That the November 16th 2013 governorship election in Anambra State have entered a bleeding stalemate accompanied by blaze of protests and roiling cloudy dust of iniquity is no longer news. What has continued to gore the minds of the good people of Anambra State and indeed conscientious Nigerians is why the state Governor Mr Peter Obi has decided to hoist on the people another illegitimate government sired in the most ignoble rigged elections in the annals of Nigerian history.
Anambra State is not just any other state in Nigeria but the state that sired men like Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe (the Zik of Africa), Dr Nwafor Orizu, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Dr Alex Ekwueme, Prof. Chinua Achebe, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, Mazi MCK Ajuluchukwu, Dr Chuba Okadigbo, Edwin Ume-Ezuoke, Cardinal Francis Arinze, Dr Pius Okigbo, Prof. Chike Obi, Chief Jerome Udorji, Philip Emeagwali, Igwe MN Ugochkwu, Sir Clement Akpamgbo, Justice Peter Umeadi, Dr Simon C Okolo, Prof Ben Nwabueze, Prof. Humphrey Nwosu, Chief Dozie Ikedife, Chief Augustine Ilodibe, Prof Dora Akuyili, Prof Chukwuma Soludo,and Oby Ezekwesili.
Others included Bishop P.C Ezeokafor, Maj-Gen. Sam Momah, Dr Olisa Agbakoba, Archbishop Maxwell Anikwenwa, Archbishop J.A Onyemelukwe, Archbishop Albert Obiefuna, Chief Anthony Enukeme, Justice E.C Ubaezuonu and a host of others too numerous to mention in this very brief space, that Mr Peter Obi should have allowed the will of the people to prevail, instead he chose to sit on the actual results and let INEC announce to the people a script he masterfully scripted inside the cocoon of Awka government house which have thrown the state into turmoil. Can he really look Anambra people in the face and tell them that what they were given was the actual result?
During the eight year reign of Mr Obi in Anambra State he systematically pauperized the people and used their N270billion local council fund to ensure the states Gubernatorial election comes out the way he wants.
The evil heart of most Nigeria’s current politicians have been at the root of the country’s underdevelopment, for how can you describe a situation where most of our ruling class will heartlessly allow their State economy to run comatose – no industrial cluster or strong businesses – to get the people adequately engaged, resulting in the crushing poverty that seem to envelope the entire populace and this the politicians exploit now and then to their heartless selfish gain.
Mr peter Obi the outgoing governor of Anambra State has consistently paid lip service to the development of the state economy in the eight years he piloted the affairs of the state. He covered up his gross ineptitude in countless economic development propaganda that has nothing to show on the ground, but high unemployment and penury among the people.
In the eight years of his administration, Obi refused to conduct local government election and within that period captured over two hundred and seventy billion naira (N270 billion) local council funds. This may have formed part of the money he used bazaar style on the people to destabilize and turn the house of worship to house of politics in order to rig State governorship election to his favour.
On Friday the 15th day of November 2013, when I finished what I was doing, I left for my home town in Orumba South LGA where I registered to cast my vote the next day. However as I passed the council headquarters at about 8:00pm, I noticed that everywhere was floodlit and in festivity.
On enquiry, I was informed that the newly appointed caretaker committee chairman of the local council was sharing out largesse from the State Governor on people in the council area from the age of 55 to probably influence favourable voting in the election the next day. Twenty thousand naira was said to have been doled out to each person, while agents of other political parties were said to have been bought over with money also. A source also alleged that election materials have arrived the council headquarters that night unaccompanied by any form of security.
Initially I did not believe all these especially the last statement until the next day when APGA political goons nearly barred me from voting on realization that I was not in their camp. My town is at the border of Anambra state with Abia and Imo state and a heaven for election riggers being very far from the center of activity..
At 9:00 am the next morning, I went to my polling booth for accreditation, and later at 1:00 pm, I returned to the polling station to cast my vote for the Party of my choice and queued up for the exercise. A political thug outfitted in Governor Peter Obi’s T shirt, came and told me to go home that they have closed voting. I asked him if it was APGA that closed voting or INEC since it was still 1:00 pm. A fellow who claimed to be polling official in- charge of the station also joined to tell me they have closed voting, and a woman to my great surprise wearing Labour party agent badge also joined to ask me to leave. I looked around and saw that about five polling boxes in the place were already stuffed to the brim, knowing the population of my community; I wondered where they got all those votes from.
