By Emeka Nwankwor (e.nwankwor@hotmail.com)
Gov. Obi and APGA flagbearer, Obiano (middle)…ready for the battle royale
Gov. Okorocha and APC candidate Ngige (middle)…drawing the battle line.
Next year, the curtain will come down on Governor Peter Obi’s eight-year tenure at Government House Awka; but before that, citizens and denizens of Anambra State will go to the polls to elect the man who will be Obi’s successor. Ahead of the election slated for November 16 2013, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released a list of 23 candidates and the political parties on which platform the candidates would run. In the insane world of politics, anything is possible; however, this writer firmly believes that the top four candidates are – Chris Ngige of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ifeanyi Ubah of Labour Party (LP), Nicholas Ukachukwu of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and Willie Obiano of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). With the internal bickering and fragmentation in Anambra State PDP, it is very likely that the dramatis personae – Andy Ubah, Tony Nwoye and Nicholas Ukachukwu – will be patrolling the courtrooms in litigations and counter-litigations until the election has come and gone. Also, the recent news that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has taken over the management of Capital Oil and Gas Industries will not do LP’s Ifeanyi Ubah candidacy any good. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the forthcoming election may well be a straight battle between Dr. Chris Ngige of APC and Chief Willie Obiano of APGA.
With high-octane campaigns in top gear, the candidates and their supporters have saturated the political space with intrigues, alignments, horse-trading, blackmail and outright intimidation. But in the midst of these shenanigans, the questions every discerning political mind must ask are as follows – what exactly are the pedigree and antecedents of these candidates? Who amongst them would serve the interest of Ndi-Anambra? How will the emergence of any one of these candidates as governor tilt the position of Ndi-Igbo in the dynamics of the evolving political reality in Nigeria?
Before I attempt to answer these questions, I would want to underscore the fact that Anambra State, and by extension Igboland, is at a political crossroads. In the face of the on-going political chess-game towards 2015 presidential election, the forthcoming gubernatorial election can potentially determine the political status of Ndi-Igbo in the grand scheme of things. We risk going into political oblivion if we fail to get it right in Anambra State, and the reason is simple. Anambra is a very important Igbo state; as such, her success or otherwise carries a domino effect on the other Igbo states. Therefore, this is the time to critically appraise our political realities, with a view of determining the way forward not just for Anambra State, but Ndi-Igbo as a whole.
Before the coming of Governor Peter Obi, Anambra has never known anything with the semblance of good governance. In 1999, events and fate conspired to throw up Chinwoke Mbadinuju; a little-known lawyer whose four-year reign as governor is best described as a tragedy of monumental proportion, and that is putting it mildly. The abysmal failure of his government culminated to the fact that he became the only PDP governor that was refused a party ticket to seek re-election in 2003; and the despondency his governorship created amongst hapless Anambrarians is yet to heal completely. Mbadinuju’s loss in 2003 became Chris Ngige’s gain when PDP gave the latter the party’s ticket on the ‘instrumentality and benevolence’ of Chris Ubah, his political godfather.
With his ample financial coffers and extensive political connection in high places, Ubah anointed and enthroned Ngige as governor, albeit on a stolen mandate. Surprisingly, Ngige became locked in a fierce and intense battle on two fronts – a battle for supremacy with his estranged godfather over the sharing formula of the booty that accrues from the stolen mandate, and a judicial battle with the rightful owner of the mandate. He lost both battles and was sent packing from Government House Awka by the judiciary in March 2006; paving way for Peter Obi.
Having recovered his stolen mandate, Governor Peter Obi redefined the essence of political leadership in Anambra State. His accelerated infrastructural development accomplishments, especially in the areas of healthcare projects, rural electrification and rural-urban roads constructions and rehabilitation have earned him the trust of the people. Knowing that ultimate power lies with the people, he meticulously built a healthy relationship with our religious institutions, town unions, traditional rulers and leaders of thought. Even his worst enemy cannot dispute these facts. Again, on assumption of office, Governor Obi placed a high premium on regional integration in southeast and political cooperation in the old eastern region. He engineered an alliance between the southeast and south-south geo-political zones, and that astute political move has seen the state governors from both zones meet on a number of occasions, thereby promoting and sustaining a culture of friendliness and togetherness within the old eastern region. Undoubtedly, Governor Obi understands that the southeast is the most disadvantaged geo-political zone in terms of numerical strength of states; he knows that a united and politically integrated old eastern region would give us better leverage and higher bargaining power at the center, it will also address the age-old fear of Igbo domination which some of our brothers in the old eastern region has harbored. On these indices and many more, posterity will judge him kindly.
