‘All Things Must Pass’, by George Harrison, was the title of his triple album of the same name released in 1970. For those who do not know, Harrison was a member of the iconic English rock band, The Beetles, that also comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. The Beatles were regarded arguably as the most influential band of all time. For all that matters, All Things Must Pass, deals with the transient nature of human existence, meaning, no matter your privileged position, power and influence, or how you have dominated your environment, all are temporary, and death is a leveler.
So, it was last weekend when the remains of Sen. Francis Arthur Nzeribe were buried in his residence, Oguta, Imo state, amid pomp and circumstance, dirges and eulogies befitting of his stature. Indeed, having a larger end has always been important for political leaders, and Nzeribe(Ogbuagu, Damanze, Oshiji) was no different. Throughout his years in politics, Nzeribe was more than a cameo in a drama. He so much cherished a political fight, and always fancied how he would prevail and sing a song of victory. He was never afraid to walk in the dark. Perhaps that’s why ‘Ogbuagu’(one of his many traditional titles is fitting). He was a lion, very courageous. Underrate him at your own peril. The Yoruba call such a person ‘Eruobodo’( the brave one).
Like many of our politicians, Arthur Nzeribe meant many things to many people – the good, the bad and the ugly – and some will say, the dark forces that control our politics were aligned behind him. But surely, Nzeribe was a controversial man, for Nzeribe without controversy is like a doughnut without a hole. And like a Procrustes bed, he often didn’t obey accepted standards and you cannot force him to comply. These attributes are natural to him, and very often, guaranteed him that oxygen of publicity that burnished his toughie image and public persona of a maverick which the Nigerian media built around him. He enjoyed it. It kept him going all these years. For those who hate him(and they are legion), Nzeribe provoked a sort frothing at the mouth, a reproach, a source of sadness and sorrow. For them, Nzeribe never enjoyed the fruits of partisanship without the thorn.
Sen. Nzeribe was one politician I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing several times as state correspondent of Champion newspapers(1993-1995). On two occasions, he granted me an exclusive interviews. Of particular interest was his role in the annulment of 1993 June 12 Presidential election widely believed to have been won, fair and square, by Chief MKO Abiola. As one cliché says:sit at the feet of an older man to absorb his knowledge. The interview was conducted in his palatial residence, ‘Haven of Peace’ sometime in August 1993, two months after Gen.Ibrahim Babangida- led military regime had annulled the election amid worldwide outrage, and derailed democracy for many years, the effect of which Nigeria hasn’t totally recovered from, 29 years on.
In that connection, one of the questions I asked Nzeribe was: ‘Chief, why did you do what you did that triggered a chain of ugly events that resulted in the annulment of the June 12 Presidential election’? With eyes bulging, he took a hard look at me, with a Rothmas cigarette in his right hand, and said: “Look here my young man, Chief Abiola underrated me, he thought I was a lousy fellow, incapable of doing nothing…” As the interview progressed, a reporter of the National Concord, owned by Abiola, Folake Ofoha,(Owerri Office), who is now in the USA) came in and joined me. However, Nzeribe admitted that even though he had a disagreement with Abiola, “when I took the project under the Association for Better Nigeria(ABN), I did not know it was going to trigger the kind of reactions you are talking about now. But I have no regret about what I did”.
After the interview, it was late, and good of him, Nzeribe asked his driver to take us back to Owerri in his Rolls-Royce car. I went home that night thinking what really drives our politicians to undertaken certain actions, not minding the political and economic implications. Why, for instance, should ego be a reason to cause collateral damage to your country and annul the mandate freely given by the electorate? I drew the conclusion that Nzeribe had what is called “nose of the mind”, that uncanny ability to work for selfish interest and other people’s causes. It has guided him successful as a super businessman and politician. It was this sleight of hand that propelled him to mobilise forces against one of his own, Sen. Chuba Okadigbo when he was President of the Senate. Again, by his own confession, Okadigbo never “gave me my dues” in the Senate.
But he met his match in Anyim Pius Anyim as President of the Senate. This was Anyim’s antidote that demystified the Nzeribe aura. It works thus: if a man is a myth, bring him in a bottle, but if he’s a mere mortal, bring him in chains. That was how Nzeribe was slammed with six months suspension from the Senate, and charged with “anti-democratic, anti- senatorial and disreputable conduct”. Sen. Jonathan Zwingina read out those charges. It was what Nzeribe never thought would happen to him. All Things Must Pass. What followed soon was Nzeribe’s recall from the Senate, “One Million man March”, spearheaded by a pressure group by name, Orlu Political Consultative Assembly(OPOCA), led by Chief Samfo Nwankwo. Though the recall process failed, it began the descent of Nzeribe’s political career. The myth was around the man was broken. The fear of him was gone. If you are one of those who continue to wonder why some of the things Nzeribe did looked tacky, flighty and flirty, and incredibly ‘foolish and devious’, from my impression of him, he saw himself as a folksy fellow capable of flipping heads 777 times over. And you ask, why: that is the odd number that holds the key to the probability theory to understanding complex issues that our politics often throws up.
As we remember Nzeribe, even in death, and the tribute to his memory, I still have a copy of the interview he granted me in October 1994 before I left Owerri for Lagos on transfer in January, 1995. It was an interview ahead of his 55th birthday, November 2. I asked what would be his greatest regret. His answer: “If I were to live my life all over, I will ask God to make me a good family man, someone who will be able to bring my own children by myself”. For the first time, I saw Nzeribe looking sorrowful. He said he could not remember ever spending a full month with his family.
I am inclined to believe that was why after many years, he decided to take another wife, Joan Edugie Nzeribe, a former wife of a pop star. Before we rounded off the interview, I remember asking him why our politics remains a ‘do-or- die’ affairs, for which he said, paraphrasing the famous quote of former Speaker of the U.S. Congress, Tip O’Neil, that as long as’ money remains the lifeblood of politics’, politicians will remain who they have always been, more selfish than patriotic, in his words, “chasing money they even don’t need in their lifetime”. Whether you like him or hate him, Nzeribe will remain one of Nigeria’s most colourful public figures, a master politician. And without a doubt, he had an extraordinary political career, spanning over forty years.