Anambra election: When appeal may not be a good option Ejike Anyaduba Recently the Anambra governorship election tribunal wound down sitting in Awka. After months of deliberation on the matters before it, the Justice Ishaq Bello-led tribunal upheld the victory of Governor Willie Obiano in the November 16, 2013 governorship election as sacrosanct. But just before we cop a walk to the state to look at the upshot let’s make a plangent appeal to the captors of the Chibok girls to release them. The continued detention of the girls - presumably in the wilds of Sambisa forest since mid April - besides its traumatic effect, has brought the country to some disrepute. Regardless of all the effort at rescue, the fact that the girls have remained unwilling guests of the abductors for months on end is agonizingly humiliating. More agonizing is their enculturation in the hands of these dybbuk-possessed, blood-spilling suicides, brutally exposed to all manner of abuse and threat of slavery. Not even the stolen generation was this unlucky. At least the Australian Aborigines had the luxury - even if not the choice - of being brought up by White foster families. The end may not be in sight yet, but the knowledge that “heaven takes care that no man secures happiness by crime” springs hope eternal. Back to the tribunal judgment and the reaction it spawned. Those who lost have buckled down to new offensive of going on appeal while the winner is girding his loins in defense. It is a battle the combatants will give every mortal thing to win but which the state is not looking forward to with excitement. For those already seduced on appeal it does not seem anything, including a dim prospect of winning, can deter them. Though an inalienable right of any who desires it, going on appeal is not germane to the spirit of renewal going on in the state right now. It is as distracting as it is wasteful. It may be argued that appeal is a civilized way of seeking redress from a presumed wrong; but this supposition does not hold all the aces. Neither does appeal foreclose other ways of remediation. In fact, nothing suggests the current situation will ever get worse if the court option is not taken. Or that Anambra will stop existing if she plays down overreaching politics and explore the round table option. A time sometimes comes in a life of a state when she weighs her options and takes certain decisions for posterity. Anambra must resist the lure of being Nigerian theatreland where citizens are forced - as unwilling spectators - to witness who leaves the scene of confrontation, wearing a smirk. She should also nibble at her eagerness to always cross the margins of acceptability in matters such as this. But for the tribunal verdict, a kind of merry-go-round has already ensued in the oscillation of the charge of double registration against the governor. It is on record also that a federal law maker from the state once pursued his case up to the ECOWAS Court of justice. A state is not measured by infrastructural or human capital development alone. A state is also measured by the ability to draw the line when faced with challenges of waging a distracting battle or calling for a truce if it has ensued. A moment of indiscretion in a life of a state can waste all her development efforts. It is a fact that Anambra has consistently quibbled over election matters which in turn undermined her progress. This has unwittingly intoned the difficult-to-govern reputation she copped over the years. Perhaps, she has dissipated more resources on power struggle than she devolved to developing her great potentials. If those scurrying to Appeal Court today can sit down to appraise the cost of their action, or the cost of past similar engagements, they will shudder at the waste. Doubtless, Anambra is adjudged a state of many firsts, including the first to alter election timetable in Nigeria through the courts. Against the swamp of history of development in Nigeria, she has contributed more to the growth of the latter than did any other state; pioneering efforts in politics, commerce, education, sports, among others. She has had her moments of failed promises but on each occasion she recovered quite fast. But with her bruises yet to slough it will be inadvisable to engage in another bout or protracted court case. What the state needs now is peace, and support for the government in power so as to be able to consolidate on its early successes. Already a lot of people, concerned ndi Anambra, have made calls, urging a round table resolution of all cases, including the one rocking the All Progressive Grand Alliance. The state will be setting yet another record if she hearkens to these calls and have all the cases withdrawn. Until Governor Kayode Fayemi conceded victory to Ayo Fayose shortly after the Ekiti governorship election few, if any, thought such sportsmanship possible. Even as Fayemi’s party (the APC) objects to the concession, his action commends itself to posterity. We are all aware that political offices have been turned into a huge gamble where politicians stake cameo appearances on the political turf and retire to the courts to exploit the loopholes. This has brought about a lot of opportunism and the belief that victory, however it is attained, always sanctifies the office. Regardless, there must be honour among thieves. Dissuading the appellants, some of whom have already set their contact address at the Government House won’t be easy. It is as difficult as discouraging an aged spinster with a vision of the altar already in romance. Until she is allowed the “luxury” of heartbreak it will be hard to convince her she was hooked on false betrothal. Anambra still totters on the brink of recovery and no sacrifice, however tough, will be too much to help steady her faltering steps. Tweaking the Anambra spirit to find solution to the collective interest of the people should be the concern of all. This is not the time for distracting court cases. It will take unprecedented toll on the state and possibly isolate development needs of the people. Ejike Anyaduba Abatete
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 21:47:00 +0000
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