The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, the political platform under which the Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha won election in 2011 and under which he embraced the merger that gave birth to All Progressives Congress APC, has denied the Governor.
The Party has even gone as far as disclaiming the Governor of Imo State in the Newspapers. But Owelle Okorocha has also insisted that he was at Lagos House of Assembly at the day of the merger on the promptings of “APGA”.
But he said this particular APGA, is APGA-APGA, and not APGA-PDP, which he accused of being members of “APGA” but with half of their minds in PDP, while the APGA-APGA is the faction that has its soul and body in APGA.
Those Okorocha called APGA-PDP should include Governor Peter Obi, who is a member of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s Economic Think-tank and Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, who is today the Nigerian Ambassador to Spain.
However, much as Okorocha could be correct in his theory of “APGA-PDP” and “APGA-APGA”, but there is a lot of confusion in the whole affair. Since Okorocha claims to be the real “APGA-APGA”, but can a son be more original than the father?
This is because; Okorocha just joined APGA in 2010 to contest election, after he discovered that his party, PDP may not give him the ticket. And before joining APGA, Peter Obi and others had been their funding the party many years ago.
Therefore, could it be right now to say that Okorocha is more APGA than Peter Obi, Tim Menakaya, Bianca Ojukwu and others?
Despite Okorocha’s posturing as the “main APGA” the APC has called his bluff and by giving the “original” APGA two weeks to think about the merger, and indicate whether they will join APC, or the party moves on without APGA.
I still want to repeat it here, that APGA will not join APC and lose its “freedom” as a political party. This, Obi made clear a few days ago when he said that APGA would not want to lose its identity to any political party. That closes the chapter whether APGA will join APC or not. Therefore, Governor Okorocha is on his own from henceforth.
Peter Obi, as far as we know, is every day at Aso Rock with President Goodluck Jonathan, and the wife of the founder of APGA, Dim Emeka Ojukwu is an Ambassador in the Jonathan administration. Therefore, how can any one expect Peter Obi and his group to work against the interest of Jonathan, which the floating of the opposition APC represents?
It was said that APGA entered agreement with PDP in 2011 not to file a presidential candidate. And that agreement still remains.
And it is an open secret that Peter Obi, who is finishing his two term tenure this year, is also eyeing the Vice Presidential ticket under Jonathan in 2015.
In this scenario, is there any surprise that APGA, as led by Obi, pulled the rug under Okorocha’s foot leaving him now an orphan at the table of APC merger arrangement?
With the situation Okorocha has found himself now, by APGA denying him, it does not mean that he can no longer go ahead with the merger business, but only that his negotiating power has been badly affected as he is now going to the meeting as a political orphan, without the leverage APGA as a party would have given him as one of its Governors.
Although, Okorocha has boasted that he will win the entire Southeast for APC in 2015, it does not look feasible with the present state of things, except he has a magic which he would unleash on the zone before the elections in 2015.
Though the time for the elections still look far, but yet it is near, when we take into consideration the fact that the whole of next year would be dedicated to politicking and elections, with the remaining few months of 2015 for swearing-ins and, litigations in the Tribunals.
Since Okorocha has plunged into this APC merger, there should be no going back, as that would portray him as a man without political ideology, who jumps from one political party to the other.
Since his party APGA has denied him, Okorocha should henceforth lean on his “Agenda” machinery as what he is taking to the APC negotiating table. Whether that is large enough to earn him respect from his “co-mergerists” or not, is practically his own business.
But one thing certain is that whether Okorocha is running again as Governor in 2015, or upping the ante to the Presidency, it may no longer be under the platform of APGA. If he goes back to APGA now, he would have gone back to his vomit, and may lose some of his followers, who may not “follow follow” him from one party to another within a short period, like sheep without shepherd.
Under the current circumstances, Okorocha has a tough time ahead in his political survival battle as he has to work hard to build APC in the Southeast within a short period of time before the 2015 elections. The situation becomes tougher as he will be sleeping with strange political bed fellows like Udenwa and Araraume who APC merger has all brought together.
With Okorocha’s exhibition of political power so far since he assumed office as Governor, one can attest that the Governor does not broach dissent from any quarters. Being the arrow head of APC in the Southeast, he will see himself as the Alpha and Omega of the party in the zone, and will slug it out with Achike Udenwa and Araraume when the battle to control the soul of the party begins soon.
