Soludo’s Truth Commission

Charles Chukwuma Soludo

BY UGOJI EGBUJO

Gov Soludo has hit the ground running. But while running on slippery ground, haste should be made slowly.

Soludo has taken the bull by the horns. He is courageous. But with an angry bull, deep in a china shop, courage must be tempered with tact. While brimstones are still falling and daggers are still drawn, what’s the incentive to tell hurtful self-indicting truths? If Soludo had timed his truth commission with tact, he would have scheduled it for the post ceasefire period.

The magnificent Aguata local govt headquarters has been razed. A senseless culture of arson is afoot. It was razed the day Soludo named a truth commission. Hands and feet must be on deck to check the menace.

But a truth commission, no matter how noble, is not a fire bridge squad. A truth commission is supposed to excavate skeletons hidden by the rubble so that the living can heal. So that tomorrow can see yesterday. A truth commission constituted in the active case of atrocities will become, at best, a commission of inquiry. If Soludo wants a spade, let him go for a spade.

It’s important to make haste to alleviate poverty. A sensible governor must hurry to clear the mountains of filth choking and dehumanizing Okpoko people. Gov Soludo started well. Prosperity and well being can’t return without security. So Soludo started well. But politicians are politicians. And sometimes, the cheering carries them away.

So instead of running, they start galloping. Otherwise, how did Soludo, who touts himself as a solution provider, seek to inject a truth commission into the crises in the southeast without involving the other governors. Truth commission sounds lofty. And politicians want to claim ownership of ideas. But even lofty ideals, hastily and poorly conceived, can be grandiose.

Truth Commission is Restorative justice. The aim always is to unearth and consequently help healing and prevention. It’s hoped that Soludo Solution, at its core, isn’t this roadside cosmetology that this Truth Commission reeks of. It can’t be arrogance. And it’s not charlatanism. Soludo should know; he should know that going solo would be futile.

He should know that true leadership involves the building of cohesion. His first task ought to be the mobilization of his brother-governors and Igbo leadership to collectively pull in the federal government. A clear-eyed, soberly reflective pan Igbo village meeting with the full involvement of the southeast governments and the federal government is the only solution.

Hopefully, Soludo isn’t playing to the gallery. Because he is a breath of fresh air. It would be sad to see him fall prey to charlatanism which has crippled Igbo politics. Any truth-telling must start from Soludo and to Soludo. If Soludo bothered to study the South African Truth Commission, he would have appreciated the caliber of the head of that commission. And the pivotal role the acceptability of the head of the commission played. A divisive character can’t head a truth commission. If Soludo had reflected on the Oputa panel, he would have appreciated that everything rested on the gravitas of Justice Oputa. Any truth commission instituted in Igboland over this crisis must be headed and peopled with people like Justice Oputa and Desmond Tutu.

A truth commission is not a playfield for rabid sensationalism and cunning political chicanery masquerading as human rights crusading. Of what use is a truth commission in which the stakeholders have not expressed any confidence. How will that commission attract confidence if it looks like a knee jerk contraption? Bringing in people from across the Southeast states to participate in an Anambra Truth Commission is divisive in itself. The Igbo nation should sit together, Oha and Ezes, to harness the power and spirit of the collective. The Igbo need thoroughgoing, bone-deep unity, not facades. This isn’t the time for showmanship.

Soludo’s immediate job is fire fighting. Since he looks like the natural leader, yet a newcomer, he must stoop to forge fellowship with other Southeast leaders. Then the governors must come together to reason with the youths. The IPOB and the other youth groups should yield to dialogue with the governors and southeast politicians, and religious leaders. That way, any criminals feasting on the motherland can be isolated. When common grounds are reached, the governors and other leaders should go to the federal government with demands, concessions and guarantees. It must be done in the spirit of give-and-take. A concerted political effort from the southeast will yield peaceful and progressive outcomes.

Any one-man show is a kindergarten comedy.

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Anambra: How We Got Soludo To Run For Gov - Kate Azuike

SUN NEWS INTERVIEW

Mrs. Kate Ifeoma Azuike, a former manager with the Niger Insurance Plc, is the women leader of Ndi-Igbo Amaka, a socio-cultural organisation, President/Founder Ada-Ife, and leader of the women wing of Soludo Support Group, Lagos State chapter. In this interview with VERA WISDOM-BASSEY, she spoke about how she and others convinced Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, former Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria to run for the governorship election and how they mobilised Anambra people to vote for him.

What is Ndi-Igbo Amaka association?

It is the umbrella body that oversees the supervision of all the markets in Lagos. We have about 58 markets; all the heads of markets leaders in Lagos belong to this group. It foresees all issues in the markets in the state. As a result of this, for a long time now, there has not been any closure of markets in the state.

Is the association meant only for the Igbo or is its membership open to everyone?

It includes Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, as long as you are trading in the markets. Our activities cover you, not that you partake in the meetings. It covers everyone in the markets, and we collaborate with the government in running the affairs of the markets. We also have our executives in the government. They inform us on what the government wants and does not want from our markets. So, we are the forerunners of the government.

What do you hope to see in the 58 markets you made mention of?

