OPINION: The Man With A Second Eye

By Amanze Obi

Sometime last week, a retired military officer with whom I usually share easy moments called me. I thought he was going to accuse me, as always, of being responsible for his occasional dalliances with Victorian blue stockings. But he did not, this time. He was focused on something more serious. I could feel the urgency in his voice. I was still struggling to adapt to his new mood when he thundered thus: “Amanze, why are your people not declaring for the presidency? What is wrong with your people? Look, nobody will give you president if you don’t push for it.”

My response came without hesitation. “Anyim has declared. Ohuabunwa has declared. Some others like Peter Obi are warming up. Moghalu is also in the picture.” But the man disagreed sharply. “Anyim has not declared.” But I insisted that he has. But my friend was not persuaded. He then said he was going to call Anyim to hear directly from him. He did not comment on the other names that I mentioned.

I knew where my officer-friend was coming from. He was merely reechoing the received impression among many Nigerians that the Igbo are going about their quest for the presidency half-heartedly. Such Nigerians are asking: why do a people want the presidency so badly, yet no one is stepping forward among them to declare for the office? It is widely believed among many Nigerians that the Igbo are agitating for the presidency in the abstract; that they are not giving flesh and blood to the quest. The question they always ask is: “ where are the aspirants? The overriding impression is that the Igbo are not matching words with action in their agitation.

But I have always argued that the Igbo are not fighting shy in this matter. The absence of a multiplicity of aspirants may well be a matter of strategy. A multiplicity of Igbo aspirants may even foul the atmosphere. It could become a tool of criticism by those who will stop at nothing to fault the Igbo approach to the presidential quest.

However, as the scenario unfolds, we have to begin our inquiry with those who have stood up to be counted. Anyim Pius Anyim, the former President of the Senate, is one such person.

Long before now, I had packaged Anyim as a man with well developed intuitive faculties. As an analyst and commentator, I observed him wade through the banana peels that the office of the President of the Senate was strewn with at the time he occupied the high office. He weathered the storm. After that uneasy ride, Anyim stepped aside. He does not play idle politics. He bids his time, waiting for an opportune time to strike. That was why he stayed at the background for two election seasons after serving as Senate President. Then, as 2011 was approaching, Anyim declared: “Count me in” He had finished with his home work. The eight-year political hibernation paid off handsomely. When he stepped forward, he was appointed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Anyim surely knows when to beat a tactical retreat and when to step out to be counted. I said that of him while welcoming the array of personalities that graced my book presentation last month. Anyim was chairman of the event. I had, while giving account of the event in BROKEN TONGUES of 18th October, 2021, said of him:

“ Anyim Pius Anyim, the wary politician who knows when to be in and when to be out of politics set the tone for what turned out to be a huge intellectual and political fiesta. Anyim does not waste words. He has a ready wit that matches his words with his actions.” That was my summation of this chary politician.

But there is much more to say about Anyim. The man is always on his guard. He is cautious, circumspect and constantly alert. He operates with a certain intuition that makes many to associate him with the sixth sense. But I refuse to sound outlandish. I am rather persuaded to feel that the man has a second eye. He has the capacity for critical examination. He sees beyond the surface. That is why I see his decision to bid for the presidency at this time as well considered.

As he usually does, Anyim must have done his homework. He must have taken a critical look at the scenario. He must have applied the second eye in his ratiocination and analysis. And after a well-rehearsed probe, Anyim is convinced that the best opportunity is here.

The thinking behind the decision of Anyim to run for the presidency cannot be divorced from the Nigerian situation. The country is embroiled in a hot controversy. Where does the presidency go to after Buhari? Individuals and interest groups have been moving forth and back in this matter. But the pull keeps gravitating towards the south east. The zone has all the arguments going for it. Power, if Nigeria still has anything to do with equity , is programmed to return to the south. We do not need to overemphasize the fact that the south east, more than any other southern zone, deserves that slot. This will happen if justice and fair play are brought into the mix. This mix is the recipe for peace and progress in the country.

As a man with a prodigious sense of justice, Anyim has been selling this idea to Nigerians. When certain hawks within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently wanted to railroad the party into zoning the presidency to the north in 2023, Anyim was one of the strong voices that pulled the party back from self destruction. The PDP is still vacillating over the matter. But it is hoped that wise counsel will prevail in the end.

The likes of Anyim stand to gain when Nigerians begin to appreciate the fact that the country stands to benefit from a president of Igbo extraction. More than any other majority ethnic group, the Igbo are broad-minded. They are more Nigerian than the rest of the flock given their cosmopolitan outlook. Since the entire Nigeria is their canvas, the Igbo man is the ultimate brush tool that will leave no space unmanned if he is given the opportunity to serve the country. The Anyims of the south east epitomize this Igbo tendency.

As a man who has always operated at the centre, Anyim has built bridges of understanding. His friends cut across zones. Significantly, those friends of his from outside his ethnic group believe in him. When Anyim tells Nigerians that he will bring diverse groups together for the good of the country, they believe him. When he tells them that he will provide the leadership that Nigeria lacks, they believe him. They believe him because he has been tested. Now, the time to repose the ultimate trust in him beckons. This man with a second eye is sifting through the rubble. He promises to find the tree for the woods.

Obi, PhD, a former Imo State Commissioner, is a Columnist with The Sun