Politics is in the air. Politicians are not leaving anything to chance. Their supporters have gone to work. They are doing anything and everything to promote their preferred aspirants. The politicians themselves are beginning to lose sleep. In this game, 24 hours, indeed, is such a long time. Anything can happen within the twinkle of an eye.
In states, many governors will complete their two terms in office, meaning that they won’t be seeking the office again. They have served their constitutionally guaranteed eight years, hence it will soon be time for stocktaking and assessment of their tenure. Have they served their people well? How well did they implement their agenda? Was it another case of long, highfalutin promises yet nothing on ground to show for it? All this, posterity shall judge.
As governors who will be rounded off their eight years in office in a little about a year from today, get set to leave their hallowed seats, many are, as always the case, bent on either producing a successor by consulting widely and settling with a generally acceptable aspirant, others are pushing it inordinately. By hook or crook, they must produce their successor no matter whose ox is gored. To them, this is a task that must be accomplished come what may. They are ready to damn whatever consequences their action may cause.
To these governors, learning from history is not their forte. Like the proverbial stubborn fly, they are hell bent on following the corpse to the grave. What befell those who toed this line in the past cuts no ice with them. We have a long list of predecessors who fell out with the successors they imposed on the people. When the going was all smooth, it was as though a match made in heaven and divinely delivered on earth, but as things went sour, the bitter taste left in the mouth seems a permanent scar.
Using Akwa Ibom State as a case study with regards to 2023, all gazes are fixed on Governor Udom Emmanuel.
In the kind of politics we play here, there is no doubting the fact that he will have a key role in who takes the seat after him. History has shown that sitting governors are no pushovers in any succession plan or plot as the case maybe. The people may prefer a particular person whom they have known, worked with, hence are certain such a fellow has what it takes to deliver effective leadership, but the governor, in league with a clique of power brokers, have a way of always going for an unknown quantity in the governorship sweepstakes.
Governors believe that with such a one, they, though out of power, will still pull the strings. They erroneously believe that they’ll still call the shots no matter their distance from the seat of power. This is how the human mind works. Many in the past had toed this path with damning consequences, yet many today are still doing the same thing. In their shallow thinking, whatever befell those before them is not their portion. So, their case, so they think, will be different. But has there been any major difference? Not quite.
Related: Guber 2023: Settling the Zoning Question
So, as the race for who succeeds Governor Udom Emmanuel gathers momentum, there are calls that a home-grown governor is ideal at this material time. While many may be wondering what is meant by a home-grown governor, this writer understands, at least from my interactions with people, that a home-grown governor is one that has been in the state for a long time, connected with the people in more ways than one, is at home with the locals, needs no introduction, has many imprints within the state that speaks eloquently to his love for the people and the state, is accessible, knows the needs of the people, and can communicate his plans for them in simple, plain language they can easily relate with; the list is snaky.
From the sentiments expressed by a good number of people, it is crystal clear that they do not want a governor that, as they say, will be “imported” to come and eat a meal for which he was not part of the preparation. They don’t want a man that will be decorated with what seems like borrowed robes, garlanded with strange epaulletes in order to present him as the messiah the people have been waiting and yearning for. Antecedents show that this does not always end in the hurrah as envisaged.
While Governor Udom Emmanuel has consistently maintained that it’s only God that will give Akwa Ibom State a governor, indications are rife that he has already settled on who his successor will be. Though, the name of the fellow is still under wraps, or spoken of in hush tones, it seems no one, except the governor himself and few close allies know exactly whom the governor has settled with. Some names have been dropped, but no one can say with surgical exactitude that any of those whose names have been bandied has the governor’s nod.
But what seems palpable in all these conjectures is that the governor may not support a home-grown aspirant, but one that is not well known, but has what the governor once referred to as “international e-mail”. The current governor himself was not a popular man for the job, but was polished and presented as the missing piece in the state’s political jigsaw. He got the trophy despite the initial resistance, complaints and all. So, having benefitted from that chessboard, there is no indication that he will not toe that path. Will he succeed? Nobody knows.
Mr Udom Emmanuel, by his body language, has shown that he will not be backing those who many see as popular aspirants. In fact, it’s clear he won’t back either Obong Bassey Albert, a senator representing Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District in the National Assembly or Barr. Onofiok Luke, who speaks for the people of Etinan Federal Constituency in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, or so it seems. But these two men are clearly the most popular and generally accepted aspirants for the state’s top job. They have the clout to pull serious stunts in the governorship race.