You know sometimes, last year, the military men went to Ladipo market and killed one person. But immediately that thing happened, we went there to calm the situation. We discussed and came to a conclusion. Even the army men involved saw what they did as wrong. After the incident, with the way we handled it, such an incident can never happen again. At times, we set out a programme whereby leaders would visit markets to create awareness for the traders on how to live peacefully with others and do their businesses. We teach them how to avoid trouble and keep the law so that nobody will harass them, at any time.

How do you handle disturbance from touts and area boys?

When you visit Trade Fair to purchase goods, nobody will disturb you today because everyone has their boundaries. They have laws guiding them. So, the executives make sure that they obey. But where the association cannot handle them, they turn to us in Ndi-Igbo Amaka Association, which happens to be a bigger umbrella.

I understand that you are also the leader of the women wing of Soludo Support Group?

Yes. It was from being the woman leader of these other associations that I became the women leader for Soludo Support Group (SSG) in Lagos State. We started the group in Lagos before we moved to the East. Those in Anambra followed us and mobilised others during the election. But we in Lagos worked hard to make sure we informed and mobilised people about the governor-elect. We talked to people about the suitability of his candidacy. We said if he becomes the governor things will become better for the state. He will do what he did at the Central Bank by turning the banking system around. We started two years before he declared an interest as a governorship candidate. We as a group went to him and asked him to vie for the governorship election. We told him how his election would affect the state including children unborn because we know what he can do if he eventually wins. We also compelled people to go down to the state and cast their votes, and many of them did.

At what time did you convince him to run?

He said he wanted to think over it when we told him. He had run in 2015 but did not win. But this time around he wanted to take his time and think about it. But later he called us to say that he was ready. He wondered if APGA (All Progressives Grand Alliance) would allow him to run. We visited the APGA chairman and they accepted him to run for the party. We were so happy when APGA declared him their candidate. Then all of us in Lagos went down to the East and started grassroots campaigns, going from village to village.

We noticed that the election in Anambra was generally peaceful. Why was it so?

It shows that Anambrarians love Soludo; it will happen again in the presidential election. If God gives us the right person that the people want, you will see that the election will be very easy.

On March 17, Soludo will be sworn in as Anambra State governor. What is the way forward for him?

As soon as he won the election, he quickly went to work. He inaugurated an 80-man committee and put in place: Call for expansion of interests, the Anambra Talent Data Bank. Soludo wants his administration to be open, and not based on man-know-man. That is if you know what you can do for Anambra State, send it into the box, and tell us what you can voluntarily do for the state. When they go through it, so many people have been filling out the form, and if you can prove what you said you can do, that person will be called. I know that after he leaves office, many people will emulate him on how he developed their state. Things will be done on merit and not man-know-man

What do you see Anambra State becoming under his leadership?

We want the state to become the second Dubai; we want that wherever an Anambrarian is, he will be agitating to go home. What our people built in Lagos and Abuja, we want it replicated in the state. But this time around, things will be well-structured and it will work with plans, not just anyhow. The data box is open to everybody from Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Delta and other states in Nigeria, so that what you learn you carry back to your state. This brings development. And people who see what he has done will say:” ah, I never knew that this thing can be done.”

What’s your advice for women who aspire to be in a leadership position like you are?

First of all, they should know their God, have a cordial relationship at home with their husbands and be open to them, so that they can advise them when they are going wrong. They should believe in themselves, and leave out fear of the unknown and move forward and aim high. And, by God’s grace, they will get to their goals.

Anambra State Is Bleeding

BY CHIKA UNIGWE

What is happening in my beloved Anambra State? The news coming out of the state is heartbreaking. All is not well in the South East but Anambra, particularly, is bleeding furiously and at a terrifying rate. The euphoria that greeted the election of Prof. Soludo is being eclipsed by the barrage of bad news coming out of the state.

I had hoped we could capitalise on the relative calm that surrounded the gubernatorial election itself, and the joy at its outcome to ride into a bright, new dawn. We would show the rest of the South East how to work a state. Sadly, that’s not quite how things are working out.

Every day, there’s more news of attacks and killings and abductions and overall mayhem. Last week alone, about 20 young men were killed by hoodlums at a funeral in Ebenebe, Awka North Local Government, where the corpse was desecrated too. The coffin was allegedly opened and the corpse shot at multiple times and beaten. Some have said those responsible are cultists.

In the same week, as the funeral in Ebenebe was invaded by armed thugs, 84-year-old Prof. I. O. Onyemelukwe was shot and killed by armed men at Oko on his way back from Enugu to Nanka. His daughter, the writer and lawyer, Cheluchi Onyemelukwe, wrote a tender, beautiful eulogy to her brilliant father – who served Anambra State (and Nigeria) as a public servant and as an academic – on Facebook writing that “Despite the circumstances of his death, we are grateful to God for a life well-lived, a joyful feisty life lived every single second, a life committed to doing good…” Per reports, “the gunmen killed Prof. Onyemelukwe in the less than one hour operation, while abducting two men, who were said to have been unable to answer questions about the self-determination struggle of the IPOB.”

