A discernible feature of Igbo politics in this dispensation is that it lacks the sophistication for which it was known. And the chief reason is the embrace of this weird thinking that to succeed in politics, you needed to have been a street fighter. Understandably, this theory has been employed to make up for the inadequacies of some of the fellows who emerged in the political landscape after the 1998 general election. But it was a belief that had no backing from the history of politics in this part of the country. For example, Nnamdi Azikiwe, the late sage who led Nigeria’s liberation struggle, had no antecedence as a street fighter.

Space constraint does not allow for even a brief bio-data of this legendary politician. But it is common knowledge that Zik came into Nigerian politics as an accomplished intellectual, having established himself as a journalist of international repute while practicing the trade in the then Gold Coast, later known as Ghana.

Upon his return to Nigeria in 1933, Zik took journalism in Nigeria to a more professional level, higher from its rudimentary stage hitherto. Almost simultaneously, he delved into politics. And against the background of the glamour and erudition of journalism, Zik went into politics from a highly sophisticated pedestal, what with his series of public lectures that brought a refreshingly new dimension to political discourse at that period. In one of his autobiographies, another sage of blessed memory, Obafemi Awolowo, revealed that he got his greatest impetus for politics through listening to the revolutionary speeches of Zik.

Of course, Azikiwe was not the only Igbo who brought intellectualism into politics. So did the late Francis Akanu Ibiam who, after training as a medical doctor in Scotland, returned to offer purely voluntary services to his people. Ditto for the late Michael Okpara. Later, we had people like Dr. Alex Ekwueme in the Second republic and Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Ogbonnaya Onu etc in the short-lived Third republic. More recently, we have had political office holders who though never were street fighters, have brought a lot of thinking into politics. In a sense, however, such people cannot necessarily be categorized as politicians as defined by this theory of street fighters. The point here is that though some people have used this street fighter theory to rationalize why politics in Igbo land has of recent become that of anything goes, it is, indeed, a great irony. But more important is the fact that at no time had politics in Igbo land been reduced to such a pedestrian level as it is now; the major reason being the general acceptance of this theory as afore defined. It goes without saying, therefore, that to get out of this, at least psychologically, this theory must be rejected and in its place, put a philosophy that it takes more than the smartness of a government contractor or even the dexterity of a careerist to be a leader of a people.

It has been argued in some quarters that the abysmal fall in the intellectual content of Igbo politics was deliberately plotted by outsiders who had been looking for an opportunity to puncture the high profile for which it was known in the First Republic and, to some extent, the Second Republic. Here, it is argued that those who took power at the federal level especially in 1999 chose to deal with so called Igbo politicians who were not mentally robust; in preference to those whom they feared could challenge them. While such an explanation remains debatable, the fact remains that in spite of it and by design or default, there emerged few fellows whose foray into politics could be likened to a re-enactment of the era of great Igbo leaders like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Akanu Ibiam, Avan Ikoku, S. D. Ikoku, Michael Okpara, etc.

But unfortunately, it appears they came into the stage at the wrong time because the extant political circumstances have tended to make it difficult, if not impossible, for them to replay the romantic political episodes of those days. They thus became victims themselves and, indeed, with their story becoming part of the victory song of those who believe in the street fighter theory. One of such fellows who may have been thrown up at the wrong time is Governor Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu state. Inevitably, this man of great intellect also has had to become a victim of the rationalization theory cited above. Nothing can better illustrate this than the virulent attacks directed at him by a section of the political elite in the state despite his very outstanding performance as governor. Another evidence is the barrage of criticisms he faced while his nation-wide lecture series lasted.

Then, there were insinuations that it distracted him from his job as governor. But that merely lent credence to the growing disdain for creative inputs into politics in general and governance in particular. In its stead is the current trend wherein majority of state chief executives fly overseas almost on a weekly basis purporting to be in search of foreign investors. Nnamani is reputed to be the least traveled governor in this dispensation. Apart from the few hours he took off to deliver his lectures in parts of the country, Nnamani stayed mostly in Enugu. At a point, it was even difficult to see him at political gatherings. And the benefits of this approach to governance are there for all to see; especially in the resplendent edifices at the permanent site of the Enugu state University, the College of Medicine and the Teaching hospital; the state of the art housing estates, the ultra modern judicial headquarters, the first-of-its-kind great Enugu tunnel, the several dualized expressways within the Enugu metropolis etc.

Since the beginning of this week, the media has been awash with reports of President Obasanjo’s one-day official visit to Enugu during which he commissioned some of the projects and during which he made his already famous “ENUGU IS WORKING” remark. Prior to the visit, Mr. President must have heard of the insinuations that the projects he was being invited for were never in existence but mere architectural models shown on the television. But he must have been quite amused by all that because just a year earlier, he had visited the sites of the projects during which he commended Governor Nnamani for doing things which others that received much higher revenue than them could not even contemplate. That was in July last year, a pre-third term era and a time of his fable relationship with Nnamani. Thus, assuming that he commended Nnamani because he was at that time in search of support for his third term agenda, the same could not be said of last week, more than one month after the collapse of the third term project. This time around, the president is not in search of any patronage from Nnamani who, in any case, was once accused of mishandling his brief on the Southern politicians Summit hosted by him last December. It must have been this accusation that gave a section of the political class in the state the impetus, to embark on a sustained campaign of calumny against the governor at the heat of the third term debate, with the hope that the president would later descend on the governor.

Last Thursday, Obasanjo, who does not suffer fools gladly, had an opportunity to get even with Nnamani. It is even possible that he may have accepted the invitation to Enugu with a measure of cynicism at the back of his mind: to find even just one excuse to hit at Nnamani. Although that was most unlikely the fact remains that even the most cynical would have been overwhelmed by what is on ground in Enugu state. Still, the tone of the allegations must have made it impossible for even the most skeptical observer to take a position. For example, what could anybody make out of allegations, which suggested that the governor appropriated unto himself alone a total sum of money far in excess of what the state has received as revenue in the past seven years?

This puzzle, when placed side by side with the fact that, as acknowledged by the president, the state government under Nnamani, was able to execute projects which even regional governments could not, and which states whose resources are far bigger, then the Enugu enigma becomes total: why is a section of the political elite bent on literarily pulling down the roof over the state despite what is on ground in the state and which could only have come about as a result of creative channelization of resources?

Unfortunately, because the entire nation is once more in a frenzy over another election that is expected to throw up successors to Nnamani and his colleagues, this question will remain poorly articulated let alone having an answer found. Which is quite unfortunate especially for the Igbo nation, which as noted in the earlier part of this article, has had its politics and governance lacking in intellectual content. Given the nature of the present-day politicking for 2007 at even the state level, there is the fear that the Igbo nation may fall further into the abyss of politics of non-articulation. Although this is an exacerbation of the situation left by the exit of the Azikiwes, the Okparas, the Ibiams etc, a measure of comfort could be found in the efforts made by a few of the political office holders like Nnamani, not only to return Igbo politics to this intellectual pedestal but also to match such with full empirical evidence in the social and economic uplifting of the people.