Ekwueme: The Statesman Who Walked His Talk

ARINZE IGBOELI

As we interred the remains of Dr. Alex Ekwueme, former vice president of the federation, Nigerians all over the world converged upon the bustling town of Oko to pay respects to a man who was in every ramification a forthright Statesman.

Yes, like everything in Nigeria, even the idea of who is a Statesman has largely been bastardized; such an appellation has been awarded so recklessly that even touts and tribal warlords are now on queue to receiving such, but sadly that is our lot and until we sanitise our system, we will only like I am doing now grumble about it.

So, in order not to tarnish the imagery of the late Ekwueme by simply addressing him as a Statesman amidst these area boys and charlatans , I would categorise the former vice president as a Statesman who walked his talk as a means of differentiating him from the ragtag of fake statesmen.

I first heard about the person of Ekwueme, when he was released from prison and detention in 1985, I did not hear much from him again until 1996 when he was elected as a delegate to the CONFAB organised by the then maxim ruler, General Sani Abacha. Ekwueme did shine at that congress where he marshalled out key solutions to the challenges confronting the country then. Unlike a number of other delegates who kept the citizenry and the then ruler in stitches, Ekwueme and a very few others kept faith to the true calling of such a gathering , which was all about the future of Nigeria.

In that CONFAB, Ekwueme brilliantly proposed the creation of six geopolitical zones , which we have in operation today. He also propounded the creation of six vice presidents who would be saddled with cabinet responsibilities as well as serve as a means of replacement should the sitting president die, resign or be impeached from office. This was 14 years before the Yar Adua health crisis which nearly snowballed into a crisis beyond our control.

If Ekwueme’s ideas were sterling in nature, then his style of politics was illuminating, a far differential from the crudities obtained then and even now. Unlike the “Amala” politics dispensed while he was still an active player within the system, Ekwueme was rather the conscience of such an era, rallying around a few like-minded politicians to salvage the system that was then drifting onto a civilian dictatorship. In 2003, when he challenged former President Olusegun Obasanjo for the PDP presidential ticket, he marshalled comprehensive reasons as to why Obasanjo had to go ,( An Act Obasanjo has not forgiven) his campaign speech which dwelt on his “being mortified “ at the state of the nation then under Obasanjo alluded to the near collapse of the Nigerian State as well as the assault on our young democracy and democratic ideals by an ex soldier whose vocabulary consisted of commands and obedience to such commands.

Sadly, the then hierarchy of the People’s Democratic Party,PDP failed to pay heed to these dire warnings , and trust me, those who played deaf paid the the price for such:ask Atiku Abubakar, Audu Ogbeh Ladoja, Joshua Dariye, Ayo Fayose and a host of others about their experience then. All of these calamities would have been avoided had they done otherwise.

Ekwueme was also brave politician, he never did once shirk from confronting matters he viewed as contrary to his beliefs. When others spoke in hushed voices or grovelled on their very protruding stomachs in the face ‘koro koro ‘ impunity, the likes of Ekwueme balked at such and spoke truth to power, we saw it in the days of the formation of G-34 , which then led to the formation of the People’s Democratic Party.

As I watched the internment ceremonies and the celebration of life of perhaps Nigeria’s finest statesman, I do hope that as a new generation of Nigerians arise to the challenges of nation building, the compass left by Alex Ekwueme will be borrowed that we may achieve the Nigeria of his dreams. A true giant, aroused from its state of awkward somnambulism.

The Rustication Of The UNIBEN 5.

The recent happenings in the University of Benin where five students were rusticated for demanding that the University authorities reverse the increment of school fees is indeed alarming, saddening and a pointer to the fact that we are still a nation under civil rule and not a democracy. Otherwise , why would the University system, a system that owes it’s existence to the concept of academic freedom clamp down on the rights of students to seek a reversal of a matter that is likely to make their desire to learn more tasking!

The likes of Professor Osasere Orumwense, the present Vice Chancellor and members of the Senate are sadly of that generation that enjoyed all the freebies of University education in those days, today they want to punish the ordinary Nigerian because he desires to be educated.