By CHUKS OLUIGBO
Between 1979 and 1983 when Sam Onunaka Mbakwe ruled Imo State, Imo
people learnt the hard way that in our kind of politics, it pays to be in the
same party with the government at the centre. For those four excruciating years,
Mbakwe, as yet the best governor to have ruled the state, had earned himself
the sobriquet “The Weeping Governor” because of his importunate but largely unheeded
yells to the Shehu Shagari-led central government to extend a hand of help to
the state. In spite of Mbakwe’s sterling efforts in the state, not much came to
Imo from the FG in terms of developmental assistance. Reason: Imo was under the
control of Nigerian People’s Party (NPP) while the Federal Government was controlled
by the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).
Following that experience, therefore, Imo people seemed to have
come to an agreement to always follow the party at the centre. So, when in 1999
Nigeria returned to civil rule, the state naturally joined the largest party in
the country, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The All Progressives Grand
Alliance (APGA), whose only prominent figure then was Ezekiel Izuogu who became
its guber candidate, was largely inconsequential in the state. The then All
People’s Party (latter-day All Nigeria People’s Party and now part of the All
Progressives Congress) barely managed to win a few local councils and some
seats in the state House of Assembly.
By the time of the 2003 general elections, Imo had become 100
percent PDP, giving Achike Udenwa, the then governor, a smooth ride back to Douglas
House. That situation has remained largely unchanged, and remains so even now, in
spite of the fact of the ruling governor being in a different party.
Internal crisis hit Imo PDP prior to the 2007 elections, which led
the party to declare that it had no candidate in the governorship election. In spite
of that apparent predicament, however, it was clear, as events unfolded, that PDP
was still in charge; that Ikedi Ohakim’s movement from PDP to Orji Uzor Kalu’s
hastily-concocted Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA) and his eventual
emergence as the state governor in the elections were all part of the grand
ploy by the PDP to retain power through other means. This became glaring when
Ohakim returned to PDP in 2009, a move which pitted him against Kalu. Of course,
many Imo people would later confess that they never voted for PPA in that
election.
The crisis in Imo PDP did not go away after the elections. Rather, Ohakim’s
return to the party further aggravated its fractious state. From 2009 up to the
time of the 2011 elections, the battle for the soul of Imo PDP assumed alarming
proportions. The battle was fought on all fronts, with Ifeanyi Araraume, the
PDP guber candidate in 2007 who claimed to have been deprived of his
well-deserved victory, joining forces with his avowed enemy, Udenwa, to fight a
common enemy. Araraume’s Destiny Organisation and Udenwa’s Redemption Group allied
against Ohakim’s New Face Organisation – and it was speculated that Okorocha’s
Agenda Group also joined the Alliance camp because Okorocha seemed closer to
them than he was to the NFO.
The situation worsened when Ohakim hijacked the August 2010 local council
elections in the state by imposing his hand-picked candidates against the
wishes of the majority. Although the PDP won the election 100 percent, the
discontent it generated stayed with the party, leading to mass exodus until,
coupled with Ohakim’s numerous other misadventures, the party was toppled in
the 2011 elections which brought Rochas Okorocha to power.
Okorocha, therefore, rode on the back of the people’s disenchantment
with the then Governor Ohakim. It was not that the people had deserted the PDP.
No, they simply voted the candidate of their choice, not the party. The votes in
the 2011 election were not necessarily against the PDP but against the person
of Ohakim – in favour of the person of Okorocha and not APGA per se. That was
why President Goodluck Jonathan won massively in Imo and PDP retained majority
of the seats in the state assembly in 2011, notwithstanding.
The death of APGA
In spite of Okorocha coming to power on the APGA platform, it was
clear, even before his departure to join APC, that APGA was yet to have a stronghold
in the state. That some members of the state House of Assembly cross-carpeted
to APGA was a matter of exigency. They needed to be seen to be in consonance
with their governor.
When he rode on the back of APGA, Okorocha called on Imolites and Ndigbo
to join the party which he said was a distinct political party that the Igbo
passionately believed in and followed like a religion. “All Igbo should join
APGA for us to be identified, it is our culture. Every Igbo man is APGA before
any other party,” he had said.
