Weathering Several Storms

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State

There appears to be several roadblocks to Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan’s dream for a second term in office, but keen watchers of the state’s politics say they are mere storms in a tea cup
By Chidiebere Onyemaizu
Perhaps, it is in the recognition of its complex socio-cultural and political nature that the founding fathers of Delta state adopted the catch phrase, “the Big Heart” as its motto.
Next year is another election period and as the exercise draws near, the reality on ground, as far as Delta politics is concerned, is that in the “Big Heart” there are several ambitious sharks angling to upstage the incumbent Governor, Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan and inherit his throne.
Essentially, the 2011 guber contest in Delta state, as evidenced by the muted political undercurrents there, analysts posit, would be one- sided but fierce – Uduaghan versus the array of opponents striving to depose him via the polls. Pundits, however, opine that in the impending political tiff, the governor is likely to emerge the David, while the Goliaths, his opponents, will kiss the dust, if the permutations and other factors that are likely to shape the contest are put into proper context.
Indeed, watchers of Delta politics told The Source that at no point in his three-year superintendence of the state as its chief executive has Governor Uduaghan appeared politically vulnerable as he seemingly is now. For one, his predecessor and maternal cousin, James Ibori, who had all the while been a bulwark of some sort against distractions to his (Uduaghan) government is himself currently fighting the battle of his life.
Ibori is mired in the charges of money laundering and graft both in Nigeria and Britain. Declared wanted in Nigeria by the Economic and Financial Crime's Commission (EFCC), Ibori fled to the creeks of the Niger-Delta from where he dramatically escaped to Dubai. Currently, Ibori is facing threats of extradition to answer to the myraid allegations of money laundering and graft against him.
Thus as 2011 approaches, Uduaghan, analysts argue, evidently will be lacking Ibori’s protective shield and larger-than-life image in the state politics, as far as his quest for a second term is concerned.
Secondly, the calibre of opponents that want to see the Governor out of the Government House, Asaba, analysts admit, are no political featherweights. One of them, a serving minister, has already been penciled down by some powerful interests in Abuja as Uduaghan’s successor. The person in question, The Source reliably gathered is the current minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe. Dependable Aso Rock sources told The Source last week that other things being equal, Orubebe is expected to quit the federal cabinet soon to concentrate on his gubernatorial quest. Should Orubebe’s gubernatorial ambition come to fruition, he would be making history as the first Deltan of Ijaw extraction to rule the state.
The Orubebe challenge readily brings to mind the complex ethnic mix in Delta and its politics. And this is where observers say Uduaghan’s vulnerability as regards the push to dethrone him lies. Coming from a minority ethnic group (Itsekiri), the governor’s opponents have continued to blame Ibori for sacrificing one of the ingredients of politics and democracy – the imperative of number – on the altar of nepotism by imposing a minority candidate who happens to be his cousin (Uduaghan) on the state.
Edwin Clark, a one time Federal Commissioner of Information and an Ijaw nationalist is one of Ibori’s trenchant critics, who regards Uduaghan as an imposition on the state. It is on the strength of this that the likes of Clark, The Source gathered, are assiduously working to ensure that in the next election, the people’s choice will prevail
The calculation of the anti-Uduaghan elements in the state is that if major ethnic groups that make up the state – the Aniomas, Urhobos and the Isokos – align in the coming election, any candidate presented by them will have a smooth ride to the Government House next year, as the votes of the Governor’s minority Itsekiri stock will be so insignificant to see him through.
This theory is predicated on the belief in certain quarters that political alliance between the Itsekiris and the Ijaws, who are also in the minority, is not achievable as far as the 2011 Delta guber contest is concerned. This is especially as the Ijaws are also interested in producing the state’s next chief executive.
This complex political mix, analysts posit, will, when the chips are down work in Uduaghan’s favour. Like the Ijaws who have never produced a governor for the state, the Aniomas, located in the North of the state are vociferous in their insistence that one of their own this time around ought to mount the exalted throne. The nearest that the ethnic stock has ever got to executive position was the eight-year stint of one of their sons, Benjamin Elue as a Deputy Governor (to Ibori).
And should it become apparent that the Aniomas’ crusade to occupy the Government House next year may not be feasible, a stakeholder from the area told The Source that it would be politically expedient to align with the Itsekiris, to retain Uduaghan in power, rather than partner with the Ijaws.
This, according to him, is with a view to strategise for 2015 when Uduaghan will have completed his second tenure. The calculation is that by 2015, the Itsekiris and Uhrobos will team up to support an Anioma indigene to become Governor of the state, thus reciprocating the ethnic stock's past political support. The Anioma people share a degree of cultural and linguistic affinity with the Igbos across the Niger.
Essentially, a cross-section of stakeholders in the state suspect Clark’s entire political manoevres in the state are aimed at installing an Ijaw, possibly Orubebe, as the state’s next governor. The Uhrobos, Isokos Aniomas and Itsekiris, The Source was told, are wary of Clark’s antics. They fear that the elder statesman’s alleged desire for an Ijaw Governor in Delta state next year is part of a wider agenda to bring to bear on the South south region, an Ijaw hegemony.
Consequently, in the next election, rather than allow that happen, the Aniomas, The Source learnt, are ready to queue behind their Itsekiri neighbours to enable Uduaghan run the state for another four years. The support of the Urhobos, analysts say, will be readily available to Uduaghan as he is largely seen as a 'son of the soil'. Ibori's mother is an Itsekiri who is related to Uduaghan's father, an Urhobo.
So with Aniomas’ nine local government areas and Urhobos’ eight, combined with Iteskiri’s one, Uduaghan will have about 17 councils on his side. The votes of the Isokos, analysts say, may go either side. There are a total of 25 Local Government Areas in Delta state.
Besides the above, Uduaghan’s road to running the affairs of the state for the next four years, appears to be further smoothened by his giant strides in the state. Under his leadership, Delta state has remained tranquil, even in the face of restiveness in the other surrounding Niger Delta states. The peace that prevail in the state has thus made Delta a favourite investment destination for investors from other parts of the world.
The world class Asaba International Airport which has just been granted operational license by the Federal Government, breathtaking construction of network of roads, bridges and electrification in all parts of the state, analysts say, are visible and laudable achievements of the Uduaghan administration.
In fact, on a visit to the Governor recently, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Abdulwaheed Omar, declared that activities on ground showed Uduaghan's zeal and commitment to turn things around in the state within a short space of time.
Lateef Oyelekan, president of the National Union of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), who also led his Executive to pay the Governor a visit also spoke like Omar. He said that Governor Uduaghan has greatly transformed the state and turned the pages of history in their favour. But between now and 2011, will the tune of the political rhythm of the state and the dancing steps remain in Uduaghan’s favour, as in politics, a day, as the saying goes, could make a lot of difference?