Opinion I Imo Legislators And Their Makosa Dance

IMO LEGISLATORS AND THEIR MAKOSA DANCE

        

The last time I checked, the members of the Imo House of Assembly were showcasing a parade I could best describe as Makosa dance. Such an intriguing action, which is ostensibly not unconnected with politics, has been trending in the public domain for some weeks now.

       

It would be recalled that the state’s Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha initially proposed to present the 2018 Appropriation bill of the state to the lawmakers on Tuesday 28^th November 2017 but the outing could not unfortunately hold as scheduled, perhaps owing to contingencies, though the said bill was eventually tendered two weeks after – precisely on Wednesday December 13, 2017.

         

We were rightly notified that why the governor couldn’t present the bill as planned was owing to the gross discrepancies noticed in the speech meant to be read by the number one citizen, although on that fateful day some lawmakers alleged that they were being owed some arrears of salaries cum sitting allowances.

       

Just two days after the failed outing being Thursday 30^th November 2017, the then Majority Leader of the House Lugard Osuji moved a motion for outright suspension of the Assembly’s Clerk, Chris Duru over alleged misconduct which was tagged ‘gross under-performance’. Therein, his motion scaled through, thus the accused official was suspended with immediate effect by the plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Ugonna Ozuruigbo via the support of other 21 out of the 27 lawmakers of the Assembly.

        

It was rumoured in some quarters that the suspension of the clerk was not unconnected with the belief of the lawmakers that the affected officer was working for the state’s governor and the Assembly’s Speaker Acho Ihim. Meanwhile, some of the lawmakers who spoke after the sitting on strict condition of anonymity opined that the suspended clerk ‘was growing wings’, hence saw himself as a more important official than the legislators.

       

The lawmakers further alleged that the suspended clerk usually opposed their directives and thought he was ‘untouchable’. One of them who described the clerk simply as a ‘liaison officer to the governor, said the embattled officer was of the view he could work against the interest of the lawmakers and get away with it.

       

Intriguingly, in the subsequent sitting of the House just a few days after the melodrama, the Speaker Acho Ihim read a memo from the state’s chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). According to the communiqué, the member representing Owerri Mucipal, Lugard Osuji who then doubled as the Majority Leader was accused by the party of gross-misconduct, thus directed the Assembly to outrightly suspend the said lawmaker.

       

The speaker who read the August memo immediately set up an ad-hoc committee to aptly investigate the allegations leveled against the principal officer by the APC having suspended him for two legislative weeks. More fascinatingly, thereof, the embattled legislator Chief Osuji hurriedly before his colleagues announced his outright resignation as the Majority Leader of the House. As if that wasn’t enough, the resignation of two other principal officers – the Deputy Majority Leader and the Chief Whip – was also announced.

       

In order to fill the gaps created without much ado, as if it was an acted movie, three other legislators – namely Uche Oguwike of Ikeduru, Chinedu Offor of Onuimo and Arthur Egwim of Ideato North – were pronounced at the plenary as the new Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader and Chief Whip of the Assembly, respectively. After the show, some of the legislators I interacted with attributed the entire brouhahas to ‘executive interference’ in the Assembly’s activities.

       

Furthermore, away from suspension, resignation, counter-allegations, or what have you, barely a week on, the legislator representing Oguta State Constituency, Henry Ezediaro publicly threw his weight behind the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Uche Nwosu, stating the said young man was the only suitable person that could succeed Gov. Okorocha come 2019. He didn’t stop there; he equally claimed that the overall 27 lawmakers in the Imo Assembly, including himself, were all behind the chief of staff.

       

Chief Ezediaro further disclosed that the recent disagreement or uproar in the House was as a result of the legislators’ eager quest to see the governor declaring Chief Nwosu as the person he would love to hand over to at the expiration of his tenure. Please, how do we reconcile this? Going by his claim; if the lawmakers were divided, as we witnessed recently, owing to who succeeds the sitting governor, it simply signifies that they are not in support of a particular guber aspirant. Hence, it’s worth noting that the aforementioned lawmaker ended up contradicting the scenario.

