In acclaimed democratic settings, issues are duly deliberated on before visible action is taken. No matter the issue, there is always a clique, by whatever name it is known, that vets ideas and proposals and makes its decision known. But in the matter at hand, the uproar that greeted the unveiling of the statue of President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, in Owerri, Imo state capital, tended to show that the vital principle of democracy – debate and deliberation – was ignored by the state’s Chief executive. Governor Rochas Okorocha did not bother to carry the people along.
President Zuma is not the first leader to be immortalized outside the shores of his land. Many African leaders have been immortalized across the continent with statues and monuments. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first independent president and a famous Pan-Africanist, is portrayed in a golden monument outside the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia. So, why are Nigerians dismayed with the statue of President Jacob Zuma, erected in the Imo State, Southeast Nigeria? Well, they say it smacks of lack of national pride.
It is no secret that President Zuma is a close friend of the Governor of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha. Mr. Zuma was paying a visit to Imo State, aimed at boosting ties between Africa’s two major economies. Governor Okorocha deemed it wise to unveil the bronze statue of Mr. Zuma during the visit. But some observers cried foul especially when the host also announced the award to the South African leader, the Imo Merit Award, the highest honor bestowed by the state. They feel that it is immoral to bestow such an honour on a man who faces hundreds of counts of corruption in his home country.
A road in Imo State was also named after President Zuma, who has been in office since 2009 but is due to step down at the next election in 2019.Politicians outside the ruling party have condemned both the monument and the award. They have questioned whether a statue should be erected honoring Mr. Zuma, who has had a controversial tenure as South Africa’s president. Besides the corruption charges, South Africa’s top court ruled in 2016 that Zuma had failed to uphold the constitution by using state funds to build a swimming pool and a cattle ranch – among other things – at his Nkandla home.
President Zuma has also been accused of giving political influence to the Guptas, an Indian family with a business empire in South Africa that has close ties to the president’s family. A spokesman for the opposition said, “It is embarrassing that a state government controlled by the All Progressives Congress in Nigeria, which is fighting corruption, could play host to Mr. Zuma, allegedly seen as a corrupt leader in the current assembly of Heads of state in the African Union, and portray him as a hero before a group of African youths”.
Other Nigerians pointed out that the erection of the statue was ill timed, given the recent accusations of xenophobia against Nigerians living in South Africa. The Nigerian government summoned South Africa’s High commissioner after a wave of attacks on Nigerian-owned businesses and immigrants in the country earlier in 2017.
Still others questioned why the Imo State governor chose to erect a statue of a South African leader rather than a notable Nigerian.
But Governor Okorocha has tried to explain that the statue was meant to honor President Zuma’s “love for education” and that the South African president was working to make sure poor children could attend school.“The only industry we have, and we can truly be proud of, is education in Imo State. This is another reason why we have chosen to honor you,” said Mr. Okorocha.
But given the antics of honoring such a controversial leader, Governor Okorocha may find himself facing heat from Nigerians on social media for a while to come.
