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22—SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 19, 2022 It is no longer news that some Nigerians, especially youngsters and professionals, are leaving in droves. I said it a few weeks ago that the world is a global village and everybody has the right to decide where he wants to live. As I said in the article on Japa (relocating from Nigeria), you must have a plan, the right papers, and you must go through the legal routes. Without these, you might be planning for a worse experience than you are fleeing from. We know that for some years now, many Nigerian youths have been trying to get into Europe via Libya. They start this perilous journey by being packed like sardines into vehicles. These Nigerians start dying in Nigeria due to suffocation as a result of overloading of the vehicles. The number of casualties increases once they cross into Niger Republic. They die due to the desert heat, dehydration, starvation and gunshots from armed bandits in the desert. They go through unimaginable treatment. They drink their own urine or beg for urine of other migrants to drink to quench their thirst once their water finishes. The menstruating women squeeze their pads and drink their menses to quench their thirst. Reports from migrants inform us that there is a well in the Sahara Desert where dead bodies are dumped. These migrants fetch water from the well with dead bodies to drink. But all these are child’s play. Their is tough right now and there woes multiply once they get into Libya. is insecurity, but it is nothing According to them, the Libyans see close to what the migrants blacks as subhuman. They are beaten go through in this mindless and maltreated. The extortion is journey. The insecurity on massive, some of the migrants who the Libyan route once you cannot pay are sold as slaves and leave Nigeria and the commodities while some of the women hardship the migrants go are forced into prostitution. According through are unimaginable. to some Nigerian Libyan returnees, as Before you embark on a many as 20 per cent of the people who journey, you should do some started the journey with them never get research and ask questions to Libya or die in Libya. to enable you prepare A large part of Libya is currently a adequately. Apparently they lawless with the death of their former do not. How can you embark supreme leader, Col. Muammar on a journey through the Gadhafi. If America had known that Sahara Desert without basic Gadhafi was keeping so many mad things like water to drink and people in check, they would probably clothing to protect you from have let him be. The instability in Libya the element of the weather? has spread to West Africa. The insecurity Japa via Libyan route currently plaguing Nigeria has a lot to do with the collapse of Libya. It worsened the proliferation of illegal arms in Nigeria. The last and major hurdle that migrants face is crossing the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe. Over 20,000 migrants have perished in that sea over the last 10 years. They embarked on that perilous journey mainly from West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and Asia. Sometimes as many as 300 migrants can perish in a single boat mishap. Not surprising, many of the victims are Nigerians. And some people are saying they are fleeing from the hardship in Nigeria. Nigeria I have been listening to the tales of woes from the returnees. Sometimes, you want to slap them. According to one of them, he was a sales boy who “served” (worked for) his master for an agreed number of years. When he was done with his apprenticeship, the master settled him with N5m. That was a lot of money then. Even as at today, if some youngsters get N5m, they can start a small business and grow gradually. He not only had N5m, he had the knowledge necessary to succeed in that field of business. But, when his friends told him about the Eldorado in Europe, greed took over. Why not grow his wealth gradually over time like building a house one block at a time. But The last and major hurdle that migrants face is crossing the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe. Over 20,000 migrants have perished in that sea over the last 10 years. They embarked on that perilous journey mainly from West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and Asia his friends convinced him that he can simply get to Europe and blow (become rich overnight)? Anybody who has gone to Europe and America knows there is no such thing. Even our doctors, nurses and other professionals go back to school or training to get certificates and other qualifications before they can get jobs. And that is for those who entered legally and have genuine documents. For others, it is Israelite journey. They do menial or odd jobs and nobody blows by doing odd jobs. Those who blow after a couple of years abroad engaged in illegal or criminal activities. Anyway, this migrant and his friends left Nigeria for Europe via Libya. He said as many as 200 of his friends died between Nigeria and while in Libya. What has hardship in Nigeria got to do with this case? This is pure greed. I can never praise the Nigerian governments at all levels over time. They put us in this mess and turned us to a laughing stock all over the world. But this foolish journey can never make senses to me. Families get together, sell the family land to enable them to raise money to send their daughters to Europe. Their only qualification is secondary school education and some did not even get certificates; they also have zero skills. What does that tell you? The families are sending them for prostitution. Is that because of hardship in Nigeria? Parents who send their daughters for prostitution are morally bankrupt. Nigeria is very tough, I will continue to say it. But trying to japa via the Libyan route is the height of foolishness. If you must Japa, have a plan of what you want to do with your life, prepare adequately and get professional guidance. Serious