Those behind Suntai’s return unfair –Artimas

SEPTEMBER 8, 2013

Mr. Aaron Artimas

A former aide to ex-Governor Jolly Nyame and public affairs commentator, Mr. Aaron Artimas, in this interview with JUDE OWUAMANAM, says  those that brought Governor Danbaba Suntai back to Jalingo do not mean well for Taraba State

How would you describe the unfolding political drama in Taraba?

To every sane person, it is a very unfortunate situation. It is unfortunate because before now, our state has been very peaceful and many have been going about their normal businesses and there has been no trouble. Like every Nigerian knows the political elite in this country have a very extreme way of fighting and struggling for power. You know that 2015 is around the corner and so those who are the major actors in this crisis have their eyes on the bigger pie. And I think this is the beginning toward the struggle for that larger pie we are talking about. It is quite unfortunate that many people are involved. As a matter of fact, they have tasted power and because Taraba is a small state and lives revolve around government, the government is the only industry in the state through which people live; it is essentially a civil service state. Most people work for government and most of the businesses in the private sector are also tied to the government. And so anything that affects government is bound to elicit many interests across the state. That is why it is potentially explosive.

What effect is this crisis having on the state and what are the implications if not contained?

The major concern here is security, especially when we connect it with what is happening in the neighbouring states around us. This is a state that is very diverse, but united. We have about forty ethnic nationalities in Taraba. Those nationalities, some of them, have close affinities in culture and so far, they relate so well in their daily affairs.  You find that the families are mixed up religiously. The Christians are in the majority with a sizeable number of Muslims as well and in most families, there are Christians and Muslims. So, it has the potential of creating deep-seated animosity among these people, especially along religious lines. Some people are already bringing religious connotations into the crisis. But those who are mature enough to understand the situation know that it is essentially politics.

The implication of this crisis is that the unity of the state is at stake. You know religious issues are very sensitive. The acting governor is a Muslim and the governor is a Christian. He has not been well and was abroad for ten months and from what the House of Assembly members have said, they saw him and were not convinced that he was well enough to handle the affairs of the state. But those people who brought him in that condition know their agenda; they know why they brought him because immediately, the governor purportedly wrote a letter to the assembly informing them of his desire to resume duties. The Assembly members are saying they assessed him and came to the conclusion that the governor, with his state of mind could not have written a letter to the House. So, it has been seen that there is a personal ambition tied to that action. Also, the ordinary people who see the governor as their own, as a Christian, are also perceiving that the acting governor, who is a Muslim is angling to take over power from a Christian.

What  is the role of the House of Assembly in this saga? Do you think members are all together selfless?

Personally, I commend the House of Assembly for the roles they have played in this crisis. If the House had mismanaged the situation, it would have been worse. All eyes were on them because they have the procedure and they have the numbers. The Christians are more than the Muslims but they looked at the issues rationally because those people who handled the governor’s return did it in most clumsy way; they were not in a position to attract the kind of sympathy they would have had were they to have done it normally. If Danbaba Suntai was coming in, the members of the House of Assembly should have been carried along. Take them to the airport and let them be part of the team to receive the governor and ascertain his condition so that they could see themselves as being part of what was going on. But they were excluded and prevented from seeing the governor until he got to the Government House and not only that, they were not allowed to see him until the next day; and not until a letter was purportedly written to them. They insisted that they had not seen him; how could they receive a letter from a man they had not seen? Eventually, they were brought in to see him after which they took their decision and I think it was okay.

What do you think were the intentions of those who brought the governor back in a manner that raised  suspicion and cynicism?

We can only speculate what their intentions were, but as a public affairs analyst, we can analyse the situation. Among them, there were people who have not hidden their intention to contest the governorship election. And since the acting governor started and rumours started flying in that the governor was substantially injured, and doubts arose about his resumption, some people around the governor started kick-starting their campaign for 2015. It upset those people who already have those intentions on the ground. And because of that, there has to be this big fight because if they allow the situation to flow, as it were, it may affect the ambitions of those who had earlier indicated their interest. And so they are trying to fight back. We understand also that there are some interests coming from Abuja because the President is said to be interested in 2015 and Taraba State in the Middle Belt is in serious calculation. You saw prominent leaders of the Middle Belt Forum in the party that welcomed Danbaba Suntai. And you know that at some point, these leaders had gone to the President to declare their support for him for the 2015 election. Perhaps, as a minority Middle Belt governor, Danbaba is seen as a strong force to influence certain things in 2015. But if Garba is coming in as a Muslim, such a calculation might change. Perhaps, this is their permutation. So that’s the question. How come the likes of Prof Jerry Gana and Mr. John Dara were at the airport to welcome Suntai and not the members of the House of Assembly. Even where we had other prominent Taraba people in the entourage, they were hidden and not interviewed. If we had seen them, we would have said that it was an exclusive Taraba show, but it is all about 2015.

What are the larger implications of this crisis?

I believe that if this thing were to die down, it would depend on how the acting governor handles the affairs of the state in the coming months. If he handles this government dispassionately and fairly and carries everybody along, all these problems will be over. We don’t have very deep-seated animosity of Christians and Muslims here. As I said earlier, we have mixed religions in some families. Of course, there could be pockets of disagreement here and there, but substantially, it is the way the acting governor handles things in the coming months that will determine whether the gap will be widened or narrowed. I believe the situation is not as bad as people may tend to look at it. If the political wind blowing now blows away, sanity will return and things will get back to normal.

The acting governor has taken some actions and said certain things considered unplesant to some sections, like the reversing of Danbaba’s action and instructions to banks to honour only cheques signed by him and the governor. In the light of these, do you see him performing a reconciliatory role?

There should be sanity in every situation. Due to the manner in which the changes were announced and the potentials for the crisis that could ensue, there was the need for clarification. I saw these actions as some form of clarification. When the dissolution was announced and the new appointments made, it was like a parallel government; two governments running side by side. That should not really be the case. As soon as the issues were settled by the House of Assembly, they had every option. Sixteen members against eight and that meant two-thirds majority. Anything could have happened. And of course, they had substantially settled the manner. What he is trying to avoid is a situation where somebody will say, ‘well, I have also been sworn in by the governor,’ and then cause a cheque to be written and people could access public funds. Based on what the House of Assembly had done, it was the acting governor that was authorised to write memos to banks on releases. There is what we call an accounting officer in any set up. So, the House still recognises Danbaba as the authentic governor, and that was why the statement said cheques signed by both Danbaba and the acting governor should be honoured.