By: Sam Onwuemeodo
That, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and its governorship Candidate, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo are at the verge of winning landslide, in the Anambra State guber Poll, should not be surprising to all those who had correctly read and interpreted the handwriting on the wall before the election proper.
That, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its own Candidate, Senator Andy Uba are also at the point of losing their deposits in the election, should not also surprise all those who had followed the process that produced him as the Candidate of the Party.
You do not build something on nothing. You do not build a Castle, on sinking sand.
Adams Oshiomole left behind a virus in APC, with regard to the Party’s Primaries. The party would collect millions from party members wishing to contest its primaries. On the day of the Primary , while the aspirants and their supporters would be waiting at the designated venue for the exercise and for the materials and personnel to arrive, the name of someone would be announced at the Party’s National office, as the winner of a Primary that was not Conducted.
It happened in Imo in 2019 in the Party’s guber Primary. It happened in Okigwe zone in the Senate Primary. It happened in Edo for the governorship. And lately, happened in the Party’s Primary for the Anambra election.
One of the key Contenders, George Moughala, was one of the South-East Politicians led by Owelle Rochas Okorocha, who joined the Merger that gave birth to APC. They withstood the mockery. The ridicule. The scorn. The threats. The blackmail. They toured the whole of South-East preaching the need for the zone to identify with APC.
Such a man was at the venue of the party’s primary for the Anambra guber, when the name of Andy Uba was announced by the leadership of the Party in Abuja as the Candidate of the party. A man who never believed in APC when it mattered most. I do not know who would say, there is no God. Only the sick in spirit would say that.
It would have been a different ball game, if the Primary was actually Conducted and the man, Moughalu, failed and seen to have failed.
Telling party members to assemble somewhere for the primary and announcing someone winner of the exercise that never took place, has become the rule, instead of the exception in APC. And God does not support such evil practice.
APC as a party, must stop that invidious practice now or continue to suffer for it.
Let me also say this. And rebuild the nation. On January 14, 2020, the Supreme Court Sacked Chief Emeka Ihedioha as the governor of Imo State. And declared Chief Hope Uzodinma as Ihedioha’s replacement. And that was it. It didn’t matter how anybody had felt about that Judgement.
The Supreme Court had ruled that Uzodinma should be sworn-in as Imo governor. And that was done without much ado.
But there was an aspect of the Judgement that has Continued to vibrate. And the key beneficiary of that Judgement, Uzodinma, has not done anything to take care of that aspect.
That’s the plethora or avalanche of protest that greeted the Supreme Court Judgement. And the scars left behind by the protest.
The protest did not and could not have changed the Judgement. But the ugly impression created by the protest about the Judgement and its beneficiary has remained seeming and disturbing.
The National leadership of the PDP led a protest in Abuja that took them to embassies. They didn’t do that to change the Judgement. Or, for the fun of it. They did that to discredit the Judgement and its beneficiary. To leave a serious stain on the Judgement. And on the Imo governor.
To take care of that aspect or to reduce the choking effect of the protest, Governor Uzodinma would have kept away from certain events or scenes. He needed to stoop low to consolidate and then, overcome. He needed to put on the armour of sobriety. And avoid threats, intimidation, and sounding like a war commander. He should have subscribed to lying low, while remaining focused.
Instead, he Continued to carry on as if nothing happened. When in actual fact, something serious happened.
The Edo election came, he accepted to be deeply involved for APC and its Candidate. And all the PDP in Edo needed to say, to win the election against the APC was that “Edo is not Imo”. It became a slogan. And that was the winning strike or game for Obaseki and his Party.
The Imo governor on his own, also marketed the “Supreme Court governor” stuff, when the man adjudged to be behind that, was arrested and taken to Court. The arrest and arraignment with the attendant media hype, strengthened or further raised the pole of the excruciating effect of the post Supreme Court Judgement’s Protest.
The APC also made governor Uzodinma leader of the Party’s Campaign/election team for the Anambra guber Poll.
Like Edo, Anambra APGA found solace or winning flavour in the “Anambra is not Imo”song. And the die was Caste.
The Imo governor would have filed behind Chris Ngige . APC and its Candidate, Ubah also lost on the basis of the Campaign that “Anambra is not Imo”.
The APC members in Anambra didn’t see Andy Uba as one of them. They know themselves. They know Chris Ngige. They know Moughalu. And so on. They never knew Uba as APC member.
And those who had joined APC in Anambra before now, had done so because of Ngige, Moughalu and few others. These social media entrants into APC did not exist in reality. So, the core APC people felt that they had no stake in the election. And they were right to a large extent.
It is also more annoying that the leadership of the party has never taken any of the core APC members in Anambra or any of the South-East States to see President Muhammadu Buhari in the Villa.
In the South-East, the Senators and House of Representatives members elected on the tickets of APC have never been taken to Aso Rock to see Baba.
But the deputy governor of Anambra State and two or three House of Representatives members who pretended to have decamped to APC from APGA few days to the election, were taken to the Villa to meet with President Buhari and they took photographs and shook hands with him. Perhaps, had launch with him.
Whereas those who embraced APC on arrival, have not been accorded such attention or privilege. It was very disappointing and provoking. Not encouraging at all. At all, at all.
That is the reason the real APC members in the South-East have begun to celebrate the already secured Victory of APGA and Soludo.
And also celebrating the abysmal outing of APC and its Candidate. Who says, there is no God?
In other words, what any other party needs to say to win its election against APC is that “so so State , is not Imo”. God forbid. Imo can not afford to continue to bear or live with such blackmail. Such stigma.
But governor Uzodinma must help. The ball is in his Court.
Even few hours to the election in Anambra on Saturday, Governor Uzodinma’s media aides had begun to Celebrate the Victory of APC and Uba. One wrote, “Before Senator Andy Uba is declared the winner today or tomorrow”
. When they say or write such things, they are obviously and further blackmailing their Principal. Perhaps, unknown to them. They had come up with such boasting because of what most onlookers know or feel. And it is not the best.
Unfortunately for them, the chips have been down. APC and Uba have ended up embarrassing their supporters in Anambra and all APC members in Nigeria, with their poor outing. And inspite of all the noise.
There is no point asking who did this to APC. It was Oshiomhole who began the abracadabra. And Mala Buni saw it as fine. And here they are today. Who says, God no dey?.
All in all, the fortunes of APC do not lie in the suspicious decampees who would loose their Polling units, but it lies in taking the party back to those who embraced it when it mattered most. And without any inducement either in cash or in material.
They subscribed to the party based on their Convinction. And not because they were given money.
You do not sideline such people and hope to make progress. It does not work that way.
You eat or reap where you have sown. You do not reap where you have not sown.
l have said my own. But we Shall Continue to Clap for Jesus.