Enugu, Chime & the
diminishing Ebeano clan
By Joseph Egbonnaji
Sunday,
March 16, 2008
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•Gov.
Chime
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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The acolytes of Chimaroke Nnamani fiddle furiously as the
fire of political emasculation burn across Enugu State, their
former Kingdom. Some suddenly seem more concerned with protecting
their positions and perks than with keeping their loyalties
within the grasp of the Ebeano forces.
The first rule of counterinsurgency campaigns is that you
can’t help leaders who won’t help themselves.
So the mother of all rallies on February 1, 2008 offered them
the time to apply that rule to the recent quixotic and self-defeating
actions of both Chimaroke Nnamani and Sam Ejiofor.
Also some weeks ago, the people of Enugu State pulled off
a first of its kind Solidarity Rally in support of their Governor,
Sullivan Chime at Okpara Square to consolidate their determination
to vanquishing the Ebeano political machine.
It turned out a thorough demystification of Chimaroke Nnamani’s
political Empire as Speaker after Speaker took time to condemn
in stringent and uncharitable terms the actions carried out
by the former governor in the past eight years, which pales
in comparison with what Chime has done in only seven months.
Earlier on, a crowd of about 500 young men and women had paraded
the streets of Enugu in motorcades with ambulances carrying
mock coffins of the dead and forgotten legacy called Ebeano
chanting "Enugu never worked …", "Enugu
First" today, "Enugu First" tomorrow and "Enugu
First" forever. "Action Sullivan", "Total
Mandate."
To make matters worse, the Governor himself read the riot
act by pronouncing the activities of any other group outside
the PDP he leads with Chief Onyioha Nwanjoku as State Chairman
illegal thus sounding the death knell to the Ebeano elements.
Who was not there that is a factor in the political calculation
of Enugu State? The former Governor of old Anambra State,
Okaomee C.C. Onoh, the immediate past deputy Governor, Ezenwata
Okechukwu Itanyi, The Catholic, Methodist and Anglican Bishops
of Enugu Diocese and Royal Fathers from all Communities in
the state. No fewer than 22 political parties attended.
Two out of three Senators; eight out eight members of the
House of Representatives; 24 members of the State House of
Assembly; all the Ogbete Market Traders, closed their shops
for one day in solidarity with the peoples’ Governor.
The students of all Tertiary Institutions came in their droves.
Indeed, it was a beauty to behold. The crowd could only have
matched the papal visits in 1982 when the whole of Eastern
Nigeria received His Holiness.
The backing down of acolytes and rejection of Nnamani and
Ejiofor, is at one level a story of diplomatic intrigue and
betrayal. Nevertheless, its meaning lies in two broader points.
First, the recent outcome of the State Gubernatorial Petition
Tribunal against Governor Sullivan Chime, his appeal- which
still has three months to run and secondly, an impending re-election
should the appeal fail.
The rally therefore became a time of re-invention as well
as excitement and unification for all Enuguites irrespective
of political affiliations. Usually, hustling for votes by
politicians necessarily focuses on promises for the future
and castigation of the past but not with Chime who has defined
Enugu State’s future with his present performance and
is not making any noise about it.
He neither blows his own trumpet too, often allowing his performance
to speak for him. It is on record that to date, Chime has
not invited the President or the Vice President, the Senate
President or the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
even the PDP Chairman Ahmadu Ali or a group of 13 European
Ambassadors to come and commission any of the numerous projects
he has so far accomplished. This is in contrast with the past,
when governance, at the two levels, took flight because of
project commissioning.
The mother of all rallies proved that the Ebeano machine is
now history.
As the train of progress in Enugu State moves on with Chime
as Pilot, the Ebeano boys still have a chance to come on board,
as our Governor Sullivan Chime very accommodating.
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