The week before the murders at Oko and Ebenebe, the Chairman/CEO of Ofoma Associates Limited, Chief Gab Ofoma, was shot and killed around the Ukpor-Lilu-Orsumoghu-Azia-Mbosi road (which connects Anambra and Imo State) on his way back to Port-Harcourt from his ancestral home in Nnewi. Per an eyewitness’s report on Olisa TV, he was killed probably because “he was riding in an SUV and looked like a ‘big man.”

This week has started with the report of two high profile kidnappings in Ozubulu, and the theft of a car. There is an accompanying video of a man whose singlet has turned red from blood being carried onto an okada, presumably to a hospital for treatment. A Tweeter user in Uyo claims that when his friends from Anambra State visit the state, they forgo their fancy cars for public transport for fear of being victims of kidnappers or car snatchers. There are rumour of students at girls’ school sexually assaulted by some unknown hoodlums. How has this become our new normal? How do we go on like this?

Anambra’s self-designated motto of Light of the nation feels very much like an irony at this point because whatever light Anambra has, is shrouded in darkness. Insecurity all over Nigeria is a problem, but Anambra State seems to be in some sort of scary free fall where unknown gunmen, cultists, hoodlums, gangsters, agitators etc. etc. are operating with brazen impunity, wasting lives at will simply because they can.

The incoming administration of Prof. Soludo will have its hand full if we are to reverse the trend and have some light break through the dark, evil cloud enveloping the state.

Ndi Igbo say that an elder cannot be at home and watch a goat give birth while tethered. Recently, the Anambra State Elders Council met and per an extract of their communique published in the Daily Post: “The Council after an in-depth deliberation of the current security challenges decided that to address the increasing security crisis in the state, advice (sic) that traditional rulers of various communities and president’s-general, as well as religious leader (sic) and all the stakeholders to ensure that the youth imbibe the right values in order (sic) avoid destructive vices like violence and drug abuse.”

With all due respect to the elders, and without access to the entire communique, the time for advising is gone, and now is the time for action. You cannot advise away wanton killing of anyone who “looks like a big man.” Or the desecration of a corpse. Or the invasion of a funeral to kill more people. Or the abduction of those who disagree with your politics.

Anambra has to show that it is serious about security. If not in this present administration under which the evil is expanding, then in the eagerly awaited incoming one. Prof. Soludo has his work cut out for him. He has promised to be a transformational leader, so we are looking to him to bring sanity back to our beloved state. How to do this? A friend whose opinion I respect suggests that once he takes over, Soludo should ask for the deployment of all security forces. If that’s not enough to reverse the trend, then he must introduce vigilante groups.

This is certain: Prof. Soludo will be inheriting huge challenges. I wish him the wisdom, the capability and the willingness to drag Anambra State into the path of sustained healing.

Chukwuma Soludo: Time To Rebuild Igbo Politics

Charles Chukwuma Soludo. Image: Twitter

BY UCHE UGBOAJAH

 ucheugboajah@gmail.com

A few days ago, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, the governor elect of Anambra State released the list of members of his transition committee. In that list were names of very distinguished Nigerian men and women from all walks of life and beyond the geography of Anambra State. The quality of the membership of that committee to be headed by Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili has set the entire Southeast buzzing for the right reasons. For many, Soludo even before being sworn in has offered a dizzying peep into what to expect from him as governor of arguably the most prominent state in Igboland. That Igbos were grinning from ear to ear after Soludo’s victory at the polls was not for no reasons.

The quality of governance and leadership in the Southeast has dropped significantly at least in the past eight years and the evidence of the repercussions therefrom are littered all over the Igbo political ecosystem.

Clearly, this is not the best of times in Igboland of Southeast Nigeria. A part of the country largely known to be one of the safest in the past has lately become one of the most dangerous places with its consequences on livability today. Instead of the famous buying and selling in the cities of Onitsha, Aba and Orlu, the amazing fabrication of motor spare parts and other technological effervescence in Nnewi, the cool and enlightened ambience of Enugu, the entertainment and jollying in Owerri, what obtains in the major cities of the Southeast today is the destruction of lives and property. The orgy of violence started with the renewed agitation for a separate country by some young people, under the auspices of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) headed by the fiery Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

When Kanu started out with his group, many people in Igboland were not bothered for a few reasons. First, their anger against the country Nigeria is mightily justified.

The kind of marginalization or even outright neglect of the Southeast region in the governance of the country over the years is inexplicable. Since the civil war ended up until now, it is difficult to point at a few federal government presences anywhere in the region. To add to that, it was as if the system was stacked against the young people in the Southeast. From the 80s many bright Igbo chaps (including Nnamdi Kanu) with high JAMB scores could not be accepted in any Nigerian university because of what Oby Ezekwesili as minister of education termed, the funneling syndrome. Unfortunately, there were even fewer federal institutions in the region, being part of the systemic marginalization. Thus, there were too many qualified candidates for limited admission spaces in universities. How do you expect to command loyalty from young Igbos in Nigeria when they saw that their 270 score in JAMB could not guarantee them admission in a Nigerian university of their choice while they watched their counterparts from other regions, especially, the North comfortably accepted with scores below 200? Even after managing to fight through school, the odds get even higher for them in securing jobs even against less qualified fellow citizens.

