By Sunny Igboanugo

David Nweze Umahi, has since clearly established himself in the minds of not only Ndigbo, but at the national level and even beyond as a typical Nigerian politician. He has not left anyone in doubt as to where he stands on many issues concerning politics.

It may be too heavy to call him a sycophant or a hypocrite, because they are heavy words. But how else do you describe a man who uses such superlative words and heaven-like imageries to describe every President in power, who are no less fellow human beings like him at every turn?

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For instance, emerging from the bowels of the Presidential Villa, in Aso Rock, Abuja, on September 6, 2021, he had shocked a whole global audience, particularly his countrymen in Nigeria, when he prayed God to grant the nation a replica of President Muhammadu Buhari, as he then was.

Now, as at the time he was making this solemn prayer, a report from SBM Intelligence, recorded that at least 9,187 Nigerians had died in just one year – January 2020 and September 21 from insecurity alone. This was just one aspect of the series of failures, the Buhari era – one of the most disastrous in the post-colonial history of Nigeria offered.

I have heard many people say that Buhari, by his understanding, conduct and record, should not have risen beyond the Emir of Daura, let alone rule a country like Nigeria. But this was the selfsame person, Umahi, was praying God for Nigerians to have his kind as replacement – probably for the next eight years – because he had a “good heart.”

These were his exact words in case you have forgotten: “But I continue to say that power rest in the hands of God. And God, will also give us the next president who has good heart like President Buhari for the good of this country. We need God’s own anointing for our own anointed President for the interest and unity of this country.”

That was Umahi! Date, September 6, 2021. The world, you and me know how Buhari finished eventually. To say Nigerians were scandalised would be an understatement. Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State, even went as far as recommending brain evaluation. Hear him: “I said what has gone wrong with him? You mean there shouldn’t be (a) psychiatric check on the governor? Sycophancy. And you know that President knows that you are telling lies to him. He (Buhari) knows. It is unfortunate. May God help us.”

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Now, has anyone heard anything from Umahi again in recent times, about Buhari or why he is next to God to the Igbo people or Nigerians? I have not. And that speaks volumes. Instead, the next mantra Nigerians are being regaled with is on how God will give President Bola Tinubu eight years in office, even when the last one year has been more than hell on earth for Nigerians, with prices of commodities hitting the rooftops and millions of more citizens added to those who probably ate one meal during Buhari’s era, now going to bed on virtually empty stomach.

Oh! You have not heard? This was selfsame Umahi, on March 31, 24, three years after praying for Nigeria to have a replica of Buhari: “Well, you called me a pastor. But I am also a prophet, and you must know that the coming onboard of Mr. President is divine. When God starts a thing, He completes it.

“So, I strongly believe that I am persuaded to let you know that God told me that this administration will last eight years because it is born of God. You can see the miracle that Mr President is doing through the inspiration of God Almighty who brought him to right all the wrongs and that is simply what Mr President has come to do. We are just there to support him.”

I still find it heavy to use such words as sycophancy or hypocrisy against Umahi. Perhaps, that is his own understanding of political sagacity and being smart. But whatever it is, it is obvious that his efforts, are at best an individual project – sure to end the way others previously embarked by his likes did – temporary gains.

It is surprising that this first class engineer, who has broken all the barriers to climb to the top, despite all the opportunities political offices have given him, has failed to learn the real raison d’etre behind real term politics – no matter whatever you gain as an individual, without being one in accord with your people, you remain at a loss like the rest.

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So, when he mounted his chair during a press conference in Lagos, on Wednesday, to pronounce Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25, 2023 presidential a risk to Ndigbo, what did he think he was doing? Did he think anyone would really take him seriously? Was it not obvious to him that his audience, both at that forum and beyond would naturally dismiss his ranting as mere gambit to get a pat on the back from Tinubu, who by the way is travelling the same route of monumental failure like Buhari?

Hear him: “It brings to some of the comments made by my brother, his Excellency Mr Peter Obi; I am not supposed to comment about it because some people have already done the work. And I know what Arise Television brought courtesy of Channels Television; they were bringing similar scenarios when His Excellency Peter Obi was the governor. He made a statement saying, ‘Any infrastructure that stands in the way of the road must go. And there would be no compensation paid.’ That’s what he said.

