Buhari’s Ebonyi Visit: A moment in History

A presidential visit to a state is a very significant event. Both the presidency and the host state look forward to it for several reasons. Although the president and the governor would have been meeting at other fora, an official visit to a state is set aside, exclusively, for the president to interact with one of his main constituents, defined as a geo-political entity. It is symbolic because irrespective of the president’s political party, during the visit, he exercises the sovereign authority reposed in him by the constitution.

During the visit, the president meets with the people; he talks to them and they talk to him, an experience that lifts the veil of invincibility and creates same bonding, depending on how the exchanges are handled. The visit affords the President the opportunity to witness, first hand, the state of affairs and the problems of the state. More often than not, he ends up making landmark pronouncements that would not only give confidence to the indigenes of the state but nationals of the country at large.

For the states of the south east geo-political zone of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Ebonyi State, on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, has a symbolism that goes beyond state visits at normal times. To start with, over two years into office, this is the President’s first official visit to any state in the south east geo-political zone. For another, the visit is coming shortly after the controversial “Operation Python Dance 2” to the zone. Third, the President is paying his first visit to the zone at a time of intense agitation for restructuring of the federation, to provide the basis for rapid development of the various constituents. With these in mind, many will be wondering why the President has chosen to visit at this time. And why did he decide to start from Ebonyi State instead of any other state in the zone? Finally, what does he expect to encounter during the visit and what difference, if any, will his visit make to Ebonyi State, the situation in the south east and the political ferment that has engulfed the country?

On the first question, my guess is that the President, who really has not been travelling much within Nigeria, has decided to heed the calls for him to engage every part of the country, to give every part of the country a sense of belonging. Starting from Ebonyi State should not surprise anyone who has followed President Buhari’s political odyssey. One of the President’s staunch loyalists, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, the minister of science and technology, hails from Ebonyi State. Onu, a highly principled politician, had defied all odds, to stand with Buhari and was chairman of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP, and the platform on which Buhari twice ran for president. People were not surprised, therefore, when, at the onset of the Buhari Administration, the speculation grew very strong, that Onu would be appointed secretary to the government of the federation.

However, going by recent events, great credit should go to the Governor of Ebonyi State, Engineer Dave Umahi. There are several reasons for my position. First, Umahi has provided effective and decisive leadership to the South East Governors Forum of which he is chairman. Under his leadership, the forum acted decisively to douse the raging inferno that had threatened the south east in the wake of the “Operation Python Dance 2”. The action of the governors, in collaboration with Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other stakeholders, averted a bloodbath as well as the possible onset of another major crisis in Nigeria. Any president would have been pleased with Umahi’s actions. That was leadership at its best.

Second, Umahi has continually demonstrated admirable statesmanship in his actions and utterances. He stands out as a national patriot who strikes a balance between party loyalty and ethnic identity, on the one hand, and the imperatives of national survival, on the other. As evidence of this, the Commissioner for Information in Ebonyi State, Senator Emmanuel Onwe is quoted as saying that Umahi has banned banners and partisan items at the stadium during the President’s visit. Umahi’s words are instructive: “Nobody should come to the stadium with any party logo. We don’t want to embarrass the President. If we invite the President for a state visit and PDP roll out their logo, it is an embarrassment to Mr. President. “So, it is a Presidential visit, no party is coming to the stadium with a logo or party slogan of anything. It is just a simple Presidential visit. If they don’t understand they should go and find out what a presidential visit is and what it entails.”