The Return Of Anyim And Other Tales
By Reuben Abati

"I can see that all of a sudden, Senator Pius Anyim is back in the news. The last time I read anything about him was four years ago. It is like the Resurrection."

"What are you saying? The man didn't die. Only the dead resurrect. He simply went out of the limelight. You have to do something for you to be written about. People don't make news by sitting at home with their wives all day."

"Oh, is that what the man has been doing in the past four years? "

"No. He wants to be Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party"

"I thought in 2003, after being Senate President for three year, he said he was retiring from politics'"

"No. He didn't say so. Even if he did. He is a human being. He can always change his mind. He said he was not running for an elective position at the time. And it was in his interest not to do so. He was in Obasanjo's bad books. He and his state Governor were also not on good terms. If he had sought further election, he would have been disgraced."

"May be not."

"Oh he would have lost. You'd recall that as Senate President, he and his colleagues wanted to impeach Obasanjo. They accused him of violating the Appropriation Act 2002, and they were really going to impeach the man."

"How I wish they had."

"Well, the matter was dropped after so much heat. But Anyim had stepped on Baba's toes. He knew better than to seek re-election to the Senate."

"But at least, he survived the banana peal in the Senate"

"I guess many of the lawmakers wanted deep in their hearts to remove Obasanjo. For providing leadership in that direction and playing with the team, they supported Anyim"

"You mean Obasanjo drove Anyim out of politics? That man is powerful"

"I don't know about that"

"But what makes Anyim think that he stands a chance now. Obasanjo is still omnipresent. He is still in charge of the PDP"

"I am not too sure of that either."

"So do you think they will make Anyim Chairman of the party now that he is back into mainstream politics?"

"I don't know. I am not a mind reader. And I am not a member of the PDP. And mind you, he is not the only contender, I hear there are about twelve of them from the South East."

"But why can't Ndigbo agree on two or three candidates? I won't be surprised if that number soon increases to 50 with every card-carrying member of the PDP in the East trying to be chairman of the PDP"

"Actually, the position has been zoned to Imo and Ebonyi states"

"I hear some people are kicking against that. They say it is undemocratic, including people who don't even have the name-recognition for the position"

"But this is not about name recognition. What is the matter with you? This is about the future and character of the PDP after Obasanjo. The December 8 convention of the party will have great implications for Nigeria. That is why I am interested in who becomes the new Chairman of the party"

"You are always trying to make things more complex than they are. Look. What I am interested in is a Chairman of the party that will help to reform the party. That party has become a problem to Nigeria. It controls most of the positions in politics, but it lacks internal democracy."

"But we are saying the same thing"

"People Deceiving People"

"Papa Deceive Pickin"

"Party Destroying People"

"Power Dey Pocket"

"Pack, Destroy, Possess"

"Fi Di Fi"

"Pin-Din-Pin"

"Fower!"

"Gbola"

"Baba e"

"Your Mama"

"Walahi. It's a family affair"

"They claim that it is the biggest political party in Africa, but it is a badly managed political party. I believe that the reform of the political party system in Nigeria is important. But it must start with the PDP considering its influence."

"The party has influence yes, but it is running Nigeria badly. A better managed political party would have given us a more efficient society and country."

"As I see it, there are two issues at stake. One, President Yar'Adua will be interested in taking control of the party. He should be interested in having a party that is run by sober people, so that government can focus on the business of governance. Under Obasanjo, the PDP became almost as important as the government,"

"I think you can add to that, the need for the party to free itself from Obasanjo who planted himself before leaving office, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees."

"Now you are talking. Those will be the main issues that will determine the appointment of the party Chairman."

"Even the congresses at the state and ward levels, before the convention"

"I can imagine that anybody who is remotely associated with Obasanjo cannot make it as Chairman of the PDP"

"Yar'Adua will prefer to choose someone he can relate to."

"It is not even Yar'Adua who will make the choice. It is the north, the political North that will do it for him. I hear the northern elite want to get Obasanjo effectively back to Ota and take his hands out of the PDP. And you can see the evidence of their determination. But unlike other Nigerians, the northern establishment does not make noise."

"Tell me something."

"Look at the removal of Patricia Etteh. The sub-text is that she is an Obasanjo protZ gZ . If she were of a different extraction, her malfeasance would have been covered up as a family affair. But she had no family behind her within the party."

"She had the Due Process group"

"You mean the due process I chop chop group?" Those ones were just looking for their daily bread. The matter was not about ideology or principles for them."

"Well you are right. In fact when push came to shove, majority of the members of the Due Process group that were rooting for her, crossed carpet to the Integrity Group and voted for Dimeji Bankole. The candidate of the PDP and I hear Obasanjo, the man from Osun state, was ignored."

