Since last week, many people have been asking why the Government House Imo State, has been literally relocated to Anambra State where that state’s Governorship election is coming on November 16, 2015.
Unfortunately for Imo State and its citizens, this epic battle in the sister state has caused them a lot, both in cash and kind as their Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has to move his troop to Anambra, which has divided the Governor’s attention in the governance of his state.
This is also coming at a time our Governor was yet to rest after traversing the entire Western Nigeria for his tumultuous birthday celebration which quaked the Oduduwa nation to its foundation.
We learnt that next year when the Governor will clock 52 years, the entire Northern region will play host. But the only snag here is that that celebration will take more weeks, since Northern Nigeria has too many states and is large in land mass. But not withstanding, I wish our Governor happy birthday, and hope to live and witness the Northern celebration next year.
Why our Governor relocated to Anambra State; his political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, is involved in a very titanic war to wrestle power from All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Okorocha’s former party. Apart from that, the candidate of ACN, Senator Chris Ngige, we have all seen repeatedly, had his hands raised in the Newspapers and Televisions by our own Okorocha, even when there were other National Officers of APC in attendance. Therefore, it is an indication that the Ngige Project is not only an Okorocha affair, but that of Imo State in making sure that the former Governor wins the election come November.
That Governor Okorocha has abandoned his job at Douglas House Owerri, and relocated to Anambra is to tell you the enormity of the task facing the Governor. And as in his character, Okorocha does not want to be outwitted in this battle of Anambra State as it must be won, no matter what it takes, both in funds and human materials.
We learnt that some members of Imo APC were ferried to Anambra State to support Ngige during the primaries, so that in 2015, Ngige, if we wins, will also reciprocate both in kind and in cash to Governor Okorocha.
But make no mistake, Okorocha as a tested political war Horse knows that the outcome of the Anambra election will help to let him know his own fate, as we approach 2015 general elections. It will also indicate how his fellow Leaders within the APC fold will rate his political fortunes and scope.
Remember that against all odds, Gov Okorocha jettisoned APGA, and attended the meeting at the Lagos House of Assembly Complex, which was the day APC was born.
When APGA withdrew from the merger which morphed into APC, Okorocha marched on, and thereafter entered the political marriage with his followers, and not as a political party but as a Group.
Since then, the Governor of Imo State has remained prominent in the activities of the opposition party, including telling them that he will deliver the entire South-East region. And his fellow Leaders believed. Therefore, the chicken has come home to roost with the Ngige election.
Therefore, the Anambra election is the litmus test which Okorocha must come out from triumphantly to be reckoned with within the Comity of top Leaders and owners of APC in Nigeria.
It invariably means that if Ngige fails to win the November election, Okorocha’s popularity and acceptance within APC family will nose-dive to an embarrassing level. His colleagues in the North and Western regions of Nigeria whom he promised to deliver Ndigbo will see him as a paper tiger, who makes too much political noise without substance and results. They will jeer at him when big men discuss in their inner Chambers. They will see him as not connected with his people. They will have a psychological defect, whenever it comes to other elections involving APC is the South-East.
So, the Ngige matter is a very serious issue, which Gov Okorocha cannot toy with. Indeed, you must now be aware why both Imo funds and materials must be channeled towards Anambra State to shore up the political image of Okorocha, so as to capture Anambra State and not only expand his political kingdom, but also his political invincibility in Imo, nay Igboland.
But will Okorocha succeed in this Anambra expedition? Will he come back to Imo roaring like a Lion and a King who has won another battle, or will he return to Douglas House with the tails tucked between the Legs? The answer to these questions would be proffered within the next few weeks.
Unfortunately for Governor Okorocha, the political terrain of Anambra State is not like that of Imo State. In Anambra State, their elections are usually compared to an earth quake, as money and materials climb each other. Thuggery for thuggery, ambush for ambush.
Unlike what happened in Imo in 2011 election where military personnel out-foxed politicians, in Anambra every candidate has his own “army”. Governor Okorocha in Anambra State is going to confront old foes who fought on his side in Imo State in 2011, but who he abandoned after reaching the roof-top. They are legion. Arthur Eze, Emeka Offor, including Fr Mbaka. All these people are nursing old wounds and baying for “blood”.
I have not forgotten Governor Peter Obi, Chief Victor Umeh and Chief Martin Agbaso, who are all going to fight on APGA side in this battle.
Until Gov Okorocha left APGA for APC, the platform could not accommodate him and Governor Peter Obi, as they clashed in every ceremony they met. Either their protocol officers were exchanging blows, or their security personnel were cocking guns at each other. Therefore, for Okorocha to leave Imo and relocate to Anambra will be seen as an affront to Peter Obi, who will throw away his gentleman posture and fight to finish. After all there is no gentleman in the “jungle”.
Obi will try to tell Okorocha that he left APGA does not mean the end of the party. And Obi will also like to teach Okorocha that he has more clout in Igboland than Okorocha.
Obi would like to hoist his successor, Obiano, at least to continue to fund APGA, for Dim Ojukwu’s spirit to live on.
Chief Victor Umeh himself is still smoking from the “insult” Okorocha heaped on his party by calling APGA a cultural organization that cannot take him politically out of Igbo Nation.
Umeh had sworn that Okorocha must be flushed out from Imo State in 2015. Therefore, imagine Okorocha taking the battle to Umeh’s den in Anambra State! It is definitely going to be a tough debacle.
Then remember Chief Martin Agbaso! This man is very angry over how Okorocha used and dumped him and his brother, Jude Agbaso, after they gave him the platform to achieve his long desire to be the Governor of Imo State.
With how the former Imo State Deputy Governor, Jude Agbaso was removed from office, and all the insinuations trailing it, I believe that if you leave Okorocha and Martin Agbaso alone in a room, heads would be broken.
Therefore, the Anambra gubernatorial election will present Martin Agbaso the opportunity to have his pound of flesh on Okorocha. Don’t even be surprised if you see Jude Agbaso at Anambra for the “roforofo” fight.
However, despite these challenges facing Okorocha, the only thing going for him is that Senator Chris Ngige is a good candidate any day, following what he did in Anambra State within the short period his regime lasted as a Governor.
But the truth now is that the electorate are getting enlightened and wiser. The propaganda that APC is a “Yoruba” party seems to have stuck in this clime. And Governor Fashola of Lagos compounded the problem by “deporting” Igbo indigenes from Lagos. Therefore, Okorocha and Ngige have enormous work to do.
With the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, having internal problem and APGA parading Obiano, seen as a political neophyte, the advantage may swing to APC parading Ngige.
But should Ngige win on Nov 16, 2015, the few Imo politicians still remaining in the state that oppose the incumbent administration should pack their belongings and head out of town. Because as Governor Okorocha’s political empire expands, the more he would be emboldened to unleash more impunity. Don’t say I did not warn you.
But if Ngige fails, Okorocha would have seen the beginning of the shrinking of his empire, and will begin to face realities. That is, if he really believes in tomorrow.
