Etiaba: First Female Governor – Yes, No!

Comfort Obi

Nigeria has just inaugurated its first female governor. She is Virgy Etiaba, a Knight of the Anglican Church. Until Friday, November 3, Etiaba was the deputy governor of Anambra State. Nigerian women are rejoicing. They are grinning from ear to ear. I have read a few reports which proclaimed: “Women have arrived.” So you ask: Where have they been? In the frenzy, one national newspaper put two female governorship aspirants on the cover of one of its editions, asking if they would also make it in 2007.
I do not blame Nigerian women. For too long our men have behaved as if governance belonged to them only. They think it is an aberration for women to seek to become governors or the president of the country. They underrate their women, even when facts on the ground prove otherwise. Nigerian women, in whichever field they find themselves, soar. But it has been rather difficult for them to become governors. The elections of 2003 gave a little hope. Lagos State gave Nigeria a female deputy governor. But she was shown the way out midway. Ondo State was to be a bright spot. Mrs Mobolaji Osomo had clearly won the primaries. But the men who were in charge rejected her. They picked somebody else who went on to become the governor. Her's was a bad case of discrimination against women.
Osomo is one of the very few women, who take politics, and elective office seriously. What I have seen over the years is that most Nigerian women, who aspire, especially, to the governorship and presidential seats, are not serious. They make a ridicule of themselves and their gender. Knowing quite well that they will not be able to win in their wards, they still go ahead to pick governorship and presidential nomination forms. So, it is understandable now for us to celebrate Etiaba. It is understandable if we tie our wrappers and dance along the streets. Finally, Nigeria has a female governor. But in all the excitement and accolade, I beg to differ.
I am not excited about Etiaba's new position. I would have been celebrating if she had worked for it. She did not. She was smuggled into office in a dubious manner. Her ascendancy was untidy. And, I don’t think it is worth celebrating. It is good for her profile, no doubt. But the question would remain: Did she win elections? How did she get there? Did she get there by hurting somebody? Did she get there by betraying her boss? What are the facts? The truth is: the process which threw her up was as dubious as it is untidy. Here is the story, briefly.
Members of the Anambra State House of Assembly had surprisingly served a notice of impeachment on Obi and Etiaba, two days after President Olusegun Obasanjo visited the state. The two had been in office for only 10 months. In 2003, both had clearly won the elections, but were denied the position by the powers-that-be. Obi went to court. For over three years, the battle raged. Obi finally won, thanks to the courts, and he and Etiaba were sworn in. Ten months later, trouble started.
When both were served with an impeachment notice, nobody thought it could happen. But members of the House of Assembly were serious. They were dancing to the drum beats of an unseen hand. The Igbo leadership and some of the most respected people in Anambra State, including former Vice President, Alex Ekwueme, Archbishop Maxwell Anikwenwa, the Obi of Onitsha, and all traditional rulers in the state thought they could call their sons to order. But they appealed to the members in vain. They used the carrot and stick method. Still no dice. The youngmen treated everybody with disdain. They had no respect for Igbo culture, or the elders.
They began to play a cat-and-mouse game. They shamelessly abandoned their state, and went to Delta State to take refuge. They became afraid of the very people they said they were protecting. On the day they impeached Obi, they sneaked into the state like thieves. And, under the cover of darkness, when decent people were either sleeping, saying their morning prayers, or preparing for work, they impeached Obi, asked his deputy, Etiaba, to take over, and sneaked back to Asaba.
The first reaction from most Nigerians was that of shock. They wondered why they left Etiaba. A lot of interpretations were given to it. Some said Etiaba was working hand in gloves with them. I waited for her reaction with batlled breathe. When she reacted, it was sweet music to my ears. She dismissed the purported impeachment as rubbish, and pledged allegiance, and loyalty to her boss, Obi. I hailed her, as did many people. I hailed her as a woman of honour, a woman of integrity. I hailed her as the stuff a knight is made of – justice and fairness. I mean, there was nothing just, or fair, in the whole Obi impeachment business. So, I hailed her.
I was, therefore, taken aback when 24 hours after she pledged loyalty to Obi, she agreed to be sworn in, as governor, with over 100 riot policemen as cover. How did that happen? Did she take her boss into confidence? What changed? Did her boss give her a go-ahead order to be sworn in so as to protect his legacies?
From the reactions of people, it doesn’t seem so. From Obi’s reaction, that was far from what happened. From the reaction of Archbishop Anikwenwa, nobody supported her. So, did she betray her boss?
I have always said that. I don’t understand the ways of politicians. I am a little surprised that Etiaba, a knight of the Anglican Church, would go against the wishes of a committee headed by an Anglican Archbishop.
I am happy for her rising profile. But I wish she had become the first woman governor by dint of hardwork, in a tidier manner, not on a deceitful arrangement by dishonourable men. In her shoes, I would have stood by my words. Politics and power are not everything. Untidy things repulse. And so does this one.