Without going through the biblical story of Esau and Jacob, sons of Isaac, I know you have smart idea of where I am heading to. The vituperations from former Federal Capital Territory Boss, Mallam Nuhu El Rufai wasn’t coming from him.
It was simply a camouflage for Ndigbo particularly Anambra state to start looking at him as Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) renewal committee Chairman while the main harm is done to us by our people within.
El Rufai was just executing the dummy of some political elites so to speak in Anambra. The piece wasn’t by him but he owned it up in his jargon for believability having got public attention for so long like his brother Farouk Mohammed Lawal, now in ignominy.
So, as House of Representatives Member Lawan went down from the pinnacle of unopposed Governorship candidate in his home because of bribery scandal shall El Rufai smell bad belly for misrepresenting issues in the South East, he never lived or stayed enough to run into conclusions.
Initially Lawan said he did not collect bribe of 620,000 Dollars, only to do a detour to admit he collected money but not as a bribery but as evidence to nail the oil magnate of Zenon Oil Femi Otedola .
Lawan was said to have called Otedola 16 times for the quantum of dollars bribe money to exchange hands. Who knows how much this Mallam was paid and how many times he was approached or called to adopt his name in the report published in his name by political opponents of Anambra state Government , progressive development in the state or to say the least opponents of Governor Peter Obi’s administration. Will El Rufai deny this report tomorrow?
I said this because his pen drifted to an unfamiliar territory and not only that facts and figures were distorted to his chagrin because I know true patriots must have lashed him back in eye for eye approach.
The miniature Mallam had enough issues to proffer solution for in his home stead, state and zone even Northern Nigeria at large where innocent souls are daily annihilated by his brothers in the name of Boko Haram. What has he said about that? He is rather than scheming to govern Nigeria as a vice President or Governor? The number of Alamajiris’ (that is school dropouts being used as urchins for destruction) in the Northern Nigeria are alarming yet Mallam like El Rufai has not deemed it fit to write about them.
In his piece on June 8, 2012 titled “Anambra’s Budget of Misplaced Priorities”, El Rufai rubbished the Southern states administration but busied himself talking about Anambra which he probably has not stayed more than two hours in his life.
What do we even expect from a man who does not know how to be loyal in politics. Point blank was what he did to his benefactor, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who facilitated his emergence as Director General Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). The numerous challenges we are facing today as a country was the shoddy manner, the business of the BPE was handled.
He recently lied against the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan by saying that his government is borrowing over 1 billion dollars every month however, the right man, Director General of Debt Management office (DMO), Dr Abraham Nwankwo came to the rescue by debunking El Rufai’s claims. He informed that the government has no such public debt. But before that he had already confused the gullible reading public.
This graduate of Quantity Surveying from ABU in his piece on Anambra’s 2012 budget was laced with inaccuracies and outright lies and misrepresentation of facts on ground. He talked about unemployment, insecurity, and lack of harnessing the natural resources in the state. He also talked about poverty which mesmerized me because I know that the poorest villager in Anambra state is richer than the richest villager in El Rufai’s state as a result of the entrepreneurial and capitalist nature of Ndigbo.
How could El Rufai say that level of poverty in my state has reached a frightening level of 22.8 percent, meaning that over 47 percent of my people are poor? He again goofed when he said Obi’s budgetary allocation to Education and Health -N10.99 Billion and N1.4 Billion in the N86.5 Billion Budget were meager.Only recently, the National Bureau of statistics visited Anambra and said that poverty has maintained a steady decline in the state with 22 percent all time low. So where did El Rufai get his figures that poverty is on the increase. I can shout it that least number of poor people is in Anambra.
UN Habitat had recently in China during an Expo in 2010 said that Anambra state has one of the fastest growing cities in the world and the World Bank in its report ,’doing business’ puts Anambra ahead of other states in the South East.
My in law once had buildings in not less than five choice areas Abuja. But today he has none and can hardly feed himself, courtesy of El Rufai, the Mallam. Before now, Ndigbo sequel to their Entrepreneurial spirits own Abuja by the virtue of owing 75 percent of the choice property in the Federal Capital Territory legitimately. Then came on board one Mallam called El Rufai and the entire lives of Ndigbo became miserable because they became target of El Rufai in collaboration of bad eggs among us, Igbos were deprived of their rightful position in Abuja. Their homes and mansions as well as offices and markets were demolished overnight.
We cry today not because of El Rufai’s assessment of Ndigbo particularly Anambra, but because some of our prodigal sons and daughters have not been able to read the hand writing on the walls that the people behind El Rufai do not want the progress of Ndigbo and would never want an Igbo man to come to limelight not talk less of becoming President in 2015 in Nigeria which is their Nigeria. A little empowerment for our fools and they have their field day. What happened after the war in 1970 was suppose to be a lesson to us but it is not.
If Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige , Prof Chukwuma Soludo , Senator Andy Uba, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu , Senator Ben Ndi Obi, Senator Joy Emodi, Hon Emeke Nwogbo, Hon Uche Ekwunife, Chief G.U Okeke , Chief Simeon Okeke to mention but a few wrote about Anambra then we have no need to question them like everybody is questioning El Rufai. We can only discuss it as brothers and probably correct erroneous points if any because they wont go on outright lies and misgivings about Anambra, our own Anambra.
Even, men and women in the academia or better still opponents of Obi from Anambra will not present it the way El Rufai did because they would be careful to say the wrongs only and not feeding the public with vile.
People who are afraid of the unity and love reigning among political office holders in the South-East irrespective of their political affiliations with Anambra Governor, Mr Peter Obi as the anchor person are trying to spoil it to enable crisis return for them to have their way. This is because with peace, nothing due the South East can be taken away by anybody no matter the collaboration.
They have ganged up against the people of South-East using Mallam El Rufai to make it believable but Mallam misfired. He could have discussed how CPC and Action Congress of Nigeria would do wonders against APGA and all that and have his peace minimally but delving into budget analysis when he is not a budget analyst or expert. If he was talking about issues that have something to do with Quantity Surveying and all that, we could have listened.
Some analysts felt that Mallam is being wrongly attacked but I was happy about the flurry of reactions against Mallam from Ndigbo high and low? Mallam could never be right in his summations about Anambra . He got it all wrong when he talked about neglect. I was not happy coming from Awka North where the highest deprivation was visible until Obi came in and did a poverty mapping listing my local government and four others. He did not stop at that rather,he went ahead to open up the communities in the local government.
Again having practiced journalism in Anambra for 12 years so to speak, I know the glaring things Obi’s administration has brought to Anambra but let me allow Obi’s pen soldiers to respond to El Rufai if they have not done so yet.
I can proudly say as Awka North man that if neglect is what Governor Peter Obi is giving us in Anambra , we are okay with that and want more of it to enable the Amansea-Ebenebe-Ugbene-Ugbenu road with a bridge to Amanuke get completed as well as the Isu-Aniocha to Achalla road through Amanuke to mention but a few. Once these roads in Awka North are completed hopefully before December this year , Awka North will be the true Eldorado it was positioned to be in the state because you can now asses Onitsha through Awka North and Enugu too.
Already the two major bridges across Awka North have been completed and one opened to traffic. From the council secretariat to hospitals , to schools renovation and rehabilitation , to College of Agriculture Mgbakwu, Electricity projects to communities that never had , to poverty alleviation to water projects , FADAMA projects to mention but a few. El-Rufai never visited Awka North and probably may never have spent over 2 hours in Anambra if he had visited and therefore could be a bad judge on happenings here. The chicken has finally come home to roast.
Only recently, the Vice President of the World Bank Oby Ezekwesili informed the public that the Gross Domestic Product of Anambra state is the highest. And I am aware that the senate report on financial stability of states informed the world that only Anambra and few other states are financially stable in Nigeria.
The Governor as at the last count has saved N10 Billion in the state account as money saved for the future of the state’s children. The state under Obi has not borrowed a dime from anybody. His government can beat its chest and boast of having the best of network of roads in not only the South-East but in Nigeria if care is not taken. How can you quantify the revolution happening in the Anambra school system where over N50 Billion have been invested directly and indirectly in renovating and rehabilitating schools, equipping them with modern laboratories and computers, school buses, Generators and just name it. There is school adoption exercise to start soonest and massive rehabilitation and renovation of public schools. Obi not only handed over schools to its former owners, he had given over N6 Billion to them to take care of the schools. Already, the Catholic Church got N762 Million and N498 Million went to the Anglican Church.
The theory of Obi’s matrix of development in the name of Anambra state Integrated Development Initiative (ANIDS) is still baffling to all including me because we know how we met Anambra and what is on ground now. He has done much good to the state than wrong, even though he has his minuses.
Obi may not be the best of man in keeping friends and relationships but he has said he has no regrets for that. He may have problems rewarding loyalty and supposedly good intentions but not to everybody. He may have his reasons of selective rewards as I may term it because only God knows what is in the heart of man.
There is no perfection expected from imperfection, meaning that there is no government in the world including that of President Barrack Obama that is perfect, Obi cannot be either.
Odogwu is a journalist based in Anambra state and can be reached on 08060750240, odoemslink@yahoo.com
