By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
Again, Nnewi is going through yet another cycle of debate on the rotation of elective political offices in the town. As a man whose both parents are from Nnewichi, if it is a question of being fit to speak on the matter, I am doubly qualified. But I have refrained from the debate because what I said more than a decade ago on this Nnewi rotation arrangement is still what I have to say. Secondly, the politics of playing victim was completely needless on the part of those whipping up that sentiment for Nnewichi. I honestly think that the basic question people in APGA campaigning for Nnewichi should have asked is: what does the governor want? Anambra State looks at Nnewi North LGA as Nnewi. If an internal arrangement that is inconsistent with the law, such as this zoning, is not suitable to the government or the governor, the government will deal with Nnewi North LGA as Nnewi, and that is correct. Ultimately, the outcome of the primary exercise was an internal affair of APGA to the extent that it is not an open contest in the sense that anyone can emerge. Party politics is never designed in a way that anyone can emerge. It is always tailored. Finally, I refrained from making a public comment because I respected the aspiration of my friends and brothers on both sides.
But now, let’s look at it. Debate on Nnewi’s rotation of political offices has been one of the most contentious in Anambra State since 2011. In 2011, Hon. J. C Okeke from Uruagu Nnewi refused to comply with the rotation arrangement and contested to retain his seat at the Anambra State House of Assembly on PDP’s platform, albeit unsuccessfully. Since then, the argument on the need to review the rotation agreement has intensified. In 2015, Rt. Hon. Chukwudi Orizu, the then Deputy Speaker, attempted to return, but it failed at infancy. Then, in 2019, Hon. Amala Anazodo made the closest attempt to return, but eventually stepped back. This year, the debate has unsurprisingly moved to Nnewi North Local Government Chairmanship. In essence, for more than 15 years, Nnewi has kept doing the same thing. There is definitely something wrong with a contentious ‘agreement’.
Nnewi has a rotational arrangement of power sharing among its four quarters of Otolo, Uruagu, Umudim, and Nnewichi. This was based on a 1997 agreement passed by Nzukora Nnewi, which allowed elected officers for the House of Assembly to spend only four years in office, except that they have been elected Speaker. The single tenure extends to the elected local government chairman as well. Clearly, the intention was to ensure fairness in power distribution across Nnewi. But, unfortunately, the arrangement has dimmed Nnewi’s chances of playing in the big league. To buttress this, no former House of Assembly member from Nnewi has moved above the State Assembly, and none can dream of becoming a Speaker for the same reason. Why? No single-term state lawmaker has been sufficiently exposed to play big in the scheme of things. They simply do not have what it takes to compete for the National Assembly seat. The person who came close to breaking this jinx was Barr. Benchuks Nwosu, but he could not, despite the enormity of his personal clout. Hon. Nonso Okafor also tried and did not succeed.
Interestingly, no former local government chairman of Nnewi North LGA has also been promoted to a higher call after serving at the local government. No elected or appointed Nnewi North LGA chairman has added value in public service after his time at the local government. From Dr. Amobi Chikwendu, Hon. Francis Okeke, Hon.Patrick Ubajaka, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Hon. Chukwudi Orizu, Engr. Chris Obiora, to others, they simply serve out a phase and retire to near oblivion in politics. Meanwhile, in other places, these individuals form the blocks used to build their political future. Local government and the State Assembly serve as a training ground for young leaders who are prepared and moved to bigger roles. But almost all these people have not moved up politically, and Nnewi gained absolutely nothing from their initial exposure and training. Yet, in each election year, a new set of officials are sent out only to be retired again after their first tenure. In other words, every election year, people line up and recruit a new set of leaders who are bound to be dropped in the next election year. Under this setting, the fundamental motivation for a leader to perform is absent from the very beginning because there is no reward. It is ridiculous that such a practice should be upheld so tenaciously on the pretext of fairness. Nnewi is the biggest loser because we have sacrificed leadership grooming, exposure, and promotion to higher roles for rotation formality clothed in false fairness.
More than a decade ago, it was my argument that Nnewi should not continue to feed this single-term rotation because it makes no sense. You can’t send a legislator to the House of Assembly where a fresh lawmaker spends close to a year getting used to the workings of the House of Assembly, only for the person to begin his actual journey in about his second or third year, then he leaves, and a new person comes onboard. First of all, such a lawmaker is not there to serve the people. He is there to serve himself, knowing that his report card is not based on what he does or fails to do, but on a rotation that he must abide by or try to return and fail like others before him. To pretend that such a system works is the greatest disservice a people can do to themselves.
The most shocking in this circle of self-defeating rotation is expecting a tenured local government chairman to leave after just two years in office. Not because he is not doing well, but so that another person from another part of Nnewi can go. Is two years enough for an elected Executive Chairman to understand the full extent of his commitments – the legal and administrative angles of his mandate? This is more than unreasonable. To begin, the Anambra State Local Government Administration Law 2024 is still being tested. The reality is that it will be very difficult for the governor, Professor Charles Soludo, and his party, APGA, to change any LGA Chairman except where it is absolutely unavoidable. The government’s overall outlook on sustainability is of higher value to both the government and the people of the State. Besides, this is also a matter of politics, and misaligned sentiments do not count. Also, where key stakeholders take a particular position, the government is unlikely to do otherwise. This is in addition to the fact that the Nnewi North LGA Chairman is not doing badly. Therefore, from all possible positions, the outcome of the primary election exercise of APGA in Nnewi was expected. Those who wished that it should be the other way should have used an opposition political party to make their case for Nnewichi and try their luck at the ballot. You cannot dictate to the mainstream; instead, you play by the script. Therefore, it was a poor political decision to conclude that APGA would take the direction of Nnewichi given the realities on the ground, which were stronger than the sentiments of a power shift to Nnewichi.
The right thing is for the current Executive Chairman of Nnewi North to return for another two years. There is really no basis to do otherwise.
