Tears for Audu Ogbe
By
BEFORE he became the PDP National Chairman, Mr. Audu Ogbeh who though is an Idoma High Chief but prefers to be known as simply Mr. Audu Ogbeh, had a formidable forte as a decent guy. Any testimony about his character would be littered with such epithets like humble, honest, steadfast, straightforward, intelligent, integrity etc. Apparently his tenure as a Minister of Communication under President Shagari in the 2nd Republic did not damage him in spite of the 40 years imprisonment which one of Buhari's tribunals sentenced him.
Today I wonder how some men will describe him, not necessarily because of the N120 million seminar saga, no, that is just sheer mud being flung recklessly by politicians; it is neither here nor there, it is not a serious issue. I recall that about one weekend after Audu Ogbeh was "returned" as the National Chairman of PDP, our mutual good friend Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi hosted him to a dinner party; when I was invited to speak, I lamented that I pitied a decent fellow like Audu Ogbeh because he had been handed a poisoned chalice. After the party, a few of us retired to "Egbon" Yemi's leather bunker. Over coffee and cognac, I told Mr. Ogbeh that the tragedy of his becoming Chairman of PDP was that a very popular candidate like him was not given an opportunity to be properly elected at the convention. The voodoo masters and fixers of this government had produced a script from hell for the National Convention; so novel in its sheer banditry that even hardened politicians and observers were so shocked out of their wits at the unprecedented effrontery of producing a "register" of "elected" officials in total disregard and repudiation of every guideline for the Convention. Nigerians had seen rigging in many ramifications, and the PDP Convention which produced Chief Barnabas Gemade was reputedly replete with it, but never have we seen a case like what happened at the 2001 PDP Convention; it will take another telling on another occasion, howbeit, this Convention produced Mr. Audu Ogbeh and his executive. Because of Audu Ogbeh, so many offended candidates like this writer sheathed their swords and left the matter to God.
One wonders where INEC which has suddenly shown interest in the Abia State PDP congresses was in November 2001 when the PDP National Convention was held. The nation deserves to see their report on that "convention". In the run up to that convention, the PDP leadership under President Obasanjo was clearly intent on subverting the Calvin Coolidge maxim by pulling down the strong to build up the weak in all but the Chairmanship position, yet Audu Ogbeh was not allowed to win an election he could possibly have won if there had been voting; unfortunately in Nigeria there are some democrats who do not believe in voting, and they are at the echelon of our democracy.
Having derived his mandate from a thoroughly manipulated and questionable convention; a convention which broke all previous "arrangee" records; Mr. Ogbeh who made a "post-election" speech which major soundbite was that "we shall not allow ourselves to be bullied" was now left with the task to straighten out other "arrangee" results of congresses all over the country; and if you know how might became right during the PDP congresses and conventions; you will shudder. Do not forget for one moment that the PDP hierarchs treated even court orders with utter disdain and contempt. For them the desire to show that they were not only in government but in power was uncontrollable and they were totally completely brash about it. It was sordid.
How does Audu Ogbeh get out of this quagmire particularly when some of his ranking colleagues in the National Executive were themselves prominent dramatis personae in some of the states' party disputes? It is important to mention that from my discussion with the PDP Chairman in those first weeks of his election, it was clear that he had a principled agenda to clean up the political space even within PDP; it was clear that with his stance on quality of representation into elective positions, particularly in the legislature, that he would never have given an Alhaji Salisu Buhari nomination to contest for the House of Representatives, let alone aspire to become the Speaker of the House. To Audu Ogbeh, a man's background is the primary recommendation and/or disqualification as the case may be.
One wonders how Mr. Ogbeh will respond to such a situation today? Is he still the same man? Does he still insist on quality background as a criteria for high office? Will he give a Salisu Buhari nomination today? In the scenario of today, Mr. Ogbeh is faced with only one choice, a choice most Nigerian politicians will run from, a very difficult choice and that is to follow the advise of John Quincy Adams, that is to "always vote for principle, though you may vote alone and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." The diverse disparate crises rocking several PDP-controlled states are unlikely to be peacefully resolved because PDP though a ruling party has shown scant respect for democratic practices; might has been right all along, closeness to Chief Tony Anenih and/or President Obasanjo has always determined right. So none of the warring factions is going to accept to be sacrificed in any pseudo-democratic experiment of 'free and fair voting.' They will ask "why start with me?" and it will be a reasonable and fair question.
It is a tragedy that President Obasanjo who was a major beneficiary of a transparent and fairly contested electoral process and convention is today presiding over all manner of electoral manipulations, fraud and undemocratic concoctions. It is tragic. I shed a tear for Mr. Audu Ogbeh as he is caught in the vortex of a destructive game of power by desperate men who fear no God, law or constitution in their suicidal lust for a second term.
Nov 2002