BY REV FR GERALD NWAFOR
The Anambra gubernatorial campaign is on the line. You can see from the primaries the political parties that can make a mark and those who can only scratch the surface. In sports we say the contenders and the pretenders. I do not know whether we have many contenders, but I am sure there are many pretenders. I looked at the Labor Party when Val Ozigbo left, I discovered that the basket had lost the base (Nkata ekwupu ike) in Anambra state.
I do not know what the Supreme Court was saying about Julius Abure but whatever it is the Supreme Court said about the Labor Party, Abure has given a mortal blow to that party. Had it been that Val Ozigbo waited for a little to see if the court would validate the caretaker-chairperson, the Labor Party could have put up a good fight in Anambra state.
I am not talking of winning because all power belongs to God. At least it could have landed in the gray areas of the story told by our forefathers about the wrestling match between the tortoise and the lion. In that story, the tortoise having been snatched up by the lion, pleaded with the him to put him down for only one minute, before taking him away. In the magnanimity of the lion, he put the tortoise down. The tortoise used his legs and hands to scatter the sand in front of his house, and asked the lion to now take him away.
The lion in wonder asked the tortoise, “What is the meaning of that drama?” The tortoise replied to the lion, “Anyone who visited this area would know that it was not easy for you to take me away.” That would have been the position of the Labor Party had it been that Val Ozigbo did not jump ship. Ozigbo joined APC (All Progressive Congress) to battle APGA (All Progressive Grand Alliance) being represented by the incumbent His Excellency Governor Soludo.
All the political gladiators in Nigeria knew that it was nearly impossible to unseat an incumbent unless there was an allegation that you slapped a Catholic priest, wherein the Catholics would go to war against that governor before that case would get to court. If you doubt me ask the former governor of Imo State. Therefore, I do not see an incumbent losing his seat very easily; rather the incumbent would promise the government at the center of heaven and earth.As we look forward, PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) was the first party to govern Anambra state from 1999-2003, when the country returned to the new democratic dispensation. My mother was a teacher, and my father was a civil servant. Both of them were not paid for 18 months under the PDP governor (Governor Chinweoke Mbadinauju).
In my assessment, he was the worst governor ever produced by the Anambra people. I remember that a bishop rejected his donation to the church and asked him to add a little money to it and pay the teachers and the civil servants. I was very happy because I was present on that occasion.
When a political party destroys itself, they should not look around searching for who to blame. I heard PDP had no viable candidate, but I saw one of my students, Jude Ezenwafor picking up the form in the PDP secretariate in Awka some weeks ago. I have nothing more to say about that, but I wish them well. Our people say that the river that drowned the elephant is the same river the tortoise is preparing to cross. Anambra state is the real ground for the political matador. Since the birth of Peter Obi in the political midwifery of Anambra state, the seat has become as hot as a red pan. Anambra state has killed many political Godfathers and Godsons. PDP has not recovered from the political wilderness that the good people of Anambra sent them to in 2003. I heard the APC is trying to wrestle power from Anambra State because it is the heart of the Igbo nation. I should not advise the APC central government about what the Anambra people will do if you try to impose a person on them. We do not know Willy Obiano, but we trusted Peter Obi. When Peter Obi wanted to remove Willy Obiano the Anambra people said “We love you, but you do not tell us who to vote for since we are not dummies.” Obi learned the hard way, although we massively voted for him in the presidential election. In the Nigerian equation, we cannot be compared with Lagos, Rivers, and Kano, where one person would dominate the political terrain for years. We respect our elders, but we do not bow to greed.Now who will challenge the incumbent governor of Anambra state?
The question is pregnant, but the answer is simple. The challenger is the central government which is the government at the center. The federal government is the government in charge of INEC. The APC-led candidate is the ruling party in Nigeria. All of the above are the same people. We saw what happened in Edo State which made the two parties claim victory, but INEC announced APC. Both APC and PDP are still in court, but we do not wish to go to court because of our election. The winner should be announced immediately after the election and the loser should call the winner to congratulate him.
Politics is a game, and the winner should show magnanimity in victory and the loser should imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship. Everyone should get his voter’s card ready and prepare to guide his vote. No violence should be encouraged by any quarter.
All the contestants are sons and daughters of Anambra, so no one is a lesser being than the other. All should be given equal rights and an opportunity to campaign on a level playing ground. If the governor did well, the result will show, and if he did not the result will show. My experience about voting and political horse-trading is that the people who have no voter’s card make the most noise and win and lose elections sitting on the bench in front of their house making a hell of a noise. Do not listen to those people because they see the moon from a shelter (Ono na ndo fu onwa). Go out and vote and defend your vote. Stand up and be counted. We can see the horizon: the future of Anambra is bright.
