19092022

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 — 25
Peter Obi: As tough as nails (2)
By CHUKS ILOEGBUNAM
From Friday, the piece
continues, today, the narrative
of the drama that unfolded
following news of the
impeachment of Governor Peter
Obi of Anambra State
AS Channels Television showed
a few weeks later, the House
reconvened in Awka under heavy security
cover and the Speaker, Mike
Balonwu, moved the motion. In one
sentence he said: “Those in favour
of the impeachment say Aye and
those against say Nay.” But even before
his colleagues had a chance to
affirm their convictions, he brought
his gavel down on his desk with a
thud: “The Ayes have it.” Peter Obi
stood impeached.
Peter left office, parked out of the
Government Lodge, and moved to
Agulu, his hometown, which was only
25 minutes away. Dame Virgy Etiaba
was sworn-in as the Governor. I
retained my position as Chief of
Staff. Most of the functionaries remained
in place and Governor Etiaba
ran the State until the courts overturned
Peter’s impeachment.
Those were momentous days. On
February 8, 2007, I got summoned
to report in the Governor’s office.
With pen and paper in hand, as I was
wont to do, I hurried to see Governor
Etiaba. I had known her since
before the civil war, when we lived in
Kano, and I attended the Ibo Union
Primary School. Their compound,
the home of the Ejimbes, which was
symptomatic of upper middleclass,
sat next to one of the goal posts of the
pitch on which we played football at
school. If thirsty, we entered the
Ejimbe compound and drank to our
fill. They had pipe borne water right
inside it. For “ordinary level” people
like us, my siblings and I routinely
went to the famous Ibo Road to fetch
water from pumps at street corners.
Sometimes one of our errant balls
would fly into the compound and we
would race in to retrieve it. I often
saw her in those days, an adolescent,
but not once did we exchange more
than greetings. When she became
Deputy Governor, I told her how we
used to come drink water in their
compound and how, at other times, I
accompanied my mother as she attended
meetings hosted by Mrs.
Ejimbe. While the women deliberated,
I and any other kids I found
around the school’s pitch played soccer
with the kind of ball we called
“olumpik.” She remembered those
days but could not recollect my face,
which was not surprising for we used
to invade the place in battalions.
To -
day,
however,
the
mission
w a s
stark
differe
n t .
When I
entered
CHUKS ILOEGBUNAM t h e
Governor’s office, there were about
seven others inside it, all of them seated,
some clutching files, none of them
of the Government House personnel.
I greeted them. Mrs. Etiaba, a
fair- minded but no-nonsense woman,
went straight to the point. “Mr.
Iloegbunam,” she began. Unlike Peter
Obi who addressed me as Oga
Chuks or Uncle Chuks, the Dame
settled for Mr. Iloegbunam. Standing
there, I listened attentively. She
said those in her office were members
of the panel she had set up to
investigate the matter of unlawful encroachment
on government property
in Onitsha. Of course, I knew the
story. Near one of the markets, Onitsha
is all markets, anyway, some traders
were found digging up the outsides
of the market. Asked by metropolitan
officials what was going on,
they lied that it all had to do with
•Peter Obi
drainages. But, within a week, brand
new buildings had been erected there,
ready to be used as stalls and shops.
The panel, having investigated the
matter, concluded that the structures
were illegally erected. They would
impede free movement of people and
goods. The builders deserved to be
prosecuted.
Governor Etiaba was indignant
about the impunity. “Mr. Iloegbunam,”
she said. “Get adequate security
and have the structures pulled
down tomorrow.”
A Governor’s word was law. I contacted
Mr. Haruna John, the Anambra
State Police Commissioner, on
the score. A fine gentleman, I had a
great rapport with him. Unfortunately,
he died in a helicopter crash in
Jos on March 14, 2012. He had, at
that time, risen to the position of
Deputy Inspector General of Police
(Operations). We agreed that the
demolition exercise would take place
in the afternoon. The next morning,
I sat in the office doing routine work
Peter Obi again went to
court, arguing that he
was sworn into office for
a four-year tenure
which hadn’t expired;
the courts upheld his
case and he returned to
office again – until his
second term of office
expired on March 17,
2014
and looking at the watch. When, before
noon, I looked out of my window,
I saw a limousine as long as
those often seen in Nollywood movies
parked just in front of the Governor’s
office. I couldn’t believe it. I
wondered who permitted the affront.
Visitors’ cars were normally parked
outside. Even if important visitors
were driven right up to the entrance
of the Governor’s office, their chauffeurs
invariably drove the cars outside
until it was time to return and
pick their employers. Governor Etiaba
was not in the office; she was out
on scheduled inspection of road
projects. So, who had come in? I
asked Mr. Ayo, the Civil Defence man
attached to my office, to go find out.