Perhaps, the second reason many Igbos did not pay attention to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB group in the beginning was due to the fact that they were non-violent. To many, especially those who experienced the nastiness of the civil war, the young people were merely romanticizing with war. But all that changed when the Federal Government resorted to a very muscular response to these young people. As many of them began to be mowed down in scorched-earth military operations under a very intolerant Buhari government, it was a no-brainer that these young people became increasingly more agitated. When government decided against facts on the ground to declare IPOB a terrorist group, it appears that in conformity with the psychological theory of labeling, the group has apparently owned up to that identity. The Southeast has thus degenerated to a war zone today with killings and destruction of both public and private property attributed to “unknown gunmen”. As government continues to point fingers at IPOB, the group has consistently insisted that it knows nothing about the attacks claiming that the government is using its security operatives to deploy violence in the Southeast just to justify its tag of “terrorists” on them.

Yet, it is important to recognize that IPOB is not only fighting the Federal Government; it is against any form of constituted authority in the polity – be it state, local government or traditional authority. Beyond that, IPOB in a significant manner has become a metaphor for the failure of politics and political leadership particularly in the Southeast. In any discourse on terrorism in the Northeast and the growing banditry across the Northwest, one factor that experts continuously highlight is the presence of large swathes of ungoverned spaces. In the case of the Southeast, it is not difficult to see that what we have is the presence of ungoverned states, not spaces. The way IPOB has seized authority from the governors in the region, issuing orders and expecting compliance can only confirm this assertion. The governors appear powerless, helpless and clueless on how to confront the emergent security problems in their region beyond running to an even more clueless and vengeful Abuja.

When governors of other regions in the South were brainstorming on how to secure their peoples, what did the Southeast governors do beyond mere hand-wringing and empty pronouncements? For example, the so-called Ebubeagu outfit they claimed to have set up to confront insecurity in their region only exists in their infertile imagination. Even in the larger forum of Southern governors, many of the Southeast governors do not consider the Meeting important enough; they prefer to see it as an anti-Buhari gathering and would rather send their deputies anytime they meet probably to spy for Abuja. Indeed, the governors in Igboland today appear to be lacking in inspiration; they are diffident, vacuous and jejune in their policies. Yet, it is proper to clarify here that not all the governors are equally yoked. A couple of them from the old Anambra may not be as terrible as their other colleagues.

Whatever the governors are, they are products of the nascent Igbo politics.


Before the civil war, politics in Igboland was a nobble service which attracted decent men and women whose only goal was to improve the life chances of their people. It was not for the nouveau riche or people of questionable background as today. The Azikiwes, the Mbonu Ojikes, the Mbadiwes, the Okparas, the Akanu-Ibiams, the Ikokus, the Mokwugo Okoyes and their like were all great men of high intellect and integrity who stood for the interest of their people. Sadly, the civil war dealt a deadly blow the Igbo body politic. Although the brilliance of the oasis of men like Sam Mbakwe concealed greatly the negative impact of the civil war on Igbo politics during the interlude of the Second Republic, it did not take time for the decay to front-load in the quality of governance in the Southeast since 1999.

Yes, there is this argument of how the Igbos quickly and admirably recovered from the devastation of the war and rebuilt their land as if the war was merely episodic. Even then, the question remains, at what cost? Our politics and society have been broken by that unjust war levied on our people. Before the war, Igbo value system was primarily based on honest hard-work, knowledge, and community spirit.

After the war the near absence of opportunities appeared to have driven our people to far flung places within and outside the country in search of lucre and survival lacking in the eastern landscapes. In this quest for survival, many Igbos ended up outside Igbo land doing all manner of businesses both dignified and undignified. Some of them even ended up as contractors supplying all manner of products when they are not pimps to big Alhajis and even sissies all in the name of succeeding. The way the immediate post-war Nigeria was organized, for an Igbo man to get any contract or big job from the Federal Government, he had to submit to the suzerainty of perhaps an influential northerner. It was that bad. And you must have heard Chief Arthur Eze for instance, justifying recently, his loyalty to the northern establishment by claiming how all his wealth was by the grace of northerners who favoured him with contracts.

This economic incarceration of the people of the Southeast after the war has profound consequences on post-war Igbo politics, especially now. One of such consequences is the lack of autonomous capacity of Igbo politics. What this means is that many political decisions that will affect Igboland unfortunately are taken outside of Igboland. These decisions include who becomes governor of an Igbo state, who is appointed minister from Igboland and who represents Igbos at the senate, among others. I am sure you listened to how Senator Orji Uzo-Kalu said in an interview that General Babangida told him in 1999 that he wanted him to go to Abia State and become a governor. And only very recently, after Imo people had voted their choice of governor, the powers that be outside Igboland hiding under the judiciary disrobed them of their sovereignty and installed a governor they never voted for. These are just a few examples. But the most worrying consequence of this lack of autonomous capacity of Igbo politics in a democracy is that you now have governors, ministers and senators in Igboland who do not owe any loyalty to the people but to the external forces that propel them.

