EDO STATE POLITICS OF THE “HE-GOAT AND THE COCOYAM” by SHABA Mafu.

Politicking in Nigeria is not a profession. It is for those with wits; those who can compromise with ultimate personal interest in view, even sometimes to the detriment and betrayal of their political party on which they rode to their positions. Examples of such politicians are former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and a host of all grand party-hoppers. Those who are regarded as godfathers are in other words referred to as the King-Makers in the official language of politics. The 2019 general elections with the preceding campaigns and (exaggerated) promises of politicians are now over. The battle for ascendancy to different political positions has been fought, won and lost. It is time for action. It is time for the electorates to begin to enjoy the dividends of democracy. In Nigeria, the opposite is usually the case. It is now rather time the electorates are treated to isolation, deliberate marginalization, pauperization, social segregation and worst of all shameful embarrassments. The last ‘dividend’ is our point of consideration in this discourse, as it relates to the political game currently playing out in the Edo State House of Assembly.

 Governor Godwin Obaseki is a core civil servant and not a politician by calling, at least not the Nigerian type. He may have crafted his own style of politicking or followed those who are more experienced politicians and with childlike observation vis-a vis the way the game is played. It is not out of place for him to sample the game theory of late politician Tony  Anenih, the celebrated and very subtle politician of Edo State.

Governor Godwin Obaseki is testing the waters formally in the role he is masterminding in the inauguration of the current Edo State House of Assembly. How far he can go with his scheming will be determined on which side he falls by the time the Chairman of his party, the All Progressives Congress Party, the radical and vibrant Adams Oshiomole would bare his fangs on the activities of the innocent-looking, but jacobic Obaseki.

On Monday., 17^th of June, 2019, the Edo state House of Assembly was inaugurated. This was preceded by the letter of proclamation sent to the Clerk of the House , Alhaji Audu Omogbai, by the Edo State Governor as required by the law.   The Clerk consequently ushered in members-elect into the chambers for the official legislative business to commence. The Speaker of the House of Assembly was quickly elected with only 9 members out of the 24 members present during the inauguration and the election into principal offices. Frank Okiye of Esan North-East constituency, was elected the new Speaker while Yekini Idiaye of Akoko-Edo Constituency 1 was elected the Deputy Speaker.

It was reliably gathered that the 9 legislators who attended the ceremony were those loyal to the Governor. The process of the inauguration and election was as clandestine as it was funny. The new speaker was said to be only on his shorts in the hallowed Chambers for the events, showing he was not prepared for the rapture-like elections. He is a “short-kneeker Speaker” of the Edo State House of Assembly.

The questions begging for answers are: why is this kind of garrison approach to electing key officers into hallowed chambers of the legislature in a democratic society? What happened to the other 15 lawmakers sidelined? What is Governor Obaseki set to achieve by dividing a legislature that is exclusively an APC House? Why the haste typical of political brigandage of the highest order in conducting nocturnal election in a coven? Governor Obaseki has something very strange up his sleeves, no doubt.

This game is a similar version of what played out in the 2015 election of Nigeria Governors Forum where the former President Goodluck Jonathan was very comfortable with the victory of Jonah Jang , the then Governor of Plateau State who scored 16 votes against Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers  State who polled 19 votes in same election. Amazingly, both the Governors were from the then ruling party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). When 16 was favourably greater than 19 in PDP’s  arithmetic, and very suitable to President Jonathan because of his personal interest on the matter as represented by Jonah Jang, little did they know that the consequence of their action was their loss of the presidency to the then opposition party, the All Progressives Congress. Five of the Governors defected from the ruling PDP to the APC prior to the 2015 general elections. This was the huge rock that broke PDP’s back in 2015 elections. They lost the elections

In the case of Edo State, Governor Obaseki has been openly fraternizing with PDP H

heavyweights in Edo Sate, amongst whom is the celebrated Igbinedion. The moves Governor Obaseki is making so far is clear enough that he is preparing his way for defection to the PDP because his relevance in APC is dwindling fast like the impatient harmattan fire. His days in APC are numbered as Adams Oshiomole, the APC Chairman, might burst his testes any moment from now with unequalled vendetta and a turbulent blow.