“But look at me, by the human face of the Renewed Hope agenda administration, we are even paying for people who are illegally staying on the coastal line and don’t have valid infrastructure and valid documents. That is mercy, that’s mercy… You know, some people darken counsel without knowledge. You know there’s the devil in the details.

“When you condemn people, you bring judgment upon yourself. And that is what he (Obi) has done. And I think he’s inciting some of the people in the southeast who are not well informed. He is inciting them. And gets them into trouble. And he doesn’t go to fight for them. Wisdom is a defence. And I want our people to have wisdom because I am involved.”

Obi in a quick riposte had responded: “Regarding allegations of incitement against the government, I firmly reject these unfounded accusations aimed at tarnishing my character. My focus is on fostering constructive dialogue and inclusivity, rather than engaging in divisive politics. Claims of incitement are baseless distractions. I have always advocated for unity and advancement, refusing to partake in reactionary divisive politics.”

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Now, the issue of how Ndigbo were co-opted into a matter that has since assumed national dimension, if not international status, is where Umahi’s penchant for cutting his nose to spite his face becomes quite obvious. Every Nigerian not on the imbecilic fringes, knows that Tinubu, is clearly on the Igbo matter at the moment and looks eager to end it where Buhari left off – in other words, he has handed the Igbo the shortest end of the stick more than his predecessor and more than ever in Nigeria. Obviously. Umahi, simply wants to key in, either to goad him on or to make him happy or both.

If not, what concerns Ndigbo with the comments of a frontrunner of a national party, which makes him an opposition leader makes on a national issue? All Obi did was to contribute to the debate by pointing out the nebulous aspect of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal City Road, which has been on the front burner in Nigeria for weeks now.

In fact, Obi, actually took the issue from where Atiku Abubakar, his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart left off. Yes! Not only did he question the opaqueness of the project, he also rated it on the priority list of the national development and held that it fell below par. How did this become an Igbo issue? Why was the North not dragged into the matter, given Atiku’s role in the entire saga?

Now, Umahi is talking about risks! What is the risk he is warning about that Obi is creating for Ndigbo over the matter? That more of their properties would be demolished in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria by government agencies on flimsy excuses or that more would be set on fire by hoodlums? Or that they will not get juicy political appointments? Or that they will not be promoted to the leadership of the police and army? Or that under Tinubu, no Igbo man will be the Inspector General of Police (IG), Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Director of the State Services (DSS), Controller General of Customs?

What really is this risk? Pray! What is it that the Igbo man has not seen in Nigeria? Yet, they remain the most progressive set of people not only in Nigeria, but the black race. A people that rose from the ashes of the civil war to the zenith of a national economy in so short a time?

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The truth Umahi and those he works for seem unable to grasp is presence of divine hand in the life of the Igbo. The more you plot against them, the more the rise like freshly cooked ponmo in the stew. If you demolish their properties in Lagos, the more they acquire in all the countries across the West Coast. Will you also go there to demolish them?

Of course, it is not in my place for me to remind him, how he “wept profusely” after losing out woefully in the APC primaries, in June 2022. I’m sure it would be fresh in his mind, having confessed so himself. Unfortunately, the same Buhari, whom he did everything to please, including taunting and mocking Ndigbo, apparently in the hope of being dashed the presidency on a platter.

My name is Sunny Igoanugo *I am the Tiny Voice!  

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By Sunny Igboanugo

“What is very, very important, exceptionally important, is that we must ensure that justice is upheld. Naturally, it should be somebody from the South East that will replace (President Muhammadu Buhari), and that will give the opposite South versus North and Christian versus Muslim a balance, and it will bring stability to the nation. It will strengthen Nigeria.”

These were his exact words on June 8, 2022, when it was his turn to address the crowd at Eagle Square in Abuja. Ogbonnaya Onu, PhD, first civilian governor of Abia State, had come to the convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to appeal to the conscience of his party men, and from there to Nigerians, flaunting not only his personal credentials, but those values to which all men – all good men – must be beholding – justice, equity and fair-play.

