Adventurers

Hardball

Losers want to be on the winning side. That’s why Imo State House of Assembly Speaker Collins Chiji and six other lawmakers defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). They abandoned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in a move that showed they couldn’t bear being on the losing side.

Their dramatic rejection of PDP on January 28 further underlined the reality that power had changed hands in the state. The Supreme Court decision of January 18 had removed Emeka Ihedioha,   the immediate past governor of Imo State, and made Hope Uzodinma governor. Ihedioha’s loss was also PDP’s loss. Uzodinma’s victory was also APC’s victory. Majority Leader Chigozie Nwaneri also left PDP, and joined APC.

The defections changed the numbers, and made APC the majority party in the 26-member legislature. The APC, with 18 members in the legislature, now controls the executive and legislative arms of government in Imo State.

Earlier, Imo State PDP Chairman Charles Ezekwem had crossed over to APC.  He said in his January 25 resignation letter: “Given the prevailing circumstances within my party, vis-a-vis my present standing as the state chairman of the PDP, and after due consultations with my family and with the approval of my supporters, I hereby tender my resignation as state chairman of PDP.” More PDP members may well leave the party for the ruling party, demonstrating the power of success, and the powerlessness of failure.

The mass movement from PDP to APC because of the new power structure suggests that those who moved are adventurers. Would they have moved if Ihedioha hadn’t been removed?  It’s unprincipled politics by unprincipled political players.

Imo State PDP Secretary Nze Ray Emeana made allegations that showed the defectors in a bad light.    According to him, “All those who have defected to APC we learnt were lured with the offer of N50 million and two plots of land in Owerri.”

Whether the messy allegations are true or false, the defectors will face image problems. Their defection is suspicious, and exposes their desperation to be on the winning side.

Politicians should be made of sterner stuff. When they win, they should appreciate that winners can be losers the next time. When they lose, they should appreciate that losers can be winners the next time. Jumping from the losing side to the winning side as if losing is a permanent condition blinds them to the reality that winning isn’t a permanent condition.