CONFLICTING PERSONAL AGENDA NOT AN ALTERNATIVE VISION TO PRESIDENT OBASANJO; BUT A RECIPE FOR DISASTER

By

Omo Omoruyi

I received many calls and e-mail asking me to appraise the political developments in Edo and Delta States under the auspices of Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, Chief JEK Oyegun and Senator RS Owie. I hesitated lest I be misunderstood and thought I should be silent in this election year on the principle that silence could be golden sometime and at this time like this. But the persistent utterances attributed to Chief Oyegun and Sen. Owie on who the people of Edo and Delta States should vote for in 2003, when they had not told us in what capacity they are threatening voters., made silence on my part no longer golden. Chief Oyegun did not tell the people of Edo State that he would be an alternative to President Obasanjo. Also Sen. Owie did not tell the people of Edo state that he was or would want to be an alternative to Lucky Igbinedion. In what capacity are they then appealing to voters? This is why I am writing this essay to tell them that their personal political agenda could not be an alternative VISION to President Obasanjo.

In the past few weeks there have been important political developments, in fact, conflicting signals in Edo and Delta States of Nigeria. They are associated with the self-styled political leaders bound together by one factor, that they do not like certain persons in office (President and the Governors in the same party with him) and that they would want them replaced. But with who? They have not told the people how their plight would be ameliorated. They have not even identified the nature of their plight and the sources of the plight.

Some were specific enough to confess that they do not want President Obasanjo or Governor Igbinedion or Governor Ibori as the case may be in 2003. Some would want to replace them in Abuja, Benin City and Asaba. Absent was an alternative vision to these persons for their people.

This is my reading of the persons who assembled under the auspices of Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia caucus of self-styled political leaders of former Midwestern Region. Is that the pool from which we shall be seeking replacements to President Obasanjo or Governors Igbinedion and Ibori? From that pool; no way! It is an exercise in self-deceit.

For the interest of readers, the Edo and Delta States are two distinct States that grew out of the Midwestern Region, the FOURTH REGION in the Federation. MIDWESTERN REGION was for over twenty-five years the oldest State in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It died in 1991 and not to be resurrected. It is dead, I repeat.

In case readers are wondering as to what I mean by the Fourth Region or the oldest State in the federation, let me provide some early clarifications.

One would recall that Nigeria attained independence on October 1, 1960 with three administrative regions (North, West and East) and the Federal Government. The Western Region was the administrative home for the Yoruba Provinces and the two non-Yoruba Provinces of Benin and Delta.

One would also recall that in 1963 the FOURTH REGION was born through the democratic process. Tribute must be paid to Oba Akenzua who at two critical moments in the history of what he rightly called the "National Struggle" for the "Second Liberation" from "Black Imperialism" invoked his oratorical gift to set the tone for the campaign for the Midwestern Region. One should still recall his first campaign in 1953-54 on the need for a national struggle and the second campaign in 1963 on the need to vote "yes" at the Referendum. Some self-serving leaders who took the Binis as the new imperialist destroyed Oba Akenzua’s vision of "one people", "one nation" and "one destiny" for Benin and Delta Provinces. They petitioned to seek liberation from Benin first unsuccessfully in 1976 and later fruitlessly in 1991.

I say fruitlessly because the three groups that petitioned to be made states out of the former Bendel State ought to have known that it was a mutually frustrating exercise that there would be three States of Afesan, Anioma, Delta and the residue Benin. There was no way four States could have been created out of the former Bendel State. Are the attendees at the BCC meeting saying that they made mistakes in the past and that the old Midwestern Region in the VISION of Oba Akenzua and Chief H. Omo Osagie should be reenacted? It would appear that this is the stage we are in today. Is that what the new Midwest leaders who were alien to how the Midwestern Region was born now want to recreate? They should say in many words what their political agenda is.

I can claim to know the political dynamics that led to the creation of the Region as a partisan politician; a confession is in order here. I can claim to be the only member of the Northern Peoples Congress Club from old Midwestern Region at the University of Ibadan in 1963. I knew the political dynamics involving the NPC that finally led to the creation of the Fourth Region that are still not reported in published books on the creation of the Region in 1963.

I should also add that I, Omo Omoruyi with then Mr. now Professor Sunday Iyahen from the University of Ibadan as students were in charge of the "Black Box, i.e. "No Vote" as Counting Officers during the referendum for the creation of the Midwestern Region.

I know what I am talking about when I call this group of politicians as self-styled political leaders with no background in or knowledge of the political dynamics that led to the creation of the Fourth Region. Of course, I am aware of their various roles in undermining the thought of the Founding Fathers of the Midwestern Region or in ruining the Founding Fathers. All these will be dealt with later in the forthcoming account of my political life.

