The current search for endorsements by politicians ahead of the general elections has placed royal fathers under intense pressure. ADESINA WAHAB, ADEOLU ADEYEMO, KUNLE OLAYENI, UWAKWE ABUGU, TONY OKAFOR, ADEWOLE MARTINS and IBRAHEEM MUSA report
They may be apolitical according to the provisions of the constitution, but in reality, many traditional rulers are not only taking a centre stage as the nation inches towards the March 28 presidential election, their palaces are now Mecca of sort. The tourists are politicians, especially presidential candidates of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress. Far from merely paying homage to the royal fathers, the visits are designed to woo them and their subjects to support their respective political parties.
In the past few weeks, while General Mohammadu Buhari has visited a few royal fathers, President Goodluck Jonathan has traversed various geopolitical zones in an intense lobby visits to secure their support for his candidacy in the elections. By the same token, like governorship candidates, flag bearers of the National Assembly as well as their counterparts at the state levels are not left out. They fall over one another, thronging palaces of the traditional rulers in search of royal blessings and endorsements.
Already, the intense lobby is not without some rumblings in many palaces as the royal fathers, who are constitutionally apolitical, are in a frenzy of conferring chieftaincy titles on the candidates. One of such traditional rulers is His Majesty, Isaac Ikonne, the Obi of Eziama, in Aba, Abia State who honoured General Buhari with a chieftaincy title during his campaign tour of the state. But his action earned him the wrath of the state which condemned the award of the title in strong terms. In Lagos State a couple of months ago, the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan, Akiolu, openly endorsed the governorship candidate of the APC in the state, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, and blessed Gen. Buhari. The manifest endorsements drew the anger of not a few Nigerians.
In Ogun State, President Goodluck Jonathan has met with some traditional rulers in an attempt to secure their endorsements and consequently shore up his electoral fortunes. Prominent among the monarchs are the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo; the Olowu of Owu, Oba Adegboyega Dosunmu, and the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Adeniyi Sonariwo, who is currently the Chairman of Ogun State Traditional Council. The consultation with these monarchs took place at the sidelines of Jonathan’s inauguration of the 750MW Olorunsogo II Power Station located in Ifo Local Government Area. The president told the gathering, which included no fewer than 20 traditional rulers from the state, that a total of $650million was expended on the Olorunsogo power plant out of the $8.26billion committed so far to the nation’s power sector. He also assured that Nigeria would begin to witness stable and uninterrupted power supply within the next two years. The closed-door meeting with the monarchs was said to have been facilitated by former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel. But two paramount rulers in the state – Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, and Olu of Ilaro, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle – were conspicuously absent.
It was learnt that the president used the meeting to thank the traditional rulers for their support for his administration and also sought their support for his re-election on March 28. On their part, the monarchs were said to have assured Jonathan of their readiness to cooperate with government in advancing the socio-economic and political development of the country. They also reportedly urged the president to remain faithful to the fulfillment of his electoral promises. At the end of the meeting, an undisclosed cash sum was said to have been offered those that attended the meeting. Barely three weeks after, the president came again to the state. This time round, he paid a courtesy visit to the Awujale in Ijebu-Ode and sought royal blessing for his ambition. The revered monarch, however, told the president that while traditional rulers could create platforms for candidates to interact with the electorate, it is impossible for the Obas to compel anybody to vote for a particular candidate or party.
While the president’s consultations with monarchs have generated comments at different fora, opinions are, however, divided on whether the royal fathers could influence any electoral victory for Jonathan. Ogun State is under the grips of APC although the PDP is roaring to oust the ruling party from power. But to watchers of the political situation in the state, the monarchs would have an uphill task in openly selling the Jonathan candidacy. This is because the incumbent governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has so much penetrated the nooks and crannies with the campaign message that the Gateway State stood a better chance of benefitting immensely at the centre with the APC vice presidential candidate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who hail from Ikenne Local Government Area of the state, in power. Similarly, in Ekiti State, the presidential rallies of the two main candidates, President Jonathan and General Buhari were also opportunities for the candidates to meet with traditional rulers in the state, subjecting them to intense pressure. The meetings, which took place at the palace of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe, were to solicit their support as well as seek royal blessings.
President Jonathan came in January while Buhari came the following month. After the visits, the state Governor, Mr. Ayo Fayose, is believed to have been making contacts with the monarchs on behalf of his principal. For instance, he held a private meeting with the monarchs last Thursday. The private session, it was learnt, had to do with the coming elections and the need to support Jonathan. It’s suspected that the politicians are inducing the royal fathers financially. In Osogbo of recent, some of the candidates are also laying siege on the palaces of traditional rulers for their endorsement and royal blessings, appealing to them to prevail on their subjects to cast their votes for them in the general elections slated for March 28 and April 11, this year.
