Anambra:The Demystification Of The Mighty

By Gideon Njoku

Barely one week ago, what not a few people thought was impossible happened in Anambra State. And, it was not that the November 6, 202, Governorship election held. And that there was no bloodshed. And that it produced a winner. No.

The days leading to the exercise were uncertain. They were rough. Nobody expected a real election. On the contrary, what was expected was a no-show, and/or bloodshed.

The Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, had imposed a sit-at-home order which coincided with the date of the election. In fact, opinions  are that the election was the target of the order by IPOB. In response, thousands of security personnel were let loose on the State in a show of force. Mercifully, IPOB cancelled its sit-at-home order. But these were not the impossible that happened. Either way, results were going to be declared. Somebody was going to be declared the winner. What was thought to be impossible in the calculations of many was the winner of the election – Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.

In the weeks and days running upto the election, not a few people had given up on the capability of APGA, the ruling party in the State, to win the election. Of course it had one of the best candidates out of the 18 candidates, but things were very rough for it. In fact, it is doubtful if APGA and its candidate entered the race hopeful.

Aside from the unprecedented insecurity that engulfed the State, weeks to the election, the Party had a run in its fold. It was an, almost, everyday affair. It lost a number of its high profile members. It was unprecedented. Those who left ranged from a member of its Board of Trustees, members of the House of Representatives (serving and former), members of the State House of Assembly (serving and former, including a former Speaker of the Assembly),  close Aides of the Governor (Advisers, Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants), to other high profile APGA members.

The limit was the defection of the State’s serving Deputy  Governor, Dr Nkem Okeke. And, as if these were not enough, on the eve of the election, the “heartbeat” of the party, literally, Iyom Bianca Ojukwu, wrote a public letter to her late husband, disavowing APGA, its activities and its leadership.

While alive, her husband, Dim Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, was the Leader of APGA. The party revolved around him. Most people believed in the party because of Ojukwu. They saw the party as theirs, as belonging to the Igbo, as giving the Igbo a sense of belonging. It remains same for them.

The beneficiary of the defections were the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its candidate, Senator Andy Uba. And it was not only from APGA that they benefited from. A number of high profile members of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, including a sitting Senator, Stella Oduah, also defected to the APC.  So, the APC and its candidate went into the election feeling real hip!

The feeling was helped by an inexplicable statement issued by the Anambra State Government on the eve of the election.

The statement, signed by the Commissioner for Information, C. Don Adinuba, raised an alarm that the APC already had the 10 most populated Local Government Areas in its bag. It alleged that in connivance with some Security Agents and some unscrupulous officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, APC had the results of the 10 LGAs. The alarm raised red flags of a defeat. The conclusion by many was that APGA had already seen the handwriting (of defeat) on the wall. And was already  making an excuse for its fall.

But the day of the election, Saturday November 6, the impossible happened. It was the unexpected by many. It was shocking. The mighty fell. And fell hard. They were demystified. The impossible became possible. APGA and Soludo won.

Their victory is bound to have a devastating effect on the political future of a couple of the mighty who fell.

Following, in no particular order, are a few of those who lost hard in the election.

They cut across political parties.

Deputy Governor Nkem Okeke: Only those who were close to him and the Anambra State Government knew that all was not well between him and the Governor, Willie Obiano. So, for  those who did not know, it came as a shock when they saw him at the Aso Rock Villa in a photograph with President Muhammadu Buhari and a couple of APC big wigs, flaunting the APC flag. He had dumped APGA, and defected to the APC. He did not defect quietly. He boasted that he would help thrash APGA at the polls. And, worse, he refused to quit his office as Deputy Governor, perhaps thinking APC would carry the day.

Only Okeke can explain his pains now. Has he any regrets or not? Obiano is in the office until March, 2022.

How Okeke will cope till then can only be imagined. Okeke did not only lose his Local Government Area, he lost his polling boot. He is one of the big time losers.

Bianca Ojukwu: Even though she did not defect to the APC or any other party, his open letter to her husband denouncing APGA, Obiano and the APGA leadership was a technical knockout. Many say it was in bad faith, and meant to devastate the party at it most vulnerable period.

Long before that time, her relationship with APGA and Obiano had soured. She said they dared disrespect the memory of her husband, the great Ikemba. She did not take part in any of their campaigns. Even though she was amongst the first to congratulate APGA, the contents of her letter could hunt her for sometime. APGA won inspite of her.

Minister Chris Ngige: He made no impact either in the campaign or the election. And even though he has occupied Anambra’s Ministerial slot since the Buhari regime, he lost his Local Government Area to APGA. In the wake of the party primary which saw Uba as the APC candidate, Ngige wrote-off the exercise as a no-no and criticized Uba’s emergence. He was among the first to congratulate Soludo on his victory. It is not known yet how the loss will affect Ngige’s status in the APC in future.

Senator Stella Oduah: The Senator was a surprise defector from the PDP to the APC. A former Aviation Minister during the President Goodluck Jonathan Government, the Ogbaru-born Oduah is a two-time Senator – both times under the PDP banner.

A couple of months ago, she  dumped the PDP  for the APC. She promised the APC votes and more votes. She said she was defecting with all her supporters.

But this last November 6, she added no electoral value to her new party. She not only lost her Senatorial Zone, she lost her LGA and her polling boot to the PDP. Her LGA was one of the two APGA lost. How her change of party will affect her political future is being awaited.

Senator Uche Ekwunife: Regarded as the number one female politician in Anambra State, Senator Ekwunife, PDP, has grassroots appeal. She had tried to be Governor about three times, none worked out. She took part in the recent primary, but Valentine Ozigbo carried the day. To appease her, and to tap into her grassroots appeal, she was appointed to lead Ozigbo’s campaign. She did not make much impact in the November 6 election. She not only lost her Senatorial zone, she lost her Njikoka LGA. The loss of her LGA to APGA is a big blow to her political future.

Peter Obi: Unarguably the most financially prudent Governor Nigeria has produced, Obi is a two-time Governor of Anambra State, both under the canopy of APGA before he was forced out of the party, and so, became a PDP member.

He was the Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2019 Presidential  election. Given his political clout in Nigeria, and Anambra in particular, and considering what he did for his people while he was Governor, it shocked not a few that he lost his Anaocha LGA to APGA. This is the second time he would suffer this loss. During the election that saw Obiano getting a second term, Obi also lost his LGA to APGA. In the instant case, he blamed the corruption of the electorate with money and said he would never indulge in that.

Serving, former Lawmakers,  and Obiano’s Aides: Those of them who jumped ship from APGA to APC, thinking of a big victory  for APC, have suddenly become losers. They have suddenly lost political relevance, and will likely be in the cooler for the next four years.

But politicians, one never knows. They may yet re-defect to APGA – with ready reasons.