Ike Ekweremadu, not too long ago, forwarded the court summons over alleged forgery by the Senate leadership and some others to the United Nations, governments of the UK and USA, the European Union parliament and foreign missions, to call the world attention to an ‘attempt by Buharis’s government to rubbish the legislative arm of government’, ‘ clampdown on opposition’ and for what he described as continuation of ‘marginalization of the South-east and South-south geopolitical zones of Nigeria’. He however conveniently forgot to say by whom since the Igbo, according to General Alabi Isama, have been part of every government since independence and have played leading roles in every government since the return of democracy in 1999 with Ekweremadu (South-east) as Deputy Senate President in the last nine years and ex-President Jonathan (South-south) as Vice President and President for eight years. All the same, decked in Igbo traditional war attire to give a wrong impression his arraignment for alleged forgery was an assault on the Igbo nation, his travails, he claimed during his press conference ,was ‘an attempt to silence the highest ranking opposition leader’, a move he said was ‘capable of truncating Nigerian democracy’. His grieving supporters a few days later, followed with another distress call, this time on Nigerians. ‘Buhari’, they said, ‘was about to black out democracy’, citing as evidence ‘the alleged killing of members of Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) in Onitsha as well the continued detention of the Director of Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu’. Others supporters also followed by lionizing and praising him for his courage. Finally, there were those who celebrated him for his letter which they claimed found only parallel in those letters the APC wrote as opposition party to warn the international community about Jonathan’s plan to prolong the nightmare of besieged people of north-west through corruption-ridden war chest if only that would guarantee his reelection .
Except for those whom the end justifies the means, many believe Ekwerenmadu’s letter crafted to defend a position which he by his own admission was acquired inelegantly was childish, ill-advised and self-serving. There is no doubt that those to whom a letter in which Ekweremadu positioned himself as the champion of democracy in Nigeria was addressed know he is the greatest threat to democracy. Those who have had long years of political socialization in the long established participatory democracies know there can be no greater threat to democracy than the betrayal of the spirit of democratic rules and conventions. They know that Ekwerenmadu’s self admission that he immorally usurped a position that by convention belongs to the ruling party with majority was a calculated attempt to derail the democratic process. Unlike Nigeria where many of our compatriots suffer from the crisis of ideas and crisis of poverty, any misguided politician who embarks on such political perfidy in the UK, USA or in the European Union parliament, would be digging his own political grave. None of his generation would ever smell elective offices.
They know more. They know that Ekweremadu cannot be a champion of democracy. They witnessed the obscene scenes in states houses of assembly such as Ekiti, Rivers and Edo where five thugs as lawmakers supported by the federal might purportedly impeached speakers supported by as many as 20 state lawmakers while the 7th assembly presided over by Mark/Ekweremadu looked the other way. They also know that by the virtue of Ekweremadu’s position in the 7th assembly, he cannot pretend not to be privy to how $2.1b inclusive of $1b loan meant for procurement of arms for our embattled soldiers who at a point could not defend their barracks and their loved ones were shared by PDP stalwarts to buy support for Jonathan’s 2015 failed reelection bid.
If there is anyone deceived by Ekweremadu and his 7th Senate whose leadership publicly admitted spending a whole night scheming about how to steal what belongs to others, where those who handsomely rewarded themselves for being called upon to serve the people routinely abandoned the Senate chambers in solidarity with their leader facing charges at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, and where elected senators are threatening to sabotage the federal government programmes instead of prevailing on their leaders facing alleged forgery charges to clear their names, it is certainly not United Nations, the governments of US and Britain or the western society for that matter.
Perhaps Ekweremadu and his supporters need to be reminded that unlike his self-serving letter, but for the APC letters which forced the US to reconsider the plan to sell arms to Nigeria upon discovering that Nigerian arms were finding their way to the insurgents, beyond the 29 LGA seized by Boko Haram, the whole of the besieged three north-eastern states would have been captured by Boko Haram. The US had accused Nigerian Generals of human rights abuses. What greater human right abuse than condemning your ill-equipped young soldiers to death. Revelations from the ongoing probe has vindicated APC. Dasuki, Jonathan’s NSA has since confessed the $2.1b funds meant for procurement of arms ferried in boxes to his office was authorized by President Jonathan. EFCC has since revealed how a minister of defence, using an aircraft personally ferried N4.7b of the amount to Akure airport from where it was allegedly shared between Fayose, Omisore and Obanikoro. PDP stalwarts and their sympathizers such as Dokpesi, Metuh, Fani Kayode, Olu Falae and many others have since admitted receiving money from the NSA office. With these facts before Nigerians, the motive of Ekweremadu’s letter to the international community is clear-preemption. It is a survival strategy.
But using the name of the Igbo poor in vain by those who rode on their back to power whenever they are called on to face their demons is not uncommon. And not long ago some Igbo elites facing prosecution for evasion of payment of land rent on the palaces they erected in exclusive parts of Lagos claimed they were being persecuted by Fashola’s government for criticizing his repatriation of some destitute back to their home states. That was at a period similar exercise had just been carried out among the south-eastern states. That was a time Imo State government was trying to cope with crisis of Imo indigenes repatriated from Abia State civil service while thousands of Igbo were gainfully employed in Lagos civil service and parastatals. But some Igbo ex-governors who led the crusade against ex-governor Fashola over the repatriated few destitute were silent on the fate of thousands of poor uneducated Igbo youths who can neither read nor write that roam the streets of our major cities hawking smuggled substandard goods. They are only relevant to Igbo political elite during season of personal travails or when they want to ride on their back to power as they did in 2015 when they were railroaded to vote Jonathan who twice promised to build the second Onitsha Bridge and twice failed.