Sometimes, certain things are better not said until a later date, especially when a foolhardy and avoidable remorse in the form of public apology has been offered, and a glimmer of hope for reconciliation looks likely. But suffice it to say that for some time now, our politics has reached the limit of crazy that will no longer be tolerated. For almost six months now, the ‘rebellion’ of Gang of Five Governors (for that is what I prefer to call the G5 of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party) led by Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers state, has continued to distract our attention from real issues that concern Nigeria and Nigerians. For me, the G5 has not been able to put real leadership on display. It has not been able to win the hearts and minds of the people that their grouse is really with the National Chairman of the party, Sen. Iyorchia Ayu. On the contrary, their arrow is at Atiku Abubakar. For example, in Rivers state, there are reports that the supporters of Atiku Abubakar are being threatened and intimidated to swear affidavits renouncing their support for him. Also, Atiku’s posters are defaced and his billboards destroyed.
In politics and corporate organisations, leaders are advised to be careful what they say in public because words are powerful. Once uttered, even though apologies may defuse the anger of those who are hurt or feel wronged, it does not reverse what has been said. That is why leaders are cautioned against going off the side of a cliff, because a public apology is always a high- risk move. Many leaders ignore this counsel and pay the price. For few years now, Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue state has been a loose cannon, quite irascible, conceited and uncouth in his choice of words. Between him and Wike, it’s hard to choose who is outdoing the other in talking loose and fast with the facts.
Recently, Gov Ortom outdid his past outbursts. While hosting his G5 colleagues to a dinner party in Makurdi, Ortom was caught on camera saying, “You want me to be a slave to a Fulani? It’s better I die. My people are being killed and you want me to be quiet. I will never support a Fulani man to become President. If there’s another person who is ready to work with me and ensure the security of my people, I will work with him”. It was clear after he had allowed his anger take the better part of him that his grouse is indeed with Atiku, and not with Ayu. Few days later, during the G5 visit to Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state (a Fulani man), Ortom realised he had shot himself in the foot, and made himself vulnerable.
Public apology became inevitable. There is what’s called a full apology and a partial apology. A full apology involves an acknowledgment of the offence, acceptance of responsibility, expression of regret, and a promise not to repeat the offence. A partial apology includes the acceptance of responsibility or an expression of regret. In this case, it’s said to be better than nothing. In his book “On Apology”, Dr Aaron Lazare says that apology has become a modern day tactic by political leaders in particular to put behind them, at minimal cost, the errors of their ways.
Lazare was a former Dean of University of Massachusetts Medical School for over 15 years. His treatise on apology is a mixture of thoughts. For him, apologies have the power to heal humiliation, free the mind from deep-seated guilt, remove the desire for vengeance, and ultimately restore broken relationships. This is what Ortom said, “I want to say that the statement people are holding on was not what I meant when I was captured(on camera) saying. But all the same, I know it will amount to logical fallacy. I want to say to those who are so offended by my remarks, I am sorry, I did not mean that”. Where do you place Ortom’s apology – full or – partial? Is this the heart and soul of a man who is contrite? It must be said that apologising in public is not easy for political leaders. Why? They are regarded as heroes when things go right – and scapegoats when things go terribly wrong. All the same, the readiness to apologize is sometimes seen as a sign of strong character or as a sign of weakness. What Ortom has done was an expression of some measure of responsibility and contrition. But do you think Gov Ortom achieved any of that? Looking at his over the top dig at Atiku and the Fulani in general, and depending on which side you are, reactions range from happiness to anger, from satisfaction to utter surprise and even resentment. But this is where I stand. Since Gov Ortom likes quoting the Bible, he should reflect on what happened to King Saul. Saul started out as a modest young man. He was aware of his limitations and even hesitated to take on more responsibility[1 Samuel 9:21, 10:20-21]. Yet, in time, Saul became presumptuous. He revealed this bad trait soon after he became king. On one occasion, he lost patience while waiting for prophet Samuel and offered up a burnt sacrifice even though he was not authorised to do so.
As a result, Saul lost God’s favour and eventually the kingship[1 Samuel 13:8-14]. The lesson: we are wise if we learn from this warning example and avoid acting presumptuously. That’s why the Northern Elders Forum(NEF) was right when it said in a statement by its Director, Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed , that Ortom’s gaffe does neither justice to the condemnable killings in Benue, nor to the reputation of Ortom before his people. It was a demeaning outing for him. In his profound book titled “Mea Culpa: A Sociology of Apology and Reconciliation”, Nicholas Tavuchis, writes that apologies speak to acts that cannot be undone “but cannot go unnoticed without compromising the current and future relationship of the parties”. The general principle here is that leaders should apologise if and when they calculate that staying silent threatens, to use the words of Tavuchis, a “current and future relationship” between them or more key constituencies…or the public”. That’s why Wike and his colleagues should consider their future political careers or other endeavours. Without knowing it, the G5 are urinating on themselves. They should realise that there’s always life outside politics. It will take a awful long time before Wike or Ortom, will repair the relationships they have damaged in the cause of venting their anger within their party. A leader’s apology, as Ortom has done, writes Barbara Kellerman, author of many books on Leadership, including Bad Leadership(Harvard Business School Press, 2004), is a performance in which every expression matters and every word becomes part of the public record. Ortom and others should realise that apologies have broad implications, not only for themselves but for their followers. It’s important at this point to pose the question: who is the G5 working for, and what’s actually motivating them to want to pull down their own house? Are they really driven by “integrity, patriotism, equity, fairness and justice”, as Ortom said after their latest meeting in Enugu? Or are these governors working for someone else? I am inclined to believe the latter. Recall that in August this year, Ibrahim Masari( Tinubu’s placeholder) had told anyone who cared to listen that Wike would work for APC and Tinubu to win the Presidential election. Masari also claimed that talks are still ongoing discreetly between Tinubu and Wike for that purpose. Time will tell.
Given the tempers of the time, and the selfish nature of our politicians, nothing is off the table. What our politicians cannot do does not exist. From feelers, the ruling party is fueling the crisis within the PDP and working hard to ensure that the reported reconciliation between the Wike and Atiku camps fails. Altogether, whether it’s still possible or too late for the G5 and the larger PDP to resolve their differences before the presidential election, my unsolicited advice to the G5 is to look at the bigger picture. Though conventional wisdom holds that the success of political office holders depends on the results they deliver. However, what is often overlooked is that the results should be evaluated relative to expectations of your enemies. For APC and Tinubu, it’s well timed that the G5 is not relenting on making peace impossible. Wike’s body language seems to give APC confidence ahead of the election. This is because as one adage says, sometimes what a man says with his mouth is more relevant than what he says with his eyes. Ortom’s apology has shown the risk of overdoing things and expressing regret later.