From Ogene ndi Igbo page, Nwokeoma from Abuja wrote: Where is Hon Emeka Ihedioha? 1 By Our Reporter on November 28, 2014 Opinion Our Reporter: DURUAKU NWOKEOMA The question may sound funny because everyone knows where the deputy speaker is right now – in Imo State, fighting to win the PDP governorship nomination. However, the question remains apposite, considering events that have taken place at the National Assembly this past two weeks – and what is beginning to look like a case of betrayal from the deputy speaker’s corner. So, where is Emeka Ihedioha at this time when he’s expected to step forward and assume his party’s leadership, following the defection of Speaker Aminu Tambuwal to the APC? We get the impression, once again, that Ihedioha does not possess the capacity to take charge. Why do we say so? Last week, when the world was treated to serious but comical drama at the gates of the National Assembly, we understand that, rather than rally his PDP colleagues to defend their party, Ihedioha ran to Senate President, David Mark, to ask for help! A reluctant Mark, feeling sorry for the poor chap, reportedly moved to the Lower Chambers (with the deputy speaker behind), only for the Senate President to be thoroughly abused by APC lawmakers, perhaps, emboldened by the addition of the House Speaker to their number. Mark did what was expected of a leader and brought the situation under control. Two conclusions can be drawn from the deputy speaker’s poor outing since the defection of the Speaker: He does not possess capacity for leadership; his loyalty to the PDP – the party he hopes to use to achieve his governorship ambition – is in question. In crisis situations, many factors test the capacity of a true leader: The tensions that rise; the speed of response; leadership character; organisational culture; expanding stakeholders; communication channels; an ever more intrusive media; and ability to explain situations in simple terms. The ability to manage these forces is the mark of a true leader. Unfortunately, we cannot measure the deputy speaker’s leadership competence on any of these because he was simply nowhere to be found! The only thing that filtered out in the press during the period were the following: he knew but concealed from the House Leader, Mulikat Adeola, the intention of Tambuwal to defect and thereafter used her to get a long adjournment from the House; he threw a party to celebrate with the defector hours after Tambuwal jumped ship; and he finally proceeded to use the situation to negotiate a governorship ticket for himself and an automatic House ticket for his colleagues from the chairman of PDP. Let’s face it; the current crisis in the House derives not from the actions of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) but from the fact that Speaker Aminu Tambuwal has become a turn-coat. We expected Ihedioha, by words and action as the deputy speaker, to lead his party to maintain the status quo in the House but he abandoned the responsibility. In comparison, the IGP was more foresighted on the security implications of Tambuwal’s defection. If, for instance, Tambuwal is allowed to lead the effort to impeach President Goodluck Jonathan, as is being planned, it is possible that this country will witness an event far more significant than Boko Haram! This being the case, clearly the IGP did not have to wait for anybody to give the orders before carrying out preemptive actions to frustrate what spells a clear and present danger to the polity. You may not like what the Inspector General did or how he did it, but you will never accuse him of not showing leadership when it is called for – which is more than we can say about the Hon. Deputy Speaker. The fact that the Deputy Speaker chose to hide behind the leader of the Upper Parliament at a critical moment puts a question mark on his leadership ability, courage, and loyalty to the party. This, of course, has been an age-old concern since 2008 when, against the wishes of the party, Ihedioha conspired with others in the thoroughly discredited Integrity Group to rubbish the PDP leadership succession plan in the House, throwing out Speaker Patrician Ette on cooked up charges. In 2011, Hon. Ihedioha and his band of conspirators once again engineered the displacement of the South West zone from the allotted position of Speaker and, to make matters worse, went to the North West to elect Tambuwal. In both instances, Ihedioha was among the first to be generously rewarded for the party treachery – as Chief Whip of the House and as deputy speaker, respectively. In the first, he betrayed and supplanted his kinsman, Hon. Bethel Amadi, to become chief whip with – wait for it – Tambuwal as his deputy! The unkindest cut was that, apart from Speaker and deputy speaker who were dethroned, Hon. Amadi, an innocent man in the entire saga, was the only other house leader that was sacrificed – to satisfy Ihedioha’s ambition. It is unfortunate that the Hon. Deputy Speaker does not possess the courage of the typical Imo politician that we have come to know in national politics. By this, I do not refer to the formidable Arthur Nzeribe who is a true leader (although a controversial one), but to the positive, courageous leadership that the Imo politician displays in a crisis, beginning with the revered Dr. Sam Onunaka Mbakwe of blessed memory. In 1983, when the formidable National Party (NPN) rigging machine rolled across the East, Mbakwe was the only Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) governor left standing; he did what he had to do to survive the political devastation. In 2007 when an Imo Senator, Ifeanyi Ararume, won the PDP governorship primaries but was denied the party ticket by orders of an imperial President, the Senator made sure that the PDP did not eventually win the governorship contest. In 2011 when another Imo Senator, Chris Anyanwu, won the legislative primaries but was also denied the ticket by the powers-that-be, she moved to another party from where she courageously fought and won a resounding victory, to show that she was the true leader that the people wanted. Both leaders, Anyanwu and Ararume, have since returned to the PDP fold to show that they harbor no ill-feelings. On the other hand, when courage and leadership was called for to save the majority party from an imminent disgrace, the deputy speaker ran behind a tested leader from the Upper Chamber; can anyone imagine an Aminu Tambuwal running to the Senate President to help him deal with problems in the House of Representatives? The true test of leadership is demonstrated in a crisis. It shows clearly when a leader openly acknowledges that there is a crisis, steps up to make the sacrifices necessary to deal with the crisis, and rallies his colleagues to devise and implement proactive, workable solutions to the crisis, for the benefit of his group. Where is Emeka Ihedioha? • Nwokeoma, a political analyst, writes from Abuja
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 12:40:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015