The candidates, who do not care about what it would cost them to lobby the traditional rulers to get victory at the pools, confronted them with sweet promises and goodies in their states if re-elected or voted in as next president of the country. President Jonathan was in Osun State recently at the palaces of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, and the Owa Obokun of Ijesha land, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, with appeal to the two monarchs to support him in the coming election. In his speeches at their respective palaces, Jonathan sought for their support, promising that when re-elected, he would transform their domains the more. At Ooni’s Palace in Ile-Ife, the cradle of the Yorubas, the President was openly endorsed with showers of blessing by Oba Sijuade and over 20 other traditional rulers. Ooni instructed other traditional rulers who were in attendance to point their royal staff at the President and copious prayers which lasted for about 20 minutes were offered for him.
Speaking at the end of the prayer, Oba Okunade, said, “By the grace of God, Jonathan would be re-elected into power.” But he appealed to him to develop the South-West, if voted into power. Also, speaking through the Orangun of Oke- Ila, Oba Adedotun Abolarinwa and Oba Sijuade demanded creation of Oduduwa State with the capital at Ile-Ife. At the domain of Owa Obokun of Ijesha land, Jonathan received royal blessings and was assured of victory at the polls. The visit of the President is, however, now being trailed with divergent views from many quarters. While a school of thought argued that there was monetary inducement in the visit, the other claimed that the President only came to seek support for his re-election on neutral grounds. On March 1, 2015, Governor Muktar Yero of Kaduna State was in Zaria to round off his campaign tour. Naturally, the governor paid a courtesy call on the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, where he sought the latter’s blessing and support.
Though his response was in riddles, yet the royal endorsement by the Emir was discernible. Politics, according to him, is like piloting an aircraft where experience is most paramount. In this regard, it’s better to rely on experience, while voting the next governor of Kaduna State. Afterwards, Alhaji Shehu Idris wished Yero and his entourage a successful campaign, as well as a free and peaceful election. Almost immediately, the opposition took exception to the emir’s endorsement. By his analogy, Malam Nasir El Rufai, the gubernatorial candidate of the APC is more experienced that Yero, the opposition had argued. It is also believed that the Emir is also canvassing for President Jonathan’s re-election. As yet, allegations of dollars that have been doled out for this purpose have remained unsubstantiated. The President visited the Emir on January 31, on his campaign tour of the state. However, the Emir’s supporters have always dismissed this allegation. According to them, Shehu Idris is in a very precarious situation.
First and foremost, Governor Yero holds the title of ‘Dallatu’ in the Zazzau Emirate Council. Similarly, his father is the Turakin Dawaki, a prominent member of the traditional institution. Similarly, Vice President Namadi Sambo is from Zaria. By campaigning for Jonathan, the Emir is invariably supporting Sambo, his eminent subject. So, the Emir of Zazzau, according to his supporters, has no alternative than to support Yero and Jonathan due to prevailing circumstances. However, the Emir’s support is merely symbolic because the opposition, from 1999 to 2011, has always won in Zaria, Sabon Gari, Igabi, Kaduna North and Kaduna South local government areas. Invariably, these five council areas have about one third of the registered voters in 23 local government areas of Kaduna State. In Enugu State, the story is almost the same. Chieftains of the two main political parties have been paying courtesy visits to traditional rulers in all their campaign tours of various locations in the state.
For instance, when the vice presidential candidate of APC, Professor Osinbajo, attended a town hall meeting in Enugu, with youths in the South-East zone, he apologized to the young men and women for keeping them waiting, explaining that he had to pay courtesy visits to traditional rulers. The same scenario played out earlier in February on separate occasions when President Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, on the platform of the Accord Party, had raced to the palace of the Asagba of Asaba, Obi (Prof.) Chike Edozien, to see monarchs from the Anioma extraction, and was endorsed by over 15 of them. Prior to this, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan had splashed car gifts on members of the state Traditional Rulers’ Council where each monarch smiled home with a Lexus Jeep, allegedly to appease them for the errors of the ruling party in the state and to prepare them for the coming of President Jonathan for his re-election rally in the state.
