Chime: A reformer’s restraints versus the people’s battle cry

By Chuks Ugwoke
January 31, 2008
At a time like this, the inner characters of leaders are hardly compromised or concealed. Once provoked by the enemy camp, some leaders readily bare their fangs for a pound of flesh. But visionary leaders do not act hastily no matter the prompting. They rather restrain themselves.

Today in Enugu State, the people are enjoying that rare display of moderation by a reformer who tells you that part of the sacrifices of leadership is to sometimes volunteer the other proverbial cheek.

It is not one of the commonest trademarks of our Nigerian helmsmen to demand from their image makers not to take real or imagined attackers of their authority to the cleaners. As a matter of fact, your success and survival on the job are usually determined by the sour grapes you hurl or the curses you heap on those reckless tongues who, the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo would describe as “wasted minds seeking relevance.”

For the lesser mortals, there was evident apprehension when the Elections Petition Tribunal in Enugu State delivered that infamous judgment that voided the election of Governor Sullivan Iheanacho Chime on January 18, 2008. From their ridiculously shrinking enclaves, the people were inundated with all manners of thoughtless permutations on how the perceived ‘winners’ plan to wrestle power from the incumbent governor. 

The battle cry of millions of the people was to frontally confront the negligible few out to truncate the restoration of their hopes and access to quality life. Governor Chime was vehemently opposed to any such extreme resort. To do so, according to him, amounts to playing to their gameplan to distract the Government from providing the democracy dividends that our people so richly desire and deserve.

Of course, he was fully aware that his gospel of restraint was at total variance with the people’s disposition. But he is a man who remains faithful to his convictions. Gradually, the war mongers began to appreciate that, indeed, leaders with pedigree take rational and not emotional decisions. That is the strength of Sullivan Chime’s character over the rest of us who would have loved to return to the trenches and perpetually permit our fingers the freedom to curiously caress the trigger.

However, there was one battle that His Excellency lost to the will of the people to express their innermost feelings. Rather than widen the fatal cracks, the Tribunal’s verdict only served to galvanize the entire State into spontaneous actions. The clear message that the Governor probably understood its implication was that if he hates playing to the gallery and cherishes to maintain a high level of decorum, he too, in turn, should allow the people their constitutional rights to send across a clear message in order to take their destiny in their own hands.

Thus, it has been one unsolicited solidarity rally after another from even the unimaginable quarters. In the course of my job as a journalist, I had seen sponsored rallies or hired crowd where the mercenaries dispersed once their sponsors blinked. That is because such rallies bore no relevance to their lives and they were not fooled that these were worthless gimmickry by desperate opportunists to deceive the public or seduce the unwary.

It is the direct opposite that happens in Enugu these days and it is verifiable. Less than two hours after the Tribunal gave its judgment, it would not have been an over-statement to say that the whole city emptied into the Old Government Lodge to reassure their man, Governor Chime that a liability was being lifted off his shoulder. “Be calm, we’re fully in charge,” he told the huge crowd. “Our focus to deliver services is unshaken. With you behind this Government, we shall go places.”  Though he continued to talk, he knew that nobody was hearing him any longer. Solidarity songs had since taken over. Chief Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy Senate President took over the microphone and pledged the support of majority of the Enugu State representatives at the two chambers of the National Assembly but the chants were incredibly pulsating.

Also on Monday, January 28, 2008, the Coal City was agog when thousands of students of Enugu State University of Technology marched through the streets chanting “Solidarity for Sullivan, Solidarity Forever, Solidarity for Sullivan; you’re going to win again!” The numerous placards they held aloft bore various mind-lifting messages of support for Chime and derogatory name-calling for others on the other side. The students did not even bother paying any courtesy call on the Governor. That was not their business.

Prior to that, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) took off on their own and headed to the Governor’s temporary abode to urge him to continue to channel the overflow of his productive energies into providing befitting legacies for the future generations.