So, he went on: “The South West had eight years as president, eight years as vice president; the South South had eight years as president and vice president; where is the justice? Where is the justice?

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“I held the presidential ticket for one of the three parties then, but I had to let it go in order to solve a problem with the South West, to make sure that two Olus contested for the presidency, that head or tail, one will become the president and that brought down tension within the country. This is what would have happened if we allowed the South East at this time.”

It was a speech dripping with emotions, akin to Marc Antony’s address to the crowd in the Roman street that roused the people to action against the conspirators that planned the killing of Julius Caesar. The only difference here is that Onu, spoke to the conspirators themselves – the culprits – men and women, whose conscience had since gone the abyss.

Onu’s appeal to the APC bigwigs could be like Antony directing his speech Brutus and Cassius, the ringleaders, who led other Roman Senators to perfidious plot at the Capitol, where the Roman General and statesman, was viciously murdered, rather than the people who avenged Caesar’s murder.

So, naturally, they discountenanced him. Justice? What justice. Is there justice in politics? Had the people not been told severally that power is not served a la carte? Did he not hear that you must snatch it, grab it and run with it? So, while Onu’s pleas, reverberated across the nation and became the main topic on the media – social and traditional, where it went viral, those he spoke to kept mute.

Not only that he must have left that arena more heartbroken than he came, the subsequent months must have shattered him completely. It is not yet known whether it was the APC that ignored him or that he decided from that moment to go into his own cocoon and live the life of a recluse.

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What is known is that he was never near any of the party gatherings subsequently. Was he not invited? Was he conveniently excluded or did he return home like the big masquerade whose powers were subdued in the market place and suffered the indignity of being decorated with sands from little children and catcalls from women? The jury is out. All that is known is that it did not end well for him.

This was the same Ogbonnaya Onu that in the 1999 presidential election was approached by then Alliance for Democracy (AD), to give up his presidential ambition, having emerged as the presidential candidate of the All Peoples Party (APP). In a country where people register political parties of no more than 20 members to contest presidential election, just for the appellation – Presidential Candidate or its better elevation – His Excellency, he practically buried that ambition.

Not only that he sacrificed that ambition – a high sacrifice to say the least, he collapsed his structure with Olu Falae of the AD, meaning that whatever votes the party got from the South East in that election, must have had his imprimatur. Of course, the joint ticket did not win, no thanks to the abracadabra of the Nigerian electoral system. So, he had to bear the consequences of the loss like other people in his camp.

But he held on, regardless. By the time the clock turned its hand, he was now the National Chairman of the party, now rechristened – All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), after the initial leaders abandoned it and ran to then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the lecherous manner of Nigerian politicians. Onu was not a lecher. So, he held on.

In 2014, at the formation of the APC, it was Onu as the ANPP leader that collapsed the party into the new arrangement in the same way Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who had since left office as Governor of Lagos State Government, led the AD, which had then metamorphosed to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the same Muhammadu Buhari led his Congress of Progressive Change (CPC), the same way Rotimi Amaechi, then Governor of Rivers State and Bukola Saraki, former Governor of Kwara State, led the New PDP or N-PDP members into the party before Rochas Okorocha, as Imo State Governor, completed the formation with a faction of his then All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

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But that might be where the heartache that must have culminated into the heartbreak must have started. For no sooner did the APC emerge as a political party than Onu and his Igbo brothers, must have been shocked at what they were handed – the very short and blunt end of the stick.

In all the positions that were shared, the highest position the entire South East got was Organising Secretary – the man saddled with the responsibility of hiring venues, canopies, sound systems and other items used during party functions. Gratuitous insult?! You could say that again!

Yet, Onu stayed! Was it patience, resilience of naivety? Have your pick. Then the party won power. You would have thought that he would have his reward. But whosai! Nada! Everyone was sure that the position of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) was there for his picking. Again, whosai? What did he get in the end – Minister of Science and Technology. Figure out what that Ministry in the scheme of things and order of importance.

In the end, even after boasting that with him in the saddle, Nigeria would now be able to produce pencils – one of his hugest task – laughable as it appeared, was not met. Who knows why? Perhaps, he was not even given the necessary assistance to achieve the feat, for reasons including those that appeared quite obvious.