When last did you hear a governor in the Southeast defending the interest of his people as Nyesom Wike daily defends the interests of Rivers people? How many Igbo ministers in President Buhari’s cabinet had lifted a voice over the unrest in their region? Instead, you will hear a governor questioning the right of a citizen who doesn’t own a car to ask question about a flyover being constructed with his tax money. You will also probably hear another governor recite repeatedly like catechism how the insecurity in his state is “an attempt to bring down the government of President Muhammadu Buhari.” Yet, another will bore you with stories of how he loves President Buhari and how they share a father and son relationship – forgetting that federalism is not a father-son relationship but a brother-brother relationship.

Lest we forget, Peter Obi did a fantastic job as governor of Anambra State and for sticking out his neck to serve only the interests of Anambra people he was “impeached” by the ‘bridgeheads’ working on the promptings of outside forces. He also stood his ground to ensure that Willie Obiano succeeded him as governor in line with the zoning principles of the state. Obiano can have all his sins forgiven for having the presence of mind to support a strong character like Chukwuma Soludo to take over from him. An inherently bad governor would rather have his son-in-law take over from him the way Rochas Okorocha planned in Imo State. But the story in Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo and Abia states in the past eight years reeks of near collapse and absence of governance. Is it, therefore, any surprise that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has moved in to fill the vacancy of leadership existing in the South-East?


Yet, there is renewed hope in the Southeast. Soludo is coming! Although elected to govern Anambra State, this great character is expected to provide leadership in the entire Southeast by a domino effect. He is well educated; he is not one of the roughnecks that have been troubling our region. He knows his people and his people know him. He may not solve all the problems, but in Soludo, Anambra people have provided the entire Southeast the ground to rebuild its politics. In electing Soludo, Anambra is telling the entire Southeast that background checks are necessary in choosing our governors, senators, and other representatives. Yes, it is important that those who present themselves for elective positions in the Southeast going forward must show evidence of sound education and untarnished record of service in the public or private sector. Interestingly, many of those who contested the last Anambra gubernatorial election satisfied those conditions unlike in Imo State where the nondescript appear to be having a field day since Governor Achike Udenwa. And it is showing in the poorer quality of governance in the eastern heartland.

In 2009, I had a chance meeting with Professor Soludo when he ran for governor under the PDP. I told him in the office of the political adviser to the PDP national chairman that I would prefer to see him run for President. I went ahead to support his candidature then with a Guardian opinion piece titled Anambra: Who is afraid of good governance? Even today, I am asking in a more general sense, who is afraid of good governance in the South-East?







In a couple of months Soludo will be sworn in as the next governor of Anambra State. As he mounts the saddle, he must remember that he is carrying the hopes of not just Anambra people but the entire Southeast region. He must equally understand that there are many cynics and naysayers lining the roadside and offering prayers and sacrifices for his failure if only to prove that good education and solid background alone are not sine qua non of good performance in government.

Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo must disappoint all the roughneck politicians in the Southeast and post an excellent performance. In doing so, he would be laying the foundation for the rebuilding of Igbo politics and pointing the trajectory to Igbo political renaissance. In Soludo, Igbos are reaffirming their belief in the age long philosophy of politics and good governance, “Onye Uru Anaghi Achi Obodo.”

Anambra 2021: Breaking Down The Interests

BY MACANTHONY NWOKOYE

The game rallies for Anambra. Politicians, of all types, are milling out and lining the streets in wait to secure the peoples mandate to take the baton from the incumbent, Willie Obiano, whose outing has left the people praying for a messiah. However, the question now is, from where will the messiah come?

As it is, the majority of Anambra people no longer feel attached to All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as they were in the days of Peter Obi. They have also followed him to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which they see as a better platform to address the leadership vacuum created by the exit of Obi from APGA. As it is, PDP now houses majority of aspirants seeking to swing the political pendulum of the state. This is because of the understanding that APGA had long foreclosed its options in seeking to get a candidate that is widely acceptable to the generality of the people.

For this reason, PDP has such persons as Amb. Ike Oligbo, High Chief Obiora Okonkwo, Sen. Uche Ekwunife, Chief Godwin Ezeemo, Godwin Maduka, Osita Chidoka, Valentine Ozigbo, Chris Azubogu and a few others who are yet to make public their interest, though they are expected to do so.

Amb. Ike Oligbo: Not popular among the people, Ike Oligbo is best known as a United Kingdom-based lawyer and businessman. His entering the fray is seen just as an attempt to announce and establish himself within Anambra political circles for future opportunities. He is not seen to be on the ground, though he has unveiled a campaign office in Awka. Declaring his intention to contest for the prime state office, Oligbo promised to do more to lift the state and return it to the path of growth. However, pundits in the state believe that he cannot move the rocks for PDP and as such is not deeply in the race.

Dr. Obiora Okonkwo: This Russia-trained political economist and doctor of philosophy has established himself as a formidable force in the race towards 2021. He is easily the biggest name in the mix and has his name on almost every tongue in the state. He is liked by the people and has large followership. His name, Dikeora, resonates around the state as an intellectual, philanthropist, humanist, culture enthusiast and deeply Catholic.