But the big question is whether the APC vehicle can take Okorocha to his future political destination. The horizon looks cloudy for the Governor, since his parent political party APGA seems to have thrown away the birth water with the child.
Another question is if the APC has the opportunity for long life span in the Southeast, with PDP and APGA still in existence.
Political pundits are of the view that APC will be of more benefit to the ANPP, CPC and ACN, the reason being that ANPP and CPC have strong followers in the Northern part of the country. Although both parties did not make much impression in the last election, but there is no gain saying the fact that they have teeming supporters in the region, which may retrospect over their gains since the Jonathan administration took over at the highest level in Abuja.
Therefore, what APC will do in the North is simply to recharge the ANPP/CPC structures and every thing will fall into place.
For the ACN, it is the sole party in the Southwest. Forget Governor Mimiko of Ondo State with his Labour Party. What ACN is targeting with the current merger is to use the emergence of APC to make inroads into the middle Belt (Benue, Kwara, Taraba, Plateau and may be Delta States).
In the last elections, ACN did well in this zone but lost due to “rigging” in some of the states, but produced Senators, House of Reps and, House of Assembly Members.
Therefore, if ACN/APC adds these five states to Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti, Ogun, Lagos, Edo and Osun, it would have achieved Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s strategy of the Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN days to “capture” half of Nigeria, which is a big bargaining opportunity for the Yoruba to “discus” Nigeria.
In a nutshell, who ever says that APC will not succeed is being economical with the truth. But the fact remains that APC will not afford Ndigbo the platform to arrive at their political dreams and goals in Nigerian Federation.
Okorocha or any other Igbo man may even get as far as clinching the APC vice Presidential ticket, but the propaganda that APC is a Yoruba and Hausa party is easily gaining currency among Ndigbo.
Although it may be too early for predictions, but the prominent offices given to Igbo people on the Party’s Executive at the National level will be the only tonic that may change Igbo’s perspective towards APC.
However, many people are saying that Owelle Okorocha was hasty in swimming with the APC exponents, and may pay the price for over looking the “owners” of APGA who gave him the ticket and eventually became Governor, in discussing the APC merger, as if being Governor under APGA makes him part and parcel of the “original owners” of APGA.
However, another school of thought says that Okorocha having lived long in the North knows the psyche of an average Northerner, including speaking their language and well equipped to deal with them. And also he will use his oratory and flamboyancy to outwit the Yorubas. But what would he use to convince the Igbos, even as many Imolites are nursing various “wounds” and waiting for the opportunity for a pound of flesh to pay Okorocha in his own coins.
But having said that, there are many options left for Okorocha to put his house in order before the 2015 election.
He has to dole out Billions of naira to nurture APC in the Southeast especially in Imo, and he had already assured that funds will not be a problem.
He has to realize that despite all said and done, Peter Obi will not relinquish APGA structure for anybody and will not join any merger. Therefore, Okorocha should move on his own.
Okorocha should accept his present condition in good faith and map out how he will save his political career from imminent danger as portrayed by APGA’s open denial of one of their own. He has to go back to the drawing Board.
And this includes being liberal and treating all men as being born equal, and are all Imo citizens, despite their political leanings.
Statesmen are politicians who banish partisan politics the moment they are entrusted with the mandate of the people. Late Dr Alvan Ikoku contested an election with his son, and yet they both lived together and happily after.
It is very unfortunate that after nearly two years that elections came and gone in Imo, the situation still looks as if there is a fresh election every day.
If Okorocha wants to lead Ndigbo either to a new political party or a new height, he needs their consent and support. And that can only be done under the atmosphere of peace and tranquility. Is Imo State, for instance, politically at peace?
I still repeat that Charity must begin from home. Whatever respects that would be accorded Okorocha from his merger colleagues would be based on how he has been treating all Imo people in managing their affairs since two years now. Or what other political score card has Okorocha to brandish to Ndigbo and Nigeria?
But has Okorocha treated all Imo people equal as to merit our collective anointing to pilot our lives at a higher pedestal? Your guess is as good as mine.