Related: 2023 Power Equation: Doesn’t Itu/Ibiono Deserve A Fair Share?
These are men that have seen it all in local politics because, of course, politics is local as they say. They have interacted with the people in different capacities at various times in their political odyssey. Not a few people believe that if a level playing field is provided in the primary election, this two will go head to head and take the battle for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ticket down to the wire.
But both men face a daunting task in their quest for the Hilltop Mansion given the unhidden opposition against them. While Onofiok Luke, a former speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, has a chance to seek a second term at the House of Representatives if he fails in the governorship tussle, Bassey Albert, popularly known as OBA, is on his second term as a senator, hence will not, by conscience and zoning, take another shot at the Red Chamber. So, he’s all out for this one, which seems to him a holy grail.
So, just maybe, Luke may be prevailed upon to seek re-election or head to the Senate by way of settlement or appeasement, but this is not cast in stone, because the man in question has told some of his allies and those who care to listen, that he is all out for the top chair and has no intention of using it as a bargaining chip for another position. But then, with politicians, nobody really knows what is in their mind given that politics is principally a game of interest. And the players tilt to the side their bread is more buttered. How he navigates his way in this foggy thicket remains to be seen. But one thing that is certain, is that the man, though slender of physique, is not a politician to be treated with kid gloves. Write him off at your peril.
For OBA, the man has paid his dues in full. He is regarded as the man with the largest political clout and longest tentacles in the state. A grassroots politician, Albert is a man that has proven he has what it takes to be governor. If the people want a home-grown governor in 2023, he fits the bill without any atom of doubt. But the opposition against him is gargantuan. How he will meander his way through it all is a matter many are watching with undivided attention. But if the PDP allows for free and fair primaries, it’ll be difficult if not impossible to see him lose out, likewise Barr. Onofiok Luke. Both men are “on ground”? But is that enough to get them the coveted seat? Let’s get to the river first.
Things will become clearer in the coming days and months. Machinations, scheming are on. Nobody wants to blink first. But in all, nobody really knows where the pendulum will swing. It is no wonder then that many are keeping their cards close to their chests. But the situation now is like biscuit of which nobody knows where and when it’ll crack.
Read Also: 2023: Senator OBA, PDP And The Greek Loyalty
So, caution at this time, is the watchword. But it’s time the state went for a home-grown governor if popular opinion is anything to go by. The craze for the so-called “imported governor” should give way. It’s not fair that people labour for years loyally in a party, and when it’s time to reward them for their undying commitment, we push them aside and bring in someone from nowhere to take a chair he contributed little or nothing to making. The home-grown aspirants are eminently qualified to take the mantle. They are sound academically, and have proven that in administration, they won’t be found wanting. So, why always bypass them for strangers on the flimsy excuse that they lack “international e-mail.”
In Rivers State for instance, Governor Nyesom Wike who is doing wonders there is a grassroots politician who rose through the ranks, culminating in his becoming governor. He was once a local government chairman, later deputy president of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON). He was chief of staff to former Governor Amaechi, in 2011; he chaired the re-election campaign team of the same man before becoming minister of education (state) during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
Wike saw it all, hence his sterling performance in office today. He may be seen as brash, sometimes rash, but he knows how to get the job done despite his combative style, not to talk of his scratchy throat. The man has done well because he knows the terrain and knows what the people want. As chairman of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area — first from 1999-2002 and later 2004-2007, he interacted with the people, he knew their worries and yearnings. He knew where the shoes hurt them. Today, as governor, he is doing all within his capacity to fix all that. You may not like his speech, no thanks to his cranky voice, but he is delivering the dividends of democracy to Riverians. And the people are the better for it.
In Lagos State Nigeria, the story is the same. Governors after Bola Tinubu may have come from one pool, but one thing you can’t take away from them is that they all did well in their own right. Even the current man, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has not disappointed the people. Raji Fashola continued from where Tinubu stopped, Ambode was not found wanting by the vast majority of Lagosians. His ousting was more of political rigmarole than for poor performance. All the men mentioned above held one position or the other in the state before their ascension to the throne. Have they not performed creditably?
We must end the unfair culture of ‘monkey dey work, baboon dey chop”. We should reap from where we sow. If politics is local, we must allow those we regard as locals to take the seat. They have paid their dues. They have worked for it. They are qualified. Let them have the cake they laboured for. Let’s not use them as potent ladders to get to power, yet can’t hold up the ladder too for them when it’s their turn.
What is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander. Am I communicating?
