By Emeka Alex Duru
To an average Nigerian, ‘the powers that be’, is often a phrase associated with a power bloc, a clique or in the current street lingo, a cabal or tiny group of people – men and women – who run the affairs of the state or determine those who do so. To the overtly religious, the expression readily conjures images of dominions and principalities.
But for the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun newspapers, Onuoha Ukeh, ‘the powers that be’, offers more comprehensive explanation. He says, “We are all “the powers that be.” Whether you are the President, Governor, Minister, Commissioner, Political Party Chairman, Permanent Secretary, Vice Chancellor, Ambassador, Journalist, Lecturer, Managing Director, Civil Servant, Husband or Housewife, we are all “the powers that be.” Whether we consider ourselves among the top class or the dregs of the society, as long as our decisions and actions have an effect on others or influence the society in one way or another, we are “the powers that be.” Therefore, we should mind what we do, as our actions have consequences. This, is the kernel of his book, “The Powers that Be: Thoughts and Reflections on People, Power and Politics”, which was unveiled on Monday, November 24, 2019, at Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja. The book is about Nigerians as a people and a summary of the views of the author on things that happened in the country and elsewhere.
The Reviewer, Casmir Igbokwe, Online Publisher and former Managing Director of Union Newspapers, describes the book as a compilation of Ukeh’s thoughts and reflections on people, power and politics as published in The Sun over the years.
The author, in embarking on the project intends to provoke thoughts, actions and reactions. The desire is borne of experiences which prove to him that Nigerian journalists and columnists are patriots, who do much for a nation and people that do not appreciate them. He is thus, persuaded to tell those in government desirous of honest advice to take out time to read columns or articles in newspapers to be able to get different perspectives on various subject matters and have a better understanding on issues that would help them find solutions to problems in the land.
The 541-page book, according to Igbokwe, is beautifully woven around different themes subsumed in 13 chapters. Each of these chapters has different subtitles which reflect the central theme. In chapter 1, entitled ‘Theatre of the Absurd’, Ukeh dwells on the contradictions, absurdities and complexities of a country called Nigeria. Highlighted in the piece are the pro and anti-Buhari protests that took place in 2017. The theatre of the absurd further unfolded when heavily armed DSS operatives in 2016 raided the homes of seven judges in the dead of the night, broke down doors and arrested them for corruption. This appeared to be a prelude to the humiliation and subsequent removal of Walter Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria. Ukeh saw this as a joke taken too far.
In expressing his resentment, Ukeh wrote, “If the Executive could get a judge suspended on allegation of corruption or whatever, when the judge has not been found guilty in court, and we applaud, very soon we will discover that judges will be told what to do with cases before them. By then it will be too late to have a proper democracy.” Events in the country seem to be proving him right.
In chapter 2, Ukeh reflects on some godfathers and people who cannot be ignored in Nigeria. They include such personalities as Ikemba Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu; former Abia State Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu; former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi; former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio; Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike; and Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson. He identifies Orji Kalu as a fearless leader who condemns what is not good and fights for the rights of his people. Other chapters and sections of the book address various issues in the land.
In some instances, the author sounds prophetic. On page 450, in the piece entitled, ‘Warning To PDP! Watch Out, APC Is Coming!’ published on November 15, 2013, he recalls his warning that the PDP would destroy itself if the arrogance and warring posture of its leaders were not curtailed. He had then written, “Watch out, APC is coming. If the PDP dismisses this warning, as it normally does, it would be at its peril. One thing that’s clear is this: Whenever it loses power at the centre, it will take the grace of God for it to regain it.” The prediction came through in 2015 when PDP lost power to the then opposition APC – the first of such feat in the country’s political history. PDP is yet to recover from the shock of that electoral defeat.
The launch was attended by the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, who was the chairman of the occasion; the Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential election and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi; the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who was represented by the Acting Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Press Council, Victor Egharevba, as well as the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
Also in attendance were the Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Olusegun Runsewe, the Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, Senator representing Enugu East, Chimaroke Nnamani, Chairman of AMCON, Muiz Banire, Chairman of the Reformed All Progressives Congress (R-APC), Buba Galadinma, amongst others.
In his remarks, the Speaker of the House of Represntatives, Femi Gbajabiamila who was represented by the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon Benjamin Kalu, paid glowing tributes to the journalists who assisted in the return of the country to the civil rule 20 years ago. He commended Ukeh for being part of this patriotic class. “What we have here today is a bird’s eye view of the author on critical events of the last two decades. A quick glance through this book truly reflects his thoughts about our people, our nation, politics, and real issues harvested from raw events at the time they were happening,” Gbajabiamila enthused.
Onu had earlier noted that Ukeh has through his writings, done so much for Nigeria, describing him as a unique author who has spent time to lead the country into his thoughts about her. Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha, who was represented by his Media Adviser, Steve Osuji, simply described the author as an engine room who delivers any task assigned to him on target. For Runsewe, “The Powers That Be is an inspirational book that mirrors what is happening in our environment. I see it as one book that will open up a new chapter of discussion in this country”.
Ukeh has covered quite some distance in book writing before his latest outing. He had co-authored “Democracy Of Our Land (The story of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic)” in 2005. Earlier in 2000, he had teamed up with like minds to write Inside The Newsroom, a concise book on the antics and activities of journalists in a typical newsroom. There are other publications in his stable.