Standing in my front he told me it
was Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu
that came in the car. I
thought he wouldn’t come unannounced
and that he would invariably
be told when the governor would
be in the office.
I rose to go meet Ojukwu who was
well known to me. Midway I saw a
protocol officer who said Governor
Obi’s impeachment had been overturned
and that they were arranging
the Executive Chambers for a handover
of power back to him. Inside
the Executive Chambers, the place
was full of officials moving things
about. Presently Mrs. Etiaba arrived,
dressed in tracksuit, the kind of attire
we often used for road inspections.
She went into her office. Maybe
a phone call had alerted her to
the developments. Before long, a
speech had been prepared in which
the memorable phrase “right now I
take the back seat again” was included.
The Executive Chambers was full
and people, some of whom had hurried
in from outside Awka, spilled
into the corridors and adjoining
rooms.
Peter Obi was back in office as
Governor, thanks to his proverbial
“nine lives” and his indomitable spirit.
While he survived, Justice Chuka
Okoli was compulsorily retired on
the recommendation of the National
Judicial Council over the alleged
questionable roles he played in the
impeachment process. But more
hurdles waited along the way. A few
months after the impeachment saga,
Peter Obi was again forced from office.
This was in May 2007, following
the swearing-in into office of Mr.
Andy Uba as Governor of Anambra
State. Peter Obi again went to court,
arguing that he was sworn into office
for a four-year tenure which
hadn’t expired, and which fact meant
that the INEC election that pronounced
Mr. Uba Governor was invalid.
The courts upheld his case and
he returned to office again – until his
second term of office expired on
March 17, 2014.
It was not only in matters of the
judiciary that Peter Obi proved his
resilience. When his administration
started, one of the things that bothered
him to no end was the low receipts
by the State Board of Internal
Revenue. People devised ways of
evading tax payments. Others paid
far less than their incomes should
guarantee. But what vexed him the
most was the NARTO or National
Association of Road Transport Owners.
This body had all the motor parks
in the Onitsha metropolis under its
firm control, collecting revenue on
a steady basis without ever paying a
dime into the state coffers.
Governor Obi thought the situation
was untenable. Upon contacting
the NARTO officials, he got told
that there was no point fishing in troubled
waters. They had absolutely no
intention of relinquishing their hold
on the parks. The Governor invited
them to a meeting in his office.
They obliged, their head who was
called Ezeweruka or something, and
two others. It was a strange meeting
because there was hardly a discussion,
just a monologue by the Ezeweruka
guy. There were just the six
of us in the Governor’s office, a small
affair since we were still using the
Deputy Governor’s office while the
Governor’s office that was destroyed
during the attempted abduction of
Governor Ngige was being reconstructed.
The NARTO leader looked
the Governor in the eye and began,
using his index finger to stab the air
in all directions, emphasising their
position:
“Mr. Governor,” he said in Igbo.
“I must give it to you straight. No
beating about the bush. You see Onitsha?
E get as e be. (Onitsha is a
peculiar place.) It may not be messed
with. There have been governors before
you. And there will be governors
after you. So, my advice to you is
this: steer clear of Onitsha. If there is
a legacy you want to leave, focus on
it squarely and depart when your
time is up. You may want to build a
hospital somewhere. It may be your
wish to give some local government
a new secondary school. Or a clinic!
Whatever it pleases you to do for Ndi
Anambra, go ahead and do it. But
leave Onitsha well alone.”
I know Governors who would have
been incensed by this kind of insolence,
who would have risen and plastered
the impertinent fellow’s face
with hot slaps, without any repercussions
whatsoever. But Peter Obi
smiled. There was nothing else to say.
He thanked the visitors for showing
up. We all rose. The Governor
walked the visitors the few steps to
the door and bade them farewell.
To be concluded
•Iloegbunam, an author, wrote
via:chuks.iloegbunam@gmail.com
•From left: Funmi Arabambi, Faith Michael, Ogochukwu Ejiofor,
Mrs. Modupe Ogunlesi, Naomi Oyeniyi and Taiye Erewele during
the press briefing at The Content Art Gallery announcing the
exhibition. At the background is Bruce Onobrakpeya’s work.
Photo: Osa Mbonu-Amadi.
