state.
Less than one hour after the announcement, the office of the incumbent governor of the state in a broadcast made from an Outside Broadcasting (OB) van stationed in the government house, rejected the results and urged the people of the state to defend their rights.
The then UPN-controlled state maintained that it was not inciting the people into violence, but merely asking them to protest against the alleged manipulation of the election results by some FEDECO officials and NPN agents.
Instantly, the state was rocked by violence. There were bonfire on every major road and the state was in flames. The FEDECO office in Akure, the state capital, was razed, the houses of prominent NPN leaders in the state were burnt, there were series of protests and some NPN leaders in the state, notably Chief Agbayewa and a renowned publisher, Chief Olaiya Fagbamigbe were killed. The mayhem was reminiscent of the operation ‘weti e’, which happened in the South-West in the 1960s.

On May 5, 2010, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua died after a protracted illness. That same day a son of Niger Delta, the region whose soil yields the crude oil that had been servicing Nigeria’s development and profligacy for over 50 years was sworn in as President to complete Yar’Adua’s tenure. No sooner was he sworn in than the campaign began, that he must not present himself as presidential candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because it was the turn of the North (where Yar’Adua came from) to produce the next president under the PDP’s alleged zoning arrangement. The northern political elites led by former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, and General Aliyu Gusau, former National Security Adviser and acclaimed ‘spy master’ had to undergo northern elites’ organised internal election to select a consensus candidate to challenge Jonathan for PDP’s ticket ahead of 2011 elections. Atiku emerged the northern consensus candidate, that was eventually defeated by Jonathan. Jonathan went ahead to win the 2011 presidential election. His victory led to the killings of thousands of his supporters in the north in what has been known as 2011 post-election violence.

As 2015 general election was fast approaching those who never wanted Jonathan to be acting president, or candidate of the party in 2011 congregated from within and without his party to form an opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC) to wrest power from him. Leading the charge against Jonathan was another son of Niger Delta and governor of Rivers State, Mr Chibuike Amaechi. He worked hard spending Niger Delta’s money to chase Jonathan out of Abuja. Today Niger Delta has nothing very consequential in government except the position of minister of Transportation that could be sacked any moment President Muhammadu Buhari is upset about his performance in office. This is a zone that had in the last nine years produced a vice president and a president. And to make matters worse the Niger Delta ‘prodigal son’ who worked against the region’s interest and his supporters thought that they could win elections in that region. They want to be rewarded for their treachery. Little wonder that the PDP swept the rerun election in Rivers State and with their tails between their legs they unashamedly connived with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the rest of the elections after the violence they perpetrated failed to win for them the coveted trophy. It is obvious that no matter when the rest of the rerun elections take place, Amaechi’s past will continue to haunt him in Niger Delta and South-South politics.