By EMMANUEL AZIKEN

IN retrospect, I now understand why Senator Anyim Pius Anyim as Senate President viciously tackled famed maverick, Senator Arthur Nzeribe in 2002. A 41-year old greenhorn cutting his teeth in politics, Anyim devised the first notable political scheme to outwit Senator Nzeribe.

The indefinite suspension of Senator Nzeribe from the first Senate of the Fourth Republic in October 2002 climaxed a power struggle between the Anyim Senate and former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Nzeribe’s indefinite suspension from the Senate was the result of Nzeribe’s alleged actions in masterminding the circulation and publication of a series of corruption allegations against Anyim.

After a false start in the 1999 Senate when precisely on 15th April, 2000 he introduced a motion for the impeachment of President Obasanjo on the grounds of 15 impeachable offences, Nzeribe had subsequently gravitated towards the Obasanjo lobby in the Senate. His fight against the out-of-favour Anyim was one example of his quixotic gestures to gratify himself with the Obasanjo camp.

The attack from the Obasanjo camp with Nzeribe at the head was aimed at unsettling Anyim’s leadership of the Senate and eventually impeaching him. The move was met with a determined  response.

On October 22, 2003 as the Senate convened, then Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Jonathan Zwingina raised a motion for Nzeribe’s indefinite suspension from the Senate, citing what he described as Nzeribe’s “consistent and unchanging anti-democratic character,” which he said had “become a chronic, active, cancerous cell in the Senate and in our democratic polity.”

Zwingina who unarguably ranks among the most verbally expressive Senators of the Fourth Republic further noted in his motion that “Senator Nzeribe is allergic to good reputation, he has proceeded in the same manner to circulate his usual memoranda to all Senators detailing what he calls “iniquities of Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim”, which details a series of half_truths, mis_truths and non_truths against the person and character of Senator Anyim Pius Anyim with intent to cause the impeachment of the incumbent.”

The motion was unanimously approved by all 63 Senators present at the day’s session, effectively halting what until then had been Nzeribe’s serial successes in political machinations.

Just 41, Anyim had the future in his sight and hence the vicious tackle against Nzeribe. Nine years later despite his step_down in the protocol ranking, Anyim has every cause to appreciate his victory over Nzeribe. Had he allowed Nzeribe to tar him in 2002, he perhaps would have become a controversial appointee as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF.

The importance of Anyim’s position in the present government was conveyed home last Monday as it was revealed that The Presidency had empowered him to deploy the ministers-designate. Though no one would actually believe it that Anyim was the one appointing the ministers, the impression given by the Presidential Villa that the SGF was the one deploying ministers would no doubt have prickled Ndigbo who initially criticised the appointment of Anyim as SGF. They had alleged that the SGF was merely a glorified tea server.

The power of the SGF as may have been observed from our recent experiences has varied depending on the incumbent of the office, whether during military rule or civil rule. Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed who served Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Alhaji Aminu Saleh who helped stabilize Gen. Sani Abacha’s regime before Abacha fired him and Alhaji Gidado Idris who succeeded him were among the most powerful SGFs in recent history.

Under civilian rule, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe in the brief period he held sway during the Yar‘Adua era unarguably stands out for the grit and influence he threw around as SGF. However, the unceremonious exit of Saleh and Kingibe from office underscores the fact that the powers of the SGF are circumscribed within the boundaries that the President may allow.

Even though no one reasonably believes that Anyim deployed any of the ministers, the fact that he is reported to have done so may temporarily boost his image, but the extent to which he is able to pull his levers still depends on Mr. President. At 50 Anyim’s big and bulky frame is not about to disappear from our horizon!