From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, last week, provoked a fresh political debate when he took a strong swipe at the tepidity of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) in the current All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government, declaring that the governors lack the courage to challenge the anomalies going on in the land.
He lampooned their lack of ferocious radicalism, particularly in putting pressure on the president to stampede him into tackling the myriad of economic and socio-political challenges confronting the country.
Amaechi, a two-time chairman of NGF, claimed that the governors have completely lost their previous brand identity, the fear factors they were known for.
He spoke at the book launch of former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido. The book, titled “Being True to Myself,” was publicly unveiled in Abuja, where former President Olusegun Obasanjo served as the Special Guest of Honour.
The former Rivers State Governor said, “I asked you (Sule Lamido) this morning, what is going on currently in the country, in Nigerian politics; would it have happened when we were governors? You said no. And the answer is no. We would have confronted the government, confronted the president. That is how radical you were. That is how our Governors Forum operated, that is how determined we were to change things,” Amaechi noted.
In reality, the former Minister of Transportation may have spoken the minds of many Nigerians on what has, individually and collectively, become of the once boisterous, ebulliently authoritative NGF, and their previously larger-than-life posture, before the advent of the APC-led federal government in 2015.
Before 2015, Nigerian governors were like the oracle, whose input and standpoint decided the trajectory and direction of many economic and socio-political issues. They must be consulted on how the constitution should be amended, on how the decisions concerning the economy must be taken, and more importantly critical issues of security challenges.
The fear of the governors was the beginning of wisdom for every incumbent President who wanted to survive and have a successful and peaceful reign. They were the pressure group that held the presidency by the jugular.
With the resources and political influence as instruments at their disposal, once they are on the side of any incumbent President, no evil weapon fashioned against such a President would prosper, analysts say.
Daily Sun recalls that they were that commanding force that initially supported the actualisation of third term agenda because it would favour them too and later moved against it to the point of deploying resources, which finally contributed to the crumbling of the agenda like pack of cards.
In retrospect, their ubiquitous influence made them that fearful to the point that even when the forum was factionalised, it still remained the potent instrument that passed “a death sentence” on the continuation of then President Goodluck Jonathan in office. That was how potent their domineering influences could be.
However, from all indications, the reverse seems to be the case now. There are no longer governors in the calibre of former Abia and Lagos states first citizens, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Bola Tinubu respectively that confronted ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, and fought him force -for- force and power- for- power.
In the consideration of many pundits, the NGF now lacks the voice, courage, and boldness to speak out in defence of the ordinary voiceless citizens on matters affecting their livelihood.
On the contrary, they either defended the reasons for their stoic silence or offer explanations as to why certain decisions were taken by the Federal Government.
More curiously, the governors were catastrophically disappointing in handling the sacrificing of one of their own, Similayi Fubara, through the imposition of state of emergency in Rivers State and the subsequent appointment of a retired Naval Chief as the Sole Administrator.
The governors, individually and collectively, had displayed disjointed approaches to handling the issue due to their divided loyalties, as those who spoke were very feeble in issuing threats on their readiness to confront the matter with the severity, sensitivity, physical accuracy, and urgency it required.
The rather weak statement issued by the Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum (PDPGF), Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, urging President Bola Tinubu to reverse the state of emergency, was completely neglected perhaps because it was devoid of any force.
“The PDPGF has noted with concern the suspension of democratically elected officials in Rivers by the president. We state categorically that this is a threat to democracy. This is a premeditated attack on Rivers, the PDP and other opposition parties in the country.
“It is a great threat to democracy and an ill wind that will blow no one any good. It is a dangerous course of action that will not only endanger our hard-earned democracy but deepen crisis in the country,” the statement from the Bauchi Governor read in parts.
As a follow-up, a member of the forum, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, while criticising the declaration, warned that the forum would challenge it in court.
He said; “I am glad that our great party, the PDP, is demonstrating the needed strength and leadership. The PDPGF rose from an emergency meeting where we unanimously decided to challenge the actions of President Tinubu in a court of competent jurisdiction. We cannot fold our hands and watch the democracy we built for almost three decades be trampled upon.
“I stand today to say that the action by the presidency is an illegality that right-thinking members of the society must oppose. Our democratic tenets must never be trifled with, no matter our personal feelings and loyalties. This is the time to take a stand for fairness, equity, and justice,” Governor Makinde said.
And matching words with actions, the governors, comprising Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa-Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa states instituted a legal action at the Supreme Court to question the powers of the president to carry out such an action.