Seven female artists painting
the world through their lenses
By Osa Mbonu-Amadi,
Arts Editor
WHEN a great female art
lover, art promoter, art
collector and luxury goods
merchant, turns 70, it is not a bad
idea to gather young female artists
to produce works of art that view the
world through female lenses and
then make an exhibition of those
artworks. That was what inspired the
art exhibition titled “Through My
Lens” billed for September 24 to
October 30, 2022 at The Content Art
Gallery, within the Adam&Eve
complex, Isaac John Street, GRA,
Ikeja, Lagos.
“This year, I am turning 70, and I
told Lekan (Onabanjo, artist and the
curator) that I think we should have
female artists to showcase women.
In the first event we organised, we
didn’t have females – young females
that are enthusiastic – because you
have to know that they will stay the
course. If they are going to drop off,
then their art will hardly worth
anything,” Mrs. Modupe Ogunlesi,
proprietor of The Content Art Gallery
and Adam&Eve, said.
Mrs. Ogunlesi said the artworks
produced by these female painters
will be unveiled on her actual
birthday (September 24) under
private viewing. The artists whose
works for the exhibition have been
shortlisted for the event include Taiye
Erewele, Naomi Oyeniyi, Funmi
Arabambi, Ogochukwu Ejiofor, Faith
Michael, Nelly Idagba and Bunmi
Oyesanya.
Five of the chosen female artists spoke
with Vanguard:
Faith Michael
“I am an accidental artist. I didn’t
choose art. Art chose me,” Faith said.
She went to the University of Benin to
study Library & Information Science but
she was mistakenly offered Fine Art.
With a painting she titled “Ijeuwa” (life’s
journey), she tells the story of her life as a
woman.
Funmi Arabambi
“I explore mostly female figures. I enjoy
working with bright and contrasting
colors,” Funmi said. She will be bringing
7 works to the exhibition – Monologue,
Black, Lost, In Anticipation, etc. She said
she uses ‘Monologue’ (a portrait of a
woman with a bare back backing the
world) “to explore that aspect of life where
you need to be alone and think about the
way forward in life.”
Ogochukwu Ejiofor
I am a story teller and a poet. For this
exhibition I decided to tell a story about
somethings that ladies pass through but
lack the courage to talk about.”
Ogochukwu said she is exhibiting works
in form of a diary that deals with how
things affect women, especially the
girlchild, and how they deal with those
things. She is exhibiting 5 works in
Girlchild series (titled Alone, The
Thought, Heal Yourself, After the
Healing and Face your Fears), all of
which centre around the theme, rape.
Taiye Erewele
“Someone said that the cheapest
commodity on earth are opinions,” Taiye
said. What fascinates Taiye most are the
different things going on in different
persons’ heads (opinions). So, in her
works she tries to capture these different
thoughts going in different minds – “the
essence of their personalities.” One of
her works is titled ‘A flower in the field’.
Naomi Oyeniyi
“I am exhibiting 7 art pieces – All
hands on deck, Conglomerate, True
Friendship and then a series of 4 titled
‘Beyond the eyes’ which focuses on
speaking through the eyes – the real eyes
and the third eyes.”
Lekan Onabanjo, Curator
“The artists whose works are featuring
in ‘Through My Lens’ have been selected
carefully to reflect the dynamism of
female creative professions in Nigeria.
The theme of the exhibition provided
the artists opportunity to share
individual’s views on women perspective
of life, in general, but using the medium
of visual arts.
“As the art appreciation space within
Ikeja and mainland in general expands,
The Content Art Gallery will increase
our exhibitions from once a year to twice
or more. We should recall how The
Content started as just a theme for
regular exhibition at Adam&Eve
when the art for exhibitions were
displayed among the luxury items.
But now, those exhibitions have
generated enough interests to merit
a gallery space to expand the
growing art appreciation of the
people within Ikeja and beyond,”
Lekan said.
Tim and Carol
Gallery of Art
opens in GRA Ikeja
Another art space, Tim and
Carol Gallery of Art, was
formally opened last Saturday in
GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, at 7a Oba
Dosumu Street, off Isaac John.
The proprietor of the art gallery
is Mr. Wale Fasuyi, son of Pa
Timothy Adebanjo Fasuyi, a
renowned artist, art teacher and
educationist. Although he later
became a banker, Mr. Wale said
his life revolved around art, his
father's profession, hence he is
driven by passion in establishing
the art gallery. According to him,
90% of the works in the gallery are
his personal collections. Initially,
he bought artworks for love, and
later for investment.
He said his major aim is to
promote Nigerian art in order to
feed the black renaissance and
Afrocentrism which which have
come into vogue in recent times.
On the choice of location, Wale
said GRA is the next frontier of
growth, and the international
airport is close by, which is good
for the business.