When eventually the President came, he met, first, with members of the council at the Banquet Hall of the new Government House, Asaba, before proceeding to the Cenotaph venue of the rally. The Asagba of Asaba waited at his palace for the President to come and pay homage and finally received him during the President’s visit for his endorsement by the Arewa Initiative for Peaceful Co-existence in southern Nigeria. During the visit, the President described the Asagba as a “First Class Traditional Ruler” and acknowledged that his administration has not spread the dividends of democracy evenly, but re-assured him that the party will do its best to bring peace and security to the country, and fast-track economic development in all parts of the country. “We have tarred over 25, 000 kilometres of the 36, 000 km of the federal roads and we promise to complete the remaining ones and open up more arterial roads when re-elected”, having disclosed that over 90 per cent of narrow gauge rails have been completed throughout the country. The implementation of the Nigerian content law in the oil industry has improved the participation of Nigerians in the industry and the implementation of our Cabotage Law with Nigerians now owning ships and more Nigerians being employed in the shipping industry. But the President got what he did not bargain for.
The Asagba demanded that the massacre of the people of Asaba during the 1967 civil war should be compensated by the Federal Government. According to the monarch, Nigerian soldiers gruesomely executed Asaba indigenes in the wake of the civil war, leaving their kinsmen in sorrow, tears and blood till date. “So many of our people were killed during the civil war and till today, nothing has been done to appease the people. We appeal and look forward to when the Federal Government will compensate us for their gruesome murder,” he said. While he lauded the President for taking the bold step against Boko Haram terrorists, he enjoined him to liaise with the National Assembly on the implementation of the National Conference report and appealed to him to dualise the link road from Asaba to Kogi to Benue and Abuja. While the monarch assured him of his support for his re-election bid, he urged him to upgrade the standard of the budding Asaba Airport to global standard and approve a Federal University in Asaba. He wondered why Asaba was not accorded its pride of place during Nigeria’s Centenary Celebration for hosting the Royal Niger Company, during the arrival of Mungo Park, with Asaba as the first administrative headquarters, maintaining that “Asaba was not mentioned or given its due recognition during Centenary celebration as one of the places that played a major role in shaping the fortune of Nigeria.”
As if that was not enough, the Obi of Owa Kingdom in Ika North-East Local Government Area of Delta State, His Royal Majesty, Dr. Emmanuel Efeizomor II, who doubles as the second in command to the Olu of Warri in the state Traditional Rulers’ Council, in support of Jonathan took former President Olusegun Obasanjo to the cleaners. The monarch, who justified his expulsion Jonathan and Gen. Buhari visited Enugu as part of their campaign tours of the country. Each of the frontline presidential contenders first spent some time paying courtesy calls on traditional rulers within Enugu metropolis, those of Ogui Nike and Nike. During such visits by either the presidential candidates or the parties’ respective state chapter campaign teams, the traditional rulers warmly received their visitors and gave their blessings. Although out there outside the palaces, speculations had been rife that the visits amounted to intense lobby of the natural rulers, none of these curious minds would fathom exactly what kind of lobby those would have been. While the possible use of money or materials to sway the support of the traditional rulers during these courtesy visits may not be ruled out, it is equally difficult to state clearly and exactly to what extent the lobbies and counter lobbies would turn the expected tides in favour of the political parties. What is certain is that in Enugu State, it may not be quite effective for a candidate of a political party to rely on a traditional ruler to garner a massive support of his (monarch) subjects during an election. How much support of a community that would be swayed to a candidate through a traditional ruler would depend on the situation in that particular kingdom.
In some of the autonomous communities now made kingdoms with monarchs, elections are won through chieftains of political parties who wield enormous political influence in the areas. Monarchs in Delta State have obviously joined the surprises that are associated with partisan politics in the state such that the fear of the traditional institution has become the beginning of wisdom for any politician seeking elective or appointive position in the Big Heart State. The way and manner politicians, seeking elective positions, run to their palaces and their councils in the state to seek endorsement, are attestation to this fact. Although, the state Traditional Rulers’ Council, headed by the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwase II, has not collectively or categorically endorsed any candidate for any of the elective positions, fractions of the council, including the Anioma Traditional Rulers, have met, and collectively adopted one or two persons for some elective positions. The visits of the contestants are devoid of party affiliations.
