By Onyenwa Ubadi

THE Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) is no doubt a respected and professional body that commands attention and honour in this country. This is because of what it stands for and its members constructive engagements on national issues. Past leaders of the body have proved that they have what it takes to put our leaders on their toes in the area of good governance.

A gesture Nigerians have appreciated over the years and would continue to do so as long as the body remains focused, factual and pragmatic in approach. But the body derailed for selfish reasons or ulterior motives courtesy of their leaders as shown by the recent call for state of emergency in Abia State in the wake of the recent kidnap of school children. This call by the new leadership of the body led by Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN) raises a lot of questions on the motives and timing behind it.

At the peak of the kidnap, the Abia State government and the Federal Government made spirited efforts to rescue the children unhurt. But instead of proffering solutions on how to curb a problem that has become a national embarrasement, NBA issued a statement calling for state of emergency in the state.

State of emergency on what basis or reason? What has happened in Abia or is happening that should demand for a state of emergency? To me nothing has happened in the state that has not happened in other states of the federation since kidnapping became a national malaise.

Before kidnapping, it was militancy which has its root in the Niger Delta area then. Nobody, including the NBA, called for a state of emergency in any of the states in the region. Before the kidnap of school children in Aba, five youth corps members were kidnapped in Rivers State and NBA didn’t say anything about it.

While, it is true that Daudu is not from the South East, there is every tendency that he might not have good knowledge of the real problem of kidnapping in Abia State, especially in Aba/ Ngwa axis. That being true, why didn’t he consult widely before making a statement on the matter, thereby attracting criticism and condemnation to the body. Before Daudu’s statement, some agents of the enemies of the state have made similar remarks in the past, even when it was known that they were part and parcel of the problem bedeviling the state. But their views were taken with a pinch of salt because the people know their political interest in the State, especially with the on-going political revolution which obviously they are not comfortable with.

Besides, it seems that Daudu even as a senior lawyer has forgotten that state of emergency can only be invoked in extreme situations; unless someone wants to use it to settle political scores as was prevalent during Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration. Has the NBA under Daudu ever cared to investigate why kidnapping is prevalent in Aba and Ngwa area of the state, while other places have remained calm? Does it mean that it is only Aba that makes up the State?

NBA should have found out what the state government has done and is still doing in collaboration with the Federal Government to curb the problem in the area before jumping to conclusion and calling for a state of emergency declaration. Daudu’s action was that of a man who was not present when a corpse was buried and came to exhume the corpse from the leg. It is quite unfortunate for a leadership of the NBA to commit such a gaffe at a critical time that Nigerians were worried and bothered on how to save the kidnapped school children.

If emergency declaration was the only solution NBA under Daudu could offer to address the problem of kidnapping in Abia, it calls to question the kind of leadership Daudu will offer the august body in the days ahead. Does Daudu know that it has been confirmed that these kidnappers are being sponsored to give the state and government a bad image? If not so, why is business thriving in a particular area of the state (Aba/Ngwa) area with the collaboration and assistance of the people in the area.

Think of a situation where these kidnappers in the area operate with AK47 rifles, satellite phones and other sophisticated communication gadgets that are not within the reach of Nigeria’s security agents. The question is how do they get all these things?

The answer can only be that someone made such or money available to them. It is obvious that these kidnappers are not fighting any just or genuine cause. If there is any, they would have made it open and carry the people, including the government along to achieve it. To the best of my knowledge, Abia State government, despite the meager resources that accrue to it has spent so much money in providing logistics to the security agents in the state since 2007 when Governor Theodore Orji assumed office.

Dr. Ubadi , a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja.