ByOwei Lakemfa
ANAMBRA  is a traumatised  state. It has been so from the times of the military locusts which constantly devoured its resources. The departure of the military in the country restored some measure of stability and sanity in many states, but not Anambra.

When  some states like Lagos produced their best to replace the rapacious military, Anambra  produced some of its worst. The civilian hijackers simply replaced the military ones. The mafia that seized it had Arthur Eze as the godfather. It produced Chinwoke Mbadinuju as governor.

His attempt to be his own man led to a war of attrition; governance went on French leave and anarchy reigned. Mbadinuju’s era is best remembered for the destruction of the school system with primary and secondary schools shutdown for almost two sessions over unpaid teachers’ salaries. Public servants were also on strike for months over the same issue.

Then there was the murder of  the Nigeria Bar Association, Onitsha Branch chair, Mr Barnabas Igwe and his pregnant wife. Apparently after being killed, Mrs Igwe was run over a number of times  by the assassins’ vehicle. Igwe had been an unrelenting critic of the Mbadinuju nightmare.

In those dark nights, a 42-year old  banker  and graduate from  the University of Nigeria (UNN), Peter Obi stepped forward with a torch to lead the people. It was clear that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that produced the Eze-Mbadinuju disaster had no electoral chance.

But in the world of the Anambra mafia, one godfather simply dethroned the other; Eze was replaced by a young and far more ruthless godfather, Chris Uba. He had as his gubernatorial candidate  a medical doctor, Chris Ngige that looked and acted more like a harlequin.

Since  the mafia could not win at the ballot, it simply rigged the elections. Soon, the vicious godfather and the harlequin had disagreements; the puppet no longer wanted to dance to the dictates of the puppeteer. Uba went for the broke getting   the pretender, Ngige kidnapped and impeached.

Ngige survived the Uba antics and both set the poor state on fire, burning and looting. It was in these circumstances that on March 17,2006,   after a three-year legal battle, the courts declared Obi as the authentic governor of Anambra.

However, the old order would not give way and within months, Obi had been impeached and his deputy, Lady Virginia Etiaba  imposed as governor. But the courts reinstated Obi only for him to exit on May 29, 2007 for the brother of the godfather, Andy Uba. But within 16 days, the Supreme Court ruled that Obi had not completed his term and he was back as governor. On February 6, 2010, he won re election.

The Obi saga is the stuff from which legends are woven. Now, with no godfather, antagonistic State Assembly or Chukwuma Soludo  lurking in the shadows, he is imbibing the characteristics of  some  PDP governors: power drunkenness, arrogance, insensitivity and display of shocking ignorance.

Lecturers in universities run by states in the East have been on strike since  July 22  over the non- implementation of the Government- ASUU agreement. Obi had inexplicably wrecked the peace talks called to resolve the issues. I watched him on television last Friday asking rhetorically and in an arrogant manner: “Why should ASUU still be on strike?”

He then made false claims such as that the agreement was reached between the Federal Government and federal universities, implying that it is not binding on the states.  He went into sophistry; that Nigeria is a federation and no imposition such as the agreement can be made on any state.

His premise and claims are false. First, the negotiations and follow up agreement were for basic standards in our degenerate universities, and the ability of the states to pay and upgrade facilities was a  major consideration in the negotiations.

Secondly, accreditation has no different standards for state or federal universities; we are not expected to have inferior education at state level.

Thirdly, the state and federal levels were the basis  of the data collected and used for the negotiations. Fourthly, contrary to the impression given, the agreement is not just about salaries but also capitals such as availability of functioning laboratories, student hostels and basic infrastructural development.

The fifth point is that the negotiations and agreement included the state governments and universities. The Committee of Governing Councils of State Universities elected its Chairman, Father Uwaifo of Ambrose Ali University and the Chair of Abia State University to represent them in the negotiations.

The state universities elected  the Vice Chancellors of the Cross River State University  and his  Gombe State counterpart, Prof Mahdi Abdullahi to represent them.

A shocking act put up by Obi was when as Chair of the Eastern State  Governors he insisted in conducting negotiations with the striking lecturers and their leaders in Igbo rather than English. In this he made the  assumption that only Igbo speaking lecturers teach or deserve to teach in the state universities in the East.

He also assumes that non-Igbos cannot be elected leaders of ASUU in those state universities. He sought dangerously to turn the issue into a tribal one; to   reduce the universities into tribal town unions and portray non-Igbo speakers at the peace meeting as ‘invaders’.

I am perplexed that a ‘Lion’ from UNN with a degree in philosophy cannot understand that the basic concept of the university is that it is universal; it is a universe of learning; universal knowledge. That an institution is not a university just because it has lecturers, students, buildings and a governing council; it is because it is universal in scholarship, and that is why universities can be graded globally.

That is why the university is referred to as the Ivory Tower and the academics as egg heads. The university is anything considered as a source of  learning, hence the saying ‘university of life’.

Gov Obi was refreshing; but having immunity, almost unchecked powers, and an unlimited access to public funds is like taking strong wine in excess. He should not take the Mbadinuju route.