       

However, consequently, the Speaker of the House, Chief Ihim debunked the claim, saying the Assembly members as a people or group had never supported any governorship faithful thus asked Imoltes to overlook such an ‘unfounded’ statement.

       

It’s even amusing that someone would publicly throw his weight behind a politician who has never told his people that he would be running for the Imo guber seat come 2019. To the best of my knowledge, Chief Nwosu had never announced to anyone, not even his ward members, that he is eyeing the governorship seat. So, I wonder why his so-called allies are raising all these dusts. Those ‘supporters’ ought to note that they are on the contrary causing problem for the gentleman.

        

Notwithstanding, it’s noteworthy that I’m not here to analyze or narrate the story of what had transpired in the House in the recent times; rather, to enjoin our revered legislators to desist from this makosa dance which is seriously over-heating the polity and not wholesome to the anticipated governance.

       

Our revered lawmakers are expected to be more concerned in passing motions and bills as well as carrying out their oversight functions diligently. And, it’s noteworthy that such obligatory duties are required to be done independently at all times no matter whose ox is gored. We must not wash our dirty lilies in the public. Let’s not overlook the needful for the sake of frivolities.

         

I’ve for the umpteenth time conscientized our politicians to always consult a strategist before taking any action, so that, their initiatives or pronouncements wouldn’t be dead on arrival. Don’t forget that your respective constituents are watching you; needless to state that you need to endeavour to consider your dignity whenever you think or act.

       

There’s time for every dance, hence the need to suspend this very one. Think about it!

 

Comrade FDN Nwaozor

Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub - Owerri

________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

Twitter: @mediambassador    

Opinion I When Governors Become Emperors

WHEN GOVERNORS BECOME EMPERORS

       

I had almost gone to bed on the eve of 2016 Christmas when a phone call filtered in from Germany, to engage me in an informal chat as usual. The caller, who happened to be my old-time friend, actually called to express his bitterness over what he observed on the television regarding one of the Nigeria’s governors.

       

According to the buddy, Kunle, he had on that very day watched a governor of one of the states in the Southern Nigeria commissioning a Christmas tree worth over half a billion naira whilst the leader in question was reportedly owing workers and pensioners in the state for several months. I laughed in French and therein told him that such show of shame had become common among most serving governors, hence the need for him to get use to the aberration.

        

I wish Mr. Kunle would someday meet with my dad whom I often refer to as a political philosopher. The old man – a well experienced octogenarian – one day informed me unequivocally that some states across the country were suffering from economic epilepsy, thus needed to undergo holistic lobotomy. His seeming candid view was informed by the way and manner in which some sitting governors invariably act as if they are not accountable to anyone.

        

To assert that currently some governors operate not unlike an emperor isn’t in any way an overstatement, and such weird custom is not peculiar to a particular state or region in the country. It suffices to say that virtually all the governors have, in one way or the other, been found guilty of such bilious and nonchalant lifestyle.

        

For clarity’s sake, an emperor is a man who solely rules a certain empire. An empire, on its part, could be described as a society of people that is being controlled by only one person. In summary, an emperor is a person, male individual precisely, who singlehanded controls the day-to-day activity of a particular society and stands not to be questioned by anyone whenever he errs.

      

With the above definitions, it has become clearer that truly most of our so-called leaders are presently operating like emperors in their respective jurisdictions. Take for instance, a situation where a governor would refuse to conduct the Local Government (LG) election in his state and such scenario would linger till he leaves office. In most cases, he would put up a façade in the name of an election towards the expiration of his tenure, perhaps to prove to people that LG polls were eventually conducted under his watch.

        

Why wouldn’t such governor be rated as an emperor when every other official in the affected state such as the legislators cum judicial custodians would remain a rubber stamp as the unfortunate scene prevails? Funnily enough, when a court orders the governor to without much ado conduct the long awaited LG polls, he would rather regard such legal directive as baseless.

