When the news broke on Sunday, November 19, 2017, that Alex Ekwueme, a former vice president, has joined his ancestors, Aso Rock occupants were among the first set of people that mourned as they received the news of his death with “rude shock.”
In his letter of commiseration, authored by Femi Adesina, his special adviser on Media and Publicity, President Muhammadu Buhari lavished praises on Ekwueme and recognised him as a great Nigerian.
President Buhari said the deceased’s regular counsels on national issues and mediations for peaceful co-existence would be sorely missed.
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“The President affirms that Dr Ekwueme’s unwavering commitment to the unity of Nigeria had been a major encouragement to many governments, recalling the personal sacrifices he made in helping to lay the foundation for sustainable democracy in Nigeria,” the statement read in part.
“President Buhari believes Dr Ekwueme worked assiduously to improve the livelihood of many poor and underprivileged people through the Alex Ekwueme Foundation, describing him as a man who served his country and humanity,” he further said.
In the statement, the President also considered Ekwueme worthy enough to enjoy eternal rest with God, as he prayed that “The Almighty God will receive the soul of the former Vice President.”
Since the release of the statement, Nigerians have continued to react. Many have delved into the archives to see to what extent President Buhari’s eulogies tally with his treatment of the man 34 years ago.
Observers express shock that the gush of empathy and display of brotherliness on Ekwueme by the Federal Government shortly before he had the health crisis that necessitated his being flown abroad, and at his death, are not reflective of the treatment of the man while he was alive.
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They also noted that if the Buhari administration so valued Ekwueme as portrayed in the tribute, the South-East geo-political zone where he hailed should neither be treated like a wasteland nor the people as an outcast by the current regime.
Recall that on November 3, 2017,when President Buhari ordered that the then-ailing Ekwueme be flown abroad for medicals, some analysts accused the Presidency of trying to make political capital out of the situation.
They argued that it was not a big feat because in his capacity as a former Vice President of Nigeria, Ekwueme was entitled to medical treatment abroad and that he was the responsibility of the Federal Government even till death.
Going down memory lane, most of the arguments are coming from those who think that the last minute goodwill to the late former Vice President was ironic and eye-service, especially because after the military coup that truncated democracy and sacked the Shehu Shagari administration, Ekwueme was singled out and treated like a common criminal.
They recalled that while Alex Ekwueme was jailed in Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison in Lagos, the General Buhari-led military junta kept Shagari, the deposed president, and fellow Hausa kinsmen in a guest house in Ikoyi, Lagos.
A pertinent question that agitated the mind of many right-thinking members of society at that time was why Ekwueme was considered more corrupt than his boss, President Shagari, and some Hausa members of the deposed civilian government to be subjected to such discriminatory and humiliating treatment.
So, in the estimation of such observers, resounding eulogies on Ekwueme from the same man who meted high level of nepotism to him is very Pharisaic in nature.
But those who know Ekwueme attest to his integrity and sincerity of purpose even in politics. It was even noted that he became poor after joining politics as he never subscribed to the philosophy of amassing public wealth.
More so, in December 1985, a judicial tribunal headed by Honourable Justice Sampson Uwaifo in its ruling stated, “Dr Alex Ekwueme’s wealth, in actual fact, had diminished by the time he was removed from office as Vice President via a military coup.
“I see no prima facie case being made here to warrant his trial for any offence known to law, and were he to be put on trial on the facts available, it would be setting a standard of morality too high even for saints in politics in a democracy to observe.”
Though the corruption case held against him was dropped for lack of merit and fact, and he was discharged and acquitted, the sad thing was that the favourable ruling only came months after General Buhari’s military regime was overthrown by another military junta on August 27, 1985.
The calculation by some political analysts is that if the coup had not taken place, Ekwueme would have remained in prison as long as General Buhari’s military government lasted.
Adeniji Oyekunle, a political analyst, insisted that Ekwueme was pro-welfare and too development-minded to steal public fund.
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“If money was looted as claimed by the military for overthrowing the Shagari government, then tell me, between the poor school teacher who was kept in house arrest and the professional architect and lawyer with thriving businesses who was jailed in Kirikiri Prison, who do you think should tend to steal?”, the analyst asked.
Oyekunle noted that beyond the Justice Uwaifo panel that exonerated Ekwueme from all corruption charges, Ekwueme proved his integrity when he mobilized the Group of 34 eminent Nigerians who risked their lives to stand up against the dictatorship of General Sani Abacha.
Analysts also believe that the President’s praise of Ekwueme does not reflect his “resentment” of the Igbo nation.
“If Ekwueme was a good man as being acknowledged by the President, he should also know that Ekwueme cannot be the only good person in the whole of the South East. But his blanket treatment of the entire people as outcasts is unacceptable. And that to me makes whatever encomium he is pouring on the dead man very hypocritical,” said Sampson Onwukwe, a public affairs commentator.
According to Onwukwe, “You say the Nigerian unity is sacrosanct; you can’t allow them to be president; they can’t talk about restructuring, yet you don’t want them to secede; nobody wants to be a slave indefinitely.”
Recall that Olisa Agbakoba, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), recently dragged the Federal Government to court on two issues- the neglect of the Niger Bridge which he said was life-threatening, and the exclusion of the South East from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Board appointment.
By Our Reporters
