Taraba State is one of the least endowed states in the country. It needs full time governance. Anyone who has been through the trauma of a plane crash needs time to recover
For every Taraban or Nigerian who has followed the events in Taraba state, it is no longer news that governor Danbaba Suntai since being injured in seriously plane crash in October, 2012 when a small plane he was piloting from Jalingo crashed near the airport in Yola, the capital of Adamawa, has been unable to pilot the affairs of the state.
What is however new is how a few of his loyalists have played on the health of the governor, using his incapability to hold a whole state ransom. It’s been nine months since the governor was involved in the incident. Unfortunately, since the ill-fated plane crash on October 25, 2012, controversy, misinformation and uncertainty surrounding Suntai’s state of health have continued to put the state in negative light.
What could be the worst, there is no timeline when the governor will return to the state. The question is, must the man die in government house? Must he be governor? When will Nigerians learn to throw in the towel in respect to public yearning and what is right? We have as a public duty deliberately spelt this out. For it is really quite banal for the Taraba State House of Assembly to state that Governor Danbaba Suntai, who was injured in a plane crash nine months ago remains the state governor, notwithstanding his condition.
This is so because of subterranean moves to foist on the state the political drama Nigeria was treated to during the period of the prolonged sickness of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua that eventually claimed his life. While the late president was battling to live, those around him kept lying to the nation that he was recovering and would soon be back at his duty post all in a bid to deny his deputy, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, from taking over his job as stipulated by the constitution.
With nine months already gone since he was moved out of the country and with the attendant interest already generated by the political situation in the state, political observers in the state seem unanimous that the controversy would continue until the ailing governor returns to the country or alternatively, when the acting governor steps in as substantive governor.
Reacting to the growing tension in the state, lawyer and rights activist, Mr. Festus Keyamo, explained that “It is time to remove the governor because it is now clear that he is totally incapacitated. The Taraba State House of Assembly should ascertain his state of health from doctors. Once his state of health is ascertained and it is clear that he is not capable of governing the state, they should proceed to remove him on medical ground.”
Another lawyer, Fred Agbaje, said the revelation coming from Taraba State has justified a need for a technical amendment to the tenure of governor’s period of medical incapacity. “The present position on the period of incapacity as stated in the constitution is vague. The period of incapacity, if beyond three weeks, such a governor should tender his resignation. Where such governor refuses to resign, he should be impeached.”
Taraba State is one of the least endowed states in the country. It needs full time governance. Anyone who has been through the trauma of a plane crash needs time to recover. If the trauma was not that serious there would have been no need to fly the governor out in the first place.
Whatever the sophistry playing itself out, the Taraba State House of Assembly should obey the constitution to the later. Since there is no ambiguity in the constitution, the acting governor should be sworn in now in order to fulfill his constitutional duties. Everyone of course wishes Governor Suntai speedy recovery. He deserves it. However, in the meantime, the state has to be governed. And frankly speaking this Republic should be based on the Constitution and not on the whims and expedient caprices of men.
Will Danbaba Suntai ever make it back to the Taraba State Government House as executive governor after his prolonged absence from office? I seriously doubt that possibility. The naked truth is that Suntai is not medically, physically or psychologically fit to take charge of that responsibility, having spent close to 10 months in Germany and the United States of America, undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in the ill-fated plane crash last year.
His miraculous survival notwithstanding, those battling to hold down the post for an ailing governor who appears to have real challenges with his cognitive faculties are simply doing so for selfish interest. They are perennially running away from the reality and holding onto a hope built on magical fantasy. Either way, the state has become the victim of the political intrigues playing out.
Ordinarily, Taraba would not be roiling in jerks and pauses if the acting governor, Alhaji Garba Umar, is constitutionally empowered to carry out his responsibilities reposed in the office of the governor. But, going by the political maneuverings that stalled governance for months after the illness of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, it was not surprising that Garba Umar is becoming uncomfortable with being dressed in borrowed garb. No matter how well they dab his office with sweet-smelling scents, we know he cannot exercise full powers unless something gives way.
Unfortunately, Suntai is not the factor that impedes his smooth transition into a substantive governor. There are other factors, including the political permutations towards the 2015 elections. Some persons fear that if Umar succeeds, it would be difficult for persons eyeing the office in 2015 and that is why they are doing everything within and outside the books to stop Acting Governor Umar.
The crying fact is that Taraba has been under the yoke of uncertainty for nine agonising months. It is like a herd of sheep without a shepherd. Like Yar’Adua’s case, Suntai’s health condition has been shrouded in secrecy.
The past few weeks had witnessed an upsurge in political pressure to force the state executive council and the state House of Assembly to apply Section 189 of the 1999 Constitution to determine the medical status of the governor. Taraba is bigger than any individual, we must move forward. Now is the time to swear in acting governor Garba Umar as the substantive governor for the progress of our state.
Zakari wrote from No, 36, Yola Road, Takum