people who want to japa do so through the airport and fly by air to Europe and America. Africa is an Island and you cannot get outside Africa by road. In spite of all the sordid stories of the Libyan route, some youngsters are still warming up to go to Europe via Libya. I watched a video where youngsters were being tutored on the dangers of the Libyan route. I heard comments like, “it will not be my portion in Jesus name,” “those when die na their luck,” “everybody with im own destiny.” There is a proverb that the dog that is destined to go missing does not hear the whistle of the owner at the end of hunting. This perilous route is not worth the effort. The efforts individuals and families are putting into this perilous endeavour might just yield better results here in Nigeria if properly directed. Nigeria is frustrating our youths, but if you feel the only way to realise your dream is travelling abroad, go through the proper and legal channels. There is always something new out of the Nigerian judiciary. You may call it dynamism depending on interpretation which is also subject to more analysis on the alter of equity. Often one ends up in confusion, unable to hold on to logic. Chief Ikechi Emenike is in the best position to unravel the confusion that has left many in slumber. He was coasting home with the gubernatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) in Abia State until a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja and presided over by Justice Binta Nyako ruled otherwise. Emenike is not new to the court. Since the journey to fly the APC flag began, it has been moving from one hurdle to the other. Right from his Nkwoegwu Ward, hurdles kept mounting. He was able to scale them using available legal processes. The National Working Committee of the APC adopted the Indirect Primary for Abia and sent a Governorship Primary Elections Committee headed by Chief Tony Obiefuna. A total of 907 delegates were accredited. On the day of the primary at Chidiebere Park Umuahia, 892 votes were counted. The outcome favoured Emenike who polled 672 votes. Emeka Atuma followed from a distance with 150 votes. Paul Ikonne got 22 votes, Daniel Eke finished with 16 while Obinna Oriaku bagged 12 votes. Remarkably, Alex Otti and Uchenna Ogah were voted for by some of the delegates. Oti had withdrawn from the race after dumping the party. Therefore, he was not part of the primary. Ogah, the immediate past minister of state for Mines and Steel Development, distanced himself from the exercise. However, two members of the House of Representatives, Nkiri Emenike’s long walk to ticket Onyejeocha and Ben Kalu graced the occasion. So did Senator Nkechi Nwaogu and former Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu. Also present was Chief Henry Ikoh. Emenike had hardly settled down when an Abia High Court ruled that he was not qualified to run based on alleged suspension from the APC by his ward. Justice A.O. Chijioke later reversed himself. The legal fireworks began in 2021 when Justice Benson Anya sitting at Umunneochi voided the suspension. Ogah has been on the road and also in the air. High Courts in Umuahia and Abuja have been busy entertaining arguments for and against. Emenike enjoyed the upper hand when thrice, the Court of Appeal ruled in his favour, in Owerri and Abuja respectively. Eke later went to court claiming that he was not part of the primaries and prayed the court to disqualify both Emenike and Ogah on the grounds that they contravened the APC Emenike had hardly settled down when an Abia High Court ruled that he was not qualified to run based on a l l e g e d suspension from the APC by his ward constitution. His wish was was not granted by Justice Evelyn Anyadike. Ogah is backed by a former Speaker of the Abia House of Assembly, Stanley Ohajuruka and a retired High Court judge, Justice Sunday Imo. Attempts were made by party chieftains to make peace. That led to what was tagged the Ntalakwu Accord. The recent pronouncement by the Abuja High Court has set tongues wagging. It is strange for a lower court to upturn the ruling of an appellate court. Emenike is therefore convinced that justice cannot be denied in this case. The National Working Committee of the APC duly recognised Emenike as the authentic winner of the primary and submitted his name to the Independent National Electoral Committee ( INEC). The name has been uploaded on the INEC website. The APC says the court ruling is of no effect and has affirmed that Emenike’s mandate cannot be tampered with by any legal hurdle until the Supreme Court decided otherwise. Chidi Avaja, Secretary of Abia State APC called it miscarriage of Justice. Legal Adviser of the party in Abia State, Barrister V.C. Nwankwo said, “ in the eye of the law, Ikechi Emenike still remains the APC candidate in Abia State. The law is trite that judgments of the appellate courts are binding on the lower courts and parties.”. The judiciary should serve as guardian of democracy. If the party has done the needful by conducting a primary that elected Emenike, the law should not delve into ambiguity. Justice should prevail in this case. I wonder what the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Uzoma Emenike will be thinking. She is a trained diplomat, very well versed in International Law. In other climes, this development will sound absurd. In Nigeria, strange things do really happen. All hope is not lost, though. Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi changed the face of Nigerian politics in 2006 when he used the court to reclaim his mandate which was stolen by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2003 Anambra State gubernatorial elections. Obi was not done. When others expected him to run in the 2007 elections just after one year in office, he went back to court. While other parties battled for the position, he sat quietly in his office. The PDP candidate Andy Uba, who won the voided poll was asked to vacate office. It has been a long way to the Abia APC ticket. Emenike knows the globe, from Dublin to Washington. Lagos to New York is a long haul. Umunneochi to Umuahia to Owerri and Abuja is quite some distance. I am sure Emenike will not stop moving.