But the hardest hit was to come. Who knows what he must have been promised? Everything he said in that convention of June 8, was spot on and fitted into the argument. Pray! Who could have presented a better logic? The North was just about to finish its tenure through Buhari. The South West had first taken through Olusegun Obasanjo – 1999-2007. Even the South South, had also taken through Goodluck Jonathan.

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So, when he cried out – where is the justice – those eternal words clearly captured the pains, as he saw the humiliation of not only himself, but his Igbo people – the unarguable third leg of the Nigerian Tripod. It was like the stab of Brutus at Caesar’s heart that made him cry out – et tu Brutus – you too Brutus. Just like that blow from Brutus epitomised the betrayal of his trusted friends and led Caesar’s eventual death, the APC final dagger-blow would have been too much for him to bear.

And he died! Good night, Ikeoha Uburu!

First, let me tell you how much I know about Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital. One Sunday afternoons, during one of my regular visits in the 1980s, my elder brothers, who were actually among the big boys, decided to give me a special treat in town.

Back then, it was a one street town, with the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Road, to show as the best and only major road to give it a semblance of a city.

The Honda CD-195, today’s equivalent of a top-notch Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), which my brothers owned then was demonstrable evidence of this affluence for the middle class where young men of their ilk belonged. Mind you these were ordinary artisans. Their major business was constructing of aluminum water tanks. But because of the thriving economy then across Nigeria, what they made as incomes were enough to make them paint the town red.

They actually started off in Calabar, the Cross River State capital with the workshop at Wapi Junction by Highway, but had to split for business reasons when Akwa Ibom was created, one moving to Uyo and the other retaining the Calabar business.

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You know the treat? I’ll tell you shortly. But let me first tell you that when the Akwa Ibom or Cross River man tells you that they own the franchise for the best culinary ability in Nigeria, don’t even argue. No one else comes close.

For instance, I never knew that unripe plantain was such a good delicacy until I ate it in Uyo. I hardly accepted it from my father, the only one that relished it in my family back then. Whenever I did, it was, like other children, with squeezed face. Of course, he’s was prepared roast, with the popular ukpaka, fresh pepper and red oil to go with.

Never mind that I now throw glances and salivate like Pavlov dogs whenever I pass through the streets and see local women preparing the same recipe. But try the Akwa Ibom variant with bush meat and scent leaves mixed with vegetables. That was how I fell inseparably in love.

Come to think of it, was it the white soup at that popular joint in Calabar that I couldn’t recall the name or the ekpang nkukwo or the afang or edikang-ikong that I didn’t fall in love with? Or the fisherman soup?

So, the treat! Atop our ride, we soon arrived at the spot and a table was quickly arranged for the three of us. It was obvious that my brothers were quite popular with the owner of the joint who saw them as prized customers, hence the special treatment. It was also obvious that he knew their purpose and specialty.

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We were actually in our third bottle of ukot, the brown-coloured variant of palm wine, quite different from what I used to know, when it arrived.

You would have thought, like I used to think that ishi-ewu was the best thing on earth after rice and banga stew until you have tasted a steaming hot head of J5 the euphemism for the delicacy, surrounded with periwinkles as I did that day.

Those and many other escapades, were the experiences that drew me to Uyo like a bee to the nectar. Not anything else and certainly, not the attraction of a city! There was actually no part of the town that I didn’t traverse in search of the good life in the company of those my brothers. That was how I got to know every nook and cranny of it.

But go to Uyo today. I have on many occasions. I could testify to the sharp contrast. The grand transformation is clearly not contemplatable. Who could imagine that the nondescript enclave, no more than a vintage Nigerian village, or at best the local government town, it actually was, would transit into the modern town that it is today?

Who could contemplate the exquisite edifices that have now replaced those weather-beaten structures that hitherto dotted the town or the glittering streets that practically bring it close to some of the celebrated cities of the world in terms of beauty?

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Who would have thought that after Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, the next city on the cards today in Nigeria is Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital? That is why I enjoin anyone that sees Godswill Obot Akpabio to greet him. Hail him wherever he is sighted. His good deeds are certainly more than his sins. He is the one that did the magic.

