SOLUDO, OBIANO AND ANAMBRA STATE
It is no longer news that Anambra governorship election will take place on November 18. I think what is the news now is who will be slugging it out with the incumbent governor and the likely candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the poll, Chief Willie Obiano.
While Obiano will be seeking reelection for a second term, other aspirants like Mr. Barth Nwibe, Senator Andy Uba, Osita Chidoka, Comrade Tony Nwoye, Uche Ekwunife, Ralph Okeke, Chike Obidigbo, Dr. Obinna Uzor, and others are angling to dislodge him from the Government House, Awka.
Obiano, who had earlier fallen apart with his godfather and predecessor, Mr. Peter Obi and at the same time fell short of credible performance in office is already doing everything possible, including receiving sponsored awards and endorsements among others to win the support of the people.
Food-is-ready politicians and members of National Assembly-Uba and Nwoye who recently jumped into All Progressives Congress (APC) will be banking on the assistance of their godfathers namely-Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Arthur Eze, to grab the APC ticket, forgetting that APC is not PDP, where anything is possible. Lest we forget; the duo have contested before now, neither their antics nor their godfathers saved them.
Besides, Uba and Nwoye may have forgotten that Anambra people are not suffering from amnesia and there will always be a question time. Besides, there will be scrutiny on aspirants especially those with questionable track record and Toronto certificates. Nwibe with his outstanding track record, capacity and vision has continued to flaunt his well-articulated vision and plan for the state. He is at the grassroots consulting and marketing his qualities because he has nothing to hide. No wonder many see him as the best alternative and a golden fish that has no hiding place.
As the political game tempo rises in the state, so surprising is the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo’s recent endorsement of Obiano for a second term at an arranged lecture in Awka. Soludo said the economy of Anambra, which is not an oil producing state, had been well managed under Obiano, making it one of the most buoyant states after Lagos, Abuja and Rivers.
He said: “There is no need for change at the moment. Anambra is the fourth largest economy in Nigeria behind Lagos, Abuja. We are in a crisis moment and you don’t change a general in the middle of the war; in Anambra, Obiano is a general.
“Many people are calling on me to come and contest, but the point is: if Anambra is not broken, why mend it? There will only be vacancy in Anambra Government House in the next four years.’
While it is within Soludo’s constitutional rights to endorse any aspirants for the election, such endorsement should be altruistic, factual and statistical. Soludo’s endorsement of Obiano lacked all these. That is why it was surprising and curious. It is expected of Soludo as a renowned economist to put facts and figures about Obiano’s performance on table to convince Anambra people why he deserves a second term.
Relying on rhetoric, hearsay and unverifiable economic claims to endorse Obiano for a second term is unexpected of Soludo. That is the height of his political hypocrisy and desperation. Is it because of the alleged political agreement he had with Obiano; that he (Soludo) will succeed Obiano after his second term? What a selfish and parochial agreement that lacks common sense and legality.
With this, it is obvious that Soludo has not learnt any lesson from his previous political misadventures in the state. Soludo may have forgotten that in politics, nothing is cast in stone and one plus one could be six instead of two. No wonder, late Dr Chuba Okadigbo said that it takes political sagacity to understand political arithmetic. Soludo may have known economic arithmetic, but lacked knowledge of political arithmetic, judging by some of his political miscalculations.
If the ex-CBN governor has forgotten why he has failed politically before now, let him be reminded. After being denied second term as CBN governor, Soludo was pushed into governorship race unprepared by the powers-that-be in the PDP and the presidency in 2010. Soludo lost the election woefully, having emerged third runner up behind Governor Peter Obi and Dr. Chris Ngige of the defunct, Action Congress (AC).
Ahead of the last governorship poll in Anambra in 2013, Soludo jumped into APGA without due consultation, but was later shortchanged by the APGA national leadership that handed the party governorship ticket to Willie Obiano.