"Now you are thinking. That should tell you something about the PDP Convention in December. Let me add one more thing. You know the Integrity Group before choosing Dimeji Bankole was advised to do so by some powerful Northerners. They were asked to look for a credible person from Ogun state. The game plan is to stop Obasanjo from being Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees. Don't be surprised if very soon, you start hearing that Abeokuta cannot give the PDP two prominent officers"

"The Integrity Group has obviously become very powerful"

"Oh, they are marvellous. But I am still looking for the men behind the mask."

"You know Farouk Lawan, don't you?"

"Not Farouk. The masquerade dances in the market square, but there are people in the shrine."

"I don't care about shrines. But I think what is happening in the PDP is good for Nigeria. Let the party implode and let Yar'Adua re-organise it."

"We will know where he is going on December 8. Whoever becomes PDP Chairman is important."

"I nominate Anyim Pius Anyim"

"You are not even a member of the party So stop clowning"

"But I am a Nigerian. I have the right to express a wish."

"If wishes were horses...

"Beggars will ride them to Heaven"

"No you want to ride your own to Wadata Plaza"

"Na you sabi. Anyim Anyim is definitely better than the present Chairman of the PDP."

"But let's be fair and look at the candidates. How about Senator Ken Nnamani? He is also anti-Obasanjo and a highly principled man. He opposed Third term and stood up against the chicanery of the PDP elite during the April elections."

"But he is not in the race. He has not even collected a form to indicate his interest in the position. Besides, he is from Enugu state."

"You know the man I pity in all of this. It is Obasanjo. Before his very eyes, less than six months after he left office, history is being unkind and harsh to him"

"Don't worry yourself. Baba yen o ti e ro. Wetin be history?"

"You know in Nigeria today, the easiest way to get yourself into trouble is to say that you are an Obasanjo man."

"I don't think it is that bad. Ah come on, only yesterday Bowen University gave the man a Honorary Doctor of Science degree."

"That university is owned by the Baptists Convention. So it's a family affair."

"But it is not the only university that has honoured him since June."

"Yes, Olabisi Onabanjo University also honoured him"

"That is Ogun state, not so?"

"We live in interesting times."

"You can say that again, my brother. Because even President Yar'Adua whom Obasanjo put in office is diplomatically distancing himself from him. Under Obasanjo, judges and university teachers were given better conditions of service, but today, they are his loudest critics."

"Senator Ahmadu Ali has appealed to Nigerians to forgive Obasanjo. He said that at a ceremony where Otunba Femi Pedro, former Deputy Governor of Lagos state defected to the PDP"

"In choosing the next PDP Chairman, PDP members should just look at Senator Ahmadu Ali and choose someone that is his direct opposite. When Ali is replaced, it will be good riddance indeed"

"Ali is an ambassador designate o."

"That is not a problem. The President can send him to wherever he likes. If I am asked to make recommendations on that, I will point in the direction of Sudan, Iraq, Congo and Somalia."

"I don't envy President Yar'Adua at all. He has to put up with all this stress and yet he has to keep shuttling between here and Germany."

" I don't pity him. I only want him to start getting on with the job. Look at power supply. He has been talking about declaring an emergency in the power sector since June. He even set up a national committee. But today, all the thermal stations, including Egbin, which generates close to 1, 500 MW out of a national average of less than 3, 000 MW, are down. National power supply is down to 800 MW. Where is the emergency that Yar'Adua promised?"

"A fi suuru"

"I am tired of being patient. Afenifere has also issued a statement complaining about the bad state of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and all other roads in Yorubaland."

"Other Nigerians are complaining too. All the roads are bad."

"Afenifere says Obasanjo disappointed the South West, his own people."

"Other Nigerians are saying the man disappointed all Nigerians"

"Okay, what is Yar'Adua doing? When is he going to start repairing the roads? If he is not careful, Nigerians will start missing Obasanjo. You may not like his politics, but he was definitely an active and a hardworking President, "

"I don't know"

"Na wa o"

"By the way, did you read the stories about the arrest of your former Governor's wife by the London Metropolitan Policed?"

"James Ibori's wife?"

"Yes"

"Don't worry yourself. There is nothing there. Nigeria's Attorney General and Minister of Justice will send them a letter and that will be the end of the matter. If I were you, I won't join anybody to start thinking there is a story there. You hear? Aondoakaa will soon write a letter to the Metropolitan Police. Finish. Nonsense and ingredient. Ewu, Metropolitan Police"

"I also understand the Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro has summoned Chief Lamidi Adedibu to Abuja. Looks like we are making some progress with the Police"

"Summoned? What is that? Was Adedibu summoned for dinner or a tete a tete? What I want to hear is that the man has been arrested. Do they not ask people who are summoned by the police to write statements and sign bail forms? If an ordinary Nigerian had been linked with the same kind of atrocities that Adedibu allegedly committed, such a person would have been arrested and asked to look for people to take his bail."

