Ibori and the Clinton Experience
By
The evil ingenuity that accompanied the 'ex-convict' allegation fabricated against the Governor of Delta State Chief James Ibori is a sad confirmation of how far evil men can go in their nefarious project of deliberate destruction of their fellow human beings. It is very simple to wish away such monumental acts of character assassinations as one of the pranks which politicians play in order to undo one another especially as this instant booboo imploded just at the verge of the re-election of the man concerned for a well-deserved second term. But it must however be put down for the records that the whole drama is a part and parcel of the foibles of man in which evil always attempts to defeat good: while injustice attempts to overwhelm justice and the bad guys setting moral standards for the good guys. It is a tragic irony whose full purport the nation cannot afford to ignore at this very testy and eventful period.
One immediate historical example for this intriguing saga is the intense and sustained right-wing conspiracy against the presidency of Bill Clinton. For the
eight years that Bill Clinton occupied the White House, an expansive ring of conspirators did everything possible under the sun to undermine his presidency and,
if possible, cut short his reign. It turned out that Clinton, the so-called 'comeback kid', in spite of his personal weakness, actual and imagined, was just too
much for his adversaries as he did not only complete one term, he went on to complete a second term, and the aggregate of his reign is till being celebrated as
the most economically and socially successful in modern USA.
What was Clinton's offence? He was thought to have come from outside of the American oligarchic political establishment; he was too close and indeed sympathetic
to the minorities, especially the Blacks; his records were getting too high that it may set a much tougher standard for the traditional ruling class who may not
have the will and indeed, the intellectual capacity, to match the great strides the nation made under the unknown rookie from rural Arkansas and, finally he
has, as a wife, a woman who would not sit by in the kitchen and be administering tea to State House dignitaries but rather has set herself out as a veritable
force to be reckoned with in a white male dominated society. These, in summary, were Clinton's offenses. The White Water affair, Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky
and sundry others were just mere ploys to effectuate their grand conspiracy. The fact that Al Gore was subsequently robbed of the presidency in Florida so soon
after was a part of the conspiracy to deny the Clinton legacy a much desired continuity. It was that bad.
The good thing about the Clinton saga is that there are yet no signs on the horizon that his records in office would be met or beaten quite soon. The longest
boom and prosperity in the modern history of America is now a thing of popular nostalgia and the great advances in social and racial harmony which the Clinton
presidency creatively promoted are now on recess. Contrary to the wishes of those who wanted to bury Clinton alive politically, the reality is that he is now on
the lips of most Americans as the economy is on an unexpected decline. It should be added that Clinton retired to the black heartland of New York, Harlem, where
he now has his post-Presidential office and that his wife, Hilary already a Big-Apple Senator, is today a beautiful bride for a possible future presidential
candidacy.
In comparison, James Ibori, ever humble and cool-headed, since assuming office as governor has proved that he has a date with destiny as he plunged himself
fully into the laying down of solid foundations for the evolution of viable economy and social progress within the state. Everyone, including his strongest
political adversaries must concede that Ibori, as a governor has done what all the previous governors in the state combined since the creation of that state
have not been able to do. While many of his colleagues were busy gallivanting and blowing sirens unnecessarily all over the place he on the contrary, carefully
identified with the needs of this people and doggedly contrived viable remedies to them. Another example of his sterling quality is his principled stand on the
resource control debate even when that would earn him the dissatisfaction of his party and political superiors at the centre.
On a scale of "A" to "E" in the assessment of the current crop of leaders in Nigeria. Governor Ibori would indisputably come in the upper "A" bracket. And from
my own perspective, the justification for the grading is borne out of a development report that was released about two year ago in the United States. The
contents of the report were quite revealing; out of the 36 governors that were evaluated by the researchers, I was surprised to find that only two, namely Bola
Tinubu of Lagos and James Ibori of Delta that made the minimum criteria for 'creative and purposeful leadership' in terms of 'developmental initiatives'. I
cannot vouch for the motives of the Report but to the extent that it is people who have no interest in the politics of Nigeria that did that particular survey,
I have no reason to doubt its authenticity. What is more, the eyewitness's reports that have been reaching me from frequent visitors to Nigeria over the period
have largely validated the contents of that study. I am not sure if Ibori himself knows how well he has been well rated by such an independent group of
international development analysts.
Ironically, it was these high performing governors that were to be the subject of a well-calibrated campaign of calumny in the Nigeria formal and informal
gossip media. One, over certificates discrepancies and other, over sundry but fictitious allegations. These people faulted Ibori because, according to them, he
once worked for Abacha. For God's sake, how many politicians right now on the scene that did not in one way or the other deal beneficially with the late Abacha?
Very few! So what has that to do with the fact that the young man has been performing so well in office? Just as they wanted to pull down Bill Clinton, the
young unknown man from the little town called Hope, by all types of legitimate and illegitimate shenanigans, so we have equally seen those who cannot square up
with Ibori on solid personal achievements resorting to all sort of vile tactics to bring him down. And like Clinton, it is obvious that the man is winning
instead.
There is no doubt that a few people are worried that a man without a great political pedigree behind him could secure the gubernatorial seat of Asaba over a
very sophisticated population as we have in Delta state and he is managing it so deftly that his continuity in office and overall political future is virtually
assured. The best way to stop him, they thought, is to brand him by all sort of abominable labels including that of been an 'ex con'. The court whose process
the Ibori haters abused to smear his name has now finally given the lie to them by declaring that the man was never convicted of the misdemeanor that they
alleged that he was convicted of. I am not too sure that a conviction of 500 Naira and imprisonment for six months meets the criteria for a felony, which the
Nigeria constitution speaks of. But the truth is that liars are not always perfect as there is always a slip that gives them away. So even if the man was
convicted as alleged, there would still have been the doubt as to whether that itself amounted to a felony or a mere misdemeanor. Happily, he was never
associated with the case beyond the evil imagination of is false accusers and so, this penological distinction becomes moot.
Finally, I think it is not fair for our old politicians to always presume that the younger generation of politicians cannot perform well. I am pretty sure that
one of the grievances of the self-appointed Ibori critics is that he is a young man who necessarily must err. Ibori greatest offences are that he is young, no
big name behind him and yet he is succeeding where many have perilously failed. But what has the wisdom of Solomon got to do with the age of Methuselah?
It is therefore a manifestation of political wickedness for his political opponents to have gone to the demeaning extent of forging court records just to paint
him as a convict and, by implication, unfit for the governor's office. Apart from such being an unpardonable abuse of the judicial process, it is also an insult
on the good people of Delta State whose high performing governor is been rubbed in the mud in quite an unjust political gladiatoring. The embattled Governor
should take solace in the fact that man proposes and God disposes and that those who trade in mischief end up the ultimate victims themselves.
Now that INEC has accepted the candidacy of Ibori for the forthcoming elections, it is time to bury the hatched and collectively work for the betterment of
Delta State which Ibori has already started and should naturally advanced upon in his second term.
April 2003