There is a saying that it is better to shut your mouth when you have nothing to say than to open your mouth and prove it. This is one way of reading the aversion of our main Presidential front runners to TV debates and interviews. Two of the leading candidates have shied away from many debates so far and from the look of things might never engage in any. Their handlers believe that they have more to lose by subjecting their candidates to debates which might expose their inadequacies. One spokesman actually, and somewhat cynically,said Nigerian presidency is not won through debates. That may be true to some extent. After all, we have someone in Aso Rock now to prove the point. But that same argument can be used by proponents of TV debates because nobody wants a repeat of the situation where someone got to Aso Rock without being subjected to the rigours of debates thus denying the people the chance to have his political agenda dissected. Democracy has evolved over the years to the level where aspirants are assessed through constant exposures to the people. TV debates and interactive Town Hall sessions have proved a veritable tool in probing the essence of a candidate. No one wants a pig in a poke anymore. We currently have one whose direction of leadership was shrouded in secrecy until it became too late. That is one too many. Prof Pat Utomi made the case for many Nigerians when he said a certain minimum number of presidential debates should be deemed necessary for those who want to occupy Aso Rock. A debate highlights many things including the level of your preparedness for leadership beyond ‘emilokan’ in all its variants. A good, interactive presidential debate will reveal passion, commitment to serve and temperament. More importantly, it will show the thrust of your administration. It Who is going to hold our presidential aspirants’ feet to the fire? is one thing to have experts write a manifesto. It is another thing to be able to own it. The degree of ownership of a manifesto will show during these series of interactive debates. We will also get to see how you A debate highlights many things including the level of your preparedness for leadership beyond ‘emilokan’ in all its variants. A good, interactive presidential debate will reveal passion, commitment to serve and temperament rate among o t h e r presidential candidates. Although nobody can give what they don’t have, leaders can be persuaded to give of they have or made to share from what they would rather hoard. This is what Town H a l l interactive meetings and public debates can do. However, In the absence of public debates or even in addition to them, pressure groups need to step up to SATURDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 19, 2022—23 candidate, it safe to hold the feet of all the leading candidates to the fire and get whatever concessions we can get from them. Who knows? It might even influence the outcome at the polls. For example, the socio/ political groups should meet collectively with each of the leading candidates to extract concessions that are common to them and privately for concessions that are peculiar to their groups. Those concessions can then be used to canvas votes for the favoured candidate. In other words, rather than complain about Muslim/Muslim ticket, the Christian body should use that apparent weakness to secure concessions that would be compensatory. Ditto the Muslim body, ditto the Business Community. It is called lobbying in the presidential system. Hitherto, the type of lobbying we had was to get your person to become the Finance Minister or Secretary to the Government or even the Vice President.We all now know how that would pan out. We would make individuals rich and influential without necessarily altering the political or economic trajectory of the country. I will use the account of a Netflix documentary on how Qatar won the bid for the World Cup as an illustration. As to be expected, countries bidding to host such a prestigious tournament as the World Cup, would make overt offers to FIFA and covert offers to those powerful delegates whose votes would decide the outcome. It was said that many European and Latin American countries used their votes to get Arab projects and arms deals for their countries while African delegates negotiated for themselves and used the power of their votes to make themselves richer with their countries benefitting nothing. It is a pattern that is all too familiar with African leaders who get to the world stage where they can use their clouts to bring relief to the poor but instead use that same poverty as a bargaining chip to make themselves rich. It is a pattern that is all too familiar with every electoral cycle in Nigeria where negotiations are made for positions and not for needed projects. It is a pattern that has to change if we want to make democracy meaningful to the collective and not just to individuals who have already been fattened by the system. extract promises from the candidates. It is in this light that I want to mention a call I got from a respected colleague shortly after my last article. He had called to commend my article on Afenifere and to comment on why the once revered organization came to the sorry pass it now finds itself and what it can do to change the narrative for the better. It was inevitable for someone acknowledged nationally and internationally for his cerebral contributions to public discourse through his articles, that the conversation would veer in the direction of the coming presidential elections; especially given the fact that he was once very close to one of the leading contenders. In his usual incisive way, he dissected the chances of the front runners and suggested the likely winner. Although I shall keep his ‘expo’ to myself for now, his analysis has made me look at the unfolding scenarios