Barely two years into his tenure, however, Okorocha has not only joined
the newly-formed APC but has also condemned APGA and declared it dead in the state.
Indeed, there is every reason to suppose that APGA may be practically
dead in Imo, though some loyal party members still claim their party is intact.
Since his younger brother and ex-deputy governor, Jude Agbaso, was disgraced
out of office by the Okorocha government, Martin Agbaso, the strongman of APGA
in the state, has migrated to political Siberia. He appears to still be licking
the wounds he inflicted on himself via his association with Okorocha.
APC’s fate
But even the APC has no foothold in Imo. “APC is not trusted by
Imolites. Imo people see it as a party of reactionary politicians interested
only in power, e.g., Rochas Okorocha, Achike Udenwa, and Osita Izunaso,” said an
analyst who does not want his name in print, adding that for now, Ifeanyi Araraume
is standing aloof, although his body language shows he might return to the PDP.
As for the legislators who seem confused at this point, the analyst
said they may not be willing to join the APC. Their likeliest move, therefore,
would be to return to their original fold, PDP.
Meanwhile, a major crack has been reported in Imo APC, barely a
month after the inauguration of its harmonisation committee. This is a fallout
of Governor Okorocha’s recent nomination and appointment of commissioners and
members of the state executive council which, reportedly, did not include any
member of Udenwa’s group.
Some top members of the APC loyal to Udenwa
were reported as saying the release of names of commissioners by Okorocha was
an indication that they would not work with him in the party. They say the
admission of Okorocha into the party had created some level of mistrust within
the party ranks because, according to them, Okorocha had refused to allow any
member of the ACN to occupy any position in the interim party executive. It was
not until they took an internal battle to his doorsteps that he conceded the
position of interim secretary to their camp, which is now held by Lambert
Iheanacho, a captain.
They also allege that the governor would
unilaterally appoint only members of his Agenda structure as interim excos of
the party at the ward and local government levels, regretting that Okorocha’s
admission into APC was a political miscalculation. They also claim Okorocha’s
greedy attitude was the reason no prominent politician in the state has joined
APC since its registration. “With this kind of attitude, we can’t allow him to
have his way in 2015. We’ll present a credible governorship candidate to
Imolites,” the aggrieved APC members were quoted as saying.
The Okorocha factor
Few months ago, Viola Onwuliri, minister of state for foreign affairs,
described Okorocha as a rolling stone that gathers no moss and a man “in
pursuit of personal vainglory”, saying the governor cannot be trusted in any
venture.
Indeed, watchers of Okorocha’s style of politics have said his
vacillations may cost him dearly in 2015. Already, analysts are saying that the
governor’s rating among Imo people has dropped considerably as he no longer
enjoys the kind of massive support that brought him to power in 2011. They point
to a litany of sins which include his sacking of the 10,000 graduates employed
in the state civil service by his predecessor, his shabby treatment of duly
elected local government chairmen and councillors, the recent so-called ‘Abortion
Law’ which drew the ire of the Christian faithful in the state, among others.
PDP’s resurgence
In spite of the earthquakes that have hit Imo PDP these past years,
there are indications that the crisis in the party has been fully resolved,
with every member now on the same page. The party is said to be waxing strong under
the leadership of Eze Duruiheoma (SAN) as chairman and George Egu as secretary.
As an analyst put it, “PDP is intact, very strong, very much on
ground in Imo. The pre-2011 implosion caused by Ohakim’s imposition of
candidates in the 2010 LG elections has been resolved. PDP is 100 percent
united. Ward tours are currently ongoing. Reconciliation meetings are being
held across board spearheaded by PDP Reconciliation and Mobilisation Committee
which has Jerry Chukwueke as chairman.”
Going by these facts, PDP seems to be the only party in the state
with a formidable structure. As such, the party’s prospects in 2015 look
bright. There are also predictions that all those politicians who were frustrated
out of the party may return – even Okorocha himself. If this happens, it will
be a plus for the PDP.
However, the party’s fate in 2015 may eventually be determined by
the credibility of the candidate it presents to Imolites. Recent experience has
shown that when faced with a choice between party affiliation and a credible
candidate, the people may choose the latter.
No comments:
Post a Comment