It may be 22 months to the Governorship Election in Anambra State but the polity is already overheated; no thanks to some avoidable actions of the state government. From the government’s failure to control motor park and market touts, through its spat with the traditional institution and the funeral controversy, to the recent demolition of traders’ goods in Awka, the state seems set for a tempestuous electioneering period even before the first shots are fired.
There is no doubt that the atmosphere in Anambra State at the moment is tensed up, with just a little spark left for it to explode because of certain actions the government of the day exacerbated by what we consider lack of tact.
While the matter of touting in the state has been causing great problems in the state between the leaders and the led, government has, despite all its assurances, failed to convince the people that it is not treating those touts with kid gloves as their activities are still being seen and felt across the state, especially in the commercial city of Onitsha. Government’s blame on this matter is not because of what it does to touts but more of what it has failed to do which is why their menace is still being felt.
There is also the issue of the spat between the state governor and the Archbishop of Onitsha Arch Diocese, His Grace, Archbishop Valerian Okeke, at the funeral of the matriarch of Fr Ebube Muonso’s family in Nkwelle Ezunaka. Soludo had used the occasion to openly rebuke the mourners for flouting the state’s Funeral Law, a rebuke that caused the Archbishop to respond in like manner to the governor. Again, this spat could have been avoided with better tact from the governor.
But where the government seemed to have completely lost it was its spat with the traditional institution in the state over the conferment of chieftaincy titles to some individuals, notably the senator representing Anambra South, Dr Ifeanyi Ubah.
The state government had clamped down on three traditional rulers who gave the tiles to Ubah, explaining that such contravened the Code of Conduct guiding such in the state. But many people in the state saw government’s excuse as rather lame, given the obvious reason behind the clampdown which they believe to be Ubah’s aspiration of contesting for Soludo’s seat come next year.
The action by the government had immediately caused a stir in the state, with the chairman of the Anambra State Traditional Rulers’ Council (ASTRC), Obi Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, condemning what he described as the state government’s lack of respect for traditional rulers. Achebe’s response is a development that is seen as capable of further heating up the polity and drawing a battle line between the government and the traditional institution.
Indeed, not a few people believe that the state government should just have overlooked the conferment of titles on Senator Ubah by some traditional rulers, despite there being a code of conduct guiding such, for the simple reason that it would be seen as having political undertones.
But the state government wielded the big axe but without going through appropriate channels as revealed by Igwe Achebe. The government’s spat with the traditional institution is one that may yet have far reaching consequences if not well handled.
Then just as the people of the state were getting set to forget the government/traditional rulers imbroglio, news emerged that the state government officials carried out a demolition exercise at the Abakaliki Street and Oby Okoli Avenue Areas of Awka. Pictures of goods belonging to market women being set on fire filled the social media, amid the cries of the women.
Even though government had been warning about street trading, a warning we see as necessary, the mode of execution remains abhorrent. Burning their goods is rather primitive and extreme, especially since they constitute the low income earners in the state.
At the moment that is another unavoidable controversy raging in the state and trust some people to key into these situations to overheat the polity. That is why we blame the government for playing into the hands of some people at this critical time.
The Traditional Rulers’ Code of Conduct did not just emanate today but has been there for some time. Within that period, traditional rulers have been conferring titles on individuals. So, why should all hell be let loose now?
While we appreciate the state government’s good work in the area of infrastructural development, especially roads, we urge it to be more tactful in other matters in order not to open up more fronts in the battle field. All these things could have been avoided with more tact.