Sundry groups have been holding solidarity rallies with many not interested in making physical appearance at the seat of power. To them, it amounts to seeking His Excellency’s recognition and would defeat the whole essence of their conviction.

But none of the above actually compares to the prayer session/rally staged by workers of Enugu State only last week. It is instructive that nobody hired vehicles, nobody was coerced to participate. But they surged out in their thousands and headed to Okpara Square for the prayers after which they stormed Government House in overwhelming number. The crowd was so massive that based on security reports, the Governor had to sneak into his office from the rear gate. Of course, the workers had snarled traffic and their ceaseless and vociferous chants had almost brought everything to a standstill.

Again, Chime toyed with the idea to concentrate on the day’s schedule in his office. Their resolve to see him was non-negotiable. “Today, we, the entire workers of Enugu State are here to thank you for keeping to your promise of reviving, restoring and making the civil service and the Enugu workers the fulcrum of your administration,” Comrade Anthony Udeh, the chairman of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council told the Governor who was then standing in front of the Lion Building.

“We never had it so rosy in the years past but the seven months of your young administration had changed that sad era to a golden era as attested by workers to the regularization of salaries of workers, review of wages after seven years of stagnation, recall of disengaged workers, payment of pension and gratuities, payment of two years’ leave allowances, adoption of Health Salary Structure for our members in the health sector, among others.

“We are here in flesh and blood to thank you for being worker-friendly,” Udeh continued. “We are here to thank you for making the Enugu and Nsukka roads passable. We are here to appreciate you and urge you to do more for the State workers and you will always enjoy our support as you are doing now.”

Midway into His Excellency’s response in which he told the audience that the cancellation of his mandate was a “blessing in disguise”, a mild drama occurred when Chief Ken Nnamani, the immediate past Senate President and Senator Ayogu Eze, Committee chairman on Media and Publicity arrived the venue, ostensibly on a different mission and unaware of what was happening. It took the security agents such a Herculean task to provide a passage for the two dignitaries but once they got to the elevated platform, the people went hysterical.

“Gone are the days when people traded with your rights,” Nnamani told the cheering crowd. “Remain steadfast here and continue to support your Governor because this one, we trust. Leave us to do the battle in Abuja.” Senator Eze added an icing to the cake. “It is God who puts down one ruler and raises another. We are pleased with the rare gift that God has given to us. Let us protect it jealously.”

The mother of all rallies was that which was staged only yesterday. In all particular details, it surpassed every sane expectation. Can our people really be so mobilized? The result simply meant that you can grant the opposition the liberty of thought and the freedom to humour themselves but as for the realists among them, they would have come to that inescapable reality that they are truly living on borrowed time.

But what do solidarity rallies mean in the arithmetic of voting? Do they translate to outright victory for the man on whose behalf they are organized? Or simply put, do rallies have any relevance to what happens on election day?

Truth is that our people’s appreciation of the astounding accomplishments of Governor Chime in just eight months in office is what coalesces into a collective sensibility of unalloyed support and loyalty to his government. They are public endorsements by the electorate that a man who has a heart for the people deserves support in equal measure when the chips are down. They will demonstrate it at the appropriate time. But why worry of this when he is going to explore his constitutional rights of an appeal with every confidence that as a senior lawyer, certain loopholes abound in the odd judgment that has left mouths aghast.

Why should our people not celebrate him even if he does not want to be so celebrated? Just three days ago, the Enugu State Executive Council which Chime chairs, approved the payment of outstanding salaries of workers in the Enugu State parastatals amounting to N389,597,217 some of which dated way back to 2006. Same day, Council approved the award of contract for the dualization of Zik Avenue and Agbani Road as well as the reconstruction of all the dual carriageways in Enugu and Nsukka including Abakaliki Road, Okpara Avenue, Garden Avenue, Ogui Road, Bisalla Road, Presidential Road among others.

Posterity, surely, will judge everyone according to his deeds and misdeeds. The citizens would prefer to demonstrate their own preferences here on earth when and if the opportunity comes. So, let us all keep our fingers crossed.