It is against this backdrop that all lovers of good governance would agree that there is need to consolidate the developmental strides recorded in Anambra under the visionary leadership of Governor Obi, as the only way to take the state to the next level firmly anchors on continuity. Equally important is the need to elect a ‘bridge-builder’ who has the political sagacity and humility to build strategic alliance cum friendship not just with other Igbo states but with our immediate neighbors, especially those within the old eastern region and our Igbo brothers in Delta State. In other words, Anambra needs another ‘Peter Obi’ as governor. Now, what are the antecedents of the two leading gubernatorial candidates? How will they serve the interest of our people? What will be the potential implications of the emergence of any one of them as Governor Obi’s successor?
Chris Ngige:
Dr. Chris Ngige is a medical doctor by profession. The 61 years old senator of the Federal Republic is the APC candidate in the upcoming election. Controversial as ever, a friend once suggested that his middle name should have been ‘Buhari’; for in every sense, he is the Buhari of Anambra politics. No Anambra politician, living or dead, mirrors the political image of former Nigerian military dictator, General Mohammadu Buhari, as much as Dr. Ngige. Like the former military ruler, Ngige’s only claim to executive power rests squarely on a criminally stolen mandate. Again, the frequency and undying ambition with which he seeks to return as governor is only comparable to that with which Buhari seeks to return as president.
On face value, there is nothing wrong with being ambitious or having an eternal ambition of returning as governor. However, the call for concern lies entirely on the desperation element that has over the years characterized this ambition. Ndi ba’anyi, if a man’s ambition drives him to appear naked at the dreaded Ulasi Okija shrine, or any shrine for that matter, is it okay to wave it as excusable? In the past week, the rumor going round social media is that Dr. Ngige has allegedly sworn another blood oath of allegiance (before a Yoruba deity) to some non-Igbo political figures. Could this worrisome rumor be true? My honest answer is yes and no. On the basis of his antecedence and desperation to grab political power at all cost, this may well be true; however, it may also be a well-calculated attempt by his political foes to blackmail him.
Many of his supporters reason that judging him by his previous performance as governor is unfair because his estranged godfather never gave him the space to settle down and do his job. In fairness, I think they have a point – it is only when you allow a man to control political power on his own volition that an objective assessment of him can be made. But the problem here is that the senator is yet again trying to win an election with the help of another godfather, a non-Igbo godfather, and nobody knows exactly the terms and conditions attached to whatever agreements in place.
Will Chris Ngige further the integration of the southeast and develop political friendship with our brothers in the south-south zone as exemplified by Governor Obi? To answer this question, we will look no further than the character of Rochas Okorocha – the governor of Imo State, the man who has become the official face of the Ngige Campaign Organization. Here is a man whose conduct, since he rode to power (on the back of an Igbo populist party), has alternated between French farce and Greek tragedy. Today, he is the most divisive political figure in the southeast; always willing to pick a fight with anybody that is not ready to massage his huge ego. Instead of promoting integration in the southeast, Okorocha promotes division; instead of building political and strategic alliances with our brothers in the old eastern region, Okorocha is far more interested in being in the good book of the powers that be in faraway places like Lagos, Kano and Sokoto.
As much as I concede that there is nothing wrong with building alliances with every region across Nigeria; I struggle to understand why such alliance, no matter how noble, should come at the expense of political unity in the southeast in particular, and the old eastern region in general. It beggars belief that at a time when the governors and the policy makers in the ACN/APC controlled southwest are re-positioning their region, at a time when they are formulating and implementing visionary strategies like the Development Agenda of Western Nigeria (DAWN), at a time when they are mulling to introduce Yoruba language as the official medium of instruction across primary schools in their region; instead of us to think of integrating and re-strategizing the southeast, Okorocha is working overtime to kill the only Igbo populist party on whose back he rode to power, instead of our governors to put heads together and come up with Igbo-centric policies that will reposition our region, Okorocha is mocking our great Ikemba, telling whoever cares to listen that the late Ikemba would have joined the APC if he were alive. Ndi ba’anyi, ọkwa mmadu nwe ọgọdọ ewu na’ata? Should we reward Governor Okorocha’s leadership style by allowing him to make in-roads into Anambra State? Should we reward the comedian in Government House Owerri by voting Ngige as our next governor? The answers to these questions lie in our votes. But we must remember that when foolishness is rewarded, wisdom becomes useless.
