Archbishop Chukwuma and Chime
In this write-up, IHUOMA CHIEDOZIE
examines the demand by the Anglican Church to have its member pick the
deputy governorship ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party in Enugu
State
It was understandable that the prospect
of a Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian presidential ticket would be a
cause for grave concern in Nigeria, given the country’s multi-religious
nature.
Before the All Progressives Congress
eventually settled for Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, a senior pastor in the
Redeemed Christian Church, as the running mate of its presidential
candidate, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), not a few Nigerians were
worried that the opposition party would field a Muslim-Muslim team.
A former president, Olusegun Obasanjo,
had to take it upon himself to voice the feelings of most Nigerians when
he warned the APC against a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Obasanjo, who is not
known to be a card-carrying member of the APC, waded into the matter
after Buhari suggested that he (Buhari) would not mind having a fellow
Muslim as a running mate.
In an apparent response to the
suggestion, Obasanjo warned against a Muslim-Muslim ticket, or even
Christian-Christian ticket saying, “Sensitivity is a necessary
ingredient for the enhancement of peace, security and stability at this
point in the political discourse and arrangement for Nigeria and for
encouraging confidence and trust.
“It will be insensitive to the point of
absurdity for any leader or any political party to be toying with
Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian ticket at this juncture. Nigeria
cannot at this stage raise the spectre and fear of Islamisation or
Christianisation.”
There is little doubt that, had it not
been for the concerns over a Muslim-Muslim ticket, Lagos State governor,
Babatunde Fashola, or even his predecessor, APC national leader,
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, could have emerged as Buhari’s running mate.
Any of the Muslims who lost out in the
race to become Buhari’s running mate on account of faith would probably
understand that the complex nature of the country would not have
favoured a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the elections, anyway.
Indeed, it was expected that Nigerians
would cringe at a same faith presidential ticket – Christian-Christian
or Muslim-Muslim – in 2015.
However, unlike the case of a
Muslim-Muslim ticket at the federal level, concerns raised by the
Anglican Church over a Catholic-Catholic gubernatorial ticket in Enugu
State came as a surprise.
Before the Enugu State Peoples Democratic
Party picked Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, a Catholic, as the running mate of
its governorship candidate, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, also a Catholic, the
Anglican Church in Enugu State demanded that the party must offer the
deputy governor slot to an Anglican.
At a news conference in Enugu on December
17, Anglican bishops in the Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, led by the
Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev. Emmanuel
Chukwuma, had warned that the PDP may lose the support of Anglicans
during the 2015 governorship election if a member of the Anglican
Communion was not picked as the running mate.
The other bishops, who were at the news
conference alongside Chukwuma, are Archbishop Amos Madu, Bishop of Oji
River Diocese; Rt. Rev. Emma Ugwu, Bishop of Awgu/Aninri Diocese; Rt.
Rev. Chijioke Aneke, Bishop of Udi Diocese; Rt. Rev. Prof. Evan Ibeagha,
Bishop of Nike Diocese and Rt. Rev. Dan Olinye, Bishop of Eha-Amufu
Diocese.
There are fears that the unexpected
demand, which was not eventually met, could lead to another crisis for
the PDP in Enugu State, where the party is just recovering from an
internal rift caused by a power struggle between Governor Sullivan Chime
and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
The fears are not unfounded as the
Anglican bishops specifically warned against a Catholic-Catholic
governorship ticket, and also alleged that members of the Anglican
Communion have been marginalised in Enugu State.
The bishops noted that since Ugwuanyi is a Catholic, it would be wrong to field another Catholic as his running mate.
They alleged that despite the huge
population and contribution of Anglicans in the development of the
state, they have been marginalised in political appointments.
Insisting on an Anglican running mate,
Chukwuma noted that Anglicans are not against Ugwuanyi as a candidate,
but would support him if one of their own was selected as his running
mate.
Chukwuma said, “Right now, as it is, we
are crying out to the world to say there is trouble looming in Enugu
State if Anglicans are not considered in the governance of Enugu State
in the coming dispensation. We wholeheartedly support his (Ugwuanyi’s)
candidature because we believe that as it is now, there is no other
candidate that is more credible than Ugwuanyi, but Ugwuanyi should not
succumb to the pressure of selfish people who want to perpetrate their
sister or their brother as deputy, he should be very careful and he
should be aware that it is not going to augur well.
“We as Anglican bishops are crying and
appealing that Anglicans in Enugu State are saying that the Anglican
Church must be given the position of deputy governor next year. For the
position of governor and deputy governor to be Catholic/Catholic will
not be acceptable to us. In the federal level, people are not happy with
Christian/Christian ticket, hence the president has taken a very good
stand to return as president and pick a Muslim as his running mate.
“Why should Enugu State, therefore,
nominate a Roman Catholic governorship candidate who we are not against
and wanting again to nominate a Roman Catholic as the deputy governor?
We, Anglicans, say no to that kind of arrangement.”
Shedding further light on the alleged
marginalisation of Anglicans in the state, Chukwuma said, “We are not in
minority in Enugu State and we totally reject that intention and we are
warning that if they want peace to reign in this state and for them to
enjoy our cooperation, it should not be Roman Catholic/Roman Catholic
ticket.