Political pundits in the state argue that the PDP ticket is easily his, given his wide acceptability in the state arising from widely celebrated recognition by traditional rulers from the three senatorial zones of the state for his continued promotion of culture and traditions of the people as well as his youth empowerment programmes.

Okonkwo, who has lived in Nigeria since he returned to the country from Russia where he studied for his first, second and doctoral degrees, and has very extensive development allies in Europe and America, is a lover of God and the people. His annual Iri Ji, celebrated at his country home in Ogidi, has become a signature festival for the celebration of the life and customs of the people and attracts the who is who in the state. His impact on youth development is not restricted to lectures, but extends to financial support for skills acquisition and start-ups, the reason he was voted Rotary International Youth Leadership Icon 2019. The youths prefer him.

His intellectual prowess is also not in doubt. He always leaves his audience begging for more each time he mounts the podium to dissect contemporary issues on diverse topics. He has delivered several of such lectures in universities, town halls and special occasions. For instance, last December 28, while others where revelling in the Christmas mood, Dr. Okonkwo was on the podium at the Umunri Colloquium at Enugu-Ukwu Civic Centre dissecting topical issues on “Ndigbo in Contemporary Nigeria: A Social, Cultural, Political and Economic Reflection.”

He also instituted a study on the main Market, Onitsha, which he said is a reflection of the entrepreneurial spirit of the Igbo. A deeply Igboman at heart, Okonkwo believes that the apprenticeship system in Igboland ought to be revitalised as it is the biggest venture capital system in the world.

He is an astute businessman who is looking to storm the aviation sector of the Nigerian economy with another of his signature projects, which will expand his employee base. At the moment, he has about 600 persons, Nigerians and expatriates, on his payroll.

Sen. Uche Ekwunife: There have been serious doubts about Sen. Ekwunife’s availability for the governorship race. She has shied away from publicly declaring her intentions and allowing her social media team to keep propping her name. Pundits believe that she is measuring her steps so as to avoid a mistake that may become fatal to her politics. Though she is seen as the darling of Anambra women, she is confused as to which section of the state she stands with. At present, she represents Anambra Central in the Senate but is being propped to contest for the governorship for Anambra South. This is attracting for her the ire of serious-minded people in both zones.

Ekwunife has no record of philanthropy, something that the Anambra elite count as giving back to society and lifting the poor. She has, however, attempted to make up for this by struggling to attract projects to her zone from the Senate. Though there are attempts by her followers to pass same off as her work of philanthropy, pundits argue that constituency projects cannot be passed off as works of philanthropy. Ekwunife’s support base in the Old Aguata Union has also been depleted by the entrance of Valentine Ozigbo in the race. There are also insinuations that her actual intention is to use the off-season 2021 election to bargain for a spot in the Senate of 2023. She, however, has Victor Umeh to contend with then.

Finally, Ekwunife represents the butterfly of Anambra politics. This is something people of the state do not like. They dislike fair-weather politicians. She has oscillated like a fan between parties. Like a butterfly, she has perched on almost every political party in Anambra in her desperation to remain relevant.

Valentine Ozigbo: Val, as he is popularly called, is not known to have any weight in Anambra politics. He is also not known to the grassroots. Pundits see his aspiration much in the same way the see that of Ike Oligbo, as an effort to begin a journey that would make them much more appreciable in the politics of the future. Certainly, not in 2021.

Ozigbo’s landmark post on his biodata was being president of Transnational Corporation, otherwise, Transcorp. As president, he is an employee of the corporation and does not even have controlling shares in the business, implying that he has made no significant impact, either in job creation or philanthropy, in the life of the people of the state.

Godwin Ezeemo: He has become one of the perennial aspirants to the governorship of Anambra State such that he now sounds like a broken record. Pundits don’t give him a chance to succeed in this quest. It is believed that he has overstayed his welcome on the scene, something that works contrary to the expectation of the people of the state. Many in Anambra believe that being perpetually in the governorship contest is a sign of idleness. Therefore, many argue that Ezeemo ought to have moved on to other things or, at best, look towards the Senate.

Chris Azubogu: For many, Azubogu, who is a member of the House of Representatives, comes across as serious-minded. However, he is seen as greedy and unbending. According to those who think this way, Azubogu, who represents Nnewi North/South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency, is in his third tenure at the House and as such had usurped the chance of other sections of the constituency to also take a shot at the office. They argue that he ought to have given way, after his second tenure, for other sections of the constituency, in the spirit of equity. Many in his constituency are also disappointed that despite being a third-term member of the House, Azubogu was not considered fit to chair any of the over 80 committees of the House, a development that pundits argue is a statement on his capacity and competence.

Dr. Godwin Maduka: This United States of America-based medical doctor has been an influence in his village. He has built police station, court house and judges’ residence, the tallest building in his village and lots more. Beyond that, he has had very little or no impact on youth development and promotion of the culture of the people. He is deeply disconnected with Anambra, save for his occasional holiday in his village. He is also not known to have publicly disclosed his intention despite media push. Pundits believe that he is not interested in the governorship of Anambra as he is in his job in the US and in completing a hospital project he is said to have initial several years ago.