What is important was that there was a Fourth Region made up of the non-Yoruba Provinces of Benin and Delta that was created out of the Western Region as the Midwestern Region. It is well known that in a Federation universally, there is no optimum size for a state or population of a state in a Federation. The size of the land area or the population size is not the pre-requisite of a viable Region in a Federation as the Midwest had to coexist with the earlier regions of the North, East and what was left of the West between 1963 and 1967.

In 1967, by military fiat, Nigeria was turned into a 12 State-Federation. While the North, the East and the West were affected by the military fiat for reasons that are outside of this essay, the Midwestern Region was left as Midwestern State as the term Region was replaced with the Nomenclature State. It was during this period that the Lagos State was created from part of the Western Region and the Federal Territory of Lagos. Midwestern State from this period became the oldest State in the Federation. There is nothing significantly different in the change as both still connote the same meaning - the unit - in a Federation.

In 1976, a new military exercise was performed following the Justice Irikefe Commission. The country was turned into a 19 State-Federation. In addition to the changes to other parts of the country, the Western State was sub-divided into three States, Oyo, Ogun and Ondo, even though Ogun State was never recommended. Of course it had to be decreed by the Supreme Military Council as a "parting gift" to the then Chief of Staff and later Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo. The strongly canvassed Kaduna and Akwa Ibom States did not see their dream realized until under General Ibrahim Babangida in 1988.

What is important is that the only old State, the Midwest was left intact despite the spirited demands for Delta and Anioma States to "avoid the Bini imperialism". The only change in Midwest that took place was the change of name from Midwest to Bendel an amalgam of Benin and Delta Provinces.

In 1991, another state creation exercise was performed by the military regime. This exercise turned the country into a 24-State Federation. It was this exercise that turned the Bendel into two States, Edo and Delta. It was in 1991 that the old Midwest Region or the new Bendel State lost its status as the oldest political unit in the federation.

I was very privy to the politics involved in the creation of these two States. A lot of bad faith was involved in the various demands on the military by various groups in the old Midwestern Region except by the political leaders from Benin. It is from what I knew that is making me to doubt the sincerity of some of those who are meeting in the name of the old Midwestern Region. Are they acting in good faith? I have my doubt. How do they suddenly come about the "good old days" of Midwestern Region when they contributed to the undermining of the old Midwestern Region for personal and narrow ethnic reasons?

My cousin, Dr. Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia may not know that those who are getting him to organize a meeting of leaders of former Midwestern Region contributed in many ways to the loss of status for old Midwestern Region of Oba Akenzua’s Dream and consequently for the loss of status of and rudderlessness in the two states that grew out of Midwestern Region. Does Sam know that those who submitted memoranda in the name of Afesan, Anioma and Delta States from the old Midwestern Region had one and only one group (BINIS) in the old region that they wanted to avoid like a plague? Why have they called on Dr. Ogbemudia to call such a meeting? Did Sam know that that meeting did not have the best interest of the Edo State at heart? When these people are stuck they come to Benin on the erroneous impression that Benin was the ancestral home to most of the groups in the old Midwestern Region.

Whenever I recall the arguments of the protagonists of Anioma, Delta and Afesan, I wonder if they ever read how the Omo N’Oba UkuAkpolokpolor Oba Akenzua of blessed memory and Chief H. Omo Osagie conceived of the people of the Benin and Delta Provinces as ONE NATION.

Still on the true leaders of the Midwestern Region, but for Chief John Oyegun the property of Chief H. Omo Osagie would have still been the property of the Edo State, the Successor State to the Midwestern Region. I still recall many meetings I had with him and I wanted him to put down some of his thoughts for the coming generation and he said, "My son, I would write with too much bitterness". It was my intention to tape him and remove the bitterness from the lesson for the coming generation. I was however exposed to some of the account of this period from him. I appreciate his sources of bitterness.

How I wished Brigadier Samuel Ogbemudia had honored this legend, this one in a million and irreplaceable leader of our land! Of course, in the Delta, the life and contributions of Chief Okotie Eboh never got recognition. But for these two illustrious sons of Edo and Delta from their personal connection with the northern leaders especially Alhaji Muhammadu Ribadu, the Oba Akenzua’s dream of a home for the New Nation would not have been realized.