"Adedibu is a big man."

"That is it. We can't have two laws for different classes of Nigerians. That is why the press should do its job by asking questions. When Adedibu got to Abuja, was he asked by the IG to write a statement? Or nobody talked about any offences committed and he was treated to a sumptuous dinner? Nigerians will like to know."

" I don't trust the police"

"Me too"

"You know that retired police DIG who shot his wife because she found her in a hotel whereas she had told him she was travelling?"

"Yes, he accused his wife of infidelity, and decided to shoot her in the stomach when he traced her to a hotel in Ilorin."

"The woman is dead"

"Oh"

"But the man is free. He was released by the police, and I don't see anybody re-arresting the man now that a case of cold-blooded murder has been established."

"He will plead esprit de corps and extreme provocation by the woman."

"It is a crazy country, you see? Do you know the woman's relatives are even taking her corpse to the man's house for burial?"

"Women NGOs should take that up. This is the kind of thing they should be interested in, instead of moaning over the split milk of Etteh's removal?"

"Please, don't start. I think you should leave that woman alone now"

Robot  # 1 | 04.11.2007 08:04

The Return Of Anyim And Other Tales By Reuben Abati "...Read the full article.

dem  # 2 | 04.11.2007 09:36

=Robot;2091816622>The Return Of Anyim And Other Tales By Reuben Abati "...Read the full article. Yes; the "mass of protoplasm" is back and looking like odds on favourite for the moment - although for a minute there, I had thought that K Nnamani was it. It would not be a bad thing at all for the PDP to implode and shake out a bit. That Party is sitting too heavy atop the nation's chest. It was always going to be a matter of time before OBJ gets his in that Party as he made too many enemies and false friends. The best you could say for him is that the sorted out the likes of Anenih and IBB before he left. Somehow, and worryingly, I'm not sure that it is Yaradua that is calling the shots and picking the battles, but rather the 'core' north. Someone was always going to be calling the shots through YD, OBJ mistakenly thought it was going to be him, he is now finding out differently.

truthsayer33  # 3 | 04.11.2007 09:43

In Nigeria nothing is impossible.....a land of wonders which Alice would have recognised.Abati you left out Rev King.He was convicted of murdering members of his flock....has he been executed? If not why not?

edoji  # 4 | 04.11.2007 13:43

"That is not a problem. The President can send him to wherever he likes. If I am asked to make recommendations on that, I will point in the direction of Sudan, Iraq, Congo and Somalia." Please send that nincompoop to Ota to be with his soul mate:(

Donn  # 5 | 05.11.2007 09:09

But why can't Ndigbo agree on two or three candidates? I won't be surprised if that number soon increases to 50 with every card-carrying member of the PDP in the East trying to be chairman of the PDP" Abati.....you sure can do your piece without highlighting the 'over flogged so called disunity' among the Igbos.... and......i wonder what would have happened if Etteh was an Igbo woman.... ..what i am trying to say is...you can do your piece without 'cunningly' reminding the whole world about the perceived dis-unity

docokwy  # 6 | 05.11.2007 14:33

=Donn;2091816860>But why can't Ndigbo agree on two or three candidates? I won't be surprised if that number soon increases to 50 with every card-carrying member of the PDP in the East trying to be chairman of the PDP" Abati.....you sure can do your piece without highlighting the 'over flogged so called disunity' among the Igbos.... and......i wonder what would have happened if Etteh was an Igbo woman.... ..what i am trying to say is...you can do your piece without 'cunningly' reminding the whole world about the perceived dis-unity Thanks for noticing this too. Infact I stopped reading this article altogether after encountering this stu-pid remark from this extremely ugly-looking Guardian editorial board chairman. Between 1999 and 2003 the following Yorubas competed against each other to be the president of Nigeria, knowing fully well that one of them (Obasanjo) was the president. Obasanjo Olu Falae Gani Fawehinmi Olapade Agoro Tunji Braithwaite Harry Akande The late gov of Ondo State, Adefarati (who was almost seventy five years old when he was contensting) ........and many more whose names I have forgotten. Nobody made an issue out of that. So why can't some ugly monster working in The Guardian Newspaper keep quiet and deal with the menace of Adedibu and the shame of Etteh? Only heaven knows how many people his looks have scared from the Guardian office.

