By Cally Ebue
Dear Sir,
NOT YET UHURU
Let me start by stating that I did not vote for you in the last gubernatorial election in Enugu State. I voted for the Labour Party from the the top to bottom, because I was one of those who believes that the last 24 years of PDP administrations in Enugu State were unmitigated disaster, and should not be returned to power even if an angel was clothed with the branded garb called PDP.
Sir, you really agreed with me on this point, that the platform under which you were declared the winner by INEC has failed the people of Enugu State. You captured this well in your inaugural address, well written in beautiful prose, well packaged, but I do not know whether it was beautifully delivered, because I did not attend your inauguration at OKPARA SQUARE. For the avoidance of doubt, let me recall your words once again. ” WE THUS CANNOT BE REPOSITORIES OF THIS GREAT HISTORY AND YET BE LADEN WITH POVERTY AND WANT. IT WILL BE UNACCEPTABLE FOR US TO BE HERITAGES OF THOSE MASSIVE RESOURCES THAT ARE STILL BURIED IN THE BOWELS OF OUR SOIL AND YET BE TRAPPED IN UNDER DEVELOPMENT…”
Sir, I am one of those silent majority of people of Enugu State who believed that the mandate you are holding and already exercising was INEC mandate, not the mandate of the majority of people of Enugu State who trouped out on 18th March, 2023, to cast their votes.
It is now that I have come to understand clearly that there is a rigid separation of powers between INEC and the judiciary in Nigeria after each election. While the INEC determines the candidates to be sworn in, the judiciary if it really wanted to be the temple of justice, determines the actual candidates that won the election. However, the judiciary is appearing to be wearing the toga of temple of injustice and infamy, given certain election cases it adjudicated in recent times.
In view of the above Sir, if the judiciary would be what it ought to be, the temple of justice in suits challenging your declaration by INEC at the tribunal, then, it will be obvious that it is not yet UHURU for you as the Governor of Enugu State and in about a year and six months at all cost, your tenancy at the LION BUILDING Enugu as a PLACE HOLDER will expire. But nevertheless, within this short period of your PLACE HOLDERSHIP, you can be what you choose to be. You can change the trajectory of governance in Enugu State unlike your predecessors.
You can choose the Robber theory that all power is for mastery or the Hireling theory that all power is for wealth like your former boss and predecessor Chimaroke Nnamani, who in addition to that elevated thuggery and violence as a fundamental instrument of power. Today, nemesis has caught up with him and many people popped champagne over his defeat in the last election.
Furthermore Sir, you can also choose to grab all the available Lands in Enugu State and revoke the unavailable ones like Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi your immediate predecessor; who’s eight year tenure completely stagnated the state in all facets of development; consequent upon the fact that he lacked the basic, elementary or kindergarten knowledge of what governance is all about. His people had already rewarded him for that with Chimaroke’s treatment.
Finally Sir, you can choose the good shepherd theory that all power is for service. One of your predecessors, Sullivan Chime believed in it and attempted it, but unfortunately, his sensual nature became his Achilles heel, which led to abdication of critical decisions and policy thrust of his administration in the hands of his Chief of Staff Ifeoma Nwobodo. That was the tragedy of his tenure which led to the emergence of Gburugburu.
Sir, the twenty four years of PDP in power in Enugu State could be summarised as follows: eight years of darkness under Chimaroke Nnamani, eight years of little light at the end of the tunnel and flashes of silver lining in the dark clouds of Enugu State under Sullivan Chime and finally another eight years of darkness under Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
I believe that from crime nothing comes but evil, but when providence decides to intervene in the affairs of men, it may rock the foundation of our moral sense of what is right and wrong. God’s ways are mystery and unfathomable. RIDER HAGGARD captured this angle eloquently in his famous novel ” SHE” thus ” For out of crime comes many good things, and out of good grows so much evil…man does this and does that from the good or evil of his heart… Good and evil, love and hate, sweet and bitter, man and woman etc are needful to one another, there is the hand of fate that twines them up to bear the burden of its purpose”
Sir, I do not know much about esoteric philosophy, my credo is that of ” vox populi vox dei” voice of the people is the voice of God. The granite fact is that the mandate you have, I do not want to use offensive word stollen mandate, let me cloth it with euphemism, INEC MANDATE, not the mandate of the majority of people of Enugu State who cast their votes on 18th March, 2023. But that does not mean that you are not eminently qualify to be the Governor.
Finally Sir, I thank you for your patience in reading this long epistle, please ignore the fact that I did not address you properly, it was not an oversight just like withholding my congratulations, you are still matriculating, we are waiting for your graduation day, and upon that day we shall freely pour encomiums without restrain kpom
Yours Sincerely
Cally Ebue.
Ebue, an Enugu-based journalist and Commentator on Public Affairs was Secretary, NUJ Enugu State, 2003-2006.