If Governor Godwin Obaseki is not checked right now, his romance with the opposition party sets his relationship with the APC like the friendship between the he-goat and the cocoyam. While the he-goat was pretending to be friends with the cocoyam, it was at the same time scheming how the cocoyam will graciously end in his stomach one day. Obaseki will swallow APC and convert all stalwarts of the party to the PDP to win his second term easily. If the APC is not fast enough, it would become a weak opposition very soon, struggling for survival from no other place but from the belly of the very clever Godwin Obaseki.

A KINGDOM WHERE WILD ANIMALS HAVE BANK ACCOUNTS by SHABA Mafu.

The animal Kingdom has been birthed among the citizens in Nigeria. It is a new kingdom where strange things happen.  A novel idea of those neck-deep in corruption has been crafted, such that best exists in fairy tales. The mysterious attachment to this new-found trade is chilling. In George Orwell’s ANIMAL FARM which was first published as far back as 17^th August, 1945, the main characters of that book were never figured as interacting with money, not much even as having Bank Accounts. Napoleon and Snowball, and the ever-compliant hardworking Boxer, with Moses were not as inventive as the Nigerian animals of the present time. The Russian animals did not have poisoned brains like those Nigerian animals which swallow money with great ease of taste.

The creation of this novel Kingdom was first witnessed in the present government of President Buhari when men must devise every means to cheat on the society to survive.  In Benue State, the sum of N36Million was said to have been swallowed by a snake. The money was the proceeds from the sales of the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) scratch cards. Following the innovation brought by the Head of that Body, Professor Is-haq Olarewaju Oloyede, stopping the regime of the use of scratch cards, directed the reconciliation of Account of JAMB in the previous sales of the cards. But In Makurdi, Benue State of Nigeria, some employees of JAMB reportedly connived with a snake to defraud the parastatal of the hitherto said sum. In an enquiry into the whereabouts of this huge sum of money, a JAMB clerk named Philomina Chieshe could not account for it. In her watery defence when questioned, the said Chieshe accused her housemaid of connivance with another JAMB staff, a colleague of hers, Joan Asen of stealing the money through spiritual means. It was a mammoth mysterious snake employed to swallow the money. The Snake must have been told the location of the office where the money was kept and patiently swallowed the dry papers (currency) to the tune of N36Million. and conveniently glided away to base, like the ancient serpent that occasioned Eve’s fall.

When the snake came to the office, it did not swallow the conspicuous Attendance Register. The office files were left untouched but in its ancient spiritual wisdom it easily identified the naira notes and carefully swallowed the neatly arranged piles of notes in a way they could be vomited for use when prompted.

In a similar angle, few months after the Snake episode in Benue State, it appeared the news of the N36Million spread among the Animal Kingdom like harmattan fire. This time it was the turn of the gorillas, the same family with the monkeys and the chimpanzees. But in strict comparism, it appeared the snake with its natural subtlety was defter in stealing higher volumes of notes than the amateurish gorilla. In Kano State of Nigeria, a gorilla was alleged to have swallowed N6.8Million. This time around, the animal stole this money in his ‘natural’ habitat, the zoo. So, it was easier since it must be a familiar terrain. The Kano Zoological Gardens lost this money to the gorilla during the recent Sallah break. The gorilla positioned himself strategically to ensure that the gate fees paid by the tourists to the zoo were quickly swallowed before the humans would restrict him, after all, he can’t be in the zoo and would not display some traits of the animals he is cohabiting with, particularly in the lifestyle of grand corruption.

The gorilla swallowed N6.8Million, while the snake swallowed N36Million. So these animals in the new.ly established Animal Kingdom have swallowed a cumulative sum of N42.8Million within a year. I hope very soon, animals will not take over as Directors of these government parastatals while the humans become the subordinates – the reign of penetrative and overwhelming corruption!