Those who have paid courtesy calls on various monarchs in their domains, seeking royal blessings before embarking on their campaigns, were presented with kolanuts, supported (in the case of Delta) with huge sums of money, after which, the contestant will in turn covertly ‘bless’ the monarch before taking his exit. The former state chairman of the PDP in the state, Chief Peter Nwaoboshi, whose ambition to represent Delta North Senatorial District is currently being challenged by the former from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after he publicly tore the party’s membership card, described his past and recent outburst as “an attempt to destroy democracy.” Obi Efeizomor, who, in his palace in Owa Kingdom, said the former President’s action could be interpreted in different ways, explaining that the action goes to show the quality of leaders that have ruled the country. He said, “It is good that Obasanjo has destroyed his membership card in the public and it tells you what makes up the quality of those who have ruled Nigeria. And it tells you why Nigeria has not grown because as a leader at that time, I had a lot of respect for him, I cherished him and have visited him times without number.
“But I know that membership card is an instrument of identification, in other words, it is like a currency. If democracy means anything, it is the membership card because it is the symbol of democracy. “It is like picking up the Bible or Koran and destroying it. Our former leader has picked up democracy and tore it. Democracy that brought him from prison and gave him freedom, gave him opportunity to rule Nigeria for eight years excluding his military regime. “Then at the end of it, at the foot of election, you tear democracy. In other words, he staged a coup against democracy. He sentenced democracy into oblivion. He terminated democracy.” While he urged all patriotic Nigerians not to be upset by the divisive utterances of the former President but go about their constitutional rights to votes as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission, over 22 traditional rulers on the Niger, representing the Ibos across the River Niger, demanded a full implementation of the reports of the National Conference that was conducted last year. The monarchs, who endorsed President Jonathan at their enlarged meeting, expressed deep concern over the political tension, especially in the North Eastern part of the country as a result of Boko Haram attacks.
A statement issued at the end of an enlarged meeting by monarchs in Asaba, at the palace of the Asagba of Asaba, said the implementation of the Conference report would serve as a solution to the socio-political tribulations bedevilling the country. While the monarchs, including the Obi of Owa Kingdom, HRM Dr. Emmanuel Efeizomor II and the Igwe Mbakwe, Eze Abacha of Idemili North of Anambra State, lauded the President for conducting his affairs with honours, they called on Nigerians and all Igbos to support the return proposal of the President. Governor Uduaghan’s Commissioner for Information, Chike Ogeah, a subject to the Asagba of Asaba, has since justified why monarchs should bless those seeking elective positions in an interview, saying, “They (the monarchs) don’t exist in isolation. They need to move in tandem with the reality on ground and around them. Yes, they are custodians of the peoples’ culture, yet it should be noted that the political actors are their subjects. What they did was to give us wisdom and guideline through their Royal Blessing.” However, a group – the Anioma Youth Forum (AYF) queried the role played by the Royal Fathers in foisting partisan politics in the state, wondering why the monarchs chose to dabble into the murky waters of politics. The group, led by their leaders (names withheld) was reacting to the endorsement of Nwaoboshi by the Anioma monarchs.
According to them, the alleged primary election that produced him was ‘inconclusive’ and he is currently in a running battle with the wife of the former National Chairman of the party over the senatorial seat. They wondered also why the monarchs took the side of the oppressor by setting one Anioma son against the other by endorsing one without considering the track records, competency and experience. The group therefore prayed the Royal Fathers to “restrict themselves to being the custodians of the peoples’ customs and tradition rather than being despotic because naira and kobo have exchanged hands.” In Anambra State, it has also been endorsement galore for politicians by traditional rulers. Hundreds of the politicians have visited various prominent traditional rulers in the state. Most of whom allegedly, get N500,000 per politician for this endorsement. It was sarcastically called ‘kola’. The traditional ruler of Nawfia, Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo, however, said it is wrong for a traditional ruler to endorse more than one person in the same elective contest. He said the right thing for a traditional ruler to do is to give Ofo (symbol of authority) to only one person for an elective position. He maintained that to do otherwise amounts to 419.
Nwankwo who had lived most of his life in the United States of America before becoming a traditional ruler, nevertheless said there is no law prohibiting traditional rulers from actively playing politics. He said Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria permits every citizen of this country to be politically partisan. The section reads: “Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and belong to any political party, trade union or any other association of his interest. Provided that the provisions of this section shall not derogate from the powers conferred by this Constitution on the independence National Electoral Commission with respect to political parties to where that commission does not accord recognition. The consensus is that traditional rulers should not expose themselves to the vagary of partisan politics. Victor Nwachukwu, an Awka-based legal practitioner said “by the virtue of their position as the custodian of people’s culture and tradition, traditional ruler are not supposed to be partisan. He said, “They are supposed to play fatherly role, irrespective of clan, religion, ethnicity and so on. By their nature, they are not supposed to thrive on nepotism, tribalism, clannish and other primordial considerations.