HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IHEDIOHA

Paul A. Obi pays tribute to Emeka Ihedioha at 60

“The art of statesmanship is to foresee the inevitable and to expedite its occurrence.”

–          Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

In a country where we have moved from one week, one trouble; to one day, one trouble in our democratic spaces, this week might starve the forces of darkness such waves of troublesomeness to more mundane issues of statesmanship. The week also, should at least account for engaging more profound punditry in Nigeria about cases and instances of exceptionalism in the rise from the cradle to a lofty pinnacle.  In the sum total of that rise, it could also be a combination of a citizen’s dedication and commitment to democratic tenets, more so, bitter experiences in the hands of undemocratic agents amidst authoritarian banditry – as the 2019 Imo State Gubernatorial case could be so defined. And in the long run, the matter raised the personalities of resolute minds, creating a different array of histories. A personality in that order and mould resonates with no other than Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha, the former Governor of Imo State – the Eastern Hinterland.

 The political history of Ihedioha particularly with the Supreme Court case on the 2019 Imo State Governorship Election cast a shadow also on the dark side of Nigeria’s democracy, specifically, within the purview of democratic jurisprudence. Again, despite his democratic mien, he had the deepest cut in a way not too far from what could be termed democratic immolation, wherein, the fundamental mandate and choice of the Imo electorate was set on fire by judicial gymnastics unknown to history and precedence. Feelers from that sad ordeal indicate that, that episode, before the very eyes of future jurists and legal scholars, just as late Justice Chima C. Nweze had warned then, will ever remain sour grapes in Nigeria’s democracy, and on how not to adjudicate a democratic exercise – like elections.

However, today is not to bemoan the vagaries of the upside down displacement of democracy in Imo State, it is rather, to celebrate Ihedioha as he climbs the sixth floor. Ihedioha’s 60th birthday is a remarkable feat from any angle you grasp it. In all ramifications, Ihedioha is a statesman, not just by climbing the political ladder but by helping shape the Nigerian democratic space particularly on how institutions can foster or burn down democracy itself. His role in several ways was expository on how a democratic institution – like the judiciary could self-impose itself with the highest trust deficit.  Notwithstanding his calm mien even in the face of provocation, Ihedioha’s role in Nigeria’s democracy holds sway on several fronts – specifically, in the country’s electoral jurisprudence.

Yet, it is in his own history, that we can all separate the boys from the men, by deconstructing Ihedioha, as well as qualifying him with the appropriate superlatives suitable for the man who is popularly known as Omenkeahuruanya 1. Ihedioha first ventured into the murky waters of Nigerian politics when he was appointed as a Press Officer to then Senate President, Iyorchia Ayu in 1992, going on to become the Chief Press Secretary to Chief Presiding Officer of the National Assembly. With late Gen. Sani Abacha doing all within his powers to ensure that transition was a short-lived one, Ihedioha would later navigate his path to one of the strongest socio-political movement in Nigeria’s history, the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), capping it all with being the publicity secretary of the movement.

When democracy finally returned to Nigeria in 1999, Ihedioha likewise returned to his former stead as Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the then Senate President, Chuba Okadigbo (The Oyi of Oyi). This trajectory would in the long run prepared and honed him for a more centralist role in Nigeria’s democratic dispensation. Thus, by 2003, Ihedioha jumped into the partisan ring when he ran for the Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency of the House of Representatives. The subsequent victory to the green chamber will later on become a definitive and pivotal phase of his political history that became more of a cornerstone of his persona. From 2003 onward, Ihedioha would go on to carve his own political niche of the times – helping to re-engineer robust legislative system that was more daring and at the same time largely progressive.

Born on 24th March, 1965, Ihedioha would later emerge Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives during the reign of Rt Hon. Aminu Tambuwal. Together, they shepherded the green chamber with all sense of equanimity, ensuring that the National Assembly was a bastion of democracy not only in upholding the tenets of the constitutional obligation of that branch of government, but also in fostering representative democracy as a critical benchmark within the political system. The reign of Tambuwal and Ihedioha bears a huge witness to how a legislative arm should flourish and strengthen democracy, and as well embolden itself as an independent legislative arm of government. In doing so, Ihedioha’s personality will come into fierce scrutiny, though, the sanctity and independence of that branch of government was more paramount. To most constitutional scholars and even observers, the dead-end of any democracy begins with a pliant and subservient legislature.

Of great significance to the Nigerian legislative branch, is Ihedioha’s unimpeached resolve and commitment to constitutionalism, pushing forward the frontiers of constitutional reforms and restructuring as the then Co-Chair of the Constitutional Review Committee. He was also instrumental in several legislations and constitutional reforms that saved and shielded Nigeria from many constitutional catastrophes. His reign as the Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives was defined more in recentering the legislature more as an embodiment of democracy itself, far beyond conditioning the institution as a mere rubber stamp of the executive branch. It is in that light that, in political constitutionalism and parliamentary democracy, the legislature is seen as a definitive defender of democratic society. Constitutional scholar, David Altman in his work Citizenship and Contemporary Direct Democracy sees institutions and foundations like the legislature as citizen-initiated mechanisms for direct democracy, stressing that such institutions are capable of moving forward the menu of democratic innovations. Thus, Ihedioha’s contributions to legislative (re)engineering has more importantly facilitated Nigeria’s democratic innovation in a sense.

Further, when Omenkeahuruanya railroaded his political machine, the Rebuild Imo Project in pursuance of his gubernatorial ambition, he left no one in doubt about his political will, sincerity of purpose, capacity and endless possibilities. When he emerged victorious at the polls, he suffered no naysayers about the direction of governance in Imo State. His administration was primarily hinged on human capital and infrastructural development. With those signposts, Imo became the construction capital of Nigeria, only to be truncated by the Supreme Court. Yet, as all mankind are capable of human foibles, so is Ihedioha. But on his sixty birthday, God Almighty on his side, it is to project to the future. No one or any soothsayer can say for sure what political vehicle is available for Omenkeahuruanya for tomorrow, but in contemporary Imo and Nigerian politics, Ihedioha is a colossus, a statesman and pathfinder, a man of the people with the magisterial green cap. In him, like Talleyrand posited in the opening quote above, the duty of statesmanship is to peep into the inevitable future, and as well expedite and (re)enact its occurrence. Happy Birthday, Omenkeahuruanya.

Obi is a lecturer, journalist and researcher based in Abuja