Quietly I moved over to officials of INEC still waiting for voters there and gave them my press badge, they opened their register and noticed that I have not voted before and gave me voting material with which I performed my civic duties. But all those who queued up behind me never had such luck as they were never to cast their votes. All efforts I made for them to see reason and allow the people to vote fell on deaf ears as they called the police officers who have been following the Local Council Committee Chairman’s every whim to disperse everybody and close voting by 1:00 pm. While the police officers shot their guns into the ground and air to disperse everyone, the Council Caretaker Chairman who has watched the whole scene in silence kept his distance.
I grew up with that Council Caretaker Chairman and knew him like the bark of my hand. It was then that what I was told about electoral materials arriving our Local Government headquarters Friday night dawned on me, they were acting out a written script.
They actually wanted nobody’s votes, only a semblance of voting and in particular they did not want an opposition vote to go with their park. And I was reliably informed that the woman on Labour Party badge may be on APGA payroll as the party was said to have bought over most of the other Political Party Agents. Watching quietly the naked robbery of the people’s votes unfolding before me, my eyes suddenly rested on the bus the APGA goons arrived the polling station, painted all over with the picture of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and I started laughing. I wondered why these people and their master did not recall why Ojukwu chose the simple name of Dim instead of Chief. Ojukwu during his life time. He has never hidden his abhorrence of being called a thief in place of chief. Do they not realize that stealing the people’s votes and foisting an illegitimate puppet government on them is a heinous crime.
Ojukwu during his life time never tampered with public funds instead used his personal funds to execute the Biafra war and save his people. Governor Peter Obi who has consistently hoodwinked the people hiding under the mighty toga of our great Ikemba should realize that Ojukwu would not have done what he (Obi) is doing today in the State.
For instance the inability of the Obi administration to render 2012 and 2013 annual accounts to the public; embezzlements of over 270billion naira that have accrued to the States Local Governments over the past eight years he refused to conduct Local Council poll in the State; pauperization of the people and capturing of the State funds by Fidelity Bank PLC and NEXT INT NIG LTD would not have been entertained by Ojukwu.
It was Maitama Sule who once stated that “we have a large chunk of irresponsible people as politicians today. They did not come to lead us but to loot… and they are looting us blind”.
Also the popular English economist Tim Harford, using Cameroon as his case study on why countries remained poor, had this to say, “Development economists always tried to help poor countries get richer by improving primary education and public infrastructure, however as sensible as this approach looked, it was misguided because it focused only on a small part of the problem. A thieving leadership is a bigger problem than decaying infrastructure and parlous education systems”. That thieving leadership is a percentage of us, raised by the same debased culture hence the vicious circle of embezzlements.
INEC is today telling us not to make sweeping statements on the electoral impasse in Anambra state, that they only had one bad egg that compromised, but those thousands of youth corps members INEC used to conduct elections in the State, did anybody test their moral integrity and strengths of character to withstand the billions Governor Obi doled out through his hand- picked Caretaker Committee Chairmen in the 21 local government areas of the State to win his purported landslide in the stalemated election.
I have no problem with our NYSC members but governor Obi and all those that sang his hosanna eight years ago to force him down our throat, and today he is paying back by making the State a laughing stock before the world as a state that cannot conduct a simple election. In a report published in National Vision a week before the election captioned “Beware of the ides of Obi and Obiano” I tried to warn Nigerians of governor Obi’ s plan to perpetuate himself in power in the state, using his crony Obiano for another four years if not eight.
Governor Obi owe the people of Anambra state an apology, they committed no sin in making him their Governor. Anambra state cannot go the way of Troy because of Obi. He has done his part and should vacate the scene for young men with vision, innovation and technical knowledge to run Anambra State economy like a business and return the State on the part of progress and give hope to our people. Anambra people must be given a free hand to choose who rules them in a free and fair poll and INEC must see to this, since the full development of any nation in a democratic setting starts from the conduct of a free and fair poll.
