Finally, Etteh the ‘Iron Lady’ cracks 

By Levi Obijiofor 

Friday, 2 November 2007 

When Olusegun Obasanjo was propelled to the post of Head of State following the assassination of General Murtala Muhammad by crazed gunman Buka Suka Dimka in February 1976, Obasanjo told the nation in a radio and television broadcast that he had accepted his appointment as Head of State even though it was against his personal wishes and ambition. It was a broadcast that struck at the heart of the nation, or so it seemed to so many people. Understandably, no top military officer in his right frame of mind would like to be seen as an opportunist who attained the apex of his professional career through the backdoor -- the demise of his colleague.  

Obasanjo’s grief over the death of Muhammad was explicable. Top military officers, including the rank and file, are bound together by a sense of comradeship. Obasanjo made a moving speech that gelled with the mournful mood of the nation. The assassination of Murtala Muhammad was a sad event in the history of the nation. Everyone expressed grief and anger over the sudden termination of the life of a man who, within a few months, had won the hearts of the nation because he was onto a noble cause. 

In contrast, the disgraceful resignation of the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Patricia Olubunmi Etteh, after three months of “shakara”, obstinacy and political grandstanding, has not evoked a whimper of sympathy. If anything, Etteh’s shameful exit is being celebrated in the streets and pepper soup corners around the country.  

Great men and women attract various degrees of sympathy when they leave office by choice or by accident of fate. Murtala Muhammad was mourned nationally because he was viewed as a statesman who carried the nation along in his swift crusade to change our lousy attitude to work, our impatience for orderly conduct, our disrespect for time, our lack of discipline in public and private life, our appetite for ceremonies and material goods, and our lack of moral strength.     

Etteh, our insufferable former Speaker, has left but she is no great woman; she was not even a great political leader. By all judgments, she was a second-rate Speaker. During her short term as leader of the House, she single-handedly legitimised the use of fistfights by members to settle political disagreements. Even the death of a House member during a brawl in the House two weeks ago did not seem to unsettle this “Iron Lady” of Nigeria’s lower house of parliament.  

During her action-packed term as Speaker, Etteh bequeathed to the House nothing but a huge vacuum – so much hot air was expended over a period of five months since this session of the House was inaugurated. As official business gets underway this week after members engaged in months of political gridlock and infantile bravado in parliament, the major problem now is whether House members, so long used to idleness, would be able to adjust to their legislative assignments. 

Nothing irritates a nation as a politician who treats everyone with absolute contempt. Within three months, Etteh’s arrogance earned her more enemies across the nation. Those who supported her case at the beginning abandoned her the moment they realised they were backing a wrong horse tainted with the brush of corruption and abuse of office. Whether Etteh likes it or not, she will be remembered in history for all the negative aspects of her conduct – her lack of political leadership, her poor administrative skills, her inability to engage in informed debate, her inability to serve as a role model for her colleagues, and her failure to gauge accurately the mood of the nation.  

As the crises in the House deteriorated, Etteh lost her sense of judgment and direction. She panicked. She took everyone as her enemy. On that basis, her attitude to her colleagues became more trenchant and belligerent. She snapped angrily at everyone who did not agree with her. It is no wonder that some of her adversaries within the “Integrity Group” symbolically referred to her as the woman who came to conquer but failed.  

Etteh will be remembered as an exceptionally selfish Speaker whose first goal in office was to channel extraordinary amounts of tax payers’ money into bizarre projects for the renovation of her official residence and that of her deputy. It is befitting that her fall from grace has everything to do with the shady deals and lack of transparency in the award of the renovation contracts. No one should weep because Etteh’s political career has gone off the tracks. For months, Etteh and the mob that surrounded her held the nation hostage and performed none of the legislative functions for which they were elected.  

It is often said that those whom the gods want to destroy they first crown kings and queens. Etteh symbolises the message in this proverb. The gods conspired with Etteh’s political godfathers to destroy Etteh’s budding political career. How did they achieve this remarkable effort in political grand deception? Easy! The gods and Etteh’s political godfathers reasoned that the easiest and quickest way to flatter Etteh would be to elevate her to a post she never imagined she would occupy in her lifetime. As Etteh’s political career blossomed, her stars shone and shone. But these are mere shooting stars. The radiance they emit never lasts for long. Unbeknownst to Etteh, the gods were rolling out the red carpet for her imminent downfall.  

Within the first few weeks of her assumption of office as Speaker, Etteh was already beginning to swim in some kind of scandal – from her distasteful birthday celebration overseas to questions about how she supervised the award of contracts for the renovation of her official residence and that of her deputy. The shady contract deals turned out to be the gunpowder the gods used to shoot Etteh in order to incapacitate her political life. 

In an article entitled “A nation detained by a Speaker” published in this column on Friday, 19 October 2007, I stated unambiguously that: “Etteh is now history. Whether she quits today, tomorrow or next year is a moot point. She will eventually be humiliated out of office. It’s only a matter of time.” That has now happened. Four days ago, in an email exchange with a Lagos-based newspaper editor in which I quipped that he should advise Patricia Olubunmi Etteh to step aside in order to save the nation the shame of tolerating corruption in high places, the editor replied to my mail in the following instructive words: “Etteh is living up to the meaning of her name in Yoruba: Disgrace.”  

Etteh is now on her own! Only her political godfathers can console her. When she reigned, she forgot that life in politics could be short, too short indeed. A parliamentary Speaker today could become a backbencher tomorrow. Three days ago, Etteh threw around a couple of mangled words to the effect that she was stepping down as Speaker. She should be garlanded with thorns. And here is another nonsense! The Deputy Speaker of the House, Babangida Nguroje, acknowledged in his letter of resignation that the business of the House had been rendered impracticable since the scandal erupted. What a mischievous comment. It took Nguroje three months to realise the damage that his stubbornness and that of the Speaker had cost the nation.  

The two major anti-corruption agencies -- the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) -- must now step in to do their jobs: investigate Etteh and her political partners in regard to the shady contracts. Even in her resignation letter, Etteh was still proclaiming her innocence. Obviously she feels she was appointed House Speaker so she could force-feed the nation with her own interpretation of the rule of law. Perhaps she sees her job as one in which she could dip her grubby fingers into parliamentary funds and use money budgeted for services in the House effortlessly without observing due process. Surprisingly, in Etteh’s dictionary, you won’t find the words “legislative accountability and transparency”.     

These are not the best of times for Etteh. She has left in disgrace, over a matter that she could have handled differently and perhaps with different outcomes. One lesson from all these: in politics, stubbornness has its rewards.