16 May 2008 |
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Andy Uba and the Hungry and Angry 'Gods'
Before the advent of a semblance of democracy in Nigeria in 1999 very few Nigerians knew or had heard of one Dr Andy Uba. Far away in America Uba was said to be hustling like other Diasporan Nigerians in the US -- barely eking out a living. As Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo was rigged into power by a militaro-civilian cabal the ex-prisoner of conscience turned president was said to have stumbled on Andy in one of his globetrotting missions abroad.
Uba reportedly extended a charitable kind gesture, with presidential reward in mind, to Baba. And suddenly Andy's obscure political profile changed as Obasanjo invited him over to become his domestic affairs assistant. Domestically Andy took charge of Aso Rock assisting Baba executively as he blindly went through complex issues of governance that sometimes knocked him out completely intellectually and administratively.
From then till May 2007 Andy Uba held forth as a powerful presidential aide loved by a few and loathed by many but dreaded by all. He assumed the role of OBJ's ego massager who had the president's ears at any time of the day and at night. He was said to be the very first to see him as he woke up from bed and the very last to see him off to bed!
Andy Uba helped Obasanjo wreak the presidential havoc we are all witnessing today. The Petroleum Resources Ministry was confiscated by the Ota farmer for seven years abandoning Agriculture where he would have excelled! Uba must have diligently assisted the famous farmer in the fraudulent running of the ministry.
Andy Uba was elected Governor of Anambra State by a combination of Obasanjo and Iwu forces and for a week or thereabout he paraded himself executively as same until the Supreme Court, doing justice to Peter Obi's tenure interpretation suit, relieved him of the position thereby sending him back to Abuja where he has since emulated Lamidi Adedibu as a godfather of immoral anti-people dimension, one without conscience.
Uba lost power in Awka but his hand-picked unelected House of Assembly members filled up legislative positions in Anambra State House of Assembly. Today these legislative vipers are making governance difficult for Governor Peter Obi in deference to the Uga-born Abuja-based politician. The recent budget impasse in the state (now happily resolved by some senior citizens) traced its roots to Andy Uba's diabolical schemes to check Obi's popular developmental programmes.
Andy Uba and his cohorts are veritable threats to good governance in Anambra State. It's like they have sworn that 'since we are allowed to do it then no one else would be allowed to do it' much less better than we would have done it. A lot of hack writers and anti-Obi elements have been recruited to paint Governor Obi and his administration in bad lights if only to show to the world that the "orange juice importer" is not doing well and that he is more of a businessman than a politician or administrator.
The latest shameless character to join the Uba anti-Obi bandwagon is one Odenigbo Chidi Anyaeche based in England. For him Obi should not have vied for Guber elective post but concentrated his efforts rather on his importation business. Yet the self-styled Odenigbo failed to tell us in his anti-Obi diatribes when being a successful businessman (and an importer at that) has become a hindrance to becoming a good politician or a yardstick used in measuring political maturity or in scoring great points in politics.
Governor Obi has effectively killed the godfather element in Anambra politics. From Arthur Eze to Emeka Offor on to Chris Uba these criminals have had their times and epochs -- all antithetical to the general interest of Ndi Anambra. Since politics, to them, has to do with the highest bidder (person with the largest financial muscles) rather than academic acquisition or management abilities Anambra State like Oyo State continues to pay huge price. In Oyo majority of the indigenes are praying daily for Adedibu to join his ancestors sooner with tales of indisposition here and there!
Andy Uba's continuing desperation to rule Anambra State is understandable. He has tasted power both at the federal level (presidency) and in Awka (even if for few days!) And secondly he craves for immunity from prosecution of his many crimes as a foremost presidential aide. That equally explains Obasanjo's unwillingness to give up his PDP BOT Chair despite mountain of scandals trailing his 8-year presidential sommersault.
And thirdly Andy Uba understands the Nigerian politics and its capacity to tolerate evil and impunity while dishing out patronage and getting hypocritical accolades in return.
It is high time the EFCC beamed its investigative searchlight on Andy Uba and his 8-year all-powerful position as Baba's domestic presidential aide. There are many evidences of economic and financial crimes involving Uba and let's just mention a few: the presidential plane dollar smuggling scam; the declaration by the former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Turaki, that he 'donated' billions of naira to the OBJ's ill-fated third term project with Andy Uba acting as the receiver of the hefty cash! The Uba family's role in the looting, killing and destruction of Anambra State during the Chris Ngige stolen mandate era.
Dr Uba's gubernatorial ambition cum masturbation must have limits. Obviously it has attained its very boundary. Any further attempt to use looted and laundered funds to prosecute political mischief against Ndi Anambra must be seen for what it represents: waging a war against the general well-being of a great state he has contributed virtually nothing towards its development -- even when he had the resources and means to make a positive difference as Obasanjo's houseboy.
History will yet prove that among those infamous men and women who aided Obasanjo to defraud Nigeria for eight long years Andy Uba knew much more than any other. His mutual closeness to OBJ (like a devoted father would to a loved son) marked him out as the best material who knew the inner workings of Baba as he busied himself in his Aso Rock shrine diabolically manipulating everything and everybody.
While Obasanjo befittingly assumed the role of the demonic chief priest in the evil shrine Andy Uba was the most-trusted chief priest servant who was ushering in visitors to the shrine and doing the required sacrifices to appease the gods. And now the gods, for lack of blood and bones, are both hungry and angry!
(Could someone, probably un veritable homme sans conscient, like Odenigbo Chidi Anyaeche, step forward and offer some help here in furtherance of the Guber curse? Sorry I meant Guber course!)
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