Although President Tinubu has requested the Supreme Court to dismiss the case, the appellants (the 11 state governors) in their declaration, noted that; “the suspension of Governor Fubara, his deputy, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, was unconstitutional, unlawful, and in gross violation of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
Sadly, some members of the South-South Governors Forum horridly denounced and disassociated themselves from the statement they collectively issued to reject the emergency rule.
Only last week, APC PGF members numbering about 20 had met behind closed-door in Abuja to reassess the performance of the government as it approaches its mid-term, passing a resolution that President Tinubu, having performed creditably well, had been vindicated by the ratings of the international community endorsing his positive reforms in Nigeria.
The forum’s chairman and governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, had noted: “We are here to put heads together to congratulate ourselves and congratulate Nigeria on the recent developments. You know at the beginning of this administration when the president started with the reforms, the opposition was very loud in criticising the policies of the government.
“But today, Mr. President is being vindicated. Gradually, international organisations like World Bank, and IMF, are now beginning to commend the administration of President Tinubu for making bold decisions and embarking on a reform-driven government.
“At the same time, we are also here to see how best to coordinate and encourage the members of our great party and, by extension, Nigeria. Despite all distractions, we are resilient in supporting the government of Tinubu and putting heads together on how best to serve Nigeria better as a political party,” Uzodimma noted.
But, if the governors disappointed Nigerians with their tepidity on sensitive issues concerning economic policy, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy, and their muteness or feeble response to the unfortunate circumstance that befell one of their own in Rivers, then they ought to be devastated over their approaches and handling of the escalating issue of insecurity ravaging the country in most states.
Contrary to the practical measures boldly adopted by the former governor of Ondo State, late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to tackle the menace of insecurity in his state, the governors’ handling of the insecurity in their localities, in the impression of many observers, is leaving much to be desired.
While many of the governors appeared so helpless to fashion out security measures to combat the dreaded insecurity which usually resulted in the endless attacks and killings of innocent citizens and farmers, others had resorted to repeated appeals to the presidency for intervention just as others embarked on peace missions to other region to plead with the elders to pacify their protesting angry youths poised for revenge.
The helpless situations of the governors, observed a pundit, have actually gotten even worse under the APC-led federal government as some Nigerians were perplexed remembering one former governor in South -East geopolitical zone crying in Aso Rock Villa, begging for the intervention of former President Buhari on the mass killing of defenceless innocent villagers in his state.
Weighing in on the situation, a chieftain of an opposition party, in a confidential chat with the Daily Sun, blamed the dwindling influence of the governors and their inability to speak with one voice as they did previously, on the division and crisis rocking almost all the opposition parties.
“Instead of the meeting of the united indivisible governors’ Forum, we now hear more of the meetings of the different political parties. If the APC Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) was not coming up with a resolution favourable to their party, the governors on the platform of the opposition parties will be issuing a feeble threat on the federal government.
“With the governor on the platform of the ruling party serving as the chairman of the general forum of the governors, what do you expect contrary from the larger governors’ forum, equally dominated by the ruling party in the circumstances the country found itself since the APC took over power?
“Considering the crisis-riddled state of the opposition parties, resulting in their governors defecting to the ruling party, it has equally become almost practically impossible for the governors to wield the necessary powers to confront the presidency as was the case previously during the Rotimi Amaechi’s time.
“Don’t forget that President Tinubu, as a political strategist, has the magic wand of what it takes to weaken the overbearing tendencies and powers of the state governors. And with the successful declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers, he has perfectly sent scary warning signals to other governors to behave themselves.
“Again, judging by the volume of federal allocations going to the states now, courtesy of President Tinubu’s magnanimity and brainchild, which has contributed to quietening many of the governors, he now wields the big stick to instigate citizens to interrogate and pressurise the governors to account for the humongous federal allocation given to them monthly. I don’t see any governor becoming bold enough and raising his head high to confront President Tinubu the way Rotimi Amaechi and his compatriot governors did during their days,” the party chieftain argued.
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“Again, judging by the volume of federal allocations going to the states now, courtesy of President Tinubu’s magnanimity and brainchild, which has contributed to quietening many of the governors, he now wields the big stick to instigate citizens to interrogate and pressurise the governors to account for the humongous federal allocation given to them monthly. I don’t see any governor becoming bold enough and raising his head high to confront President Tinubu the way Rotimi Amaechi and his compatriot governors did during their days.”