On Tuesday last week, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) held its Primary election to choose its flag bearer in the coming gubernatorial election in Anambra State. It was one event that demonstrated the resolve of the party to win the coming Anambra gubernatorial election in clear, unmistakable terms.
For the first time in a long while, attentive Nigerians saw a well-organized convention in which the members of a political party acted as members of one ideological family. We saw, for instance, the emergence of a consensus candidate that rose with the visible approval of his fellow party men and women to clinch the party flag. We saw a seamless democratic process where there was not the slightest hint of rancour or disagreement. And we also saw the joy that lit up the faces of party men and women when the man they had chosen to fly the party flag was given his certificate of return. All these little things point in the direction of a strong resolve to approach the coming contest with one thing in mind – VICTORY.
Victory for Governor Willie Obiano!
Indeed, if I were a member of any of the opposition parties limbering up to run against APGA in the coming election, I would be worried. I would be worried at the level of organization on display at the party's convention. I wouldn’t be fooled by the antics of Martin Agbaso and his three friends who had made failed attempts to create confusion with a series of law suits because the case is actually clear. The constitution of APGA recognizes three organs through which the party makes decisions; the National Convention, the National Executive Committee and the National Working Committee. None of these organs sat to select Agbaso as the National Chairman of the party. The leadership of any political party is naturally a choice of the members of the party, not a hostile imposition by a court of law. So, it is crystal clear that Agbaso and his team are simply bent on laying a legal landmine for Obiano and nothing more. And that was set aside last week by the Appeal Court in Enugu.
Indeed, there are many other reasons why Obiano cannot be stopped. If the signal from the newly formed UPP is anything to go by, the party has absolutely no business contesting election. From inception, UPP has floundered from one crisis to another like a rolling stone. At the moment, the party has a lot of explanation to give Ndi Anambra. It has to explain for instance, why its first attempt to hold an election ended with an alleged murder. The party’s shoddily arranged primary that produced Osita Chidoka as the party’s candidate allegedly claimed the life of Uwakwe Mmaduabuchi, a delegate from Owerre Ezukala Ward 1. Mmaduabuchi’s death is too costly a sacrifice for the quaint aspirations of a party that cannot even organise its first political outing. The hard fact is therefore that Osita Chidoka and his afflicted UPP are already dead on arrival. Ndi Anambra have too much respect for the sanctity of human life to give any party that starts off with the spilling of human blood a chance. Mbanu!
Like the troubled UPP, the APC has absolutely no place in Anambra State. After plunging the nation into avoidable mess, it would take only a suicidal people to give APC a chance in any state in Nigeria. Again, the party's rabid hatred for the South East which has reenforced the hard-line position of self-determination activists in the region has pitched APC against the electorate in the state. To make matters worse, the party's hateful rhetoric of 97% vs 5% that has sired growing calls for either restructuring or outright dismemberment of the country is a tragic slip that has marked it out as a platform to avoid. Beside this, many indigenes of the state cannot forgive the APC government for putting businessman, Ifeanyi Ubah in detention for several months over a sour business deal. Ubah's humiliation is seen by many fans of his football club as a slight that APC will account for at the right time. So, APC in Anambra State is like an ambitious flower trying to sink roots in concrete. A hopeless effort!
The same situation applies to PDP in Anambra State. The party has never been able to rise above its internal wrangling and endless factionalism. In fact, the bitter wars in Anambra PDP are forever. One of the factional leaders, Ken Ameakayi has just been purportedly expelled from the party. He has retreated to a corner where he is plotting his revenge. The former Secretary to Anambra State government, Mr Oseloka Obaze is filing out for the race that also has Ifeanyi Ubah and former aviation minister Stella Oduah gearing up for the coming duel. The race for the party's ticket will be brutal. Factions will emerge. Cracks will appear on the party's wall that will never heal before November 18. To many discerning people in Awka, Anambra's PDP has never been anything more than a trade name with which some hard-nosed politicians negotiate juicy deals for themselves. This positioning will not change any time soon. Neither will the perception change.
Against this backdrop, Governor Willie Obiano looms over the political landscape like a solar eclipse about to swallow up every candidate with his immense shadow. His stellar achievements speak eloquently of the road that Anambra must follow. And indeed, Ndi Anambra have continued to acknowledge and appreciate his achievements. The endorsements have been coming from every corner of the state. All the town unions of the 181 towns in the state have endorsed him. The Anambra Farmers Association, the Labour unions and the state civil servants, women groups, traders, traditional rulers and different youth associations have all endorsed him. The Country Representative of the United Nations has also applauded his visionary approach to governance. Surely, all these people cannot be false witnesses. Theybmust have seen something that governor Obiano is doing right.
Finally, the argument on zoning favours him. A few days ago, the state council of elders reemphasized their support for zoning. At the moment, no other candidate from Anambra North is in a better position to carry the hopes and aspirations of Anambra North into the coming race than Obiano.
All things considered, it would take an unimaginable travesty to deny Governor Willie Obiano a well-earned second term in office. And such a travesty looks unlikely in Anambra State at the moment.
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