        

On a monthly basis, the Federal Government (FG) would release funds accruable to the third tier governments via the various states. In the process, the said allocation would be hijacked by the governors and such funds would never be utilized on the projects for which they are meant. Instead, they would be channeled toward the implementation of non-feasible projects.

       

The judicial system in the states suffering from such unruly behaviour is vulnerable, to assert the least. I have often times witnessed a situation whereby an injunction is issued by a court of competent jurisdiction to stop a governor from taking a certain intended action, yet the latter would overlook the order with the notion that he alone is in charge of the state.

       

The vulnerability of the lawmakers in such states cannot be left out. Rather than act as independent elected officials, the legislators would be reduced to mere aides of the governor thus would be left with no choice than to operate as they were instructed by the latter. It’s indeed a pathetic circumstance. What is left for this set of governors is to fence their states in order to possess it as their personal asset.

       

As the uncalled ill lingers unabated, it’s noteworthy that the FG has a very vital role to play with a view to addressing it. There is a compelling need to, by law, scrap the various states’ electoral commissions. By so doing, the conduct of the LG elections would become the sole duty of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This signifies that it would no longer be the responsibility of the governors to determine when and how the said polls would be held in their respective states.

        

In the same vein, it’s high time the electorate woke up from slumber. They need to fully acknowledge that they possess the constitutional immunity to recall any lawmaker who is not living up to the expectations. Similarly, they needn’t be reminded that it’s equally their right to say enough is enough whenever the impunity of their governor goes to extreme point.

       

All in all, we must bear in mind at all times that he is an elected governor, not an emperor. Think about it!

 

Comrade FDN Nwaozor

Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub (DRH) - Owerri

__________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

Follow me: @mediambassador
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ShortStory I Golden Chance (II)

GOLDEN CHANCE (II)

       “You have not still answered my question.” Jessy hesitantly uttered as she fixed her gaze on Dan’s.

         Dan was rather speechless, seemed lifeless as he sat directly opposite her not unlike a job seeker.

         At this juncture, they were still the only guests at the bar, Dragon-Top. It was moment of confession; it was the ripe time for him to disclose his prime intention; the period to state clearly in strong terms the reason he left his initial position for hers. And, she conspicuously could not wait to grab the note. Though she had already read the atmosphere, courtesy unarguably demanded that when you walked up to someone – especially a stranger – you ought not to hesitate in disclosing the mission for your abrupt visit. Since there was no practical invite, his presence before her at the moment remained embarrassing till the object of the August visit was revealed.

        “I am all ears, Mister Dan.” Jessy reminded.

        “My dear,” he stated. “It’s a long story.”

          Sure, the dude did not belong to the bracket of men who knew too well how to approach ladies let alone a cutely looking and classy one like Lady Jessy.

         “Long story?” she verified. “You mean, you have come to tell me a long story?”

         “On the contrary,” quoth Dan. “I have come to tell you that, that…” he stammered, paused.

         She was silent, became attentive as she got fascinated over the mode of approach deployed by him. Sure, she needn’t be told that he was naïve. Such attitude of his triggered her interest more.

        “… That I have been your secret admirer for three weeks now.”

          Jessy smiled stylishly. “Congratulations, Mister Dan.” She enthused, clapping.

          He was amazed, though became confused over the unforeseen gesture.

         “So, Mister Dan,” she continued, sipped her drink via the straw. “Why are you admiring Missus Jessy?”

        “Missus Jessy..?” he echoed, became flabbergasted. “Did I hear you right?”

        “I am sure you did.” quoth Jessy. “Or, didn’t you?”

        “Do you mean, you are married?” he verified, pointing at her with his right hand.

         She dished out a dazzling smile. “Would you like to see my husband?”

        “So, how come you are not putting on your ring?”

        “Is that necessary?” she said. “Does it really matter?”

        “Of course,” he replied. “Or isn’t it?’

