If recent developments in All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) are anything to go by, then, some of my fears are fast becoming real.
“The coming into being of APGA in the first place as a political party did not go down well with those who thought the Igbo had finished as far as having a party the people could look up to in the entity called Nigeria was concerned.
“The notion was, and still is, that the Igbo lack the capacity to organise themselves into one common umbrella for the purpose of furthering their interest…
“Whatever dimension the plots against APGA may be…. no effort will be spared to stop anybody from using or destroying APGA for ….selfish interest. As long as God lives, the sins of all those who have constituted themselves into Judas Iscariot in APGA will find them out.”
The above excerpt written by yours sincerely five years ago (August 2012), entitled: APGA: How will posterity judge Obi?, is still relevant in today’s political calculation with regard to the coming Anambra State governorship contest.
The final battle for who becomes the governor of Anambra State is barely three weeks away. November 18, the day for the election is almost here.
The flag-off of the campaigns and the electioneering proper have seen all the candidates, both the pretenders and the serious ones traversing the nooks and crannies of the 21 local government areas that make up Anambra.
A look at the candidates will reveal a pack of highly qualified contenders, but in politics, qualification is not always taken into consideration. And that is part of the reasons for this intervention.
For those who do not know, Anambra means a lot to the South-East zone in particular and in general, to Nigeria. Whatever happens in Anambra, positively or negatively, reverberates in other parts of the South-East.
Also, because of the itinerant nature of the Igbo due to their industry and commercial mindedness, any positive or negative event that happens in Anambra would automatically be felt in other parts of the country.
Suffice to say that one state that nobody can afford to toy with in Nigeria because of the high level of political awareness of the indigenes, their educational prowess, their international exposure to business (trade and commerce), as well as their depth of knowledge in socio-cultural and religious matters, is Anambra.
Since Nigeria’s return to civil rule in 1999, Anambra has remained one of the few states in the country that you can be sure has not got it wrong in terms of who governs the people.
In fact, to be qualified to run the state you must have made your mark in your chosen area of competence.
This narrative is significant for us to appreciate the calibre of candidates that are lining up to be made governor on November 18 by Ndi Anambra.
But the history of modern Anambra political journey will not be complete if we fail to capture the role played by late Nigerian statesman and Biafra warlord, Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu-Ojukwu, who, through the instrumentality of APGA, envisioned the Anambra of tomorrow.
Ojukwu thought of a party that would capture the real essence of the Igbo in the Project Nigeria without necessarily braking away from the union. He saw in APGA a strong negotiation tool and mouth piece for Ndi-Igbo and had wanted the people to congregate around the party to pursue their destiny in Nigeria.
Fast forward to the eight years of former Governor Peter Obi under whose tenure APGA was first tested; you will appreciate while the governor is either wasting his time in PDP or would soon get frustrated and exit himself.
APGA’s journey over the years has no doubt, been tortuous. Even while Ojukwu was still alive and politically active, APGA’s journey was with issues like what anyone can see in other political parties. During the tenure of the Pioneer Chairman of the party, Chief Chekwas Okorie, there were issues that tended to tear the party apart, but reason prevailed that made it possible for APGA to be retrieved from the jaws of those who were out to tear it apart.
That is why the coming election in November 18 is for Obiano to lose. The contest is between Obiano and the rest and all the contenders know that as fact. Call it incumbency factor, but it goes beyond that because the election is between APGA that has done so much for Ndi Anambra in the past 12 years and the other parties.
Former Governor Peter Obi, no doubt, is one of the greatest beneficiaries of what APGA stands for. His rise to political limelight is linked more to his membership of APGA than his so-called current appellation of political sagacity and sense of prudence in management of state resources.
Yes, he did his best for Anambra as governor under APGA, but that he wants the party dead by all means tells a lot about his politics. Granted, he handed over to Obiano who has just done four years, but should Obiano, whose second term will also come and go, be the issue or the party that fielded Obiano, which will remain forever if properly managed?
If Obi does not know, the body language of most eligible Anambra electorate is that his preferred candidate, Oseloka Obaze of the PDP will be rejected on November 18, not because Ndi Anambra hate him, but because the masquerade behind him is seen as a betrayer of APGA course of which he was a huge beneficiary.
The insinuations that other parties are thinking of going into unholy alliance just to stop Obiano won’t even fly. Why? That alliance, if it takes place, will go a long way in exposing to the people of Anambra who their real enemies and agents of darkness are.
My take is that the Anambra electorate must be vigilant by resisting every attempt to compromise the election. They must also keep keen eye on the officials of the INEC most of who are experts in result manipulation.
The APGA leadership and particularly the Willie Obiano Election Committee had done well to sensitise Ndi Anambra on the need for continuity for Obiano. All their efforts must not be allowed to be truncated by a gang of politicians, no matter how highly placed, operating within Anambra and from Abuja who will feel good if the joy APGA has brought to Ndi Anambra in the past 12 years and still ready to sustain, is terminated. APGA has been awake in Anambra since the days of Ikemba Nnewi. The time for it to sleep cannot be now. Never!
•Ubochi, a political analyst wrote from Owerri
