The cross is the symbol of the passion of Jesus Christ in Christendom. It represents Christ’s tribulations, culminating in his physical bearing of the wooden cross in a procession, customary to the ancient Roman Empire, derogatorily preserved for thieves and allied criminals, stoned and jeered at on their way to final execution by tying their hands and feet, and then nailing them to the cross for a most gruesome death. It represents excruciating pain, betrayal and abandonment by one’s trusted friends in his moment of great need. Conventionally, people regard their tribulations and vicissitudes as cross-bearing, especially Christians whose master and founder redeemed via the cross.
Governor Willie Maduabuchi Obiano(Akpokuedike), has had his fill of cross-bearing, since his entry into the murky waters of Nigerian politics. Before his enigmatic return from the United States of America to join the political race, following the consensus to zone the governorship to the North Senatorial Zone of Anambra State, an array of contestants had been paraded by the erstwhile governor, Peter Obi.
Each of the contestants had the firm promise of Peter Obi, causing confusion and bad blood amongst them. In the rat race, following the entry of Chief Willie Maduabuchi Obiano, Akpokuedike, almost at the last minute, there was an almost spontaneous propaganda of calumny by the candidates, who accused him of numerous shortcomings. His record of retiring from Fidelity bank where Peter held sway, did not help matters.
It was easy to presume that Chief Obiano was therefore the anointed candidate of Peter. In unison, all the candidates, without exception, accused Chief Obiano of being a stooge and a lackey of Peter Obi, whom they said was scheming to ensure that his flanks were covered. They called him a minion and an impostor and an empty vessel that only made noise and nothing more. They impugned on his character, associating him with objectionable and obnoxious acts not professional to be repeated here. This formed the basis for a very disparaging public image, bandied about by opposing parties and the generality of electorates. For a man of uncommon pedigree, candour and panache, it was a huge pain in the heart to be so maligned. An astute accountant, banker and international external auditor for Texaco worldwide, among others, it was a cross too heavy to bear, especially, coming from his brothers from Anambra North.
It was not easy to change this wrong impression about a man upon who destiny has thrust the mantle of leadership of Anambra State. Resilience is the second nature of born leaders, and so, undaunted, Willie, as he is fondly called, soldiered on, breaking new grounds with his oratory, and issue-driven campaign.
A “child” of destiny, Willie won the governorship primaries of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with a landslide.
In a twist that still smoulders with a pungent smoke of blood-letting and fratricidal acrimony, the lingering squabble ignited by Peter, pitching a new National leadership of APGA, led by Chief Maxi Okwu against the authentic national Chairman Chief Victor Umeh, became a big cog in the wheel of the party. This faction trumped up an alternate governorship candidate in the person of Chief Chike Obidigbo, an industrialist also from Anambra North.
In the heat of this chicanery, came the big surprise of the slim runner-up of the governorship primaries, maverick Mrs Uche Ekwunife, rushing to court to stop the candidature of Chief Obiano, claiming the mandate, on the spurious ground that Chief Obiano was not properly elected, and technically disqualified by double registration. She later, dramatically withdrew the suit, but continued as a black leg of APGA till her carpet-crossing to the People’s Democratic Party, thus ending the guess as to where she stood. Peter’s desertion on the heels of the defection of Ekwunife and her fellow renegades proves beyond all reasonable doubts that he was the mastermind of Ekwunife’s bold moves to snatch victory from Obiano through the backdoor. Up to the Supreme Court, the alternate APGA candidate, Obidigbo, PDP’s Nwoye and APC’s Ngige formed an unholy coalition aimed at bringing down Chief Obiano at all costs.
Unfolding events have proved a deeper betrayal of the authentic APGA by the reprobate leader, Peter Obi. From the pitching of Okwu as alternate national APGA Chairman against Chief Victor Umeh because of their (Peter vs Umeh) imbroglio, Obi had decided to throw away the baby with the bath tub.
Peter’s jig saw game stripped him of any authentic claim of being the “god father” of any candidate.
At best, he had played the dangerous game of one shaky leg here and another there, leading to his loss of control and respect.
Before Obiano’s swearing in as governor, Peter literally emptied the state’s treasury by indiscriminate award of contracts, payments, donations and all time employment of Labour at the twilight of his departure. It was indeed a huge cross for governor Obiano to watch the state’s impoverishment by the outgone megalomaniac Peter. It was also rumoured that Peter monopolized appointments into the new government by insisting on prime positions for his cronies.
The cross of all crosses for governor Obiano was the jumping of ship by Mr Obi almost rocking the boat of state in search of a “greener pasture” in the PDP, after failing to clinch the position of Aviation minister, long rumoured to be his in-waiting.
The patient dog eats the fattest bone. With his focused, non-ambitious determination, governor Obiano, within so short a time, has set an all high record of turning the state around with people-oriented projects, devoid of vain glory and showmanship. He has passed through hard and trying times, abandoned in the lurch too soon, by his self-styled godfather Peter.
So, without weaning, this “baby”, without crawling, learnt by force, to stand, and indeed, almost running. This is the very dividend of cross-bearing, a truism of the old wise saying that there is no CROWN without a CROSS.
AUSTEN CHUDI ANYAEJI
WRITES FROM OKIJA, IHIALA LGA, ANAMBRA STATE