ANAMBRA POLITICS: Obiano Widens Alliances As 10 Billionaires Eye Anambra 2021 Guber Poll

Willie Obiano. Image: Twitter

BY LEO SOBECHI
AWKA, ANAMBRA (THE GUARDIAN)--For politicians in Anambra State, including the incumbent, Chief Willie Obiano, it is almost as if the governorship election slated for November 2021 would hold tomorrow. Across the major political parties, stakeholders are busy working round the clock regarding who to support as well as mobilizing their associates and foot soldiers.

Already two major issues, namely zoning and godfathering, are gaining prominence in the various conversations about the essential qualities of Governor Obiano’s prospective successor in two years’ time. In November 21, 2017, against all odds, the incumbent governor was re-elected for a second term. But the irony of what is currently playing out in the state is that most of those who contested against Obiano even in 2003 are still in the field searching for the people’s mandate to be his successor in 2021. Most of the political stakeholders believe that apart from riding on the coat tails of former Governor Peter Obi to become governor, Obiano has not displayed the political sagacity or performance that could qualify him to implant a successor or become a godfather.

Sources in Government House, Awka, explained that it was on account of the general belief that the governor’s power of incumbency was not potent enough to impose a successor that not less than ten billionaires have indicated their interest to contest the 2021 governorship election. Prominent among the billionaires are those that contested the governorship in 2013, including Dr. Andy Uba, Tony Nwoye, Ifeanyi Ubah, and Godwin Ezeemo. Other that have so far signaled their intention to participate in the 2021 gubernatorial poll include Dr. Obiora Okonkwo (PDP), Dr. Godwin Maduka (PDP), Dr. Chido Nwankwo, Dr. Chinue Ozigbo (Chairman of Transcorp), Prof. Chukwuma Soludo (APGA), Senator (Iyom) Uche Ekwunife (PDP), Dr. George Moghalu (APC), Hon Chris Azubogu (PDP), Johnbosco Onunkwo (APC), Stanley Uzochukwu (APGA), Nicholas Ukachukwu (APGA).

But perhaps learning some lessons from Governor Henry Seriake Dickson’s experience in the recent Bayelsa State governorship poll, where the governor failed to produce his preferred candidate as successor, Obiano is said to be widening his circle of political contacts to ensure that his succession adorns the badge of inclusion.

One of the strategies, according to sources, was the recent setting up of Anambra State Development Plan Committee, led by Prof. Charles Soludo. Speaking when he inaugurated the committee, tagged Anambra Vision 2070 Committee, Governor Obiano said the team was put together to design a 50-year development template for the state. While charging the members to do a thorough job, the governor reminded them that “the task of the committee includes crafting the Anambra Vision 2070 Development Plan that would also touch on security of the state, determine critical milestones and success factors in the plans.”

The areas of reference, according to Obiano, include defining the mission and vision statements, identifying specific sectors of focus, creation of broad objectives for the sectors, development of programmes and strategies, and categorising them into short, medium and long-term frameworks. The governor disclosed that the committee’s report “would assist subsequent administrations in the state in its development drive.”

But no sooner had the governor finished inaugurating the committee than the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dismissed the contraption as an enlarged campaign committee to canvass support for the committee’s chairman, Prof. Soludo. One of the men on the 46-man committee regretted that it was becoming obvious that the governor wants to impose a successor, wondering why he should set up a development agenda midway into his second term.

He said: “It does not make sense that such a bloated committee should be set up two years to the end of the governor’s second term. If indeed the governor wants to raise a developmental agenda, he should first tell Ndi Anambra how far he has implemented the Anambra Integrated Development Strategies (ANIDS), including all the laudable economic development plans he enunciated in his first year that have all been abandoned.

“Why should Soludo be made to chair the committee when he is saddled with similar assignments by the Southeast governors and the recent appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari as member of the Economic Advisory Committee? No matter how he tries to hide it, the fact remains that Obiano wants to be political godfather.”

Other members of the committee are as follows: Primus Odili (Executive), Prof Kate Omenugha (Executive), Mr. Ifeatu Onejeme, (Executive), Mr. Mark Okoye (Executive), Patrick Okigbo III (Technocrat), Chris Okoye, (Technocrat), Captain Iheanacho Ebubeogu (Technocrat); Capt. John T. Okakpu, (Technocrat), DIG Val Ntomchukwu (Security Expert), AIG Okey Ezike (Security Expert), Mr. Valentine Ozigbo (Transcorp, Hospitality Expert), Mr. Maduka Emelife, (External Ndi Anambra), Henry Manafa, (External Ndi Anambra), Hon. Chudi Offodile, (Political Class), Dr. Ikem Odumodu (Technocrat).

