Anambra 2017: The gathering storm

Ahead of the November 2017 governorship election in Anambra State, South-East Bureau Chief, JUDE OSSAI, takes a look at the intrigues, issues and personalities that will shape the poll, concluding that an epic battle might be ahead.

EXPECTEDLY, political tempo in Anambra State is gathering momentum, with stakeholders and political office seekers engaged in intrigues that are already raising the stakes ahead of the November 2017 governorship election.

Historically, Anambra, which prides itself as the «Light of the Nation,» has been known with the culture of money politics, perhaps because of its large presence of men and women of means. The question, therefore, has been whether the state would continue in that tradition or there would be, in the spirit of the change mantra of the ruling party, a change, which some people would call a deviation from the norm whenever a governorship contest is afoot.

At the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held sway with Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju as governor of the state. He oversaw an era that many people in the state like to view as one with mixed feelings. Political observers are always quick to point at his worrisome record with workers in the state. It will be recalled that workers in the state were owed salaries for several months, which led to a series of industrial actions by civil servants, primary and post-primary school teachers.

Critics of Mbadinuju’s government would not forgive some high-profile politicians in the state who they claimed hijacked the government. It was probably in revolt that Mbadinuju lost the PDP ticket to Dr Chris Ngige in 2003. Typical of Anambra State, a high tension drama soon ensued, which led to the exit of Ngige as governor of the state and installation of another PDP top shot, Andy Ubah as executive governor of the state. But it didn’t take long before the PDP’s scale of measurement became over-full, as the people appeared to have been done with the party, which though took over power, lost it to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) through the court. Dr Peter Obi took over as the governor of the state in 2005, thus beginning the reign of APGA in the state since then.

Today, as the state inches closer to the next governorship contest, though APGA appears to have cemented its hold on the state, other major political parties such as PDP, United Progressives Party (UPP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) have been engaging in ground-shaking political moves that would make the contest heated and highly competitive.

The parties and their chances

For the PDP, which still has a sizable number of supporters in the state, the struggle for power between  Senator Ben Obi and former Governor Peter Obi could spell its undoing in the election. The two chieftain are said to have begun to lock horns in a renewed battle for the soul of the party, with a source, who didn’t want to be named noting that the move by the Anambra PDP stakeholders to install a new unified chairman has polarised the party into two camps. While Ben Obi, the acting national secretary of the party is leading one faction, the former governor, Obi is the arrowhead of the other, the source said. Reports had it that Prince Ken Emekayi has refused to throw in the towel as the chairman of his faction, consequently undermining the powers of the Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee of the party.

While the PDP has been said to have a strong chance of upsetting the apple cart in the election, however, insinuations have emerged that a top member of the party might have gone into a secret alliance with the incumbent governor, Willie Obiano, of APGA, to ensure that the PDP fields a weak candidate for the election so that he [Obiano] can emerge as winner at the end. Though this is not confirmed, political observers in the state are making the claim that horse trading is not new to the PDP in Anambra State, noting that it had the chance to win the governorship election in 2013 after the expiration of Peter Obi’s tenure, but for a secret deal that it should leave the state for APGA while the latter would return the favour by voting for the PDP in the presidential election in the state.

The silence of some PDP chieftains, such as the self-acclaimed grandfather of Anambra politics, Chief Chris Uba, among others, has also been said to be causing unease among the party’s hierarchy in the state.

In the APC, one of the notable politicians said to be eyeing the governorship seat is the current Minister of Labour and Productivity, Senator Chris Ngige. Dr Ngige is not a starter in the politics of Anambra State, having already governed the state for a few months between 2003 and 2005. In 1999, he was the Assistant National Secretary and Zonal Secretary of the PDP in the South-East geopolitical zone. It will be recalled how Anambra State was thrown into political turmoil in 2003, following the undue influence of  Chief Chris Uba on the government of Ngige, which led to the melodrama of a governor’s abduction and his controversial exit from office.

Also in the run for the race to the Awka Government House in November on the side of the APC is the senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District, Dr Andy Uba. Uba is said to enjoy the support of the people across the 21 local governments of the state.

The state chairman of the party, Emeka Ibe told reporters in Awka recently that about 13 persons, including the ex-Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Professor Charles Soludo, have indicated interests to be governor in Anambra state on the platform of APC.

In the UPP, names like that of former Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) boss, Osita Chidoka, continue to ring across the state, with an array of other contenders also jostling for the party’s ticket.

The IPOB boycott threat twist

The trepidation in the land over the forthcoming governorship poll in Anambra State is real and not in any way misplaced. It is the home of the major and most influential political godfathers and godsons, as well as king makers in the South-East. The home of the late Odumegwu Ojukwu of the blessed memory, Second Republic vice-president, Dr Alex Ekwueme, late Chuba Okadigbo, the Uba family, as well as many other political titans, who wield awesome political influence within and outside the entire South-East. It is also the root of the former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anayaoku, whose towering image looms large across the country.

The trajectory of the state since 1999 when the country restored civil rule makes the election highly instructive and indeed, a cynosure of all eyes. In a number of instances, the state was always in the news for wrong reasons at different times.  Few instances will suffice. A sitting governor of the state, Ngige was abducted from office by agents of some political godfathers, who had an axe to grind with the former governor now the Minister of Labour.

Another governor of the state, Mbadinuju also had a running battle with some forces within the political circle in the state in alliance with some external forces. And for the greater part of the political dispensation so far, the Uba family had largely dictated the pace in the politics of the state, where money politics is not just the norm but also seems to have become a tradition.

