This is not one of those praise singing rituals. Far from it. In fact, praise singing is not a norm here. Rather, this is stating, for posterity sake, what could make or mar the political fortunes of our dear party- PDP in the nearest future.
In this new era of global mindset, one would reason that the recent proclamation of the Governor that almost all the card- taker committee chairmen in Enugu State will return unopposed is tantamount to a momentous digression from the normal tradition of power succession. It is therefore in this light that one has come to x- ray the Governor’s proclamation vis- a-vis the long-term implication on the political fortunes of our dear party- PDP.
In the face of the looming crisis, one will safely conclude that, in the absence of a clear -cut constitutional provision for zoning, a well structured rotational system amongst a cocktail of other measures will prevent protracted, volatile and acrimonious struggles in the future and potentially usher in a more harmonious, stable, democratic and prosperous society as has been the case in other climes.
In the absence of any constitutional provision for rotational power arrangement, it can be reasoned that those in the majority will be better placed to hijack powers and are capable of perpetual dominance but with turn –by- turn power succession arrangement as advocated in this article, minority interest will be adequately protected. Take for instance Ette community in Igbo- Eze North Local Government of Enugu State; the current serving member of the House of Assembly representing Umunano constitutuency in the person of Hon. Tony Ogidi would not have dreamt of even contesting not to talk of winning if not for zoning formula.
Moving forward, let me put the records straight, even at the risk of sounding offensive, zoning arrangement is as old as the society itself. Going down memory lane, upon the creation of Enugu State in 1991, power succession has been under rotational arrangement viz: Enugu East produced Jim Nwobodo, Eungu west produced Christian Onoo while Enugu North produced Okwy during the botched 3rd republic.
Then again, upon the return of democracy in 1999, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani was produced from Eungu East, Sullivan Chime was produced from East West and most recently, Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is currently holding sway for Enugu North. Good enough, it’s this quest for equity and fairness that forms the fulcrum for the agitating for zoning. No wonder all the South EASTERN States came up a strategy of balancing the in balance,hence,Enugu Charter of Equity,Ebonyi Charter of Equity,Abia Charter of Equity,the list is endless.
So, this has been the sequential trend from time immemorial. Funny enough, Gov Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is a beneficiary of rotational arrangement.
Expectedly, critics of rotational arrangement talk of having the best candidate for the job, even when they know that such a so – called best candidate always comes from a dominant grouping. Of a truth, there are best candidates in every place seeking an opportunity to bring leadership to bear on all of us.
Using Igbo-Eze North as a case study, during the last 2015 election, it was a contention whether it was the turn of Umunano or Ozzi for the House of Representatives and later, it was resolved in favour of Umunamo in the spirit of Zoning. For all intents and purposes, the Governor’s proclamation of local Council solo contest in Enugu state has poured cold water on the age-long zoning arrangement and this is capable of dampening the spirits of the electorates in the area.
The point I am trying to make here is that, we sadly have too many so- called opinion leaders who say one thing today and say another thing tomorrow. Sadly, because those so-called opinion leaders have been ‘’former this or former that’’, they get attention they hardly deserve. Some of them pretend to be speaking for all of us, even when what they seek to protect is their selfish or group interest. Believe it or not, the governor’s endorsement of candidates for the coming election which tends to dismember the political structure and culture on ground. But then, given the realities of political maturity or lack of it in Enugu State, PDP stakeholders have adopted a sidon-dey-look approach for fear of being tagged” anti party”, being relegated to the background or losing relevance but are surely and deeply apprehensive that the chances of our great party – PDP could be jeopardised if the grievances arising from the recent rancorous and mindless imposition of council election, in most cases against the wishes of the people are not handled with cautious diplomacy.
For the purpose of records, let it be said that the action of the governor risks igniting an ugly, avoidable though,power struggle that would threaten not just the political fortunes of our dear political party- PDP but also a long observed gentleman’s agreement that has been critical to conflict mitigation, consensus formation and maintenance of peaceful political order.
For instance, in Igbo-Eze North, the endorsement of Com. Uwakwe Ezeja by the Governor is unsettling the political heavy weights as well as trying to alter the political equation in the area.
In my opinion, the endorsement of com. Uwakwe Ezeja as the flag bearer of PDP for local Government chairman election was an affront on the major stakeholders of Igbo-Eze North who had earlier, on their own, in a bid to ensure peace amongst the communities that make up the council area adopted zoning formula. I wish to state, in no unclear terms that Igbo-Eze North has come of age and should be allowed to balance their imbalance. The unity, peace and security of Igbo-Eze North council are in doubt. Peace and security of the council area have been shaken to the grassroots by mere proclamation of the Government that the incumbent council area will return unopposed.
Apart from the despicable show of disrespect to the democratic principle and disregard for the inalienable rights of the masses to choose and elect their leaders, the Government also was oblivious of or so it seems the efficacy of the opposition parties to cash into the squabble in the council area and gain from it.
. Barrister Titus Onuora Odo is a Lagos based Human Rights Advocate and the Director General of Human Rights Global Awareness Initiative.