“You can say Anglicans like Jim Nwobodo,
C.C Onoh were governors, but after that time, they cannot prove to us
that Anglicans have been governor or deputy governor.
“When Chimaroke Nnamani, a Methodist took
over from Navy Capt Agbaje, he made Okechukwu Itanyi, a Roman Catholic,
his deputy. After that he handed over to Sullivan Chime who is a
Catholic and Sullivan chose Onyebuchi, who is a Methodist as his deputy.
“Now, he is going away again; Ugwuanyi
Ifeanyi, we don’t have anything against his candidature, but we are
saying give us an Anglican deputy, otherwise you are looking for our
trouble. If you look at in Enugu State right now, the governor is not
Anglican, the deputy is not Anglican, the Speaker is not Anglican, the Secretary to the State Government is not Anglican, the Chief of Staff is
not Anglican. Where are we? For the posts of commissioners, we are
marginalized because we don’t have good number. They (Anglican
commissioners) are not more than three or four.”
While it was possible that Anglicans in
Enugu State have been feeling aggrieved over the perceived
marginalisation, the comments made by their bishops served to bring the
matter to the fore, making the alleged maltreatment of Anglicans to
become a factor in Enugu politics.
The PDP leadership in the state has tried
to allay the fears by explaining that there was no anti-Anglican,
pro-Catholic agenda in the state.
Moreover, Chief Ikeje Asogwa, the Enugu
State PDP chairman, noted that the party did not actually refuse the
demand made by the Anglican Church but that the request came very late.
Asogwa, who explained that the decision
to choose a female as Ugwuanyi’s running mate was a deliberate attempt
to show fairness in the distribution of political positions in the
state, said the request came after the party had chosen and submitted
the name of the running mate.
Asogwa, who spoke at an event organised
by the Nigerian Union of Journalists said, “Let me say it again that
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is the Enugu PDP governorship candidate, and I want to
say that even before the bishops made their demand, the party had
forwarded the name of Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, to the appropriate quarters
as the running mate to the party’s governorship candidate.”
But the PDP state chairman added that
besides the fact that the party had already picked the running mate of
its governorship candidate before the Anglican Church made its request,
the position was not supposed to be based on religious denomination.
Be that as it may, the prevailing
sentiment among members of the Anglican Church in Enugu is that the
authorities should take deliberate actions to address the concerns
raised by the bishops, particular concerning the issue of
marginalisation.
An Anglican, Michael Ejirike, who spoke
to our correspondent, expressed reservations that “nothing was done”
about the demand made by the bishops. Ejirike, who admitted that he was
not aware of the “marginalisation of Anglicans” until the bishops spoke
on the matter, said Catholics are not the only people in Enugu State.
The Executive Director, Center for the
Advancement of Literacy and Leadership, Bismarck Oji, described it as an
attempt to introduce ‘church politics’ in Enugu State. He disputed the
claim that Anglicans have been marginalised in the state.
Oji said, “For Anglicans to be asking for
the deputy governorship slot is uncalled for and an attempt to
introduce church politics into Enugu State. In the Second Republic, both
Jim Nwobodo and C.C. Onoh (former governors) were Anglicans.
Okwesilieze Nwodo, a catholic, was governor for barely one year during
the Third Republic. At the resumption of democracy in 1999, Chimaroke
Nnamani, another Anglican/Methodist was governor.
“As such, the incumbent, Sullivan Chime,
is the first Catholic to have served a full tenure as the state
governor, right from the era of the old Anambra State till date. The
people of Enugu State are not interested in playing inter-church
politics. Going by what happened in Anambra last year, where crisis
between Catholics and Anglicans led to loss of lives and destruction of
property, it is a dangerous to introduce such sentiments into Enugu
State politics.”
“Such sentiments are indeed retrogressive
and counterproductive. The people of Enugu State have never seen one
another as Catholics or Protestants. Enugu politics has been based on
sectional sentiments, like what part of the state one came from, I mean
the Awgu, Nkanu, Nsukka or Udi political blocs.
“That (sectionalism) too, being wrong and
uncivilised, is what we expect religious leaders to preach against and
not to introduce a religious dimension into the issue. Ethnic and
religious sentiments have been the bane of Nigerian politics and should
be discouraged in the buildup to the 2015 election. Nigerians should
choose their leaders based on the candidates’ manifestos and track
records,” Oji added.
For Rev. Okechukwu Obioha, the President
of Njiko Igbo Forum, a socio-political organisation, the demand shows
how the high level of corruption in the country has impacted negatively
on governance. According to Obioha, such demands are made because
political office holders are expected to serve their people first,
before addressing the needs of the general society.
“Corruption is not only when you give or
receive bribe – it is also corruption when you do something out of
selfish sentiments without considering merit. If not that corruption had
eaten deep into the fabric of the Nigerian society, we would not be
talking about where one comes from or worships when we talk of political
offices. This is happening because people go in there to serve their
own people first – that is why somebody will tell you that the governor
or deputy governor must come from a particular group,” Obioha said.
