Of Jime and Imposition

"SEN. AKUME: By blatantly disregarding the laws of the land and importing a PDP person who never contested the seat in APC, the allegations of your candidate imposition and tyranny comes alive yet

Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime

again. These undemocratic stance are part of why our party the APC is afraid of entrusting you with bigger responsibilities. Do away with bias, focus on merit and regard for law then maybe, just maybe you will become the national leader that your potential truly possesses."- Gwaza Ibn Madaki ( Jime's Former Legislative Aide on Facebook)

It has become a pastime for aides and followers of Rt Hon Emmanuel Jime to at very turn, paint Senator George Akume in very bad light. The reason or reasons for this is not far fetched. Sen Akume whom Hon Jime had hopped will swerve support in his favour to win the All Progressives Congress, APC gubernatorial ticket in Benue state lost under circumstances many qualify as not too tidy. This we all agree. And yes, Akume had done Jime this sort of favour (imposition) in the past. That is why he was all round Sen Akume when he defected to the APC ahead of the 205 general elections, believing that such a feat might be repeated.

Flash back:

In the run up to the 2007 elections, Sen Akume was rounding up his second term as governor of Benue state. The elections into various offices were up. For Makurdi/Guma Federal Constituency, Hon Cletus Upaa, one time Accountant-General of Benue state, himself an Ihyarev man had spent 8 years in the lower chambers of the National Assembly. And so Barr Pius Chagu, former Chairman of Makurdi Local government and also a former chief executive of Lower Benue River Basin Authority alongside Pharmacist John Enger were the front line aspirants for the Makurdi/Guma Federal seat. Enger  was later elected Council chairman of Guma Local Government.

In one of such informal political meetings in the governmnet house with some selected leaders of the PDP from MINDA axis, Sen Akume, the governor of Benue state then, demanded that 'the Speaker' be asked to come forward to contest the House of Representatives seat. Many assumed it was Hon Stephen Tsav who was seen to be closer to Akume. On further enquiries, it was discovered that Akume actually wanted Hon Jime. And that is how Hon Jime's current political profile took off after his not so impressive legal practice in Abuja.

Sen Akume facilitated Jime's nomination even after he lost the PDP primaries coming a distant third position to Hon Pius Chagu and Hon John Enger. Chagu has not forgiven Akume for this action. Jime went on to win the election proper with finances coming from the former governor. Was this not an imposition? Did Chagu release his aides to keep on insulting Senator Akume?

Imposition in Nigerian politics is akin to the second nature of political leaders in this clime. From age to age, these leaders who emerged have indulged in this same attitude. Most political office holders are beneficiaries of this 'undemocratic' brand of politicking. Interestingly,  it has served us as a people which is why godfatherism thrives in our political dictionary. It's even worse in developing democracies just like ours. Here, individuals who control the levers of power in these parties are more powerful than the party itself. Do a checklist. From JS Tarka to Paul Unongo, Sen Barnabas Gemade, Sen Akume, Sen. David Mark, Rt Gabriel Torwua Suswam. Just name them. And the list is endless.

Now, do i subscribe to impunity and disregard to democratic tenets? Definitely not. So what is my argument?  Simple: Jime and his league of supoorters, should eschew bitterness and stop painting Senator Akume in bad light. The emergence of Samuel Ortom as Benue state Governor may have been untidy but the exigencies of the time warranted it.  Besides, Jime has been a beneficiary of Akume's imposition in the past. It's therefore not strange for him to be a victim now. Pius Chagu and Hon John Enger did not take the PDP to court simply because they were badly treated by the party leader in favour of Hon Jime.

All said, Jime should be advised to continue to be a faithful party loyalist. As it stands now, the earlier he sees reason and respect party hierarchy, the better. If not, when the books of the FCTA are opened for scrutiny, his role as House Committee Chairman of the FCT will come under searchlight. Who knows how his millions came that he approached the governorship race with so much gusto and pride? Who knows if he was remotely connected to some non executed contracts in the administration of Senator Bala Muhammed as Minister of the FCT?