        “I don’t think it is, my dear.” she argued. “Faithfulness is a thing of the heart.”

         On hearing the last clause, Dan felt like strangulating himself right before her as he tightly fixed his gaze on hers. To him, he had all along wasted a whole three weeks, thinking he was up to something beneficial, forgetting that ‘not all that glitters is gold’. His mind was at the time preoccupied with mixed feelings, all sorts of weird thoughts, or what have you. He was apparently trapped to the ground.

         What could he do now? Since it seemed he had ab initio embarked on a fruitless mission, he had no other choice than to manage lifting his ‘useless’ body towards returning to his original position there in Dragon-Top, or better still consider leaving the bar for else locality where he would be more sober.

          Right now, which was almost 6:00 pm, more guests had arrived Dragon-Top, hence the arena was gradually becoming rowdy and hot as usual. Against this backdrop, another person had occupied Dan’s initial position.

          Few seconds later, the 36-year-old Dan stood up and attempted to take his leave. “Well, thank you for your time.” he managed to utter.

        “You are welcome.” Jessy replied frankly, sipped her drink for the umpteenth time.

         He turned and sluggishly took a step forward, fixing his gaze on the exit point of the bar, or probably where his white Honda Accord car was parked.

         His intention was to leave the joint for home, or somewhere else he could reexamine himself with a view to knowing what to do with his ostensible miserable life.

       “Mister Dan.” Jessy called tenderly as he left her table.

         He quickly but majestically applied his brakes, calmly twisted his neck but never uttered a word.

        “Please, come.” She urged politely.

         Dan calmly walked back to her, but didn’t bother to resume his seat as he stared at her in silent awe.     

        “Please, can you sit down?” She enjoined, gesticulating.

          He complied like one who was being controlled with a remote, remained mute.

         “I can see, you are hurt.” Jessy observed. “Please, I didn’t mean to.” she added, paused. “I am sorry.”

          Dan became more bemused, couldn’t fathom the scenario as he sat loosely on the chair.

         “I want to make a confession.”

         “Confession..?” he eventually uttered.

         “Yes.” She said, nodding.

         “For what?”

         “I have also been attracted to you.” She revealed hesitantly.

           The dude was surprised to receive such strong and mind-blowing words from a woman he had all along seen as a goddess that deserved to be worshipped. “How?” he verified in a jiffy.

          “I have been your secret admirer from the first day I sighted you.” Jessy categorically clarified. “I noticed you the very first time I walked in here.” she supplemented. “I actually came to chill myself on that day but the acknowledgement of you made me kept coming afterwards.”

          “Serious?”

          “The truth was that, Jessy had from the outset been watching Dan’s back. Though she didn’t come to Dragon-Top for the first time because of Dan, her first visit to the famous outlet disclosed the dude’s existence. From that moment, she became a secret admirer. What actually prompted the admiration was owing to the fact that the dude happened to be seated alone throughout that fateful Saturday she patronized the bar. Being a lonely lady, she thought getting acquainted with him would go a long way in addressing the dreaded disease known as ‘loneliness’, which she was currently suffering from.

          She made enquiries and got to know that he usually came to the joint on weekends. So, being a banker, Saturday evenings cum Sundays were often her free time, thus she chose to always visit Dragon-Top every Saturday with the purpose of working out strategy on how to get him attracted to her, not knowing that he equally got attracted to her on that first day.

         “But you said, you are married?’ Dan inquired. “Or, could it be I didn’t hear you well?”

        “Never mind.” responded Jessy. “I was just pulling your legs.”

          He smiled, though still engulfed in the overwhelming astonishment occasioned by the unimagined confession.

          Therein, they became friends. Weeks on, the friendship metamorphosed into intimacy. Barely five months on, Dan led the pretty Jessy down the aisle.

         The rest is history, please.

 

FDN Nwaozor

Executive Director, Docfred Resource Hub - Owerri

_________________________________

frednwaozor@gmail.com

Twitter: @mediambassador