I personally urge the government of Kano State to thoroughly investigate the case of the theft in the zoo by the gorilla and get the identity of this gorilla. The gorilla must have been on the payroll of the State government with the common Identity card of the Staff of the Kano Zoological Gardens. The gorilla must have an accommodation in the zoo of the corrupt and needs to be fished out. This animal has several huge Bank Accounts that normal humans  may not boast of. They must all be traced by his Bank Verification Number. Much money must have been swallowed by this gorilla and its offspring in the office, besides the one discovered.

As for the N36Million swallowed by the Snake, JAMB should get the snake arrested and a surgical operation performed on it by the glittering surgical knife of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. It should be taught an eternal lesson that snakes have no business with humans, not to talk more of swallowing money kept in the offices of government establishments. When has snakes begun spending money in the Animal kingdom? Since the clerk, Chieshe and Joan Asen are identifiable by their names, the snake (their accomplice) can be identifiable as well.. The trio should be subjected to unhindered investigation. Let the Bank Account of the Snake be thoroughly scrutinized, while the stolen funds be permanently forfeited and returned to JAMB. The accomplices of the snake, as well as the snake itself, must face prosecution. I am very convinced that Chiese should know where the snake lives. They must have had several meals together as a syndicate.

If this dirty and shameful trend is not nipped in the bud by a decisive action of the government, in no time mysterious rabbits, squirrels, antelopes, frogs, hawks, even earthworms will soon invade federal establishments swallowing millions of Naira. What is currently in Nigeria could have been best told in fairy tales; and when they are being told, inquisitive children would even ask with all mustered curiosity of how animals could cheaply swallow dry papers in volumes of millions. Unfortunately, this is not a fairy tale. It is the reality in Nigeria. What a shame to a people who have no dint of conscience remaining in them in the discharge of national duty!

JUNE 12 MEMORIAL: THE BUILDING OF A POLITICAL ALTAR IN NIGERIA by SHABA Mafu.

The 1993 Election Monitoring Body, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) headed by Professor Humphrey Nwosu had registered many political parties in his wisdom to let loose the democratic space for the ever bubbling Nigerian populace who were very active in politics and politicking to freely decide their political future. But the then Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida who has primed and prided himself as the ‘Evil Genius’ had another agenda in mind. He collapsed the political parties into two by fiat. The two parties were obviously divided, and intended along ethnic lines or regional lines, but his scheming failed in that wise. The two parties were the Social Democratic Party with Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, popularly known as MKO, as the presidential candidate, while Ambassador Babagana Kingibe was his running mate. The other party, the National Republican convention (NRC), ordinarily viewed as having a northern connotation had the hitherto unknown and politically-amateur Alhaji  Bashir Tofa as its presidential candidate.

The campaigns went on with all zeal and zest. The enthusiasm to boot out the military rule was ubiquitous in the minds of most Nigerians at the time. Chief MKO Abiola – a muslim from the South West Nigeria, a philanthropist, was the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party. Ambassador Kingibe was also a muslim from the Northern extraction. It was a muslim-muslim ticket for the SDP. Nobody whipped up religious or ethnic sentiments in the 1993 general elections because of the common desire to end the military misrule in Nigeria. The electorates voted massively, enthusiastically and unreservedly. The election was adjudged the best election ever conducted in Nigeria. The election took place on June 12, 1993. Abiola polled 8,341,309 votes (58.36%), while Tofa polled 5, 952,087 (41.64%) - that was the result that was never officially declared by NEC.

As Nigerians waited eagerly for the results to roll out drums for the celebrations, the enemy of democracy, like the Biblical Haman concocted some evil plot to ensure that the joy of Nigerians was broken. One Arthur Nzeribe formed a group called the Association  for Better Nigeria (ABN) and went to Court to obtain an injunction restraining  the NEC from continuing the announcements of the election results. In collaboration with the political murderer, General Babangida, in his greatest display of hypocrisy complied with the Court injunction as ordered by late Justice Bassey Ikpeme. Babangida unilaterally stopped further announcements of results by NEC, and annulled the entire elections on the 23^rd of June, 1993. This evil act sparked spontaneous and unilateral protests all over the country, until the government began to import ethnic colourations to the entire phenomenon. To perpetrate the struggle, some eminent Nigerians formed a political pressure group. This was basically to actualize the June 12 election and to swear-in the winner, Chief MKO Abiola as the elected President of Nigeria. The pressure group was known as the National Democratic Coaltion (NADECO). The frontiers of that group was late Chief Anthony Enahoro, late Abraham Adesanya, late Chief Bola Ige, Ayo Adebanjo, Ayo Opadokun, Admiral Babatunde Elegbede, Polycap Nwite, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Odigie Oyegun, Chief Olu Falae, Toyin Onagoruwa, Kudirat Abiola, among other great Nigerians.

