*How to win back the soul of Forum

By Jide Ajani, Deputy Editor

This is a report on how the Nigerian factor turned the Nigeria Governors’ Forum into a needlessly politicised group of state governors whose interests do not negotiate any tangent with the founding ideals of the Forum.  But the report concludes that as things begin to get worse, it would become better with the recent discordant tunes from the Forum.

It was in 1999.  Just a few weeks to the inauguration of the Fourth Republic, the National Democratic Institute, NDI, organised a seminar for the freshest set of in-coming Nigerian big men – the state governors.  Being a capacity-building arm of the Democratic Party in the United States of America, the NDI helps friendly countries build capacity in democratic culture.  Therefore, that seminar was organised with a view to preparing Nigeria’s 36 governors-elect for the arduous task of governing their states.  A Cameroonian, Chris Famunyo, a staff of NDI, was on hand to facilitate.  There was another member of staff, Deji Olaore.  A female lieutenant- governor, possibly from one of the southern states in America, was also available to deliver a lecture; so also was the late Chief Bola Ige, the Second Republic governor of old Oyo State.  There was also Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, the Third Republic governor of Enugu State.  Each took turns to educate the state governors set of 1999.

The lieutenant-governor told the state governors that there was, in the US, a governors’ forum where issues of cooperation and integration are discussed.  She enjoined the Nigerian governors to engage in a similar practice.

For Ige, he made it clear to the governors that Nigeria, and not their states, should be their focus.

For Nwodo, he disclosed to this writer then that his contribution to the seminar was more instructive.

According to Nwodo, who was then National Secretary of the emerging Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the most important thing for the governors to do and learn from is to ensure that Nigeria is seen as their constituency and not the states they have been elected to govern.  This, he said, is for a specific reason.  The reason, Nwodo went on, is not unconnected with the experience National Republican Convention, NRC, state governors were forced to learn from and regret, in 1993, immediately after the June 12 presidential election.  Rather than rally support for the Social Democratic Party, SDP, state governors and their principal in the presidential elections, the NRC state governors decided to play partisan politics.  The politics which they played was divisive in a manner of speaking, leading to the eventual collapse of that Republic.

Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ forum, Dr. Bukola Saraki of Kwara State (middle) , addressing the Press shortly after the forum’s meeting in Abuja. While. left, Gov. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, Gov. Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State, Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa- Ibom State (right) watch.

Nwodo then said that his final admonition to the state governors was that no matter what happens, their focus should be on the Nigerian nation and not on partisanship.

Did the state governors hearken to the lieutenant-governor, Nwodo and late Ige? Yes and No.

On the need to establish a governors’ forum, yes the state governors quickly established one but ended up making it regional.  First, there was the Southern Governors’ Forum; then the North followed with the Northern Governors’ Forum.

No, because rather than work for integration, partisanship has always been the watchword.

But for the pretensions made towards quasi-integration in the early days, the state governors have been playing politics with Nigerians and, lately, with one another.

And, that is the bottom line in the recent face-off between one another and what Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State described as abracadabra.

It all started penultimate weekend when Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki, was replaced by Daniel as the new chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF – not Northern Governors’ Forum, NGF.

The politics that has trailed this move is befittingly abracadabraic.

But it was not tidy, as most things NGF.

There were initial indications that the Presidency reached out to some of the governors to ensure that penultimate Friday’s controversial appointment of Daniel is retained by the Forum – but Ima Niboro, Presidential spokesman has denied any presidency involvement. The nexus of the involvement, it was alleged, would be the quest to ensure gubernatorial support for President Goodluck Jonathan gets the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, presidential ticket.

Many of the governors across party lines were angry at the emergence of the Ogun State Governor, whose emergence they described as not following any democratic norm.

But just as Daniel and governors who were sympathetic to his cause made moves to convince their recalcitrant colleagues, governors Babatunde Fashola (Lagos) and Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) said they were miffed at the attempt to turn NGF to a PDP affair.

Fashola, through a statement by his Senior Special Assistant, Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, described as undemocratic a situation where a few governors from the ruling PDP “could usurp and subvert the will of the 36 Governors by claiming to have elected a new leader for the body.”

The statement quoted Fashola as having spoken at a question and answer session after the flag-off of an International Colloquium on Law and Development tagged The Kuramo Conference 2010 at the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Declaring that there is no crisis in NGF, the governor said what appeared like a crisis was no more than an attempt by a few governors to foist a leader on the body. He said the act is undemocratic.

According to Fashola, “I don’t think that there is a crisis. I think what has simply happened is that a few people among the ranks of the Governors’ Forum have acted in a very undemocratic way. I believe the question of who leads the Governors’ Forum must be a democratic process.”  Fashola confirmed that only 10 of the governors took the decision to appoint Daniel for the 36 governors.

He added, “There is no crisis. We will put that behind us. But it is really bothersome that this kind of thing can happen from a party that purports to want a free and fair election”.

Fayemi, through a statement by his Senior Special Assistant, Media, Mojeed Jamiu, warned that no governor should be imposed on members of the NGF.

He said, “The position of Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on the leadership of the Governors’ Forum is that it is a Nigeria Governors’ Forum and not a PDP Governors’ Forum. Hence it should be very democratic. No governor should be imposed on everybody. It is not a PDP affair but a Nigeria Governors Forum affair.”

But, by Wednesday night, the governors asked Saraki to continue in office as Chairman of the Forum, pending when a six-member committee it set up submits a report to it on the modalities for the election of a new Chairman.

The committee has Lagos State Governor, Fashola, SAN, as head and governors Muazu Aliyu Babangida (Niger); Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto); Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe) Sullivan Chime (Enugu) and Alli Modu Sheriff (Borno) as members.

The committee was given three weeks to submit its recommendations.

Saraki, who is also seeking the presidential ticket of  PDP had earlier told the forum of his plans to resign as chairman of the forum following his interest in the presidential race.

At the end of their meeting, the Forum, last Wednesday, declared  in a statement that: “The forum formally welcomed the new governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. Following the chairman’s briefing and after exhaustive discussion around the issue of leadership, the forum resolved that there was no change in the leadership of the forum. Members resolved that for now the chairman will continue.”
“Those members who were involved in the purported meeting that took place regretted their action and the forum accepted their apology.

“The forum also agreed to set up a committee of six members headed by the Governor of Lagos State to look into issues of succession, tenure of chairman, transition arrangements etc. Other members of the committee are the governors of Niger, Sokoto, Borno and Enugu states.

“Members deliberated on security challenges in the country and condoled Mr. President for the October 1 2010 bomb blasts. They also condemned in very strong term any act of terrorism and violence.

“Members commended the security agencies for their swift response and reiterated a commitment to increase security surveillance in all states.

“Members also condoled with their colleague, Governor Imoke of Cross River State over the loss of his mother.”

It would be recalled that sometime last year, the Forum was embroiled in a scandal of sorts regarding a purported course for state governors at Harvard University.

Reports came back that there was actually no formal requisition for any programme for state governors.

The ideal, which the Forum should have pursued and which it could still pursue is the integration proposed to state governors in 1999.

To be fair, some state governors have engaged such integrative mode but almost in all the instances, it is at a personal level and it was never institutionalized.

For the NGF to win its soul back, it would have to engage developmental activities which would at once present it as a body with great commitment to and unalloyed interests in the development of the Nigerian nation.