Advertisement

[OPINION] Re: Tension Grips Ugwuanyi, Enugu PDP, Following Edeoga’s Emergence As The Labour Party Guber Candidate

By Sam Nnamani

Advertisement

The above is the title of a rather jaundiced article being circulation on social media, claimed to have been written from Lagos by one Chimex Bright, a name further searched on which revealed it to be a sobriquet meant for deceit and to force down numerous lies and presumably, to mischievously send wrong signals to the camp of unsuspecting but burgeoning Enugu PDP faithful. A cursory glance at the piece suggests bigotry and clannishness by no other but a few pretentious irredentists from Nsukka Cultural Zone, who have been crying foul since the run-in to the recently concluded Enugu PDP guber primary.

Having woefully failed with their cheap antics of populating pages on social and prints media spaces, organising rallies and issuing communiqués, wherein they alleged that the present-day Enugu state is comprised of two zones namely, Enugu and Nsukka zones, and according to them, it is the turn of the said Nsukka Zone to produce the next governor of the state; supposedly to balance power between the two zones, the defeatists have resorted to throwing tantrums, vituperations and all manners of lies from the pit of hell at the lofty personality of the amiable leader and father of Enugu State, His Excellency, Lawrence Ifeanyichukwu Ugwuanyi; insinuating the existence of crises within the Enugu PDP.

In correcting some negative assertions geared towards maligning Ugwuanyi and the Enugu PDP as portrayed by the piece under review, it’s noteworthy that since Ugwuanyi shot into political fame, never has he been seen or viewed as a weakling in political calculations and permutations by those who understand the nitty-gritty of solving the ever-treacherous political equations. This is a leader who has masterfully navigated the murky waters of National politics as a Member House of Representatives, overseeing the HOR’s all-important committee on maritime transportation, from where he, through sheer humility, dint of hard work, collective bargaining and uncommon tenacity in negotiations, manoeuvred his way to become the number one citizen of the state. It’s understandable and equally true as Michael Essien, one of the finest African footballers once put it: “the enemies will broadcast your failure but keep silent to your success”, that Ugwuanyi’s adversaries will never see him as a trailblazer and a grandmaster who is seamlessly enjoying a meteoric ascension unto the pinnacle of his already illustrious political career; and whose conspicuous successes in Enugu should be celebrated. Beclouded by their sentiments and hate, they have failed to see the Machiavellian dispositions in Ugwuanyi’s tact in identifying traps, as a fox, and his ability to frighten off wolves, as a lion.

Advertisement

To put the records more straight, Governor Ugwuanyi is not afraid of anybody or gang-ups nor is there any tension whatsoever in the Enugu PDP. These allegations are figments existing in the cloudy imaginations of those naysayers and political marauders, the likes of Chmex-the author of the controversial article, who are hell-bent on destroying the Enugu guber zoning template which thus far has ensured peace and equity in Enugu Politics since the inception of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.

The nucleus of the matter and the cause of the chaos in the camp of the Edeogas is their failure in the bid to impose their masked third tenure agenda on the people of Enugu State and His Excellency Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who, masterfully, as it has been his trademark to sense danger and subdue same, sniffed out their ploy by returning the Enugu guber ticket to Nkanu Cultural zone, being the dominant people of Enugu-East  Senatorial zone and whose turn it is to produce the next Enugu Governor in 2023; against the proposition by some power-hungry Nsukka elites to wrestle home the PDP guber ticket through the back door, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga and their “Ka Isi-Uzo Jee” catchphrase. It’s pathetic, however, that out of their shortsightedness, greed and consequent miscalculations, the “Ka Isi-Uzo Jee” mantra and its proponents lost the guber ticket as well as the senatorial ticket, which they could have gotten with ease if they had applied better tinkering.

Going down memory lane, it could be recalled that the same very few elites from Nsukka cultural zone opposed Gov. Sullivan Chime’s anointing of the Ukehe-born lawyer, Barr. Eugene Odo, as his successor, because he is from the Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area, which has the same cultural affinity and historical background (Ojebe Ogene) as Sullivan’s Local Government, Udi, and was perceived as a third-term agenda in disguise. Sullivan, in his wisdom, swallowed his pride and allowed peace to hold sway by supporting the core Nsukka cultural zone to produce His Excellency Lawrence Ifeanyichukwu Ugwuanyi as his successor. The rest, they say, is now history.

On Barr. Chijioke Edeoga resuscitating his failed and inordinate pursuit of his guber ambition through the Labour Party and the purported shockwaves accompanying his moves, while it is his constitutional right to pursue whatever political ambition he has, the good and observant Enugu people are however not oblivious of the fact that he has failed his integrity test as he was hitherto one of Ugwuanyi’s trusted lieutenants, who not only accepted defeat in the recently concluded Enugu PDP guber primaries but accepted without prejudice the landslide victory of Barr. Peter Mbah. For Chief Edeoga to have publicly acknowledged the processes that produced Mr Mbah as free, fair and equitable, further accepting to work for his victory at the polls and consequently collapsing his structures for Mr Mbah; only to join the LP as a guber flag bearer to possibly witch-hunt the PDP. Joining the race to pursue the same dream he claimed to have jettisoned in the interest of peace and equity, makes him no better than a liar, serial betrayer, greedy and one who by this recent hide and seek game does not possess the requisite public integrity which, of course, is the indisputable anthesis of corruption.

Advertisement

More so, it is laughable how some individuals in the name of writing malicious articles massage the egos of their paymasters such as Bar. Edeoga, by descending so low into the hubris of misinformation intended to create more tension in addition to the present precarious security situation throughout the country. If not, how on earth has the Governor’s meeting with the stakeholders – a course of action often applied to solve contentious issues in any saner clime anywhere in the world, become the issue of concern? Have the Executive Governor and the Local government Chairmen no such rights and prerogative to appoint their aides as they are constitutionally empowered to? Chimex bright and his co-travellers should be held responsible as their utterances are not only inciting but capable of misleading the populace into believing falsehood, thereby causing more commotion in Nigeria’s already frail polity.

On Governor Ugwuanyi’s contest for Enugu North senatorial seat, there is no ‘stiffer competition’ anywhere whatsoever. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is bound to cruise to victory on the platform of his landmark legacies to the generality of the people of Enugu North senatorial zone and Enugu State as a whole. The records are there for everyone to see. The very few Nsukka elites opposing Ugwuanyi for not allowing them to truncate the balance of power in Enugu politics are known for their abysmal failure anytime they mount their scathing attacks. They should embrace peace, fairness and equity to consolidate the breathtaking legacies of the Ugwuanyi-led administration.

Again, throughout political history especially in democracies, oppositions are known for relentlessly picking holes in any policy, programme or arrangement that they consider unfavourable to them. It has to be succinctly stated, nevertheless, that the option of Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai as the Enugu PDP Guber running mate to Barr. Mbah is predicated upon competence and equity, and not on any form of introverted sentiments as being popularised by the opposition. The subterfuge of always crying marginalised by the infinitesimal number of Nsukka elites does not hold water and is long dead and buried. Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai’s emergence represents the majority interest of the Enugu North zone, though through negotiations and consultations as is conventionally done, it was never at the complete behest of the liberal-minded and democratic Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

Advertisement

In conclusion, there is neither tension in Enugu PDP nor is Ugwuanyi perturbed by the opposition’s and hater’s raucousness. Though the activities of opposition are welcomed as a way of gauging and checking the activities and the performances of the government, such opposing views should be clamped down, refuted and quickly relegated to the trash bin when they are designed to misinform and trigger unnecessary tension.

Nnamani writes from Amakpu Evu Iyovo in Agbani