On the position of the NCNC and the position of the Western Igbo, this would be a different story. The Igbo in the old Western Region would have liked to join their kith and kin across the Niger as part of Anioma State. I still considered Chief DC Osadebay part of the Founding Fathers of the Fourth Region despite his role in the events that led to the series of inquiries targeted at the Edo people under Chief H. Omo Osagie before the military coup in 1966. It was I, an Edo man in the Constituent Assembly in 1978 that tried to remove Chief DC Osadebay and others from the list who were unjustly targeted and affected by Section 207(2) of the Draft Constitution. During this period, I also learnt of the reason why the Anioma people wanted a home of theirs, which I understood. Of course, I appreciated the rationale for the withdrawal of the Anioma from the Ogbemudia BCC as communicated to the public in Vanguard of July 3, 2003 by Chief Patrick Ozieh. Did Dr. Ogbemudia actually understand the political dynamics in the old Midwestern Region? I still find the analysis of General Ejoor of the political intrigues of various groups in the Midwest very intriguing. Dr. Ogbemudia should address some of the account of General Ejoor.

Let me use this medium to refer my cousin, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia to the VISION of the late Oba Akenzua and Chief H. Omo Osagie and pay proper tributes to them. I do not want to bore readers with the quotations from these illustrious leaders of on their VISION for the Benin and Delta Provinces.

My personal advice to Dr. Ogbemudia is that he should be careful with what he is trying to achieve in the name of the old Midwestern Region. He should appreciate that there are two contrasting views about him. Some said that he "ruled" it; others said that he "ruined" it. He should appreciate that the Midwestern Region or Bendel State died in 1991. He should appreciate that two States, Edo and Delta are in its place.

STATES ARE FACTS IN A FEDERATION AND NOT ZONES

May I advise Dr. Ogbemudia to first of all organize an Edo caucus to come up with an Edo Agenda. Can he do this? He is running away from this outside the Igbinedion factor. Can he survive politically without the Igbinedion family? I have my doubt. Can he really survive outside the PDP? I have my doubt. Can he survive without Chief Anenih’s machine in Edo State? I have my doubt.

So too I’d advice the leaders of the Delta caucus to come up with their own Delta Agenda. Those who came from the non-Anioma sector of Delta had one issue or the other to pick with the Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori. The Anioma have already pulled out of the BCC under Dr. Ogbemudia leaving the Non-Anioma anti-Ibori groups. Can any of these people be an alternative to Gov. Ibori? They should come out through the PDP or through another party and challenge the Governor using a different platform and not the platform of the old Midwestern Region that died through the same intrigue in 1991.

The Edo people do not need a lecture from a renowned Professor of Political Science who was party to the undermining of the old Midwestern Region in 1991. He should preach to the Delta leaders at Asaba or elsewhere on the need to develop a Delta Agenda.

Dr. Ogbemudia should stop hosting the meetings of those who in their various ways in the past, on the "anti-Bini-platform" conspired against the best interest of the Midwestern Region of Oba Akenzua’s Vision.

There is no doubt that the contributions of Bendel through its people and its natural resources to the Federation are more than what it gets from the Federation. Are these self-appointed leaders of the former Midwestern Region just discovering this gap? They do not even agree on the need to use what you have, "oil" to advance the political status of the old Midwestern Region. We failed to do this in the past. Are we planning to do that today in preparation for 2003? We are still not clear of what we want.

I was surprised that Chief John Oyegun and Professor Sam Oyovbaire are still disputing as to what is the meaning of "resource control". What a shame! Should oil be discovered in Kano or in Enugu or in Abeokuta would the leaders around these places be disputing what is the meaning of "resource control"? With their immense knowledge of the politics of oil and with their knowledge of how government works, I would have thought that Chief Oyegun and Professor Oyovbaire would assist our people by now, in coming up with the meaning of "resource control". All office holders and those aspiring to various offices would by now have something to champion. That is why President Obasanjo was making fun with the term that we can control but that he would mange it at the Asaba. My three-part essay on the "Politics of Oil" in my view is still a road map.

There is no doubt that the Midwest saved the Federation in 1966. This was well acknowledged during the only National Conference in October 1966 before the outbreak of the Civil War. This has not been appreciated in Nigeria. The man who led the Midwestern Delegation to that National Conference, Chief Tony Enahoro was not at that meeting. The reason is - why? The man who made Chief Enahoro to adopt the FEDERAL PLATFORM at that Conference, General David Ejoor in his capacity as the first Military Governor of Midwestern Region was not the convener of that meeting and the reason is - why? Let these self-appointed leaders read General Ejoor’s memoir, Reminiscences (Lagos, Malthouse, 1989).