Others are Joe Anatune (Technocrat), Dr Ndi Onuekwusi (Rep of Anambra – Professionals), Prof. Idemobi, Nneka Ekwuozor, Professor Uche Amazigo, Bryan Mezue, Dr. Uzochukwu Amakom, Engineer Emeka Ezeh (former DG, BPP), David Onyinyechi Agu, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, (Technocrat), Mr. Mac Atasie, (Secretary), Amb. Emma Obi Okafor (fmr Deputy DG, NIA), Dr. Emma Onyilofor, Amb Chudi Okafor, Dr. Oscar Onwudiwe, (President of Aka Ikenga), and C-Don Adinuba (Executive).

However, checks by The Guardian showed that while Governor Obiano seems to be sticking to his verbal promise to support Soludo to take over from him in 2021, his wife, Mrs. Ebele Obiano, has indicated open preference for Chief Stanley Uzochukwu to pick APGA’s ticket.Despite the perceived divisions within the governing All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), PDP has insisted that Obiano’s 50-year Development Plan Committee is meant to usher in the governor’s preferred aspirant, Soludo.

In a statement by its state Public Relations Secretary, Nnamdi Nwangwu, PDP noted that although it sees nothing wrong in planning for both short and long terms, “what the party finds worrisome is the intention of the planner and, in this case, the antecedents of the planner. “The fact that the very bogus committee of 51 persons is headed by Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who is widely believed to be Obiano’s preferred aspirant to emerge as the candidate of APGA in coming 2021 gubernatorial race in the state, completely gave the intention away. Also a deeper look at the antecedents of Obiano gives the whole plot away as another form of jamboree and showmanship aimed at hoodwinking the people further.”

Picking holes on the committee, PDP further lamented that if the same APGA administration valued planning, “how come they dismantled all the plans inherited from preceding APGA governments for eight years?
“What happened to the UN Habitat plans for Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi painstakingly procured by Mr. Peter Obi from the UN Africa headquarters in Kenya, and already being implemented, handed over to Obiano to follow as part of continuing the same APGA government?
“What of Anambra State Industrialisation handbook, painstakingly prepared by the preceding APGA government of which, very articulately, mapped out steps to industrialise the six industrial estates in the state?”

PDP concluded that APGA and the incumbent governor “know that they have destroyed all the goodwill they built in the first eight years that guaranteed the second eight years,” stressing that that goodwill has been destroyed in the second eight years.Although APGA secured just one House of Representatives seat, it boasts of retaining formidable grassroots presence in the 177 towns and 21 local government councils of the state, which it said would guarantee the party electoral triumph in the governorship.

Falling apart

WHILE Governor Obiano enjoyed the goodwill of his predecessor and benefactor, Mr. Obi, to win the 2013 governorship election, which was predicated on the introduction of zoning, he fell apart with Obi and other crucial stakeholders, including leaders of Omabala Union. Despite the fact that the battle for zoning was stoutly fought in 2013, Obiano mounted the saddle and sidelined Anambra North Stakeholders, including Dr. Chike Obidigbo, who was the zone’s consensus choice for the governorship ticket.

In his acceptance speech after his election in November 30, 2013, tagged ‘Sustaining our Steady March to Progress,’Obiano said: “I stand here tonight in the shadow of history. You made history when on November 16 and today you cast your votes in favour of APGA. In doing so you have affirmed the life-long struggle of our great father, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. You also upheld his view that our people should preserve our heritage through one united political roof. Ndi-Anambra I want to thank you for honouring the memory of late Ikemba.

“In voting Dr. Nkem Okeke and I as Deputy Governor and Governor-elect, you have also expressed your wish that the tradition of excellence, which my brother, His Excellency Governor Peter Obi, has entrenched in Anambra State these past eight years should be sustained. I wish to assure you that Nkem and I are ready and adequately prepared to expand the boundaries of our development and place Anambra State on the map of rapidly advancing states on all parameters of development.

“Nkem and I are fully aware that after Governor Obi’s glorious reign, Anambra can only advance to higher glory. As inheritors of this tradition of purposeful leadership, we shall dedicate ourselves to a life of service. Our administration shall be responsible and responsive to your needs.”But despite those lofty sentiments, Governor Obiano took his political battle against Obi to another level during the 2019 presidential poll, when he mobilized moral and fiscal support for APC and President Muhammadu Buhari to spite Obi who was PDP’s vice presidential candidate. The endorsement of APC by APGA in the last general election led to further division within the party, which ended in a series of litigations that hindered the party’s national convention.

Although attempts are being made to resolve the various leadership crises in the party to ensure that APGA does not repeat Zamfara State’s mistake of APC, stakeholders in the state have continued to agitate against zoning and godfathering. Some of the opponents of zoning, including Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, maintain that aspirants should show interest based on their pedigree and vision for governance, stressing that merit, capacity and competence should guide the election of Obiano’s successor.

But on APGA platform there are those insist on the sustenance of zoning, particularly Prof. Soludo, who declared in 2017 that Anambra is not broken and needs no mending. As preparations for Anambra 2021 guber poll gain momentum, some aspirants in APGA say Soludo is banking on zoning due to a pact with the governor. Sources disclosed that it was in response to reservations expressed about Soludo that the governor’s wife decided to throw up a rival from Anambra South in the person of Chief Uzochukwu. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN