Who Is Indeed Peter Obi, Former Governor Of Anambra State ?

                                    

 ‘’A man who came far ahead of his generation’’ – Tai Emeka Obasi

In view of recent happenings and utterances, I ask, is it that Chief Peter Obi is a very bad teacher or is it that people just refused to learn? I sincerely believe it is the latter.

People who know me closely would know I have every reason to be very angry with the ex-governor of Anambra State…to such an extent that should make me even hate him. But this was based on personal relationship. I found out that just as he disappointed me, he equal did to other thousands who sought one personal favour or the other. I’m equally in the know that most of us that grasped this experience of the very tough side of Okwute Ndi Igbo turned to haters and present bashers of the Agulu-born technocrat.

For three years while pursuing the project Chief Obi continued to promise my partner and I that he’d soon flag off, a project that would have benefitted Anambrarians even in the next 100 years, we came very close to this enigma. As card-carrying members of APGA, we attended almost every stakeholders meeting at The Lodge during that time. We were at 95% of every project flag off he made and he really did make plenty. We attended almost every public function he appeared in Anambra State and Lagos and here again, he actually appeared in many. We were at most addresses he made even to very select few. When he eventually pointed the way of Chief Willie Obiano, we came home, and contributed every inch of potential within our individual and collective abilities to get the man elected just because Okwute Ndi Igbo assured us he was the right man.

In those years, I learnt as much as possible who the man that governed Anambra State actually is. Naturally, I was hugely disappointed that I wasted energy, time, resources following this man all over the place but nobody, living or dead, could have taught me as appropriately as I learnt first-hand on the qualities of the man we popularly call Okwuteeee! And believe me, I learnt enough to last me the remaining days of my life. I hence refused to allow personal loses to affect my sincere appraisal of a man who gave Anambra State his all.

Yes, you’re likely to get your hand burnt mercilessly trying to get personal favours from then Gov Obi but in doing what is best for Anambra State, you’d be a BIG FOOL attempting to fault him. Obi said it loud and clear that he wasn’t Agulu governor but that of the whole Anambra when his people tried to force their way into lion share of happenings…he equally made it clear that he was not just APGA governor but the governor of Anambra which included all individuals of Anambra State origin in other parties. He sounded it LOUD and CLEAR that politicians should desist from making politics their sole business. ‘’When you make politics your business and you’re given some funds for development, you’ll develop your pocket first’’, Obi will always say while people chuckled. But he wasn’t just saying it for fun, he meant every word. That is why APGA politicians didn’t find it funny that their ‘own’ governor refused to ‘enrich’ the party.

I laugh when almost every other APGAn made such statements. If tomorrow PDP wins Anambra State as governor, I would love whoever did to go the Peter Obi way. Anambra is for all Anambrarians. But what most APGA politicians wanted Obi to do was to award all contracts to them, whether qualified or not. Obi believed that you must be a qualified professional in any area of your interest before you ever bid for any contract. He believed too, that if APC member presented the most responsible bid, that he/she should be awarded the contract ahead of any other APGA politician. Obi gave contracts to the lowest responsible bidder irrespective of whether his own mother was part of the owners of the bid rejected. He never cared whose ox was gored. That’s why he had many enemies…friends and relatives who thought that government was elephant carcass never were allowed to demonstrate their greed. Obi saw everybody, recognized everyone but chose to ignore those he hadn’t present need for. Obi saved Anambra money and used it for the good of Anambra generally and not for the use of APGA.

Today, Anambra State came first again in WASC/GCE examination results just released. If Obi hadn’t equipped and returned schools to missions, such enviable feat wouldn’t be possible. But some APGA politicians were lamenting as Obi pumped huge funds into building for tomorrow. Some APGA politicians were furious that instead of enriching their pockets, Obi was busy building all roads in Anambra, even those leading to his ‘enemies’ in other parties’ houses.

HERO beer today provides income source for not less than 100,000 Anambrarians, yet some APGA politicians would have wanted the resources Anambra State invested in building the breweries used to assuage their private pockets. You go through Anambra, every LGA, every town…and you see the lasting effect of Obi’s eight years in office.

Hence when people blame Okwute Ndi Igbo for not enriching APGA, I ask, why should a governor lavish state’s money on just one party? If any APGA person was a beer distributor or retailer, hasn’t the coming of Sabmiller enriched him/her and of course his colleagues in PDP, APC or even FFP?

Politicians should learn to involve in private businesses and make revenue when development of their states boost production, buying and selling, etc…and not to be in politics joblessly waiting to fork out a living via state funds. They say politics is business…to some extent, yes…but please, don’t take it as your sole business. Those that do are the people who ‘swallow’ constituent allowances because it’s their only source of income.

This is what Obi preached and demonstrated for eight years. Why is it that people refused to learn? Why are some APGA chieftains interested in returning Anambra State to the ugly politics of winner-takes-all?

Written by Tai Emeka Obasi