in the political space in a new light. But he said something which got me thinking and is the theme of this article. ‘Now that things are still very fluid, we must hold the feet of the man inching towards the throne to fire. The nearer we get to February, the more things will crystalize, and the more reluctant he will become to giving concessions’. Since the rest of us don’t have the insider advantage which he has, and might not be able to zoom in to one Perhaps no other two persons have stirred political drama in Nigeria’s South-South region in the Fourth Republic than Governors Nyesom Wike and the comrade governor, Adams Oshiomhole. The sight of Governor Wike commissioning his numerous projects and the praise singers cheering ‘Nyesom Wike pepper dem well, pepper dem well…as eh dey sweet us e dey pain dem, as e dey pain dem, e dey sweet us..’ has become one of the more enthralling take aways from the sight and sound of the project inaugurations in Rivers State. It is a reminder to the shouts of Osho Baba, Osho Baba that rented the air anytime Comrade Oshiomhole went out to inspect the Airport Road project or the Storm water project in Benin. Oshiomhole as governor of Edo State was about the most excitable person in the political arena in his time. While governor, he regularly took to the roads to demonstrate his flair for political drama. Just like Wike, he was not about the most admired of persons especially among the political elite. Oshiomhole’s celebration of his killing of political godfathers was celebrated as about the way Wike has also been celebrating his construction of projects all about Rivers State. It is remarkable that the two men only interacted as governors for one year as Oshiomhole left office about a year after Wike was inaugurated. Though they came in through different political parties few would doubt that the personalities of the two men would have rubbed off on the politics of the South-South had they served together as governors for a longer period. What is remarkable is that Wike to the embarrassment of his critics has kept on delivering projects in a way that has stupefied many. In fact, it makes a mockery of fellow governors Oshiomhole and Wike: The friendship of Obaseki’s enemies that one governor keeps commissioning projects even inviting some of them to come and commission his projects. The project inaugurations have remarkably, been stages for Governor Wike to make political statements. Almost unfailingly, he has used the project inaugurations to accentuate his point on issues pertaining to the crisis in the PDP. Predictably, Wike has not made any pretence in fencing out his political enemies from the live television commissioning activities. He has snubbed the leadership of the PDP and even its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and at the same time invited political actors from other parties for the inaugurations. As he started the commissioning of projects this week, the governor could not hide his reaction to mutterings within the PDP over his invitations to Oshiomhole and Obi for the high-profile inaugurations. His reaction was that it is his right to invite whosoever he desires as he threw a punch to the critics to also commission their projects. Now the appearance of Oshiomhole in Port-Harcourt was perhaps one of the most remarkable political statements that came from the project inaugurations. Few would forget the role the two men played in the Edo State governorship election of 2020. It would be recalled that in the days leading to the election that the PDP had sought a kind of man with grit to face the APC attack that was marshalled from the background by Oshiomhole. Wike by all parameters fit into that image and he was duly appointed as chairman of the Edo Governorship Campaign Council. Wike’s main man, Chief Dan Orbih, a long-time political foe of Oshiomhole’s was also appointed the campaign manager. The two worked together to deliver Obaseki for a second term with votes significantly above the muddle that brought him as governor in the first term in 2016. That both Orbih and Wike fell out with Obaseki, just as Oshiomhole Predictably, Wike has not made any pretence in fencing out his political enemies from the live television commissioning activities. He has snubbed the leadership of the PDP and even its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and at the same time invited political actors from other parties for the inaugurations who first brought him to political light had earlier done, is not the issue here. What has amazed your correspondent is the way that Oshiomhole and Wike have resonated with the political philosophy of no permanent enemies in politics but permanent interests. Another political saying that comes to mind is that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Wike was prompt to offer his apologies for the way he fought Oshiomhole even putting aside the claim that he did not take a bath for three days as he prosecuted the election war for Obaseki against the former APC national chairman. The rapprochement with Oshiomhole is significant. The former Edo governor is the number two man in the operations department of the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Campaign. It will be difficult for anyone to believe that comrade and Wike did not discuss how they could help the APC presidential candidate when they were alone. It is no news that of the three leading presidential candidates that Wike has been reported to be more disposed to Tinubu than Atiku or Obi. The reasons are numerous and did not start today. However, the Rivers State governor is constrained by the tremor on the ground around him. That political tremor came to play when the Labour Party presidential candidate did a walkabout with Wike last Thursday during the commissioning of another flyover in Port-Harcourt. As the two men stamped the streets, there were shouts everywhere of Obi! Obi!! Obi!!! That is the puzzle for Wike.
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