Awaiting The Second Coming Of Suntai EMMANUEL BELLO — Sep 1, 2014 In what admirers and well wishers have aptly tagged the second coming’, all is now set for the return of Governor Danbaba Suntai from a medical sojourn overseas. The first homecoming was in 2013 when the entire world erupted in rapturous joy as Suntai bounced back, literally, from the land of the dead. Although it was one man’s triumph over death, the entire globe reverberated in this universality of human kindness as everyone connected with the Suntai’s narrative. Here is a recap of events: the governor and three of his security aides had a plane crash on a dreary October evening in 2012 at Yola, Adamawa state. The first news that hit the media after the crash was that the governor and his aides had died. By night, the evil report had spread like wild fire into the state. In the capital, Jalingo, urchins and many achaba riders, erstwhile banned by Suntai, filed the streets in jubilation. The chant amongst them was that their tormentor had died and that liberation had come. Across town, their leader, in high spirits was frantically putting finishing touches on his acceptance speech as he hoped to take over what has been given him by providence. His household members were clapping and thanking their luck for the new fortune. Two months before now, they were near the brink of penury. Overnight, their patriarch was about to become the most powerful man in the state. That night, while some were wailing, there was joy in that camp. But by the early hours of the following morning, the revelers had retreated in dense frustration; across town, someone quickly hid his victory speech as dark sadness descended like a pall of cloud. News had filtered in from Yola that the governor and his aides were not only alive but stand a good chance of returning to Jalingo and to Government House. While this brought the sweetest joy to some people, others saw it as the most nauseating development in their entire life. There was disbelief too: who ever survives a plane crash? Would they even be able to look normal again? Well, they did not just survive; they looked untouched in view of the magnititude of the accident. The Chief Detail, Joel actually looked like he was not even in the crashed plane. Tino Dangana was almost his usual bubbling self. And the ADC, Illiya Dasat, though in coma, appeared stable. The big man himself–Suntai–was also stable. Before you knew it, a hint of fake hope crept into Suntai’s traducer’s camp: there was the hope that although Suntai miraculously survived, may be it can be sold to the world that he would never be normal again. They went to town with that story. And ever since, that is the illusion they want to keep alive. That, yes, although he survived. Suntai would remain incapacitated for life. Millions of tax payers’ money went into that project to paint a blind, deaf and retarded Suntai who would never return to Nigeria from his medical sojourn, let alone return to Government House, Jalingo. The ‘first coming’ shattered that illusion. Reality set in. Not only was Suntai alive, he showed great signs of recovery, even as it became clearer that he could actually go back to the pre-crash era frame. But the unspeakable joy of over 80 per cent Tarabans was dashed when, in criminal conspiracy, and buoyed by millions of bribe money, the then leadership of the House of Assembly declared that “as far as it was concerned”, Suntai wasn’t back. Other political criminals waded in and, after collecting hefty sums, came up with a contraption in which Taraba essentially became the only state in the union with two governors, two government houses, two SSG’s, two chiefs of staff, and five first ladies. Governor Suntai was back but his deputy insisted on hanging on as the state’s leader. People have since wondered why Suntai couldn’t just jump into office and declare he is back as governor, summon his cabinet and begin to call the shots. While that is possible, don’t forget that a compromised House of Assembly has insisted that the only governor they recognise is not Suntai but his deputy. And being a state bound by laws, that is the logjam we must deal with to make any progress. Already the new leadership of the Assembly is thinking of the way forward to find a way of addressing the reproach in Jalingo. The second coming of Suntai is thus happening at a time when there are renewed hopes of a change in Taraba. Health wise, the governor has tremendously improved; politically, there is a growing consensus that Taraba needs a surgery to restore democracy; intellectually, there is a groundswell of opinion across the entire country that something terribly wrong has happened in Taraba that needs to be sorted out. In short, everyone is tired and wants a closure. The stage is therefore set for a resolution of all the contending issues. Taraba must make progress. And it would start with the second coming expected in the coming weeks. Welcome home, my captain! –Bello, is a former commissioner of Information in Taraba State
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 06:57:40 +0000