General Babangida did all within his powers to puncture the intents of NADECO by bringing in Chief Ernest Shonekan, a man from the same ethnic extraction of Abiola. He came to power as the leader of an interim government from 26^th August 1993 to November 17, 1993. General Sani Abacha (late ) overthrew the government of Shonekan on November 17, 1998. The looter and political scoundrel in the person of Abacha consolidated the annulment of the June 12 elections, by hurling Chief MKO Abiola into prison and making sure he drove most of the NADECO members into exile.. Abacha eventually died on the 8^th of June, 1998, while Abiola followed him closely on the 7^th July 1998.

General Abdulsalam Abubakar came up, and in collaboration with other politically exposed people brought General Olushegun Obasanjo (retd) who was hitherto hurled into prison by Abacha, for alleged treasonable offence, in 1995 to contest in the 1999 general elections. Obasanjo contested the presidential elections under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and won. From General Obasanjo through Alhaji Yar Adua (of blessed memory) to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the PDP enjoyed sixteen unbroken years of rulership of Nigeria. Unfortunately, none of these presidents who rode on Abiola’s back to become what they were, was ever comfortable when Abiola’s name was mentioned. They all stuck to May 29^th, a day that has no historical value and significance in Nigeria’s political history.  They all refused to acknowledge June 12 as the authentic Democracy Day. A day democracy was buried alive in Nigeria by General Babangida.

But like the thunderbolt from the blues, the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, a man from the Northern extraction, first apologized to the family of late Chief MKO Abiola for the injustice done to the late man and his family by the State. The apology was extended to Nigerians who voted overwhelmingly but had their hopes dashed. General Babangida who annulled the elections is still alive and never showed any remorse till eternity. General Obasanjo, the primary beneficiary of the struggles of Chief MKO still hated Abiola’s struggles till now. President Buhari did not stop at apologizing for the crime he did not commit, he went further to declare JUNE 12 every year as the DEMOCRACY DAY in Nigeria. This is a very correct move and must be applauded by all. This is practically bridge-building, manifest national-healing, and political sagacity from a man unprovokedly  hated by some Nigerians.. President Buhari took a further step to rename the Abuja national Stadium after Abiola. It is to be known and called as MKO ABIOLA STADIUM, from henceforth. Die-hard critics of Buhari like Reno Omokri, a very fine gentleman, and Femi-Fani Kayode, a young brilliant writer hailed this singular move by President Buhari.

I am not surprised to see people like the self-righteous Chief Obasanjo and the Atiku taking ill by this great move of President Buhari.

The declaration of June 12 as Democracy Day with particular recognition of Chief MKO Abiola is like erecting a political altar of eternal memorial in the politics of Nigeria. The recognition of June 12 is not only for late Chief MKO, but an implied recognition of all lovers and fighters for democracy especially in the dark days of Generals Babangida and late General Sani Abacha. People like the erudite Professor Wole Soyika, all NADECO members (dead, and living) are all by this singular action of the APC government and Buhari, honoured to the Heavens.

Never again should Nigerians allow such political profligacy, impunity and greed as exercised by Babangida, Arthur Nzeribe, Sani Abacha and all traducers to repeat itself in the political experiment of Nigeria. Nigeria is greater than any individual, and must so be upheld.

I stand unequivocally with President Buhari and the APC government in recognizing the June 12. I also stand with those who were massacred by the Armoured Tanks of IBB as a result of their protests and struggles for the actualization of the June 12, 1993 elections. Their deaths are not in vain. To me, on June 12 we stand as the federal government is poised to scrap May 29^th as a public holiday and replaces it with June 12 which shall be observed as a public holiday henceforth.