Willie Obiano:
Chief Willie Obiano is a well-educated former executive director of Business Banking at Fidelity Bank Plc. The 56-year old internationally acclaimed technocrat has excelled in many management positions both in Nigeria and overseas; and his pedigree as an impeccable banker and an astute administrator is without doubt. Many in the financial world credit him as the brain behind the survival of Fidelity Bank in the ceaseless financial tsunamis that have wiped many well-founded financial institutions off the financial map of Nigeria. However, it must be said that being an articulate and thoroughbred administrative professional does not always translate to success in the world of politics; examples abound. As APGA’s candidate in next month’s election, Chief Obiano faces the enormous task of proving to Anambrarians that he has the capacity to translate his success as a top-drawer banker into urbane service that will better the lives of the good people of our state.
Expectedly, his opponents accuse him of being an unknown quantity and a greenhorn in the politics of Anambra State. In fairness, I agree that the greenhorn factor is a call for concern; however, the other side of the greenhorn coin highlights the fact that Obiano is a man without blemish. Besides, it is instructive to note that the best governor Anambra State has ever had was completely an unknown figure when he ran for governor in April 2003. Even when the mandate Ndi-Anambra gave him was stolen, he assiduously fought the thieves in a protracted legal battle; he never capitulated, he never gave up until he recovered his stolen mandate. In my opinion, that is not the stuff greenhorns are made of. But is Willie Obiano made of similar stuff? Only time shall tell.
Will Chief Obiano further the integration of the southeast and develop political friendship with our brothers in the south-south zone as championed by Governor Obi? Well, that is left to be seen. But going by the importance attached to regional integration by Governor Obi, and given the fact that both Obi and Obiano are from the same political party; I seriously doubt that the emergence of Chief Obiano as governor will harm regional integration and cohesion in any form or shape.
Conclusion:
Having come this far, and having considered all the political variables, I make bold to say that Chief Willie Obiano is the candidate that will further the interest of Anambra State and Ndi-Igbo in general. He is the best available candidate in this election, and he is the man that will take Anambra to the next level. With his humble disposition, Chief Obiano is the candidate that will not only work towards economic integration of the five Igbo states; he will also build upon the friendship and political partnership that Governor Obi has established with the Annangs, Efiks, Ibibios, Ijaws, Ikweres, Ogonis and the rest of our brothers in the old eastern region. After all, our ancestors taught us that agbataobi onye bu nwanne ya.
I appeal to the APC apologists amongst us to seriously think about the long term implications of APC in Igboland. Politics and the quest for political power go beyond personal pecuniary gains. The soul-searching question we must ask is why do we always fall short in the will and political skill to play in a field in which the Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba are contending stakeholders? Every major stakeholders in the Nigeria project have a regional party that serves them two purposes – to further their regional agenda or to serve as a fallback when their agenda is not in sync with Abuja; but here we are, deliberating on whether to or whether not to send APGA – our own political party, to its grave. How come we have forgotten so soon that nkem bu nkem, nke’anyi bu nke’anyi. The redemption of Igboland will not come from APC; and it is unthinkable that the Pharaohs who deported our people from within their country will anoint those who will rule over us on their behalf. It is for us to restore Igboland, it is for us to reassert ourselves; and in doing this, we must ensure that APGA stays alive. We must say no to the candidate whose trademark is deceit, we must say no to the candidate who will be tele-guided from Lagos and/or Sokoto, we must say no to the candidate who will propagate a system that is alien to our belief system as a people. We cannot fight to become a part of the apparatus of those who see us as conquered people. If we do, we will be subservient in our own land.
Therefore, our primary assignment in the forthcoming election is to kill APC in Anambra State, and make sure it takes no root in Igboland. If we fail in this task (may our ancestors forbid), we are finished as a people. Our children and generations unborn will never forgive us. This message must be spread across our various communities – from Owerre-Ezukala in the east to Onitsha in the west, from Umueze-Anam in the north to Atani in the riverine south. Every well-meaning Anambra man and woman has a sacred responsibility to ensure that APGA is not sent to its political grave. Ka’anyi kwado ma tunyere Mazi Willie Obiano. Vote Chief Willie Obiano as Governor of Anambra State.
Emeka Nwankwor wrote in from Nigeria.
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