I actually told the story above to underscore that I met Uyo at its virgin state and now its present status as a mega city. As an undergraduate in the 80s and a journalist two decades later I wasn’t only deeply into this town, but witnessed the instant revolution in a matter of few years.

Of course, while not denying credit to Obong Victor Attah, his predecessor, who started the process of moving the state away from the inglorious era the late Vice President, Alex Ekwueme described as the years of the locusts, with some ambitious projects, the trophy belongs to Akpabio. He breathed life into the state. Visiting the two at their own times, I knew when the wine fermented into its rich taste.

He was the one who took the gown to town not only in physical development, but doing the work of the salesman. He virtually sold it not only to Nigerians, but the world.

You may have heard about the legacy projects – the Ibom Tropicana Resort, a five-star hotel, which boasts of Nigeria’s best golf course and other facilities that makes the city the attraction for billionaires and playground for tourists both locally and foreign or the Uyo Township Stadium, which during Akpabio’s time became the home-ground to the Super Eagles of Nigeria and other top football and sporting events.

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You may have heard about the first-grade roads across communities in and outside the state capital and the highways that crisscross the state. In fact, in one of the occasions I was in the state, the campaign and focus of his government, was operation zero potholes in the whole of Uyo.

Yes! You would certainly must have heard about the multi-purpose Akwa Ibom Ecumenical Centre – that grand edifice that was supposed to cater for religious activities, conferences and other local and international events.

But what about the little details of that government? Did you know that Uyo, was never ever supposed to be flooded in Akpabio’s visionary thinking? He took care of that. In one of my trips, I saw the huge underground pipe jacking drainage facility that was meant to collect storm water in the state capital. I learnt the project, then under construction by Julius Berger slashed the purse of the state by a whopping N13.6billion. It was the epitomic demonstration of Yo shinai, Yo kangai, the popular Toyota advert in the 90s, meaning Good thinking, Good product.

There are so many similar projects like that gives impetus to those, inclusive of yours truly, who see Akpabio as a man of vision and mission, regardless of the other side of his political story.

So, when I hear Pat Utomi, Nigeria’s most respected political economist, asking Akpabio to shut up the other day and Reuben Abati, prolific journalist following suit, by injuncting him to speak less, and after taking a cursory look at the entire park of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of President Bola Tinubu, the abiding question I ask myself is who else is qualified to speak from there outside Akpabio?

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In my view, Akpabio is the most highly rated official in that government with tangible things to show in his political years. I have provided the basis for my assessment. In fact, save for the uncanny penchant for reversal of roles in Nigeria, where the tail wags the dog rather than the reverse, what is the explanation for Tinubu being the President with Akpabio as the Senate President?

But Nigeria is already what it is. Is it not evident that Akpabio is the real visioner in that APC house of commotion? For one, he is an orator extraordinaire. On the many occasions I had encountered him, then as a governor, I never saw him read a prepared speech.

Yet, he would speak for two hours, still making sense and presenting figures. It was that immense gift of the garb and general carriage that made him practically sell Akwa Ibom to the world. It was like the recreation of Michael Iheonukara (MI) Okpara of Eastern Nigeria.

Indeed, has anyone wondered the sudden dim surrounding that state since Akpabio left as governor? Who is still remembering that state now? Why is Akwa Ibom no longer in the national spotlight as it used to be? Does it mean the state is getting less money than it used to, since many people seemed to suggest that the sudden high profile it attained was as a result of the high revenue accruing to it? Isn’t it obvious that it has to do with that extra shine, the debonair air around him, which his successors have failed to replicate or sustain?

The major snag, if not the only one, is that he has found himself in bad company. APC is a bad product, in fact and in deed. Since Nigerians bought into it through former President Muhammadu Buhari, who should not have risen beyond the Emir of Daura, it has continued to decay.

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With Tinubu’s listlessness, the rot and degeneration have since worsened. How does anyone defend this President and his underwhelming performance and still come out smelling roses? This is Akpabio’s dilemma and not the inability to say the right thing. As long as he remains in that crowd, nobody is qualified more than him to speak. So, speak, Akpabio must!

My name is Sunny Igboanugo and I’m The Tiny Voice!  

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