TIMI ALAIBE: Ambition Made Of Genial Stuff

INDEED, there are times and seasons when talent and prospect are not just enough. Looking back at the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, and his last minute withdrawal from the race, tears may not be enough for Timi Alaibe, in response to that painful about turn. It seems Alaibe has been programmed to experience near-success syndrome on the political highway. Like the immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Timi was one of the many Niger Delta children that trekked to school without shoes. But with education and hard work, they were able to break free and emerge as leaders.

For Alaibe, the climb on the social ladder was slow but exciting. As opportunities and fortune smiled his way, he was able to walk his way into the hearts of many through charity. And buoyed by the content of his character and learning, Timi started dreaming about the possibility of going into active politics. From his social frame and good heart, it is not in doubt that he craved public service as a platform to increase his intervention in the lives of the struggling poor.

He must have reasoned that if he was able to lift many from the morass of illiteracy and destitution through his personal means, public office could more than broaden the scope. But when former US President Gerald Ford quipped that political power is not for the nice guy next door, people like Timi Alaibe could not understand that good name and good deeds do not usually make successful politicians. Without doubt, democracy is about number. But the arithmetic of politics transcends facts and figures. As one knowledgeable in numeracy, Alaibe must have dwelt on the belief that with the number of enthusiastic supporters and good name he has built over the years, all he needed was just get the ticket and the office of governor would follow. It is the part that pertains to getting the ticket that seems the hardest. Many a time, after waking interest of the masses, it gets to the point where Timi leaves his people with bleeding hearts.

It is a cycle begun in 2002, when he lost the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) governorship ticket to Dr. D. S. P. Alamieyeseigha. Also in 2007 he could not make it against Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, but the most painful aspect was that he was asked to step aside. As he did, it was the unlikely man Timipre Sylva who inherited the seat after Jonathan was seconded to Abuja as Vice President. In 2011, after chasing the PDP’s vanishing ticket, which was like the devil’s water, he decamped to the Labour Party, but lost the general election. Perhaps on account of these serial trials, some politicians hold the view that Alaibe is desperate for political power.

Yet, others come with the impression that after amassing much financial wealth, he believes that he can buy his way to the governorship of Bayelsa State. In the latest attempt to contest the governorship after defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi was accused of seeking to reap where he did not sow. Shortly after the former NDDC Managing Director announced his intention to contest the governorship, some groups, especially the APC Youth Vanguard, which professes allegiance to Sylva, alleged that all Alaibe wanted to do was enjoy the fruits of their labour.

In a statement signed by Loveday Asangba, the APCYV blamed the former NDDC boss for causing the cancellation of the governorship primary adding that his successive failures in the search for the governorship seat could be explained by the fact that the masses are against him. The youth group described Alaibe as a schemer who specializes in mischief and treachery, stressing that he employed the same art to displace Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, the first Chairman of NDDC; the pioneer MD, Godwin Omene and Chief Emmanuel Aguarivwado.

Could it be that providence holds those allegations against the champion of the less privileged or that Alaibe is a victim of excessive ambition? Though he may find consolation in the experience of President Muhammadu Buhari, who sought the presidency unsuccessfully for three times, but quite unlike Buhari, Alaibe is a young man with time in his favour.

The idea of switching platforms is the side that troubles his admirers and distorts the genuineness of his desire to serve. In the latest instance, his sudden decision to defect from the PDP and seek the APC ticket makes him look guilty of the allegation of desperation. As a banker, Mr. Ndutimi Alaibe should have known that every upcountry cheque requires some days for clearing. Now that APC has denominated him as an un-cleared instrument, he stands the risk of another accusation of having sold out. Such things have a way of denying empathic leaders of loyal allies and goodwill.

More than that, Mr. Alaibe’s speech announcing his belated withdrawal from the 2015 governorship race in Bayelsa, must have spread melancholic humour around his club of ardent supporters. Where does the road to the future lead for the leader? Should the APC leadership consider rewarding his statesmanlike disposition with a federal appointment, would that be enough consolation to his followers? Would the loss of the APC governorship ticket transform the consummate apostle of change towards political charity? Again, if in the event that APC loses the December 5, 2015 governorship in Bayelsa, would the party remember the labour of love of Alaibe in the election to reward him with the 2019 governorship ticket? What guarantees are there that things will not change by then?