I share the view that there is a widening gap between the input of the former Midwestern Region to the common pool and the outtake of the States from the old Midwestern Region from the common pool. Could this be the source of the recent political moves involving the two States of Edo and Delta? Is this new? Who caused it? Are they just realizing that gap exists? What part did they play in creating this gap? I still recall my first meeting with General Obasanjo as the military Head of State in company of Professor Tunji Aboyade and other members of the Technical Committee on Revenue Allocation sometime in 1977. It was at that meeting I knew he was opposed to the issue of derivation. It was because of the way the past military Governors of Midwest, Rivers and Southeast spent the money not for the oil producing "communities" but for other things unrelated to the oil producing communities and in some cases for themselves. Without mentioning names of these past military governors of the past, he still made allusion to this fact during his visit to Harvard in 1999. These past military men still alive in the "South-South" who according to him misruled their people in the past are in the PDP. What is intriguing is that most of these past rulers of the "South-South" have not been able to challenge the President in the same political party.

What influence do these past military governors of the "south-south" have on him and on the party platform? To put it crudely, what did candidate Obasanjo promise Dr. Ogbemudia, HRH Alfred Diete-Spiff and others that he would do in the "South-South" when they were campaigning for him in 1999? What did he achieve since 1999 in the "South-South"? Against what he achieved since 1999, what is he promising to achieve in the "South-South" after 2003? What did he tell them when they met him at Otta?

In view of what President Obasanjo did for the "South-South" or failed to do for the "South-South", why do they think that they could get a better deal from somewhere for the "South-South" in 2003?

These kind of questions should have been asked at the meeting of the BCC and the communique from that meeting would have given answers to these questions. I have my doubt that these questions were ever raised. The answers could therefore not come from those who assembled under the auspices of BCC.

THOSE WHO RUINED THE MIDWESTERN REGION ARE IN BCC

We like to blame others except ourselves. Have these political leaders forgotten how the two States came about in 1991? I have my doubt these self-styled political leaders are sincere from the nature of the composition of those attending the meetings

Dr. Ogbemudia should not have opened himself to the intrigue in the name of the old Midwestern Region. These self-appointed leaders from the old Midwestern Region from Delta, Afesan and Anioma denounced the same Midwestern Region in 1991 partly because it was unnatural and partly because they did not want to live with the Binis.

Nobody should use the old Midwestern Region to carry out some personal agenda that would further and further marginalize the people of Benin and Delta Provinces. What is to be done or should be done politically should command the attention of all. It is not the function of those who assembled in the name of the old Midwestern Region. There are two States and that is what the Nigerian Constitution says and recognizes. Even though the Constitution makes provision for merger, it would be unrealistic for those operating under the platform of Bendel Consultative Council to call meetings in the name of the old Midwestern Region.

EDO AND DELTA SHOULD DEVELOP DIFFERENT IDENTITY

Each state from the former Midwestern Region has its own character. Edo State has its own character as we in the Edokpamankhin believe. This was what we in the Edokpamakhin under the leadership of Chief Anthony Enahoro were trying to develop in the US.

It would appear that the new leaders of Delta are having some difficulty developing one for Delta. I come to this conclusion because of the large size of attendees from Delta State at that Benin meeting. Are they planning to abandon the Delta State? They should sit down and develop a VISION for Delta. They should have been doing this since 1991.

My plea is that each State in the 36-state Federation should work out its agenda. Specifically Edo and Delta states should come up with their state agenda as part of the "South-South" agenda within the overall Minority in Nigeria. Those who are operating under the auspices of the BCC are ignorant of the Minority Question in Nigerian Politics, that we called the FOURTH DIMENSION in 1977/78. The Union of Niger Delta was working along this line, but the BCC seemed to have abandoned the dream of the Union of Niger Delta.

But how the political leaders of Edo and Delta States can approach the matter is the subject of another essay. This is a time we should take stock, introspectively and resolve that never again shall our people be subjected to the status of second-class citizens in Nigeria.

OBA AKENZUA’S VISION SHOULD BE REVISITED

If they are in search of guideline, they should revisit the Oba Akenzua’s charge to the political leaders of the former Benin and Delta Provinces on September 18, 1953 on the need for the Benin and Delta Provinces to act as one Nation as we confront another African Nation (Yoruba). This is still useful today as we try to deal with the majority groups in the country. Oba Akenzua implored the political leaders of Benin and Delta Provinces that they should not substitute one external colonial order for another internal colonial order. One should recall Oba Akenzua’s words at Agbor on March 26, 1963 at the launching of the campaign for the "Yes Vote" in the referendum for the creation of Midwestern Region. He told his audience that a "Yes Vote" was to free the people of Benin and Delta Provinces from "Black Imperialism" (Yoruba). Who violated these injunctions in the past? How do we prevent the reoccurrence in future?

July 2002