Afeni  # 7 | 05.11.2007 15:04

I am not sure why a male, such as yourself, is observing the beauty of another male. Perhaps there is something you would like to tell us, docokwy?

docokwy  # 8 | 05.11.2007 15:14

=Afeni;2091816973>I am not sure why a male, such as yourself, is observing the beauty of another male. Perhaps there is something you will like to tell us, docokwy? ''What I will like to us'' is that when the monster learns to mind his business, we will stop looking at his montrous face (and, I am sure monstrous heart too). Why cant he learn from Okey Ndibe who only concerns himself with Anambra matters, and at most, the federal government of Nigeria? Wetin concern Abati with Igbos?

gwobezentashi  # 9 | 05.11.2007 15:50

MASSOB splits•Faction alleges plot by members to assassinate Uwazuruike JAYNE UCHE-UKONNE, Aba THE scheduled home coming tomorrow of the leader of Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, has sparked a row with factions of the movement accusing each other of planning to kill Uwazuruike during the visit. MASSOB leader is expected to arrive his hometown Okwe, Onuimo local government area of Imo State from Lagos. However, MASSOB director of information, Aba Region, Mr. Sunday Okereafor, alleged weekend that a group within the organization known as "national working committee" led by Mr. Nnamdi Ohiagu and Sam Ike had perfected a plot to assassinate Uwazuruike. He said about 2000 militants have been recruited to foment trouble and detonate dynamites in forests bordering Okwe to create confusion and pave the way for the dastardly act. Reacting, Mr. Ike who is MASSOB director of mobilization and also a member of the national working committee of the organization dismissed the allegation as an attempt to "give dog a bad name in order to hang it." Contacted on the threat yesterday, Chief Uwazuruike dismissed it as untrue. "There is nothing like that. Don’t mind him (Okereafor)… He is just flying a kite," the MASSOB leader told Daily Champion. He said he would go ahead with the planned return home despite the row. Mr. Okereafor also alleged that two prominent Igbo politicians in Anambra and Abia States who have armed the group to the teeth for the purpose of executing the plot were sponsoring the Ohiagu-led group. He said the other aspect of the plot was to rubbish the non-violent stand of MASSOB, as detonation of dynamites within the vicinity of MASSOB gathering would create the impression that MASSOB has become violent. On why the Ohiagu-led group, which claims to have championed efforts that led to the granting of bail to Uwazuruike now would want to kill their leader, Mr. Okereafor said the group was not happy that Uwazuruike was the only one granted bail while Uche Amadi and eight other members of MASSOB who were detained together with their leader were still in detention and nobody was negotiating their release. He said the group had accused Uwazururike of betraying Ndigbo since he fought for his own release alone and wondered why anybody would accuse their leader of betrayal. "We want the world to know that our leader is a non-violent. "Ohiagu, who called himself the acting leader, and his group want to please their sponsors, the politicians, one in Anambra and the other is in Abia. But they will fail because we are well trained intelligence men", he said. In his reaction, Mr. Ike, a member of the national working committee, who reacted on behalf of the group, said the allegation was just an attempt by some members of MASSOB to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it. "The Uwazuruike they are alleging we are plotting to kill is he the same Uwazuruike that I and Nnamdi Ohiagu worked hard for his release?, he queried. "Today, Uwazuruike has been released because of the efforts of the national working committee. We made it happen because we know our relationship with the elite in the eastern region. " You know initially our elite refused to come close to us, but we fought hard because since the Nigerian government could not listen to us we decided to involve our elite to speak so that our leader could be released. "If we entered into any agreement with a politician for Uwazuruike to be released we acted on behalf of Ndigbo. We were crying for the Nigerian leaders to hear our voice. Senator Uche Chukwumereije is one of the Igbo leaders and he took Uwazuruike’s case to the National Assembly", he said. He said all the directors appointed by Uwazuruike decided to be part of the national working committee in the absence of their leader, just to provide a leadership that would ensure that MASSOB remained focused since there was no deputy appointed by Uwazuruike to act in his absence. He said this became necessary when they were being chased and constantly harassed by security operatives in Okwe after the arrest of their leader and his absence created a lot of problems for MASSOB members. On the allegation that two politicians, one from Anambra and the other from Abia, were sponsoring them, Mr. Ike insisted that as members of MASSOB, members of the national working committee are still loyal to Uwazuruike and are still loyal to non-violence position of the group. He wondered why anybody would interprete their association with some politicians as working against the interest of MASSOB. He reminded the entire members of MASSOB and Ndigbo that any divided house can never stand and called on them to come together and reason as brothers to be able to fight for their rights. http://www.champion-newspapers.com/news/article_1.htm

Auspicious  # 10 | 05.11.2007 16:20

Why can't Reuben Abati include in a virtual conversation, an obviously totally harmless comment about anyone or any group he deems fit...without some insecure, complex-beaten individuals out there pretending to be upset by throwing a faked hiffy over the same virtual conversation? How has highlighting an ordinary reality (even IF it were for the umpteenth time, and, assuming this could be deemed as "highlighting" anyways) constituted so much of an insult that would compel some hate-monger out there to critique the handsomeness or uglyness of another man? Some people surely do over-rate themselves viz-a-viz their intelligence. Ewu Commentators! Auspicious.

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