The options for Alaibe are clearly thinning out and a lot depends on what useful lessons he is able to draw from his latest also-ran status. It is possible that Alaibe has not lost hope. Though his statement announcing his withdrawal from further participation in the governorship primary had a sad and mournful tone to it, he clearly showed his willingness to be a team player.

He had stated: “As one of such leaders who took that historic decision (to defect from PDP), I thought of giving a further bite to my burning desire to extricate the state from‎ abysmal leadership failure. Therefore, my aspiration to be governor after series of consultations was to rekindle our collective hope and lift the state beyond its current state of decay under the PDP. Regardless, I am not oblivious of the fundamental fact that we all need a virile, united, cohesive and collaborative APC to bring about our desires to fruition. Not only do we need this, APC deserves every sacrifice, including personal interests, to arrive at the envisaged destination come February, 2016.”

But all said and done, could it be that Alaibe merely recognised the wisdom in the saying that ‘he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day’? Or was the aspirant embarking on a gamble, which when he discovered was not going to pay off, he decided to recoil to earn goodwill in his new party knowing that further defection could harm his ambition beyond redemption?

His speech alluded to that likelihood when he added: “As a result, having carefully examined the circumstances that have trailed the governorship primaries of our great party in Bayelsa State, I have come to the conclusion that pushing my governorship ambition beyond this point carries alongside some collateral consequences. Succinctly, two options are available to me. Whereas I am confident that I have the required support of my admirers and supporters,‎ as well as the needed backing of Bayelsans to govern them, the hurdles set on the way of this noble project are seemingly tempestuous and capable of overheating the APC in Bayelsa. In another vein, the virtuous path to take is that virtuous one in which personal interests are sacrificed for the common good, whether for the APC or the state in general. This is the path I chose in the light of the prevailing circumstances. I therefore withdraw from the governorship primary contest.”

It should be recalled that at childhood, after breaking through the shackles of parental penury, young Ndutimi put value in his person through education and by dint of personal motivation. He grew into an urbane adult, imbued with wit and managerial skill, so much so that like Jesus Christ, it could be said that he learned obedience through what he suffered. Before adding learning, Timi had gathered experience from various employment opportunities that were open to him, especially that of clerical officer in the then Rivers State Government.  It was from that civil service job that the young man proceeded to Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), where he studied Accountancy and graduated in 1984.

It could be rightly said that Timi Alaibe’s journey to corporate governance started in 1985, when the African Continental Bank (ACB) Limited employed him as a trainee accountant. He was later to cross over to Societe Generale Bank Nigeria Limited, after climbing to the position of Branch Accountant and later, Branch manager in ACB. Other banks that Timi worked include AllStates Trust Bank and Cosmopolitan Bank.

Despite his continuous circulation in the banking industry and participation in boardroom politics, it was only when he became the Executive Director in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) that Timi’s sense of industry and managerial acumen became public knowledge. He was later to become Managing Director of the commission. Consequently, with a rich background of service and learning, Timi Alaibe made himself so close to a lot of people through social empathy and philanthropy, such that his fund of goodwill became boundless. He impacted the NDDC with intellectual rigour by charting a credible course for infrastructure uplift, economic viability and environmentally sustainable Niger Delta region.

Having taken time to equip himself properly with good education and acquired requisite experience in management, what Timi needed was to bid his time. But alas, his trial and error over the Bayelsa governorship give the impression that he is yet to up his skill in time management.

On the flipside, not much is known to what extent some political jobbers go in luring the likeable young man to show early interest in the governorship ticket only for it to go with the wind. When President Buhari stated in his independent anniversary message that impatience is not a virtue, it is possible that the meaning would send Timi reflecting on how he has been burning out his rich fund of goodwill in pursuit of a tricky ambition for an umpteenth time.

The tricky part of Mr. Timi Alaibe’s interrupted governorship ambition is how genuine the support of his admirers are, and to what extent he succeeded in convincing them that the path he was taking in the latest instance leads to a glorious end for the noble project. At this point, whether he consulted with his supporters or not is immaterial. What is crucial for Ndutimi Alaibe, is for him to embark on prolonged intrapersonal communication with himself to fully understand all these strings surrounding his governorship ambition!