But the November 2018 contest has been said to be coming at a time when a new twist is being introduced to the politics of the state, with threats from separatist groups not only heightening tension among the people, but also appearing likely to be capable of influencing the political situation in the state. For instance, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) led by Nnamdi Kanu has continued its vow that no election would be allowed in the state if the Federal Government refuses to organise a referendum on the state of Biafra. His constant threat has drawn him against the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the Movement for Biafra Reformation (MBR), as well as security operatives, following IPOB’s repeated calls for the boycott of the governorship poll slated for November this year.  Kanu had emphasized that except the Federal Government met IPOB’s demand, elections would not be allowed to hold in the region, stressing that he would use the November 2017 governorship election in Anambra state to set example for what is to come in the future.

Apparently disturbed by the call for a boycott, however, the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex body of Igbo socio-cultural associations, had swiftly distanced itself from the IPOB position, saying a boycott of the forthcoming election in Anambra State would not be in the interest of Ndigbo. Warning that IPOB should not arrogate to itself the supreme leadership of Igbo land, the President-general of the pan-Igbo group, John Nwodo, while addressing members of the Anambra House of Assembly in Awka, queried the rationale behind the call for boycott. Nwodo said Kanu’s call was not only provocative and misleading but also unproductive and advised the people to ignore him.

According to Nwodo, “why should Anambra people be denied the opportunity to choose their own leader? Nobody, no matter how highly placed, can dictate to Anambra people when to vote, whether to vote or who to vote for. Anambra, nay Igbos, are still part and parcel of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Yes, we are not happy with our treatment in Nigeria; some of us want Biafra. Yes, some of us prefer a restructured Federal Republic of Nigeria, but the fact remains that we are still part and parcel of the present Federal Republic of Nigeria, bound by its laws, no matter how repressive or unjust.”

While cautioning the IPOB leaders, the former minister of information said, “Our approach to the reforms of our laws even if it leads to self-determination or restructuring, must be lawful. We must convince other Nigerians of our point of view; we must strive to make others share our convictions. Our language must be civil, respectful and lead to consensus building.

‘‘We must resist any attempt to allow division among us, as to which way we must go; it must not become a source of altercations between us. As we speak, very many of our people living in the North are in complete awe and consternation regarding how safe they will be after October 1st. Other Northerners living among us are also worried,” Nwodo added.

Also reacting to the boycott threat by IPOB, the Buhari Support Organisation (BSO), said it was happy with Nwodo for coming to terms with how dangerous the hate and provocative speeches of Kanu could be to Igbo interest and Nigeria.  According to the Publicity Secretary of the Enugu State Chapter of BSO, Chibueze Eze, the organisation was happy with Ohanaeze leadership for disowning Kanu and his movement for declaring that governorship election would not hold in Anambra State in November this year as well as his (Kanu) coronation as superior “Ochiagha Ndigbo.”

“We of Buhari Support Organisation Enugu State are glad to hear our dear senior brother, Chief Nnia Nwodo president of Ohanezecoming to terms with the danger posed by Nnamdi Kanu’s rhetorical hate speeches Kanu has been making. To be frank, we are glad to hear Ohaneze publicly disown Nnamdi Kanu and his group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), via a terse statement by Nwodo, saying ‘News that reached us in the past few days that Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, has declared that there will be no election in Anambra State in November is shocking and disturbing. I hereby countermand that declaration just as President-General of Ohanaeze’,” Eze said.

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s advice to IPOB has, however, appeared to be yielding fruits, as another pro-Biafra group, which called itself the Movement for Biafra Reformation (MBR) told Sunday Tribune in Enugu at the weekend that they were not part of IPOB agenda on the boycott of the Anambra election, though they share same dream for an independent state out of the present day Nigeria. The leader of BRM, Comrade Ndubuisi Igwekani, popularly called “Agu Biafra,” who was visibly not happy with Kanu and his style of agitation, recalled that the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) led by Ralph Uwazurike had taken a similar position that Igbo should boycott the last population census, which reportedly made many Igbo not to participate fully in the exercise, a development that partly led to the depression of the official number of the ethnic group.

“Agu Biafra” had also told reporters in Enugu recently that “most Igbo’s were not counted, and our number continued to decrease. So, we must be careful in our decisions and tactful in some actions we ask our people to take, especially those that will not benefit them. Asking our people to boycott the election in Anambra may be an opportunity for an enemy to rule the state, and I don’t see how beneficial it is to the Biafra struggle; it is rather against the interest of our people.

“Asking our people to boycott the election in Anambra may be an opportunity for an enemy to rule the state, and I don’t see how beneficial it is to the Biafra struggle; it is rather against the interest of our people. The person championing that cause I am even suspecting him because whether we boycott or not, elections will still hold and boycotting will not help us achieve Biafra rather we will be creating room for our enemies to come in,” he said.

The Peter Obi vs Obiano factor

The immediate past governor of the state, Obi is akin to the proverbial cat with nine lives. His ascendancy to the Government House was tortuous and heart-rending, as he managed to have survived several plots and high-tech intrigues designed to consign him and his mandate to the dustbin of history. His doggedness, bravery and steadfastness guided his path through to the Supreme Court, which eventually restored his mandate and through tact, spent the maxim two terms of four years each in power. Having succeeded in overcoming a grand plot by some powerful political interest and force to frustrate his succession plan, it was assumed that his installed political son, Obiano and Obi would remain close political allies. Their relationship soon went awry, with the two camps engaging serious mudslinging and spilling the bean. So, to the two gladiators, the November poll is yet another veritable opportunity for muscle flexing and supremacy test, as Obiano and his party, APGA will be out to eclipse or dwarf the political stature of Obi, whose relationship with the PDP remains intact.